Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

(Free text here: If you want to see the climax, wait a bit and watch it all at once, it'll be more enjoyable that way. Don't watch it every day, it'll be too much of a hassle.)

As the war in North China intensified due to Chu Yunfei's astonishing strategic maneuver,

A group of special "guests" arrived in a mountain town thousands of miles away.

A C-47 transport plane without any markings landed smoothly at a field airfield outside the mountain city after passing through the unique smog and fog of the Sichuan region.

The hatch opened, and Aung San, dressed in a Nationalist Army officer's uniform but with an expression that was still difficult to conceal and complex, and his nine core commanders walked down the gangway one by one.

The mountain city, built against the mountainside, features stilted houses layered upon each other and government offices standing side by side, appearing and disappearing in the thin mist.

The air was filled with a damp mist and the smell of burning coal.

He was greeted by Lieutenant General Zhu Peiji, Deputy Director of the First Auxiliary Division of the National Government Commission.

Zhu Peiji was dressed in a smart general's uniform, with an official and warm smile on his face.

Behind him stood spirited military and political officials and armed military police.

Such a high-level reception undoubtedly demonstrates the importance that the mountain city attaches to "China-Myanmar friendship" to these "guests".

"General Aung San, you must be tired from your journey." Zhu Peiji stepped forward and extended his hand. The translator beside him translated almost simultaneously: "Zhu Peiji has been waiting here for a long time on the orders of the Chairman."

"On behalf of the National Government, I extend my warmest welcome and highest respect to the General and all the righteous men who, by following the trend of the times and abandoning darkness for light, have joined together in the cause of the anti-fascist struggle!"

It's funny to say.

The two sides were actually communicating in Japanese.

Aung San shook hands with him, smiling, but his heart was filled with mixed emotions.

He himself knew very well that from the moment he set foot on this land.

He was no longer the "Commander-in-Chief of the Independent Army" who could command tens of thousands of people.

Rather, he was a "student" and "guest" with a subtle identity.

The attitude of the mountain city government will, in essence, determine the fate of Myanmar.

For a nationalist like him, this is actually the most unacceptable thing.

"General Zhu, you are too kind." Aung San's voice was slightly hoarse. "It is an honor for Aung San and his companions to be able to come to your country for further studies."

Without much small talk, Aung San Suu Kyi and his entourage were "escorted" into several black Ford sedans.

The convoy quickly passed by.

Aung San looked out the window at everything, deeply moved.

Slogans such as "Victory in the War of Resistance is Inevitable" and "The Nation Comes First" were posted almost everywhere along the road.

Soldiers dressed in various military uniforms, hurrying along but full of energy;
I saw ordinary people rebuilding their homes beside the ruins, their expressions resolute;
They also saw the dark, gaping muzzles of anti-aircraft guns deployed on various high points throughout the city.

Following Aung San's gaze, Zhu Peiji, who was accompanying him, explained in a low voice: "Part of it is aid from the Soviet Union, and part of it is anti-aircraft guns provided by the United States. Currently, our No. 17 Ordnance Depot in the mountain city and the Northwest Manufacturing Bureau are able to manufacture small-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns and artillery."

Despite being repeatedly bombed by the Japanese invaders, this city, like an indomitable boxer, is full of indomitable fighting spirit and tenacious vitality.

This determination and spark of national resistance deeply moved Aung San.

The convoy stopped in front of a secluded villa, which was heavily guarded.

This is the press conference that the Military Commission prepared for them.

It was a grand yet relatively simple "entrance ceremony".

Just a few months ago, the Army University was located in a mountain city.

However, considering factors such as the frequency of Japanese bombing, it has now been moved to Chengdu.

The reason Aung San and his entourage came to the mountain town was because of this.

In essence, it was also driven by political considerations.

This is not.

At the makeshift stage, Zhu Pei delivered a passionate speech: "The purpose of inviting General Aung San and others to join our Army University training program is to deepen military mutual trust between China and Myanmar, exchange experiences in modern warfare, jointly resist Japanese fascist aggression, and incidentally cultivate outstanding command talents!"

