Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Ningji Okamura frowned.

Since the outbreak of the July 7 Incident, negotiations between the Nationalist Government and Japan have never been interrupted. There was only a temporary problem when Wang Jingwei surrendered. Otherwise, both sides left room for negotiation.

But the Japanese army did not surrender when it was at its peak and in the most difficult times in the past two years. How can they surrender now?

To force Chongqing to surrender, the Japanese launched the Zaoyi Campaign in May 1940. The Japanese army, commanded by General Okamura Neiji, severely damaged the Fifth War Zone and even captured Yichang.

But what's the use?

Still failed to force the Chongqing government to surrender.

Jun Liu said, "Mr. Gangcun, you should know that things are different now. The Chongqing government is in a more difficult situation than before. They don't have any external support. People like Chiang Kai-shek will lose confidence once they lose external support. As long as we put more pressure on him, he will surrender.

After the July 7 Incident, Britain and the United States verbally expressed support for China, but no concrete action was taken. Instead, the United States enjoyed a frenzy of trade with Japan. Sixty percent of the strategic materials used by Japan in the war were purchased from the United States.

At this time, the only country that provided substantial support to China was the Soviet Union.

Of course, the Soviet Union did not support China out of moral reasons. The reason the Soviet Union supported China was because it was worried that Japan would attack the Soviet Far East. For its own security in the Far East, it asked China to contain Japan.

So after the July 7 Incident, the Soviet Union supported China's war of resistance in various ways, including low-interest loans, arms sales, and even the Soviet Air Force volunteer team's participation in the war.

Many of the Nationalist army's elite troops in the early stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression were equipped with Soviet-style equipment. For example, the Fifth Army, which shone so brilliantly at the Battle of Kunlun Pass, was armed with Soviet-style equipment. It can be said that the Soviet Union's weapons and equipment in the early stages of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression were of great help to the Nationalist army.

But the situation in Europe is serious now, and the Soviet Union has no energy to care about China's affairs.

Furthermore, Germany swept across Europe, leaving Britain and France in disarray. Under pressure from Germany in Europe, Britain and France succumbed to Japanese pressure in Asia and closed China's southwestern border. The Chongqing government, lacking external reinforcements and with Wang Jingwei trying to persuade Nationalist troops to surrender, faced internal and external troubles.

It was the most helpless time.

The headquarters saw this point, so they wanted to attack the Chongqing troops and put pressure on the Chongqing government. They all believed that given the current situation of internal and external troubles in the Chongqing government, as long as the blow was severe, it would definitely choose to negotiate and accept Japan's conditions.

What they didn't know was that Chiang Kai-shek wasn't even considering surrendering to Japan at this point. His primary concern wasn't fighting the Japanese. Instead, he was stunned by the strength displayed by the Eighth Route Army during the Hundred Regiments Offensive, and was therefore planning how to attack the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.

"Your Excellency Yan Junroku, however, Ningji Okamura still wants to continue expressing his views.

If your expeditionary force wishes to attack the Chongqing troops, you can launch an offensive in other provinces. North China's situation is special; you can allow the North China Front Army to sweep away the Eighth Route Army first.

"Mr. Gangcun, this is an order from headquarters, and also from me. What we need to do now is to strike the Central Army troops in Chongqing, so that Chongqing can renegotiate with us, accept our terms, and end the Sino-China War. As long as the negotiations between Chongqing and us are successful, I can give you another ten divisions to wipe out the Eighth Route Army. So go back and prepare how to conduct the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign.

Seeing that Ningci was still expressing his thoughts, Shunroku told him directly that this was an order and he must obey it.

"Hai."

When Ningji Okamura saw Yan Shunroku's attitude, he knew that he could not convince Shunroku.

So all we can do is accept orders.

On the way back from Nanjing, Ningji Okamura's face was always very ugly.

He really didn't understand what the headquarters and the expeditionary forces were thinking. Shunroku was Okamura Ningci's old superior. Okamura Ningci followed Yan and Shunroku fought many battles. It can be said that Yan Shunroku's military achievements on the Chinese battlefield were very prominent.

