Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Mountain city, command headquarters, operations conference room.

Chu Yunfei's strongly worded telegram was placed in the center of the conference table.

The entire operations room was deathly silent.

He Yingqin showed slight dissatisfaction: "You always involve warlords. I wonder what the people below will think when they find out."

how to think?
What else can I think? Am I really going to walk right into a gun's line?
If they are dissatisfied, they can only keep it to themselves; it's certain that they will become disloyal and alienated.

After all, Chu Yunfei is the only commander who doesn't give his "predecessors" any face.

From their own perspective, preserving their strength is not a problem for these commanders.

But for the nation and the country, it is the biggest obstacle to victory in this battle.

To achieve modernization and reform, these drawbacks must be eliminated.

We must declare war on corruption and factional struggles.

To end all this, a forceful crackdown is necessary.

This campaign is also a good opportunity.

Bai Jiansheng didn't speak, picked up his teacup, and blew away the foam.

What does the Sixth War Zone's hesitation and inaction have to do with the Guangxi Clique's combat forces in the Fifth War Zone?
If the Guangxi forces were to launch an offensive and capture Xinyang at this time, wouldn't that disrupt the campaign plan?
Xu Cichen and the others remained silent.

Chang Ruiyuan sat quietly in the main seat, expressionless.

His gaze lingered on the ten alarming questions listed in the telegram.

[Lack of perseverance...]

[Lack of coordinated operations...]

[High-ranking officers are failing to take real responsibility...]

Every word felt like a slap in the face.

He knew these problems existed and repeatedly emphasized the need for improvement.

However, improving these aspects requires substantial national strength, abundant resources, and the replacement of skilled personnel.

Because of his position, he is constrained at every turn.

In places like North China, where one entity dominates, reforms are actually easier.

Thinking about this, Chang Ruiyuan felt that it wasn't his problem, but rather that the "military force" he controlled wasn't strong enough.

After a long while, Chang Ruiyuan's fingers, which were tapping the armrest, suddenly stopped.

He opened his eyes, his gaze filled with only cold resolve: "Do as the telegram says!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was as powerful as thunder.

Everyone looked at Chang Ruiyuan in shock.

"Pass on my order!" He stood up: "In my personal capacity, send a telegram to all division and corps commanders involved in the battle!"

"tell them!"

"This battle concerns the fate of the nation!"

"Anyone who hesitates or tries to preserve their strength, regardless of seniority or past achievements, will be treated equally and subjected to military law!"

"At the same time, issue an order to the Sixth War Zone Supervisory Team."

"Depart immediately! Head to the respective division and army headquarters!"

……

Telegrams, sent in the name of "Chiang Kai-shek," were swiftly delivered to the front lines.

Some units, however, continued to outwardly comply while inwardly resisting, offering only token counterattacks.

Others, however, seemed to have been completely awakened and truly brought out all their hidden treasures!
In an instant, the intensity of the battle on the entire western Hubei battlefield rose to another level!
Japanese 11th Army, forward command post.

Yokoyama Isamu paced back and forth in front of the map, looking irritable.

"Commander! Urgent telegram from the 39th Division!"

A confidential staff officer strode in.

Yokoyama Yu snatched the telegram.

"This afternoon, the enemy directly in front of my division, the 18th Division of the Chinese Army, suddenly launched a desperate counterattack! Their offensive was so fierce that they even broke through the left flank of my division."

"Nani?!"

Yokoyama Yu slammed the telegram down on the table.

"A counterattack? A harassment?" He turned around abruptly, quite puzzled. "What on earth is going on?! We're the ones on the offensive!"

"Why are all the reports I'm receiving reports of our troops being attacked?!"

Just then, another staff officer ran over with a telegram.

"Your Excellency Commander!"

"Report from the 13th Division! The 32nd Army of the Chinese Army has appeared on its flank!"

"They are infiltrating behind my division!"

The entire command post fell into a deathly silence.

When did the commanders of the National Revolutionary Army develop such the ability to assess the battle situation?
Chu Yunfei.
The name resurfaced in Yokoyama Isamu's mind: "It must be Chu Yunfei who has taken over command."

"impossible!"

An intelligence officer, his voice trembling, produced a copy of an intercepted telegram: "Commander, the telegram we intercepted clearly shows that the one commanding this battle is Sun Lianzhong, the newly appointed commander of the Sixth War Zone!"

“Sun Lianzhong?” Yokoyama Isamu frowned.

"An old guy from the Northwest Army with almost no experience in independently commanding large-scale battles?"

