1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

In short, if there were not so many “if nots”, the results of the “Wuhan Victory” would never have been as great as they are today.

In fact, what everyone doesn’t know is that due to confidentiality rules and the need to protect the safety of some people, there are many more “if nots” that cannot be disclosed for the time being.

If it weren't for General He taking down Zhang Zhenhan's troops and forcing them to surrender to the Communists, and if it weren't for a brave soldier under Zhang's command who, after being educated, hated Chiang Kai-shek to the core and happened to be a skilled artilleryman, he would have just as easily shot him in the face...

Oh, and if it weren't for a little girl setting up a "hotline to the Army Headquarters for cordial greetings" that made Chiang Kai-shek furious and leave the underground bunker, etc. etc.

In short, as Li Desheng's report deepened, more and more people realized that this battle was indeed won as it should be;

But winning so big was really a fluke.

It is no exaggeration to say that without Comrade Ma Shiwu, the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area would probably have had no choice but to "retreat" or "find a way to break the counter-encirclement and suppression campaign"!

"...To sum up, our Red Fourth Front Army has far surpassed the Kuomintang reactionary army in terms of fighting will, fighting desire, and military morale, but in terms of technical tactics, weaponry, and military quality..."

Li Desheng turned the page and added a few more sentences:

"Compared with the main force of the Kuomintang, there was a considerable gap. This gap narrowed after the Battle of Wuhan, but overall it was still inferior."

The whole audience fell silent, and everyone understood what Li Desheng meant.

If they are not as good as the main force of the Kuomintang, then they are even worse than the Japanese army!

The Chinese Communist Party sent people to conduct a very detailed observation of the Shanghai Anti-Japanese War that took place at the beginning of the year, and the conclusion they came to was:

The National Army was inferior to the Japanese Army, whether in terms of skills and tactics, equipment level, military literacy, coordination between various units, and sea, land and air support. The National Army's Central Army that later took over was also inferior to it.

The only thing that was superior to the Japanese army was probably the determination and will of the 19th Route Army and other national army troops to fight the enemy to the death and resist foreign aggression.

What is the CCP's evaluation of the 19th Route Army?

A formidable enemy that is no weaker than our Red Army.

Therefore, a simple conversion will show that in terms of combat effectiveness alone, the Red Army is by no means inferior to the Japanese Army.

In other words, Li Desheng was denying everyone's previous idea of ​​"taking the lead and starting the war quickly."

In response to this, General He, Guan Xiangying and other generals who participated in the "Wuhan Campaign" naturally kept their mouths shut, but others were still somewhat unconvinced:

"Comrade Li Desheng, there's no need to belittle our Red Army so much, right?" "This is not belittlement; this is a judgment based on facts."

Li Desheng shook his head and took out another stack of documents:

"Comrades, this is some intelligence we obtained from our underground party members on the Japanese Kwantung Army and the puppet Manchukuo army. I will report the key points. Comrades, please take a look at the copy..."

A pile of documents were distributed, and a few people gathered together to look at them, and then some people fell silent.

Judging from these intelligence and data, the Japanese army's combat effectiveness is indeed far stronger than that of the Red Army and the National Army.

In short, the Japanese army at that time was far from the state it had been in after 1942. The army was filled with a large number of veterans who had undergone sufficient training and repeated exercises, had rich combat experience, and were relatively well-supplied.

(Don’t always think that exercises and training are unimportant. The military does need to be trained through actual warfare, but good exercises and training can reveal 99% of the problems encountered in actual warfare.)

The Red Army at this time was not the Eighth Route Army after the "large-scale military training" in history. Many people had not even recovered from the damage caused by the encirclement and blockade in the previous years, and were definitely no match.

Leaving aside the weapons, equipment, training, and logistics, the bayonet fighting techniques previously introduced by Comrade Ma Shiwu in the Central Soviet Area are a prime example:

The Manchukuo 386th Brigade, which was described by Communist intelligence personnel as having "overall combat effectiveness and fighting spirit comparable to the main divisions of the Nationalist Army," conducted numerous exercises against the Japanese 4th Division, some of which involved simulated bayonet training.

