Prelude to the Eastward March 东进序曲

Description:

In 1940, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered its third and most arduous year. The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, led by the Communist Party of China, waged a life-and-death struggle against the Japanese invaders in accordance with the policy laid down by Comrade Mao Zedong. In stark contrast, the Kuomintang sought to exploit the chaos to restrict the growth of the Communist Party, thereby hindering the advance toward victory in the war. The forward column of the New Fourth Army captured Qiaotou, a stronghold in northern Jiangsu — one step further and they could set out eastward on the road of resistance against Japan. Yet in this region, effectively controlled by the Kuomintang, many diehard elements proposed seizing the opportunity to attack the New Fourth Army. Meng Qiyu (Zhang Zhong-Ying), commander of the forward column, negotiated with the Kuomintang representative and successfully turned Zhou Ming-Zhe (Wen Bo-Dong), commander of the First Column of the Su-Lu-Wan forces.