In October 1937, shortly after the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army won the Pingxingguan victory, the first force split was carried out in Wutai, Shanxi, known in history as the "Wutai Division". According to Yan'an's instructions, Deputy Division Commander Nie Rongzhen (later renamed the Political Commissar) will lead the division-level units such as Independent Regiment , Cavalry Battalion, Guard Company, and Battalion School to be responsible for the task of opening up anti-Japanese bases. At this time, Nie Rongzhen received only more than 2,200 soldiers!
(Commander Nie Rongzhen)
Since the main force of the 15th Division will continue to carry out the combat mission of advancing eastward and going south, there are indeed not many combat units left for Nie Rongzhen, but there are many non-combatants. The core combat force among them is the independent regiment directly under the division of Yang Chengwu , with only more than 1,700 people.
In addition, there are more than 200 people from the cavalry battalion, less than 50 guards, more than 100 people from the battalion school led by founding lieutenant general Sun Yi, and more than 100 staff members from the division headquarters. No matter how you calculate it, there are really not many troops, but to be honest, there are indeed many old Red Army soldiers.
Many military history articles write the actual number of "more than 3,000 people" of the soldiers Nie Magistrate was actually written as "more than 3,000 people". This was actually inaccurate. That happened a while later. The main reason was that Nie Rongzhen's troops felt that they were insufficient in the process of opening a new area. After Nie Rongzhen applied to his superiors, he transferred two companies from the Eighth Route Army Headquarters Special Regiment and one company from the Second Battalion of the 685th Regiment to strengthen the combat power of this small force. Only in this way could he barely approach about 3,000 people, which was the appearance of a strengthening regiment.
1. Where is the Jin-Cha-Hebei base?
On November 7, 1937, Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region , with Nie Rongzhen as commander and political commissar, was established. The military region headquarters at that time was also very shabby. Someone once joked that how many people were in the military region headquarters? A pot of vegetables is enough to eat, and a bed of kang is enough to sleep.
However, in the Shanxi-Chahe area was the first anti-Japanese base area established by the Eighth Route Army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. It is mainly composed of the northeastern region of Shanxi (Shenzhen) and Hebei's Hebei's central and the eastern Hebei region, and also includes Chahar , Rehe , and one of the three provinces of Liaoning.
After the Japanese army captured big cities in North China such as Taiyuan, the strategic position of this area was extremely important: on the one hand, Jinchaji is located on the back of the Japanese central control area, with a large area and a large population, making it an excellent location for carrying out anti-Japanese guerrilla wars.
On the other hand, after the Jin-Chahar-Hebei Anti-Japanese Base Area was built, it can also prevent the front troops such as the Eighth Route Army Headquarters and the 115th Division from being separated from the rear and from each other by the enemy. In a word, the main force of the Eighth Route Army will develop eastward, and there must be roots behind it!
When choosing the leader candidate to create the base, it is said that it was Marshal Nie, personally nominated by Comrade Ren Bishi, and then with the unanimous approval of the main leaders of the central government, everyone believes that the biggest feature and advantage of Nie Rongzhen is that he can do things in full accordance with the requirements of the central government and act safely, especially in implementing the policies of the anti-Japanese national united front ; and on the core position, he can implement and be loyal to the intentions of the central government.
Nie Rongzhen led a small army of more than 2,000 people to the mountainous area of northeastern Shanxi. The situation encountered was quite special. In theory, the local area was still the territory of "King of Shanxi" Yan Xishan , and local governments were established in nearby counties.
However, there is no regular army in the northeastern region of Jin . The troops originally stationed here in Jin Sui Army were all transferred to participate in the Taiyuan Battle . The Japanese army invaded Shanxi had no time to control this remote mountainous area.
This provides a good opportunity for the Eighth Route Army to create a base. As we all know, there are many temples in the Wutai Mountain District, so the small troops led by Commander Nie initially settled in several temples.
(photo taken by Wutai division of the 115th Division)
The only disadvantage is that Commander Nie has too few initial troops in his hands, and it is very difficult to create the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region, especially the combat troops are really insufficient, but there are so many soldiers in the early stages of the Eighth Route Army, and there are not enough places.