Shimano Takeji sneered from the side, his tone confident: "Him? Could he possibly put our entire Eleventh Army in such a passive position?"

"Commander, this could not possibly be the work of Sun Lianzhong!"

"There must be someone else behind this, but in any case, there is no possibility that our attack will stop."

Yokoyama Yu sighed: "Yes, there's really no possibility of stopping now."

Now, both sides only have one last tactic left.

When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will be used to dam it.
-
The fierce fighting continued, and the Japanese army's attacks on the river defense forces became increasingly intense.

Among them, the 11th Division of the 18th Army of the Jiangfang Army, which was the core of the battlefield, and which was under the command of Hu Lian, suffered heavy casualties.

Four days after Chu Yunfei sent the telegram.

Hu Lian paced back and forth in the underground command post, listening anxiously to the reports of casualties from various regimental commanders.

After just four days of fierce fighting, their division had already suffered more than half casualties, sacrificing a third of its total strength.

The most critical issue is not the loss of soldiers.

Rather, it's the consumption of weapons and ammunition.

The Japanese offensive continued from day to night, almost without pause.

They launched continuous attacks during the day and frequently conducted night raids to harass the enemy.

They used up a lot of their hand grenades, their limited mortar shells, and even homemade weapons like incendiary bombs.

Just as he hesitated, shells exploded one after another.

The Japanese army launched another attack.

The battle cries were deafening, and the two sides clashed once again like two torrents.
Just at this time.

One by one, "special bombs," or poison gas bombs, were fired into the defenders' positions from the rear.

All the Japanese troops who came to provide support wore gas masks.

The ruthless and treacherous Japanese commander used a portion of his combat forces and the Wang Jingwei regime's troops as bait to lure the defending forces into a close-quarters battle where they could not retreat. Then, he used chemical weapons to capture the position in one fell swoop.

After hearing the report from the front-line troops.

Hu Lian no longer hesitated and immediately drafted a telegram to Zhao Xiukun, the chief of staff of the 18th Army.

The telegram essentially stated that the 11th Division was the foundation for the resignation of the general, and that its sacrifice was a great pity.

They also gave a detailed report on the Japanese army's extensive use of poison gas and requested that the 11th Division be withdrawn for rest and reorganization.

but.

Who would dare to withdraw their troops at this time?

If they fail in this battle, someone will help them die for their cause.

Sacrificing oneself for righteousness is no longer an empty slogan, but a real act of loyalty to the country.

Inside the headquarters of the 18th Army, Army Commander Fang Tian listened to Chief of Staff Zhao Xiukun's immediate refusal, while holding a new battle report in his hand.

"I just received some good news. My 1st bomber squadron, under the cover of the 1st and 4th fighter squadrons of the Air Force and the U.S. 14th Air Force, successfully bombed Yichang, destroyed the Japanese truck supply convoy, and destroyed the Japanese oil storage base in Yichang."

Zhao Xiukun frowned: "Commander, forgive my bluntness, but at every critical moment in the battle, there are always good news encouraging us to continue holding on. I always feel that something is not quite right about this."

Fang Tian, ​​a graduate of the second class of the Whampoa Military Academy, was a general in the Civil Engineering Department and had extensive combat and theoretical experience.

After Zhao Xiukun's reminder, I also realized that something was wrong.

Just as the 10th Army was about to collapse and retreat, progress was made in the Xinyang direction, forcing the Japanese army to send troops north to reinforce the 3rd Division.

Subsequently, the North China and South China war zones continuously increased their efforts, dispatching reinforcements to this large-scale battle.

"Originally, the Japanese army was only conducting a localized operation against Wang Jinzai's troops. Why has it gradually escalated into a chaotic battle involving hundreds of thousands of people?"

Zhao Xiukun frowned and muttered under his breath, "I always feel that Chu Yunfei is behind all this. He is the one who is pushing all this in northern Hubei. He is systematically wearing down the combat troops of the Sixth War Zone."

Treating everyone equally, whether local or central troops, is wrong; he must have some ulterior motive, perhaps even a grand one.

Fang Tian looked suspicious: "He didn't command any combat troops in this battle, nor did he make any specific suggestions to the General Headquarters. Besides, the Chairman is currently very wary of him."

"Even if he could influence the deployment of our combat troops, how could he get the Japanese army to cooperate with his plans?"

Zhao Xiukun said with a solemn expression: "Perhaps this is what makes him so extraordinary. He accurately grasped the Japanese army's urgent need for a victory, and used Wang Jinzai's 'rebellion' and 'alone departure' to provoke conflict between the Guangxi clique and the central government, while he took the opportunity to reap the benefits."

