Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

same moment.

Peking, North China Front Army Headquarters.

Okamura Yasuji, who also served as the commander of the troops stationed in Mongolia, sat in the main seat with a sallow complexion, like a stone statue about to crumble.

No matter how hot the heating was in the operations room, it couldn't dispel the chill that ran deep in his bones.

The door to the communications room was flung open, and a young staff officer stumbled in, his face contorted with undisguised panic and shame.

"Your Excellency Commander!"

His voice trembled, "The entire garrison of Zhangbei has been wiped out!"

"After sending a final farewell telegram, Regiment Commander Watanabe committed seppuku and died for his country!"

"what?!"

"Watanabe-kun, him."

The operations room was deathly silent, then erupted into suppressed gasps and commotion.

Okamura Neiji slowly raised his head. In his eyes, hidden behind thick glasses, there was no anger, no surprise, only a bottomless, stagnant calm.

These were all expected.

The complete annihilation of the garrison might serve as a wake-up call to the officers at headquarters, allowing his retreat plan to proceed more smoothly.

Okamura Neiji waved his hand, signaling the rather pained staff officer to step back.

Kenji Watanabe is his older brother, while he is called Kenjiro Watanabe.
This kind of suffering is happening almost every moment for the Japanese army that invaded China today.

Okamura Neiji slowly walked to the huge map of North China.

Their gaze fell on the red circle representing Zhangbei, which had been completely pierced by the blue arrow.

"Commander!" A newly transferred young officer, Major General Shinichi Kitajima, who was also the newly appointed Chief of Staff of the Mongolian Army, stepped forward indignantly. "Although Zhangbei has been lost, most of Chahar is still in our hands!"

The main force of our troops stationed in Mongolia is still intact!

"Your Excellency, please immediately order at least one division to be drawn from the army group to cooperate with the main force of the garrison in Mongolia, launching a pincer attack from the north and south. This will surely annihilate this isolated Chinese force that has penetrated deep into enemy territory, beyond the Great Wall!"

"A pincer attack?" Okamura Neiji looked quite confused. "Kitajima-kun, tell me, what do we use to launch a pincer attack?"

He didn't turn around, but used his baton to draw a long, shocking red line on the map along the two major arteries of the Pinghan and Jinpu railways.

“Look at the Sixth Army Group of China here, the Eighty-Eighth Army Group here, and the Third Army Group and the Second Army Group here.” Okamura Yasuji’s voice was filled with endless weariness and helplessness: “In North China, hundreds of thousands of elite Nationalist troops are like a venomous snake coiled up here, staring intently at us!”

"If our main force, or even any division or brigade, dares to take a single step out of the protection of our fortifications, this venomous snake will immediately pounce on us, and could even cause the entire defensive line to collapse."

"In fact, we are now like standing on a shaky dam with a raging flood at our feet."

"Removing any single stone to patch a hole elsewhere will cause the entire dam to collapse instantly!"

Okamura Neiji turned around and looked at his subordinates, who still clung to unrealistic fantasies, with an almost pitying gaze: "Gentlemen, wake up."

His voice was cold and cruel: "The offensive launched by the Brother Kingdom in North China has ended."

"The outcome of this Greater East Asia Holy War will be determined by the battle in the Pacific, not by North China!"

"From now on, our only task is not to reclaim lost territory, but to preserve as many of our country's warriors' lives as possible in this inevitable final battle."

These words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the last embers of hope in everyone's hearts.

Shinichi Kitajima's face turned a deep shade of liver, but he still argued defiantly, "But, Commander!"

"Are we just going to stand by and watch the Chinese army gradually erode our kin's territory? That would be cowardly! It would be a betrayal of His Majesty the Heavenly Locust!"

“Coward?” A sharp glint flashed in Okamura Neiji’s eyes: “Kitajima-kun, a true coward is one who sends his soldiers on pointless, suicidal charges!”

"True betrayal is destroying the last remaining strength of one's brother's nation!"

Okamura Neiji paused, then his voice suddenly rose: "I have no soldiers to assign. Not a single soldier in the army group can be moved!"

The entire operations room was completely silent.

