Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 203: Southeast Asia is stained with blood, and Japan is frantically increasing its troops

Outside Manila, Philippines.

"Long live SAARC~Long live America~"

A native Filipino, shouting passionate slogans in broken Chinese, wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a bag of explosives weighing more than 100 kilograms, rushed towards an unfinished bunker of the Japanese army like a madman.

There was a loud bang, and after a huge explosion, the entire bunker and the brave Filipino extra were blown to pieces, and the Japanese defensive offensive was immediately broken.

Immediately, countless Filipino Malays and Chinese joined forces and rushed out as if they suddenly appeared. Led by a tough woman, she roared and aimed her shoulder-mounted rocket launcher at the heavy machine gun that was about to fire in the distance. With one blast, she completely blew the remaining machine gun position into pieces.

"Kill!"

This is a medium-sized rice warehouse used by the Japanese for transit outside Manila. It is filled with almost half a warehouse of rice.

It is not something very valuable, just one of the hundreds of ordinary rice warehouses in the entire Manila area.

Therefore, the Japanese naturally could not send too many troops to stay behind, only one squadron.

With explosive packs flying in the air and rocket launchers clearing the way, three warriors with Thompson rifles were providing cover from behind, and most of the Filipino guerrillas behind them were also attacking with shotguns and Zhongzheng rifles.

A mere squadron of Japanese soldiers were stunned at the first moment. Although they fought back fiercely, they were still wiped out by this small group after only killing three Malays.

"Quick, arrange for someone to take pictures, then we'll go back to the Chinese and exchange them for supplies. The rest of you, follow me and charge in. Set fire to the food. No one should take it. Burn it all and we'll run. As long as you take pictures, I promise you we can exchange it for 3+2 sandwiches from the Chinese this time."

"it is good!"

A machine gunner, after yelling and killing a Japanese soldier, turned around and shouted, "No durian flavor!"

"Hoo~, hoo~"

The flamethrower guns produced with technology purchased from the Soviet Union have now been mass-produced and are one of the weapons Penang has provided the most to the Philippine battlefield.

Two flamethrowers entered the warehouse and started spraying without even looking. In less than a minute, the entire warehouse was on fire.

In addition to gasoline, this flamethrower also contained a thickener. The warehouse itself was made of wood, and the newly harvested rice had not been husked. When the wind blew, it turned into a sea of ​​fire in a moment and could not be extinguished at all.

"Alright, retreat quickly, the Japanese reinforcements will arrive at any time."

"Retreat, retreat quickly, don't forget to take pictures."

"Retreat, retreat quickly, don't linger in the battle, don't waste precious lives, don't make meaningless sacrifices."

"Sister Nevis, when you exchange cookies with the Chinese this time, please don't exchange them for durian flavored ones. They taste like shit."

"Oh, I get it. This time we're going to change to mango flavor. Have you taken the photos? You don't have to kill the Japanese, but you have to take good photos. The Chinese only recognize that."

"I heard that Chinese people respect big sisters very much. Otherwise, big sister, why don't you make a sacrifice and marry that Captain Wang? That way, we won't have to work so hard and can still have 3+2 cookies to eat."

"You're going to die, don't say such things."

"What are you afraid of? I just feel that Captain Wang definitely likes Big Sister."

"If you ask me, since you're using a honey trap, why did you marry Captain Wang? Wouldn't it be better to just marry Mr. Zheng? Didn't Mr. Zheng admire you so much?"

"Bullshit, that Chinese guy named Zheng already has a wife."

"Aren't Chinese people allowed to marry as many wives as they want? One more sister isn't too many."

"You're going to die! Run! The Japanese reinforcements are coming!"

The woman in the lead was naturally the legendary Filipino anti-Japanese female general, Nevis Fernandez.

Zheng Yi was also very interested in this person. After all, it was not easy for a woman to take on such a important role in a place like Nanyang.

Although the Philippines is a Catholic country, the status of women is not very high.

So after knowing this person, Zheng Yi specially sent a plane to pick her up and brought her to Penang, where he had an in-depth discussion with her and the interview lasted for almost four hours.

Afterwards, he was sent to Bataan by a Penang plane to meet Marshal Mai.

Zheng Yi did intend to boost this woman's reputation and make her an anti-Japanese leader among the native Filipinos.

Because women, especially unmarried women, are the best political resources in any era.

In fact, Zheng Yi had hinted several times, both explicitly and covertly, to the anti-Japanese leader in the Philippines named Wang Hanjie, asking him to hurry up and have a relationship with this woman.

