After adjusting the relevant matters of the base area, Zhao Zhenzhong quietly returned to Baode while the road was closed due to heavy snow. He went there, less than 10 days before and after, but it pointed out the direction for the future development of the northwest base area.

After Zhao Zhenzhong left, because Zhou Tian, ​​Li Yuntian and Liu Chenglin had not arrived yet, the Government Affairs Committee had only Zhou Hao, Li Yunshan and Zou Degui, and Zhou and Zou were only responsible for military affairs, so the Government Affairs Committee was temporarily under the jurisdiction of Li Yunshan.

Faced with the construction tasks assigned by Zhao Zhenzhong, Li Yunshan was very busy and wanted to divide himself into several people. Fortunately, Zhang Mingrui, Yang Tianming and others did their best when handing over relevant affairs to various political districts. Zhou Hao also made systematic and reasonable suggestions for the relevant construction and development with a perspective beyond history, which relieved Li Yunshan a lot of pressure. When various political districts were established and various bureaus under the Government Affairs Committee were successively established, Li Yunshan felt much more relaxed. The construction matters required by Zhao Zhenzhong were also busy and in a mess.

Li Yunshan had a clue about the matter. Zhang Mingrui, Yang Tianming, Zhou Hao and others were busy with the military affairs of the People's Army next year. Zhao Zhenzhong only issued a combat mission to pacify Qinghai next year, and the Fourth Column would occupy Hami and attack the Turpan area. However, if the task was implemented specifically, it would be the affairs of Zhang Mingrui, Yang Tianming, Zhou Hao and other members of the Military Commission and the heads of each column.

"The task of the Fifth Column in Qinghai is very clear. Let Yu Zhenshan start to formulate a specific plan and be reviewed and approved by the Military Commission." At the Haiyuan Training Center, Zhang Mingrui said to the people attending the meeting, "But in Xinjiang, we need to clarify the task. Let's talk about how appropriate the sir's request is implemented?"

Previously, Zhao Zhenzhong only said that the Fourth Column wanted the Fourth Column to occupy the Hami area, control the important roads between Xinjiang and Gansu, and sent cavalry to attack Turpan, but did not issue clear instructions on the regional control scope. However, Zhang Mingrui, Zhou Hao, Yang Tianming and others issued combat tasks to Chen Zhiyuan's troops on behalf of the Military Commission, but they had to clarify the relevant scope so that Chen Zhiyuan and others could formulate specific combat plans based on actual conditions.

"Since you want to occupy the Hami area, you have to attack Turpan. In my opinion, south of the North Tianshan Mountains, from Sandaoling to Xingxingxia areas, the combat targets of the Fourth Column must be included in the four columns, and the passage between Xinjiang and Gansu is completely controlled." Yang Tianming used the wooden stick in his hand to draw a circle on the sand table and clearly expressed his intentions.

"I think we can also take down the area of ​​Zhenxi on the northern foot of the eastern section of Tianshan Mountain, drive Ma Hongkui's remaining part there to the west of Sebikou, and at the same time control Santang Lake in the north, and cut off the passage into Xinjiang through Outer Mongolia." Zhou Hao pointed at the sand table and added.

After Zhou Hao's supplement, the scope is wider than that of Hami City in later generations, with an area of ​​about 160,000 square kilometers, which is even larger than that of Shandong Province.>

"This range is too large? I'm afraid that the troops that the Fourth Column can enter Xinjiang to fight will not be able to defend." Zou Degui, who has always been calculating, questioned, "Besides, with the local population and production conditions, it is difficult for the Fourth Column to obtain local supplies. It is entirely transported by the Hexi Corridor, so the logistics pressure is too great."

Compared with Gansu, Ning and other places, Xinjiang is more sparsely populated. According to the information reported by the Ministry of the Fourth Column, the population in the west of Zhenxi is about 8,000, and the population in Hami is about 14,000. A total of more than 20,000 people are scattered in more than 160,000 square kilometers. The sparse population can be seen. In this case, about 30,000 troops entering Xinjiang cannot obtain supplies from the local area.

