Spy Wars: Return of the Red Luan

Chapter 230 Gangcun vs. Zhao Zihe

Early September, 1932 (the 21st year of the Republic of China).

When Okamura Yasuji arrived in Manchuria, he was like a wolf that had been locked up for many years and just released. He didn't investigate the "Shulan-Beiyin River Incident" at all, but instead looked everywhere for a way to make a name for himself and get promoted.

Because in his mind, investigating the "Shulan-Beiyinhe Incident" was originally Tu Feiyuan's business. Tu Feiyuan suffered a setback, and I would not get any good results in the past either.

Instead of using this precious time to quickly earn some merit and level up, I'm going to help Tu Feiyuan. Not only will I feel unhappy, but if Qingxuan finds out, he'll scold me until I'm spitting blood. I can't do this.

But how do you earn merit in the Kwantung Army these days? It's extremely difficult!

Encouraging the Kwantung Army to attack Red Russia from the north? Whether the Kwantung Army would listen is another matter, and besides, that's Obata-kun's plan, so it can't be seized;
Head south and attack Hebei? This is the established plan of the General Staff. Going there would only benefit others, so I won't go.

So, after much thought, Gangcun found himself a relatively "easy" job: to cause trouble for the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army.

Okamura first hid in the Kwantung Army's Fengtian garrison and buried himself in drafting a "Public Security Police Law." He then added the "Provisional Law for Punishing Traitors" and the "Provisional Law for Punishing Bandits." With these two laws, he slandered the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army of China as "traitors" and "bandits," and declared that the Kwantung Army could kill them without mercy if they encountered them. At the same time, he sought so-called "legal basis" for the Kwantung Army's aggressive actions.

Next, Gangcun used every trick in the book to bribe bandits, recruit puppet troops, and establish a "strategy unit" to serve as cannon fodder for the Kwantung Army.

Finally, because the "strategy unit" lacked combat effectiveness and repeatedly failed in its "bandit suppression" efforts, it had no choice but to shamelessly ask the headquarters for help and request reinforcements.
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In early August 1932, having just won the Battle of Beiyin River, Zhao Zihe led the guerrilla unit, the 8th Company of the Independent Regiment, to retreat to the mountains of Yanbian for rest and training, following Mr. Ye and Guan Wuhen's Independent Regiment.

Zhao Zihe heard from his comrades who had gone out to gather intelligence that the guerrillas in the neighboring Bayan County had been fighting the Japanese under very difficult conditions, lacking both manpower and weapons.

After some discussion, the officers and soldiers of the Independent Regiment concluded that the Japanese might have increased their troop strength in several counties near Harbin because of the "Battle of Beiyin River," and were looking for them.

Zhao Zihe thought about it and realized that this was indeed a bit unfair. After we finished fighting, we just packed up and retreated, leaving the Japanese to take the heat off the surrounding volunteer armies and guerrillas.

At his repeated requests, Guan Wuhen agreed to let Zhao Zihe lead the Seventh Company away from the Independent Team and secretly go to Bayan County to join the Bayan Guerrilla Force led by Zhang Jiazhou.

After arriving in Bayan County, Zhao Zihe, using the alias Li Yucai, helped Zhang Jiazhou reorganize and train the troops. He also repeatedly applied to Lao Guan for supplies, quickly transforming the Bayan Guerrilla into the most famous anti-Japanese guerrilla force near Harbin.

Because the guerrillas had sufficient firearms and supplies, and were brave and daring in battle, they attracted other small guerrilla groups in the vicinity to join them, and their strength continued to grow.

In November 1932, according to the instructions of the Manchurian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Bayan Guerrilla Force was reorganized into the Jiangbei Independent Division of the 11th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, with Zhang Jiazhou as the division commander and Li Yucai (Zhao Zihe) as the director of the political department.

