Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Yangon.

Expeditionary Force Headquarters.

The atmosphere in the small meeting room, in the office of General Du Yuming, Commander-in-Chief of the Annamese Army, was somewhat gloomy.

This atmosphere was completely out of place with the bright sunshine outside the window.

Du Yuming, who had just taken office, was frowning as he drank cup after cup of "bitter tea".

Sitting opposite him was Huang Baitao, the commander-in-chief of the Second Army Group.

"Brother Huanran."

Du Yuming finally put down his teacup, his voice tinged with barely suppressed frustration: "Tell me, what's going on here?"

"We have won such a great victory that we have wiped out the main force of the Japanese in Southeast Asia."

"In the end, we still have an American over our heads!"

Du Yuming was referring to Stilwell.

The discord between the two is practically an open secret.

Although under the new organizational structure.

Du Yuming became the commander-in-chief of the Annamite army, which commanded three major army groups, seemingly holding a high position of power.

But Stilwell.

He still holds the title of "Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in the China-Burma-India Theater and Chief of Staff of the Far East Theater".

From a command level perspective

Du Yuming still had to obey him.

“It’s not that I can’t tolerate him, Stilwell.”

Du Yuming said somewhat excitedly, "But after fighting this far, it's clear to everyone that we Chinese soldiers are the ones who are winning! What has Stilwell done in terms of command? He's only made things worse!"

"Now look what's happened, we've won."

"He's sitting comfortably in his position as 'commander-in-chief'."

He looked at Huang Baitao and revealed his true thoughts.

“Huanran, you were promoted by Commander Chu. Your words carry a lot of weight in Shancheng now.”

“I think we should jointly write to the Chairman and request that Stilwell’s position be adjusted.”

"At the very least, we can't let him interfere with the command of our expeditionary force anymore!"

Du Yuming's meaning is very clear.

He wanted to join forces with Huang Baitao to put pressure on the mountain city authorities.

Even if we don't transfer Stilwell away, we should at least sideline this "emperor emeritus".

Du Yuming originally thought that Huang Baitao would remember their shared bond as Chinese soldiers and stand with him against the common enemy.

Unexpectedly, after listening to his words, Huang Baitao simply shook his head calmly.

"Commander Du."

Huang Baitao's tone was neither humble nor arrogant: "I understand your feelings. But if I may be frank, I'm afraid I cannot join you in putting pressure on Shancheng on this matter."

Du Yuming was somewhat taken aback: "Why?"

Huang Baitao slowly said, "There are three reasons."

"Firstly, General Stilwell did indeed frequently clash with the mountain town side in terms of strategic command."

However, it cannot be denied that his tactical command ability in local battles was outstanding.

In addition, he is one of the most important links in maintaining our relationship with our American allies.

As long as he remains in this position, American military aid to us will not be interrupted.

This is crucial for our upcoming operations.

"Second."

Huang Baitao paused for a moment: "To be fair, since Chief Advisor Yunfei personally went to the front line, General Stilwell has rarely interfered with specific battle plans."

More often than not, he simply provides strategic guidance on the general direction.

This is not a bad thing for us.

We can get the practical benefits of US aid without being overly constrained by it, so why not?

In Commander Chu's words, General Stilwell only wanted to be a commander of a large army group. As for what was really going on inside our organization, he wouldn't interfere, nor was he willing to.

In other words, what Stilwell sought was merely a position, not actual command.

The victory at the Battle of Pimmanana made Stilwell a heroic commander in his country, known for turning the tide of the war.

This empty fame struck a nerve with Stilwell's sensitive pride.

Du Yuming nodded thoughtfully.

Stilwell spoke bluntly, sarcastically, and harshly.

He has a nickname, "Vinegar Joe," which he is very proud of.

There are significant problems with his/her personality.

"The third and most important point is."

Huang Baitao looked at Du Yuming, his eyes becoming deep: "Brother Guangting, have you ever thought about why the Chairman agreed to let Stilwell continue to serve as 'Commander-in-Chief'?"

Du Yuming frowned but remained silent.

Huang Baitao continued, "Because, if I may be frank, Chief Du, the Chairman also needs Stilwell."

“He needs an ‘outsider’ to balance the internal power dynamics within our expeditionary force, especially to balance Commander Chu’s enormous influence.”

These words were like a sudden awakening.

Du Yuming instantly understood.

His achievements overshadowed the emperor!

Chu Yunfei's victory in Siam brought him to the pinnacle of prestige.

The entire expeditionary force.

They almost only knew of Chu, but not Jiang.

This was absolutely intolerable to the suspicious chairman.

