Canteen System Assistance Notes

At the same time, Granny He also "pointed out" that this "bandit suppression operation" was only happening because the Eighth Route Army disobeyed orders and "ignored the overall situation." It's just that Guo Su was being generous.

Because we don't care about "such trivial matters", we will not pursue the matter.

Well, these words don't sound like something Granny He would say. He was just reading the order from beginning to end.

Of course, as a representative of the preserved fruit industry, this series of demands clearly reflects the opinions of a certain idiot: How could he possibly bow to the Communist Party like this?

As soon as he finished speaking, the Soviet consul sitting next to him stood up and cursed Sukabul. The British ambassador choked on his tea and coughed violently. This attitude is not like a negotiation at all. Mr. He, have you been chewed on the brain by a dog?

The next second, everyone turned their eyes to Zhou Gong who was sitting on the other side of the negotiation table.

Zhou Gong had no expression. He pressed down with his hands to steady Dong Xiancong and Ye Yiwei who were about to say something.

"We came here with the greatest sincerity, based on the principle of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. We hope that all parties can put aside their prejudices and properly handle the contradictions." Zhou Gong said slowly, without any emotion in his tone. "The Japanese invaders' iron hoofs are still wreaking havoc on Chinese soil. The primary responsibility of the Chinese people should naturally be to defend the land and fight the war, rather than to swing the butcher knife at their own comrades.

He continued to open the little black book, turned to the last page, and said slowly:

"We have always been peaceful and consider the future of our nation and country.

"But for those diehards who betrayed the nation, we don't mind letting them know the value of peace."

Chapter 285 Negotiation Aid

He Jingzhi and Grandma He's attitude is naturally the same as Mr. Jiang's attitude.

Just a few days ago, Chiang Kai-shek fled the palace in his pajamas and attempted to evacuate by car to Xianyang Airport. However, his subordinates urgently reported that the Eighth Route Army was already present at the airport, forcing the Junkers of Eurasia Airlines to take off prematurely. Then, they could only return to the city and stare at each other in dismay.

Fortunately, Secretary Xiong, under Hu Qinzhai's command, came up with a quick idea to borrow a car from the consul at the Gaojing Consulate. Chiang Kai-shek then dispatched his aide-de-camp, He Yaozu, to borrow the car, while Secretary Xiong searched for gasoline. Ultimately, the two, along with several trucks from Hu Qinzhai's headquarters, formed a convoy that transported Chiang Kai-shek out of the city and fled to Hanzhong overnight.

It is said that throughout the whole process, except for wearing a coat of Secretary Xiong, Chiang Kai-shek was wearing pajamas and shivering.

So, in this state, would Chiang Kai-shek still "repay the Eighth Route Army's sincerity with Qiong Yao"?

Of course not. Master of the art of classical imperial rule, Chiang Kai-shek, having ensured his own safety, immediately began recruiting outside support, like a player in the card-drawing game Fluorine Gold, hoping to draw the limited-time rare card he desired in the next 648 draw—mobilizing his troops and generals to fight the Eighth Route Army to the bitter end!

In short, it means "Help me up, I can still fight!"

It would only take a little time. Faced with the Eighth Route Army's sincere willingness to negotiate, Chiang Kai-shek had only the stalling tactic of "a gentleman's revenge is never too late" in his mind. He handed the warrant to He Jingzhi, instructing him to go to Gaojing and feign conciliation with the Eighth Route Army, first to buy time for troop deployments, then to break down the negotiations, thus making his "suppression of bandits" legitimate and just.

Unfortunately, this Minister of Military Affairs, who had once tried to force Chiang Kai-shek out of office and sought to resolve the "Haojing Incident" with violence, was not someone Kaishen could fully control. He had his own political and military teams and his own calculations - while the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman benefits. If the Communist Party and the old man fought to the death, wouldn't the one who benefited in the end be...

Therefore, He Jingzhi only followed half of Chiang Kai-shek's instructions: at the beginning of the negotiations, he directly recited Chiang Kai-shek's instructions.