Wouldn’t it be bad if the Americans got there first?

You know, there are quite a few Chinese in the Philippines, but at the same time, the Chinese in the Philippines are the most special among all Chinese.

Simply put, most of the Chinese in the Philippines have become "Filipinoized". They are actually the best-performing among all the Chinese in Southeast Asia. They basically control all aspects of Philippine society, whether it is politics, economy, or even military, all are controlled by the Chinese.

However, it was precisely because everyone was doing so well, and the indigenous Filipinos believed in Catholicism and had a strong ability to assimilate, so gradually, most of the Chinese in the Philippines abandoned their Chinese identity.

For example, the famous Filipino revolutionary hero and future father of the Philippines, Jose, is actually a Chinese, but they no longer consider themselves Chinese.

Most Filipino Chinese of two or even three generations have already abandoned their Chinese identity, which is completely opposite to the situation in Malaya.

Almost all the powerful families in the country have ancestors of Chinese descent.

This also leads to the fact that Chinese people are not treated differently in the Philippines, but their influence is not great, and the Chinese card is not easy to play.

But at the same time, the integration of Chinese and indigenous peoples here is far more common than in Malaya.

Therefore, Zheng Yi did not intend to play the Chinese card in the Philippines after World War II, because there was really no point in playing it. As long as he could support a pro-SAARC family force that was even willing to actively join the SAARC, he would be very satisfied.

If Wang Hanjie could marry Nevis, Zheng Yi would be very willing to support the couple to become one of the aristocratic families after World War II.

Of course, that was all after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Right now, everyone’s goal is the same, which is to send the Japanese devils to hell.

The goal Zheng Yi set for these Filipino guerrillas was also very simple: food.

There is no need to specifically aim to kill the Japanese army's manpower. That is too dangerous and may not be useful. After all, Japan is a populous country with a population of 6000 million and has mobilized 700 million soldiers in history.

However, food is different.

The agricultural situation in the Philippines is very similar to that in Malaya. Both countries cannot produce their own food, and the main crops grown are cash crops such as rubber, tobacco, and sugarcane.

Of course, the local indigenous people of the Philippines can use bananas as their staple food. However, as we all know, bananas cannot be transported for a long time. Moreover, as East Asians, the Japanese would probably not be happy if they were asked to eat bananas as a meal every day.

Just like Malaya, Zheng Yi wanted to completely turn the Philippines into the North China region and increase the cost of Japanese rule.

If there is not enough food, the Japanese will further intensify their grain collection, which will naturally lead to more conflicts with local indigenous peoples, more guerrillas, and more food shortages in Japan, thus entering a vicious cycle.

Not only will the Japanese be unable to extract any benefits from their colony in the Philippines, but they may even need to transport food from other places to feed the occupying forces here.

Faced with the guerrillas everywhere and the 80,000 US-Philippines coalition forces still resisting on the Bataan Peninsula, I am afraid that even if the occupying forces are small, they will not be able to suppress the enemy.

If the occupying forces are insufficient, the necessary resources, especially food, will be indispensable, thus falling into another vicious circle.

Retreat? Retreat is definitely not an option. If we retreat, Marshal MacArthur will definitely launch a counterattack, and the US military will definitely make a comeback.

At present, the US military has only borrowed Penang as a stronghold, which is already in such trouble. If the US military is allowed to retake the Philippines, the Japanese army in the entire South Pacific will be under the US military's attack again, and even islands such as Hainan and Taiwan will probably be difficult to defend.

Then Japan can almost prepare to surrender.

Therefore, the Japanese had no choice but to bear this loss and had to withdraw one division after another to delay the battle here.

In fact, Japan has already withdrawn a lot of its mobilized Nanyang Army and stationed them in the Philippines. And this is not to suppress Marshal Mai, but to start building defensive positions, fearing that Marshal Mai would come out to attack.

At this time, Bataan Peninsula.

hum~
hum~
A bomber formation composed of countless B17, 18, and 25 bombers flew over the heads of the Japanese army, dropping countless bombs, forcing the Japanese army to hide in the trenches and dare not come out at all.

"Kill!"

The battlefield is the best teacher. Several months of fierce fighting have transformed the US-Philippines coalition forces into elite soldiers.

Almost as soon as the bombers passed by, they rushed towards the Japanese positions as if they were completely disregarding their lives.

