Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Chu Yunfei's ruthless methods in Taiyuan.

When it spread throughout Shanxi through newspapers and radio waves, the enormous impact it generated far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Taiyuan, Zhonglou Street, inside an old teahouse called "Sihaichun".

This is one of the most well-informed places in Taiyuan.

People from all walks of life, from peddlers to laborers, all like to brew a pot of tea here and listen to the latest news.

In the past, people talked mostly about soaring prices, Japanese bombing raids, and uncertainty and anxiety about the future.

An occasional big win cannot change the current situation in the long run.

Just today.

The atmosphere in the teahouse was ignited by an irrepressible, exhilarating excitement.

The storyteller in the center of the teahouse didn't tell either "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" or "Water Margin" today.

He laid out several copies of the latest *Shanxi Daily*, *Guanghua Daily*, and *Changzhi Weekly* on the table, slammed the gavel down, and began to read aloud in a melodious and impassioned tone:
"Speaking of Commander Chu Yunfei, he returned to Jin with a disciplined demeanor and eyes as sharp as lightning!"

"He is extremely perceptive and insightful; he saw through everything at a glance that there was a treacherous rat hiding in our rear supply lines!"

"With his order, military law was as solid as a mountain; the treasury was sealed and the accounts were investigated—the evidence was irrefutable!"

"No matter if you're royalty or a local tyrant, under the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag, and before the laws and military discipline, you'll all be exposed!"

He picked up a newspaper, pointed to the headline in bold black letters, and read it aloud, word by word:

"The truth is clear: the law is impartial!"

"Commander Chu personally oversaw the major case, executing seventeen traitors and restoring justice to Shanxi!"

"color!"

The guests cheered in unison, and the teacups jingled loudly.

"A major crackdown on corruption within the military! The General Logistics Department's embezzlement case has been successfully solved, with the enormous sums of embezzled funds confiscated. The entire armed forces are applauding with joy!"

"color!"

A silk shop owner at the next table slapped his thigh excitedly and said to his companion, "Well done! That was satisfying!"

"You have no idea, last month, because of these damned bastards hoarding and speculating, the price of a batch of cotton yarn I bought tripled!"

"They're reselling military supplies and profiting from the national crisis, almost cutting off the livelihoods of us honest businessmen!"

"Now look what happened! With Commander Chu's decisive action, the prices of medicines and fabrics on the black market have plummeted by half!"

"This really gave us ordinary people a chance to vent our anger!"

In a corner, several young people dressed in school uniforms were also whispering among themselves, their eyes gleaming with admiration.

"This has long since gone beyond simply killing a few corrupt officials."

A student wearing glasses said, "This represents a determination! It represents the determination of Commander Chu and Commander Yan to completely change the local officialdom in Shanxi and even the entire North China region!"

A nation that wishes to defeat external enemies must first eliminate internal threats! This is where true hope lies!

An old farmer by the window listened silently. He picked up his rough porcelain teacup, took a sip of hot tea, and said to his son beside him, "I don't know anything about national affairs."

All I know is that this year, when it comes to paying the grain tax, no one will dare to ask me for any extra fees or benefits.

My wife got sick a couple of days ago and went to a public hospital in the city.

That life-saving sulfanilamide powder, which was previously said to be out of stock, is now not only available but also much cheaper.

We, the ordinary people, know in our hearts who truly cares for us.

In the corner.

Zhao Pengcheng nodded slowly, satisfied.

The accompanying bodyguard asked in a low voice, "Commander Zhao, was the entire Shanxi region like this before?"

"We need to exaggerate as much as possible and guide public opinion accordingly, otherwise the people will not realize the benefits of anti-corruption. With these real cases, the people will be able to better understand our predicament."

In other words.

The pre-arranged "actors" used only a few simple words to express the most basic sentiments of the people.

Clearly, this is a purge.

They won the hearts of the military, and even more so, the hearts of the people.

It's not far from here.

Second War Zone, Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters.

The atmosphere inside the small meeting room was equally peaceful.

This "King of Shanxi".

At this moment, he was enjoying freshly arrived West Lake Longjing tea with his key staff officers, Deputy Commanders Yang Aiyuan and Yang Chengyuan, Chu Xichun, and Zhao Chengshou, who had just returned from the front lines.

Yang Aiyuan, the military bigwig who had previously been most disdainful of civil servant corruption, now wore a satisfied smile: "Sir, Chu Yunfei did a really good job."

