Anti-Japanese War: From Becoming Chu Yunfei to Rising

Tokyo, Japan.

Inside the underground bunker of the Imperial Palace Library.

Hideki Tojo knelt on the cold marble floor, his hands raised high above the top-secret telegram from Shanghai.

Hirohito, dressed in his crisp Grand Marshal's uniform, stood a few steps away.

He looked down at the glaring words on the telegram about Okamura Yasuji "spreading defeatism" and "mental breakdown," and the muscles in his cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

"The commander of the expeditionary force whom our brother country valued most has actually lost the courage to fight to the death?"

Hirohito's voice did not have an angry roar, but it was filled with a chilling coldness that seeped into his bones.

Clearly, even a military genius like Okamura Yasuji had lost the will to resist.

What about the officers, soldiers, and generals below them?

They saw even less hope of winning the war.

Despair spread like a plague and was completely unstoppable.

If it weren't for the ongoing heavy-handed repression and media control in China...

Hideki Tojo pressed his forehead firmly to the ground, not daring to lift it even slightly.

Although he had previously strongly opposed dismissing Okamura Yasuji at this time, because he knew that it would undoubtedly be another devastating blow to the morale of the entire army, in the face of absolute power and the so-called Yamato spirit, a commander who lost the will to resist was more unforgivable than defeat itself.

"His Majesty!"

Army Chief of Staff Sugiyama Gen stepped forward and suddenly bowed his head: "Okamura Yasuji's cowardice makes him unfit to command the Imperial Army."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that he be immediately dismissed from his post and escorted back to the mainland!"

Hirohito turned his head, his dead fish eyes through his round-framed glasses staring coldly at Sugiyama Gen.

"Now that Jiangbei has fallen, Nanjing will change hands."

Hirohito's tone was utterly cold: "Then who will defend this last line of defense at Shanghai? Who will save our nation from this precarious fate?"

The basement fell silent once again.

Everyone knows that in the face of the heavily armed Chinese army, the Songhu area is now a bottomless meat grinder with no way of returning.

Sugiyama Gen gritted his teeth and suddenly straightened up.

"Your subject is willing to personally go to the front lines to command the battle!"

Sugiyama Gen's eyes gleamed with a gambler's desperate glint: "I am willing to take command of the dispatched army and rebuild the Shanghai-Songjiang defense line."

"Even if Shanghai is reduced to a wasteland, I swear to fight the Chinese army to the death and repay His Majesty the Emperor with my life!"

Looking at this tough army leader, Hirohito finally nodded slowly: "Go."

"Let the Chinese see that the samurai of the Great Japanese Empire have true backbone."

……

Four hours later.

China, mountain city.

Dai Yunong, the director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, respectfully placed a top-secret Japanese telegram that had been intercepted and deciphered on Chang Ruiyuan's desk.

"Chairman, Tokyo has made its move."

Dai Yunong's tone revealed a hint of competence: "Okamura Yasuji has been officially stripped of his position as Commander-in-Chief of the China Expeditionary Army."

“The military police have secretly taken him to the airport, and he will most likely be taken back to the country.”

Chang Ruiyuan glanced at the telegram, his hand pausing slightly as he picked up his teacup: "Who will succeed him?"

"Army Chief of the General Staff, Gen Sugiyama."

Upon hearing this name, a hint of extremely subtle disappointment and coldness flashed in Chang Ruiyuan's eyes: "It seems that our plan to support Okamura Yasuji as our proxy has completely failed."

Chang Ruiyuan slammed the teacup down on the table. He had intended to take advantage of Okamura Yasuji's pessimism and tendency to compromise, and to package this Japanese "China expert" into an obedient puppet after the war, so as to remotely control Japan's postwar political situation.

However, with the appointment of an extreme warmonger like Sugiyama Gen at headquarters, this political arrangement became worthless.

Chief of the General Staff Bai Jiansheng sneered, "Chairman, now that Okamura's blunt blade has broken, there's no need for us to put on any more act of tacit understanding with the Japanese."

Bai Jiansheng pushed up his glasses, his eyes blazing with murderous intent: "Sugiyama Gen is a die-hard. He must be determined to die for his country by coming to Shanghai this time."

Chang Ruiyuan stood up, walked to the huge national military map, and stared intently at the location of Songhu.

