On the main road approaching Laiyuan, the brigade of the First Division of the Fourth Route Army and the Guard Brigade marched majestically towards Laiyuan. When passing through Handan this time, due to the reorganization of the troops, Xu Fang's 1st Regiment was left in Handan, replacing the 3rd Division and 2nd Regiment and returning to Laiyuan for reorganization.

As the saying goes, 'If there are more than 10,000 people, there is no boundary.' Although it was a four-way column march, after all, there were more than 50,000 people in the whole army, and the team was still more than ten kilometers away, and this was the cavalry brigade that had already returned to Laiyuan first, otherwise it would have been further arranged.

At this time, it was already late June, the summer solstice had passed, not only in Henan, but also in Hebei The temperature was already very high. But since entering Taihang Mountain, it has been much cooler, especially at night.

The continuous march did not bring much fatigue to these young people, and it was even easier than before, at least without the training every day and the 10-kilometer cross-country in the morning. The enthusiasm of these young people was very high, especially the soldiers of the Northwest Army and the Fifth Route Army and some new recruits who had newly joined the Fourth Route Army.

Since joining the Fourth Route Army, not only has he eaten white rice and white noodles every day, but he also has meat at every meal, which is absolutely impossible in other troops. Because it was the height of summer, the temperature was too high for fresh meat to be preserved, and there was only canned meat for breakfast and lunch. However, in order to let them eat fresh meat, more than a dozen trucks go to distant towns and villages every day to purchase live pigs and live sheep for them, and every day they are guaranteed to eat fresh meat for dinner.

The muslin uniforms were much stronger than the old coarse cloth they had worn before, and they couldn't help but be lighter, and it was cooler in this summer, and under the blowing of the mountain wind, they didn't feel hot even if they tied up the wind and discipline. The officers above the platoon commander are all dressed in fine lines, very crisp, although not as cool as the soldiers' muslin, but the snow-white shirt collar with a beautiful military uniform makes them more energetic. Especially when I touched the five oceans of military salary in my pocket, I was even more energetic when I walked. The salary of the Fourth Route Army was paid at the beginning of each month, although the time had not yet arrived, but Song Zhewu paid the salary 10 days in advance because he wanted to appease these new people who joined the Fourth Route Army.

The officers who had newly joined the Fourth Route Army were even more excited, and although their positions had not yet been finally appointed because the troops were still being reorganized, Song Zhewu still paid them according to their previous positions according to the salary standard of the Fourth Route Army. The standard difference in the payment of military salaries of the Fourth Route Army has been greatly expanded, and the higher it goes, the larger it becomes. The Gui Department and the Fifth Route Army were better, because Feng Yuxiang hated the behavior of deducting military salaries very much, and few of the officers of the former Northwest Army dared to do this, even if some inappropriate behaviors were just greedy for food, and they were not of great use. The salaries of the Northwest Army, both officers and men, are the smallest of all units in the country, and the officers of the Northwest Army live a very poor life.

This time, as soon as the military salary was issued, there was no place for them to put it for a while. They wanted to send it home, but they didn't have time to send it during the war. The officers of the Fourth Route Army had no one to collect it, they were just signed by the secretary general, and when they returned to Laiyuan, they would pick it up and send it home with the note, so as not to get in the way in their arms. However, the officers who had newly joined the Fourth Route Army were generally brought out, and they were all frightened by the frequent arrears, and the money was still safe to put on themselves.

However, these recruits and all the people of the former Northwest Army, the Nineteenth Army, and the Fifth Route Army, and now the veterans of the Fourth Route Army have one thing in common, that is, they all respect Song Zhewu like a god, and they all know that their military salaries were paid to them by their commanders themselves, and when they were paid, they were all told intentionally or unintentionally that the military salaries given by the central government were not enough at all, and they were issued according to the standards of the Central Army, and the rest of the money was paid by the commander out of his own pocket. Without their commander, they wouldn't have been paid. They were accustomed to seeing commanders who withheld military salaries and paid for the troops themselves, but this was the first time they had seen them.

Song Zhewu, Tao Rong, and Li Wentian rode horses in the middle of the team, looking at the rolling mountains on both sides, Song Zhewu was in a very good mood, every time he remembered that this was Taihang Mountain, his mood was inexplicably excited. Song Zhewu knew what made him excited, not only because this was the battlefield of resistance in his previous life, but also because he would also fight against Yue Kou in this majestic thousand-mile mountain, and use blood and fire to make Yue Kou pay a price ten times and a hundred times higher than in his previous life.

