Canteen System Assistance Notes

——After this guy sends the information back, the First Army will probably send a scout.

Let's confirm this and tell the air force and guerrilla comrades to take it easy, don't try to stop them too hard, and don't blow them up on the ground."

"middle."

Chapter 467: Silent War Planning in the Temple

.....….I'm done, this is all the information the intelligence system needs to report."

Chen Wanyuan, a representative from the Military Commission's Operations Department, closed his folder and nodded to He Wenchang, who sat on the other side. He Wenchang, fiddling with his wooden pipe, asked, "Anything else that needs to be added to the various systems? Has the Air Force received the reconnaissance aircraft mentioned by the Enemy Work Department?"

"Yes, we let him in. We specially found instructors from the aviation school. One of them is a veteran comrade among the Soviet pilots who aided China." Air Force Commander Nie Heting was well prepared and answered immediately.

They flew fighter planes to carry out this drive-off operation, damaging the Japanese plane badly but failing to shoot it down. They flew it back—the mission was accomplished successfully. The Japanese pilot in the back row must have tricked the fake pontoon bridge back."

That'll do. The intelligence comrades can't tie the enemy's hands and feet simply by deceiving them. Commander He's tone suddenly brightened. "If Okamura Yasuji, Iwamatsu Yoshio, and Amakasu Shigetaro are willing to listen to our show, that's great. If they're not willing, we probably can't force them to listen by holding their heads down."

But now, I have to force everyone to take a break—we've been stuck in this meeting for so long, we finally need a break." Commander He glanced at the alarm clock beside him, then, with a smile, lifted a basket of fruit from the ground onto the table. Besides him, the Front Committee's temporary headquarters also included Yang Jisheng, Commander of the Border Region Mobile Corps and overall commander of this operation, and Political Commissar Guan Youwei; Dong Shaozhong, commander of the Huinong-Xingqingfu operations, and his coordinator, Wang Hongxin; Liu Xingchang, who had just returned from the Soviet Union and was in charge of staff work; Zhao Shengling, a former Nationalist general who had joined the Party; and Guan Zhixiang, the "combat commissar" who shouldered both command and political responsibility in northwestern Shanxi...

All in all, this was a star-studded conference.

Now, despite being tense for hours, everyone finally had a break to relax a bit. Mr. He first grabbed a strangely shaped red fruit and said, "Let's take a 15-minute break from the meeting. Let's change our minds and have a smoke—here's some dragon fruit, go ahead and eat it!"

"Don't worry, it's not a red heart this time."

"Brother Yuanpei, this stuff actually tastes quite interesting. It's a little spicy at first, but the more you drink it, the more addictive it gets. You can't stop." Sun Shutang stretched his neck and shoulders, gulped down half a bottle of "Meilin Cola," and gestured to the reporter from the Xinhua Daily. "Mr. Reporter, oh, comrade, is this okay?"

The reporter on the other side waved and gave a thumbs-up, then turned his head to the back of the camera with two lenses and began to observe the shape.

"General Sun, these syrup sodas are very popular now. Not to mention Coca-Cola in the United States and Europe, even the various sodas we produce ourselves have many fans in China." Song Yuanpei cast his gaze towards the camera and then put on a very exaggerated military cap.

"I know that drivers on the Northwest Passage love this stuff the most. It's delicious, refreshing, and helps relieve greasiness. They can even use it as hard currency to trade with herders for beef and mutton. I heard that many young herders think it's better than tea."

"Wow! Is this thing really that magical?"

Sun Shutang extended a foot and stepped on the stone in front of him. Following the instructions from the previous rehearsal, he put on a pair of large "Tom Cruise"-style sunglasses, then held the Coke bottle at his waist.

Then, he stretched his gaze into the distance, just passing above the camera, as if he was facing the Yellow River, gazing at the vast land of Shanxi Province with an ambition to recover the country - and Song Yuanpei was standing on the other side with a pistol slung over his shoulder, his eyes also cast into the distance.

One of the members of the Eighth Route Army's front committee for this operation, the former commander of the 4th National Revolutionary Army responsible for the feint in southern Shanxi Province, is posing with his political commissar.

They were dressed in overly neat military uniforms, holding very funny Coke bottles,

A pistol, with a look that said "Jin Province, I'm back again."

This photo will be published on the front page of the newspaper, accompanied by very clickbait text and imaginative tofu: Anyway, it's fine as long as the Japanese believe it.

