Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Anyang frontline.

It's noon.

A deafening cannon blast tore everything apart.

On the artillery positions of the Japanese 5th Division, hundreds of cannons of various calibers roared simultaneously.

The shells trailed sharp whistles, like a torrential rain of steel, blotting out the sky.

The 40th Army's less-than-ideal defensive line was basically unable to withstand this level of artillery bombardment.

but.

It's not entirely their fault.

Plain areas like Hebei and Henan.

It is extremely difficult to obtain the earth and wood materials needed to repair the defense line.

During this period, even common materials like wood were hard to obtain.

Pang Bingxun was unwilling to demolish people's houses in order to repair the fortifications, so the defense line was naturally built in a disorganized and fragmented manner.

Explosions came and went.

The firelight turned the entire sky into an ominous orange-red.

The earth was trembling violently, as if the end of the world had arrived prematurely.

On the front lines.

The soldiers of the 40th Army were caught off guard by the sudden and incredibly fierce artillery fire, leaving them disoriented and suffering heavy casualties.

Just by hearing the explosions, many veterans had already guessed that the Japanese army had used 105mm heavy artillery.

Their fortifications could barely withstand the bombardment of grenade launchers, let alone the Japanese mountain artillery and howitzers.

It was as fragile as paper.

The shallow trenches were repeatedly bombed and collapsed, even burying the soldiers inside alive.

A flimsy machine gun emplacement.

They were hit precisely by artillery shells, and were blown into the air along with their guns.

A young soldier had just crawled out of the collapsed bunker and hadn't even had time to shake off the mud when a shell exploded not far from him.

The massive shockwave tossed his frail body up like a leaf before slamming him heavily to the ground.

He struggled to get up, only to find that half of his body had lost sensation.

He looked down and saw only a blurry mass of flesh and blood.

"Your mother."

He let out a weak groan.

Then, they were plunged into eternal darkness.

This was merely the first round of artillery preparation.

The 40th Army paid an extremely heavy price.

The front lines were almost completely razed to the ground.

The number of soldiers killed or wounded was countless.

……

Nankou, the forward command post.

The atmosphere in the operations room was so heavy it was almost palpable.

Regarding Qian Bojun's sudden departure.

Chu Yunfei gave them a reasonable explanation.

At least for the time being, they did not know that Qian Bojun had returned to Linxian to clean up his own mess.

At this moment, Chu Yunfei sat upright in the main seat, his face gloomy.

Beside him were Chief of Staff Qian Zhaoyou, and several other commanders of the main combat units.

They are Liu Zhaotang, Liu Wang, Sun Xinpu, and Zhang Fugui.

"report!"

A communications officer strode in and handed over an urgent battle report that had just been sent back from the front lines.

Qian Zhaoyou took the battle report, glanced at it, and his brows furrowed tightly.

"Your Excellency,"

He handed the battle report to Chu Yunfei, his voice carrying a hint of barely concealed doubt: "The situation is somewhat unusual."

Chu Yunfei took the battle report and quickly read it: "The Japanese 5th Division did not launch a large-scale ground attack immediately after the artillery preparation."

"Instead, it has been a continuous, uninterrupted series of small-scale artillery bombardments."

This intelligence puzzled all the generals present.

"That's strange," Zhang Fugui said, stroking his chin. "Wasn't Okamura Yasuji planning a blitzkrieg to quickly encircle and annihilate Pang Bingxun? Why is the Fifth Division dragging its feet like this?"

“Yes,” Xue Jie echoed, “this doesn’t fit the Japanese military’s style of warfare. They always seek quick victories; why would they waste precious time on simple artillery bombardment?”

Chu Yunfei's consciousness quickly immersed itself in the three-dimensional combat map.

The commander of this unit was located immediately.

Lieutenant General Yamamoto.

"Yamamoto Tsutomu".

Chu Yunfei spoke slowly, his voice carrying a hint of contemplation and recollection: "I remember, this person was from the artillery."

"Pengcheng, do you have any information on the Fifth Division at this stage?"

Zhao Pengcheng nodded, then rummaged through the folder he was carrying before slowly saying, "I previously served as the Japanese artillery commander in Nomonhan."

"Master Yun, this man likely has unique insights into the use of artillery."

Xue Jie asked in confusion: "However, the Fifth Division is one of the few rapidly mobile units in the Japanese army that has achieved semi-mechanization."

Their advantage lies in speed and impact.

Now, however, they have abandoned their advantages and started a positional war of attrition.

This completely contradicts Okamura Yasuji's overall operational concept of rapid attack, encirclement, and division.

For a while.

The entire command center fell into deep thought.

Everyone felt that Okamura Neiji's move was extremely unusual.

An anomaly.

This made them feel uneasy.

Chu Yunfei even began to suspect that their battle plan might have been leaked.

