Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 649 Commander Li's Decision, the Future of the Guangxi Clique! (Please Subscribe)
Fifth War Zone, Laohekou Command Headquarters.

The air inside the operations room felt as if it had been sucked out, stuffy and thin.

The ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts, and wisps of smoke blurred the anxious faces of the crowd.

Acting Commander-in-Chief Li Pinxian stared intently at the battle report in front of him; the shocking casualty figures on it felt like needles pricking his eyes.

"Our Seventh Army has launched seven consecutive strong attacks, with more than 3,400 officers and soldiers killed or wounded, and has only advanced the front line by three kilometers... The enemy's firepower is fierce and its fortifications are solid, making it difficult for our army to continue."

Li Pinxian raised his head, his bloodshot eyes sweeping over the assembled Guangxi generals. His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping: "With such heavy casualties, we haven't even touched the city walls of Xinyang. How can we continue this war!"

Chief of Staff Wang Hongshao sighed deeply, walked to the map, and said with a helpless expression, "Commander-in-Chief, it's not that the brothers aren't fighting hard, but our artillery really can't break through the enemy's tortoise shell."

He pointed to the Japanese 3rd Division's defensive line on the map: "According to Zhang Gan's report, the Japanese field artillery positions are even located just five kilometers behind the defensive line."

"But this is also beyond the range of our mountain guns and mortars. They have a range advantage and can suppress our army with artillery fire, while we are unable to form an effective suppression."

“Every time the brothers charged, they faced enemy fire and sacrificed their lives.”

Wang Hongshao paused, his tone becoming heavy: "Without heavy weapons, this battle cannot be fought. Otherwise, even if we had captured Xinyang and annihilated the Japanese Third Division, our casualties would still be at least around 30,000."

Li Pinxian was well aware of this principle.

His rise to become the third most powerful figure in the Guangxi clique was not due to Li Delin's trust.
It was not because of his military capabilities that he was so good, but because the Guangxi clique could not find another outstanding person whose abilities were comparable to his.

Li Pinxian crumpled the battle report into a ball and threw it hard on the ground.

Seeing this, Wang Hongshao stepped closer and whispered, "Commander, now that things have come to this, perhaps we should seek artillery support from North China."

"The 6th and 8th Artillery Brigades are currently on standby in northern Hubei."

"If we can send reinforcements, Xinyang City will fall in no time!"

"support?"

A bitter, self-deprecating smile appeared on Li Pinxian's face: "I'm afraid there won't be any support."

He sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples wearily. "What time is it now?"

"It's the higher-ups who are fighting amongst themselves, and we're the ones suffering!"

"Believe it or not, when we sent our telegram requesting assistance, the joint command would definitely reply with the words 'Insufficient ammunition, unable to provide support'."

Li Pinxian stood up and paced back and forth in front of the map, his frustration and anxiety almost igniting his entire being.

"The South China Joint Command received the vast majority of this batch of US aid supplies, but what's the state of the war there?"

"A complete failure!"

Li Pinxian's voice was filled with resentment: "We in the Fifth War Zone fought tooth and nail, gnawing on tough nuts here, but we couldn't even get a few heavy artillery shells!"

"Is this fair?!"

"It's obvious to anyone with eyes that North China and South China have already begun internal competition with Chang Ruiyuan's tacit approval, but it hasn't reached the point of irreconcilable conflict yet."

Wang Hongshao sighed: "If the commander of the Sixth War Zone were Commander Chen, Commander Chu would certainly not be stingy with support."

"But now the commander of the Sixth War Zone is Sun Lianzhong, a veteran of the Northwest Army, who was transferred from North China to take up the post. If there isn't something going on here, I don't believe it no matter what."

The entire operations room was deathly silent.

Everyone knows that what Wang Hongshao said is true.

If Chen Cixiu and the North China side reach a consensus, they will sell out the Guangxi clique.

After this battle, they'll be left with no one to turn to for help.

Whether they win or lose, the influence of the Guangxi clique will plummet.

After a long while, Li Pinxian stopped.

"Since Commander Bai and Deputy Minister Liu have devised such a battle plan, it must be the result of compromise among all parties." He muttered to himself, as if trying to convince himself, "Perhaps we can try a different approach."

He turned around, looked at Wang Hongshao, whose face was full of confusion, and his eyes sharpened again: "We will not request support in the name of our own troops."

"On behalf of the operational units under the 'North China Joint Command,' we request tactical guidance and fire support from the 'North China Joint Command'!"

