Canteen System Assistance Notes

What is the reason for this?

Is there something wrong with the food? No, if it was food poisoning, how could the wife and child be fine after eating from the same pot?

Malaria? No, malaria is supposed to be a fluctuating fever, not a constant high fever. And it wouldn't suddenly start so violently this morning. Could it be encephalitis?

Ma Shangde began to search through his training. His current testing methods were limited, and this symptom was probably epidemic encephalitis. This was something that a doctor like him, a well-trained doctor, couldn't handle. He had to rush to the county town!

He circled the room and finally stopped beside a wooden box. Several yellow paper packages on top of it suddenly caught his attention. Ma Shangde opened one of the yellow paper packages and found some fine yellow powder inside. He turned around and asked, "What is this?"

"This is medicine. My husband said it's good medicine. I bought it to treat my headache..."

An absurd idea popped up in Doctor Ma's mind. He took the risk of dipping his fingernail into the yellow powder and tasted it. A bitter taste rushed straight to his head, and even this big man couldn't hold it in, so he spat it out reflexively.

He rushed over and pulled out a small flashlight and a tongue depressor from the medicine box. Dr. Ma first held Shen Ergou's eyelids open for a quick inspection, then inserted the tongue depressor into his mouth for a brief visual examination. Finally, he asked the patient's wife to help him remove the blanket covering the man and examine his fingers and soles.

After the examination, Dr. Ma also looked at his fingers.

All bright yellow.

Ma Shangde shuddered, holding on to the last glimmer of hope, and asked: "Did your husband eat this yellow powder with his porridge this morning?"

“Yes…yes…”

"Fuck it!" Doctor Ma's face twisted. He raised his head, wanting to cry but unable to, but he suppressed the urge to curse. Who the hell would say that picric acid is a good medicine for headaches?

Even if it's good medicine, who the hell can endure such a bitter taste and eat so much! Forget it, forget it, don't say it... Just induce vomiting... What the hell is this!

Chapter 305: New Occupation in the Base Area (4) Jiaodong Magician

Shandong Province, located on the coast of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea, has always been one of the main grain-producing areas in the north and a prosperous place in history. The rushing Yellow River has endowed it with fertile soil and high-yield crops.

Well, but during the Republic of China, this mother river that was surging on the North China Plain was dug up by the Central Army, and the Huai River was taken away from the sea. Coupled with the chaos of war and backward agricultural technology, taking corn as an example, the average yield per mu in the entire Shandong Province during the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japan was about 85 jin, equivalent to about 42.5 kg/mu, which was even lower than that in the Qing Dynasty.

Compared to modern Shandong Province's corn yields, which often exceed 5600 kilograms and strive for 800 kilograms per mu, this is simply a fraction. Historically, before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the PLA's Bohai District's Third Special District Office simply carried out management reforms, which increased corn yields per mu to around 140 kilograms (70 kilograms), which greatly satisfied the local people and inspired them to enthusiastically support the PLA.

Before the PLA arrived, most Shandong farmers could only grow sweet potatoes. Even during the war, these crops could yield 700 jin (350 catties) per mu per year, enough to keep people from starving. However, eating only dried sweet potatoes soaked in water, which caused vomiting acid and heartburn during the winter and spring famines, became a common practice in Shandong rural areas.

If you want people to have sufficient labor capacity and strength, you certainly can't just eat sweet potatoes.

"Corn is a crop with very large yield fluctuations. The yield per acre can range from 100 kilograms to 800 kilograms. In other words, it's a crop with great potential. We can do a lot to achieve both high and low yields."

In Yong'an County, Bohai District, a group of men and women sat on stools beside the drying yard of the "Lu 12" cooperative. The young man on the stage, speaking in a refined manner, had soft features and a shy tone, but his bespectacled face was already tanned, making him look just like the other representatives below.

However, the intellectual stepped aside and made room: "Instead of me speaking about corn cultivation, why don't we ask President Li from Jiaodong District to speak?" "Okay, Teacher Han Dong, then I'll come to Lu Ban's door and get my axe and play with it for a while!"

The burly man who walked onto the stage did not hesitate at all. He strode onto the stage, replaced the "Korean expert", and began to talk about his corn planting experience.

