bayedsolid Chapter 146: 4 Soldiers
Chapter 146: 4 Soldiers
Smith took the telegram from the staff and signed his name on the receipt board. After reading the contents of the telegram, he handed it to Zhang Wenwu who was smoking next to him.
Zhang Wenwu was stunned. Why did Smith let him read such a confidential telegram? With doubt in his heart, Zhang Wenwu took the telegram and started reading it. He knew why Smith let him read it. In the telegram, Rick told Smith the recent decision-making orders of the Chinese government on the war in Shanghai. The most important thing was that the representatives of the Chinese government participating in the mediation group reached an agreement with representatives of various countries. In order to avoid the "humanitarian crisis" in Shanghai, the Chinese troops will completely withdraw from the urban area of Shanghai, and then stabilize the front line in the western suburbs of Shanghai.
Zhang Wenwu knew that all countries were afraid that the war would destroy the concessions of various countries in Shanghai, so they collectively put pressure on the Chinese government to withdraw Chinese troops from the urban area of Shanghai. This was too bullying. Those Chinese politicians were really something. They asked you to negotiate for help, but it turned out to be the opposite situation. The soldiers on the front line were fighting hard, but you guys started to drag them down. This was really damaging to the morale of the frontline troops.
Zhang Wenwu immediately made up his mind that he would never go to this crappy mediation group again. He was now even more grateful to Smith for his foresight in keeping him in the consulate. He was afraid that if he went to the meeting of the mediation group, he would not be able to help but take out his gun and shoot those politicians one by one.
"Major Smith, the checkpoint at the intersection of the concession called you." Zhang Wenwu was smoking a cigarette with a gloomy face. At this time, another consulate staff member came over and informed Smith that there was a call for him.
Smith came back quickly two minutes later and said anxiously as soon as he came to the dining table: "Major Zhang, the British Concession checkpoint by the Boundary River Bridge just called and said that a Chinese troop entered the Daguangyi warehouse by the Boundary River and is now building fortifications based on this warehouse. But didn't your government order all troops to withdraw from the Chinese urban area in Shanghai?" He was a little confused now. Why was the information Rick gave him different from the reality?
Zhang Wenwu stood up quickly. He guessed what was going on. This should be the famous "Battle of Sihang Warehouse", but why did the name of the warehouse change?
It’s not Zhang Wenwu’s fault that he didn’t know. In fact, the Sihang Warehouse was jointly funded by the four major banks at the time: Bank of China, Central Bank, Bank of Communications and Farmers’ Bank. Its original name was “Daguangyi Warehouse”, but it was later called Sihang Warehouse because of this famous battle.
Zhang Wenwu pulled Smith out of the consulate, explaining, "Major Smith, this unit should be ordered to hold this stronghold in the Chinese area. This is also the Chinese government's way of showing the world that we are still fighting the Japanese, and we will continue to fight until the Japanese are driven out of China. Let's hurry over now. I need to see it for ourselves."
After listening to Zhang Wenwu's words, Smith was a little confused. Is it so meaningful to defend a small stronghold with no strategic and tactical value? In his opinion, it was just sacrificing those Chinese soldiers in vain. But after seeing Zhang Wenwu's urgency, he didn't say much. He understood Zhang Wenwu's mood very well. He didn't waste any words and drove a jeep with Zhang Wenwu to the Jiehe Bridge.
It turned out that the top government leaders felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult to defend the Zhabei area in Shanghai, and coupled with the pressure from representatives of various countries in the mediation group, they had no choice but to withdraw all the troops to the western suburbs of Shanghai for defense. However, the meeting of the signatories of the "Nine-Power Treaty" would be held in a few days. For political purposes, the top government leaders hoped to leave a troop to symbolically hold a position and use the sacrifice of this troop to win the sympathy and support of the international community.
This task was given to the 88th Division. After receiving the order, the commander of the unit was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. They felt that since the troops had to hold the stronghold for political purposes, the troops left behind would have no hope of survival without external aid. If too many troops were released, they would die, and if too few troops were released, they would still die. There was no difference in meaning between defending multiple strongholds and defending one, so it would be better to concentrate the troops to defend one stronghold, so that they could hold out longer.
Finally, the commander of the army reported his plan to the theater command. The theater command later agreed to the plan and ordered the 88th Division to leave behind a regiment of troops, and they could choose their own location to stay.
After receiving the order from the theater headquarters, the commander of the 7th Division chose to defend the Sihang Warehouse as his stronghold. The defense time was set at 524 days, but the commander of the 524th Division was cautious at the last moment. The superiors required to leave a regiment to defend, so they temporarily reinforced the 420st Battalion of the th Regiment of the th Division and organized it into a reinforced battalion. There were a total of four understaffed companies, but it was known as a regiment to the outside world. The troops were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan, deputy commander of the th Regiment, and assisted by the battalion commander Major Yang Ruifu. This force, including Xie Jinyuan, had a total of only people, but it was claimed to have people to the outside world.
