Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 537 Attack on Shanghai
After Lin'an was lost, Chang Ruiyuan returned to his hometown.

According to the plan, he was to go straight to the southwest. However, after learning about the warrant incident, Chang Ruiyuan hesitated for a long time and finally decided to go to Shanghai first.

Shanghai contained a large amount of gold, silver, machinery, industrial raw materials, and other supplies. The swift transport of such a large quantity of goods could not be accomplished in just one or two days.

Every penny he earned in Shanghai was crucial to whether he could retain power after retreating to Frog Island.

At this time, the G army had arrived in the suburbs of Shanghai, and he needed to personally supervise and coordinate the manpower of all parties.

The most important thing was to boost the morale of the troops in Shanghai.

Otherwise, once the lower-ups find out about the warrant, it might not be able to be kept for even a day.

After arriving at the villa on Fuxing Island by naval vessel, Chang Ruiyuan immediately summoned Tang Keqin.

"You showed my warrant to someone else?"

Tang Keqin nodded, by which time he was trembling with fear.

Chang Ruiyuan was speechless at this idiot.

However, he didn't have many loyal and capable people left, so Chang Ruiyuan could only helplessly say, "Just take a look, so as not to make a fuss."

However, Chang Ruiyuan still decided to give him a warning.

"I've heard you always like to compare yourself to Cao Cao? Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian of Han."

Tang Keqin was terrified and didn't know what to do. He compared himself to Cao Cao, but he didn't mean to let his son usurp the throne.

Seeing Tang Keqin terrified, Chang Ruiyuan said, "You can't become Cao Cao; you should learn from Zeng Guofan."

Seeing an opportunity to back down, Tang Keqin immediately seized it and said, "Yes! I will learn from Zeng Guofan."

However, when Chang Ruiyuan looked at this guy, he felt that he had insulted his idol.

“You can’t become Zeng Guofan either, you…” Chang Ruiyuan thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out what kind of person he could become.

In the end, Chang Ruiyuan could only wave his hand helplessly: "Go ahead, I still believe in you."

"Yes! I will certainly live up to the president's trust!"

Watching Tang Keqin leave, Chang Ruiyuan shook his head speechlessly.

"Bring Mao Shanyu in."

After Mao Shanyu, the director of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, entered, Chang Ruiyuan asked directly, "What's the situation with Li Delin?"

“Vice President Li returned to Guilin and spent his days in talks with his group.”

Is it possible that he will head north?

"Those intellectuals and politicians advocated for peace talks, but the military opposed it."

"If they fly into the sky, shoot them down; if they try to gain independence, suppress them."

"Yes."

"Where is Mr. Yu Boxun?"

"In my hand."

"Yes, very good." Chang Ruiyuan nodded.

"People think I only care about gold bars, but I also value recruiting talent."

"Don't let Zhang Nan, Luo Rongji, Shi Liang, Rong Yi, Du Yuesheng, and, oh right, Zhu Kezhen, the president of Zhejiang University, get away with any of them."

"Yes!" Mao Shanyu nodded: "However, I believe that the Democratic League does not have much power."

"It's best not to kill people like Zhang Nan and Luo Rongji if possible."

Holding onto these people will be beneficial for the Kuomintang in the future.

"Your insight is truly remarkable, Mr. President!"

However, despite saying this, Mao Shanyu was actually quite flustered inside.

After hesitating for a moment, Mao Shanyu said, "President, I would like to ask for leave to make a phone call."

"You can fight it here."

"I'd better go outside to play; playing here will disturb the president's rest."

"Fight here!"

"Yes!"

Mao Shanyu wiped the sweat from his forehead and, feeling extremely nervous, dialed the phone number of the director of the Shanghai Police Bureau.

"Mao Sen? I am Mao Shanyu. That matter can wait."

"What?! It's Zhang Nan and Luo Rongji's group," Mao Shanyu said in a low voice.

"Understand?"

As soon as Mao Shanyu hung up the phone, Chang Ruiyuan asked, "You're going to make your move any later, right?"

"It's all my fault for not understanding what the CEO meant."

Mao Shanyu was also helpless, as the emperor's intentions were hard to fathom.

"I'm not blaming you, but you still need to report important decisions to me."

"yes!".
Next, Chang Ruiyuan summoned officers of regiment level and above from Shanghai to Fuxing Island for speeches and encouragement.

He repeatedly stated that he would stay in Shanghai this time and would not leave, vowing to live and die with Shanghai.

To demonstrate his determination, Chang Ruiyuan made several public appearances on the streets of Shanghai.

However, after Chang Ruiyuan arrived in Shanghai, his plan to rob people and money was quickly reported by foreign newspapers.

After all, whether it's withdrawing people or withdrawing money, the action is not small.

Upon seeing in the newspaper that Tang Keqin had already evacuated more than 10,000 people, the Central Committee, after deliberation, immediately sent a telegram to the East China Field Army and the General Front Committee.

The order was to quickly complete all preparations for the occupation of Shanghai, and to launch an attack immediately after preparations were completed.

For the G army, if Shanghai is destroyed, its value will be greatly reduced, but if Chang Ruiyuan takes all the supplies away, the value will also be reduced.

Neither of these scenarios is acceptable to the central government.

Inside the headquarters, everyone was a little confused when they saw the battle plan sent by the field commander.

Everyone originally thought that the Second Chief was coming to take on the main attack or other difficult tasks, but the task assigned to the Second Chief was to control the Songjiang and Qingpu areas and then stand by.

This practically means that the Second General Staff Headquarters is being used as the general reserve force. "The core enemy forces defending Pudong have several main forces, so why are we being singled out to deal with the 123rd Army?"

"This guy is a total noob."

