Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Chen Yun came into contact with the Soviet Red Army.

They were told that the Eighth Route Army had taken control of Changchun and asked not to continue their advance southward. However, the Soviet army insisted that they would continue their advance southward, leading to a quarrel between the two sides.

Chen Yun sent a telegram to Yan'an, asking Yan'an to negotiate directly with Moscow.

However, despite the Soviet army's tough attitude, they did not really rush south without regard for the consequences. The Soviet generals were not reckless men. If a military conflict really broke out with the Eighth Route Army, who would be held responsible?

"Commander, there are about 20 of us who came in with the Soviet Red Army, and there are several hundred more entering North Manchuria. However, the Soviet Red Army does not allow us to enter large cities, so we cannot openly operate in cities like Harbin and Qiqihar. However, the Soviet Army does not interfere with our activities in other small and medium-sized cities, towns and villages, and even supports them. Therefore, we will divide our people into working groups to take over the small and medium-sized cities below."

“But with so few of you, how are you going to form a local government?

"Commander, we have considered expanding the army. I have spoken with Marshal Vasilevsky, and he suggested that we could take weapons from the arsenal. After our troops entered Heilongjiang, we found many scattered units of various kinds among the people. We have contacted them, and they are all very willing to join our Eighth Route Army. So our idea is to form a regiment for each working group, so that we can have 20 regiments. We can continue to expand the army depending on the situation.

Chen Yun frowned after hearing Zhou Baozhong's words.

The scattered guerrillas out there right now couldn't possibly be anything but puppet troops or bandits. When Chen Yun and Wei Hongjun discussed the Northeast issue together in their early years, Chen Yun strongly agreed with Wei Hongjun's ideas. When expanding the Eighth Route Army, one shouldn't just focus on numbers. More importantly, one should consider the composition of the troops. One must absolutely not indiscriminately recruit hooligans, bandits, military police, puppet police, and puppet soldiers. Such individuals would not only fail to enhance the army's combat effectiveness, but would actually hinder its effectiveness.

Wei Hongjun proposed at the time that after the troops entered the Northeast, they should find ways to expand the army by recruiting workers and peasants.

Chen Yun agreed very much.

Therefore, Chen Yun immediately said, "Comrade Zhou Baozhong, Comrade Li Zhaolin, our Eighth Route Army currently has nearly 20 troops in Northeast China. Although expanding the army is urgent, it is not a very urgent matter. We cannot recruit just anyone when expanding the army. Do you have enough cadres to form 20 regiments? I hope you will immediately stop the -regiment expansion plan."

Zhou Baozhong and Li Zhaolin both look good.

They didn't expect Chen Yun to reject their military expansion plan as soon as they met. In fact, they really didn't know why Chen Yun rejected it. When they developed the Anti-Japanese United Army, they had always developed in this way.

They recruited any unit willing to fight the Japanese. Consequently, the Northeast Volunteer Army and the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army faced a complex situation. Many bandits, though brave in combat, were easily betrayed in times of crisis.

But Zhou Baozhong and Li Zhaolin made it a habit to build their troops in this way.

Things are so much better now.

With such abundant manpower to develop the army, if we don’t expand the army now, when will we expand it?

When Chen Yun saw the expressions of the two people, he knew that they were not in complete agreement. However, this matter must be stopped. But Chen Yun was worried about hurting the feelings of the Anti-Japanese United Army comrades. After all, the Anti-Japanese United Army and the Central Committee have lost direct contact for a long time. If they think that the Central Committee does not trust them and lets them go, then there will be some contradictions in future work. Therefore, Chen Yun explained: "The Northeast Bureau has just held a meeting to discuss the establishment of the North Manchuria Military Region in the area currently controlled by the Soviet Red Army. Comrade Zhou Baozhong serves as commander, Comrade Li Zhaolin serves as political commissar, and Comrade Xiao Jinguang serves as deputy commander and deputy political commissar. Comrade Xiao Jinguang also serves as secretary of the North Manchuria Military Region Party Committee. The Northeast Bureau's requirement for you is not to expand the army blindly. We cannot allow some puppet troops, puppet police, rogues, and bandits to enter our ranks and affect the purity of our troops.

