Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Nanjing, the headquarters of the China Expeditionary Army.

Commander-in-Chief General Hata Shunroku stood silently before the huge battle map, his hands behind his back, like a stone statue.

His face was etched with the exhaustion of days of fierce fighting.

This battle is almost breaking him down.

Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Masazo Kawabe strode up behind him, his voice tinged with barely concealed frustration: "Commander, here is the summary battle report we just received."

"The 13th and 39th Divisions have less than 10,000 combat troops and have abandoned Yidu. They have all gathered in the area around Yichang. The 17th Independent Mixed Brigade has less than 1,000 remnants after a desperate breakout. They have been transferred to Wuchang by naval ships. The 3rd Division has also collapsed under the pursuit of the enemy's 21st Army Group and has now retreated to the direction of Wuchang."

Hata Shunroku did not turn around, but simply tapped the location of "Yichang" on the map with the end of his baton, making a dull "tap-tap" sound.

"What about the enemy's movements?"

From his tone, Kawabe Shozo could clearly tell that Hata Shunroku was still maintaining his basic composure.

However, the current situation is far from being resolved simply by remaining calm and composed.

Kawabe Masazo sighed: "The Chinese army's pursuit has slowed down somewhat."

"It seems they are regrouping and preparing for a general offensive against Yichang."

"Slow down?"

Hata Shunroku slowly turned around, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes: "This is the only, and the last, chance."

A young, junior staff officer couldn't help but step forward, his voice filled with despair: "Commander! We have no soldiers left to defend!"

"The enemy we face is Chu Yunfei, the Chinese war general!"

"The enemy still has at least 200,000 combat-ready troops, while our 11th Army has less than 40,000 left."

"Shut up!" Hata Shunroku shouted, interrupting him. "As soldiers of our brother's country, we must fight to the death as long as we live!"

He took a deep breath, and his gaze became sharp and calm again.

Everyone knows that now is not the time for anger and despair.

Hata Shunroku pointed to the map and said to all the officers present, "Chu Yunfei is indeed an unprecedented enemy of the Empire."

"The decisiveness of the 74th Army's infiltration and the tenacity of the 18th Army's defense both exceeded our expectations."

"But what alarmed me the most was the 22nd Army Group, which was composed of Sichuan troops."

He paused, his tone tinged with disbelief: "Intelligence indicates that during the pursuit, this unit was highly disciplined and launched a swift offensive, showing none of the usual laziness of the Sichuan Army."

"Chu Yun is not only fighting wars, he is also using war to forge those rabble into true elites."

"That's the scariest part."

Kawabe Masazo nodded and added, "According to intelligence, the 22nd Army Group has only been organized for less than a year, but its combat effectiveness in battle is already comparable to that of the elite Class B combat units in North China. With the support of heavy weapons, it can even complete some of the assault missions."

"Gentlemen, Commander, we must now buy enough time for the defense of Factory Five."

"Yichang is the last barrier in this defense line, and we must not give up on it easily."

"Give up?" Hata Shunroku's voice was quite stern: "I have never thought of giving up."

"I have coordinated with headquarters and requested naval vessels to sail upstream along the Yangtze River to provide support in the Yichang waters."

"Nani?!"

An uproar erupted in the operations room.

The army has problems; the navy should laugh at their inferiority.

Why would they suddenly put aside their differences and choose to offer support?
Previously, helping them transfer wounded soldiers and help them break through the encirclement was already unprecedented.

During the Battle of Shanghai, the main force of the naval fleet was unwilling to come.

Several 203mm shells were fired and the shells were damaged.

The naval guns used thousands of shells, and it's still unknown where they went.
Is this still the same army and navy with such sharp and irreconcilable contradictions?

Hata Shunroku put down the phone, looked at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, and said slowly and deliberately, "All remaining troops in the Yichang area, hold your ground and await reinforcements."

"At the same time, after the naval fleet arrives, we will prioritize the transfer of all seriously wounded and non-combat personnel! We must leave behind all the warriors who can still fight, and turn Yichang into a meat grinder where the elite Central China troops of the Chinese army will bleed to death!"

Hata Shunroku knew this was a huge gamble.

They used an isolated city, along with the lives of thousands of remaining soldiers and civilians, to delay the advance of the 100,000-strong Nationalist army.

"Tell the garrison in Yichang."

Hata Shunroku's gaze swept across the land on the map that was about to become hell, his voice icy, "Behind them are the Fifth Factory, the lifeline of the Great Japanese Empire in China."

"In this battle, there is no chance of survival!"

In the blink of an eye.

It will be three days from now.

Chu Yunfei's forward command post has been moved to a small town less than five kilometers from Yichang.

The town is built halfway up the mountain, and you can barely see the direction of Yichang City.

This place was originally a logistics transit station for the Japanese army.

The air still smelled of burnt gasoline and disinfectant.

Inside the command center, the atmosphere was tense yet orderly.

Chu Yunfei was holding binoculars, standing on the bell tower of a bombed-out church, observing the outline of the city shrouded in the morning mist in the distance.

