Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Taiyuan, General Logistics Warehouse.

Temporary headquarters.

Inside the room, the candlelight flickered, casting Chu Yunfei's long shadow on the wall.

Xie Yufa had already left, leaving behind only that heavy private letter sealed with sealing wax, lying quietly on the table.

Sun Ming stood aside, watching Chu Yunfei open the envelope and pull out the thin letter.

He knew that this letter carried more weight than any military order.

The letter contained few words, written in regular script with a brush, the strokes powerful and vigorous, just like its author.

The content, like Yan Xishan himself, was completely unvarnished and straightforward, almost like a showdown.

In the letter, Yan Xishan first affirmed the necessity and legitimacy of Chu Yunfei's rectification of military discipline, and admitted that there were indeed bad apples under his command who should be eliminated.

But Yan Laoxi changed the subject and began to recount the hardships Shanxi had endured over the years in supporting the War of Resistance against Japan on its own, as well as the meager salaries and impoverished livelihoods of its officials.

He didn't plead for anyone, yet every word he uttered spoke of the helplessness between "human relationships" and "reality."

At the end of the letter.

Yan Laoxi wrote only one sentence: "Water that is too clear has no fish, and a government that is too harsh will cause the people to rebel. Let us all strive together."

Chu Yunfei quietly finished reading the letter, then held it up to the candlelight, watching it slowly turn to ashes.

"Lord Yun," Sun Ming asked in a low voice, "Does Commander Yan intend for us to raise the issue high but then lower it gently?"

"Do not."

Chu Yunfei shook his head, his gaze as deep as the night: "He didn't tell us to let it go easily."

"He was trying to tell me that this knife can be used to cut, but it depends on who you're cutting and how you cut them."

Chu Yunfei stood up and slowly paced around the room.

In his mind, a political game was unfolding that was far more complex than any political simulation.

He was well aware that behind Yan Xishan's letter was both a test of the boundaries of his power by the "King of Shanxi" and a gesture of goodwill.

Yan Laoxi was telling Chu Yunfei: I acknowledge your authority and am willing to cooperate with your "purge," but you cannot shake the foundation of Shanxi.

Those deeply entrenched civil service systems were the very foundation upon which Yan Xishan made his living.

Killing one or two is fine, but to uproot them completely would be forcing them to turn against you.

And what about Chairman Yamashiro?
He bestowed this "imperial sword" upon himself, certainly with the intention of rectifying military discipline, but wasn't he also trying to use his own hand to warn and weaken these local power holders?
He, Chu Yunfei, was caught in the middle of these two enormous forces.

Taking action against Shanxi first was actually a way of showing our stance to other forces.

“Lord Yun, this matter is thorny.” Sun Ming said worriedly, “If we take strict measures, it will inevitably create a rift with Commander Yan and shake our army’s most secure rear in North China.”

"If we deal with them leniently, we will not be able to explain ourselves to the mountain city. This will only make those big rats think that we are all bark and no bite, and they will definitely become even more ruthless in the future."

"so."

Chu Yunfei stopped, a resolute glint in his eyes. "We must show Commander Yan our 'human touch,' and the Chairman our 'military law.' We must also show all those with ill intentions our 'thunderous methods.'"

After careful consideration, a clear strategy formed in his mind.

"Focus on the big picture, let go of the small ones."

Chu Yunfei spoke to Zhao Pengcheng and Sun Ming beside him, his voice calm yet incredibly firm.

"In this investigation, we will not expand the scope or make everyone a suspect."

"Our target is those 'big fish' who have committed heinous crimes and aroused great public outrage!"

"Sun Ming, have the investigation results come out yet?"

Sun Ming nodded slowly, and then continued, "Through overnight investigations and visits to several key personnel, we discovered that this is a very clear black market profit chain."

Through collusion between corrupt officials within the military and unscrupulous local businessmen, with local officials providing cover, and even involving some intelligence agents, the scheme was uncovered.

Sun Ming presented a well-organized document to Chu Yunfei.

"The preliminary investigation has been completed."

"Most of the missing military supplies, especially life-saving drugs such as penicillin and sulfanilamide powder, entered the black market through several secret channels."

Sun Ming's voice was filled with suppressed anger.

"These medicines, which could save the lives of one of our brothers on the front lines, are being sold at exorbitant prices on the black market in Taiyuan by unscrupulous merchants who are profiting from the national crisis!"

"One penicillin, on the black market, is worth ten gold bars!"

"A packet of sulfanilamide powder, on the black market, is worth five gold bars!"

“Moreover,” Sun Ming paused, then said with difficulty, “we have evidence that some of these drugs, even through these black market channels, eventually ended up in Japanese-occupied areas.”

Chu Yunfei picked up an interrogation record and slammed it heavily on the table: "For traitors like this, who resell penicillin and sulfanilamide powder, and even sell them to enemy-occupied areas, kill them one by one!"
"If there are two, kill them both! No leniency whatsoever! If these people are killed, Commander Yan will have nothing to say, and the people of Shanxi will only applaud!"

