Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1467 Disaster Relief (Part )

Before the spring of 42, the Chinese battlefield was relatively stable, but the international war situation actually underwent a change that made the Shancheng government most happy.

First, in December 1941, with the Japanese victory after victory in the Southeast Asian battlefield, the increasingly greedy Japanese Empire could no longer suppress its ambitions for the entire Pacific. The United States, with its strong navy and industrial strength, was the roadblock to their desire to dominate the Pacific.

Although domestic assessments in Japan have shown that the U.S.'s industrial productivity is dozens of times that of Japan and is not at the same level at all, the U.S. also has extremely obvious shortcomings.

First of all, in terms of the army, since the United States is located in North America, surrounded by the sea on both sides, with the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean as natural barriers, far away from the political whirlpool of Europe, and in a corner, there were no nearby opponents that posed a threat to it, so there were not many US troops at that time.

At that time, the U.S. Army was in a terrible state in terms of military strength. It only had 4 infantry divisions and 1 tank division, with a total of only 10 people and more than tanks. With such a poor level, it would be crushed to the ground by the poor and backward Chinese army if it came to China.

On the other hand, Japan, at this time, had more than 20 divisions, and the total active force was more than times that of the United States. Moreover, many of them had experienced wars, not to mention the ever-victorious divisions! It was easy for them to crush American cowboys.

In terms of the navy, although the Americans had the second strongest navy in the world at the time, with a warship tonnage of 143 million tons and 8 aircraft carriers, the United States also had to take into account Europe and the Indian Ocean. The only fleet that could be used to deal with Japan was the Pacific Fleet, and in 1941, the US Pacific Fleet had only 3 aircraft carriers.

Before the outbreak of World War II, the Japanese Navy had a total of six main heavy aircraft carriers, namely Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku. Because Japan has always focused on the research and development of aircraft carriers, Japanese aircraft carriers were obviously superior to US aircraft carriers in quality in the early days of World War II.

Especially the Shokaku and Zuikaku, the full load displacement of this type of aircraft carrier exceeded 3.3 tons, making it one of the best performing aircraft carriers in the world at that time.

Equipped with a high-power engine of 16 horsepower, the Shokaku-class aircraft carrier has a higher speed of over 34 knots and can carry 80 carrier-based aircraft.

The number of fighter planes owned by the navy and the army reached thousands, and the navy, army and air force achieved a comprehensive crushing of the Americans. It would be strange if the Japanese, who were extremely gambling, did not choose to gamble on the fate of the country at this time.

But the arrogant Americans don't think so. In the eyes of Americans, both China and Japan are extremely backward in the East, and South Asia, East Asia or Southeast Asia are places where they gain wealth.

  Especially after the First World War, the United States, which made a fortune by buying arms, did not even take European countries seriously, let alone these inferior civilizations from the East?

Even Tang Dao warned General Stilwell through Laura in the second half of 1941, especially in November, to be careful of the crazy Japanese.

  Admiral Kimmel, then commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, listened carefully to the intelligence Stilwell obtained from China, reported the situation to the U.S. military leaders, and made certain arrangements, including sending the Enterprise aircraft carrier battle group to the Wake Island area to increase the number of troops stationed in the Wake Island area, sending the Lexington aircraft carrier battle group to the Midway Island area to transport sufficient bombers and ammunition, and temporarily adding shore batteries and anti-aircraft artillery at the Pearl Harbor Naval Base.

But these were not enough to stop the already frantic Japan, nor were they enough to make up for the almost all-out attack by the Japanese Navy, which had deployed 6 aircraft carriers and 350 bombers.

The radio waves of "Tora! Tora! Tora!" arrived as expected over the Pacific Ocean on December 1941, 12. The Japanese naval fleet, spanning 7 nautical miles, taught the arrogant American cowboys a lesson with flames rising into the sky.

The Japanese won a great victory in this attack. At the cost of losing a cruiser and 19 aircraft positions, they sank 20 warships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and severely damaged 300 ships, and destroyed or damaged more than U.S. fighter planes.

And this was the result after the Americans were on high alert. If the 10 temporary artillery batteries on the shore had not fired desperately, the final result would have been 0 to 40 in the past time and space.

