Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Unfortunately, the troops have to be split up again.

Although such separations and reunions were common during wartime, everyone was still reluctant to part ways. After all, they had been together in the revolution for seven or eight years, and now they were separated, and who knew when they would see each other again.

"After the commander and I led our troops into the Northeast, someone needed to take charge of the work in the Jirecha Military Region. This time, the military region asked us to withdraw four brigades of troops. This will seriously weaken the strength of our Jirecha Military Region. It may even cause unrest in the Jirecha base area. At this time, we need someone to stay in the military region and stabilize the situation. At the same time, with so many of our troops leaving the Jirecha Military Region, the Jirecha Military Region will need to reorganize and train its troops. This is a heavy burden."

As Wei Hongjun spoke, he looked at Zhang Zihua.

The Eighth Column boasted many distinguished generals whose exploits could be boasted about for days. But among all these, Zhang Zihua undoubtedly ranked first. From the Chahar South Detachment to the First Brigade of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region, Zhang Zihua's remarkable achievements led him to his current position as Deputy Commander of the Yirecha Military Region, a second-tier military region. Furthermore, Zhang Zihua was no mere military cadre; he had always been a leading figure in military and political affairs within the army. In his early years, he even participated in the development of base areas.

He can be said to be a first-class cadre with excellent military and political power in the Eighth Column.

The Chanan base developed very well under his leadership.

The only person in the 8th Column who could be compared to Zhang Zihua was Xia Houwen, who had established the Chahar East Detachment. He was also a highly skilled military and political officer, but his command of troops was undoubtedly inferior to Zhang Zihua's. Zhang Zihua was the commander who, after the 8th Column transitioned to large-scale operations, was able to adapt quickly to the new combat situation. After the departure of Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun, the only officer who could command the trust of so many cadres and so many powerful and resolute officers in the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region was undoubtedly Zhang Zihua.

"Comrade Zhang Zihua, I have discussed this with the Commander. Currently, the heavy responsibility of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region can only be entrusted to you. We intend to propose to the Military Region that you serve as the Acting Commander and Acting Political Commissar of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region.

Wei Hongjun wanted to recommend Zhang Zihua as the direct commander and political commissar of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. However, Marshal Nie disagreed. Wei Hongjun understood what Marshal Nie meant; he was reserving a position for Wei Hongjun.

Zhang Zihua actually wanted to lead his troops into the Northeast to fight.

The First Brigade made great achievements in North China.

Zhang Zihua believed that he could still dominate the Northeast by leading the First Brigade into the Northeast.

But Wei Hongjun wanted him to stay in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region, and Zhang Zihua did not object because he understood the current situation. If the Yi-Re-Cha Military Region transferred too many people to the Northeast, it would easily cause unrest in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region.

Zhang Zihua also understood that he was the only person best suited to remain in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. So he immediately said, "Commander, Political Commissar, I will definitely stabilize the situation in Hebei-Rehe-Chahar and prevent the base from experiencing problems due to the withdrawal of so many troops. At the same time, we will accelerate the training of the troops in Hebei-Rehe-Chahar to maintain their combat effectiveness."

"it is good."

Wei Hongjun was very happy.

The withdrawal of four brigades would be a serious blow to the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region, severely damaging its vitality. It was essential to retain a general like Zhang Zihua in the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region to restore its vitality. If problems arose in this regard, the Re-Cha Military Region would be difficult to recover.

Wang Qiuyun saw that Wei Hongjun had finished speaking, so he said, "Now let's talk about which four brigades to select to accompany me and the political commissar to the Northeast."

"Commander, Political Commissar, I believe that since we are going to the Northeast, the First Special Brigade must go.

Zhang Zihua spoke.

As the next acting commander and political commissar of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region, Zhang Zihua holds a significant voice in this matter. Not only Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun, but even the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region will value his opinions. And there's nothing wrong with his proposal. Of all the troops within the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region, the First Special Agent Brigade has the strongest ties to the Northeast.

Li Wanfu, commander of the First Special Brigade, was a member of the Northeast Army, and half of his troops were "special workers" who had been rescued. They were all prisoners who had previously mined in the Northeast.

Historically, when the central government sent troops and cadres to the Northeast, it employed a large number of cadres from the Northeast. Former Northeast Army generals like Lü Zhengchao and Wan Yi were not mentioned, but many cadres from the Northeast also entered the Northeast in large numbers.

Li Wanfu was an officer of the Northeast Army, so it was very suitable for him to go to the Northeast.

Wang Qiuyun nodded and said, "The First Special Agent Brigade counts as one."

"Is the First Brigade going?"

Han Weiguo asked directly.

The First Brigade of the Jin-Cha-Ji Army was the Eighth Column's primary force. After its establishment, the Special Agent First Brigade participated in the capture of Zhangjiakou, the ambush at Luanping, the "Bull-pulling" tactics against the 29th Division, and the capture of Chifeng. If the First Brigade's predecessor, the Chahar South Detachment, were included, its status would be even higher.

It is famous throughout the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region.

Even in the entire Eighth Route Army system, the First Brigade's combat record is among the best.