The faint sounds of artillery fire and machine gun volleys, like distant rumbles of thunder, could be heard intermittently.

"Sir." Zhao Pengcheng climbed up the simple wooden ladder and handed over a newly compiled intelligence report. "Latest reconnaissance intelligence."

The Japanese army showed no signs of retreating; on the contrary, they were reinforcing the defenses in and around Yichang.

Our artillery reconnaissance showed that their will to resist was extremely strong.

Furthermore, there are still many civilians inside Yichang city, and the Japanese army is not allowing them to leave the city, seemingly trying to coerce these civilians to reduce the effectiveness of our heavy weapons.

Chu Yunfei put down his binoculars, took the intelligence report, and quickly scanned it.

His brow furrowed slightly: "The Japanese army's actions are somewhat strange."

Zhao Pengcheng pointed to a section of the intelligence report, "Air Force brothers, we have spotted a Japanese fleet in the Yangtze River for two consecutive days. It appears to be a transport ship."

"But the scale is not large, and the course is downstream towards Wuhan. We judge that it may be transferring supplies or a small-scale troop reinforcement."

Pang Junming also came up, his face showing a hint of solemnity: "Sir, judging from the battlefield situation, the Japanese are clearly determined to fight us to the death in Yichang. They still have at least 10,000 troops defending the city, and they are all veterans of countless battles. If we launch a strong attack, the casualties will probably be very high. Moreover, if the Japanese army uses civilians as a shield, once they use heavy weapons, public opinion will be uncontrollable."

"These are necessary casualties and sacrifices that must be made. If we hesitate to act against the Japanese army, then endless civilians will be waiting for us."

Chu Yunfei's heart was as cold and hard as iron: "Don't forget the summary we made before."

"In so many defensive battles, when some defensive lines broke down, it was because the enemy captured civilians to use as human shields to advance, and the defending commanders could not make up their minds, which led to the annihilation of the entire army."

"This is war, a war of life and death. There can be no wishful thinking, nor any unnecessary hesitation or pity."

"What we can do is avenge these people who should not have sacrificed themselves for this."

"Of course, we should also try our best to think about whether there are other ways to reduce unnecessary casualties among the people in this battle."

Zhao Pengcheng nodded deeply: "Our forces are now ten times theirs! The 21st Army Group has blocked their escape route to the east, and the 74th, 73rd, and 79th Armies are pressing in from the south. Our heavy artillery brigade is also in position. We'll just surround them and wear them down!"

Chu Yunfei nodded, not saying anything more, but quietly looking at the intelligence report, his mind racing with deductions.

A moment later, he realized that something was slightly wrong.

This is so unlike Shunroku Hata's style.

A gambler-like madman like Yokoyama Isamu might choose to die a violent death.

But Hata Shunroku, that old fox, always planned carefully before acting and was shrewd in his calculations.

How could he willingly squander his last remaining elite troops in a hopeless, isolated city?
Bait? The thought flashed through his mind.

Hata Shunroku was using the city of Yichang and its tens of thousands of remaining soldiers as bait to lure him into committing his main force to a fierce siege.

The intention was to use this "meat grinder" to deplete the Nationalist army's manpower and buy him time to rebuild the Fifth Factory defense line.

Those warships that went against the current transferred the wounded and preserved the organization and key personnel.

Is Hata Shunroku's plan to sacrifice a pawn to save the king?
What he wanted was not to defend Yichang, but to preserve as many living forces as possible while inflicting maximum casualties on himself.

I've figured this out.

A cold smile curled at the corners of Chu Yunfei's lips.

"We won't attack the city yet." He suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it stunned both Zhao Pengcheng and Pang Junming.

"What?" Zhao Pengcheng almost thought he had misheard: "Your Excellency, not attacking the city?"

"Then what are we doing standing here?"

Pang Junming also looked puzzled: "Yes, Your Excellency, the arrow is on the bowstring, and we have no choice but to release it."

"The whole country is waiting for our good news of recapturing Yichang."

"Hatake Shunroku wants us to attack the city, but we won't." Chu Yunfei's gaze shifted from Yichang City to the winding Yangtze River on the map, his eyes sharp as an eagle: "He wants to exchange an empty city for our blood. I'm not doing that deal."

He turned around, looked at his two capable assistants, and gave an order that caught everyone off guard.

"Order: Air Force reconnaissance units, immediately conduct 12-hour continuous reconnaissance of the Yangtze River waters within 100 kilometers downstream of Yichang!"

"Find out their transfer frequency and fleet size."

Chu Yunfei paused, his voice turning cold and resolute.

"In addition, send a telegram to Shi Wengui."

"Tell him to move the artillery positions and point all the gun barrels of the 8th Artillery Brigade at the Yangtze River!"

"His new target is not Yichang City, but every Japanese ship on the Yangtze River!"

In the blink of an eye, another two days have passed.

Just as Chu Yunfei had predicted.