Keep Stilwell, this unreliable "nail".

It was Chang Ruiyuan's most important pawn in his strategy to check and balance Chu Yunfei, and also to check and balance these generals who held significant military power.

If they join forces now and drive Stilwell away.

Then the next ones to be "punished" will probably be themselves.

I've figured this out.

A cold sweat broke out on Du Yuming's back.

Looking at Huang Baitao, who seemed dull but was actually very shrewd, he couldn't help but admire him secretly.

"Brother Huanran"

Du Yuming gave a wry smile: "You see things more clearly. Perhaps it was my pride that made me feel that Americans shouldn't interfere with our command."

Huang Baitao picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and nodded slightly: "I believe this will change soon."

As he spoke, Huang Baitao suddenly changed the subject: "Commander Du, actually, what we should be considering right now is not vying for power with Stilwell, but rather how to plan our next strategic direction."

He walked to the map and pointed to the scattered islands.

"I heard that some officers in the mountain city were very ambitious after taking Mingzhu City, and even proposed to continue south and march into the Dutch East Indies to carry out an 'island-seizing operation'."

Du Yuming nodded: "That's true. They believe we should press our advantage and bring the entire Southeast Asia under our sphere of influence."

Huang Baitao shook his head and said decisively, "This is an unwise move."

"Commander Du, you see, this so-called 'land of a thousand islands' has numerous islands, complex terrain, a hot and humid climate, and rampant miasma. Whoever occupies this place has paid a huge price."

"If we rush in, we will inevitably be caught in an endless war of attrition with the local natives and guerrillas. The cost of occupation and governance will be unimaginably high."

"In my opinion."

Huang Baitao's tone was firm: "These islands are only suitable as training grounds for our Marine Corps to conduct future amphibious landing exercises, and must never be used as long-term strategic targets. Our focus should still be on the mainland."

"Completely eliminating the Japanese troops in the Indochina Peninsula, establishing a stable pro-China regime, and turning the entire Indochina Peninsula into a stable strategic rear area for China is the best strategy that best serves our national interests."

Du Yuming listened quietly to Huang Baitao's analysis, his admiration growing stronger.

He found.

These generals, promoted by Chu Yunfei, were not only skilled in battle, but also possessed strategic vision far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Their way of thinking has completely transcended the limitations of traditional warlords seizing territory; instead, they are considering issues from the perspective of the future of the entire nation and people.

Even the content of this conversation was almost identical to Du Yuming's thoughts.

Du Yuming remarked with emotion, "Brother Huanran, what you said is almost identical to the viewpoint that Commander Chu and I reached after our previous discussions."

Just then, a staff officer walked in and handed over a personnel transfer order.

"Commenders, this is the latest personnel order just issued by the General Staff."

Du Yuming took a look and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Appointment: General Wu Ziqiang, former deputy commander of the Second Army Group of the Annam Army, is transferred to the Second Army Corps of the Annam Army (stationed in Siam) as acting commander-in-chief."

This appointment.

This surprised both Du Yuming and Huang Baitao.

Wu Ziqiang is Chu Yunfei's old subordinate and Huang Baitao's right-hand man at present.

He was transferred from the "Attack Legion" responsible for offensive operations to the "Garrison Legion" responsible for defense.

What is the underlying intention behind this?
Du Yuming and Huang Baitao pondered for a moment, then exchanged a glance.

The mountain city's move seems more like an attempt to keep Chu Yunfei in this "wild and untamed land" and make him a true "local king."
"Is Commander Du aware of Commander Chu's proposed Southeast Asian integration plan?"

Du Yuming was taken aback, then slowly shook his head.

After a moment of silence, Huang Baitao slowly spoke up: "After the Battle of Binmanna, Commander Chu submitted the relevant plan and application to Duke Wenbai."

"Yesterday, before Commander Chu boarded the plane, he specifically called me and Brother Ziqiang over to give instructions and advice on this matter."

Du Yuming leaned forward slightly, clearly showing great interest in the matter.

The so-called Southeast Asian integration concept.

Essentially, it was about establishing "existence" by dismembering this colony, which originally belonged to the Western powers, into areas under their control.

"First, there's administrative integration, which naturally doesn't require much of our attention. However, the mountain city can't even send out qualified bureaucrats right now."

Huang Baitao looked helpless: "The pressure of the Dingnan Army garrison required for military deterrence is actually very high. The mountain city side plans to transfer the Second Army into Burma to ensure that the Dingnan Army has at least two group armies, four corps, and more than 100,000 combat troops to deter local instigators and British troops in the Indian direction."