In the rear, grenade launchers and mortars were assisting them like raindrops, and the American soldiers rushing in the front were all holding flamethrowers. They were dozens of meters away and did not need to aim at all, and they did not even need to see people. They just sprayed fire directly at the trenches, earth walls, and woods.

The Soviet experience was absolutely correct. The flamethrower was a magical weapon when fighting against the Japanese army.

Recently, the war on the Bataan Peninsula has become increasingly intense. Today you seize my position, and tomorrow I seize your position. After repeated tug-of-war, it has clearly become a meat grinder, but both sides are adding fuel to the fire.

The Japanese army has no idea how many brigades, regiments, and detachments it has added. Anyway, the US military can kill one or two hundred Japanese soldiers every day, but the number of Japanese soldiers has not decreased, and it has even increased.

Bang~!

There was a sudden roar of a huge cannon, and a steel behemoth suddenly and mysteriously rushed out from the bunker. The heavy machine gun rotated and began to fire at the dense crowd.

"It's a tank! There are Japanese tanks here. Where are the bazookas?"

"Boom~"

A brave American soldier carrying a rocket launcher stepped forward under the heavy machine gun fire. After one shot, he was also riddled with bullets.

"Boom, boom, boom."

The sound of artillery fire came one after another. Although a rocket launcher damaged the tank, more and more tanks soon emerged from the dense forest.

"Oh my God, there's a whole tank brigade here. When did the Japanese send in so many tanks?"

"Retreat! Retreat quickly, retreat quickly."

"Bazooka~, we need bazookas." "Damn it, why didn't our air force find them."

Because of the sudden appearance of the tank brigade, the US military was defeated and retreated, and the Japanese army pushed back three forward positions in one go.

However, that's all. The Bataan Peninsula is a mountainous jungle terrain, and a large number of tanks cannot be deployed. Moreover, after the US military has rocket launchers, they also have ways to deal with them.

The battlefield fell into a stalemate again.

After learning that three positions had been lost on the front line, Marshal Mai seemed quite calm. He simply ordered, "Send a telegram to Mr. Zheng in Penang and tell him that at least one tank brigade, and possibly more than a division, has been reinforced on the Bataan Peninsula."

"Yes."

........................

Almost the same scene was also happening in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and other places on the Malay Peninsula. When the Japanese army was gradually losing its strength, its reinforcements arrived.

The Singapore Volunteer Army also suffered heavy losses as a result, and suffered a huge loss. The situation was much worse than that in the Philippines.

Boom~boom~boom~boom~
Singapore,
The Japanese army suffered too much disadvantage in the hand-to-hand combat in the dense jungle and was unwilling to fight to the death with the Singapore Volunteer Army.

Relying on his advantages in manpower and artillery fire, Yamashita Tomoyuki forced the Indian and Malay British troops to encircle them, while at the same time forming a square formation with mortars and blindly bombing the woods. However, this caused heavy losses to the Singapore Volunteer Army, forcing them to retreat again and again.

Singapore, which originally should have had only two or three divisions at most, suddenly seemed to have become four or five divisions, with a huge increase in military strength. Coupled with the betrayal of the Indians, the Singapore Volunteer Army led by Tan Lark Sye was under great pressure.

And in the Dutch East Indies, Palembang.

A large number of disobedient Americans, Australians, Chinese, and Dutch were hung high on trees. Below, young men cooked with firewood were roasting them slowly over a low fire, burning them alive starting from their feet and calves.

This was the Japanese army's favorite way of torturing prisoners, because only fat in the human body is easy to burn, while muscles are not easy to burn. The fire used by the Japanese army was not very big, and there was actually not much fat left in the bodies of these tortured prisoners.

Therefore, usually, the lower body of a person who is roasted by fire is completely burned into charcoal, but the upper body will not die easily. Some people with strong vitality may not die even after howling from morning to night.

The Japanese army liked to use this method to deal with troublemakers among the prisoners of war, and forced other prisoners of war to watch the miserable conditions of their former comrades.

However, this cruel method was used to convey a sense of fear to the prisoners of war, forcing them to go down into the burning or boiling oil wells to work.

In order to repair the oil wells as quickly as possible, the Japanese army did not care about the lives of these prisoners at all. So, how could they make these prisoners work for the Japanese at the risk of their lives?
After all, whether you obey or rebel, you will die. It's death anyway. Why should we ask the Japanese to do such a dangerous job?
This is the answer.

Because in the Japanese prisoner-of-war camps, if you obeyed the order, you would most likely die, but if you refused, even death would be a luxury.

