Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Puyang, northern Henan, headquarters of the Fifth Army Group.

The continuous rain finally slowed down today, turning into a light drizzle, but the air was still filled with the smell of damp earth.

Commander-in-Chief Tang Huaiyuan paced back and forth in the narrow command post, his hands behind his back, like a tiger trapped in a cage.

The military boots underfoot made a dull thud as they stepped on the damp, muddy ground covered with straw.

He had torn page after page off the calendar on the wall; four full days had passed since he sent that "request for help" telegram to the front-line command headquarters.

Tang Huaiyuan stopped in front of the map, his gaze sweeping anxiously over the entire North China battlefield.

"The eighty-eighth episode has been rested and is now sharpening its swords, ready to cooperate with the armored forces to attack the Jinan direction."

"On the northern front, the Sixth Army Group is being closely pursued by the Kwantung Army and is also fighting a tough battle. It is unknown how long it can hold out."

"The Fourth Army has also completed its deployment and is ready to provide support on the flank."

Tang Huaiyuan suddenly turned around and looked at Chief of Staff Pang Qingzhen behind him, his voice filled with barely suppressed anger: "Only us! Our Fifth Army Group is an elite force personally organized by Your Majesty."

"Now look what's happened! Because of this muddy road, we tigers have no meat to eat!"

"If logistics can't keep up, we won't even get a taste of the benefits of the first phase. How will we break down the walls of Jining in the second phase of the battle?"

"Are you going to bang your head against it?"

Pang Qingzhen also looked distressed, holding several lists of ammunition being urgently requested. He helplessly advised, "Commander, please calm down."

"Didn't Your Excellency reply with a telegram promising to do so?"

"It's only been four days since we were supposed to resolve this within a week. The waterways are difficult to navigate, whether we go against the current or with it, it will take time."

How can I not be anxious?

Tang Huaiyuan plopped down on a chair made of ammunition boxes, slapped his thigh and said, "Although Commander Jiang Dingwen of the First War Zone is just watching helplessly over there, at least he doesn't have any missions."

“We are different; we are the main force of the right wing of the counter-offensive in North China.”

"The brothers have good weapons, but they can't keep going out without coming in!"

"Without further supplies, it's just a fire poker!"

at this time.

Suddenly, a noisy commotion arose outside the tent.

Immediately following was a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps, accompanied by the soldiers' unrestrained cheers.

"I'm coming!"

"Commander! You're here!"

A communications officer stumbled in, his face covered in mud, but he was all smiles: "We're here!"

"The fleet organized from the rear has arrived!"

Tang Huaiyuan jumped up abruptly, even overturning the chair behind him: "Where? How many are there?"

"Right at the Weihe Wharf!"

"There were so many boats that they blocked the river!"

"go!"

Without saying a word, Tang Huaiyuan grabbed his hat, put it on his head, and strode out.

……

Weihe River, at the temporary dock built by the engineering regiment.

Tang Huaiyuan stumbled up the hill, and when he looked up at the river, he was so shocked by the sight before him that he froze on the spot.

At this moment, a spectacular sight unfolds: thousands of sails race across the ancient Yellow River channel where the turbid waves meet the Wei River!

Looking out, white sails were like clouds and masts like a forest. The fleet of boats traveling downstream from upstream stretched for miles, crowding the wide river surface so much that it was impossible to move.

Those flat-bottomed barges with tattered sails, dark and narrow fishing boats with awnings, and even hundreds of sheepskin rafts strung together, all kinds of boats, big and small, were fully loaded with grain and ammunition. They cut through the waves in the rapids, like a giant steel dragon formed by the hearts of the people, with a majestic presence!

The boatmen's chants, the soldiers' cheers, and the sound of wind and rain mingled together, creating a grand battle song.

Tang Huaiyuan stood on the high hill by the shore, his eyes reddening with shock at the overwhelming scene of support.

He pointed directly at the surging Yellow River flowing eastward, and roared fiercely at Pang Qingzhen and countless soldiers standing solemnly behind him, making a resounding vow:

"brothers!"

"Open your eyes wide and look! What's floating on this river isn't grain or fodder, it's the blood and sweat that the people of North China have saved from their very teeth, it's our life-saving food!"

"With such people, what more could one ask for?"

"I, Tang Huaiyuan, swear by the Wei River today: In this battle, I will lead the charge, crush Jining, and annihilate the enemy before us!"

