RPAGF Chapter 1100 Expanding the Army Group
Chapter 1100 Expanding the Army Group
The issue of expanding the 72nd Army had actually been discussed since the very beginning of the war. But would those guys in Nanjing allow it to expand? They were clearly looking to limit its size.
In the end, they gave two independent brigades, which was considered a way to smooth things over. But those were real achievements in Pujiang, and you can't just take credit for them like that. Besides, even if you don't give them the army group, they are developing in the north according to their own ideas. If the third one is still the 72nd Army, that would be a big strange thing.
While the First and Second Divisions on the northern border didn't have much room for expansion, Tang Guoping and Liu Xiaoshan weren't idle, actively building their own cavalry brigade. They were doing quite well. And on Ma Leizi's side, guarding the densely populated area of eastern Shandong, the entire Fourth Infantry Division had many different titles and responsibilities.
Of course, if Nanjing approves it, then it will be the Fourth Infantry Division. If Nanjing doesn't approve it, then what about all the counties under our command? Does that mean we can't even manage the security regiments, garrison regiments, and guard regiments?
This is also why Jinling is preparing to upgrade them to the 72nd Army Group. If they were still the 72nd Army, the regular troops might not increase quickly, but the local troops would increase at an extremely fast pace. Other armies would become smaller and smaller as they fought, making it very difficult to replenish them, but Li Shaoyi's side would become larger and larger as they fought, making it easy to replenish them.
At the start of the war, the Nanjing Nationalist government did not send any troops to support Ma Leizi. Instead, it sent more than a dozen special envoys. These men visited various places to investigate Ma Leizi's expansion and ultimately concluded that they should either quickly promote them to the 72nd People's Liberation Army to keep them in check, or simply let them do as they pleased.
Anyway, the Fifth War Zone Command also said that the situation in the north is a bit chaotic right now, and with the troops under their command, it is difficult to manage the situation here. Therefore, allowing Ma Leizi to grow up is extremely beneficial to the whole country. Moreover, this guy is just like Li Shaoyi. He is bloodthirsty when facing the Japanese. As long as it is about killing the Japanese, even if he knows that he is being used, he will stand up without hesitation. Jinling likes this kind of person.
Ludong Provincial Capital Airport.
"What on earth happened? The commander-in-chief just returned from the south, and less than two hours later, the chief of staff is here from the north. We've instantly become the focus of attention. You know, the chief of staff is our pillar of strength, and he's always been stationed at the military base in the north. He's never been moved."
Several soldiers stood ramrod straight, but the officers were a bit far away, so they voiced their concerns. Everyone knew that Li Shaoyi was often out on missions, but the Chief of Staff was always in the rear, coordinating and guiding the entire General Staff Headquarters. He rarely came out. Now, they had to cross the Japanese-occupied territory in the north, which was quite dangerous. Even though we had sent more than thirty escort fighters, some people were still worried along the way. At least we had taken a detour through the Central Plains, since that area was still under Nationalist control.
"You don't know anything. If you ask me, all you know is that submachine gun in your hand. You hug it more than your wife. You read the newspaper when you have nothing to do, but you never go to the writing class in the evening. The newspapers are saying that our commander was tricked by those bastards in the south and he's not happy about it. The chief of staff is naturally here to comfort him. Otherwise, if you were to comfort him, what would you say?"
The squad leader, somewhat frustrated, said that he had been studying culture diligently, drawing some conclusions from the newspapers and exchanging ideas with many people. However, he found that his subordinates were unambitious and only thought about how to fight. In their eyes, studying culture was a waste of time. Every night when night school was in session, these guys would run as far away as possible, and when they got the newspaper, they would have the culture students read it to them while they sat next to them like they were listening to a storyteller.
"Damn it, he dared to trick our commander-in-chief. We are now strong and well-equipped. What bastard would dare to do such a thing? We should just wipe him out. I was saying that when the commander-in-chief came down that day, the smile on his face seemed a bit forced."
Li Shaoyi's soldiers were all from poor backgrounds. After joining the 72nd Army, they were living a good life and wished they could worship Li Shaoyi at home. Now that they heard that Li Shaoyi had suffered a loss, they immediately wanted to fight alongside him.
"All of you, stand up straight! What do you know? This is politics. We may have a strong and well-equipped army, but no matter how powerful we are, can we wipe out all the Japanese devils? Don't think so simply. The Japanese are much more industrialized than us. Besides, their reserve soldiers are a level above our other ragtag troops. If our weapons aren't better than theirs, we'll be just as helpless on the battlefield."
A few days ago, when the squad leader didn't understand something, he went to ask the company commander with all sorts of questions. This is what the company commander told him. Although I'm a roughneck, I happen to know how to answer this question, so I told the soldiers under my command the same thing. These guys looked at their squad leader with admiration.
Back then, we were all bachelors in the village, doing odd jobs together, sometimes digging sweet potatoes in the fields when we didn't have enough to eat. We should have been in similar situations, so why is there such a big difference after we joined this team? You know things we don't know, you son of a bitch. Is night school really that amazing?
The squad leader, of course, had no idea what his men were thinking. If he did, he would have kicked them right away. "You little brats don't strive for improvement, yet you expect me to be with you? What the hell are you thinking?"
"Stop talking and stand up straight."
The platoon leader heard these guys chatting again. The plane over there was about to stop. If they made a fool of themselves, the whole company would lose face because of them. Seeing that the chief of staff's plane was about to stop, these guys quickly shut up.
The Marshal's car also drove over. The Chief of Staff gave him a lot of face. The Marshal himself stood at the bottom of the spiral staircase. In the entire 72nd Army, and indeed in the entire Party and the State, that was unique.
Li Shaoyi's words came from the bottom of his heart. Without Chief of Staff Cui's overall coordination from the rear, there would have been no victory for the various units on the front lines. This is beyond doubt.