147 Blood Red, Snow White (8)

Wang Yongjiang had always marveled at the youth of the People's Party cadres. Cadres of various levels in their twenties were originally the norm in the People's Party. Becoming division commanders and corps commanders completely by their own ability was even more common. But when Wang Yongjiang saw with his own eyes a young man just over half his age commanding tens of thousands of troops across the Northeast, he still felt a strong jealousy. Wang Yongjiang was only 20 when he entered officialdom; at that time, Mu Husan was just a little baby born not long ago. Wang Yongjiang couldn't help but think that the current People's Party Chairman Chen Ke was only thirty-six this year. Compared with these influential figures in China today, he was really too old.

Mu Husan didn't come to recruit Wang Yongjiang to surrender. Actually, if Wang Yongjiang weren't really a quite honest anomaly among the Northeast civil officials, Mu Husan wouldn't even have met Wang Yongjiang. The People's Party implemented a policy of "discarding like worn-out shoes" towards the old upper class, especially the literati class. Chen Ke had publicly expressed his thorough contempt and despair for literati, asking comrades "not to be confused by the undeserved reputation of literati!"

"Mr. Wang, you have quite some appeal in the Jinzhou area. We want to ask you to lead our troops to Jinzhou. I wonder what you think, sir?" Mu Husan said straight to the point.

Wang Yongjiang was stunned. He originally thought Mu Husan would rely on him to attack Fengtian. Because of his error in judgment, Wang Yongjiang couldn't help but feel a sense of being slighted in his heart. "I wonder how your army prepares to attack Fengtian?"

"We actually don't want to attack Shenyang hard." Mu Husan told the truth. "Attacking a fortified city in winter is really difficult, so our army hopes to fight a field battle with the enemy army instead. So we hope sir can take this opportunity to help us go south."

Mu Husan could be considered to have overcome all dissenting views on the matter of using Wang Yongjiang. He didn't want to make promises of official posts to Wang Yongjiang, but he didn't think the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could start any mass movement in the Northeast in this winter with thick snow and dense forests either. The most efficient way of use was to let Wang Yongjiang help the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army gain a foothold in his hometown. Geographically, if the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could stabilize its presence in Jinzhou, it would be equivalent to controlling the Liaodong Peninsula.

Wang Yongjiang considered Mu Husan's idea. He had seen the winter camp of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, so he could slightly understand the idea that the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, capable of large-scale stationing in a snowy environment, was willing to fight field battles. Whether it was the Fengtian Army or the Japanese Army, currently they could only be stationed in the urban areas of the Northeast. He continued to ask: "Is your army confident in competing with the Japanese army?"

"War changes rapidly; we don't know how the Japanese will fight either. In the current situation, it's enough if we can fight our own battle well. So the urgent task is to squeeze the Japanese out of the Northeast." Although Mu Husan would absolutely not put Wang Yongjiang in an important position, he didn't think there was any problem with telling the truth. If he couldn't make people like Wang Yongjiang understand the strategy of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, it would have a great negative effect on future cooperation instead.

"Your army really has the will to fight!" Wang Yongjiang praised. The situation where the Fengtian Army collapsed at the first touch when facing the Japanese army made Wang Yongjiang feel jealous shame and helplessness. Facing the Japanese army which was only one-third of their number, the Fengtian Army in Fengtian collapsed at the first touch; this was really shameful. "If Corps Commander Mu trusts me, I am willing to work like a dog or horse for you."

After Mu Husan sent Wang Yongjiang away, he immediately began to continue arranging the current work. Just as he said just now, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army didn't have the intention to attack Shenyang in winter. Firstly, winter attacks were ineffective; secondly, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army still had the plan of besieging a point to strike reinforcements. If they could use the enemy forces in Shenyang as bait to lure the Japanese reinforcements in Korea, a field battle would really be the best choice. But the key to this plan was the issue of troop strength.

The reinforcement of the 14th Corps was really timely. The 18th Corps was transferring all the areas it already controlled to the 14th Corps. Mu Husan actually hoped the 15th Corps could take over the task in the Panjin area, and best if they could also take over the work of marching into Jinzhou. But this encountered a problem: Mu Husan, also as a Corps Commander, was not qualified to command the Corps Commander of the 15th Corps. This required Northeast Military Region Commander Pu Guanshui to be responsible for the adjustment of this matter. However, Pu Guanshui was not in the Northeast at this time. A few days ago, Mu Husan had already sent a carefully worded telegram to Pu Guanshui. After proposing his own suggestions, he still tactfully requested Pu Guanshui to sit in command at the front line. Until now, no reply telegram had been received.

