Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 155 The War is Accelerating

The shooting range in Yangon is located on the outskirts of the city, a large area sixty miles away from the urban area. It is home to various artillery, delta-wing aircraft, gliders, and even dozens of old fighter planes from the First World War.

In fact, it is a large military training ground. The scale of the venue has been expanding again and again. In addition to the Yunnan Army brought by Long Yao from Yunnan, local military training in Yangon is also carried out here.

The military training system from when Penang was founded is still preserved. Although Yangon is mainly populated by Indians and Burmese, Indians and Burmese do not need military training and are not allowed to carry guns.

Chinese people are required to undergo compulsory military training, at least if they want to become citizens, and they are allowed to carry guns at ordinary times.

In addition, the arsenals in Myanmar, especially the artillery factories, have always tested their artillery here.

Even this shooting range is semi-open. As long as they spend a very small amount of money, residents of Yangon can come here to practice shooting. The bullets provided by the shooting range are all discounted, and if you have good shooting results, you can even play with cannons.

Since the successful trial production of the ammonium nitrate plant in Penang two months ago, Nanyang has never been worried about bullets.

Penang and Yangon have both established bullet factories and artillery shell factories. The bullet shells wasted in shooting at the shooting range can be recycled and just need to be filled with gunpowder. The cost is not high, and the aid provided to the country is not small.

It’s a pity that the transportation capacity is limited, and it is unlikely to support domestic soldiers wasting bullets on the training ground.

When Tao and Long arrived at the shooting range, they saw Zheng Yi wearing a military uniform and firing a heavy machine gun. The mayor of Yangon, Hu Wenhu, was beside him and kindly brought him water.

They fired until bullet casings flew all over the ground and smoke came out of the machine gun barrel.

Clap, clap, clap. Seeing this, Tao Jun and Long Yao quickly took the lead in applauding, and the others naturally followed suit.

Zheng Yi was also enjoying the fight, so he took the handkerchief handed to him by Li Lili and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He smiled and said, "Don't flatter me. I know my own shooting skills. Come, come and sit down."

As he spoke, Zheng Yi found an empty chair outside and sat down casually. He asked Hu Wenhu and Long Tao to sit down as well, personally took out cigars and shared them among them, and asked Li Lili to get them a few cups of coffee.

Now that Zheng Yi is here, the entire shooting range, at least the shooting area, must be closed. This kind of public welfare and military shooting range does not have a coffee service, but since Zheng Yi wants to drink it, it is naturally necessary.

There were a lot of followers, but there was only one small table where only four people could sit: Zheng Yi, Hu Wenhu, Long Yao, and Tao Jun. The others could only stand, and they couldn't stand too close to hear what they were saying.

You can't stand too far away either, you have to protect the safety of Zheng Yi and the others, and at the same time provide good service when they need anything.

Within a minute of sitting down, someone brought a large parasol and set it up for them, and an ashtray was brought over and placed on the table.

The military uniform Zheng Yi was wearing was neither the National Army's nor the British Army's. The clothes themselves fit him well, but the camouflage on them looked like a military uniform.

The key point is that everyone knows who Zheng Yi is. An intellectual like him wearing a military uniform has a sense of incongruity.
His identity really has nothing to do with military matters, but he suddenly put on such a suit and fired a heavy machine gun.

They were all veterans, so naturally they all smelled something unusual from Zheng Yi's series of actions.

But he asked casually, "Is the construction of the Yunnan-Burma Railway going smoothly recently? How's the progress?"

Long Yao: "Progress is going very smoothly, especially in the past six months. The construction speed has more than tripled. If this pace can be maintained, it should be open to traffic before the end of this year."

"Huh? So fast?" Zheng Yi was very surprised.

"what's going on?"

"Yes... We have cooperated with the Eighth Army."

"Eighth, Eighth, Eighth Army? What does it have to do with them?"

"That's right. The Eighth Army has established bases behind enemy lines in Hebei and Shandong. On the one hand, they're helping to sell a lot of our Nanyang cloth. On the other hand, they're constantly stealing the railroad tracks in the two provinces. I heard they even dare to steal tracks in the Northeast."

