Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

On September 1946, 9, Yang Quanwu led the First Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Region to launch the Battle of Shijiazhuang. Yang Quanwu mobilized local troops from the Hebei-Central Military Region and the Hebei-Shandong Military Region, totaling about 2 men.

Wang Zhi led these local troops to besiege Shijiazhuang.

The attack on the outer positions of Shijiazhuang began.

Huang Fa led the First Column, a force of nearly 50,000 men, to deploy a defensive line north of Zhengding, preparing to block the KMT troops advancing southward. While Yang Quanwu appeared to be concentrating his forces on attacking Shijiazhuang, he was constantly monitoring the movements of the Third Army.

Compared to the 16th Army, 62nd Army, 42nd Provisional Division, and 55th Provisional Division, which were somewhat reluctant, the rd Army was very willing. After all, not being able to take over Shijiazhuang made many people in the rd Army very angry.

After all, Handan is far inferior to Shijiazhuang.

The Third Army was delighted to finally have a legitimate opportunity to enter Shijiazhuang. Yang Quanwu had been keeping tabs on the Third Army's movements, and the Ji'nan Military Region had been providing him with intelligence.

The Hebei-South Military Region was really happy.

Relying only on the local troops of the South Hebei Military Region, facing a force like the Third Army with more than 30,000 people, the pressure is still very great.

Now that Jin-Cha-Ji was willing to take action, they were of course very happy. They kept sending intelligence to Yang Quanwu. The Ji-Nan Military Region was the base of the 129th Division for many years, and it had a very strong mass base. The Third Army could not hide at all.

After Yang Quanwu determined the marching route of the Third Army, he led two columns and eight brigades of troops to secretly move south on the evening of September 9.

In the early morning of September 9, the Third Army was raided in Nanyin Town.

As a result, the Third Army was in chaos.

The 7th Division of the 3rd Army, in particular, suffered constant discrimination under Hu Zongnan's administration. Although both were part of the 3rd Army, the 32nd Division enjoyed good food and drink, superior weapons and equipment, and was always arrogant. However, the 7th Division, as a Yunnan Army unit, was subjected to severe suppression.

They are also very good at playing cards.

This Yunnan Army, in particular, boasts a rich history. The Third Army, formerly Zhu Peide's First National Founding Army, entered Guangdong from Yunnan during the National Protection Movement. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, this unit was the main force in the Zhongtiao Mountains. Later, it suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountains, resulting in the sacrifice of Tang Huaiyuan and the suicide of Cun Xingqi. It's truly a moving story.

But being suppressed like this, the resentment in my heart has been accumulating.

War-weariness is very strong.

This was clearly demonstrated in this battle. Yang Quanwu concentrated 100,000 troops to encircle and annihilate the Third Army, and the first to collapse was the Seventh Division. After only a few hours of fighting, half of the Seventh Division chose to surrender.

It should be said that the collapse of the 7th Division was not due to problems with their combat effectiveness, but rather to problems with their fighting spirit.

They don't want to fight.

That's why this situation occurred.

However, the 32nd Division was Hu Zongnan's direct subordinate and well-equipped. They possessed over a hundred artillery pieces of various types. Despite being attacked unexpectedly, they still managed to build a defensive line to resist the PLA's attack.

Yang Quanwu discovered this situation.

Therefore, we concentrated our forces to attack the 32nd Division.

The Jin-Cha-Ji troops' sudden advance southward caught the Third Army off guard. Furthermore, Yang Quanwu had concentrated 100,000 troops, a three-to-one advantage. Although the Third Army defended on the spot, it was unable to stop the Jin-Cha-Ji troops' advance.

It was not until noon on September 1946, 9 that Yang Quanwu's troops captured the commander of the Third Army, Luo Lirong, and annihilated the Third Army.

After annihilating the Third Army, Yang Quanwu led the main force in the Battle of Shijiazhuang. Pang Bingxun's troops were truly a motley crew. Ma Fawu's 40th Army, after surrendering to the Japanese and incorporating many puppet troops, saw its combat effectiveness plummet. Pang Bingxun was even more so. His daily opium addiction had completely worn him down, leaving him with no energy for battle.