Fang Tian was even more skeptical: "Even if Chu Yunfei knew what kind of person Wang Jingzai was, he couldn't possibly know what his next move would be. The current state of the battle is due to too many coincidences."

"Besides, at the very beginning, Chu Yunfei was in Changzhi. How could he command the combat troops of the Sixth War Zone to coordinate with him?"

"Besides, it was Chairman Chiang Kai-shek who requested that he go to the front line to assist in command and provide relevant suggestions as appropriate. Whether to implement them or not is entirely up to the General Headquarters."

"Brother Yufeng, I think you're overthinking it."

Zhao Xiukun stopped arguing and then asked, "The 11th Division has suffered heavy casualties. If the fighting continues, we will have no way to explain ourselves to the resignation officer, Commander."

Fang Tian shook his head: "Now is not the time to think about how to explain to the resigning public, but that if we can't hold onto Shipai, we won't be able to explain to the Party and the country, to the people, and to the Chairman. Even if we really fight to the death, as long as Shipai is still in our hands and we can buy enough time for the final decisive battle, that's enough."
-
On the other side, at the Hubei North Front Command Post.

Chu Yunfei and Pang Junming were sitting in front of a chessboard.

There is no need to adjust any of the deployments.

What followed was nothing but a long wait.

The generals at the front had different ways of passing the time.

Besides fishing, Chu Yunfei now spends his time playing chess.

The weather outside wasn't great; it had only been sunny for two days before it started drizzling again, so we had to play chess in the command post.

Of course. While it's raining in northern Hubei, western Hubei remains sunny and clear.

The air forces of both sides are still engaged in fierce combat.

"Your Excellency, I have just received a telegram. All the combat units of the Guangxi Clique have completed their replenishment, and the vanguard of the 22nd Army Group has also arrived at the attack line."

Chu Yunfei nodded slowly and immediately asked, "Did Commander Li request to launch an attack?"

"No, they just called to ask what time I'd like..."

Pang Junming then spoke up, suggesting, "Sir, two days have passed, and you still haven't replied to Commander Yu's resignation request..."

"What should I say?" Chu Yunfei said helplessly. "I have been assassinated four times during my tenure. Of course, there were instructions from the mountain city behind it. Now, the commander of the First War Zone is Jiang Dingwen, that lackey."

“As long as he remains in this position, Chief Yu’s life will not be easy. It is not a bad thing for him to resign and return to rural life at this time.”

"But what about his combat troops? Given the Chairman's personality, he will most likely disband them and incorporate them into other units. It's not impossible that even the army-level designations will be revoked."

“Yes, Your Excellency, why don’t we have Cao Potian investigate him? This Commander Jiang was a notorious ‘smuggling protector’ in the Northwest, and he was extremely corrupt. Now that he’s been transferred to North China, it’s a good opportunity.”

Chu Yunfei frowned deeply.

Liu Zhi was forced into hiding by him and has not shown his face since.

Because of the anti-corruption campaign.

The conflict between Chu Yunfei and the Shancheng authorities is becoming increasingly acute.

He didn't want to deal with the First War Zone for the time being; what he wanted to deal with was Li Peiji and others in HEN Province.

That being said, Yu Xuezhong's resignation was closely related to his opposition to the civil war and his firm commitment to upholding the united front.

In addition, he was a former member of the Northeast Army, representing the Northeast Army's influence and having close ties with the Red Party.

Under the policy of uniting with the Communists to resist Japan, Yu Xuezhong's troops included a large number of Communist Party cadres.

Chang Ruiyuan naturally couldn't tolerate him either.

When he was serving as the commander of the Lu-Su war zone, Shen Honglie and others plotted to assassinate him and frame the Communists.

Chang Ruiyuan's decision to appoint Jiang Dingwen as the commander of the First War Zone was not only intended to introduce foreign elements but also to create friction.

Although the vast majority of the Nationalist troops in North China no longer harbored hostility towards the Eighth Route Army.

The two sides also established friendly relations.

But the Kuomintang diehards were different. They had no remarkable military achievements to their name, and they only used "anti-communism" to express their loyalty to the mountain city.

All of this was tacitly approved by Jiang Dingwen.

As for why Jiang Dingwen would go against the pressure from the North China Joint Command to create friction?

Essentially, it was because this group of "die-hards" supported his infighting with the Henan political circles.

in other words.

The military and government in the First War Zone were at odds, and these diehards supported his struggle against the HEN provincial government.

Jiang Dingwen supported them in creating friction with the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

It can be considered a different kind of mutually beneficial arrangement.

