Chapter 24: The Tax Police Corps

  On the way back from Su's home, Chen Jifang said to others: "We have good soldiers now."

  Luo Yuguang saw Lian Chang's complacent look and couldn't help but say, "Commander Lian, you're not thinking of attacking the Taxation Police Brigade's main force, are you? That's the elite of the National Army; can we handle it?"

  Hu Yunfeng also said: "The Taxation Police Brigade's troops, I've heard of them before, they're actually not bad. They seem to be Song Ziwen's private army. Their equipment is excellent and their training is rigorous. It's said that the military commanders are all handpicked by Song Ziwen himself, and their weapons and equipment are all purchased from Europe and America. Compared to regular troops, they're even more impressive."

  Upon hearing Chen Jifan's conversation with the three men, Wang Jicai's curiosity was piqued and he walked over to ask: "Officer Chen, this Taxation Police Brigade you're talking about, is it really that formidable? It's just a police force, I've seen them in Chuzhou before. They might be able to intimidate ordinary people, but when it comes to fighting, they're probably not even as good as your 'Divine Eagles'."

  Wang Jicai's words made the other three people laugh, and Hu Yunfeng joked: "Mr. Wang, the Taxation Police Force had at most six teams with over 30,000 people at its peak, while our 'Shenying' team had only a few hundred people at most. Which one do you think is more powerful?"

  Chen Jifan smiled and shook his head. No wonder Wang Jicai didn't know the inside story of this tax police team. Originally, this team was established to crack down on smuggling, but who would have thought that the boss was so wealthy and powerful that he spent a huge amount of money to turn a local security force into an elite team that even regular armies couldn't match? Unfortunately, such a good team was defeated in the Battle of Shanghai.

  Wang Jicai looked at their expressions and felt a bit awkward, so he changed the subject: "Officer Chen, I don't understand military matters, but since I've come all this way, I shouldn't waste my trip. I still have some old friends in Wuhan, I'd like to take some time to visit them and see if there's anything I can help with. By the way, why don't you give me the list of medicines that Dr. Wu needs, and I'll think of a way to get them."

  "That's alright then, let's trouble Mr. Wang with it. We'll head back to the inn first, and then I'll give Mr. Wang the list of supplies, and trouble him to think of a solution."

  After Chen Jifang and others returned to the Jiangcheng Travel Agency, Chen Jifang handed over a list of medical equipment, medicines, and some other items such as engineer shovels, iron wire, backpacks, and cotton blankets to Wang Jicai. These things are not as sensitive as military supplies, and can be provided by ordinary factories.

  After Wang Jicai left, Hu Yunfeng carefully came over to remind him: "Boss, the money we brought is just this much. We should be frugal in Wuhan, otherwise when we get back, our brothers will all have to drink northwest wind."

  "It can't be seen that Xiao Hu is still quite capable of being the boss, otherwise go back and swap with Deng Fangshun, maybe you'll be even more powerful as our team's boss." Luo Yugang joked.

  "This money must be spent, we are fighting in the mountains, money is useless, it can't be eaten as food, nor can it be turned into bullets, we must take advantage of the opportunity to come to Wuhan and turn the money in our hands into materials. Besides, if the money runs out, we'll just rob the little devils, and when that's gone, I'll drink their blood." Chen Jifan said viciously.

  How did he become so cool? Drinking human blood? Disgusting. Luo Yu thought.

  Three people rested in the inn for a while, Chen Jifan decided to go out and take a walk around, it's not easy for country bumpkins to come into the city, they should take a good look at this big city of the times or it would be a waste of their trip.

  Three people drove slowly along the riverbank, with little water in the Yangtze River in winter, revealing sandy shores on both sides. The river wind rushed into the car window gap, making a "whooshing" sound.

  "What's on your mind?" Hu Yunfeng asked Chen Jifan.

  "I wonder when this long winter will end? I think our strength is still too weak to have an impact on the course of the war." Chen Jifang replied, gazing out the window.

  "Yes, from 1931 on, Little Japan bullied us for fourteen years. In those fourteen years, how many people died at the hands of the devils and how much property was looted? Are we going to be engulfed in this great tide of history? Are we just going to watch our country being trampled and unable to change it?" Hu Yunfeng said indignantly.

