Canteen System Assistance Notes

The squad found a rock and spread out the map. The company commander and the artillery staff got two red and blue markers and simply marked the locations on the laminated map.

"Is there a battle in Lingqiu? The Japanese are marching. Should we rush over to reinforce them?"

"No, there hasn't been any news from there lately, and the Japs don't seem to be attacking." The captain recalled, "What are the Japs doing? Going out and wandering around? That shouldn't be the case!"

No one could figure it out, so they decided not to think about it. During this time, the reconnaissance team seemed to have found a hidden observation point, which was constantly reporting back the situation of the Japanese: first, two columns of Japanese soldiers, with a scale of several hundred people, marching in an orderly manner, followed by some baggage and baggage teams driving horse-drawn carriages. Occasionally, some truck teams would drive by.

The convoy carried some Japanese soldiers dragging a small cannon, or pulling a

Carrying boxes of ammunition.

"This enemy group is quite large... Captain, are we in danger?"

Don't worry. "The county brigade has been operating in this area for a long time and is very familiar with the geographical conditions," If we set up our battle formation on the flat ground, we will definitely not be the opponent. But what is this place? It is full of ditches and bumps, and the Japanese army can't get in at all. Don't look at us being only seven or eight miles away from the highway in a straight line," he compared on the map, "there is a mountain in the middle, and this mountain has several hilltops. How can the Japanese turn over in less than half an hour! "

"Wait, that place is just two mountain ridges away from us, right?" the artillery company commander interrupted the captain and asked. He squinted his eyes and looked at the map carefully. "The straight-line distance is only seven or eight miles. Less than 4 kilometers. The height of this mountain should be..."

"That's right, I'm familiar with that place. There's only one narrow road, the Jialing Highway, that can accommodate hundreds of people and artillery carriages. Even if they want to go somewhere else, they can't do that unless they abandon all their baggage!" "Staff, staff!" The artillery battalion commander seemed to have made a decision and shouted to everyone to come over, "Take out the calculators! Staff, gather here!"

--------

"It can be located. Just let the reconnaissance team and us see it visually."

"Let's choose this tree as the calibration point and establish a polar coordinate reference system..."

The staff officers engaged in a heated discussion, holding a "Mr. Deyi" and calculating rapidly on maps and manuscript paper. "Let's do it! Artillery battery, prepare to fire, begin deployment!"

At the command, the guerrilla fighters present only blinked an eye to see the group of "lazy" artillerymen jump up like rabbits, and then start unloading things from the carts and horses at a dazzling speed, tearing off the oilcloth, untying the ropes, and unloading the thick and long gun barrels and the large and flat seat plates.

Another group of people, armed with wooden poles and shovels, ran toward a clearing in the mountains. After a quick glance, they began digging up the loose dirt, placing the seat on top, and taking turns jumping onto it. "What...what are we doing?"

"First gun, ready!" "Second gun, ready!" ... "Artillery company, ready!"

In the blink of an eye, a 100-mm mortar with four guns was completed. The company commander looked at the watch in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.

The reflection of a mirror appeared on the top of the hill. The bamboo-tube-like artillery mirror turned and aimed at a red and white pole on the top of the hill - most of the people in the artillery reconnaissance squad carried this kind of calibration pole with them - and soon, two sets of numbers were quickly summarized to the staff team, and the clever "Mr. Deyi" quickly output the third set of numbers.

"Attention, all companies! Target 001, exposed personnel, grenade, instantaneous fuse, size 6 charge, 41-50 range, basic firing pattern. Four rounds, one shot, fire!"

Boom! The 100mm gun barrel erupted with a heavy muffled sound, which startled a flock of birds in the valley. The guerrillas present thought for a moment that there was a muffled thunder in the sunny sky! A stupid high-explosive bomb flew out of the gun barrel happily and crossed the ridge.

After a while, a voice came back.

"Stand still, fire to the right. 125 to the left, one test shot." "Stand still, base firing direction, 0-01 to the left, four shots, one shot, fire!"

