Chapter 17: Deep Strategy and Far-Reaching Plans (Part 2)

  "We must fight even if we can't defend!" Li Ruofeng replied firmly: "Whether to fight or not is a matter of national dignity and morale, which belongs to the strategic level. Whether we can win or not depends on the military strength and national power, which is a tactical plan. We should despise the Japanese from a strategic perspective, but take them seriously from a tactical perspective in this war!"

  "Spoken well!" Ma Zhan Shan said with a face full of praise, slapping the table: "A good strategist who looks down on tactics, Lin's family is indeed talented. I wonder if you can spare him? Just based on this sentence alone, I'll give him a regiment right away!"

  "Hehe, General Ma, I've already handed over the entire Iron Cavalry Fort to my son-in-law." Lin Shouren smiled and said: "The Iron Cavalry Fort is now his responsibility. This time, I came mainly to introduce my son-in-law to you, General."

  "Lin Dajiang, you are now more vigorous with age, how can you lightly talk about retirement?" Ma Zhanshan hastily advised.

  "Those who are capable will be in a higher position, whether it's in the business world or the military. That's the principle." Lin Shouren replied: "I'm just a humble person with outdated ideas. Since I've decided to join the army and serve the country, how could I possibly occupy an official position based on personal desires and not give young people opportunities? Honestly speaking, General Ma, I can also see that my son-in-law is not mediocre. You dared to give him a regiment, and initially, you promised Iron Cavalry Fort would have one regiment as well. I think it's better for my son-in-law to lead my old subordinates."

  Ma Zhan Shan thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright! Let's settle it this way. I'll draft a telegram to report to General Shao immediately. As for the appointment of officers below the regimental level, you can handle it yourselves. Just send over the list of names when the time comes."

  "General Ma, it's already been drafted." Li Ruofeng immediately followed up, gesturing to Lin Xiuer to take out a document, and then handed it over with both hands to Ma Zhanshan.

  "It seems you are well-prepared, which is very good." Ma Zhan Shan took it and glanced at it casually, smiling: "No problem, from now on, my nephew will be the Colonel of the Nenjiang Garrison Regiment of the Heihe Border Defense District. Belonging to the Provincial Cavalry Command and the Third Infantry Brigade. However, in terms of party affairs, we still need to arrange personnel with the provincial government. I hope Lin Daren and my nephew can understand this."

  "It should be so." Lin Shouren nodded and replied.

  Reporting to the Young Marshal's Mansion was just a formality, so the appointment of Li Ruofeng and his subordinate officers was quickly approved. Ma Zhan Shan also drafted an order, stamped with the official seal of the Heihe Garrison Command, and handed it over to Li Ruofeng, instructing him to take command as soon as possible.

  With this appointment, coupled with Ma Zhanshan's care and hospitality, the KMT officials of Nenjiang County Government naturally gave a green light all the way.

  In the Northeast, far from Nanjing's National Government, the KMT Hejiang County government officials had much less power than the military commanders who held real power. In other words, Li Ruifeng had already become the de facto emperor of the Hejiang region.

  Tie Qi Village was taken over by the government and became the Ningjiang Guard Battalion. As soon as this news came out, all the bandits in the entire Ningjiang area were frightened.

  Before Li Ruofeng had time to reorganize his troops, the bandits within a hundred miles of Nenjiang either surrendered and asked to be absorbed into the army or scattered like fallen trees and fleeing monkeys. Those who wanted to turn over a new leaf did so, while those who didn't could only flee to distant lands.

  As a result, the Ningjiang Guard Brigade was seriously overstaffed, with not only one full cavalry regiment but also two full infantry battalions. However, Li Ruofeng suppressed it and did not report it.

  For a time, the entire Nenjiang area was free from bandits again, and Ma Zhanshan couldn't help but admire his own wise decision.

  The garrison of the 1st Regiment of Nenjiang was located in Shuangshan Town, Nenjiang County, and the regimental headquarters was naturally set up in Nenjiang County. Moreover, this regimental headquarters occupied almost two-thirds of the office space of the original county government building, leaving the KMT officials of Nenjiang County daring not to speak out in anger.

  Naturally, Li Ruofeng also moved his new home to Nenjiang.

  Nenjiang has fertile land, vast forests, and lush grass. Its superior geographical location and rich natural resources make it an ideal place for Li Ruofeng to train his troops.

  In terms of economic and industrial construction, Li Ruofeng made no investment at all. Anyway, with the military pay drawn by Ma Zhan Mountain on time every month, plus his own pocket money to make up for it, in just two months, the entire Nenjiang Defense Corps' morale and appearance were completely new.

  Another morning, just before dawn.

  But on this official road leading to the county town of Nenjiang, there were already many people carrying poles and pushing carts into the city to rush to the west gate.

  He Lao Gen drove his family's donkey cart, loaded with a full load of corn stalks, leisurely and slowly following the sparse villagers on the road.

  As he approached the city gate, He Lao Gen suddenly heard a neat and rhythmic footsteps, faintly transmitted.

  The footsteps were heavy and clear, and they shook the ground more and more.

  On the road, pedestrians began to make way for both sides, but no one showed a frightened and panicked appearance.

  It's clear they're all too familiar with this sound of footsteps and know what it means.

