General Sun Li-jen was busy fighting the People's
Liberation Army of the Chinese Communist Party, in Manchuria, and he was very
successful at it. However, while he was fighting the communists, he was also
testing the loyalty of his New 1st Army. Battle after battle,
General Sun gained a better insight into the fighting force that he'd helped to
create back in the dark days of 1943, when he'd been backed by the Japanese
against the wall. He knew that his men would go to hell and back for him, but
what of his officers? Who among them would support his bid to create a better
China, one without the cult of personality of the Generalissimo, with justice
and equality for all?
He started the process of vetting the officers in his
army by having his most trusted generals begin to interview company- and
field-grade officers, under the pretense of selection for a secret mission. The
plan was simple: those officers that showed that they could be reliable, would
be elevated to commands of influence. Those officers who were not reliable
would be relegated to positions of insignifigance. General Sun was certain that
this would ensure that his army was loyal to China alone, and not to any one
man.
It was now mid-October, by the Western calender, and he
had accomplished much, but there was more to do. By his calculations, General
Sun Li-jen knew that he would be able to move soon, and possibly, without any
bloodshed. Then, he would divide and conquer the communists, and begin the true
healing of a divided China.
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