"Anyone who acts like a coward will not only face military justice, but will also let down the people who are sailing across the river. They are not worthy of being a true Chinese soldier!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The soldiers on the shore were stirred by the magnificent sight and their commander's oath, and roared in unison.

Tang Huaiyuan strode down the hill and arrived at the dock.

An old boatman with a weathered face and wearing a straw raincoat was directing several young men to carry supplies onto the gangplank on the shore.

Upon seeing Tang Huaiyuan in his officer's uniform, the old man quickly wiped the mud off his hands and awkwardly prepared to bow.

"Old man, you mustn't!"

Tang Huaiyuan helped the old man up, looking at his hands covered in calluses and cracks, his voice trembling slightly: "Where did you come from?"

"Reporting to the commander."

The old man grinned, revealing a set of broken, yellow teeth, his smile radiant: "We came down the Yellow River from Shanxi, and some of us came from Hebei."

"The government said that the roads to the front lines were difficult to travel, and large trucks were stuck in the mud and could not move, which worried the officers at the front."

"That won't do!"

The old man pointed to the endless fleet of boats behind him and said loudly, "We common folk may not have any other skills, but we do have the skills to row boats and rafts!"

"Commander Chu issued us a full complement of guns and cannons so that we could defend our country. How can we let our ammunition run out?"

"Look, everyone from the surrounding villages and towns who owns a boat has come!"

"This ship is loaded with bullets, and the rest of the ship is for the wounded to eat!"

Tang Huaiyuan held the old man's hand tightly, his eyes moist.

Just then, a second lieutenant quartermaster excitedly ran over carrying a box of ammunition that had just been unloaded, prying open the lid like he was showing off a treasure: "Commander-in-Chief!"

"Look! These are all newly manufactured shells!"

"Commander!"

"There's something big coming from behind the fleet!"

Pang Qingzhen pointed to the center of the river, where several large, flat-bottomed barges with extremely deep drafts slowly approached the shore. The tarpaulins covering them were partially lifted, revealing large cannon barrels.

"That's a 105mm howitzer!"

The cheers from the shore reached their peak instantly.

Tang Huaiyuan was overjoyed and was about to go forward to check when he saw a tall, white-haired but vigorous major general stepping off the barge and smiling at him.

Tang Huaiyuan looked closely and was immediately startled. He quickly stepped forward and tightly grasped the other person's hands: "Principal Ouyang, your hair..."

The visitor was Major General Ouyang Xianpeng, the vice principal of the Shanxi branch of the Central Artillery School.

He was one of the few artillery generals under Chu Yunfei's command, and now he is focused on the development of the artillery force.

"Commander Tang, how have you been?"

Ouyang Xianpeng grasped Tang Huaiyuan's hand in return: "You know, my hair... these past few years at the artillery school have kept me so busy. You know, Commander Chu values ​​the artillery unit the most, and the task of building up the artillery force fell on the shoulders of the artillery school."

As the vice principal, how could I possibly relax for a moment? To be frank, my most relaxed days were the days I spent fighting the Japanese on the front lines with you, sir.

Ouyang Xianpeng patted the 105mm howitzer next to him, which had just been unloaded from the ship and whose barrel was still glistening with oil: "I never thought that these most advanced teaching tools would have the opportunity to go to the front line."

"The situation at the front is critical, and we don't have much time left. We don't know how much longer Qian Bojun's troops can hold out."

"So, Chief Advisor Chu ordered all the training cannons to be brought up." Ouyang Xianpeng sighed, "Commander Tang, you should remember how good our Commander is to you."

"This is the last of the artillery academy's assets, an entire heavy artillery training regiment!"

"Back when Xue Jie attacked Liaocheng, he begged and pleaded to borrow a few weapons to strengthen his firepower, but you wouldn't budge."

"As a result of your telegram, the commander-in-chief, without saying a word, directly brought you all of our 'school's most prized possessions'!"

"I think Your Excellency is quite biased towards you, the Commander-in-Chief who came from a 'miscellaneous' background!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Huaiyuan felt a surge of heat in his chest, and his eyes instantly turned red.

Tang Huaiyuan himself knew clearly that this was not favoritism, but trust!

It's a trust!
It was telling him about Tang Huaiyuan.

In Chu Yunfei's eyes, the Fifth Army Group was no different from other elite troops; they were all the main force fighting the Japanese!
Tang Huaiyuan took a deep breath, stepped back, and solemnly saluted Ouyang Xianpeng and the ships full of supplies.