It doesn't matter if you don't believe it - the Fourth Army, which has completed its reorganization and is promoting field army training, the telephone pole carts that come here in a swaggering manner on the transport road, and the many exploratory attacks, infiltrations and raids launched by "reconnaissance troops before the battle" will force the Japanese to believe it.

"Okay, both leaders, get ready—Eggplant!"

Click! The shutter sounded.

Bang! The door was closed.

The atmosphere is dull and depressing, the atmosphere is gloomy and solemn.

The consultation meeting at the First Army Headquarters in Jiaochang Lane, Jinyang City, fell into an unconcealable silence.

Earlier, a Showa staff officer suddenly stood up and loudly declared that the invincible and unstoppable Imperial Army should gather its strength and launch an invincible, violent and unmatched assault with the force of a thunderbolt that is as fast as a bolt from the blue and as powerful as the collapse of Mount Tai, supported by the indestructible spirit of sacrificing oneself for His Majesty the Emperor. In this way, they could drive out the cowardly and short-sighted Communist bandit army that dared to threaten the safety of Shanxi Province in one fell swoop.

As for where to attack, how to attack, how to withdraw troops, and what to do about public security in various places after withdrawing troops - what does it matter? Isn't it true that everything will be fine as long as the Imperial Army launches a large-scale attack? Then, Commander Yoshio Iwamatsu, who had just taken office not long ago, waved his hand to call the guards, pushed down the guy who jumped onto the table, and dragged him to the confinement room.

"It's really against the dignity of a soldier. Humph!" he concluded. "If it were any other time, I might applaud such a performance and then put him in solitary confinement.

"Everyone, Oya-kun has clearly stated the conclusions of the Intelligence Department. The Air Force's reconnaissance aircraft have also paid a great price to confirm the reliability of this information - the Communist Red Army is about to cross the Yellow River or break out from its entrenched areas to attack various parts of our army.

“How should we deal with the enemy?”

However, even with the Commander's blunt question, no one in the meeting room responded. With regard to the current situation, aside from the General Staff's passive defense plan of abandoning the perimeter, shrinking the defense, and securing key points, the First Army could offer no other proactive alternative.

--Because after taking inventory of the troops on hand, the vacancy rate of each unit and the transportation conditions between the armies, the General Staff really could not first cast a spell to fill all the vacancies in the personnel and equipment of each army, and then conjure up at least 4 division-sized troops to launch an active attack on the Communist army's stronghold: In the eyes of the Japanese army, except for the relatively flat Fen River Valley, Shanxi Province almost no longer has freedom of marching and maneuvering.

Facing the potential offensive of the Communist Army, the First Army felt like a fish pressed on a chopping board by a big hand - the sharp kitchen knife did not chop it off, but only went against the scales, scraping away the remaining scales bit by bit, exposing its defenseless skin.

Perhaps only the crazy and dreamy Showa thinking can "come up with a solution" in the despair of such oppression and chronic death.

"The North China Army and the 12th Army are struggling to protect themselves, and they're trying to siphon off our troops to rescue Dezhou." Iwamatsu Yoshio's head ached, and he covered his head. "This year's troop replenishment only leaves the entire North China force with a single division—and that's just infantry."

Of course, the fact that the previous North China Army commander, Itagaki, was able to use his connections to advance five divisions wasn't without cost. "The Mongolian Army still refuses to send support? A regiment, a cavalry regiment would be fine."

"Hi, Commander! General Amakasu's headquarters called back to say they were also facing a direct threat from the Communist Army. They also said Shanxi Province was mountainous and unsuitable for cavalry maneuvers, and that the cavalry in Suiyuan might not be able to adapt quickly..."

Idiot! This old sly fellow! What's the point of not being able to adapt? It's just that he's unwilling to even stretch out his cat's claws!

Iwamatsu Yoshio knocked on the table, a curse on the verge of blurting out, but the words "Baka Yaro" never escaped his lips. He was silent for a moment, then picked up a nearby box, pulled out a handful of long, chocolate-covered cookies, and stuffed them into his mouth.

"Forget it, let's eat something first."

"Did they finally send the plans?"

"Yes, Chairman, we've got a telegram from the Front Committee." Xu Zijing, who presided over the Military Commission, glanced briefly at the telegram sheet and then handed it to the Chairman, who was smoking a cigarette. "It's a long telegram, and the plan is very detailed."

