Canteen System Assistance Notes

Nothing has changed, nothing has changed...

Carrying a gun to fight, serving as a soldier and eating grain, carrying that old, worn iron gun, eating that coarse grain mixed with sand, isn't this the way it's always been, the most common thing? I'm just a tenant farmer, my life isn't worth much anyway, and there are plenty of able-bodied men like me. I could be killed at the village entrance, I could fall dead on the road, or I could be thrown into a deep ditch half-dead, letting out a cry of "ah".

But, but now, there is an additional experience, a set of pictures, and a voice in Zhao Shitou's mind.

When the Eighth Route Army's doctors treated the wounded prisoners, the Eighth Route Army soldiers would give themselves food, show concern for an ordinary prisoner, and even shed tears for his worthless life. The Eighth Route Army's "officers" (the instructor should be an officer, right? He thought) would also squat down, approach him, and tell him:

They are the army of the poor, supporting the poor. And Zhao Shitou, you are a human being.

The noisy cries of injustice in my ears suddenly faded away, and it seemed that only the shadow of the Eighth Route Army remained in my vision, the Eighth Route Army, the Communist Party.

They said that they were the army of the poor and the vanguard of workers and peasants. The power of this sentence suddenly appeared so real in front of him. It was like the wildly growing wheat seedlings in spring, the surging mountain torrents after a rainstorm, the heavy fruits in autumn, and the penetrating north wind in winter, blasting into his heart that had long been dead and would not resist.

A spark of hope fluttered in his heart. But then, the suffering he'd endured, the oppression he'd endured, the tragedy he'd witnessed, all came crashing down like a torrential downpour, smothering that bright hope. Zhao Shitou thought of his wife, who'd died, the old brother he'd left in the ditch, and the bullying gang members.

Yes, isn't this the way the world is...

boom!

But this time, it was different. That tiny flame suddenly erupted into a multicolored light, as bright as the molten iron in a blacksmith's furnace, like thousands of torches gathered together, blazing fiercely. The flames burned painfully, carrying an earth-shattering force that burned away the fragility and cowardice within him, transforming them into anger, courage, and a hint of pride.

"You, you're lying!" Zhao Shitou, who didn't know where he got the strength from, sat up straight, trembling a little, but shouted loudly, "It was you who stole my cake! It was you who bullied me!" "Eighth Route Army commander! This guy is not a cook! He's a regimental attaché!"

Before the guy could react, Zhao Shitou breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "He stole some clothes, disguised himself as a cook, and sneaked in!"

"Damn you, you bastard! You're courting death!" The blob's face flushed crimson, revealing a ferocious expression as he tried to lunge forward, but was pinned to the ground by the soldiers beside him. "You bastard, you dare to talk nonsense! I'll kill you!"

"I...I'm not afraid of you! I'm going to tell you!

"You're from the same hometown as the regiment commander! You got your job as a regimental commander by donating money! On a regular basis, you and your gang bully us all! You strip us of at least half of the rations we get, and you don't even leave a cent of your pay! Beating and scolding people is commonplace, and corruption and embezzlement... these corruptions and abuses of power happen every month. It's fine if you're just robbing women, but you even don't let even the new recruits go!"

Zhao Shitou's face flushed, but he tried hard to keep his balance.

"Back in Guanzhong, you helped the landlord collect rent. If anyone refused, you'd threaten them with a gun. If anyone dared to resist, you'd shoot them, stealing their food and women. In the end, you'd even split the spoils with the landlord... If it weren't for a lackey like you, I wouldn't have had to flee with my family torn apart!"

"I'm not afraid of you! I'm not afraid of you! People like you will get your comeuppance sooner or later!"

Panting heavily and talking loudly continuously, Zhao Shitou's physical strength was overdrawn again. He staggered and was about to fall down, but suddenly several prisoners around him stood up and supported him. "That's right! The Eighth Route Army boss, this guy is a bully who bullies others by taking advantage of his power. He donated a regiment attachment just to make more money and climb to a higher position.

"You guys killed all of this guy's minions, but now he still wants to bully others!"