Wang Hongshao was taken aback and hurriedly dissuaded him: "No, Commander-in-Chief, if we send such a telegram, wouldn't that mean we are truly moving closer to North China again? If Lin Wei and others take this opportunity to propose reorganizing the troops, would our 200,000 Guangxi soldiers still be our troops?"

Li Pinxian sighed: "But we have no choice. Victory is the only path we have."

He knew in his heart that if they couldn't win, they would not only be unable to maintain their foothold in the Fifth War Zone, but would also completely lose the ability to compete with Chongqing and North China.

With the Nationalist army in North China growing stronger, the value of their 200,000 Guangxi soldiers is being diluted infinitely.

We must win this battle!
"No matter what he does in North China, he can't say that our 21st Group Army isn't under the North China Joint Command, can he?"

Wang Hongshao understood Li Pinxian's intention and immediately asked, "Chief, what about Lord De? Should we take him with us?"

Li Pinxian nodded: "I was just about to call Mr. De. This matter needs his approval first."

"After all, he was also Chu Yunfei's former superior. As the deputy commander-in-chief of the North China Joint Command, he went to the North China side to request the North China Heavy Artillery Group. Chu Yunfei could not sit idly by."

"If we can mobilize just one artillery brigade, that alone will be enough to capture Xinyang and wipe out the Japanese Third Division!"
-
North China Joint Command Headquarters, Operations Conference Room.

Unlike the suffocating tension on the front lines.

The atmosphere here became somewhat subtle due to the arrival of a special person.

The newly appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Commander Li, stood in front of a huge map of North China, dressed in a crisp military uniform, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

Behind him, the newly transferred Guangxi clique staff officer stood quietly, creating a strange sense of separation from the bustling scene inside the command post.

He did not go to his post alone.

Chief of Staff Wang Hongshao had arrived in Changzhi in advance to make all the necessary arrangements for him and then returned to the Fifth War Zone.

A small command system belonging to Commander Li, consisting of guards, radio operators, and cipher clerks, was thus quietly embedded into the massive war machine of the North China Joint Command.

"Lord De".

Lin Wei put down the documents in her hand, and walked over with just the right amount of respect on her face.

Zhang Dayun followed closely behind, saluting this renowned senior general.

"Weiwen, Dayun, no need for formalities."

Li Zongren turned around, a gentle smile on his face, like a respected elder who had come to inspect the area: "I am new here, and I still need your guidance on military affairs in North China."

After some polite greetings, the atmosphere eased somewhat.

He actually had few military matters to decide; his role was more symbolic.

The leisurely pace here is in stark contrast to his busy life in Laohekou.

Just then, a communications officer walked in quickly, carrying two folders.

He glanced at the three officers present, hesitated for a moment, and then sent the telegrams to their respective addresses.

"Reporting to Deputy Commander-in-Chief Li, urgent telegram from the Fifth War Zone."

"Reporting to Chief of Staff Lin, urgent telegram from the Fifth War Zone."

Two telegrams, from the same place, were delivered to two different people. The air around them grew even more tense in that instant.

Lin Wei opened the folder, glanced at it, and his expression didn't change much, but a hint of understanding flashed deep in his eyes.

That was an "official document" sent by Li Pinxian to the North China Joint Command in the name of the Fifth War Zone Command: requesting tactical guidance and fire support.

On the other side, Li Zongren opened a secret telegram sent to him by Li Pinxian.

He glanced at it only once, and a barely perceptible heaviness flashed across those eyes that always held a smile.

The content of the telegram was far more straightforward and earnest than that of the official document.

Between the lines, one can sense the predicament of the main force of the Guangxi clique, caught in a dilemma at the foot of Xinyang, and their deep concern about being attacked from both the mountain city and North China.

Finally, Li Pinxian earnestly pleaded with him, as his former superior, to speak to Chu Yunfei and request heavy artillery support for the sake of national righteousness and the survival of the Guangxi clique.

Li Zongren slowly closed the folder, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

The Guangxi clique no longer has the basis for cooperation with North China.

After all, Chu Yunfei was very inclined to accept and unite with the Communists.

However, it is extremely difficult for the Guangxi clique and the Communists to join hands again after their split in 40.

However, in the end, Li Pinxian was just someone who worked for his superiors.

It was Chang Ruiyuan, He Jingzhi, Bai Jiansheng, and others from the General Headquarters who sparked the anti-communist fervor.

Comparing Liao Lei and Li Pinxian.

Liao Lei's reputation is actually much better.