To maintain secrecy, all units assembled well in advance, and only received specific operational orders the day before the start of the major battle.

Even if the Japanese army received relevant intelligence warnings, they had no way to make adjustments and had no other option but to retreat along the entire front.

otherwise.

The forward-deployed 5th Division and 7th Mixed Brigade risked being cut off and surrounded.

In large-scale military operations, even a small change can have far-reaching consequences.

Okamura Yasuji would never make such a foolish mistake.

That afternoon.

After several hours of targeted shelling and precision strikes.

The Japanese ground forces finally launched a probing attack.

A battalion of Japanese soldiers, under the cover of tanks, slowly advanced toward the 40th Army's dilapidated positions.

"Hit me!"

The surviving officers and soldiers of the 40th Army crawled out of the ruins and piles of corpses.

They put up a fierce resistance with their old Hanyang rifles and a few Czech-made machine guns and Type 24 heavy machine guns.

The bullets rang out like popping beans.

both sides.

A fierce tug-of-war broke out at the front lines.

The soldiers of the 40th Army, despite their outdated equipment and hunger, were still in dire need of help.

But the indomitable spirit of the men of Yan and Zhao, deep within them, was completely ignited at this moment.

They used their flesh and blood and light weapons.

They single-handedly blocked several Japanese attacks.

Japanese army.

It seems they didn't give it their all.

After suffering some casualties and making no substantial progress, they quickly withdrew.

The battlefield fell into an eerie stillness once again.

only left with.

The relentless, death knell-like bombardment continued.
-
Peking, North China Front Army Headquarters.

A Japanese-style room filled with tatami mats and ukiyo-e prints.

Okamura Neiji was kneeling in front of the tea table, slowly and methodically performing the tea ceremony.

The aroma of tea wafted through the air, creating a tranquil atmosphere.

however.

This tranquility was soon broken by a series of hurried footsteps.

A major staff officer in charge of intelligence walked in looking flustered, even forgetting to salute first.

"Reporting to the Commander! Urgent intelligence!"

Okamura Neiji slowly put down the tea whisk in his hand, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. For an intelligence officer to lose his composure like this, it must be no small matter.

"explain."

His voice remained calm.

The major staff officer, "Commander," swallowed hard, his voice tinged with disbelief: "Our 'spies' planted on the outskirts of Changzhi have just sent us definite news."

"Pang Bingxun, commander-in-chief of the 24th Army Group of the Chinese Army, arrived in Changzhi yesterday and, accompanied by Zhang Dayun, head of the Operations Section, visited some streets in Changzhi and went to the arsenal."

"boom!"

The teacup in Okamura Yasuji's hand fell to the ground and shattered.

The emerald green tea splashed all over him.

But he was completely unaware.

For the first time, his face revealed undisguised shock and a hint of frustration.

Pang Bingxun went to Changzhi?
what does this mean?
this means.

All his plans, his supposedly flawless schemes of "besieging the enemy's stronghold and attacking reinforcements" and "recruiting and dividing" were insidious.

It was completely bankrupt from the very beginning!

He thought.

Like Chang Ruiyuan, Chu Yunfei would harbor resentment towards local warlords like Pang Bingxun and find it difficult to fully trust them.

He thought.

He can exploit this distrust to create a rift between the two and reap the benefits.

But he never expected this.

Chu Yunfei's methods were surprisingly simple and brutal!
He didn't give Pang Bingxun any chance to waver or wait and see!

They directly used a method that was almost like "forcing the emperor to abdicate".

This veteran was separated from his army!
The main force is not around.

Even a massive army wouldn't help.

Han Fuqu is a precedent.

Besides, how many men did Pang Bingxun have under his command, and how many did Han Fuqu have?
It should be noted that Chu Yunfei's courage is in no way inferior to that of the one in Shancheng.

"Bagaya road!"

Okamura Neiji suddenly stood up and kicked over the coffee table in front of him.

The exquisite tea set shattered into pieces on the floor.

His face always wore a sinister smile.

At this moment, his face was filled with rage and shame.

He felt like he'd been made a fool of!
"Chu Yunfei! Chu Yunfei!"

He gritted his teeth as he pronounced the name, as if he wanted to chew the two words up and swallow them whole.

Okamura Yasuji discovered it.

The warlord problem that had troubled Chang Ruiyuan and the entire Nationalist government for more than 20 years.

It even includes those deeply entrenched and powerful local forces.

After Chu Yunfei, this "uninvited guest," forcefully intervened.

Surprisingly, everything was resolved as easily as if it were nothing!
From Yan Xishan in Shanxi, to Sun Zhen's Sichuan Army in the Fifth War Zone, to Wu Tinglin in western Henan, and now to Pang Bingxun.
These were the "old hands" who had given both the commanders of the mountain city and the successive commanders of the Japanese North China Area Army a major headache.

In front of Chu Yunfei.

