As soon as Chairman Mao received the gift list, Commander-in-Chief Zhu beside him said with a smile: "We have already heard of Commander Wang's reputation for squandering money with righteousness, and I am afraid that this time we will have to spend a lot of money." And Chairman Mao's face became serious after reading the first gift list, and it was not until after reading the gift list that he handed the gift list to Commander-in-Chief Zhu beside him, and then said: "Commander Wang, you are sending charcoal in the snow, and we will always remember Commander Wang's affection." ”

Chairman Mao's words were very heavy, which made the other generals around him a little surprised. But Wang Haitao smiled and said to Chairman Mao: "Chairman Mao, these things are nothing to me, maybe they can help you, this is also a little help to the same anti-Japanese army." Listening to the conversation between the two, the generals of the Eighth Route Army were curious about what gifts the commander of the national army would send.

While speaking, Commander-in-Chief Zhu also finished reading the gift list and said: "Commander Wang is really generous, aren't you afraid that Lao Jiang will know about it and will deal with you?" Wang Haitao replied: "I, Wang Haitao, walk upright, sit upright, and have no shame in my heart, so what is there to fear? Chairman Mao, Commander-in-Chief Zhu, let's hand it over now. ”

The generals of the Eighth Route Army were curious about what the gift was, and they were all looking forward to it at this time, and Commander-in-Chief Zhu also asked all the Central Guard Corps to be transferred over to help unload the truck. This place didn't need the people brought by Wang Haitao to do anything to guard, but the reconnaissance company still made a small area of vigilance out of instinct. Their skillful tactical movements, strict division of labor and cooperation, and exquisite mutual cooperation fall into the eyes of experts and caring people, and they can't help but shine in front of them.

After the arrival of the Central Guard Regiment, Wang Haitao's men began to unload the truck with the assistance of the soldiers of the Central Guard Regiment. The first thing to unload were all kinds of military materials, including food, military tents, medical supplies, cloth, etc., which made the leaders in charge of logistics on the Chinese side excited, while receiving and calculating the use of these materials.

After the military supplies were unloaded, the next step was all the weapons and a large amount of ammunition for a standard battalion. In the past, although Wang Haitao also donated guns and ammunition to the CCP through Wang Weikuan and the New Fourth Army, most of them were captured Japanese-style equipment. A small number of new weapons were sent to Yan'an, and they could not be fully used because of the problem of ammunition, but these small number of new weapons sent still let these leaders of the CCP know the powerful firepower of these new weapons.

Now boxes of brand-new weapons were opened in front of them, guns flashing with metallic luster, light and heavy machine guns standing on the ground, and large-caliber mortars neatly arranged, all of which made the generals of the Eighth Route Army widen their eyes in surprise. What Wang Haitao brought this time was the weapons and equipment of a battalion equipped according to the standards of his own guard battalion. One squad was armed with four submachine guns, five semi-automatic rifles, one light machine gun, and two shell guns. Four squads in one platoon, two heavy machine guns were added.

A company of four platoons, with the addition of a heavy fire platoon, armed with four 82-caliber mortars and four heavy machine guns, as well as an 82-caliber recoilless gun, two four-zero rocket launchers. The battalion had a heavy fire company with six 100-caliber heavy mortars, eight 82-caliber mortars, four 82-caliber recoilless guns, as well as eight heavy machine guns and sixteen light machine guns.

According to Wang Haitao's establishment, this battalion is 826 people, and it is about to catch up with the people of a small regiment when placed here by the Chinese Communists. The Central Guard Regiment was only 1,300 people. This was not the end, but while the CCP leaders were talking about the guns, the men of the guard company began to unload the parts of the artillery and assemble them in the open field.

When the first artillery was assembled, the Chinese Communists shouted: "Look, artillery!" and the attention of everyone was drawn to the soldiers of the guard company who were assembling the artillery. Under the fiery eyes of everyone, one cannon after another was assembled. When the last gun was assembled, fifty brand-new imitation 75-caliber field guns lined up in the square.

It was only at this time, when all the unloaders were completed, that these leaders of the CCP understood what a big deal was. Only then did I understand why Chairman Mao's words were so important. At the same time, looking at Wang Haitao's eyes was very different. By this time the sun had turned westward, and although everyone had stood in the square for several hours, none of them felt tired. It was not until the guard company hung the artillery on the car and sent the artillery and munitions to the designated warehouse under the escort of the Central Guard Regiment that everyone came back to their senses and, under the leadership of Mao and Zhu, walked towards the central auditorium.

The central auditorium in Yangjialing is the place where the CCP holds important meetings, and next to it, there is a smaller room, where the top leaders of the CPC Central Committee meet, and now Wang Haitao has been introduced into this room. In addition to Mao and Zhu, who accompanied Wang Haitao, there were also General Peng Dehuai, vice chairman, Ye Jianying, chief of general staff, and current deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, General He Long, commander of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and General Xiao Ke, deputy division commander.

