Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

In the blink of an eye, another three days have passed.

The investigation into Sun Ming and the self-examination and self-correction by Sun Weimou were basically carried out simultaneously.

Over the past few days, Liang Huazhi and the others had been trying to find an opportunity to meet Chu Yunfei, but they were all turned away.

Even Xie Ming, who had just returned from southwestern Shanxi, and Chu Qingbo, who had come specifically to sound out the situation, were both involved.

They were unable to see Chu Yunfei.

Actually.

Chu Yunfei had no interest in whether there was any corruption in the Second World War zone.

The base construction module.

He could naturally see clearly the specific situation of each anti-Japanese base area.

The stability, coupled with the increasing output value in various regions and the rise in the estimated total tax revenue, are sufficient indicators to explain the situation.

only.

He needs to come up with an attitude, an attitude that can convince everyone.

"Commander Chu, Commander Zhuo has arrived."

"Tianyu," Chu Yunfei said slowly, then continued, "Last time, Dayun said he was doing quite well with his agricultural reclamation work in the Northwest."

Zhao Pengcheng quickly searched the data in his mind and slowly said, "Yes, I heard that the estimated production capacity can support more than 500,000 people."

Chu Yunfei's consciousness quickly became immersed in the system in his mind.

[Current Name of the Anti-Japanese Base Area: Northwest Anti-Japanese Base Area]

Current total population: 137

[Estimated Gross Domestic Product: 6503 million (fiat currency)]

[Current estimated total annual income: 118 million (fiat currency)]

Current tax revenue capacity: 35%

The current estimated number of recruits is 4 (out of 11).

[Current development status of the base area: 7 (out of 100)]

[Current pillar industries of the base area: agriculture; animal husbandry;]

Current literacy rate: 6%

Current stability: 43%

[Current Base Construction Submodule Characteristics and Task Requirements: 1. Increase literacy rate to 10%; 2. Increase stability to 50%]

Due to the war, Chu Yunfei essentially relinquished all responsibility for the economic development of the rear base areas.

In mountainous regions, putting aside everything else, Yan Xishan was a master at developing the economy.

Despite the limitations inherent in its era, Sun Weimou was always personally involved.

The advice Chu Yunfei could offer was only in general terms.

What was the situation in the Northwest at the beginning?

Of course he knew it.

Those bastards in Ma's army basically don't treat ordinary people as human beings.

The raid ended after one hour and twenty-two minutes.

The Northwest Anti-Japanese Base Area was also successfully organized.

"Report!"

"Come in!" Chu Yunfei put on a smiling face and stepped forward to greet Zhuo Tianyu.

Zhuo Tianyu, a smile on his face, confidently strode in: "Reporting to Your Excellency, Zhuo Tianyu has specially returned to report on my duties..."

Chu Yunfei smiled and said, "We can talk about the report later. You've been in the rear for so long, your fighting skills haven't declined, have they?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Tianyu immediately rubbed his hands together in anticipation: "To be honest, Your Excellency, I used to think that I would drive away the Japanese devils, go back and buy some land, and become a rich man. But after actually going to farm, I realized how difficult it is."

Drilling a well is a troublesome task in itself, and in addition, the Northwest not only has little rainfall, but also cannot retain water.
In my opinion, governing the Northwest will take at least fifty years.

Chu Yunfei nodded seriously: "The industrial development of Taiyuan has benefited from the accumulation of the previous ten years. The construction of the Northwest Manufacturing Bureau and the Changzhi Ordnance Industry Cluster is actually aid from other major countries."

"To go from nothing to something, from weak to strong, requires the inheritance and development of generations. We both understand the saying that you can't rush things and you can't get fat in one bite."

"After two years of managing local development, I think your temperament has been tempered quite well. Now that you're back, I'd like to transfer you to the southwest. Would you be willing?"

Zhuo Tianyu scratched his head: "Sir, is the situation on that side tense?"

Chu Yunfei chuckled: "No, we have the advantage in manpower and weaponry, and we can strike the Japanese forces in Thailand and Myanmar at any time."

"Then what is this?" Zhuo Tianyu frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Sir, I don't need this kind of easily obtained merit. Our previous battles were all won through hard-fought battles."

Chu Yunfei smiled, but offered no explanation.

Is it easy to gain military merit?

The Japanese soldiers at this time were not the demoralized Japanese soldiers they were before their surrender.

No battle is easy to win!

However, upon hearing Zhuo Tianyu's words, Chu Yunfei immediately nodded: "You have ambition. Since you don't want to go to the Expeditionary Force, I've found you a place to study at the Army University. Currently, we are researching river assault tactics, and the establishment and use of pontoon bridge units is the main direction of future development."