While the First Column blocked the southward-moving Nationalist troops in Zhengding, Yang Quanwu led the main force in a fierce attack on Shijiazhuang. On September 9th, after 14 days of fighting, the People's Liberation Army captured Shijiazhuang, concluding the Battle of Shijiazhuang successfully.

The 16th Army and the 62nd Army, which were reluctant to go south to support the army, withdrew immediately, and the two reorganized divisions of Sun Lianzhong's army also quickly left Zhengding.

Chapter 680 Army Expansion

Datong and Shijiazhuang were captured by Jin-Cha-Ji, and the strength of Jin-Cha-Ji rose to another level.

The importance of Datong and Shijiazhuang cannot be overemphasized.

From a strategic perspective, after the capture of Datong, the Jin-Cha-Ji and Jin-Sui Military Regions were completely connected. Furthermore, the Jin-Cha-Yi and Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu regions surrounded Taiyuan from the north and south. The same was true for Shijiazhuang. After the capture of Shijiazhuang, the Jin-Cha-Ji and Southern Hebei Military Regions were completely connected.

Datong is not only geographically important, but also a major coal city in Shanxi. It boasts impressive coal reserves and a long history of mining. Currently, Datong's coal mines produce approximately two million tons of coal annually.

Now that he has taken over Datong, Wei Hongjun is still very busy.

Because Wei Hongjun was not only the commander and political commissar of the Third Field Army of the Jin-Cha-Ji region, but also the deputy secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau. In addition, Wei Hongjun had experience in taking over cities.

So Wei Hongjun began to quickly take over the city and quickly take over Datong's industry.

Coal is the basic energy source for industry.

Therefore, where the coal industry is developed, other industries are bound to emerge. For example, Datong's coal industry is so developed that around it, Datong has also developed power plants, gunpowder factories, machinery factories, and everything else. After Wei Hongjun arrived in Datong, he was primarily responsible for taking over these factories.

However, just a few days after taking over Datong, Marshal Nie called Wei Hongjun back.

"Commander, what does this mean?"

Wei Hongjun received the order from the Military Commission from Marshal Nie.

The Military Commission meant that Jin-Cha-Ji should provide a main brigade to the Jin-Sui Military Region.

"What the Central Committee is saying is that the Jinsui Military Region is currently weak in manpower, and the combat effectiveness of the Jinsui Field Army is also somewhat weak. The Jinsui forces lost many grassroots commanders and veterans in the battle with Zuoyi last year, which affected the combat effectiveness of the Jinsui forces. Although our two forces joined forces to capture Datong this time, the Central Committee is also aware of the specific situation. The main force in this Datong battle, including the annihilation of Fu Zuoyi's forces, was our Jin-Cha-Ji forces. We are now connected to the Jinsui Military Region, but after all, the Jinsui Military Region and our Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region are not the same military region, and our combat missions are different. The Jinsui Military Region is under considerable pressure right now. It has to fight Hu Zongnan's troops on the one hand, and Fu Zuoyi, Deng Baoshan, and Chen Changjie's troops on the other. Its manpower is somewhat stretched. Therefore, the Central Committee hopes that our Jin-Cha-Ji wing can support the Jinsui Military Region with a brigade of troops, and this is our main force. After much consideration, I still think that we must transfer a brigade from you to the Jinsui Military Region."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

Jin-Cha-Ji was too powerful, so they had to continuously draw troops to support other strategic areas.

Among the troops in Jin-Cha-Ji, Yang Quanwu has the largest main force, with 12 infantry brigades and two cavalry brigades. Then there is Wei Hongjun, who has 8 infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade.

Moreover, the infantry brigades of Yang Quanwu and Wei Hongjun had more personnel than those of other troops.

The smallest infantry brigade of the two armies had 12000 men, and the largest had over 14000 men. Therefore, if Marshal Nie wanted to withdraw a main brigade, it would have to be from Yang Quanwu or Wei Hongjun.

