Regarding Yang Zhen's modest words, the chairman disagreed very much and said: "Don't be modest. What we pay attention to is seeking truth from facts. It's your credit, it's your credit. No one can deny this. It's just a pity that we are too
You are poor, otherwise based on your contribution this time, you should be given a big solid gold medal."
After the joke about cropping was over, the chairman's face turned serious and he lit a pipe: "The central government asked you to come here this time because there are three things it wants to know about in detail. The first thing is to negotiate with the United States and Britain.
But you have explained this matter clearly just now, so there is no need to say it anymore."
"The second thing is that if you agree to the British request and send a force to assist them in defending Southeast Asia, will it be really detrimental to us? As for the third thing, it is about the direction of the operation to open up land connections inside and outside the customs. However,
I invited you here today mainly because I want to hear about the second thing. What was said in the telegram is not detailed after all, and now we want to hear what's in your heart."
After listening to the two questions after the chairman, especially the second question, Yang Zhen was both surprised and somewhat expected. This time the United States and Britain requested the Anti-Japanese Alliance to send troops to Southeast Asia to cooperate in operations, which was undoubtedly a rare opportunity for the central government to expand its influence.
Opportunities. Not to mention the international impact, even the domestic impact is of great significance.
For the central government, this was a very rare publicity opportunity and it was given up like this. I am afraid that it was somewhat unwilling. But considering the actual environment and conditions of the current Anti-Japanese Alliance, I asked myself to come to Yan'an to report carefully.
idea. So it can be said that Yang Zhen was not surprised by the second question raised by the chairman.
After considering his words, Yang Zhen said: "Chairman, if we agree to the British request and send troops to help defend Southeast Asia, it will not only be disadvantageous to us, it can be said to be a hundred harms without any benefit. If we send troops to Southeast Asia to help defend, we
No matter how many troops are sent, I'm afraid the whole army will be wiped out in that tropical rain forest."
"First of all, our troops are all northerners and are not adapted to the tropical climate. First of all, the non-combat attrition caused by climate and disease is enough to destroy more than half of our troops. Chairman, Southeast Asia is not Jiangxi. Although Hunan is better than the northern
It’s hot, but it’s also a place with four distinct seasons.”
"There are no four seasons there, only the rainy season and the dry season. The temperature in the dry season is tens of degrees above zero, and it is dry and hot. The entire rainy season is rainy and humid every day, and it is hot and muggy. For such a climate, I have always been accustomed to living and fighting in the northern region with four distinct seasons.
It’s hard for us to adapt without a long period of adaptive training.”
"There are also malaria, dengue fever, and a large number of strange tropical diseases. The non-combat attrition caused by it is enough to collapse our army, which is mainly composed of northerners. We don't even have to go into battle, just the hot climate and diseases
, will give us the most fatal blow. This is a non-combat factor, and there are a large number of other factors."
"The Nationalist Government will never allow us to supply the ammunition and materials we need for combat through their jurisdiction. Even if it agrees, transporting the required ammunition from the Northeast to Southeast Asia will still be thousands of kilometers away. And
With this distance of several thousand kilometers, who can guarantee that the huge amount of ammunition can be supplied in sufficient quantity?"
"Needless to say, as long as the Nationalist Government seizes our transport convoy for a week, all the guns and artillery of our frontline troops will be hungry. Coupled with the harsh road environment in the western region of the country, our logistics support capabilities cannot allow us to
Maintaining such a long supply line.”
"And if we rely solely on supplies from the United States and Britain, then all the lifelines for our dispatched troops will be in the hands of others. Unless we act completely in accordance with their will, otherwise they will cut it off at any time if we disobey their orders in the slightest.
All our supplies.”
"Chairman, if we cooperate with the Americans in fighting, I will not give it any thought. But if we cooperate with the British in fighting, I will not even think about it. With their extremely selfish character, if we agree to their request, I am afraid that
Their original intention was to use us as their scapegoat."
"The British army's main forces are concentrated in the battlefields of Europe and North Africa. In Southeast Asia, most of their troops are colonial troops with extremely low combat effectiveness. If the British army wants to strengthen the defense of Southeast Asia, it will inevitably draw troops from North Africa and the mainland, which will have an overall impact on their overall strength.
The strategic impact is huge.”
"Compared with Chongqing, we have almost no influence on the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. When it comes to the battlefield in Southeast Asia, they are just a bunch of rootless duckweeds. So when they are in urgent need of strengthening the defense of Southeast Asia, they remember that we have not much influence on them.
We are a big threat.”
"They want to use us to block the iron hoofs of the Japanese army for them. They only need to concentrate a limited number of elites and stick to the strategic strongholds from Penang to India. If the troops we send reject the unreasonable ideas they are likely to propose,
If we demand it, they will not hesitate to cut off all supplies to our army as a means of blackmail."
"And if we agree to their request, no matter how many troops we send, they will treat them as consumables and be consumed in the endless tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia. The most important thing is that we can't send troops at all now.
This is a waste of time."