"So, since Chiang Kai-shek is unbalanced, and Grandma He has some ulterior motives, that's why things are like this! This is fine, this is fine. He's given us a big gift, so why should we be polite to him? "It's a matter of curt favors, united front work, and unifying Chiang Kai-shek!"

Following the Chairman's half-joking words, the Eighth Route Army, which had rested for a few days, began to take action on various battlefields.

-------one

The first to move were Dong Shaozhong's troops on the battlefield in Ning Province.

In the previous battle, when they crushed Ma Shaoyun's main cavalry, Dong Shaozhong's troops hadn't even deployed much of their main force, instead relying on Xiao Wuyi from the infrastructure corps. Although this former Iron Flow defender of the Red Army was accustomed to defensive warfare, his tactical command abilities had greatly improved after completing a short training course in combat tactics in the Soviet Union.

He took out three regiments of troops and prepared to test the defense of Xingqing City. Since 1947, Ma Shaoyun followed Chiang Kai-shek's instructions and built many earthen and brick artillery towers and dry-walled "city walls" here, layer upon layer, extending from outside the city to the Yellow River, hoping that these things, which were similar to the Okamura artillery towers in this time and space, could block the Eighth Route Army's offensive.

"If we're going to fight an offensive, let's start with a round of artillery preparation and hit a base number first." Dong Shaozhong instructed the staff to formulate a firepower plan, "Well, forget it, let's hit half a base number first to see the effect - I haven't fired so many shells before!" Then, 12 M1 mountain guns and two divisional artillery companies aimed at the targets that they had simulated shooting countless times in their daily lives, and threw 360 grenades.

Without a force ten times their own, without a depleted army, without food and clothing, and without the ferocious enemy cavalry, the artillery, even without delay fuses, blasted the earthen artillery tower that Ma Shaowen had built for three years to pieces with ordinary instantaneous grenades. The flying yellow soldiers returned to their most basic state, along with the remaining weapons and ammunition inside. As for the men, there were few. Even Ma Shaowen's direct troops from the 168th Infantry Division were unable to suppress the fleeing men—they automatically disintegrated and fled en masse at the first shell's impact.

After the outer city walls' "blockhouses" were easily taken, Lu Zhongliang, acting commander of the 168th Division, left to defend the city, didn't even have a chance to unleash his "Y Militia" assault tactics before the Eighth Route Army, charging in with the smoke and dust, completely defeated them. The assault regiment, focused on automatic firepower, supported by mortars and recoilless rifles, charged onto the city walls with a fierce barrage of 7-8 submachine guns per squad. They set up machine guns and covered the artillery observation team as they ascended to the Haibao Pagoda in the north of the city: the commanding heights of Xingqing, offering a commanding view of the entire city.

Of course, it is also easy to calibrate artillery fire.

From then on, the Kuomintang troops who were still resisting in the city found that artillery shells began to fall accurately on their heads, and there seemed to be endless gunshots and explosions around them - the little resistance they had was gone like the northwest wind in March.

With the subsequent troops' breakthrough, the entire battle to capture Xingqing City, including street fighting, ended in just over a dozen hours.

The second group to rise was the railway guard team on the northwest passage.

According to Chiang Kai-shek's prior plan, during the February Incident, Ma Zixiang in Gansu Province needed to cooperate with the National Army's Tao Jichang's security team to intercept the Eighth Route Army's transport team, block the northwest passage, and cut off the Eighth Route Army's external aid channels.

However, Commander Tao, who had arrived after Hu Qinzhai's troops were seized upon, was not impressed by this strategy and was largely passive. Furthermore, all the Eighth Route Army convoys were escorted by Soviet soldiers, who were also extremely powerful, making them a tough and stubborn opponent, making it difficult for the Ma family army to attack them. After several fruitless attempts, the matter was shelved.

But they probably never dreamed that even though they had voluntarily given up blocking the enemy, the Eighth Route Army would still take the initiative to attack.

On the very day the negotiations broke down, the Eighth Transport Regiment of the Railway Protection Team, transporting supplies from east to west back to Xinjiang Province, received information from a reconnaissance team. They discovered that on the road east of Mark 77 in the Ganzhou (Gan G) section, a small group of bandits had stopped a camel caravan and were robbing and killing people from the Northwest Transport Office.