"He even pretended to be a cook! He even threatened me not to tell anyone!"

"Brother Zhao," the instructor came up and helped others let Zhao Shitou sit down, then handed him a piece of trough cake, "Thank you for exposing this bully's behavior! Don't be afraid, we will not let such a bad guy go!" He stood up and announced loudly,

"Comrades, fellow villagers, fellow peasants!

In today's China, why are our armies constantly losing ground while foreign enemies invade and massacre us? Why, when we should have been recovering our territory, did the Chiang Kai-shek dynasty turn its guns inward and murder our compatriots? Why are we, the poor, oppressed and trampled upon for eternity, never to be able to rise again?

"It is because there are several huge mountains on our backs, oppressing us and squeezing us! We, the Eighth Route Army, are here to move these mountains that are oppressing us away.

Throw the person riding on our backs off!

"Bring this fellow up, take him away! Let's go to the threshing floor, set up the stage, and hold a public trial!"

Chapter 290: After the Incident (3) Warlords of the Republic of China

"How many? Two?"

"Two, American-made L14s from the Los Angeles factory. Officially, they're passenger planes under the Overseas Bureau's China Resources system, owned by the Sino-British Northern Airlines." The man held up a sunshade in front of his eyes, gazing at the two dark spots descending in the sky. "Actually, they're transport planes used by our Air Force, flying night routes. When we need to transport people or goods urgently, we rely on them."

"Huo, the central government is really extravagant. We have more than ten people, but they actually sent two planes. Major General Qian, did the organization dig up some treasure? I was worried.

This will take more than a month on the road. How can we transport all these documents?

OK, that's good, we can take a plane and there won't be any problems!"

"You're so poor! Pack your things and get ready to board the plane!"

The "Major General Director Qian" who was teased was naturally Qian Guangyou, the director of the Eighth Route Army's Yunnan Office at that time and a major general in the Republic of China.

Compared with the 17 Eighth Offices in history, in this time and space, due to the strong penetration of economic lines, the Eighth Route Army is more like a plant that has taken deep roots in the Kuomintang-controlled areas and has set up more offices.

Considering the incredible power of the four major commercial systems under the reinforcement of "Northern Goods", the Eighth Route Army could even import nickel, tin, rubber, cinchona and other materials from Southeast Asia through the Yunnan-Burma Corridor, and transport them to Spring City through official channels for preserved fruits. Then, through the organized southwestern merchant groups, they could transport them to the Guanzhong region and finally deliver the materials to the border areas.

Therefore, an office in Yunnan was essential—not only for the Eighth Route Army's work in Yunnan Province, but also for the Yunnan King, Long Dengyun. The Eighth Route Army's trade was a very important source of income for him, and it was also a force that helped him balance the infiltration of the Central Army in the local area.

To what extent did they attach such importance? Ever since Long Dengyun heard that the Eighth Route Army was going to set up an office, he actually vacated the No. 65 Mansion next to Cuihu Lake and renovated it.

-Fan, sold it to the Eighth Route Army at a low price to provide office space; he also sent people to protect

The National Army faction is not allowed to approach this place.

——-—————

The two L14s slowly approached the airport and began to enter the descent path, preparing to land.

Qian Guangyou and several colleagues from the Chuncheng Office 8 dragged their suitcases back to the lounge near the airport to wait and prepare to board the plane.

Because Shancheng Airport did not allow Sino-British Northern Airlines to land, the Eighth Route Army's transport planes had to transfer in Chengdu before flying here. After all, the 114 aircraft had a limited range and could not fly directly from Fushi or Gaojing to Chuncheng one way.

Now, I heard that in the Guanzhong area in the north, our troops took less than three days to completely wipe out Chiang Kai-shek's five divisions, forcing him to flee in panic. The people in Guosu were terrified and naturally would not allow any plane other than Chiang Kai-shek's to land in the mountain city.

