Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Li Guotao said: "Sihang Warehouse is so close to the concession. Now that the fighting has become like this, I guess the concession authorities will be very worried!"

"The Japanese have been unable to capture the city for a long time and have suffered heavy losses. They are desperate and will inevitably put pressure on the concession authorities."

"Then the concession authorities will certainly put pressure on Nanjing for their own interests."

"Judging from the current situation, our chairman would never dare to offend foreigners."

"If it really develops to this point, it will be troublesome."

Upon hearing this, Captain Xie could not help but frown and said, "There is some truth in this."

Captain Yang frowned and said, "Could it be that our superiors would allow us to surrender directly to the Japanese?"

Li Guotao explained: "This is probably unlikely, but it can force us to retreat."

Although Li Guotao said this, he knew in his heart that the bald guy was a coward and could do anything.

Captain Xie frowned and said, "But we are surrounded now. Where can we retreat to?"

Li Guotao said: "The Japanese will certainly put pressure on Nanjing through the great powers. In this way, the concession will be the middleman. With them mediating, they can naturally retreat to the concession."

"If we can use the concession to retreat to the western part of Shanghai, it won't be a big deal."

"I'm just afraid!"

Lei Xiong couldn't wait to ask, "What are you afraid of?"

Li Guotao said: "We are afraid that the foreigners might betray us and detain us, or even hand us over to the Japanese. Then we will be finished."

"I don't trust those foreigners."

"Given their moral character, they will definitely not allow us to enter the concession with weapons. If we enter the concession, they will definitely disarm us, and then we will be at their mercy."

"If the Japanese put pressure on the concession authorities at this time, there is no guarantee that these beasts will not sell us out to the Japanese."

"Fuck~!"

Captain Yang couldn't help cursing: "If this is the case, we would rather die on the battlefield."

Lei Xiong also said: "The battalion commander is right. No matter what, we cannot fall into the hands of the devils."

Shangguan Zhibiao said: "Brother Li, what do you think we should do next?"

Li Guotao smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "Everything is up to the commander's orders."

"I just want to remind the commander-in-chief so that he can prepare in advance."

Everyone's eyes fell on Captain Xie. Li Guotao knew very well that the decision-making power was still in the hands of Captain Xie.

Head Xie looked at Li Guotao in front of him, smiled slightly, and said, "Since you raised this question, I would also like to hear your opinion."

In fact, Captain Xie had not thought of this before. He just wanted to hold his position and live and die with the Sihang Warehouse, no matter how long he could hold out.

In fact, before coming here, they all had the mentality that they would die.

No one thought how long the Sihang Warehouse could last. The fact that it has survived until now has exceeded everyone's imagination.

So actually Captain Xie hasn't thought about these issues yet, which is why he said he wanted to hear Li Guotao's opinion.

Li Guotao smiled and said: "If you ask me, I will never hand over my fate to anyone else, no one else, let alone a foreigner who has always been dishonest, that would be even more impossible."

Captain Xie said, "You mean we can't retreat into the concession?"

Li Guotao nodded and said, "It's okay not to retreat, but if we want to leave here, we have to go through the concession. We can't get out in other directions."

"But we can enter the concession, but we must not surrender our weapons. This way we can gain a certain degree of initiative."

"But we will definitely face pressure from all sides. As for the foreigners, we soldiers may not buy into it, but what about Nanjing?"

"What if the commander of the 88th Division comes forward and demands that we surrender our weapons and enter the concession?"

"Can the leader withstand the pressure and save the lives of the brothers?"

As soon as Li Guotao finished speaking, everyone present once again focused their attention on Captain Xie.

Head Xie was also a little surprised and said, "Li Guotao, these are just your assumptions. Maybe it won't develop to that point at all."

Li Guotao insisted: "Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of one."

"If it really comes to this, what will Captain Xie do?"

