Chapter 28: Decision

  "Superior, Central has replied and also sent a congratulatory telegram." The political commissar smiled and handed a telegram to Liu Hua who was in a daze.

  "I have heard that your unit has achieved a great victory, annihilating an entire enemy division. I am delighted and hope that you will continue to strive for even greater victories for the triumph of the Chinese Revolution.

  Additionally: After the Independent Division, all decisions regarding military operations should be made with Comrade Liu Hua as the main authority, while the Political Commissar does not have the final decision-making power.

  Central Revolutionary Military Commission: Zhu, Mao, Zhou."

  "Comrade Commander, are you stunned? You should know that this telegram means the Central Committee has completely entrusted the Independent Division to you. This is unprecedented in our Red Army." The political commissar said with a hint of jealousy.

  "Commissar, what are you saying? You're the political commissar of our independent regiment. Don't talk nonsense. It's because the Military Commission trusts us that we've been given such great power. We mustn't betray the Central Committee's trust. Our responsibilities will be even heavier from now on."

  "Commissar, anyway there's no war now, we haven't chatted yet, let's have a good chat tonight, don't go just yet."

  "It's time for us to have a good talk, after all I'm still your partner."

  "Commissar, you said we annihilated an enemy division this time. The enemy shouldn't come to encircle and annihilate us again recently. What do you think we should do recently?"

  "I've also been thinking about this issue, whether to return to the base area or re-establish a new one, it's always hard to make a choice. What do you think?" The political commissar looked at Liu Hua who was smoking.

  "Commissar, what are the chances of us retaking and rebuilding our base?"

  "I think we should be quite confident, after all, wherever we go, we have a deep revolutionary foundation, the masses support us, and there are many guerrilla teams existing, shouldn't we be able to stand firm?"

  Liu Hua shook his head and didn't speak, handing the political commissar a survey report written by the reconnaissance company. The political commissar scanned it briefly, and in an instant, his eyes nearly popped out. "This bunch of bastards, sons of bitches, really aren't human beings... I'm irreconcilable with you all..." A normally gentle political commissar was speaking foul language.

  The situation of the base area being destroyed that was understood by the reconnaissance company through the guerrilla troops in the past few days is what Liu Hua gave to the political commissar. It can be said that it's a pitiful sight, almost all families with some revolutionary foundation were killed by the Nationalist Party...

  Seeing that the political commissar's mood had slightly improved, Liu Hua asked: "Commissar, do you still think it is possible to fight back to the base area and rebuild the base area?"

  "It seems that returning to the Soviet area is impossible now." The commissar shook his head.

  "Then we will rebuild our base and fight again for a new world." The political commissar said, lifting his head.

  It seems that the political commissar only wants to establish a base area. Liu Hua thought secretly.

  "Comrade, do you think we have enough time to establish a base area? If Chiang Kai-shek finds out that we've annihilated another one of his divisions, he'll definitely withdraw large numbers of troops from the front lines or the rear to encircle and annihilate us. He absolutely won't tolerate having our Red Army in his rear again. Moreover, establishing a base area takes time, but the task given to us by the Central Committee is to attract the enemy's attention and cover the main force's transfer - we can't complete this task if we do that."

  The two people didn't say anything and just sat quietly.

  "Come on, Comrade Commander, you're quick-witted, just say something." The political commissar really couldn't think of anything.

  Liu Hua pointed at Changsha on the map. "Changsha, Shifu, you want to attack Changsha."

  "Director, you're wrong. It's not a fight, it's a feint. Now all the Hunan troops have been transferred to the front line. Changsha will definitely be very empty. If our army advances straight to Changsha, what do you think He Jian will do?"

  "He will definitely disregard Chiang Kai-shek's opposition, transfer troops from the front line to protect Changsha, Changsha is the old nest of the Xiang Army, he can't afford to lose it." The political commissar said suddenly.

  "Master, then what?" The political commissar knew that his master was very young, but he must have thought carefully about the problem and there must be more to come.

  "Meet up with the 26th Army Corps." Liu Hua finally said what he had been thinking about for several days, "Then follow the main force together with the 26th Army Corps."

  The political commissar was stunned. What a big handwriting this is! If it were up to him, he would never have thought that the 26th Army Corps, which was active in western Hunan, had such an extraordinary division commander.

  "Superior, the Military Commission has spoken, in terms of combat we will listen to you, I agree with your plan, do we need to report the plan to the Central Committee?" The Political Commissar said affirmatively.

  "Commissar, don't be in a hurry, I still have something else to discuss with you."