... Half an hour later.

Tang Huaiyuan rushed back to the command post, and before he had even taken off his raincoat, he went straight to the confidential room.

"Qingzhen!"

"Record this! I need to send a telegram to Your Excellency!"

Tang Huaiyuan, his face etched with barely concealed excitement, paced back and forth a couple of times, organizing his thoughts, before speaking in a firm and resolute tone:

"To the Headquarters at the Front, Your Excellency:"

"At noon today, the water supply line was opened! Thousands of sails raced across the Yellow River estuary, and tens of thousands of tons of supplies arrived in Puyang! Moreover, Principal Ouyang personally led the teachers and students of the Artillery School, carrying heavy artillery to provide reinforcements. All the soldiers and officers were moved to tears upon seeing this, and their morale was greatly boosted!"

Tang Huaiyuan paused, his tone becoming exceptionally solemn and affectionate:

"Your Excellency's strategic planning not only relieved our army's urgent crisis, but also showed us what the deep bond between the army and the people truly means, and what the weight of comradeship between comrades is. With the people treating us so well and Your Excellency trusting us so much, how can we soldiers stand between heaven and earth if we do not vow to fight to the death?"

"Zhi Tang Huaiyuan, on behalf of all officers and soldiers of the Fifth Group Army, hereby swears:"

"With ample supplies of food and ammunition, and heavy artillery at our disposal, our troops will never retreat another step!"

"At dawn tomorrow, I will personally lead the army eastward across the entire front!"

"No matter how strong the Japanese defenses are, or how muddy the roads are, our Fifth Army Group will surely capture Jining within the stipulated time and cooperate with the main force to annihilate the Japanese invaders! With this great victory, we will repay Your Excellency's trust and the deep affection of our fellow countrymen!"

"This telegram is sent with utmost respect. Please await good news, Your Excellency!"

"Send it out immediately!"

"Yes!" The confidential staff officer's fingers flew across the telegraph key, sending this telegram, filled with patriotism and gratitude, toward the Liaocheng forward command post.
-
"This Tang Huaiyuan is indeed a veteran."

Luxi, Liaocheng Front Command Headquarters.

Chu Yunfei chuckled and said, "With supplies, we immediately stand tall."

"If the Fifth Army can capture Jining, Xue Jie and his men's mission will be much easier."

Fang Ligong took the telegram, glanced at it, and said with a look of satisfaction, "Yes, Your Excellency."

"With the support of Ouyang Xianpeng's heavy artillery training regiment, plus ample ammunition, even in a head-on confrontation, Jining City is within our grasp."

"In this way, our flank is now completely secure."

"Alright, let him fight it out."

Chu Yunfei waved his hand, signaling Fang Ligong to go and attend to other matters.

Once the operations room quieted down, he slowly walked to the huge military map. His gaze didn't linger on Luxi, where victory was already assured, but instead crossed the Yellow River, the Shanhaiguan Pass, and even the vast ocean, looking towards a more distant future.

Beneath the seemingly calm exterior.

Chu Yunfei, however, was secretly planning something that would affect the country's future for decades to come.

Enter the military panel of the system submodule.

Chu Yunfei began to consider how to use his merit points at this stage.

Before his eyes, light and shadow shifted, and a translucent, azure-blue virtual interface, visible only to him, instantly unfolded.

[Current remaining merit points: 1,350,000]

After the last Battle of Western Hubei.

Chu Yunfei consumed over a million merit points.

The fourth phase of the counter-offensive, plus the Battle of Qiongzhou Island, brought the total to 1.35 million.

Looking at the long string of zeros, Chu Yunfei tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table.

This is a huge sum of money.

Chu Yunfei needed to carefully consider how to use up these merit points.

"Army side."

He shook his head slightly.

With the opening of the US aid route, Stilwell, in an effort to win over the Chinese army to share the burden on the Asian battlefield, has been sending large quantities of M4A3 Sherman tanks, M3 half-tracks, and ten-wheeled trucks to China.

Although not as good as the anticipated future competitors.

On the Asian battlefields of this era, the small fry were more than enough to crush the Japanese army.

The same applies to artillery. With American-made 105mm and 155mm howitzers, plus a large number of captured Japanese mountain and field guns, and the manufacturing capabilities of the Changzhi and Longcheng Arsenals, the only thing to do in the future is to replace and standardize the calibers. It is no longer an urgent matter.

"navy."