Over the next two months, the Jiangbei Independent Division, upgraded from the Bayan Guerrilla Force, under the leadership of Zhang Jiazhou and Zhao Zihe, penetrated deep behind enemy lines and continued to wage guerrilla warfare. They captured Bayan County and the Kangjinjing Railway Station. Then they marched westward, sweeping across the Great Northern Wilderness, almost disrupting the Kwantung Army's plan to move troops south. For a time, they were unparalleled in their prowess.
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New Year's Day, 1933 (the 22nd year of the Republic of China).

Although Chen Jiehua had relayed the message beforehand, Zhang Xiaoliu took it seriously, as he had always wanted to shed the label of "the general who does not resist." This time, Zhang Xiaoliu was truly taking it very seriously.

First, the guards of Shanhaiguan were the He Zhuguo Brigade, which was always brave and good at fighting. Upon receiving the news, Zhang Xiaoliu increased the number of troops in the Shanhaiguan garrison by nearly double.

Next, he reorganized the Northeast Army south of the Great Wall into two army groups, concurrently serving as the commander-in-chief of the First Army Group. Four regiments were deployed in Rehe, Beiping, Tianjin, and Hebei. (The Northeast Army was organized as a large regiment, with one regiment roughly equivalent to a modern division.)

The commander-in-chief of the Second Army Group was Zhang Zuoxiang, a veteran of the Northeast Army, and the deputy commander was Tang Yulin.

Tang Yulin was the key figure who ultimately influenced the outcome of the battle. Zhang Xiaoliu overestimated his ability to intimidate Tang Yulin, because he couldn't command him.

To put it bluntly, Chen Jiehua's efforts and Zhang Xiaoliu's meticulous planning were ultimately ruined by Tang Yulin, the chairman of Rehe Province, and produced no positive results.

History remains the same history.

This war of resistance, with the Great Wall as the defensive line, was later joined by the 29th Army, the Jin-Sui Army, and the Kuomintang's elite Central Army, resulting in fierce fighting.

However, this time the Kwantung Army came prepared, joining forces with the North China Garrison Army, and with the support of the navy on the periphery. The vanguard of the Kwantung Army quickly approached Tongzhou in Beiping, and the Nanjing National Government began to seek peace negotiations.
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At the beginning of 1933, under the personal command of Okamura, 50,000 newly transferred Japanese troops, like wolves, along with puppet troops, launched a large-scale "mopping-up" operation against the Northeast Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army in China, with the operational strategy of "advancing step by step and making breakthroughs at key points." As a result, most of the anti-Japanese volunteer armies in Northeast China were wiped out one after another, except for a few that persisted in the struggle.

The team led by Zhao Zihe was one of them.

On January 18, 1933, the Jiangbei Independent Division was attacked by the combined forces of Okamura Yasuji and his bandit-suppression unit. In addition, due to the complex composition of its members and the trouble it caused, the unit was defeated and eventually disbanded.

Several members of the Jiangbei Independent Division were captured alive by the Japanese. One of them had followed Zhao Zihe to Yanbian several times to transport supplies and knew the approximate location of Guan Wuhen's Independent Regiment. He reported this to a Japanese junior officer, who then reported it all the way to Okamura Yasuji.

Okamura Yasuji checked the map, then thought for a moment, "Oh my gosh! I've been searching high and low, and here you are!"
The credit is beckoning, let's kill them!

Fortunately, Lao Guan followed Chen Jiehua's instructions and placed the sentries far away. The scouts in Wuchangbao judged from the movements and words of the puppet troops that they were coming for the Independent Regiment, and hurriedly ran back to report the news, trudging through the snow.

Guan Wuhen considered that the supply lines and port to the east could not be exposed, and the troops could not retreat eastward. They could only continue northward, passing through Jiamusi to Shuangyashan for rest and reorganization.

Marching through the snow was extremely difficult, but fortunately, Chen Jiehua had prepared a plan, and the sleds that had been made in advance came in handy. The wounded, heavy artillery, and heavy supplies could all be transported away; otherwise, with snow up to their waists deep, they would have been caught up with and wiped out sooner or later.

In the end, Okamura Neiji came up empty-handed, and because of the heavy snow, he completely lost track of his opponent and had to return empty-handed.

(End of this chapter)