Okamura Neiji took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He knew that now was not the time to lose his temper.

He walked to the map and used his baton to point east of Zhangbei to the line between Duolun and Chifeng.

“Zhangbei is impossible to hold no matter what, and our ‘allies’ are unreliable.”

Okamura Yasuji's voice returned to its usual emotionless flatness: "From now on, the Mongolian troops will have only one combat mission."

"retreat."

"what?!"

Shinichi Kitajima could hardly believe his ears.

"By trading space for time, we must resist step by step and gradually withdraw all our troops to the Manchurian border."

Okamura Yasuji's command drew a clear retreat route on the map: "Abandon all unnecessary strongholds, concentrate forces, and build a new defensive line."

Your mission is not to hold Chahar, but to hold off the enemy and buy time for the Kwantung Army to deploy its defenses!

Looking at the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, his tone became extremely cold: "As for the Chinese Expeditionary Army Headquarters and the General Headquarters, I will personally explain to them. They naturally understand that what can determine the course of the war between the enemy and our side on the North China battlefield should be the 'Divine Punishment' holy war plan, not the mutual fighting of firearms."

"Our North China Front Army can't even protect itself now, and we have no spare capacity to care about that icy and snowy grassland."

After saying that, he ignored the shocked, confused, and even desperate looks behind him and turned to walk out of the operations room.

He knew that this order would be passed on.

He, Okamura Yasuji, is destined to be branded as someone who "fears the enemy like a tiger" and "loses his army and disgraces the country."

General Okamura Yasuji, the coward Okamura Yasuji.

From then on, these labels would follow him like a shadow, becoming an indelible mark of shame on his brother's army history.

So what? He didn't care anymore.

Okamura Neiji walked slowly down the cold corridor of the headquarters. The dim light coming through the windows cast his long shadow, which was filled with desolation and loneliness.

As someone who experienced this defeat firsthand, he knows it better than anyone else.

The war machine of Great Japan has long been out of control and is rushing madly toward the cliff in an unstoppable manner.

He, Okamura Yasuji, was powerless to stop this mad machine.

Because he knew all too well that the chariots would never stop.

Neither the military and political officials at the Tokyo headquarters, still immersed in the fervor of "holy war," nor the hundreds of millions of citizens in the country, incited by militaristic ideology, will allow it to stop.

In that case, what he wanted to do was to use his blood-stained hands to push as many of his compatriots off the plane as possible before it crashed.

At least let them die in a more valuable place, rather than becoming a cold number on the Chinese military's merit list on this cold, desperate grassland.

……

The cleanup operation in Zhangbei City lasted for another full day and night.

The remaining Japanese troops, having lost unified command, continued their frantic and desperate resistance, relying on the dilapidated buildings and pre-prepared fortifications within the city.

The brutality of street fighting far surpasses that of field battles. Every house and every street had to be fought for repeatedly with blood and lives by the soldiers of the Northeast Advance Army.

When the last wisp of smoke cleared and the flag of the Republic of China was raised anew atop the city walls.

This once important town of Chahar has been almost completely destroyed by war, leaving it devastated and utterly barren.

The post-war inventory was even more shocking.

In this battle, the Northeast Advance Army suffered 3,000 casualties and more than 2,200 deaths, but killed more than 4,500 Japanese soldiers and annihilated or routed more than 2,000 puppet Mongolian troops.

It was a Pyrrhic victory, but also a decisive battle that established the Northeast Advance Army's foothold in the region.

The troops did not get much rest.

Immediately following the original battle plan, the troops split into three groups, like three arrows released from a bow, and sped towards the heart of Chahar.

Wherever their troops advance, they are invincible!
Duolun, Kangbao, Huade.

Towns that once flew the Japanese flag and the five-colored flag were liberated one after another within just ten days.

The 3rd and 6th Divisions of the puppet Mongolian cavalry, which were entrenched on the grasslands, attempted to harass the enemy with their superior mobility, but they were utterly defeated and suffered heavy losses in the pocket formation that the Northeast Advance Army had prepared in advance.

