Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Two more days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Changzhi, military hospital.

In a heavily guarded intensive care unit.

The mysterious Kuomintang agent who was rescued at Thousand Buddha Mountain finally awoke from his long coma.

Upon receiving the news, Zhao Pengcheng immediately led two guards and staff officers to the hospital.

On the hospital bed, the agent's face was still as pale as paper, but his eyes had regained their clarity.

Those were eyes filled with vigilance, weariness, and a profound depth that seemed to have seen through life and death.

"you're awake."

Zhao Pengcheng pulled up a chair and sat down beside his bed, trying to keep his tone gentle: "How are you feeling?"

The agent's voice was hoarse and weak as he struggled to sit up: "I'm not dead yet."

"Don't move." Zhao Pengcheng pressed him down. "You've lost too much blood and need to rest."

He looked at the man before him, who, though disheveled, still exuded a capable air, and asked, "I am Zhao Pengcheng, the guard adjutant of the North China Joint Command. Commander Chu is currently holding a routine meeting, so he has not yet arrived. May I ask your name?"

After glancing at the rank insignia on Zhao Pengcheng's shoulder insignia and the two menacing guards behind him, he realized that Zhao Pengcheng was a man of high rank.

Instead of answering directly, Wu Jingzhong asked, "Where am I?"

"Changzhi Military Hospital".

Seeing that Zhao Pengcheng was still staring at him, Wu Jingzhong decided to speak up and state his request: "I want to see Commander Chu..."

Just as Zhao Pengcheng was about to say something.

A series of hurried footsteps sounded, and the group stopped outside the special care ward. Chu Yunfei led Deputy Director Mao from the Inspection Department into the special care ward.

"Commander Chu, what's wrong?" Zhao Pengcheng asked in surprise, but Chu Yunfei gestured for him not to speak.

Mao Qiwu was quite excited and stepped forward: "Old Wu?"

"Mao Zuo!" Wu Jingzhong exclaimed in surprise, "Commander Chu, it really is you!"

"Wu Jingzhong".

Wu Jingzhong glanced at Zhao Pengcheng, looking apologetic, and then introduced himself: "Head of the intelligence section of the Tianjin station of the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"Section Chief Wu."

Chu Yunfei cut to the chase: "When our people were rescuing you, they heard you say you had top-secret intelligence to report to us?"

The word "intelligence" is mentioned.

Wu Jingzhong's eyes sharpened instantly, but this was followed by an immense and uncontrollable pain and fear.

He closed his eyes, as if recalling some unbearable past events.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and began to speak in a voice that was almost like a dream.

"The entire Tianjin district is finished."

His first words made everyone's hearts sink.

“We uncovered a top-secret Japanese plan codenamed ‘Divine Punishment,’ and it was because of this plan that we suffered devastating retaliation.”

"After receiving this intelligence, I immediately took a few brothers and fled the Gyeonggi region under the station chief's arrangement, in preparation to report to your department."

"However, the Japanese were prepared."

Wu Jingzhong's voice began to tremble slightly, "They not only destroyed all our strongholds and liaison stations that we had operated in Tianjin for several years, but also..."

"They also set up a tight net along the way, dispatching a large number of troops to surround and intercept us."

“When your men find me,” two streams of turbid tears flowed from Wu Jingzhong’s eyes, “all the other brothers, except for me, have already given their lives for the country.”

Everyone present fell silent.

They could imagine what it would be like along the way.

What a brutal and bloody battle they endured.

Chu Yunfei led everyone in a military salute to Wu Jingzhong: "Section Chief Wu, please accept our condolences."

"The brothers who sacrificed their lives are all heroes."

"Their blood will not have been shed in vain. We will remember their sacrifices, and our motherland will also remember their sacrifices."

Seeing that Wu Jingzhong hesitated to speak, Chu Yunfei immediately ordered loudly, "Zhao Pengcheng."

"Have."

"Afterwards, we did everything we could to find and collect the remains of the martyrs and bury them in the Taihang Martyrs' Shrine Cemetery, so that they may be worshipped forever."

"Yes!"

Wu Jingzhong's eyes welled up with tears: "Thank you, Commander Chu, thank you, my colleagues..."

Chu Yunfei looked at Wu Jingzhong and asked the most crucial question: "Section Chief Wu, what exactly is this holy war plan you mentioned, codenamed 'Divine Punishment'?"

