You know, Zhou Wen's decision to get involved in the Yangtze River shipping business was not a temporary decision.
As early as when he led the mercenary group to gain a foothold in Shanxi, Zhou Wen had the intention to develop in Shanghai after the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War.
He knew that the interval between the end of the Great Wall War of Resistance and the outbreak of the full-scale War of Resistance was as long as four years. He had to consider what the mercenary group had to do during this period.
From a development perspective, it is no longer possible for the mercenary group to expand in size due to financial resources and considerations of balancing the relationship between all parties.
Not to mention anything else, if you bring out an army of tens of thousands of people at once, and they are all as powerful as a regiment of elite troops, not to mention the principal, even Marshal Yan, who seems to be as close to Zhou Wen as a family, will probably not sit down. Can't stand it anymore.
Just kidding, there is no room for others to sleep soundly on the side of the bed, let alone a tiger sleeping there.
Didn't you see that General Shang Zheng's 32nd Army was squeezed out by the King of Shanxi through various means because its strength expanded too fast, making Marshal Yan feel a potential threat?
Although Zhou Wen's troops are extremely powerful now, they only have those people. It's impossible to fight all the way to Taiyuan and oust Marshal Yan with just a few thousand people, right?
A small number of people means you don’t have big political ambitions. However, the combat effectiveness of the troops is extremely strong, which makes the big guys who want to annex this force have some scruples, fearing that Zhou Wen will be destroyed together.
Especially through the performance of the Songhu Anti-Japanese War and the Great Wall Anti-Japanese War, the powerful and unexpected attack methods displayed by the mercenary group, and even the ability to take the enemy's general's head from the crowd of thousands of troops, proved that the mercenary group indeed has the ability to follow The strength of one party's big bosses to destroy each other.
As a result, there was a situation where Zhou Wen actually brought Lishi County completely into his sphere of influence while Marshal Yan turned a blind eye.
Anyway, there are hundreds of counties in Shanxi. If I give you one, it will show that the commander-in-chief is tolerant and knowledgeable, right?
This is why the principal could tolerate Zhou Wen's efforts to win over Mr. Kong Da even after he bowed his head.
This is the situation that Zhou Wen has been pursuing and creating, a balanced situation in which both sides have scruples and are unwilling to touch the other side's red line.
Although he is a time traveler, Zhou Wen has never been arrogant enough to shoulder the burden of the war of resistance. He is very clear about his abilities and demands, which is nothing more than changing the results of some local battles and killing more little devils.
To achieve the greatest effect, we need to rely on the country's overall anti-Japanese strength.
At the same time, Zhou Wen is also willing to do his best to help these forces.
Therefore, he has been using his own achievements and battle examples to influence and convince the big guys, including the principal and Marshal Yan, and try to avoid the mistakes they made in the war. Even if only a small part is changed, it will be a help that cannot be underestimated for the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War.
You know, in the two battles of Taiyuan and Songhu at the beginning of the war, the wrong command of these two bosses almost exhausted the most elite troops of the Jin Army and the Central Army at that time.
If some of these elites can be retained, the subsequent Taiyuan and Nanjing defense battles will not be so hasty, frustrating, or even a bit useless.
In the original history, Taiyuan, a strong city that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, only defended it for five days before it was defeated. Jinling City, the capital of the Republic of China, was only defended for less than 2 weeks. This did not include the time when the Japanese army captured the outskirts of Jinling City. In fact, the Japanese army only attacked the city for three days.
In 3 days, a thousand-year-old ancient capital was surrendered. Moreover, due to major mistakes in command, the garrison units retreated out of order, and most of them stayed in the city. They were massacred by the Japanese army and suffered heavy losses.
You must know that the troops participating in the city defense battle at that time were almost all veterans who had retreated from the Battle of Songhu. Most of them did not die in the brutal fighting with the Japanese army, but were killed in the chaotic retreat. The Japanese army surrounded the Yangtze River.
At that time, their organization was already in disarray. The soldiers could not find their officers, and the officers could not see their soldiers. In addition, they were frustrated and confused after running out of ammunition and food and being abandoned by their superiors. They had no fighting spirit and had no choice but to surrender.
It is a pity that the Japanese army, which was already red-eyed, still did not let them go and massacred all the more than 50,000 national army prisoners who had laid down their weapons on the banks of the Yangtze River.
Not to mention the brutal massacre that the Japanese beasts carried out against civilians in Jinling City.
The Jinling Massacre has become an eternal pain in the hearts of the Chinese nation.
Therefore, if Zhou Wen wants to change these tragedies in the world, he must have the trust and support of these big guys.
Now, Marshal Yan already trusts Zhou Wen, and he has begun to reorganize the army and build strategic defense lines based on Zhou Wen's suggestions.
As for the principal, it was impossible to gain complete trust, but Zhou Wen still had to maintain a good relationship with him.
In Shanxi, far away from the emperor, Zhou Wen and the principal had not seen each other for several years. How could they have a good relationship?
Therefore, Zhou Wen must come to Shanghai, develop under the principal's nose, and even bring him to make money together. This is the basis for developing a good relationship.
Common interests will greatly bring the relationship between the two parties closer, and it can let the principal know what Zhou Wen is doing at any time, which is also one of the measures to make him feel completely at ease with Zhou Wen.
Another reason is the question just mentioned about what the mercenary group has been able to do in recent years.
No matter how elite and powerful your army is, if it is just training and exercises for several years, even the strongest army will become slack. Moreover, Zhou Wen's long separation from the regiment in Shanghai will inevitably reduce his control and prestige over the troops.
Therefore, Zhou Wen had to take advantage of the Yangtze River escort mission to fully mobilize both the first and second regiments.
Originally, if Zhou Wen wanted to take direct control of the Second Regiment at that time, he would probably be jealous and opposed by the principal.
Think about it, they are all elites who have fought against the Japanese army for several months. Who wouldn’t want them? Even the principal will definitely be moved.
However, after Zhou Wen's manipulation in the name of the Party Headquarters, the principal could not openly compete with the Party Headquarters for people, and shamelessly insisted on taking them for his own use.
The problem is, although this armed force is small in number, it is in Jinling City, in the heart of the principal, and it is not under the direct control of the principal. If you want to take it directly into your hands, then you have to ask what you want. Why?
Therefore, Zhou Wen could only hand over the Second Regiment directly to the party headquarters for management, which made sense in all aspects.
It's a pity that the big bosses in the party are all good at scheming and fighting for power, but they can't help Adou when it comes to running the army. In just half a year (after Zhou Wen withdrew from the instructor team), a warrior lion became a victim of the struggle for power and was almost destroyed.
