Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu Island, Japan.

The darkness before dawn is the deepest, and the piercing wailing of air raid sirens shatters the tranquil night sky.

Searchlight beams swept frantically through the clouds, while tracer rounds from anti-aircraft guns wove a sparse net of fire, attempting to intercept the unseen "Grim Reaper."

Is it a B-29?

"Still that damn B-25?"

The air defense sentries on the ground gripped their binoculars nervously, their palms sweating profusely.

However, the expected explosion did not occur.

What fell from the pitch-black night sky was not a destructive incendiary bomb, but countless white pieces of paper, like a summer blizzard, fluttering down on the streets, rooftops, and factory yards.

"What? What is this?"

A woman who got up early to go to work at the factory picked up a flyer that had fallen in front of her door with trembling hands.

Under the dim streetlights, she could make out the Japanese title above, and her pupils dilated instantly.

A letter to the Japanese people—from Private Nobuo Tanaka on the front lines.

The photo shows Nobuo Tanaka writing a letter home with tears in his eyes at a simple table in a POW camp, along with a close-up of his rough, cracked hands filled with black mud, and canned luncheon meat and white rice placed next to him, which have become luxuries in Japan.

"Chiyo, Hanako, forgive me. I didn't die in battle; I became a prisoner."

"My superior once told me that the Chinese are devils who will eat our hearts and livers."

"But here, I ate white rice, which I hadn't eaten in a long time."

“Those bureaucrats at headquarters deceived us; they took advantage of our loyalty to the locusts and treated us like expendable pawns.”

"When we were fighting on Qiongzhou Island, we had no reinforcements, no supplies, only endless despair."

"Prime Minister Tojo said that even if it's with bamboo spears, we should fight to the end. So why are we old folks who can't even hold a gun properly being sent to our deaths?"

"For whom are we sacrificing ourselves?"

The woman's hands trembled violently.

Her husband was also on the Chinese battlefield and had been out of contact for three months.

Every word in the letter felt like a needle piercing her heart.

More and more people around picked up the flyers.

Whispers spread through the streets at dawn.

Dudududu~!

The military police's whistles blared wildly, and a group of military police officers rushed over, brandishing their batons.

"Baka! Don't look! This is the enemy's scheme, their propaganda!"

"These are all lies told by the Chinese, understand?"

"Hand it all over!"

"Those who violate this rule will be punished for treason!"

The military police roughly snatched the leaflets and even shoved the elderly man who was still reading them.

Doubt, fear, and sorrow, like invisible cracks, are quietly spreading across the seemingly solid fortress of "one hundred million hearts" in Japan, amidst the barrage of "paper bullets."

This kind of spiritual impact is harder to repair than the damage caused by incendiary bombs, because it shakes people's hearts and minds.

……

North China, Changzhi.

A C-47 transport plane, escorted by several P-51 Mustang fighter jets, pierced through the clouds and landed steadily on the airport runway.

The hatch opened, and Chu Yunfei stepped out, looking travel-worn.

The situation on Qiongzhou Island is now settled.

He entrusted the follow-up work and base construction to Zheng Dongguo and the officers in charge of logistics. He even left the diplomatic wrangling with the United States to Li Jingzhong and the accompanying staff, as if it were a training opportunity for the young man.

There's no need for excessive caution in diplomacy with the Americans; strength is the foundation of everything.

Even if Li Jingzhong says or does something wrong, the Americans won't react much.

His return to North China at this moment is because North China is his base and the main battlefield where the decisive battle is about to break out.

"Your Excellency!"

Chief of Staff Lin Wei, who had been waiting for a long time, quickly came forward. Although his expression was serious, his brows revealed a heroic spirit.

"Brother Weiwen, you've worked hard."

As Chu Yunfei put on white gloves, he strode towards the jeep and asked in a deep voice, "How is the situation at home?"

The two quickly climbed into the jeep, and the convoy, escorted by the guard company, sped off like an arrow toward the joint command post.

In the car, Lin Wei took a blue folder marked "Top Secret" from her briefcase and handed it to Chu Yunfei, her tone tinged with relief and deep admiration for Chu Yunfei's foresight:

"Your Excellency is a man of extraordinary wisdom and strategy; one could even say that you saved the entire North China region."

