Chapter 761
A Hasty Northern Expedition? Chu Yunfei's $23 Billion Aid Request!
Zhu Peiji hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Chairman, if you're still worried... perhaps you could go to the North China front for a while. It would be safer than staying in Chongqing."
The air in the study seemed to freeze; even breathing sounded shrill.
Chang Ruiyuan stroked the calligraphy brush he had just signed, his gaze lingering on the map of China on the wall for a long time.
Although the Fair Sacrifice Act has been approved by him.
But Chang Ruiyuan was also well aware of the methods used by the financial magnates and old bureaucrats who had taken over the southwest.
On the surface, they might not dare to disobey military orders and national laws.
But secretly, creating a few "accidents" or inciting the Gelaohui to cause some unrest is their specialty.
Before Wang Mingzhang's 22nd Army Group truly entered Sichuan and took control of the situation.
For him, this wartime capital had become a volcano fraught with danger.
"To inspect North China?"
Chang Ruiyuan muttered to himself, turned around, and looked at Zhu Peiji standing to the side.
Zhu Peiji bowed slightly, his voice low but conveying a sincere and heartfelt sentiment: "Chairman, North China is, after all, the territory of the Party and the State."
"Now, the fourth phase of the counter-offensive has been a great success. Haizhou has been liberated, Qingdao is about to be recaptured, and the entire North China region, except for the capital area, has been basically cleared."
"As the supreme commander, your personal visit to the front line to inspect, comfort, and review the new army is not only a natural 'victory celebration trip,' but also a way to temporarily avoid the undercurrents in the rear."
Zhu Peiji paused, then boldly added, "Moreover, we need your name to promote the bill and build an armored force. At this critical juncture, North China is actually safer than Chongqing."
The hesitation in Chang Ruiyuan's eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a decision made after weighing the pros and cons.
He walked back to the table and tapped the spot in front of Shanxi lightly with his fingers: "Alright."
"I've heard that Shanxi's construction is going well, I should go and see for myself."
Chang Ruiyuan took a deep breath. "That's a model province, now one of the defense industry bases."
Seeing that Chang Ruiyuan was already interested, Zhu Peiji chimed in, "Yes, yes."
"Also, after I leave, let Cixiu return to Shancheng to take charge of the overall situation. Make the arrangements. Keep the number of people accompanying him to a minimum and keep the itinerary confidential."
"Yes!"
Zhu Peiji felt a great weight lifted from his heart: "This subordinate will make the arrangements immediately."
……
A few days later, in Qingdao, Shandong.
The salty sea breeze, carrying black smoke, swirled over Jiaozhou Bay.
The once invincible Japanese fortress is now just ruins.
Having lost the protection of naval guns and subjected to continuous bombing by the North China Air Force, the will to resist of the remaining Japanese troops finally collapsed completely today.
With a huge explosion, the port infrastructure, which had already been largely destroyed by the shelling, met its final end.
Li Yannian, commander-in-chief of the 34th Army Group, stood on the Huiquan Cape fortress that had just been captured, looking at the masts of several sunken Japanese warships protruding from the sea, but there was no trace of the joy of a victor on his face.
His military uniform was covered in dust, his eyes were sunken, and he looked extremely haggard.
"Chief, it's all over."
Liu Anqi, commander of the 57th Army, limped over, holding a casualty statistics sheet in his hand. His voice was hoarse: "At the last moment, the Japanese army destroyed most of the port facilities. The remaining two thousand or so troops retreated into the city for street fighting. After our troops cleared them out, they have all been eliminated."
Li Yannian didn't turn around, but stared at the gray sea: "What about the casualties?"
"Very unsatisfactory."
Liu Anqi sighed: "Even with air force support later, we still suffered more than 5,000 casualties in the early stages of the battle on the periphery. With the addition of the street fighting in the last few days, the number of casualties has approached 10,000."
Li Yannian suddenly closed his eyes, and the veins on the back of his hand gripping the railing bulged.
Ten thousand men were exchanged for a bombed-out empty city and a few spoils of war with no high-value targets.
Especially in contrast to the "easy and enjoyable" encirclement and annihilation battles waged by Sun Weiru and Han Deqin in the Haizhou direction.
Furthermore, Tang Huaiyuan of the Fifth Army Group made a swift and unstoppable advance in Yantai. His performance in this battle can be described as "clumsy".
"A genuine elite force of the Central Army, a Class A unit."
Li Yannian bitterly mocked himself, "In the end, we ended up in such a mess."
"At the summary meeting in ten days, I'm afraid I'll lose all face."
He turned around and his tone became stern: "Pass down the order to immediately clean up the battlefield and repair the fortifications."
"Also, when sending telegrams to headquarters reporting the battle results, be sure to be objective and not exaggerate in the slightest!"
