Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

But I was very satisfied in my heart.

The reason why Marshal Nie liked Yang Quanwu so much was because he had the best strategic vision among the generals in Jin-Cha-Ji. He was not only a skilled general, but also had a political and strategic vision.

"But Baoding is such an important city.

"What good would it be for us to stay in Baoding? Baoding is a big target, and if we stay here we will become a target for the Japanese.

We have already gained all the benefits from conquering Baoding. There is no need to stay here any longer."

Yang Quanwu had no attachment to Baoding.

He continued, "Right now, Baoding's most valuable assets, besides the students, are its factories and workers. Commander, my suggestion is that we mobilize everyone to quickly dismantle the machinery and equipment and transport them away. With these machines, equipment, and workers, our base's industry will be able to develop significantly."

The arsenal's production capacity could see a dramatic increase. Since the 2000th Column occupied Xuanhua and acquired the Xuanhua Steel and Copper Plants, their ammunition production has increased significantly. Their arsenals can now produce as many as 10000 rounds of rifle ammunition per day. Our military region's arsenals are far larger and more technologically advanced than theirs. With further expansion, we could easily reach rounds per day."

This is different from the history when the arsenal was frequently raided by the Japanese army and was always wandering around.

In the past two or three years, the rear of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region has been very stable.

As a result, the Jin-Cha-Ji Arsenal developed rapidly. After the Military Region established the Ministry of Military Industry, the Military Region Arsenal, along with the First and Third Division Arsenals, were unified under its management. With the establishment of the new Hebei-Central Military Region and the Hebei-Shandong Military Region, the Ji-Central Military Region's arsenal was also incorporated into the military region, coming under the unified command of the Ministry of Military Industry.

The Ministry of Military Industry had already relocated most of the arsenals to the Xuanhua area, relying on Xuanhua's steel industry to develop the military industry of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.

The current military district arsenal is still quite capable.

For example, the Tenth Military Industry Company, established by the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Industry Department, served as the Jin-Cha-Ji base's artillery shell factory. Established only last year, it's only been in operation for a year. Yet, within that year, the company has already produced over 4000 Type 7000 mortar shells and over Type small artillery shells, which were copies of the Japanese Zheng-style cannonballs produced by headquarters.

Especially this year, that is, since the beginning of 1942, the speed of the th Military Industry Company's production of artillery shells has been increasing. Now the Jinchayi troops are equipped with a large number of mortars and Zhengtan shells, which can fire hundreds or even thousands of rounds in a single battle.

Without the support of the military factories, how could such a rich war be fought? Even if Zhangjiakou captured so many artillery shells, it would not be enough for the Jin-Cha-Ji army to use so much.

When the 10th Military Industry Company was established, it had over 100 workers. Six months later, it had over 300. This time, with the merger of the Jizhong Military Region Arsenal and the recruitment of some workers from Hebei, the 10th Military Industry Company now has over 700 workers.

There are even quite a few technical personnel joining in.

The military district’s current order to the 10th Military Industry Company is that in addition to producing mortar shells and grenade launchers, it must also start developing infantry artillery shells.

Because the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei troops currently have a large number of infantry artillery.

If we can't produce our own infantry artillery shells, relying solely on captured ammunition won't last long. After all, Puchayi has reorganized a large number of brigade-level units and is fighting large-scale battles. The amount of ammunition consumed in such a war is staggering.

And the opportunity is very good now.

Not only did the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region have its own small blast furnaces producing steel and copper, but Xuanhua, occupied by the Eighth Column, also had large blast furnaces producing high levels of steel and copper. There were also copper plants producing copper.

The Eighth Column’s own arsenal has more than it can use, so it will provide support to the military region.

Now is the time to develop the military region's own industry instead of occupying Baoding. As long as the important factories in Baoding are dismantled and brought back, and then a large number of workers are recruited, then they will become the military region's property.

Anyway, the factories in Baoding are either owned by Japanese or traitors.

"What do you two think?"

Marshal Nie asked Cheng Zhihua and Luo Qirong who were standing beside him.