"Since they don't want to be dignified, then we'll help them be dignified!"

Chang Ruiyuan grabbed a red and blue pencil and drew a huge blood-red X in Shanghai: "Stop all so-called 'contact' and 'testing the bottom line'!"

"Gather all available bombers and heavy artillery!"

"Crush Sugiyama Gen and his last hundred thousand or so remnants of the Songhu army into a bloody pulp!"

……

Just as the top leadership of Chongqing was determined to launch a general offensive in Shanghai.

North China, Beiping Forward Command Post (moved forward due to the need for operations beyond the Great Wall)
The atmosphere, however, was one of incredible shock and ecstasy.

"Your Excellency!"

The communications officer rushed into the operations room, holding a thick stack of telegrams high in his hand, his voice cracking with excitement.

"A great victory on the northern front!"

"An unprecedented victory!"

Chu Yunfei was discussing the Japanese army's troop deployment with Lin Wei when he heard this and suddenly turned around.

Fang Ligong snatched the telegram and scanned it quickly, his usually calm eyes widening instantly.

"Oh My God"

Fang Ligong pushed up his glasses and gasped: "The First Armored Group and the Northeast Advance Column are moving through the Liaoxi Corridor as if it were empty!"

"In just five days! Our army has captured several strategic strongholds, including Jinzhou and Huludao!"

Lin Wei strode to the sand table, raising an eyebrow slightly: "What about the Japanese resistance? What about the main force of the Kwantung Army, known as the 'Flower of the Imperial Army'?"

Chu Yunfei leaned forward and looked at the detailed list of battle losses and prisoners of war on the telegram, his expression becoming extremely strange.

"Sir, this is precisely what frontline commanders Qiu Qingquan and Bian Fucheng find most bizarre."

Lin Wei swallowed hard and pointed to the numbers in the battle report: "The Japanese resistance was unexpectedly weak, even negligible!"

"Their outer defenses crumbled at the first touch of the Sherman tanks' cannons."

Lin Wei raised his head and looked around at the dumbfounded generals in the operations room.

"In just these few days of rapid advance, the main force on the northern front has captured more than 80,000 prisoners!"

"Among them, the number of traitors was 30,000, while the actual Japanese troops numbered more than 50,000!"

"Moreover, many of them are older or younger conscripts."

"The Japanese army has exhausted too much of its war potential in the early stages, and now it seems that they are about to collapse completely."

So many Japanese prisoners of war!

This number was like a bombshell, exploding in the command center.

It's important to understand that in the early and middle stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, capturing even a few Japanese soldiers who were determined to fight to the death was an incredibly difficult task.

Those damned Japanese devils would rather commit suicide than become prisoners of war.

But what about now?
This massive decisive battle, in just one engagement, resulted in the capture of so many Japanese troops in organized units?!
Chu Yunfei grabbed the battle report and quickly scanned it for the ages, branches of service, and summaries of the interrogation records of the Japanese prisoners of war.

A few seconds later.

Chu Yunfei sneered and slammed the battle report onto the sand table: "Paper tiger!"

"What kind of bullshit elite force is this?"

"It's all a fucking bluff, an empty shell!"

Chu Yunfei was extremely excited, and he even swore, which was extremely rare for him. He picked up his baton and slammed it heavily on the northeastern hinterland of the sand table.

At that moment, he understood.

All the previous efforts were not in vain.

The Japanese army's last remaining war potential has been completely exhausted.

The remaining enemies are nothing but remnants of a defeated army!

It's only a matter of time before we wipe them out; it could be done in a very short time.

"The Japanese General Staff transferred their most elite veterans and best-equipped heavy divisions to Pacific islands to serve as cannon fodder for the Americans." "And a large portion of them were gradually wiped out by us in previous battles, large and small!"

"No wonder the vast majority of Japanese soldiers on the prisoner list are old, weak, sick, and disabled with wrinkled faces, or raw recruits who have never even touched a gun in days."

Fang Ligong pushed up his glasses and sneered, "They don't even have heavy weapons; many of them are even carrying outdated single-shot rifles."

"Faced with our heavily armed troops, who are now fully equipped with American weaponry, these ragtag troops have no chance of resistance other than surrendering."

Chu Yunfei took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with a dazzling fighting spirit: "That's right!"

