With the expansion of the defense zone and the need for future offensive battles, Zhao Zhiguo and the others need more troops.

Expanding the army has become an imperative!

The Eighth Route Army had very strict requirements for enlisted soldiers, and Zhao Zhiguo knew about this.

But we cannot let those who volunteered to fight in the army. As long as we are in China, everyone has the responsibility to fight and defend the country.

All the little Japanese prisoners of war were used by Zhao Zhiguo, let alone others.

"Eighteen hundred of them must enlist as soldiers!" Zhao Zhiguo said.

"This...isn't it difficult to explain this?"

Matthew Wen is a political cadre, and he knows that the origin of soldiers is very important.

Just like the Eighth Route Army will not easily integrate bandits into its troops, even if they defect from other troops, they still need ideological education.

Political cadres must also be assigned to them to ensure that these people's thoughts will not go to the other side.

If so many puppet soldiers were organized into independent regiments, if their superiors knew about it, they would definitely be held accountable.

"I can no longer watch the simple rural children in their teens die in the war without seeing anything good. The superiors want to investigate and replenish the puppet army, and I, Zhao Zhiguo, am responsible for it alone."

Many of the soldiers were less than twenty years old, and their first step out of the village was to follow the army.

They didn't even have time to take a look at Pingcheng before they sacrificed their lives in the charge with passion.

Walking from their village to Pingcheng was the farthest distance they had traveled, but it took them all their lives.

"Headquarters happened to send a telegram asking us to report the results. When I reported the results, I submitted an application to the headquarters and asked them to send us some political cadres."

Matthew Wen certainly couldn't let Zhao Zhiguo handle the matter by himself.

He is the political commissar of the Independence Regiment. Since Zhao Zhiguo has made the decision, he must cooperate with Zhao Zhiguo and educate all the puppet soldiers who join them.

"Old Zhao, do you have anything to mention to the headquarters?"

Retaking Pingcheng was a great victory!

Zhao Zhiguo should be the first to take credit. With such a big contribution, it is not too much to ask for something.

In fact, it's not that Zhao Zhiguo didn't have requirements. Among all the units of the Eighth Route Army, no unit could match Zhao Zhiguo's weapons and equipment.

The weapons Zhao Zhiguo wants are all on the other side of the ocean, and the Eighth Route Army headquarters cannot satisfy them.

"I heard that some of our headquarters chiefs have good calligraphy. Why don't you ask me for two pictures of calligraphy, and I will frame them and hang them on the wall."

The senior officials at the Eighth Route Army Headquarters are not big bosses. They include people who have returned from studying abroad, as well as top students seeking military academies.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect you, Lao Zhao, to be so nice! Okay, I'll mention this matter, but I can't give you a guarantee if you can promise it."

It was also the first time for the head of the Eighth Route Army headquarters to see such a strange request.

In the past, when troops won battles, they needed either weapons or ammunition, as well as men.

But Zhao Zhiguo won the battle this time and asked them to write a calligraphy and painting.

"This Zhao Zhiguo, isn't this embarrassing for us?" the chief of staff of the headquarters said with a smile, "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, why don't you come and I'll grind the ink for you!"

"Are you just kidding me? How can I do this calligraphy?" The deputy commander looked serious and kept a serious smile on his face. "I think we have to let the boss find a way."

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief, I think we should go and take a look at Zhao Zhiguo's place. Since Zhao Zhiguo joined our Eighth Route Army, he has fought so many victorious battles. It would be unreasonable for us not to go and take a look."

The Independent Regiment led by Zhao Zhiguo is already famous.

But they never had time to see the elite soldiers and generals of the Independent Regiment.

"I guess this guy doesn't welcome us very much," the deputy commander said.

"Is he still afraid that you won't steal his equipment?" asked the chief of staff.

Even though Zhao Zhiguo's station is far away from the headquarters' station, the heads of the headquarters know a lot about the situation of Zhao Zhiguo's troops.

There are some things that Zhao Zhiguo cannot hide just because he wants to.

The headquarters has long known about the arsenal and cannons.

Good steel is used in blades. Zhao Zhiguo used these resources to open up their situation in the Hutong area, so the headquarters did not force Zhao Zhiguo to transport these things to the rear.

"Can you not miss these good things? A few days ago, Mr. Yan sent me a telegram asking about it," the deputy commander said.

There is no airtight wall in the world.

Mr. Yan had already heard that Zhao Zhiguo had cheated and got the arsenal in Bingzhou City into the hands of the Eighth Route Army.

This was Mr. Yan's hard-earned family fortune, and he immediately felt unbalanced.

If it fell into the hands of the little devil, he didn't dare to ask the little devil for it.

But when it fell into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, Mr. Yan immediately had the idea of ​​returning the property to its original owner.

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief, you can give eggs, but you can't give them to the hens who laid them," the chief of staff said.

Those military equipment are like hens that lay eggs and cannot be sent away easily.

"I heard that Zhao Zhiguo and Mr. Yan are having some feud?" the deputy commander asked.

"It's a bit of a holiday. When he was in the Jinsui Army, Zhao Zhiguo was imprisoned twice. The second time he was directly related to Mr. Yan, and he almost died at the hands of Mr. Yan."

"Let's blame Zhao Zhiguo for the equipment. Let's reply to Mr. Yan and say that we want to return it to him, but the mountains are high and the roads are far away, so we can't transport it. Everything is decided by Zhao Zhiguo. Let him ask Zhao Zhiguo for it.

"

"What if Zhao Zhiguo gives it to me?" the chief of staff worried.

"If it were you, would you give it?" the deputy commander said, "I don't think Mr. Yan would open his mouth like this."

"Then let me make some arrangements for you to go to Pingcheng?"

"Okay, but don't make any noise!"

"I understand this, but Zhao Zhiguo is a monk halfway, so you can't be too strict with him."

The chief of staff still understands the deputy commander-in-chief, and he is strict with himself and others.

Officers like Zhao Zhiguo who can fight and lead troops are exactly what the Eighth Route Army desperately needs.

"Are you afraid that I will drive him away?"

"Deputy Commander-in-Chief, think about it, among the commanders under our command who are capable of fighting, none of them has some minor flaws," said the Chief of Staff.

Many officers in the Eighth Route Army were promoted from ordinary soldiers. As long as they don't make mistakes in the general direction, they can be tolerated.

"Well! Actually, with Matthew Wen as the political commissar, I'm not worried that the Independent Group will have serious problems. I'll make arrangements to go to Pingcheng as soon as possible."

Recovering Pingcheng provided the Eighth Route Army with experience in urban offensives.

In the future, the troops will inevitably regain their homeland and attack cities. This experience must be accumulated and passed on to other Eighth Route Army troops.

The Eighth Route Army headquarters received the news, and General Yan and the Central Army also learned the news that Zhao Zhiguo led his troops to regain Pingcheng.
Chapter completed!