The comrades in the 18th Corps Headquarters had high morale for war at this time. Even without receiving orders from the Military Region, the comrades were still making various preparations. It was impossible for the 18th Corps alone to implement besieging a point to strike reinforcements, so the operational plan of the 18th Corps was to wave the army south after the 14th Corps took over the encirclement constructed by the 18th Corps. Of course, it would be best if the 15th Corps assisted in going south together.

However, Pu Guanshui didn't let Mu Husan wait long. Just the day after Wang Yongjiang arrived in Anshan, Pu Guanshui's military order arrived in Anshan, agreeing to Mu Husan's operational suggestion. Moreover, Pu Guanshui also informed Mu Husan that the headquarters of the Northeast Military Region would transfer to the Panjin area in the shortest time.

Receiving this news, the morale of the entire 18th Corps was boosted. As long as the Military Region Headquarters could transfer to the Northeast, troop coordination work would be guaranteed. Although Japan's sudden action disrupted the strategy of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to a certain extent, relying on the hard fighting of the 18th Corps, in the winter that could originally only be spent waiting, the process of the Northeast campaign was being pushed forward step by step by the 18th Corps.

But the Japanese army seemed to have telepathy too. Just when Mu Husan was preparing to order the construction of a blocking line between Dandong and Shenyang, intelligence was suddenly received that the Japanese army in Shenyang began to expel Chinese residents inside Shenyang city in large numbers.

"What do the Japanese want to do? Are they dead set on sticking to the defense?" The staff officer replied unexpectedly. As an invading army, expelling Chinese residents inside the city was also a correct choice when sticking to the defense.

Mu Husan looked at the map with a frown. He pondered for a good while and asked in a rather questioning voice: "Do comrades feel that the Japanese army is about to break out?"

"Break out?" Many comrades felt Mu Husan's words were a bit inconceivable. The Japanese didn't show signs of decline now; instead of breaking out, they might as well wait for reinforcements from Korea.

"It's quite possible that the Japanese want to use Chinese common people to make an issue, for example, sending spies mixed among the common people to go out of the city to inquire about intelligence. We have killed quite a few Japanese spies these days." The Chief of Staff didn't dare to agree with Mu Husan's radical idea either. "Moreover, what benefit is there for the Japanese army to retreat? Possessing the campaign pivot of Shenyang, Japan can at least enliven the situation."

Mu Husan shook his head slightly. "What strategic pivot does the current Shenyang count as? Besides turtling up inside the city, what can the Shenyang Japanese army do? Moreover, how much grain is left in Shenyang city now? According to the intelligence provided by Wang Yongjiang, the grain in Shenyang city is probably about to be finished. If the Japanese commander is smart enough, he will definitely choose to retreat. As long as they retreat to Dandong, this Japanese unit gains comprehensive freedom of action."

"This..." The Chief of Staff still felt he couldn't easily support Mu Husan's view. After all, this didn't conform to too many conventional ideas. Sudden withdrawal in the dead of winter was a big taboo. But the Chief of Staff couldn't oppose it either. After all, if the Japanese army didn't retreat, it would be most beneficial to the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army instead, having ample space to use various strategies. If the Japanese army retreated to Andong, then the Japanese army could first place its main force on the Liaodong Peninsula. They could even take actions to counter-cut the southern transportation lines of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army.

All these ideas were built on something the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army couldn't grasp: what exactly happened in Japan domestically. It was still Japan domestically that could mobilize Japanese military actions, just as it was the Central Committee that could ultimately decide the actions of the 18th Corps.

Changes did occur in Japan domestically. Since Yamagata Aritomo's disciple Katsura Taro passed away, dog-eat-dog struggles began inside the Army Ministry. Who could truly wield the great power of the Army Ministry became an important matter. Of course, an equally important matter was how to let Prime Minister Takahashi Korekiyo pass the strategic plan dominated by the Army Ministry as soon as possible when he expressed agreement to the war. At such a time, Yamagata Aritomo, the true overlord of the Army Ministry, stood out semi-publicly again.

Of course, the old man Yamagata Aritomo was very excited. He felt he finally had the opportunity to fulfill his wish from twenty years ago.