Luo Qirong said, "I think Comrade Yang Quanwu's idea makes sense. The Chairman also said that we don't need to care about the gains and losses of a city or a place. Our occupation of Baoding is a good thing, but losing Baoding doesn't matter much. Just as Comrade Yang Quanwu said, if we give up Baoding, we can take the initiative politically. And before we leave, we will take away all the useful things and develop our own industry in our base area."

"I also think we don't need to limit ourselves to just one city, Baoding."

Cheng Zhihua also agreed.

Staying in the city is indeed better in every way.

But there is no need to be politically passive for the sake of Baoding and become a target of the Japanese army.

Many of the generals below were a little angry. They had finally conquered a big city like Baoding, but before they could do anything, they had to give it up.

Chapter 492: Jirecha Military Region

With the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's decision to give up Baoding, the situation in Hebei began to become complicated again.

The current situation is that Japan has occupied major cities such as Peking, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang, and controls key transportation routes. The Eighth Route Army controls vast swathes of Hebei's counties, towns, and rural areas. With the exception of eastern and southern Hebei, over 90 percent of Hebei's counties, towns, and rural areas are under the control of the Eighth Route Army.

But now the situation is beginning to change again.

Chiang Kai-shek did not want the Eighth Route Army to dominate Hebei alone. The North China Front Army, suppressed by the Eighth Route Army, was already a dead tiger. The future of Hebei would be a matter between him and the Eighth Route Army.

Therefore, the Eighth Route Army was forced to give up Baoding.

Soon Pang Bingxun led his 24th Army from Linxian County through the Eighth Route Army's southern Hebei base, bypassing Shijiazhuang and entering Baoding. Chiang Kai-shek also ordered Sun Lianzhong's Second Army to relocate to the Linxian area where Pang Bingxun had been stationed, and Sun Lianzhong officially took over as commander-in-chief of the Hebei-Chahar War Zone.

This echoed Pang Bingxun's entry into Baoding.

Once the Kuomintang forces entered Hebei, Hebei became a situation of three parties working together.

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region has been very busy recently.

Because a new second-level military region is to be established. The new Hebei-Central Military Region and the Hebei-Shandong Military Region currently need to reorganize their troops in addition to consolidating the newly opened base. Because it is a merger of several military sub-regions, the Yiji-Central Military Region is also a large military region. At its peak, the military region alone had 25 main force regiments, as well as dozens of local troops. Although the Japanese army's large-scale sweeps caused heavy casualties in various units, this time Lü Zhengchao took away ten more main force regiments, but there are still dozens of regimental-level units in the Hebei-Central area. The First and Third Divisions have annexed several military sub-regions in Hebei, and these Hebei-Central troops need to be reorganized.

This is not an easy thing to do.

The Beiyue District had already taken advantage of the Jin-Cha-Ji reorganization, and at this point, they couldn't provoke the Jizhong troops. Therefore, reorganizing the Jizhong troops was a meticulous undertaking. They couldn't allow the reorganization of the Jizhong troops to lead to internal conflicts within their own units.

Of course, what is even busier is dismantling the machines in Baoding.

Baoding, an industrial city that began to develop in the late Qing Dynasty, had many factories. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region recruited a large number of workers from Baoding and began dismantling factory machinery and transporting it to the base area.

you could put it that way.

That is, the conditions behind enemy lines were poor. Otherwise, the Eighth Route Army could have developed a large-scale arsenal in its base area. Even though the conditions were so poor, each base area had its own soldiers and factories.

Produce weapons and ammunition.

Otherwise, the Eighth Route Army would have run out of bullets if they had only relied on captured weapons.

Especially in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region.

The situation in the Jinchayi Military Region was very good in the past two years, and the rear areas were rarely raided by the Japanese army. Therefore, many arsenals were able to develop safely and steadily, and the development speed was very fast.

The military industry of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region experienced two leaps in development.

One was when the 8th Column captured Zhangjiakou and Xuanhua. Zhangjiakou was surrounded by numerous factories, especially Xuanhua, which housed steel mills, copper mills, and numerous chemical and machinery plants. The steel and copper produced by these factories provided sufficient supplies for the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's arsenals.