"River assault tactics?"

Chu Yunfei nodded slowly: "Think about it yourself. Not to mention the Yellow River in the north and the major rivers in the northeast, just in the Jiangnan region of the south, there is a dense network of rivers and lakes. Under such circumstances, river assault tactics are an indispensable part of our strategic counter-offensive."

Zhuo Tianyu wanted to return to the battlefield, but Chu Yunfei always felt that the time was not yet ripe.

He is too impatient.

If Sun Weimou's development of the region was a natural progression, then Zhuo Tianyu's was a series of setbacks.

But in any case, he no longer has many problems with his personality.

It's time to try standing on my own.

"I understand, Your Excellency. Please make the arrangements."

Chu Yunfei nodded slowly: "Alright, that's all. Put the report aside. Pengcheng, take him out for a meal, make him stand out."

"This"

Zhuo Tianyu asked in confusion, "Speaking of which, didn't you hear that there's going to be an anti-corruption campaign? Why were you transferred back at this time? I thought something had happened."

"What could possibly be wrong? They're just using this as an excuse to bring you back," Chu Yunfei waved his hand. "Now we'll leave it to Wei Mou and Sun Ming to investigate. Who knows what they'll find out?"

As he spoke, Chu Yunfei pointed to the battle map beside him: "I'm thinking about how to fight the Japanese army that is attacking the Siam region."

"this,"

Looking at the unknown terrain on the map, Zhuo Tianyu felt a headache coming on: "With our current intelligence gathering, wouldn't a rash attack be falling into the Japanese devils' trap?"

Chu Yunfei also looked somewhat helpless at this moment: "Wu Ziqiang's troops and Wei Guo's troops have done their best, but many areas in Southeast Asia are quite primitive, and our army lacks intelligence, so there is really no good solution."

"The purpose of this battle is to annihilate the main force of the Thai-Myanmar Front Army." Chu Yunfei himself felt immense pressure, which allowed him to rely on three-dimensional combat maps to seize the initiative while commanding on the front lines.

However, he is currently in the rear, and the intelligence and information he has access to are not much more than those of other generals.

under these circumstances.

It was unrealistic for Du Yuming to expect him to be able to command the battle from the rear.

As for Chang Ruiyuan, he still hoped that he could formulate the relevant battle plans.
That's even more absurd. They relied on a few battle maps they got from the French and British?

Do you really think these Japanese devils are at their last gasp?

With Du Yuming's talent, defeating the Japanese wouldn't be a problem, but it would most likely be a Pyrrhic victory.

He only hoped that the General Staff would listen to his advice, obtain more combat supplies from the Americans and British, train more reserve combat troops, and then launch an attack.

It's still too early and too rushed.

The Nationalist government's war machine was already dilapidated. Even with the help of the Soviet Union and the United States, which replaced several key parts, it was still no match for the Japanese at this point in time.

"With the balance of power shifting, the two sides have reached equilibrium. However, the Japanese army no longer has enough strategic resources to launch an offensive, while we have seized the strategic initiative in the entire Southeast Asia."

"When to attack and when to defend depends on our mood. As for the Japanese, at this stage we can only rely on their decent naval and air superiority to harass and exhaust us."

"However, the Japanese army failed to seize the Yenangyaung oil field, so they probably don't have much strategic reserves left..."
-
Tokyo, the Prime Minister's official residence.

An emergency cabinet meeting that would determine the fate of the empire was being held in a room with a suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere.

The heavy curtains blocked out the sunlight, leaving only a huge crystal chandelier casting a cold and bleak light that illuminated the somber faces of every high-ranking official of the empire present.

Prime Minister Hideki Tojo sat in the main seat.

He was dressed in a crisp army general's uniform, his body standing as straight as a javelin.

But his tightly pursed lips and the subtle twitching at the corners of his eyes betrayed his inner turmoil.

On either side of him were key cabinet members, including Navy Minister Shigetaro Shimada, Commerce and Industry Minister Nobusuke Kishi, and Agriculture and Forestry Minister Sekiya Ino.

The reason there are so few people is...

It's because Hideki Tojo, that old devil, held too many positions: Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of the Army, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In front of each person were several battle reports from the front lines in North China and Myanmar, each one reeking of a "disastrous defeat."

This was the "final report" meticulously edited by the Army, which could be called the General Staff battle report.

"Gentlemen."

Hideki Tojo broke the silence first, his voice hoarse and low, filled with suppressed anger: "You are all aware of the extent to which the situation on the China and Burma battlefields has deteriorated."