But behind Japan's great victory there are still huge hidden dangers. The three aircraft carriers, the combat core of the US Pacific Fleet, are still intact.

This is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that an oil depot near the port storing 450 million tons of heavy oil is intact.

All this was thanks to the Japanese Navy. After completing the first two waves of attacks, the Japanese Navy was ready for the third wave of attacks targeting docks and oil depots, but was suddenly stopped before the action.

The commander of the Japanese assault fleet, Chuichi Nagumo, was too cautious in this battle. He was always worried about the sudden "disappearance" of the US aircraft carrier. He believed that the Imperial Navy had won a comprehensive victory, but its position had been exposed and it was very vulnerable to retaliatory attacks from US aircraft carriers and submarines. Therefore, there was no need to take greater risks to expand the victory.

This seemingly foolproof move was considered by future war history researchers to be a missed opportunity for Japan, as they had more than a 50% chance of winning the war.

The Japanese army only needed to blow up the huge 450 million ton oil depot to completely turn Pearl Harbor into a scorched earth. By then, the US army would have to retreat to San Diego, 3500 kilometers away, and lose the initiative in the Pacific battlefield. At that time, there would be no naval force in the vast Pacific that could rival the Japanese navy.

If this happens, China will no longer be able to obtain military aid from the United States. The Japanese, who have obtained rich mineral resources and materials from Southeast Asia, can first devote all their strength to resolving the Chinese battlefield, and then use China's vast land as a logistics base to compete with the Americans.

By then, Japan, which has tens of millions of "slaves" who can work hard without paying any price, will not necessarily fail.

But in the long timeline of history, there has never been such a thing as "if". Not to mention the people who were deeply trapped in the torrent of that era and could not see the future clearly, even Tang Dao, who went against the long river of time, tried his best in this world, but only changed the fate of a few people around him. Has he never changed the so-called general trend in the slightest?

It doesn’t matter whether the Japanese were celebrating their victory or not. What matters is that when the top leaders of Yamashiro learned that Japan and the United States had officially declared war, they were jubilant.

Although the message of condolence to the US President was still full of sorrow and indignation.

The Americans were forced to personally participate in the war, which meant that as allies they could get more military aid. As for giving money or how much money to give, it was not important. Only the victor was qualified to consider the debt issue.

He was definitely a master in politics. Just two days after the Japanese army ignited the war in the Pacific, on December 12, he ordered various war zones to launch attacks to contain the Japanese army and support the war of friendly countries.

He ordered the 4th War Zone to attack the Japanese troops in Guangzhou to support the British Empire's operations in Hong Kong; and ordered the 5th, 6th and 66th Armies to assemble in Yunnan from Guangxi and Sichuan respectively, preparing to enter Burma to directly assist the British Empire's operations.

In order to support the operations of its 11rd Army and the Southern Army and to contain the Chinese army's advance towards Guangdong Province, the Japanese 23th Army decided to launch another attack south of the Yangtze River.

Thus, the third Battle of Tanzhou began.

The 11th Army deployed more than 10 troops and fought fiercely for a month with the 9 troops of the 30th War Zone led by General Xue.

"Whether I can convince the Military Commission and the Executive Yuan depends on the outcome of this Tanzhou battle! If we win, everything will be fine; if we lose, it will be hard to say. Once Tanzhou is lost, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan and other important southwestern areas will be under the threat of the Japanese army, and our First and Fifth War Zones will also be in great danger."

When Tang Dao and Admiral Jiang were sitting in the office discussing disaster relief matters, Admiral Jiang also fully expressed his concern about the Battle of Tanzhou which was coming to an end.

"Although Commander Xue is eccentric, he is good at commanding the army and has mastered the Tianlu tactics. Anan Weiji is no match for him." Tang Dao said decisively.

Anami Korechika took office as the commander of the 3th Army three months ago. His predecessor, Yokoyama Isamu, was already being targeted by the Japanese military headquarters because of the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Shipai. When the "Eagle Special Attack Team" carefully organized and planned by the General Staff and the Expeditionary Army Command was completely wiped out, and Tanabe Moritake and others were assassinated by the Chinese in Jiangxia City, Yokoyama Isamu, the highest Japanese military commander in Jiangxia, had to take the blame.