After two fierce battles, the two elite puppet troops that had once swaggered in front of the Mongolian herdsmen were completely defeated, their defeat was like a landslide, and the remnants scattered and fled.

The army then recaptured important gathering points for the people, such as the Plain Blue Banner and the Plain Yellow Banner.

Wang Shihe immediately reported to the authorities, and with the approval of the mountain city, this newly liberated area was integrated and officially established as "Nanwang County," with a military government set up, signifying "looking south towards the homeland, liberation is imminent."

In a short time, good news kept pouring in from Zhangbei to Dongwang County.

In the telegram Wang Shihe sent back to the mountain city, it was a scene of everything thriving and full of vitality.

Wherever the Nationalist army went, the local Mongol and Han people welcomed them with open arms. Many enthusiastic young people even volunteered to join the army to fight the Japanese invaders and recover lost territory.

……

At this moment, the atmosphere in the North China Joint Command was far from as relaxed as the victory report suggested.

Lin Wei smiled and handed Chu Yunfei the latest telegram, written by Wang Shihe himself, praising the "universal support": "Take a look, our Commander-in-Chief Wang's writing is getting better and better. Anyone who didn't know better would think we had already taken back Shenyang."

Chu Yunfei glanced at it, but his face showed no excitement. He simply tossed the telegram aside. Okamura Yasuji was the most formidable opponent he had encountered in his military career so far.

This old Japanese devil is like a slippery piece of meat, or a cunning old fox.

In the previous Handan-Anqing campaign.

Chu Yunfei wanted to find an opportunity to severely damage his main force.

He would rather make a painful sacrifice and retreat three hundred miles than give you a chance to fight.

The most direct strategic objective of the Northeast Advance Army's expedition was to act as a thorn in the enemy's side, luring the main force of the Kwantung Army westward and forcing the North China Area Army to adjust its deployment, thereby finding an opportunity to annihilate the enemy in the process of maneuver.

But Okamura Neiji wasn't fooled at all!
He would rather lose the entire Chahar region, or even abandon the puppet Mongolian regime that he had cultivated for many years, than not consolidate his forces and concentrate all available manpower along the Fengning, Weichang, and Chifeng line to build an indestructible steel defense line.

As for the vast grasslands further north of the defense line?

He simply gave up on it.

Because he knew that no commander with basic military common sense would be foolish enough to send his main force across nearly 600 kilometers of open grassland, dragging a supply line 1,500 kilometers long, just to attack the impregnable Northeast.

That wasn't war; that was mass suicide.

Even now, after the downsizing and reorganization, the troops stationed in Mongolia still possess a complete three-regiment field division (the 118th Division), and include the 20th Independent Mixed Brigade, as well as the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Garrison Regiments, with a total strength of around 45,000 men. This is still a formidable force that should not be underestimated.

Chu Yunfei's original plan was that once the Japanese army advanced westward and chose to fight the Advance Army, Fu Yisheng's Seventh Army Group, which had been resting and waiting for orders in Suiyuan, could seize the opportunity to advance eastward and engage in a decisive battle with the enemy.

With the addition of Li Xianzhou's 92nd Army, which had been replenished later, the three armies combined their attacks and had a real chance to crush the Japanese army stationed in Mongolia in one fell swoop, thus directly threatening Chengde, the gateway to Northeast China.

But now, Okamura Neiji has simply given up and stopped playing.

Lin Wei noticed that Chu Yunfei's mood was a little off, so he simply asked directly, "Now that most of the Chahar region has been recovered and tens of thousands of square kilometers of lost territory have been recovered, this is a tremendous achievement, so why do you still look unhappy?"

"The learning ability of that old Japanese devil Okamura Yasuji is really too strong." Chu Yunfei sighed, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness and admiration. "I didn't expect that in just a few years of war, he had already understood the principle of 'If you save people but lose land, you can save both people and land; if you save land but lose people, you can lose both people and land.'"

“He has now shrunk himself into a turtle shell.” Chu Yunfei walked to the map and pointed heavily at the Beijing-Tianjin area and surrounding areas with his baton. “In the Beijing-Tianjin region alone, he has deployed nearly 60,000 Japanese troops and 20,000 Japanese auxiliary troops.”