Wu Jingzhong's body trembled involuntarily.

His face showed an expression of extreme fear, as if...

Just mentioning that name exhausted all his strength.

He organized his thoughts and slowly revealed the devil's plan, a plan that would send shivers down the spines of the entire world.

"The Japanese have gone mad."

"They planned to spread the plague on a large scale throughout North China and even the Central Plains in the spring of 32, once the weather warmed up!"

Chu Yunfei, who had just sat down, suddenly stood up, his face filled with disbelief: "What?"

Wu Jingzhong's voice trembled: "Plague, cholera, anthrax."

"They have secretly cultivated all the most terrifying viruses and bacteria that we can think of."

"They planned to send a large number of specially trained agents to infiltrate our Nationalist-controlled areas and the CCP's anti-Japanese base areas."

"To create an unprecedented pandemic by releasing these bacteria and viruses into water sources, food supplies, or even by airdropping them from bombers!"

"We haven't had time to figure out the specific plans yet."

"But just hearing about it is terrifying enough!"

"Commander Chu, they want to destroy our nation from the very beginning!"

The entire ward fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Pengcheng felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head, making him feel icy cold all over.

He finally understood why the Japanese were willing to go to any lengths to hunt down Wu Jingzhong.

This plan was codenamed "Divine Punishment".

It has already gone beyond the scope of war.

This is outright genocide!

Mao Qiwu chuckled twice, but his trembling voice betrayed his panic: "The Japanese devils are unlikely to have that ability, are they?"

"Have."

Everyone turned to look at Chu Yunfei, following the sound.

Chu Yunfei slowly added, "The Japanese began researching unconventional warfare methods a long time ago, and poison gas was just one of them. In many battles, when the Japanese offensive was thwarted, they would violate international law and use poison gas to end the problem."

Zhao Pengcheng's face showed lingering fear: "But the gas warfare alone has already caused us huge losses, and this bacteriological warfare is unheard of. We have no way to deal with it."

Take Unit 731 as an example of germ warfare.

They arrested people for experiments primarily through the Manchukuo police system. As for where they were taken or what they were done to, even the Manchukuo high command didn't know. Consequently, within the Japanese military, the vast majority of people were unaware that Japan was conducting bacterial culture and human experiments.

It was only because Chu Yunfei was a time traveler that he was so cautious when Wu Jingzhong mentioned this matter.

After all, the plague that swept through the plains in 1944 did indeed have the shadow of the Japanese behind it.

Chu Yunfei said with a solemn expression, "I originally thought they would only resort to such despicable tactics when the war was evenly matched. I never expected that even with the final outcome already quite clear, these sons of bitches of Japanese would still choose to gamble everything."

Wu Jingzhong added with lingering fear, "Gentlemen, please take this matter very seriously."

"Section Chief Wu, your intelligence is very timely. Deputy Director Mao, please make some arrangements. The position of head of the intelligence section of the Inspectorate is still vacant. I think Wu Jingzhong is quite good. I hope you can recommend him to the Chairman on my behalf."

Mao Renfeng immediately stood at attention and decisively replied, "Yes, sir."

"This matter is of utmost importance. I need to report the situation to the General Headquarters immediately. Section Chief Wu, please recover soon, unite your will, and defend our motherland."

Wu Jingzhong, with a serious expression, raised his right hand and gave an awkward military salute: "Yes, sir, I understand."
-

"Bacterial warfare? Plague?"

Stilwell looked at the intelligence he had compiled.

His face showed obvious suspicion.

He pushed up his glasses and said in his usual arrogant tone, "Oh, my dear Chu."

"I admit that the Japanese were indeed cruel on the battlefield. But how could they wage such a large-scale, inhumane bacteriological warfare?"

"Forgive me for speaking frankly, but this sounds more like alarmist wartime propaganda."

"as far as I know."

Stilwell realized that his words were somewhat inappropriate, so he simply shrugged and said, "The level of biotechnology in Japan is far from being able to create and spread plagues at will."

and.

There has never been concrete evidence of their large-scale use of biological weapons in previous wars.

Stilwell's suspicions were not without merit.

In the traditional Western mindset.

War, however cruel, should still adhere to some basic "bottom lines" and "rules".

Nazi Germany did not use poison gas.

The prevailing view in academia is that their adversaries all possess the capability to manufacture chemical weapons.

Germ warfare is undoubtedly the act that most crosses the line of human civilization.

