"Master Liu, after I discussed with my subordinates. Agree to your request and exchange all the equipment of the anti-aircraft battalion for this batch of weapons and ammunition. However, I also ask Senior Commander Liu to keep his promise and not publicize this matter, if Chairman Jiang of Yucheng knows about this matter, my brother and I will not be comfortable. Seeing Liu Hua, Shi Yousan didn't hesitate and agreed loudly.

Because, in their eyes, as long as there are guns, the soldiers can grab a lot of them casually, and they don't have to worry at all. As for those anti-aircraft weapons, the reason why they equip the troops is that the equipment is meant to be for display. Because so far, the entire air defense battalion has hardly undergone any real combat, it is better to replace this batch of useful weapons and ammunition.

"Okay, since Commander Shi has agreed, then I'll let my subordinates start picking soldiers. As for the remaining 50,000 catties of grain, I will let the troops send you to the barracks before dark," Liu Hua nodded and replied.

"Okay, Division Commander Liu, please take it, but please remember your words, only select ordinary soldiers, and never take away one of my officers." Looking at Liu Hua, who was about to convey orders to his subordinates behind him, Shi Yousan reminded.

"Please rest assured, Commander Shi, I, Liu Hua, will definitely keep my promise," Liu Hua replied with a smile on his face.

Eventually, after almost an afternoon of traveling, it was time to assemble in the afternoon. More than a hundred political work cadres, almost all of whom brought back at least one platoon of soldiers. It's not that I don't know, but I'm shocked. Because there were 5,000 soldiers standing in front of Liu Hua, there were more than 1,000 more than Liu Hua's request.

"Captain Shi, look" Looking at Shi Yousan in front of him, Liu Hua smiled bitterly. And Shi Yousan didn't expect that the political work cadres of the Eighth Route Army would be so powerful, in less than an afternoon. A quarter of the strength of their own army was poached by them.

"Hehe, I really didn't expect the political work cadres under Senior Commander Liu to be so powerful. Since these soldiers all want to follow Commander Liu, then I can't stop them. Division Commander Liu, from now on, all these soldiers belong to the Reading Division. And the equipment of this one air defense battalion and 120,000 grenades. Looking at Liu Hua, who was staring at him closely, Shi Yousan knew that if he didn't agree to Liu Hua's request in front of him now, maybe the 50,000 catties of grain he had just promised to himself might be ruined at any time. Thinking of this, Shi Yousan also smiled bitterly, waved his hand, stopped his subordinates who wanted to speak, and said with a smile.

"Okay, then thank you Commander Shi. Comrades, strike at the new soldiers who have just joined our reading division, bring all the weapons and ammunition on the ground, and prepare to retreat" Hearing that Shi Yousan had agreed, Liu Hua ordered loudly to all the political workers behind him. In the hostile eyes of a group of Kuomintang officers, he left the station of Shi Yousan's troops.

"Commander, I can't figure out why these soldiers should be sent to a reading division. This is the strength of nearly a division" looked at the history of the Eighth Route Army that slowly disappeared from his field of vision. Behind Shi Yousan, a division commander who had lost nearly a regiment of troops asked very dissatisfied.

"You are confused, is it these weapons and ammunition that are important or these soldiers are important. As long as we have these weapons in our hands, when the time comes, on the way back, we will catch thousands of strong men at will, and the officers are ready-made, and you are afraid that the combat effectiveness of the troops will not be restored. More importantly, Chairman Chiang in Nanjing did not know. When the time comes, we will use the weapons sent out as an excuse to blackmail the chairman of the committee who is far away in Yucheng, and the troops will not have an extra division of equipment out of thin air. Don't worry, when the time comes, we will command and make a profit. After listening to the question of the division commander in front of him, the army commander Shi Yousan explained unhappily.

"The military seat is wise, in this case, the strength of our troops not only does not decline, but also recovers." After listening to Shi Yousan's explanation, everyone suddenly realized and began to pat their ass. At the same time, his eyes also aimed at the weapons and ammunition in front of him, which were almost piled up like a hill.

