Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Luo Renfa was responsible for liaising with Eighth Route Army troops and local governments along the route, resolving logistical issues for the troops. The 35th and 38th Regiments were both veteran units of the Eighth Column, and the commander of the main First Regiment, Tao Laifeng, was a former subordinate of Wei Hongjun. Therefore, Wei Hongjun was responsible for commanding these three regiments and ensuring safety along the route.

The troops' marching, camping, peacetime security work, and combat work were handed over to Wei Hongjun.

After everyone had their work assigned, Marshal Nie concluded the meeting. Wei Hongjun now felt that his status had indeed changed. Previously, when Wei Hongjun represented the 8th Column at military district meetings, he would sit at the back and refrain from speaking. This was because many of the leaders of the Beiyue District Military District and the sub-districts had previously served under Wei Hongjun. Therefore, Wei Hongjun usually kept a low profile during military district meetings. However, since the establishment of the second-level sub-districts in the Jin-Cha-Ji Military District, Wei Hongjun's voice within the region had greatly increased.

Even Marshal Nie gave Wei Hongjun enough respect.

Wei Hongjun also sensed this change and understood that he would have to adapt to Yan'an. After all, he represented the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region. If he were to be submissive and still consider himself a grassroots cadre from the Red Army era, he would only make Marshal Nie and his colleagues laugh at him.

Marshal Nie gave Wei Hongjun and the troops two days to rest.

Wei Hongjun used this time to meet with the leaders of the military region. Whether they were military leaders or leaders of the Jinchayi Branch, Wei Hongjun would visit them and report on some of his work.

Because Wei Hongjun was both the Party Secretary of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Border Region and the Acting Political Commissar of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region, he had to report all military and base area affairs, especially Luo Qirong.

After Marshal Nie went to Yan'an, Luo Qirong would be responsible for all work in the Jin-Cha-Ji region. Therefore, some of the work in the Ji-Re-Cha region had to be reported to Luo Qirong so that he would have a clear understanding. Therefore, Wei Hongjun made a detailed report to Luo Qirong, and Luo Qirong listened to Wei Hongjun's report very carefully.

Luo Qirong listened most attentively to Wei Hongjun's report on the "Rectification Movement" in the Yi-Re-Cha base area. Marshal Nie, Wei Hongjun, and their colleagues had gone to Yan'an specifically to participate in the Yan'an Rectification Movement. Similarly, the Jin-Cha-Ji Branch Bureau and the Jin-Cha-Yi Military Region would also conduct rectification movements in their base areas and military regions. The Yan'an Rectification Movement wasn't limited to Yan'an. Every base area and every military region would soon undergo a rectification movement.

After Marshal Nie left, Luo Qirong was the acting secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji branch and the acting political commissar of the Jin-Cha-Ji military region. Therefore, Luo Qirong had to personally lead the subsequent rectification movement in the Jin-Cha-Ji branch and the Jin-Cha-Ji military region.

So he was very interested in the "rectification" movement that Wei Hongjun was carrying out.

The Chairman praised Wei Hongjun's performance in political work, stating that he was a natural political cadre. After carefully reviewing Wei Hongjun's report, Luo Qirong began to understand. Wei Hongjun's "rectification" efforts in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region were significant, and many cadres had been reshuffled. However, he had managed the process very well, avoiding major incidents. As Luo Qirong reviewed the materials, he carefully questioned Wei Hongjun on specific issues.

This work was personally handled by Wei Hongjun, so Wei Hongjun was able to answer questions fluently.

At Luo Qirong's place, Wei Hongjun took almost three hours to complete his report.

Although Luo Qirong has only known Wei Hongjun for less than a year, the two of them are very compatible at work.

By the time Wei Hongjun reported to these leaders, it was already evening. However, soon, old comrades and colleagues came to see Wei Hongjun.

After all, Wei Hongjun had been involved in the Chahar Revolution for many years, starting with the establishment of the Shengxian base area and fighting here for five years. He had a lot of old comrades, old colleagues, and old subordinates, especially Zhangjiakou, which was captured by the 8th Column.

At the time, the Japanese puppet units in Zhangjiakou were taken over by the Eighth Column. Later, when the military district moved to Zhangjiakou, the former Eighth Column staff were incorporated into the military district. Therefore, I have many acquaintances in Zhangjiakou.

Wei Hongjun talked to them about recent developments and reminisced about the past.

In the end, those who remained were all cadres from the Eighth Column.