Wei Hongjun looked at everyone, then at Wang Qiuyun. After a moment, he said, "My point is that the First Brigade should remain in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. The history of the First Brigade is inseparable from the history of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region and the history of the Eighth Column. The Northeast needs troops, but our Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region has troops. There's no need to send the First Brigade there." With the transfer of four brigades this time, the number of troops in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region has been rapidly reduced.

Leaving the First Brigade behind can maintain the strength of the Yirecha Military Region.

"Makes sense."

Wang Qiuyun thought about it and finally nodded.

The First Brigade is a unit with a glorious history in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.

It was only right to withdraw so many troops to the Northeast this time and leave a group of elite troops for Hebei, Rehe and Chahar. The others also nodded.

"Comrade Zhang Zihua has been very busy since taking on the role of acting commander of the military region. I propose that he step down as commander of the First Brigade and focus solely on the work of the military region. Comrade Zheng Weishan, commander of the Eighth Brigade, will be transferred to serve as commander of the First Brigade."

Wei Hongjun still didn't know where he would go in the future. After all, although Marshal Nie had said he wanted to keep Wei Hongjun, no one knew what the central government would do in the future. When the situation changed, cadre transfers would also be frequent.

So Wei Hongjun is confused now. After going to Northeast China, will he stay there? Or will he return to Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei?

But no matter what, Wei Hongjun still had to consider Jin-Cha-Ji. The Northeast was home to many elite soldiers and generals, and Marshal Lin was a top-notch military commander. Furthermore, given the current time and space, the Eighth Route Army had entered the Northeast so quickly.

As long as we develop steadily, the Northeast will definitely not be as passive as it was in the past.

Perhaps the Northeast could be conquered in a short period of time. But the situation in Jin-Cha-Ji was uncertain. Marshal Nie was a political marshal, very skilled in building bases and possessed immense capabilities. However, commanding troops in battle was not his forte.

Therefore, it is necessary to leave some elite soldiers and generals to Jin-Cha-Ji.

After all, Wei Hongjun came from Jin-Cha-Ji, and he did not want to see Jin-Cha-Ji become as passive in the future as it had been in the past.

In history, Zheng Weishan was a first-class general.

If Zheng Weishan were to be appointed commander of the First Brigade, the First Brigade's combat effectiveness would be absolutely guaranteed. In future battles between the Jin-Cha-Ji region and the Nationalist army, the First Brigade would certainly not fall behind. That was why Wei Hongjun appointed Zheng Weishan as commander of the First Brigade.

Wei Hongjun continued, "Comrade Zhang Dahu, commander of the Second Special Agent Brigade, will serve as commander of the Eighth Brigade. Since the Yirecha Military Region has retained the First Brigade, the Eighth and Ninth Brigades should follow them to the Northeast."

Wei Hongjun knew that if they had held a meeting to discuss retaining the First Brigade, then the Eighth and Ninth Brigades would be impossible to keep. The entire Yi-Re-Cha Military Region currently had three brigades assigned by the military region. Leaving one of the Eighth or Ninth Brigades behind might offend officials from the Northeast Bureau and the Northeast Military Region. They thought Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were deceiving them. They believed they had gone to the Northeast, but their hearts were still in Jin-Cha-Yi.

This is not a good thing.

So the 1st Brigade stayed, and the 8th and 9th Brigades must go to the Northeast.

After listening to Wei Hongjun's words, Wang Qiuyun made the decision, "Comrade Chen Zhonghe, deputy commander of the Ninth Brigade, will take command of the Second Special Agent Brigade. Finally, we will take the Second Special Agent Brigade with us. This time, we will be leading the Eighth Brigade, the Ninth Brigade, the First Special Agent Brigade, and the Second Special Agent Brigade."

Everyone nodded.

Zhang Zihua sighed. Four brigades, totaling over 50,000 troops, were heading to the Northeast. This left the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region with only the 1st Brigade, the 3rd Special Brigade, the Cavalry Brigade, the Replacement Brigade, and some local forces. Adding up all the local forces, they only had about 40,000 men.

But before Zhang Zihua could breathe a sigh of relief, Wei Hongjun said, "I think we should take the supplementary brigade with us as well. When the time comes, we will reorganize it into an independent brigade directly under the column. Then we will form three framework regiments and recruit new soldiers when we pass through Tongliao and Shuang. The Ximan Military Region has some new recruits who want to join the army, and we can just supplement them to the troops. Then we will form a new recruit brigade."

Wang Qiuyun was stunned.

Then he said, "Didn't the commander say that the column the division commander formed in the Northeast has three brigades under it?

Wei Hongjun smiled.

He said, "That's because there are only a few troops entering the Northeast, so it can only be like this. We have more troops, so can the division commander still support us?"

No one has stipulated that a column can only have three brigades.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun had a way to increase the number of troops in their column, and Marshal Lin and Chen Yun were overjoyed. Historically, when the Fourth Field Army entered the Great Wall, some army-level units had over 60,000 men. Now, they were just getting started.

Wei Hongjun’s considerations were very simple.