With the explanation of Commander Shi Yousan, although the entire army lost a quarter of its strength because of this operation. But the commanders at all levels of the entire Shiyou Third Department did not have any displeasure. They all carried a large amount of spare weapons and equipment, and ate the military rations that the reading division had just delivered. Leaving the base in a big way, leaving this empty place.

Similarly, Zhu Huaibing, who encountered the same situation as Shi Yousan, faced Chairman Jiang's order and the temptation of reading the teacher's food. In the end, he had to endure the pain and cut his love, and all the equipment of his air defense battalion and a field artillery battalion that had just been received and had not yet been warmed up were obediently handed over to Gao Yuan, the commander of the second division of the Reading Division. In the end, with an army that was also missing a quarter of its strength, it withdrew from the base of the Reading Division in embarrassment.

"Division commander, according to the telegram sent by the intelligence department, the Kuomintang units of the two armies have now completely withdrawn from our base areas. Is it possible to let the people return to their homes? It's been ten days, and although the villagers have enough food, they have been sleeping outside the wind, and they don't know if they can hold on. Seeing the telegram that had just been sent to the command by the intelligence department, the commissar suggested with a smile on his face.

"Well, inform the people who are hiding everywhere that they can return to their villages. Political commissar, the villagers have also suffered a lot this time, you see that we have captured nearly 400,000 catties of military rations this time, should we show it to the people in these two areas. Anyway, these 400,000 catties of grain were also obtained out of thin air, and we don't feel heartbroken when I give them to the villagers. Liu Hua nodded and suggested to the political commissar.

"Okay, then I'll send a report to Director Wang of the Logistics Department immediately, so that he doesn't have to rush to transport the 400,000 catties of grain back to Zhangjiazhuang" After listening to Liu Hua's suggestion, the political commissar didn't have any opinions, and immediately nodded and said.

A few days later, the people who had been transferred to the mountainous areas applauded their hands after receiving the condolences food distributed by the local political axe. Not a single person complained about what he had suffered during the month. And for this friction between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the various troops sent out also slowly returned to their barracks and began training.

"Division commander, political commissar, I'm back" Just when Liu Hua and political commissar Luo Ronghuan were sitting in the command headquarters discussing how to deal with the recruits of more than 5,000 people in their hands, the familiar voice of Chief of Staff Li Qing sounded at the door of the headquarters.

"Hehe, our Chief of Staff is back. How about it, how about the results of going out this time, and how many benefits will I get back from Zhu Huaibing" Seeing the dusty and dusty, but it was indeed the chief of staff Li Qing who was full of excitement, Liu Hua knew that the chief of staff must have gained a lot this time, and asked with a smile.

"Division commander, political commissar, I really let you guess correctly. When Zhu Huaibing knew that we were not interested in those thousands of rifles and more than a hundred light and heavy machine guns. With almost no hesitation, we agreed to our request. At that time, I saw that he had promised so happily, so I took it upon myself to ask for all the equipment and ammunition of one of his field artillery battalions. He was very heartbroken at the time, but in the face of the temptation of food, he finally chose food. Chief of Staff Li Qing replied with excitement on his face.

"Great, then we don't have another field camp. The chief of staff did a good job, much more than our successes. Chief of Staff, tell us about the specific results. At this time, the eyes of political commissar Luo Ronghuan, because of excitement, almost narrowed into a slit, and asked with a smile.

"Division commander, this time I lived up to my expectations, bringing back a total of 6,234 recruits, 12 anti-aircraft machine guns, 12,000 rounds of ammunition, 6 anti-aircraft guns, and 3,000 shells. A field artillery battalion had 12 75-mm field guns with a total of 600 shells. In addition, there were 120,000 grenades specially requested by the division commander, and all the grenades of their entire army were collected. Chief of Staff Li Qing replied with a smile on his face.

