noffsinger Chapter 529 Rumors 4
Chapter 529 Rumors 4
Wang Meng followed Li Jiayu to the former base of the 47th Army, which was located in Gaoping Village on the east side of Xin'an County, about ten miles away from the county seat.
Early in the morning of the second day after the reorganization, Wang Meng was awakened by the sound of training.
After changing his clothes, Wang Meng went to the training ground and happened to meet Li Jiayu.
"General Li, you're up so early? Do you get up at this time every day to do morning exercises?"
Li Jiayu adjusted his belt and stretched his new camouflage uniform.
"Chief of Staff, we Sichuanese are very comfortable, especially in Xin'an, which is quite a rear base. It is easier to be comfortable. Comfort is not a bad thing, but if you are comfortable for too long, you are afraid that you will not be able to find the way back.
Therefore, the habit of doing morning exercises has never been abandoned.
Besides, we are about to start reorganizing, so we should use up their energy to prevent any unexpected problems."
Wang Meng nodded. The fact that Li Jiayu was able to become the army group commander was not just luck, but he really had some ability.
The bigger the changes, the more important it is to fill the soldiers' daily schedules so that they don't have to deal with unnecessary things.
But no matter how carefully Li Jiayu considers, people with ulterior motives will still stir up trouble.
At this time, on the training ground, a vulgar voice came:
"What's the point of doing drills? When we get to the independent column, we'll have endless drills, endless battles, and endless hardships. I heard the food and drink aren't that good either!"
"Really? Captain? I heard that the independent column has good food and clothes, and their salaries are never in arrears."
"Are you stupid? If I didn't say that, would you be willing to go? Anyway, I'm not going to go!"
Wang Meng looked over in the direction of the voice and saw a low-ranking officer with his hat tilted and a look of impatience on his face.
Li Jiayu also looked at the man with a grim face. Isn't it an insult to him to say such words at this juncture?
Li Jiayu glanced at Wang Meng secretly, then walked over quickly.
"Who are you? You should be responsible for what you say. I've never heard of you saying this before!"
The troublesome officer shuddered with fear when he saw his commander coming.
"General...Commander, I heard it from others too!"
Li Jiayu was furious. He didn't expect that there would be such a liar under his rule.
"You damn immortal boss, you spread rumors in my team! Come on, give me 20 military sticks! If anyone spreads rumors again, the punishment will be doubled!"
At this time, a pair of big hands pressed down Li Jiayu's shoulders.
"Commander Li, please be patient. Since our soldiers still have some doubts, I am here to explain it to everyone, so that our soldiers will not feel uneasy when they come here!"
Li Jiayu was more than happy to do so. Although severe punishments were necessary in troubled times, he still felt a little reluctant to suppress his own soldiers.
"Then I'll have to trouble the Chief of Staff."
Wang Meng waved to the company commander.
"Are you their company commander? A Sichuan Army or something?"
The troublesome company commander took a few steps forward, not daring to look Wang Meng in the eye.
"Report to the commander, I am not from Sichuan, I am from the Northeast Army. When I fought from outside the Great Wall to inside the Great Wall, I arrived at the border of Henan Province and joined the 47th Army."
"So you are brothers from the Northeast Army. You have suffered a lot! Back then, the young marshal did not fire a single shot and let our best-equipped Northeast Army retreat into the interior of the country, and just like that, we lost our three northeastern provinces!
But these have nothing to do with you soldiers. Instead, you are the ones who are blamed! It’s not easy! "
Wang Meng's words, word by word, hit the troublesome officer hard. The misunderstandings and grievances over the years had weighed him down to the point where he could not stand up straight.
He was scolded by his fellow countrymen and his comrades-in-arms. In short, he was scolded wherever he went.
"Chief of Staff...I..."
Wang Meng raised his hand and signaled him to stop talking.
"Those are things of the past. Today we are mainly talking about our independent column."
After saying that, Wang Meng stood on the high ground of the training ground and called all the soldiers who were training around him over.
"Brothers, I am Wang Meng, the chief of staff of the independent column.
You must have known that our independent column reorganization working group has already entered our 47th Army, but you don’t know the specific situation yet, right?
Today, I will represent our independent column to answer your questions. After I finish speaking, if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.
First, the training of our independent column was indeed hard, but it was all for the purpose of sweating more in peacetime and bleeding less in war. The reason why we couldn't defeat the Japanese before was partly due to our weapons and equipment.
But the most important reason is that we were not well trained. Many soldiers took off their civilian clothes and went directly to the battlefield. They had never fired many bullets before and had not received much training. They were more comfortable holding a hoe than a gun.
Let’s not talk about the Japanese’s bayonet fighting, one of them could easily beat three of us.
His marksmanship is also top-notch. Within a hundred meters, he can shoot wherever he points with his Type 38 rifle!"
Wang Meng's words were well-reasoned and the soldiers nodded frequently after hearing them.
These were soldiers who had fought the Japanese devils to their death, so naturally they had experienced their tactical qualities.
Wang Meng's intention was not to boost others' morale or destroy his own prestige, but to objectively recognize the gap and make up for it.
"Of course, this has something to do with our poverty.
The delay in paying our soldiers means that our soldiers cannot devote themselves to training. Moreover, many of them are conscripted men who will be sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder if given a grenade.
Next, you joined the independent column. You can make bullets and shells at will. We don't ask to train you to be sharpshooters, but with the firepower of our semi-automatic rifles, we should have no problem fighting the Japanese in a one-on-one battle!
Of course, if you can’t bear the hardship of training, you don’t have to join our independent column!”
When Li Jiayu heard this, he thought, isn't this looking down on people?
"Brothers, we Sichuan soldiers crossed the Qinling Mountains and the Yellow River from Sichuan with our soles and straw sandals. Are we afraid of this little bit of hardship?"
"That's what I mean! If I had enough bullets, I could be a sharpshooter!"
Wang Meng smiled. This was the effect he wanted.
"Okay! Then let's talk about the second point.
Fighting! Our independent column has indeed been fighting all year!
We have recovered Changzhi, Linfen, Yuncheng, Yangquan, Datong, Taiyuan and Baotou!
Aren't we soldiers here to defend our country and drive the Japanese out of China? If anyone is afraid of fighting, sorry, the independent column doesn't welcome them!
However, we will not let our soldiers sacrifice their lives in vain! We counted the battles we have fought, big and small, and found that our casualties were much lower than those of the Japanese.
In the past, when our Chinese army fought against the Japanese, it was good enough to exchange six soldiers for one Japanese soldier. The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was even worse. We killed 3,000 enemies but lost 100,000 of our own. It was a great shame and humiliation!"
Li Jiayu has always been curious about the combat effectiveness of the independent column.
"Chief of Staff, can our independent column fight the Japanese on a one-to-one basis?"