Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 399 Three hours!

Captain Xie nodded and said, "That makes sense. Let's do it."

……

Inside the bank building of the Sihang Warehouse, Major Hasegawa sat in his command center with a look of despair on his face.

This sneak attack once again ended in a miserable defeat, which meant that his life was over.

"Bang!" The door was kicked open by someone.

Konoe Xun walked in angrily.

Major Hasegawa hurriedly stood up and walked over.

Before he could say anything, Konoe Xun slapped him in the face.

Major Hasegawa staggered after being hit, and quickly stood up, lowering his head and saying respectfully: "Ha! I deserve to die."

The Guardsman said angrily: "You, a fool, have ruined the reputation of the Locust Army."

"Hayi~!"

Major Hasegawa lowered his head respectfully, not daring to even make out a single word.

Jinweixun gnashed his teeth and said: "They couldn't even take down a small warehouse like Sihang, and they lost so many troops. This makes the Imperial Locust Army lose face."

Major Hasegawa said: "I would rather commit seppuku to apologize."

"Seppuku to apologize?"

Konoe Xun said angrily: "You don't deserve it!"

Major Hasegawa was confused. How come he was not even worthy of committing suicide?
Jinweixun suppressed his anger and said through gritted teeth: "The headquarters has issued a strict order. The Sihang Warehouse must be captured within three hours."

"But?"

Major Hasegawa stammered, "Well... I'm afraid."

Konoe Shun naturally knew what this guy wanted to say, and before he could say anything, he raised his hand to stop Major Hasegawa.

Jinweixun said seriously: "I don't want to hear anything that is detrimental to the morale of the army. We must take over the Sihang Warehouse in three hours. This is an order and a task we must complete."

"I'll give you one last chance. Lead the special forces team and launch the attack yourself!"

"If you fail to take the Sihang Warehouse, you will die on the battlefield! You will also be known as a hero who died bravely."

"This is all I can get for you."

"Hayi~!"

Major Hasegawa responded respectfully: "Please rest assured, Commander, I would rather die on the battlefield."

This time, Major Hasegawa was determined to die.

Jin Wei Xun sighed deeply and said, "Taking over the Sihang Warehouse is the most important thing. No one cares about your life or death. What we want is the Sihang Warehouse."

Major Hasegawa responded respectfully: "Even if I die, I will die in the Sihang Warehouse."

The Guardsman waved his hand impatiently and said, "Go down and get ready."

"Hayi~!"

Major Hasegawa responded respectfully and left the command center in a daze.

At this moment, Jinweixun was also full of worries, because he knew that it would not be easy to quickly take over the Sihang Warehouse.

However, the headquarters has issued a strict order to capture the Sihang Warehouse at all costs. Now the Guards have no choice but to obey the order.

……

On the balcony of a small Western-style building in the concession, foreign journalist Vincent was smoking a cigar while looking at the Sihang Warehouse not far away.

Vincent slowly exhaled a wisp of green smoke from his mouth and looked at Fang Xingwen who was sitting opposite him.

Fang Xingwen said in fluent English: "The Japanese called the Sihang Warehouse the Oriental Magic Building because it was too close to the concession and there was a large tank next to it that stored 500,000 cubic meters of gas."

"The Japanese high-ranking officials did not allow bombings to be carried out and heavy artillery could not be used to avoid accidentally bombing the concession. They were especially afraid that the big jar would be blown up and cause too many casualties, which would not end well for them."

"very good!"

Vincent raised his eyebrows and smiled, "If that's the case, it would be more of a fair fight for the Chinese army."

Fang Xingwen continued, "But the Japanese frontline officers don't seem to want to carry out such orders."

"At least they have some opinions about this order."

"Because you have seen that in just one day of fighting, Japan lost hundreds of people."

"If they don't use heavy weapons such as aircraft and artillery, it won't be that easy for them to capture the Sihang Warehouse."

"The Japanese army has always had a tradition of defeating the superior with the inferior, so for the time being we cannot rule out the possibility that they will do something crazy when they are angry and humiliated."

"But this possibility is still low. After all, the power of that big jar is too great. If it really explodes, not only will the concession suffer heavy losses, but the Japanese troops who are closer will also suffer huge casualties."