Nie Rongzhen was clearly aware that from the past experience of struggle, if you want to create a reliable and solid base, you must first develop armed forces. Without armed forces, then nothing can be said.
At this time, the independent regiment led by the founding general Yang Chengwu became the core force in the early stage of the Jin-Cha-Hebei base. The independent regiment conquered and occupied seven county towns in succession, and the troops quickly expanded to 7,000 people. Soon it was expanded into the 1st Independent Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was later renamed the First Military Sub-district of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region.
Nie Rongzhen then formed three divisions, and each military division quickly expanded its troops in a "snowball" way. By November 7, 1937, the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region was established.
By the end of the year, the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region had more than 15,000 troops. By the end of 1938, the troops of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region had expanded to more than 30,000, of which Yang Chengwu's First Military Sub-district had the strongest strength, with nearly 20,000 troops!
2. It is naturally not easy to expand the army locally, but it is even more difficult to raise troops. Northeastern Shanxi is not rich in itself. The supplies and wages of tens of thousands of troops are also a big problem for Commander Nie Rongzhen.
If you want to solve the problem of military supplies, you must rely on the organization and coordination of local governments. At that time, the officials of the surrounding county and township governments were appointed by Yan Xishan.
For example, Wutai County county magistrate Song Shaowen , that was a top student who graduated from the History Department of Peking University. After the outbreak of the full-scale war of resistance, he joined the "Sacrifice Alliance" and served as the Minister of Propaganda.
The full name of "Sacrifice Alliance" is " Shanxi Sacrifice and Saving the Country Tongmenghui ", which is a mass group organized by Yan Xishan under the promotion of our party. When the association was established, Yan Xishan, commander of the Second War Zone, was the president, and Zhao Daiwen, chairman of the Shanxi Provincial Government, served as vice president, and our party sent members as executive secretary of the association.
(Song Shaowen)
After Taiyuan fell, Yan Xishan was already in a mess and went to seek medical treatment in an emergency. He began to carry out the so-called "political innovation". He then selected a group of educated young people from the Sacrifice Alliance to become county magistrates in remote counties.
Song Shaowen was appointed as the county magistrate of Wutai at this point in time. However, what Yan Xishan didn't know was that Song Shaowen was actually an old party member who secretly joined the party in 1933, but his identity was not exposed.
Therefore, after Nie Rongzhen's troops settled in Wutai, they received strong help from the Wutai County Government. The county magistrate is ours! With the strong assistance and funding of Song Shaowen and others, the supply problem of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region troops was basically solved at the beginning of their development.
includes the nearby Meng County, and the county magistrate Hu Renkui is also an underground party member, so he naturally gave the green light to all affairs of the Eighth Route Army. This shows how complex and dramatic the political and military situation in Shanxi was at that time.
(Yang Chengwu)
By the end of 1937, the actual control scope of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region was getting bigger and bigger, and the armed forces also developed greatly. Commander Nie’s desk was often not the reports of various difficulties in various places, but the good news that various places had opened up the situation.
Under such circumstances, relying on the secret assistance of several county magistrates with "white skin and red hearts" can no longer meet the development needs of the base areas and troops. Nie Rongzhen began to consider forming a unified border region coalition government, and then further strengthen his strength through extensive military and political cooperation.
At this time, Song Shaowen was good at dancing and made the work in Wutai County famous. Yan Xishan, who had already fled to southern Shanxi, was not sure about it, but instead trusted him more. He specially authorized Song Shaowen to "full authority to handle Northeastern Shanxi affairs."
This is to take the position of county magistrate of one county to act as the "regional specialist" of several counties and regions. Therefore, it is most appropriate to apply for the candidates to form a border government.
So Nie Rongzhen asked Song Shaowen to discuss that he should strike while the iron is hot and apply to Yan Xishan to establish the "Shenzhen-Cha-Hebei Border Region Government" to unify the administration of several provinces and border regions, and cooperate with the Shan-Cha-Hebei Military Region, which is more conducive to the construction of the anti-Japanese base.
