Chapter 59: Jindong Cluster
In a village in the mountains of eastern Shanxi, dozens of soldiers crowded the small ancestral hall, because these soldiers came from different systems.
Therefore, the styles of the military uniforms they were wearing were somewhat different, and when they were squeezed together, they looked more or less uncoordinated, but this did not attract the attention of the people in the ancestral hall.
"stand at attention!"
The guard guarding the entrance to the ancestral hall shouted, and the soldiers who were sitting somewhat uncomfortably immediately stood up and saluted the people who walked in.
"Hello, sir!"
The group of people returned the greetings one by one, but what was strange was that Colonel Zhang Xienian, the captain of the group, was only ranked second in the group, while the leader was an unfamiliar Major General Jin Xing.
Before anyone could guess, Colonel Zhang Xienian stood up again and said, "Read the headquarters' order now!"
Dozens of soldiers immediately stood up straight again, and listened to Zhang Xienian read : "After review and approval by the Military and Political Committee of the Northwest National Defense Government, the Jindong Anti-Japanese Corps behind enemy lines is hereby granted the designation of the Temporary Jindong Group.
Dai Jiliang, Supreme Commander of the Northwest National Defense Army, and E Tao, Chairman of the Northwest Military and Political Committee.
February 6, 1930. "
Everyone's faces immediately showed joy. Needless to say, those who came from the Northwest Army, even the officers from the Jin Army, the 29th Route Army, and other miscellaneous troops had understood the system of the Northwest Army after these days. The cluster was a large organization below the army and above the division.
Even if it is given a temporary title, it can at least be reduced to a standard division during the post-war reorganization. In this way, he will become a member of the Northwest system.
But Zhang Xienian had not finished speaking: "I will read out Order No. 290017 from the Supreme Commander of the Northwest National Defense Army."
"I hereby order that Major General Gong Bingfan, former deputy director of the Personnel Bureau of the Military and Political Committee, be appointed commander of the Jindong Group, and Colonel Zhang Xienian, former commander of the Jindong Anti-Japanese Corps behind enemy lines, be appointed chief of staff of the 226th Division.
Colonel Lin Zuozhen, former commander of the 1st Regiment of the 141st Division of the 32nd Army, was appointed as deputy commander of the group. Major Wang Bangchu, chief of staff of the Jindong Anti-Japanese Corps behind enemy lines, was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Army. Major Zhao Kang, former acting chief of staff of the 2271st Regiment, was appointed as deputy chief of staff of the group.
In addition, the Jindong cluster continued to promote the Jindong Anti-Japanese Corps behind enemy lines.
Dai Jiliang , Supreme Commander .
February 7, 1930. "
After Zhang Xienian finished speaking, Gong Bingfan and the other three stood up one by one and saluted the officers present. After the ceremony, Lin, Wang, and Zhao sat down, leaving Gong Bingfan standing there. At this time, Zhang Xienian said, "Now we welcome the company commander to give us a speech!"
"I don't dare to lecture you, but I can still say a few words."
Zhang Xienian sat down with a complicated expression, and Gong Bingfan then spoke slowly.
"The headquarters has great expectations for us. Not only has the troop level been upgraded, but they have also gone through untold hardships to transport equipment for producing ammunition and repairing guns. How can we repay the headquarters' expectations?"
The meeting ended quickly, and all the officers present had a dinner together, which was a welcoming banquet for Gong, Lin, and Zhao, and a farewell dinner for Zhang Xienian. Of course, this was because the war of resistance had reached its most critical period.
Therefore, whether it was a welcoming banquet or a farewell banquet, each person was only given two taels of wine, and there were only one dish of braised pork and one dish of pork offal, and the rest were either old cabbage or old pumpkin. However, for the officers of the Anti-Japanese Corps who seldom saw meat, it was already a rare delicacy.
The ordinary officers sat there and ate heartily, while Zhang Xienian and others only took a few bites and left. Of course, the handover had been completed long ago, but some precautions still needed to be explained again and again.
After the officers left, the atmosphere at the table changed. Someone suddenly cursed while eating: "What does the headquarters mean? Isn't this just picking peaches? We worked so hard to maintain the current situation. Captain Zhang has made great contributions, but he was transferred to be the division chief of staff with just a telegram. It's really unfair."
"You can't say that."
However, officers from the Northwest Army disagreed.
"I think your Excellency is planning to promote Captain Zhang, otherwise Captain Zhang will have to serve as an instructor in the military academy for two years before being appointed."
In the perception of officers in the Northwest Army system, even though the commander-in-chief has tens of thousands of men and thousands of guns under his command, his status is still far inferior to that of the chief of staff of a regular division.
"Besides, we have been upgraded to a cluster, so the captain can no longer be a colonel. The convention in the northwest is that a unit commander cannot be directly promoted to a general in his own unit. It is only logical to transfer Captain Zhang."
The dissatisfied people quickly found a new excuse: "It is obvious that the headquarters does not trust us. Otherwise, why did they transfer a deputy commander and a deputy chief of staff in addition to the commander?"
"You probably think that letting Shang Zhen's people lead us will make things difficult for you who are originally from the Jin Army."
The responder laughed.
"Don't worry. We have the commander above us, the chief of staff in the middle, and you and me below us. If Lin dares to do whatever he wants, he will be the first to suffer."
