Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Now the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign, which led to widespread praise for the Eighth Route Army in public opinion across the country.

All the news during this period, even some tabloids, could not avoid the three words "Eighth Route Army".

Even Chiang Kai-shek could only issue a telegram praising the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Campaign. But then Chiang Kai-shek turned around and ordered the suspension of military pay for the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies. In early 1940, the Nationalist government had resumed pay for the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies. However, just a few months later, Chiang Kai-shek halted pay again and immediately summoned his generals to discuss the Eighth Route Army's affairs.

"Do they really have 200 regiments? How are these 200 regiments counted? Are they all the main forces of the Eighth Route Army, or are they the so-called Red Guards armed with swords and spears?"

Chiang Kai-shek didn't believe it.

Three years ago, when the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army and crossed the Yellow River, it consisted of only three divisions. Including the troops left in Shaanxi-Gansu, the total number of troops was no more than 50,000.

Moreover, most of these troops were unarmed.

That’s why the Eighth Route Army was called a “beggar army” because many of its main troops went to the anti-Japanese battlefield unarmed. Even the main divisions of the Eighth Route Army had only a few hundred thousand rounds of ammunition when they were dispatched.

This is the main division of the Eighth Route Army.

This was the situation of the Eighth Route Army when they crossed the Yellow River. Chiang Kai-shek's thinking at the time was that the Japanese army was so powerful that the Eighth Route Army could be used as cannon fodder. With only three divisions, they were wiped out in just two blows.

Tens of thousands of people were not even a dish when the Japanese army was invincible.

Unfortunately, I was completely wrong.

The Eighth Route Army did not rush to fight the Japanese army face to face as Chiang Kai-shek had expected. Instead, they cleverly penetrated the enemy's rear, ambushing the Japanese army's logistics troops or establishing so-called bases behind enemy lines.

It was also named Independent Mountain Guerrilla Warfare.

But Chiang Kai-shek did not believe the Eighth Route Army could survive behind enemy lines. Behind enemy lines was a place with no rear and no supplies.

But Chiang Kai-shek now knows that he was wrong.

Only three years have passed.

But in this Hundred Regiments Campaign, the Eighth Route Army actually dispatched 200 regiments in Shanxi, Hebei, Chahar and Suiyuan areas.

This was unacceptable to Chiang Kai-shek.

"Committee Chairman, they should be the main force."

Xu Yongchang spoke.

"How to say?"

"According to the intelligence we have received, the Pinghan Railway, Zhengtai Railway, Pingsui Railway, and Tongpu Railway were all attacked by the Eighth Route Army, and the Japanese garrisons guarding these railways suffered heavy casualties. Moreover, with the exception of the Tongpu Railway, the Pinghan Railway, Zhengtai Railway, and Pingsui Railway have not yet been restored.

Not only were these railways severely damaged, but some key sections were also controlled by the Eighth Route Army. Besides the railways, the Eighth Route Army also launched battles on several important highways. In several battles, the Eighth Route Army deployed a force of 200 to men, facing off against a Japanese regiment. Judging from the scale of these battles, the Eighth Route Army definitely deployed a large number of troops in this Hundred Regiments Campaign. Without , or even troops, such a large-scale commotion would not have occurred. The figure of regiments is likely to be accurate. Moreover, most of these troops were likely the main force of the Eighth Route Army. Only the main force of the Eighth Route Army could have such a strong combat capability.

"Three hundred thousand? Four hundred thousand?"

As Chiang Kai-shek spoke of these two figures, he could not help but exclaim, "My God, how did the Eighth Route Army develop so many troops?"

He really couldn't understand.

The Eighth Route Army was already poor, and became even poorer after advancing into enemy territory to establish a base.

But how did they develop?

This Hundred Regiments Campaign involved only the Eighth Route Army in Shanxi, Hebei, Suiyuan, Chahar, and Rehe. In addition to these areas, there were also the Eighth Route Army in Shandong and the New Fourth Army in the Jiangnan region.

How many troops are there in total?

Five hundred thousand? Six hundred thousand?

The Eighth Route Army is even stronger than the Red Army at its peak.

Why?

The Nationalist army had a large rear area, but still did not have enough manpower.

Although the Nationalist government promoted the anti-Japanese movement daily in newspapers, hoping that ordinary people would actively join the army to defend their country, the reality was that very few people actually volunteered. For a frontline army that needed to be replenished by hundreds of thousands or even millions of soldiers, those who volunteered were a drop in the bucket. Consequently, the Nationalist government had no choice but to continuously conscript men to fill the shortage.