In a small meeting room.

Chu Yunfei sat opposite Stilwell.

After listening, he simply smiled coldly: "Mr. Stilwell, do you think they would abide by the so-called rules of war like we do?"

He gestured to Zhao Pengcheng to hand over a prepared file.

The file was very thick; the documents stacked together were more than 15 centimeters long.

It was simply placed directly in front of Stilwell.

“Mr. Stilwell, take a look at this.”

"These are some of the documented Japanese spy infiltration and sabotage incidents that have occurred only in our southeastern Shanxi region since the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan."

Stilwell opened the file with a curious look and pointed to the shocking records on it.

"In April 1938, a mass food poisoning incident occurred in Shizui Village, Wutai County, after a collective lunch. Eighteen people died. An investigation later revealed that a passerby, suspected to be a Japanese spy, had added highly toxic chemicals to the well water."

"At the end of April 1940, a series of explosions of unknown cause occurred in Niangziguan Town, Pingding County, which destroyed several granaries and killed or injured nearly a hundred civilians. It was later found that it was a suicide attack carried out by puppet agents disguised as traveling merchants who hid time bombs in the goods."

"In July 1941, a large-scale outbreak of dysentery occurred in Huguan Town, Changzhi County. It was later discovered that someone had dumped a large number of rotting animal carcasses upstream of the river."

Chu Yunfei's voice remained calm: "Mr. Stilwell, these are exactly the tricks that those shady spies are best at."

"When I was at the Eastern Route Army Headquarters in Taihang, I heard that the Japanese seemed to have sent the puppet Manchukuo police to arrest 'Communists' on a large scale. There were many suspicious things about it. All of these people disappeared without a trace. I have never heard of any public trial or execution."

"In order to verify whether there is any connection between these matters, I have sent someone to contact Yan'an urgently."

"If the Japanese were to conduct inhumane human experiments in Northeast China, I believe that the comrades of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army fighting there would certainly know about it."

Chu Yunfei's words left Stilwell speechless.

His expression gradually turned serious: "We need to verify this matter further. If the Japanese do indeed have this plan, we need to accelerate the war process at all costs."

Stilwell was even more worried that these Japanese devils would use biological weapons in the Pacific theater.

In that case, it will be the Americans who die!
That night.

While Stilwell was still urgently discussing countermeasures with Chu Yunfei and others.

The reply from Yan'an has arrived.

The telegram confirmed Chu Yunfei's guess.

This is indeed true!

According to reports from underground workers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army who were hiding in Harbin, the number of people going missing in various places has been increasing over the past six months.

Upon seeing the telegram, the last trace of doubt on Stilwell's face vanished without a trace.

Instead, there was deep shock and anger!
"Chu, please excuse me. I need to contact the relevant authorities back home immediately to report this matter."

“Mr. Stilwell, we desperately need the help of our allies.” Stilwell nodded earnestly: “I understand, please rest assured.”

……

Meanwhile, in the mountain city, at the command headquarters.

Chang Ruiyuan also convened a top-level military meeting overnight.

"germ warfare?"

"Isn't this outrageous?"

"Yes, do the Japanese really dare to defy the world and do something like this?"

At the meeting, many generals shared Stilwell's initial reaction, expressing skepticism.

However, many frontline commanders who experienced the bloody battles of Shanghai, Nanjing, and Wuhan also hold a cautious and vigilant attitude towards this.

You have to understand, after so many years of fighting.

They knew perfectly well what kind of people the Japanese army was.

If the attack goes slightly wrong, they start releasing poison gas, or they take advantage of close combat to bombard their own troops as well.

For those Japanese fascists who had lost their humanity, anything was possible.

Chang Ruiyuan sat in the main seat without saying a word.

The people below were arguing amongst themselves, expressing all sorts of opinions.

A storm was brewing in Chang Ruiyuan's heart.

He was almost certain it was true!
Because before this meeting was held.

He had secretly summoned Dai Yunong of the Military Intelligence Bureau to confirm the accuracy of the intelligence from North China.

After learning that this was a message that Wu Jingzhong had risked his life to deliver,

Dai Li confirmed with a solemn expression: "Wu Jingzhong was one of the most capable agents of our Military Intelligence Bureau in Tianjin. He was also a classmate and friend of Jianfeng. Around the time of his incident, our entire intelligence system in Tianjin was indeed retaliated against and destroyed by the Japanese army."

