Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Yichang, City Defense Command Headquarters.

This place was originally the Tax Supervision Office during the Republic of China era, a rather impressive Western-style building.

But now, it's more like a tomb.

All the windows were blocked with sandbags and bricks, leaving only a few narrow firing holes through which a faint, pale ray of light shone through.

In the basement, the air was as murky as the mud in a swamp.
The smell of moldy dust and sweat was unbearable.

A light bulb without a lampshade hissed in the damp air, casting a dim, flickering light that stretched the shadows of everyone on the wall into ghostly shapes.

Major General Ando Rikichi, the commander, sat in the main seat with a deathly pale face.

His once crisp general's uniform was now wrinkled and covered in dust, and the top button at the collar had been undone, revealing his bony collarbone.

Now he just stared blankly at the extinguished candle on the table, the melted wax solidified into a twisted shape, much like his current mood.

"Nanjin Pass has also fallen."

Major Uesaka, commander of the 116th Infantry Regiment, had a slightly hoarse voice.

He had just been withdrawn from the front lines, and half of his face was still wrapped in blood-stained bandages.

"The 30th Army of the Chinese Army is the unit commanded by Chi Fengcheng."

"Their offensive was extremely fierce, far exceeding that of the Central Army troops we had previously encountered. They were well-trained, and even if there were casualties, they could be treated and transferred quickly."

A young operations staff officer, his voice trembling uncontrollably, replaced the red chess piece representing Nanjin Pass on the map with a black piece representing its fall.

With the placement of this chess piece, Yichang City on the map has become an isolated island surrounded by blue arrows on all sides.

"Tumenzi has also been captured by the Seventh Army."

“Tucheng Temple, Pingshanba, and the 18th Army have advanced to within five kilometers of us.”

One piece of bad news after another struck like a hammer against the already fragile nerves of every Japanese officer in the room.

"Where are our minefields?" Ando Rikichi finally spoke, his voice dry like a door hinge that hadn't been oiled in a long time. "Were all those minefields we laid just for show?"

The engineering battalion commander, a pale-faced lieutenant colonel, struggled to his feet: "Commander, the Chinese army's artillery fire... their artillery fire is too intense."

"They didn't even send in engineers to clear the mines; they just used heavy artillery to turn over entire swathes of land..."

"Most of our landmines were detonated during the shelling."

"gunfire…"

Ando Rikichi muttered to himself, a smile that looked more like a grimace than a cry.

He closed his eyes, as if he could still hear the cannon fire that sounded like the roar of death.

The devastating bombardment has been ongoing for the past two days.

Every day, hundreds and thousands of large-caliber shells whistled down from the sky, turning their painstakingly constructed fortifications and the warriors of his brother nation, along with their flesh and bones, into dust.

"What about the civilians?" he asked, clinging to his last glimmer of hope. "We've brought those Chinese civilians we've captured to the front lines! Surely the Chinese army wouldn't dare fire on their own people!"

A military police captain in charge of the city's defenses replied, his face ashen, "Commander...it's useless...completely useless!"

His voice was filled with fear: "The Chinese army's shells are still coming!"

"They...they even used loudspeakers to shout into the city, saying...saying that any Locust Army soldier who dares to use civilians as human shields will be killed without mercy after the city falls, and no form of surrender will be accepted!"

"Furthermore, they have invited journalists from various countries to visit the site, claiming that our Japanese army will have to bear historical responsibility for all the aftermath that occurred in Yichang!"

Upon hearing this, a second lieutenant collapsed to his knees, burying his face in his hands and wailing in despair, "Devils...they are devils!"

"What else can we do?!" Another officer also stood up uncontrollably, pointing at the map and shouting hysterically, "The entire fleet is wiped out!"

"No reinforcements!"

"We've lost all our outer positions! Are we just going to hold onto this crumbling city and wait for the Chinese to crush us like ants?!"

His question expressed what everyone was thinking.

Despair, like a plague, spread wildly in the cramped basement.

“Surrender… Commander…” A young staff officer stood up, trembling, his face covered in tears and snot. “We have already done our utmost for His Majesty the Heavenly Locust… We… we don’t want to die here…”

"Baka!" Ando Rikichi suddenly stood up and drew his command sword from his waist.

"Shh-!"

A cold glint of light flashed by.

