Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Bao Shen couldn't help but consider their future. These old comrades of his had fought for so many years and finally became army and division-level cadres. If he couldn't make good arrangements for them at this point, Bao Shen would be heartbroken.

"All the extra officers and soldiers from the 84th Army will receive new training and be prepared for transition. The local area is currently severely short of personnel and requires support from the military. As for the cadres above the 84th Army, the military region is currently busy, and the newly established Pingjin Weicheng District has many positions available. You can continue to discuss this with Comrade Tang Jie and Comrade Li Zhimin and come up with a plan."

"Yes."

It's good to have arrangements.

Seeing that there was no objection from the 24th Corps, Tang Jie continued, "Next is the 23rd Corps. After the 23rd Corps is abolished, Comrade Hou Jingru will go to work for the central government. The Corps Headquarters and the 80th Army will be merged to form the North China Military Region Engineering Corps Headquarters, and at the same time, the North China Army Engineering School will be established. Comrade Gan Weihan will serve as the Commander and Political Commissar of the North China Military Region Engineering Corps, Comrade Wang Zhao will serve as the Director of the Political Department, and Comrade Wang Yaonan will serve as the Chief of Staff. The 81st Army will be reorganized into the North China Military Region Air Defense Force, and the 81st Army Headquarters will be directly transferred to the North China Military Region Air Defense Force Headquarters. The 82nd Army will be relocated to Shijiazhuang as a whole.

Promoting Hou Jingru did not mean depriving him of his military power.

Although the 23rd Corps contained his original direct troops, after the reorganization, more than two-thirds of the 23rd Corps were former PLA troops. Even Hou Jingru's direct troops from the 92nd Army, more than half were not original troops.

The reason for promoting Hou Jingru was the opinion of Comrade Wu Hao and Comrade Liao Chengzhi.

They thought Hou Jingru had a good status.

He has good relations with both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, so he plans to transfer Hou Jingru to the Central Committee to participate in the united front work.

This major reform of the North China Military Region was intended to strengthen its various branches. Wei Hongjun placed particular emphasis on the formation of the Engineering Corps and the Air Defense Corps. These two forces would be crucial in the event of the Korean War. Given the strength of the North China Military Region and the Fifth Field Army, they would undoubtedly have dispatched a corps to participate in the Korean War. Perhaps even the first troops to enter North Korea.

Train a group of professional engineers and air defense troops in advance so that they can play a great role when they join the war with the North China Corps.

As a result, the Wei Hongjun even retained General Wang Yaonan in the North China Military Region. Wang Yaonan's family had been firecracker enthusiasts for generations. He had been making firecrackers since the age of five and was very familiar with gunpowder, working as a blaster at the Anyuan Coal Mine. At the age of ten, he met Chairman Mao, who was visiting the Anyuan Coal Mine for research, and participated in the Anyuan Coal Mine strike led by Chairman Mao. At the age of sixteen, he followed Chairman Mao in the Autumn Harvest Uprising, rising step by step to become the army's top engineer.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Yaonan was in Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei.

Wang Yaonan was responsible for digging tunnels and blowing up the city walls. Wei Hongjun originally wanted Wang Yaonan to oversee the formation of the North China Military Region's Engineering Corps, but his current rank was insufficient. After all, the 23rd Corps Headquarters was being transformed into the Engineering Corps Headquarters, so Wang Yaonan was chosen as Chief of Staff.

Chapter 748: Reorganization of Public Security Forces

After issuing the order to disband the 23rd and 24th Corps, Wei Hongjun gave the thousands of troops of the 23rd and 24th Corps time to absorb the troops.

Although they had some problems, they generally accepted the military district's arrangements.

Obeying orders and following commands is an ironclad principle ingrained in the PLA. The disbanding of the 23rd and 24th Corps was a recommendation of the Central Military Commission, a decision made by the military region that cannot be opposed without compelling reasons. Furthermore, due to the frequent combat operations during the war years, troop organization was subject to frequent changes, and the PLA was accustomed to such changes. Furthermore, the military region fully respected their ranks this time. The disbanding of the corps did not affect their status, and their new positions did not place them on the sidelines.

Military-level units simply changed their military branches or became garrison areas.

In fact, many cadres of the 23rd and 24th Corps have already understood this.

