Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 536 Eastward Advance
After the Fourth Army Corps assembled in Lin'an, they did not linger there for long.

After holding a combat meeting, most of the Fourth Army Corps immediately continued south to pursue and annihilate the enemy.

However, the Second Division was not in the southward march at this time. According to orders, they remained in Lin'an to rest and recuperate.

"No, Lao Chen, what kind of meeting are you holding? The Fourth Army Corps has all left, and we're just left here acting like idiots?"

According to the resolution, the Fourth Army Corps planned to capture the entire Zhejiang province.

Although Lin'an is important, we can't let the two leaders stay here all the time.

"What's your hurry?" Chen Chengxing sat down and poured himself a bowl of water.

"The Second Commander has been traveling all the way from the river to Lin'an for days and has achieved great success. You should give your brother units a chance, shouldn't you?"

"What did you say?" Luo Ping thought he had misheard. How could Chen Chengxing say something like that?
"Tell me honestly, what are you thinking?"

"Hehe... I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

"Look here." Chen Chengxing pulled over a map.

Looking in the direction Chen Chengxing was pointing, Luo Ping asked with some confusion, "Shanghai?"

"Isn't this Huaye's target?"

"What's wrong with Huaye? Can't our Second Division go?"

"We've done so much work for the East China Field Army, and now you want to hand us back to the Central Plains Field Army after we cross the river? That doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Second Boss can go wherever he wants now, and no one can kick us out."

"You've already sent a telegram to the East China Field Army?" Luo Ping asked curiously.

"Not yet." Chen Chengxing shook his head: "We're just about to send it out."

"Then hurry up, the East China Field Army should have already surrounded Shanghai."

"No need to rush. According to my estimate, the East China Field Army should not be able to attack Shanghai so quickly."

Chen Chengxing was well aware of the situation in Shanghai, and he had plenty of time to take things slowly.

"Old Chu, send a telegram to the East China Field Army in my name, saying that my unit is preparing to advance from Lin'an towards Jiaxing in the northeast."

"If you need our unit's cooperation in combat, you can contact us directly."

"Yes!"

Chen Chengxing's judgment was correct. While the Second Army was resting in Lin'an for several days waiting for the arrival of the heavy troops, the Corps Headquarters and the East China Field Army sent telegrams.

The Second Division was temporarily assigned to the Shanghai battlefield and was to immediately head east to join forces with the East China Field Army.

At the same time, commanders at all levels of the Second General Headquarters needed to rush to Danyang to attend the meeting.

According to the instructions from the Central Committee, before attacking Shanghai, all troops were to study the policies and matters concerning the takeover of the city.

Shanghai is different from other places, even different from Nanjing. It is a window for China to face the world, and we must be extremely cautious about it.

When Chen Chengxing and his group arrived in Danyang, tens of thousands of Party, government and military cadres had already gathered there.

Numerous professionals also rushed from liberated areas across the country, even from Hangcheng.

Over a thousand cadres from all levels of the East China Field Army gathered in the square in front of the Great King Temple.

"To take over Shanghai, class sentiment alone is not enough; one must also understand the policies!"

“In Shanghai, there are more than a thousand foreign-owned enterprises. The men wear suits and robes, and the women have permed hair, but they are not necessarily the wives of capitalists and landlords.”

"Furthermore, some employees in Shanghai still have to take rickshaws to work. At this time, you can't stand up for them and insist that those rickshaw pullers in suits be the ones to do it."

“Pedaling a tricycle is their livelihood; they rely on it to support their families.”

"We can't ruin someone's livelihood just because we're standing up for them."

"In short, the field army cannot be allowed to operate freely once it enters Shanghai!"

"Especially those who like to pat their chests, when they go to the theater, they pat their chests and say, 'I don't have a ticket'; when they go to the bathhouse, they pat their chests and say, 'I don't have any money.'"

"Who gave you this right? Let me tell you, if I catch you, I'll make you pound your chest from dusk till dawn! You're not allowed to stop until your chest is swollen!"

"Also, a few days ago we were discussing the rules for entering the city. Some people couldn't understand the rule about not entering private residences. Let me tell you, you are not allowed to enter either Western-style houses or private residences."

"Even if the King of Heaven himself came, it wouldn't work!"

"When we entered Shanghai, we brought neither dowry nor a band. To celebrate our victory, we can't just keep making empty promises; we have to give the people of Shanghai a little something to celebrate."

"The Central Committee has also reviewed our three major conventions and ten codes of conduct. Their evaluation is as follows: very good, very good, very good, very good."

"It's not easy to get even one 'very good' rating, but this time the Central Committee wrote 'very good' ratings in one go. I don't know how you feel about it, but I sat there smoking until dawn."

"The Central Committee said that entering Shanghai is a major obstacle for the revolution."

"What's the difficulty?"

"Firstly, militarily, Shanghai must not be destroyed; it must be taken over intact."

"Secondly, there's the political aspect. Shanghai is China's largest city and economic center. To gain a foothold in Shanghai, one must ensure complete military and political victory!"

"Once we get through Shanghai, all of China will be ours!"

After the commander's thorough explanation, all the officers of the East China Field Army understood why the troops had suddenly been put on hold. Upon returning to the Second General Headquarters, Chen Chengxing specifically emphasized to Luo Ping, "Old Luo, the rules for entering the city must not only be explained one by one, but also memorized in their entirety."

“Okay, I’ll discuss this with my comrades in the Political Department.” Luo Ping nodded.