"The lives of these hundreds of brothers are in your hands. Fighting the Japanese, dying on the battlefield, the brothers have no complaints. If they surrender, they will be handed over to the Japanese, and then tied to a pillar by the Japanese to practice bayonet, I don't think anyone would be willing!"

"The lives of the hundreds of people in the warehouse are all in the hands of the captain. I hope the captain can think of a way out for the brothers in advance."

Captain Xie said: "You have said so much, but you still haven't said what to do specifically?"

Li Guotao said sternly: "First, we must not easily agree to withdraw to the concession."

"Second, once we enter the concession, we must not surrender our weapons, even if the division commander comes and orders us to lay down our weapons."

"If the foreigners come at us with force, we will fight them, but I think those foreigners are bullies who only bully the weak and fear the strong, and they may not dare to really fight us bravely."

"As long as we persist, we can leave the concession safely. It's actually that simple."

"The key lies in whether the leader and the brothers can withstand the pressure from above."

Captain Yang pondered for a moment and said, "If that's the case, disobeying orders will probably not end well even if we withdraw."

Li Guotao smiled and said: "No matter how miserable the end is, it won't be worse than being handed over to the Japanese."

"Of course, everything is just a hypothesis now. We haven't reached that stage yet. The captain and everyone else have enough time to think about this issue carefully."

"If it really comes to that, what should we do?"

"My idea is very simple. If I really have to surrender and enter the concession, I would rather die in the Sihang Warehouse."

After Li Guotao finished speaking, he turned around and left the command center.

After Li Guotao left, the second company commander Deng Ying said, "Commander, do you think it will come to that?"

Captain Xie remained silent.

At this time, Captain Yang said: "After listening to this guy's analysis just now, I think it is very likely to develop into this trend."

"Unless the Japanese have other ways to take over the Sihang Warehouse, I'm afraid they can only think of this trick."

"Anyway, the Japs will never give up."

Captain Shi of the third company said: "If this is true, the higher-ups will definitely not be able to withstand the pressure."

Captain Yang said, "How do you know?"

The third company commander sneered and said, "Humph, the Battle of Songhu lasted for more than two months. In fact, we had several opportunities to kill the Japanese Marines in the city, but what was the result?"

The third company commander's words caused everyone present to fall into silence.

In fact, everyone is not stupid. Everyone has some idea of ​​why the superiors' blind command at that time delayed the opportunity to fight. In the final analysis, it is because the government is too weak. Such a weak government, facing the pressure from the great powers, will definitely do whatever they say.

So what Li Guotao said is likely to become a reality.

Faced with such a situation, Captain Xie also realized that they had to consider the issue of retreat in advance.

Li Guotao left the command center and found a well-ventilated place to take a breath and have a good rest.

Because he had just fought for several hours and had been in a highly tense state, Li Guotao was also tired.

Li Guotao also understood that this matter could not be rushed. It would be much easier if he gave them a heads-up in advance and then slowly convinced them not to be fooled.

Li Guotao smoked a cigarette, then lay on the ground, closed his eyes, and planned to take a nap to recover some strength.

After a while, the Japanese soldiers on their position started shouting again using a loudspeaker.

It was nothing more than persuading the defenders of the warehouse to surrender.

"Listen everyone inside, you are surrounded."

"Surrender is your only way out. You have already angered the Locust Army."

"If you continue to refuse to surrender, the locust army's artillery fire will destroy the entire building. By then, everything will be destroyed and it will be too late to regret."

"This is your last chance!"

"As long as you are willing to surrender, the Imperial Locust Army can guarantee your safety, and you will be treated as a warrior should be."

"Don't be stubborn and seek your own death."

……

The Japanese's loud speaker kept shouting over and over again, and even the concession opposite could hear it clearly.

"What? Are the Japs going to use heavy artillery?"

"The Japs are going to use heavy artillery to blow up the warehouse."

There were bursts of shouting in the crowd and some riots broke out on the street.

Many people began to flee from here quickly because they had seen the power of the Japanese heavy artillery.