"Oh~"

Zheng Yi nodded thoughtfully after hearing this, and couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "To think it's already here so early, the little devils... now they've really become the tail of the rabbit."

"what?"

"Nothing, just keep talking."

Long Yao said, "Cooperation in the war? We were enemies before, but now we are all comrades. You know what? The Eighth Army might not be good at direct combat, but they are really good at mobilizing the masses and doing sneaky things behind enemy lines."

"In just three months, they tore down over 800 miles of railway and stole over 10,000 tons of electric poles. The Japanese army was repairing them in the front, and the Eighth Army was tearing them down in the back. These things were transported from Shaanxi to Sichuan and then to Yunnan."

"We collect the rails directly, even the rivets are ready-made. Although it is impossible to transport the telephone poles, the wires and telephone lines on them are all good and can be used.

Even if the Japanese army increased patrols, the railway line was so long, how could they defend it?

The militaristic Japanese army actually had very poor combat organization. As we all know, the standard for evaluating whether light infantry is elite or not is the decentralization of firepower and whether the combat units can be miniaturized at any time.

Our army in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Pearl Party in modern society can both independently carry out tasks at the squad and platoon level. This is called elite. It seems that only these two light infantry units can do this in human history.

As for Japan, each of them shouted slogans louder than anyone else, but they rarely carried out independent operations at the squad and platoon level. The squad and platoon-level troops would not even patrol, and would hide away when they encountered the Eighth Army.

Things like the Bushido spirit are just bragging, but how many people really believe in it? After all, those who have been brainwashed by army schools since childhood are a minority, and they are all middle and senior military officers.

If there were fewer patrols, the Japanese wouldn't dare patrol at all. They'd just find a place to sleep, play cards, or go to the traitors' homes and act like a tyrant. How comfortable would that be? They only earn a few military salaries a month, what's the point of playing with their lives?

If there are too many arrangements, can't we just avoid the big bunch?

As for the puppet army, haha, not to mention patrolling, they sometimes even follow us and steal together.

If the Japanese deployed heavy troops on the railway, the Eighth Army would destroy the road or lay mines to block the transportation line.

We can then exchange military supplies, weapons, and ammunition with them. This way, the rails produced by the steel mills in Yangon can be supplied to the Burmese section first, while the rails in the Yunnan section can be supplied with captured goods first."

Zheng Yi: "Oh, so that's how it is. I see. This speed... is really fast."

But he couldn't help but smile bitterly and pinched his eyebrows.

It’s accelerated, everything is accelerated.

Historically, our army's large-scale demolition of Japanese railways occurred around 39, and it is only the beginning of 38. According to Long Yao's statement, their efficiency in demolishing railways has almost exceeded that of the Hundred Regiments Campaign.

This is really efficient.

Of course, historically, the Eighth Army had no external aid. The looted railways were transported to the military factories in the rear, where the rails were melted and processed into various homemade munitions. This time with Zheng Yi's assistance, the efficiency is much higher than in history, and the enthusiasm is much higher.

General Long himself has a very deep friendship with our army. The two sides have cooperated many times. General Long is also willing to give the Eighth Army more arms. Chongqing has not been able to jump out to oppose this matter so far, and even has to help with transportation.

On the other hand, because Zheng Yi had previously given 100 million US dollars, the strength of the Eighth Army was more preserved, and its development was indeed faster than in history.

In the overall situation, this is certainly a good thing. The Japanese are probably having a hard time now.

Don't underestimate these railway robbers. In fact, their influence on the war situation is no less than that on the front lines. After all, it is impossible to win on the front lines.

Without railways, the Japanese army basically cut off the possibility of directly attacking Shaanxi. Just by harassing their logistics, they could force them to be unable to send troops. Moreover, coal and iron resources could not be mined on a large scale, and industrial development was out of the question.

