**Chapter 834: World People's Liberation Army (2)**

On July 4th, Cheng Ruofan, along with Xu Chengfeng, Hu Xiushan, Zheng Silang, and Zhong Yifu, received orders for promotion to Grand General. Simultaneously, 127 officers were promoted to general officer ranks, while 98 others received promotions within those ranks.

Cheng Ruofan was delighted; without winning battles, where would such promotions come from? However, his joy lasted less than a minute before he returned to the work of organizing the World People's Liberation Army (WPLA) with a relaxed mind.

Originally, Cheng had thought the proportion of Chinese soldiers in the WPLA would reach over 40%, quite a contrast to He Rui's estimate of 30%. Yet events continued to develop in the direction He Rui had foreseen: the number of foreign applicants for the WPLA had reached a staggering 4.96 million.

In the earlier plans, the first phase of WPLA operations was directed toward Africa. Although Africa was large, the enemy's strength there was weak. A force of 2 million with ample logistical support would be enough to eliminate the enemy in Africa, requiring about 1.4 million foreign volunteers.

Since the formal recruitment of volunteers began, over 1 million youths from Korea alone had submitted applications. These 1 million Korean youths all met the recruitment criteria. The second largest source of volunteers was not India, but South America. By July 2, 1942, 130,000 South American youths had arrived in Asia to request enlistment in the WPLA.

At the meeting, Cheng Ruofan, who hadn't yet had time to change his rank insignia, asked Brigadier General Wu Guangzu, who was in charge of recruitment, "Is the analysis report for India out yet?"

Brigadier General Wu shook his head with some regret. "Secretary Li [Runshi] has just returned to the capital, and the new comrades from South Asia haven't arrived yet. There is no report. I should have sent a telegram to Secretary Li earlier."

"Send it now, in my name," Cheng Ruofan said decisively. As far as Cheng knew, Li Runshi's return was to oversee investigations into domestic economic work. This position seemed to lack actual power, but Li was also serving as Vice President of the Party School. Politically speaking, Li Runshi now held considerable personnel authority and a voice in policy. That was why Cheng could telegram him to ask for his views on the low recruitment numbers from the South Asian region.

However, Cheng Ruofan couldn't wait for Li Runshi's report before discussing the matter. He asked Brigadier General Wu, "What do we think is the reason for this situation?"

"The application requirements specify completion of primary education. Korea has strengthened compulsory education over the past decade or so; basically all eligible youths have at least a primary education. Out of 1 million applications, 320,000 have completed junior high school. Survey results show these youths believe that joining the WPLA is equivalent to joining the Chinese military. Upon returning home, they could receive higher treatment—at the very least, it could completely change their social background," Brigadier General Wu explained.

Cheng Ruofan felt he fully understood this. Not just for foreigners, but even within China, anyone who could become a soldier was considered more outstanding and had obtained status within the system.

Within the military-political system He Rui had been building since 1915, a small number of Koreans who already held Chinese citizenship had joined. Back then they were just common soldiers or low-level clerks. By the mid-1930s, many of them went to Korea as representatives of Chinese enterprises; some in Korea even used a term from the Daimyo era, calling them "Angels."

According to investigations, a rumor was circulating in Korea: join the WPLA, and as long as you fight bravely and are recognized by China, you could obtain Chinese citizenship and become a Chinese-Korean. To the Koreans, this possibility was equivalent to "ascending to heaven in one step."

Cheng Ruofan didn't know who had spread this news; he personally guessed it might have been those Koreans who already held Chinese citizenship. After all, the He Rui government had indeed discussed such matters internally. At a meeting, someone had proposed that after the victory of the future world revolution, WPLA members should be granted the title of "Honorary Citizen of China."

The purpose of this was to reflect Chinese friendliness toward those who had bled and fought in the world revolution, given that China could not implement a national policy of mass immigration.

Cheng Ruofan had attended that meeting and the proposal had left a deep impression. Personally, he didn't oppose it. Most countries adopted preferential policies for foreigners who served in their militaries. Offering "Honorary Citizen" status was not particularly extraordinary treatment.

If it hadn't been for the political consideration that the WPLA was a collective of world revolutionaries, Cheng would have expressed support then.

However, when this consideration turned into a channel for Koreans to obtain Chinese citizenship, Cheng felt some displeasure. Since this hadn't been discussed as a formal agenda item, Cheng felt he shouldn't get involved for now.

Brigadier General Wu was unaware of the high-level discussions and continued: "Commander Cheng, there's a somewhat problematic issue now: many revolutionaries from South America have expressed an expectation. They request that once the imperialist nations are crushed, the WPLA go to liberate their countries and free them from the oppression of great landlords and capitalists.