But what about the Eighth Route Army?

Do they have a rear base? The only rear base is the northern Shaanxi region.

Do they have money?

The monthly allowances of the Central Committee leaders of the Chinese Communist Party in Yan'an were even less than those of company-level cadres in the Central Army. This shows how poor Yan'an was, and how poor the Eighth Route Army was. The Eighth Route Army had no rear base, no money, no supplies, nothing.

But why was the Eighth Route Army able to develop so many troops?

Chiang Kai-shek really couldn't understand it.

Why was it so easy to recruit soldiers, starting with the Red Army? Why did so many ordinary people join the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army even though they didn't receive any pay?

Moreover, after joining the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army, their morale was even higher than that of the well-fed troops on their side.

"Chairman, according to the intelligence we have received, the Eighth Route Army has been very serious about implementing rent and interest reduction in their base areas, and has won the support of the farmers in their base areas. That is why so many farmers are eager to join the Eighth Route Army when it is recruiting soldiers.

Zhang Zhizhong answered in a low voice.

Why was the Eighth Route Army able to expand its military without conscripting men?

Because the Eighth Route Army was very serious about implementing rent and interest reduction work in the base area.

He Yingqin snorted coldly and said, "These red bandits love to use these kinds of small favors to buy people's hearts. These peasants are the same. They are coaxed into working for them with these small favors.

"Director He, I cannot agree with what you said."

Zhang Zhizhong objected, "General He, rent and interest reductions were actually a policy first proposed by the Premier during his time. Judging from the Eighth Route Army's implementation in their base areas, the results are very good and very popular with the peasants. We were the first to propose this policy. If we also implement rent and interest reductions in the vast rear areas, we won't have to worry about recruits anymore. There will be a steady stream of people voluntarily joining our army."

Zhang Zhizhong was the Political Minister of the Military Commission.

He understands the current manpower situation better than anyone else.

There are still some willing volunteers. However, these individuals are generally educated and understand the importance of national pride. But how many such individuals are there in China? Even if all the educated people in China were recruited, it would still fall far short of what the troops actually need. To truly meet the needs of the frontline troops, we must, of course, find a solution among the peasants, who are the largest population.

And it would be better if they volunteered, so that the troops would have cohesion and combat effectiveness, instead of conscripting men everywhere like they do now.

If you capture people and send them to the front-line troops, how can they have morale?

But how could those illiterate peasants, who had never left their own county town, understand the meaning of national justice? No matter how much you promoted it in the newspapers, or even if famous scholars urged everyone to defend their country, it was useless. Most peasants were illiterate and could not read.

The Chongqing government's propaganda system is only good at producing propaganda. They only know how to co-opt famous so-called gurus. But they've never considered organizing propaganda teams to reach the rural peasants. You haven't mobilized the peasants, yet you blame them for not understanding the national cause.

This is a theory.

The peasants truly don't understand the greater good of the nation. That's why you need to educate, educate, and organize the peasants. But the Nationalist government has no such measures. And then they blame the peasants for not supporting them.

So Zhang Zhizhong has considered these issues.

The land reform used by the Red Army during the Red Army era was impossible for the Nationalist government to implement because it was too radical a policy. Furthermore, the backgrounds of the Nationalist government officials made it impossible for them to allow the "strike against the local tyrants" campaign. After all, "strike against the local tyrants" would be a strike against themselves, so how could it be implemented?

However, the rent and interest reductions currently being promoted by the Eighth Route Army are entirely possible, as they were considered very moderate during the land reform period. The rent and interest reductions currently being promoted by the Eighth Route Army were actually proposed by Sun Yat-sen during his time.

It was a policy formulated by the Guangzhou National Government based on the situation at the time.

We will not attack the local tyrants, but just ask them to lower the rent and the interest rates of usury.

Zhang Zhizhong believed that this policy was already very moderate, a compromise with rural landlords, and one that the Nationalist government could fully implement. Although it would harm the interests of many rural landlords, in times of national crisis, everyone should contribute. If you want farmers to fight to defend their country, shouldn't the landlords also give up some of their own interests?

You landlords are unwilling to give up any of your own interests, so why should you let the peasants die on the battlefield?

Farmers are not fools.