Before, Ningji Okamura was very convinced of Shunroku.

But this time is different.

Ningji Okamura was very unhappy and dissatisfied. The same was true for Junroku Yan.

Forcing the Chongqing government to surrender is bullshit. If the Chongqing government surrendered so easily, they wouldn't have waited until now. The Chinese Expeditionary Force is now moving north and south to attack the Central Army. In the north, most of the troops are warlords. The Nationalist warlord forces in the north are primarily composed of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, the Northeast Army, the Northwest Army, and the Shaanxi Army. The only area with Central Army troops is the Zhongtiao Mountains. Therefore, the Chinese Expeditionary Force's order to Okamura Neiji is to launch the Zhongtiao Mountains Campaign and completely eliminate the Central Army troops entrenched there.

But Ningji Okamura really couldn't accept it.

Although the Eighth Route Army launched the Hundred Regiments Campaign and dealt a heavy blow to the North China Front Army, it seemed that the headquarters and the Chinese Expeditionary Force still looked down on the Eighth Route Army. The headquarters and the Chinese Expeditionary Force paid more attention to the Chongqing government.

He believed that the most direct and effective way to resolve the war in China was to force Chongqing to surrender. As long as the Chongqing government surrendered, it would be easy to turn around and deal with the Eighth Route Army.

But Ningji Okamura didn't think so at all.

After arriving at the North China Front Army, Okamura Neiji carefully reviewed the development of the Eighth Route Army. He took a deep breath. The Eighth Route Army was unlike any other army the Japanese had ever known. Even the Anti-Japanese United Army in Northeast China, also led by the Chinese Communist Party, had a different development model. The Eighth Route Army's speed of development was truly astonishing.

The Eighth Route Army was like sowing beans and making soldiers appear.

The Eighth Route Army's greatest strength was its ability to become one with the people in the base areas. The Eighth Route Army had a comprehensive set of policies within their base areas, and these policies enjoyed the support of the people there.

The more he understood the Eighth Route Army, the more he feared it. In his view, the Eighth Route Army was the greatest threat to the empire.

If the Eighth Route Army is allowed to develop in this way, it will be useless even if Chongqing surrenders in the future.

As long as the Eighth Route Army still exists, China's problems will never be solved.

The North China Front Army's current situation meant it could only focus on one direction. It could either concentrate its forces to sweep the Eighth Route Army bases or to attack the Nationalist forces. It could only choose one of these two options. If it launched the Zhongtiaoshan Campaign, it would give the Eighth Route Army a chance to catch its breath and develop.

However, Yan Junroku completely ignored Ningji Okamura's advice.

Furthermore, under the headquarters' grand strategy, the voices were much quieter. In Nanjing, Yan Junliu repeatedly emphasized that the primary mission of the Chinese Expeditionary Force in 1941 was to strike at the Chongqing government. Therefore, he demanded that Okamura Neiji return to Peking and that the North China Front Army concentrate its forces to eliminate the Nationalist forces entrenched in the Zhongtiao Mountains.

Ningji Okamura was not allowed to bargain.

Ningji Okamura was very angry.

But he had to carry out this order. So Ningci Gangcun returned to Beiping and began to prepare for the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain.

The first thing is to restore the strength of the North China Front Army.

Most of the troops are seriously short of manpower.

Then, troops were mobilized to garrison. For example, the 17th and 33rd Divisions, which had just been transferred to the North China Front Army, were assigned to the First Army of the North China Front Army. Originally, Okamura Ningji planned to use these two divisions to participate in the cleanup of the Eighth Route Army base areas.

However, since Imperial Headquarters and the China Expeditionary Army Command had instructed him to sweep the Nationalist forces in the Zhongtiao Mountains, he had no choice but to incorporate the 17th and 33rd Divisions into the First Army and have them move north of the Zhongtiao Mountains. However, mobilizing these troops was extremely difficult. The two divisions, numbering approximately men, would need to be slowly introduced into Shanxi.

Because the railways and roads were destroyed.

