Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chapter 260: Be brave! Guanghua Cigarette Factory, the Third and Fifth Regiments are attacking on all fronts! (Subscribe)

"But, Commander Yan."

Yan Laoxi waved his hand to interrupt Sun Cuiya's probing and explained, "Cuiya, you are overthinking."

"Yunfei is from Wutai after all. There is a guard commander between southeastern Shanxi and Linfen. It is understandable that Yunfei wants to rely on Chiang Kai-shek and foreign aid to continue fighting the Japanese and move closer to Shancheng."

"You don't know how difficult it is for Yun Fei right now. He has built up a team with his own hands, but now he has only a few people left?"

Sun Cuiya was silent.

Chu Yunfei has no selfish motives, and the soldiers under his command are not afraid of fighting.

It is also because of this that some people sacrificed and some were promoted.

But, how many of the original 358th Regiment are left?
Yan Laoxi sighed heavily: "Cui Ya, you know that too."

"Mr. Jiang is not a broad-minded person. Even if Yun Fei took the initiative to propose to set up a supervisor in the team, Dai Yunong still mixed a lot of sand in his troops."

"Let's not talk about the officers of the Whampoa Military Academy for now. It's normal for Yun Fei to use his classmates. After all, they are staunch revolutionary soldiers."

"But what do you think Jiang Gong meant by this Military Control Commission?"

Sun Cuiya: "The Chairman is not on guard against Chu Yunfei, but you, Chief Yan."

Yan Laoxi looked at Sun Cuiya with admiration in his eyes. He slowly stood up from his desk and walked in front of Sun Cuiya: "That's a good point."

"In the face of national crisis, many people's so-called loyalty is actually mixed with water. Even if it is you and me, whether we are willing to work for Jiang Gong and sacrifice for the nation and the country is questionable, but Yun Fei will not."

Sun Cuiya also fell silent.

Before the war, Yan Laoxi's only thought was to sell out the country to protect Shanxi.

It's still warlord thinking.

The generals under his command also supported this.

Even if they did not support it, no one dared to openly go against Yan Laoxi's ideas.

The three words "King of Shanxi" still have great value in the Shanxi area.

"Yun Fei wants to grow tobacco in Yuncheng."

"Quwo..." Sun Cuiya didn't have time to say anything.

Yan Laoxi raised his hand to interrupt and said, "I was thinking about this before you came. I also talked to Director Li about this. The sun-dried yellow tobacco in Quwo is from Luzon seeds, which are not suitable for cigarettes. They can only be used as dry tobacco. They cannot be sold at a high price and are not easy to supply to the team."

"In war, you have to put your head on the line and fight. If the army needs this, we have to supply it."

"Yun Fei heard from somewhere that American tobacco seeds have now entered China in large quantities, and that they have already been planted in Yunnan. It is said that the benefits are quite good. Cui Ya, I'll leave this matter to you. Please go to Shancheng on my behalf in the name of this matter. After you go to Yunnan..."

"Yes!" Sun Cuiya nodded.

It was indeed Chu Yunfei who brought up the matter.

There is no other way.

At this point in time, Quwo was not out of American tobacco seeds.

Even large-scale planting has begun.

It’s just that Old Man Yan wanted to send Sun Cuiya out under this name.

In Chu Yunfei's impression, the profit of cigarettes during this period was quite good and they could also be grown in Shanxi.

He doesn't know much about this aspect, but he has read some articles.

Slightly impressed.

Regarding tobacco, the Nationalist government has a corresponding monopoly policy.

There is a saying that a pack of ten-dollar cigarettes costs eight-dollar tax.

This tax was the main source of income for the Nationalist government after the Japanese invasion of China.

Prior to this, domestically produced cigarettes had been suppressed a lot due to the influence of foreign capital in the country.

Among them is the evil deeds of Kong Yongzhi.

Now, according to the consensus reached by Chu Yunfei and Kong Yongzhi.

He agreed that Chu Yunfei would keep 80% of the taxes and the remaining 20%.

It will be divided 50-50, with 70% going into the public treasury and 30% going into Finance Minister Kong's American account.

On the surface, he will issue relevant laws after he returns.

Allowing civilians behind enemy lines to spontaneously produce cigarettes to supply the army was actually providing convenience for Chu Yunfei.

In other words.

Ninety-five percent of this money will remain in southeastern Shanxi to help local development.

The reason why Kong Yongzhi agreed was not just because he made a lot of money from the arms sales contract.

This is also because the Shanxi Republic of China region during this period did not have any competitive cigarette factories.