They've all become so "compliant" and so "concerned about the big picture"!
Once again, a deep sense of powerlessness arose in Okamura Neiji's heart.

Militarily, they suffered a crushing defeat; politically, they were powerless.

Chu Yunfei is doing it in a way that he cannot understand or resist.

From within, it is rapidly and effectively integrating this ancient and vast country.

Those warlord armies that once only cared about their own small territory.

Under Chu Yunfei's influence, it seems that a kind of transformative change is taking place.

They seemed to be speaking from the bottom of their hearts.

They are willing to promote so-called "national reunification" and are willing to accept so-called "military modernization reforms".

And all of this, ultimately, may have only one purpose.

That is.

They were the "Imperial Army of the Great Japanese Empire".

Drive them out of this land completely!

Think of this.

A glint of frenzied, almost hysterical ruthlessness flashed in Okamura Neiji's eyes.

He turned around abruptly and ordered Chief of Staff Miyano Michiichi, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion, "Immediately order the 5th Division to halt its original plan to induce surrender and begin preparations to annihilate the entire 40th Army."

"Hai!"

Anyang frontline.

It was right there among the officers and soldiers of the 40th Army.

Just when they thought they had temporarily withstood the enemy's attack and could catch their breath.

A much bigger, real storm is coming.

After a brief respite, the Japanese suddenly intensified their artillery bombardment!

This time, it was no longer a simple suppressive artillery barrage.

Instead, it was a devastating, carpet-bombing barrage!
The shelling lasted for a full thirty minutes.

After half an hour.

The Japanese ground forces launched a full-scale attack!

This time, it wasn't just a large-scale probe.

Instead, it was two entire regiments launching a full-scale attack!

They roared and brandished their bayonets, forming a skirmish formation.

Like a tidal wave, they surged towards the battlefield, which had already been reduced to scorched earth.

The defensive line of the 40th Army.

A huge gash was torn open the moment they made contact.

both sides.

A fierce hand-to-hand battle ensued.

The dull thud of a bayonet piercing flesh, the dying screams of the Japanese soldiers.

The officer's hoarse roar echoed across the position.

In the evening, a battle report written by Ma Fawu himself, with even the handwriting being somewhat messy, was once again delivered to Changzhi.

Chu Yunfei's face turned ashen as he looked at the battle report.

"Report: Our troops fought a bloody battle with the enemy all afternoon, and the position changed hands several times."

"Although the officers and soldiers fought bravely, the enemy outnumbered them and the artillery fire was fierce."

"By Shen time (3-5 PM), our casualties had exceeded 1,500."

"The enemy's offensive is extremely ferocious, with no intention of persuading them to surrender or sowing discord."

"Its appearance is not like an attempt to induce surrender, but more like an annihilation."

Chu Yunfei slammed the telegram heavily on the table.

He understood Okamura Neiji's true intentions.

"Okamura Yasuji's unusually long bombardment, which lasted for almost a whole day, was not a waste of time at all, but a preparation of firepower to annihilate the entire 40th Army."

Okamura Yasuji wanted to use the tragic annihilation of the 40th Army to tell all the local warlords who were still wavering.

Look!

This is what will happen to you!

What good is a firm stance? You'll still die a horrible death, you'll still be wiped out completely.

Qian Zhaoyou was taken aback, but his mind worked quickly: "This leaves the local warlord forces with only two options."

Either they obediently accept modernization.

Admitting past mistakes and correcting them, reforming one's thinking, and even relinquishing one's power.

However, his troops were highly likely to be targeted by the Japanese army.

Zhang Fugui chuckled: "Or should we side with the Japanese, that ship that could capsize at any moment? I believe no one would be that foolish, unless they have truly committed an unforgivable mistake."

There is no middle ground.

Whether it's Chu Yunfei or Okamura Yasuji.

Neither of them liked opportunists.

"If Commander Pang were to voluntarily step down and allow the Japanese army to annihilate or even severely damage the entire army, it wouldn't be fighting the 40th Army; it would be slapping my face, Chu Yunfei's face, and slapping the face of the Nationalist army in North China."

Chu Yunfei asked coldly, "Where is the Eastern Expeditionary Force located?"

Qian Zhaoyou stepped forward and reported, "We are currently moving rapidly via the Changhan Highway and will be able to join the battle early tomorrow morning."

"In addition, Commander Fang also called to ask whether to choose the previously drafted alternative combat plan and launch a flanking attack in advance."

After pondering for a moment, Chu Yunfei slowly said, "Send a telegram to all participating units, as well as to Commander Fu's unit, which serves as the general reserve."

To revise the alternative operational plan.

I hereby order: The first phase of the third strategic counter-offensive shall commence immediately.

The operation remains focused on the Handan-Anyang line, with the goal of opening up a section of the Pinghan Railway for our military use. (End of Chapter)