Chapter 14: Rewards from the Provincial City (New Book Seeking Attention)

  Battle summary is essential, only by finding problems in the summary can we solve the problem and finally improve the combat effectiveness of the troops.

  The effect of this battle was evident, first for Chen Feng, his command in the army's prestige quickly established, every officer and soldier mentioned Chen Feng with admiration.

  The troops also annihilated the bandits in northern Shaanxi, and the local people were also praising them. The troops quickly established their prestige in Xinghe County, making it easier to recruit soldiers and gather supplies. The attitude of those local gentry towards the security regiment has also undergone a huge change, with over a dozen of them sending supplies to the troops together just now.

  Ten thousand taels, twenty thousand kilograms of grain, although the quantity is not large, spread among more than thirty wealthy gentry and merchants in the whole city, each person only has a few hundred taels. However, this is enough to illustrate the status of the Security Team in their minds. And this time, the Security Team came out in full force to rescue County Magistrate Feng's beloved daughter. County Magistrate Feng was deeply grateful to the Security Team for Chen Feng. Feng Keshan promised Chen Feng that as long as it was the Security Team's grain allowance, the county government would not deduct a single penny.

  In addition, news came from the provincial capital that Fu Zuoyi, the chairman of the province, was overjoyed after receiving a telegram from Xinghe County. He learned that the Security Regiment had annihilated the bandits who had been rampant in northern Shaanxi for decades with simple weapons and equipment, despite being at an absolute disadvantage in numbers. Overjoyed, Chairman Fu immediately approved the promotion of Chen Feng to Colonel and awarded him 5,000 yuan. Another batch of weapons and equipment was allocated to the Security Regiment, and from now on, the regiment's ammunition supply and food rations would be replenished according to the standard of a second-class regiment.

  The news came, and the whole county was shocked. It's not that anyone can get the appreciation of Chairman Fu, Colonel is not what it used to be, in the Republic of China, there were countless Colonels, no matter if it was the Central Army or the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, or the Sichuan Army, Yunnan Army, Guangxi Army, Hunan Army, each unit had at least a few hundred Colonels.

  However, it is not common for the head of a security team to be awarded the rank of senior colonel. Although the security team is called a "team", the organization of security teams across the country is not uniform. Large security teams can have over 2,000 people, while small ones may only have a few hundred people, and in some remote areas, there are only a few dozen people, with a huge disparity.

  So, many of the security team leaders do not have military ranks, and if they do, they are only lieutenant colonels or majors. Only a few are colonels or above. Chen Feng was just a rich young master before, to be precise, he was just a spoiled son of a wealthy family. Although this battle was fought well, it is absolutely impossible for him to be awarded the rank of colonel.

  But now this impossible thing has become a reality, so many people have come to know a fact, that is, Chen Feng must have won the appreciation of Fu Zuoyi, the provincial chairman, especially the last sentence about the supply of ammunition and food for the security team according to the standard of the second-class regiment, which is a very clear signal. The Xinghe County Security Team may be upgraded to a regular army at any time, and Chen's great commander will soon rise to prominence.

  Is the fact really as people think? At least Chen Feng would not think so. Fu Zuoyi, the chairman of Shanxi Province, knew that Chen Feng was the first general under Yan Xishan's command, and his 35th Army was a powerful force in the Shanxi-Suiyuan army. How could such a person look down on a small security regiment?

  Of course, if Fu Zuoyi saw this unit with his own eyes, it's possible that Fu Zuoyi would really have such thoughts. But relying on a single telegram, Chen Feng thought that Fu Zuoyi wouldn't reward himself so heavily, and as for what was going on now, he really couldn't figure it out.

  But no matter what, this thing is not bad after all. No matter what Fu Zuoyi wants, giving money, officials, numbers and weapons makes Chen Feng happy anyway.

  Guiyang Municipal Government

  Fu Zuoyi, commander of the 35th Army of Jin Sui and chairman of Suiyuan Province, a lieutenant general in the National Government's army, sat at his desk looking at documents sent from various places. Sitting opposite him was Ye Qijie, deputy commander of the 35th Army.

  "Brother Xinwu, have all matters been settled?" Fu Jun asked in a deep voice.

  "The military supplies are all ready, a total of 500 Han Yang rifles, 20 light machine guns, 2 heavy machine guns, 1,000 hand grenades and one million rounds of ammunition have been loaded onto the trucks and sent to Xinghe. The 5,000 yuan you mentioned has also been escorted there with the shipment." Ye Qijie replied.

  "Hmm, that's good." Fu Jun Chang said.

  "Jun Zu, isn't it just a security team? Why are you putting in so much effort to win them over?" Ye Qijie asked puzzledly.

  "New Brother Wu, it's not worth our while to make such a big fuss over a small security team, but has the leader of that security team, New Brother Wu, thoroughly investigated?" Fu Jun Chang said with a smile.

  "According to the information, that security team leader is the only son of Chen Binggong, the largest grain merchant in the four northern provinces. He's a spoiled brat who doesn't care about anything and is 19 years old this year. He graduated from a middle school in Beiping two years ago and became the leader of this security team through his connection with Director Li Jingyuan." Ye Qijie said.