The Zhengtai Road was impassable, so the only option was to use the highway. However, the highway was severely damaged, and trucks could not enter many places. Therefore, troops in many places had to march on foot. The 21st Division, transferred from northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui, also had to enter Shanxi.

While the Japanese army was making such preparations, the relationship between the National Army, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army continued to deteriorate.

Chongqing outwardly praised the Eighth Route Army's Hundred Regiments Campaign, but deep down, its fears were growing. Ever since Chiang Kai-shek and his generals decided to take action against the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies, meetings in Chongqing have been frequent. The focus has been on how to limit their growth and how to attack them. Chiang Kai-shek even harshly criticized the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the Military Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Criticized their intelligence work for being too poor.

Because it's only been a few years?

In just three years, the Eighth Route Army had grown to over 200 regiments. However, neither the Military Intelligence Bureau nor the Central Intelligence Bureau had accurate information on such a major event, which deprived Chongqing of a good opportunity to restrict the Eighth Route Army's growth.

The Eighth Route Army is now so powerful in North China. What if the Eighth Route Army occupies North China in the future? Will the people of North China still have the National Government in their eyes at that time?

Relations between the two sides had already been deteriorating in 1939 and 1940, but the Hundred Regiments Campaign only exacerbated these tensions. Chongqing was on the sharp end of the knife, constantly considering how to restrict the development of the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies. Chongqing frequently held meetings to discuss attacks on the Eighth Route and New Fourth Armies, so how could Yan'an not be informed?

Therefore, Yan'an also took various precautions.

Fear of some armed conflict.

In this tense atmosphere, something finally happened that shocked the whole country and even the whole world.

Chapter 352 Changes in Situation

In January 1941, the Southern Anhui Incident occurred, shocking China and the world.

Wasn’t Yan’an alert about this matter?

In fact, there are.

Ever since Chiang Kai-shek held a series of meetings in Chongqing to discuss how to restrict the development of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and even to formulate plans to attack the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, how could there be no news in Yan'an?

Precisely because Yan'an sensed the tense atmosphere and the unusual atmosphere, it urged the New Fourth Army headquarters to move north quickly. The New Fourth Army headquarters was surrounded by Kuomintang troops. If Chongqing were to take action, the other New Fourth Army troops would be unable to reach them. The best solution was to quickly leave their original base. However, the New Fourth Army headquarters was slow to act.

We kept sending telegrams to Yan'an, using various excuses, various objective conditions not allowing it, and various disagreements.

To put it bluntly, the current New Fourth Army commander Xiang Ying supports Wang Ming's proposal rather than Yan'an's orders. The New Fourth Army has always been under the leadership of the Yangtze River Bureau, not Yan'an.

To put it bluntly, the situation in the first few years of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was that the Eighth Route Army was practicing Chairman Mao's independent guerrilla warfare strategy in the mountains behind enemy lines, while the New Fourth Army headquarters was following Wang Ming's line of "everything for the united front."

Why is Chen Shuai the marshal?

It was during this time that Marshal Chen led his troops to develop in southern Jiangsu and established the Southern Jiangsu Command. He firmly supported Yan'an, and the development of his troops was also based on Yan'an's orders. As a result, the troops under the Southern Jiangsu Command developed much faster than those under the direct command of the New Fourth Army headquarters.

After Yan'an asked the New Fourth Army to move north quickly, Marshal Chen had already found a new headquarters location for the New Fourth Army.

But the New Fourth Army headquarters still did not realize the danger.

It can be said that after Wang Ming returned to China, his slogan "Everything for the United Front," demanding that the Chinese Communist Party obey the Nationalist government's orders, caused great ideological confusion among the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. The Eighth Route Army was closer to Yan'an, and although Wang Ming's visit to the Yangtze River Bureau affected them somewhat, the impact was limited. However, the New Fourth Army, being under the leadership of the Yangtze River Bureau, was significantly affected.

They have great faith in the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

Therefore, although the New Fourth Army headquarters began to move north under the strict order of Yan'an, it still procrastinated, resulting in the "Southern Anhui Incident."