Marshal Nie chose the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region.

Because the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region currently has no worries, the enemies on Yang Quanwu's side are still very powerful in comparison.

Marshal Nie continued, "I've been in touch with General He. The Jinsui Military Region is currently preparing to establish the Jinsui Field Army and form four columns. However, the columns formed by the Jinsui Field Army are composed of two brigades, with each column consisting of approximately 13,000 to 15,000 men. General He's statement is that in order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the troops, General He plans to form the Jinsui Field Army Fourth Column, combining the three regiments of the First and Second Teaching Brigades remaining in Yan'an with the brigade we are sending this time. He will respect our cadre arrangements."

Wei Hongjun was very surprised.

General He was indeed a Jingliang native. In fact, once the troops were incorporated into the Jinsui Military Region, they would remain its troops. They had no authority over how Jin-Cha-Ji was to be managed. Yet General He gave Jin-Cha-Ji the fullest face.

He Laozong understood that withdrawing troops from the Jinchaji region to join the Jinsui Field Army would harm the interests of the Jinchaji region. However, the Jinsui Field Army did need support.

After all, the enemy facing the Jinsui Field Army was also very powerful.

One is Hu Zongnan, who has hundreds of thousands of troops and is stationed in the northwest. The other is the joint forces of Fu Zuoyi, who has been entrenched in Suixi for many years, Chen Changjie, who has been entrenched in Ikh Ju League, and Deng Baoshan, who has been entrenched in Yulin for many years.

In comparison, although the Jinsui Military Region boasted over 100,000 troops, most of them were actually local forces. The actual combat-capable field army numbered only around 50,000.

That is why the central government transferred troops from Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei.

However, since he had received the help of Jin-Cha-Ji, General He acted in an upright manner. He had already gained an advantage in terms of military personnel, and he showed full respect to Jin-Cha-Ji in terms of personnel relations and cadre arrangements. In other words, he would not send his own cadres to Jin-Cha-Ji's troops to forcefully take over.

"Red Army, General He is a man of his word. Since he has said so, you should think about which brigade to send to the Jinsui Military Region.

Wei Hongjun thought about it.

These infantry brigades under his command.

After going to the Jinsui Military Region, he could also serve as a column commander. As long as he didn't make mistakes, he would definitely become a commander of the army in the new China in the future. Because these Jinsui Field Army troops would definitely be incorporated into the Northwest Field Army in the future and follow General Peng to fight.

The commanders of the columns now formed by the Shanxi-Suiyuan Field Army are all very experienced and will either be generals or lieutenant generals in the future.

The commander of the First Column was Zhang Zhongxun, and its political commissar was Zhang Pinghua. The commander of the Second Column was Wang Zhen, who also served as the political commissar.

The commander of the Third Column was Xu Guangda and the political commissar was Sun Zhiyuan.

After thinking for a while, Wei Hongjun said, "Commander, I would like to send the Sixth Brigade to the Jinsui Military Region. The Sixth Brigade is a reorganized unit from the former Chaxi Detachment. It is well-equipped and highly combat-capable, with over 13000 troops. Together with the training brigade currently stationed in Yan'an, the Fourth Column will have over troops. This should be of great support to the battles in the Jinsui Military Region. I suggest that Comrade Gao Wei, Deputy Commander of the Tenth Column, and Comrade Zhang Chao, Deputy Political Commissar and Director of the Political Department of the Tenth Column, lead the Sixth Brigade to the Jinsui Military Region."

"Gao Wei, Zhang Chao."

Marshal Nie nodded.

Gao Wei was the commander of the Chaxi Detachment of the Eighth Column, later served as the commander of the Sixth Brigade, and is now the deputy commander of the Tenth Column. Although Gao Wei was a company-level cadre during his Red Army days, he rose to prominence with the Eighth Column.

The Sixth Brigade, created by Gao Wei, is brave and tenacious.