From this perspective, the current Indian revolutionaries are working hard to liberate their own countries from such oppression, which is why they have no interest in joining the WPLA.

I remember the Chairman saying at the Party School about the people's desire for upward mobility. Analyzing the data, the smoother the upward mobility within a country or region, the fewer people are willing to join the WPLA. Korea's upward mobility is narrow; that so many youths want a faster channel completely explains their actions."

Previously, Cheng Ruofan would have expressed agreement with this view. Now, he had only one standard: no investigation, no right to speak. His job was to organize the WPLA and provide support for its subsequent battles. He had even less reason to speak on fields he wasn't involved in.

Regarding the work Cheng had completed at this stage, progress was satisfactory. The Chinese military did not recruit foreign soldiers, and the units from various nations in the Asian Allied Forces were not broken up and reorganized. For instance, the Korean units maintained their organization under Allied Command.

The WPLA was divided into two parts. One part joined as whole units, such as those from the People's Republic of Upper Burma, the Republic of Burma, the four Southern nations, Malaya, and the Lanfang Republic. Since their numbers weren't large, they joined the WPLA as intact units and received WPLA designations. Thereafter, these designations would be maintained, with members rotating internally.

Other units were handled similarly in the early stages: personnel from different continents and nations would first be organized into the same unit and given a designation.

However, some departments, such as the General Staff and Logistics, which served the entire army, were different. Although currently dominated by Chinese personnel, these were newly formed units from the start, created by personnel from various nations.

Furthermore, the WPLA had only positions, no military ranks. In the General Staff, which had the largest number of Chinese personnel, there were only functional titles. A Chinese Brigadier General there would not wear his rank; others would simply see him as the Chief of a certain staff office.

As for what treatment these personnel would receive in their home countries after leaving the WPLA, that was for each nation to decide. For example, a Chinese NDF internal meeting had decided that for Chinese personnel serving in the WPLA, their time served would count toward their active duty time in the NDF, and their merits would be included in NDF promotion evaluations.

Thinking of this, Cheng Ruofan suddenly remembered the enthusiasm of the Korean youth. In Korea, the WPLA was viewed as an army raised by China, the "Celestial Empire," from its various vassal states. Once a Korean joined, he was a soldier of China. Achieving officer status there carried more weight than within the Korean army. Coupled with the possibility of gaining Chinese citizenship, it truly felt like "ascending to heaven."

Cheng forcibly interrupted these thoughts and asked, "How are the preparations for the advance into Madagascar?"

"Ready to move at any time," replied the Operations Chief, Brigadier General Dong Sheng. The Chinese Navy wasn't just fighting the US in the Pacific; a significant portion of the fleet was continuously engaged with the British in the Indian Ocean. After six months of effort, the Navy had basically cleared Allied submarine forces from the Indian Ocean and established a defensive line near the exit of the Red Sea. Firmly controlling the Red Sea exit ensured that Chinese convoys wouldn't be attacked by Allied submarines from that direction.

Now, with Madagascar as the first target for the liberation of Africa, the goal was to seize the island and sever the route for Allied submarines entering the Indian Ocean by rounding the Cape of Good Hope. After liberating Madagascar, the next step would be the British colony of South Africa, thereby thoroughly driving Allied navies from the Indian Ocean. Only then could Chinese merchant ships travel between Indian Ocean ports without concern, smoothly transporting military and civilian supplies.

Cheng Ruofan said to Brigadier General Dong, "Suggest to the WPLA Commander-in-Chief, Margerie, that he begin operations as soon as possible."

The WPLA Commander, Pierre Margerie, was originally Pierre de Margerie. Before the French Revolution, his family had been nobility. The Revolution had shattered the old aristocratic system; the "de" in his name only proved his ancestors had been nobles.

Before joining the WPLA, Margerie was a member of the French Communist Party. After the Western European campaign, he had come by ship to the Republic of Champa and joined Free France. Following the Anglo-German peace and Germany's withdrawal from France, Charles de Gaulle, the leader of Free France, returned home. Over 60% of Free France members followed, but Margerie was among the few who did not.

With Vichy France continuing to hold power and beginning to settle scores against the systems of the Third Republic, Margerie believed the Third Republic had been established from the start to restore the monarchy. Therefore, its problems were not those criticized by the Vichy government.

Vichy argued that the French democratic system had led to its defeat; Margerie believed the great capitalists wanted France to be a state that served only them—a fascist state for the big bourgeoisie. Thus, while France had restored its independence, it had completely become a nation ruled by capitalists and racists.