Those who deserved to be killed were killed, and those who could be released were released. This gave the person in Shancheng a clear explanation without making the situation in Shanxi too ugly.

That sense of proportion was absolutely perfect!

Zhao Chengshou nodded and said, "That's right."

"The Chairman's telegram of commendation was particularly meaningful. He not only praised Yunfei, but also affirmed our Second War Zone's 'courage to clear its name and put the overall situation first.'"

"This is clearly an attempt to appease us and tell everyone that this matter is over."

Yan Xishan slowly sipped his tea, his deep old eyes gleaming with an all-knowing shrewdness.

He slowly began to speak, offering his final commentary on this political turmoil.

"The struggle for power and profit must be moderated and restrained," he said. "In the past, that guy from Chongqing always wanted to reach into the pot of our Shanxi."

"We're always on guard against him. As a result, we inevitably have disagreements and conflicts, which makes everyone uncomfortable."

“But now, things are different.” A mysterious smile appeared on Yan Xishan’s face: “Chu Yunfei’s existence is the best ‘block’ between us and Shancheng.”

He is both the Chairman's imperial sword and my prized student, Yan Baichuan.

With him in the middle, a new tacit understanding formed between us and the mountain city.

Yan Laoxi put down his teacup and calmly concluded, "As long as we in Shanxi can continue to provide him with a stable rear and continuously produce guns and ammunition for the troops in North China."

Therefore, the mountain city authorities will no longer easily interfere in matters within our province.

And we are happy to see Chu Yunfei expanding territory and making achievements for the Party and the country, and for us Chinese people.

This, in essence, is a win-win situation.

The trusted confidants present all understood and nodded in unison.

They knew that, after this incident, the Second War Zone and the mountain city had reached a final political understanding in a subtle, tacit atmosphere.

Perhaps it represents an unspoken "agreement" reached between the largest military interest group in North China and the Chongqing authorities.

The Expeditionary Force Frontline.

On the border line between Myanmar and Siam.

The rolling mountains are covered by dense, primeval rainforest. The air is hot and humid, and poisonous insects abound.

Although August has passed, the rainy season in Southeast Asia will continue until December.

At this moment.

Wang Ping, the company commander of the 1st Company of the 5th Army's Direct Reconnaissance Battalion, is leading his elite platoon on a reconnaissance mission.

Like a group of ghosts blending into the darkness, they moved almost silently through the ankle-deep mud.

"stop!"

The vanguard at the front was a Burmese soldier from the Yunnan border.

Codenamed "Lynx".

At that moment, he suddenly raised his hand.

The "lynx" has a sense of smell and hearing that are several times more acute than those of an ordinary person, which is why he was chosen to be the lead dog.

Wang Ping immediately gave a hand signal, and the entire team instantly froze in place, blending into the surrounding vegetation.

"What's wrong, Lynx?"

Wang Ping stepped forward quietly and asked in a low voice.

“There’s a faint smell of blood ahead.” The lynx sniffed the air hard. “It’s very faint, washed away by the rain, and there’s also the smell of tobacco. I can’t be sure if it’s human blood.”

Wang Ping's heart jumped into his throat.

He gave the signal, and two soldiers immediately moved forward stealthily like cats.

A moment later, they returned and reported in sign language: "Fifty meters ahead, we have spotted a well-camouflaged Japanese sentry post. In front of the sentry post, there is a patch of freshly turned soil, which may be a trap."

"Damn it, they're quite alert," Wang Ping cursed inwardly, then ordered, "Go around them! Our mission is reconnaissance, not annihilation!"

"If we alert these little devils, all our efforts will be in vain!"

The elite platoon changed direction and painstakingly bypassed the denser jungle.

Sometimes they had to use daggers to cut through the vines blocking their way, and sometimes they had to wade through swamps teeming with poisonous leeches.

Although each team member looked tired, their faces were filled with focus and determination.

Finally, before dawn, they arrived at the designated reconnaissance point.

A cliff overlooking the valley at the forefront of the Japanese defense line.

Wang Ping carefully took out a periscope from his backpack and slowly extended it through the crack in the rock.

In the periscope's field of view.

The Japanese defense line was clearly visible.

It was a complete defensive system that relied on the terrain and consisted of countless visible and hidden firing points, trenches, and anti-tank obstacles.

Japanese patrols were conducting their patrols in an orderly manner along fixed routes.