"The Japanese spared no expense in indiscriminately massacring all those who were merely 'suspects'!"

"This crazy move is enough to prove that they are indeed covering up a huge secret!"

Chang Ruiyuan knew that Dai Li would never try anything funny in such a matter.

But he also knew that the price to pay for stopping the Japanese "holy war plan" would be enormous.

At least with its current manpower and funding, the Military Intelligence Bureau is far from sufficient.

Dai Li noticed the Chairman's hesitation and immediately seized the opportunity to "complain": "Chairman, you know this."

"In order to establish the North China Inspectorate, a large number of our elite personnel have been transferred away from the Military Intelligence Bureau."

"Right now, the new inspection office for the Burma Road is about to be established, and another batch of our people will be transferred away."

"Right now, my Military Intelligence Bureau is really running out of manpower!"

Clearly, Dai Li was asking Chang Ruiyuan for people, money, and power!
Chang Ruiyuan looked at the man before him, a loyal but also ambitious "swordsman".

A wave of irritation washed over me.

But he also knew that now was not the time to dwell on such things.

"Yu Nong," Chang Ruiyuan immediately agreed, "Don't worry!"

"You want people? I'll give you people!"

"Want a gun? I'll give you a gun! Want funding? I'll give you funding!"

"But!" Chang Ruiyuan's voice suddenly turned stern: "You must find out the truth for me!"

"Is this really true?!"

"What exactly are the Japanese trying to do?!"

"Yes!"

The words are divided into two parts.

At this moment, after discussion, everyone at the meeting decided, based on the idea that it's better to be safe than sorry, that they should notify the garrison troops in advance and take precautions.

"Effective immediately, the entire military is on high alert!"

"Xu Enzeng, Dai Yunong."

The two quickly stood up: "Yes!"

"From this day forward, the intelligence department is to operate at full capacity! You must uncover every detail of the Japanese invaders' 'Divine Punishment' plan!"

"Yes!"

"The General Headquarters has established an Epidemic Prevention Committee, with Commander Cheng Qian serving as a member, and is fully responsible for the epidemic prevention command in each war zone!"

"Each war zone must strengthen the management of water and food supplies, guard against any suspicious personnel infiltration!"

"Each war zone must produce specific procedures for this matter within a week."

Chang Ruiyuan's eyes flashed with unprecedented solemnity and determination: "Gentlemen, this is our country, and the people in all regions are our providers. We must not let the Japanese succeed!"

"Yes!"
-

The secret telegram quickly spread to command posts at all levels throughout the country.

Changzhi at this moment.

Inside the large operations conference room of the North China Joint Command.

Many high-ranking commanders gathered together.

Generals from various factions, including those from the Eighth, Second, First, and Fifth War Zones, participated in the meeting.

After confirming that the "divine punishment" plan is highly likely to be real.

The arrogance on Stilwell's face had vanished.

Instead, he felt the most primal anger and disgust towards the Japanese devils as a soldier.

The Japanese people find this despicable act of crossing the line to be a direct challenge to everyone's values.

"Barbaric! Shameless! These damned dwarfs don't deserve to be called soldiers!"

Stilwell slammed his fist on the table with a dull thud: "They are devils! They are criminals against humanity, and we must settle accounts with them severely after the war is won."

When it came to criticizing the Japanese, all the commanders shared the same topic as Stilwell.

With Chu Yunfei's tacit approval.

Many generals angrily cursed the Japanese devils, and the meeting room became extremely noisy for a time.

After letting everyone vent for a few minutes.

At Chu Yunfei's prompting, Fang Ligong slowly patted the table in front of him.

The previously noisy conference room instantly fell silent.

Lin Wei, Fang Ligong, and others were actually more aware than Stilwell of the devastating consequences that would result from a large-scale bacteriological warfare outbreak, given the Republic of China's backward medical and health conditions and the general lack of epidemic prevention knowledge among the people.

That would be a national tragedy more devastating than any defeat on the front lines.

Chu Yunfei was well aware that if the Japanese devils were truly determined to wage bacteriological warfare, the damage would be far greater than the harm caused by Chiang Kai-shek's breach of the Yellow River.

"Now is not the time to be angry."

Chu Yunfei's voice was clear and powerful, and everyone's eyes quickly turned to him: "Anger will not solve any problems."

"What we need to do now is to immediately develop an effective response plan."