"This is the 'Comprehensive Containment Report on the Springtime Japanese Bacteriological Warfare Offensive' that was just jointly compiled by the General Administration of Health and Epidemic Prevention and the Inspection Department."

Chu Yunfei took the document, opened the first page, and scanned the contents with keen eyes.

"Half a month ago, the Japanese Army's North China Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Unit (Unit 1855) secretly launched a bacteriological warfare offensive codenamed 'Divine Punishment' in the border areas of northern Henan, central Hebei, and southeastern Shanxi. This offensive involved airdropping bacteria-carrying agents (fleas and grains) and contaminated water sources, with the intention of creating a large-scale outbreak of cholera and plague in the rear of our army."

Lin Wei explained from the side, "Fortunately, we were well prepared."

"Thanks to the 'Patriotic Health Campaign' that you started promoting several years ago, and the rural grassroots epidemic prevention network established in the past six months, the enemy's poisoning attempts were basically detected at the first moment."

"The local epidemic prevention teams responded extremely quickly."

"Once a dead rat or a patient with an unusually high fever is discovered, the Level A lockdown plan will be activated immediately."

"Our reserves of penicillin, sulfonamides, as well as large quantities of quicklime and bleaching powder, were distributed to the epidemic sites immediately."

Lin Wei pointed to the data at the end of the report, her tone slightly lighter: "As of the end of last month, all bacterial outbreaks have been brought under control."

"All infected individuals have been isolated and treated, and the mortality rate has been kept at an extremely low level."

"Okamura Yasuji's 'divine punishment' plan to paralyze our army's logistics and create social panic through the plague has actually been completely bankrupt!"

"well done!"

Chu Yunfei closed the folder, slammed it heavily on his knee, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"The Japanese have run out of tricks. They can't win on the front lines, so they're resorting to these underhanded methods."

"Unfortunately, he underestimated our mobilization capabilities and the power of scientific epidemic prevention."

Chu Yunfei turned to look at the fleeting scenery outside the window, his tone turning icy: "Since their desperate struggle has been ineffective, it's time for us to make our move."

The jeep braked suddenly in front of the command post building.

Chu Yunfei jumped out of the car and strode into the operations room.

The spacious operations room was filled with generals.

Senior commanders such as Commander Li, Qian Bojun, Fang Ligong, and Sun Weiru had been waiting for a long time.

Chu Yunfei came in.

Everyone stood up with a "whoosh," their salutes perfectly synchronized, their eyes filled with anticipation and fighting spirit.

"Yunfei".

Chu Yunfei returned the greeting, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces before finally settling on Commander Li.

"Lord De, you've worked hard while overseeing things from the rear."

Li Zongren waved his hand, a hint of emotion on his face: "Yunfei, this time I am truly impressed."

“If you hadn’t taken precautions beforehand and established that rural epidemic prevention system that others considered ‘redundant’.”

"This 'divine punishment' from the Japanese army will probably turn North China into a living hell."

"Although no guns or cannons were used in this battle, its danger was no less than that of any major battle."

"You are not only a war commander, but also a living bodhisattva to the people of North China."

The surrounding generals nodded in agreement.

Six months ago, Chu Yunfei spent a lot of money on sanitation and building epidemic prevention stations, and many people privately complained that it was a waste of military funds.

In retrospect, this seemingly insignificant move turned out to be a life-saving tactic.

Otherwise, if the logistics of the entire army were to be affected by bacteriological warfare, who knows when the fourth phase of the counter-offensive in North China would be able to begin!

"You flatter me, Mr. De."

Chu Yunfei unbuttoned his top button, picked up his baton, and his expression suddenly turned cold.

"But defense has never been our goal."

"We have contained the plague and protected our logistics, all for this swift and decisive strike!"

"Everyone!"

His voice echoed in the hall, carrying an overwhelming force: "The Japanese invaders' lifeline in the south has been cut off by us, and the main force of the 11th Army has been annihilated."

"The last trump card of the entire Japanese military—bacteriological warfare—has also been completely crushed by us."

"The Japanese devils nowadays are like tigers with their teeth pulled out—strong on the outside but weak on the inside!"

Chu Yunfei suddenly called out, "Brother Ligong!"

"Here!" Fang Ligong stepped forward.

How is preparation for episode 88 going?