"And those who abuse their power to embezzle military rations or resell weapons and ammunition—if the evidence is conclusive, they will all be severely punished!"

"These people are parasites that leech off the army; killing them is not enough to uphold military law!"

"This is the 'big' case we're targeting. We need to arrest a group of representative corrupt officials like these, and use their heads to give an explanation to the mountain city, and also to all the officers and soldiers in the Second War Zone!"

He paused and changed the subject.

"As for those 'small fish'," Chu Yunfei's tone softened slightly, "for example, as Liang Huazhi said, low-ranking officials who, because of their meager salaries, couldn't make ends meet and embezzled some cloth and grain."

As long as the crime is not serious and does not involve strategic materials, we can give them a chance.

"Recover their ill-gotten gains and spare their lives."

"This is to give Commander Yan 'face.' It's also to stabilize the situation in Shanxi and prevent everyone from feeling disheartened."

"Lord Yun is wise!"

Zhao Pengcheng and Sun Ming exchanged a glance, both seeing admiration in each other's eyes.

This plan combines swift and decisive measures with consideration for human relationships.

In the cracks of politics, they found the most perfect path to balance.

But Chu Yunfei's thinking did not stop there.

"Killing people is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause."

He continued, "After this matter, I will submit a 'Proposal for Reform of Officialdom in Shanxi' to Commander Yan in the name of the North China Joint Command."

"The first measure is to adjust the income of all administrative officials!"

“From the embezzled funds we seized this time, we will take a portion to establish an ‘anti-corruption fund’ to significantly increase the salaries of grassroots civil servants.” “This will enable them to support their families, live with dignity, and eliminate any thoughts of corruption due to poverty.”

"Secondly," a deeper, cold glint flashed in Chu Yunfei's eyes, "we must use this case as an opportunity to thoroughly purge and punish the deeply entrenched local power factions in Shanxi! Those black market merchants and local tyrants who collude with the corrupt officials in the military—every single one of them must be uprooted!"

"This time, we'll start by eliminating the corrupt elements within the military."

"Next time, we'll kill the local tyrant!"

"I want everyone to know that the world in North China has changed."

"No one should ever think of treating the nation's property as their own private property again!"

These words sent a chill down the spines of both Zhao Pengcheng and Sun Ming.

they know.

Chu Yunfei's strike wasn't just aimed at a few corrupt officials.

What he wanted to cut down was the deeply entrenched, corrupt system and web of personal relationships that had taken root in this land in the old era.
-
Changzhi, Shanxi.

Fang Ligong looked helpless after receiving the telegram.

"Little Li...Little Li"

“Yes, Commander Fang, did you call me?” Li Mingjie strode forward.

Li Mingjie had once been Chu Yunfei's personal bodyguard. After gaining experience at the grassroots level, he was naturally promoted to be by Fang Ligong's side.

"Lead the teams to arrest people according to this list. If there is resistance, deal with it yourself. No one other than those on the list may be arrested without authorization, understand?"

"Yes, Commander Fang."

After Li Mingjie left, Zhang Dayun slowly spoke up: "The military supplies we frontline combat troops have received are basically in full and complete. It's not appropriate to move supplies from the rear at this time, is it?"

Fang Ligong stood with his hands behind his back, adopting a posture similar to Chu Yunfei's: "I naturally understand that the overall situation in the Second War Zone is very good. On this basis, Commander Chu would naturally not want to waste too much time."

I was actually worried that Shancheng was delaying the counterattack against Siam, hoping to give Du Yuming a military achievement that would allow him to rival Commander Chu.

"You mean the Thai-Burma Area Army that annihilated the Japanese army?" Zhang Dayun suddenly realized: "But the terrain in Siam is even more complex than in Burma. We don't even have intelligence from our allies, let alone any way to investigate its terrain. Under these circumstances, how can we possibly achieve victory?"

"To be honest, I discussed this matter with Commander Chu. Commander Chu's point is that the troop strength is currently insufficient, and a large number of artillery and armored units are needed as reinforcements. In particular, the new recruits are adapting to the rainforest climate, and the long rainy season has brought great difficulties to the logistics work."

"To conquer Siam, overthrow the pro-Japanese fascist regime, and severely damage or even annihilate the Japanese Thai-Burma Area Army would be an almost impossible task."

"What does the Chairman mean?"

Fang Ligong, who was involved in the "deification" of the campaign, sighed: "It's like the Battle of Changsha, which was clearly a strategic failure and a minor tactical victory, but through media hype, it was touted as a great victory no less significant than the Battle of Yudong."
-
Mountain City, Chairman's official residence.

A damp fog enveloped the wartime capital, inside the Chairman's study in his official residence.

The atmosphere, however, was quite different from the gloom outside the window.