"Please let Chief of Staff Lin introduce the basic forms of bacteriological warfare and the possible methods that the Japanese side may take."

At Chu Yunfei's signal, Lin Wei strode to the huge map, his gaze sweeping across the vast land of North China and even the Central Plains with the sharpness of a hawk.
Lin Wei cleared her throat after taking a sip of tea.

"Everyone."

"The command center believes that in order to deal with this crisis, we must take a multi-pronged approach that addresses both the symptoms and the root causes."

"Furthermore, we have initially formulated four countermeasures, which we would like to discuss with you all."

"The first and most fundamental point is: strict prevention and control at the source."

Lin Wei used his baton to draw a thick red line on the map, marking the boundary between the Japanese-occupied area and the Nationalist-controlled area.

"From this moment forward, I recommend that all troops immediately implement the strictest blockade and control over the border areas with enemy-occupied territories!"

"All personnel and goods entering and leaving the premises must undergo strict inspection!"

"Any person of unknown origin shall be detained and investigated!"

"Any unauthorized materials shall be destroyed on the spot!"

"We must use the most stringent 'firewall' to block as many channels as possible for the Japanese to carry out bacteriological warfare!"

"Second: Internal investigation, joint military-civilian efforts."

"The 'Divine Punishment' plan is too inefficient if it is only carried out by bombers."

"The Japanese will, and most likely will, prepare to send a large number of agents and spies to infiltrate our ranks."

"The command headquarters will recommend that the General Staff issue an order for our newly established 'Inspectorate' to join forces with the Military Intelligence Bureau, the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and the local Baojia system to immediately launch a comprehensive and in-depth internal investigation across the country!"

"The key is to investigate those outsiders whose identities are suspicious and whose whereabouts are secretive."

"Mobilize the masses, and let the local people become our eyes and ears!"

"Let those rats hiding in the dark corners have nowhere to hide!"

"Third: Stockpile supplies and establish an early warning system."

Lin Wei turned her gaze to Stilwell: "Mr. Stilwell, we need the help of our allies on this."

"We need a lot of medical supplies."

"We need a huge amount of all medicines that can be used to prevent and treat highly contagious diseases, and the more the better!"

Stilwell immediately stood up and looked around at the many generals around him: "Please rest assured, everyone, the United States will always stand on the side of justice, and we will more firmly support our allies in their just war against aggression."

"I have already reported the matter of providing medical supplies to General Marshall!"

"I assure you all that the first batch of supplies will arrive in Yangon within three months!"

Lin Wei nodded emphatically: "Then thank you very much, Mr. Stilwell and our American allies."

"Fourth, and lastly: maintain a tight external stance while keeping things relaxed internally to avoid panic."

His voice became earnest: "All of the above measures must be carried out under absolute secrecy."

“We can use the pretext of ‘strengthening public security management’ to carry out grassroots publicity and mobilization.”

"But the truth about the Japanese launching bacteriological warfare must never be widely disclosed to the general public!"

"because."

Lin Wei paused, his voice tinged with deep worry: "Once it causes large-scale social panic and disrupts normal production and life, its destructive power could be even more terrifying than the Japanese germ warfare itself!"

The group looked at each other, somewhat panicked.

Not to mention the ordinary people who don't have much experience.

Once people flee and loot supplies, social order can easily collapse.

That was true chaos without a fight.

intolerable!
The four countermeasures are interconnected and progressively build upon each other.

From blocking the source to internal investigation; from stockpiling supplies to controlling public opinion.

Almost all possible risks and corresponding countermeasures have been considered clearly and thoroughly.

Although the meeting had a large number of attendees, it was not very long overall.

About two hours.

For the first hour or so, Lin Wei, in his capacity as chief of staff, presided over the meeting, explaining the dangers of bacteriological warfare.

Here is a brief introduction to the pathogenic bacteria used by the Japanese invaders for all commanders.

The remaining half hour was spent announcing policies that had been agreed upon by the group beforehand.

For the past half hour, Lin Wei has simply followed the script, and there has been no difficulty in the work.

For everyone involved, the message would need to be relayed down through the ranks after they returned, and keeping it secret during this process was a very difficult task.

Therefore, this matter was only communicated up to the regimental level.

As for going further down the line, one needs to find a suitable reason to deceive in good faith.

After the meeting, the commanders left the conference room.

Chu Yunfei then summoned the core commanders of the Flying Tigers to a small conference room once again. (End of Chapter)