gnovel Chapter 87 The Master's New Recruit Camp
Chapter 87 The Master's New Recruit Camp
"So many?"
Wang Yousheng was slightly startled. Damn it, it seems Li Yunlong is going to keep his promise.
Even if the other comrades haven't returned yet, or even if they haven't brought back any more men, given the current trend, it's about time to form a battalion.
Looking at the two hundred-plus people, Wang Yousheng was very excited.
Whether I become a battalion commander or not doesn't matter, at least I can make a big splash!
He walked up to the group and said, "Comrades! I am Wang Yousheng. I heard you all want to join the army to fight the Japanese! If you pass the review, I will be your platoon leader."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked over. They weren't as serious as regular soldiers, but they stood up straight and waited for Wang Yousheng to give his instructions.
One of the young men, in his early twenties and wearing a felt hat, replied, "We've heard a lot about Commander Li's reputation; we came here specifically for him."
"Yes, we must follow the Eighth Route Army to fight the Japanese!"
"Fight the Japanese devils!"
The new recruits were all in high spirits and full of ambition, responding loudly.
Wang Yousheng glanced at the group again, very satisfied; most of these new soldiers were young.
However, there were also more than a dozen children and several elderly people among them.
It was a bit of a surprise, because these new recruits who were too old to join the Eighth Route Army should not have been accepted.
However, he soon thought of another problem.
At this time, the War of Resistance Against Japan is at a low ebb, and the Eighth Route Army is making great efforts to recruit soldiers. As long as there are no major problems, people will generally be accepted to join the army.
It's worth mentioning here that 40-42 was the most difficult period of the War of Resistance against Japan, and the so-called "theory of national subjugation" existed within the ranks. In order to occupy the Chinese battlefield as soon as possible and realize the goal of using Chinese territory as a logistics support and transportation base for the army.
Therefore, they implemented a strategy of coercing and enticing some high-ranking officers to defect to the Japanese, and many high-ranking officers who could not withstand the test turned against them.
Shi Yousan and Sun Liancheng were two of these groups.
Therefore, the Eighth Route Army had to expand its army without restraint.
These dozen or so children looked to be in their early teens, while the elderly men were at least in their sixties or seventies. If he were to recruit them into the army, he didn't know how to assign them jobs.
Let them take the guns and fight the Japanese devils; the kids probably can't even cock the guns.
However, this does not mean there is no way out. The Independent Regiment is currently short of manpower, and all units at the regimental level are still lacking personnel.
We'll make arrangements after they're incorporated into the team.
After thinking for a moment, Wang Yousheng's gaze fell on the group of teenagers, and he smiled, "Young comrades, how old are you all this year?"
These dozen or so children all looked mischievous, and one of them even shouted, "I'm twelve years old!"
"I'm fourteen years old!"
"I'm fifteen!"
The children readily reported their ages without any stage fright.
Wang Yousheng nodded and smiled, "Good, you're all doing a great job. Practice your shooting with the team, and once you've mastered it, we'll go fight the Japanese together!"
Without hesitation, the twelve-year-old asked, "Then when are we going to kill the Japanese devils? I want to go kill the Japanese devils right now!"
"Um?"
Wang Yousheng carefully examined the little guy.
He was about 1.5 meters tall, dressed in rags, with a thin, sallow face that was filthy. His limbs were exposed to the biting air, and his clothes were torn in many places, looking like they were made of strips of cloth.
How arrogant! At such a young age, he already has the word "kill" on his lips. He seems like someone who'll cause trouble.
Wang Yousheng laughed and said, "That's ambitious. What's your name?"
"Zhao Shitou!"
"..."
"good!"
Wang Yousheng said, "You all go and register first. After the review is approved, you will all be included in the recruit training company."
"yes!"
Next, Wang Yousheng delivered a passionate speech, inspiring the newly joined soldiers.
Becoming a member of the Eighth Route Army is not something anyone can do at will; there must be certain rules and regulations, and at the very least, one cannot have any major dark history.
Naturally, he needed to handle all of this personally.
After all, he had worked as a clerk in the Independent Regiment for so long and was very familiar with the situation in the regiment.
When Wang Yousheng finished processing the information of the more than 200 new recruits, another batch of recruits returned to the recruit company.
Damn it, those dozen or so recruits pulled back a total of eighty people!
While Wang Yousheng was still in shock, another group returned, dozens of people in total.
For three whole days, the new recruits returned to their units one after another. When Zhang Shan reported the number of new recruits to him, he almost doubted that there was something wrong with his ears!
The recruit company went out for a week and brought back more than 800 people!
It's officially called a recruit training camp, but it's almost as big as a regiment.
This recruitment method proved remarkably effective!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Dabiao was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.
The battalion now has guns and food, but it lacks manpower. Currently, the battalion has more than 1,200 men.
If logistical supplies were insufficient, the First Battalion would not have been able to support so many soldiers. But now it's different. The First Battalion has plenty of food, more than enough to support a regiment!
Zhang Dabiao was bursting with excitement, and he was considering whether or not to report the situation to higher authorities.
However, he couldn't hide it from Li Yunlong, who had already received the news.
Upon hearing that Wang Yousheng had brought back a reinforced battalion of soldiers, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep for three days and three nights.
That day.
Regimental headquarters.
Li Yunlong burst out laughing as soon as he hung up the phone call from the First Battalion reporting to them.
Kong Jie, sitting to the side smoking his pipe, chimed in, "Old Li, you're something else! The First Battalion has really taken off now. What are you planning to do with it?"
Li Yunlong pulled up a chair and sat down, laughing, "What's the deal? Damn it, they'll all be under the command of the First Battalion! And while we're at it, we'll promote Shengzi to officer, make him a battalion commander, yay!"
Kong Jie reminded him, "It's only been a few days, and you've already promoted Wang Yousheng? A company commander needs to be approved by higher-ups."
"Old Kong, don't be ungrateful. This kid's got some skills in intelligence gathering, leading the First Battalion to three consecutive victories! He even routed a Japanese company! For this achievement alone, even if the brigade commander came, I'd promote him."
Kong Jie naturally understood the situation and said, "However, our 386th Brigade is short of manpower right now. The 771st Regiment, the 772nd Regiment, and the new 1st Regiment that you led before, although they annihilated the Sakata Regiment, also suffered heavy casualties. In the Battle of Liuchen Village, three regiments tied down an entire Japanese regiment. Their organization can be said to have collapsed. The brigade commander may transfer troops from you."
"Furthermore, we are a core regiment, a three-three system unit, which can only have three battalions. If you appoint Wang Yousheng as a battalion commander, someone has to step down. Have you considered the feelings of the officers and soldiers?"
"And another thing, call the brigade commander now and report that you brought back so many people. He'll definitely start to consider your supply situation. And if he finds out you also brought back so much food, tsk tsk..."
Kong Jie's analysis caught Li Yunlong completely off guard.
"grass!"
Li Yunlong's initially cheerful face instantly fell, looking like a deflated eggplant.