The staff officer who advocated surrender didn't even have time to utter a cry of alarm before he clutched his bleeding neck and collapsed in disbelief.

Warm blood splattered on Ando Rikichi's face, making his deathly gray face look particularly ferocious.

The entire basement fell silent instantly, save for the sound of the staff officer convulsing as he collapsed and the heavy smell of blood.

Ando Rikichi surveyed the officers he had intimidated, his bloodshot eyes burning with a final madness: "Have you all forgotten the orders from the China Expeditionary Army Headquarters?"

His voice was icy cold: "In this battle, there is no chance of survival!"

Ando Rikichi raised the still-dripping sword in his hand and pointed it at the crowd.

"Soldiers of our nation have no cowards who surrender!"

"Only the spirits of those who died in battle!"

“Our final mission,” Ando Rikichi’s voice suddenly rose, filled with determination and tragedy, “is to shed the most blood of the Chinese here, in this city that the Chinese are determined to take!”

"For the final battle of the Fifth Factory, for the future of our brother nation, let's buy ourselves the last bit of time!"

Ando Rikichi paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over every pale face in the room.

"At dawn tomorrow, gather all the food and ammunition in the city and distribute them equally to every soldier who can still fight. Then..."

A cruel smile curled at the corners of Ando Rikichi's mouth.

"Destroy all the warehouses and burn all the supplies."

"Tell everyone that we have no way out."

"Either we stay on the corpses of the Chinese and wait for reinforcements mobilized from the country to arrive."

"Either we take the whole city down with us and perish together!"
-
"Sir, this is an urgent telegram we just received from Kunming." Zhao Pengcheng climbed the wooden ladder up the church bell tower and handed a telegram to Chu Yunfei.

The folder cover bears the emblem of the Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

Chu Yunfei took the telegram but did not read it immediately; his gaze remained fixed on the distance.

His voice was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger: "That old fox Hata Shunroku really intends to fight us to the death."

Zhao Pengcheng followed his gaze and nodded: "Yes, the Japanese devils are determined to use Yichang City as a sacrifice."

"Reconnaissance troops report that flames engulfed the city last night, likely from a burning warehouse. However..."

He paused, a hint of confusion on his face: "Strangely, they don't seem to have carried out large-scale destruction of the city's infrastructure. For example, the power plant and water plant are still intact."

“He’s not stupid,” Chu Yunfei said calmly. “He’s gambling. He’s gambling that we will launch a full-scale attack without regard for casualties in order to take this ‘symbol of victory’ as soon as possible. He wants to exchange a relatively intact empty city for as much of our blood as possible.”

He finally looked away and opened the telegram in his hand.

The telegram was sent personally by Wei Lihuang, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force.

The content is concise yet substantial.

In his telegram, Wei Lihuang first congratulated the glorious victory in western Hubei, and then went straight to the point.

They inquired of Chu Yunfei about his operational suggestions for the next phase of the expeditionary force's operations in Annam.

It also included information about General Stilwell's urgent urging.

Pang Junming also came up at some point. He glanced at the contents of the telegram and said with a smile, "Commander Wei has kicked the ball back to us again."

"He's not just passing the buck."

Chu Yunfei's gaze swept quickly across the telegram, a slight smile playing on his lips. "He needs a comprehensive battle plan."

Zhao Pengcheng was somewhat puzzled: "Sir, what do you mean?"

"The commander knew that what Stilwell wanted was a victory led by the Americans that served the Pacific strategy."

"What we want is to recover our territory and drive the Japanese out completely." Chu Yunfei handed them the telegram. "Commander Wei is caught in the middle, in a dilemma."

"His telegram was both a request for instructions and an authorization."

"He was telling me that as long as I could come up with a convincing plan that would satisfy the Americans and align with our national interests, he would give me his full support, and the mountain city side would naturally be in complete agreement with him, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force."

"Then..." Zhao Pengcheng's eyes lit up: "Sir, where should we attack?"

Chu Yunfei did not answer immediately. He turned around and walked to the huge Southeast Asian map hanging on the wall of the clock tower, and picked up a red pencil that he had prepared beforehand.

Zhao Pengcheng and Pang Junming held their breath, their eyes following Chu Yunfei's hand as the red pen tip slowly moved across the map.

The pen tip crossed the Indochina Peninsula, crossed the South China Sea, and finally, it landed heavily on the southernmost tip of mainland China, on that huge island shaped like a pear.