结果，个头在1.65米-1.9米、膀大腰圆的东北大汉一个班跟3名个头不到1.6米的日军老兵拼刺时，居然普遍要付出6人以上“死亡”、其余人人带伤的代价才能将其全部拿下!

Chinese Communist intelligence officers who had participated in the exercises hidden within the 386th Brigade and even faced off against the Japanese army expressed extreme shock;

Because both sides stopped fighting with bayonets and were not seriously risking their lives. The Japanese army also had the task of "teaching", and the result was this.

If the puppet army is so strong, there is no need to say more about the actual combat effectiveness of the real Japanese army.

If the Red Army wanted to fight the puppet army of Manchukuo or even the Japanese army behind them, it would probably suffer extremely tragic casualties.

Incidentally, among the intelligence reports handed over by the intelligence personnel, there was one sentence that left a deep impression on the Chinese Communist Party leaders:

"...The Japanese 4th Division. This division is well-equipped, has high morale, is diligently trained, and has a flexible and adaptable combat style. Recently, it has been reinforced. Its actual combat effectiveness is likely to far exceed that of other Japanese units... Special attention is required..."

There's no way, after all, they are his own personal guards, and a certain prince has given the 4th Division a lot of good things.

For example, ground support air force or something.

(Unlike some pro-Japanese boasting that "the Japanese army is invincible" and some Zhihu experts disparaging that "the Japanese army is full of chickens", the Japanese army's bayonet fighting skills and combat strength are different according to different units and time)

(I won’t mention those who rave about the Japanese army; they are truly hopelessly pro-Japanese, but aren’t those who belittle the Japanese army simply ignoring the facts?)

(The US military did say things like "The Japanese army's bayonet skills were poor" and "their combat effectiveness was poor," but don't you want to look at who made the comment? And when was the Japanese army being evaluated?)

(Also, to belittle the Japanese army, I'll take it as a joke if you say that Japanese soldiers in WWII were generally less effective than Hashimoto Kanna. I'll also take it as an isolated case if you say that the Japanese army just machine-gunned and then pretended to win with bayonets;)

(But using humanoid monsters like Lü Junsheng, Huo Yuanjia, and Ji Wanshan to prove that "Chinese soldiers are physically better than Japanese soldiers," and using short stature to prove that "Japanese soldiers are weak in combat," do you have any brains?)

(It is so difficult to find information, and the answers on Bihu are becoming less and less valuable)

"...Comrades, this is not self-destruction, nor is it exaggerating the Japanese army or belittling our own troops. This is the real truth!"

Seeing that everyone had basically finished reading the information, Li Desheng said earnestly:

"We should mobilize the masses widely, establish a larger base area, and prepare to defeat the Japanese army through guerrilla warfare rather than direct decisive battles!"

Yes, when it comes to the issue of fighting against Japan, the point of contention between the two sides has never been "whether to fight" but "when to fight" and "how to fight".

Li Desheng's viewpoint was just as he said: widely mobilize the masses, establish a large base area, and while strengthening their own strength, use guerrilla warfare to defeat the Japanese army and use space to wear them down.

But this is very time-consuming and it is difficult to see particularly significant results;

Therefore, the view of a considerable number of people in the Central Committee and the Red Army was to engage in direct battle with the Japanese army, win a few major victories, boost national morale, and demonstrate the prestige of the Communist Party of China and the Red Army!

Both sides have their own reasons, but the northbound corps is currently controlled by Li Desheng, so the overall trend is still running according to his ideas.

After Li Desheng presented so much substantial evidence to support his point, the opposition became less vocal, but it still persisted:

"Can't we unite with Yan Xishan or take Shanxi, advance into Hebei, and then, using the North China Plain as support, confront the Japanese army head-on? The Chinese people desperately need a decisive victory!"