Fang Ligong pushed up his glasses, his eyes flashing with a cold light: "Reporting to Your Excellency, the armored forces have completed their maintenance, have sufficient fuel and ammunition supplies, and are ready to launch an attack at any time. The infantry forces have also completed their assembly, the artillery tractors have sufficient fuel supplies, and the infrastructure for the forward roads is in place, ready to launch an attack at any time."

"Brother Bojun."

"Have!"

Qian Bojun responded loudly, rubbing his fists together: "The Sixth Episode has been itching to get started, just waiting for your order, Commander."

Chu Yunfei slammed his baton down on several key points on the map, making a "thud" sound that seemed to strike Okamura Yasuji's heart.

"Guiding principles for this campaign:"
First, all main forces should make preparations for combat in secrecy and begin preliminary ground operations in late July to clear out enemy positions along the advance route and annihilate the enemy on the banks of the Yellow River.

During this period, the Fifth and Thirty-first groups supported the main force in North China (episode 88) and ensured the safety of the occupied areas.

Second, this operation will be carried out primarily through surprise attacks, and it is absolutely forbidden to engage in prolonged entanglement with the enemy attempting to block. The goal is to achieve a breakthrough as quickly as possible and launch a full-scale assault towards the Jinpu Railway line. The troop deployment will be as follows: the 88th unit and the North China Mobile Corps will be the main force for the breakthrough; the 4th unit will be a feint attack force on the right flank to attract the attention of the enemy forces in the Jinan direction; and the 5th and 31st units will respectively protect the right and left flanks of the assault route to ensure the safety of the 88th unit's salient.

Third, all machine gun battalions, tank units, mountain artillery units, and cavalry units directly under each unit are fully engaged in combat. In order to adapt to the terrain and traffic conditions of the combat area, each combat unit needs to be equipped with logistics tools in a targeted manner.

Chu Yunfei paused, put down the battle plan drafted by the North China Joint Command, and looked at everyone.

Several versions of the operational plan had already been issued.

We emphasize this beforehand every time.

"Aside from adjustments to the attack targets and timing, the combat units have not actually changed, nor has the attack launch location. You are all familiar with the operational plan, so I will not continue reading it."

Chu Yunfei paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, his eyes filled with anticipation: "Everyone~!"

Are all departments ready?

Everyone nodded in unison, their eyes shining brightly.

Lin Wei went so far as to declare in front of everyone: "Please rest assured, sir, our main forces in North China are ready at any time!"

Chu Yunfei was overjoyed and nodded in satisfaction: "Very well, I hereby announce the immediate launch of the 'Fourth Phase Counter-Offensive Operation Plan in North China'!"

"Preliminary operations shall commence immediately."

"The telegram instructed Zhou Zhirou and the Air Force units that they could take off and continue operations as soon as weather conditions were met."

"Targets—important Japanese military facilities in Beiping, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and other areas!"

"Secondly, activate the 'retaliatory operations plan'!"

The operations room was silent; everyone knew the weight of this order.

Chu Yunfei looked around at everyone: "Since the Japanese were the first to violate international conventions by using biological and chemical weapons, there is no need for us to be polite to them anymore. The Allied forces have already discussed this, and a reciprocal retaliatory operation will not affect our international image."

"Therefore, I, Chu Yunfei, authorize the frontline artillery units to use captured special ammunition for assaults on heavily fortified Japanese strongholds and clustered targets." "We must repay this debt with a tooth for a tooth, and a blood for a blood!"

"Let them taste what it's like to suffocate in poison gas!"

The generals looked at each other, their eyes filled with barely concealed elation.

Chu Yunfei had previously exercised great restraint in using poison gas, as he needed to consider international opinion.

But now.

It was close to a showdown with the United States, the Soviet Union, and other countries.

At this point, there's nothing to worry about!

Poison gas is something that every military unit has suffered from.

Now it's the Japanese devils' turn to suffer, and they're naturally happy about it.

"third!"

Chu Yunfei turned around abruptly and faced all the generals: "No participating unit may hold back its strength."

"Whether it's the 88th episode, the 6th episode, or our Eighth Route Army allies, we shouldn't care about the gains or losses of a single city or place. What I want is a rapid breakthrough."

Even if it means using up all the bullets and shells!

"We must break through Okamura Yasuji's turtle shell as quickly as possible and push the battle line east of the Jinpu Railway!"