When the soldiers below heard that they had to recite the entire text from memory, their heads were about to explode.

For them, this was even more difficult than fighting a war, especially for those illiterate soldiers who felt as if the sky had fallen.

In response, Luo Ping could only lead the political department personnel to each company and platoon to strengthen their learning.

The soldiers all came from poor backgrounds and had never experienced city life. To avoid a repeat of the situation in Nanjing, and especially to avoid disturbing the local people after entering the city, this task had to be done in advance.

However, compared to memorizing the entire city entry rules, the booklet of city common sense specially compiled by the Political Department was incredibly novel to the soldiers.

The soldiers had never even heard of common sense such as stopping at red lights, going at green lights, boarding the tram only after it has stopped, and queuing to board.

Everyone listened to it as a story.

While Luo Ping was diligently studying the lessons from each unit, Chen Chengxing and the various detachment commanders were analyzing the situation in Shanghai.

Shanghai, as China's largest city and industrial and commercial center, was the main base for imperial invasion and a stronghold that Chang Ruiyuan was determined to defend.

Regarding the defending forces, Chang Ruiyuan's initial plan for river defense was to prioritize the defense of the Songhu area over the defense of the river itself.

After the main force of the G Army crossed the river, in order to strengthen the defense of Shanghai, Tang Keqin repeatedly deployed troops into Shanghai.

At this time, the military strength in Shanghai had reached nine armies, with a total strength of more than 200,000.

In addition, there were 24 ships from the First Fleet and the First Patrol Fleet, as well as 56 combat aircraft from the Air Force.

While Chen Chengxing was sending special forces teams to conduct undercover reconnaissance, Gu Mosan also convened a high-level operations meeting.

The meeting was tense from the very beginning.

The generals were already very dissatisfied with Tang Keqin's defense of the Yangtze River, and now that the troops had suffered a complete rout, their dissatisfaction only intensified.

Cai Zhi, who took over as director of the Operations Department from Guo Gui, immediately launched into a tirade: "Chief of Staff, I have no idea how this battle was fought!"

"I said long ago that the strategy of defending Shanghai instead of the Yangtze River was a mistake. Now look what's happened, Nanjing has fallen, the gates are wide open, and the G army is advancing unimpeded!"

"Our hundreds of thousands of troops retreated to Shanghai, with no way out in front of us and the sea behind us."

"Did we come here to jump into the sea?!"

As early as the initial operational meeting to plan the defense of the river, Cai Zhi was dissatisfied with Tang Keqin's plan, but Tang Keqin used Chang Ruiyuan to suppress him, and the plan was eventually forced through.

Now that the army has suffered a crushing defeat, Cai Zhi can no longer tolerate it.

"I've said it before, more than once! We must never concentrate the main force of the river defense along the Shanghai-Hangzhou line!"

"What was the result? The collapse along the Yangtze River was so rapid! Along the Tongchuan line, six armies were lost in one fell swoop!"

"My judgments on the G Army's actions have been infallible, yet those in command have completely disregarded them. What right do I, as the department head, have to hold my position?!"

Seeing that Cai Zhiyue was getting more and more into his rant, Gu Mosan quickly stopped him.

By this time, he already knew that this was all Chang Ruiyuan's idea, and if he continued to talk about it, he might end up dragging him down with him.

Hearing Cai Zhi's words, the generals beside him were also quite helpless. Their judgment of the G army's movements was extremely accurate, but they did not adopt any of the above points.

However, Tang Keqin scoffed, "What do you know, you're just a kid?"

These words nearly made Cai Zhi explode with anger: "You still have the nerve to act like a teacher? Nobody respects you anymore, you good-for-nothing teacher! You don't deserve to be a soldier at all!"

"Soldiers? A soldier's duty is to obey!"

“Obey? Then why don’t you obey when I give you an order in the name of Chief of Staff Gu?!” Cai Zhi stood up and pointed at Tang Keqin, cursing.

"President Gu? Even President Gu has to listen to the CEO. I have the CEO's order."

"The CEO's warrant? Show it to me!"

Provoked by Cai Zhi, Tang Keqin, who was already in a bad mood after the defeat, impulsively pulled out the handwritten letter that Chang Ruiyuan had given him from his pocket.

Tang Keqin stood up and read aloud: "Shanghai has gold and silver dollars worth three hundred million US dollars stored there. Order all of them to be transported to Frog Island!"

"Before the gold and silver are all transported, we must concentrate our forces to defend Shanghai. If not all of it can be transported to Frog Island, then we must do so. This is a question for Tang Keqin and Chen Churu!"

Upon hearing Tang Keqin's words, Cai Zhi was utterly despondent and slumped into his chair.

He was speechless now, and had nothing left to say; things had reached their limit.

After reading the warrant, Tang Keqin handed it to Gu Mosan to verify its authenticity, and said smugly, "See? If this kid hadn't gone crazy today, none of you would have known!"

"It's a secret!"

"Let me tell you, the president has no intention of defending Shanghai to the death."

"Once the gold and silver have been transported, I will withdraw from the Zhoushan Islands. Gentlemen, if there is nothing else, you should go to Guangdong first, so as not to get in the way here."

After Gu Mosan finished reading Chang Ruiyuan's order, the Air Force Commander and Navy Commander next to him also read it.

They were all angry but dared not speak out.

However, arrogance is never a good thing, and Chang Ruiyuan soon learned what had happened there.

(End of this chapter)