Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

North China, Frontline Command Headquarters.

"Your Excellency! Urgent intelligence!"

Fang Ligong practically burst into the operations room, the telegram in his hand wrinkled from sweat: "Urgent telegram from the Military Intelligence Bureau's Yudong Station: Large-scale unusual troop movements have occurred in the Jinan direction of the Japanese army!"

Chu Yunfei suddenly looked up from in front of the sand table, his eyes blazing: "Is it the 59th Division?"

"Exactly!" Fang Ligong pointed to the red railway artery on the map—the Jinpu Railway—and said urgently, "That old fox Okamura Yasuji has gone mad! He actually dared to not only fail to strengthen the defenses of Jinan after the fall of Liaocheng and the annihilation of the Eighth Division, but instead loaded his few remaining fresh troops onto trains and headed south!"

"In my humble opinion, their objective is very clear: to transit through Xuzhou and head straight for Woyang in northern Anhui!"

Chu Yunfei stared at the map, his face instantly darkening.

Chu Yunfei said coldly, "Okamura Yasuji is trying to spar with me. He's willing to risk the defenses of Jinan being weak, but he's determined to take out the thorn in his side first—Li Yunlong's Eastern Expeditionary Column!"

"Once the Eastern Expeditionary Column is wiped out, the Japanese army will be able to stabilize the southern front and even threaten our flanks."

"We must not let him succeed!"

Chu Yunfei slammed his baton twice on the map and quickly issued a series of instructions.

"First! Send an order to Qian Bojun's troops on the northern front."

"Tell him to take over Baba as soon as possible, cut off the Jinpu Railway, and separate the Japanese support troops from the combat troops in the Kinki region."

"The Kwantung Army's reinforcements are about to enter the pass. If the 29th and 57th Divisions can successfully move south to take over the defense of Jinan, then Okamura Yasuji will have no worries about the rear."

"We must completely destroy the northern section of the Jinpu Railway and the roadbed. Even if the difficulty of repair increases after liberation, we should not have any concerns and focus on the present."

"Understood." Li Jingzhong nodded quickly from the side.

"second!"

Chu Yunfei's command baton quickly shifted south, landing on the Puyang line south of the old course of the Yellow River.

"Imperial Order, Volume 5: Tang Weiyuan's Department!"

"Order them to immediately advance eastward from Puyang along the entire line! Launch a feint attack on the Jinpu Railway and set up an ambush to intercept them!"

"We must intercept the 59th Division that is marching south!"

Even if we can't stop them, we'll skin them alive!

"We absolutely cannot let them reach northern Anhui unscathed!"

"Yes!"

……

Hours later, east of Puyang, at the blocking position in Liuge Town.

This is the blocking line of the 40th Army of the Fifth Group Army.

Gunfire echoed through the sky.

In their haste, the Japanese 59th Division launched an attack with a frenzy.

"Commander!"

"The Japanese firepower is too intense!"

On the front lines, a regimental commander ran back, covered in dust and dirt, and shouted: "These Japanese devils don't bother with us at all. They just bombard the positions with mountain artillery and the infantry charge without regard for casualties!"

"Moreover, their rearguard was extremely tenacious, relying on a few earthen fortifications and setting up heavy guns to fight to the death!"

Army Commander Ma Fawu lay prone by the trench, holding up binoculars, his face ashen.

In his view, Japanese trains were roaring past on the railway in the distance, while the Japanese infantry regiment responsible for providing cover was like a nail driven into the road.

"Where's the artillery?! Bomb that earthen fortress for me!" Ma Fawu roared.

"Commander... our mortars can't destroy these things."

"If you gave me a few 105mm howitzers, I would have sent these bastards to heaven long ago!"

"Sir, we are, after all, a Class B combat unit, and we lack heavy weapons."

Faced with the desperate breakout and resistance of the elite Japanese divisions, the weakness of lacking heavy assault weapons was completely exposed.

Ma Fawu was incredibly decisive and immediately gave the order: "Charge!"

"Organize a suicide squad!"

"Get the explosives and push them up!"

However, flesh and blood could not break through the steel-built fire net in a short time.

The battle lasted all day.

The Fifth Army suffered over a thousand casualties, yet could only watch helplessly as the main force of the Japanese 59th Division, like a slippery venomous snake, slipped through their fingers and roared south along the Jinpu Railway.