It is said that the Japanese army had hundreds of ways to torture prisoners of war, and they could make them die in various ways. After repeated torture, it would not take long for the prisoners' spirits to be conquered by fear, and they would obediently follow all the orders of the Japanese army until death came and they were relieved.

It is said that most of the American and British soldiers who were captured by the Japanese army suffered from very serious mental illnesses and needed drug assistance to survive for the rest of their lives. There were also many prisoners of war who were rescued.

He survived three years of torture in the concentration camp, but after being rescued, he suddenly collapsed when he saw his family and shot himself.

At this time, not far from where these American soldiers were wailing, a Japanese man wearing a suit and glasses, who did not look like a soldier, was drinking tea and chatting with a Chinese man in a small bamboo shed in a very friendly and harmonious manner.

"Mr. Dai, please have some tea. I never thought that you, Mr. Dai, would come here in person to handle this business today. You are indeed worthy of being the leader of Fuqing in Nanyang. You are so courageous. I admire you so much."

The old man opposite waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "I'm an old man. Since I've been entrusted by Mr. Zheng to do this for the benefit of the Chinese in Southeast Asia, there's nothing I wouldn't dare to do, even if it means facing mountains of swords and seas of fire."

"If Mr. Fujita goes back on his word and wants to burn me, then go ahead. But I don't think you would do that. If I die, who will send you money?"

After saying that, the old man placed a small leather suitcase he was carrying on the table and opened it. Suddenly, a golden light flashed inside, and it seemed as if the entire shed was dyed with a layer of gold.

"There are a total of one hundred gold bars, each weighing four ounces. Mr. Fujita can check them. In addition, we have deposited a full eight million yen in your name at the Yasuda Bank in Penang. Here is the check."

"I think you've heard of the reputation of the Penang Yasuda Bank. Of course, if you don't trust us, we can help transfer the money to the Yasuda Bank in Tokyo. That's something we can do."

This old man was naturally from Penang. He was the vice president of their Fuqing Chamber of Commerce, Dai Xiangzi.

If it were not Zheng Yi and Qian Qiwen, this person would be the historical president of the Fuqing Overseas Chinese Association, who was quite prestigious in Fuqing.

Of course, although he holds the title of president, without Zheng Yi, the Fuqing Gang would not have much status among overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, and he would not be ranked among overseas Chinese in Indonesia.

As for the Japanese businessman named Fujita in front of him, to be honest, Dai Xiangzi didn't know who he was. He only knew that he was a Japanese aristocrat, and he didn't even know whether this identity was true or false.

All we know is that this person has a certain background in the military and is extremely powerful. After the guerrillas in Indonesia did business with him several times, he finally got all these businesses here, and they were huge in scale.

And it's getting bigger and bigger.

This time, Mr. Fujita suddenly asked to meet the boss behind the business, hoping to meet in Palembang. So, Dai Xiangzi came.

The real boss behind this business is actually Lin Shaoliang, Qian Qiwen, and even Zheng Yi, but they can't come in person.

However, Fujita seemed to be very familiar with the internal situation of the Chinese in Southeast Asia. When he saw that it was Dai Xiangzi who came, he actually guessed that the person behind this business was Zheng Yi himself.

Fuqing Gang?

"Mr. Dai, you are truly courageous. You can rest assured that we hope to establish a long-term cooperation with you and will not go back on our word. I have already prepared the nickel, coffee, palm oil, spices, and fruits you want. As usual, I will use Japanese merchant ships to transport them directly to the port of Penang."

"These are materials produced in the Dutch East Indies. However, Western countries, led by Britain and the United States, have completely imposed a trade blockade on Japan, so these materials cannot be sold. If we need them, we in Japan have no foundation in this area and our production capacity is limited."

"They're all civilian items that can be sold for money. They're always put to good use. They're not particularly sensitive. Haha, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Mr. Dai."

Dai Xiangzi nodded when he heard this, knowing that what this person said was true.

However, neither he nor Zheng Yi believed that the money from purchasing goods would go into the pockets of the government.

"Mr. Dai, since you have the guts to come to Palembang to see me in person, I wonder if you have the guts to sell something a little more sensitive?"

"what would you like?"

"Finished fuel and some food are really in short supply in Japan."

Dai Xiangzi laughed when he heard this and said, "Mr. Zheng asked us to buy these things from you, so how can I sell them to you? Besides, you guard the Palembang oil field and still buy oil from us? Haha."