As for the military-political conflicts in the First War Zone, the most obvious and well-known one was the conflict between Jiang Dingwen and Li Peiji.

In fact, Chu Yunfei knew very well what was going on.

Jiang Dingwen was actually just a womanizer.

His corruption was not too outrageous within the Nationalist army. After all, it was really difficult to find a few commanders in the Nationalist army who did not show favoritism, protect smugglers, receive salaries without working, or engage in illegal sales.

Jiang Dingwen has also been jokingly referred to by netizens as the "STD General".

Just a side note: those who love criticizing Cao Xueqin aren't necessarily bad people.

According to declassified documents from the other side of the strait.

Jiang Dingwen, disgusted by Li Peiji's corrupt practices, secretly reported him to the authorities.

Not only did he not receive any credit, but he was also reprimanded by Chang Ruiyuan.

Jiang Dingwen harbored resentment and detained Peng Ruogang, the Finance Director of Henan Province, and Lu Yuwen, the Grain Administration Director.

The drought in Henan is essentially the root of the conflict between the two sides.

Due to the special policies of the Republic of China, local droughts could only be reported by local governments.

If Li Peiji doesn't report it, then there will be no disaster.

He Yingqin used this reason when responding to Li Jiayu, the commander-in-chief of the 36th Army Group.

Chang Ruiyuan naturally wouldn't give Jiang Dingwen a friendly look. For the Shancheng government, Henan was the best source of soldiers and grain. Once it was reported as a disaster, not only would they be unable to collect grain and soldiers, but they would also need resources from neighboring provinces.

This was also the root cause of the conflict between the military and local governments in the First War Zone.

As for Li Peiji in the movie 1942, he was disgusting enough, but that was after he was whitewashed.

The historical Li Peiji was even worse.

During the great famine in Henan in 1942, he hoarded grain, took kickbacks, abused his power for personal gain, and resold military rations.

People like Jiang Dingwen even ordered that military rations be distributed to the people, and that soldiers save two ounces of military rations per day for three months to provide relief to disaster victims.

It is easy to imagine how severe the drought in Henan is.

According to Yang Yifeng, who was then the director of the Civil Affairs Department of Henan Province, this was because Henan Province did not report the true situation to Chang Ruiyuan. Li Peiji, the chairman of Henan Province, deliberately concealed the disaster in order to please Chang Ruiyuan.

According to Yang Yifeng, his group went to Chongqing to report on the disaster situation, hoping to get the attention of higher authorities. However, when they arrived in Chongqing, they found that the Chongqing authorities were completely unaware of the truth about the disaster in Henan. They even saw a report from Li Peiji, the chairman of the provincial government, to the Chongqing authorities, in which he said that "the grain harvest in Henan is okay."

Yang Yifeng said that after returning to Henan, he questioned Li Peiji about the good grain harvest in Henan, but Li Peiji gave evasive answers.

So, did Li Peiji report the disaster situation?

According to declassified documents, he actually did report it.

So where is the problem?
Why did a situation of discord between the military and the government arise in Henan?

In Chu Yunfei's view, the two most crucial points are: First, Li Peiji did not dare to confront Chang Ruiyuan directly and was unwilling to let the "disaster situation expand." Even when people from Shancheng went to investigate on the ground, he concealed the truth and pleaded for leniency, fearing that it would affect his political achievements. This was due to his selfishness, and he should bear direct responsibility.

Second, Chang Ruiyuan agreed to Li Peiji's request to exempt him from land taxes, but in reality, he did not exempt him. He even reprimanded Li Peiji for lacking integrity. In other words, the military and political conflict in Henan was actually caused by Chiang Kai-shek's questionable actions.

If it weren't for his painstaking efforts to reorganize western Henan, using all the captured goods as military supplies, and simultaneously allocating relief grain to Henan and other places...

It is likely that at least a million people in Henan will starve to death.

Even with such thorough preparations.

According to rough statistics submitted to the North China Joint Command, the number of people who died of starvation in Henan due to drought has also exceeded 100,000.

Fortunately, the famine has largely ended, and this year's bumper wheat harvest will completely change the situation in Henan.

Thinking of this, he paused and said, "Pengcheng, go generate electricity."

"Tell Cao Potian and the two deputy directors of the Inspection Department."

"Our next focus will be on the Henan region, and we will adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards corruption."

"In both the military and government, no matter who it is, we will investigate to the end."

"Don't worry if problems are found; someone will cover for them."

"Yes!"

Zhao Pengcheng looked excited and immediately turned around to send a telegram.

nowadays.

Although some of Chu Yunfei's energy was tied up in the battle in western and northern Hubei.

