Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

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

On the surface, things in Luoning County seem to have returned to calm, but undercurrents are surging beneath the surface.

Those ten strict "wartime management regulations" weighed on everyone's hearts like ten mountains.

The Lin family mansion in the south of the city.

This usually secluded mansion, with its gates always tightly shut, was bustling with guests today.

More than a dozen sedan chairs quietly filled the alley in front of the gate.

As for why there are no cars...

Even at this point in time, it would cost at least 30,000 yuan (three times the price before the war) to buy a car and transport it to western Henan. The monthly expenses for maintenance and fuel purchases were a huge sum.

Even if these nouveau riche have the financial means, they wouldn't spend that money on this.

In their understanding, they would only take this opportunity to buy more land.

Inside the Lin family compound.

The most prominent and wealthy families in the county town had all gathered here.

Inside the warm pavilion, the charcoal fire was burning brightly.

The finest Wuyi rock tea exudes a rich aroma.

But the atmosphere here is far less pleasant than the aroma of tea.

"Hmph! A bunch of soldiers think they can turn the world upside down?"

The speaker was Old Master Wang, whose "surplus grain requisition" and "rationing system" were undoubtedly digging up his family's roots.

His family had been in the grain business for generations, and were one of the top households in Luoning County. They also had connections in the mountain town.

Originally, they didn't dare to provoke Chu Yunfei.

Unfortunately, Chu Yunfei's power has now expanded and he has become too powerful to control.

This gave some people an opportunity.

Based on past experience, as long as they dare to engage in a fight, they will inevitably be matched with an equally matched opponent.

Furthermore, Chu Yunfei is known for his wisdom and upright conduct, so he is unlikely to resort to any underhanded tactics against them.

This is also their source of confidence.

He picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and his face was full of disdain and sarcasm.

"Before this, that officer surnamed Zhao insisted that we open the granaries and distribute grain to relieve the disaster victims, which already made us lose a lot of money."
I thought I could just tolerate him for a while and wait for things to calm down before resuming my normal routine.

Unexpectedly, these soldiers have become even more brazen!

“The National Revolutionary Army! Humph!” Mr. Qian, sitting opposite him, sneered: “Don’t they always boast that they are different from those warlords and bandits who rob and plunder?”
how?

Now they've even abandoned their last fig leaf? Are they going to follow those ragtag groups and resort to 'plunder' now?

Everyone chimed in with their own words.

It was full of contempt for the stationed troops, and they didn't seem to be really worried that anything big would happen.

However, these words did not effectively dispel the concerns in people's hearts.

After all, a person dies when they are killed; they only have one life.

If these "Nationalist soldiers" were to take action, even if the mountain city were to give them justice, the dead could not be brought back to life.

Finally, the old patriarch of the Lin family, who was sitting in the main seat, a white-haired old man with shrewd eyes, slowly tapped the lid of the purple clay teapot in his hand.

"Everyone, please be patient."

Old Master Lin's voice wasn't loud, but it silenced everyone.

"What's the panic?" he said slowly. "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. They have guns, and we're not fish on a chopping board either."

He glanced around at everyone, his eyes gleaming with the cunning light of a fox: "I have already used my connections in Shancheng."

Our petition, jointly signed by the gentry of western Henan, will be delivered directly to the Attendant's Office by tomorrow at the latest, bypassing North China!
The Chairman will surely learn of this!

Old Master Lin paused, a confident smile curving his lips: "The overall situation is still uncertain. The Japanese are causing trouble in front, and the Eighth Route Army is vying for power behind."

"What the Chairman wants is stability!"

"These Nationalist troops are running rampant in western Henan, incurring the wrath of both heaven and man. How are they any different from bandits?"

"Chairman, we will definitely stop him!"

"Take a step back and say it."

Old Master Lin took a sip of tea and added slowly:

“No one in western Henan is a fool. If we really do as they say, our family fortune accumulated over hundreds of years will be gone. We can’t waste this precious grain.”

"With Chu Yunfei going to such lengths to cultivate a positive public image, even the most capable and decorated troops can't bully us ordinary folks."

From their perspective...

It's better to feed your own stored grain to your dogs than to give it to disaster victims.

