While Wu Qiang and others were still advancing in the jungle, a meeting was being prepared at the military and political building in Wenchang City on Hainan Island.
"General, all the officers are here!" Adjutant Gao Yi said to Li Weidong who was standing in front of the window.
Hearing this, Li Weidong nodded and said, "Well, okay, let's get started!"
The main purpose of this military meeting is to make decisions on the Hainan Army's new phase of expansion and its later plans for the Japanese army's operations.
"The general is here, salute!" The door to the conference room was pushed open by the guard, and the commanding officer shouted.
Li Weidong pressed his palms and motioned the officers to sit down, and then said: "Sit down! Everyone must know the purpose of this meeting. Now everyone can talk about their opinions!"
"General! The most important thing for our Hainan Army at this stage is to recuperate and recuperate, and make every effort to digest the territory we gained from Vietnam, and then fight the decisive battle with the Japanese army." An older middle-aged officer said, which is also the opinion of the conservatives.
Most of these people are older, or were old people before the Hainan Army was reorganized. Because the Hainan Army has risen rapidly, many of them have not yet changed their minds, so they are relatively conservative.
There are conservatives in the Hainan Army, and of course there are also radicals. A young officer immediately retorted: "I disagree with this! As Chinese soldiers, we should protect our homeland and the country, how can we look at the lives of ordinary people?"
In dire straits!"
Most of the radicals were young military officers. Their foreign ideas were actually very simple, that is, to fight and make achievements, and they had high prejudices against the Japanese who invaded China's territory.
The two parties had their own opinions and were in a stalemate, and soon there was a quarrel in the conference room. If it weren't for Li Weidong's presence, I'm not sure they would have started a fight.
Of course, there are also a group of people who hold neutral opinions on marching into North China. They mainly pay attention to Li Weidong's views. They just fight, regardless of the reason. Whoever Li Weidong says to fight, they will beat him severely.
"Where is the Chief of General Staff?" Li Weidong asked Ge Changming beside him.
From the beginning, Ge Changming, the chief of general staff, did not express any opinions, but listened carefully to the speeches of conservatives and radicals.
When Li Weidong asked, Ge Changming stood up, walked to the military map and said: "Judging from the map, the importance of South China to us China is self-evident."
And it is true that South China has always been China's economic center and the outlet for free trade. Without South China, the National Government's taxes will be reduced by at least half.
In China today, the war has ignited the North China region, Shanghai has fallen, Nanjing is in danger, and the Japanese military front has been pointed at the gate of the capital of the Nanjing government.
Li Weidong, who knew the history of later generations, knew deeply that after losing South China, China's international aid was restricted, and relying on the thin supply line of the Burma Road, it was about to fall into an arduous eight-year anti-Japanese war.
After taking a breath, Ge Changming continued: "When we reached an agreement with the Nanjing government, we were responsible for fighting the Japanese troops sent from Taiwan into South China, while the Nanjing government mainly tried its best to defend Nanjing!"
Soon, an officer discovered the problem and said: "But the problem is that with the current strength of our Hainan Army, it is very difficult to control the Guangdong and Guangxi areas. We simply cannot support fighting in Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan and other places!"
"That's right! Our military strength is definitely not good, and we cannot swallow such a large area, so we have to take over the military strength of the warlords in various regions of South China. We are only responsible for the war against Japan in Guangdong and Guangxi!" Ge Changming explained.
And this, Li Weidong immediately said: "Even so, our troops are not enough! Now the Hainan Army has a total of 50,000 troops, but they are distributed in various areas of North Vietnam and Hainan itself. The troops are already very tight. Where am I now?
Will the incoming troops enter Guangdong and Guangxi?"
"Yes! Therefore, our next topic is how to expand the army to the greatest extent within our current capabilities! Ge Changming continued.
Then, like a magic trick, Ge Changming took out a stack of documents and distributed them to the officers who were working on them. Li Weidong also got a copy. When he opened it and looked down, the corners of Li Weidong's eyes kept twitching.
"Because our general staff has conservatively estimated that we will need at least 100,000 troops to support our operations in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions and take care of homeland defense. Therefore, our plan is to increase the number of regular troops in our Hainan Army by the middle of next year.
We must maintain at least 100,000 people!" Ge Changming said forcefully, but the corners of Li Weidong's mouth became more and more twitching.
One hundred thousand people? More than that? Li Weidong thought about the food, clothing, housing, transportation, weapons and equipment for one hundred thousand people, even the military salary was enough to give Li Weidong a headache.
But Li Weidong also knew very well that as the Hainan Army controls more and more territory, the existing military strength is definitely insufficient, and the issue of military expansion should also be put on the table.
The Chief of General Staff's ambitious military expansion plan has been recognized by most people, including Li Weidong.
Because he can see clearly than anyone else that the current Hainan Army seems to be living a prosperous life, but in fact it is still full of crises.
There are only three divisions stationed in the vast land of North Vietnam, namely the 1st Division of the Hainan Army stationed in Beijiang City, the 2nd Division of the Hainan Army in the Hong Gai and Mao Xi areas, and the Hainan Army distributed in regiments in other areas.
Third Division.
In addition, the Hainan Army's heavy artillery brigade, which was still on the front line to prevent the French army from breaking the treaty and was deployed in the border area. These approximately 40,000 troops were distributed in North Vietnam, and their strength was dwarfed by comparison.
The 1st to 3rd Divisions of the Hainan Army are the main force and cannot always be stationed in the border firing line. And when the Hainan Army goes north, it will definitely be transferred.
This empty area must be taken over by new troops, and Li Weidong still has the Hainan Army Guards Brigade, the new Fourth Division and the new Fifth Division in his hands.
As for their unit, which had been established recently and had not yet experienced the baptism of war, Li Weidong did not dare to vouch for its combat effectiveness.
Therefore, it is necessary to set up a second-line security force. It does not need to be highly capable of attacking fortresses. It only needs to suppress bandits and deter local snakes.
But regarding Ge Changming's plan, some officers still raised questions: "General Staff! If you look at it this way, the combat effectiveness of the garrison is too poor! Not only can it not undertake combat tasks, but it will also consume a lot of resources?"
Regarding this issue, Ge Changming had already anticipated it, and immediately said: "This is the second plan! From the investigation by our staff department, the reinforcement of the main force, from the recruitment to the three-month training of new recruits, after receiving
The baptism of war takes about half a year. For the expanding Hainan Army, this time is too long."
Then, Chief of General Staff Ge Changming introduced the contents of the second plan in detail.
According to the staff's thinking, future military reinforcements for the main force of the Hainan Army will be drawn from these second-line units, so as to ensure the quality and quantity of soldiers.