"How slow! Our He Huzi, who started the revolution with just two kitchen knives, now commands an entire army with the skill of embroidery." The Chairman chuckled, stubbed out his cigarette, pushed the books aside, and began to scan the plan. Suddenly, as if a thought occurred to him, his expression grew slightly more serious.

The Chairman turned around and looked at the huge map of Suiyuan Province projected onto the screen on the wall.

"Field Army, six field divisions, a mobile corps, local forces... more than 30,000 devils, and nearly 20,000 puppet troops... troops stationed in Mongolia..." The Chairman fell into his thoughts.

Could there be any problems here? Although the newly trained field army had never fought such a large-scale offensive, according to this detailed plan and various contingency plans, the battle itself would definitely be no problem. Xu Zijing thought about it and was about to speak, but General Zhu on the other side raised his hand, signaling Xu Zijing to hold it still.

"Our comrade chairman is thinking of other things."

"Whether we can fight or not is not the problem. I still have confidence in our team." The chairman stood up from the table, holding the plan. "Even jokingly, we should not worry about winning this time.

"General Zhu, after this battle, you know, many people will say: Comrade Li Desheng is a conservative. If there are more battles like this,

Our red flag is about to be hoisted on the Yalu River. How can it last?

War, obviously means total victory!

"That won't do." The Chairman shook his head, seemingly unconcerned about the outcome of this battle. "We have the advantage in this battle; we also have the advantage in the overall balance of power—but this advantage is not absolute. This battle is neither the first nor the final one. We've defeated the devils in North China, as well as those in Central and South China, the Kwantung Army, the devils in Northeast China, and so many fascists and imperialists..."

"Ha, even Chiang Kai-shek wouldn't just sit back and watch our victory and curse us out!"

But no matter what, the chairman's tone was still relaxed. He tapped the cigarette box and took out a new cigarette.

A journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step. We haven't even reached the 90th mile yet. We haven't even reached the 50th mile. Climbing a peak means we're just walking uphill, and we can only see the top. We can't rest halfway, and we can't collapse from exhaustion if we walk too fast. If we try to leap to the top of the opposite mountain in one go, we'll probably fall into the deep valley and be smashed to pieces!

Chapter 468: Thousands of troops begin to move, but birds remain calm

(Update)

The border region's good internal security system and mass base finally concealed the Eighth Route Army's strategic intentions through intelligence and multi-faceted cooperation, and to a certain extent delayed the Japanese army's strategic judgment. The daily material transportation and troop training and dispatch within the border region became the best disguise for our army's preparations for battle.

Except for a few Kuomintang troops responsible for creating the atmosphere, all our troops basically moved to their positions through self-management or by taking the transport team's trucks, and entered a pre-war state of being ready to go.

But unlike these combat troops who entered the departure assembly area just before the war, another force had already started the action - "before the troops move, the food and fodder must go first", the stockpiling and preparation of supplies have been the prelude to war since ancient times.

Internal transport truck fleets, large support vehicles, and animal-drawn and human-drawn carts mobilized by grassroots organizations have long been crisscrossing this region, a blend of modernity and the medieval era. A highly technologically advanced logistics team was mobilized over four months ago—even temporarily halting mobilization to ensure the summer harvest in the border region—to stockpile supplies for this campaign's logistics system.

Food, ammunition, medicine and various spare parts were exported in batches from factory warehouses and "material centers" in the border areas. Under the command of the newly established General Logistics Department, they were transferred to various military stations, logistics distribution points and real material centers, waiting for subsequent calls.

The Eighth Route Army, with reference to the Liberation War and the Korean War in another time and space, learned some ideas about future logistics organization, and made certain adjustments based on its own conditions. It tried to set up a new logistics system of "joint logistics management and independent logistics to the point".

Under this system, mobilized dual-use military and civilian transport forces, as well as civilian personnel, will be responsible for sorting and delivering large quantities of supplies to secure logistics nodes. The dispatch, in-transit, and arrival status of each batch of supplies will be categorized and centrally managed using barcode scanners and a database system adapted from supermarket inventory software.

The officers and soldiers of the General Logistics Department stationed here will use the existing baggage teams and internal transport teams of each unit to deliver various supplies to the front line by pack horses, power carts and military trucks based on the combat status and logistical needs reported by the front-line troops.

This is not a perfect system, but it is indeed a brand new model: reducing waste, improving efficiency... The new possibilities it brings fascinate Tan Shiming, who is in charge of this area.

However, in a large-scale battle conducted on the outer front against the Japanese army, where the total offensive depth may reach over 100 kilometers, how much ammunition could our army possibly fire?