"This requires a lot of resources and military spending, and the soldiers are leaving their homes, so their morale will inevitably be affected."

Huang Baitao nodded slowly: "Commander Chu believes that it will take at least fifteen years to fully integrate this land. This is an extremely long project. We need to unify the currency and weights and measures, and infrastructure construction also needs to keep up, promote population flow, and strengthen regional ties."

"In addition, there is the need for corresponding unification of language, educational reform, and integration of customs, all of which are extremely long processes."

Du Yuming took a sip of tea and said, "Fifteen years is too long. We are at war now, and we don't have that much time."

"Therefore, Commander Chu's purpose in going to the mountain city this time is to promote the Northern Myanmar model."

Du Yuming seemed to be thinking: "You mean a large-scale migration to guard the border?"

"side?"

Huang Baitao shook his head: "I'm afraid there's no such thing as border defense. What Commander Chu wants to promote is true integration."
-
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Luoyang.

Provisional Command Post of the North China Mobile Corps.

Zhao Chengshou, his face showing impatience, scolded his adjutant beside him: "Why didn't you tell me Yunfei was coming?"

"Commander, the plane was diverted at the last minute," the adjutant said helplessly. "No one knows your whereabouts, let alone a big shot like Commander Chu."

Zhao Chengshou was also feeling a chill run down his spine.

If he had a choice, he would rather face Chiang Kai-shek's direct rebuke than face Chu Yunfei, a junior.

When the transport plane landed at Luoyang Airport.

Wu Tinglin, the garrison commander stationed in Luoyang and commander of the 15th Army, also arrived at the airport.

Clearly, he also received the relevant message.

Zhao Chengshou exchanged a glance with him and exchanged a few simple pleasantries.

The two were old acquaintances; Wu Tinglin had participated in the Battle of Xinkou when he served as the commander of the 64th Division.

However, the experience of this battle was not so pleasant for him and his troops.

This is a military commander who is tyrannical, greedy, and nepotistic.

Even a controversial martial artist like Zhao Chengshou was unwilling to have too much contact with him.

As Zhao Pengcheng, dressed in a slightly wrinkled officer's uniform, stepped off the transport plane.

A voice announced, "Commander Chu has arrived."

This made the officers present tense.

Everyone subconsciously straightened their chests, just to make themselves look more energetic.

Soon, Chu Yunfei, looking slightly tired, slowly stepped off the plane.

After glancing at everyone present, he raised his hand and returned a military salute.

"Commander Zhao, how have you been?"

"Commander Chu, you've worked hard." Zhao Chengshou said with a smile, tinged with a hint of emotion.

Chu Yunfei turned his head to look at Wu Tinglin beside him: "Commander Wu, nice to meet you for the first time."

Wu Tinglin gave a forced smile and flattered, "Commander Chu, I saw you briefly at the Kaifeng Conference before."

“Really…”

Chu Yunfei smiled and nodded: "Perhaps it's been too long and I've forgotten."

Wu Tinglin then cautiously inquired, "Commander Chu, your visit to Luoyang this time..."

no way.

At the age of thirty-one, as one of the four leaders of the General Staff, even a rough and unrefined man would inevitably be more humble in his presence.

"The Japanese army frequently made contact with our army along the Zhangjiakou line. In addition, intelligence showed that the Japanese army frequently transferred Kwantung Army troops south to replenish the troops in North China, which seemed to indicate that they intended to launch a major counter-offensive."

That's it
Wu Tinglin breathed a sigh of relief.

Most of Henan is now under the jurisdiction of the First Theater Command, while a small portion is under the jurisdiction of the Fifth Theater Command.

He was under the jurisdiction of Liu Maoen and was located within the "operational range" of the Fifth War Zone.

He was a local tyrant in the truest sense.

"With Commander Chu here, this is likely to be another great victory..."

Chu Yunfei chuckled lightly: "Let's not get into this. Let's go back first. I need to find out the current situation of each unit."

"Yes!"

Wu Tinglin led the way with great enthusiasm.

Chu Yunfei watched his retreating figure, overwhelmed with emotion.

His impression of Wu Tinglin.

They were still stuck in the era of the warlords in western Henan who treated human life like dirt.

That iron-willed general who led 20,000 Henan soldiers to resist 50,000 Japanese troops for 21 days during the Battle of Central Henan in 1944.

Questions about him.

Liu Maoen has, in fact, raised this issue multiple times.

However, Wei Lihuang was wary of the fighting strength under his command, and the mountain city side never made up its mind.

The situation in North China is escalating, with signs of renewed conflict.

The matter was thus put on hold again until Chu Yunfei arrived. (End of Chapter)