"Chief"
Li Yannian gritted his teeth: "Report the casualty figures truthfully. To try to cover it up now is tantamount to courting death!"
……
Luxi, Jinan, the front-line command headquarters.
In front of a huge battle map.
Staff officers are busy changing the flags for troop deployment.
With the end of the Battle of Qingdao, the entire peninsula was completely dyed blue, representing the National Revolutionary Army.
Chu Yunfei held Li Yannian's battle report in his hand, glanced at it twice, and then casually handed it to Fang Ligong: "Li Yannian actually fought quite well in this battle. It is normal to lose when there is a lack of heavy weapons for attacking strongholds."
Fang Ligong took the battle report and adjusted his glasses: "Although the overall casualty ratio is not very good, we have still achieved our strategic objectives."
With a smile on his face, he stated the most basic facts: "Now, except for the corner around the capital, the entire North China region has been recovered."
"Ah."
Chu Yunfei walked to the map, his gaze sweeping across the Yellow River and landing on the Baoding line further north.
"The 14th Group Army has been holding out on the northern front for so long, it's time for them to take a break."
"According to the original battle plan, the troops under He Zhuguo in episode 15 and Zhang Xuezhong in episode 19 will move north to take over the defense of the 14th Army Group."
"In episode 14, Liu Maoen's troops withdrew to the Baoding area to rest and reorganize, and to replenish their troops and equipment."
"The location is easily accessible, making it a suitable base for our next phase of troop reorganization."
"Yes!"
Li Jingzhong was taking notes rapidly.
"in addition."
Chu Yunfei turned around, his gaze becoming profound: "Has the notification regarding the 'Summary Meeting of the Fourth Phase of the Counter-Offensive Operation in the North China Theater and the Meeting on Reorganization and Expansion' been sent out?"
"Not yet, the final list is being drafted," Fang Ligong replied.
"Change the location."
Chu Yunfei walked to the table, his finger sweeping across Jinan before pointing heavily in the direction of Henan—the ancient capital located on the south bank of the Yellow River, bordering the Luo River region.
"It will be held in Kaifeng!"
Fang Ligong was taken aback: "Kaifeng? That's the headquarters of the First War Zone Command. Although Jinan has just experienced the ravages of war..."
"The Chairman will also be attending the meeting, so it cannot be held in Jinan."
Chu Yunfei raised his head: "Kaifeng, the ancient capital of eight dynasties, whoever controls the Central Plains controls the world."
"Our meeting there was of great significance, after all, Han Fuqu, the former deputy commander of the Fifth War Zone, was arrested after the Kaifeng Conference."
"Come to think of it, this should be the second Kaifeng Conference, right?"
"What about time?"
"It's still scheduled for ten days from now!"
Chu Yunfei waved his hand decisively: "Notify your units that the arrangements for senior commanders to attend the meeting must be thorough and reasonable. Subordinate combat units must not interfere with subsequent missions and operations. Bring troop rosters, equipment statistics, etc."
"Yes"
After finishing his urgent tasks, Chu Yunfei went back to his office.
Before pushing open the door, Chu Yunfei gave Fang Ligong a look. Fang Ligong nodded and waved to the guard officer in the distance: "Xiao Liu, come and stand guard. No one is allowed to disturb Your Excellency, understand?"
"Yes."
Chu Yunfei walked back to his desk, picked up a piece of paper, and then picked up a pencil again.
The fourth phase of the counter-offensive in North China has basically come to an end.
Now is the time to put all the accumulated diplomatic points and merit points to good use.
Consciousness entered the system submodule within the mind, the diplomatic system.
Given China's outstanding performance on the anti-fascist battlefield and the progressive nature of the Fair Sacrifice Act, countries around the world regard China as their most trustworthy strategic partner.
The current level of the Diplomacy submodule has been upgraded to Lv3 (MAX).
The current available action points are: 2260
call.
Chu Yunfei breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this scene in the submodule.
The victory of the fourth phase of the counter-offensive in North China was not only a military triumph, but also an accumulation of political leverage.
These two thousand-plus diplomatic action points were mostly earned through countless strategic maneuvers and the sacrifice of countless soldiers; only a portion were naturally generated system rewards. Therefore, these diplomatic points must be used wisely.
There are many problems in China that need to be solved.
The most crucial issues are food, clothing, and finance.
The second priority is post-war reconstruction.
First and foremost was that behemoth in the north—the Soviet Union.
As the cursor clicked on "Improve Relationship," Chu Yunfei seemed to see the gaze of the red giant change from wary to warm.
[Ding! Faction relationship successfully improved!]
[Current Relations with the Soviet Union: Shared Destiny and Mutual Support (MAX)]
Now that we've established a good relationship, let's not stand on ceremony.