"Snapped!"

Chu Yunfei slammed the battle report from episode five onto the table, his face so dark it seemed to drip water.

"Commander Tang and the others have done their best."

Fang Ligong sighed and said helplessly, "They lack heavy weapons, and they really can't stop the Japanese from fighting so desperately."

"Now, the 59th Division has passed Xuzhou and is advancing rapidly towards Woyang."

"Adding to the original 13th Mixed Brigade, and the Japanese and puppet troops transferred from other directions, the force is more than five times the original size."

Fang Ligong glanced at the red encirclement on the map: "Li Yunlong's Eastern Expeditionary Column is in danger."

Chu Yunfei took a deep breath and looked past the map.

"Brother Yunlong, you'll have to rely on yourself to weather this storm for now."

Caoshi Market, north of Woyang, in northern Anhui.

This was the temporary defensive core of the Eighth Route Army's Eastern Expeditionary Column.

Two days earlier, Li Yunlong had used this as a springboard to cooperate with the 31st Army Group in completing the encirclement of the Japanese 13th Mixed Brigade.

But now, the hunter has become the hunted.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Japanese 59th Division and the heavy artillery regiment of the North China Area Army are carrying out a devastating attack on Caoshiji.

The small town had long since turned into scorched earth, with broken walls and ruins teetering on the brink of collapse in the flames.

The column's command post was located in a reinforced cellar, and each explosion caused the ceiling to tremble and soil to fall down.

"Damn it!"

"What is that bastard Wang Zhonglian up to?!"

Li Yunlong slammed his military cap, stained with black ash, onto the map table, his eyes wide and bloodshot: "Two days!"

"It's been two whole days!"

"We cooked the food for them and brought it to the table, and they just wanted to watch us choke to death?"

“Telegrams for help were sent one after another. If it were our Eighth Route Army troops, we would have crawled across those thirty kilometers!”

"These are hardly friendly forces."

"I think that bastard is clearly trying to use someone else to do his dirty work!"

Li Yunlong's chest heaved violently with anger, while the sounds of gunfire outside were as dense as popping beans.

This was not only the main force of the Japanese 59th Division attacking, but even the 13th Brigade, which was originally surrounded and on the verge of collapse, seemed to have been injected with chicken blood, and attacked from behind, trying to break through.

"Have the casualty figures been tallied yet?" Li Yunlong shouted, turning his head.

"Commander," a staff officer said, head bowed, his voice choked with emotion, "the First Regiment has suffered more than half its casualties, and the Second Regiment's Third Battalion has been wiped out. The total number of casualties has exceeded four thousand."

"Ammunition is running low. The artillery battalion only has enough shells for two rounds. Moreover, due to the Japanese shelling, we only have three artillery pieces left that can fire."

"If we don't get reinforcements soon, we're afraid the Japanese will wipe us out here."

"What's there to be afraid of!" Li Yunlong glared. "All the battles I've fought in my life have been tough ones."

"Even if I have to bite, I'll tear a piece of flesh off Okamura Neiji!"

At this moment, Political Commissar Zhao Gang walked over carrying two dark cornbread buns, his expression still unusually calm.

"Old Li, calm down."

Zhao Gang handed the cornbread to Li Yunlong: "Wang Zhonglian preserving his strength is to be expected."

"You're not new to the fact that the Kuomintang army has that bad habit of its own."

"I'm angry at our brothers!"

Li Yunlong took a big bite of the cornbread, as if he were biting into Wang Zhonglian's flesh: "They're all good men, they didn't die on the way to the front, but they're going to suffocate because of this cowardice!"

"Don't worry, the sky won't fall down."

Zhao Gang walked to the map and pointed to the railway line in the north: "The headquarters leaders have already replied."

"In order to support us, the main force deployed in Hebei as a strategic reserve has been urgently boarded and is rapidly moving through the newly repaired railway section. After getting off the train, it will be less than 100 miles away from us."

"Two days at the latest!"

"Our fresh troops will arrive within two days!"

"Two days?" Li Yunlong gave a wry smile: "Old Zhao, look at the situation outside. The Japanese have gone mad. They've even brought in their reserves. It's hard to say whether we can hold out until tomorrow."