There were many bad guys inside the Japanese Army Headquarters. The transferred Yokoyama Isamu did not return to his country, but went to the Expeditionary Army Headquarters to replace the deceased Moritake Tanabe and became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Expeditionary Army. As the former commander of the 11th Army, he became the Deputy Chief of Staff with the rank of Major General. This was definitely a demotion.

However, the usually arrogant Yokoyama Isamu actually accepted the appointment obediently, which made the Japanese military headquarters take notice of him.

Perhaps only Tang Dao knew that this old guy was not a good person. Hengshan Yong, who led his troops to fight two battles in Tanzhou with the 9th War Zone and both ended in failure, knew the ability of General Xue best. He was waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback.

If the Japanese side chooses to fight Tanzhou again and loses, perhaps that is when he will be used again. And the third Tanzhou battle is bound to end in the Japanese side's defeat.

"You seem to have great confidence in Commander Xue, but you'd better be careful with your eccentric comments. If I help you spread it, Commander Xue is not Commander Li!" Admiral Jiang, who was in a good mood, couldn't help but teasing Tang Dao.

"Sir, capable people are mostly people with personality, especially in this chaotic world. Without some special personality, how can you intimidate those arrogant and powerful generals from various mountains!" Tang Dao said seriously.

"Oh?" Admiral Jiang looked out the window thoughtfully but stopped talking.

He understood that Tang Dao was trying to persuade him. Not only were the troops in the First War Zone scattered across many factions, but there were also a few generals who relied on the fact that they were the direct descendants of the commander and pretended to obey. The military orders from the war zone headquarters were not so easy to use.

As the newly arrived theater commander, he was not deaf, so how could he not have heard of the notoriety of the 13th Army stationed in western Henan?

But if he were to make up his mind to do this or report his evil deeds to that person, that person would most likely be unwilling to believe it, or even choose to put it aside because of his outstanding performance on the battlefield two years ago. Then his position would be very embarrassing.

After all, compared to the emperor's disciple, who was known as one of the Five Tiger Generals under his command, his relationship was not as close as others imagined, and he himself knew it very well.

Seeing this person responding with silence, Tang Dao could only sigh helplessly in his heart.

To be honest, this commander was not highly regarded in historical records. He was corrupt and especially addicted to gambling. When he was a division commander in 1930, he lost three months' salary of an infantry division in one night. On the battlefield, he was an expert in civil wars but a novice in foreign wars. The great rout of Henan Province in the past was closely related to his poor command.

But at least this time, he really wanted to solve the impending disaster in Henan Province, and even expressed to Tang Dao that if the worst came to the worst, the First War Zone could use part of the military rations to provide relief to the victims.

Tang Dao remembered very clearly that in the past, when the Japanese army conquered Henan Province and occupied Zhengcheng, there were still 100 million bags of flour stored in the grain warehouse of the First War Zone, enough for the 20 troops in the First War Zone to eat for a year.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year. With the arrival of 500 million kilograms of grain, and the additional 100 million kilograms of military rations taken out by General Jiang from the warehouse, the two countries provided relief to the victims in the 20 disaster-stricken counties.

However, this time it is not purely free relief, but the food is sold to the victims at a price half lower than the current market price. The money collected will be used by the merchant group brought by Tang Dao to purchase food in Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, and then transported to Henan Province for storage to deal with the possibility of a second drought or even a locust plague next year as Tang Dao said.

Except for the soldiers and businessmen who followed Tang Dao, most people believed that the disaster might be alleviated in the spring. The serious disaster that Tang Dao described was only possible, not inevitable. Only Tang Dao knew that this was a historical inevitability.

  Starting from the beginning of February, all counties began to open warehouses and sell grain!

At Tang Dao's suggestion, each county's grain-selling point had an inspection team sent out by the First War Zone Command. If anyone was found privately selling grain purchased at a low price, or if anyone dared to mix grain with other items to pass it off as good quality, they would be immediately taken to Zhengcheng. If they had money, they would have to pay 10 oceans to atone their sins. If they had no money, they would be shot at the beginning of spring!