If you transport grain from Gansu, Ningxia and other places to Xinjiang, not to mention that it is more than 600 kilometers from Suzhou to Hami, there are nearly a thousand kilometers of Hexi Corridor alone. Even if the roads are now renovated, four carriages can be passed side by side, and reliable carriages can transport supplies for a long distance, it is still a bit difficult.

Considering the difficulties, everyone present also understood Zhao Zhenzhong's intention to urge the construction of the railway. If the train from Lanzhou to Yumen or even Hami could be opened as soon as possible, it would be no problem to enter Xinjiang to fight, and there would be no need to limit the fourth column to only occupy the Hami area next year.

"In the past two years, the Fourth Column has accumulated a lot of grain in Ganzhou and other places, and it is about 800 kilometers from Ganzhou to Hami. Although it is also very far, it is much better than starting from Lanzhou." Zhang Mingrui explained, "Although the logistics is difficult, it can still be overcome."

"In addition to logistics, we must also consider the comparison of enemy and us troops." Xu Chaoyuan raised a new question, "There is the Ma Bu Qing army in the Hami area and the remaining Ma Hongkui army in the west area. According to the news from the Fourth Column, these two units have more than 20,000 troops, which is not much different from the Fourth Column's troops entering Xinjiang. If the Jinshuren tribe in Xinjiang is added, the outside battles are mostly infantry, and the Fourth Column will face a lot of difficulties."

Ma Buqing originally left 5,000 troops in Hami. After he led the Western Route Army to Xinjiang, the troops of Hami's Ma Buqing's troops increased to more than 13,000, and the remaining troops of Ma Hongkui from Zhenxi increased to more than 12,000 after Ma Quanliang returned to the rescue. The horses combined, plus the Jin Shuren's troops, the total enemy force faced by the Fourth Column would reach more than 30,000. The enemy's local operations can be replenished nearby. The Fourth Column came from afar, and everything depends on logistics support. In addition, it is mainly infantry, and the difficulties are indeed quite difficult as one rises and the other grows.

"In terms of combat effectiveness, the troops entering the Xinjiang region of the Fourth Column are more than enough to deal with Zhuma and Jin Shuren's troops. However, considering that the territory to be controlled by the Ministry is too vast, I think the forces composition of the unit can be adjusted." Yang Tianming smiled and looked at Liu Jifeng, and said, "Didn't we have implemented a force replacement after the establishment of the Fourth Column? This time, we might as well handle it according to the rules and draw 4,000 cavalry from each department to supplement the fourth column. In addition, considering the enhanced mobility of the Sixth Column's defense operations in northern Shaanxi, the horse farms produced this year can be allocated to the Sixth Column for two thousand, and the remaining ones are used to supplement the cavalry of each column."

If the Fourth Column had 8,000 cavalry traveling around, and more than 20,000 infantry were deploying key points in the occupied areas and logistics support could keep up, then controlling Hami, Zhenxi and other places would be completely possible.

Seeing that everyone's opinions had been unified, Zhang Mingrui concluded: "Since that's the case, the matter of the Fourth Column entering Xinjiang will be decided like this. The cavalry will be transferred from the Column and the First, Second, and Third Columns. In the form of a meeting of the Military Commission, the relevant tasks will be sent to the Fourth Column and the Fifth Column. The two departments must make preparations for entering Xinjiang to fight and pacify Qinghai at the beginning of next spring."

After receiving the order, Chen Zhiyuan's troops of the Fourth Column stepped up their preparations. At present, the road was blocked with ice and snow, and it was extremely difficult to transport materials. It was possible to draw 4,000 troops from Ganzhou, Suzhou and other places to exchange cavalry from Lanzhou area with the cavalry drawn by each column.

The fifth column also started to set off from the garrison and advanced along the Hehuang Valley through Lanzhou to Xining. The fourth column and the special column had their garrison troops left in this area to exchange defense.