Adding to this the existing troops stationed in Mongolia around Chengde and Chifeng, he effectively had over 100,000 field troops positioned directly north of his main North China Army. How could he possibly continue this battle?

Are you suggesting we tell our fellow countrymen in Northeast China that their Northeast Advance Army is just lingering outside without ever going in?

Chu Yunfei racked his brains but couldn't come up with a good solution.

His 500-kilometer three-dimensional combat map seemed very large and extensive.

However, in the vast regions of Inner Mongolia and Northeast China, commanding such a large-scale troop movement and maneuver is still somewhat beyond their capabilities.

Lin Wei reassured them, "The Japanese strategic retreat was exactly what we expected."

"However, none of us expected that Okamura Neiji would have such courage, abandoning the project so decisively and without hesitation."

"Okamura Yasuji is using pig tactics now." Chu Yunfei's face showed a bitter smile. He recalled the famous pig general Liu Zhi's line in the final battle.

The phrase is surprisingly apt when applied to Okamura Neiji.

"When attacked, it will lean its rear against the wall, making it impossible for us to grab its tail, and eventually we will be helpless against it. That's not all, if things go wrong, its sharp fangs might turn around and bite us, and once it bites us, it won't let go, and we will suffer huge losses."

Regiments stood back to back, and divisions supported each other, using cities, rivers, and mountains to build a continuous and solid defensive line.

Such battles could only degenerate into trench warfare. If the Nationalist army wanted to make progress, it had to constantly attack, attack, and attack again. This was precisely the weakness of the Nationalist army and even the Eighth Route Army, and the resources consumed were astronomical.

Okamura Yasuji, the former "master of field warfare," is now willing to abandon his most proficient fighting style in order to play the trick of "building strongholds and fighting a protracted war" with Chu Yunfei.

This is difficult.
Meanwhile on the other side.

Mountain City, Command Headquarters, Operations Conference Room.

The atmosphere was in stark contrast to the somber mood in North China, filled with a deliberately cultivated optimism and excitement.

"Chairman, colleagues!"

Deputy Chief of the General Staff Bai Jiansheng stood in front of a huge map, full of vigor and speaking eloquently.

The baton in his hand drew sharp arcs on the map, as if victory was already in his grasp.

"The great victories at Zhangbei and Duolun were of extraordinary significance! They not only recovered large swathes of lost territory in Chahar, but more importantly, they completely disrupted the Japanese invaders' strategic deployment in North China, forcing them into an unprecedentedly passive position!"

He changed the subject, revealing a similar concern to Chu Yunfei, but cleverly packaged the conclusion in a different light.

"Indeed, Okamura Yasuji adopted a strategic retreat, holding firm to the Beijing-Tianjin-Chengde line, which resembled a pig, stubbornly guarding the corner, seemingly impregnable."

At this point, a subtle, shrewd smile appeared on Bai Jiansheng's lips.

He could see, of course, that Chu Yunfei was in a stalemate; the fierce tiger of North China had been temporarily blocked by the old tortoise, Okamura Yasuji, with his hard shell.

As one of the few recognized military leaders in the National Revolutionary Army, "Little Zhuge" would certainly not have failed to see through this thin layer of paper with his strategic vision.

But he deliberately didn't point it out.

What he had to do was to say the most flattering things, elevating the Nationalist army in North China to an unprecedented, even somewhat unrealistic, height.

"But this precisely proves that the Japanese invaders are outwardly strong but inwardly weak, and have exhausted all their tricks!" Bai Jiansheng looked around at the generals present, his voice becoming increasingly impassioned, as if he himself believed this statement: "If they stay put, can't we attack? They concentrate their forces, but our forces are even more concentrated!"

Our Nationalist army in North China is strong and well-equipped, with high morale and the unparalleled talent of Chu Yunfei in command. What do we have to fear from a mere Okamura Yasuji?
The spirit of "I am invincible, and the enemy is selfless" best embodies the revolutionary spirit of our generation of soldiers.

