The coming 1940 will be a period of rapid development for Sun Yumin and the Twelfth Army; At the same time, the situation of the National War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression this year has undergone a qualitative change; Even the anti-fascist war around the world has changed dramatically.

The first major event that occurred in 1940 was: On March 6, China and China drafted instructions on the issue of political power in the anti-Japanese base areas, proposing the implementation of the "three-three system." The most striking feature of the anti-Japanese base regime was that among the members of the Senate and the government, there were not only representatives of workers and peasants, but also representatives of other classes, i.e., one-third of the Communist Party members, one-third of the non-Communist leftist progressives, and one-third of the centrists who were neither left nor right. The essence of implementing the "three-three system" in the anti-Japanese base areas is to oppose the long-standing "leftist" closed-door doctrine within the party, to practice more extensive democratic politics, and to establish a more inclusive and representative regime to meet the needs of the anti-Japanese national united front. The implementation of the "three-three system" has achieved very good results. The most conspicuous of these is that the political power at all levels in the border areas has been broadly represented, and it has effectively mobilized the enthusiasm of all sectors of society to unite in the war of resistance. The implementation of the "three-three system" has led to an unprecedented anti-Japanese enthusiasm in the base areas, and after the enthusiasm of the military and civilians and the gentry in the base areas has been mobilized, the resistance to rent and interest reduction has also been correspondingly reduced. The implementation of the "three-three system" has also greatly strengthened the democratic and scientific nature of the decision-making of the political power in the border regions and improved the work efficiency of the political power organs at all levels in the border regions. The successful practice of the "three-three system" regime not only ensured the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but also made preliminary explorations and accumulated rich experience in the formation of a system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC.

The second major event in 1940 was: on March 30, Wang Jingwei announced the establishment of the "National Government of the Republic of China" in Nanjing. The formal establishment of the Wang puppet regime showed that the Wang Jingwei clique had completely become a tool of Japan's invasion of China. Wang's puppet "national government" was chaired by Lin Sen, chairman of the Chongqing Nationalist Government, and Wang Jingwei was appointed president and acting chairman of the Executive Yuan. Chen Gongbo, president of the Legislative Yuan, Wen Zongyao, president of the Judicial Yuan, Liang Hongzhi, president of the Supervisory Yuan, Wang Yitang, president of the Examination Yuan, Wang Kemin, chairman of the North China Political Affairs Committee, Ren Yuandao, commander-in-chief of the appeasement army of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, Qi Xieyuan, commander-in-chief of the North China Appeasement Army, and Zhou Fohai, minister of finance and secretary general of the Central Political Committee, etc. Although this puppet Nationalist government was reprimanded by Chongqing and Yan'an and strongly opposed by the military and civilians throughout the country, it was eventually established, and its actual jurisdiction included all of present-day Shanghai, most of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces, and a small part of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Shandong, Henan, and other provinces.

The third major event of 1940 was the German invasion of Denmark and Norway on April 9. This was after the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union on September 1, 1939, and the outbreak of World War II, fascist Germany accelerated its pace of aggression, and the European continent really began to fall into full-scale war. Although this incident is far away on the European continent, it does not seem to have much to do with the Chinese battlefield. But in fact, this incident deeply stimulated the Japanese cabinet, and the young hawks began to occupy absolute dominance. Originally, the Japanese government planned to fully withdraw troops from Chinese mainland in 1940, but under the influence of this incident, the Japanese government not only did not withdraw its troops, but threw another batch of divisions into the Chinese battlefield.

The fourth major event that occurred in 1940 was: on May 1, the Battle of Zaoyi broke out. Although the Japanese army did not achieve the strategic goal of destroying the living forces of the Fifth Theater in this campaign, it unexpectedly inflicted heavy losses on the 33rd Group Army, and Zhang Zizhong, a generation of anti-Japanese generals, died heroically. Kazuichiro Enbe, who succeeded Okamura Ninji as commander of the enemy's 11th Army, faithfully carried out the battle plan drawn up by Okamura Ninji as early as February: Before the rainy season arrived, the main force of the enemy's Fifth Theater would be defeated in the area on both sides of the Han River, and through the victory of the operation, Chiang's army would be further weakened, and he would contribute to the progress of politics and strategy toward China. The offensive was planned to begin in early May, first capturing the enemy on the left bank of the Han River south of the Baihe River, and then completely destroying the enemy's core forces on the right bank of the river near Yichang.

