Chapter 18: Battlefield Insubordination (Part 2) (Pleading for Recommendation Tickets)

  Nanjing, the Presidential Palace.

  Principal Jiang stared blankly at the continuous winter rain outside the window with a gloomy face.

  Just yesterday, a cold wave from Siberia swept across the entire East China region, and Nanjing also saw a sharp drop in temperature, with continuous rainy weather. Due to the impact of the rainy weather and the consecutive losses of the National Army on the Huaihai battlefield, Chiang Kai-shek's recent mood can be said to be extremely bad.

  In the North China battlefield, the Japanese army's fierce general Sakai Seizaburō relied on a mere half division to defeat several dozen elite divisions of the National Army one after another. Zhangjiakou, Yu County, Pingxingguan and Xinkou fell one after another. The Central Army and Shanxi-Suiyuan Army suffered defeat after defeat, retreating again and again. It seemed that Taiyuan would also fall, and the entire Shanxi province was on the verge of being lost!

  On the Songhu battlefield, despite the National Government's all-out effort and having the advantages of terrain and popular support, the defeat was still unavoidable.

  By the end of October, the National Army had retreated to the west of Shanghai, and Shanghai had actually fallen. What's more worrying is that the Military Intelligence Bureau once again detected suspicious situations, and the telegram exchanges between the Japanese army's Shanghai dispatch headquarters and the general headquarters suddenly became frequent, as if indicating that the Japanese army might increase its troops on the Songhu battlefields again!

  To sum up, most of what I've been hearing these days is depressing or despairing bad news.

  Only Yue Weihan and Bao Shan Camp can bring some comfort to Principal Chiang, these days, reports about Yue Weihan and Bao Shan Camp have occupied the headlines of major newspapers in various cities across the country, even Chinese-language newspapers in Southeast Asia and on the other side of the Pacific Ocean are reporting on the heroic resistance of the Sihang Warehouse.

  Yue Weihan and the Baoshan Camp's desperate resistance at the Sihang Warehouse has triggered an unprecedented wave of anti-Japanese sentiment, with wealthy merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang enthusiastically donating money and goods, purchasing national bonds, and even overseas Chinese living abroad generously contributing funds. Four American fighter planes purchased by Malaysian Chinese have already arrived at the military airport in Quzhou, Zhejiang.

  Inspired by Yue Weihan and Baoshan Garrison, students in schools across the country have once again taken to boycotting classes and joining the army!

  According to statistics, in the second half of October alone, nearly 100,000 young students across the country put down their pens and took up arms. When Principal Chiang heard the news, he immediately picked up his pen and wrote the heroic poem "One inch of mountain and river, one inch of blood; ten thousand youths, ten thousand soldiers".

  However, no matter how beautifully Yue Weihan and the Baoshan Garrison fought at the Sihang Warehouse, they were ultimately unable to change the overall trend of the Songhu Battle.

  Moreover, the National Government has already felt strong pressure from the Shanghai Municipal Council, and personnel from the US, British, French, and German consulates in Shanghai have been spreading rumors in unofficial settings that if the National Government does not order the Baoshan Garrison to retreat into the International Settlement and surrender their arms to the British military, all consequences will be borne by the National Government!

  What kind of logic is this? The Japanese devils bombed the neutral concession on the territory of the National Government, and the loss caused should be borne by the National Government. Is there such a thing?!

  This is a threat, but Principal Jiang can only swallow his anger.

  Chiang still hoped that the US, UK, France and Germany would speak out for the Nationalist government at the UN meeting. At this critical juncture, how could he afford to cause more trouble? Besides, the political significance of the Bao Shan camp's resistance in the Four Banks Warehouse had already been achieved, and continuing to hold on seemed unnecessary.

  As for surrendering arms or not surrendering arms, Principal Chiang didn't care at all.