"If you don't take what Heaven offers, you will suffer the consequences!"

"Send orders to all combat units on the northern front!"

"Don't stop to rest! Don't give the Japanese a chance to catch their breath!"

"Armored units, abandon all baggage, carry sufficient fuel and ammunition, and advance at full speed into the Shenyang rear area!"

"It would be best to end all the large-scale battles within two weeks."

……

……

As the radio waves traveled at breakneck speed, the news triggered a true level 10 tsunami in the international community.

Washington, D.C., USA.

Army Chief of Staff Marshall stared at the intelligence report in his hand, speechless for a long time.

General Kim's eyes widened: "The Chinese are making a rapid advance in the Far East, and they've captured so many enemies in just a few days?"

"The supposedly invincible Japanese army was actually a joke?"

Marshall put down the intelligence report, his expression unusually grave: "This is not just a joke; it is a warning to us."

Marshall said in a deep voice, "The speed of the Chinese armored forces' advance has exceeded our expectations. If they continue to push across the Asian continent at this pace..."

"In the post-war Far East, we probably won't have the right to speak on land anymore."

"I think we don't need to be so anxious. After all, the Chinese are our most reliable allies, and their soldiers are ready to help us land in the Philippines at any time."

President Roosevelt dismissed this.

In his view, the ability to win a war depends more on a country's overall strength.

Clearly, China lags far behind the United States in this regard, with its output value being only one-fiftieth of that of the United States.

Under these circumstances, Roosevelt naturally felt that the Far East posed no threat.

"Our biggest adversary is still the massive Soviet Union. We have conflicts with each other in various aspects, including ideology. We also have fundamental conflicts of interest in Europe. We even need to consider the reconstruction of Europe after the war."

Marshall raised an eyebrow: "Your Excellency, what about Asia?"

Roosevelt, lost in thought, simply sighed, "Let's leave Asia to our reliable allies..."

Moscow, USSR.

Inside the Kremlin, Stalin read the same military intelligence report, his briar pipe creaking in his hand.

"Antonov!"

Stalin turned his head, his cheetah-like eyes filled with extreme vigilance: "Immediately issue a Level 1 combat readiness order to the Far Eastern Military District!"

He pointed to the Liaoxi Corridor on the map, which had turned completely red, and said in a cold voice, "The Chinese are advancing too fast."

"The incompetence of the Japanese not only surprised us, but also directly disrupted our strategic buffer zone layout in the Far East!"

Stalin slammed his pipe down on the ashtray.

"Tell the Far East front."

"This heavily armed Chinese mechanized army will definitely not be satisfied with merely recovering their former territory!"

"We must guard against this bloodthirsty lion from the East, who might seize the opportunity to cross the border!"
-
Just as the Northeast was achieving successive victories, the sixth expeditionary force had been formed.

The commander was none other than Zhuo Tianyu, a fierce general from the Northwest who had previously served under Chu Yunfei.

After completing his studies at the Central Military Academy and working for a period of time at the Expeditionary Force Headquarters, he was entrusted with an important task and took on this crucial role.

At this time, the Supreme Joint Command of the Expeditionary Force in Mingzhu City.

A high-powered fan creaked and groaned on the ceiling.

Chief of Staff of the Expeditionary Force, Luo Zhuoying, held a telegram stamped with the red urgent seal of the British Far East Command, a cold sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Forty thousand people."

Luo Zhuoying slammed the telegram onto the large chart table with a "thud," his gaze sweeping over the several high-ranking officers present.

"In less than a month, General William Slim's Fourteenth Army suffered a total of 40,000 casualties in the jungles of Sumatra and Java!"

"Their 'brilliant achievements' amounted to nothing more than controlling a few port beaches and advancing another forty kilometers inland from the original thirty kilometers."

Zhuo Tianyu, sitting on the right side of the conference table, let out an extremely rough sneer.

He stroked his rough stubble, his eyes filled with utter contempt: "The British have gone mad fighting a stupid war in Europe."

"Even with machine guns and cannons provided by the US, they were held back in the swamp by a group of Japanese devils who couldn't even get enough to eat, using sharpened bamboo spears and tree canopy snipers."

