Chapter 54: Refining the Organization and Expanding the Ranks Once Again

On the evening of the 25th, following a busy afternoon of settling in and discussing officer appointments with Xing Zhiguo and Liu Changqing, Zhang Yun convened the first cadre meeting of the Independent Detachment in the newly built command post.

This new command post had been constructed under Old Tang’s personal arrangement after Zhang Yun and the others had set out. Built primarily for sturdiness and security, it served simultaneously as the troop command post, conference room, and communications room.

Viewed from above, the building looked no different from the local villagers' houses, appearing simply as three connected large-tiled rooms. Upon closer inspection, however, subtle ingenuity revealed itself.

The entire structure was built with mountain stone, bricks, and cement, making it not only sturdy and durable but also spacious and bright.

The main hall formed the core of the command post, featuring two brand-new, large Eight-Immortals tables placed side by side, atop which sat tea cups and other items.

The east and west walls had designated spaces reserved for hanging maps. Zhang Yun had already ordered the mounting of a map of Shanxi Province and a map of the surrounding areas of Xiyang. These maps had been merged and upgraded from Japanese maps acquired through the loot-bonus system, converted entirely into Chinese characters with a high degree of precision. (During the War of Resistance, the Chinese maps used by the Japanese military were more accurate than those used by the Nationalist Government's forces, but because they were written in Japanese, they were inconvenient for direct use after being captured.)

The rooms on the east and west sides served as the communications room and the resting quarters, respectively.

By this time, the arriving cadres of the Independent Detachment had all seated themselves around the Eight-Immortals tables, with Zhang Yun, Xing Zhiguo, and Liu Changqing sitting near the side where the Xiyang map was hung.

Zhang Yun stood up and, foregoing pleasantries, directly read out the brigade headquarters' appointments for the Independent Detachment.

"Currently, the Independent Detachment is a battalion-level combat unit. Comrade Xing Zhiguo serves as the deputy commander (deputy regimental level), and Comrade Liu Changqing serves as the deputy commander (battalion level)."

Following this, Zhang Yun outlined his conceived organizational structure for the Independent Detachment.

According to operational requirements, the Independent Detachment would comprise five infantry companies, one artillery company, one special tasks platoon, one reconnaissance platoon, and four departmental headquarters.

Among them, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Companies were field forces, primarily responsible for launching sorties into surrounding areas, safeguarding the security of the people in the base areas, and striking down bandits, Japanese aggressors, and traitors. Each company had an authorized strength of 172 personnel, gradually equipped with 12 light machine guns, 2 sixty-millimeter mortars, with the rest armed as infantrymen.

The commander of the 1st Company was Zhang Miao (formerly the deputy commander of the 772nd Regiment and one of the severely wounded soldiers); the commander of the 2nd Company was Old Hu; and the commander of the 3rd Company was Qin Sheng.

The 4th Company was the garrison company, specialized in guarding the station and concurrently undertaking engineering construction, primarily responsible for building defensive fortifications around the garrison area and guarding defense works. It had an authorized strength of 150 personnel, gradually equipped with 8 heavy machine guns, 6 light machine guns, 4 eighty-two-millimeter mortars, with the rest as infantrymen. The company commander was Sun Dayong (formerly the deputy commander of the 772nd Regiment, one of the severely wounded soldiers, specializing in delaying actions and defensive warfare). Zhang Yun planned to use captured materials such as cement and timber to first construct inner-ring defensive fortifications around the detachment's station in Xiaowang Village, gradually expanding outward.

The 5th Company was the instructional company, with an authorized strength of 90 personnel, specializing in new recruit training while also assisting local areas in training guerrillas, militias, and self-defense forces. Weapons would be allocated according to need, and Xing Zhiguo would temporarily serve concurrently as the company commander.

Additionally, there was the artillery company, with an authorized strength of 90 personnel, temporarily equipped with two 82mm mortars, one 80mm mortar, two Type 92 infantry guns, and one mountain gun. For now, the focus would be on training artillerymen, and weapons would be supplemented later to ultimately configure six 82mm mortars, four infantry guns, and four mountain guns. The company commander was Wang Dachuan, the mortar platoon leader was Wang Chengzhu, and the platoon leader for the infantry and mountain guns was Li Tianduo.

The special tasks platoon consisted of 30 personnel, led by Platoon Leader Dabao, primarily responsible for headquarters security and counter-espionage work.

The reconnaissance platoon consisted of 16 personnel, led by Platoon Leader Old Zhang, primarily responsible for reconnaissance work. Currently, its main duties were exploring the surrounding terrain and conducting intelligence-gathering operations against the Japanese forces around Yangquan and other areas.

