The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 270 Some Follow-up
As has been emphasized several times before: the world that Hu Biao and his companions traveled to was definitely not some fictional mission world.

It is a world that actually existed more than eighty years ago.

So when Hu Biao and his group briefly returned to the modern world, everything in this world did not stop because of their departure.

What was bound to happen, still happened.

However, because of Hu Biao and his group, although some major places remained unchanged and the course of history was not altered, some smaller places were ultimately changed in this vast world.

This led to some differences in how the world developed afterward, so it can be said that these guys didn't come for nothing...

On the morning of April 5th, many major newspapers in China reported the news of the National Revolutionary Army's great victory over the Japanese in Taierzhuang in great detail.

And attached to the report was this impressive achievement:

In this major battle that lasted for more than a month, the National Revolutionary Army annihilated the Japanese Seya Detachment, killing its commander, Major General Seya Kei, and several high-ranking officers, including Colonel Akashiba Yaezo.

Including the 5th Division, the 10th Division, and other units, the Japanese suffered extremely heavy casualties this time.

In this battle, a total of 22372 Japanese soldiers were killed, 861 were captured, and 8025 were wounded. The total casualties of the North China Area Army exceeded 30,000.

Although the Setani Detachment destroyed many supplies and equipment that they could not take with them during their hasty withdrawal.

However, in the rush, the Nationalist army still managed to capture a large amount of equipment, including 62 artillery pieces, over 1000 light and heavy machine guns, and over 12000 rifles.

There were countless supplies, including artillery shells and bullets of various calibers, helmets, and water bottles.

More importantly, they captured the regimental flag of the Japanese 10th Infantry Regiment; from then on, the Japanese 10th Infantry Regiment would be permanently disbanded by the Imperial General Headquarters, which can be considered as a complete annihilation.

When you compare the results to the original outcome, it's clear that...

The appearance of Hu Biao and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment resulted in the complete annihilation of the Setani Detachment, causing the Japanese to suffer tens of thousands more casualties, and the complete cancellation of the 10th Infantry Regiment's designation.

After the news of the great victory spread, the Chinese people were overjoyed, and countless people were crying as they read the newspapers aloud.

There was no other way! This victory was simply too precious.

Since the fighting with the Japanese at Lugou Bridge last year, the National Revolutionary Army has been putting up a fierce resistance, but it is lagging behind in terms of equipment, troop quality, and tactics.

After the defeat in the Battle of Shanghai, the Central Army and various factions deployed a large number of elite troops.

After suffering 300,000 casualties, they were still defeated.

Despite the defeat in the Battle of Taiyuan, and despite the fact that Yan Xishan's arsenal could manufacture guns and cannons and the Jin-Sui Army was well-equipped, they still lost Taiyuan under the Japanese attack.

Yan Xishan's hard-earned wealth, including the Taiyuan Arsenal, one of the largest in all of China, also fell into the hands of the Japanese.

In this war to defend the homeland, China's equipment manufacturing capabilities became increasingly weak.

The Battle of Nanjing was lost, and the capital city fell into the hands of the Japanese, with reports of a massacre even emerging.

In short, for more than half a year after the start of the war, all we heard was bad news: either a place had fallen or a general had died in battle.

Although the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese invaders was shattered by our Party in the Battle of Pingxingguan.

However, there were many more reports of the Japanese, who only had four islands, rampaging across Chinese territory and suffering repeated defeats despite the National Revolutionary Army's all-out resistance.

We've heard this kind of news so many times that everyone is almost in despair.

A profound sense of pessimism, as if the nation were on the verge of extinction, is currently pervading the entire country.

At this critical moment, news came that a group of ragtag troops from the Fifth War Zone, under the command of Commander Li, had achieved a brilliant victory by annihilating the Japanese Seya Detachment, and even captured their generals and flags.

The morale of the Chinese military and civilians was immediately boosted, and their determination to resist to the end became even stronger.

As the great man said in "The Protracted War":
Winning a major victory each month, such as at Pingxingguan or Taierzhuang, can greatly demoralize the enemy, boost our army's morale, and garner international support...

On April 10, the Nationalist government issued a series of commendation orders based on the achievements of the various units in the Battle of Taierzhuang.

General Wang Mingzhang, who died fighting in Teng County, was posthumously awarded the rank of Army General.

The Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun was awarded to Commander Tang, Sun Lianzhong, Tian Zhennan, Feng Anbang, Huang Qiaosong, Zhang Jinzhao, Chi Fengcheng, Wu Pengju, and other generals.
In addition, all the officers and soldiers under their command received some rewards.

The Chinese people did not have much objection to the above reward decision. The soldiers had just won a great victory after a hard-fought battle, and it was only right that they were promoted and made rich.

However, the Nationalist government's subsequent reward to the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment caused an uproar among the Chinese people.

