“Alright, after you return to your base, besides recruiting new soldiers in the base area, you can also send troops to visit the counties and towns under the jurisdiction of Shuozhou.
Now that all the Japanese devils in Shuozhou have been wiped out by our brigade, those counties and towns are basically undefended.
While recruiting and promoting the Eighth Route Army's policies there, you can also 'take advantage of the situation and catch the rabbits', and deal with those traitors, maintenance associations, and landlords who bullied the people!
Confiscate some of the spoils and distribute them to the villagers, and keep the rest for your own troop development needs.
Send them all to the brigade headquarters, and let the brigade headquarters arrange them. It will save me from having to call each of you individually to congratulate you on making a fortune!
Our brigade has a lot of things to do next, and it will cost a lot of money. Don't hoard your money and only think about yourselves.
Especially you, Li Yunlong! Don't play any tricks on me!”
Li Yunlong smirked with a thick face: "How could I, Commander? With your piercing eyes, who would dare to play tricks in front of you?
Rest assured, Commander. If we are short of a single cent in what we should pay, you can chop off my head and use it as a chamber pot!”
The troop expansion brought huge benefits to Li Yunlong's 1st Regiment, making him ecstatic.
Furthermore, with Xiao Yun's warning in mind, he temporarily abandoned the idea of keeping a small private stash of money.
However, he would definitely continue to secretly develop some side businesses behind Xiao Yun's back in the future.
Otherwise, if he always relied on the brigade for support, how would he ever surpass the 811th and 812th Regiments to become the brigade's top force?
Li Yunlong's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but think of another mischievous idea.
“Just keep your head on your own neck. I don’t need such a big chamber pot!”
..............................
After discussing the troop reorganization, Xiao Yun turned his attention to the 399th Brigade's logistics chief—Political Commissar Wang Yan.
“Next, the construction of the brigade's field hospital and military warehouses will depend on you, Old Wang. You need to put in more effort.
Also, another thing: Although we have acquired bullet and shell production lines, we lack raw materials at this stage, not to mention the shortage of military personnel and skilled workers.
This is crucial for the future development of the 399th Brigade and the expansion of our current base area, so you need to pay extra attention, Old Wang!”
Then, Xiao Yun turned to Deputy Brigade Commander Liu Zhixuan, who was responsible for intelligence.
“Old Liu, you are in charge of our brigade's intelligence work. Keep an eye out for any relevant personnel and invite them to our base to participate in the construction of the arms factory.
Before the Japanese invasion, Yan Lao Xi's Taiyuan Arms Factory had many skilled workers and experts.
After the Japanese occupation of Taiyuan, some were taken away by Yan Lao Xi, and some should have returned to their hometowns. You can consider starting from this aspect!
Also, there are many universities in China. Try to see if you can invite some patriotic professors and students from there, especially from the Southwest Associated University!
Furthermore, it's not enough to just rely on our brigade. We need to work on two fronts to be more stable.
When I report the situation of this campaign to headquarters, I will also tell them about our current difficulties and ask for their help. They still have many talents there!”
“Alright, Old Xiao. We’ll find a way to handle this, Old Liu and I!”
Wang Yan, who clearly understood the importance of the matter, solemnly nodded, as did Liu Zhixuan.
Seeing this, Xiao Yun nodded in satisfaction. The 399th Brigade's post-war summary and development planning meeting came to a successful conclusion!
.............................
After seeing everyone off, Xiao Yun found the soldiers from the communications company and asked them to send a detailed combat report to headquarters through the radio, including a comprehensive account of the Shuozhou campaign and its results.
The battle had just ended, and they hadn't had time to count the casualties and spoils yet.
To avoid any delays, they immediately organized fighters and civilians to transport the spoils back to the base area. After arriving at the base, they held a meeting, and only now did they have some free time.
At headquarters, the deputy commander, who had been analyzing reports from other Eighth Route Army units indicating that the Japanese reinforcements from various places were withdrawing, had been waiting for a detailed report from Xiao Yun's 399th Brigade.
As time passed, the 399th Brigade should have returned to the base area with their spoils, but headquarters had not received any report from them.
This made the deputy commander a little concerned. Could it be that the 399th Brigade suffered heavy casualties this time, or did something unexpected happen?
Or, to think about it in a worse scenario, the withdrawal of the Japanese reinforcements was not because the 399th Brigade had already taken Shuozhou city.
Rather, they were forced to abandon their plan due to their setbacks in the siege, making it unnecessary to reinforce Shuozhou city?
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed possible.
Although Xiao Yun's tactical skills were excellent, and the 399th Brigade's fighting ability was also strong.
However, Shuozhou city was a fortified city after all. The remaining Japanese troops, although only half a battalion, had an artillery platoon to assist them.
Besides, there was also a full-fledged Japanese battalion around Shuozhou city.
Normally, even several divisions of the Nationalist government might not be able to take Shuozhou city.
While the 399th Brigade also had an artillery battalion, it had just been expanded not long ago. Their combat effectiveness was unknown.
Thinking about this, the deputy commander's brow furrowed into a frown.