The reconnaissance team approached stealthily and killed them—a single blow. While examining the bodies, they discovered that these scoundrels were from the 10th Brigade, 30th Division, of Han Yushan's local army, as well as members of the Northwest Transportation Office. If they couldn't rob the Eighth Route Army, they couldn't rob the regular transport teams; if they couldn't find the regular transport teams, they couldn't find the Transportation Office's own transport teams.

After lamenting the bizarre world of the Republic of China, the Eighth Transport Regiment passed the information back to the Railway Protection Army Command. Soon, they received a reply - the reply briefly described the current situation of the breakdown of the negotiations in Gaojing, and asked the Eighth Transport Regiment to wait for the Twelfth Transport Regiment that was returning to Guanzhong from Xinjiang Province.

At that time, the command center required the two regiments to work together, advancing from east to west, striking directly at Huanglong, and eliminating this cancer entrenched in the northwest passage. As the direct troops of the "King of Ganzhou", this brutal ruler, born a chef, sent most of his troops to the Qilian Mountains to cut down trees and resell timber. Now they are committing crimes in the streets and robbing merchants and travelers. This is intolerable!

So, two motor transport regiments with about 1600 people and firepower exceeding that of two regiments of the National Army took a detour on their daily transportation route to uphold justice.

With the coordination of the radio station, a group of elite guard soldiers were separated from two convoys stretching for several kilometers. They spent several hours to defeat the 300th Brigade troops left behind in Ganzhou, beheaded its brigade headquarters, and in the chaos, sent Han Yushan to death before he had time to react.

The last wave to rise was the First Provisional Field Army of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region outside the city of Haojing.

This makeshift unit, composed of a mix of training regiments from various major military regions and border garrison regiments, waited patiently for orders. The commanders glanced at their watches, waiting for the moment to strike. The second hand or the numbers ticked slowly, and at a certain moment, a series of orders were transmitted via radio to every terminal.

Someone raised a red flag and blew a long whistle:

"Alright, everyone, shoot—ready!"

Chapter 286: Reality Aid

At this moment, around the turbulent Haojing, the Kuomintang troops were following Chiang Kai-shek's orders, leaving their respective bases and moving towards the Guanzhong Plain.

First, the 31st Group Army, bringing with them instructors and students from the Huangpu Military Academy, formed an officer corps and, along with the cavalry and reinforcements from the Tianshui Camp, were sent to garrison in the Longxi area to prevent the Eighth Route Army from advancing westward toward Jincheng. Second, the 83rd Division of the First War Zone, under the orders of President Chiang Kai-shek, withdrew from the front line of confrontation with the Japanese and stationed in the Taolinsai area to prevent the Eighth Route Army from advancing eastward toward the ancient capital of Luoyang.

Again, the remaining parts of the 1st Division of the 1st Army that had not yet been surrounded by the Eighth Route Army joined forces with the remaining Shaanxi Security Brigade to deploy defenses along the Xi-Han Highway where Chiang Kai-shek fled, to prevent the Eighth Route Army from advancing directly, and also built a "Capture Chiang Pavilion" in Hanzhong.

Then, ignoring the need to fight against Japan, the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army, one of the four major Soviet-equipped attack armies of the National Army, which was defending the Three Gorges area, directly left its defense zone and moved northward toward the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway, ready to deploy at any time to fight the "main force" of the Eighth Route Army.

After all, in Chiang Kai-shek's eyes, if these five Eighth Route Army divisions marched south and attacked the temporary capital, their speed would likely be even faster than the Japanese 11th Army's advance into the Sichuan-Chongqing Basin. Whether these troops would have been effective if deployed in full was unknown, but at least it would have given Chiang Kai-shek, already terrified and extremely uneasy, a sense of self-confidence to maintain his composure and provide him with bargaining chips; or perhaps it was a delaying tactic to accumulate strength for the next offensive.