"If you can cultivate a spirit of dedicated study and in-depth exchanges during your time in China, you will surely become the backbone of maintaining peace and striving for independence in Asia in the future."

Just as Aung San began his "study abroad" career in China.

A telegram from the Government of India, marked "Top Secret - Urgent," traveled thousands of miles to reach the diplomatic residence at 10 Downing Street in London.

In a telegram, General Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of the British Indian Army, gave Churchill a detailed report on the latest developments on the battlefield in a tone of extreme concern.

In the telegram, he not only recounted how the Chinese Expeditionary Force, under Chu Yunfei's command, achieved a series of astonishing military victories that completely changed the course of the war;

Furthermore, in an almost warning tone, it was emphasized that the Chinese side had "invited" Aung San Suu Kyi and the core of his team to Chongqing, a matter that made all British colonial officials feel uneasy.
Furthermore, they received the latest news that these Burmese people were clearly going to become "Chang Ruiyuan's students".

The fact that the Eastern dragon had begun to bare its fangs was completely unacceptable to the British.

In the Cabinet's war office, thick smoke from cigars lingered.

Churchill, holding the telegram, frowned again as his brow, which had just relaxed slightly due to some progress on the North African front, tightened once more.

His bulky body paced back and forth on the huge desk, the thick carpet unable to absorb the loud, irritating sound of his leather shoes stomping.

"Our Chairman has quite the appetite!"

Churchill slammed his cigar into the ashtray, his voice low with anger: "What are they doing?"

“They brazenly dug up our plants in our garden and are going to plant their own seeds!”

Foreign Secretary Eden advised from the side, "Mr. Prime Minister, this is indeed something to be wary of."

"However, the Chinese may very well be doing this simply to better control the situation in order to achieve the overall strategy of the Allies."

Churchill sneered and picked up another report, which contained intelligence about the expeditionary force establishing settlements in northern Burma, building roads, and even beginning to recruit locals to form "volunteer battalions."

“Aiden, look at this!” He slammed the report aside: “They’re building roads, cultivating land, recruiting soldiers. They’re turning Myanmar into territory under their actual control!”
Now they've also brought Aung San, a seemingly insignificant leader of the national movement, under their control.

Do you still think this is just a simple matter of cooperating with Allied strategy? Clearly, this is encroaching on our territory!

Churchill's eyes gleamed with the vigilance and unease characteristic of a seasoned imperial politician.

"No! This is a battle fought without the smoke of gunpowder! This is the infiltration and expansion of the Eastern dragon! It is the ancient Central Empire that is using this war to extend its long-dormant claws!"

They didn't just want to defeat that Japanese man; they wanted to completely erase the British Empire's influence in the Far East after the war and become the master of all Southeast Asia!

He took a puff of his cigar, the thick smoke almost obscuring his face: "We absolutely cannot stand idly by!"

"Southeast Asia, especially Singapore, is the jewel in Her Majesty's crown and the gateway to our Far East markets!"

"We absolutely cannot allow it to fall completely into the sphere of Chinese influence!"

The officials standing nearby looked troubled: "But Mr. Prime Minister, what can we do now?"

"The war in Europe is at a critical stage, and our military strength in the Far East is already stretched thin."

"We still need the Chinese Expeditionary Force to hold them back and eliminate those damned Japanese."

Churchill remained silent.

The official standing nearby was telling the truth.

Britain today truly has the will but not the power.

After a long while, he seemed to have made up his mind, and suddenly looked up, a resolute glint in his eyes.

“We can’t do it ourselves, but there is another country that can.” Churchill’s voice became unusually firm: “It is the Americans! It is President Roosevelt who gave the Chinese people such generous aid.”

"It is their tanks and planes that allow the Chinese people to stand so tall!"

"They must take responsibility for the 'Eastern dragon' they raised with their own hands!"

He turned to his secretary and commanded in an unquestionable tone:

"Immediately! Give me an encrypted private line! I need to have a most urgent, highest-level call with President Roosevelt!"

"My first question to him is whether the Americans want to cultivate a reliable ally in Asia, or whether they want to create a hegemon that they cannot control in the future!"
-
Washington, D.C., USA: The White House Oval Office.