Chu Yunfei's pencil flew across the manuscript paper, quickly listing the requirements. In North China, production lines for light weapons, artillery, and even tanks have been initially established, but deeper-level industrial machine tools, special raw material processing, and energy support remain shortcomings.
Draft a list of aid requests to the Soviet Union:
Firstly, in terms of energy, a complete set of oil refinery equipment is required.
This is primarily aimed at the extended and potential oil fields that are about to be developed.
Solve the bottleneck in converting crude oil into fuel oil.
At that time, the Yanchang Oilfield still mostly used traditional methods to extract crude oil, with animal power and human labor accounting for a very high proportion.
Once proper mechanical tools are installed, production output can increase at least several times.
Secondly, there is the foundation in agriculture.
The construction of water conservancy projects has been ongoing, and naturally, fertilizer production cannot be neglected either.
With this in mind, Chu Yunfei then submitted a proposal for a synthetic ammonia and fertilizer production line.
This allows for the production of both explosive raw materials and agricultural fertilizers, serving both military and civilian purposes, with a primary focus on improving people's livelihoods.
China has no shortage of explosives-related technologies these days.
However, the production equipment needed for fertilizer plants cannot be produced domestically.
Special steel smelting technology and electric arc furnace equipment.
These things are intended for use in the civilian economy.
It is also used as a backup for the defense industry.
If the defense industry's production capacity is insufficient in the later stages, it can also be used for the smelting of armor steel for infantry fighting vehicles and gun barrel steel.
In simpler terms, it means using advanced Soviet electric furnaces to produce the corresponding special steels.
Once this point is resolved, the next step is naturally to consider the relevant non-ferrous metals.
The refining and rolling equipment for aluminum and copper alloys also needs to keep up.
In the field of heavy machinery, although the Soviet Union started later than the United States, after ten years, its technology was not far behind that of the United States.
Let's start with a 3000-ton heavy-duty hydraulic press.
These heavy machines will be used to forge large-caliber artillery barrels (mainly naval guns, coastal defense guns, and mortars), generator spindles, and other large components.
Technical support: Dispatch 300 senior engineers and technicians to assist with equipment installation, commissioning, and personnel training (they will arrive with the equipment).
This aid list involves the export of core Soviet industrial technologies and requires 1200 diplomatic points.
Chu Yunfei didn't hesitate: "Confirm submission!"
With these, Shanxi's defense industry will evolve from "being able to manufacture guns and cannons" to a complete closed loop of "being able to manufacture materials and machines".
Next up is Uncle Sam, the big spender.
The relationship with the United States has long been established, but compared to military equipment, what North China lacks more now are the supplies that will allow the people to survive and improve their lives.
Although North China has been liberated after the war, its foundation is too weak, and it will take time for agricultural production to recover.
The upcoming winter and next year's spring planting are two major hurdles.
A list of requests for aid to the United States was drafted.
Food security is a critical issue that urgently needs to be addressed.
After the Japanese were driven out, the people in the Japanese-occupied areas naturally returned to Chinese rule.
Safeguarding people's livelihoods is both necessary and essential.
50 tons of flour and 30 tons of brown rice.
Luncheon meat cans: 1000 million cans.
Dehydrated vegetables and milk powder: 300,000 tons.
These supplies are mainly used to stabilize prices, provide relief to disaster victims, and supplement the army's food rations.
Once the goods are successfully delivered, the inflation problem in the rear can at least be kept under control to a level that won't drive people crazy.
Otherwise, the current economic situation is tantamount to digging our own grave.
Then comes the spring planting work for the following year.
Two thousand general-purpose tractors, please.
We need 500 combine harvesters.
We need 3000 agricultural tarpaulin trucks.
The supporting repair station and spare parts must meet the requirements of the above-mentioned assistance.
Classification of raw materials for light industry.
Get 200,000 bales of cotton, and another 500 sewing machines!
[System Notification: This aid list primarily consists of agricultural products and civilian machinery. The US is extremely open to such aid, which would also help absorb its domestic excess capacity. Requires 1040 Diplomatic Points.]
"Confirm submission!"
The total value of the two current aid packages is $23 billion.
[Note: Soviet aid is expected to arrive in parts within two months, with the rest arriving by July.]
[Note 2: Some of the US aid supplies will arrive within the month, and the aid contract will be completed within June.]
Chu Yunfei put down his pencil, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his throbbing temples.
This time, they went all in.
The diplomacy module can submit aid contracts, and the recipient may even approve them.
But this aid is not free; it needs to be repaid.
With a simple tap of his hand, Chang Ruiyuan's Nationalist government gained over two billion US dollars in foreign debt.
If I really have to pay back the money, I don't know when I'll be able to.
Fortunately, these things need to be considered after the war.
The most pressing issue for Chu Yunfei to consider now is how to use industry to build the nation's skeleton and agriculture to fill the people's flesh and blood. (End of Chapter)