What's more, the destruction of transportation routes made it impossible for the Japanese frontline soldiers to ensure the safety of their supplies and even their rations.

When the Japanese army's rations could not be guaranteed, the puppet army's rations would naturally be even more unguaranteed. When the puppet army's food security could not be guaranteed, the puppet army would naturally become a friendly force.

But Zheng Yi waved his hand, motioning Yang Shaomin to come over, and asked Li Lili to add a chair for him to sit down. He then asked straight to the point: "Please ask for me, how many refugees have fled from North China to the base in the past six months."

"Okay, Mr. Zheng."

After agreeing, Yang Shaomin actually asked someone to bring a radio in front of Zheng Yi, put the radio on the table and started asking questions on the spot.

After a while, a telegram came back, saying, "Results are in. In the past three months, the number of people transferred from North China to the base area... exceeds one million."

"Ah."

Zheng Yi nodded, but he already had an idea in his mind.

Before coming here, he had heard from Toyoda Risaburo that although the textile war had just begun, it had already achieved brilliant results.
Needless to say, the sales of Japanese cotton cloth in Southeast Asia, as well as in China, have almost plummeted in recent times, which is a terrible sight.

Originally, during the period from 37 to 40, the Japanese textile industry should have been aggressively conquering cities in the occupied areas and squeezing out the last bit of profit in the Chinese market. This profit was a great help to the military occupation.

Today, Nanyang and China are full of Nanyang cloth. Textile factories in Japan have lost a large number of textile machines and textile machine parts because they have lost Toyota Textile, the pillar enterprise of the textile industry. Even the production efficiency of textile machine repair parts is extremely low.

This naturally leads to the Japanese textile industry now facing a dilemma of shrinking market and rising production costs.

Of course, it is impossible for Nanyang cloth to enter China by wasting the precious Yunnan-Vietnam Railway's transport capacity, but things like cloth can be smuggled into China without wasting railway capacity. Even the smugglers are Japanese businessmen and military officers, so Zheng Yi doesn't need to worry about it at all.

In short, operating in North China caused them to suffer even greater losses.

Various signs indicate that in North China and Shandong, the Japanese army seems to have entered a state similar to that of 40, or even close to that of 41.

The situation in East China is unclear, but it should be much better, after all, there is water transportation. However, the National Army is tougher on the front battlefield, and the consumption must be greater. In addition, with convenient water transportation, Nanyang cloth must be easier to sell.

The war situation may not be going smoothly, not to mention the economic situation. The desperate attack on British cargo ships is proof of this.

Zheng Yi thought for a moment, then said to Li Lili, "You can contact your father later. I plan to invest some more money in them, in cash, in US dollars and Japanese yen."

"Also, Brother Long, you can increase your support for the Eighth Army. I can talk to General Feng, General Fu, and even General Yan and ask them to cooperate with you."

"The construction of bases behind enemy lines can be strengthened. We don't seek direct combat capabilities, but rather enhance our ability to accommodate refugees."

"Everyone, I have repeatedly emphasized that the war against Japan is not just about frontal warfare on the battlefield. Economic warfare is the even more important priority, and it is how we will ultimately defeat Japanese militarism."

"The Japanese army in North China is already committing atrocities. A large number of civilians who can no longer survive will definitely migrate to the base area on a large scale, even if it's just to survive. This money will be used for two purposes."

"First, it is to better accommodate as many refugees as possible. Population is productivity. With population, you can open up wasteland.
The Japanese army, deprived of its population and cut off from transportation, could not even maintain basic economic production. They had already made the botched move of switching from wheat to cotton.

"Secondly, use the money to bribe the puppet army, landlords, traitorous merchants. If the Japanese army had such a hard time, the puppet army and traitors must have it even harder. You can buy intelligence from the puppet army and food from the landlords and traitorous merchants."

"North China, and indeed the entire north, will definitely be short of food in the future. We need to find a way to get food. As long as the money doesn't fall into the hands of the Japanese army, it won't matter if it ends up in the hands of the puppet army or traitors. Sometimes, even if it ends up in the hands of the Japanese army or Japanese merchants, it won't matter."