Who among us here isn't a shrewd and calculating person?
Everyone present at the meeting—from the General Staff Headquarters, the Ministry of Military Affairs, the General Staff Headquarters, and the General Staff Office—knew that, barring any major unforeseen circumstances, the offensive in North China had temporarily reached its limit.

Who doesn't know the heavy price that would be paid to break through the impenetrable defenses set up by Okamura Yasuji?
But everyone tacitly remained silent.

No one stood up to refute Bai Jiansheng's "optimistic" judgment, and no one mentioned the harsh reality.

The entire operations room was filled with praise for the Nationalist army in North China and an unwavering belief in victory in the future battle.

Because they all knew what the person sitting in the main seat wanted to hear.

Sure enough, upon hearing these words, the weariness from days of hard work vanished from Chang Ruiyuan's face, replaced by a heartfelt satisfaction and gratification.

He doesn't need to hear about difficulties, he doesn't need to hear about problems.

All Chang Ruiyuan needed to hear was the news of victory, the triumphant report, and the news that his beloved generals were advancing with unstoppable momentum and were about to bring him a glorious victory that would be recorded in history.

Bai Jiansheng keenly noticed the change in Chang Ruiyuan's expression, secretly sneered in his heart, but his words became even more impassioned.

“I suggest!”

With his command baton, he pointed heavily to the Zhengding-Baoding section of the Pinghan Railway: "Gather the main forces of the First and Second War Zones, emulate the tactics of the Northeast Advance Army, and launch a general offensive northward along the Pinghan Railway with overwhelming force! Cut off the connection between Beijing and Tianjin and Central China in one fell swoop, completely trapping Okamura Yasuji in North China, and annihilating him!"

"If this battle succeeds, the liberation of North China will be just around the corner!"

These words were spoken with resounding force and ignited passion.

It seemed that as long as Chang Ruiyuan gave the order, hundreds of thousands of troops could flatten Pingjin and march straight to Huanglong.

As for the price to be paid and the difficulties to be overcome, they were cleverly submerged in the clamor of this victory.

Chang Ruiyuan nodded in satisfaction.

He stood up, walked to the map, patted Bai Jiansheng on the shoulder, and said in an approving tone, "What Jiansheng said is exactly what I thought."

"The Nationalist Army in North China is capable of fighting and dares to fight. This is a blessing for the Party and the country, and also a blessing for the nation."

He surveyed the crowd, his eyes filled with the authority and decisiveness of a leader: "Issue my order to commend the Northeast Advance Army! Issue a general order to the entire army to learn from their revolutionary spirit of fearlessness in the face of hardship and their courage in overcoming difficulties!"

"As for the general offensive," he paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before finally settling back on the area on the map marked by a jagged pattern of red and blue arrows.

"We'll discuss this later."

The two words, spoken lightly, caused everyone present to quietly relax their tense nerves.

No matter how highly you praise someone or how nicely you speak, in the end, you still have to return to reality.

But this process, this attitude, is enough.

Chang Ruiyuan was secretly pleased.

He saw the loyalty and "confidence" he wanted to see, while the untimely "noise" was perfectly filtered out.

This is what he wanted.

A united, efficient command that is always full of hope for victory.

Even if it's full of falsehood and flattery.

The meeting concluded amidst a chorus of praise for the Chairman's wisdom.

The generals left in twos and threes.

On their faces, there was a tacit, complex smile.

Only Bai Jiansheng, when he stepped out of the operations room and was hit by the cold winter wind, had a hint of cold mockery flash in the depths of his eyes.

Sometimes, excessive praise can be more deadly than suppression.

Everyone tacitly refrained from pointing this out, and with Xu Cichen absent from the meeting, no one dared to contradict Bai Jiansheng, the Chief of the General Staff.

As for the generals of the Civil Engineering faction, they maintained an attitude of cooperating with the Guangxi faction.

After all, the establishment of the South China Joint Command was clearly intended to counterbalance the North China Joint Command.

Bai Jiansheng has already ignited a blazing fire for the chief consultant who is at the height of his power in North China.

Now, let's see how Chu Yunfei dances gracefully above these raging flames. (End of Chapter)