Qian Guangyou's emotions were mixed at the thought. Honestly, he was quite surprised to have been able to wipe out so many diehards in one fell swoop. Even the Japanese could only quickly defeat one or two Nationalist armies at best, and couldn't completely encircle and annihilate them. Now our team was able to accomplish this. Didn't this, to some extent, prove that our new force was even more formidable than the Japanese?

This inference made him happy. As an old accountant, finance and intelligence officer who had been doing liquidation work for the organization since the Long March of the Red Army, he was very happy to see the organization's growth in economy, intelligence and military. However, if so many national troops were wiped out in one go, Chiang Kai-shek in the temporary capital would definitely be scared to death and would certainly mobilize more troops to guard against our army. You see, six divisions were divided into two groups, forming a three-division army to attack swiftly, but they were eaten alive by the Eighth Route Army and wiped out in an organized manner.

This means that in the future, when facing the Eighth Route Army, whether in Guanzhong, the Northwest, or along the Sichuan-Shaanxi Pass, a single army alone will no longer be enough to guarantee safety. So how many troops should the Nationalist army deploy to prevent Chiang Kai-shek from being awakened by nightmares while he's "sleeping"?

How many of them will have to be transferred from the front lines where we are confronting the Japanese army?

To what extent will the impact of the withdrawn troops be reflected in the anti-Japanese war situation in central and southern China?

The L14 had completed its landing and was taxiing to its parking position. Since, aside from the border region, only Dihua and Pei had the capability to maintain the L14's two Prane and Whitney R-1690 engines, the Eighth Route Army's crew could only perform simple inspections and refueling. Qian Guangyou and his crew didn't have to wait long.

But this was still going to take an hour or so. He glanced at his watch, then leaned back on a bamboo lounge chair in the waiting room and sorted out the information he had recently learned.

The Central Committee had already completed negotiations with Guofu, reached some agreements, and issued a telegram. He still remembered the contents of the agreement, and there was no need to elaborate on the changes in Northwest China, Guanzhong, and Henan Province. However, after this event, which had a significant impact on both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the aftermath of the incident spread to the entire Kuomintang-controlled area and even had an impact in the southwestern provinces.

In the southwest, the just-concluded Southern Guangxi Campaign ended relatively smoothly with the Japanese army's successful attack and delayed logistics, which led to the National Army's successful counterattack and a standoff between the two sides. The Guangxi Army, which should have been the main force, did not make any major contribution in this battle. Instead, the Guangdong Army and the Central Army fought quite well.

For example, Du Guangting's Fifth Army, relying on a force of more than 5 men and the support of tanks and aircraft, attacked bravely in the Battle of Kunlun Pass. Although it ultimately failed to hold Kunlun Pass, it also played a role in turning the tide of the battle.

Historically, at a review meeting held in February 1951 regarding the Southern Guangxi Campaign, Chiang Kai-shek dismissed Bai Jiansheng from his position as head of the Guilin headquarters due to his poor performance, unclear orders, and wavering leadership. Chiang also dismissed a number of his Guangxi clique generals. Furthermore, the Guangxi army, seemingly strong on paper, was terrified by the Japanese during this battle, forcing the Central Army and the Guangdong Army to assist in resisting the Japanese. With the subsequent integration of some Guangdong Army into the Central Army, Chiang Kai-shek's rule finally extended into the Guangxi clique's territory.

Now, because Chiang Kai-shek went north to Gaojing to command and coordinate the February Incident, and was later beaten by the Eighth Route Army and could not escape Hanzhong alone, the review meeting of the Southern Guangxi Campaign was chaired by Bai Jiansheng: the result was good, not only did Du Guangting not receive a commendation because of "excessive losses and inconsistent battle results", but Cai Xianchu's Guangdong Army was also disbanded for "ineffective combat and heavy losses", and the remaining troops were incorporated into Zhang Yibin, which greatly weakened the power of the Guangdong Army in Guangxi Province.

In addition, Bai Jiansheng and his good partner Li Delin also joined forces to claim that the Guangxi army fought bloody battles in this battle and suffered heavy losses. In order to "form an absolute deterrent to the Japanese army", it was necessary to recall Li Heling's 21st unit located in the Dabie Mountains to defend Guangxi Province. Although this move would inevitably be countered by Chiang Kai-shek and Bai Jiansheng would be demoted, it could concentrate troops, greatly enhance the power of the Guangxi clique in the local area, and strengthen its own warlord rule.