"Oh my god, so much. It seems that this time we have really made a lot of money, and without spending a single soldier, we have produced so much more equipment out of thin air, and it is also the weapons and equipment that our army urgently needs. Division, commander, what are you going to do with this equipment? With a smile on his face, the political commissar looked at Liu Hua beside him.

"Quite simply, anti-aircraft weapons can only be used to their maximum extent if they are used intensively. Therefore, all prevention and control weapons were handed over to the air defense battalion. In addition, the air defense battalion has more weapons, and its establishment should also be raised, and the establishment will be temporarily set into a prevention and control regiment, under the jurisdiction of one antiaircraft artillery battalion and two antiaircraft machine gun battalions. Commissar, Chief of Staff, what do you think? Liu Hua thought for a moment and asked the political commissar and chief of staff beside him.

"Well, I agree with you, as for these anti-aircraft weapons, let's do just that. All that's left is more than 10,000 well-trained soldiers. Division commander, don't you know that now the commanders of the three military divisions are staring at these soldiers closely? The commissar nodded and continued to ask.

"Hehe, I didn't expect the noses of the three of their commanders to be quite smart, but this time, their hopes are about to be disappointed. Commissar, if they send you another telegram, you can clearly tell them not to fight this batch of recruits, I will be of great use to this batch of recruits. If they have the energy, they should train their own troops and do a good job of guarding their divisions, and be careful not to let the little devils take advantage of the loopholes. Hearing that the three commanders under his command were staring at the more than 10,000 recruits in his hands so quickly, Liu Hua said with a smile.

"Commander, don't worry, I won't give them any promises without your orders, hehe. Division commander, just now you said that you have a lot of use for this batch of recruits, I don't know what you are using them for? The political commissar asked suspiciously.

"Political commissar, don't you think that there are too few mobile troops directly under our division headquarters? Just a rapid reaction brigade, a guard brigade. If we encounter large-scale little devils, our two brigades will not be able to play any role at all. In many cases, three divisions were required to reinforce the main force of the division, and if the reinforcements were not timely, it would be easy to delay the fighters. In the battle a month ago, the chief of staff and I had a deep understanding of this," Liu Hua said thoughtfully to the political commissar in front of him.

"In the battle a month ago, if the reinforcements of Commander Gao and Commander Sun could not arrive in time, it would be impossible for us to accomplish the objectives of the campaign, let alone destroy the Fifth Division of the Japanese Army. Therefore, I completely agree with the proposal of the division commander to increase the strength of the troops directly under the division. In this way, many battles in the future will be able to be completed by relying only on the troops directly under our division. The troops in the three military sub-divisions are specially operating in their own sub-districts to fight against the little devils. Let the little devils know that in our base area, there are battlefields everywhere. After listening to Liu Hua's words, Chief of Staff Li Qingshen explained to the political commissar in a thoughtful manner.

"Well, since you both agree, then I agree too. But, division commander, how do you plan to increase the number of troops directly under our division headquarters? Although the political commissar has just come to the reading division for less than half a month, he still trusts the words of the two very much and agrees without any hesitation.

"Now that the political commissar has agreed, it will be much easier to do, but in fact it is very easy to do, that is, to expand the establishment of our rapid reaction brigade into a column directly under the division, with three brigades under its jurisdiction. The three brigades were directly expanded from the three regiments. As for the large number of soldiers that are lacking in the three brigades, they will be supplemented from the more than 10,000 recruits. Liu Hua said affirmatively.

"The column directly under the division, this is a good name, even if the little devil knows the name of our directly subordinate column, he can't guess the specific establishment of our direct column, maybe in many cases, it can surprise the little devil." Chief of Staff Li Qing was the first to nod in agreement.

"Yes, the Chief of Staff is absolutely right. I use the word column just to create an illusion of truth and falsehood, fiction and reality to the little devils. Let them not figure out the exact number of our troops, and then lead them to blindly send troops. Liu Hua nodded and said.