Sitting next to him was Zhao Pengcheng, deputy head of the operations section of the Sixth Army Group (who was still a colonel and had not yet been awarded the rank of general), who also pushed up his glasses and pointed to a long list of casualties on the telegram: "Chief Luo, it was not only a suicidal counter-offensive by the Japanese army."

"Malaria, dengue fever, and water poisoning in the rainforest are the deadliest threats. Britain's field medical system has completely collapsed and is unable to launch an attack, which is not a good thing."

Luo Zhuoying raised his head, his expression becoming extremely serious: "London could no longer withstand the pressure of public opinion at home, and Churchill also put aside his noble pride."

"Lord Mountbatten has just formally made a very sincere request to us in the name of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers."

Luo Zhuoying looked around at everyone: "They begged the Chinese Expeditionary Force to immediately send troops to Indonesia to help them break through the Japanese jungle defenses!"

A brief silence fell over the room.

This is the cruel reality of great power rivalry.

The British tried to steal the fruit, but broke their teeth in the process, and now they have no choice but to beg the Chinese for help.

"If it were just a matter of the British living or dying, we could watch the show for a few more days."

Luo Zhuoying picked up a baton and pointed it heavily at the Philippine archipelago in the north of the map: "But General MacArthur of the United States can't wait any longer!"

Luo Zhuoying revealed top-secret strategic intelligence that he had just received from Stilwell.

"The first phase of the US's 'strategic deception' operation to retake the Philippines has fully commenced!"

"Just in the last two days, the U.S. Third Fleet, commanded by General Halsey, has been speeding across the ocean with its extremely fast carrier task forces!"

Luo Zhuoying's command drew a huge line of fire between Taiwan and northern Philippines.

"The U.S. military is conducting round-the-clock carpet bombing of all Japanese airfields in the vicinity of this sea area!"

"With their absolute advantage in carrier-based aircraft, they have completely paralyzed the remaining Japanese land-based air force's counterattack capability on the runway."

"After the Yamato sank, the Japanese military lost the courage to even launch a counterattack at sea, and the US military completely ensured the absolute safety of the landing fleet."

A glint flashed in Zhuo Tianyu's eyes, and he slapped his thigh: "These American pampered soldiers are really good at using firepower to bombard the ground!"

A hint of admiration for the US military's intelligence warfare flashed in Luo Zhuoying's eyes: "MacArthur had been operating in the Philippines for many years. Before he took action, he had already activated tens of thousands of anti-Japanese guerrillas who were lurking behind the Japanese army."

"These guerrillas carried small radios secretly airdropped by the U.S. military, which continuously sent the precise coordinates of Japanese troop deployments, oil depots, and ammunition depots to the Americans."

Luo Zhuoying said, enunciating each word clearly, "It can be said that the American aerial bombs are like they have eyes, carrying out devastating 'targeted elimination' of the Japanese army!"

"The Americans have staked all their naval and air power on the Philippines, leaving their flanks extremely vulnerable!"

"Washington and the Yamashiro command have reached an agreement."

"The U.S. military will not allow these 100,000 Japanese troops in the Indonesian direction to have any breathing room to threaten their flanks and rear supply lines!"

Luo Zhuoying's voice was loud and clear: "Commander Zhuo!"

"To!"

Zhuo Tianyu suddenly stood up, pulled over a chair, and his tall figure resembled a tiger about to be released from its cage.

"You will lead the newly formed Sixth Army Group. Board the ship and set sail immediately!"

"This main force, comprising three fully American-equipped divisions and totaling nearly 80,000 troops, will be the deepest and most ruthless dagger driven into the heart of Southeast Asia by our Chinese army. Our goal is not to completely control Indonesia, but only a part of Sumatra."

"Chief, is the General Headquarters' objective to control the Strait of Malacca?"

Luo Zhuoying nodded slowly: "That's right. Apart from that, everything should proceed gradually. Sumatra is known as a rich ecological treasure trove, the sixth largest island in the world, and the largest island in Indonesia."

The Japanese discovered oil, natural gas, coal, palm oil, and rubber here.
Because of the smooth progress of the war in Northeast China, the General Staff, with the consent of the Chief Advisor, decided to take a risk.

Zhuo Tianyu nodded heavily: "Please rest assured, Commander, I will certainly live up to the expectations of the General Headquarters and the earnest hopes of the people... and I will certainly not disappoint Commander Chu!" (End of Chapter)