  "Lao Gen Shu, at this time, the soldiers of the Guard Battalion should be out for drills, right?" asked a fifteen or sixteen year old boy sitting on the donkey cart, stretching his neck to look ahead while munching on an ear of corn.

  "Two dogs, you've been here once and your memory is not bad." He Lao Gen hurried the car to the side and replied in an old-fashioned tone: "This batch of soldiers is not like those rascals from before. They are fair in their dealings, speak kindly, and every now and then they will help those elderly people without children with chores such as carrying firewood and delivering water. I, He Lao Gen, have lived for half a lifetime, but I've never seen such kind-hearted soldiers."

  "Old Gun, you've told me this before. If I didn't know you were specifically delivering grain to their military camp, I wouldn't have followed you here so early in the morning." Er Gouzi said like a little adult: "Old Gun, are you familiar with those officials? I want to join the army and become a soldier. I heard that they can get five big silver dollars as their monthly salary, five shiny white silver dollars, enough for our whole family to eat well for several months."

  "Go, and Uncle Lao Gen will ask for you." Uncle Lao Gen raised his whip to let the donkey cart continue walking along the road, "Commander Li is a good talker, but he's very strict when it comes to selecting soldiers. It's still uncertain whether you can impress Commander Li or not."

  At this time, a long and neat team of soldiers, in two columns, stepped out of the city with steady footsteps, following the command of the head officer, jogging at a moderate pace.

  The soldiers were all around 1.85 meters tall, with robust and sturdy upper bodies, wearing blue-gray military pants and yellow canvas military shoes, each carrying a heavy-looking black backpack on their backs.

  In terms of formation and number, it is almost a whole regiment.

  The team approached, and the leader was none other than Li Ruofeng.

  As he passed by He Lao Gen's side, Li Ruofeng even took the initiative to greet him: "Uncle Lao Gen, good morning!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers behind him shouted in unison: "Good morning, Old Gun!"

  "It's Captain Li, isn't it late? Squad leader Choi is still waiting for these sticks to grind the flour. Today I have to run at least three trips, if I don't get up early, I won't make it on time." He Lao Gen warmly smiled and replied.

  "Then I'll thank Old He on behalf of Cui Ban Zhang!" Li Ruofeng shouted back while running, turning his head to face He Laogen.

  "Thanks, Old Gun!" The soldiers shouted in unison again.

  "No need to thank me, Captain Li, and all you young folks! When you come back from your training, I'll make sure you have the best corn buns. This time, I've picked out the best ears of corn our village saved from last year, and I'm sure we can grind them into the finest corn flour." Old He shouted as he drove the cart with his big mouth missing a few teeth.

  "Thanks, Uncle Lao Gen."

  "Thanks, Uncle Lao Gen!"

  "One two one, one two one, one two three four!"

  "One two three four!"

  “……”

  The team ran farther and farther along the road, slowly disappearing from He Lao Gen's line of sight.

  This is Li Ruofeng leading the guard company to conduct weighted twenty kilograms fifteen kilometers cross-country training every morning. Such weighted cross-country training has been going on for more than 40 days.

  In addition to the 15 kilometers in the morning, there is also a full load of 30 kilograms and 20 kilometers of traction training every night.

  As for other training subjects, such as 200 push-ups, 200 frog jumps, 200 sit-ups, and 1,000-meter obstacle runs, etc., every day can exhaust the oil-splattered guards officers.

  In Li Ruofeng's concept of training soldiers, no matter what kind of troops, cavalry or infantry, even artillery and logistics personnel, physical ability is an important evaluation indicator.

  And this indicator is directly linked to the military pay and food standards of each regiment.

  Although Li Ruofeng will not be stationed in Nenjiang all the time, he hopes that during his stay in Nenjiang for military training, he can create a good atmosphere of harmony between the military and civilians in the entire Nenjiang region.

  At the same time, he also introduced the concept of "hiding soldiers among civilians" into it. In the eight towns and five townships along the Nenjiang River, a reserve militia system was implemented, allowing every village to organize militias. During busy farming seasons, they would farm, and during idle times, they would practice military training.

  The three major disciplines and eight points for attention were strictly enforced.

  The Garrison Brigade had nearly three thousand officers and soldiers, who were naturally unhappy at first.

  However, including the arrogant and brave generals who originally belonged to Tie Qi Zhai, after being taught a lesson by Li Roufeng's terrifying methods, not one of them dared to utter half a word of dissent.

  Li Ruofeng, with a stick in one hand and a carrot in the other, plus two meals of meat per day, trained the entire Garrison Troop of over 3,000 soldiers to be obedient within half a month.

  At the same time, he also carried out cultural literacy remedial classes and incorporated literacy into the assessment standards for soldiers.

  What's more distinctive is that the original Iron Rider village belonged to 312 Cossack cavalrymen, who became 312 best Russian language teachers. These old guys stayed in China for a long time and almost everyone spoke fluent Northeastern Mandarin, so it didn't take long for the officers and soldiers of the guard battalion to be able to speak a few sentences of Russian fluently.

  Li Ruofeng can be said to have made great efforts, he hopes that after he leaves the Northeast, the seeds left behind will become the vitality of the future Northeast anti-Japanese enemy's rear base.

  New book uploaded. Just in time for the ranking battle. Everyone, if you have votes, please give me two votes. If you don't have votes, just a click to collect is fine too. Thank you all for your support, it's my motivation.