Chapter 38: Promoted to Legion

  "Congratulations, Director Ren, we have a victory report! A victory report!" The messenger rushed into the meeting room of the Red 26th Army Corps with a hint of surprise.

  "He Zong, you were right, Liu Hua is indeed not bad. My god, nearly 20,000 people, I didn't even dare to think about it?" Ren Zhengwei took the telegram and was shocked.

  "Director Ren, what's with the over 20,000 people? Speak clearly!" General He asked hastily upon seeing Director Ren's excited face.

  "Yes, Comrade, hurry up and say it, I'm dying of anxiety!" Zhang Zhen said beside him.

  "Haha, look at you guys getting all anxious. You'd better be prepared, or you'll get scared." Secretary Ren started joking around when he saw everyone staring at him.

  "The Independent Brigade has launched a surprise attack, annihilating the 15th Division of the Central Army and capturing Taoyuan!"

  "What? So soon!" General He couldn't believe it and snatched over the telegram, his eyebrows slowly relaxing.

  "Chairman, Commander-in-Chief, Vice Chairman Zhou, the Independent Division has won another victory! Come and take a look!" Chief of Staff Liu Bocheng rushed into the room, waving the telegram in his hand.

  "Haha, Liu Hua has brought us another surprise! Look at how delighted our Chief of Staff is!" the Chairman said with a smile.

  "Oh dear Chairman, don't say that anymore, come and take a look! My goodness, he's killed so many enemies, he really dares to do it, he really has his own way." The Commander-in-Chief said with the telegram in hand.

  "The Central Revolutionary Military Commission: Our troops laid two ambushes in Taoyuan Creek two days ago, annihilating two brigades of the enemy's 15th Division. Then, we again annihilated the rear guard brigade of the 15th Division. Disguising ourselves as retreating Central Army soldiers, we charged into the county seat and annihilated a defending brigade of the Hunan Army, occupying Taoyuan County. In this battle, nearly 19,000 enemy troops were annihilated, over 6,000 were captured, and countless weapons and ammunition were seized. Among those captured were an enemy brigade commander and two regimental commanders. Additionally: Our troops have decided to march towards Yujia Ping tomorrow and join forces with the Red Second Army Corps there."

  Commander: Liu Hua, Political Commissar: Li Qing, Chief of Staff: Guan Xiangying.

  "What a great victory! Liu Hua's independent division is really something. Hehe, Old Mao, why do you look like you're not happy? This is a battle we've won!"

  "Boss, I'm certainly happy after winning the battle, haha, how can I not be happy? Just... " The chairman still didn't speak. He just sat there smoking.

  "Mr. Chairman, just go ahead and say what you have to say, it's just us few people here." Vice-Chairman Zhou said, seeing the chairman's expression.

  "Heh heh, I was thinking that tomorrow the Independent Division will meet with He Long. Later on, what should we do about their affiliation? Should they be directly under the Military Commission or under He Long's command? After all, Liu Hua's Independent Division may only be a division, but in terms of numbers and equipment, it should be comparable to one of our army corps!" The Chairman expressed his concerns, but none of the other leaders spoke up after hearing his words.

  "Yes, the chairman is talking about a big problem, but it's definitely not possible for us to command directly under the Military Commission. You know they are in western Hunan and we are on the march, it's fundamentally impossible to give orders." The commander-in-chief spoke up.

  "Chief of Staff, how many people are in the current Red 26th Army Corps?" Vice Chairman Zhou suddenly raised his head and looked at the Chief of Staff sitting next to him.

  "Heh heh, Vice Chairman Zhou, I'm not quite sure of the exact number either, but I think it should be around 20,000 people or so!" The Chief of Staff replied with a puzzled expression.

  "Twenty thousand people, plus Liu Hua's independent division, there are more than thirty thousand people. It's almost the same as our army. I didn't expect there to be so many people! Why not let them form a field army and fight together?" Vice Chairman Zhou proposed.

  At this time, several people in the conference room finally relaxed their tightly locked brows.

  "Well, I think it's possible to form a column army. But what about the independent division's organization? Although it only has one division's organization, but it has an army corps' worth of troops! If we merge it into He Long's command, it still can't be just an independent division!" The commander-in-chief asked further.

  "That's right, I think this is a big problem, and it's also related to the promotion of cadres. Originally, it was a corps-level cadre who was reduced to a division-level chief of staff. Isn't that a bit...? Why not just promote the independent regiment to a corps?" suggested Vice Chairman Zhou.