Previously, Chiang Kai-shek transferred the Guangxi clique's troops away in the name of public support for the war of resistance, and divided and ruled the country, but in the end the warlord troops made contributions to the war of resistance; but now, Li Bai and the other two took advantage of Chiang Kai-shek's crisis, came together to keep each other warm, and transferred the troops back.

Oh, this can really be said to be "Crouching Dragon and Phoenix." For a warlord, grabbing territory is naturally the first priority, and fighting against the Japanese is naturally left to his own devices.

I don't know if Wang Longdengyun of Yunnan Province has thought about transferring back his 60th Army, 58th Army and the New Third Army... Forget it, the National Army can't even handle itself anyway, so why should I worry about them? Transferring them away in episode 2 might greatly reduce the pressure on our comrades in Hubei, Henan and Anhui.

After watching the pilot complete his inspection and refuel the plane, Qian Guangyou decided not to burden himself with this "unsolved mystery of the Republic of China." He concluded his thoughts and began to tell his colleagues to pack their luggage and prepare to board the plane.

However, just as he left the lounge, a group of people arrived from outside the airport. The group, led by several men, were on horseback and carrying a number of packages. Qian Guangyou spotted one of them and realized it was Long Dengyun's adjutant. "Mr. Qian! Mr. Qian! Please stay!"

The adjutant dismounted and greeted enthusiastically. The orderly beside him was carrying two large bags filled with two hams, bouncing back and forth. "Commander Long knew it would be cold and the journey long, so he sent me to bring you some gifts!"

Chapter 291: After the Incident (4) The End of Jinsui

"Li Bai" had his own little plans and seized the opportunity to put them into practice.

The "King of Yunnan Province" also had his own little thoughts, but he had no opportunity and could not put them into practice. However, our Mr. Chiang Kai-shek acted quickly and fiercely.

Almost on the second day after the joint telegram between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was issued, a series of instructions came out from the secretariat. The density of the instructions was so high that it was enough to make people dizzy and sigh at Chiang Kai-shek's talent in personnel checks and balances and power struggles.

Cheng Songyun, commander of the Tianshui camp, was dismissed from his post and transferred to the Military Senate to serve as speaker. At the same time, Jiang Mingsan, director of the Haojing camp, was also dismissed and prosecuted and imprisoned. These two people had little power in Guanzhong and could not command the troops. They obviously became scapegoats in the February Incident in order to cover up the real key figures.

Hu Qinzhai, the deputy commander-in-chief who actually commanded the offensive against the border region, was no longer able to serve in Gaojing and "armedly defend" Fushe due to the pressure from the Eighth Route Army. However, due to the numerous scapegoats, he was merely asked by Chiang Kai-shek to resign and then go to the temporary capital to "listen to the Chairman's instructions."

Several other "ringleaders" whom the Eighth Route Army wanted to punish were more or less punished, even if it was just for show - Dean Kong of the Four Great Families had the strongest network and the most connections, so he only got a punishment of resigning and going abroad for inspection, but the economic power he represented would be expelled from the Guanzhong Plain; Ma Shaowen was directly arrested by Ma Ziyin, the mortal enemy of his own family, and was stripped of all his positions, military forces, and wealth. He and the Eighth Route Army had a "two-family division" and "evicted from the house with nothing", and he could only escape alone.

However, Sun Cuiya, who lost Jincheng and was defeated by the Japanese army in the Second War Zone, escaped punishment: when he was arrested and shot, he "shouts out injustice", claiming that he was following the orders of Yan Baichuan to go and fight with the Eighth Route Army, which is a manifestation of "obedience as a soldier's duty", and that the fault was not his but that he "disobeyed orders".