Who was this Jiaodong Co-op President Li? It was Li Rixin, a model worker in Jiaodong District and member of the "Lu 42" Cooperative. As early as 38, he participated in the Eighth Route Army's promotion of Golden Queen corn. This eager farmer, drawing on his knowledge of planting, divided a field of corn into sections at varying spacings. He experimentally determined the optimal spacing for planting corn and, based on this, invented a fixed-distance seeder for corn. In 1939, using his own planting spacing, combined with irrigation canals and well-rotted biofertilizer, he achieved a Shandong Province record corn yield of 500 kilograms per unit area on the public farm he oversaw.

Although this yield was only achieved in the experimental field personally managed by President Li and is an unsustainable high-yield record, the average per-acre yield of corn in the Lu 42' cooperative that year also climbed to 300 kilograms under scientific and reasonable dense planting - compared with the previous yield of 42.5 kilograms, this is almost like little Tim entering an optical factory and blowing up all his glasses.

...Choose the right planting spacing, conserve water and fertilizer, and prevent pests! The central government's carbon ammonia, chloramine, and pesticides are very useful, but they're in short supply. We can't just wait for conditions to work. As long as we adhere to scientific principles, use mature compost pits and watering methods, we can achieve, not just 500 kilograms, but even the entire 500 kilograms. That's all I have to say."

President Li of Jiaodong finished his speech and the audience started to discuss. Shandong Province is not short of people now, not only because it is a province with a large population.

This is also because there are many refugees in the neighboring Henan Province, and each farm can

We recruited many refugees.

Many of the affected farmers thought, "How could these Eighth Route Army soldiers be so reckless and not know how to farm?" However, last year's harvest was a tangible, compelling fact. This firsthand experience helped organize follow-up work and encouraged them to learn new agricultural techniques.

Of course, as one of the major grain-producing areas in northern Shandong, not all of it grows corn. "We in the Bohai sub-district are trying a new crop rotation method."

As the host, Li Hongzhou, president of the Lu 12 Cooperative in Yong'an County, Bohai District, also had to speak. Like Li Rixin of the Jiaodong 'Lu 42' Cooperative, he has also made great achievements in increasing agricultural production and is considered one of the 'Two Lis of Shandong Province'.

"We've studied the growth cycle of corn. Since the ground thaws later in Yong'an, we're rotating it with rough barley and Golden Queen corn, allowing us to harvest three crops in two years." Li Hongzhou pointed to the rough barley being harvested behind him. "If it were the cooperative in the southern subdistrict, where the ground thaws earlier, we could try two crops a year."

Counterintuitively, the unpalatable rough barley was a common winter crop in Shandong Province during the Republican era. This crop, more tolerant of extensive farming than wheat, boasted a slightly higher yield, reaching 77 kilograms per mu (approximately 1.77 jin) in that year. (The phrase "77 kilograms" seems out of place and likely comes from a different source.)

"Rough barley can be planted after the corn harvest, waiting for it to grow after winter. After the harvest, you can quickly plant Golden Queen corn and harvest another crop in the fall. Rough barley can help feed large livestock and can also be eaten—but even if we do this, our corn yield per mu won't be as high as that of Lu 42. We can only achieve 40 kilograms per mu here. Including 300 kilograms of rough barley, we can harvest 110 kilograms of grain in two years."

Li Hongzhou looked at the small note in his hand and turned to the Han expert who was hosting the sharing session: "We are able to farm like this thanks to Teacher Han! Teacher Han

How about you tell me about this?

After that, we take a year off from growing corn and switch to soybeans. What's the logic behind this? Why don't you explain it to everyone?"

In Shandong Province, "teacher" is a respectful title that can be used for anyone you respect. However, for this agricultural undergraduate who graduated from Mingxian College in Shanxi Province, it was indeed a new title. Han Dong, who was hosting the sharing session, blushed, but he didn't refuse. He stepped forward and explained:

After all, we're not like the experimental fields in the border regions, where we have access to abundant fertilizer. A high yield for one or two years in a row is fine, but any longer, and the total nitrogen level in the soil will drop. Well, corn, in particular, doesn't require such high levels of phosphorus and potassium. We can supplement this with composted manure and wood ash, but total nitrogen is more difficult to replenish. "Ahem," he paused, then changed his tone. "In other words, all the good stuff in this land has turned into corn and been taken by us. If you want to harvest that much in a year, I'm afraid this land won't be able to handle it!"