Of course, now that Granny He had stabbed Chiang Kai-shek in the back with her "selective execution of orders," our army must certainly seize this free opportunity to take advantage of the time difference. In this chaotic and turbulent chess game, the Chairman quickly grasped a key point.

Over there is the city of Haojing itself—the core of the Guanzhong Basin, the gateway to the northwest passage, a fortress on the northern side of the Sichuan-Chongqing Basin, and for thousands of years the only route for armies attacking the Sichuan-Chongqing Basin. Chiang Kai-shek, you can "trade space for time" against the Japanese invaders. But would you be willing to give up this city to the Eighth Route Army?

Relying on the Xiyan Highway and mobile transport teams in the border areas, the Eighth Route Army's logistics were exceptionally smooth. Twelve highly successful 25-pounders, along with two batteries of twelve M1 mountain guns, were deployed at three artillery positions. They opened fire in unison, following a unified radio schedule, suppressing the Nationalist firepower from the east, west, and north, both outside the city walls and from the city walls.

After the anti-artillery suppression operation was carried out in advance through observation aircraft, the Kuomintang's few Soviet-made M1902 field guns and Bofors M1922 mountain guns, which could not disguise their artillery positions, were disarmed by the Eighth Route Army's 25-pounders. As a result, our army's artillery could almost fire at the Kuomintang's foreheads with extremely high accuracy.

After 30 minutes of artillery preparation, the Nationalist positions were already filled with smoke and pits. The fortifications built by the Nationalist army by demolishing residential buildings outside the city could not withstand the firepower test, and more than half of the firing points and support points had been eliminated by the artillery. Then, considering the residents and historical sites within the city, the Eighth Route Army's barreled artillery was discontinued, and mortars assigned to various levels began to take over the barrage. Under the combined firepower of the 60, 82, and 100mm mortars, which were praised for their flexibility, the field army soldiers, who were originally assigned to various military regions to serve as field army instructors, followed the bombing points and slowly advanced at a distance of 150 meters. After the artillery fire ceased, they swiftly launched a charge, beginning the classic "100-meter real kung fu."

Light machine guns followed, submachine guns charged, and grenades accompanied the advance. Each squad and platoon formed three fire teams, assigned to assault, support, and command, alternating between covering the advance. This classic light infantry tactic, born in the era of the Red Army, matured during the Liberation War, and evolved during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, transcended time and space, unfolding outside the city of Ho-kyung in March 1940.

While they couldn't launch charges to the terrifying distance of just 75 meters from the impact point like their successors in another dimension, nor could they rely solely on intuition and tacit understanding to automatically coordinate tactics with neighboring forces, their more robust automatic firepower, direct-fire artillery, and more comprehensive communication and command methods compensated for this shortcoming. Outside this ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, the first generation of field soldiers in this dimension increased the intensity of firepower on the front lines to a suffocating level.

Any KMT machine gun position that opened fire would barely survive 20 seconds before being attacked by the Turtle Fist, the 82mm recoilless rifle, or the 82mm high- and low-pressure infantry guns. Immediately afterwards, the group of Eighth Route Army warriors wearing helmets and holding submachine guns would leap up from the ground and continue the attack!

In 10 minutes, the field armies on the east and west sides first broke through the positions of the National Army's Security Brigade. In 15 minutes, the First Army at the north gate abandoned its position and turned around and fled. In 40 minutes, the positions outside the entire Haojing were basically cleared, and a commando team climbed onto the top of the city wall. 50 minutes later, our army's engineering detachment began to follow up and climbed onto the city wall.

According to some strange blueprints, they slowly drilled holes in the Yuxiang Gate, Anyuan Gate, and Zhongshan Gate on the east, west, and south sides of Haojing City, and installed at least 300 kilograms of inline charges in each. Then, the Eighth Route Army quietly withdrew from the city walls and detonated the explosives.

The inline charge, with a charge similar to that of a one-ton aerial bomb, exploded with a loud bang due to the effect of drilling and blasting.

