Chapter Fifteen: The Four-Line Warehouse (Part One)

  "No!" Suddenly, a 15- or 16-year-old child soldier in the crowd gnashed his teeth and roared with anger.

  "No! No!! No!!!” The rest of the Sichuan and Guangxi defeated soldiers were stunned for a moment, then reacted and also started shouting hoarsely. At this moment, these defeated soldiers felt that the blood in their bodies, which had been dormant for a long time, seemed to be boiling again, and that kind of long-lost feeling seemed to have returned to their bodies!

  "Slogans? " Yue Weihan said bluntly, "Who can't shout slogans? Is shouting slogans useful? Can shouting slogans scare away the little devils? If you're a man, don't waste your **that thing**, if you're a man, you should have a man's demeanor! Who dares to ride on our heads and shit... Dream on! Screw them!"

  "Damn it!"

  "Damn it!"

  "Damn it!"

  More than 200 Sichuan and Guangxi soldiers, who had been defeated, couldn't help but follow the clamor. For a long time, they finally vented out the evil air that had been suppressed in their chests. At this moment, they felt that they had regained their dignity. At this moment, they saw hope again, saw the hope of living and fighting like a man.

  "Listen up, all of you!" Yue Weihan bellowed in a stern voice. "If anyone thinks they're not a man, get out of here immediately! I won't keep you around, and I'll even give each of you two silver dollars for the road! If anyone thinks they are a man, stay behind, from now on, we're brothers who stir the same pot!"

  "Now, those who are willing to leave, step out!"

  Everyone has their own ambitions, and indeed more than a dozen deserters walked out of the ranks with their heads down. Yue Weihan waved his hand, and the old soldiers from the guard squad brought up a full tray of silver dollars. Liu Tiezhu, the captain of the guard squad, gave each of these deserters two silver dollars, and they immediately left with gratitude.

  Yu Wei Han's gaze turned back to the remaining defeated soldiers and he shouted loudly: "Is there anyone else who wants to leave?"

  The whole audience was silent, and no one dared to take another step forward. Witnessing this scene, Yue Weihan also felt a sense of emotion. Under the sky, there had never been cowardly soldiers who feared death or war. The reason why there were so many cowardly soldiers and sand-piled armies was that the actions of the National Government and some national army generals had completely chilled the hearts of the soldiers!

  In fact, whether it was the Sichuan Army or the Guangxi Army, they were indeed good examples. These soldiers may not have recognized a few words and may have found it difficult to distinguish between party struggles, but when it came to national justice, they were absolutely unambiguous. From the moment they set foot out of Sichuan and out of Guangxi, they had already considered themselves dead men!

  "Alright, since everyone is willing to stay, from now on, we are all brothers of the Bao Shan camp!" Yue Weihan said with a strong sense of emotion, "However, I hope you all remember that from this day forward, you are no longer part of the Sichuan army or the Guangxi army, but people of the Bao Shan camp!"

  "Moreover, being a brother is not something that can be taken lightly. As brothers, we must truly be willing to share life and death together, never abandoning each other!"

  Under the heat of the battle, the defeated soldiers of the Sichuan Army and the Guangxi Army began to make their stance clear.

  "Sir, as long as the Central Army treats us like human beings, we Guangxi men have nothing to fear!"

  "Sir, in terms of equipment we are no match for the Central Army, and in training we also can't compare to the Central Army. But if you say who is not afraid to die, us Sichuan men will absolutely not be inferior to the brothers of the Central Army!"

  "It's all wrong, it's all their fault!" Yue Weihan shouted angrily, "What did I just say?"

  The defeated soldiers of the Sichuan and Guangxi armies were stunned for a moment, then suddenly came to their senses and shouted in unison: "Commander, our Baoshan camp has never been afraid of death!"

  Yue Weihan nodded in satisfaction.

  These defeated soldiers finally have some spirit, of course, Yue Weihan would never naively think that just this speech could make these defeated soldiers completely change their ways, but in any case, this is a good start, Yue Weihan firmly believes that one day he will turn them into real elite soldiers!

  …………

  Nanjing, Presidential Palace.

  Bai Chongxi, who had just been appointed as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Military Affairs Commission, walked into the study with a stern expression under the leadership of Wang Shih-chieh, the head of the Presidential Guard. Chiang Kai-shek, who was meditating with his eyes closed, opened them upon hearing the sound and saw Bai Chongxi. A rare smile immediately appeared on his face as he stood up and warmly greeted: "Jiansheng, you've come?"