"That makes sense," replied President Li Rixin. "If I hadn't used ammonium fertilizer on the corn field I personally tended to, it wouldn't have grown more than a thousand kilograms the following year.

"So you can try not growing corn for a year in the third year and instead grow soybeans. Soybeans have rhizobia, which can increase the total nitrogen level in the soil and save some nitrogen fertilizer. You should all have a feeling, right? Planting other things in the soybean field will make them grow better. The harvested soybeans can be pressed for oil and made into tofu, and the remaining soybean meal and dregs can be fed to livestock. They're all good things!" Han Dong wiped his face. "In the Huinong experimental fields, one acre of soybeans can produce more than 300 kilograms of beans! Here we have a lot, so we should have about 200 kilograms!"

"Hey, Teacher Han, let me ask you a question."

Someone in the back row raised their hand, like a student. This person, dressed in a cowboy uniform, represented a military farm. He stood up and asked Han Dong a question:

"Our Yimeng region doesn't have as much flat land as this one, so we mainly grow potatoes. We've found that the first year's harvest is very good, but in the second year, some plots have lower yields, while others still have very high yields. We've done statistics and found that new seeds received from the Junan government have high yields, while seeds we've kept ourselves have low yields. I'd like to ask, what's the reason for this?"

Um?

This sounds like a degeneration of the variety caused by virus accumulation. Sending the seeds for virus removal or replacing them with new ones could solve the problem. Dong thought for a moment and asked, "Comrade, what is the high yield, and what is the low yield?"

"Oh, this."

The representative of the military sub-district smiled innocently and said, "The high one is about 2,000 catties per acre. The low one is about 1,400 catties per acre!"

Chapter 306: General Itagaki's Double Life

The situation in Shanxi Province came to a temporary halt, and the Bo Plan was also abandoned due to Hua Guzheng's independent departure. The plan to lure Yan Baichuan into surrender ultimately failed, but instead caused the Jinsui Army to evacuate and disperse. Although many of them defected to the puppet army, many more went to the Eighth Route Army and the Shancheng Nationalist Army, indirectly strengthening their strength.

But for Itagaki Seishirō, a master in officialdom, is this a big deal?

The "Bo Plan" was designed to deal with Yan Baichuan. Now that Yan Baichuan's power is gone, isn't this plan a major success?

Although the troops' independent march was a violation of regulations, didn't they actually seize the opportunity of the conflict between Yan's army and the Eighth Route Red Army to take advantage of the situation and invade? Didn't our army win a complete victory and occupy the important strategic area of ​​Shanxi Province - Shangdang, which the Imperial Army had attacked three times but failed to capture?

This is a great victory for our army both in appearance and in reality, and it is the greatest victory since 1937.

After all, Itagaki had served as Minister of War and had extensive connections. He used some of his old acquaintances to ensure that the battle reports submitted to the Imperial Headquarters "emphasized the bravery and great success of our troops in a colorful and well-reasoned manner, on a reasonable basis."

Sure enough, a commendation from Imperial Headquarters soon arrived, praising Itagaki's ability to seize the opportunity, exploit the enemy's weakness, and strike at its weakest point. The order also expressed the hope that Itagaki would lead the North China Front to further success. To this end, someone in the army even arranged a public parade through the streets of Tokyo to celebrate the Empire's victory on the battlefield.

Very good, this first hurdle is passed.

As an intelligence officer, he knew that such matters could be serious or minor. Although he was a social butterfly, he still had his share of enemies. After this operation, the possibility of being caught and retaliated against was almost zero. Naturally, no one would pursue him for going it alone, and no one would hold him accountable for disobeying orders.

Furthermore, Tokyo now even had lantern night parades, effectively recognizing the legitimacy of the operation. Furthermore, the operation itself had indeed achieved "significant success," leaving no room for criticism. In May, upon returning to the castle, Itagaki Seishirō could finally breathe a sigh of relief and relax.

He called his chief of staff Yukio Kasahara and deputy chief of staff Masaharu Hirata, and took them to a restaurant to drink sake.