"The Japanese army in North China was originally small in number, and they relied entirely on puppet troops and traitorous landlords to collect grain from the countryside. Japan's economy is so bad now, can they afford to collect grain? I think it will be difficult. Even if they can, it will definitely be below market price."

"They are requisitioning, but we are buying. We don't need to pay higher than the market price, as long as it is higher than the Japanese army's requisition price, the food will naturally fall into our hands."

"The Japanese army had no food, so they could only transport it from home and Manchukuo. Japan itself was not a major grain producer, so they had to spend foreign exchange to buy food. Haha, they probably didn't have much foreign exchange left.

If they enter the base to steal food, defend it if you can, but if you can't, bribe the puppet troops with false information and run away. If that's really not possible, burn it down and don't leave it to them."

In short, you must try every possible means to make Japan short of food while you have food. I can guarantee that within half a year, smart Japanese businessmen will come to you to buy food, and the Japanese will not be able to afford the money to buy the food.

"You can use food to exchange for their weapons, such as Type 99 rifles, bullets, and ammunition. Food is the most important thing for the people. The Japanese will definitely do this business."

"In short, this money should be given to traitors, puppet soldiers, profiteers, and even to the corrupt officials in the Japanese army. Believe me, even if all the money spent on buying food is given to the Japanese, if only 10% of it ends up in the hands of the military, then their superiors will be considered honest officials."

"On the contrary, when you sell this food back to the Japanese merchants, I guarantee that not even a tenth of it will be personal money, and all the materials used must be public."

"It is much easier to defeat a powerful enemy from within than to defeat him head-on, especially when it comes to militarism, which treats neither the enemy's people nor its own people as human beings."

“No matter how glorious a victory may be, if the fruits of victory do not fall upon individuals, this so-called victory is but a castle in the air, which can be toppled by a single puff of wind.”

When everyone heard this, they all nodded repeatedly, thinking that Mr. Zheng was truly worthy of being Mr. Zheng, with a broad perspective.

Just a few words made them suddenly enlightened, as if the clouds had been cleared and the sun had been shining. They even felt that this was the best the Japanese devils could do.

Of course, Zheng Yi was also worried about this, because the progress was really too fast. No matter how Zheng Yi looked at it, he felt like it was 40 or even 41.

If Zheng Yi is willing to spend a lot of money to push this matter forward, perhaps next year the situation in the mainland will evolve directly to the stage of 43.

You know, in 43, the Japanese army, especially in North China and Shandong, had already begun to starve to death on a large scale due to malnutrition.

There were even more people who died of starvation than those who were beaten to death.

A historical fact that goes against modern common sense is that in the North China region after 43, the food standards of the Eighth Army were better than those of the National Army, the National Army was better than the Puppet Army, and the Puppet Army was better than the Imperial Army.

Isn't this the end of the road?
Doesn’t this mean that... Japan is getting closer and closer to a desperate struggle and hysteria?

Historically, the Japanese did not attack until the end of 41. To put it bluntly, this was not because they were foolish and had no courage, but because they really could not hold on if they did not fight. If Japan had not conquered Southeast Asia, it might not have lasted until 45.

But in this time and space, that is not certain.

Zheng Yi felt that they could really come at any time.

He wouldn't be surprised at all even if they said the Japanese would come next year.

"General Long, if possible, I hope the construction of the Yunnan-Burma Railway can be accelerated. Old Hu, you need to pay more attention to this matter. It's definitely not enough to rely on us Chinese alone. The Burmese and Karen people still need to be used. You should think of a way to motivate them."

"Mr. Tao, the British are very angry about Japan's attack on British merchant ships and the siege of Hong Kong Island. I came here today to talk to you about this.

The Nanyang region is planning to establish an army. While the army is nominally British, the reality is that we all know for ourselves.

"Honestly, I'm quite surprised by the British's actions. I hadn't thought of this before. I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, but a heavy burden is about to fall on you."

(End of this chapter)