The beacon of youth

The army marched into Xinjiang without any delay. Staff officer Chen Haihan, who was drinking with Li Yong, asked the troops if there was anything he needed to pay attention to. Li Yong thought, what should he pay attention to?There are too many things to pay attention to. Even after drinking a little wine, Li Yong's head is still sober. He thought it would be a way to talk more about the situation with Chen Haihan. Old Chen is the chief of staff of the Sixth Army. A senior commander who participates in the decision-making of troops at the first level of the army, even many plans come from the brain of his chief of staff. Knowing more about him will be very beneficial to the troops.

"Big brother, don't look at the surrender of the Kuomintang in Xin Jiang, but we have a lot of work to do. Xin Jiang not only has the regular army of the Kuomintang, but also a large number of bandits and spies. The regular army of the Kuomintang has surrendered, but those bandits They will not surrender, and if they are not wiped out, we will have no life to live in, and it is only empty talk to resume production. The bandits in Xinjiang are different from other places, and there are shadows of foreign forces behind them."

In fact, it was a bit too much when I said this, Chen Haihan, the chief of staff of the army, did not know, how could you, a brigade commander, know! !

However, it may be because Chen Haihan drank some wine, or because he has been with Li Yong for a long time, and he has seen too many strange talks about Li Yong, so it is not surprising that Chief of Staff Chen did not pursue Li Yong. How did I know it? I just asked curiously: "Hehe, there are also foreign forces, who are they?"

Li Yong also intentionally made his words a bit vague: "Big Brother, I heard people say that there is an American consulate in Dihua, and the Americans wear the same trousers as the Kuomintang. They can watch us enter Xin Jiang without making a move." Impossible, so I figured that the Americans would definitely take action, we don’t know what action will be taken, but it must be an action that will endanger our army’s march into Xin Jiang.”

Chen Haihan drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp, and then slumped heavily on the table: "It makes sense, the enemy will not be willing to perish, no matter what tricks he has. Let's stay the same and beat him You son of a bitch, by the way, you have a lot of stuff in your stomach. If you know anything new, tell me all of it.”

Li Yong is a little depressed. We know a lot of goods, but there is no way to tell them all: "Let's not talk about bandits, it's not easy for a large army to enter Xinjiang. Thousands of miles of desert Gobi and endless People’s area. There is no way to resupply at all. Our army has very few vehicles and poor logistical capabilities. It will be too difficult to march on foot. After entering October, the climate is getting colder and colder. The temperature difference is particularly large, and cold, hunger, injuries, fatigue, harsh weather and natural environment will all put great tests on the troops. It is not easy to enter Xinjiang."

After Li Yong's words, Chief of Staff Chen Haihan remained silent for a long time. Li Yong finally concluded as if talking to himself: "The most important thing is the logistics. Only when the logistics are done well can our army enter Xinjiang smoothly." , this is the most important task at present, and it cannot be sloppy."

Chief of Staff Chen Haihan, who didn't speak for a long time, nodded: "It makes sense, I've heard that when your Second Army passed through Qilian Mountain a few days ago, more than 130 people from an avant-garde regiment froze to death. Logistical support is too important. , In addition, don't hide these words in your stomach, and reflect to your superiors when you have a chance."

On the day Boss Peng came back.The First Army Corps of the First Field Army held a military meeting at the division level and above. At the meeting, Boss Peng announced the decision of his superiors, and also announced that the Sixth Army of the Second Corps would be assigned to the First Corps. The Seventh Army was transferred to the Second Corps, and the troops that advanced into Xinjiang were announced as the Second Army and the Sixth Army of the People's Liberation Army.

Sometimes things are really delicate. The ** brigade is a combat unit of the Second Army.In the past, there was no sign of separation from the Sixth Army, and there was a little friction. In order to grab each other's equipment, Li Yong and his subordinates even fought against Commander Luo Yuanfa. Unexpectedly, they became a family now.

The atmosphere at the venue was very enthusiastic. No matter how you say it, our People’s Liberation Army is currently the winner. There is no doubt that we will enter Xinjiang with the attitude of the winner. At the meeting, Chief of Staff Chen Haihan also discussed with Li Yong The question was brought out, and he stated that many things were not his ideas, but Li Yong's.

Boss Peng and the heads of the corps looked at Li Yong again. However, Li Yong is not nervous now, because all the people present are his old superiors and old heads. To put it bluntly, including Commander Wang, they are all Our backer, as long as he thinks he can say it, he can say it.

"What's the point of you little guy? Tell us quickly." Boss Peng's words were full of joy, probably because the excitement of the boss after attending the founding ceremony has not passed.