"And Chu Yunfei."

Zhao Gang lowered his voice: "I just received a coded message. Chief Advisor Chu already knows about the situation here."

"He gave the 31st Army a death order, and the wording was very harsh."

"Wang Zhonglian's troops are ordered to advance 20 kilometers towards Caoshiji within 24 hours to support the Eastern Expeditionary Column!"

"Otherwise, you will be court-martialed!"

"Court-martial?"

After hearing this, Li Yunlong's face showed no joy, but rather a hint of disdain and mockery: "Old Zhao, you're a scholar, you don't understand the intricacies of these Nationalist soldiers."

Li Yunlong spat out a mouthful of saliva: "Chu Yunfei is indeed powerful; he's now a War Marshal."

"Who is Wang Zhonglian?"

“Those are Tang Enbo’s staunch supporters, the most loyal of Chang Ruiyuan’s inner circle. Although Tang Enbo has now been relegated to the sidelines by Chu Yunfei, his influence still exists. Wang Zhonglian’s troops are actually troops that Chang Ruiyuan indirectly controls through Tang Enbo.”

"Wu Shaozhou, the commander of the 85th Army who led the way in slacking off, was also a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, a protégé of the emperor!"

"Chu Yunfei said he wanted to execute them, but that's impossible."

"When the Jin-Sui Army attacked Niangziguan and Taiyuan, Tang Enbo led his troops thousands of miles to their aid. That old friendship still exists. Otherwise, given Chu Yunfei's personality, would Tang Enbo have survived?"

Zhao Gang pondered for a moment and felt that Li Yunlong's words made some sense, so he couldn't help but sigh.

Li Yunlong snorted coldly: "So, even if you gave him the guts, he wouldn't dare to actually do it! He's just bluffing. You see, as long as Chang Ruiyuan protects his own, Wang Zhonglian will at most be dismissed after the war."

"Old Li, what do you suggest we do?"

"We still have to rely on ourselves!"

"Even if we lose everything, we will never bow down to these bastards!"

……

North China Front Command.

"Smash!" A delicate white porcelain teacup was smashed to pieces.

Chu Yunfei stood in front of his desk, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

Fang Ligong and Li Jingzhong stood to the side, silent as if trembling with fear.

"Bastard!"

"Absolutely outrageous!"

Chu Yunfei pointed to a report on the table, his fingers trembling: "What is Wang Zhonglian doing?"

"We've been encircling them for two whole days, but we've only advanced less than five kilometers!"

"And there's Xu Kang, the commander of the 27th Division!"

Chu Yunfei's gaze turned murderous: "I ordered him to rush to the flank of Caoshi Market, but instead, he took his guards to climb the mountain several miles away to enjoy the scenery?"

"I think he's just watching from the sidelines!"

"We're waiting to see this Eastern Expeditionary Force make a fool of itself!"

Fang Ligong cautiously said, "Your Excellency, this Xu Kang is a distant relative of Minister He Yingqin, and a graduate of the fourth class of the Whampoa Military Academy."

"I don't care whose relative he is!"

"Even if he is related to the Heavenly King himself, disobeying orders on the battlefield is a capital offense!"

Chu Yunfei turned around abruptly, a resolute glint in his eyes: "Now is the final critical period for the two parties to cooperate in the fight against Japan. If their selfish thoughts lead to the complete annihilation of the Eastern Expeditionary Column, who can bear this responsibility?"

"This is not only a military defeat, but also a political disaster."

"Jingzhong!"

"To!"

"Connect me to the private line to the Yamashiro Attendant's Office!"

Chu Yunfei grabbed the phone, his voice icy: "I want to speak directly with the Chairman!"

"If you're trying to make trouble for me, don't blame me for flipping the table."

Five minutes later, the call was connected.

"Principal, I am Chu Yunfei."

"...Yes, Liaocheng has been liberated, and the overall situation in western Shandong has been stabilized."

"But the situation in northern Anhui is critical."

"The Eighth Route Army's Eastern Expeditionary Column was surrounded and suffered heavy casualties."

"Xu Kang, commander of the 27th Division of the 31st Army Group, hesitated to advance and even went hiking and playing in the water before the battle, which resulted in a gaping hole in the flank defense line!"