Three sparse clouds of dust suddenly rose from the walls of Xi'an, and everyone within the city could hear a roar like a series of thunderclaps, and even feel the ground tremble slightly. The walls of Haojing were very strong, but at the weak link of the gate, even an attack far beyond its time would not withstand it.

The three city gate towers had basically collapsed. Even a city gate as solid as Anyuan Gate had collapsed in half, forming a slope that could be used for a charge.

The Eighth Route Army had no time to fight street battles with the National Army, and they were not even very interested in the city of Haojing itself. Anyway, if these three city gates were not blown up during the war between warlords,

If it had not been burned down during the revolutionary war in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China,

It was newly opened during the Republic of China era. The Eighth Route Army wanted to send a clear and unambiguous signal to Mr. Hu Qinzhai in the city and Mr. Jiang who was hiding somewhere in Hanzhong:

If you are willing to fight against Japan together, then there is still room for discussion. But if you still want to start an anti-communist civil war, then there is only one way out, and that is death.

I'm going to destroy your city right now, it's like a piece of cake!

As expected, after the wall was blown up, our army's radio unit intercepted a telegram that was utterly terrifying:

Outside the city, hundreds of thousands of Communist bandits have gathered, armed with hundreds of cannons, perhaps dozens of them with twenty-year-old cannons. Their bombardment continues throughout the night, shaking the earth. Our soldiers and civilians are united in their resolve, determined to resist the bandits and fight to the death! However, the Communists are numerous and powerful, and their blockade is tight. They might even divert the waters of the Wei River into the city, turning Haojing into a swamp. Currently, only a few Communist bandits remain outside the Suzaku and Yongning Gates on the south side. The remaining bandits will protect various Haojing institutions and escape at night...

Then, the city of Haojing fell into chaos: the remnants of the First Army who had fled into the city rampaged in the city, smashing into pieces the Shaanxi Provincial Government, the Provincial Security Bureau, the Haojing Municipal Government, the military, police, and special forces that were preparing to leave. The three extremely stimulating thunderclaps that suddenly struck the city also multiplied the fear of everyone in the city, triggering an irreversible rout.

The Eighth Route Army split into two groups: one group entered the city, took over the city defense and maintained order; the other group circled to the southern part of Haojing, and like catching rabbits in the wild, they "knocked out" the military and political units of the Nationalist Army that rushed out of the city one by one, disarmed them, and centralized their management without even firing a shot.

At this point, Haojing City, the capital of Shaanxi Province and the location of the Haojing camp, did not last more than a day and a half.

Under such guidance of "earnest words" and "persuading people with reason", when Duke Zhou once again led the delegation to the negotiation site in Haojing City, the solemn and murderous aura of gunpowder on him was replaced by a relaxed and contented attitude, as well as his unchanging demeanor and elegance.

Now, can we finally sit down and have a good talk?

Chapter 287 Final Negotiations (Part 2)

"Welcome back, General He."

"Oh! Welcome, welcome, welcome, Mr. Zhou, Director Zhou..."

Grandma He was sent back from the south of Haojing City by the Eighth Route Army and took a car to Gao Guizi's mansion. Due to the power outage caused by the shelling and some strange coincidences, the negotiation location was moved to the place where Chiang Kai-shek was once imprisoned.

Unfortunately, the Eighth Route Army hasn't yet assembled a million-strong army, nor does it have the vast liberated areas it had after the Liaoshen Campaign in the historical mode to rely on. The Anti-Japanese War hasn't ended yet, and the Eighth Route Army doesn't have the ability to sweep across the Southwest in the midst of war and quickly establish an alternative governance system. Therefore, negotiation remains the preferred option.

only.......

For example, you place an order with A Bie somewhere in the future, and then you are rejected on the grounds that the price is too high. However, other European and American countries that can produce the same goods not only have similar quality but also higher prices, and they also come with a bunch of political conditions. You can only come back to A Bie again - then, even A Bie, who is known for his friendliness, will raise the price for you.

Therefore, with no way to retreat, Grandma He was ready to be slaughtered.

