noffsinger Chapter 237 The strong wind rises
Chapter 237 The strong wind rises
The wind is blowing and the clouds are flying.
That afternoon, in the auditorium of the military fortress, Zhao Gang sat on the rostrum and looked at all the cadres at the regimental level and above in the entire column with a sharp gaze.
"Comrades, you may have noticed that I am the only one attending the meeting this time. Commander Li, Chief of Staff Wang, and Principal Lin are not present!"
The venue was as quiet as usual, and everyone just glanced at each other.
"Because our independent column has come to a crossroads. Which road is the way to life? Which road is the way to death? We don't know!"
"Zhang Dabiao, did you know that Chongqing asked us to attack Taiyuan?"
Zhang Dabiao stood up with a swish.
"I know! Chongqing ordered us to attack Taiyuan. If we don't obey, it means we are disobeying the orders of the Military and Political Department and undermining the united front!"
"So, what do you think about this?"
"I just want to say one thing, bullshit! Even if we want to fight in Taiyuan, we should wait until the conditions are ripe!"
Zhao Gang laughed and pressed his hand downwards into the air.
"What Zhang Dabiao said is true. But Chongqing still has no intention of letting us go. They ordered us to launch an attack on Taiyuan within half a month! On the one hand, there is the crime of destroying unity, and on the other hand, there are the lives of our soldiers. What should we do?"
Shen Quan also stood up at this time. The 2nd Armored Division and the 3rd Armored Division were currently undergoing final integration training and had not yet fully formed their combat effectiveness.
"Political Commissar, let's piss him off and see what he does. At worst, we can just turn against each other! We have the guns and cannons, so we have the final say!"
"Shen Quan, this is Chongqing's trap. They want to throw the dirty water of sabotaging the war of resistance on us, and then openly attack our Eighth Route Army base. In the end, both sides will suffer, the Japanese will benefit, and our people will suffer in the end!"
Shen Quan lowered his head in shame. He really hadn't thought of this.
"Political Commissar, then let's just attack Taiyuan!"
"Attack Taiyuan? Our Second and Third Armored Divisions have not yet fully formed their combat effectiveness. Even if we lose many soldiers and generals and take Taiyuan, can you guarantee that Chongqing will not swallow us up in one gulp? Or, will he let us attack Zhengxian?"
There was a buzz of discussion coming from the meeting room. Zhao Gang listened a little and realized that both options were dead ends and there was nothing he could do!
"Don't you have a better idea?"
Zhao Gang paused.
"The head of the headquarters and the brigade commander have thought of a way to solve this problem, but you must cooperate, otherwise it will be the same dead end!"
"Political Commissar, you said, even if it means going through mountains of swords and seas of fire, our First Armored Division will be the first to go!"
"Good! That means we will break away from the Eighth Route Army!"
The meeting room was silent, and Zhao Gang's words echoed.
The conference room was silent for a full ten seconds, as if it were the scene of a nuclear bomb explosion, with the roof almost blown off.
"No, we are part of the Eighth Route Army. How can we break away from the Eighth Route Army?"
"Yes, we are the people's army. If we break away, what are we called? Bandits?"
"I disagree!"
Zhao Gang watched them quarreling for five minutes, then sat on the stool with cold eyes, watching the pot of hot water slowly return to calm.
"Have you had enough of the quarrel? Now, who among you wants to speak? Don't talk about the problem, just talk about what other solutions there are? If anyone can come up with a better solution, you can sit on the podium!"
Everyone in the audience shut their mouths obediently.
"Commissar, we still can't figure it out!"
"Comrades, when I heard the news this morning, I was as angry and confused as you were, and felt abandoned! But then I realized that we are doing this for victory, for the people, and for our parents, brothers and sisters!"
"As long as our star is red, who cares what we are called? Think about those underground party members working behind enemy lines. Aren't they more wronged?"
"No matter what we are called, as long as we fight against the Japanese and for the people, we have not gone astray. We are still on the original path, and we are still brothers and comrades with them!"
Zhao Gang's few simple words touched the hearts of every cadre present, putting himself in their shoes and thinking from their perspective.
"Yes! As long as our hearts are red, it doesn't matter what it's called!"
"Political Commissar, we support you!"
Zhao Gang's chest began to heave. These cadres were indeed pure revolutionary fighters. As long as they had a clear conscience and could fight the Japanese invaders, this hurdle would be easily overcome.
"I emphasize to you once again that we are still one family with the Eighth Route Army. Don't let me hear anything that undermines unity in the future! Otherwise, you will be subject to military law! Do you have any other opinions? If not, go back and do ideological work. If you insist on withdrawing from the independent column, we will not stop you!"
"Yes!"
Each division and regiment immediately started ideological work, and at the evening review meeting, no soldier wanted to leave the independent column.
Lin Shubing also led the transport battalion to transport supplies to support the 386th Brigade to the designated location.
"Brigade Commander, you guys use these supplies first. If you run out of bullets and shells later, send us a message and we'll deliver them immediately. Commander Li also told us that if conditions are ripe later, we can build a few production lines for the 386th Brigade!"
"Haha, Li Yunlong is usually very stingy, but now that he wants to divide the family business, he's sending out all these goodies in truckloads!"
The brigade commander looked at the mountains of supplies and dozens of trucks, and his eyes became sore again.
"Well, these weapons and equipment are enough for us to form several new regiments. It can be regarded as a little compensation for us! Go back and tell Li Yunlong to work hard for me. When the conditions are ripe, I will personally pick him up and take you home!"
The gloom that was weighing on Lin Shubing's chest was swept away.
"Okay, wait till we get home!"
Lin Shubing saluted and prepared to turn around and leave.
"Wait, take these jars of sweet potato stew back with you. You guys gave me such a big gift, I can't let you go back empty-handed! Go ahead, go!"
Lin Shubing called the soldiers from the reconnaissance battalion, picked up the jar of wine, got on the truck without looking back, and started returning to Pingshun.
Wang Meng was also very busy at this time. After doing ideological work in each armored division, he immediately shifted the focus of defense to the banks of the Yellow River to guard against Chongqing and Yan Laoxi.
Moreover, they contacted the independent regiment and asked them to strengthen their control over Fenglingdu and adjust their gun muzzles to aim at Tongguan opposite.
"Contact Lu Tianlong and have them fill up their tanks with fuel and load up their bombs. If anyone is blind, don't blame us for being ruthless! No one will die under the bombs!"
At this time, Li Yunlong was inviting three old friends to attend the first meeting after the reform at Pingshun Military Fortress early the next morning.