Moreover, before the inspection team, led by an army captain, set out to give a speech, Tang Dao had clearly informed everyone that there were undercover investigators behind the inspection team. If members of the inspection team dared to collude with local officials and businessmen, the businessmen could spend their money and lives on disaster relief, and they, as soldiers, would be dealt with according to wartime military law.

If someone else said this, the inspection team might just think it was talk, but the notoriety of Commander Tang who starved thousands of Japanese soldiers to death in the Battle of Shipai had long spread to all the war zones. Even the Japanese hated him to the core but could do nothing about him. So killing these big-time soldiers would be a piece of cake, right?

However, human greed is really terrible.

Tang Dao, who was appointed by the Military Commission and had the order of the commander of the First War Zone, had already made such harsh remarks. However, in the face of huge interests, there were still people who played tricks.

. . . . . . . .

Tang Dao also knew that it would be difficult to save these 3000 million victims by his own efforts alone. Even if there were tens of millions of kilograms of grain stored in Zishan, and even if it took time and effort to transport it to Henan Province, it would only be a temporary relief for the disaster that would sweep across the entire Henan Province.

Therefore, while selling food to the victims at low prices and collecting money to buy food to form a virtuous cycle, Tang Dao persuaded Laura to personally bring the Western journalists in the mountain city to Zhengcheng on a US military transport plane.

Then, special personnel were sent to accompany these reporters who had received red envelopes and were full of "sense of justice" to the worst-hit counties to see how the people were living.

Not to mention the common people who had not yet lined up to buy food, there were often only some leaves and bark in the pots. The extent of their hunger was simply skin and bones, which was an unbearable sight. Almost every household had elderly people and children who had starved to death. It was really unbearable to read about.

Those people who emptied their homes to buy some food also had simple meals, because the superiors said that there would be a worse drought this year and even a locust plague.

The gene of being prepared for danger in times of peace has long been engraved in the genes of the Chinese. Bark noodle soup made by grinding tree bark into powder, mixing it with two taels of flour and boiling it in water is often the most normal meal for a family.

The new grave mounds scattered across the countryside, not even a sparrow to be seen in the sky, men and women scouting the wilderness like ghosts for any food to eat, and the photos of the soup in Chinese bowls so clear that you can almost see the clear faces of the people, I don't know how many Chinese people's hearts have been deeply touched.

By the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, all counties had reported that the low-priced disaster relief grain was basically sold out.

For the minority of people who really have no purchasing power, the local village chief, security chief, and neighborhood chief will sign and seal the plan, and the captain of the inspection team will personally review it. Then, each person will be given 50 kilograms of rice and flour, which will be exchanged for some grains and wild vegetables, which will be enough to last for half a year.

Under such a policy, it can be basically guaranteed that every household has food, at least enough to eat before the spring plowing season.

New Year’s Eve is the most important day for Chinese people.

On this day, no matter how poor the family is, they have to take out whatever food they can afford, and the whole family sits together to celebrate the New Year.

It was snowing that day. Tang Dao, who was unable to return home on business, accompanied Laura and two reporters from China and the United States, and under the guidance of the village chief, they randomly chose to step into the door of a house.

Tang Dao's trip was not for inspection or condolence, but to accompany the Chinese and foreign reporters he had invited to see the situation after the relief grain was distributed.

Being able to see the smiling faces of the disaster victims not only satisfies the humanitarian ideals of the Western world, but also reassures people from all walks of life in the mountain city.

Because of the relentless reporting by shocked Western journalists, Shancheng organized a disaster relief fundraiser a week ago. Chinese and Western people from all walks of life, including ordinary people, in Shancheng raised nearly 4000 million French francs in just two days.

Admiral Jiang was extremely happy, and asked Tang Dao to accompany these Chinese and foreign reporters, especially after the disaster relief, so that they could not only see the past misery, but also see that people could maintain a life of food and clothing after the disaster relief.

After all, this is also one of his political achievements.

  But the first one they entered surprised Tang Dao, Laura and the two reporters!

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PS: There was no update yesterday because Fengyue was revising the chapter that was screened out earlier. Otherwise, it would cause more problems, which really gave me a headache. I have said this in the group, and I will say it again to the brothers who are not in the group.