Li Desheng looked over and saw that it was Ren Bishi. He was about to explain, but Wu Hao shook his head, denying Ren's statement:

"Don't talk about taking Shanxi and marching into Hebei. Our principle is not to fire the first shot. Unless the Kuomintang takes the initiative to provoke, it is not appropriate to initiate an attack. Doing so will not be conducive to uniting the broad anti-Japanese forces."

Ren Bishi said nothing more, and Li Desheng said:

"Comrade Wu Hao is right. Besides, it is almost impossible to unite with Yan Xishan to fight against Japan, because he has no determination to fight against Japan at all. Once the Japanese army launches an attack, Taiyuan and even Shanxi will fall immediately!"

"We can't rely on Shanxi! We can't rely on Yan Xishan! We can't even rely on most of the Kuomintang troops! The only one we can rely on is ourselves!"

This resounding statement caused the entire room to remain silent for a few seconds, and then Ren Bishi roared in disbelief:

"Comrade Li Desheng! You are too pessimistic! This is simply defeatism!" Where is Shanxi?

"Model Province of the Republic of China"! Who is Yan Xishan?

The protagonist who can fight against Chiang Kai-shek in the "Central Plains War"!

Moreover, despite his failure, he returned to Shanxi and put forward the slogan of "self-strengthening and production to save the country", and began to fully restore Shanxi's economy.

Judging from reports in various newspapers and intelligence feedback, Shanxi's economy and people's livelihood have recovered quite well, and there is a sense of "prosperity" that is extremely rare in contemporary times.

Moreover, even if Yan Xishan had no desire to fight, Shanxi's overall strength was always there. Luliang Mountain and Taihang Mountain were always there, so it would not be easy for the Japanese to take over!

However, Li Desheng's attitude was very positive:

"No! This is not defeatism! On the contrary, I am very confident that our party and army will achieve final victory, but I have no trust in Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Xishan and his ilk! They cannot help the war of resistance, but will have a counter-effect!"

As he spoke, he pulled out another document containing intelligence from the local party organization, primarily provided by relevant comrades from the Jinsui region, such as Bo Yibo and Yin Jian, who had been rescued in June of this year following the Wuhan victory.

The evaluation of Yan Xishan can be summed up in one word:

in.

Ah, this "中" is not Henan dialect, but "中庸".

Yan Xishan believed in the doctrine of the mean, which advocated "impartiality, consideration of both reason and emotion, and neither excessive nor insufficient." His famous saying was, "Capitalism and communism are two extreme errors, and mankind should seek a moderate system."

But in fact, to put it bluntly, everything is based on personal interests. For personal gain, everything can be betrayed, and the political stance is extremely flexible.

Joining Yuan to oppose Tsai, allying with Tsai to oppose Yuan, allying with Feng to overthrow Zhi, allying with Zhi to oppose Feng, allying with Chiang to fight Feng, allying with Feng to oppose Chiang, allying with Chiang to oppose Feng... The past operations are dizzying to look at.

In the words of Comrade Ma Shiwu, "This is just a small trumpet leading the British army. No one cares about anyone except himself."

Do you expect such a person to fight against the Japanese?

Li Desheng was very sure that as long as the Japanese offered high enough conditions, Yan Xishan would betray his country in an instant!

Therefore, it was basically impossible for Yan to fight against Japan. The CCP could not offer the conditions that Yan Xishan wanted, and it also had to be very wary of being bitten by this chameleon.

After learning of Chiang Kai-shek's defeat in Wuhan, Yan immediately sent a telegram to the whole nation in support of the anti-Japanese war and the Red Army's march north, perfectly portraying the face of a patriotic anti-Japanese general.

As a result, when he found out that the Red Army's route to the north passed through his Shanxi Province, he instantly changed his attitude, ignored the comrades sent by the Communist Party of China to contact him, and privately spread the words "We must guard against Chiang Kai-shek and the Communist Party, and guarding against the Communist Party is the priority at present."

