Chapter 92: Report of the American Observation Group and Dai Jiliang's Arrival in Sichuan
Churchill, who was adept at the policy of balancing the European continent, dragged the Soviet Union into the war, which certainly greatly reduced the pressure on Britain at home and in the Middle East, but undoubtedly disrupted the US plan to use this world war to become the only winner.
The Roosevelt administration of the United States, which was bent on establishing world hegemony, had to intensify its oppression of Japan in order to induce or simply force the Japanese military to take the initiative in the Pacific War, so as to get a ticket to join the world war and obtain post-war dividends.
However, war is risky. Even those behind-the-scenes planners who believed that the United States would be able to rely on its own industrial strength to achieve final victory believed that the Japanese army might be unstoppable at the beginning of the war.
Therefore, in order for the United States to have enough time to transition from peace to war, someone had to be able to hold back the Japanese army.
Who could hold back Japan for the United States? The Soviet Union was obviously impossible. It was already difficult for Stalin, who won first and then lost, to maintain his current posture in Outer Manchuria.
As for Britain and its younger brothers Australia and New Zealand, they were also firmly attracted by the German troops in the Middle East and were unable to be distracted for the time being.
The French Indochina colonial authorities had no power to deal with the Japanese invasion. Without the support of their own Vichy regime, they were even forced to cooperate with Japan in order to maintain their rule on the surface.
After all the calculations, only China, which has been fighting with Japan for nearly five years, can share some of the pressure for the United States.
In order to examine the extent to which China could help the United States contain Japan, the US government sent a military observation group headed by Army Lieutenant Colonel Van Hendenberg to China in May 1941.
Regarding the arrival of the US government military observation group, the Guiyang government mistakenly judged that this was a sign that the United States would further increase its military and economic assistance to China.
To this end, the Guiyang government made a ridiculous arrangement.
Major Al Himmat, an attaché of the military observation group, recorded: "The National Government's troops are actually a group of beggars equipped with old and obsolete weapons. From the most elite Central Division to the ordinary local militia (note: similar to the National Guard), they are all dressed in rags and look malnourished. With such a mental outlook, it is hard to believe that they have resisted the Japanese attack for several years."
Another military observer, Captain Bode Locke, also recorded: As far as I know, the National Government's military strength is very weak.
Although this government has hundreds of divisions of troops, the maximum strength of each division is no more than 6,000 people, and the minimum is even only 3,000 to 4,000. Compared with the weak troop strength, the weapons and equipment of each division are even more insufficient.
There were basically no artillery at the division level, and the number of mortars was also very small. There were usually only about 70 to 100 machine guns, and rifles could only meet the needs of half of the people. Ammunition was even more scarce, and each soldier usually had only 30 to 50 rounds of bullets and one or two grenades .
What worries me even more is that the Nationalist government's troops do not seem to have received the necessary training. No wonder there are rumors that a Japanese regiment with a small number of artillery can easily defeat a Nationalist government army composed of several divisions.
Dr. Anderson, a Treasury official who investigated the national government's economic situation, also reported to Washington: "Through my conversations with the U.S. embassies and consulates in China, American businessmen in China, American missionaries in China, Chinese student groups in the United States, and the economic community in southern China."
I have to come to the following conclusion: “Although Britain and the United States have provided certain guaranteed loans to the National Government, in fact the National Government’s finances have already gone bankrupt, and it can only maintain government expenditures and the needs of the army by excessively issuing paper money and levying large amounts of in-kind taxes from poor farmers.
I personally believe that in order to maintain the current Chinese government, the US government must immediately inject at least $500 million to $1 billion in funding.”
Rodrian, the commercial counselor of the U.S. Embassy in China, also wrote a report: "At present, the Nationalist government's rule is relatively intact in only two provinces, Yunnan and Guizhou. The rest, such as Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Guangxi, etc., are either partially occupied by the Japanese army or controlled by local forces.
Among them, there are still a few areas under the control of the Communist Party. Therefore, the market is artificially divided and the circulation of goods is paralyzed, which leads to soaring prices. Only opium and other commodities are the most stable valuables.
Some senior officials in the Nationalist government were unwilling to do their job duties and were instead keen on profiting from smuggling. Under their influence, speculators made huge profits and various businesses went bankrupt, which was in sharp contrast to the extremely corrupt senior officers in the army.
In the face of the unbearable suffering on the front line, the sex industry in Guiyang, Kunming, Changsha and other places is extremely rampant. "
After concluding that the Kuomintang army could not provide much substantial help to the United States, the American military observation group continued to move north under the resentful eyes of the Kuomintang government, and arrived in Lanzhou in August of that year.
Dai Jiliang had obviously anticipated the arrival of the Americans, so he readily agreed to the American consul's request for the military observation group to visit various units of the Northwest Army. He only restricted the American observation group to the Mongolian border area, and the rest of the troops, including the Northeast Army and the Shanxi Army, were open to the Americans.
Therefore, Major Al Himmat was surprised to find that: "This Chinese local force called the Northwest Army (Note: Some people also call it the warlord Dai's army) is a highly motivated and well-organized armed force. From their clothing to their equipment, they all show the demeanor of a true soldier, so much so that I mistakenly thought that this was the Chinese government army."
Captain Bode Locke wrote in his report: "Thanks to the cooperation of the Northwest leaders, we were able to fully understand the strength of this force.
Although this force is mainly composed of only 40 infantry divisions (Note: It is said that there are nearly 20 divisions on the Mongolian border bordering the Soviet Union, but the other side restricts us from going to explore. Therefore, we can only simply exclude it) and several cavalry units, each infantry division has a strength of 18,000 people.