The Sixth Brigade was commanded by Gao Wei and its political commissar was Lu Weisheng. The Seventh Brigade was commanded by Feng Mulin and its political commissar was Zhang Chao, with Cao Cao as its deputy brigade commander and chief of staff. The 38th Regiment was commanded by Xue Yong and its political commissar was Li Guangrong, the deputy commander of the 38th Regiment. In addition to these, there were also the commanders and political commissars of each regiment, all of whom were former cadres of the Eighth Column.

Among them were Gao Wei and Shi Mangui, old comrades who had come to Sheng County with Wei Hongjun and were from the same company. There were also Zhang Chao and Lu Weisheng, Wei Hongjun's two closest associates in the political work field during his time in the 8th Column.

Others like Feng Mulin, Cao Ken, and Xue Yong were all cadres who later joined the Eighth Column, were highly regarded by Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun, and rose to the ranks of senior generals in the Eighth Column. By the time the Eighth Column had developed to this point, although it had split up, it had also become a small mountain in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region.

Leader Zhao Lu is such a kind person.

After becoming the commander and political commissar of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, he did not send any other outside cadres to the Sixth and Seventh Brigades to interfere with their work. He still maintained the original organization and showed great respect to the cadres of the original Eighth Column.

Of course, he has also undergone some transformation.

After he became the commander of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, he successively established the First and Second Self-Defense Brigades, which were formed by reorganizing the self-defense regiments of the former Chahar West Detachment and Chahar North Detachment, as well as the New Fifth Regiment.

Even with this reorganization, Zhao Lu was very considerate of all parties involved. Besides employing cadres brought in from the Fourth Division at the brigade level, he also treated the existing cadres from the Self-Defense Corps and the New Fifth Regiment with care, avoiding any major changes.

In the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, he adopted a hands-off approach to military affairs, subtly instilling his influence. Wei Hongjun liked Zhao Lu because he appeared to be a nice guy, lacking in daring. However, he was able to transition smoothly, avoiding major disruptions. He avoided the internal scrambles that had plagued the Ji-Re-Liaoning Advancing Army.

In fact, for the current Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, stability is more important than turmoil. This is because the Eighth Column had already laid a solid foundation here in the early years. If it had been arguing over leadership like the Ji-Re-Liaoning Advance Army did, the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region would not have developed so stably.

"What's the current situation of the troops?"

"We are all training now, mainly to suppress bandits."

Gao Wei said with some dissatisfaction: "There is no war now, and we are just training all day long. As for those bandits, we can let the local troops to eliminate them. It is really a waste of our talents to let our main force suppress the bandits. We don't know when we will attack the Baotou.

Wei Hongjun frowned.

What Wei Hongjun is most worried about is Gao Wei.

This guy has a bad temper. Although he's a good fighter, he's not very good at talking. So Wei Hongjun said, "When to attack Baotou will naturally be decided by the Chahar-Suiyuan and Pusuiyuan Military Regions. Why are you not satisfied with being a brigade commander? Do you want me to suggest to Commander Nie that you be the commander of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, or the commander of the Jinsuiyuan Military Region?"

Wei Hongjun had always criticized Gao Wei for his character.

But later he led people alone to develop the Chaxi base and made great contributions.

After all, he had only brought a reinforced platoon with him to Chaxi, and had almost single-handedly established the Chaxi base. He had been so comfortable these past few years that his temper began to flare up again.

Whether to attack Baotou was naturally a matter of discussion between the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region and the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region. While Baotou appeared to be a formidable territory, it was still home to 4000 regular Japanese troops and nearly 2000 Japanese civilians who had been armed. There were also numerous puppet troops surrounding the area. Attacking a city like this was no easy task. The Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region remained undecided because it lacked sufficient confidence.

More importantly, the Jinsui Military Region currently had no idea of ​​Fu Zuoyi's situation. What was Fu Zuoyi thinking? Ever since the Battle of Baotou, his troops had remained stationed in Wuyuan. Aside from cultivating the land in Wuyuan, they hadn't made any moves, staring blankly at the Japanese and puppet troops in Baotou.

Because of this, the Jinsui Military Region was even more cautious.

Looking at Gao Wei's expression, Wei Hongjun knew he often complained. It was only because Zhao Lu, the leader, was too careless; if it were another leader, Gao Wei would have been dealt with long ago. Wei Hongjun was Gao Wei's old leader, so he could tolerate his bad temper. But why would other leaders tolerate your bad temper? The Eighth Route Army was short of cadres, and during wartime, capable cadres like Gao Wei were highly sought after. But the Eighth Route Army wasn't incapable of fighting if it lacked any particular cadre. If you made a mistake, you could be thrown to the rear in a matter of minutes.