-------one

"Director Zhou, to be honest, the principal is in a state of turmoil," He Jingzhi said as soon as he sat down, his face grimacing and his emotions playing the role. "He's dropped several porcelain teapots and even broke his walking stick. He's probably still mad about it. He even refused to eat his usual favorite crispy potatoes."

Granny He didn't have many cards left in her pocket, but she didn't care. After all, the Vice Chairman Zhou in front of her was the director of the political department of Huangpu, and they were colleagues.

The surrounding troops were still seven or eight days away, but the Eighth Route Army had already taken military control of Haojing, the most important city in the Guanzhong Plain. Seeing this ancient capital of thirteen dynasties fall into the hands of the Red Clan, Chiang Kai-shek's IQ evaporated to zero: "Stop talking. There are so many cities in our great Republic of China, and not a single one can be surrendered to the Communists!"

No matter what, the Eighth Route Army must return this city to me!

Of course, Ma Ziwen ostentatiously ignored the fact that Xingqing Prefecture, another provincial capital, was also captured by the Eighth Route Army: it belonged to the warlords anyway, so it didn't matter if it was lost.

He Jingzhi hadn't previously had this attitude. He had assumed that Zhou Gong's overall vision was merely a bluff, a scheme to let the Eighth Route Army and Chiang Kai-shek fight each other, leaving both sides devastated, and then he would step in to clean up the mess. But now the Eighth Route Army had indeed "fought" with Chiang Kai-shek again, responding to his blunt ultimatum—a response that had, in effect, led to the capture of the capital, Haojing!

This kind of response, which was to do it immediately and decisively, reminded him of the negotiations with Umezu Yoshijiro: If the Japanese at that time were like holding the sausage on the negotiation table, slicing it bit by bit with a small knife and threatening him inch by inch, then the Eighth Route Army was drawing a red line. If he crossed the line, they would immediately chop down his hand with a bone-cutting knife with a bang.

This style made him very uncomfortable, and he interpreted the elegant and graceful smile of Zhou Gong in front of him as a fox-like, cunning and sinister expression.

"General, why are you so nervous? Our attitude has always been very clear." Zhou Gong still had that calm expression. He folded his hands and looked sincere. He was just short of wearing gloves and supporting his head with his hands. "No matter whether it is the 12th year of the Republic of China or the 26th year of the Republic of China, no matter whether our main enemy is the old warlords or Japanese imperialism, we must establish a united front and face the outside world with one voice.

Unfortunately, your Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek often seems to disagree with this principle. Every time he convenes a meeting, he resorts to clichés about limiting, dissolving, and opposing the Communist Party, insisting on eliminating us as soon as possible. If you truly believe in opposing the Communist Party and saving the nation, you shouldn't go to the temporary capital. Instead, return directly to Nanjing and reunite with Chairman Wang.

He emphasized:

"I hope General He can do more to benefit the war of resistance and not stand against the people."

Zhou Gong's demands remained largely unchanged: formal autonomy for the border regions, equal distribution of transportation capacity along the Northwest Corridor, unimpeded access to foreign exchanges, and formal recognition. The core of these demands was a "status," something that would elevate the Eighth Route Army and the Communist Party to the status of legitimate political parties. Of course, Chiang Kai-shek would never publicly acknowledge the Communist Party's legal existence, and could only acknowledge it in a 'substantial' manner.

Secondly, Zhou Gong added the right for the Eighth Route Army to freely move and circulate within the Guanzhong Defense Zone, the Northwest Passage, and Xinjiang Province, all within the existing control zone. This effectively legitimized the Northwest Railway Protection Army, eliminating the need to call itself a "security team." It also ensured the smooth flow of entry and exit routes for the Eighth Route Army, facilitating their formal entry into Guanzhong, Ning Province, and other areas.

Finally, Zhou Gong still insisted on the demand that the "individual reactionary and diehard bandit leaders" must be punished. Compared with the last time when they were more lenient, the Central Committee was more serious in this characterization issue - President Kong, Hu Qinzhai, Ma Shaowen, Sun Cuiya and even Yan Laohe'er, no one can be left out and all must be punished.

