"It's raining!" Li Hao replied very firmly, his face became more and more serious, and he analyzed with a frown.

"If it doesn't rain, there will be no water on the land, and there will be no way to carry out spring plowing in the base areas, and then the common people will have no harvest, no food to eat, no grain tax in the base areas, and no grain to feed the troops."

"If I remember correctly, the grain output in the base areas of this year's autumn harvest has been reduced by several percent due to dry weather, and the grain tax has also been reduced by more than half. Because of last year's high grain output in the old base area, the villagers have more or less surplus at home, and even if this year's output is low, the province can still survive until next year's autumn harvest. ”

"Not with the new base.

"They are destitute, they don't have a family like the old base area, and that little harvest will not allow them to survive until next autumn."

"The common people are our roots, and the troops will never watch them starve to death at home because of lack of food, so we must take food out to provide relief to them."

"In addition, it has not rained in the base area so far, and many small rivers have begun to dry up and cut off, and no one dares to guarantee whether it will rain in the next spring ploughing."

"If the drought continues, it is very likely that there will be no harvest in the base areas next year, and the entire base areas will run out of grain by then."

Hong Linfeng first showed an expression of sudden realization, and then his face was replaced by shock.

He thought of the order of the regiment commander two years ago to order the troops to stock up on food.

Could it be that the regiment commander knew two years ago that the base area might suffer from a major drought, and only then ordered the troops to stock up on grain in advance?

If his guess is true, then the regimental commander is too terrible, and it can be described as a prophet of the unservant.

The more Hong Linfeng thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was too strange, and hurriedly asked: "Regiment leader, did you know about this great drought two years ago, and then let us stock up on food in advance." ”

Li Hao had already thought about the reason, shook his head and denied it.

"I'm not an immortal, how can I know what will happen in two years."

"The reason why the troops are allowed to stock up on food is to be prepared for a rainy day."

"Don't forget, we are establishing a base in the heart of the enemy, and we may be blockaded and surrounded by heavy troops at any time."

"At this time, the food that has been hoarded in advance will become life-saving food."

"What I didn't expect was that the base area did not encounter a blockade, but encountered this major drought."

"However, on the other hand, it also proves that the decision to stock up on food in advance and be prepared is the right one."

Hong Linfeng chose to believe the regiment leader's explanation, but soon another question appeared in his mind and immediately asked.

"Commander, since we are prepared and have hoarded so much food in advance, we are not afraid even if the drought comes. Four thousand people is training, seven thousand people are also training, why not restore the troops directly to seven thousand people. ”

"You're thinking too simply!" Li Hao explained.

"Don't look at the fact that we have hoarded so much grain, but for the entire base area, it is just a drop in the bucket."

"The base area is too big, and the villagers all add up to five or six hundred thousand people, even if they only give everyone life-saving food, they will use up two or three hundred thousand catties a day."

"If the drought continues, it will last up to three months before it runs out."

"There is a difference of three thousand between the seven thousand and the seven thousand, but don't underestimate the three thousand."

"They are all full-time troops, and in order to ensure combat effectiveness and have the physical strength to train, they must be well fed and warmly clothed."

"To feed the food consumed by such a soldier every day, if you use porridge to help the common people, at least ten people can live."

"So the main force must be reduced to four thousand men, and more food must be saved for emergencies."

Speaking of this, Li Hao thought of something again.

His brows furrowed, and he continued to order: "Not only should the main force be compressed, but the local cadres should also be reduced by at least one-third. ”

"In addition, our huge logistical organs must be streamlined, and all the extra cadres and fighters will go into the mountains to reclaim wasteland and plant drought-tolerant sweet potatoes to ensure that they can be self-sufficient and will not increase the burden on the troops and the people in the base areas."

"Yes, that's it!"

"In this anti-sweep, the local troops and local cadres have also suffered a lot of losses, so we will not recruit new cadres."

"County-to-county, district-to-district, town-to-town secondment. In the same position, what can be done by one person will never be arranged for two people. ”

"All the redundant cadres should be streamlined, and they should either join the army or be demobilized to become ordinary people, so as to reduce the pressure on the base areas."

"I calculated that if the entire base area is reduced in accordance with the regulations, at least 2,000 full-time cadres can be eliminated in the base area."

"Giving the food that feeds them to the people can keep at least 10,000 people alive."

Although Li Hao's order was reasonable, in Hong Linfeng's opinion, it was too far-fetched.

Why is the head of the regiment so sure that there will be no rain before spring ploughing? How did he know that the great drought was going to continue, and finally it would turn into a great drought?

But there is one sentence that the chief of staff thinks is correct: be prepared for emergencies and prevent them before they happen.

It is true that there has been no rain in the base area for several months, and it is not impossible for the drought to turn into a major drought in this case.

If it really happens in the future, and the garrison is prepared, the pressure will definitely be much less.

Another point is that controlling the strength of the main force and the local troops while they are suffering heavy casualties and reducing the number of personnel is indeed easier to operate than reducing the number of troops after the expansion of the troops, and it is easier for the soldiers and local cadres to accept it, and fewer people are involved.

Thinking of this, Hong Linfeng decided to support the head of the regiment.

"I agree to compress the main force to 4,000 people, and the soldiers are fine but not many, although there are fewer people, as long as we train well, the combat effectiveness is no worse than 7,000 people."

Li Hao nodded and replied: "That's right, the soldiers are fine but not many, so I decided to set the name of this operation as the elite soldiers and simple administration." ”

In Hunyuan, the town less than two kilometers away from the defense line of the first battalion of the garrison regiment was the outpost of the Japanese attack garrison regiment.

Since yesterday, Japanese troops have been escorting large quantities of war supplies into their strongholds outside the town.

During the day today, more than 100 carts full of supplies entered the stronghold, and a few hours later, the carts left the stronghold empty, and the more than 500 little devils who escorted the supplies did not leave, but stayed in the stronghold to protect the materials and ammunition that had just been delivered.

In a small forest a kilometer away, Li Hao, the commander of the garrison regiment, and He Jun, the commander of the first battalion, were half-squatting at the edge of the forest, holding binoculars to observe the stronghold.

He Jun, as the head snake, was very aware of the strength of the little devil opposite, and introduced while observing: "Regiment commander, plus the little devil who entered the stronghold today, the garrison of the stronghold has exceeded 1,500 people, of which 1,000 are little devils, and the rest are the puppet army they just formed, formerly the prisoner of the Jin Sui Army, and the deputy battalion commander of a surrendered little devil served as the regiment commander, and also erected a recruitment sign in the town, while giving the little devil his life, while expanding the troops. ”

"More than a thousand people, no more, no less, just one bite to swallow!" Li Hao analyzed with a serious face.

Then he stared at He Jun and ordered: "I decided to take the Japanese puppet army here and give the follow-up little devils a dismount, so that they dare not attack our garrison." ”

"Battalion Commander He, assemble all the troops that can be assembled in your hands, and we will act tonight, but we must pay attention to secrecy."