Gao Wei saw that Wei Hongjun was angry and immediately said, "Political Commissar, I was just complaining."

What Gao Wei fears most is Wei Hongjun.

Wei Hongjun was a nagging man. Once he got on his nerves, meetings and meetings would go on and on. Gao Wei had always been terrified of being on his nerves. Wei Hongjun snorted coldly, "Why are you complaining? Lead your troops well. Don't let your Sixth Brigade fail when the real attack comes."

"Since everyone is here, I'll say a few more words. Comrade Zhao Lu is a veteran cadre from Jinggangshan, capable and ambitious. It's an honor for you to have him here to serve as the commander and political commissar of the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region."

After you return, train the troops diligently and don't complain. Especially you, Gao Wei, learn more from Comrade Zhao Lu. Do you know everything?

"Yes."

In fact, Wei Hongjun was heartbroken.

The Eighth Column split up, and two brigades of the troops he had personally trained were transferred to the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region. Lu Weisheng and Zhang Chao were Wei Hongjun's top generals in the political work system, and were key cadres trained by Wei Hongjun.

The original intention was to improve the political level of the Chaxi and Chabei detachments, but unexpectedly they would belong to someone else once they arrived.

But now that things have come to this, Wei Hongjun must make them follow Zhao Lu closely.

If they can handle the relationship with Zhao Lu well, with Zhao Lu's support, many problems can be easily solved in the future.

"Lu Weisheng, keep a close eye on Gao Wei. Don't let him develop factionalism or sectarianism. If he shows any signs of this, call a Party committee meeting to criticize him until he recognizes his mistakes. Make sure he remembers that we are Party members, and the army is the Party's armed forces. If he refuses to listen, tell me. Comrade Zhao Lu and I will discuss sending Gao Wei to the local area to train local troops."

"Yes."

Wei Hongjun criticized Gao Wei because Gao Wei was an old subordinate who had followed him for many years. So he used him as an example to warn those present.

Everyone was very serious.

Some people had originally wanted to complain to Wei Hongjun. Suddenly, they were transferred from the Eighth Column to the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region. Although Zhao Lu was very open-minded and broad-minded, he also brought many of his own people with him. In particular, when he left the Fourth District, he brought with him many cadres from the Fourth District.

There will definitely be some problems in the coordination between the cadres of both sides.

But they now understood Wei Hongjun's point. Wei Hongjun was currently extremely wary of "factionalism," and it should be said that cadres throughout the Jin-Cha-Ji region were extremely wary of it. Cadres from the First Division were particularly wary of it. Because Yang Quanwu had become a target, Wei Hongjun and his colleagues in Jin-Cha-Ji had heard that Yang Quanwu was the person most criticized at the Jin-Cha-Ji Wing cadres' meeting in Yan'an.

To be honest, Wei Hongjun was also a member of Yang Quanwu's faction, so at this time, Wei Hongjun was of course very wary of "factionalism." When he arrived in Yan'an, he didn't know how much criticism he would face in this regard.

If "factionalism" breaks out in the Chahar-Suiyuan Military Region, not only Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun, but also Yang Quanwu and even Marshal Nie will be implicated.

Chapter 533 Yan'an

"Everyone, listen to my orders. Take off your gun jackets and attach bayonets to your rifles."

Wei Hongjun led his troops and followed Marshal Nie all the way to Yan'an.

This was the first time that Wei Hongjun had set foot on Yan'an, the holy land of revolution, since arriving in this time and space. When they were still four miles away from Yan'an, the troops began to rest and regroup.

The entire army was exhausted after a long journey. But now that they had to enter Yan'an, they couldn't just go in casually. If the leaders and people in Yan'an saw that the Jinchayi troops were so "dirty and messy," it would be a disgrace to the Puchayi.

As a military unit, how can we allow such a thing to happen?

Marshal Nie ordered Wei Hongjun to reorganize his troops. The troops were to rest for a while, then march into Yan'an with the utmost vigor and energy, demonstrating the spirit of the Jin-Cha-Ji Army. After receiving the order, Wei Hongjun convened a meeting of officers from the 1st, 35th, and 38th Regiments, battalion level and above, at the rest area. He instructed them to return home with leg bands, clothes in order, and gun covers removed. Mortars, grenade launchers, the Type small cannons produced by the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region Arsenal, and light and heavy machine guns were to be displayed.

And there are bayonets on rifles.