How much supplies do we need to prepare for an offensive campaign initiated by our army?

To be honest, even after referring to some strange combat data, Political Commissar Tan Shiming, who was in charge of this work in the General Logistics Department, was still unsure.

Our current firepower and mobility far surpass those of the PLA's main forces throughout history, while the enemy's firepower is similar to or slightly lower than that of the Nationalist army's main American-equipped forces. However, unlike the Nationalist army, the Japanese army would not carry artillery without ammunition, nor would they surrender en masse after being surrounded. Even with our superior firepower, we might waste more firepower, increasing logistical pressure.

If we use the Korean War as an example, our military's equipment level can be compared fairly accurately. However, the Japanese army's air-ground coordination and firepower reserves were far inferior to those of the fully armed UN forces. Their tactics and combat styles were also significantly different. If we prepared logistics entirely according to the standards used to fight against the US military, it would actually result in a serious waste of transportation capacity and reduce the combat efficiency of the troops.

Our army's previous operations were almost all conducted on the interior lines, relying on base areas, and were defensive counterattacks. In this environment, the troops were familiar with the environment, moved quickly, and had strong support from the masses in terms of logistics. They could fight for a long time with their own ammunition and easily obtain new supplies.

However, these advantages were difficult to maintain in enemy-occupied territory. The troops could not expect to be treated like a "welcome guest" upon their arrival in a new location—the people were not inherently inclined to support the Eighth Route Army. Furthermore, Suiyuan Province, the designated combat area, was a vast and sparsely populated pastoral region, not as densely populated as the North China Plain. Therefore, the operational plan could not rely on the majority of logistics being managed by local organizations.

"Frontline regimental units will carry half a campaign share, divisional units will prepare half a campaign share, totaling one campaign share; all frontline military depots and logistics points will reserve a combined total of one campaign share..."

Whether it was the new logistical organization or the pioneering external offensive campaign, they were now backed by the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, so they still had all kinds of supplies. There wouldn't be the same situation as before, with only three rounds of ammunition for mortars and only one clip per person for rifles. As for the uncertainty of how much ammunition would actually be used on the battlefield, a quick and decisive "brute force solution" was always a universal option. Political Commissar Tan Shiming sighed and made up his mind:

"Whatever, let's just flood the place—Here at the General Logistics Department, prepare for another battle!"

"...a gun with 600 rounds of ammunition. Let's see if we can blow these little Japs away."

"Eight thousand kilograms of cabbage, two oil drums per truck, ten trucks of six hundred liters!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Just when Political Commissar Tan Shiming of the General Logistics Department decided to take an extra precaution and prepare more ammunition, a soldier wearing the "Joint Logistics" chest badge aimed his barcode scanner at the huge barcode on the side of the power-assisted truck and steadily pulled the trigger.

A red laser beam appeared on the sticker, and with a long beep, a string of numbers appeared on his arm monitor. Immediately, the light on the communicator hanging on his back flickered, transmitting a standardized message to the central station on one side of the field.

Afterwards, this set of data is automatically processed, collected along the wired network to the main station on the upper level, and entered into the database system.

The joint logistics soldier waved a small flag and blew a whistle.

"Joint Logistics Animal Power Team 1-259, Zhaojun Tomb 994! Depart!"

"Joint Logistics Motorcycle Team A—006, destination Dalat 967 Supply Station, go, go, go!"

"Joint Logistics Force C-039 Team... Fellow villagers, fellow villagers! You guys are delivering the supplies to the kitchen. Do you see that room over there? Yes! Right there!"

After seeing off the group of villagers leading their packhorses, the joint logistics soldier glanced at his watch and then looked eastward across the Gobi grassland. There, the night had begun to dissipate, and the thin mist of morning light had already diluted the deep blue of the night sky, revealing the power of the sun.

The rumbling sound of engines filled his ears and even the sky. In addition to the trucks and mules running on the ground, some impatient voices crossed over his head and rushed to the north of the battlefield. "Ah, the sun is about to rise..." he murmured.

-―—-—-—-

On July 27, 1941, Chairman Mao, General Zhu, Vice Chairman Zhou, Wang Jiaqiang, and Ren Peiguo all appeared together in the main hall of the Fushe Canteen headquarters. This hall had undergone extensive renovations and had become the command center of the Central Military Commission. Several large screens and projection screens surrounded it, rows of flashing electronic equipment, and staff officers stood at attention.

"Everyone, it's about to begin."