In order to win over this former Sichuan Army, now Shanxi-Suiyuan Army general, and at the same time give an explanation to the Eighth Route Army, Chiang Kai-shek shot the reactionary county magistrate Li Yingqiao as a scapegoat. This man had persecuted our army's underground workers and attempted to attack the Eighth Route Army's logistics hospital to massacre the wounded. During the Jincheng defense battle, he abandoned his post and ran away privately, which really met the standard for shooting.

Therefore, the final focus fell on the last "main culprit", that is, our millet master, egg dancer, commander-in-chief of the Second War Zone, Yan Laoheer.

——-—-----

"Commander Yan, sir, I just..."

"Go away, go away! You at least came to say goodbye, you have some affection. Unlike those heartless people who left without saying goodbye." "Hey! Thank you, Commander Yan, thank you, Commander Yan!"

In March, in the autumn forests of Yichuan, at the former site of the Second War Zone Headquarters, Yan Baichuan, draped in his coat, sat cross-legged in front of his own door, watching a guard, whose name he hadn't even known before, clutching a bundle and scurrying out. He heard the cautious footsteps disappear beyond the courtyard wall, then transform into a clattering, rapid-fire gallop, signaling their master's ecstatic run, like a donkey that has found a carrot.

Yan Baichuan turned around and glanced at the 32 caves that had once served as his headquarters. One of these caves had been dug for him by the Eighth Route Army's engineering team in 38. They dug a full ten feet deep, opened a connection to the next cave, and charged him three silver dollars. Because his adjutant insisted on paying with copper coins, which were suppressed by Shanxi Province, he ended up paying 25 copper coins, which was really not cheap. Now, this ten-foot-deep, divided into three "luxury cave" was a mess, with furniture overturned, dishes scattered everywhere, and burned and unburned documents scattered like fallen leaves in autumn. Correct group number: 3

He once again surveyed the spacious courtyard. Ever since the situation in Shanxi Province deteriorated in 38, he and Shanxi Governor Zhao Daiwen had crossed the river and taken refuge here. Back then, he and the Eighth Route Army had sat at a table, discussing the establishment of a new army and the great cause of united resistance against Japan. This small courtyard had been a bustling hot pot spot. Now, aside from a few loyal guards, the only person left was the large donkey he rode, which struggled to shake its head as it slowly chewed hay from the haystack by the wall.

The entire Shanxi-Suiyuan Army system is now like this small courtyard, rapidly collapsing in the wind and rain.

Yan Baichuan could still clearly recall that just two months ago, he was still the commander of a faction, a figure that even the Eighth Route Army and the preserved fruits had to talk to in a friendly manner, and a figure that even the Japanese had to bend over to win over. At that time, he still had an illusion that he was

It danced skillfully on the three eggs and became a "fourth force" that was stronger than the other three and could not be ignored. It became the center of the vortex in North China and could sit back and relax and maintain its existence safely.

Of course, looking at it now, this is a very typical fence-sitter illusion.

"I negotiated peace with the Japanese and attacked the growing Communist Party, thus cracking the first egg."

Yan Baichuan picked up a few stones from the ground and threw them one by one into the distance, just like throwing away his own trump cards.

"In the end, Chen Jieshan was incompetent, and was defeated by the Eighth Route Army with only one attack on three, and suffered a crushing defeat. The Japanese were unfaithful and stabbed us in the back. By capturing Shangdang, they cracked the second egg.

Humph... Thirdly, everyone knew three or four years ago how Generalissimo Chang Kai-shen treated military leaders who had lost their armies and their territory! This egg burst without even being cracked!

He threw away his last stone with all his might. "Chen Jieshan was afraid the Communists would use him to exchange for their important figures, so he later claimed to have defected to Fu Yisheng. Zhao Yinfu also led his men to Fu Yisheng. Sun Cuiya betrayed his loyalty, lost Jincheng, and even defected to Tang Keqin!"

"Now, the Communist Party wants me dead, the Japanese want me dead, and the Kuomintang also wants me dead!" Yan Baichuan lamented after throwing the stones in his hand.