  "Heh heh, since Enlai has already said it's possible to promote to a military corps, I naturally agree. However, the leadership of the corps must be adjusted, Li Qing's rank is too low and isn't suitable for being the political commissar of the corps. What do you think?"

  "I also agree, let's just make Guan Xiang the deputy commander, Liu Hua remains as the division commander, and Li Qing takes charge of the logistics department within the division party committee. The division will be called Red Seventh Division, what do you think?"

  "Yes, I agree."

  "Agreed"... soon, several people's opinions were agreed upon.

  Since everyone agrees, a telegram will be formed and sent out soon. Now let's discuss the leader of the Second Red Army!

  Commander-in-Chief He Long, Political Commissar Ren Bishi. These are all unnecessary to discuss, let's talk about the leaders of each army corps below.

  ...................................................................

  The telegram announcing the independent division's promotion to army corps had arrived at the Independent Division.

  "Commander, commander, no, regimental commander, regimental commander, the Military Commission has sent a telegram." Looking at the flustered Chief of Staff Liu Hua furrowed his brow: "What regimental commander, Chief of Staff, don't call out randomly."

  "Haha, Commander, you've been promoted! Haha, our independent division has expanded into the 7th Red Army Corps and you're now the corps commander!" The chief of staff said excitedly.

  Snatching the telegram from the chief of staff's hand, Liu Hua was stunned. "Order all battalion-level and above cadres to attend a meeting at the division headquarters, quickly!" Liu Hua said excitedly.

  "Hehe, comrades, you should know what today's meeting is about, hehe." After that, the whole conference room burst into laughter.

  "Alright, since everyone knows now, I'll announce the reorganization order:"

  The Independent Brigade was reorganized as the 7th Red Army Corps. The corps commander is Liu Hua, the political commissar is Guan Xiangying, and the head of the logistics department is Li Qing.

  Under it are three infantry divisions, one recruit regiment, one logistics department, one artillery battalion, one heavy machine gun battalion, one guard battalion, one scout battalion and one sniper company.

  Each infantry division has three infantry regiments, each regiment is expanded by three infantry battalions, the missing personnel are supplemented by new recruits, prisoners of war, and require 1,500 people per regiment. Each regiment has a heavy machine gun company, the division headquarters has an artillery company, reconnaissance company, guard company, sniper platoon, with a total of 5,000 people in the entire division.

  Political Commissar: Zhao Dahai, Director: Sun Xingbang

  Second-in-command: Gao Yuan, Political Commissar: Chen Dazhong.

  Commander: Wang Nanhu, Political Commissar: Chen Geming

  The commander of the new army corps is He Tie, and the political commissar is Peng Qing.

  The Logistics Department has a thousand-man combat regiment under its jurisdiction, with Li Xiaowu as the regimental commander, and a thousand-man logistics regiment, totaling two thousand people.

  The total number of troops in the entire army is 20,000 people. The more than 1,000 missing ones can only be supplemented by the next battle. Now the new troop only needs to set up a skeleton, and recruitment starts now. Those who are not enough will be solved in the next battle.

  "Has everyone finished reading the order? Does anyone have any opinions?"

  "No!" everyone replied in unison.

  "Alright, since everyone has no tasks, disperse now. All commanding officers return to their units for reorganization immediately. The reorganization must be completed before dinner tonight. Tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, advance towards Yujia Ping."

  Watching the officials file out, Liu Hua stayed behind with Deputy Director Ying and Director Li.

  "Hehe, two older brothers, I'm calling you that, you won't mind, right? Now our independent regiment has been upgraded to a legion, to be honest, I really didn't expect it. Since I'm now the legion commander, I won't be polite, I hope you two older brothers can help me more in the future, after all, I'm too young and lack experience in many areas." Liu Hua said sincerely.

  "Commander, what are you talking about? After all, I'm now the political commissar of the 7th Legion. You're being too polite, haha, let's help each other out in the future." The commissar smiled as he replied to Liu Hua's words.

  "Commissar, since you said that, I won't be polite either. Commissar, Director Li, now there are only three of us in the military department, and each division has only two cadres. Let's take charge of one division each: I'll take the first division, Commissar will take the second division, and Director Li will take the third division. We'll go down to help them expand their troops. Remember to ensure that the combat effectiveness of the troops is not affected. Let's assemble here at 8 o'clock tonight."

  "Colonel, rest assured, we will complete the mission." The two of them looked at Liu Hua together.

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