  "No matter if history can really be changed, we, as China's best soldiers, must do our utmost to save one more compatriot and recover one more inch of land. This may alleviate the pain suffered by Motherland." Chen Jifang continued, seemingly talking to himself.

  "Head, I understand, so we want to unite as many people as possible around us, so you want to absorb those abandoned wounded soldiers from the Taxation Bureau. These wounded soldiers are all survivors of fierce battles and must have strong combat effectiveness. As long as they are commanded properly, our 'Divine Eagle' will have another sharp claw." Luo Yu thought to himself.

  "Not only that, the Taxation Police Corps is not like other elite troops, loyal to Chiang Kai-shek. I believe many of them are men of integrity, and as long as we do it carefully, I think there will be gains," said Chen Jifang.

  The car unknowingly circled around and returned to the Jiang Cheng Travel Agency. As soon as the three of them got out of the car, they heard Su Nianhong's urgent voice. "Lian Zhang, where have you all been? I've been waiting here for half a day."

  "What? We have to report to you wherever we go?" Luo Yuangang pretended not to understand.

  "Lo Han, say less! Miss Su, no, Comrade Su Ni Hong, what's the hurry?" Chen Jifan interrupted Luo Yugang and asked Su Ni Hong.

  "I found my brother, I told him about your conversation with Father today, and he's very interested in you. He asked me to come find you and say that he'd like to meet you." Su Nianhong said excitedly.

  "Is it? Where's your brother? Hurry up and take us there!" Chen Jifan was also very excited, as if thinking of something made it happen.

  Su Jingwei's destination was a teahouse located at the foot of Yellow Crane Tower. Amidst the chaos and desolation, this once-famous ancient tower stood quietly in the cold winter wind, silently witnessing the rise and fall of this ancient city.

  Su Ni Hong led the three to a private room upstairs, and as soon as they entered, a young military officer wearing a National Army lieutenant's uniform came forward. Needless to say, it was Su Jing Wei, Su Ni Hong's brother.

  Su Jingwei stepped forward and gave a military salute, politely saying: "You are the famous 'Divine Eagle' special task force commanders, I've heard about your exploits from my little sister and can't help but admire you. Please sit down, sit down. Waiter, serve tea! Bring out the best Bi Luo Chun."

  Chen Jifan hastily humbled himself: "Officer Su is overpraising, Officer Su is the truly talented one, a pillar of the country. Please, Officer Su."

  This etiquette during the Republic of China period is really annoying, Chen Jifan has never been so tired before, fortunately, relying on the tone learned from TV, most situations can barely cope.

  The tea house waiter quickly poured Bi Luo Chun for everyone, Su Jingwei picked up the teacup and said: "This tea house's Bi Luo Chun has the most mellow flavor, come on, let's all have a taste. Little sister, won't you introduce your brother to a few friends?"

  "General Su, let us introduce ourselves. I am Chen Jifan, and these two are my brothers, Hu Yunfeng and Luo Yugang."

  "A lone sail's distant shadow disappears in the blue sky, only to see the Yangtze River flowing at the horizon. Mr. Chen's name is well-chosen, perfectly fitting for where you and I are today." Su Jingwei began praising again.

  "Director Su has been praised, I heard that the Taxation Police Corps where Director Su is located is resting in Wuhan. What a strong anti-Japanese army! We have long wanted to see your military style." Chen Jifan straightforwardly brought up the topic.

  "Alas, let's not mention it. The Shanghai-Hangzhou War was a disaster for our Taxation Police General Corps. Despite repeated bloody battles with the Japanese devils, we ultimately couldn't escape the fate of defeat and national humiliation. Our casualties were heavy, and the remnants were taken advantage of and reorganized by others. Only these 5,000 wounded soldiers escaped to Wuhan, becoming wandering spirits without anyone to care for or ask about them." Su Jingwei's face was filled with despair.

  "The Battle of Shanghai, the National Army sent its best troops, but I didn't expect the outcome to be like this. What a pity for the fine sons of China! Hmph, incompetent generals, exhausting the army to death." Chen Jifang decided to provoke this young National Army officer.