  "Go on, don't beat around the bush," said the commissar with a smile.

  "Alright! Commissar, this time we've captured so many weapons and taken so many prisoners. I think we should reorganize the troops. Look: now we have a total of 58 mortars, I think we should establish a division-level mortar battalion, and distribute the rest evenly to each regiment, letting them form mortar companies. This way, in future battles, each unit won't lack heavy firepower support. Heavy machine guns should be distributed to battalions, with each battalion having a heavy machine gun platoon, and regiments having heavy machine gun companies. Also, snipers have played a huge role in these battles, so I request that each regiment has a sniper platoon, as well as other supporting units like logistics companies. I demand that all three regiments reach full strength."

  "Wait, comrade leader, what is the full establishment strength after all?" The political commissar asked in surprise.

  "Commissar, no more than 3,000 men in each division, fully manned as I see it,"

  "My goodness, 3,000 people, this is almost as many as a division of the Red Army or a brigade of the Central Army..."

  "Haha, Commissar, you're right. My goal is that in the future, one of our regiments can go head-to-head with a Central Army brigade without being at a disadvantage. Our entire division can annihilate an enemy division. Also, our new recruit battalion should be upgraded to a new recruit regiment, equipped only with light weapons and not heavy ones. Each regiment should have its own new recruit battalion, so that in the future when the main force suffers casualties, we can directly replenish from the new recruit battalion without affecting the combat effectiveness of the main force."

  After finishing speaking, Liu Hua smiled and looked at the stunned-looking political commissar.

  "Superior, you're really something, I agree, following you is great fun." The political commissar said with a smile.

  "But, sir, if we do it your way, our new recruits will be too many and our veteran soldiers will be too few. This is a problem that's hard to deal with!"

  Liu Hua didn't say a word, but pointed with his hand in the direction of Jinggangshan. "Haha, Captain, I really admire you for thinking of this."

  "Heh heh, Commissar, it's not about me, but so many excellent soldiers. Let them stop fighting guerrilla warfare in the mountains, it would be a waste of their talents. You know, they are all wounded veterans from the main forces, with rich combat experience."

  "But, Comrade Commander, they are after all in the guerrilla troops now, how can we..." The political commissar looked at the commander with a puzzled expression.

  "Hehe, it's simple. This time we captured so many weapons and ammunition. We'll give them some light weapons and ammo, and those guerrillas will definitely release the captives with a smile. By the way, do you know how many people there are? Hehe, over 1200 lightly wounded and more than 500 seriously wounded, that's almost half of the regiment! Haha..."

  "Master, I feel like you're acting like a swindler now!" The political commissar laughed.

  "Report to the superior officer, telegram."

  "Chairman, Commander-in-Chief, the Independent Regiment has sent a telegram." Vice Chairman Zhou handed over the telegram and shouted to Comrade * who had already restored his military power after the Zunyi Conference.

  "Ah, here it comes, what surprise has that kid Liu Hua brought us this time?" The Commander-in-Chief had already regarded Liu Hua as his favorite general since he received one good news after another from him. Hearing that it was the Independent Regiment, he immediately asked excitedly.

  "Liu Hua, this kid. Not bad at all! His troops are directly targeting He Jian's old nest. I think it's doable. Commander-in-Chief, what do you think?" Zhu Laozong looked at the map and pondered for a moment.

  "Alright, okay."

  "What's more, come and take a look. Liu Hua has over 10,000 people in his independent division, almost catching up with our entire army corps. He really knows how to develop it, no wonder he dared to take Changsha." The chairman sighed after seeing the organizational structure of Liu Hua's independent division attached to the telegram.

  "Haha, the heavens are indeed helping the Red Army! We've gained over 10,000 more troops!" Vice Chairman Zhou had been worrying about the future of the Red Army every day since their numbers were reduced to 30,000 after the Battle of Xiangjiang. Now that they suddenly have over 10,000 more troops, how could he not be delighted?

  "Hehe, since everyone agrees, let's send out the report!" The commander-in-chief proposed after seeing that opinions had been unified.

  "Haha, Master, so fast! The Military Commission has agreed to your plan. It seems you and the Military Commission are on the same page."

  "This is what they mean by 'great minds think alike', you understand?" Liu Hua countered.

  "Alright, I won't argue with you anymore. It's so late, I should get some rest. We have a meeting tomorrow anyway. You can continue being your hero. I'm leaving."

  Watching the back of the political commissar, Liu felt a sense of relief, he could finally go to northern Shaanxi.