xymnovel Chapter 100: The Mechanization of the 3rd Detachment - Commander Li Requests Personnel
Chapter 100: The Mechanization of the 3rd Detachment - Commander Li Requests Personnel
After Mayor Qi and the others left, Li Jianghe had them carefully count the grain. They discovered that in addition to the 300,000 jin of grain from the local gentry and officials, there was also a considerable amount sent by ordinary local people.
Indeed, it's good to have a big reputation. Otherwise, who would know me, Li Jianghe, and there would be no way I would send so much grain to support the troops.
Just as Mayor Qi left, Li Jianghe saw a large group of people walking towards the camp.
Long Wenzhang and Yang Ruifu were on their way to recruit soldiers in the city. Behind them were a group of dark-skinned, lean men and some neatly dressed, youthful-looking students.
"Look, they've really recruited a lot of high-quality soldiers this time."
Before Long Wenzhang even got close, he started shouting at the top of his lungs.
After saying that, he pointed to the newly recruited soldiers behind him, looking quite pleased with himself.
Li Jianghe glanced at them and realized that the overall quality of the recruits this time was indeed higher.
They were all young and strong, and their bodies were lean and wiry, not the kind of frail beggars and refugees who would fall over at the slightest breeze.
How many people were recruited in total this time?
Li Jianghe turned his head and asked.
Long Wenzhang puffed out his chest and raised his head, saying with considerable pride:
"Reporting, sir, a total of 1,500 people. And this is only after half a day. If we recruit for a few more days, we can recruit not only 5,000, but even 10,000 people."
"No, that's enough."
Li Jianghe said this, thinking to himself that he probably couldn't afford to raise any more.
The main point is that there won't be any large-scale battles in this region until a major campaign begins.
Although I still have a lot of merit points, if I use them all to upgrade vehicles, buy fuel and supplies, it's really not sustainable to support so many people.
This is still after deducting the merit points from purchasing food supplies; otherwise, it would have been even higher.
In the following days, thanks to Li Jianghe's reputation, the recruitment of soldiers in the Chizhou area progressed quite smoothly.
Five days later, a large number of elites were recruited, most of whom were between eighteen and thirty years old, the prime of their lives.
In the following days, the number of soldiers that could be recruited was actually quite limited.
Li Jianghe was not surprised. After all, the Chizhou area is only so big, and it was already quite difficult to recruit these soldiers.
Xu Dingguo's side also recruited some soldiers, which increased the number of troops under his command.
While recruiting soldiers, Li Jianghe was also making some adjustments to the organization of his entire force.
In addition to the existing three motorized infantry battalions, one guard battalion, one artillery battalion, one supply battalion, and one engineer battalion, an additional tank battalion was added.
This so-called tank brigade was actually just eight Panzer 1 tanks from Baichengshan, plus the 221 armored reconnaissance vehicles that Li Jianghe exchanged for with merit points from the system space, as well as the upgraded M3 armored personnel carriers and 551 armored personnel carriers. Their firepower was more than enough for the Chinese battlefield in this era.
The armored vehicles equipped to the tank battalion were all upgraded from the original ones.
For example, the M3 armored personnel carrier, equipped with a PAK 40mm anti-tank gun or a 75mm short-barreled gun, can perform anti-tank warfare missions or provide infantry fire support.
The 551 armored personnel carrier is equipped with a 20mm autocannon or two MG42 machine guns.
Then there's a field air defense battalion.
The main equipment consisted of 15 twin-mounted Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns, distributed among three anti-aircraft artillery companies. The battalion commander was Sun Changzhen, a native of Hunan. He always had a bag of dried chili peppers in his pocket, and while others smoked, he would chew on the chili peppers.
The organization of infantry regiments has also changed.
It mainly concerns the configuration of grassroots units.
Each company is equipped with at least 4 trucks, 3 armored personnel carriers, and 1 Type 221 light armored reconnaissance vehicle.
At the same time, each company is equipped with at least two heavy machine gun squads, each squad is equipped with two MG42 machine guns, or Maxim heavy machine guns, or even Type 92 heavy machine guns.
In addition, each battalion will be equipped with an extra sniper squad, consisting of six snipers, who will fight alongside the company as an extension of the infantry's firepower.
In addition to sniper squads, battalion-level units are also equipped with communications squads to maintain contact with regimental and brigade headquarters via radios and backpack telephones. Some communications squads can also be assigned to company-level units to maintain communication.
Then there are anti-tank artillery platoons, mortar platoons, and rocket launcher platoons. These combat platoons are composed of three squads and belong to the battalion level.
At the battalion level, an additional communications platoon, a tank company, a heavy machine gun company, a mortar company, an anti-tank gun company, and a rocket launcher company will be added.
The supply corps mainly consisted of trucks and mules, with a significant number of tracked vehicles used as tractors.
The artillery units are also equipped with a number of armored tracked vehicles, which can be used to tow large artillery pieces across terrain.
After preparing all these things and undergoing rigorous military training in the Chizhou area, Li Jianghe discovered that his previously abundant merit points were now running out.
Over the next two months, Li Jianghe did two things: one was to find ways to raise money and food, and the other was to train the troops and await new combat orders.
He knew very well that the battle in the direction of Taierzhuang was getting closer and closer, and that he was ultimately still part of the Guangxi Army's combat order.
Who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth War Zone?
Isn't that just Commander Li from the Guangxi Army?
During the battle in the direction of Taierzhuang, Commander Li was willing to take in any Sichuan soldiers that others didn't want in order to get closer to the combat troops, let alone the fierce and powerful army he was leading.
Looking at the advancing Japanese troops on the map from the direction of Xuzhou, Commander Li's expression was extremely grim.
Han Fuqu fled without a fight, leading to the fall of Shandong. The Japanese army occupied most of Shandong with little effort, leaving the northern section of the Jinpu Railway wide open.
This put the entire Fifth War Zone in an extremely passive situation.
"Commander-in-Chief, a call from above."
At that moment, Officer Bai's voice came through.
When he answered the phone, Commander Li heard a Fenghua accent coming from the other end.
"My dear neighbor, the Japanese army is arrogant and their troops are heading straight for the Jinpu Railway. This is a vital transportation route connecting the north and south, and it cannot be lost. If you have any requests, just tell me. I will definitely fulfill them if I can."
Commander Li pondered for a moment and said:
"Chairman, I have three conditions."
"Three conditions? Go ahead and name them."
He spoke carefully on the other end of the phone.
"My first condition is that I want someone from you."
"Who is it?"
He was somewhat surprised, wondering who had such a big influence that Commander Li would personally ask him for it.
Commander Li then slowly spoke:
"You know this man, Li Jianghe. He was originally part of the Guangxi Army's combat order, but he got separated from the unit after the Battle of Shanghai."
He's a capable fighter, and I find him easy to use. If it's convenient for you, you could transfer him to the Fifth War Zone.