Chapter Thirty-Nine: Expanding the Army, Recruiting Soldiers

"Commander, what should we do next?" Fang Xiaodong suddenly spoke up.

After crossing the Yangtze River, they had been gathering scattered soldiers along the way, making their way toward the Xuzhou region.

Although they had now arrived near Xuzhou, they still lacked a fixed base, which was detrimental to the development of their unit.

At present, they had the structure of a fully equipped mixed brigade, but they were severely short of personnel. Without a permanent camp to train the soldiers, the brigade’s organization was practically useless.

This was the very issue Chen Qingzhi was pondering.

He didn’t have to worry about the soldiers’ equipment—he had more than half a million points, enough to outfit an entire army.

The most pressing problem now was manpower. Without a stable base, even if he were given the organization of a full division, it would be of little use.

Moreover, after the Japanese army captured Nanjing, they would soon be advancing toward Xuzhou. Chen Qingzhi had to recruit enough new soldiers in the shortest possible time and immediately begin their training.

Only then could his Independent Brigade strike the enemy hard in the upcoming battle!

"We currently have about one hundred and fifty men, plus more than four hundred scattered troops we've gathered along the way—together, that's roughly six hundred," Chen Qingzhi said after a moment of thought. "With these six hundred as our foundation, we can establish the framework. After that, we just need to recruit five or six thousand more men to fill out three reinforced battalions. That will be enough!"

"Commander, these paratroopers are from other units. Even though they've been separated, if we absorb them into our ranks without authorization, won’t that be a problem?" Fang Xiaodong frowned, voicing his concern.

"That's nothing to worry about."

Chen Qingzhi waved his hand dismissively. "It doesn’t matter which unit they belonged to before—now, they're part of our Independent Brigade!"

"Even if their combat skills are questionable, they've still seen battle and shed blood. Compared to raw recruits, they're much better! With them, we can establish the backbone of the brigade, appoint them as squad leaders and assistant squad leaders, and have them train the new recruits. The brigade’s combat effectiveness will quickly improve!"

The situation was urgent; the Battle of Xuzhou was about to begin, and Chen Qingzhi had little time. He couldn’t afford to be selective—he had to forcibly absorb all the soldiers they could muster.

If anyone came to reclaim them later, he could always deflect responsibility. At worst, it would just be bureaucratic wrangling.

In any case, now that these men were in his Independent Brigade, Chen Qingzhi had no intention of letting them go, no matter what!

His method was somewhat underhanded, but there was no alternative.

In truth, if he had more time, Chen Qingzhi would rather not have these scattered troops at all.

After all, though these men had seen battle, who could say if there weren’t some old laggards or deserters among them? Keeping such men in the unit could prove disastrous.

His plan was to recruit only new soldiers and train them using his scientific methods, which would yield much greater results.

But Chen Qingzhi didn’t have that luxury.

He had to adapt to the situation!

It was already late December. They had been in the Xuzhou area for several days.

Initially, he had planned to recruit soldiers from the local garrison, but orders from above had not yet arrived, and Chen Qingzhi dared not recruit on his own. He could only find a place to set up a temporary camp.

Now that the commissioning order from the Chairman had arrived, expanding his force into an Independent Brigade, he could finally arrange for recruitment.

Recruitment could not wait—if the Japanese attacked before then, his brigade would be useless with just a few hundred men!

However, recruitment required coordination with the local authorities, or else conflict might arise.

With this in mind, Chen Qingzhi said to Fang Xiaodong, "Xiaodong, stay here with the men and keep a close watch on the scattered troops we’ve gathered. Don’t let any of them slip away! Tiger, you come with me—we’ll head to the nearby county seat and negotiate with the local magistrate."

"Yes, sir!"

After instructing Fang Xiaodong to hold down the fort, Chen Qingzhi set out with Tiger and a few guards. They mounted their fastest horses, got directions, and galloped toward the county seat.

…

Qingyuan County was located in the northeast of the Xuzhou region, less than seventy li from Xuzhou itself. Compared to Xuzhou, a major stronghold, Qingyuan was just a small county.

Yet, though small, the county was bustling.

Surrounding Qingyuan were many villages and townships; the county seat itself was crowded with people coming and going.

There was no sign of desolation.

In truth, the county usually wouldn’t be so crowded, but with the Nationalist forces withdrawing to the Xuzhou area and bandits running rampant, many villagers had no choice but to seek refuge with relatives in the county seat.

They hoped to stay in town for a while and return home once the troops had moved on.

This made the county even more crowded than usual!

Not far from the town, a group of seven or eight cavalrymen galloped swiftly toward Qingyuan. Leading them was a young man in uniform, a shining gold star on his collar reflecting a dazzling light in the sun.

They were none other than Chen Qingzhi and his party.

"Commander, we’re almost at Qingyuan County!" one of the cavalrymen called, riding up breathlessly to Chen Qingzhi.

"Whoa!" Chen Qingzhi reined in his horse, took out his binoculars, and gazed at the distant county seat. He saw the crowds in the streets and several rifle-armed soldiers guarding the gate—nothing seemed amiss.

He lowered the binoculars and asked the soldier, "What’s the situation in Qingyuan? Did you speak to the magistrate?"

"Commander, after I entered the county, I went to find the magistrate. While we were talking, the commander of the local Security Regiment barged in. That Security commander is a real scoundrel! When I told him our brigade commander wanted to see the magistrate, he started cursing and threw me out!"

The soldier’s face showed a trace of anger as he spoke.

"You didn’t tell the magistrate why we came?" Chen Qingzhi asked, a bit surprised.

"I did! The magistrate was cooperative when he heard you were coming, but once the Security Regiment commander started shouting, the magistrate couldn’t do anything," the soldier replied.

"I see."

Hearing this, Chen Qingzhi understood at once.

Clearly, the magistrate had been sidelined by the so-called Security Regiment commander.

The magistrate might have wanted to cooperate, but under the other’s coercion, he was powerless.

Chen Qingzhi’s expression turned cold.

He had not expected that, having just been promoted to the rank of brigadier general, he would be stymied by a mere Security Regiment commander when all he wanted was to set up a recruitment station in the county.

The thought filled Chen Qingzhi with rage.

"Come on, let’s go see for ourselves. I want to know what kind of man this Security Regiment commander really is!"

With a cold voice, Chen Qingzhi raised his whip and led his horse toward Qingyuan County.