The 67th Brigade performed exceptionally well during the suppression of the 26th Army. This time, in the battle against Fu Zuoyi, the th Brigade remained afloat despite being attacked by five of Fu Zuoyi's divisions. Their performance was much better than that of the th Brigade. Although they had suffered heavy casualties in previous battles, they had been replenishing their ranks with new recruits. Furthermore, after twenty days of rest and recuperation, some of the lightly wounded had gradually returned to the ranks. With a period of rest and recuperation, they would have no problem regaining their combat effectiveness.

Then there is Zhang Chao.

This is a typical "38-style" cadre, who joined the revolution during the Anti-Japanese War. But he has one political achievement that many others cannot match.

That is, he personally participated in the "New-style Army Reorganization Movement" of the Eighth Column and was a key figure in the "New-style Army Reorganization Movement" of the Eighth Column.

Later, he served as the political commissar of the 34th Regiment, deputy political commissar and political commissar of the Chabei Detachment, political commissar of the th Brigade, deputy political commissar and director of the political department of the th Column. He was the political cadre that Wei Hongjun trusted and valued the most.

Given their qualifications, they would definitely not be able to become column commanders and political commissars in the short term in Jincha. However, if they were to go to the Jinsui Military Region, there would be no problem in giving them the positions of column commander and political commissar.

Because the gun in their hands is powerful.

When the Sixth Brigade and the Teaching Brigade jointly form the Fourth Column of the Jinsui Field Army, the combat effectiveness of this column will inevitably be the strongest in the Jinsui Military Region. Just looking at the number of people, it is clear that once the Fourth Column is established, it will have 5,000 to 6,000 more people than the other columns.

"Okay, this matter is decided."

Marshal Nie supports it.

Marshal Nie continued, "I know Comrade Gao Wei. He's a fierce general capable of fighting tough battles. But I've heard he has a bad temper. You must warn him. When we get to the Jinsui Military Region, we must respect the comrades there. This time, General He showed us respect, so we must also respect the comrades there and General He."

"I understand, Commander."

Wei Hongjun cursed Gao Wei in his heart.

This kid is so ruthless that even Marshal Nie has heard of his style.

It seems he needs a good lesson. This is a crucial moment for him. As long as he fights well in the northwest, he'll definitely be promoted to Major General in the future. If he fights a few important battles under Generals He and Peng, and earns some military merit, he might even have a glimmer of hope of becoming Lieutenant General. Perhaps he could even march into Xinjiang in the future.

In fact, given Gao Wei's temper, going to Xinjiang is a good thing.

Go to some frontier areas and stay away from disputes.

Marshal Nie continued, "Comrade Zhao Lu has one more point to report. Ever since we launched the large-scale land reform movement in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, our people have been very enthusiastic about joining the army. This time, we've handed over the Sixth Brigade to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Military Region, so my suggestion is that you, the Third Field Army of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region, expand your forces. Either restore the Eleventh Column designation, or simply add one or two brigades."

"Commander, can the logistics be guaranteed?"

"No problem, don't worry."

Marshal Nie smiled and said, "You know what our greatest advantage is.

"People's hearts and minds."

"That's only one aspect. Our greatest advantage is that our base area has been stable for a long time. Since 1942, our core base area has been largely unaffected by catastrophe. We have always fought outward, not inwardly.

We fought Fu Zuoyi twice, both of which kept him out of Jining. Currently, other liberated areas are engaging the enemy and annihilating them through internal operations. While this strategy offers us a significant advantage, it also severely impacts the economy of our liberated areas.

Many liberated areas are currently facing severe logistical challenges. However, we in Jin-Cha-Ji don't have this problem. Because our core region has remained stable over the years, our economic development has been strong, including a steady increase in grain production. So don't worry; our logistics in Jin-Cha-Ji are excellent. Your Yi-Re-Cha Military Region should be well aware of this. Vaughn, Jin-Cha-Ji will have no problem maintaining a few more field brigades. I fully support you.

This is something that Marshal Nie is very proud of.

At present, the situation in all liberated areas across the country is actually not very good.