—――——---

The explosion four kilometers away was barely audible, but that didn't stop the artillery battery from maneuvering. Following the command, they adjusted their firing parameters and unleashed another grenade. Finally, this time, it seemed to have hit the target. At the command to fire rapidly, the loaders and ammunition handlers shouted, cramming shell after shell into the muzzle, and opened fire at a burst rate.

For a moment, the valley roared like a hundred beasts. High-explosive shells, fired in groups of four at a rate of over 2 rounds per minute, created the impression of a massive artillery battery. Within three minutes, half the entire artillery barrage had been unleashed. They even paused for a moment to assess the damage and fine-tune the firing parameters.

"You guys just blew up the Japs seven or eight miles away? Were you bombing that group of Japs?"

"Oh, yes," the artillery company commander said with a smile to the captain, who had just recovered from his shock. "The reconnaissance team saw a Japanese soldier pointing and talking on the hilltop. He was wearing a khaki woolen uniform and guessed he was an officer, so they reported the coordinates and ordered us to fire. The comrades in Pingxi won't blame us for wasting these shells. They were bound to hit the Japanese sooner or later anyway, not in the next few days."

"With a cannon, many things will be easier. Now let's put the cannon away and go!"

"Well, comrades, come and help the artillery battery pack up!"

Then they just walked away as if nothing had happened, as if it was just a daily training exercise, just hitting an ordinary target.

As for afterwards...

The main force of the Red Army, gathering tens of thousands, seized Luanyuan County... Lieutenant General Abe personally commanded the front lines, fighting fearlessly and inspiring the Imperial warriors to advance courageously. As he reached the hilltop outside Luanyuan City, multiple enemy shells suddenly exploded near him, wounding Lieutenant General Abe in the abdomen and legs. Undeterred by his injuries, he cried out, "I implore you all to persevere in the fight." Then, bowing his head eastward, he uttered the words, "This is the duty of a warrior." Approximately three hours after his wound, the Lieutenant General died a heroic death... Our soldiers fought valiantly and ultimately succeeded in raising the Imperial flag atop Luanyuan City, completing an immortal feat to comfort the General's spirit...

- The Withering of the "Flower of Famous Generals" (Asahi Shimbun)

They are just shooting at random! He is just a Japanese officer. Is it worth wasting 160 shells on him? - Deng Duohua, Pingxi Base

Hmm? Wasn't the source the Japanese occupation? Who were the Japanese fighting against?

—A later war historian

Chapter 245: Change of Commander and Strategy

Comrade Deng Duohua did not know at first that the small hill where half of the artillery company's 100 shells were "wasted" was the temporary division headquarters of the 51st Division, and that the Japanese officers standing on the hill pointing and talking were the "flower of famous generals" Abe Nobuhide who was inspecting the troops' marching exercises.

Therefore, before the Japanese newspaper came out, the entire Pingxi base did not know that the two and a half minutes of firepower projection directly evaporated the 51st Division headquarters, which had just changed its commander. In addition to criticizing it, they gave the artillery companies a collective certificate of commendation.

Just as the Eighth Route Army had no idea how much impact their battle in southeastern Shanxi, which crushed the "Fragmented 3rd Route Key Offensive" and annihilated more than 10,000 Japanese troops, had on Japan, except for some semi-sages who knew the historical data, most of the Eighth Route Army's intelligence system just believed that the Japanese army had carried out a normal change of leadership in 1939.

The stupid general Sugiyama Gen, who was known as the "fool who stayed at the door", remained unmoved in the face of an unprecedented defeat. He was promoted to the chief of staff at the headquarters. Then, in order to fill the vacancy of the commander of the North China Front Army, the Japanese headquarters found a "non-historical" person.

He is one of the so-called "Glorious 16th Generation" and the mastermind behind the September 18th Incident, Seishirō Itagaki.

"It was because of these Eighth Route Red Army troops that the Hiranuma Cabinet fell in May."

As the outgoing Army Minister, Itagaki Seishirō had spent considerable time since writing his transfer order in June, packing his bags, handing over his duties, flying from Tokyo to Taipei, and finally handing over his command to the former North China Front Army. Now, he was the new commander of the North China Expeditionary Army.