At that time, there were many Japanese residents in the city, and naturally, there were many Japanese restaurants. Three senior officers from the North China Front Army were cuddling Japanese girls, drinking sake shipped from mainland China, and eating freshly made nigiri sushi, enjoying themselves. After three rounds of drinks, everyone was a little tipsy, so Itagaki dismissed the Japanese maids in kimonos and got down to business.

"How has the situation in Shanxi Province been since I returned home?"

Seeing that the two staff officers remained silent, Itagaki knocked on the wall and added, "There are no intruders here. This is just a conversation between the three of us, and nothing will be recorded."

The two staff officers looked at each other, and finally, Deputy Chief of Staff Hirata spoke up: "General, the situation in the rest of Shanxi Province has not changed significantly. Due to the dispersal of the Shanxi Army, neither the Eighth Route Red Army nor the Shancheng Nationalist Army has launched any major... noteworthy attacks. However, in the Shangdang area, the 35th Division suffered several harassing attacks. Upon investigation, these were all launched by guerrilla forces of the Eighth Route Red Army and are not worth mentioning."

"According to reports, the soldiers of the 35th Division worked together, relying on the fortress facilities, to repel all attacks. Afterwards, the 219th and 221st Regiments took the initiative to launch a sweeping attack in the Shangdang Basin, preventing the Red Army from advancing and protecting the safety of the garrison." After finishing his remarks, Vice Commander Hirata paused and began to discuss the negative aspects:

"However, after months of fighting, the various units were exhausted and their supplies were depleted. The 36th Division's First Battalion Headquarters was destroyed. The 35th Field Artillery Company, attached to the 35th Division, only had half its battle ammunition reserves left. Their food and supplies were running low, yet they were still unable to stop the Red Army's continuous attacks. If food had not been transferred to the Nationalist troops stationed in the mountain city, they would not have been able to hold out much longer."

Itagaki was very experienced and basically grasped the key points from this series of narratives that were transformed into ventriloquism and euphemisms.

In other parts of Shanxi Province, the situation has not changed much. Although our army is holding the main transportation routes, it is difficult to advance and is still under constant attack from the Eighth Route Red Army. This is the "normal situation" in Shanxi Province.

Itagaki was aware of the difficulties in collecting grain in the autumn of Showa 15 (139). If the former government's deposits in Tianjin had not been used, Australian wheat had not been purchased internationally, and more looting had not been done along the Pinghan and Jinpu railways, the North China Expeditionary Force would not have been able to gather enough grain for the offensive campaign in 16 to fulfill Itagaki's battle plan. All of this was basically thanks to the Eighth Route Red Army. Over the past few years, the Japanese army had almost gotten used to it.

In the newly acquired Shangdang area, Hirata Masaharu's words translated into:

Taking advantage of the Japanese's precarious position, the Eighth Route Army launched several counterattacks, attempting to drive them out of the Shangdang area. The 35th Division, relying on fortifications left by the Nationalist Sichuan Army and the accompanying 38th Modified Field Artillery Company, employed superior firepower to suppress the Eighth Route Army and was able to hold onto the Changzhi area.

The 36th Division, which attacked from the north to the south and cooperated with the 35th Division to occupy the Changzhi area, probably lost another battalion in the place where it had been destroyed not far from the Yushe area, with a loss of about a thousand people.

The 35th Division had to pull two regiments out of the city defense, patrol back and forth in the Shangdang Basin in an offensive posture, and constantly rush to clear out the infiltrating Red Army, and only then could it barely drive the Eighth Route Red Army back to the mountainous area and maintain control of the Changzhi Basin. Now, the 35th Division in the Changzhi area is basically running out of food, artillery shells are almost used up, and personnel have been fighting for two or three months in a row. They are almost unable to fight, but the Eighth Route Red Army seems to be able to fight still.

In other words, Commander, if this continues, we can capture Changzhi, but we can't hold it!

Itagaki Seishirō suddenly found himself in incredible trouble.

In Shanxi Province, and indeed in the Japanese-occupied areas of North China, the situation had long been strained by the Eighth Route Army's persistent counterattacks. With their existing strength, the Japanese army was able to maintain control along railways, major highways, and some grain-producing areas, while the Eighth Route Army controlled the vaster mountainous areas and rural areas. This made it difficult for the Japanese to penetrate Eighth Route Army-controlled areas, as any entry would result in destruction. Meanwhile, the Eighth Route Army struggled to maintain a long-term occupation of key cities along the Japanese railway lines, as any successful capture would render them powerless against the main Japanese reinforcements. This created a delicate balance.