It just so happens that the skeleton regiments sent from Yan'an and Shandong are about to arrive in Northeast China. These skeleton regiments are staffed with the standard personnel of a regiment, consisting only of cadres, no soldiers. Their purpose is to quickly establish new units in Northeast China. In addition to these skeleton regiments, I will also recruit cadres from other Eighth Route Army units to form skeleton regiments upon my return. The Northeast Bureau will allocate sufficient skeleton regiments to you. You can also form some of your own, recruiting and training them from among the workers and peasants, rather than directly reorganizing the puppet Manchukuo army, puppet police, or bandit forces. Didn't you just say that the Soviet Red Army allowed you to take weapons with you? This is a good opportunity.

"Secretary Chen, I also think it's a good opportunity."

Xiao Jinguang also nodded and said: "Although after Japan surrendered, we successively captured cities such as Shenyang, Changchun, and Jilin, and seized a lot of weapons and ammunition. But the main force of the Kwantung Army surrendered to the Soviet Army. There are so many Soviet troops, and the weapons they seized must be a lot. The Soviet Army has no use for these weapons and ammunition, but we will need them for future military expansion. Therefore, my idea is to take advantage of the current relatively loose opportunity and transfer enough cadres from the Northeast Bureau to quietly enter the North Manchuria Military Region. The Soviet Red Army will not allow our large troops to enter North Manchuria, but if small armed forces enter North Manchuria, as long as they do not go to big cities, the Soviet Red Army will not be able to control them. Then quickly take away those weapons and ammunition. Who knows what will happen in the future.

"Ah."

Chen Yun nodded and looked at Zhou Baozhong. "Comrade Zhou Baozhong, your current work group should focus more on understanding the local area and developing local party organizations. More importantly, you need to get more weapons and ammunition from the Soviet Red Army as soon as possible. We will take as many as we can get. We will never have too much. You need to negotiate with the Soviet Red Army on this matter. But there is one thing: do it quietly, don't make a big fuss."

"Yes."

Chapter 637 North Manchuria Strategy

Chen Yun attached great importance to the affairs of the North Manchuria Military Region.

While negotiating with the Soviet Red Army, he continued to send cadres to the North Manchuria Military Region.

Chen Yun was in charge of the Central Organization Department during the early stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. One of his most important tasks at the time was to restore local party organizations and expand the number of party members nationwide. This was precisely what Chen Yun did in the North Manchuria Military Region this time.

Restore the party organizations in various places under the North Manchuria Military Region as soon as possible.

To achieve this goal, most of the cadres dispatched by Chen Yun were cadres in this field.

Then comes the transportation of weapons and ammunition.

Vasilevsky turned a blind eye to Zhou Baozhong's attempt to smuggle weapons. He wondered how much weapons and ammunition Zhou Baozhong could possibly take away. This time, the Soviet army entered Northeast China and eliminated nearly 40 Kwantung Army troops, as well as a number of puppet Mongolian troops, puppet Manchurian troops, puppet security forces, and puppet police, seizing a large amount of weapons and ammunition.

The Anti-Japanese Allied Forces only have a few people, so even if they expand their army, how many can they use?

So Vasilevsky directly gave Zhou Baozhong a note, and then told the Soviet troops below that no one should stop him after seeing this note.

It's a pity that he forgot.

The Anti-Japanese United Army was also one of the armed forces led by the Central Committee. Now that the Northeast Bureau had been established, they had to accept its leadership. With the help of the Northeast Bureau, Zhou Baozhong was able to obtain weapons from the Soviet army much faster.

By the time the Soviets discovered something was wrong, Zhou Baozhong had already taken away 7 Type 1600 rifles, more than light and heavy machine guns, and even a large number of artillery pieces. Only then did the Soviets forbid Zhou Baozhong from taking any more weapons and ammunition.

At this time, Chen Yun returned to Changchun from Harbin.

Because he had his own ideas about the North Manchuria Military Region, but he still needed to discuss it with the leaders of the Northeast Bureau, especially Marshal Lin.

"Comrade Lin Biao, although the comrades of the Anti-Japanese United Army are familiar with Northeast China and North Manchuria, they are still short of cadres. They are still unable to truly organize troops in the North Manchuria Military Region. Comrade Xiao Jinguang alone is not enough."

This is not because Chen Yun looks down on the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, but because this is the actual situation.

The struggles of the Anti-Japanese United Army were brutal. Senior generals who had led thousands or even tens of thousands of men into battle were almost all killed in these vast lands. And among the Anti-Japanese United Army cadres who retreated to the Soviet Union, very few actually led thousands of men in battle. Most only led a few hundred men at most.