Relations between the two sides plummeted to a freezing point. Chongqing declared the New Fourth Army a rebel force and demanded the revocation of its designation. Yan'an, of course, refused to agree and immediately formed a new New Fourth Army headquarters. At the same time, the Fifth Column of the Eighth Route Army joined the New Fourth Army, becoming its Third Division, further strengthening the army.

If the Japanese were not there, the KMT and the CPC would have really gone to war after the Southern Anhui Incident. In addition to the Japanese, there was also the concern expressed by Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union on this matter, all of which put pressure on Chongqing.

They asked Chongqing not to escalate the incident and secretly criticized Chongqing for launching the "Southern Anhui Incident."

Although Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union didn't have much to offer the Chongqing government, their influence was still strong. Furthermore, the Chongqing government had no external aid, so they had been negotiating with them, hoping to gain their support. They certainly didn't want to offend them at this time.

So it looks tense, but there is still some restraint.

However, this restraint only prevented large-scale military clashes; in fact, small-scale conflicts were increasing. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region had few Nationalist troops, so there was no friction. However, friction between the other Eighth Route Army bases and the Nationalist forces was becoming increasingly serious.

"Damn white dog! I've long said white dogs can't be trusted. Who is Chiang Kai-shek? He killed so many of us back then. How can we still trust him? Some people even told us to obey the orders of the Nationalist government and Chiang Kai-shek. What a fucking bastard."

Wang Qiuyun couldn't help but curse.

Looking at the blue sky and white sun badge on the hat, he pulled it off with his hands and threw it on the ground.

After hearing about the "Southern Anhui Incident", the Eighth Route Army was filled with indignation.

Many people are demanding that blood debt be repaid with blood.

The initial cooperation between the two sides was primarily due to the fight against Japan, and it was a reluctant one. The two sides had fought for ten years before, and there was a deep-seated hatred. How could the phrases of "cooperation against Japan" or "brothers within the walls, defending against the enemy from without" offset such deep hatred?

It is easy for later generations to evaluate history, but as the parties involved in history, how can we simply laugh off grudges as if nothing had happened?

How many old Red Army soldiers, their families were almost all killed by the Kuomintang. What right do you have to ask them to give up their hatred, what qualifications do you have to ask them to forgive? Even Wei Hongjun himself, his two brothers, and many relatives and friends died at the hands of the Kuomintang. Wei Hongjun, his father and younger brother stayed in the Soviet area, and their lives and deaths are still unknown. Like Wei Hongjun, many old Red Army soldiers who came from western Fujian have families in this situation. When the Eighth Route Army was reorganized, how many old Red Army soldiers could not accept the blue sky and white sun emblem on their heads. If the first of the three major disciplines and eight points of attention was not to obey orders and follow commands, the troops would have been in chaos. When the Japanese army was conquering cities and territories, although there were some conflicts between the two sides in order to resist the Japanese army, they were still able to cooperate overall.

However, when the Japanese offensive slowed down, the conflict between the two sides became more and more intense. It should be said that after the Battle of Wuhan, the relationship between the two sides became increasingly worse. Now, such a terrible thing as the "Southern Anhui Incident" has occurred.

Most of the senior generals in the Eighth Route Army were veterans of the Red Army who had gone through the Long March.

They all firmly demanded an attack on the Kuomintang. It was only in Yan'an that these voices were suppressed, otherwise the current situation would definitely not be what it is now. After the "Southern Anhui Incident," the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had actually completely torn their relations apart.

It was just that the UK, the US, and the Soviet Union did not support the civil war between the KMT and the CPC, and public opinion did not support it either. Therefore, both sides exercised restraint and it did not develop into a large-scale battle.

“Our situation will be even more difficult in the future.”

Wei Hongjun sighed.

The development of history has its contingencies as well as inevitabilities. When the New Fourth Army headquarters accepted the leadership of the Yangtze River Bureau and led the New Fourth Army with Wang Ming's guidance, the problems of the New Fourth Army were already very serious.

In order not to anger the Kuomintang, the New Fourth Army headquarters was very cautious in its development. It would not develop in areas where the Kuomintang opposed it.