"I'll show these sons of bitches that their schemes and tricks are worthless in the face of absolute power!"

"The end of Japan's brotherhood has come!"

"Yes!!"

The generals roared in unison, their voices shaking the roof tiles.

The pent-up anger and resentment towards the atrocities committed by the Japanese invaders erupted completely at this moment.

Li Delin felt his blood boil as he watched the scene unfold before him.

He seemed to see a new era being born in the hands of these young generals.

Commander Li couldn't help but ask, "What is our ultimate strategic target for this counter-offensive? Is it Beiping, which was the first target in the initial operational plan, or Tianjin Port, which was the second target?"

Chu Yunfei put away his baton and looked intently at the northernmost point of the map, where the gateway to the pass, Shanhaiguan, lay!
"Lord De, the time is ripe. We must not only recover the capital region, Shandong, and most of northern Jiangsu."

"We will keep this fire burning all the way to Shanhaiguan!"

……

The next day, in the early morning, the tarmac at Changzhi's large military airport was brightly lit, as if it were daytime.

The air was filled with the pungent, exhilarating smell of high-octane aviation fuel.

Liu Zhenting, the squadron leader of the 1st B-25 bomber squadron, was standing under the wing of his aircraft, the "Revenge," making a final check on the special munitions on the pylons.

This is not loaded with ordinary high-explosive shells.

Instead, it was a round, American-made M47 napalm bomb with a red warning ring.

"Captain, is this all that stuff?"

The young wingman, Wu Changfeng, walked over, staring at the missile bodies with a complicated expression: "I heard that once this stuff gets on you, you can't shake it off. It can even burn your bones to ashes. Isn't that a bit too cruel?"

Liu Zhenting stopped what he was doing, took off his gloves, patted the cold bullet, and said in a low voice as if he were suppressing a volcano: "Changfeng, have you ever seen the villagers who died from the plague?"

Wu Changfeng paused for a moment, then shook his head.

“I’ve seen it.” A painful memory flashed in Liu Zhenting’s eyes: “It was completely black, curled up in a ball when it died, and bleeding from its seven orifices.”

"Those were living, breathing people, poisoned to death by the Japanese devils like livestock."

"That old beast Okamura Yasuji wants to use the plague to destroy our country and wipe out our race."

He whirled around, pointing to the load of ammunition: "This stuff is ruthless, but you have to use ruthless stuff like this to deal with beasts!"

"Today we're not going to bomb, we're going to cremate!"

"Burn all those bottles and jars that caused the plague, along with those beasts in white coats!"

"Avenge our fallen fellow villagers!"

"Yes!" Wu Changfeng straightened his back, the hesitation in his eyes instantly turning into a resolute determination for revenge: "Burn them all!"

"Board!"

With Liu Zhenting's command, a signal flare streaked across the sky.

"Rumble--"

Hundreds of engines roared simultaneously, their sound waves converging into a deafening roar that seemed to make the earth tremble.

On the runway.

A group of B-25 bombers, fully loaded with napalm and high-explosive bombs, taxied, accelerated, and pulled up in sequence, escorted by a group of P-51 Mustang fighters.

The massive wings sliced ​​through the morning mist like dark clouds that blotted out the sky, pressing down toward Beijing and Tianjin.

……

Two hours later, in the airspace south of Beiping.

The piercing air raid siren wailed through the sky.

Inside the command tower of the Japanese North China Area Army Air Corps, telephones rang incessantly, and the shouts of staff officers created a chaotic scene.

"Enemy aircraft! Their numbers are impossible to determine!"

"At least three hundred!"

"No, more!"

"idiot!"

"How can there be so many planes?! Isn't the main force of the Chinese Air Force in the south?!"

Major Tanaka, the squadron leader of the 27th Air Group of the Japanese Army, rushed toward the tarmac with a pale face.

There, only a dozen or so old Ki-43 "Hayabusa" fighters and a few Ki-44 "Zhong Kui" fighters were still able to take off and fight.

The rest of the planes were either lost in the previous battles or grounded due to fuel shortages.

"Take off! All of them, take off!" Major Tanaka roared hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot. "For His Majesty the Locust King, we'll ram them down if we have to!"

however.

This was destined to be an asymmetrical massacre.