But what time is it now?

It was a time when large armies numbering tens of thousands were engaged in battle. Many Eighth Route Army generals who had made great military achievements would be eliminated if they could not adapt to the new combat situation. This was even more true for the cadres of the Anti-Japanese United Army.

Now the North Manchuria Military Region has been established.

Xiao Jinguang's purpose in the past was to build the North Manchuria Military Region's own army. This army wasn't just a few hundred or a few thousand men, but tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. Currently, the North Manchuria Military Region wasn't short of weapons and ammunition, but it was short of troops.

"Comrade Lu Dongsheng returned with the Soviet Army, so he can be assigned to the North Manchuria Military Region.

Commander Lin thought for a moment and said.

In addition to the cadres of the Anti-Japanese United Army, two other prominent figures joined the Soviet army. One was Lu Dongsheng, a representative general of the Second Red Army Corps, who was appointed commander of the 358th Brigade during the reorganization of the Eighth Route Army. The other was Liu Yalou, the former commander of the Second Red Army Division, who served as the Dean of Education of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan.

After Xiao Jinguang went to the North Manchuria Military Region, Marshal Lin had appointed Liu Yalou as Chief of Staff of the Northeast Field Army. Lu Dongsheng was currently assisting Chen Yun in the Northeast Military Region.

"One Lu Dongsheng is not enough. What the North Manchuria Military Region needs now is a large number of military and political cadres to expand the army. Although I promised them that the skeleton regiment sent by the central government to the Northeast would be equipped, this process may take more than a month. The North Manchuria Military Region does not have time to waste so much time. So what I mean is, can we draw a group of cadres and veterans from the field army to enter the North Manchuria Military Region to quickly organize the North Manchuria Military Region's troops.

"Field Army?"

Marshal Lin began to think.

From which field army units should cadres be drawn?

The Third Column is omitted because it currently manages the South Manchuria region. Furthermore, it is connected to the Ji-Re-Liaoning Military Region and is the first line of defense against the Nationalist Army's entry into the Northeast. They are also currently short of cadres.

The Fourth Column had just been established, and Li Tianyou was still in the process of reorganizing it. Furthermore, although the Fourth Column was organized as a field army, it was still subordinate to the Western Manchuria Military Region, shouldering more of the region's responsibilities. The Fifth Column had only recently entered Northeast China. Huang Yong had only just begun reorganizing his forces after his arrival.

If we want to transfer cadres, we still have to find a way from the first and second columns.

Especially the second column.

When the attack on Changchun began, even Marshal Lin was taken aback. The First and Second Columns, along with troops from the Western and Eastern Manchurian Military Districts, were united in the attack on Changchun. After the battle began, Marshal Lin was astounded by the Second Column's combat effectiveness.

The Second Column had more men and better weapons, and was very accustomed to fighting this kind of large-scale battles.

Several brigades took turns advancing, and within a day, they broke through the Japanese and puppet troops' defenses outside Changchun. Then, within half a day, they blasted open the north gate of Changchun, and the troops entered Changchun. Although the Japanese army was no longer willing to fight and its combat effectiveness was declining, compared with other troops, the Second Column performed remarkably well in every aspect.

This doesn't mean that the second column's combat effectiveness is much stronger than the first column.

Because the troops of the First Column were composed of Yang Dezhi's direct troops brought from the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, five regiments drawn from the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region at that time, and the Second Special Brigade of the Eighth Column. All of them were troops that had made great contributions in the War of Resistance.

The combat effectiveness is very strong.

The First Column had only just been formed, and each of their regiments was composed of elite troops. However, uniting to fight such a large-scale battle would present significant challenges in terms of coordination. Yang Dezhi needed to continue to reorganize the troops and unleash their full combat potential.

But the second column is different.

Having fought together for years, they were very familiar with each other. Moreover, the Eighth Column was the first to launch a strategic counter-offensive, conducting mobile warfare and large-scale troop operations.

That's why they performed so well in the Battle of Changchun.

Moreover, a large number of cadres in the East Manchuria Military Region and the West Manchuria Military Region came from the Eighth Column, so it was very easy for the Second Column to recruit new soldiers.

As a result, the Second Column has the strongest number of personnel, weapons and equipment, and combat effectiveness in the current Northeast Military Region.

Marshal Lin is not just good at fighting.