Xu Zijing, who presided over the Military Commission, said this. But the four commanders simply brought a stool and sat at the back of the command post. The chairman took out a cigarette but put it back, Zhou Gong and Ren Peiguo ordered a cup of tea, Wang Jiaqiang pulled a bottle of Sprite from her bag, and General Zhu found coffee. This clearly indicated that we were only here to observe and would not participate in the actual command.

Seeing this, Xu Zijing didn't say anything else. He pressed the call button and connected to the communication channel of the front command.

"Attention, front command, attention, this is the Central Military Commission Command Room—third time check, begin." "Third time check, begin."

In an instant, all the staff officers, commanders at all levels, radio operators, and automated soldiers looked down at their watches. Electronic watches, mechanical watches, stopwatches.

Timer and even alarm clock, at this moment according to the canteen host in the absolute essence of the latest * book * group QQ 49643 * 1898

The exact time was uniformly calibrated to the time of the East Eighth District. From Fushe, to Northwest Shanxi, Jinsui, and even the Yikezhao League, countless positions ready for departure felt like a spring was winding up inside them.

The Chairman also checked his watch. On the massive projector before him, a digital map of the entire Suiyuan region was playing. In the upper right corner, a number, accurate to the tenth of a second, kept ticking. The next moment, strange location markers began to appear across the map. Strings of data cascaded down the screens on either side, but were quickly condensed and consolidated, leaving only a few abbreviated code names. "51st Division of the Jinsui Field Army."

“西北野战军机动兵团，教导1师2旅甲。”“炮纵榴炮1团-122-M30。”

Markers began to increase rapidly, covering the southern edge of the battlefield. Besides the red dots representing infantry units, some triangular units also turned from red to green—indicating they had deployed their formations and were ready to fire. "The battle begins!"

Chapter 469: A New War

战役开始前的9个半小时，1941年7月26日，夜间8点。

As the sun set below the horizon and darkness enveloped Lucheng, our army's starting position on the south bank of the Yellow River officially entered the countdown to battle.

This area was once the garrison of the puppet Mongolian Army's 4th Division, an outpost in Suiyuan Province's Lucheng River defense section. However, in early 1942, when our army entered Ikh Ju League during the Yili League Incident, the fugitive Mobile Corps, operating in vain, joined forces with Bai Jinlan's New 3rd Division, which was operating in the area, to surround and brutally defeat this puppet Mongolian division of only about 2000 men. After capturing 700 to 800 prisoners, the unit fled in panic across the frozen Yellow River and retreated into the Japanese protective circle.

Therefore, under the cover of night, they were able to ensure basic confidentiality of the operation - in such a heavily guarded place, more than a dozen heavily protected trucks drove into the center of a circular air-defense position - at this time, if Liu Helian was on the scene, he would definitely be able to quickly recognize that these vehicles were "Dongfeng Tianjin" from the supplier system.

This garbage compactor, shortened to meet urban transport standards, boasts 260 horsepower and a 6x2 layout. It's essentially a futuristic truck with a payload capacity of 15.8 tons. It's expensive and nearly impossible to maintain outside of the cafeteria's garage, making it a rare sight. Anyone who gets to carry this thing must be something special.

These mysterious trucks were painted black, and the garbage compression equipment behind them had long been dismantled. Instead, they were replaced with a winch wire crane made in a border area, carrying a pile of mysterious equipment covered with oilcloth and padded with shock-absorbing pads.

Soon, after the elite defense forces dispersed and the joint air defense forces surrounded the entire position, the soldiers on the trucks swiftly jumped out. They divided into three groups. One group operated the accompanying cranes and vehicles, began hammering anchor piles into the ground and assembling prefabricated steel structures. Another group drove fuel tankers and generator trucks to the perimeter and began setting up oil storage areas and ONW diesel generators—also from the future, weighing half a ton, and serving as emergency backup fire pumps for the cafeteria complex, used to power the firefighting system in the event of a power outage.

The last group of people lifted the cabinets one by one off the truck. These "automated soldiers", almost all of whom wore glasses, set up several strange devices that looked like mini TVs, and inserted the devices that looked like drawers and blades into the cabinets with welded brackets.

Finally, they connected this entire suite of futuristic equipment with cables of varying thicknesses and plugged it in. By this time, it was already around midnight on the 27th. "Command system framework, communications node station A, ready for commissioning!"

What will future wars look like?

Is it a rocket that can fire hundreds of kilometers away and accurately hit a ten-meter circle?