Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

But I didn’t expect that only a few months had passed and the military district had produced so many Type 50 small cannons.

Besides, when the military districts were to allocate guns, it was impossible to give them only to the Yirecha Military District. The other second-level military districts also needed to allocate guns. So this time, the military district would distribute hundreds of 50mm small guns to the second-level military districts below.

Wei Hongjun was very shocked.

Is the Jin-Cha-Ji Arsenal already so powerful?

So he directly asked Sui Twelve who was accompanying Wei Hongjun.

Sui Shier, a cadre who had come from the Jidong Uprising, initially served as an engineer at the Eighth Column's Arsenal and concurrently as the principal of the Chahar Industrial School. However, after the Eighth Column split, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Industry Department merged the Eighth Column's Arsenal, so Sui Shier came to work at the Military Industry Department of the Military Region.

Sui Twelve smiled and said, "Political Commissar, the situation is developing very quickly, you have to keep up with it.

"Oh?"

Wei Hongjun was confused by Sui Twelve's words.

What Wei Hongjun wanted to know was the situation at the military district's arsenal. What was Sui Twelve talking about? Seeing Wei Hongjun's expression, Sui Twelve couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Political Commissar, you don't know. The military district's military industry is now completely different from when we were just doing small-scale operations. It's booming. The Ministry of Military Industry has talented people. We captured so many cities last year, and the number of skilled workers has increased exponentially. And we brought in so much machinery and equipment from those big cities. We've seized over 1000 machine tools of all kinds. Now our arsenal is much stronger than it used to be. There are over workers in the arsenal alone."

"More than 14,000 people?"

"Yes. Our Ministry of Military Industry currently has over twenty large factories under its jurisdiction, and under these large factories are a host of smaller ones. From manufacturing firearms to cannons, from rifle bullets to cannon shells, as well as gunpowder and so on, there's nothing our arsenals can't produce."

Wei Hongjun was completely in disbelief as he listened to Sui Twelve's introduction.

I really didn't expect it.

The Eighth Route Army is really full of talented people.

After the establishment of the Military Industry Department in Jincha, the military factories in the various bases of the Jinchaji Military Region began to be merged and developed in a coordinated manner. Especially in the past two years, the Jinchaji Military Region has been relatively stable, and the military factories have developed faster.

In addition, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region has captured so many cities in the past two years.

Cities like Zhangjiakou, Baoding, Guisui, Xuanhua, Xiahuayuan, and Wanquan all had a large number of workers. Together with the skilled workers trained by the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, the number of workers in the arsenals was increasing day by day.

In addition, there are more and more machines and equipment, and they are getting better and better.

When the First and Third Divisions evacuated Baoding, they practically emptied the city's factories. Baoding had been developing factories since the Beiyang Warlords' rise in the late Qing Dynasty, and continued to do so even after the Japanese invaded. Consequently, there were numerous factories, not to mention the vast array of machinery and equipment. Machine tools were particularly crucial, and over 1000 of them, large and small, were acquired. This significantly increased the strength of the Jin-Cha-Ji Arsenal.

There were actually more than 14,000 workers.

At its peak, the Taiyuan Arsenal had about 15000 employees. However, the number of workers at the Jin-Cha-Ji Arsenal is now approaching the peak of the Taiyuan Arsenal.

This is just the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Arsenal. If the arsenals at the headquarters are added together, the military industrial strength of the Eighth Route Army will really increase a lot.

“What is the production volume?”

"Needless to say? Zhangjiakou, Xuanhua, Xiahuayuan, and Wanquan already have excellent industrial bases. And if all the military district's arsenals were relocated to the area around Xuanhua, what would happen to the output?

As for these 400mm small guns, our arsenal can currently produce 1000 per month. And that's because our arsenal has just begun replicating the mm small gun. Once our arsenal has grown in volume, we'll be able to produce per month. This small amount is nothing. The military region's goal is to have every company in all of its main forces equipped with ten mm small guns within two years.

"Ten 50mm cannons per company?"

"Ah."

Wei Hongjun couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Jin-Cha-Ji is now truly wealthy. Within two years, each company of all its main forces will be equipped with ten 50mm cannons. A Japanese squadron is only equipped with six to twelve grenade launchers.

The Type 50 small cannon was an extremely effective weapon in short-range combat within a few hundred meters, greatly increasing the firepower of the Eighth Route Army's infantry.

If the Jin-Cha-Ji troops could really have such a configuration, then a battalion of the Jin-Cha-Ji Eighth Route Army would easily defeat a Japanese squadron. Besides the lack of aircraft, the Eighth Route Army would no longer be afraid of the Japanese troops due to the configuration of light weapons in the army.

But Wei Hongjun quickly asked, "Where are the shells? Where are the shells for the 50mm cannon?"