"But one thing is certain, that is, the existence of the Sihang Warehouse has been regarded as a disgrace by them."

"Even if it's just for the sake of face, they will take over the Sihang Warehouse as soon as possible."

"They claimed that they would capture the Sihang Warehouse within three hours of launching the second attack."

Vincent took out an envelope from his arms, which contained a stack of money, which looked to be a considerable amount, and handed it to Fang Xingwen.

Fang Xingwen quickly reached out to take it.

At this moment, Vincent suddenly took the envelope back and asked seriously, "You mean three hours, right?"

Fang Xingwen smiled and said, "This is what the Japanese have decided, and they also hope to tell the world about it."

"They also want to take this opportunity to prove to the world how powerful their army is and that the previous defeat was just a small mistake."

"Even if it was just for the sake of ridiculous face, just to show the world, they would do their best to take over the Sihang Warehouse within three hours."

Vincent put the envelope containing the money on the table, took a puff of his cigar, and glanced at the Sihang Warehouse on the other side.

"That means the Sihang Warehouse will be captured within three hours."

Fang Xingwen quickly picked up the envelope, opened it a little and took a look. After confirming that there was money inside, he happily put it away.

Vincent suddenly turned to another foreign reporter next to him and said, "Luca, how much do you want to bet?"

Luca pondered for a moment and said, "It's hard to say whether the Sihang Warehouse is another Liege fortress."

The Fortress of Liege was a fortress built by Belgium to prevent the German attack.

During World War I, the German army attacked the Liege fortress, but suffered repeated defeats and heavy losses.

In the end, they had to call in heavy artillery to assist in the battle, and finally the fortress was flattened.

Although the German army won the battle, it paid the price of 25,000 casualties, which was a heavy loss.

So Luca's words obviously did not mean that the Japanese could capture the Sihang Warehouse within three hours.

Vincent nodded without comment, turned to look at Fang Xingwen again, and asked, "Fang, how much are you going to bet?"

Fang Xingwen was stunned for a moment, as if he had not expected Vincent to suddenly ask such a question.

Fang said excitedly: "I don't usually gamble." "Ha~!"

Vincent smiled and shook his head, pointed the cigar in his hand at Fang Xingwen, and said with a smile: "Fang, you are really special."

"This war seems to have nothing to do with you."

Hearing this, Fang Xingwen looked embarrassed and the smile on his face became extremely stiff.

As a Chinese, watching his motherland being invaded by the Japanese and the war raging, this guy acted as if nothing had happened and had an attitude that it was none of his business. It was really special.

For money, he would even sell information to the Japanese. The word "shameful" cannot describe his despicable behavior.

Fang Xingwen smiled awkwardly, stood up, picked up his hat, and said, "I have something else to do. I'll take my leave now."

After Fang Xingwen finished speaking, he left in a hurry.

Before daybreak, newsboys began hawking their wares along the streets.

The newspaper prominently published the news that the Japanese claimed to have captured the Sihang Warehouse in three hours.

At the same time, some casinos in the concession also opened for gambling.

The concession was still as prosperous and bustling as usual, and the people here seemed to have become accustomed to the war around them.

At the same time, a large number of Japanese soldiers gathered near the Sihang Warehouse and waited in preparation for launching the final general attack on the Sihang Warehouse.

In addition to the Imperial Guard Regiment belonging to the Army's 3rd Division, there are also a large number of Japanese Marines assembled and on standby.

In order to ensure that the Sihang Warehouse could be captured as soon as possible, the Japanese also sent Marines to assist the Guards Regiment in the battle.

Obviously, the Japanese high-ranking officials were extremely dissatisfied with the successive defeats of the Guards Regiment.

In the early stages of the Battle of Shanghai, it was actually the Japanese Marines who fought against the Chinese army in the urban area.

Later, the Japanese continued to increase their troops, and the army gradually landed in Wusongkou and other places, fighting against hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops on the outskirts of the city.

It was not until later that the 3rd Division entered the city to support the Japanese Marines.

So now in the city, in addition to the Third Division, there are also a large number of Japanese Marines.

In order to capture the Sihang Warehouse, the Japanese also mobilized a large number of marines to help, preparing to attack the Sihang Warehouse with all their strength, and to capture this small warehouse at all costs.

