Rebirth of the Military Industry Power of the Anti-Japanese War

In addition, it must be noted that the huge losses in the suppression of bandits were actually due to the further expansion of the Soviet Area in Western Henan during this period, and the scope of suppression of bandits naturally also expanded. It is worth mentioning that the 15th Red Army attacked Lu

After entering Shixian County, they got in touch with the remaining Red 74th Division left behind during the Second Long March of the 25th Red Army. Since the Red 74th Division had lost contact with the 25th Army, they naturally agreed to merge into the Eighth Red Army.

.But to the surprise of Zheng Weisan, secretary of the Hubei-Shaanxi Special Committee, Chen Xianrui, commander of the Red 74th Division, and Li Longgui, political commissar, Hu Weidong, the young leader, did not dismantle or demote the Red 74th Division to a regiment or battalion-level unit because of its small number of soldiers.

, but retained the designation of the Red 74th Division, and added soldiers and equipment to it, bringing its strength to more than 3,000 people, and its firepower increased tenfold. For the Red 74th Division, which currently has less than 1,000 people,

It was like pie in the sky. Everyone in the Red 74 Division immediately had an excellent first impression of Hu Weidong, "This commander is a kind man!"

As everyone knows, Hu Weidong did this mainly because he was a "number controller" subconsciously. For those heroic troops with glorious histories, he always wanted to pass on the numbers. At this time, although the Red 74th Division was still very weak, its history

However, they were able to grow from more than 300 people to thousands of people in just over a year. Moreover, their equipment was greatly improved due to the capture, and they even had a slight surplus of guns. This is something that many main forces of the Red Army cannot do.

Yes, Chen Xianrui's military talent can be seen at least in the level of guerrilla warfare. Even if it cannot be compared with Gao Jingting, the master of guerrilla warfare, he can definitely be regarded as an excellent Red Army general. (ps: In history, Chen Xianrui also had the best record during the Red Army period.

He was relatively outstanding, but has not been very outstanding since then, but I personally think it is not a problem of ability, but of poor circumstances, especially when he later became a political cadre. It is even more difficult to use his military talents again. You must know that a famous general like Su Yu was also the same at first

There was also a time when he was unable to get ahead because he served as a political cadre. Although political commissars have great power, if they want to make great achievements, they must only be the leader of the base in charge of their own affairs, like Taizu...)

After learning about the strong strength of the Eighth Red Army, Chen Xianrui immediately suggested that the main force be sent to restore the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi base area, which had almost all been turned into guerrilla zones. Hu Weidong agreed, but only allowed the occupation of the six core counties of the original Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi base area.

, lest the stalls become too big and cannot control the banditry in the base area, among these six counties, only Lushi County is in Henan, and the other five are Shangnan, Xunyang, Zhen'an, Shanyang in Shaanxi and Yunxi in Hunan.

As a result, the scope of the Western Henan Soviet Area expanded to 23 counties and spanned three provinces. Logically speaking, it should be renamed the Hubei-Henan-Shaanxi Base Area. However, the western Henan part is far smaller than the other two provinces in terms of population, area, and economy.

The five counties can be compared with each other, so people still habitually call it the Soviet Area in Western Henan...

The expansion of the base area is a good thing, but it also triggered a debate. Should the Eighth Red Army develop westward, try to capture Xi'an, and connect the Western Henan Soviet Area with the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region? Or should they develop southward and eastward?

Is it connected to the Dabie Mountain base area of ​​Gao Jingting?

Hu Weidong's personal opinion is to develop southward. He knows very well that although the Eighth Red Army Corps is strong, it has no certainty of capturing Xi'an. The city of Xi'an is strong, and although the Northeast Army, the main force of the Shaanxi National Army, has no fighting will,

But they have many guns, and there is an aviation brigade stationed in Xi'an. As long as they focus on defending the city, even though the Eighth Red Army is powerful and good at attacking fortresses, it will be difficult to defeat them. And more importantly, although Xi'an is very famous,

But firstly, there is no money, secondly, there is no industry, and thirdly, there are no resources. It is not worth the risk for the Eighth Red Army.

