Part Three

CHAPTER III

THE BEGINNINGS OF RESISTANCE

DURING this interval Yu-min spent long periods with Yang's unit, which continued to expand. It was almost as though he considered Wang Shangchih's cause to be a lost one, but in spite of hardships Wang began once again to make headway. Slowly at first he gathered recruits. Dissatisfied puppet soldiers and police joined his ranks, and as his force grew in numbers, so his influence extended amongst neighbouring units. Agreements of military co-operation were reaffirmed, and by the interchange of armed detachments between himself and other leaders, his position and influence were greatly strengthened. It was not long before his activities, particularly south of the railway, again made him the target not only of the Japanese and their puppet forces, but also of the Communists, who considered that he was encroaching on their sphere of influence. Harried by repeated Japanese attacks of which the Communists in-variably took advantage to press him in the flank, he lost many of his strategic positions. Large numbers of his troops were killed, and as his strength lessened, others began to desert. Lack of adequate arms and ammunition was the principal cause of his inability to meet his aggressors successfully.

Fostered by Communists, intrigue amongst his troops at one of his most important bases resulted in a split and armed conflict, which necessitated his withdrawal from south of the railway. The deciding factor in putting down this insurrection was probably the reinforcements sent to assist him by Yang and Yu-min. Wang, with his remaining force of about seven thousand troops, now removed his Headquarters north of the railway, but it was only a matter of months before the Japanese, with vastly superior armaments, completely routed his unit. Again reduced to but a thousand or so followers and with practically no ammunition, Wang was faced with his third problem of reorganisation within two years.

It was about this time that Yu-min proposed that Wang and Yang should combine forces and move into their native district of Changyi. There, he argued, they were well known and would receive the active support of the country people, which was the basic essential in the successful operation of any guerrilla force. He realised also that if they were to survive, something in the nature of a more permanent and closely-knit organisation must be achieved. It was agreed that Yu-min should return to Changyi and investigate the possibility of removing their Headquarters to that area. Within two months the obvious support that Yu-min had obtained persuaded both Wang and Yang to move their combined forces, and a thorough reorganisation was under-taken.

A dispatch was received from Chungking officially designating the unit as the Fourth Mobile Column of the Shantung–Kiangsu War Zone and Wang Shang-chih was confirmed in his position as Commander. Yang was appointed Deputy Commander and Yu-min was made responsible for the administration of financial affairs. From now on he took an increasingly important part in the organisation. Well known through the district, he acted as liaison between the farmers, the gentry and the military, and being on good terms with the leaders of the various units comprising this resistance army, he was able to maintain a state of co-operation that gradually knit them into one.

Once again recruiting and reorganisation had brought their total forces up to five thousand, but as yet no attempts were made to interfere with the activities of the Japanese or the puppet forces stationed at nearby railway garrisons. All efforts were concentrated upon training and procuring supplies of ammunition, which were purchased through the Puppet troops and from any other available quarter.

Basing his arguments on past experiences, Yu-min advocated the establishment of their own ammunition factories, and in this he was strongly supported by Li Tze-lien an honours graduate of Tsinghua University and an ardent member of the more enlightened group of which Yu-min was the leader. Although each regiment had already its own repair shop for arms, Wang Shang-chih vetoed the establishment of actual factories on the grounds of immobility. He pressed for more funds and the purchase of greater quantities of arms and ammunition from unoccupied China, the puppet troops and even from the Japanese.

Under Japanese occupation, the Chinese National currency in North China was declared illegal tender and was replaced by the Japanese-issued Federal Reserve Bank notes. But although Chinese National currency was forced out of circulation in the larger cities and the railway towns, it was still current in the interior. As Chief of the Financial Department, one of Yu-min's first steps was to print and circulate "resistance money" which he exchanged for Chinese National currency, silver dollars and gold bars at specified rates of exchange. At the same time he issued a proclamation prohibiting the use of any currency but the newly issued "resistance money". As the funds in the exchequer grew, so an increasing number of purchasing agents were dispatched to obtain ammunition, but, still dissatisfied with the results, Yu-min continued to press for the opening of their own munitions and arms factories and finally won his point.

Under cover of darkness, equipment and raw materials were smuggled into the area. Skilled workmen were recruited and within a few weeks several small factories were operating. Following this successful move, steps were taken to enlarge the local cotton-weaving industry. Each household was required to produce a specified amount of the coarse cloth which was accepted against a rebate in taxation. Dye works and tailoring establishments made this cloth into uniforms for the troops and a large number of shoe factories were opened. Within a year a sound basis of self-economy had been laid. Nor had Yu-min neglected education. With the assistance of his former colleagues, primary schools were opened in all the larger villages.