He was a favorite of the Chairman, a general who had come down from Jinggang Mountain. He didn't need to use his hands to fight, and developing the base area was not a problem.

Marshal Lin said, "The First and Second Training Brigades of the First Column are the main force of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region. They are highly combat-capable and have strong cadre deployments. Send four framework regiments from the First Column to the North Manchuria Military Region to form four local brigade-level units of approximately 4,000 men."

When the Second Column was established, the headquarters of the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region directly became its headquarters, thus their cadre pool was even stronger. They were asked to send eight framework regiments to the North Manchuria Military Region to form eight local brigade-level units. This way, the North Manchuria Military Region could quickly possess over a dozen local brigade-level units. Combined with the Anti-Japanese United Army's own expansion, it was possible to have twenty local brigade-level units. Thus, the North Manchuria Military Region was established. Its future development depended on its own efforts.

Things are much easier for the First Column.

The cadres of the First Column were indeed reorganized. The First and Second Training Brigade were both top-tier combat regiments from the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region and the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. Simply having them deploy four skeleton regiments was no problem.

For a skeleton group, the cadres say it is not too many, but not too few either.

Furthermore, the term "a skeleton regiment" doesn't necessarily mean that a regimental commander must be in charge. Just like when you were asked to move from a field unit to a local unit to form a skeleton regiment, how could those regimental-level cadres be willing to do so?

Don't think that a small regiment can become a brigade-level unit just by being sent to the North Manchuria Military Region. However, this is only a local brigade-level unit and cannot be compared with the field army. The field army is the fist force of the Northeast Military Region and is used to fight major battles.

In local forces, brigade-level units are less valuable than field corps-level units.

Therefore, the cadres transferred from the First Column were basically deputy regimental-level cadres from various units. They mainly transferred deputy regimental commanders from some regiments to serve as commanders of the supporting regiments.

As for the Second Column, Chen Yun and Marshal Lin personally talked to Wang Qiuyun, Han Weiguo, Xu Luomin and others.

Because the Second Column is going to form eight support regiments.

With so many cadres mobilized, of course we have to appease the second column.

When Wang Qiuyun heard that Chen Yun and Marshal Lin were planning to form eight framework regiments for the Second Column, she almost objected. But then she suddenly remembered Wei Hongjun's words. Wei Hongjun seemed to have mentioned something similar before he left. When Marshal Lin and Chen Yun came to recruit cadres and troops, he had told her not to object. So she hesitated.

Seeing Wang Qiuyun's expression, Chen Yun smiled and said, "Why, do you want to object?"

Wang Qiuyun scratched his head.

He said, "Commissar, I'm a bit troubled by having our column form eight skeleton regiments at once. But since it's an order, we must obey it."

Although she objected in her heart, Wang Qiuyun reacted quickly.

It is the trust in Wei Hongjun, my partner of many years.

Wang Qiuyun was a little unsure, so she immediately turned to Han Weiguo and said, "Old Han, how do we form this team?"

Han Weiguo is experienced.

He immediately said, "Commander, Political Commissar, since the North Manchuria Military Region needs cadres, our Second Column has no choice but to provide them. We are willing to draw sufficient cadres and veterans from various regiments, as well as send the Column Training Brigade. Our Column Training Brigade currently consists of 1200 grassroots commanders and veterans. Let Comrade Xiao Yongshi, Commander of the Ninth Brigade, and Comrade Chu He, Political Commissar of the Ninth Brigade, be fully responsible for organizing eight framework regiments, plus the Training Brigade, to enter the North Manchuria Military Region."

"Okay, okay." Chen Yun was very satisfied with the attitude of the Second Column.

Chen Yun already had a good relationship with the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region. After all, when Chen Yun was establishing the Northeast Base, the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region provided him with the utmost assistance. They provided him with personnel, money, and troops. Without the strong support of the Ji-Re-Cha Military Region, Chen Yun would not have been able to establish the Northeast Base so easily in the early days.

Now the Second Column’s statement made Chen Yun even more satisfied.

A good cadre is one who knows how to obey the overall situation.

Marshal Lin was also satisfied with the Second Column's attitude. He understood that the development of the Northeast Military Region was entirely dependent on the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region and the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Military Region. Therefore, the South Manchuria Military Region was currently staffed with cadres from the Hebei-Rehe-Liaoning Military Region, while the West Manchuria and East Manchuria Military Regions were filled with cadres from the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region.

If they become proud of this, then Coach Lin will not be happy.