Zhou Cang inspected a militia weapons depot, this village has a relatively small number of people, there are only more than 300 people in the whole village, and it can be organized into a militia platoon of about 40 people, and the militia platoon has 33 firearms. The rest are spears, machetes and such weapons. And a crossbow. However, there are fewer people who can use it.

Zhou Cang picked up a firearm used by a single soldier and looked at it, but the fire door couldn't be opened. Zhou Cang looked at it and couldn't help but shake his head. Because the fire door was rusted to death because of improper maintenance. The position of the muzzle of the gun is also not very optimistic, except for the fact that there are marks of rubbing on the surface, there is a large ash inside, apparently, after the shot, the firearm should be properly maintained, wiped, but the other side did not do this at all.

"Your arsenal is very well maintained, the advantage of the Republican militia is in firearms, if the firearms are not properly maintained, the results can be imagined." Zhou Cang said very annoyedly.

The militia platoon commander on the side was very helpless. Because they are busy rebuilding after the war, for example, building houses, heating, and dividing land, and they are just trying to get some money, waiting for the Chinese New Year, they are all people, and the establishment of militias in their eyes is just to gather young and middle-aged people, but to carry out training, first, it is a waste of time, and second, they do not have that energy. After all, no one wants to fight every day, life has to go on, they still have a lot to do.

"Yes, sir, we'll fix it. Corrected. The militia platoon commander said.

Zhou Cang wanted to get angry and reprimand loudly, but there was no way. Because it doesn't solve the problem fundamentally. Because in the eyes of the people, they are concerned about their livelihood, they still live on handouts, and the land is in their hands. But if you want to live like this, you have to rely on yourself. As for the militia, the treatment of the militia has not yet been personally shared. Naturally, they let them relax.

This problem is not only in this village, but in several villages.

But these problems boil down to the treatment of the militia. If the militia has a good space to operate, and the salary is improved, they will inevitably be their own militia, but the whole situation does not seem to be too optimistic, in terms of civil affairs, the republican army has just been established, and they need to do a lot of things, to appease the local people, and distribute land. Relief. and the establishment of local order to allow the economy to recover as soon as possible, as well as to attract merchants to enter. For example, they encourage the establishment of workshops, small factories, etc., and they hope to stabilize the whole state through such a way.

Only when the annexation is stabilized can the entire line of defense be stabilized. But in fact. The whole line of defense doesn't seem to be as strong as it seems. And there are a lot of problems.

Zhou Cang had already moved around their local garrison, and the troops were in better condition, and the soldiers were able to drill, defend, patrol, and assemble urgently on time. But these are only the defenses of the main defensive zone. An infantry division, plus an infantry brigade. The number was only more than 12,000 people, and the area they defended. But it is a thousand miles away. On average, it's not optimistic.

Therefore, Zhou Cang, who was overstretched, had to put his hope on the militia, because the republican army relied on a large number of militias to get through the difficulties, but here, the foundation of the militia was too weak, which led to the hope of relying on the militia was also dashed. Zhou Cang was worried about this.

"Sir, let's have some food." The operational staff officer brought a little food and said to Zhou Cang.

"Well, I can't eat it. The Governor gave us the entire annexation, but I. I'm in a hurry. Zhou Cang said without appetite. Seeing the situation of the real line of defense, he was rarely anxious, and he could wake up in the dark night thinking about the problem.

"Sir, eat something like that." The operational staff officer said.

"I can't eat it. The situation of the militia is still very unoptimistic, and the weapons are not maintained. When the north goes south, how can we defend it? Relying only on the local garrison, it will soon be broken through. That's a terrible problem for us. Zhou Cang said.

"Sir, these things are inevitable, I've seen some newspaper reviews." The operational staff officer said. In many cases, Zhou Cang behaved very modestly, because he knew that his ability was insufficient, and he needed to rely on the wisdom of everyone to command. Commanding tens of thousands of combat troops to fight, Zhou Cang felt that it was still very difficult.

"Tell me about it." Zhou Cang took a bite of food and said.

"In the newspapers, our Republican Army is a first-class logistics supply, second-rate soldiers, third-rate captains, and fourth-rate generals." The operational staff officer said. Such a thing should not be said by an operational staff officer, but the problem is that an operational staff officer does such a thing.