This alone has completely overwhelmed the entire force of the Southern Nationalist Government. What surprised me even more was that this unit was equipped with a large number of artillery pieces.
Although it cannot be compared with the European army, it has basically reached the level of the Brazilian and Argentine armies, and at the army level it even has independent artillery brigades and heavy artillery regiments. In terms of firepower, it is not inferior to the Japanese army we know.
No wonder it was able to curb the Japanese invasion of Henan, a key area, in many battles. We also visited its air force, whose main fighter jets were said to have received technical support from Germany and Italy.
Although still primitive compared to the latest American technology, this already had an overwhelming advantage in the East, combined with the radar system developed with the Italians.
My God, the radar system owned by warlord Dai was even earlier than that owned by the US military. This is incredible. It also shows that this warlord who graduated from a German military academy and can speak five foreign languages has a very forward-looking vision. Perhaps a judgment can be made based on this.
To some extent, this typical oriental ruler who was rumored to have countless harems was actually easier to deal with than the old antiques in the Nationalist government who were still living in the Middle Ages.
At least it can resist the attack of the Japanese flying team. What surprised me most was that I actually found a complete armored division. Although it was deliberately named a vague light armed force by the warlord Dai, it was equipped with tanks.
I would also like to add that these tanks were actually manufactured independently in Northwest China, just like the aircraft that imitated German-made ones.
The number is not small. Finally, in fact, the situation of other local troops attached to this unit is also good. Whether in terms of equipment, military pay or combat effectiveness, they are far stronger than most of the troops of the Southern National Government, and are only slightly inferior to their elite troops. "
Dr. Anderson also recorded: "The activity of the Northwest market is unimaginable in southern China. Of course, this is ultimately because most of the land in the Northwest is connected.
But it is undeniable that since the 1930s, a large influx of population has played an important role in the formation of the Northwest Economic Zone.
Accompanied by staff from the U.S. Consulate in Xi'an, I visited important enterprises such as steel mills, oil refineries, coal mines, and railway companies. I also visited small cotton mills, hardware processing companies and other private factories alone. Everyone expressed .
Although inflation is just as serious, expectations for the future are just as optimistic, probably because material supplies are guaranteed.
Therefore, the soldiers have hope to defend the country. With hope in the military, the mental state of the general public is better, which is far from the sluggish and dying mentality of the South. "
The American observation group's report was extremely flattering about the situation in the Northwest, but Dai Jiliang did not care at all.
Of course he knew that the great powers judged people by their strength, but he still thought that instead of passively waiting for the Americans' favor, it would be better to manage his own piece of land. This was also in line with his consistent saying that the iron must be hard before it can be forged.
Therefore, when the American expedition arrived in the northwest, he set off for Chengdu.
Dai Jiliang's trip to Chengdu was certainly not to experience the Baoji-Chengdu Railway, nor for his goddaughters in Chengdu, but to speed up the process of implementing the "Northwest Land Law Amendment" in the three provinces of Yizhou, Yuzhou and Xikang.
Dai Jiliang certainly understood where the biggest obstacle to the implementation of the "Land Law Amendment" came from. Therefore, on the one hand, he personally arranged for the crackdown on the Pao-ge society, and on the other hand, he invited the most important leaders in central Sichuan one by one to personally persuade them.
"I personally think it is inappropriate to say that the Land Law harms the interests of Sichuan Army soldiers."
Dai Jiliang's gaze moved across the faces of Deng Xihou, Chairman of Yuzhou Province, Liu Wenhui, Commander-in-Chief of the Hunan-Hubei-Bashu War Zone, Yang Sen, Commander-in-Chief of the 11th Army Group, and Pan Wenhua, Commander-in-Chief of the 29th Army Group.
"The land issue is a major problem that restricts China's development. I won't tell you this truth, but you can judge for yourselves whether it is more profitable and faster to make money from business or from renting out farmland."
Looking at the few people who kept their heads down and remained silent, Dai Jiliang smiled.
"Land leasing not only brings little money, but also causes constant disputes. If you handle it carelessly, you will either violate the law or have a very bad reputation among the people. I think you have all encountered these." Pan Wenhua mustered up the courage to say to Dai Jiliang: "Your Excellency, running industry and commerce can certainly make a lot of money quickly, but most soldiers have neither sufficient capital nor experience in the industry, so it is far less stable than running land."
"Not having the capital and not knowing how to do it is indeed a problem, but as I just said, if you don't want to bully men and women when operating the land, I'm afraid it won't be so stable."
Dai Jiliang gestured for Pan Wenhua to sit down.
"Moreover, promoting the Land Law Amendment throughout the country is the national policy of the Northwest, and it must not be abandoned halfway."
The tough words caused a commotion among the people present, but Dai Jiliang then changed the subject.
"Therefore, the Finance Committee proposed a compromise proposal to replace cash purchases with the issuance of land bonds."
Dai Jiliang explained.
"The annual interest paid by the bonds is almost the same as the income from directly operating the land, and there is no risk. If you feel that the benefits are not enough, you can also use it to buy stocks of state-owned institutions such as the Sichuan Railway Company. Do you think this is a good idea?"
Everyone knew that Dai Jiliang's fundamental purpose of pushing the "Northwest Land Law Amendment" was to allow the Northwest to better control Sichuan. However, the robbers had already entered the door, so how could a few weak women stop them from doing whatever they wanted? Therefore, after Dai Jiliang repeatedly assured that he would not harm their own interests, everyone who did not want to refuse a toast could only accept it helplessly.