After all, dogs have a certain degree of connection with them from a social perspective. As for the disaster victims, who cares about their lives?
As for lending the money to the Nationalist army, no one took it seriously, even though there was a promise to repay it later.

These local gentry had read quite a few history books, and naturally knew that throughout history, no one had ever truly been able to fulfill all the promises they made to the people and local authorities.

It's common for them to deny their promises, or perhaps they're fulfilling their initial commitments in their own way.

Everything was merely a stopgap measure.

Just like how they often use the excuse of "let bygones be bygones" to win over neutral forces, it eventually turns into "crossing the river and then burning the bridge."

These words reassured everyone present, and they all clapped their hands in approval.

In their eyes, these soldiers who only knew how to fight and kill were nothing more than a bunch of simple-minded brutes in the face of the rules of politics and public opinion.

“If the Chairman makes trouble in Chongqing, Chu Yunfei will likely push his subordinates out to be convicted. After all, governing the local area is not done by the Kuomintang, but by us.”

A local gentryman sneered, "If we don't cooperate, how can Chairman Chiang Kai-shek contend with the Japanese for control of the country, and how can he sit securely on this throne?"

"But what if the Chairman didn't receive the message immediately?"

Old Master Lin cleared his throat: "Even if the Chairman is caught off guard, we have plenty of ways to ruin their reputation. Don't forget, the Lin family has some connections in the Central News Agency."

Meanwhile, inside the temporary command post in the county town.

Acting leader Kang Huolian was rubbing his temples, clearly in a bad mood.

On the table in front of him was a map of Luoning County.

Above, circles representing "stubborn forces" are marked with pencil.

This map is almost completely covered.

He tapped the table, looked at his three battalion commanders, and said in a firm and cold tone, "Tell me, what's the situation?"

"This is Commander Chu's order!"

"The regulations must be implemented without fail within the stipulated time!"

"If there are difficulties, you must find a way to overcome them!"

The battalion commander, a burly man with a face full of scars, said in a deep voice, "Commander, the brothers are not having any problems. It's just that there are a few too many uncooperative landlords and rich peasants. The ordinary people, as well as the lower and middle peasants and poor peasants, and the tenants are generally very cooperative with our policies. There are also quite a few middle and rich peasants who are willing to hand over their grain voluntarily."

The second battalion commander echoed, "That's right. In accordance with the previous policy, we also commended them accordingly and recorded it truthfully."

The vast majority of rich peasants, landlords, and local merchants have now united as one.

Those "wealthy families" in the countryside, relying on their stone fortresses and earthen walls, and possessing more than a dozen guns.

They openly blocked our political work team members from entering the village!

"These are alright, at least they are just resistant in attitude and dare not do anything underhanded. To put it bluntly, landlords are also old farmers, and they value their land more than their own lives. We are also newcomers here, and the policies have not yet taken root in people's hearts."

But those people in the city are truly awful!

The battalion commander looked indignant. "Their network of connections is much stronger than that of the landlords and rich people in the countryside, so they should naturally be able to see the situation clearly."

But they were polite to each other on the surface.

Behind the scenes, they were secretly moving grain and even sent people to contact the bandits in the mountains outside the city. It seemed they were preparing to launch a coordinated attack from within and without!

Kang Huolian's face grew increasingly gloomy.

The battalion commander, observing his expression, cautiously guessed, "Regimental Commander, I don't think these old foxes believe we would actually dare to take strong measures against them."

"They probably think that if they file a complaint against us in the mountain city, we will be afraid to make a big deal out of it."

"A fear of harming the innocent?"

Upon hearing these four words, Kang Huolian suddenly let out a cold laugh.

That laughter was filled with a cold, chilling murderous intent.

He slowly took out a handwritten order that had just been issued by headquarters from the drawer. Kang Huolian gently pushed the document in front of the three battalion commanders: "This is the latest order."

"Go ahead and do it with confidence. If anything goes wrong, Commander Chu will cover for us."

The battalion commander immediately burst into laughter: "Then it seems it's time to let these stubborn old men see for themselves whether our wartime management regulations are truly 'powerful'."

North China Joint Command, Operations Room.

The telegraph machine ticked incessantly throughout the night, like a relentless rain, striking the heartstrings of everyone.