The number of Japanese combat troops gathering in the area surrounding the Fifth Factory is increasing.

These appear to be all the main forces of the Japanese army in Central China.

Apart from the necessary garrison troops, all available main forces were assembled here.

If the combat troops of the Third Theater Command have the capability to launch an offensive.

We could take this opportunity to retake Hangzhou, Ningbo and other places.

Unfortunately, the commander of the Third War Zone was Gu Mosan, who, although somewhat capable, was too obedient to Chang Ruiyuan.

At this point, it would be impossible to wage a decisive battle with a low chance of success, since all the nation's resources were concentrated in Central China at this time.

Inside the command post, the atmosphere was tense, with everyone's expressions as taut as a bowstring about to snap.

Chu Yunfei did not rest. He simply sat quietly at the simple military table, his eyes slightly closed, his fingers lightly tracing the spread-out map, as if he were thinking about something.

Zhao Pengcheng and Pang Junming stood aside, even their breathing became soft.

They couldn't understand why Chu Yunfei hadn't issued the order on the eve of the General Headquarters' strict command to launch an attack.

If the previous blockade of the Yangtze River was partly due to considerations of protecting one's reputation and the lives of the people, then it was a way to achieve victory through indirect means.

Now that the General Headquarters has given the order (meaning to assume historical responsibility), what reason does Your Excellency have not to attack?
"Sir," Zhao Pengcheng finally couldn't help but lower his voice, "all the troops are in position, the brothers have sharpened their bayonets, and are just waiting for your order. Are we really just going to sit here and wait?"

“He’s waiting,” Chu Yunfei’s voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of the two of them, “waiting for nightfall, or waiting for our main force to be engaged in the street fighting in Yichang City.”

"Then his fleet can slip away while we are preoccupied with other matters."

"Slip away?" Zhao Pengcheng was taken aback. "Weren't they going to hold out to the death? Our combat troops have already cleared out most of the outer strongholds."

"Holding out is just a show for others to see."

Chu Yunfei stood up and walked to the huge sand table: "Hatake Shunroku's plan is to 'shed his skin like a cicada.'"

He used the city of Yichang and the lives of some of his remaining soldiers to hold us back, but what he really wanted to protect were the veterans who had survived the bloody battle and the heavy equipment that could still be repaired.

As long as these people and equipment remain, they can quickly rebuild their organization.

However, in order to inflict a certain degree of casualties and trouble on us, the sacrifice of some soldiers was actually necessary for the Japanese army.

Following this battle, Japan will undoubtedly undergo another period of readjustment, and may even require further mobilization.

Chu Yunfei's finger landed on the model of the winding Yangtze River waterway on the sand table.

"Therefore, the fleet docked in Yichang will definitely leave tonight."

Just then, Chu Yunfei's eyelids twitched suddenly.

On the three-dimensional battle map in his mind, dozens of tiny points of light representing the waters of Yichang Port began to move, converging into a thin stream that silently sailed into the dark heart of the river.

"Receive the Eighth Artillery Brigade! Shi Wengui!"

Zhao Pengcheng grabbed the pager in front of him and handed it to Chu Yunfei: "Sir."

"Wen Gui, is there any unusual activity on the river?"

"Not yet. If we do, we will report to you immediately."

Amidst the crackling sound of electricity.

Chu Yunfei continued to wait.

It didn't take long.

Shi Wengui's slightly anxious voice came through the earpiece: "Chief Advisor! The observation post reports that there seems to be movement on the river outside Yichang Port!"

Chu Yunfei's voice was resolute, "Shi Wengui, listen to my order, don't be stingy with the shells, give me direct fire coverage, whether it's a civilian ship or a warship, sink as many as you can!"

"Yes!"

Two minutes later.

"Boom—Rumble—!!!"

Twenty-four 150mm heavy howitzers roared simultaneously!

The earth trembled violently, and the huge flames spewed from the cannons instantly illuminated the entire night sky as if it were daytime!

Dozens of seconds later, three huge, almost connected, towering water columns suddenly rose from the distant river surface!

In the very center of one of the water jets, the outline of a Japanese gunboat was instantly torn apart in the flames, turning into a ball of orange-red flames!
Within the headquarters.

Zhao Pengcheng and Pang Junming looked through the window of the clock tower.

They stared in disbelief at the volcanic eruption-like scene on the distant horizon, their minds blank.

"Hit it?" Pang Junming's voice trembled. "Seven or eight kilometers away, he hit a boat in the river, and at night?!"

"This is incredibly lucky."

Chu Yunfei ignored their shock and instead focused on the battle situation on the three-dimensional combat map.

After another round of shelling, an even denser burst of fire erupted on the river surface.

"Free fire, target Yichang Jianggang, report back to me after firing three base loads."

"Your Excellency, after the liberation of Yichang, we still need to use the port. Could we just bomb the ships and not the port?"

"The Japanese will definitely blow up the port infrastructure. Instead of waiting for them to do it, we might as well do it ourselves and kill their engineers."

"Yes!" (End of this chapter)