Yu-min's increasing scope of activities forced him to rely more and more upon Li Tze-lien, but he was never willing to release completely his hold on any particular organisation with which he had been connected, not so much from a reluctance to relinquish his personal powers, as from his lack of faith in the ability of anyone but himself to do the work to his satisfaction.

Till now he had taken no active part in the actual control of military affairs, which he had been willing to concede to Wang Shang-chih and Yang. Realising that his lack of practical military experience was one of his weak points, he now pressed Wang to give him command of a regiment. As the strength of the unit increased Wang realised that sooner or later it would not only be necessary but also advisable to split the present three regiments into smaller units, and during this rearrangement Yu-min persuaded Wang to make him Commander of the new 10th regiment. Intent upon establishing himself in the military field, Yu-min now handed over a great deal of the organisational work to Li Tze-lien and other of his associates.

Closely connected as Yu-min was with the internal organisation, he made ample use of his position and connections to see that his own particular regiment came first in both arms and equipment, with the natural result that new recruits were more anxious to join the 10th than any other regiment, and it was not long before this unit was superior in every way. This led to a certain amount of jealousy amongst the other Commanders and their troops. Inexperienced in military affairs, Yu-min engaged the services of older and more experienced officers to train and lead his companies. At heart a puritan, he enforced strict discipline, and although his troops found this irksome after the free and easy life they had been used to, the advantages that Yu-min's position secured in the way of additional equipment and supplies more than made up for the dull routine enforced.

The Japanese had made two rather half-hearted attempts to mop up the Changyi district, but instead of engaging then Wang Shang-chih had successfully evaded any direct clash by moving completely away from the district until the Japanese had returned to their garrison. Intelligence had given them sufficient warning to disperse the industrial organisations; materials and machines were buried and the staffs scattered.

The Communists were an ever-present worry. They had their Headquarters for north-eastern Shantung to the east in the Laiyang district, and the area occupied by the Fourth Mobile Column lay directly across their communication lines with their Headquarters in north-western Shantung, and for this reason they were continually exerting pressure on the Fourth from the east, north and north-west.

Close relations had been established between the Fourth and the guerrilla leader directly to the east, and these were further cemented when, the latter being attacked by the Communists, Yu-min's regiment was sent by Wang Shang-chih to reinforce his neighbour, and their combined efforts inflicted a smashing defeat on the Communists. Encouraged by this success, Yu-min persuaded Wang Shang-chih to agree to a general all-out drive against the Communists to ensure that they were pushed back to a desirable distance. Over a period of several months Yu-min occupied large areas of Communist territory, but the guerrilla leader to the east whom Yu-min had so recently assisted, soon became jealous of the success of the Fourth, and by misrepresenting the position to the Central Government succeeded in having orders issued from Chungking instructing Wang Shang-chih to hand over this newly acquired territory to him and with-draw. Reluctantly Wang did so and within a few weeks it was again lost to the Communists. To the north-west the Fourth retained their gains of Communist territory. As a result of this drive, their position as regards the Communists became stabilised for the time being on a basis of live-and-let-live.

Attention was now focused on the Japanese. Cautiously at first, raiding expeditions were sent into the Japanese-controlled areas to the smaller railway stations and garrisons. Accurate information was always first obtained as to the opposition that might be expected, and the attacking force was invariably large enough to ensure a successful conclusion to the expedition. By means of these hit-and-run attacks, both the material and the morale of the Fourth were greatly improved.

Yu-min's drive and determination were largely responsible for the expansion of the area. By sheer purpose and will-power, he had gradually built up for himself a reputation in the military field. He was by no means brilliant as a strategist, but by his control over his men, strict discipline and personal participation in any action undertaken, he made for himself and his regiment a name for bravery and invincibility unequalled by any other of the regiments. It was therefore not surprising that the other Regimental Commanders became jealous and somewhat apprehensive of Yu-min's increasing influence. Wang Shang-chih, who had given Yu-min a more or less free hand, was now forced to reconsider the matter and decided that Yu-min's regiment, in order to reduce it to the comparative strength of the others, should be divided into three separate regiments under newly appointed Commanders. Yang Hsiu-feng, already advanced in years and not in good health, had been unable to maintain an active position as Deputy Commander and so Wang Shang-chih appointed Yu-min as Co-Vice-Commander with Yang.

Yu-min took pains to see that the pick of the troops from his original 10th regiment were all transferred to one of the three new regiments over which he continued to maintain his command through his Regimental Commander. In addition to his new post as Vice-Commander, he concurrently held the position of Chief of the Political Department.