However, he never neglected his business operations in North China and other regions.

Agriculture is the foundation, industry is the root, and industry and commerce should be developed in tandem and advance together.

"Your Excellency, if this escalates the conflict with the mountain city, the Chairman may lose your trust. After all, he wants to improve our international standing and doesn't want people to know that our 'government' is corrupt from top to bottom."

Pang Junming kindly reminded Chu Yunfei, fearing he might act impulsively: "If it really becomes a 'corrupt government,' then he, as the chairman, will be held accountable."

"For nearly 150 million people in North China, survival, development, and food have never been a simple matter."

Chu Yunfei's words were full of determination.

Pang Junming made one last attempt to persuade him: "Commander Jiang's matter is indeed worth discussing, but North China is currently relatively rich in resources and has surplus grain for relief. Under these circumstances, escalating the conflict with the mountain city would be quite detrimental to you."

Although he knew that Chu Yunfei was likely to have a "disagreement" with Shancheng.

But I didn't expect it to be so soon.

Moreover, Sun Lianzhong's troops in North China had just completed their reorganization.

Chang Ruiyuan couldn't wait to promote him to acting commander of the Sixth War Zone.

The 22nd Group Army of the Sichuan Army had just completed its reorganization when it was ordered by the General Headquarters to go south to reinforce the western Hubei battlefield.

obviously.

The General Headquarters was clearly using the influence of the North China Joint Command to reorganize the local armies.

They were transferred away immediately after the reorganization was completed; this was clearly a sign of their fear.

North China is now planning to resolve its conflict with Chongqing based solely on some tolerable corruption issues.

Pang Junming felt that he was being somewhat irrational.

Moreover, the Inspectorate is investigating not only officers from the First War Zone, but also local political figures.

A single move can have far-reaching consequences; if a real investigation were to take place, the resistance would be considerable, and it could even lead to serious problems.

“Junming, on the surface, our Shanxi region’s water conservancy has been completed in six years and is already quite large, providing for the 30 million people in the province and having surplus grain to support neighboring provinces.”

"But in reality, this also includes the sacrifices of the people of Shanxi during the period when Governor Yan was in power. In other words, it took us twenty years to make Shanxi so prosperous."

Chu Yunfei paused for a moment: "But do you know how many local officials from the Shanxi Pacification Commissioner's Office have been disciplined in the past six years?"

Pang Junming shook his head.

He was a soldier, and he never paid much attention to these kinds of things.

At best, he was thinking about how to improve relations with the local community.

Chu Yunfei added with a serious expression, "More than 170 people were executed, 460 people were imprisoned, and more than 1,000 people were punished to varying degrees. This is still the core group under our strongest control."

"It is conceivable that achieving peace and stability, and uniting the people as one, is not an easy task."

Pang Junming looked at Chu Yunfei with a slightly confused expression: "Sir, what do you mean?"

"Anti-corruption is just a pretext for the Inspectorate's investigation; the real issue is that tax revenue in North China cannot support current development and the war."

Chu Yunfei paused for a moment, then continued, "Back in your hometown of Shanxi, General Huchen sought funding from Finance Minister Song for a long time in order to build water conservancy projects. Without his efforts, the development of water conservancy in Shaanxi would have lagged behind for who knows how long."

“We allocate funds every year to dredge the river, and we need to allocate funds every year to invest in infrastructure construction, which requires a lot of resources.”

"My goal is not to get compensation or to make him a 'flying general,' but to pull out the radish and bring out the mud, so that all the corrupt funds of this group can be used for local construction, at least the initial funding problem can be solved."

Pang Junming nodded as if he understood: "But won't others think that you're using the name of anti-corruption to engage in internal strife?"

Chu Yunfei waved his hand dismissively: "There will always be gossip, but if you don't listen, it will disappear. People can talk, do you think I can make them shut up?"

"It is very difficult to persuade and educate these people. We can't wait, and neither can the people. The best way is to replace them with people who can understand us and who can resolutely carry out our plans."

Pang Junming instantly understood Chu Yunfei's determination and immediately took a deep breath: "Your Excellency, I will go to the First War Zone to carry out the relevant operational troop reorganization work in order to support the investigation work of the Inspectorate."

Chu Yunfei tossed the chessboard aside: "This matter isn't urgent. I've already had Brother Ligong begin preliminary preparations. The press releases are all written, and I've also sent people to contact Guo Zhongwei and other political advisors from Henan. This time, we're not only going to fight the Japanese army in western Hubei, but also these corrupt officials in Henan." (End of Chapter)