  "New Brother, you only know the surface of Chen Feng, but I'm telling you, his background is much bigger than you can imagine. Chen Feng's father is indeed Chen Bing Gong, with assets worth around 10 million taels, one of the largest merchants in the four northern provinces. Moreover, Chen Bing Gong's wife is even more extraordinary, being the youngest daughter of the Four Sons King tribe's leader, previously a golden phoenix on the Gegentala grasslands, extremely capable. Chen Feng has an unmarried wife named Gegentana, which translates to 'Grassland Pearl', the only daughter of Chen Feng's uncle, the most beautiful pearl on the Gegentala grasslands. Chen Feng's uncle commands a light cavalry brigade with around 5,000 men, although their equipment is not great, but their combat strength is decent. Most importantly, Chen Feng's uncle and De Wang are at odds, do you understand what I mean, New Brother?" Fu Jun Chang said.

  "General, I understand. Regardless of Chen Feng's personal qualifications or whether the security team really annihilated the Sai Bei Ma gang, what you value is actually the cavalry in Chen Feng's uncle's hands and the entire Four Sons King tribe." Ye Qijie said.

  "It's both right and wrong. Brother Xinwu knows that a war between China and Japan is inevitable. Although we won the battle of Suiyuan, our troops didn't suffer heavy losses. However, the actual strength of De Wang and Li Shouxin's traitorous forces wasn't greatly damaged either, and they are now hiding in eastern Mongolia, which is close to Northeast China and North China. We are powerless to eliminate them, otherwise it might give Japan a pretext for all-out war. Therefore, we need someone who can act as a buffer between us, and this buffer must be the Fourth Prince's tribe."

  Ye Qijie knew that after the Great Wall Battle, the Japanese took advantage of the Tanggu Agreement to constantly create incidents in North China, and then forced the Nationalist government to sign the Hebei-Mengjiang Agreement and other traitorous agreements. The crisis in North China deepened day by day. Under the pressure of Japan, the relationship between Western countries and the Nationalist government became increasingly estranged, with only the Soviet Union in the north still providing assistance to the Nationalist government. In order to cut off the government's northwest transportation links with foreign countries and sever its ties with the Soviet Union, last year they actively supported De Wang and Li Shouxin in Chahar Province, establishing the so-called "Mongolian Military Government". They also bought off bandit leader Wang Ying, organizing the so-called "Mongol-Han Northwestern Anti-Communist Autonomous Army" and the "Great Han Righteous Army".

  In the 25th year of the Republic of China, with the support of the Japanese, De Wang actively instigated conflicts with the Suiyuan Provincial Government in various alliances in the west and plotted an armed uprising. On November 15th of the same year at around 6:00 am, Tanaka Takayoshi, the head of the special agency of the Japanese military government in Mongolia, led more than 5,000 troops under the cover of planes and artillery to launch a fierce attack on Hongge'ertu from three directions.

  Fu Zuoyi personally went to the front line of Ji'ning to command, ordering troops to rush overnight, taking the enemy by surprise and attacking from behind. The Japanese puppet army was caught off guard, and by 7:00 on the 18th, the entire line retreated. The Honggerlute battle ended with our complete victory. At the same time, the 35th Army also won a great victory at Bailin Temple. Two enemy regiments were defeated in front of the enemy's position, killing 29 Japanese military advisers, capturing over 200 enemies, and counting over 600 enemy corpses, with over 200 more frozen corpses on the grassland. Many weapons and ammunition were seized. Our army suffered over 400 casualties. Not long after, the victory of the Suiyuan Anti-Japanese War came to an end.

  As Fu Zuoyi said, although the Suiyuan Anti-Communist Autonomous Government won the war, the actual strength of De Wang did not suffer much loss. Moreover, with the support of the Japanese from behind, De Wang simply did not take the Suiyuan Provincial Government seriously. Conflicts between the two sides frequently broke out, making Fu Zuoyi a headache.

  "Jun Ze, we don't know much about the situation of the Four Sons King tribe, but as far as I know, they are not even a match for De Wang. De Wang has six regular army divisions under his command, plus Li Shou Xin and Wang Ying's troops. The Four Sons King tribe is not even on the same level as them, how can they possibly play a buffering role?" Ye Qijie continued to ask.

  "Zhen is indeed what I'm worried about. The Four Sons King tribe, although not as declining as other Mongolian tribes, the situation is not very optimistic either. If it weren't for Chen Binggong's large amount of money and grain support in recent years, the Four Sons King tribe might have been swallowed up by De Wang long ago. However, the fact that the Four Sons King tribe and De Wang are not at odds with each other is a fact. The enemy of an enemy is a friend. Chen Feng's uncle has no son, only a daughter. As long as we win over Chen Feng well, even if the Four Sons King tribe becomes our enemy, it won't be too bad for us. Compared to those weapons and equipment, this is what's most important to us." said Fu Jun Zhang.

  "General's profound wisdom and foresight are truly admirable. I hope that Chen Feng will not disappoint General's high expectations." said Ye Qijie.

  "Haha, do one's best and leave the rest to heaven. A great war between China and Japan is about to break out, I'm doing this because I have no other choice. I hope that by doing so, I can help the National Government preserve some of its national defense strength. I hope Chen Feng isn't a useless burden." With that, the two people ended their conversation.