Under the soft light, wisps of smoke rose from pipes and cigars.

It smells of leather and old books.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, seated in a wheelchair, had just ended a call on a secure London connection.

He put the receiver back, his face bearing the same warm and friendly expression he always had for Churchill.

The instant the call ended.

His relatively gentle gaze was quickly replaced by a deep and sharp one.

Some of it seems to have been replaced by the calmness of these politicians.

"Winston's cigar burned his own eyebrow."

President Roosevelt tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and General George Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff opposite him, smiled knowingly.

“Mr. President,” General Marshall said in a steady tone, “it seems that the British Empire is finally feeling the chill from the East. Prime Minister Churchill must have expressed his deepest concern over the phone about the Chinese overexpansion in Burma, right?”

"It's more than just concern."

President Roosevelt spun his wheelchair over to the giant globe and gently tapped the location of Myanmar with his finger: "I could feel him almost wailing."

He was worried about his 'empire on which the sun never sets'.

The gem in Myanmar will be the first to fall off, and it will be pried off by our 'ally' himself.

Roosevelt looked up from the globe at Marshall, his eyes gleaming with all-knowing insight: "Winston is worried about the gains and losses of the colonies, about the glory of the empire."

"But we, George, are thinking about a completely new world order after the war."

Roosevelt paused, then his tone became incredibly clear and firm: "A new world order led by the United States."

"In this new order, a declining British Empire clinging to its old glory is far less in the long-term interest of the United States than a strong, unified, and friendly China."

General Marshall wholeheartedly agreed: "Yes, Mr. President."

"Churchill only saw Myanmar in its immediate vicinity, while you see the future of all of Asia."

"We also need to consider another, more threatening adversary." Roosevelt's eyes grew even more profound: "Once we and Britain have completely defeated Hitler in Europe, Stalin and his vast communist empire will be the next great challenge we will face globally."

At that time, a China with a population of 400 million, and with our help, having built a modern army, will be our most important and strongest bridgehead on the Asian continent in our fight against Soviet communist expansion!

Roosevelt slowly set the tone for America's Far East grand strategy: "Therefore, Churchill's concerns just prove the correctness of our strategy."

We need a strong China to balance the post-war Asian landscape.

Every bit of aid we provide to them now is a crucial step in the future strategy of containing the Soviet Union.

However, just as the two top U.S. leaders reached a consensus on how to "arrange" the "legacy" of the British Empire.

General Marshall, however, changed the subject, his face revealing a concern similar to Roosevelt's, but with a completely different motivation.

“However, Mr. President,” Marshall placed a recent battle report from the Far East theater in front of Roosevelt, “there is a new development regarding China that is certainly worth our careful consideration.”

Roosevelt picked up the battle report with great interest: "Oh?"

"Could it be that Chu Yunfei's expeditionary force has encountered trouble?"

“No, quite the opposite.” Marshall’s expression was somewhat strange. “The problem is that they played too well, better than we expected.”

Marshall pointed to the contents of the report: "The scale and results of Chu Yunfei's second counter-offensive in North China have completely exceeded our initial assessment."

"According to the urgent report from the officers, he not only launched a three-pronged attack in the directions of Nankou, Pingxingguan and Handan, but used these three prongs as fulcrums to break through the entire defensive system of the Japanese North China Area Army."

"Okamura Yasuji's command post has fallen into complete chaos. His reserves are being mobilized in a frenzy, and there are gaps everywhere in the defense line. The elite troops of the 14th Army Group and the 71st Army, which are receiving key Soviet aid, are tearing through the Japanese defense line at an unprecedented speed."

"The officer corps judged that if this trend continued, the Japanese defenses in North China would very likely suffer a total collapse within the next one to two months!"

"Once they have recovered the entire territory of Hebei and Henan, they will have at least three million reserve soldiers, and their army strength will soon triple under our armed forces."

The smile on Roosevelt's face vanished, replaced by a solemn contemplation.

He said slowly, "This is indeed a problem." (End of Chapter)