His good friend, Hanaya Masaru, one of the Three Crows of the Kwantung Army, went alone and bypassed the command system to directly order the 35th Division to "act at its own convenience" and capture Jincheng.

In Changzhi, however, this delicate balance was broken.

The army only used the 35th Division to attack this place. So how much more troops would it take to hold this place? How much more troops would it take to hold this place until the autumn harvest and then seize the food?

Itagaki's mind was filled with thunder and lightning. He thought of a question that he had never thought of before, or even considered: Would occupying more land be a loss-making business?

The answer to this question was obvious, but Itagaki Seishirō didn't dare to think about it. This truth was truly disrespectful. If revealed, it would not only mean the North China Army's progress in recent years... but more likely, no, it would completely negate all the efforts of the Imperial Kingdom in recent years.

Even if the two people in front of him are his close subordinates, he cannot say anything.

Moreover, now that the commendation order from headquarters has been issued and I have received the praise, Tokyo has even held a night parade to celebrate this great victory, how can I look back and say, "Oh, taking the Shangdang area was a loss! We might as well retreat!" How can I say this?

He felt sweat begin to form on his forehead, and panic set in. But Itagaki quickly regained his composure. As an educated Japanese general with basic military knowledge, and even more so a politically gifted and socially adept, he immediately chose a plan for his future from among countless options.

Don’t just think about economics!

Itagaki cleared his throat and said to the two staff officers: "I understand. The soldiers are brave for the country and deserve to be commended. As a commander, you must understand the difficulties of your subordinates. But..." First of all, this must be a major victory, there is no doubt about that.

"Shangdang area is the lifeline of Shanxi Province. If we lose it again, it will be a blasphemy to the achievements of our soldiers' struggle and it is intolerable." Secondly, we must find a way to defend this place.

"In the current situation, if our army upholds the fundamental character of the imperial soldiers and makes temporary changes, we still have a chance to achieve greater results."

He knocked on the table and issued an order: "Mr. Lanyuan, please organize yourself and hold a staff meeting tomorrow. I will be there. Well, I still need your personal attention and understand the reorganization of the 50th and 52nd Divisions. Mr. Hirata, please help me find someone and tell them that it is Commander Itagaki who wants to see you."

"I understand, Commander. Please tell me who I'm looking for." Deputy Commander Hirata nodded, demonstrating his excellent staff skills. "Generally speaking, if it's in North China, you can arrive by train within a week. If you're in a hurry, Commander, I can coordinate with the aviation team's rotation scout to bring him here. That way, it will only take a day or two to reach the city."

"Well, he's our army's expert in mountain warfare and guerrilla warfare. I saw his book at headquarters, and it's quite insightful. So, you can have him come by plane." Itagaki nodded. "His name is Tsuchida Heigo."

Chapter 307: The Evolution of the Japanese Army

How to deal with the problem of insufficient control over occupied territories?

Just as the famous management rule of thumb states, "Higher wages can solve more than 80% of management problems," adding more people is naturally the simplest and most effective solution to this situation. However, like all bosses, trying to solve the problem of insufficient control without adding more people is like trying to solve 80% of management problems without spending money—a complex and troublesome process.

The North China Front Army's Chief of Staff, Yukio Kasahara, quickly convened a staff meeting to discuss the situation as requested by Itagaki Seishirō. The primary topic was military reform, a legacy of the setbacks in the three-pronged encirclement and suppression campaign in the Taihang region.

During the three-pronged campaign against the Taihang base in 1939, the Japanese army's newly formed 1st Independent Mixed Brigade and 8th Brigade were completely destroyed, with three and two battalions respectively wiped out, almost completely losing their combat capability. Even the 36th Division, a regular division with relatively complete troops, had a regiment and its attached artillery and supply train annihilated by the Eighth Route Army. This incident directly led to the promotion and resignation of the previous commander of the North China Front Army, Sugiyama Hajime, and also triggered the three major changes that Itagaki made upon taking office.