"Don't worry. Our military arsenal is now able to produce over 80,000 rounds of Type 50 small artillery shells per year. And production is still increasing. I estimate that if we increase production further, we will have no problem producing 200,000 rounds of Type 50 small artillery shells per year.

Sui Shier introduced him to Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun nodded repeatedly.

Although Wei Hongjun knew from his previous reading of history that the Eighth Route Army had talented people, in such a difficult environment, even the workers of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Factory in history had to carry machinery and equipment while moving and producing weapons and ammunition.

In this way, the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area also fully mastered all the production technologies of homemade bullets and could also produce all the raw materials.

The successful development of production equipment and tools, from chemical engineering to smelting, formed a relatively complete production chain. Historically, by 1943, the annual output of Jin-Cha-Ji military factories reached 300 million rounds of homemade bullets, 11 rounds of various artillery shells, including 360mm cannonballs, 24 million grenades, 500 kilograms of high-grade explosives, and kilograms of gunpowder. One can only imagine the rapid development of the Jin-Cha-Ji military industry.

Historically, the Jin-Cha-Ji Army began to recover and develop in 1943, becoming increasingly powerful by 1944. The Jin-Cha-Ji Eighth Route Army's territory expanded rapidly. A major reason for this was the Jin-Cha-Ji Arsenal's significant increase in ammunition production starting in 1943. The increase in bullet production, in particular, ensured that the Jin-Cha-Ji Eighth Route Army began to have sufficient ammunition.

Therefore, the main force of the Eighth Route Army regained its combat effectiveness.

The current Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region is much stronger than it was in history.

With a stable base, more workers, and so many machines, the Jin-Cha-Ji Arsenal now produces 50mm small guns, the Type 81 cavalry rifle designed and produced by the Eighth Route Army itself, 50mm small gun shells, rifle bullets, and bullets for light and heavy machine guns.

They even produce infantry artillery shells and mortar shells.

They say the Eighth Route Army is not at all rustic. Not only that, but even this seemingly "beggar" army's pursuit of industry far surpassed that of the Nationalist government. Even though the Nationalist government's economic policymakers were all so-called PhDs returned from overseas, their understanding of industry was still far inferior to that of the Eighth Route Army.

Wei Hongjun was really happy.

Although the strength of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region's arsenal is far from that of a truly powerful arsenal, it is definitely a huge supplement and support for the current Eighth Route Army.

"We have plenty of people in Rehe who want to join the army. Director Sui, with our connections, could you give us more? I heard our military factory has started producing horse rifles. Could you give us two to three thousand?"

After knowing that the military district had the goods, Wei Hongjun immediately tried to get close to them.

Sui Twelve shook his head.

Then he said, "Political Commissar, please don't embarrass me. The higher-ups have specifically instructed you on the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region. They said you don't lack weapons and ammunition, so we absolutely cannot give you more."

"How could it be possible that they were specifically targeting our Jirecha Military Region?"

"How could I possibly lie to you? I actually mentioned the Yirecha Military Region and your name, the political commissar. I told them I absolutely wouldn't be fooled by you."

I heard that the commander personally gave the order, saying that you are eloquent and must not be fooled by you.

Wei Hongjun smiled bitterly.

I am such an honest person, but Marshal Nie gave me such a ban.

"Never mind. This is enough. Load it all up. We still need ammunition on the front lines. I'll go to the military district and see the commander first.

Chapter 526 The Order to Yan'an

Wei Hongjun met with Nie Shuai, Luo Qirong and Cheng Zhihua, the three most powerful leaders of the military region.

Report to them on the work of the Jirecha Military Region in the past few months.

Wei Hongjun was rather puzzled, however. The Ji-Re-Cha Military Region had only been established for a few months and had been locked in a tug-of-war with the Japanese and puppet forces in Rehe. Nothing major had happened during that time. The fact that the military region had called Wei Hongjun over at this time was something he didn't quite understand.

Was it because of the "rectification" movement he had been involved in at the base? Or was it because of the rent and interest reduction efforts in Rehe?

Anyway, I'm very confused.

"What are your plans next?"

"Commander, the next major task for our Ji-Re-Cha Military Region is to trap the Japanese and puppet troops in Rehe City. Slowly force them to withdraw from Rehe, or eliminate them in Rehe. The Japanese and puppet troops in Rehe are now extremely short of food, and their food can only be supplied by the Northeast.

Recently, we and the Ji-Re-Liaoning Military Region have ambushed numerous Japanese and puppet army logistics units. There are currently a large number of Japanese and puppet troops in Rehe, and they require a large amount of food. Therefore, we have coordinated with the Ji-Re-Liaoning Military Region and are prepared to resolutely resist any attempt by the Japanese and puppet troops to seize food in Rehe. As long as the Japanese and puppet troops are running low on food, they will not be able to remain in Rehe. We plan to gradually drive the Japanese and puppet troops out of Rehe and ultimately control it.