After the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894, Yamagata, as an Army elder, was extremely excited. He personally went to the battle wielding a sword, serving as the Commander of the First Army, commanding the Japanese army to defeat the Qing army, capture Pyongyang, and then lead the army across the Yalu River into Chinese territory, capturing Jiuliancheng and Dandong in succession. Because the Japanese army succeeded repeatedly and the Qing army retreated in defeat again and again, Yamagata became more and more excited as he fought, even planning to kill his way into the Chinese interior to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing army, completely disregarding supply issues and possible intervention by Western powers. He proposed the "Three Strategies for Conquering Qing" to the Imperial General Headquarters, strongly advocating winter operations: 1. Land again from the sea route to Shanhaiguan for combat, establish a base to conduct operations in Zhili; 2. March towards Lushun, move the supply base to an ice-free port; 3. Advance north immediately, capture Fengtian. In the "Three Strategies for Conquering Qing," Yamagata proposed pressing Beijing and Tianjin in the south and raiding Fengtian in the north, opening two battlefields at the same time, once again displaying the military adventurism of Japanese militarism.

Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi considered factors such as the inconvenience of Japanese landing in winter and intervention by Western powers, and did not agree with Yamagata Aritomo's rash advance proposal. Also, if the battle line was stretched too long in winter, supply would inevitably be difficult. It was better to take the opportunity to attack the Beiyang Fleet naval port in Weihaiwei, Shandong, and attack Taiwan in the south as the best policy. Finally, the Imperial General Headquarters adopted Ito's suggestion, vetoed Yamagata's rash advance proposal, and ordered Yamagata Aritomo's First Army to stand by for the whole winter to wait for spring to launch an offensive again. But Yamagata flagrantly acted arbitrarily, defied the instructions of the Imperial General Headquarters, and privately ordered the Katsura Taro Division to attack Haicheng. It encountered courageous resistance from the Haicheng Qing army and fell into a quagmire, while Japan domestically had no sufficient troops to support Haicheng anymore. So the Imperial General Headquarters decided to dismiss Yamagata from the post of Commander of the First Army. But Kawakami Soroku and others worried that if Yamagata was dismissed publicly, he would inevitably commit seppuku to preserve the face of a warrior, so they suggested Prime Minister Ito meet Emperor Meiji to recall Yamagata in the name of "returning home to recuperate."

So Emperor Meiji personally wrote the recall edict. Although Yamagata claimed his illness had healed, the Son of Heaven's order had been issued and he was helpless, having to take a ship back to the country. Before leaving, he wrote the following poem to the two division commanders Nozu Michitsura and Katsura Taro:

"Wrapped in horsehide, I expect no return; how can I return in vain when the expedition is not half done?

Helpless that the Son of Heaven summons so urgently; tears soak my clothes before bidding farewell at the battlefront!"

With the old Field Marshal coming out to give orders, the juniors in the Army Ministry naturally didn't dare to act rashly and engage in infighting anymore. Yamagata Aritomo still insisted on the idea of winter operations. But this time he was not prepared to insist on the plan of fighting on two fronts anymore. The old man could be considered to have foresight; he had already seen clearly that because the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army suddenly exited the pass, Japan's strategic concept was disrupted.

As the saying goes, the bystander sees clearly. Yamagata Aritomo knew very clearly that Katsura Taro's initial strategic concept actually completely inherited Yamagata Aritomo's plan from twenty years ago, which was one route sending troops out of Shenyang, and one route going south to attack Shanhaiguan. However, lacking the cooperation of the navy, plus the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army suddenly going north, the Army Ministry fell into chaos. They were also constantly trying to adjust deployment to complete the initial concept. But trapped by the problem of insufficient troops, the Army Ministry's adjustments led to a more passive situation instead.

So Yamagata Aritomo's view was that in the current situation, Japan should contract its forces and go south with full strength to cut off the rear route of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. If such strategic adjustment could be completed, then the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, which once held the initiative on the battlefield, would have to follow Japan's pace.

Since there was this plan, Fengtian became not only not a necessary strategic point, but a burden instead. Facing the trembling questions of the juniors in the Army Ministry regarding the Fengtian issue, the old man Yamagata Aritomo asked back: "If we give up Fengtian, what do you gentlemen think the People's Party will do?"

"Definitely go all out to seize Fengtian." The officers of the Army Ministry still had this minimum military common sense.