With the arrival of Marshal Lin, there will be more and more troops in the Northeast. The Yirecha troops must be strong enough to be valued by Marshal Lin and to occupy an important position in the future Northeast Field Army.

Chapter 608 Reorganization

"Old captain."

"Old captain."

The progress of the First and Second Teaching Brigade is also very fast.

Passing through the Jinsui Military Region, they entered the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region and soon arrived in Rehe. From Chifeng, they entered Tongliao, and through Tongliao, they reached Shuangliao, the temporary headquarters established by Marshal Lin Biao. Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun personally went to greet the two troops. Luo Renfa, commander of the Second Training Brigade, had a close relationship with both men and served as their revolutionary mentor.

The entire Second Teaching Brigade is composed of troops from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region.

The 35th and 38th Regiments were veteran units of the th Column. The st, nd, and th Regiments were all from the First Division's Independent Regiment. As officers from the Independent Regiment, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were very familiar with these units. The officers within them were also very familiar with them.

However, this time the 35th and 2nd Regiments remained in Yan'an.

Of course, Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun personally came to greet them not only for the purpose of teaching the Second Brigade, but also for the purpose of teaching the commander of the First Brigade, Yang Dezhi.

He was the direct superior of both of them back then.

During the Long March, the First Corps had two most famous vanguard regiments.

One was the 1st Regiment of the 1st Red Army Division, and the other was the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Red Army Division. These two regiments served as the vanguard of the Long March, cutting through mountains and rocks to open up a path for the Central Red Army.

The commander of the First Red Army Regiment was Yang Dezhi, and its political commissar was Li Lin. The commander of the Fourth Red Army Regiment was Wang Kaixiang, and its political commissar was Yang Quanwu.

Li Lin, the political commissar of the First Red Army Regiment, and Wang Kaixiang, the commander of the Fourth Red Army Regiment, both died of illness. The remaining commanders, Yang Dezhi, the commander of the First Red Army Regiment, and Yang Quanwu, the political commissar of the Fourth Red Army Regiment, both made outstanding contributions during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation.

Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun were in the 1st Red Army Regiment and served as pioneers on the Long March following Yang Dezhi.

Now that they meet their old leader, of course the two of them have to greet him.

We were not just old comrades, but friends for life and death. During the Long March, no one knew if they would survive the next day. This was simply because the casualties in the army were so high. The First Red Army Regiment had been losing troops continuously since the Fifth Counter-Encirclement and Suppression Campaign, and this was especially true during the Long March.

"Amazing, amazing."

Yang Dezhi and Wei Hongjun met in Yan'an.

But the last time Yang Dezhi saw Wang Qiuyun was after the Pingxingguan Battle, and it has been eight years now.

Yang Dezhi was also very surprised.

Although Wang Qiuyun was a commander who used his brains to fight battles, who could have imagined that it would come to this point? They hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they talked about the current situation.

Yang Dezhi knew that the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region was closest to the Northeast.

Moreover, the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region had already sent troops into the Northeast.

Most of the current Western Manchuria Military District of the Northeast Military District, from troops to local cadres, were sent from the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military District.

Yang Dezhi established the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and fought there. Later, he went to Yan'an and was not very familiar with the situation in Northeast China. So, after everyone sat down, they asked the two people about the situation in Northeast China.

There are many old comrades among the cadres of both sides, and many of them have not seen each other for many years.

So after the troops were arranged, the old comrades exchanged a lot of ideas with each other. However, before everyone could get together for long, Marshal Lin sent someone to ask them to attend the meeting.

"Chief."

The leaders of the Northeast Military Region are all here waiting to enter the command center.

Chen Yun, Secretary of the Northeast Bureau and Political Commissar of the Northeast Military Region; Lin Biao, Deputy Secretary of the Northeast Bureau and Commander of the Northeast Military Region; Tan Zheng, Deputy Secretary of the Northeast Bureau, Deputy Political Commissar of the Northeast Military Region and Director of the Political Department; Xiao Jinguang, Member of the Northeast Bureau and Deputy Commander of the Northeast Military Region; Wu Xiuquan, Member of the Northeast Bureau and Chief of Staff of the Northeast Military Region.

The only Northeast Military Region cadre who was absent was Deng Guo, deputy secretary of the Northeast Bureau and deputy commander of the military region, because he was in South Manchuria, independently responsible for the work in Hebei, Rehe and Liaoning.

Deng Guo was different from Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun. Wang Qiuyun and Wei Hongjun led their troops directly into the Northeast, no longer managing the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region. However, although Deng Guo led his troops into the Northeast, he remained responsible for the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning region. The current South Manchuria Military Region is subordinate to both the Northeast Military Region and the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Military Region.

However, except for Deng Guo, all other cadres were present. Among them, Chen Yun had the highest rank.

But Chen Yun did not insist. After the meeting began, he read out the Central Committee's appointment of Lin Shuai and Xiao Jinguang.

Then he gave the stage to Marshal Lin.

Marshal Lin looked at the officers below him. Some he recognized, some he didn't. However, he knew that most of these officers were from the 115th Division, his former subordinates. Marshal Lin had read their profiles. Since his injury, Marshal Lin had been out of frontline command for seven years.