Seishirō Itagaki sat in his office at the North China Expeditionary Army Headquarters, looking at the Western-style building that had once housed the Qing Navy and Duan Qirui's government. He sighed, "So, why is it? Such a huge hidden danger lies so close to the Imperial Army, yet why do I have so little information on the Eighth Route Army? And my strategy for dealing with the Red Army is still just a phonograph: endless, repetitive security raids?"

The information compiled by the staff officers was laid out on the table. Having previously served as chief of staff and intelligence officer, Itagaki immediately capitalized on his expertise in intelligence operations. He compiled all known intelligence reports from 37 to 39, laid them out in front of him, and studied them.

Well, the information available to the public right now is:

First of all, some units of the Eighth Route Red Army were very powerful and showed the ability to confront the Imperial Army head-on. They were well-equipped and had a high serviceability rate. They also had field artillery support with a long range (referring to the M1 mountain artillery), and even dared to engage in artillery battles with the Imperial Army.

However, in the report summary of a wider area, or the part that occupied the vast majority of the reports, the Eighth Route Red Army was still a typical Chinese army with poor equipment and lack of machine guns. Although they were cunning and often came out to harass and cause chaos, "only" the Imperial Army needed to deploy a squadron or more with infantry artillery weapons to successfully repel their attacks.

(Of course, the intelligence did not mention the need to deploy squadrons, which would lead to a sharp drop in the deployment rate.)

Secondly, the Eighth Route Red Army was unusually active in many provinces of North and Central China, preferring to infiltrate mountainous areas, hilly areas, and watersheds. Even the Central China Expeditionary Force received numerous similar reports. These infiltrated areas, like flesh infested with maggots, quickly degenerated into ulcerated regions of "poor public security," succumbing to the "Japan-China friendship."

Such incidents began 37 years later, starting in Shanxi Province and rapidly spreading to Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan, Anhui, and Hubei. However, due to their inability to permanently threaten the three important railways—the Jinpu, Pinghan, and Zhengtai lines—and the Japanese army's inability to conduct comprehensive mopping-up operations and security operations, those corrupted areas were now considered "no man's land" by the Imperial Army, and the situation within them remained unknown.

This situation also occurred in other areas controlled by the Eighth Route Army, especially west of the Yellow River, which was a black hole of intelligence for the Imperial Army. Itagaki quickly finished reading all the intelligence about the Eighth Route Army. Except for some specific equipment and tactical details that he could not understand, he felt that he had already reached a general conclusion, but he still lacked some supporting evidence.

correct!

He pressed the call bell on his desk and told the orderly who came in, "Have the Special Section prepare to send me a copy of the intelligence summary from the Preserved Fruit Army. Also, get Shirai here and prepare a car!"

Compared to the intelligence from the Eighth Route Army, which could be summarized in a few sheets of letter paper and a stack of reports, the information from the National Army was much more. If the newly appointed Commander Itagaki had to read it all, he would be exhausted to death.

Fortunately, the head of the Special Intelligence Section, Shirai Yukiyuki, was a very capable person. He and his intelligence officers quickly compiled the mountains of information on the National Army into a concise report and handed it over.

We called up this person in charge who had excellent business skills, drove to Wangfujing circle in the old city, found a restaurant called "Rihua Qinshan" and started drinking.

The owner of the restaurant was a Japanese, a secret agent of the Special Intelligence Branch, so he was very safe. Since it was all at the public expense, Itagaki Seishirō, a master of wine, ordered a bottle of Ginjo.

He ordered two plates of hand-held dishes and drank wine while reading the report.

"Shirai-san, please briefly tell us about the recent situation with the Yamashiro Preserved Fruit Army."

"Hey! Commander, your Excellency,"

Although Itagaki didn't put on the same airs as Sugiyama, the head of the Japanese military's North China intelligence department was still alert and answered the question with excellent professionalism: "Your Excellency, the recent movements of the Yamashiro Preserved Army are basically the same as before. The Preserved Army fled in panic before our offensive, their armor and weapons in disarray, unable to withstand our sharp attack..."