Ever since the North China Military Region and the Fifth Field Army decided to keep the 23rd and 24th Corps in North China, these two corps had essentially lost the possibility of going to the battlefield. Since they couldn't go to the battlefield anytime soon, everyone could accept the North China Military Region's adjustments.

Seeing no one objected, Wei Hongjun continued, "The remaining troops in the North China Military Region will be reorganized. Each provincial military region will directly administer an independent division. Hebei, Shanxi, Rehe, and Chahar will each form an independent infantry division, numbered the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Independent Infantry Divisions, respectively. The Inner Mongolia Military Region and the Suiyuan Military Region will directly administer a cavalry division, numbered the 1st and 2nd Independent Cavalry Divisions."

"Commander, what is the organization of the independent infantry division and the independent cavalry division?"

"The independent infantry division has a strength of 7000 men, and the independent cavalry division has a strength of 5000 men."

When these words were spoken, all the military regions were shocked.

When the North China Bureau convened the meeting, its leaders considered that the North China Military Region currently had too many troops, a serious impact on North China's finances. They believed that the North China Military Region should reduce its troop levels. However, their views on these military commanders were different.

After the Fifth Field Army's southward advance, the troops under the command of these provincial military districts were already very few. After the reorganization according to the military district order, the dignified provincial military districts only had one independent division with less than 10,000 troops. This was truly unacceptable to these provincial military district commanders who had once led tens of thousands of troops.

"Commander, are the cavalry division soldiers formed from our cavalry columns?"

Ma Hongyuan spoke.

Wei Hongjun looked at Ma Hongyuan.

Ma Hongyuan was a fierce general on the battlefields of North China, and he achieved great military exploits with his cavalry. His capture of the Lieutenant General Commander of the Japanese Army in Mongolia during the capture of Zhangjiakou alone made him famous.

After all, he was the first general in the history of the Eighth Route Army, or even in the history of the Chinese army, to capture an active Japanese lieutenant general.

And he was captured by his own hands.

"Although our North China Military Region currently has a number of cavalry units, they are scattered across the country, primarily consisting of small formations like cavalry companies and cavalry platoons. The only units that can be fully organized into cavalry divisions are cavalry columns."

“Commander, but our cavalry column has nearly 20,000 men.

What about the rest?

The cavalry columns under Ma Hongyuan's command included the cavalry regiment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region in the early years, the cavalry regiment of the Chabei Detachment of the Eighth Column, the Mongolian cavalry regiment, the cavalry brigade developed from the cavalry regiment of the Chadong Detachment, and the cavalry detachment developed from the Daqingshan Detachment in the early years.

It can be said that the cavalry units of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the Eighth Column, and the Daqingshan Detachment were merged together. After the main force of Fu Zuoyi was annihilated, many cavalry units were reorganized from Fu Zuoyi's troops.

Therefore, the cavalry column led by Ma Hongyuan is currently huge, with more than 20,000 people.

“Besides forming two cavalry divisions, the rest of your troops will be converted into public security forces.

"Yes."

What Ma Hongyuan actually wanted to say was, what would he do now that his cavalry column was gone?

But he ultimately didn't ask. If he had just joined the Eighth Route Army, he would have definitely asked. But after so many years of discipline, he had become much more calm. The current meeting was an enlarged military district meeting, and now was not the time to question his future.

And Ma Hongyuan still believes in Wei Hongjun.

It was precisely because of Wei Hongjun's trust and support that Ma Hongyuan, a "bandit" who joined the Eighth Route Army halfway, has reached his current position over the years. In fact, what Ma Hongyuan didn't know was that Wei Hongjun was also troubled by how to arrange for Ma Hongyuan.

Of course, Wei Hongjun also had some ideas. However, this required Wei Hongjun to discuss this with Ma Hongyuan privately. Ma Hongyuan had just finished asking the question when Han Wei, commander of the Shanxi Provincial Military District, said, "Commander, what should we do with the extra troops in our various military districts?"

The military regions of each province have troops, not counting the public security forces. The armed forces directly under them alone have a total of about 20,000 people.

Now only one independent division remains.

Then each military region will have to lay off about 10,000 troops.