By the time the tobacco industry in southeastern Shanxi was established, it was unclear when the war would end.

When the Quwo tobacco workshop was booming.

It’s not that Yan Laoxi didn’t use Jinhua Tobacco Company to crack down on Quwo’s dry tobacco industry.

As for why Yan Laoxi agreed now.

That’s also because the production capacity of his cigarette factory, Shanxi Jinhua Cigarette Factory, has never been restored after the evacuation.

Even if Chu Yunfei didn't mention it.

He also has to start the integration of Quwo's ​​tobacco industry.
Sun Cuiya sighed silently in his heart.

I have already guessed what Yan Laoxi is thinking.

Chu Yunfei is so young, capable, and selfless.

As for Fu Zuoyi, a member of the younger generation of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, he was no longer young at this time.

If an industry as lucrative as tobacco is allowed to go ahead and do it boldly by Chu Yunfei, what else is there to say?

I just hope that the future changes will be smoother.

Let’s talk about the Shota frontline battlefield.

This is the 2nd Infantry Regiment.

Under the command of Xue Jie.

All units of the 2nd Infantry Regiment participated in the battle according to the planned combat plan.

After eliminating the Japanese army's Changzhuang stronghold, two more Japanese strongholds were eliminated in succession.

In the three strongholds, a total of 630 Japanese and puppet troops were wiped out.

Among them, 485 Japanese soldiers were all killed and no prisoners were taken.

The puppet army captured 83 people, and the rest died in the battle.

Although the battle went smoothly, the 2nd Infantry Regiment suffered heavy casualties.

Although the training of the recruits is good, they cannot withstand the tough battle.

Including Liu Wang's troops who launched a diversionary attack, and the casualties from previous harassment operations.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment suffered a total of more than 430 casualties, including 280 deaths.

The quantity of seized materials still needs further statistics.

However, all the companies of the 2nd Infantry Regiment participated in this combat operation.

It can be said that the rotation objectives set before the war were successfully completed.

As for the subsequent replenishment of troops.

The main force will be veterans who have recovered from injuries and returned to the team, and this kind of supplementation will be used to ensure the combat effectiveness of the Second Regiment.

In the blink of an eye, another day passed.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment has also basically completed the statistics of captured and consumed items.

"Reporting to Commander Chu, we have seized a total of 187 Type 38 rifles, seven Type 92 heavy machine guns, and four grenade launchers from the Japanese army."

"A certain amount of ammunition, estimated to be around tens of thousands, not a lot. Fifteen boxes of grenades, and about three hundred grenade launcher grenades."

"The puppet army has many types of equipment, but generally speaking, they are of the same caliber, mainly Liao 13, which should be captured from the Northeast Army. There are also two Czech machine guns and about ten boxes of wooden-handled grenades."

Chu Yunfei nodded.

Xue Jie then reported the losses: "Currently, the main consumption is the shells of the Type 92 Infantry Gun. A total of 430 rounds have been consumed. We were not able to capture any in this battle. Our regiment only has less than 100 rounds left."

"The consumption of 6.5mm rifle bullets was not small, about 180,000 rounds, and there were about 700 to 800 grenades and 13 explosive packs."

Chu Yunfei nodded: "The consumption is not too much, so we will retreat and reorganize according to the original battle plan."

"Yes!"

The 2nd Infantry Regiment retreated.

Chu Yunfei returned to Changzhi area first and began to supervise the work related to the integration of the tobacco industry.

Quwo is in the area controlled by Yan Laoxi, so Chu Yunfei naturally would not send people to Quwo to integrate the local tobacco industry.

But there is naturally no problem in purchasing a large amount of tobacco from the local area and then planting it in Yuncheng.

After observing the battle, Fang Ligong and Zhang Dongkai set off for Yuncheng to continue the reorganization work.

Chu Yunfei after returning to Changzhi.

He called Sun Weimou immediately and asked him to return to Changzhi to discuss the development and corresponding planning of the tobacco industry with him.

At the same time, he ordered the 3rd Infantry Regiment and the 5th Infantry Regiment to move to both sides of the Zhengtai Line according to the original combat plan.

A telegram was also sent to the Eastern Army, stating that they would launch attacks on the Japanese transportation lines in the area under their control in the near future.

And invited the Eighth Route Army to participate in this combat operation.

In the last battle, the 386th Brigade suffered considerable losses, and so did the 115th Division.

Chu Yunfei didn't hold out much hope for this.

While waiting for a call back.

Sun Weimou returned from Changzhi City. "Tobacco? Has Commander Yan agreed?"

Sun Wemou was greatly surprised.