If you think about it, you can understand it.

After all, after the September 918th Incident, Yan Xishan had just ordered a purge of the KMT in Shanxi because the KMT Shanxi Provincial Party Committee had opened fire to suppress patriotic students.

The biggest threat to Yan Xishan now is not the former Kuomintang, but the Red Army's anti-Japanese corps not far from him. Of course, "anti-communism first" is the priority.

Therefore, shortly after going north, Li Desheng, after integrating intelligence from various sources, concluded that "Yan Xishan can be used, but cannot be truly trusted or cooperated with."

However, even though Li Desheng's findings had convinced everyone that Yan Xishan was untrustworthy, many still did not believe his assertion that "once the Japanese army launched an attack, North China would quickly fall."

We can't trust Yan Xishan, but we can use Shanxi!

Li Desheng's temper has improved and his words are no longer so sharp, but that doesn't mean he has no temper. Of course, he will not give in to opinions that he thinks are wrong.

In addition, some people were persuaded by Li Desheng to join the camp supporting him, so the discussion on issues related to the anti-Japanese struggle strategy was immediately stuck, and no one was willing to give in.

At this time, Wu Hao clapped his hands:

"Okay, everyone, it's getting late today, and you've all been tired from attending meetings. Let's take a break first. The central government can't afford overtime pay right now!"

e33

The two gangs who were arguing fiercely finally felt tired, so they had to stop, look at each other and smile, and then disperse.

In the evening, there was a knock on Wu Hao's door.

370 The Conspiracy between Li and Wu

"...I thought you wanted me to come find you again, Runzhi."

Wu Hao smiled and welcomed Li Desheng, who came to him on his own initiative, in, feeling a little emotional for a moment.

This partner of mine is indeed a little different.

If it were the old him, he would definitely do the same as last time, and I would have to go talk to him before he would tell me.

"You seem to already know what I'm going to say to you? You're really smart!"

Li Desheng rolled his eyes, seeming dissatisfied. Wu Hao was immediately stunned: "Did you learn this behavior from Comrade Ma Shiwu?"

"Uh..."

Li Desheng, who was often teased by Ma Shiwu and had been subconsciously led astray, blushed, coughed lightly, and skipped the topic, nodding to Deng Yingchao, who looked a little tired.

"Xiaochao, how are you?"

"Chairman, everything is fine, just some morning sickness... How is Zizhen?" "Everything is fine..."

After a few pleasantries, Deng Yingchao obediently tried to give up her room, but Li Desheng waved his hand:

"No, no, you're pregnant, so get some rest. We'll talk outside."

He has really changed...

Just like that, Li Desheng and Wu Hao came to the courtyard and sat down, looking at the bright moon in the sky, speechless for a moment.

After a long while, Li Desheng slowly opened his mouth:

"Comrade Wu Hao, our current conditions are much better than they were a few months ago..."

"Don't remind me, I know."

Wu Hao placed a small dish of peanuts on the stone table and said with a smile:

"This room was bought by Kuomintang spy Deng Wenyi, and we confiscated it and used it. It's surrounded by security officers. It's mainly for safe and private work, not for enjoyment."

"After entering Nanchang, we did see a number of officials like Zuo Xiangyun who were greedy for pleasure and even engaged in corruption and disciplinary violations. We have dealt with them and have been emphasizing discipline throughout the Party and the Army."

"Don't worry, it's only been a few days since Comrade Ma Shiwu's anti-corruption conference, and the deterrent effect is still there. The Discipline Inspection Commission is also keeping a close eye on things."

"Well, we still have to keep working hard..."

"That's for sure. The fight against corruption is a never-ending journey."

The brief warm-up was almost over, and Li Desheng asked seriously, "Comrade Wu Hao, regarding the issue of fighting against Japan..."