"The troops won't be downsized blindly. We'll discuss this later. Let's first discuss the reorganization of the public security forces. The military region has decided to establish a Public Security Command, with Comrade Yu Ping as Commander, Minister of Public Security Comrade Du Liqing as Political Commissar, Comrade Kuang Fuzhao as Deputy Political Commissar, Comrade Li Qingchuan as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff, and Comrade Li Shuiqing as Director of the Political Department. Comrades Yu Ping and Kuang Fuzhao, please announce the reorganization plan for the public security forces."

"Yes."

Yu Ping stood up and said, "After discussion, the Public Security Headquarters decided to disband the Second and Third Public Security Columns and reorganize them into the First, Second, and Third Public Security Divisions, respectively. These three divisions will be directly under the command of the Public Security Headquarters. The First and Second Public Security Divisions will be stationed in Beiping, while the Third Public Security Division will be stationed in Tianjin.

The Public Security Corps has four columns under its jurisdiction.

The First Column was established the earliest but was also the most dispersed. The Second and Third Columns had the highest level of education and quality, as they were composed largely of students from the North China Military and Political University and the North China Army University, and had undergone rigorous training in preparation for the takeover of Peking and Tianjin.

The Fourth Column was established not long ago and its organization is not complete.

After the Central Committee arrived in Yi County, the Second and Third Columns each dispatched a regiment to Yi County to participate in the protection of the central government organs. The Military Commission decided to merge the Central Security Regiment with these two regiments to form the First Guard Division of the Central Column of the Military Commission Public Security, which became the force to protect the Central Committee.

"The North China Military Region established a Public Security Corps in each provincial military region. Each Public Security Corps directly governed various Public Security Regiments. Each Public Security Regiment was stationed in a specific area, gathering for training, under unified command and logistics during normal times, and dispersing for duty when needed. The Public Security Corps' organization was not fixed.

They were divided into large, medium, and small regiments based on the situation in each prefecture. Column and brigade-level units within the public security forces were completely abolished. In Suiyuan and Inner Mongolia, the Suiyuan and Inner Mongolia Public Security Corps were established, with cavalry regiments deployed under them.

"Commander, how do we adjust the relationship between the Public Security Corps and the Military Region?"

Lei Jiabin asked.

Previously, the Public Security Corps was directly under the North China Military Region, and the Public Security Column under it was directly under the Public Security Corps, so its relationship with the military region was not very close. However, this time, the public security forces were reorganized to directly establish Public Security Corps under the provincial military regions.

This situation is different again.

Tang Jie said: "The Public Security Corps of each provincial military region is an organization under the provincial military region and must obey the orders of the provincial military region.

“What about the relationship with the place?”

Wei Hongjun said: "The commander of the Public Security Corps will be appointed to the Provincial Public Security Department Party Committee, and the director of the Provincial Public Security Department will serve as the political commissar of the Public Security Corps. The public security forces are under the unified command and training of the military region and the public security headquarters in normal times. However, when carrying out missions, they must accept the leadership of the local government and local public security departments.

After Wei Hongjun explained, Yu Ping continued, "The Public Security Command has established the Enterprise Security Management Office and the Railway Public Security Management Office. The Enterprise Security Management Office is fully responsible for the armed security forces of important enterprises in North China. The Railway Public Security Management Office is fully responsible for the armed railway public security forces."

At present, the security of important enterprises and railways is the responsibility of the military.

This time, the North China Military Region troops were reorganized and all of these were allocated to the Public Security Command.

The changes are still huge.

Wei Hongjun stood up and said, "Comrades just asked. What should we do with the extra troops in the military region after this reorganization?

"I'll tell you now, comrades. Some of you will need to study and receive training, preparing to retire from military uniform and go to the local areas. The local areas are desperately short of manpower and need our support. Another group of you will form an infrastructure engineering corps. North China will soon be launching many large-scale construction projects, but we lack professional construction teams. Therefore, the North China Bureau has decided to quickly establish a construction engineering corps that will obey orders and be able to fight tough battles. In wartime, they were heroes who fought bravely; in peacetime, they are heroes who build our nation."

"Comrades, all present here are senior cadres of our Party and our army.