"Well, it's hard to hear, but it's the truth, and it's right." Zhou Cang said.

"Let's talk about it." Zhou Cang said.

"Our command problem is inherently insufficient, after all, we all know too well what we were born into. This ability to command operations is indeed insufficient, so we can rely on logistics and supplies and soldiers to do such things. The operational staff officer said. The newspapers were also paying attention to the Republican Army, which, after their own observations, believed that the Republican Army lacked first-class command personnel, and that if the command of operations was around 3,000 men, the Republican Army would have a great advantage, because the soldiers were highly motivated to fight. It was entirely by relying on the enthusiasm of the soldiers that many accidents were fought, but more than 10,000 people were fought. The talents of the commanders are extremely mediocre and even incompetent. Because many times, organizing an operation seems to be a very complicated matter, and it is difficult for their commanders to handle such a thing.

"Now our situation is that the work of promotion is completely carried out by the ** side, and we still do relatively little. In my opinion, the main thing is to build up some of the material bases of the militia. That's what makes us proactive. The operational staff officer said.

"But we can't passively wait, if we continue like this, the third-rate and fourth-rate will really be inseparable." Zhou Cang said.

"This too. However, this is not something that can be solved overnight. The operational staff officer said. The victory of the Republican Army actually came from logistical supplies, as well as the bravery of the combat soldiers, and in terms of commanding operations, because the efficiency of the opponent's troop mobilization was even lower, which gave the Republican Army some advantages. This is an unspeakable advantage.

I looked. Some of the surrounding villages, some people's firearms, are very well maintained, and I have noticed it. Those people were hunters, and it was good to use a bow and arrow, but it took too long. If you use firearms, some people who do not have a physical advantage can quickly become a good shooter. It's just loud. But it's also powerful, and it can make them gain a lot. Zhou Cang said.

In fact, in the mountains, some of the militia in the villages were better equipped to maintain firearms, because they needed to hunt to bring some food and at the same time get skins that could be sold for money. In the past, the killing effect of bows and arrows was very limited, and it required multiple people to carry out, which was inefficient and dangerous. They still can't keep their stomachs full, but after using firearms, using large bullets, the power can kill the tiger in one fell swoop. It has also become easier to deal with some wild boars, and the danger is naturally reduced, so the hunters are more concerned about the maintenance of firearms. Because it can bring them a lot of benefits.

In contrast, most of the poorly maintained villages are cultivated villages. And in some of the Orion's villages, the situation is better in the villages near the mountains.

"We can organize the soldiers of some good local villages. Establish a very strong combat team to give them the greatest support, and some militiamen, in addition to the usual attention, must also strengthen the planning of their retreat routes, since they cannot protect themselves, they can only let them evacuate, and ensure their own life safety as much as possible. Zhou Cang thought for a while and said. Because the militia simply cannot play the effect that it should have on the ground of the republican army, since it is so. They had no choice but to retreat this time. I performed self-protection. This is also a kind of helplessness.

"Well, it seems like that's all there is to it." The operational staff officer agreed.

Hedong. Ma Heng's headquarters. Ma Heng was packing up some things, and he decided to take his staff team to the northern defense zone to see the specific situation. Because Lijiazhuang sent a telegram asking some questions about the defense of the north. In response to these problems, Ma Heng's view is that military strength needs to be increased. And put a considerable amount of resources into it. But the above is clearly not satisfied with such a result.

Because the second question is how many militia forces they can mobilize to form the strength of an operational infantry regiment if they carry out local mobilization in Hedong. Ma Heng believes that only a certain combat effectiveness infantry regiment can be formed, and there are about five. That's too little. Ma Heng thought so.

Moreover, Hedong still has to deal with the threat from the north, and the troops are still insufficient.

"Sir, there seems to be a big move above, the situation in the north seems to be more stable, but some specific situations still need our attention, but in terms of some specific situations, there are still many things we need to do." The staff officer said.

"Well, there seems to be a shift in the strategic center of gravity. The North is not an important place, the South may be. Most of the recent friction has come from the South, and things about trade and business are noisy. I'm really worried. Ma Heng nodded in agreement. Because this kind of thing is simply unavoidable. Therefore, it is better for Ma Heng to nod and admit.