Yamagata Aritomo sneered: "Since the People's Party wants to seize Fengtian now, they definitely still want to continue to seize Changchun and other places. When their forces move north, our forces gathered in Andong can suddenly go south. At that time, an opportunity for the People's Party forces to gather will appear in the Shanhaiguan area. We possess an advantage in the navy; that will be the opportunity to fully utilize it."

After saying this, Yamagata Aritomo sneered again. "If Katsura-kun could have adjusted the troop deployment like this when he first encountered the People's Party's attack, he definitely wouldn't have encountered the current situation. He just wanted to complete the initial plan too much; that's why he fell into passivity!"

"Eh?" The army officers didn't expect the old man Yamagata Aritomo to actually have such sharp strategic vision. And recalling it now, Yamagata Aritomo wasn't wrong. Katsura Taro and the Army Ministry both made this mistake, trying to complete that plan to occupy the entire Northeast at the minimum cost regardless of everything.

Using the strategic backbone provided by Yamagata Aritomo, the Army Ministry conducted several discussions. They found that doing so was really the best choice. Although the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had strong combat effectiveness, they faced a quite unfavorable situation, that is, the logistical line was too singular. Theoretically, the People's Party could still implement supply through Mongolia. But now the Inner and Outer Mongolia regions were in the hands of Beiyang, so the theoretical supply line had no feasibility in practice. The vital passage out of the pass was within the attack range of the Japanese Navy. As long as the People's Party was forced to concentrate forces to go north, the Japanese Navy, which had been unable to exert its strength, would have the opportunity to massacre the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army on a large scale.

After discussion, the Army Ministry quickly passed the new strategic plan. And this plan was also passed in the Cabinet.

The defenders of Fengtian naturally welcomed this extremely. They could be said to be unspeakably miserable during this time. Being trapped in a Chinese city was not enjoyment, especially when enemies with strong combat effectiveness were entrenched outside the city. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army didn't stop at all in winter, but used the weather to constantly compress the Japanese periphery. Plus the grain supply inside Shenyang city was also very problematic. During the Yuan Shikai period, to fight the People's Party, it could be said that all stored grain was used up. The Northeast was a grain-producing area. In the period of high grain prices, not only was the civilian grain in Hebei bought up, but the situation in the Northeast wasn't much better either. City grain reserves also reached extremely low levels. So the current Japanese grain also reached the limit. If they persisted for another two months until the ice melted and snow thwarted, the Japanese troops would probably be too hungry to fight.

The commander of the 19th Division had long wanted to retreat, suffering from not daring to do so. Now with the order, he also acted boldly. If they retreated directly, it would be too conspicuous. Marching more than two hundred li in winter was a quite difficult thing, so he first expelled the common people in Fengtian city out of the city, creating the illusion that the Japanese army was saving grain for long-term defense.

Then, the Japanese army ordered the current "Fengtian Military Governor" Tang Yulin to send troops to take over Fengtian's defense. Tang Yulin felt very incomprehensible about this. What kind of crooked ways were the Japanese playing in this dead of winter?

The 19th Division Commander called Tang Yulin to his headquarters. "Governor Tang, I heard you have opinions on our recent military adjustments?"

Tang Yulin dared not deny it at all. Although the other party was only a division commander, and Tang Yulin was the "Fengtian Military Governor," Tang Yulin dared not offend this Japanese overlord. Moreover, hearing the 19th Division Commander call him Governor, Tang Yulin felt very happy. He hurriedly smiled apologetically: "I will definitely do my duty well. But I hope the Imperial Army can give some guidance. I am a rough man, really not good at this marching and fighting."

"Governor Tang, we are preparing to attack," the 19th Division Commander explained. Having made the posture that the Japanese army was preparing to defend Fengtian firmly, and spreading the rumor that the Japanese army wanted to defend firmly. The People's Party was said to pay great attention to the lives of common people. After expelling Fengtian common people on a large scale, the People's Party would have to appear. Then the Japanese army could move out comprehensively to strike these People's Party troops. Moreover, the Japanese army could also take the opportunity to attack several strongholds of the People's Party.

Tang Yulin actually really didn't understand fighting. Listening to the 19th Division Commander's explanation, he felt it made quite some sense. But Tang Yulin didn't think of one thing: actually, the positions of many main forces of the People's Party were not secrets now. If Japan really decided to strike the People's Party, why not send troops directly?