By the end of 1940, the name of the Fourth had become well known and respected throughout Shantung. An efficient military machine had been achieved, and to maintain this a Civil Government had now come into being, controlling the collection of taxes, the supervision of agriculture and the pro, motion of necessary war industries, anti-Japanese propaganda and the educational policy.

In the spring of 1941 Commander Wang Shang-chih, who had long been suffering from severe ulcers of the stomach became very seriously ill and, in great pain, was confined to his room for many weeks. Affairs were now administered by Yu-min, Yang and Li Tze-lien.

Wang's health continued to deteriorate; a Chinese specialist, called from the capital, diagnosed acute ulceration, necessitating an immediate major operation, the only competent surgeon being a Japanese specialist attached to the Tsinan Municipal Hospital. In the guise of a wealthy old farmer, Wang was taken to Tsinan and successfully operated upon by the Japanese specialist ― the records show that a considerable portion of his intestines was removed and replaced by those belonging to a pig!

For a time it seemed doubtful if he would recover. This news brought some consternation to the camp and, from the many meetings and discussions which were held, it became evident that in the event of its being necessary to nominate a successor, the most popular choice would be Li Tze-lien. This came as a great disappointment to Yu-min, who considered himself to be the obvious person to succeed Wang Shang-chih. With this unexpected turn of events, Yu-min, who had advocated that Wang Shang-chih remain in Tsinan as long as possible to recuperate, now reversed his attitude and insisted that he be brought back as soon as possible, knowing very well that when Wang Shang-chih returned, he would entrust him with the management of affairs and, as long as he lived, Yu-min would have the necessary opportunity of consolidating his personal power and position.

Information had leaked out that Wang Shang-chih was in Tsinan. He was removed at once from the hospital to a friend's house. As soon as he was able to walk, he donned the uniform of a high-ranking puppet official and boarded the train for Weihsien. At home once more, Wang Shang-chih retired for a period of recuperation, leaving the administration in the hands of Yu-min.

One of Yu-min's first moves was to persuade Wang Shang-chih of the necessity of having a personal representative and contact man in the war-time capital of Chungking, and recommended Li Tze-lien. To this Wang agreed and Yu-min, much relieved, felt it was now merely a matter of waiting until Wang's death before he automatically took over his position.

Contrary to expectations, however, Wang Shang-chih, after a period of convalescence, showed remarkable recuperative powers and, although he no longer took any active part in engagements, again took up the reins. As an old military hand he had the respect and allegiance of all the Regimental Commanders, with whom he was on the best of terms. He had always been a light smoker of opium and since his illness he took more regularly to his pipe as a sedative against his still painful ailment. He encouraged his subordinate officers in this habit, thereby feeling that he could maintain a stronger hold over them; nor was he averse to their whoring and gambling.

Encouraged by his successful raids and the ineffectual attacks from the Japanese, Wang gradually disregarded the first principle of a guerrilla force and, somewhat under the influence of the opium-smoking, whoring and gambling hangers-on, drifted into a false sense of security.

Selecting the village of Suncheng, he started to create out of this well-situated hamlet a capital befitting the area now under his control. Lying at the foot of the San Hu hill, which had always been the pivot of their mobile Headquarters, the village was admirably situated for defence. Old disused quarries in the neighbourhood were once again worked and slabs of granite of enormous proportions were soon being hauled into place to form the bastions and walls of the fortress, which was to be the residential Headquarters. In-side the walls large sections of the villagers' cottages were pulled down to make room for the new mud-brick government offices, residential quarters and meeting-halls. A special rest-house was built for visiting officials. New shops were opened, where all the produce of Japanese manufacture from the occupied areas could be bought. Houses of amusement with girls from the cities opened at a discreet distance from the official quarter.

By the end of 1942 the Civil Government and the Military Headquarters moved into Suncheng, retaining Regimental Headquarters only at outside garrisons. Yu-min, from the very beginning of this venture, had been against the move, and would never allow his own regiment to be stationed within the capital, although he himself had to spend a great deal of his time there. He strongly opposed the degenerate tendency that was now being shown by this resistance army and took every opportunity to try and break up and decentralise both the civil and military control.

In the spring of 1943 the Japanese, who for almost half a year had suffered attacks here and there from the Fourth without retaliation, sent a force of five hundred Japanese, accompanied by over a thousand puppet troops, on a three-day mopping-up attack, but finding unexpected opposition, they retired without reaching Suncheng, and with the intelligence that this force had returned to their garrison, the state of alarm was lifted and life in the Suncheng capital again returned to normal.

Some weeks later, in the beginning of May, intelligence reported a large Japanese force moving north from the railway zone. Reliable reports from Wang's spies attached to the Japanese Headquarters indicated a concerted drive against the Communists and, confident that the Japanese would by-pass his area, Wang did not consider it necessary to alert his troops.

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