We must be the first to adapt to the new changes under the new circumstances. After this adjustment, our North China Military Region will have regular public security forces, regular air defense forces, regular engineering forces, regular air forces, and professional academies. We are unfamiliar with these new branches of the military, and we must build them from scratch. We will face many difficulties, so what should we do? Should we retreat? No, we absolutely cannot retreat. We must overcome difficulties and complete the regularization of our forces. Because we are the People's Liberation Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Our Party and our army have built something from nothing, from weakness to strength, and have come this far. Our troops were not afraid of bloodshed or sacrifice in wartime, and we will not fear difficulties in peacetime.

"Comrades, how can we effectively manage these new arms and adapt to the new changes? There is only one way, and that is to study, study, and study again. Our entire army must launch a learning revolution. Only by continuous learning can we accomplish our mission."

Chapter 749 Arrangement

This time the military district’s troops are undergoing a relatively large reorganization.

Therefore, the military district meeting will take some time. Each provincial military district, as well as the 23rd and 24th Corps, and the public security forces, will all need to return to discuss matters. This includes personnel arrangements; the military district cannot make all decisions on its own; it must also consult with subordinate units.

Just like the public security forces.

Each provincial military region will establish a public security corps, with the commander of each corps being a division-level cadre, or even a deputy army-level cadre. In addition to the public security corps, numerous public security regiments will also be established. The personnel issues of these units alone are no small matter.

The Public Security Command and each provincial military region must discuss this.

After all, the chief of each provincial public security corps must accept orders not only from the Public Security Headquarters, but also from the provincial military region. The chief must be someone who is acceptable to both the Public Security Headquarters and the provincial military region.

What the military district has to do is to review the list they submitted.

During a break in the meeting, Wei Hongjun left behind Ma Hongyuan, commander of the Cavalry Column, Zhao Ziyu, its political commissar, and Ma Changgeng, previously commander of the Second Public Security Column, to discuss arrangements for these cadres.

After all, their level is not low.

Although they had to accept the order, this was not the effect Wei Hongjun wanted. He hoped that they would shine and work hard in their new positions, rather than complaining and not doing their job well.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun was very cautious in the arrangements of these cadres.

The cavalry column is an army-level unit, and the public security column is also an army-level unit.

Ma Hongyuan is currently a PLA army-level cadre, a high-ranking PLA cadre. He was a distinguished general in the Eighth Column, particularly during the Anti-Japanese War, where he fought many successful battles. In fact, given Ma Hongyuan's military achievements, he could have been promoted to a quasi-corps-level cadre, or even a deputy corps-level cadre, let alone an army-level cadre.

But Ma Hongyuan has shortcomings, which affect his promotion.

Ma Hongyuan has primarily commanded the cavalry in recent years. Previously, due to his distinguished military achievements, he had been promoted rapidly. However, after reaching the rank of cavalry column commander, his career advancement was limited. After all, the cavalry corps lacked a higher level of organization. Of course, another important factor was that Ma Hongyuan joined the Eighth Route Army midway through the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and was not a veteran Red Army soldier.

At his level, veteran Red Army cadres, as long as their performance is acceptable, have great potential. Prior to the army level, as long as the local Central Committee Bureau and the local military region approve, they can be assigned. However, for positions above that level, the local Central Committee Bureau and the local military region cannot simply assign them. The approval of the Central Military Commission is required. At this point, veteran Red Army cadres have a clear advantage. Ma Hongyuan has shortcomings in this regard.

Moreover, Li Qingchuan and other students who graduated from regular military academies of the National Army were not veterans of the Red Army and were very helpful to the regularization of the People's Liberation Army.

However, Ma Hongyuan suffered from his lack of education in this regard, which led to an awkward situation where he was neither up nor down.

"sit."

"Old Ma, you've heard about the cavalry column's reorganization plan. Do you have anything to say?"

"Commander, the military district has made the decision, and I obey your orders. Furthermore, there are no large-scale battles now. We are only engaged in small-scale bandit suppression operations in Suiyuan and Inner Mongolia. There's really no need to keep such a large cavalry column."

Ma Hongyuan thought very clearly.

The large-scale fighting in the north had ended. The cavalry column's historical mission had been completed. The north no longer needed a cavalry unit as large as the cavalry column. Ma Hongyuan didn't have much to do these days, except to suppress those horse bandits.

Wei Hongjun nodded.