Seeing that Tao Rong and Li Wentian were also observing the surrounding mountains, Song Zhewu pointed to the mountains on both sides of the road with a horsewhip and asked Tao Rong: "Chief of Staff Tao, you are from Guangxi, and Guangxi is also a mountainous province, what do you think is the difference between this Taihang Mountain and the mountains in Guangxi?" ”

Tao Rong thought for a while and said: "If you want to say that it is different, in my opinion, there are two main points: first, the mountainous areas of Guangxi are lush with vegetation, and most of them are tall trees, and there are even many primeval forests in the southern region; Not only is the vegetation not as dense as the mountainous area of Guangxi, but the tall trees are even more scarce, and most of them are low shrubs. Second, the mountains of Guangxi are better than strange and dangerous, and Taihang Mountain is majestic and strong. ”

Song Zhewu nodded and said, "I've been to Guangxi, and Chief of Staff Tao is right. ”

Li Wentian, who was on the side, asked with great interest: "When did the commander-in-chief go to Guangxi, and has he already been in contact with the Gui family?" ”

Song Zhewu had been to Guangxi in his previous life, and at this time he knew that he had said something wrong, so he hurriedly covered it up and said: "Canxuan said that he was laughing, I don't dare to wade into the troubled waters of the Gui system now." I went to school in Baoding. ”

Song Zhewu then said: "This Taihang Mountain stretches for more than 400 kilometers and is the natural boundary mountain of the eastern and southeastern parts of Shanxi and Hebei and Henan provinces. Its eastern mountains are more dangerous, but the western part is relatively gentle, as if it is a natural barrier in Shanxi, as long as it is used well, it can close half of the gate from North China to Central China. And once this place is invaded by foreign enemies, not only can you let go south, but you can even enter Shaanxi from Shanxi, and then attack Sichuan, which is also the route of the Mongolian cavalry to attack the Song Dynasty, and the strategic position here is too important. ”

Tao Rong and Li Wentian both understood that Song Zhewu was talking about the war with him, and the two nodded and listened carefully to what Song Zhewu said.

"Now it seems that the only thing that can stop me here is our Fourth Route Army, and whether or not we can hold this barrier is very important for our troops to adapt to fighting in the mountains here. Our troops, even domestic ones, do not pay much attention to fighting in the mountains, and they neglect some of the necessary training in mountain operations. They only attach importance to the battle of urban fortification, and even regard the battle of urban fortification as the only task to a certain extent. As a matter of fact, mountain warfare will play a very important role in future warfare. Moreover, mountain warfare is very different from urban fortification, and it is also more difficult, and the troops that can adapt to mountain warfare are all elite soldiers. Whether or not we can gain a firm foothold in the north depends mainly on whether our Fourth Route Army is adapted to mountain warfare. Not only should the Fourth Route Army conduct mountain training and adapt itself to mountain warfare, but we should also have a unit that is good at mountain warfare. ”

After thinking about it, Song Zhewu said: "In our country, the most suitable for mountain warfare should be the current GCD team in Jiangxi, where they have defeated several Huijun in Jiangxi, Hunan, and Fujian. Although there are reasons for the low combat effectiveness of the troops in those provinces, it also shows that they should be more adapted to mountain operations and have a better understanding of the characteristics of mountain operations. ”

Tao Rong smiled and said: "The commander-in-chief is right, our domestic troops have indeed neglected mountain warfare, mainly because cities are the economic and political centers of a region, and if they occupy the city, they will control the region. Although the troops of the GCD in Jiangxi fought well in the mountainous areas, it cannot be said that they are the troops that are best at mountain warfare, because I am from Guangxi and have been in the Guangxi army for many years, and the troops in Guangxi are very good at mountain warfare. Guangxi is a mountainous region, and some of the soldiers of the troops are from the mountainous areas, and the marches and operations are also carried out in the mountainous areas. ”

Li Wentian interjected: "Although I have not seen foreign mountain troops, I understand that such troops should not only be proficient in mountain warfare, but also have weapons suitable for the needs of mountain warfare, and should also undergo special training. I support the idea of the commander-in-chief setting up a mountain combat unit, which is very beneficial to us to make better use of the mountainous areas to fight the enemy. ”

Tao Rong no longer had those previous concerns, looked at Song Zhewu and said: "Commander-in-chief, if you want to set up a mountain force, I suggest that you don't set up too big a force first, you can set up a mountain brigade first, explore the methods and characteristics of mountain operations, and then consider whether to expand it depending on the situation." Moreover, I suggest that the officers of this brigade be selected from the personnel of the former 19th Army, who have more experience in fighting in the mountains. ”

Song Zhewu basically agreed that the Guangxi troops were better at fighting in the mountains, but he still didn't believe that they were better at it than the Red Army. Song Zhewu believes that what Tao Rong said about mountain warfare is still quite regular ordinary warfare, and what he said is a combination of mountain warfare and guerrilla warfare, but he still agrees with Tao Rong's suggestion.

Song Zhewu nodded and said, "Yes, we will handle this matter when we return to Laiyuan, and the officers will be reviewed by Chief of Staff Tao and Chief of Staff Xiao." As for the establishment, in my opinion, the largest is a brigade, and its operations should be different from ordinary operations, and guerrilla warfare should be carried out in combination with the characteristics of mountain warfare. It is necessary to focus on attacking the enemy's logistics and communications with flexible and changeable tactics, attack the enemy's important positions and strategic points when there is superiority, and resolutely avoid fighting hard with the enemy......

(To be continued)