The 123rd Army was formed from local security regiments in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. It had the lowest combat effectiveness, and its defense zone was located on the outermost edge of the Pudong defense line.

The 52nd, 54th, and 21st Armies, which form the core of the Pudong defense line, are all relatively strong in combat.

The 52nd Army, in particular, escaped from Northeast China by boat. However, it suffered minimal losses in manpower, maintained its organizational structure, and reduced its equipment, earning it the title of the Sixth Main Force.

Everyone in the Second General Headquarters had set their sights on the 52nd Army, but now they're being told to go fight the weak 123rd Army.

After sending the telegram, Chen Chengxing said, "Good food is worth waiting for."

"We are a heavily armed force, and according to the requirements, we cannot use heavy weapons when attacking Shanghai."

"That's in the city center; there's no such requirement in the outskirts." Everyone was still somewhat annoyed.

"After taking care of the outer perimeter, you'll remove the Second Chief. Are you capable of that?"

"We definitely can't do it, but we guarantee that we can take Shanghai without using artillery."

"Alright, enough of that nonsense." Chen Chengxing waved his hand. "The order has been given, and it can't be changed."

"After defeating the 123rd Army, we were positioned in the middle of the east and west flanks, and could provide rapid support no matter which side encountered obstacles."

"Furthermore, who do you think the Second Chief is there to guard against as the general reserve force?"

"Who?" Everyone was puzzled when they heard Chen Chengxing's words.

In this battlefield of Shanghai, besides Tang Keqin, is there anyone else?
“The Americans had made threats long before we crossed the river.”

"The Americans asserted at the time that we couldn't defeat Jiang, and that if we dared to make a move in Shanghai, the United States would join forces with other world powers to send troops."

"The higher-ups kept us behind so that we could step in at crucial moments and buy time for the Second Field Army to get into position."

"Let me make this clear upfront: if the Americans make a move, nobody's allowed to back down!"

"Commander-in-Chief, what are you saying? We've fought against the fully American-equipped Nationalist army before, so what?"

"If those Americans dare to come ashore, let them know what it means to be a force to be reckoned with!"

"Excellent, that's exactly the spirit I need!" Chen Chengxing affirmed. "When we get back, we must tell our comrades to prepare for a major battle!"

"Yes!"

Although everyone was somewhat serious, they were not nervous at all.

Since its formation, the Second General Corps has been involved in countless battles and has never been defeated, which has long cultivated its temperament of despising all enemies.

This is something Chen Chengxing has always wanted to change but hasn't been able to.

Being too arrogant isn't always a good thing.

In mid-May, after all preparations were completed, the East China Field Army launched a pincer attack on the two outer flanks of Shanghai with a single command from the north and south.

The ultimate goal is to launch a two-pronged attack on Wusongkou.

The core urban area of ​​Shanghai is not within the attack range.

The commander's intention was simple: to move the Guo army from inside the city to outside and fight them there.

If they directly attack the city, it would be difficult for 200,000 Kuomintang troops to defeat them in a short time without using artillery.

If the conflict drags on for too long, Shanghai will suffer heavy losses even without the use of artillery.

The attacking troops launched a fierce offensive, but the terrain in the Shanghai area was flat, with dense villages in the suburbs, crisscrossing rivers and ditches, and a high groundwater level, which was not conducive to the movement of large troops and the carrying out of earthwork.

Moreover, Shanghai had experienced many wars before. As early as after the January 28 Incident, the Kuomintang army, under the guidance of the Germans, built a large number of reinforced concrete bunkers in Shanghai.

Later, when the Japanese occupied Shanghai, they built a number of permanent defensive fortifications.

During the later stages of the Huaihai Campaign, Chang Ruiyuan also ordered the continued construction of fortifications in Shanghai.

Before the East China Field Army's offensive, a defensive line with a circumference of 80 kilometers and a depth of 10 kilometers had been completed inside and outside Shanghai.

The position was dotted with more than 4,000 reinforced concrete bunkers and more than 10,000 field satellite fortifications.

In addition, in order to clear the field of fire, Tang Keqin disregarded the lives of the people and leveled all the houses, buildings and trees within one kilometer of the position.

This resulted in the fact that, after the attack began, apart from the Second General Corps of the 123rd Army attacking towards Qingpu, the other two armies responsible for attacking Pudong did not make much progress.

Especially after reaching the front-line positions in Fuhang Town, the troops' attack speed began to slow down.

In addition, the offensive on the northern front was not going smoothly. The Nationalist army defended very tenaciously, and aircraft and naval artillery were always ready to provide support.

However, as the troops from the north and south advanced, Tang Keqin also continuously sent troops from the city to support the north and south lines.

Fuhang Town Frontline.

What's the current situation with the 260th Regiment?

"Report! The 260th Regiment has advanced to the vicinity of the Fuhang Town block, but their commander reports that the 260th Regiment has suffered heavy casualties!"

"How many people are left?!"

"Hello? This is the division headquarters. How many of you are left?"

"Good! Good!"

"Report from the 260th Regiment: They have only gathered 120 men so far."

"One hundred and twenty people?!"

After pacing back and forth inside the division headquarters twice, he gritted his teeth and said, "Ask the 260th Regiment if they can still launch the main attack!"

"Yes!"

"260th Regiment! Can you still launch the main attack?"

"Okay! Got it!"

"They said it was possible, but the organization has been disrupted, and it's difficult to move and assemble under enemy fire. So after entering Fuhang Town, there were no reserves to advance further."

"Reinforce the rocket artillery platoons issued from above to the 260th Regiment's direction, and provide fire support if necessary."

"In addition, we will transfer another battalion from the 259th Regiment, and all the division's directly subordinate units will be reinforced to the 260th Regiment. We must take Fuhang Town today!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)