  "I didn't expect Su Jingwei to be not angry at all, "Who says it's not? In the Battle of Shanghai, our army invested more than 700,000 troops, including the 36th Division, 78th Division, 88th Division, Central Training Corps and my Taxation Police Corps, which are all the most elite forces in the country. What was the result? Heavy casualties, Shanghai couldn't be defended, Nanjing couldn't be defended either. If this continues, will we still be able to drink tea under the Yellow Crane Tower in the future? After returning to Wuhan, I often wonder, is it really that we are inferior to those little devils? Are we destined to perish as a nation?"

  "Of course not, little Japan will never be able to conquer the great China. Failure is temporary, don't take it too hard, Director Su," said Chen Jifan.

  "Mr. Chen, please don't call me 'Officer Su' anymore. My brother's courtesy name is Pingwu, so from now on, just call me Pingwu, okay? It seems like Mr. Chen's words earlier had a hidden meaning, I hope you're not trying to comfort my brother." Su Jingwei gradually got into character.

  "With all due respect, the reason why the Battle of Shanghai was lost so badly is mainly because of the high-level leadership," Chen Jifang said when he studied the Battle of Shanghai at the National Defense University. "Originally, opening a second front in East China was indeed a strategic move with foresight, shifting the enemy's momentum from north to south to east to west. Our country's geography dictates that it is easy to fight from north to south but difficult from east to west. If there had been unity of command and proper leadership, our army would have had great opportunities in the Shanghai area, and at the very least, Nanjing would not have fallen so quickly.

  Sadly, Chairman Chiang Kai-shek still fantasized about gaining sympathy from international society during this critical moment when the enemy was at the gate. He naively hoped that the international community could see his determination to resist Japan and mediate an early settlement. With such a low level of strategic vision from the leader, how can the army not fail?"

  "Brother Chen, be careful with your words. If what you just said gets out, those Blue Cloak Society people will be all over us like flies. It'll be a big hassle." After saying that, he walked to the window and took a look outside before quietly closing it again.

  "Brother, what's happened to your courage? Has it shrunk since you came down from the battlefield?" Su Nianhong was very dissatisfied with her brother's cautiousness.

  "Little sister, I'd rather die on the battlefield fighting the devils than be killed by a few words and implicate our parents and you."

  "Alright, let's not talk about this topic, let's discuss something else." Chen Jifan was very quick-witted.

  "No, brother Chen's high-level discussion has enlightened me, I only ask that brother Chen understand my difficulties. As for strategic matters, we low-ranking officers are not in a position to comment, can brother Chen offer some tactical guidance?"

  "General Pingwu is too modest, it's not about teaching, our comrades in the national army are fighting and bleeding on the battlefield, we're just making arbitrary comments here, which is disrespect to them." said Chen Jifan.

  "Otherwise, in order not to let our brothers' blood flow in vain, I really want to know where the difference lies between our army and the Japanese army in terms of tactics. Please teach me, Brother Chen."

  "Commander Lian, my brother is very curious, you're so capable, why don't you tell us?" Su Nianhong blurted out.

  "Is that all? Someone as excellent as Brother Chen is only a company commander in the 'Divine Eagle' unit? Is it because your team has too many capable people, or does your army not know how to use people?" Su Jingwei's face was full of question marks when he heard Chen Jifeng's "position".

  Chen Jifan smiled and said, "Younger brother doesn't know that we are a self-organized team and don't belong to the national army's roster. Now our troops only have one company, so I'm the company commander."

  "One regiment? I don't believe it, Brother Chen's single regiment had no logistical support and no continuous ammunition supply, yet in a short period of time they were able to annihilate hundreds of Japanese troops in the field and even capture the Japanese-guarded logistics stronghold. How is this possible?"

  "This is exactly the tactical issue I want to discuss with you. In terms of weapons, the elite troops in the National Army are not inferior to the Japanese army, and even have better performance. For example, the 38 rifle and submachine gun, the "crooked handle" and Czech-style guns, and the Japanese heavy machine gun is inferior to our Maxim heavy machine gun. Of course, the Japanese army has an advantage in artillery and aircraft, and I believe many soldiers in the National Army were killed in bombing."

  Su Jingwei nodded vigorously.