  Bai Chongxi was the second-in-command of the Guangxi clique warlords and a renowned military strategist in the National Army, known as "Little Zhuge" for his brilliant tactics on the battlefield. As for this general, Chiang Kai-shek had mixed feelings towards him, both admiring his talent and resenting that he could not be used by him, with only Chiang himself understanding the complexity of these emotions.

  "Attention!" Bai Chongqi stood at attention and saluted Principal Jiang, then said with a serious expression, "According to the Shanghai branch of the Intelligence Bureau's technical department, recently there has been a sudden increase in the exchange of telegrams between the Japanese army's Shanghai dispatch headquarters and its mainland base. I'm worried that the Japanese army may make another large-scale deployment. At present, our military is barely holding on at the Songhu battlefront. If the Japanese continue to deploy more troops, the situation will be critical."

  "I know this, I know." Principal Jiang nodded repeatedly and said, "I don't know if Jian Sheng has a good strategy to deal with it?"

  Bai Chongqi sighed and said gloomily, "Commander, these past few days the Suzhou-Wuxi area has been experiencing torrential rains, our front-line positions are all flooded, the soldiers at the front can be said to be suffering bitterly. I think our army should thoroughly abandon the urban areas north of the Suzhou River and withdraw our forces to the west side of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway as well as the south bank of the Suzhou River to confront the enemy across the river, perhaps the situation can still be barely held."

  "Abandon the northern bank of Suzhou River in the city?" Principal Jiang frowned and said, "Can't we leave one troop behind?"

  "Leave a brigade behind?" Bai Chongqi furrowed his brow in confusion and said, "Your Excellency's words are puzzling."

  Bai Chongqi indeed could not understand, this general was a master in tactics, but lacked strategic vision. In his view, hundreds of thousands of troops were no match for the Japanese army's offensive, so what was the use of leaving behind a branch of troops?

  Principal Chiang gazed out the window at the bleak winter scene and said in a low voice, "Jian Sheng, the United Nations Conference is about to convene. It's been learned that this conference will put the Sino-Japanese War on the agenda. If our army can leave one unit behind in the Suzhou River northern bank urban area, it would also demonstrate our determination to fight to the end and never compromise. This way, when the United Nations Conference makes its decision, it may be more beneficial for the party and the country."

  Bai Chongqi was quite displeased in his heart, but could only perfunctorily say: "It can't be helped then."

  Chiang said: "Then let Jian Sheng arrange this matter, we must select an elite unit from each group army, and the scale of troops should be at least one division!"

  "Understood, I'll go and make arrangements." Bai Chongqi gave Principal Jiang another military salute before turning around and leaving.

  …………

  Songhu Frontline, Baoshan Garrison

  Since late October, the good days of Bao Shan Camp have also come to an end. Due to the tense situation on all fronts, the supply of materials for each group army has suddenly become tight. Even with the protection of Division Commander Xia Zhongyu, Bao Shan Camp is no longer as responsive as it used to be, and ammunition supplies and food standards have suddenly become tight.

  But what was even more unbearable was the rainy and snowy weather in winter. Since that rare sunny day, it had been raining heavily for several days. Due to the low terrain of the Songhu area, the National Army's trenches were instantly filled with water.

  Tens of thousands of National Army soldiers stationed on the front lines were all soaked in icy muddy water, it's really unbearable.

  If such weather continues for another three to five days, there will be no need for the little devils to attack, and our own army will collapse.

  Even the most uncultured and shortsighted soldier can see it clearly now, in the north of Suzhou River this battle is already unwinnable, now the National Army only has one way left, that is to retreat to the south of Suzhou River, relying on the solid reinforced concrete buildings within Shanghai city to fight a street war with the little devils.

  Of course, there are some things that these big-headed soldiers would not know. Most of the Shanghai urban area was actually a concession, and those foreigners would never allow the National Army to fight a street battle with the little devils in the concession. The National Government still hoped that the foreigners could intervene in this war, let alone take the initiative to offend the Western powers.

  In other words, once the National Army abandons the area north of Suzhou River, it means that Shanghai, this oriental pearl, has actually fallen. To put it more severely, the Battle of Songhu has been a de facto defeat for the National Army so far, and what remains is how to end this war with as much dignity as possible.