A long-awaited ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, illuminating the aroma of tea wafting through the room.

He Yingqin and Chen Cheng, two giants in the Nationalist government's military and political system, were standing side by side in front of Chang Ruiyuan's desk.

Their faces all wore a complex expression that was hard to conceal, a mixture of surprise and admiration.

Just now, Zhang Zhizhong, the director of the adjutant's office, gave them a detailed report on the entire process and final result of Chu Yunfei's handling of the "military supplies corruption case" in Taiyuan.

"Chu Yunfei used swift and decisive methods to arrest seventeen officers of the rank of colonel or above, led by Director Wang of the Logistics Warehouse, as well as more than thirty local unscrupulous businessmen who colluded with them."

After an overnight interrogation, with both witnesses and physical evidence, the perpetrator, whose crimes were extremely heinous, was executed on the spot this morning.

The severed head was hung outside the warehouse door as a warning to others.

"The amount of embezzled funds, gold, opium, antiques, etc. seized was enormous when converted into legal tender."

"Chu Yunfei proposed that half of the funds be included in the SX provincial government's budget and used specifically to increase the salaries of grassroots public officials to reassure them; the other half should be used entirely for the Second World War Zone military expenses to boost morale."

"For the more than one hundred lower-level officials involved in minor cases and whose crimes were not serious, Chu Yunfei adopted a strategy of 'focusing on the big and letting the small go,' ordering them to return all the embezzled funds, dismissing them from their posts but retaining their positions, and allowing them to redeem themselves through meritorious service."

After hearing the report, Chen Cheng, who had always been a rival of He Yingqin in factional matters, couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration: "Well done, Chu Yunfei! What a brilliant move of 'focusing on the big picture and letting go of the small details'! That was a truly masterful tactic!"

He turned to Chang Ruiyuan, his tone full of admiration: "Chairman, Chu Yunfei's move can be described as killing three birds with one stone!"
First, he killed those who deserved to die, using swift and decisive measures to deter all the villains, setting a benchmark for the discipline of our army. We can give an account to the people and military across the country!

Secondly, he released those who could be released and proposed raising salaries, giving Commander Yan a great deal of face, stabilizing the rear in Shanxi, and preventing major chaos in the officialdom.

Thirdly, he seized a huge sum of embezzled funds to fund the military, solving the practical problem and leaving everyone speechless!

He Yingqin stroked his beard and nodded slowly: "What Cixiu said is absolutely right."

Yunfei not only demonstrated his outstanding ability to lead troops in battle, but also his superb skills in handling complex political situations.

He possesses both courage and wisdom, authority and virtue, and demonstrates remarkable composure and a perfect grasp of appropriate boundaries; truly a pillar of the nation.

Chang Ruiyuan listened to his two trusted ministers' lavish praise of Chu Yunfei and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Chu Yunfei's choice was exactly what he expected, even more perfect than he had imagined.

He was like the sharpest knife, cutting through the rotten flesh, and like the gentlest medicine, soothing people's hearts.

He demonstrated his loyalty and competence to himself and to everyone else.

Chu Yunfei proved that his "national weapon" was sharp, but not enough to harm its master.

"Hmm." Chang Ruiyuan let out a satisfied sound through his nose: "Yunfei has lived up to my expectations this time."

He picked up a pen and personally drafted a commendation order for Chu Yunfei on a piece of telegram paper.

"Draft a telegram to inform the entire army." Chang Ruiyuan's voice carried a hint of approval.

"Army XX, North China Joint Command XXX, and Chief Deputy Director of the Military Law Enforcement Department of the General Headquarters Chu Yunfei were ordered to Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, to rectify military discipline and thoroughly investigate corruption."

During this period, he was fearless in the face of powerful figures and impartial in his actions, swiftly and decisively purging corrupt elements within the military and upholding national laws and regulations. His achievements are truly remarkable and his conduct commendable! This telegram is hereby issued to commend him and recognize his merits!

After writing the commendation, he did not stop writing.

He looked at He Yingqin and Chen Cheng, a sharp glint in his eyes: "Now that Yunfei's sword has been drawn and drawn blood, there is no reason to put it back so easily."

"The festering sores in Shanxi are just the beginning. Under Enbo's rule, the Fifth War Zone has accumulated even deeper problems! Its internal corruption is probably even worse than that in Shanxi!"

Chang Ruiyuan picked up his pen again and added a new order below the commendation order.

"Secret telegram to Chu Yunfei: The matter in Taiyuan was handled properly, which greatly pleases me."

However, the deep-seated problems of a nation cannot be completely eradicated by a single drastic measure.

The Fifth War Zone suffered a major defeat in the New Li War, which severely damaged the morale of its troops and exposed its internal corruption problems.

After completing the handover of affairs in Shanxi, there is no need to rush back to Burma. Instead, proceed to the Fifth War Zone to assist Commander Li Delin in handling its internal problems. (End of Chapter)