After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, Li Bai and his companion entered the central government.

Liao Lei became the mainstay of the Guangxi clique on the front lines, and together with Xia Wei, who was guarding their hometown in Guangxi, they supported half of the Guangxi clique's operations.

During his time in Anhui, Liao Lei was single-mindedly focused on promoting unity against the Japanese. He even signed a cooperation agreement with Yan'an. Despite constant criticism from die-hards within the Kuomintang, he held firm to his principles.

This principled nature aligned perfectly with Bai Jiansheng's military leadership philosophy and also with Li Delin's political ideals at that time.

Although Liao Lei came from a military background, he was also very good at governing people's livelihoods and managed Anhui Province very well.

On his first day in Hefei, he had his chief of staff write a line and post it at the main gate.

"The army serves the country, and the finances serve the people."

Under his administration, Anhui Province's wartime fiscal revenue not only did not decline, but instead saw a significant increase.

It increased significantly from 1939 onwards.

This was an extremely rare phenomenon in the Kuomintang-controlled areas.

In addition, more than half of the counties in Anhui were not occupied by the Japanese army.

Throughout the War of Resistance against Japan, the main force of the Guangxi Army was mostly stationed in Anhui, not Guangxi.

Some say that the Guangxi clique turned Anhui into "a second Guangxi," and many people attribute the most important credit for this to Liao Lei.

As for Li Pinxian, the first thing he did after taking office was to tear up the "Hejiangbei Watch Agreement" signed with the New Fourth Army, and he also levied exorbitant taxes and engaged in rampant corruption in Anhui Province, acting as the vanguard of the stubborn faction of the "roasted mantou" (a derogatory term for a group of people who are obsessed with extortion and extortion).

The shady things the Guangxi clique did in Anhui, and the infamy they suffered.

More than 95 percent of the good deeds were done by Li Pinxian during his tenure.

Li Delin had long expressed his dissatisfaction with him, and when he learned that the emperor had dug up ancestral graves after taking office, he was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table: "If we are so short of money to fight a war that we have to dig up ancestral graves, then what kind of national war are we fighting?"
He has just left the Fifth War Zone.

Li Pinxian wanted him, as the nominal deputy commander-in-chief, to speak up for the Guangxi clique's cause of legitimacy as soon as he took office.

This is not just a matter of losing face.

This is more like a bowing out, an admission that the entire Guangxi clique has completely lost the right to have an equal dialogue with Chongqing in this larger game.

Li Pinxian joined forces with the CC Clique as early as 1940. Is there any influence from Chongqing behind his current poor performance?

Li Delin himself was not sure, after all, the label of "traitor" had been attached to Li Pinxian for many years.

He gave him important responsibilities, but never considered him a confidant.

time flies.

The North China Joint Command studied the feasibility of supporting the Fifth Theater Command.

Commander Li was also considering whether to bring it up.

soon.

Late at night.

Commander Li paced slowly alone in the courtyard arranged for him by the command post.

As he traveled north, what he saw and heard repeatedly challenged his preconceived notions, like a tidal wave.

He saw that on the land of western Henan, the once emaciated farmers had their eyes once again filled with the light of hope.

He saw in the factories of Shanxi, where towering flames illuminated the night sky, and brand-new rifles and gleaming cannons were being produced in an endless stream from the assembly line.

Here, there is none of the suffocating gloom of a mountain town, nor the endless infighting and power struggles between factions.

Everything here is full of vitality, an almost savage, upward force.

To save the country and its people.

These four words, Li Delin asked himself honestly.

He dedicated his life to this cause.

Although Chang Ruiyuan was tenacious, he ultimately lacked the capacity to tolerate others.

Under his command, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles, and the future of the Guangxi clique was extremely precarious.

North China, however, is taking a completely different path.

A path that strives for the prosperity of the nation, yet does not entirely obey the commands of the mountain city.

A united front of the whole nation, cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

The third path is for brothers to work together and unite as one.

Commander Li stopped and looked up at the dark night sky.

The few stars in the sky mirrored the struggle within him at that moment.

After a long night of contemplation.

As the first hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, Li Delin finally made up his mind.

An encrypted telegram was sent, neither to Shancheng to discuss with Bai Jiansheng, nor to the Fifth War Zone to inform Li Pinxian of his plans.

It pierced through the pre-dawn mist, originating from Changzhi, traversing thousands of mountains and rivers, and flew straight towards Chu Yunfei's forward command post in northern Hubei.
(End of this chapter)