This thing is quite profitable, he knows it.

The proportion of tobacco planting area in Quwo has reached 30%.

Because tobacco leaves have a high economic value, the price ratio of tobacco leaves to wheat is 3:1 in value and 1:1.5 in yield.
In other words, one acre of tobacco is equivalent to two acres of wheat.

If it were possible to open a cigarette factory in Yuncheng.

That is not enough to solve the employment problem of many people in Yuncheng.

Only then did Sun Wemou come to his senses.

No wonder Chu Yunfei always asked Zhuo Tianyu to improve relevant road construction and other infrastructure in Yuncheng.

It turned out that the intention was to facilitate the subsequent sale of tobacco.

"It has been agreed so far. As for the name of Yuncheng No. 1 Cigarette Factory, it will be named Yuncheng Guanghua Cigarette Factory, which means to glorify the Chinese nation."

"In addition, I have done a simple calculation. According to the tobacco demand you mentioned earlier and the corresponding production report, we can purchase about one million kilograms of tobacco from Quwo, Yicheng and other places every year, with a total value of about 700,000 yuan. After the production is completed, we will sell it uniformly, with a profit margin of more than 40%."

"Taxes and other industrial value supply are included, which is enough to bring at least 12 million output value to the entire southeastern Shanxi region. The entire industrial chain can provide at least 6 million in tax revenue."

"But Commander Chu, didn't you order a 10% tax before?"

Chu Yunfei raised his eyebrows and emphasized: "That is a food tax. The tax rate on people's food, clothing, housing and transportation must not exceed 10%."

"As for special industries like tobacco, they don't count."

"Special industry?"

Chu Yunfei was silent for a moment and then said something general: "Low cost, high profit industry"

"If calculated based on the current grain prices, this one million kilograms of tobacco is enough to feed about 80,000 people. However, we need to strictly control the amount of tobacco planted and send corresponding experts to provide guidance. In addition, if the cigarette factory is manually produced, our efficiency is not enough, and mechanical tools are needed. The Jinhua Cigarette Factory over there, Commander Yan, has not yet resumed large-scale production. What do you think?"

"Commander Yan," Chu Yunfei said after a moment of silence, "Now that Yuncheng has made some progress, I will communicate with Commander Yan."

"Yes."

The amount of tobacco produced in Quwo and other places alone is obviously insufficient.

Chu Yunfei wanted to rely on this type of industry to support the normal operations of his troops.

It is necessary to continue expanding the planting area in Yuncheng.

Moreover, Yuncheng is close to the Yellow River and is relatively easy to irrigate, but I don’t know what the quality of the tobacco grown there will be.

As I said, first solve the problem of whether or not it exists, then consider the question of whether it is good or bad.

Even if Chu Yunfei himself became the spokesperson for this cigarette factory, he wanted people to smoke his Guanghua brand cigarettes instead of those from the British or Americans.

If calculated normally, the annual tobacco tax alone could barely support the current Flying Tiger attack army.

The statement that the national defense funds were drawn was perfectly confirmed at this moment.

After determining the subsequent arrangements.

Chu Yunfei then reminded: "What is the response to the healthy living movement currently being promoted in Changzhi?"

"It is still being done, but the effect is not very good. I discussed it with Zhuo Tianyu and asked their local village cadres to cooperate, and asked Changzhi Newspaper to help with publicity."

Chu Yunfei went on to say, "You need to pay more attention to this aspect of work. Getting the people into the habit of drinking boiled water can reduce the incidence of disease. In particular, placing feces in a centralized location can effectively reduce foul air. When a person's righteousness is insufficient, it is easy for foul air to invade and then get sick. The people should support us with these simple principles."

"Yes." Sun Weimou nodded.

These are matters concerning the health of the people themselves. I believe that if they are implemented, they will not be so troublesome.

After receiving the telegram, the 3rd and 5th Infantry Regiments.

They immediately set out on the march according to the original debate plan.

Their goal was to move to the Zhengtai Railway on both sides of Niangzi Pass.

The corresponding raids were mainly carried out against the Japanese transport teams and some small and medium-sized strongholds.

The Eastern Army headquarters at this time.

The commander-in-chief, deputy commander-in-chief and others of the Eighth Route Army gathered together to discuss the contents of Chu Yunfei's telegram.

The deputy chief of staff briefly introduced Chu Yunfei's combat situation in the past few days: "According to reports from friendly forces, Chu Yunfei's 3rd Infantry Regiment conducted a five-day raid on the Shouyang Yangquan front, killing about 600 Japanese devils and a large number of puppet troops."