When the Japanese first came into contact with the main force of the 33rd Army from the south on 10 May, the Japanese immediately ordered the 13th and 39th Divisions and the Ikeda Detachment to move south to attack the 33rd Army and cover its northern flank with the 3rd Division. On 12 May, a full-scale fierce battle broke out, and the Japanese army attacked five divisions of our 33rd Group Army with two divisions. The Japanese also learned the specific location of the 33rd Army from Zhang Zizhong's telegram to Chiang Kai-shek about the movements of the five divisions he led. So Sonobe Kazuichiro decided: concentrate the forces of the 13th and 39th Divisions, move south along the east bank of the Han River, counterattack Zhang Zizhong's group army, and order the 3rd Division south of Xinye to withdraw to the vicinity of Zaoyang to cover the rear. The Japanese intelligence department also detected the outward contact situation and location of the radio station of the General Headquarters of the 33rd Army long ago based on the radio contact call sign and the direction of the radio waves. This time, when it was learned that Zhang Zizhong's headquarters was about 10 kilometers northeast of Yicheng, the Japanese army encircled this area with the cooperation of the air force. On the night of the 15th, the Japanese 39th Division forced from Fangjiaji and Nanying to Pumpkin Shop, and completed the tactical encirclement of the 33rd Army Headquarters at dawn on the 16th. With the support of artillery fire, it was besieged on all sides. The defending 74th Division fought valiantly and continued to carry out counter-attacks, and the fierce fighting continued into the afternoon, and the special battalion also took part in the battle. At this time, the Japanese attacking force had reached more than 5,000 people, concentrated artillery fire and troops, launched a general attack on the last position of the defenders, and more than 20 aircraft assisted in the battle. Zhang Zizhong was wounded in many places, but he still commanded calmly. The 74th Division and the special service battalion tried their best to be alone, and suffered all the casualties, Zhang Zizhong was seriously wounded in the chest, and a generation of famous anti-Japanese generals died heroically. Lao Jiang was shocked to hear that General Zhang Zizhong had been martyred, and immediately ordered the 5th Theater to recapture the general's remains at any cost. More than 100 outstanding soldiers and soldiers recovered the bones of General Zhang, and upon examination, General Zhang Zizhong had eight wounds on his body, including two wounds from artillery shells, one wound from a bayonet, and five wounds from guns. When the coffin passed through Yichang, the flag was lowered at half-mast throughout the city, and more than 100,000 people went to pay their respects. The whole city was enveloped in a tragic and solemn atmosphere. Enemy planes circled and roared overhead, but no one evaded, and no one fled. On the morning of May 28, 1940, when the coffin was transported to Chaotianmen Wharf in Chongqing, Lao Jiang and Feng Yuxiang and other government and military dignitaries wore black yarn on their arms, stood at the wharf to welcome the spirit, and boarded the ship to circle the coffin to mourn. Lao Jiang "caressed the coffin" on the boat, which moved everyone present.

Lao Jiang personally helped the coffin to carry it, and then climbed the stairs to escort the coffin through the whole city of Chongqing. The National Government issued a state funeral order, issued the "Rong Zi No. 1" certificate of honor, and enshrined the tablet of General Zhang Zizhong in the Martyrs' Shrine, tied for the first place. General Zhang Zizhong was only 49 years old when he was martyred, and his wife, Ms. Li Minhui, died of a seven-day hunger strike in grief, and the husband and wife were buried together at the foot of Meihua Mountain in Chongqing.

Among the more than 50 countries that belonged to the anti-fascist camp in World War II, General Zhang Zizhong was the highest-ranking general among the fallen soldiers, the general commander-in-chief of the 33rd Group Army.

The fifth major event of 1940 was the end of the Anglo-French retreat from Dunkirk on June 4. In May 1940, Hitler took advantage of the Munich Agreement of the "appeasement policy" implemented by Britain and France, and commanded the fascist German army to suddenly attack the Western Front, occupying Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium one after another, and at the same time bypassing the "Maginot Line" and sweeping through northern France, cutting the Anglo-French army into two sections, and the British army and part of the French army were forced to be trapped in a corner of Dunkirk, thus causing the famous historical tragedy - 340,000 British and French troops retreated from Dunkirk to the British mainland.

The sixth major event that occurred in 1940 was: on June 7, the anti-"sweeping" in the northwest of Shanxi Province began, which was the famous "Hundred Regiment Battle" in later generations. After 1940, Japan was in turmoil in Europe, and the invading Japanese army stepped up efforts to induce the Kuomintang to surrender on the one hand, and strengthened the "rectification" crusade against the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines, in an attempt to completely destroy the anti-Japanese base areas. In order to smash the Japanese army's plot, break its "cage policy," and overcome the danger of compromise and surrender to Japan by the Kuomintang diehards, the troops of the Eighth Route Army in North China launched a large-scale sabotage operation against the Japanese army by taking advantage of the green gauze tent and the rainy season, and the troops participating in the battle reached 105 regiments and about 200,000 people, which was known as the "Battle of 100 Regiments" in history. In the three and a half months from August 20 to December 5, 1940, the Eighth Route Army fought a total of 1,824 battles, killing and wounded, capturing and surrendering to the Japanese puppet army. These include: 20,645 Japanese soldiers killed or wounded, 5,155 puppet soldiers; captured 281 Japanese soldiers and 18,407 puppet soldiers; There were 47 Japanese soldiers who voluntarily surrendered to the Japanese army, and 1,845 people who rebelled in the puppet army. At the same time, 5,942 guns of various types and 53 guns of various types were seized; 474 kilometers of railways, 1,502 kilometers of roads, 213 bridges, 37 railway stations and 11 tunnels were destroyed; 5 coal mines and 11 warehouses were destroyed. In addition, a large number of other military materiel was seized and destroyed.