The Logistics Department of the Independent Detachment was still headed by Old Tang, primarily responsible for guarantees such as ammunition and food supplies, and was temporarily managed by Zhang Yun.

The Medical Department of the Independent Detachment would be gradually established over time, requiring the recruitment of doctors and the execution of battlefield first-aid training.

The Communications Department of the Independent Detachment temporarily included 8 communications personnel, and future efforts would focus on training field telephone line installers and telegraph operators. It was temporarily placed under the charge of Liu Changqing.

The Ordnance Department of the Independent Detachment was primarily responsible for weapon repairs and partial military industrial production. It would also be gradually established later and placed under Zhang Yun's personal charge.

The combat troops had a full complement of 802 personnel, the instructional company had a full complement of 90 personnel, and the four departmental headquarters had no strict personnel limits.

After detailing this for some time, Zhang Yun summarized:

"Comrades, our Independent Detachment is located in an enemy-occupied area with a harsh surrounding environment and powerful Japanese military forces. Gaining a firm foothold will not be easy. However, we must also recognize that enemy-occupied areas have numerous strongholds, abundant combat opportunities, and plentiful captured supplies. Following the Eighth Route Army's victory against the nine-way encirclement, the Japanese devils dare not penetrate deep into the mountains for the time being. In the short term, we do not need to worry about a Japanese offensive, and instead, we can continuously launch small-scale attacks against the enemy."

"The greatest difficulty for our Independent Detachment is the lack of ammunition and material support from the headquarters, division, or brigade; we must rely entirely on our own development and growth. The greatest advantage is our freedom in organizational structure, freedom of movement, and freedom over our captures!"

"The brigade headquarters has already agreed that before the main force returns, all captured weapons, ammunition, and other supplies will remain at our own disposal so that we can quickly develop the ranks and expand our troops."

"Currently, our Independent Detachment has over 400 new recruits and 270 veterans and company/platoon cadres, meaning our establishment is not yet full. We must train while recruiting, swiftly filling our ranks. Do not fear a shortage of food, weapons, or ammunition—the enemy is right before our eyes, and by wiping out the Japanese devils, we can take their supplies!"

"Changqing, starting tomorrow, you will be responsible for the new recruit training of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Companies. You must follow our previous training intensity to quickly get the new recruits accustomed to the battlefield."

"Sun Dayong, commander of the 4th Company, your company is responsible for garrison duties, while also taking care of fortification construction and new recruit training. You have no combat missions in the short term, so you must maintain strict guard posts. I believe you will not live up to your reputation for meticulousness and steadfast defense."

"Wang Dachuan, commander of the artillery company, you must rapidly train more mortar and infantry gun operators, otherwise no matter how many heavy guns we capture, they will be useless."

"Deputy Regimental Commander Xing, you must handle the organizational construction of the various companies well, quickly familiarize yourself with the surrounding environment, contact the comrades of the Xiyang and Heshun County Committees, and keep a close eye on the enemy situation around us. We must strengthen joint military-civilian development and help them train the militia; we can cover a portion of the ammunition costs. Never be stingy with ammunition—whenever you spot promising talent, be sure to pull them into our ranks. At the same time, have the local authorities help us scout out where medical and military industrial talents are located so we can establish our Medical Department and Logistics Department as quickly as possible!"

"By the end of May, all companies must have their troops well-trained, and I want to launch a wheat-harvest offensive! We will strike at the township strongholds in the surrounding counties, crack down on traitors and local bullies, obstruct the Japanese devils from seizing grain, and further propagate the anti-Japanese policies."

"Does anyone have any opinions or suggestions?"

As soon as his voice fell, the conference room immediately became lively.

"Goodness, if the establishment is filled, wouldn't that mean over a thousand people? The newly formed regimental-level guerrilla detachments nowadays only have a few hundred people. As expected, our 386th Brigade Independent Detachment is truly one of a kind," Zhang Miao, the commander of the 1st Company, said excitedly.

The newly arrived 1st Company commander Zhang Miao was a naturally outgoing person, and within just half a day, he had become very familiar with all the cadres of the Independent Detachment. Seeing Zhang Yun's tremendous boldness, he instantly felt that coming to the Independent Detachment was likewise an opportunity for him.

"That's nothing. Our detachment gets to eat white-flour steamed buns every day, and even the surrounding villagers can share in the benefits. Now *that* is truly one of a kind," said Qin Sheng, commander of the 3rd Company, who deeply agreed with Zhang Yun's proposition that "logistics is combat power," speaking with a hint of boastfulness.

For a moment, lively discussions filled the command post.