Although there have been battles like the capture of Zhangjiakou and Jining, it is not easy to replicate such battles.

To capture Zhangjiakou, the 8th Column spent over a month preparing just on the periphery. Digging trenches and gradually approaching Zhangjiakou took more than a day or two. The reason they dared to prepare so slowly was because the North China Front was pulling troops out to fight, leaving no room for reinforcements.

But Rehe is different.

Once the Eighth Route Army gathers heavy troops to attack the city, it is unknown how many Japanese and puppet troops will be attracted.

Rehe is too close to the Northeast. Although the main force of the Kwantung Army is on the Sino-Soviet border, they still have a lot of messy troops at their disposal. Including the Kwantung Army Air Force, there are many of them. You can't just send planes to bomb.

The best way to fight a big battle in Rehe is to ambush and raid, and compete with the Japanese and puppet troops for control of the countryside and control of food.

Siege is the last resort.

Therefore, after discussion, the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region and the Ji-Re-Liao Military Region decided to push the Japanese and puppet troops out of Rehe. The biggest problem facing the Japanese and puppet troops in Rehe was a lack of food. While the Eighth Route Army faced a difficult siege in Rehe, they showed no fear of the Japanese and puppet troops during the field battles.

Including the Kwantung Army's 29th Division and 71st Division.

At present, the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region and the Ji-Re-Liao Military Region are jointly carrying out the "anti-grain robbery" battle, which has dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese and puppet troops. In order to stabilize the situation in Rehe, the defense army has sent too many troops to Rehe.

But they didn't take into account their logistics.

"Push out?"

"Yes, that is, squeeze them out. The entire Rehe Province is mountainous and densely forested, with mountains to the east, west, south and north. Originally, there was not much arable land in this place, and the grain production was not high. Now that the rural areas of Rehe are basically under our control, it is very difficult for the Japanese and puppet troops to seize food. The Kwantung Army Defense Force sent about 50,000 Japanese and puppet troops to Rehe, and so many troops needed food. The food they consumed every day was astonishing. But they simply did not have that much food."

"They came out to grab food, can you stop them? After all, there are so many troops.

Marshal Nie asked Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun smiled and said, "Ever since we captured several major cities, the Japanese and puppet troops have become much more timid. In the past, when the Japanese came out to sweep, they would leave a small team in the county town, plus one or two hundred puppet soldiers or one or two hundred puppet police. But now they dare not be so presumptuous. At least two squadrons must be left in the city. Otherwise, they dare not come out at all, fearing that we will capture the county town."

chain reaction.

After the Eighth Route Army gained experience in conquering large cities, the Japanese and puppet troops became quite wary of them.

I’m afraid that the Eighth Route Army will attack the city.

As a result, when the Japanese and puppet troops came out to sweep the city, many troops were left behind.

In the past, a Japanese garrison battalion had more than 800 men, and could send out about 500 men during each mopping-up operation. Now the situation has changed, and a battalion can only send out about 300 men at most.

In other words, there are more and more troops stationed in the area, and fewer and fewer troops coming out to carry out sweeps.

"Moreover, in our usual battles against food robbery, we fight with the main force and local forces that have just been formed. This is because the number of Japanese and puppet troops coming out to grab food will not be too large. Our First Brigade, Eighth Brigade, Special Service Brigade, Cavalry Brigade and other units are usually training to improve their combat effectiveness. As long as the Japanese and puppet troops send out a large force to grab food, we will go out to destroy them. Currently in Rehe, we and the Jireliao Military Region have six infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade in terms of main force, so we will not be at a disadvantage in confronting the Japanese and puppet troops. We estimate that it will take more than a year to drive the Japanese and puppet troops out of Chengde and Chifeng.

"it is good."

Marshal Nie was very satisfied with the situation in Rehe.

The Jirecha Military Region and the Jireliao Military Region cooperated well, and there was no situation of competing for territory. I was a little worried about the Jireliao Military Region, but Deng Guo was much more mature than a few years ago.

What was done in the Jireliao Military Region was done in an effective manner.

Not only was the fighting in Rehe thriving, but the development of the old nest in Jidong was also very good. It should be said that the entire Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was currently developing very well.

"Hongjun, I called you here this time because I have something to tell you. In two months, in May, you will hand over your work to someone else. Then, follow me to Yan'an."

"Yan'an? Am I the only one there?"

"For the time being, you will accompany me to Yan'an alone from the Yirecha Military Region to report on your work. We only have about two months, so you must arrange your work as soon as possible and be well prepared. Once in Yan'an, the Chairman and his men may hear your report in person."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

The news came somewhat suddenly.