Qiulin was the former site of the Second War Zone Headquarters, but it was located on Eighth Route Army territory. The Eighth Route Army had deployed a group of soldiers to surround Qiulin. While they were tightly controlling the area, forbidding anyone from entering, they weren't stopping anyone from leaving. As long as you gave up a few essentials, aside from water and food, the soldiers would issue you a pass, allowing you to leave.

This also caused Yan Baichuan to lose the last control over the army. The soldiers either defected to the nationalist regime, the puppet regime, or the Eighth Route Army; the civil officials basically fled secretly, and then were searched and found guilty by the Eighth Route Army on the outskirts; and the military officers had already made up their minds as early as when they were east of the Yellow River, and ran away with their men, so no one carried out his orders anymore.

In this vast world, it seemed as if there was no longer any place for me to stay. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter, is this what it feels like?

He walked into the cave and turned on the power of the radio on a whim - this big British-made radio was now one of the few channels for Yan Baichuan to understand external information. His telecommunications department could no longer operate normally. Many people had run away, and the rest were destroying telegrams and code books, although there seemed to be no difference between destroying them and not destroying them.

The voice of Shancheng Central Broadcasting Station came from the radio:

"Agreement reached... Decided to disband the Second War Zone, remove the commander and deputy commander, and apprehend the 'ringleader' Yan Baichuan..."

Oh, this is a brilliant move! They've removed me and Zhu Jiande from our posts, and removed the Second Division... Yan Baichuan thought desperately, then actually laughed out loud. "Great, great! Zhu Jiande commands a powerful army, and now that he's lost his position as deputy commander, he's like a hidden dragon in the sea, free and unfettered. And I've become the main culprit, about to be apprehended. Brilliant, brilliant!"

"Hahahaha, ahhahahaha!"

He laughed so loudly that his voice was even louder than the blaring radio.

The commotion finally attracted Yan Baichuan's last few trusted aides: Zhao Daiwen, Jia Jingde, and Liang Huazhi. Looking at the remaining three aides, Yan Baichuan finally stopped laughing and regained a little of his former composure. "Brothers, given the current situation, what can we do?"

Zhao Daiwen, a supporter of the maintenance faction, said, "General Yan, don't panic. Chiang Kai-shek is just bluffing and putting on a show. We can definitely find a complete plan, coordinate all parties, and make a comeback." Jia Jingde, a supporter of the lay-back faction, said, "General Yan, the central government's orders are probably difficult to disobey. A real man can bend and stretch. How about we just follow Chairman Chiang's orders?"

Liang Huazhi was a militant. He rolled up his sleeves and pointed at Jia Jingde's face: "You coward! We still have our hands and our guns. Let's just fight them to the death!"

The three of them started arguing immediately, and Yan Laoxi felt his blood pressure start to rise again - he had been experiencing this kind of situation where the veins on his forehead were throbbing frequently recently.

Now the staff can no longer come up with a unified opinion, it is time for

I figured out a way myself.

Which side should I support? The Communist Party? Chiang Kai-shek? Or Japan?

It's impossible to fight because I don't have the money anymore.

Yan Baichuan was thinking when he suddenly realized that the noisy sounds in the background had died down. He turned around and found that a dozen unarmed people had walked into the small courtyard.

A man in blue clothes and yellow pants blocked the gate of the courtyard.

This group of people were quite capable, but they showed obvious lack of confidence. Several of them kept touching the non-existent gun belts under their waists and arms. It was obvious that they were only allowed in after all their weapons were searched and taken away.

However, the leader did have some manners. He walked up, clasped his fists towards Yan Baichuan and said:

"Commander Yan! A short pain is worse than a long one. Only those who know the current situation are heroes...

"I'm Wang Jigao, the director of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee. On orders from Commander Zhu Pianxian, I've come to respectfully invite Commander Yan to Shancheng for a chat." He wasn't prepared to give Yan Baichuan a chance to choose. "Commander, please go!" Oh, it's the Blue Shirts Society, the Central Bureau of Investigation...

Before Yan Baichuan could reply, Liang Huazhi, a member of the militant faction, raised his fist and punched the Central Bureau chief in the face. "Go away!"

Chapter 292: Bear's Negotiation