The reward they gave was that Hu Biao, Annie, Uncle Bo, Chen Tang, Xu Feng, Mo Shuiyan, and Huang Yizhi were awarded the Third Class Precious Tripod Medal.

Zanana, the wizard, Lao Yu, Nan Ze, Van Gogh, and others were awarded the Fourth Class Order of the Precious Cauldron.

Apart from these changes, all other aspects, such as rank, currency, and position, remained unchanged; the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was still organized as a Class B infantry regiment. This outcome drew strong criticism from the Chinese people.

Just kidding! After several days of continuous reporting by numerous newspapers both in China and abroad, especially the photos taken by the foreign journalist Robert Capa, they were all published in the newspapers.

Everyone knows that the great victory in this battle was largely due to the desperate fighting of Generals Wang Mingzhang and Chi Fengcheng, and their soldiers.

But the most crucial element was Hu Biao and his comrades, who led the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Hu Tuanzuo and his men, along with a group of policemen, bandits, students, and farmers, fought bloody battles for several days in Tengxian and Taierzhuang, holding off the Japanese invaders' frenzied attacks.

Using their own flesh and blood, they not only decimated a large number of Japanese troops, but also destroyed all their tanks.

In the final battle, he led some cavalrymen riding inferior horses, or even mules, to repeatedly charge the main force of the Seya Detachment, and finally succeeded in killing the enemy general and capturing the flag.

The Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment achieved such great feats and should definitely be considered the greatest contributor to this battle, yet they were only given some Precious Tripod Medals as a reward?

Faced with the nationwide uproar and overwhelming public opinion, the Nationalist government's explanation was:

While Hu Biao and others certainly made great contributions, they also committed serious mistakes.

First, the unauthorized massacre of prisoners, including burying them alive in front of international friends, had an extremely negative impact on the international community and damaged China's civilized image.

Secondly, without seeking permission or reporting after the war, he once again went into hiding and has not been heard from since.

Furthermore, they took away the regimental flag of the 10th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese army, instead of handing it over to the Nationalist government for exhibition to boost the morale of the Chinese people in their resistance against Japan, showing no discipline whatsoever as soldiers.

Considering all of the above, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the merits and demerits cancel each other out.

The awarding of some Precious Tripod Medals to them was only due to the repeated requests for commendation from Commander Li of the Fifth War Zone, and the bald-headed principal's leniency.

Despite this explanation, the Chinese people are still very dissatisfied.

However, as time went by, this war between an industrialized nation and an agricultural nation continued, with the national army suffering repeated defeats.

Amidst the difficult life and situation, these opinions gradually subsided.

However, many people still keep wondering from time to time: Where are Hu Biao, Commander Hu, and his comrades?

******
In addition to the above, Hu Biao and his companions' time travel also brought about some other changes.

On June 1, Uncle Sam's New York Times published extensive evidence and details of the Nanjing Massacre perpetrated by the Japanese.

That was Robert Capa, the foreign journalist, who heard the news from Hu Biao.

After more than a month of investigation, with the help of the Nationalist government, a lot of key evidence was obtained; after all, the Military Intelligence Bureau had been collecting relevant evidence since January.

After revising it, I submitted it to the New York Times and it was successfully published.

The entire Western world was immediately shocked by the Japanese devils' insane and bestial behavior.

More ordinary Westerners collectively condemned the atrocities committed by the Japanese invaders, thoroughly tarnishing their reputation. At the same time, sympathy for China's resistance against Japan and public support increased significantly compared to before.

Unfortunately, foreign countries prioritize profit above all else.

Aside from condemnation, they didn't impose many official embargoes, let alone actually participate in the war.

Fortunately, even so, the atrocities committed by the Japanese in the Nanjing Massacre were fully known to the Western world in June of 6.

So that decades later, many people wouldn't have never heard of this atrocity committed by the Japanese.

More importantly, decades later, the Japanese could no longer shamelessly deny such a massacre.

Besides this, Xuzhou also fell on May 19th.

The difference is that when our Party established the Lunan base area in Tengxian, Zaozhuang, Xuzhou and other areas, it quickly assembled a powerful force of four to five thousand people, equipped with a full range of weapons and many elite veterans.

These Japanese weapons and equipment were actually spoils of war that Hu Biao distributed when the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment disbanded.

The elite veterans among them were members of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment who fought a fierce battle alongside Commander Hu; how could they, who had personally annihilated the Seya Detachment, possibly act as obedient subjects under Japanese rule?

Thanks to all of the above, the Lunan base area became the strongest sub-region among the base areas in Shandong Province shortly after its establishment.

They launched attacks in all directions, causing the Japanese North China Area Army considerable trouble.

On this point, we absolutely must thank Hu Biao and his team for laying a solid foundation, whether intentionally or unintentionally...

(End of this chapter)