Song Shaowen of course agreed, and he would just call me when he went back. However, Song Shaowen sent seven letters of request for instructions in a row, all of which were rejected by Yan Xishan. Yan Laoxi's reason was: "I only care about Jin, how can I criticize Ji and have a chance?"
translated as meaning, I can make the decision on Shanxi. Your border government, including Hebei and Chahar, has exceeded my power, and that is not enough.
(Yan Xishan, World War II)
3. The underground party county magistrate made a strange move
In fact, Yan Xishan is quite cunning. According to the war zone scope divided in August 1937, the combat area of the second war zone includes all three provinces, Jin, Cha and Sui (yuan), and one part of Hebei is also considered its jurisdiction.
So as the commander-in-chief of the Second World War Zone, it was not difficult for Yan Xishan to approve the establishment of a border government. The main reason was that Yan Laoxi was not sure about the situation in the border area between Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei, and knew that there was no Jinsui army there, but was controlled by the Eighth Route Army.
Yan Laoxi did not find any benefits in suspicion, so he deliberately refused to criticize it, but the reason he gave was high-sounding, which made Song Shaowen helpless.
Song Shaowen felt deeply trusted by Commander Nie, but he didn't know where the problem was, so he was anxious and his mouth was blistered.
happens to be during the New Year in 1938, Hu Renkui, the county magistrate of Mengxian, who is also an underground party member, came to visit New Year and visit. The two of them were naturally happy to meet. During the conversation, Hu Renkui found that his old friend seemed to have something to do and was always frowning, so he asked about the reason.
Since they are all their own people, Song Shaowen told him bluntly, saying that Yan Xishan sent a message back seven times and refused to establish the border government. He felt deeply sorry for Commander Nie.
Hu Renguina was an old comrade who joined the party in 1926. She knew Yan Xishan's nature very well. She immediately asked Song Shaowen how she wrote the telegram to the head of the Second World War Zone?
Song Shaowen said that the writing is very official, and the central meaning is how good it is to fight against Japan after the establishment of the border government. Hu Renkui laughed and shook his head while laughing and said:
"No wonder Yan Xishan didn't approve it. He was not interested in this set. You can't write like that, you have to change the way of writing"!
Song Shaowen was confused and asked for advice quickly. Hu Renkui was very careful about Yan Xishan's thoughts and said with a smile that this Shanxi warlord was "not to get up early without profit". You have to let him see his own benefits, otherwise there will be no chance.
Song Shaowen finally understood, so at the guidance of Hu Renkui, he drafted the eighth telegram on the spot, and the content of this telegram was very different from the previous seven times. He said: Once the Jin-Cha-Hebei Border Region Government is established, it can expand the territory of Shanxi while it is in chaos!
Song Shaowen not only painted a big cake in this regard in the telegram, saying that by establishing the Jin-Cha-Hebei Border Region Government, the power of the Jin-Sui Group could be expanded to Hebei and Chahar. He also emphasized that among the nine people who were preparing to serve as members of the border region government, five of them were from Shanxi. Why worry about the big thing going?
4. The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Government announced the establishment of
Yan Xishan was indeed moved after receiving the telegram. At that time, under the invasion of the Japanese invaders, the territory he controlled was getting smaller and smaller. If he could expand his power in the junction of Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei, it would be considered as "lost the east corner and the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle of the muddle
, and the "Sacrifice Alliance"'s executive secretary naturally understood Nie Rongzhen's idea, and also took the opportunity to burn the fire and advised Yan Laoxi: "No approval is a mistake."
In early January 1938, Yan Xishan sent a telegram to Song Shaowen and finally approved the establishment of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Border Region Government. At the same time, he stated that he had "recorded" the Wuhan National Government on this matter, meaning a "legal" government agency. Song Shaowen was very happy to answer the telegram.
Some readers will definitely ask, why are you doing this trouble? Commander Nie has troops and territory. Isn’t it enough to unilaterally form a border government? Why must Yan Xishan be approved?
That was not understanding the political situation in the early days of the War of Resistance. Around 1938, the cooperation between the two sides was still mainstream in anti-Japanese war, and Commander Nie Rongzhen's consideration was very comprehensive.
