Chapter 219 I Went Mad During the Republic of China (35 chapters)
Nanjing, General Headquarters.
A row of trusted generals stood in front of Jiang Zhong, each with a solemn expression.
"Spark? What's there to be afraid of! Spark targets foreign forces. Don't forget, we've received help from Spark before!"
"Now is the time to achieve unification. Our fight against Yan'an is to safeguard the government and maintain unity!"
"If we win, we will be the true masters of this country!"
He looked around and emphasized his words.
"I have assembled 300,000 of my most elite troops, all brothers who have followed me for over a decade, equipped with the best American weaponry! We have no chance of losing!"
A general wearing white gloves stepped forward: "Boss, we are ready. General Tang is leading the vanguard and is expected to arrive at the Xuzhou line in three days to confront the main force of the Red bandits."
"Okay!" He slammed his hand on the table.
"Don't hold back! Give them a good beating! Let those peasants see who the true masters of China are! Let those Red bandits understand that the guns are ultimately in my hands!"
"Yes!" the generals responded in unison, their voices loud and clear.
...
Yan'an, cave dwellings.
The system's alarms were blaring in my mind.
[Warning! Large-scale troop movement detected! Target: Xuzhou area, estimated force 300,000!]
[Unit designations: 74th Army, 5th Army, New 1st Army... all elite units directly under the Nanjing command.]
"Damn it! They actually dared to lay a hand on us! Do they think we're made of clay?" Old Zhu slammed his pipe on the table.
"I'm itching to do it! Let me go!"
The instructor calmly said, "Fighting is the worst possible strategy."
“These people are not Japanese devils, not invaders. They are also Chinese soldiers, they just followed the wrong side. If this war breaks out, it will be our own compatriots who die, and the only ones who will benefit are the foreigners who hide in the back and watch the show.”
He continued, "Make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible."
Mr. Zhou nodded: "That's right. We absolutely cannot have another civil war. It would be devastating for our newly unified country. Those wolves and tigers are still watching us."
"We can't just stand by and watch them attack, can we? Our soldiers aren't sitting ducks!"
Zhou Jue smiled and said, "Don't rush. War doesn't necessarily have to be fought with guns and cannons, and not everyone wants to fight."
She stood up and said, "Have the logistics department prepare enough flour, pork, and new cotton-padded clothes, load them onto trucks, and send them to the front lines in Xuzhou."
"New cotton-padded clothes? And white flour and pork too?" General Zhu scratched his head, looking puzzled.
"Comrade Xinghuo, what are you doing..."
Zhou Jue didn't explain, he just left a sentence.
"Get ready for a bloodless victory."
...
The next day, at noon.
Every Chinese person, whether in bustling Shanghai or in a remote village, who has a radio at home, can hear a clear and powerful voice.
The sound drowned out all the radio stations; it couldn't be switched or turned off.
"Fellow countrymen and fellow soldiers, I am Xinghuo."
The simple opening remarks caused countless people to stop what they were doing and gather around the radio.
"Spark! It's Comrade Spark!"
"Oh my god, I can finally hear Comrade Xinghuo's voice!"
That name, which existed only in legends, appeared in everyone's ears for the first time with a real voice.
"Just yesterday, we drove out all the invaders who had occupied the land of China for a hundred years. For the first time, our country has achieved true integrity and independence. This is a victory that belongs to every Chinese person."
"However, just when we should be celebrating and rebuilding our homes, some people, for their own selfish interests, have brazenly launched a civil war!"
The atmosphere in front of the radio froze instantly.
"But Jiang Zemin is currently assembling his army and marching north. He tells his soldiers that he is going to wipe out the Red bandits. But I want to ask all my brothers, are you really going to point your guns at your compatriots who were just fighting the Japanese side by side?"
"I also want to tell everyone that Jiang Zemin has a secret agreement with the Americans. He promised that as long as the Americans sponsor weapons to help him fight the civil war, he will open all of China's markets and even allow the United States to station troops in China!"
"The Japanese devils have just left, and he's already inviting a new emperor emeritus! This is treason! It's betrayal!"
The voice suddenly rose in pitch, carrying the force of thunder.
"I, Xinghuo, hereby declare: From this moment forward, any unit that fires the first shot at its own people will be regarded as a traitor to the nation! Any general who carries out orders for civil war will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame!"
"National unity and ethnic independence are hard-won! Peace is our only way out!"
"I'm already on the front lines in Xuzhou, with steaming hot white steamed buns and pork stew with vermicelli ready, waiting for all my brothers who yearn for peace to come home for dinner!"
The sound stopped abruptly.
The whole country fell into a deathly silence, followed by a roar like a tsunami.
Down with the traitors!
"We don't want a civil war!"
"Anyone who dares to start a civil war is a traitor!"
Public opinion was completely ignited at this moment.
...
The front line in Xuzhou.
Tang Enbo's advance force, a full division, had just arrived at its designated position.
Song Zhe was observing the situation on the other side through binoculars, but found it quiet and there was no sign of any fortifications being built.
Just as he was wondering, the roar of a car engine came from behind him.
More than a dozen large trucks drove out from the opposite position, their tarpaulins exposed, revealing the mountains of stuff piled up inside.
"What is that?" Song Zhe put down his binoculars and frowned.
A staff officer snatched the binoculars, glanced inside, and stammered, "Commander...it looks like...it looks like steamed buns...and...and buckets of vegetables..."
"What the hell is that?" Song Zhe snatched the binoculars back.
Sure enough, the truck stopped in the middle of the two armies' positions, and a group of soldiers in gray uniforms jumped off the truck and began unloading things.
Steaming hot buns were piled up on the ground like small mountains, and the large iron bucket was filled with the enticing aroma of meat.
A young soldier, holding a tin megaphone, shouted in their direction.
"Brothers in the Nationalist army across the way! Stop fighting! Comrade Xinghuo is inviting you all home for dinner! There are steamed buns and pork stew with vermicelli!"
Song Zhe's soldiers were all dumbfounded.
Many of them hadn't seen meat for months, their pay had been drastically reduced, and they were eating moldy brown rice every day.
Now, the people on the other side are not only not fighting, but they're also driving over and delivering meat and steamed buns.
A rich aroma of meat wafted over on the wind, and all the soldiers' stomachs rumbled involuntarily.
"Gurgle..."
A soldier stared at the steaming buns across from him and swallowed hard.
"Commander...we all heard Comrade Xinghuo's broadcast..."
Song Zhe remained silent; of course, he had heard it too.
"To repel external enemies, we must first pacify internal strife..." he muttered to himself, a bitter smile on his face. "But now, the external enemies have been eliminated, what kind of skill is it for us to fight among ourselves?"
He looked back at his soldiers, each one pale and emaciated, their eyes filled with weariness of war and longing for food.
Looking across at the other side, the soldiers, though dressed simply, were all full of energy and their faces radiated confidence.
The difference in quality is immediately apparent.
An adjutant approached: "Commander, there's a telegram urging us to launch an attack immediately."
Song Zhe took the telegram, tore it to pieces without even looking at it.
He picked up the phone on the table and connected to the switchboard.
"Connect me to all the major newspapers across the country! I, Song Zhe, have something to say to my fellow countrymen!"
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