And this time we captured Baoding.

After the capture of Baoding, the former First and Third Divisions of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and the Central Hebei Military Region were completely connected. The Ministry of Military Industry merged all the arsenals, maximizing their strengths. The dismantling of large quantities of machinery and equipment from Baoding, combined with the recruitment of workers, led to a major leap forward in the military region's defense industry.

The newly established Jizhong Military Region and Jilu Military Region were very busy, but at this time, military region leaders such as Nie Shuai and Luo Qirong were heading north. One was to officially move the Jinchayi Branch Bureau and the Jinchayi Military Region to Zhangjiakou, and the other was to go to Zhangjiakou to establish the Chasui Military Region and the Jirecha Military Region.

"The 11th and 12th Military Sub-districts were divided into the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region and the Yirecha Military Region. The Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region includes Xining County, Yanggao County, Tianzhen County, Huaian County, Wanquan County, Xinghe County, Shangyi County, Zhangbei County, and Jining County. As for the rest, the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region has developed independently. The 8th Column's Chahar West Detachment and Chahar North Detachment, as well as the six regiments currently cooperating with the Saibei Military Sub-district in suppressing bandits in Suiyuan, are also under the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region has appointed Comrade Zhao Lu as Commander and Political Commissar of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, Comrade Zhang Liankui as Deputy Political Commissar and Director of the Political Department of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, and Comrade Yi Yaocai as Chief of Staff of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region."

When Wei Hongjun heard that the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region was established, he felt a little sad, but also relieved.

The sad thing is that the 8th Column was a unit developed by everyone.

From a unit of about 30 people, it has now become the fist force of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. In the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the First Division and the Eighth Column are the most powerful.

But now the military district wants to split the Eighth Column.

This was different from the previous establishment of the 11th and 12th Military Sub-districts. Although the th Column was nominally separated, it was not actually separated. Within the Jin-Cha Wing, everyone still called it the th Column.

But this time is different.

The Eight Columns really did split up.

The newly established Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region directly took over the Chahar-West and Chahar-North Detachments. Furthermore, the six regiments currently supporting the Saibei Military Sub-district in suppressing bandits in Suiyuan would be incorporated into the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region. Over ten regiments from the Eighth Column would be placed under the command of someone else.

It would be a lie if I didn't feel bad.

But at the same time, I felt relieved.

Wei Hongjun had long anticipated this day. The 8th Column was incredibly powerful, and its base area spanned a vast area. Its westernmost divisions had already captured Jining and entered the Suizhong region. Northward, they had even reached Kangbao County and Taipusi Banner. Eastward, they had entered Rehe and were already expanding into the Chifeng area. To the south, the Pingbei Detachment had even established a base in the Shunyi area.

Even if the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region were to establish a second-level military region, it would be impossible to divide such a large area. Managing such a large base would present numerous problems. Troops would be unable to coordinate with each other. Fighting in Suiyuan would be completely unrelated to fighting in Rehe.

The other people in the Eighth Column were all very sad when they heard this.

Because the 8th Column is really going to become history, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region will no longer have the designation 8th Column.

Marshal Nie observed everyone's expressions and continued, "The Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region has established the Sixth Brigade of the Jin-Cha Wing and the Seventh Brigade of the Jin-Cha Wing. Comrade Gao Wei will serve as the commander of the Sixth Brigade, with Comrade Lu Weisheng as the political commissar. Comrade Feng Mulin will serve as the commander of the Seventh Brigade, with Comrade Zhang Chao as the political commissar. The specific organization of the Sixth and Seventh Brigades will be determined by the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region and reported to the Military Region. The Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region can make its own decisions on the appointment of cadres for the various regiments below."

Why do second-level military regions have so much power?

That's why.

Previously, the appointment of a thousand-man regiment commander within a sub-district had to be reported to the military district for approval. However, with the establishment of the second-level military district, the appointment of cadres at the level of the main regiments lies within the district, eliminating the need for further approval. This authority to appoint personnel within the second-level military district has significantly increased its power.