Telegrams from the front lines in western Henan were quickly translated and compiled onto Chu Yunfei's desk.

By the evening of the third day after the promulgation of the "Henan-Western Wartime Management Regulations", the feedback from various places was varied and complex.

Chu Yunfei leaned back in his chair, calmly flipping through the summary report in his hands.

Zhang Dayun, the head of the operations section, and Sun Weimou, the deputy general manager of Shanxi Construction Bureau Group, sat on either side, their expressions quite different.

Chief of Staff Lin Wei, who was standing to the side, listened quietly without offering any opinion.

He didn't know these things before, only the general idea.

However, he did not try to dissuade Chu Yunfei from his iron-fisted policies, mainly because Lin Wei felt that it was a good thing for all parties, beneficial to the country and the people, and he had no reason to object.

"interesting."

Chu Yunfei put down the report, a playful smile curving his lips.

Zhang Dayun leaned over, pointed to a section of the report, and said with a hint of surprise, "Chief Advisor, this is really strange. On the contrary, the seizure work has gone the smoothest in those densely populated and powerful county towns, such as Yanshi and Gongxian."

“Those local gentry and wealthy landowners who were deeply rooted in the area not only did not take the lead in resistance, but instead acted more ‘enlightened’ than anyone else, taking the initiative to report supplies, cooperate in the purchase of surplus grain, and even organize manpower to help our troops maintain curfew order.”

Sun Weimou pushed up his glasses and added, "I have read the detailed report submitted by the political work cadres below."

These people are very shrewd. They're using this proactive cooperation to curry favor with us, trying to secure a 'collaborator' status for themselves under the new order in exchange for greater benefits.

When Chu Yunfei adopted a tough stance and redeployed his troops.

This group of people had already realized what was happening.

If they overturn the table, they will be the ones who suffer losses and even lose their lives.

Would you risk your life to smear Chu Yunfei?

There's no need for it, and there's no such fool.

Chu Yunfei commented calmly, "This isn't called being shrewd; it's just being competent at assessing the situation."

"For people like that."

He paused for a moment, then offered an unexpected characterization: "We can tentatively call them 'patriots'."

"patriot?"

Zhang Dayun was taken aback, clearly not following Chu Yunfei's train of thought.

"At least."

Chu Yunfei explained, "Faced with the greater good of national subjugation and racial extermination, they knew what was important. They knew that if the Japanese came, they would have nothing left, but if we came, they would at least have the right to negotiate."

He looked at Sun Weimou with a deep gaze. "The most crucial point is that we do indeed need such partners in our local areas. After all, we are severely short-handed."

Upon hearing this, Sun Weimou sighed in deep agreement, a worried expression on his face: "You are right, Your Excellency. This is exactly what I am most concerned about."

He took out a more detailed statistical report from his briefcase.

“The number of political work cadres and village-based cadres we train each year from schools at all levels and accompanying schools is far too limited.”

At present, it can only barely meet the needs of the areas around Xi'an, northern Shaanxi (regardless of region), the entire Shanxi province, and a few scattered areas in Hebei near the Taihang Mountains, which is far from sufficient.

Even though our basic education work is being accelerated and the compulsory education system has been reinstated, it's difficult to see much progress in just two years.

Sun Weimou pointed to the vast area on the map that represents western Henan: "To fully cover such a large area with our mature grassroots governance model, at the current rate of cadre training, it will take at least three more years, which is too slow for the whole of North China."

"Three years?"

Zhang Dayun clicked his tongue and said, "It's too late! We can't keep our troops here forever. Even two Japanese divisions might not be able to hold back this many troops. These sons of bitches have done something that even Okamura Yasuji couldn't do."

A brief silence fell over the operations room.

This is an extremely real and extremely difficult problem.

Without sufficient and reliable grassroots cadres, any radical reform is like a castle in the air, which may collapse at any time.

Chang Ruiyuan has already set an example.

The grassroots cadres he had sent down after April 12th were either dead or missing.

Until the grassroots authorities completely collapse.

Chang Ruiyuan was also unable to find a good solution.

On the contrary, the grassroots self-governance system promoted by the CCP is far superior to the Baojia system.