Since defeating the Nationalist Army at the Battle of Hongcheng, the Imperial Army had launched the Sui-Zao and Xiangbei Campaigns. Shirai Yukiyuki knew that compared to their previous unstoppable momentum, these two Imperial Army offensives had clearly lost momentum. While the Nationalist Army remained in the same position, their already defensive position, thanks to their ample manpower advantage, was increasingly causing trouble for the Imperial Army.

The muddy and difficult roads and increasingly stretched logistics routes are making it increasingly difficult for the advancing Imperial Army to advance. "Currently, Commander Okamura in Central China is directing his troops in the assault on Star City. It's a tough battle, and I wonder what will happen next."

"Where are the preserved fruit troops in North China?"

"In North China..." Shirai recalled, "except for the Zhongtiao Mountains in North China, where the First War Zone of Guoju is stationed, the Guoju guerrillas in North China have been almost completely wiped out by our army. Even the First War Zone, with its 15 troops, is under the close surveillance of the First Army and will not cause any trouble to our army."

The maid knocked on the door, apologized, and knelt into the Japanese-style room, bringing refills to the two. Itagaki Seishirō drank alone, flipped to a page in the report, and read it carefully: "So... the main enemy in North China is the Communist Army, the Eighth Route Army."

"Yes, I think so too. For the time being, we should strengthen public security and actively crack down on... " "No, that's not right. That's not right."

Itagaki Seishirō revealed a smug look, as if his subordinates' reactions perfectly matched his predictions. "You, this won't do. As a veteran in intelligence, you still don't understand the Communist Party well enough." "I must do my best to help you understand the situation in North China so that it will be easier for you to work in the future!"

He raised his glass, clinked it with Shirai's, and drank it all in one gulp.

"In North China, our main enemy is still the Nationalist Army!"

Chapter 246 Itagaki's Grand Strategy

"Why can the Red Army sweep across like fire?"

"Why can the Red Army undermine public order?"

"Why is the Red Army like weeds by the roadside, which grow back again after being cut?"

Shirai Yukiyuki's hair stood on end. Having been asked these three questions by his superior, he instinctively thought of an answer, raising the alarm. But soon, the self-questioning floor, Seishirō Gaki, offered his own answer. "Of course, the answer is support from evil!"

Um?

"Shirai-kun, think about it. The Red Army was just a small force being chased around by the Nationalist Army. Chiang's Central Army, with its instructors and advanced equipment, was a formidable force in Central and Southern China at the time. How could they not have completely wiped out the Communists?" Itagaki pinched a hand, dipped it in the soy sauce on the plate, and swallowed it. "How could our army, which had defeated the Nationalist Army and had won countless battles, be so severely wounded by such a weak Red Army?"

"I don't know. Please give me some advice, Commander." Shirai breathed a sigh of relief, pretended to be humble and eager to learn, and also drank a glass of wine.

"You must listen carefully."

Itagaki Seishirō came over, stretched out his hand, as if to block the possible ears of the wall, and whispered: "This must be the Yamashiro National Army continuously supporting the Eighth Route Red Army.

? ? ?

"Don't worry, Shirai-kun, I know what you mean." Itagaki laughed heartily, pleased with his subordinate's reaction. "You're wondering why the KMT and the CCP were fighting each other before, but now the KMT is supporting the CCP? Look!" He pointed to the intelligence manual on the table: "From Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai to Guanzhong in Shaanxi, our intelligence collaborators have reported so much trade information. It can be seen that a large amount of goods are being transported from the areas controlled by the Guopu people to the areas controlled by the Red Army every day! Look, timber, cloth, ore, pig iron, and even a lot of quilts. And the Red Army has also reciprocated the favor by exporting many consumer goods to the Guopu area. Look, there are clothes, salt, farm tools...

"What is this? Isn't this the best evidence that the KMT and the CCP have reunited to jointly resist rebellion? Since the Gaojing Incident, the two sides have not only been allies in form, but in reality, their cooperation has also increased even more!"