Lunch ended just like that, and the afternoon meeting began immediately, but the host's figure had changed: "Before coming to Jindong, Deputy Commander Lin and I attended the military meeting held by Commander Yang of the War Zone."
Gong Bingfan introduced the situation of the Xiangning Military Conference: "The total strength of the Japanese army in North China is seriously insufficient, but the Japanese First Army in Shanxi has 3 guard divisions and 4 independent mixed brigades, as well as 1 field heavy artillery regiment, 2 independent mountain artillery regiments and other special forces. The threat to our army in Shanxi is extremely huge.
To this end, the theater decided to carry out extensive and active operations against the enemy to disrupt the Japanese army's possible clearing operations. "
Lieutenant General Huang Sanxi, deputy commander-in-chief of the theater, instructed: "To smash the Japanese army's conspiracy to fight to support the war, we must focus on attacking the factories and mines occupied by the Japanese army and destroying the transportation roads."
"With the current strength and combat power of the Jindong cluster, it is unrealistic to directly attack the county town where the Japanese army is entrenched. Even if we attack a small Japanese stronghold, we will suffer heavy losses. However, the terrain of Shanxi is rugged, especially in Jindong. It is impossible for the Japanese army to deploy troops to guard every kilometer of road and railway. This is our opportunity."
"We need to complete the operation as quickly as possible before the Japanese casualties react. Obviously, we cannot rely on the strength of the army alone. We need to mobilize the people extensively. With the support of the people, we can use electric poles and sleepers as fuel, and telephone lines and rails can also be used by us... Don't just rely on the power of the people. The troops must also be prepared for vigilance and blocking to prevent the Japanese from attacking from nearby strongholds. We must resolutely strike at small groups of Japanese troops who dare to leave the strongholds and destroy them with absolute superiority in manpower and firepower."
"This is an operation covering the whole of Shanxi. All troops will take the initiative to attack. Hebei will also make corresponding cooperation. Some troops from the Hebei-Henan War Zone will also participate. The Jindong Cluster must not be timid at the critical moment... We must develop ourselves in the attack and learn to use the Japanese equipment to arm ourselves. The cluster now has eight regiment-level detachments, but the number of troops in each detachment is no more than 1,500 and the least is only 800. Therefore, we must make full use of the weapons obtained in the blocking battles during the raids. The headquarters has also allocated some equipment, including 40 Type 23 portable machine guns, 300 Type 79 rifles, 5,000 grenades, and a batch of mines and explosives. They can be distributed immediately."
After Gong Bingfan finished his long speech, the meeting room fell into silence. Gong Bingfan frowned slightly, but his authority had not yet been fully established. Therefore, after a moment of hesitation, he signaled his chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Bangchu, to stand up and give orders.
Wang Bangchu picked up the document and read aloud: "Now according to the instructions of the war zone, the orders are as follows. The first team is responsible." After Wang Bangchu finished speaking, Gong Bingfan added: "According to the war zone order, the battle must start on the first day of March. All teams should prepare separately. I will personally go to the second team to understand the progress of the war. Deputy Commander Lin will go to the fifth team, and Deputy Chief of Staff Zhao will also go to one of the other six teams. We are not supervising the battle, but if we can't fight well, we won't be polite!"
As time was running out, the officers had no time to waste and went their separate ways immediately after the meeting. Only the captain of the second detachment wanted to leave but failed. Gong Bingfan, who had agreed to follow, stopped him and his chief of staff and said, "Brother Qiwu, I heard everything you just said."
Li Qiwu, whose nickname is Li Chenyong, raised his eyebrows, but Gong Bingfan spoke before he could, "You can stand up for Brother Zhao, which shows that you are nostalgic, but you have to understand that you are not a private force but a national army. Similarly, each of us is a brick or a screw. We will be deployed wherever the superiors need us. Captain Zhao and I have no personal grudges. I am already a major general, so there is no question of taking advantage of Captain Zhao."
Wang Bangchu, who was standing next to him, explained to Li Chenyong, who looked embarrassed, "The company commander is a graduate of the first class of the Northwest Army School, and is your earliest student. Before he became the commander of this group, he was already the deputy director of the Military Commission's Personnel Bureau."
When Li Chenyong and his chief of staff heard the words "first-term student of the Northwest Army School and deputy director of the Military Commission's Personnel Bureau", everyone was shocked. Even people who knew nothing could understand Gong Bingfan's peculiarity by comparing him with the first-term students of Whampoa Military Academy. What's more, the deputy director was doing a good job. It took great courage for him to come to the enemy's rear, where danger was lurking everywhere, even if he was just trying to pick peaches.
"As the deputy director, I sit in the office all day long. I don't have the experience you have behind enemy lines."
Gong Bingfan is also a smart man, and he is humble when it is time to be humble.
"So the battle still depends on you guys, I will just set up a bed and sleep there."
Li Chenyong was hesitant and could not say anything, but his chief of staff was more capable and immediately complimented him: "What are you talking about, sir? Even if you come to the Second Detachment just to sleep, the morale of the brothers below will be stabilized."
"The morale of the army must be stable, and there must be results."
Gong Bingfan hit the two men's chests with this.
"Don't say any more. The guest should follow the host's wishes. You lead the way. Speed is of the essence in war. We will leave now."