"Division commander, chief of staff, then we will report to the headquarters and the Military Commission, and ask the headquarters and the Military Commission for approval." Political Commissar Luo Ronghuan nodded and said, obviously agreeing with the opinions of the two very much.

As a result, the reading division was a direct column, and from this time on, it was officially established. In the next few days, Liu Hua and all the operational staff officers of the division headquarters almost all put down the work at hand and joined the ranks of the reorganization of the column directly under them.

And the central government in Yan'an, when it was learned that the Reading Division had successfully forced the Kuomintang Central Army to withdraw without spending a single soldier, and successfully smashed the first friction of the Kuomintang, they were all very excited.

More importantly, when the chairman learned that the reader had obtained more than 10,000 well-trained soldiers out of thin air in the midst of this counter-friction. Because of his happiness, he immediately notified all the bigwigs in Yan'an and prepared to celebrate. There was no surprise in the matter of the reading division's request for the formation of a column directly under the division, and it was almost unanimously approved at the Military Commission.

Since the shelves of the three regiments of the rapid reaction brigade were there, plus a large number of squad platoon commanders trained by the teaching regiment were replenished. The shelves of the three brigades of the column were quickly erected, after these recruits were replenished, as well as a large amount of equipment stocked by the logistics office. The entire column directly under it immediately showed a certain combat effectiveness.

Especially the more than 10,000 new fighters who have just joined the Reading Division. When he learned that the rifles, light machine guns, and heavy machine guns in his hands were all bought by the blood of the old soldiers around him. One by one, they immediately became excited, ready to use the weapons in their hands to have a good battle with the little devils on the battlefield.

With the end of the reorganization of the directly subordinate column, the entire directly subordinate column slowly got on the right track, and Liu Hua and others began to slowly become idle. At the same time, he slowly shifted his gaze to Yue Jun's body. Because, in Liu Hua's eyes, the little devil suffered such a big loss last time, and according to the surname of the little devil, he will definitely not give up.

During this month, except for Lieutenant General Tada Jun, the newly appointed Supreme Commander of the North China Garrison, who inspected the defense of Taiyuan, the entire Shanxi army moved. The rest of the time, there was hardly any movement. At this time, in Taiyuan, when the Reading Division retreated, there was no increase in troops, except for the little devils of a brigade. It's just that all kinds of war materials are constantly being transported to Taiyuan City, which has become a ruin.

Actually, it's not that Commander Tada doesn't want to retaliate, it's that he really doesn't have the experience to retaliate. Since the annihilation of the Fifth Division of the Yue Army, in order to recover this important town of Taiyuan. Tada Jun almost removed the entire North China region, and all the mobile forces of the army were reinforced.

However, a large number of mobile forces were evacuated from the various strongholds. The strongholds of the army, the county towns occupied by the army, and the soft interior of the transportation arteries were also well displayed in front of the Eighth Route Army, which was frequently active in various regions of North China. Under the orders of the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, all units of the Eighth Route Army, just like a kitten asking for the smell of fish, launched some small-scale counteroffensives against some military strongholds around them.

Although such a small-scale counteroffensive did not capture many county seats. However, the large amount of weapons and ammunition seized by various units and various strongholds can be said to have provided a good supplement to the overstretched Eighth Route Army. The various units have also been strengthened in the course of small counteroffensives one after another. At the same time, various small base areas have also been connected into a large area in this counteroffensive one after another.

At this time, the entire North China army had to face the situation that all strongholds were attacked everywhere, but there were not enough troops to rescue, and there was a shortage of troops. Faced with all kinds of bad news about the disruption of railway transportation, the looting of supplies, and the fall of the stronghold, Tada, who had just taken over as commander, could be said to be a headache. At this time, Lieutenant General Tada Jun was sitting in his office, listening to the chief of staff in front of him, reporting on the losses suffered by the imperial army in all parts of North China in the past month.

(To be continued)