Ignoring the surprised expression on Shirai Yukiyuki's face, Itagaki Seishirō continued his outrageous rhetoric of the Showa era: "Furthermore, the cooperation between the KMT and the CCP has expanded the Yamashiro government's rule over a vast area. Previously, the Yamashiro government's jurisdiction was often limited to cities and transportation routes. Rural and remote areas were essentially anarchic, relying on the local daimyo for governance. But the Communist Party was able to infect the vast countryside, defeat the powerful and influential daimyo, and establish the Yamashiro government's authority and rule!"

He turned to the Special Section's intelligence entries in the Northwest, pointing out each one and emphasizing them.

"Look, establishing an armed transport fleet, defeating bandits, exploiting oil, bringing in aid from the Red Army, importing supplies from Britain, Japan, and livestock, setting up factories, and large-scale production... How could that original preserved fruit family have possibly accomplished this? It can be said that at this time in the Kingdom of Hua, the central government's authority and ability to govern the country reached their highest peak since 1912!"

The Communist Party's ideology falsely claims to represent farmers and workers, and naturally, developing industry and agriculture is its forte. Preserved fruits provide it with human and material support, and internationally invite foreign countries to come to China for aid, bolstering its combat capabilities. You see, the majority of the Red Army is still a general army that can only gather and become bandits. Although they have caused the deterioration of security in North China, they dare not engage in direct battle with our army. Those powerful forces, comparable to the main force of the Imperial Army, must be volunteer units organized by the Red Army, the British, the American devils, and other countries, modeled after the Sino-Bysinian War!

"This kind of volunteer force, armed with bare-metal weapons and filled with a large number of able-bodied peasants, is then provided with further training by the British and American invaders, and personally commanded by Japanese remnants serving as sergeants – how could it not be powerful?" Itagaki said excitedly. "The Nationalist Army in the south, relying on the difficult terrain and human wave tactics to hinder our offensive, is forced to remain on the defensive. However, the Communist Army in the north is the one capable of launching an offensive against the Imperial Army!"

"Thus, these main Communist forces, like the International Brigades in the Sino-Bysinian War, were the primary force that dared to resist our Imperial Army. It was precisely because of them that the Yamashiro government dared to continue its stalemate with the Imperial Army even after losing the core territory of North and Central China. The so-called KMT-CCP ​​conflict was nothing more than a win-win for both sides. The KMT and the CCP were like the two ends of an iron clamp, tightly clamping down on powerful local figures such as Yan Baichuan, Li Delin, Ma Zixiang, and Long Zhizhou, enabling them to mobilize all their forces to resist the Imperial State and cause trouble."

Panting heavily, Itagaki Seishirō, like a young man who had glimpsed the truth of the world, excitedly proclaimed his discovery. In his view, all the public confrontations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were perhaps a deceptive ploy. Behind the scenes, the two parties shared resources, leveraging each other's strengths, working hand-in-hand, and concentrating their efforts to hinder the Empire's shared prosperity.

"I see. I understand. Hearing the commander's words, my eyes sparkled like koi scales. I understood many things I hadn't understood before." Shirai Yukiyuki poured his superior a glass of wine and respectfully asked, "So, how should we deal with this situation?"

"Of course, I'll change my mindset. Since positive thinking doesn't work, what about counter-thinking?"

Itagaki glanced around and flipped back to the first page of the intelligence booklet, which contained a simple map. He circled the area of ​​North China: "At this point, if we continue to devote our forces to the endless crackdown on public security, it would be like trying to put out a fire with fuel, or feeding rats with rice; we will make no progress."

"It would be better to have the troops that caused the Imperial Army's defeat change their posture and fully defend the cities and railways. Then, accelerate the Independent Mixed Brigade's "Three-Unit Improvement Plan" to correct the structural issues that hinder our army. After that, we can ask returning soldiers to volunteer to stay on to replenish our forces and make up for the losses. We can also find experts in mountain warfare to form specialized raiding units to infiltrate the Red Army's base areas and inflict extensive damage, making it difficult for the Red Army to coordinate its operations and causing the main force to lose sight of one thing while focusing on another. This is the first method, the art of containing the Red Army."