Chu Yunfei's gaze swept over the expensive battleship and aircraft carrier blueprints. Although he longed for them, he wisely chose to skip them.

A navy that has stood the test of time is not something that can be achieved overnight.

Even if we were to acquire the aircraft carrier construction technology of this era, without skilled sailors, complete port facilities, an escort system, or even a shipyard capable of production, we would simply be sending targets to the Japanese or our "allies" who haven't yet turned against us.

Since the Americans are willing to provide a task force to assist, let's use this opportunity to lay the groundwork and gradually cultivate talent.

Chu Yunfei's gaze finally settled on that column—[Air Force/Aviation Industry].

"Air superiority"

Chu Yunfei muttered to himself, the weight of those two words had been infinitely elevated in this era.

Even a contestant like Chang Ruiyuan understands the importance of air force development.

The bombing of the Yellow River Iron Bridge has just ended.

Two B-25 squadrons turned the Kwantung Army's reinforcements into innocent victims in the Yellow River.

Combined with the God's-eye view of a three-dimensional combat map, and the terrifying power of air superiority.

Besides this, deep in Chu Yunfei's memory lies an even more unforgettable pain.

That was more than a decade later, in the icy and snowy landscape of that peninsula.

Countless of the most beloved soldiers, even with their iron will and the ability to defeat the world's strongest nation with rudimentary weapons, still had to pay a devastating price under the barrage of aerial bombs and napalm.

At that time, China had no aircraft of its own and no aviation industry of its own; air superiority was entirely in the hands of others.

The helplessness and tragedy of having to march at night and fight against the steel wings with only flesh and blood is an eternal pain in the heart of every Chinese person.

Chu Yunfei naturally did not want to see this situation.

From a practical point of view, it is absolutely impossible to win by sheer numbers.

Even if the industrial capacity of the Soviet Union or the United States were to stagnate, it would still take the Republic of China more than ten years to catch up.

Since the quantity gap cannot be bridged, quality naturally becomes the next priority.

Although the Americans are being generous now, giving us P-40s, P-51s, and even B-25s, these are all just "blood transfusions".

Once the war ends or the international situation changes drastically, they can cut off the supply of spare parts at any time, and ground the National Revolutionary Army's air force at any time.

Everyone knows that for a major power, without its own aviation industry, national defense is just empty talk!
Therefore, the Chinese military must not only have aircraft, but also the ability to manufacture them! From engines to skins, from instruments to cannons, everything must be completely domestically produced!

Chu Yunfei took a deep breath and focused his consciousness on the system's online store, skipping over the outdated biplanes and temporarily ignoring the jet fighters that required too much industrial infrastructure and were currently impossible to manufacture.

Chu Yunfei's goal is clear: to develop an excellent propeller-driven fighter jet that will have absolute dominance for the next seven years or so, while also serving as a "teaching tool" and "cornerstone" for China's aviation industry, and to cultivate aviation talent on a large scale before considering jet fighters.

"Exchange list search: single-engine, piston-engine, all-metal, long-range, multi-role fighter jets."

Soon, one familiar model after another appeared.

F4U Corsair, P-47 Raider, J-5, etc.

There are also some technical verification blueprints that cannot be redeemed for the time being, representing advanced technologies that are ahead of their time.

The subsystem panel suggests that production is not possible at the current industrial level in the short term.

Chu Yunfei's gaze was fixed on the silver figure.

[P-51D Mustang fighter jet (complete technical documentation and core equipment for the production line)]

【包含：帕卡德V-1650-7液冷发动机全套图纸及铸造工艺、层流翼型气动布局数据、K-14陀螺瞄准具制造技术、12.7mm M2航空机枪生产线.】

[Exchange Price: 750000 Merit Points]

P-51D

A hint of emotion flashed in Chu Yunfei's eyes; this was the most "perfect" fighter plane in the later stages of World War II.

With its long range, it can provide full escort for bombers.

It is fast and can easily defeat any active-duty fighter jet of the Japanese, Soviet, or German armies.

With its formidable firepower, six 12.7mm heavy machine guns are enough to tear everything apart.

It can also carry bombs and rockets for ground support.

More importantly, although its technology is highly challenging, it does not exceed the current limits of Chinese industry in this era.

With the addition of related technologies from the United States, once this fighter jet is thoroughly mastered, China's aero-engine technology, aerodynamics, and precision machining technology will directly catch up with the world's top levels. (End of Chapter)