If you are not willing to give up even a little bit of benefit and are unwilling to give it to the farmers, why should the farmers go out and risk their lives?

In this difficult time for the nation, only by uniting all classes can we defeat the Japanese. Those with money contribute money, and those with strength contribute strength. In rural areas, landlords give their profits to the peasants, and the vast majority of farmers actively join the army to defend their country. This is a truly wonderful thing.

That's why Zhang Zhizhong made this suggestion.

The Nationalist Government is the legitimate central government and should implement rent and interest reductions.

"Brother Wenbai, I advise you to spend less time with people like Wu Hao. Look at how you've been turned to communism by them. What you're saying now is exactly the same as what those communist bandits say. Are you trying to seduce the communists?"

He Yingqin immediately reprimanded Zhang Zhizhong.

Implement rent and interest reductions?

Although the Nationalist government supported rent and interest reductions in policy, who would push for this at the local level? Anyone who dared to promote this work at the local level would have been arrested as a communist bandit long ago.

After all, after Chiang Kai-shek launched the "April 12" campaign, the KMT's local organizations were essentially wiped out. Today, China's counties, and even its towns and villages, are controlled by powerful local factions. Even the central government has no control over matters at the lower levels.

Do you still want people to implement rent and interest reductions?

I won’t beat you to death.

"General He, I'm thinking about the future of the Nationalist Government. The army is desperately short of manpower right now. If the Eighth Route Army can win the hearts of the people by reducing rent and interest, then our Nationalist Government, as the legitimate central government of China, can't be any worse than them? The Chinese Communist Party can use small favors to gain the support of the peasants, so can't our Nationalist Government use small favors to win them over?"

"All right."

Chiang Kai-shek interrupted the debate between He Yingqin and Zhang Zhizhong.

Reduce rent and interest?

What a joke.

Let's talk about Sichuan, the main base of the Nationalist government. Sichuan was once a land of warlords, with frequent wars between them. Many people relished the story of the Sichuan Army fighting among themselves, saying they would fight in the morning and then sit down together for drinks in the evening. This was because many of the warlords within the Sichuan Army were related to each other. It seemed as if the wars within the Sichuan Army were just a game of playing house, with no impact on Sichuan.

But what?

In order to win the war and seize control of Sichuan, the Sichuan warlords continued to expand their armies. But how could they support the troops after the expansion? After all, maintaining an army required money. So they could only collect taxes continuously in Sichuan. If collecting taxes for one year was not enough, they would collect taxes for ten years. If collecting taxes for ten years was still not enough, they would collect taxes for several decades. Some areas even collected taxes for fifty or sixty years. In order to extort money, these Sichuan warlords even established dozens of various cumbersome taxes. Sichuan was truly full of exorbitant taxes.

Furthermore, the Sichuan warlords, both large and small, were all major landowners in Sichuan. The officers within the warlords were small and medium-sized landowners. Even though the warlords have now stepped down, they still hold the final say in their hometowns. The most common group in Sichuan is the Gelaohui (Gelaohui). When these gangs were first formed, they were just a group of people trying to protect themselves.

After the development, all the leaders of the triads were wealthy businessmen or landlords.

The power of these people in the local area is complex and intertwined.

Do you want to implement rent and interest reduction here?

That would offend so many people.

Even if the central government sent a working team there, they probably wouldn’t know how he died.

Unless you have the ability to deal with all these people.

How to settle it?

Of course, the solution was to send troops to suppress them and then implement rent and interest reductions. However, Chiang Kai-shek did not have the courage to do so and never considered doing such a thing. For Chiang Kai-shek, as long as the local landlords could meet the Nationalist government's need for troops and as long as the localities could be kept in check and not cause trouble for him, he would not change the current situation.

Chiang Kai-shek would never support Zhang Zhizhong's proposal. However, he was a highly respected general, so he did not want him and He Yingqin to argue. Although Zhang Zhizhong had more frequent interactions with people from the Eighth Route Army Office, including Wu Hao, Chiang Kai-shek still trusted him.

"Let's not talk about this now. Let's talk about what we should do now. The Japanese will go home sooner or later. Our ultimate enemy is always Yan'an. If we allow the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army to continue like this, when the Japanese go home, it is not certain who will have the final say in China."

Chiang Kai-shek really couldn't help it.

The policies of the Chinese Communist Party are incompatible with those of the Nationalist Government, or in other words, they are incompatible with each other.