PS: Some scholars believe that the Baojia system, after development, had become a military household registration management system with grassroots self-governance during the Republic of China period. However, considering the social environment of the Republic of China and the education level of the people, the Baojia system, which was based on joint responsibility and mutual accountability, was, in my personal opinion, a grassroots administrative and social control system with government control rather than self-governance.

At that moment, Sun Weimou, who had been mostly silent, hesitated for a moment and then made a suggestion.

"Your Excellency, if we really don't have enough cadres, I have a somewhat immature idea."

Chu Yunfei nodded: "Speak."

"We might be able to assign some veterans who were discharged due to injuries but have not yet been fully resettled to serve as temporary village-based cadres."

Zhang Dayun lit another cigarette: "They're capable of such delicate work; a few words from them would probably escalate the conflict and lead to an argument..."

Sun Weimou spoke quickly and cautiously: "I admit that most of these veterans are not highly educated, and their methods may be rather crude when they work."

"but."

His tone became absolutely certain: "One thing is absolutely guaranteed, and that is their loyalty!"

"They crawled out of a pile of dead bodies!"
Their yearning for the future of the country and their loyalty to the nation and its people are beyond question.

Let these veterans keep an eye on those 'enlightened gentry' and supervise the power at the grassroots level; at least, there won't be any major trouble!

In the event of a situation that becomes uncontrollable, they can also quickly contact the local garrison based on their identity.

This suggestion made Chu Yunfei's eyes light up slightly.

This bears a striking resemblance to the veterans resettlement program he learned about in his later life, also known as the NJ Soldier Program.

This approach is an excellent plan that has been explored and is intended to be implemented in 4V regions.

Chu Yunfei looked at Sun Weimou and nodded approvingly: "Weimou, your idea is very good, and it has inspired me. I will seriously consider it."

He stood up and turned his gaze back to the summary report, to the areas circled in red that represented "stubborn resistance".

"However, at this stage, our primary task is to win this first battle!"

Chu Yunfei's voice turned cold and resolute again: "I still stand by what I always say: one must eat one bite at a time, and do one thing at a time."

"Our primary task now is to use swift and decisive measures to completely crush the toughest nuts to crack!"

"Only by setting a good example and defeating all those who dare to resist stubbornly will we be terrified and subdued!"

"Only by eliminating those bandits can we ensure the success of our reforms!"

"Are there any plans or ideas regarding the development of western Henan?"

Sun Weimou scratched his head and said frankly, "With the current strength of Shanxi Construction Group, it is already quite difficult to complete the relevant three-year plan and five-year development on schedule. We really do not have the energy, financial resources, material resources, or human resources to take care of neighboring provinces."

Chu Yunfei sighed: "Shanxi Construction Group is still too small and too limited in scale. I'll think of a way to see if I can ask the Chairman for two more people to come over."

He did have a suitable candidate in mind, but that person was not in the country.

If we could get this giant Buddha statue to come and endorse our efforts, the development of the entire North China region might very well be put on a fast track.
Upon hearing this, Lin Wei's heart stirred: "Commander Chu, do you have a suitable candidate?"

"Brother Weiwen, there's no need to keep us in suspense..."

"Duke Jing, who is currently living in seclusion in the mountain city, is extremely skilled in this kind of matter."

Chu Yunfei sighed, "I had previously invited Commander Yan to invite Duke Jing to oversee the industrial development of southeastern Shanxi, but alas, my intentions were not what they seemed..."

At this point, Chu Yunfei and Lin Wei exchanged a glance and gave an awkward smile.
Lin Wei was silent for a moment: "Commander Chu, why don't we give it another try? Right now, there's no one more suitable than Duke Jing to lead the overall construction of North China..."

Chu Yunfei nodded seriously: "In that case, I'll leave this matter to Brother Weiwen..."

"I"

Lin Wei was speechless for a moment, and wanted to refuse.

This is not a good task. Duke Jing has quite a temper, and nowadays he looks like he's practicing Buddhism, so it would probably be pointless for him to go and invite him.

However, he currently has no other work to do, and Chen Cixiu is currently on a military inspection tour in North China. Given their sensitive identities, it is not appropriate for them to meet.

Meeting Chu Yunfei's burning gaze, Lin Wei simply agreed, "In that case, I will do my best." (End of this chapter)