Based on this understanding, Margerie united the Frenchmen remaining in Asia and reconstructed Free France. This Free France aimed to overthrow the reactionary rule of the French elite and capitalists and establish a truly democratic France.

A major reason the Civilization Party Central Committee chose Margerie as the first commander of the WPLA was his reputation in Europe, especially in France. Pierre de Margerie's name was perhaps not a household word to the man on the street, but those who read mainstream French newspapers had seen it many times.

The Vichy government had already twice tried Margerie in absentia. The first time, after he announced the reconstruction of Free France to overthrow Vichy, he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for treason.

The second time was when Margerie appealed to the French people to join Free France and the WPLA, to fight back to Paris and liberate all of France. The Vichy government sentenced him to death in absentia for treason and rioting.

I wonder if something was wrong with the Vichy government's political judgment, but they also placed a 1-million-franc bounty on Pierre de Margerie, dead or alive.

In an "old revolutionary district" like France, if a person hasn't committed any crime but is targeted solely for their political ideas or for saying "I'm going for a violent revolution," they are seen as a political figure. Trying such a person in absentia only makes the French people view them more favorably. When the ruling government puts a "dead or alive" bounty on such a figure, the people become even more interested.

While Margerie himself certainly possessed great courage, exactly how much of his current reputation had been forcibly added by the Vichy government was indeed hard to judge.

Upon receiving Cheng Ruofan's suggestion, Commander Margerie immediately convened a military meeting. To his surprise, during the meeting, a commissioner of Soviet nationality raised a question: "Will our air force be equipped with jet fighters?"

Given that the vast majority of the WPLA at the time didn't even know what a jet fighter was, the question couldn't be discussed further. However, the Chinese personnel within the WPLA paid close attention to this, and the intelligence reached the Military Commission in short order.

He Rui had just finished a Military Commission meeting and was waiting for Li Runshi to arrive. He didn't like to be idle and came across this report while reading. He couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Li Runshi arrived then, and He Rui put down the file to chat with him.

Li Runshi was quite interested in the Soviet-German war and asked for He Rui's view. He Rui showed him the report and then introduced the situation.

Unlike in history, Germany was currently equipped with jet fighters where the engine was located within the fuselage, with a nose intake. Historically, German jet engines were located on the two wings, a layout with a major problem: turbojet engines had heavy vibrations, making it very unsafe for the aircraft.

Whether Soviet or American, their jet engines were nose-intake, with the engine inside the fuselage. And the British, with their foundation in advanced R&D still intact, had developed side-intake jet fighters in the early stages.

Of course, He Rui didn't say all this. Nor did he mention another piece of history: that Göring had actually chosen the 52nd Fighter Wing (JG 52) as the test unit for jet fighters.

Among Chinese military buffs, JG 52 was legendary. The wing had long consisted of only two groups, with the number of fighters maintained between 120 and 200. With just these 200 fighters, by the time of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, the unit had accumulated over 10,000 kills—achieving a dizzying record of 10,800 downed enemy aircraft, likely unique in world history. Such an ace unit had remained relatively unknown in the West for a long time, primarily because 98% of its record was achieved on the Eastern Front.

This unit under the Luftwaffe produced the three highest-scoring aces in the history of aerial combat: Erich Hartmann (352 kills), Gerhard Barkhorn (301 kills), and Günther Rall (275 kills). The unit overall possessed 31 "super-aces" with over 100 kills and 85 aces with 5 or more.

At this stage, the situation had changed drastically. He Rui only told Li Runshi that JG 52 was one of the Luftwaffe's earlier units and hadn't performed exceptionally well in the Western European campaign. But since the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, according to Nazi propaganda, a pilot named Graf had already downed 100 Soviet fighters, and the unit had 40 pilots with over 50 kills. Furthermore, JG 52 had been fully re-equipped with jet fighters, totaling about 110 aircraft.

As Li Runshi listened, his brow furrowed slightly, and he instinctively reached for a cigarette. Once He Rui finished the introduction, Li asked, "So, you're saying just these 100 or so people have shot down over 2,000 Soviet fighters?"

"If Nazi propaganda is not mistaken, they've already downed 3,000," He Rui said, then sighed and lit a cigarette himself.

Although from a purely national-interest perspective, heavy Soviet losses might not be a bad thing for China, He Rui had once been a "German fan" but had long since become desensitized. Now, he felt it was a pity for the Soviet pilots to lose their lives for some of the CPSU's calculations.

"Do you think those Soviet members in the WPLA are acting on orders from the Soviet Union?" Li Runshi pointed out the possibility shown in the report.