General Okamura Yasuji's all-out counter-offensive plan in North China suffered an unprecedented defeat, and General Terauchi Hisaichi was similarly driven back by the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma.

"The warriors of the Imperial Army are bleeding and sacrificing themselves on foreign soil."

"And we, as the decision-makers of the empire, must immediately make judgments and choices regarding the current crisis!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nobusuke Kishi, who had remained silent, spoke up in an almost desperate tone: "Your Excellency, while the military defeat is certainly painful, what we need to face even more is the impending collapse of the domestic economy and people's livelihoods!"

His gaze turned to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ino Sekiya.

Ino Sekiya, the old minister in charge of the empire's granaries, had a withered face.

At Kishi Nobusuke's prompting, he slowly stood up and pulled a thin report from the folder.

With a somber and weary voice, he reported a set of data that sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister, colleagues."

He paused, as if each word that followed carried immense weight: "According to the latest national grain statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, due to the large number of young and middle-aged laborers being conscripted into the army, and the extreme shortage of production materials such as fertilizers and pesticides..."

This year, grain production within the empire has declined sharply again, no longer sufficient to sustain the basic needs of the population.

"After ensuring the supply of military rations."

Ino Sekiya's voice trembled slightly: "According to our most precise calculations, the average daily ration of ordinary citizens in the Empire has now dropped to less than four ounces of coarse rice."

"Four ounces of brown rice!"

This number exploded like a bombshell in the conference room.

Everyone knows what this means.

This means hunger, malnutrition, and the gradual depletion of the nation's health.

This means that the entire country is in a state of chronic, suicidal hunger.

Ino Sekiya continued, his voice filled with helplessness: "In order to maintain military production, many workers' positions have been handed over to women, or even teenagers."

They worked more than twelve hours a day in a state of extreme hunger and exhaustion.

Even so, our steel and coal production continues to decline.

The foundations of the empire are being eroded and shaken little by little by this endless war!

Everyone expressed deep dissatisfaction and despair regarding the current war situation.

For a moment, the meeting room was filled with an atmosphere of pessimism and defeatism.

however.

At that moment, Navy Minister Shigetaro Shimada, a powerful figure representing another strong armed force of Japan's brother state, suddenly slammed his fist on the table and uttered a voice completely different from the others.

"enough!"

His voice was loud and arrogant: "The army's setbacks on the continent are only temporary!"

The difficulties we face domestically are merely tests we must endure before our demise!

Gentlemen, have you forgotten? The key to victory or defeat in this war lies not in the quagmire of China, but in the vast Pacific Ocean!

He stood up, his gaze sweeping intently over the crowd: "The Empire's combined fleet remains the most powerful navy in the world!"
We still have vast strategic space in the Pacific Ocean!
Although the American fleet was large in number, their soldiers lacked the spirit of sacrifice of the Imperial warriors!

"As long as we seize the opportunity and engage the American fleet in another decisive battle in the Pacific, breaking their backbone, victory will still belong to the Great Japanese Empire!"

A flicker of fervent light rekindled in Hideki Tojo's dim eyes because of Shigetaro Shimada's words.

He stood up abruptly and stood with the Minister of the Navy.

"What Shimada-kun says is absolutely right!" Tojo Hideki's voice became loud and inflammatory once again: "The Empire's military strength is still intact!"
The formidable military might of the Combined Fleet remains undiminished!

This is our biggest asset in negotiating with the Americans!

He waved his arms, giving a final pep talk to the despairing civil officials.

"Temporary hunger will only temper the will of the empire's people!"

"Temporary defeats will only ignite the fighting spirit of the Imperial Army soldiers!"

"We must not waver at this time, much less yield at this time!"

"Our national policy has not changed!"

His eyes gleamed with a gambler's madness: "That is to keep going! On the mainland, adopt a defensive posture and wear down the Chinese army! In the Pacific, accumulate strength and seek an opportunity to engage in a decisive battle with the American fleet!"

"If we can win that decisive battle, we can force the Americans to the negotiating table and sign a decent peace that is in the Empire's favor!"

"At that time, everything we have on the Chinese mainland will be preserved!"

"For His Majesty the Emperor, for the final victory of the Greater East Asia Holy War, the Empire must persevere!"

Under the firm insistence of Hideki Tojo and the Minister of the Navy, any rational voices advocating "seeking peace" or "shrinking the front lines" were completely suppressed.

A crazy gamble based on the premise that "we still have military strength and can negotiate with the United States," completely detached from the realities of domestic life, was finally decided.

Ino Sekiya and Kishi Shinsuke exchanged a glance, both seeing deep despair in each other's eyes.

they know.

These two ministers, blinded by war and power, were deaf to any advice. (End of Chapter)