Konoe Xun glanced at the Japanese troops gathering and waiting below the building, then turned his head to look in the direction of the Sihang Warehouse.

"Notify all troops to prepare for battle as soon as possible, and then attack the Sihang Warehouse with all their might."

"Hai!"

A Japanese officer nearby responded respectfully and turned to convey the order.

At this time, a Japanese officer walked over quickly and said respectfully: "Report to His Excellency, the commander of the regiment, General Okawa has arrived and is waiting for you at the headquarters."

General Okawa refers to the commander of the Japanese Marine Corps, Rear Admiral Okawa Uchishichi.

Konoha Xun frowned slightly. He didn't have a good impression of the Marines who came to help.

But surface work still needs to be done.

Konoe Xun hurried back to the headquarters.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw Okawauchi Denshichi sitting in a chair and drinking tea leisurely.

Konoe Xun said politely: "General Okawa, you are here."

Okawauchi Denshichi smiled slightly and asked, "Konei-kun, how are the troops preparing?"

The Guards said: "We are making final preparations and can launch the attack on time as planned."

"Yoshi~!"

Okawachi Denshichi's face suddenly darkened, and he said, "It's just a small warehouse, and we have been fighting for so long, but we can't take it down. This is simply a shame for the Imperial Locust Army."

"This time, our two armies will fight together. No matter what, we must take this small Sihang Warehouse at all costs to save the face of the Locust Army."

Konoe Xun sneered in his heart and thought: How dare you laugh at us?

You have a lot of Marine Corps troops and so many warships to assist in the battle. But after more than two months of fighting, you still haven't been able to capture the small Zhabei area, right?
They were almost wiped out by the Chinese army, and you still have the nerve to laugh at us?
If the Third Division had not entered the city to provide support, you would not be able to take Zhabei now.

How dare you say such nonsense.

Although Konoe-kun was somewhat unhappy, he was unwilling to fall out with this guy.

Jinweixun tried to calm down and said, "General, please rest assured. We can definitely take over the Sihang Warehouse within three hours."

"We have made sufficient preparations for this. Anyway, I don't think that such a small number of enemies and just this building can stop the attack of the locust army."

"Although three hours is not a long time, it is enough for us to break into the warehouse and completely wipe them out."

"Yoshi~!"

Okawachi Saga smiled and said, "I am very pleased that Konoe-kun has this confidence. I can also rest assured."

"You can rest assured. Although I am here, you are still responsible for the specific command of the operation."

"We, the Marine Corps, will also fully cooperate with you."

"If we win this battle, the credit will go to you, Lord Konoe. If we fail, the entire empire will be disgraced."

Konoe-kun quickly said: "General, what you said is absolutely right, so this time, we will not fail."

Okawauchi Denshichi nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's great. I will stay at the command center and watch Konoe-kun display his power, seize the Sihang Warehouse, and launch a new attack."

"Hai~! Thank you, General." Konoe Xun responded politely.

……

Li Guotao quickly came to the command room, met Captain Xie, and said, "Captain, I just heard the newspaper boy across the street shouting."

"The Japanese claimed that they would capture the Sihang Warehouse within three hours."

Captain Xie frowned slightly and said, "Hmph! Have these little devils become so arrogant?"

"It was actually publicized with such fanfare."

Captain Xie is not stupid. If the Japanese didn't take the initiative to spread the news, how could such news have spread?

Li Guotao smiled and said, "Isn't it for their reputation? Such a large-scale publicity is for the whole world to see."

"Look how powerful they are. They were able to take over the Sihang Warehouse in three hours."

"I'm not afraid of the strong wind blowing my tongue."

Captain Xie frowned and said, "Since the Japanese dare to do this, they must be sure of it."

"If they can't get it in three hours, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing for them?"

"So their general offensive is about to begin."

Li Guotao said: "Based on the current situation, if they want to take over the Sihang Warehouse, they can only attack with all their might."

"We must seize the Sihang Warehouse at all costs, no matter how many casualties we suffer. As long as we are well prepared, take advantage of the favorable terrain and fight calmly without losing our composure, it will be wishful thinking for the Japanese to seize the warehouse."

(End of this chapter)