You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you ended up with a German-equipped division

Chapter 26 Xie Jinyuan's Choice, Breakthrough

As night fell, the soldiers had already assembled inside the Sihang Warehouse.

About a hundred of them intended to obey orders from their superiors, lay down their weapons, and enter the concession.

Xie Jinyuan looked at them, then turned around and looked at the other two hundred or so people.

These two hundred-plus men, mainly soldiers from the Third Battalion and some soldiers from the First Battalion, were led by Li Jianghe and Yang Ruifu and planned to break through to the west.

At this time, there were still many Nationalist troops in the southwest, and the Japanese army had not yet occupied that area.

The National Revolutionary Army's complete withdrawal from the Shanghai area would not have occurred until the Japanese 10th Army landed in Hangzhou Bay.

Xie Jinyuan looked at Li Jianghe and Yang Ruifu, his resolute face revealing his reluctance.

He knew very well that the Japanese army was heavily surrounding them, and this breakout was a matter of life and death.

"Battalion Commander Yang, in subsequent operations, you will be under the command of Battalion Commander Li."

Xie Jinyuan said this.

After listening, Yang Ruifu nodded emphatically and said:

"Yes, Commander."

He did more than simply obey orders.

After several days of fighting, he had witnessed Li Jianghe's combat and command skills firsthand.

Yang Ruifu admired Li Jianghe from the bottom of his heart.

Even if the breakout ultimately fails and one dies on the way, fighting alongside such a commander would be without regret.

Li Jianghe looked at Xie Jinyuan again, wanting to persuade him to break through the encirclement together, but he knew that Xie Jinyuan was the most traditional kind of soldier.

If the Chairman were to issue an order for him to shoot himself now, Xie Jinyuan probably wouldn't hesitate at all.

So when Li Jianghe got to his lips, he only managed to say one sentence.

"Thank you, Commander. Take care."

Xie Jinyuan said to Li Jianghe meaningfully:

"Brother Li, you are a talented general with a bright future. You must live on, live well."

After saying that, Xie Jinyuan took out a letter and handed it to Li Jianghe.

"Brother Li, this letter is for you, but you should wait until after 10 o'clock to open it."

Yang Ruifu leaned closer, adjusting his glasses, and said:

"What letter? Why all the secrecy?"

Xie Jinyuan laughed and said:

"These are heartfelt words, but I'm not good with words and can't say them to your face."

Li Jianghe put the letter away, though he was also wondering about it.

However, since Xie Jinyuan said to open it after 10 o'clock, Li Jianghe did not open it immediately.

After patting Li Jianghe on the shoulder and saluting the two men, Xie Jinyuan turned and led his soldiers toward the back gate of the Sihang Warehouse.

Almost simultaneously, Li Jianghe and Yang Ruifu also led their troops to sneak out from the side.

At the end of the bridge, journalists from various countries had already arrived, cameras in hand.

At the same time, there are also incredibly bright searchlights that illuminate the entire bridge surface.

Xie Jinyuan turned around and looked at the soldiers of the First and Third Battalions who were silently advancing in the darkness before giving the order:

"Line up and enter the concession."

As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers lined up in three columns and marched toward the concession after a whistle.

Cheers erupted from the crowd on the opposite bank.

The people in the concession, whether Chinese or foreign, applauded these brave warriors who had fought so hard.

At that very moment, not far away, Japanese soldiers were pointing their guns at the bridge from windows and rooftops.

Yoshizumi Ryosuke's gaze was icy as he coldly stared at the bridge surface illuminated by the lights.

Finally, seeing the Nationalist soldiers walk onto the bridge, Yoshizumi Ryosuke gave the order.

"Fire!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Japanese firing positions opened fire simultaneously.

Bullets flew towards the bridge like a torrential rain.

Upon hearing the gunshot, Li Jianghe's troops immediately stopped.

They turned their heads and looked at the bridge surface illuminated by the lights, where many corpses lay.

Almost simultaneously, the roar of machine guns came from the roof of the Sihang Warehouse.

Someone was using a Maxim machine gun and some of the remaining weapons to fire at the Japanese positions.

There were more than a dozen of these people, mostly wounded, who used weapons left behind to fire at the area where the Japanese troops were located.

The one who commanded them was none other than Xie Jinyuan, who had chosen to stay.

He seemed to have anticipated that the Japanese army might betray their promise, or perhaps they wanted to use the machine gun firepower to draw the Japanese army's attention to help Li Jianghe, Yang Ruifu, and others break through the encirclement.

Upon hearing the gunshots coming from the rooftop, Li Jianghe realized something.

He took out the letter Xie Jinyuan had given him and then saw its contents.

"Brother Li, the orders from above cannot be disobeyed. Zhongmin (Xie Jinyuan's courtesy name), as the military commander of the Sihang Warehouse, has decided to die for his country."

At 10 o'clock, after the main force of the troops has crossed the river, I will lead some soldiers who are willing to stay behind to open fire on the Japanese positions and attract their main force to attack.

In this battle, the Chinese people were almost all killed, their bodies wrapped in horsehide, dying on the battlefield. They died a worthy death, though.

"One day, when you, as a renowned general in the War of Resistance, pass by the Wusongkou by boat, if the waves are as high as mountains, it means the people of Zhongmin are coming to see you."

(The latter half of this letter is the last letter written by Guo Rugui, a Red agent, during the Battle of Shanghai.)

After reading the letter, Li Jianghe realized that this was a pre-organized firepower force intended to draw the Japanese army's attention.

Perhaps he had already made this plan when he learned of Li Jianghe and Yang Ruifu's decision.

As expected, the Japanese army's attention was drawn to the gunfire at Sihang Warehouse.

Yoshizumi Ryosuke drew his katana and roared again.

"attack!!!!"

Two Japanese companies of soldiers, seemingly prepared in advance, emerged from the darkness and charged towards the Sihang Warehouse from the front.

The Nationalist soldiers who had retreated to the concession wanted to come back, but at that moment, Xie Jinyuan's voice came through the loudspeaker.

"Obey orders and enter the concession!!!"

After saying this, he turned around, picked up a Czech-made light machine gun, and pulled the trigger at the surging Japanese troops below.

More and more Japanese troops rushed toward the Sihang Warehouse.

At this moment, the warehouse swayed like a lone boat in a torrent.

Li Jianghe looked at the warehouse besieged by the Japanese army and resolutely turned around.

"Break through!"

"yes!!!"

Once the order was given, all of them took advantage of the darkness and rushed westward.

Leading the charge was Wang Dayong's assault platoon, a group of over thirty men, almost all of whom carried PPSh submachine guns with drum magazines to ensure ample firepower.

In addition, the soldiers following behind carried a large number of grenades to clear the way.

The main force of the Japanese army had been drawn to the Sihang Warehouse, leaving only a small Japanese squad to guard the west side.

The Japanese squad was also distracted by the gunfire at Sihang Warehouse and did not notice that a large number of soldiers were rushing towards them in the dark.

As the dense footsteps drew closer, a Japanese soldier finally shouted.

"Who is it?"

But his only response was the bullets fired from the PPSh submachine gun.

"Da da da!!!"

Amidst the dense barrage of bullets, a large number of Japanese soldiers were instantly felled to the ground.