"Chairman, the saying goes, 'To repel foreign aggression, one must first pacify the internal situation.' Now that military discipline has deteriorated to this extent, if we do not make an example of one to deter others, how can we win over the troops?"

"How can we face the soldiers bleeding on the front lines?!"

"I will use the authority of the Deputy Commander of the Joint Command and the Deputy Director of the Military Law Enforcement Department to bring Xu Kang to justice, based on the Chairman's Ten Kill Orders, as a warning to others!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time.

Chu Yunfei held the microphone firmly, his attitude leaving no room for negotiation.

Finally, Chang Ruiyuan's slightly tired but still authoritative voice came through the microphone: "Yunfei, since you have full command of the front line, then you have the final say. As long as the evidence is conclusive, whoever it is, will be severely punished without exception."

"I will personally call Wang Zhonglian to reprimand him."

"Okay, thank you for your support, Chairman!"

After hanging up the phone, Chu Yunfei no longer concealed the murderous intent in his eyes.

"Jingzhong, prepare a telegram!"

"Send this to the headquarters of the 31st Army Group, and copy it to all divisions and regiments!"

"Xu Kang, commander of the 27th Division, neglected his duties in the face of battle and allowed friendly forces to be trapped. He is hereby immediately dismissed from his post and escorted to Changzhi for trial. Deputy Division Commander Fu Yuan will assume his duties."

"Furthermore, send an urgent telegram to Wang Zhonglian: I want to see his troops appear outside Caoshiji before sunset tomorrow!"

"Yes!"

In a quiet mansion at the foot of Longshan Mountain, east of Woyang in northern Anhui.

The lush forests here are quite elegant, a world apart from the smoke-filled battlefield dozens of kilometers away.

Xu Kang, commander of the 27th Division, was reclining in a rattan chair, holding a purple clay teapot and humming a popular Peking Opera tune. On the map behind him, the red circle representing the Eighth Route Army's allies, located only thirty kilometers away from Caoshi Market, had been squeezed into a tiny dot by black Japanese arrows.

"Commander, the Chief of Staff called again, asking when we're setting off?" An adjutant cautiously approached. "He said the gunfire around Caoshiji has subsided considerably; they're afraid the Eighth Route Army can't hold out any longer..."

"No hurries?"

Xu Kang waved his hand impatiently, took a sip of tea, and pointed to the scenery of Longshan outside the window: "Although the scenery of Longshan is not as magnificent as Huangshan, it has its own unique charm. Wouldn't it be a pity not to take a good look at it?"

"As for the Communist army? They are notorious for their ability to penetrate deep into enemy territory. If we rush in now, we'll just be taking bullets for them. Let's wait until the Japanese offensive is exhausted before we go in to 'recapture lost territory,' and that will be a great achievement."

"But Chief Consultant Chu is pressing us very hard..."

"Chu Yunfei?" Xu Kang sneered. "My former superior was Minister He, and even the Chairman had to give him some face. What could Chu Yunfei really do to me? A general in the field has the authority to obey orders."

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the mansion's gate was violently kicked open.

Xu Kang was so frightened that his hand trembled, and the purple clay teapot shattered into pieces: "You bastard! Who dares to trespass?"

Before the words were even finished, two teams of fully armed military police, wearing steel helmets, rushed in, their dark submachine gun muzzles instantly pointed at everyone inside.

Immediately afterwards, a stern-faced lieutenant colonel strode in. The distinctive military police insignia on his armband caused Xu Kang's pupils to shrink instantly to needle size.

"Xu Kang!" The lieutenant colonel's voice was icy as he unfolded a telegram stamped with a bright red seal.

"By order of Chief Advisor Chu Zhihui of the Allied Forces China Theater Command and North China Joint Command!"

"Xu Kang, commander of the 27th Division, cowered in the face of battle, refused to come to the rescue, and watched as his comrades were surrounded, seriously missing a crucial opportunity!"

"Immediately remove him from all posts and escort him to the Changzhi Military Court for trial!"

"take away!"

"How dare you!" Xu Kang roared, his face pale but his voice trembling with fear. "I'm a graduate of the fourth class of the Whampoa Military Academy! I'm a division commander in the Central Army! I'm going to call Minister He! I'm going to call Chairman Chiang!"