"The current strength of our army, even after expansion, is sufficient for self-preservation but insufficient for external warfare. The most urgent thing before us now is to open up land connections with the customs as soon as possible in order to obtain the strong human resources in the customs.
Support and solve our most difficult problems of soldiers and labor force right now."
"Now we have reached an agreement with the United States on assistance programs for supplies, weapons and equipment, and various machinery and equipment. Even if there will be a certain delay in the United States, as long as they need our strategic cooperation, then generally
It will still meet our needs.”
"But the situation we are facing now is that the limited population is simply unable to support such a large-scale industrial construction while also ensuring the recruitment of troops and agricultural production. Chairman, we can't go through all the trouble to get it.
We have a lot of machinery and equipment, but they are just piled there and left to rust and rot because no one is using them.”
"Population, especially the young and middle-aged labor force, has become the top priority for us now. If we want to ensure the recruitment of troops and agricultural production, it will affect the ongoing construction
of industrial projects.”
"If agricultural production and industrial construction are guaranteed, then the mobilization of additional troops will be greatly restricted. Faced with the shortage of the working-age population, in addition to finding ways to import agricultural machinery and cultivate large livestock, we can replace manpower with machinery and animal power.
In addition, it has even reached the point where strict planning is implemented for the use of ordinary rural labor force."
“To mobilize more than 100 farmers to leave the countryside, whether it is conscription or labor in factories, even the county party committee secretary does not have the right to do so. It requires the approval of the prefectural committee to issue mobilization quotas. If the population needs to be mobilized to reach a certain number, it needs to be reported to the provincial party committee.
It was even approved by the executive meeting of the Chairman of the Northeast People’s Government.”
"Chairman, it is indeed good for us to expand our influence. But we must not use our weak strength to serve as cannon fodder for them. Because if we do this, the price we pay will be compared with the benefits we gain.
It is unbearable for us. Chairman, our bodies are not strong enough to fight thousands of kilometers away."
"The most important thing is not these. The most important thing is that it is too complicated politically. The war situation in Southeast Asia is related to whether Chongqing's external communication lines are smooth. It is impossible for Chongqing not to intervene. The three countries and the four parties are mixed together.
It is a mess that cannot be solved. If we get involved at this time, it will do us a lot of harm but nothing good."
"I think the British will definitely seek assistance from Chongqing after being rejected by us. And Chongqing will definitely take the initiative to send troops in order to protect the only external lifeline of the Burma Highway. So we only need to watch Chongqing send troops
With the final result, you can fully understand why I don’t trust the British and why I don’t send troops to Southeast Asia.”
"Chairman, Southeast Asia is a quagmire and even more of a trap. In fact, it is not a good opportunity for us to expand our influence wherever we go. The British's long-term brutal colonial rule and greedy plunder have made the people there
I am extremely resentful towards him. It’s just that under long-term high pressure, I dare to be angry but dare not speak out.”
"Once the Japanese army invades Southeast Asia under the banner of liberators, I am afraid that the indigenous people in Southeast Asia will cooperate with the Japanese army in fighting. If we assist the British army in defense, we will be considered by the people there as accomplices of the colonists. Because no matter how hard we work,
, and cannot remove the scars caused by hundreds of years of British colonial rule."
"And the habit of the Japanese army has always been to strike preemptively. The preemptive strike I am talking about is not just a military action, but more importantly, political penetration and intelligence penetration. As early as before the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, the Japanese army was in China
A large number of spies were deployed to collect a large amount of political, military, and economic intelligence on the Manchu and Qing Dynasties at that time. The defeat of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties in the Sino-Japanese War of 1884-1898 was not only due to military incompetence but also to political corruption. There was almost no secret that could be kept from the Japanese.
It is also a key factor in failure.”
"Since the Sino-Japanese War of 1898-1894, Japan has penetrated China more deeply into China's politics, economy, and military. Before the September 18th Incident, the Japanese's analysis and understanding of the Northeastern Army was even higher than that of the National Government. Before the July 7th Incident, Japan's
People have a detailed file on all aspects of the National Government’s officers above the rank of major general.”
"Although the Japanese are gamblers, they are very thoughtful and always plan before they act. The September 18th Incident seemed reckless, but it was based on the Kwantung Army's thorough knowledge of China's domestic situation at that time. Now they want to
If we seize Southeast Asia as our source of raw materials, we will not fail to penetrate it on a large scale."
"Regardless of whether the Japanese will become the real liberators, they are the only powerful country in Asia. The Japanese model has become a learning object for many colonial countries, even the so-called elites among us Chinese. Once the Japanese invade Southeast Asia, then these
The elites who are most eager to get rid of colonial rule will be the first to rise up and cooperate with them."
"There are many ethnic groups in Southeast Asia, but most of them are still illiterate. These elites who admire the Japanese and are most eager to get rid of colonial rule mean absolute influence in the local area. If we choose to accept the conditions of the British, we will be worthy
If we fight against the British army, we will still be an invader in their eyes. At that time, no matter what we do, there will only be two words in their eyes. That is 'enemy'."