Qiongzhou Island?

Zhao Pengcheng and Pang Junming both gasped in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.

"That's right, it's Qiongzhou Island." Chu Yunfei's voice was resolute.

Pang Junming hurriedly stepped forward, pointed to the map, and said with a worried tone, "Your Excellency, Qiongzhou is surrounded by the sea on all sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"The Japanese army had been operating here for several years, and their defensive fortifications were complete. They stationed at least two reinforced brigades as their main force, in addition to a considerable number of puppet troops and security forces."

"We have no experience in amphibious operations. A rash attack on such a large island is bound to result in considerable casualties."

"There aren't many suitable places to land, but remember one thing: precisely because of its vast size, the Japanese defenses are bound to have loopholes. Even if there were 100,000 or 30,000 men, they wouldn't be able to hold Qiongzhou."

"But we cannot underestimate such a landing operation; we need the 'support' of our allies." Chu Yunfei's eyes were full of calculation: "Pengcheng, draft a telegram to Commander Wei."

Zhao Pengcheng immediately took out paper and pen.

“First,” Chu Yunfei’s voice was calm and clear, “tell Commander Wei and General Stilwell that our army lacks experience and equipment for large-scale amphibious landing operations.”

"We must be extremely cautious when conducting this type of operation for the first time."

"To ensure absolute success and to demonstrate the Allied forces' commitment to joint operations, this operation must be a multinational joint operation."

He paused, then emphasized, "I demand that the two US Army divisions deployed in Southeast Asia be the first wave of attack forces. Their heavy artillery and tanks must provide the most direct support for our infantry. As for the combat missions after establishing the beachhead, they will be entirely responsible for clearing out the enemy. They only need to wait for victory."

"What?!" Zhao Pengcheng's hand, which was taking notes, suddenly stopped. "Let the Americans lead the charge?"

“Of course,” Chu Yunfei said matter-of-factly. “They have the best equipment, the best training, and the most experience. Isn’t it the most reasonable arrangement to have them lead the charge?”

Pang Junming listened in stunned silence, then a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.

Your Excellency, this is not about starting a war, it's clearly about playing dirty tricks on the Americans!

Chu Yunfei ignored their shock and continued, "Secondly, although our special task force is taking shape, it is still not strong enough to face the possible naval and air counterattacks from the Japanese army."

"I demand that this landing operation be supported by the Royal Australian Navy fleet!"

"Their battleships and cruisers must provide full escort for our landing convoys and be responsible for shore bombardment. This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the unity of the Allied member states in fighting the enemy."

“Third,” Chu Yunfei’s lips curled into a cold smile, “and this is the most important point. In this joint operation, command must be unified. I suggest establishing a ‘Joint Command for the Qiongya Campaign,’ with our side serving as the commander-in-chief, and the US and Australia each sending a deputy commander-in-chief to assist in command. After all, this is our liberation operation, and it is only right that we take the lead.”

Zhao Pengcheng wrote furiously, feeling his heart pounding faster than ever.

He never imagined that the planning of a military operation could be so "shameless" yet "reasonable".

"Your Excellency," Pang Junming swallowed hard, and began with difficulty, "Do you...do you think the Americans would agree? This is practically asking them to provide manpower, weapons, and warships to do our dirty work, while we still get the credit..."

“He will,” Chu Yunfei said with unusual certainty. “Stilwell is more anxious than any of us right now.”

"He needs a victory, a victory he spearheads, a victory that he can deliver to Washington, to prove himself."

"If we can capture Qiongzhou Island, the Japanese army's supply chain to the entire Southeast Asia will be cut off, and the Japanese army will no longer be able to supply resources to the front-line combat troops smoothly."

"This is a huge achievement for Stilwell."

He turned around, looking out the window at the city of Yichang, which was about to be engulfed by artillery fire, and his voice became deep.

"Furthermore, tell Commander Wei to hand over this plan to Stilwell verbatim. Tell him that this is the most sincere 'joint counter-offensive' plan we can offer. If Stilwell insists on disagreeing, then we will hand over the nominal supreme command to our American ally. I believe that this general, who is eager to prove himself, will not give up this easy opportunity."

"I can say with certainty that if this battle is fought well, the Japanese forces besieged in Indonesia and the Philippines will collapse without a fight, and victory in the war will come sooner." (End of Chapter)