  Chiang Kai-shek actually only cared about Yue Weihan, and the lives of hundreds of soldiers in Baoshan Camp were not on his mind at all. The National Government was short of everything, but not people. As long as General Yue Weihan could return safely, Chiang Kai-shek could easily assemble a regiment or even an entire division for him.

  Just now, Principal Chiang has already crossed the Shanghai-Wusong War Zone Headquarters, the 15th Army Corps Headquarters and even the 98th Division Headquarters, directly giving orders to Yue Weihan to retreat. In the combat sequence of the National Revolutionary Army, Yue Weihan is absolutely the only one who can receive direct orders from the national leader at the regimental level - a unique case (toxic ant feces).

  …………

  Zhabei, Sihang Warehouse.

  The Japanese army's Sakae Brigade had been fiercely attacking for six days, with over 600 casualties, but still could not take the Four Banks Warehouse.

  However, Major General Wakisaka's offensive from another battlefield seemed to have taken effect.

  Warehouse 4th floor, Liu Xin ran to Yue Weihan's front, her pretty face pale as she handed over a telegram. Yue Weihan casually took the telegram and smiled, teasing Liu Xin: "What's wrong, little girl? Has some blind rabbit again provoked you? Do you want me to take charge of justice for you and castrate that guy?"

  Liu Xin heard this and was overjoyed, saying: "Sir, is this really true?"

  "Haha, when has this officer ever gone back on his word?" Yue Weihan laughed loudly and said, "Speak quickly, which rabbit's egg* was it that fooled you just now?"

  "That person is you." Liu Xin said seriously.

  As soon as the words fell, Cao Xinglong and several other battalion commanders, Liu Tiezhu, and the soldiers of the guard platoon burst out laughing. Chi Chengfeng even took the opportunity to tease: "His grandma, when are you going to castrate yourself?"

  "You're just getting ready to castrate yourself!" Yue Weihan kicked out with one foot towards Chi Chengfeng's butt, Chi Chengfeng reacted quickly and dodged it, but Niu Dagen beside him suffered the misfortune of being hit, and immediately rubbed his own fat butt, saying "Commander, I didn't make fun of you, why did you kick me instead?"

  "You're the biggest fool, you were laughing the loudest just now!"

  Yue Weihan cursed and laughed, then picked up the telegram. After reading it, his face changed slightly. Cao Xinglong asked beside him: "Commander, who sent this telegram? What does it say?"

  "This is a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek himself, ordering us to retreat into the International Settlement and surrender our arms to the British troops."

  Chiang Kai-shek personally called, and Yue Weihan felt that he could no longer deceive the entire Baoshan camp. Although he was the regimental commander, he couldn't make a decision on his own to determine the life and death of more than 200 officers and soldiers.

  "What? Let's retreat into the public concession land?"

  "His grandma, still wants to surrender to the British? What for?"

  "It's all right to retreat into the public concession, we have no opinion on that. But why should we surrender our arms? So many Japanese devils couldn't do anything to us, just because of those hundred or so British devils on the other side of the river, not enough for us to fill our teeth with."

  "What the hell is this order? Are we supposed to surrender our arms to the British, and then they'll hand us over to the Japanese devils? Isn't that just sending us to our deaths on purpose?"

  Several company commanders, platoon leaders and guardsmen immediately began to stir up trouble.

  Yue Weihan was also cold-blooded, letting the Baoshan Camp retreat into the concession and surrender to the British army. This was indeed a chaotic order that disregarded human life, which has been proven by Commander Xie Yuan and the 400 brave soldiers of the 524th Regiment in historical records. Yue Weihan did not want to repeat the mistakes of Commander Xie Yuan, nor would he let the Baoshan Camp relive the tragedy of the 524th Regiment!

  "Good!" Yue Weihan waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down, and then said to Liu Xin, "Liu Xin, immediately send a telegram back to Nanjing. Our Baoshan camp morale is high, supplies are abundant, and we can hold out for several months in the Sihang warehouses!"