In the distance, you can even see the camouflage netting of the Japanese artillery positions.

"Xiao Zhang, draw the diagram!" Wang Ping commanded in a low voice.

A draftsman immediately used different colored pencils to precisely mark everything he observed on a waterproof military map.

"Squad leader, look over there!"

A soldier pointed to a hilltop in the distance.

Wang Ping adjusted the periscope and saw that in a mountain hollow, the Japanese army's cooking squad was cooking over a fire, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimney.

By observing the location and size of the smoke from cooking fires, he could even roughly determine the assembly point of a Japanese battalion.

"good chance!"

Wang Ping was overjoyed.

He took out his rangefinder and azimuth meter and quickly calculated the precise coordinates of that location.

“Radio! Radio!” he called in a low voice. “Calling command! Calling command! This is Hawkeye One!”

"I have arrived at the designated position and am now reporting the coordinates of the enemy situation I have observed!"

The radio operator beside him immediately transmitted sets of cold, hard numbers via encrypted radio waves to the front-line command post far behind.

After calling for a long time.

Wang Ping also failed to receive a reply, and naturally realized the problem.

"Company commander, it seems we're outside the call range."

Wang Ping frowned: "Didn't the Americans say..."

The radio operator explained, "The effective range of a single-soldier communication radio is only two kilometers. The terrain here is complex, so it probably can't transmit that far..."

"Damn it, what a pity, otherwise this round of artillery fire could have wiped out at least half of the Japanese soldiers."

"Once all these locations are marked, our heavy artillery units should be able to carry out the corresponding strikes."

"Company commander, it's almost time to retreat. We might be too late if we don't leave now."

Wang Ping didn't try to take credit, and slowly nodded: "Get ready, let's go back the way we came."

"Yes!"
-
On the mighty Yellow River.

A passenger ship swayed and struggled to reach the south bank.

After regaining his balance, Chu Yunfei took a deep breath and then asked, "Sun Ming, where were we?"

"According to our intelligence, Commander Li established the Fifth War Zone Cadre Training Class on the outskirts of Laohekou. Commander Li serves as the class director, while the deputy directors are either army group commanders on rotation or deputy commanders-in-chief."

The positions of captain and deputy captain are mostly filled by the army commander or deputy army commander.

They primarily train officers of the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher.

It is understood that, unlike the red tape of the Central Training Corps, the Fifth War Zone's cadre training class places more emphasis on the cultivation of skills and tactics.

During the day, they taught strategies and tactics against Japan, and at night they discussed them directly with each other.

Occasionally, they would organize sand table simulations and joint offensive exercises to review battlefield experience and identify issues that genuinely needed improvement.

Chu Yunfei nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "This is indeed a good approach. Commander Li is quite capable."

"Not only can I get to know the officers below me better, but I can also take this opportunity to get closer to them. Most importantly, I can gain a very intuitive understanding of the combat effectiveness of each unit."

Sun Ming bluntly stated, "Improving the combat effectiveness of the troops, increasing understanding of other units, and winning over officers—Commander Li's move is truly brilliant."

Chu Yunfei laughed heartily: "No matter what the method is, as long as it can unite the officers and soldiers and enable all parties to make progress, and we don't feel it's a hardship, then that's enough."

"The combat strength of the Fifth War Zone is not small at all. If you really count it, it is close to a million troops. Among these troops, apart from the 11th Army Group, the 21st Army Group has about 100,000 men who are his Commander Li's direct troops."

The remaining troops were actually difficult to command. Furthermore, the losses on all sides were quite severe after the Battle of Xuzhou, the Battle of Wuhan, and the Battle of Zaoyi. The Sichuan Army troops were only outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant towards Commander Li.”

Chu Yunfei nodded slowly: "That's natural. Officers at all levels consider themselves to be the emperor's protégés, with direct access to the heavens, and they are all loyal to him, the chairman. Naturally, they are unwilling to be controlled by layers of authority, and there will be no shortage of friction between them."

"The old Northwest Army, the former Northeast Army, the Sichuan Army, and the Zhili-Shandong Army have not fought a major battle for more than two years. It is obvious that the commanders of each unit are well aware that the Chairman is thinking of eliminating these miscellaneous troops, withholding their pay in peacetime and not replenishing it in wartime. The situation in the Fifth War Zone must have deteriorated to a certain extent. Your Excellency, I hope you can prepare yourself mentally in advance." (End of this chapter)