The lieutenant colonel rebuked, "The Chairman personally ordered this; the evidence is conclusive. He must be severely punished!"

"How can it be!"

"how can that be"

The lieutenant colonel coldly looked at Xu Kang, who was being held up by the military police like a dead dog: "Don't even mention making a phone call. Even if the King of Heaven himself came today, he couldn't save you!"

"Also, your guards have been disarmed, so save your energy."

Watching Xu Kang being dragged out of the mansion like a dead pig, the adjutant and the staff around him trembled with fear, not daring to breathe.
"Commander Fu Yuan has assumed his duties. All officers should report to him immediately."

"Yes Yes Yes"

……

Headquarters of the 31st Army Group.

"Commander! Commander! Something terrible has happened!"

The chief of staff, clutching the telegram, stumbled into the operations room, his face deathly pale: "Commander Xu was arrested by the military law officers at Longshan Mansion. He was disarmed at the garrison and is now being escorted to the airport!"

"what?!"

Wang Zhonglian, who was smoking, suddenly jerked his hand, and the cigarette butt fell onto his trousers, burning a hole in them. He was completely unaware of it and jumped up abruptly: "What about the Chairman? Didn't the Chairman stop it?"

"This is a telegram forwarded by the General Staff; the Chairman has tacitly approved it!"

The chief of staff handed over the telegram, his voice trembling: "Furthermore, Commander Chu also has an urgent telegram for you, stating that if our reinforcements do not arrive by sunset tomorrow..."

"He's going to hold me accountable?!"

Wang Zhonglian snatched the telegram, and as he looked at the menacing words on it, a cold sweat broke out on his back.

He knew Chu Yunfei's personality all too well; he was a man of his word.

This time, Chu Yunfei was serious; he was wielding the imperial sword and ready to kill!

Wang Zhonglian sighed. If the Chairman had already yielded, what was the point of him sticking his neck out?

"Pass down the order: all units shall immediately launch a full-scale attack and break through the Japanese defenses by noon tomorrow. Anyone who misses the opportunity will be subject to military law."

"Yes!"

……

Caoshiji was the position of the Eighth Route Army's Eastern Expeditionary Force.

Smoke filled the air, and shouts of battle shook the heavens.

The Japanese 59th Division launched its twelfth assault, and Li Yunlong, the column commander, went to the front line to fight.

"The devils are coming!"

"The First Battalion can't hold out much longer!"

"We have to hold on, even if we can't! We'll risk our lives to plug this gap!" Li Yunlong's eyes were red as he prepared to personally lead the reserve team to charge forward and fight with bayonets.

Just then, the earth suddenly trembled.

"Boom-boom-boom-"

It wasn't Japanese artillery fire; the sound came from the side and rear, and it was incredibly dense.

Immediately afterwards, a continuous sea of ​​fire suddenly rose up on the flank of the Japanese attacking force.

"Commander! Look!"

Zhao Gang pointed south, an incredulous expression on his face: "It looks like the direction of the Central Army?"

Through the binoculars, the 31st Army Group, which had been moving like a tortoise, now seemed to have gone mad.

Groups of Nationalist soldiers, under the guns of their supervising officers and even led by their officers, howled as they launched a suicidal attack on the Japanese flanks.

Their artillery fire was no longer a symbolic "salute," but rather an indiscriminate barrage of bullets at the Japanese.

The Japanese 59th Division was completely unprepared for this "docile sheep" on its flank to suddenly turn into "mad dogs," and a large hole was torn open in its flank position in an instant.

"Be good."

Li Yunlong opened his mouth wide, stared blankly for a long time, then slapped his thigh and burst into laughter:

"Damn it, the sun has risen in the west! The Nationalist army, composed of soldiers from the Central Army, is actually helping us!"

"This offensive is incredibly fierce?"

Zhao Gang also looked on with emotion, then suddenly realized something and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes: "It seems that Brother Chu's 'imperial sword' has arrived. Only he can handle these old soldiers!"

"Don't miss this opportunity!"

Li Yunlong flung his hat off and roared, "Sound the charge! Launch a full-scale counterattack!"

"Cooperate with our allies and surround these damned Japanese devils like dumplings!!"

"Kill!!!" (End of Chapter)