  Chen Jifang continued: "Actually, the devils didn't have any tactics that could be taken out of hand. The main reason was that the soldiers were stubborn and had a strong fighting spirit. Many Japanese soldiers, even without any support or command, would still launch self-initiated attacks. To defeat the Japanese army, we must have an absolute advantage in firepower and troop strength. During the Battle of Shanghai, both sides clashed head-on, but our military did not have the upper hand in terms of firepower, although we had more troops, they were not under a unified command, and there were many factions. In defense, we often neglected the safety of our flanks, and as soon as one unit was breached, the entire defensive line would face collapse."

  "What you said is too realistic, Brother Chen, I really suspect that you came from the battlefield of Songhu, what you just said is simply a summary of both sides on the battlefield. Brother Chen, no, Captain Chen, please continue." Su Jingwei tried his best to suppress the excitement in his heart.

  "The Japanese army's individual combat capability is very strong, and they often launch sneak attacks from behind the National Army. I believe you, Su brothers, must have experienced it."

  "Uh-huh, but it's like this. The devils often appear on both sides of our position."

  "In summary, the Japanese military's tactics were quite simple: first, they would use artillery and aircraft to attack and destroy the National Army's living forces and forward firepower points, then charge. The Japanese soldiers' marksmanship was generally good, posing the greatest threat to the National Army's machine gunners and commanders. Once the Japanese charged, due to the National Army's insufficient firepower density, it was very difficult to stop the Japanese advance."

  "That's absolutely right!" Su Jingwei exclaimed excitedly, slapping the table. "Brother Chen, you're not just a regimental commander, you can be a division commander in the National Army!"

  "Su, there are people in the National Army, but unfortunately, from top to bottom, their tactics are too rigid and inflexible, so they let the devils succeed time and again." Chen Jifan added.

  "What tactics did your 'Divine Eagle' anti-Japanese special operations team use to deal with the Japanese army? You were only a hundred or two hundred men, how could you defeat the devils?"

  "We were outnumbered, so we never clashed head-on with the devils. The first time, our 40 men took advantage of the terrain and concentrated all firepower, supplemented by snipers, and annihilated over a hundred devils. Of course, luck played a part. The second time, we had over 200 men, facing over a hundred devils, but instead of clashing head-on, we harassed them constantly, consuming their strength, and slowly wore them down before annihilating them in one fell swoop. The third time, we faced the devils' main force, but the gap in strength was too great, so we went around to attack their rear logistics."

  "Wait a minute, what you're saying sounds like guerrilla warfare, the Communist Party's trump card. This thing is not worth mentioning in the National Army, no one wants to use it, and no one can use it." Su Jingwei interjected.

  "Yes, the Red Army has won several times with guerrilla warfare against the National Army, but unfortunately, the National Army hasn't learned a thing. They are obsessed with positional warfare, which requires capital and lacks long-range striking power and air superiority. How can they not lose in positional warfare? This is still when facing the Japanese army, if it were the German, Soviet or American armies, they wouldn't even have the strength to fight back." Chen Jifan shook his head and said.

  "Oh? Brother Chen also understands the military of Europe and America. To be honest, I used to study military affairs in the United States. In fact, most of the high-ranking officials in our Taxation Police Corps have studied in the United States, such as Wen Yingxing, Wang Geng, Mo Xiong, etc., and even Sun Liren, who is recovering from injuries in Wuhan, are all returned students."

  "General Sun Li-jen, we've also heard of him. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute in the US, he's got a good way with training troops and fighting battles, quite the talent. If there's an opportunity, I'd really like to pay him a visit."

  "Some of them, General Sun often goes to visit the wounded soldiers of the Tax Police Brigade in Wuhan. Why don't we go there tomorrow and maybe we'll run into him."

  "We were just thinking of this, hearing that these heroes are not in a good situation, I want to go and comfort them, also hoping that you will fulfill your promise."

  "Brother Chen, what are you talking about? Brother Chen wants to get something, I represent the 5,000 brothers to thank your great virtue. Tomorrow morning, I and my younger sister will go to Jiangcheng Travel Agency to pick up a few people, and also let the brothers see the style of a few anti-Japanese heroes."

  "Alright, that's all for today. Su, you always remember your comrades, it shows that you are a man of great loyalty and righteousness. I'm glad to have met you today, the trip to Wuhan wasn't in vain."

  After the exchange of pleasantries, both parties ended their conversation and bid each other farewell before leaving.