In addition, the two sides also agreed that Gaojing City would be a "peaceful city" and that a person acceptable to both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party would be replaced in power. After that, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party would each withdraw from the city, leaving only the police to maintain public order - this was probably to take care of Chiang Kai-shek's "sleep quality."

It appears that this was a friendly exchange between the two sides, ultimately leading to an agreement. Zhou Gong and He Po Po quickly issued a telegram in the presence of the British and Soviet consuls, announcing the end of the incident. They stated that "serious misunderstandings had occurred between the two sides during the incident," but that these misunderstandings had now been resolved through effective communication. The two sides had "enhanced communication" and had decided to continue cooperating in the fight against Japan and expel the Japanese invaders under the guidance of the Anti-Japanese Democratic United Front.

Afterwards, the two sides will disengage from each other, repatriate prisoners of war, and then begin to punish the culprits who caused this "misunderstanding."

At first glance, the Eighth Route Army, as the victors, only gained an equal opportunity and reputation in this process, which seems to be a bit of a loss. But what is the reality?

The Eighth Route Army in Ning Province had already reached Qingtongxia, virtually annihilating Ma Ziwen's forces and formally occupying the entire Ning Province plain, driving out Ma Ziwen, the local military leader. On the plains of Saishang and Jiangnan, the Eighth Route Army secured a virtually completely secure mining base, industrial rear base, and agricultural base, allowing them to continue their powerful growth potential in industrial development and modernization.

The Eighth Route Army in Guanzhong had already secured the Xianyang-Qianxian-Binxian line, taking over Haojing and annihilating two Shaanxi Province security brigades. Although they later withdrew their main forces from Haojing to save Chiang Kai-shek's reputation, the old military and police system within the city had already collapsed, and the new security force would clearly be led by the Eighth Route Army. Even without mentioning communism, it's likely that the new Haojing military and police would soon adopt the title of "Public Security" and hold Party committee meetings.

The Eighth Route Railway Protection Army in the Northwest Passage has completely uprooted the forces of Han Yushan, the notorious "King of Ganzhou," eliminating a major source of instability in the region. Simultaneously, the Railway Protection Army finally regained its name, no longer needing to call itself the "Security Team." Together with Tao Jichang, the local garrison, our army will officially control a vast area stretching from Liangzhou (Ganzhou) in the east to Guazhou in the west. This way, whether turning back towards Jincheng or continuing westward to counter the future defection of some unscrupulous individual to Chiang Kai-shek, the Eighth Route Army will have a solid foothold.

The equal channels of economic exchange and the right to move unimpeded in Guanzhong, the Northwest region, and Shanxi Province will open the door to the increasingly powerful economic infiltration of the Eighth Route Army. The "red capital" that spreads along with northern goods and the four commercial systems will carry the same hidden, dangerous and tempting red ghost, hovering over the entire Northwest during the War of Resistance.

However, everything has its ups and downs. In addition to the "actual occupation" that our army gave up in order to save Chiang Kai-shek's face, Yan Baichuan's betrayal of the New Army and our army led to a loophole in the defense of southern Shanxi, which was exploited by the lone Japanese 35th Division.

The 35th Division, advancing rapidly through the Changzhi Basin, pierced the Nationalist defenses and captured the Shangdang area. They annihilated the Sichuan Army there and captured their fortifications. This move significantly worsened the situation for our army in southern Shanxi. The connection between the Taihang and Taiyue bases (historically separate) was compressed into a dumbbell-shaped section with only a few dozen kilometers of connecting passages, significantly straining our forces and slowing the construction of the bases.

At the same time, due to direct clashes with the Nationalist army, all our Party offices in southern provinces and cities, with the exception of the Shancheng office, were forced to evacuate early or go underground to protect themselves. After being dealt a heavy blow, it was clear that the Nationalist army would find it difficult to provoke another full-scale encirclement and suppression campaign, but they were likely to resort to covert tactics.

After all, in the Republic of China, negotiations were often used to protect against the good guys, not the bad guys. Only a "contract" backed by food, guns, and violence could truly give power to agreements and communications.

Chapter 288 After the Incident (1) Zhao Shitou is...