In the Battle of Songhu, the Japanese used a large number of heavy artillery, and their Third Fleet also used a large number of large-caliber naval guns to bombard our positions. The entire Zhabei was razed to the ground.

Especially those refugees who fled here, they knew clearly the tremendous power of the Japanese heavy artillery.

After hearing the shout, Vincent couldn't help but turn his head to look in the direction of the Sihang Warehouse and said with a smile: "Luca, do you think the Japanese will use heavy artillery?"

Luca shook his head and said, "It's hard to say."

"These Japanese slaves are driven into a corner, and they are capable of doing anything."

Vincent smiled and said, "If they really dared to use heavy artillery, they wouldn't be shouting here."

Luca said: "But the defenders in the warehouse will definitely refuse to surrender. I am absolutely sure of that."

Vincent smiled and said, "It's rare to hear you say something so sure. How can you be sure that they will refuse to surrender?"

Luca said, "That's easy. If they were willing to surrender, they wouldn't have gone to the Sihang Warehouse. Even a fool can see that this is a deadly place."

"If they were willing to surrender, they would have surrendered when the Japanese first launched the attack. Why wait until now?"

"If they were willing to surrender, they wouldn't have fought the Japanese to death until now. They killed so many Japanese. If they surrendered, the Japanese would never let it go."

Vincent smiled and said, "That's not true. They stayed at the warehouse to fulfill their military duties."

"Their superiors ordered them to hold out for a few days, but they have held out for two days now."

"If they surrender at this time, they are forced to do so. They have already fulfilled their duties."

Luca reminded: "Don't use your Western thinking to speculate on Eastern people's thoughts."

Vincent nodded and said, "That's right."

Luca said: "So they will definitely not surrender. I don't know if this move will further anger the Japanese. If those guys are really angry and lose their minds, they might really use cannons to flatten the Sihang Warehouse."

"So let's just pray for God's blessing now!"

"Please hope the bomb doesn't fall on this side of the river, let alone hit that big can, or we'll all be doomed."

Vincent frowned and said, "Now that you mention it, I feel a little nervous."

Luca said: "The Japanese continue to persuade us to surrender, which means they have no other options, at least not now."

"These Japanese slaves have lost face now. Who knows what stupid things they will do out of anger and shame."

Vincent said: "No matter how stupid they are, they will still care about their own life and death. If that big thing explodes, they will all die."

Luca sneered and said, "They dared to commit seppuku, are they still afraid of death?"

Vincent decisively interrupted him and said, "You'd better shut up. I don't dare to stay here anymore after you said that."

"You mean the soldiers guarding the warehouse? Aren't they afraid?"

Luca said: "Maybe they have already forgotten to be afraid."

"forgotten?"

"Yes, I forgot, because I have already gotten used to it, so I forgot."

……

Li Guotao and his men were in the warehouse, so naturally they also heard the Japanese shouting.

Everyone gathered together to talk about the matter. No one was a fool. No one would be naive enough to believe the lies of the Japs, who were such cruel and dishonest beasts.

Li Guotao was still a little surprised. Why did the Japanese continue to persuade him to surrender?
Isn't this the same as slapping yourself in the face?
But after thinking about it carefully for a long time, I still can't figure it out.

Is there really no other solution?

However, Li Guotao would rather believe that they were deliberately paralyzing them.

These little Japanese devils will never give up. They will never give up.

However, they may not have a better solution next. They want to use this opportunity to paralyze the defenders and then find a way to capture the Sihang Warehouse when they are careless.

Li Guotao also had no idea what tricks the Japanese devils would use next.

Now we can only respond to changes with the same attitude. As long as we are cautious and vigilant, we won't give the Japanese any chance to take advantage.

Li Guotao walked around the warehouse and observed the Japanese outside from all directions.

Indeed, he did not find any unusual movements from the Japanese soldiers. Li Guotao could not help but curse: "Damn it, what on earth are these damn Japanese soldiers doing?" (End of this chapter)