Itagaki Seishirō raised the question of whether the mixed brigade, with a total of five battalions, was insufficient in manpower for the increasingly powerful Eighth Route Red Army and unsuitable for the current high-intensity law and order maintenance and offensive mopping-up missions. Should we consider strengthening the military system? After all, historically, the independent mixed brigade was created to deal with the "deterioration of law and order" brought about by the Eighth Route Army's opening up of the battlefield behind enemy lines. At this moment when the Eighth Route Army is constantly growing stronger, it does feel a bit powerless.

To reform the military system, in short, is to increase the number of troops.

But how to increase the number of troops is a science.

Itagaki Seishirō wasn't without new recruits. While Japan was undergoing a military downsizing—yes, it had been going on before the Taiping War—many units were being cut to save money for the Ministry of Finance and address the growing deficit. For example, the 109th and 108th Divisions in North China were targeted for disbanding, disappearing from the IJA's ranks.

However, he did have a lot of new recruits, about the level of five divisions, which he had obtained through more activities in Tokyo, and was scheduled to be supplied to the North China Front Army in 1940.

Hey, never mind, someone is better than no one.

However, the cash-strapped Ministry of Finance naturally brought with it the impoverished UJA. The five divisions at Itagaki's disposal were naturally not elite three-unit divisions, lacking many experienced sergeants, corporals, and sergeants, much less expensive mobile forces and technical weapons. They were primarily composed of "red-paper privates" recruited on a single postcard, and were almost entirely infantry.

Among them, only a small number of "potential talents" were industrial workers pulled from the navy's shipyards and assembly plants, and the majority were "landless farmers" who were hungry and had lost their land. These people crossed the ocean and arrived at Jiaoao Port by ship, and fortunately not many of them were taken away by the Kwantung Army, the Chinese Army, and the South China Front Army.

These five divisions had a significant number of infantry, totaling 80,000. Judging purely by headcount, they comprised about one-third of the North China Front's paper strength. However, dispersing them across the vast expanse of North China was like trying to fry fish with a thunder god—nothing could be heard.

Putting aside the fact that the two independent mixed brigades needed to be rebuilt, and a regiment of the 36th Division plus artillery and supply teams needed to be replenished, let's just say that at this time, apart from the 27th Division located in Tianjin, which is directly under the North China Front Army, which unit dynamically deployed in North China has suffered serious shortages in the constant attrition and guerrilla warfare? Logically speaking, the losses of these units, like the shortages caused by combat injuries, illness, and retirement, all need to be replenished by drawing people from the reserve forces of the front army. However, at this time, the replenishment battalions of the North China Front Army were already like Mentos and Coke, unable to protect themselves, and the shortages needed to be filled urgently.

All the troops were clamoring for more personnel. Itagaki pondered over it again and again at the staff meeting and decided to use a method that had been previously put on the agenda and had already been piloted:

Refer to the experience of the 11th Independent Mixed Brigade being reorganized into the 26th Division, the original independent

The mixed brigade was reorganized and upgraded to a "three-unit" division.

Since the rebels alone cannot defeat the Eighth Route Army, it is always right to increase the troops.

This is a good plan. Apart from the two independent mixed brigades that have been basically destroyed, the difference between a complete independent mixed brigade and a three-unit division lies mainly in two aspects: on the one hand, the difference between the two is several battalions of infantry; on the other hand, the independent mixed brigade has fewer search regiments and artillery units than an ordinary division.

If they wanted to expand it to a three-unit division and still be able to carry out sufficiently intensive public security missions, they would need to add more personnel to the establishment. At the staff meeting, they deduced the goal of being able to defend county towns and market towns, relying on fortifications to maintain safety from attacks by the main forces of the Eighth Route Red Army, and arrived at a basic requirement.

First of all, this expanded division must have at least 8 infantry battalions, which means that for a general independent mixed brigade, an additional 3 battalions must be added.

Secondly, among these eight battalions, two battalions must be search regiments with certain mobility. According to the best scenario, they must have cavalry units, preferably mechanized cavalry units.

Again, the grassroots squads must have sufficient mobility and firepower. Any squad going out to fight should preferably meet the standards of a "reinforced squad" and be organized into a reinforced detachment with other squads, directly commanded by the detachment commander appointed by the division headquarters. This means that each battalion should have five to six infantry squads, carrying 36 light machine guns, more grenade launchers, and two to four supporting artillery pieces.