Although the victory of the Battle of the Hundred Regiments achieved brilliant feats and greatly encouraged the determination of the military and people of the whole country to resist the war, it also prematurely exposed the military strength of our army, which led the Japanese invading army to re-study the anti-Japanese forces behind enemy lines. At the same time, it also prompted Lao Chiang to be highly vigilant about the strength of the Eighth Route Army and the Xinye Fourth Army. However, the Japanese army adjusted its strategic deployment and pointed the main spearhead of the offensive at the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army under the leadership of the party. A large number of troops were quickly mobilized from the frontal battlefield to gather troops in North China, and a large-scale sweep was launched against the anti-Japanese base areas, and a brutal "law and order strengthening campaign" and a "three-light" policy of burning, killing, and looting all the troops in the occupied areas were adopted. The retaliation of the Japanese army caused extremely serious damage to all the anti-Japanese base areas behind the enemy line, and a large number of soldiers and civilians were killed under the iron hooves of the Japanese invaders. In 1942, in the anti-"sweeping" struggle in the Taihang Mountains, General Zuo Quan, deputy chief of general staff of the Eighth Route Army, died, and was the highest general of our army who died during the Anti-Japanese War. Due to the frenzied retaliation of the Japanese army, in the following years, the difficulties of the North China base area and the Eighth Route Army were infinitely aggravated and expanded, and the extent of this difficulty could not be imagined by later generations.

The seventh major event in 1940 was the Huangqiao Incident on October 4. After the incident, it was not satisfactorily resolved, and later evolved into the Battle of Caodian: on November 29, 1940, the New Fourth Army of the Eighth Route Army in northern Jiangsu launched a campaign to attack the national army Han Deqin. The rapid deterioration of the situation laid the fuse for the Southern Anhui Incident in early 1941.

Sun Yumin knew all the events of this series by heart, and he knew that since this year, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression had entered a white-hot realm, not only the national army and the Japanese army on the frontal battlefield had several large-scale battles; On the battlefield behind enemy lines, the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army also involved more Japanese troops.

During this year, he focused on managing the troops, and he wanted to achieve his goal of building the 12th Army into a steel army and an iron army.

Although Deng Dongping and Qian Jin, who went to Shanghai, found Mark, the large-scale outbreak of the war in Europe, the German army strengthened the control of weapons and equipment, resulting in him having almost no attractive equipment, let alone the artillery and tanks that Sun Yumin wanted. This greatly disappointed Deng Dongping and Qian Jin, and just as they were about to return home, Mark suddenly came to the door and introduced them to an American, an American named Johnson, who was an arms dealer like Mark.

At this time, although the United States had not yet entered the war, its huge war machine was actually in operation, and all arms manufacturing companies were working at full capacity, working overtime to develop and produce weapons.

The tanks and self-propelled guns that Sun Yumin desperately desired, Johnson just had a batch in his hands. However, Deng Dongping and Qian Jin did not understand these American weapons that had an absolute technological advantage in World War II, and what they wanted to buy was German weapons, after all, they had witnessed the power of MP38 and MP40 submachine guns.

But Mark had no goods in his hands at all, which made the two of them helpless, and through the military command in Shanghai, they contacted Sun Yumin, who was far away in Ruichang.

When Tang Chunhong handed over to Sun Yumin a telegram that he had received a list of weapons and equipment that Johnson could sell, he jumped up from his chair in shock, startling the exhibition hall that was drinking tea on the opposite side.

The list reads: M2A4 modified light tank, M3 General/lee medium tank, 105mm caliber M1 howitzer, 155mm caliber M1 howitzer, 75mm M1 mountain gun, 105mm M3 howitzer, M1 semi-automatic rifle, M1 fully automatic carbine, Browning M1918A2 light machine gun, Thomson submachine gun.

These were the main weapons used by the U.S. military in World War II, not only in the European theater to defeat the German army, but also in the Pacific theater, the Japanese army suffered a lot, and the army was defeated.

"What's on this list?" Sun Yumin suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and inquired about Tang Chunhong.

"This was sent back from Shanghai by the chief of staff and Director Qian, saying that they had found Mark, but he had no weapons and equipment in his hands, and introduced them to an American, who had a batch of such weapons on hand, and asked you to buy it or not?" Tang Chunhong replied.

"Buy, of course!" Sun Yumin blurted out and said excitedly, but soon he frowned again.

These weapons are good, but there are also many difficulties in obtaining them. First of all, it must cost a lot of money to buy these weapons, and according to Sun Yumin's estimate, the property that Deng Dongping and Qian Jin brought over was far from enough to pay; Secondly, now he does not have the talent to operate American tanks and artillery, and like 105mm and 155mm caliber howitzers, they must be vehicle-mounted, but now the 12th Army has a total of only twenty or thirty trucks, which are used to transport supplies, and it is impossible for artillery to use to pull artillery; Third, the transportation problem, even if you have all the money, how to transport it to Jiangxi? In the past, Mark was transported in with the help of German ships, and Japan and Germany were Allied forces, so naturally the road was smooth, but now they are buying American weapons, and if they are intercepted by the Japanese army halfway, it will really outweigh the losses.