GBP Chapter 915 Chief of Staff Fang's Compliments
Chapter 915 Chief of Staff Fang's Compliments
Chief of Staff Fang adjusted his glasses and said in a serious tone:
"Commander, to be honest, I really don't understand it."
"The order required our 358th Division to send 10,000 troops to the Eighth Route Army base area, which was unprecedented."
“We’ve gone there before, but it was usually just a small group. This time, however, we’re sending tens of thousands of people. If something goes wrong, it’ll be a real problem.”
"Moreover, we are the direct subordinate units of the Fourth War Zone Command, and any action should be led by us."
Chief of Staff Fang's statement can be seen as a sign of his own petty-mindedness, given that the Jin-Sui Army had committed many unethical and egregious acts in the past few years.
Especially when the Eighth Route Army first arrived in Shanxi Province, the entire Jin-Sui Army looked down on the Eighth Route Army, which was poorly equipped.
Oh, and by the way, they looked down on the Sichuan Army back then, relying on the fact that the Jin-Sui Army had a large arsenal.
But the final result surprised everyone.
The Eighth Route Army and the Sichuan Army, which had the worst equipment, achieved remarkable results that attracted the attention of the entire nation. In contrast, the well-equipped and well-trained Jin-Sui Army had not fought many decent battles.
You could sense the sourness in Chief of Staff Fang's tone, but times have changed, and strength is the only true measure of success.
Their Jin-Sui Army's arsenal was seized by the Japanese. Although they managed to rebuild the arsenal by urgently transporting a batch of machinery and equipment, the output was only about one-fifth of what it used to be.
Moreover, it could only produce some light weapons and could not even produce artillery, so it was practically crippled.
To be honest, this amount of weaponry and equipment can barely sustain the army's expenses; expanding the army is out of the question.
Fortunately, the Eighth Route Army's industrial zone suddenly appeared, providing the Jin-Sui Army with a large amount of weapons and equipment, which gave them the confidence to fight the enemy head-on. Otherwise, they would have retreated to some remote mountain village to preserve their strength long ago.
Despite this, many generals of the Jin-Sui Army did not change their mindset and still considered themselves the orthodox leaders.
However, Chu Yunfei was a pragmatist who never played games. As long as it could improve the strength of the troops and enable them to fight the Japanese better, everything else was secondary.
“Brother Ligong, you can’t say that. I’ve had quite a lot of contact with Li Yunlong’s Eighth Route Army. They are all upright gentlemen, unlike us here, where it’s all deceit and backstabbing.”
"Compared to that, I prefer to deal with those people, at least I won't face a situation where they remain unmoved when our allies are in trouble."
"Moreover, it is rumored that the industrial zone of the Eighth Route Army base area is incredibly powerful, and that it has even started mass production of airplanes and tanks. However, no one has ever seen them, and the rumors are circulating in secret."
"The Independent Column was a very special entity in the Eighth Route Army. As far as I know, Li Yunlong's troops were the guard force of their core base for a long time."
"If our troops cooperate with them in combat, we will see a lot of things, and I think that is one of the reasons why the command issued this order."
Chief of Staff Fang nodded in agreement after hearing this, but then immediately made a joke:
"Another reason, I guess, is that you are good friends with Li Yunlong, and I think that's the most important one."
Chu Yunfei did not hide anything about this; on the contrary, he openly admitted it and spoke out for the Eighth Route Army on many public occasions, debating with other senior generals of the Jin-Sui Army.
In his heart, the interests of the country and the nation were above all else, and all troops fighting the Japanese should unite to fight the enemy together.
Of course, this was only when our army was relatively weak. Now it's completely different. The Jin-Sui Army has been equipped with a large number of weapons and equipment produced in our base areas.
This disparity in strength is enough to shut most people up, leaving only sour, grumbling comments. It's like a beggar suddenly becoming a millionaire, while some nouveau riche can only watch from the sidelines.
"I have to admit, Li Yunlong was an interesting guy. He didn't attend a formal military academy; in our terms, he was born a peasant."
"But the results they achieved put us regular military academy graduates to shame, and many of their battles have become classic examples for us to learn from."
At this moment, Chief of Staff Fang said meaningfully, "Commander, I heard that you fought alongside Li Yunlong back then, and you easily annihilated an enemy regiment and captured a relatively important city."
"It's a pity that I couldn't participate in that battle because I had important business at the theater command, and I still feel extremely regretful about it to this day."
Speaking of this, it is Chu Yunfei's proudest achievement. His promotion to division commander was largely due to that heroic act of turning the tide.
"At that time, our 358th Regiment chose to hold the line against the Japanese in order to guard the gateway to the war zone headquarters. To be honest, that battle was the most dangerous one I had ever fought since I joined the army. We could have been wiped out at any time."
"Actually, I was prepared to die for my country at any time. The regimental command post was already prepared with submachine guns. As long as the enemy attacked my command post, I would lead my guard squad to fight the last battle."
"I will kill as many as I can, and I will never live a life of dishonor. This is how I can repay the country for its support."
Hearing his old superior's story, Chief of Staff Fang's heart was filled with longing.
Although he was a typical civilian officer, his courage in fighting the enemy was no less than anyone else's. Even if he died with his entire regiment, he might still be remembered in history, which would be a good thing.
"Commander, actually, when I was in the command headquarters, I had already heard all sorts of rumors. At that time, the situation had already reached an extremely critical point."
"Even the headquarters sent out guard troops to establish a defensive line. As soon as they received news that the 358th Regiment had been annihilated, the headquarters immediately withdrew and moved to a more remote place to hide."
"But who could have imagined that what followed was a series of good news? First, with the cooperation of friendly forces, we annihilated the enemy in front of us, and then we captured one of the Japanese's most important logistics bases on the front line, which was equivalent to securing victory in that battle."
"You may not know this, but for a long time after the war, that battle was a frequent subject of tactical simulations by all colleagues in the command."
"According to all the tactical simulations, we only have three regiments, and in addition to the 358th Regiment, there is also a Sichuan Army Corps and a Guangxi Army Corps, all of which are relatively poorly equipped units."
"The three regiments together have more than 8,000 men. There is no way they can stop the fierce attack of more than 4,000 Japanese soldiers. It is only a matter of time before they are defeated."
"But who could have imagined that you, Commander, would lead your troops in a counterattack? Such a feat is probably rare in the history of our Jin-Sui Army."