Fujita: "As a token of my sincerity, I might as well pass on a message to Mr. Dai. Currently, Japan is in dire need of refined oil. The oil wells in the Palembang oilfield have suffered significant damage, and production capacity is recovering very slowly."

"Also, the oil refining situation was a bit beyond our expectations. Even in the vast Palembang oil field, and even in the entire Southeast Asia, we were unable to obtain any refining equipment. All the oil smelting has gone to Penang, huh? Haha, in the Dutch East Indies, there are so many oil fields, but there isn't a single intact, usable refinery."

"I'm afraid that if we in Japan want to fully restore the oil resources in the Dutch East Indies, whether it's restoring the oil wells or building the refinery, it will take at least a year, and up to two years."

"With the oil shortage, the Japanese blockade of the Pacific Ocean, especially the waters around the Philippines and Penang, may soon end. You and I might be able to conduct business directly through ordinary merchant shipping."

"Is it so scarce?" Dai Xiangzi was slightly surprised when he heard this.

Doesn’t that mean that the Japanese’s campaign in the south failed to achieve its goal?
Of course, the real situation is not that bad. After all, the Dutch East Indies is a major oil producer in Asia. No matter how much damage it suffers, the oil that can be produced should be enough for military use.

As for the lack of oil refining equipment, Zheng Yi had actually deduced this for the Japanese a long time ago.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will definitely introduce small-scale refining technology from Germany, which is the kind used by the Soviets before Zheng Yi went to the Soviet Union. The refining technology used by Germany and the Soviet Union is the same, and it is also an American technology.

Americans themselves do not use this technology.

Just use it as a makeshift, it's better than nothing.

If we work overtime on this refining technology, it should be online in about half a year.

As for the past six months, it was not insurmountable. Imamura Jun came up with the idea of ​​having each local Javanese set up a large pot to steam for the Japanese army, using the most crude and crude method to extract diesel from petroleum.

Although this traditional method of refining oil is very inefficient, it is actually usable. However, if it is added to an airplane, it will seriously affect the service life of the aircraft engine. Even armored vehicles and motorcycles will be damaged and carbon deposits will be more serious.

The Japanese army might not dare to add this kind of oil to the navy and air force easily. Even if they did, they would definitely try to move it as little as possible when possible.

In this way, the Japanese army naturally had fewer navies to use to blockade sea routes.

You know, blocking an island city is very wasteful of ships and oil.

Japan's navy also had to confront the US Navy in Australia, garrison important Pacific strongholds such as Midway Island and Guam, and blockade the Bataan Peninsula.

The Bataan Peninsula is much easier to block than Penang. After all, the US military has no coastal defense artillery in Bataan, and the Japanese navy can get much closer.

"Mr. Dai, we're really short of high-quality refined oil and grain right now. If we can get them, it will be of great benefit to me personally, at least. I'm a very bold person to dare to do business with you. Business is all about supply and demand. As long as it's something you want, I might as well sell it to you."

Dai Xiangzi: "What can you give me? This is military supplies. Selling it to you is not in line with Mr. Zheng's rules. Mr. Fujita, just make some money. Do you really want to serve the Japanese army?"

Fujita: "Of course it's intelligence. Didn't I give you one just now? I can reveal another piece of intelligence to you. Recently, Singapore, the Philippines, and even our Dutch East Indies have been increasing their troops one after another."

"This time, the headquarters will reinforce Nanyang with at least ten divisions. And if nothing unexpected happens, they will also dispatch another corps, at least eight divisions, specifically to deal with you in Penang."

Dai Xiangzi: "Who are these troops specifically, and how will they deal with Penang?"

Fujita: "Hehehe, this isn't free content."

Dai Xiangzi thought for a moment and asked, "Can you get the prisoners and prisoners of war from the prisoner-of-war camp and the Batavia concentration camp out?"

"Who do you want to replace?"

"Can Ke Quanshou, one of our Fuqing leaders, be rescued?"

"Sure, if the other person is still alive, but I want 200 tons of refined oil."

"Deal, send me another message."

"Alright."

Fujita nodded and said, "I heard, just heard, that the army has probably transferred more than ten corps from Manchukuo and our mainland Japan, intending to use Thailand as a transit point to attack Burma, intending to cut off the Yunnan-Burma Railway, advance by land and sea, and intend to capture Rangoon and aim for Penang."

"Hahaha, I heard that this time the Army and Navy have unanimously agreed that Penang is the greatest threat to the Empire of Japan in Southeast Asia. No matter what the cost, this time they must wipe you out."

(End of this chapter)