This time when splitting the Eighth Column, Marshal Nie also had to take into account the feelings of the cadres of the Eighth Column.

Marshal Nie, therefore, assigned two brigades to the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, appointing Gao Wei, commander of the 8th Column's Chahar West Detachment, and Feng Mulin, commander of the Chahar North Detachment, as brigade commanders, respectively. Although Gao Wei and Feng Mulin held low ranks during their Red Army days, they were veterans nonetheless. Lu Weisheng and Zhang Chao, on the other hand, rose rapidly in rank, becoming brigade political commissars.

The two of them were genuine "38-style" cadres, who joined the Eighth Route Army after the July 7 Incident.

However, there was a reason for their rapid rise in rank. They had made significant contributions to Wei Hongjun's new military restructuring and were his two pillars of political work. It was surprising that both of them would be assigned to the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region.

The 38th Regiment and the troops participating in the bandit suppression campaign around Zhangjiakou were reorganized into the Zhangjiakou Security Brigade. Comrade Wu Qinghe, former commander of the Zhangjiakou garrison, was appointed brigade commander, and Comrade Huang Wenming was appointed political commissar. They were responsible for the security of Zhangjiakou and the suppression of bandits.

The Eight Columns want to split up completely.

In addition to the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, with its headquarters and logistics relocation to Zhangjiakou, needed to ensure the city's security. Therefore, the 38th Regiment of the th Column remained in Zhangjiakou, along with the th Independent Regiment, the guerrilla detachment of the former Chahar-Eastern Detachment, and other local forces to form a security brigade.

This force will become a unit directly under the military region.

Because these troops were all from the Eighth Column, the military district transferred Wu Qinghe to serve as brigade commander. Although Wu Qinghe came from the 29th Army, he had already made great achievements when he joined the Eighth Column. He was quite famous in the Jin-Cha Wing.

As for the political commissar of the security brigade, he is Huang Wenming, the current political commissar of the second regiment of the third division.

Huang Wenming was originally a cadre in the First Division's Independent Regiment, serving as the head of the Organization Section of the regiment's political department. Later, the Second Regiment of the First Division exchanged positions with the Tenth Battalion of the Third Division. In addition to the Second Regiment, the First Division also provided support to some cadres from the Third Division. It was during this time that Huang Wenming joined the Third Division.

He first served as the political commissar of the 11th Brigade and later as the political commissar of the 2nd Regiment.

To establish the security brigade, the military district transferred Huang Wenming from the third division.

Partner Wu Qinghe.

Zhuolu, Huailai, Shengxian, Longguan, Chifeng, Yanqing, Changping, Wanping, Huairou, Miyun, Shunyi, and Fengning are the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. The future development direction of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region is to occupy the northern part of Rehe in the north, and to occupy Tongzhou and Pinggu in the south, and then develop to Jixian.

All remaining troops of the Eighth Column will be incorporated into the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region."

Seeing the Eighth Column split up like this, Wei Hongjun felt a little distressed, but he was still very proud. After all, the Eighth Column they had built, after being split into two parts, had become two second-level military regions.

Moreover, Zhangjiakou also became the headquarters of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Among the entire Jin-Cha-Ji army, the Eighth Column was unique.

It would be so face-saving if you tell others about it.

Of course, Yang Quanwu's First Division was originally supposed to have a similar, if not even larger, territory. However, as the 120th Division expanded along the Tongpu Railway and in the Yanbei region, the First Division ceded some of its territory there to the 120th Division, allowing them to expand there. Later, the Fifth Division was established in the military region, and the First Division ceded its remaining bases in Yanbei to the Fifth Division. Later, even Lingqiu, the site of the First Division's earliest headquarters, was ceded to the Fifth Division. Many of the bases currently under the Third Division were actually established by the First Division in its early years. However, as the Third Division grew in strength, it demanded that the First Division return these bases. Consequently, the First Division ceded these bases to the Third Division.

Otherwise, it would be easy for the current district to control more than 30 counties with a population of 7 or 8 million.