Zhang Wenwu and Smith drove to the British Concession checkpoint on the boundary river in less than fifteen minutes. The Chinese refugees who were waiting opposite the checkpoint saw the army coming to deploy defenses and realized that a war was going to break out here, so they all ran to other concession checkpoints. Now there was no refugee from the Chinese Concession to be seen here.
Zhang Wenwu looked at the Chinese area across the boundary river, where smoke was rising everywhere, and then turned to look at the prosperous British Concession around him, and sighed in his heart: This world is really amazing. In the British Concession, many people stood on the side of the boundary river and watched the Chinese troops on the opposite side busy building fortifications.
Zhang Wenwu greeted Smith, then walked across the boundary bridge alone and headed towards the Sihang Warehouse. As soon as he reached the other side of the bridge, he was stopped by two Chinese soldiers on guard. They told him not to come over because a fight was about to break out and it would be dangerous.
Zhang Wenwu was not allowed to wear military uniform when entering the concession, so he was now dressed in casual clothes, no different from ordinary people. So he quickly took out his officer ID and handed it to the soldier on guard, saying, "Brother, I am from the 102th Army's nd Division. I am now ordered to work in the Concession Mediation Group. Can you take me to see your team leader?"
The soldier took a look at Zhang Wenwu's ID. Although he could not read, he knew from the photo and the familiar seal that Zhang Wenwu was indeed his man. So he asked Zhang Wenwu to wait a moment and he took the ID to the warehouse to find his superior to report.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the soldier came back quickly, handed the certificate to Zhang Wenwu, stood at attention and saluted, "Sir Zhang, our deputy regiment commander Xie asked me to take you there."
Although Zhang Wenwu was wearing casual clothes, he still returned a military salute out of habit, and then followed the soldier into the Sihang Warehouse.
After Zhang Wenwu entered the Sihang Warehouse, he found that the officers and soldiers on the first floor were using sandbags to block all the windows on the first floor, while the sandbags were piled higher on the windows on the second floor, leaving only the necessary space for shooting.
When he arrived at the third floor, Zhang Wenwu saw the heroic Commander Xie. He immediately stood at attention and saluted, "Sir, I am Zhang Wenwu from the Quartermaster Department of the 102nd Division of the th Army, reporting to you."
Captain Xie was not wearing a military cap. He returned a military salute to Zhang Wenwu earnestly, and then asked, "Are you from 102 West? Your Captain Zhou is my classmate. How is he?"
Zhang Wenwu was stunned for a moment, and immediately replied: "Reporting to Commander Xie, there is no one named Commander Zhou in my unit." He knew that Commander Xie was afraid that he was a spy and was trying to test him.
When Captain Xie heard what Zhang Wenwu said, he also laughed and said apologetically: "I'm so embarrassed, Major Zhang, haha, did you graduate from the Central Military Academy?"
Zhang Wenwu knew that this was wartime, and he admired Captain Xie's caution. Who knows whether you are real or fake? We have to be on guard. After hearing Captain Xie's question, he quickly said that he graduated from the Central Military Academy and was his junior.
"Captain Xie, I have been ordered to cooperate with the mediation team in the concession. If you need anything, I will definitely do it for you." Without waiting for Captain Xie to continue speaking, Zhang Wenwu told him the purpose of his visit. He felt that he did not have any specific work tasks in the concession anyway, so he might as well take this opportunity to provide the greatest possible help to this brave isolated army.
After hearing what Zhang Wenwu said, Captain Xie thought for a moment and said, "Major Zhang, can you find a way to get a telephone in? We have no way to contact the outside world." As an isolated army, they were ready to sacrifice their lives for the country when they came. They had no radio and no way to contact the outside world, so they were not prepared to get out alive.
Zhang Wenwu immediately said that there was no problem and he would immediately pull a telephone line from the British Concession. He also told Captain Xie that if he had any needs, he could call him at any time and he would always be by the phone. When leaving, Zhang Wenwu also said to Captain Xie: "Captain Xie, I see that the fortifications of the troops are very solid. It is difficult for the Japanese army to attack from the front. However, your unit needs to pay attention to the connection between the warehouse and the sewer of Suzhou River. I am worried that the Japanese army will launch a sneak attack at night."
After hearing Zhang Wenwu's reminder before leaving, Captain Xie thought for a while, then called an officer and asked him to check the waterway where the warehouse connects to the Suzhou River, and make defensive arrangements to prevent the Japanese army from using this place to launch a surprise attack.