"Secondly, our army should focus on eliminating the enemy here! This is divided into three steps: First, we should employ conciliatory tactics to divide the third force outside the KMT and the CCP—Yan's army! They are trapped between the KMT and the CCP, like tofu under a stone slab, and can only survive by staying close to the Imperial Army.

He tapped his fingers on the Jin Province, and pointed heavily at the mountains and rivers located north of the Yellow River.

"The third strategy is that after pinning down the Red Army and dividing Yan's forces, our army will gather its forces and bravely seize this place first, destroying the last of the First War Zone's forces in North China.

"If we can successfully defeat them, not only will our army secure food and socks, but we'll also be able to free up at least three divisions, destroying the Red Army's rear support in Shanxi Province, breaking one of the pincers in the KMT-CCP's pincer tactics and completely controlling Shanxi Province. Once we control Shanxi Province, we'll be able to free up another four divisions, allowing us to advance into Yiling, breach the Gorge, and capture the mountain city, completely ending the ZN incident and occupying the mainland!"

After all, Itagaki, known as a brilliant general, not only attacked Shanxi along the Inner Great Wall, rather than taking the normal railway route, but also boasted the "Itagaki Trifecta" of statements like "As long as Jiangcheng is captured, the ZN Incident will be over," "Although Jiangcheng has been captured, it's useless," and "Although Jiangcheng is useless, as long as Yangcheng is captured, the ZN Incident will be over." At this point, he seemed to have become irreversibly obsessed with the Showa era.

He continued his war fantasies with spit flying everywhere:

"Even if the headquarters has no intention of conquering the four directions by force, as long as we use this method, we can use the power of victory in the Shanxi Province war to promote negotiations and thus split the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

At the same time, diplomatic mediation was used to make Chilu, Yinggui Michu give up

By supporting the Communist Party and recognizing the Empire's interests in China, the situation in the Empire can be opened up.

"Once the KMT and the CCP fall out of balance, the KMT army will inevitably lose its combat effectiveness and panic will set in. Without a deep KMT-controlled territory to rely on for economic mobilization, the Red Army will naturally be unable to cause sustained damage to public security. At that time, the Imperial Army will be able to defeat them one by one. We will only be able to unite the forces of Japan, China, and Manchuria to jointly resist the communist crisis and restore the Yellow Race to a great East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere! Hahahaha!"

When the laughter finally stopped, Itagaki Seishirō waved his hand for Shirai Yukiyuki to come over and assigned him a task.

"Shirai-kun, you must take personal responsibility for these matters and do them well..."

----――-

A week later, Itagaki Seishirō's Strategic Concept for Showa 14-15 was successfully completed, becoming a kind of "strategic guidance" for the Japanese military. Around the third day, the report, after some twists and turns, appeared on the chairman's desk through a Japanese Communist Party intelligence officer present.

"Who taught history and geography to this Itagaki kid?"

The Chairman spent five minutes glancing over it, shook his head, and tossed the report aside. "If only all the imperialist China experts were this good!"

Chapter 247: The Road Ahead (1) Chemical Foundation

No matter how the new Japanese commander Seishirō Itagaki planned his new strategy, the construction of the border area was still on the predetermined track, proceeding in a manner of small steps and big jumps when encountering ditches.

Under the protection of the Eighth Route Army, in the vast border area north of the Guanzhong Plain and west of the Yellow River, as well as Huinong District, Shizuishan, and Wuda District, the border area saved a large amount of budget for investment with the support of the canteen, based on the laborers from Shanxi Province, the workers of the Jidong uprising, and the workers trained by the border area itself.

Finally, after nearly three years of hard work, although many key products still have to rely on imports, a "small but complete" industrial system has finally taken shape in the "7"-shaped area with Huinong and Fushi as the core, and a group of nearly 100,000 industrial workers has also begun to take shape.