Compared with the Fourth Column that only controls Hami and Zhenxi, although the Fifth Column faces not many enemies after the beginning of next spring, the task is equally arduous. In addition to the Hehuang Valley centered on Xining, the Fifth Column will clear the rest of Qinghai next year, which the Fifth Column will be nearly 700,000 square kilometers! In addition, it also has to work hard to fight back the Tibetan armed forces occupying the Yushu area. Just from the march distance and the controlled area, this task is absolutely not light!

After letting Fu Mingren and Wu Deqing take charge of the team's advancement and defense change, Yu Zhenshan ran to Yang Tianming and Zou Degui asked for help. Yu Zhenshan knew very well that after the fifth lunar was in the defense, it would be troublesome and time-consuming to re-acquaint with the situation in the Hehuang Valley by himself. If the lunar could leave some people to give it a clear guide, it would be twice the result with half the effort.

The Special Column and the Fourth Column had not many troops left in the Hehuang Valley. Now more than 30,000 people in the Fifth Column were driven there all at once. The logistics supply was a big problem. Zou Degui, the logistics manager of the People's Army, would help to find a solution.

Yang Tianming was very pleased with Zhenshan's request, so he left several personnel in each garrison to assist the Fifth Column in getting to know the local situation as soon as possible. However, Zou Degui was in a dilemma for the difficulties faced in Zhenshan's logistics. It was not because of the lack of supplies, but because he could not transport them.

"Although we have opened the Laoyaxia area and now there are two new and old passages in the Hehuang Valley, the road is closed now, and the carriages are not available, so transportation is a big problem." Zou Degui scratched his head.

Before the People's Army occupied the Hehuang Valley, because Laoya Gorge was cliffed and not equipped with large chariots, it could only pass through horses, pedestrians, Qinghai and Gansu. The so-called Guanma Avenue between Qinghai and Gansu was to detour Yongdeng, connecting Gansu and Qinghai through Binggou Mountain. After the People's Army occupied the Hehuang Valley, it organized manpower and material resources to open up the dangerous area of ​​Laoya Gorge, and built a passage along the Huangshui River to Xining and Lanzhou in the first half of this year. Although this passage would have to be expanded in the future, at least there is no problem with carriages now.

But the wind and snow that swept the northwest now makes transportation a difficult problem. If you don’t clear the ice and snow on the road more than 200 kilometers, you won’t want to transport this material in a carriage. Even if you use manpower and material resources to clear the ice and snow at present, there will definitely be another heavy snow in the future.

"What should I do? The army of more than 30,000 people can't be out of food?" Yu Zhenshan became anxious.

"I heard you loudly from afar, what's the food?" Zhou Hao, who was staying in Haiyuan, heard the sound outside and pushed the door and walked in.

After Zou Degui told Zhou Hao about the current problem, he added: "Not to mention that the newly built road by Huangshui River is a bit dangerous, even if the transportation of materials from Hedong in Ningxia to the Sixth Column in northern Shaanxi was broken by the slippage of the rubber wheel after the snow."

"I have a solution to this matter." Zhou Hao smiled confidently, "I originally wanted to teach everyone skiing these two days, and it happened to be solved together."

After seeing Zhao Zhenzhong skiing to Hengshan in the wind and snow, Zhou Hao became interested in teaching everyone skiing. However, he has been busy with various things these days and has not found a chance. Now it is just enough to encourage everyone to learn together, and it is not certain that it will be of great use in the future.

When Zhou Hao heard that removing the rubber wheel of the cart, installing two customized hardwoods at the bottom of the cart board, and then wrapping the legs and feet of mules, horses and legs with straw, everything would be fine, Yang Tianming, Zou Degui, and Yu Zhenshan were all skeptical.

"It's that simple?" Zou Degui asked in confusion.

"It's that simple! Is it OK? You'll know if you try it?" Zhou Hao waved his hand and said, "I forgot about doing ice skates in the Nanyao area in the winter? This thing is just a large ice skate pulled by mules and horses! Some people abroad call it a sled."
Chapter completed!