Everyone sat down, and everyone had a smile of joy and excitement on their faces. It is not to blame that these CCP leaders are excited, the conditions of the CCP's troops are too hard, and all the weapons and ammunition have to rely on themselves, although the number is also the number of the National Revolutionary Army, but it is impossible to get a single shot from Lao Chiang. Now Wang Haitao has sent so many weapons and equipment at once, as well as a full fifty artillery pieces, which is a good thing that money can't buy. It is conceivable how much combat effectiveness the Eighth Route Army will bring with this batch of weapons and ammunition, so how can these CCP leaders not be excited.

After Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu expressed their gratitude to Wang Haitao, Wang Haitao spoke, and he said to Mao and Zhu: "Chairman Mao and Commander-in-Chief Zhu, I suggest that you concentrate this batch of weapons and ammunition on a single unit, instead of scattering them, so that I can let the people I bring to conduct some training on this army, so that this army can become the most effective elite of the Eighth Route Army." ”

Wang Haitao's words were unintentional, but the people below listened to them intentionally, and the reaction was relatively large Wu Lie, the head of the Central Guard Regiment, and the 1,300 members of the Central Guard Regiment were all selected from various units, equipped with the best weapons and equipment in the whole army, and their combat effectiveness was absolutely one of the best in the whole army. Wu Lie has always looked down on the troops of the National Army, and when he heard Wang Haitao say that he wanted to train the troops of the Eighth Route Army, he immediately rolled his eyes at Wang Haitao unconvinced. However, all the leaders present here are the leaders of the central government, and they have not yet spoken, so even if they are not convinced, they can only say nothing.

Wu Lie's expression fell in the eyes of the deputy commander General Peng Huai, who had also heard many times about the achievements of Wang Haitao, the army commander, in the anti-Japanese battlefield under his 90th Army, and knew the truth that there were no weak soldiers under a strong general, but he still wanted to see how strong the combat effectiveness of the troops under this commander Wang Haitao was. However, it is a bit unkind to question it now, so General Peng Dehuai glanced at Wu Lie and did not say anything.

Regarding Wang Haitao's proposal, Commander-in-Chief Zhu said that he would seriously consider it, and then diverted the topic. The atmosphere was much more relaxed, everyone was asking Wang Haitao about the experience of several confrontations with the Japanese army, and Wang Haitao did not hide his selfishness, and frankly told some of his experiences and experiences in confrontations with the Japanese army in several battles. It wasn't until someone came to report that the banquet had been prepared that the conversation ended.

This time, Chairman Mao Xi invited Wang Haitao to a much better specification than Yichuan's, after all, no matter how difficult it is for the CCP, a banquet can still be taken out. Wang Haitao also asked Tangshan Leopard to take out the good wine in the car, as well as the Guangxi specialties prepared for Chairman Mao and those who love spicy food. Wang Haitao said to Chairman Mao: "Chairman Mao, I heard that you like spicy food, so I prepared some Guangxi specialties, all of which are particularly spicy food, which is my personal gift to you, please Chairman Mao try it." ”

This gift is just the appetite of Chairman Mao and other people who love spicy food, Chairman Mao laughed and said: "Okay, good, Commander Wang has a heart, but I will be disrespectful!" After speaking, he first stretched out his chopsticks and took a mouthful of food and put it in his mouth to eat. Guangxi cuisine is famous for its spicy, and there is a saying in later generations: Sichuan people are not afraid of spicy, Hunan people are not afraid of spicy, and Guangxi people are afraid of spicy. Now Chairman Mao said happily after taking a bite: "Yes, this spicy tastes." Seeing Chairman Mao shouting, those who like spicy food also got off their chopsticks, and then in addition to the applause, there was also a sound of sucking at the banquet, which was spicy after people who couldn't eat spicy taste.

A wine feast is eaten until the moonlit treetops. Several major leaders of the CCP and several chief officers of the Eighth Route Army did not drink much, and after the banquet was dispersed, Wang Haitao and his subordinates were led to rest, but the leaders of the CCP gathered together for a meeting. At the meeting, everyone affirmed that Wang Haitao is a rare and true friend of the CPC, and his help to the CPC is tremendous and immeasurable. At the meeting, when Chief of Staff Ye Jianying asked whether it was possible to attract both Commander Wang Haitao and his 90th Army to the Chinese Communists, there were more controversies at the meeting.

Secretary Ren Bishi immediately raised a question: If this Commander Wang Haitao and his 90 th Army were absorbed into the Eighth Route Army, would it destroy the current anti-Japanese united front? If they are here, how should we arrange them? You must know that this is not a small contingent of a few dozen or several hundred people, but an army with extremely strong combat effectiveness; I heard Commander Wang say that he has five divisions, three independent brigades, and nearly 100,000 horses.

The establishment of the Eighth Route Army is three divisions, plus a total of 50,000 troops alone, and 100,000 people will be added at once, so how to arrange it has become a big problem. At this time, Deputy Commander Peng Dehuai spoke, and he said: "Secretary Mao, Commander-in-Chief Zhu, if this Commander Wang Haitao is willing to join our Eighth Route Army, our strength will be greatly improved, which is a good thing. As long as he obeys the leadership of the central authorities, I will give up the post of deputy commander-in-chief to him, and I will go below to become a division commander. ”