"Commanders, I think our army will face two difficulties in entering Xinjiang. One is that the banditry in Xin Jiang is particularly serious, and we need to prepare various plans for how to suppress bandits. The second is how we enter Xinjiang." Next, Li Yong said in detail what he had considered in detail, and finally emphasized that the logistics of the troops must be improved. If the supplies are not good enough, on the marching road of thousands of miles of Gobi and desert, what the troops need The losses suffered may be greater than the combat.

Li Yong’s speech resonated with everyone here. Commander Guo Peng of the Second Army said: “A few days ago when we crossed the Daxue Mountain, we were taught a lesson. The 130th Regiment of the Front Guards sacrificed more than [-] soldiers. The number exceeds Qilian Mountain, even if we don’t count the First Brigade, our Second Army still has three divisions and nine infantry regiments, half of the regiment’s men and horses are gone all of a sudden, it’s scary enough to think about.”

Political commissar Wang Enmao also added: "Commander Guo is talking about the number of sacrifices. If you add the soldiers who lost their combat effectiveness due to frostbite, the number will be even higher."

A lengthy telegram signed by Boss Peng was sent to Zhong Yang and the Military Commission. The telegram reads: From Pingliang to Dihua 35 to 66 kilometers, the troops walk [-] kilometers It takes [-] days, with one day off every four days, and a total of three months to reach Dihua.

Among them, Xingxing Gorge is about [-] kilometers from east to west. There is a lack of human habitation, no water and food, and firewood and water need to be transported. March and April are the wind season. Cyclone often occurs from Anxi to Xingxing Gorge. It is ferocious, and people can be blown away without preparation in advance. During the severe winter from Jiuquan to Dihua, the temperature drops to minus [-] to [-] degrees, and non-leather hats and felt boots are very difficult to freeze.

After entering Gansu, the land is vast and the population is sparse, and the food supply is insufficient. The army advances very fast, and the enemy's grain and the grain borrowed from the people cannot be milled. Most of them eat whole wheat. Victory is welcomed by the people in the areas where they pass, and the fighting spirit of the troops is still very high. However, when marching into Xin Jiang, some cadres and soldiers are afraid of going a long way, afraid of not being able to return home, afraid of walking on the grass, afraid of crossing the desert, afraid of the cold, etc. Waiting for the fear, to eliminate these fears, one month's preparation is needed before entering Xinjiang.

Transportation is very difficult. The 200th and [-]th Corps each have more than [-] vehicles, most of which are over-aged and have defective parts. There are [-] or [-] vehicles that can be used frequently. There are only sixty or seventy vehicles that can be used. The enemies in Pingliang and Tianshui planned to retreat, and the oil and important supplies were transported away. Only in Tianshui, more than [-] barrels of gasoline were seized. It is rich, and it is also mobilized when it first arrives in the area.

The telegram did not exaggerate, but reported the difficulties faced by the Northwest Field Army to its superiors. It can also be seen between the lines in the telegram that the field army's logistics capabilities are very poor. Although it has reached the later stage of the Liberation War, it has been troubled since the Red Army period The supply problem of the troops has not been effectively resolved. (Logistics issues have always been a shortcoming of the PLA, as have the other major field armies. The Northwest Field Army is just the poorest and most outstanding field army.)

what to do?Of course, waiting is not an option. Li Yong is only a brigade-level commander. He is not capable of solving the problems that his superiors need to consider, but he can still do some preparatory work within his own capabilities. Get started and start collecting supplies.

Fuel and accessories for cars and tanks, food and clothing, weapons and ammunition, medical equipment, various supplies to resist the cold, etc., the troops of tens of thousands of people need too many things, all the personnel are in action, Jiuquan Go to Zhangye if you don’t have any, go to Wuwei if you don’t have any in Zhangye, and go to Lanzhou if you really can’t. Anyway, everything is based on the needs of the troops.

He Cuihua and Sun Quanhou were even more busy hitting the backs of their heads, for fear that the troops would suffer if there was a shortage of supplies. Brigadier Li Da also stayed in the supply camp uncharacteristically, discussing with Lao Sun and He Cuihua all day how to make the troops better. The supplies are better prepared.

He stayed with He Cuihua in the baggage camp all day long, so that his wife-to-be, Hu Xiaolian, became a little jealous. During this period, Li Yong specially sent a report to his superiors, asking the field army and the corps to help solve the problem of goggles and sunglasses, and asked everyone set.

To be honest, it is a bit extravagant to equip every soldier with goggles and sunglasses. In the poor Northwest Field Army, some soldiers don’t even know that such things exist. It may not seem big, but those who know the situation will understand the importance of small objects to the combat effectiveness of the troops.

There is a lot of wind and sand on the way the troops are about to march. When the wind and sand are too big, people can't open their eyes. How can they shoot when they can't open their eyes? Goggles to protect the eyes can solve this problem very well. question. (To be continued..)

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