As Major Tanaka piloted his fighter jet to an altitude of 3,000 meters, he saw a suffocating scene overhead in despair—high in the sky, the escorting P-51 Mustang fighter squadron, like silver reapers, had already taken up their attack positions.

Sunlight shone on their streamlined bodies, reflecting a cold light.

“Enemy attack—!!!”

Before Tanaka's roar could fully escape, the P-51 formation swooped down.

"Da da da da da-"

The 12.7mm M2 Browning heavy machine gun spewed out long tongues of fire, and the dense tracer rounds instantly wove together a web of death.

A Japanese Hayabusa fighter plane that had just taken off had no chance to perform any maneuvers before its wings were torn apart by the firepower of six heavy machine guns. It disintegrated in mid-air and fell to the ground as a fireball.

"asshole!"

"Fight them!"

Major Tanaka frantically pulled the control stick, trying to catch the tail of a P-51.

But he discovered to his despair that the enemy was too fast; whether diving or climbing, these American-made fighters completely overwhelmed the old relic beneath him.

How can we achieve victory?

The thought had barely crossed Tanaka's mind when a burst of large-caliber bullets pierced his cockpit canopy.

Blood splattered on the instrument panel, and his fighter jet, trailing black smoke, spun and crashed to the ground like a kite with a broken string.

In just ten minutes, the twenty-odd Japanese fighter planes that had barely managed to take off were swept away by the P-51 formation, like withered leaves blown down by a strong wind.

And below.

Liu Zhenting's B-25 bomber squadron had already flown over the target area as if it were empty.

"Target approaching. Confirmed again: Kagura Office, the site of the Japanese Army Unit 1855!"

The bombardier's voice came through the headphones, cold and steady:
Through the scope, Liu Zhenting could clearly see the Japanese soldiers on the ground running around in a panic, like ants.

"late."

Liu Zhenting gritted his teeth and pressed the bomb release button hard: "You little devils, this is your 'return gift'!"

The bomb bay opens.

Countless black bombs hurtled down.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Countless pillars of fire shot into the sky from the ground in an instant.

The napalm bomb exploded, and the viscous flames, like a persistent infection, instantly engulfed the entire Japanese camp.

The intense heat instantly drained the oxygen from the air, and the laboratories used to cultivate bacteria, the cells where "Maruta" was imprisoned, and the Japanese "medics" and guards who had not yet escaped were instantly carbonized in the thousands of degrees of heat.

Flames flowed and roared, like the karmic fire of a red lotus from hell, purifying this land tainted by sin.

……

Peking, North China Front Army Headquarters.

Okamura Neiji stood by the window, gripping the window frame tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

He watched the mushroom cloud rise in the distance and felt the earth tremble beneath his feet.

"Your Excellency Commander"

Chief of Staff Shinichi Kitajima collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling with sobs: "News has come from the North China Air Force: the entire air squadron stationed in the Gyeonggi region has perished."

"Our air defense firepower density is insufficient."

"Unit 1855"

Okamura Neiji remained silent, his face turning from red to white, then from white to green.

The "divine punishment" that the headquarters was so proud of, and the germ warfare that everyone had meticulously planned, were simply a joke in the face of absolute air superiority and firepower coverage.

He wanted to retaliate, to roar, to order his troops to shoot down the planes in the sky.

But he had nothing left.

There were no planes, no fuel, and not even enough anti-aircraft shells.

He could only watch helplessly as the Chinese air force ravaged his lands and his painstakingly built war machine was gradually reduced to scrap metal.

This sense of powerlessness was more humiliating and maddening to him than defeat itself.

"Bagaya road!!!"

Okamura Neiji suddenly drew his sword and began hacking wildly at the tables and chairs in front of him, like a madman who had lost his mind, venting his impotent rage.

He knew it better than any other commander.

The tide is gone.

Defeat is only a matter of time!
And at an altitude of 10,000 meters.

Liu Zhenting pulled up the nose of the aircraft, looked at the sea of ​​fire burning behind him, and said in a deep voice over the radio: "Attention all crews, mission accomplished."

"Brothers, look carefully."

"In the past, the Japanese devils bombed us, but now it's our turn to bully them. This is the counterattack of the Chinese Air Force!"

"If the enemy can go, so can I!"

Cheers erupted over the radio: "Hooray!"
"All personnel, proceed with the original plan and return to base!" (End of Chapter)