At that time, as the base area continued to expand, at the end of November 1937, Nie Rongzhen led the military region headquarters to move to Fuping County, Hebei Province. During this period, the troops of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region fought bloody battles, crushing the Japanese army's "nine-way siege" of the Jin-Cha-Hebei anti-Japanese base area, and the conditions for the establishment of the border government were becoming more and more mature.
1938 From January 10 to 15, , the Military and Political and Civilian Conference of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Border Region was held in Fuping County . The first regional anti-Japanese democratic regime was elected in North China: the temporary administrative committee of the Jin-Cha-Hebei Border Region, generally referred to as "Shenzhen-Cha-Hebei Border Region Government" .
The list of members of the temporary administrative committee are: Nie Rongzhen, Song Shaowen, Hu Renkui, Zhang Su, Liu Dianji, Lu Zhengcao, Sun Zhiyuan, Lou Ningxian , Li Jieyong, a total of nine people.
(Border Region Founding Conference)
Administrative Committee has Song Shaowen as the chairman and Hu Renkui as the vice chairman. Both of them are government officials appointed by Yan Xishan, but they are both underground party members. In addition, with the military's general Nie Rongzhen and Lu Zhengcao, we have fully grasped the actual power of the border region government.
The establishment of the Jin-Chahar-Hebei Border Region Government is of great significance to the Eighth Route Army reasonably and legally opening up anti-Japanese bases, strengthening armed forces, and integrating all resources to fight against the Japanese invaders.
, and this border government was approved by the Second War Zone. I think Yan Laoxi heard about it later and would definitely regret it.
After the establishment of the border region government, Nie Rongzhen entrusts comrades Song, Hu and others to build " Jinchaji Border Region Bank " , and issued "Border Region Ticket" , becoming the circulating currency stipulated in the Jinchaji region. Then, through the "currency war", successfully squeezed the original "chaji" and "Hebei Ticket" out of the base.
was also very beautiful in the battle, because the "Chahar Piao" was issued by the bank of Chahar Province and has long been occupied and controlled by the Japanese invaders; and the template of "Hebei Piao" was also captured by the Japanese invaders in Tianjin, which would be printed casually. If these two currencies were circulated within the Jin-Cha-Hebei bank, the blow to the base economy would be devastating.
It is worth mentioning that inflation during the War of Resistance Against Japan was extremely serious. All kinds of currencies, including " legal currency ", were depreciated very well. However, the "border area tickets" in Jin-Cha-Hebei have always been very strong and have a high reputation. Even the people in the enemy-occupied areas are willing to exchange and save. This is simply a miracle!
Conclusion:
Under the outstanding leadership of Commander Nie Rongzhen, the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region overcame a series of difficulties such as military force problems, government problems, and currency problems, so that the construction and development of the base area entered the fast lane and became a model anti-Japanese base area under the leadership of our party.
In early 1939, Mr. He led more than 6,400 main forces of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army to advance into the central Hebei region in an all-round way. He cooperated with Lu Zhengcao's troops to adhere to the plain guerrilla warfare, which further strengthened the strength of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region and directly threatened the ruling center of the Japanese army in North China, which was of great strategic significance.
Although the main force of the 120th Division was later ordered to return to Jinsui, by the end of that year, the regular army and guerrillas in the Jin-Cha-Hebei Military Region had grown to more than 95,000 people, and was praised by Yan'an as "a model anti-Japanese base behind enemy lines and a model area of the united front."
When Japan announced its surrender, the troops under the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region had grown to more than 320,000, and there were more than 900,000 local armed forces and militias, and the armed forces had exceeded one million!
Therefore, we say that Marshal Nie Rongzhen's ability to lead and build a base area was so strong that he had no other choice, and he also made great contributions to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.
In March 1938, a Canadian Communist Party member and an internationalist fighter Bethune led a medical team to Yan'an and was personally received by the Chairman. During the conversation, Bethune firmly demanded to go to the front line of the anti-Japanese war in Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei. The Chairman smiled and said:
" There is a famous classical novel in China called "Water Margin", which wrote the story of Lu Zhishen making a big fuss in Mount Wutai. Mount Wutai is in Shanxi, Chahar and Hebei. There is Lu Zhishen in front, and now Nie Rongzhen, Nie Rongzhen is the new Lu Zhishen"!
(Doctor Bethune)