In addition, Hu Weidong still has a little "selfishness". He is now able to carry out industrial construction in the Western Henan Soviet Area according to his own plan, largely because no one interferes. However, once it is connected to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region,

There are countless people with higher positions than him on both hands. It would be a headache if a lay leader raised objections to Hu Weidong's plan. Therefore, Hu Weidong did not want to do anything until he achieved great results and proved himself right.

He prematurely accepted the direct leadership of the central government. However, these words must never be uttered. If someone uses this as a basis to label him as "attempting to be self-reliant," he will be in big trouble. But what worries Hu Weidong

However, most of the officers and soldiers below are thinking of joining forces with the Central Red Army...

Fortunately, at this time, the great man saw that the Soviet Area in Western Henan was expanding too fast, and he could not completely believe that the Eighth Red Army was really as powerful as the telegram said. He was worried that its stall would be too big and cause problems, and he was also afraid that it would destroy it by acting rashly.

According to the central government’s plan, a telegram was sent to the headquarters of the Eighth Red Army at the end of November, asking it to first consolidate its base in western Henan and then manage the Central Plains first if it has the remaining strength, rather than trying to be aggressive and entering Guanzhong. Because now the Red Army has reached a tacit understanding with Zhang Yang, if the Red Army

The Eighth Army Corps marches westward into southern Shaanxi. Under heavy pressure, the two men may be forced to change their attitude and fight to the death with the Red Army, and no longer obstruct the Central Army's large-scale invasion of Shaanxi. That would be asking for trouble...

Hu Weidong, who was relieved, immediately ordered the Red 74th Division to advance southward into the Nanyang area to conduct guerrilla operations, and when the time was right, they would seize Nanyang City and establish a base. After that, they could attack Runan with the Red 28th Army in the Dabie Mountains and separate the Western Henan Soviet Area from the Soviet Union.

The Dabie Mountains are integrated into one. Most of the backbone of the Red 74th Division came from the Dabie Mountains. He was very happy to know that. Hu Weidong also considered that Gao Jingting's 82nd Division was too bloated, and the Red 28th Army and the Red 74th Division came from the same family, so he

The 74th Division was placed under the organizational structure of the 28th Red Army in Gao Jingting, further strengthening the strength of the 28th Red Army.

At this time, Luoyang and Mengjin County to the north had already been surrounded on three sides by the Soviet Area in Western Henan, but Hu Weidong never sent troops to capture Luoyang, and the national army in Luoyang was also at peace, not worried about the Red Army at all. He originally commanded Luoyang

The leader of the 30,000-strong garrison is none other than Zhang Fang, an old acquaintance from his days in Jiangxi...

Due to the experience of fighting in the past, Hu Weidong knew that although Zhang Fang's troops did not have many troops, their combat effectiveness, especially their fighting spirit, should not be underestimated, but their weapons and equipment were not very good (that is to say, they did not capture many good things).

With the current strength of the 15th Red Army, it may not be difficult to capture Luoyang, but it is certainly not possible to play the trick of converting prisoners and "fighting to support war". Hu Weidong is naturally reluctant to fight such a loss-making battle.

In addition, Zhang Fang has a high reputation in both the black and white circles of the Central Plains. Ever since they formed a good relationship, he has been an important target in the Red Party's united front list. Naturally, Hu Weidong has no need to fight against him. And Zhang Fang

He also reciprocated the favor and used his prestige in the green forest to persuade some bandit leaders to surrender to the Red Army, which greatly reduced the losses of the Red Army and the Soviet area government. Later, Hu Weidong asked Zhang Fang why he did not recruit those bandits himself, but Zhang Fang smiled bitterly and said, "

Can’t afford to support..."...

..