"At the same time, the roadbed along this railway line has also been severely damaged, but the exact extent is not yet clear."

"However, it is obvious that once the Japanese army ends the battle in Wuhan, they will inevitably launch a retaliatory attack on the southeastern Shanxi region, and our Taihang base will be the first to be targeted."

The deputy commander nodded affirmatively: "That's for sure. The Japanese will retaliate if they suffer a loss. We should be prepared in advance."

Revenge is revenge, and no one thinks that Chu Yunfei will ignore them.

What's more, the main target of the Japanese's revenge will definitely be Chu Yunfei's troops who are active in the southeastern Shanxi region.

rather than them.

The person who values ​​southeastern Shanxi the most is Chu Yunfei himself.

This was actually clear to everyone present.

"But if that's the case, Chu Yunfei's troops' skills and experience in raid warfare are also worth learning from."

"Our officers and soldiers at all levels should learn relevant military command and even cultural knowledge while fighting (actually when they are not fighting and staying at the base). They should learn all the time."

"Although our army is not able to provide corresponding assistance in this operation, we can also send some officers and soldiers to learn and observe."

"I agree"

The seniors from the fourth term don’t like to talk much on weekdays.

When he expressed his thoughts, everyone looked at him.

"I also suggest that while they launch raids, our army should also be active."

"You know, the main force of the Japanese army is basically on them, and our operational space will be greatly improved. Our army's combat supplies mainly rely on the Second War Zone and the corresponding captured supplies."

After briefly explaining my thoughts.

The suggestion of the commander of the 115th Division was unanimously agreed upon.

He was originally about to set off to the Hebei, Shandong and Henan regions to establish a base.

But I happened to be saying goodbye to the leader at the headquarters, so I just attended the meeting.

The seniors of the fourth term believe that after this operation, Chu Yunfei will inevitably cause massive damage to the railway lines.

After that, the Japanese army could only rely on horses and cars for supplies.

Relatively speaking, it is more convenient for the subsequent guerrilla warfare of the Eighth Route Army.

Sun Xinpu, commander of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, and Cao Potian, commander of the 5th Infantry Regiment, gathered together.

Although Chu Yunfei did not participate in this battle.

But Zhang Dayun, the deputy chief of staff, came to the front line and, as the supreme commander, provided a guarantee for them.

This raid mission was relatively easy.

Given the behavior of the Japanese army, Chu Yunfei didn't expect them to make any big moves.

After a brief discussion.

The two regiment commanders decided to carry out the original battle plan.

3rd and 5th Infantry Regiments

Under the orders of their respective leaders.

A new round of reconnaissance and corresponding harassment operations began.

And reselect the corresponding combat objectives based on the specific situation at this stage.

The Japanese army realized the intention of Chu Yunfei's troops.

The corresponding deployment was also adjusted as soon as possible.

Some small strongholds with only dozens of people were abandoned under the order of Umezu Michijiro.

Concentrate your forces in a large stronghold with complete defensive fortifications.

In just a few days.

Except for a few large strongholds that still had defenders, these Japanese devils abandoned all the remaining small strongholds.

"There are only thirteen large and medium-sized Japanese strongholds left along the Yangquan and Niangziguan lines. One of the medium-sized strongholds seems to be packing up and preparing to evacuate. If you don't count this one, your regiment will fight six, and the remaining six will be handed over to us, which is exactly half and half."

Cao Potian spoke up and put forward his suggestion.

Sun Xinpu had no objection: "Okay, we will mainly take charge of the stronghold near Yangquan. It just so happens that the troops we need to fight have already been assigned to the front line."

"it is good."

Zhang Dayun reminded: "The Japanese army has reduced its forces and also has the ability to fight in the field. You should pay attention to this."

"Yes!"

Although the two men nodded, they did not take the Japanese seriously.

Just do it.

A large-scale combat operation was launched that night.

Two almost fully staffed main regiments were mobilized for this operation.

For the Japanese troops guarding along the Zhengtai Railway.

This is an unprecedented offensive.

Even the main Japanese forces stationed at Niangzi Pass were attacked.

For a while.

It was as if the main forces of the National Army in the entire southeastern Shanxi region launched an all-out attack.

It was difficult for Meijin Mijiro to judge the true intentions of Chu Yunfei's troops.
Inside the First Army Headquarters.

The Chief of Staff of the First Army, Shojiro Iida, together with other Japanese soldiers including Michijiro Umezu, quickly summarized the intelligence and then analyzed it.

Finally came to the conclusion
My physical condition has not recovered yet, I will slowly pay back the 10,000 words I owe.

(End of this chapter)