Enter Yan'an in the best mental state. Let the leaders of Yan'an, the people of Yan'an, and even the domestic and foreign journalists in Yan'an see the Jin-Cha Wing troops in their best condition.

When the troops arrived in Yan'an, the crowds were abuzz. The excitement was because the people in Yan'an had heard that the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region was sending its elite troops to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to defend it, Yan'an, and the Central Committee. The people of Yan'an, including many students and some Central Committee cadres, were eager to see what the elite troops of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region were like.

The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region has become truly famous in recent years.

They fought so many big and tough battles that they killed scores of Japanese major generals and lieutenant generals. To the point where the Eighth Route Army killing a Japanese major general is no longer news. They simply killed so many major generals.

Furthermore, after the Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region continued to achieve victory after victory. They captured Zhangjiakou and Baoding, both unprecedented feats within the Eighth Route Army. Consequently, Jin-Cha-Ji became renowned in Yan'an, not to mention Chairman Mao's direct award of the title "Model Base Area." They were eager to see what kind of unit this victorious force was.

Marshal Nie and Luo Renfa rode in the front, followed by a cavalry company. Then came the infantry, with Wei Hongjun at the forefront. Entering the streets of Yan'an and seeing the people of Yan'an, Wei Hongjun shouted, "Forward! Forward! Forward—Ready, sing!"

"Forward! Forward! Forward! Our troops are facing the sun, with our feet on the land of our motherland and the hopes of our nation on our shoulders. We are an invincible force."

This is the "March of the Eighth Route Army" that the Eighth Route Army troops like to sing the most at present. In the future, it will become the "March of the People's Liberation Army" and after liberation it will become the "March of the Chinese People's Liberation Army".

The three main regiments, nearly 10,000 troops, sang the "March of the Eighth Route Army" together. Their voices were so loud that the surrounding people could hear them.

The 1st Regiment was in the front, the 38th Regiment was in the middle, and the 35th Regiment was in the back.

This is a battle-hardened army.

Whether it was the 1st, 35th, or 38th Regiments, the officers and soldiers all looked thin and frail, with dark complexions. Because they had been marching tirelessly for days, and because water was scarce in Suiyuan and northwestern Shanxi, the troops couldn't find a place to shower. As a result, many officers and soldiers had mud on their necks. The uniforms worn by the officers and soldiers of the three regiments weren't exactly tattered, but they were covered in patches. Many officers and soldiers had noticeably thinner faces, a sign that they weren't eating well and were malnourished. Scars from the battlefield were even clearly visible on many of their faces, but this couldn't dampen the spirit of these troops.

His steps were as firm as iron, his fighting spirit as fiery as fire, and his eyes shone with murderous intent. Especially the bayonet on his rifle, polished to a gleaming shine, looked even more murderous in the sunlight.

Whether it was the 1st Regiment, the 35th Regiment, or even the 38th Regiment, they all did very well in terms of regularization. Needless to say, the 1st and 35th Regiments were notable. The commander of the 38th Regiment, Xue Yong, was a member of the Shaanxi Army and graduated from its own military academy.

The three regiments' marching was certainly comparable to those honor guards of the New China era. However, during this era, the Eighth Route Army generally engaged in guerrilla warfare, so regularization of the troops was not very important. Or perhaps it was simply not valued, so these regiments were really conspicuous.

The neat steps and stern faces shocked the people and students of Yan'an.

This is truly an elite force that has survived hundreds of battles.

You can see the smell of gunpowder and the murderous aura emanating from them.

Although it may sound harsh, these troops from the Jinchayi Division are indeed more elite than the 120th Division troops transferred back from Yan'an. They have better weapons and equipment and are more powerful than them. They have fought in many tough and fierce battles.

Marshal Nie was very happy.

Because this is their Jin-Cha-Ji army. Although Lü Zhengchao had previously led ten regiments of troops to the Jinsui Military Region, seriously speaking, the true bloodline of Jin-Cha-Ji is not in the Jizhong Military Region, but in the Beiyue District.

The three regiments that came to Yan'an today are the true direct descendants of Jin Cha Yi.

It was like his own son receiving praise from others. That was how Nie Shuai felt right now.

One pass ten, ten pass a hundred.

Soon the whole of Yan'an knew that Puchayi's elite troops had arrived in Yan'an, and they were truly elite. They had seen so many troops in Yan'an, but they had never seen such an elite force as this one that surprised them.

So as the troops entered Yan'an, more and more people came to watch.

Wei Hongjun was also very excited in the front.

Now they represent hundreds of thousands of troops from Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei.