You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

To govern the city.

Southeast Shanxi Command.

Shen Wang, the deputy director, and the brigade commander sat facing each other, each holding a cup of hot tea.

"Mr. Shen, your tea is truly excellent!"

The deputy director held the teacup, took a small sip, and his eyes were full of admiration.

He looked much older than his actual age, with a few gray hairs at his temples, but he was actually not yet forty years old, a year younger than the brigade commander next to him.

The brigade commander blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water, downed half a cup in one gulp, smacked his lips, and said, "Indeed! It's a hundred times better than the coarse tea leaves at headquarters. It makes my whole body feel comfortable."

Shen Wang smiled and waved his hand, refilling their teacups: "This is hardly good tea. I've heard that there's a thousand-year-old tea tree on Mount Wuyi that only produces a few kilograms of tea leaves a year. That's a true gem, something you can't buy even if you have money."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, the deputy director laughed loudly: "Then after we drive the Japanese devils away, I will personally lead people to Wuyi Mountain to fence off that old tea tree."

"From now on, this tea is exclusively for Mr. Shen's consumption! No one else is allowed to touch it!"

Shen Wang raised an eyebrow and smiled, "That's great, I've been waiting for this day."

"Let alone a single tea tree!"

The brigade commander slapped his thigh and said with great pride, "Based on Mr. Shen's contribution, even if it were ten or a hundred trees, it would be just what you should do!"

The two of them spoke back and forth, their tone filled with heartfelt admiration.

As the conversation flowed, the brigade commander's smile gradually faded. He picked up his teacup but didn't drink it. Instead, he gazed at his reflection in the cup and sighed softly.

"Even if one day we drive them off our land, that will only be driving them off."

The brigade commander raised his head, his eyes filled with resentment: "They come and go as they please. Once they've robbed and killed enough, they can just pack up and retreat back to their homeland in Japan to hide."

"Once things calm down, they might come back again someday."

"Just thinking about it makes me so frustrated, it's absolutely infuriating!"

Shen Wang held his teacup, his fingertips gently tracing the cool rim. Hearing this, he smiled faintly and said, "Then let's call."

"right!"

The brigade commander's eyes lit up, and he slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup jump.

"Once we drive those Japanese devils away, we'll fly our planes over their heads every day!"

"They only blew it up once this time, it wasn't enough!"

"No!"

The deputy director quickly waved his hand, interrupting the brigade commander, his tone serious.

"Even if we drive the Japanese devils away, we can't bomb them every day!"

"Going once or twice to vent our anger and show our strength is fine. But if we keep bombing them endlessly, international public opinion will be very unfavorable to us, and we will give them a pretext to criticize us."

The brigade commander sighed. He understood the deputy director's point of view, but he was still upset.

He took a sip of tea in silence and muttered, "If only I could lead troops there and wipe out their base once and for all, saving them from future troubles."

After he finished speaking, he and the deputy director exchanged a glance, and both shook their heads at the same time, their faces showing helplessness.

"It's so difficult! It's incredibly difficult!"

The deputy director said with a wry smile, "The Japanese navy is still too strong. The combined fleet has dozens of battleships and aircraft carriers, firmly controlling the sea."

"And what about us? Forget destroyers and cruisers, we don't even have many decent gunboats. How are we going to attack their base? We can't exactly send our soldiers swimming there."

"Yes, the navy is our biggest weakness."

The brigade commander nodded, his tone heavy: "They can roam freely at sea, while we can only watch from land. As long as the Japanese navy is still around, they will always have a way out and will never be afraid of us attacking them."

As the two were sighing, Shen Wang, who had been silent all along, suddenly smiled.

Are you two acting out my story?

But it doesn't matter anymore, it's time to take out the naval supply pack I got from the draw.

Shen Wang put down his teacup, looked at the two of them, and said with a half-smile, "It's not impossible. Although the Japanese navy is strong, it's not invincible."

"Whoosh—"

The moment the words were spoken, both the deputy director and the brigade commander froze.

The teacups in their hands froze in mid-air, the helplessness and heaviness on their faces vanishing instantly, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

The room fell silent instantly, and even the sound of the wind outside the window could be heard clearly.

After a good ten seconds, the brigade commander suddenly came to his senses. He leaned forward, his eyes wide like saucers, and his voice stammered:

"Mr. Shen...you...you can..."

The words were left unsaid, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

The deputy director also stared intently at Shen Wang, holding his breath as if afraid he had misheard.

Seeing their nervous expressions, Shen Wang smiled and nodded.

"boom--!"

Their minds went blank instantly.

"real?!"

The brigade commander jumped to his feet, trembling with excitement.

"Mr. Shen, can you really procure a warship?"

The deputy director also stood up abruptly, his hands clenched into fists, his chest heaving violently.

He had witnessed Shen Wang create too many miracles—tanks, airplanes, cannons—there was nothing Shen Wang couldn't accomplish.

But the navy is different! It consists of steel behemoths weighing tens of thousands of tons, a symbol of a nation's industrial strength!

"Mr. Shen! Is it really possible?" The deputy director's voice trembled.

Shen Wang waved his hand, gesturing for the two to sit down first: "Don't get excited, let me finish what I have to say. I can indeed get naval vessels, but you two shouldn't be too happy yet."

"The Navy is different from the Army and Air Force; it's not that easy to manage."

"For the army, find a few literate people, train them for half a day, and they'll be able to drive tanks forward; for the air force, pick a few brave people, train them for a month or two, and they'll be able to barely get up and drop bombs."

"But the navy is different. A warship has hundreds of people: the captain, the first mate, the chief engineer, the radar operator, the sonar operator—you can't do without even one of them."

"Without several years of professional training, you simply can't handle it."

"And, most importantly, the navy needs ports!"

"Without deep-water harbors, warships can't even dock, let alone be repaired, maintained, or resupplyed."

The deputy director and the brigade commander slowly sat down, and their agitated emotions gradually calmed down.

They were all people who led troops into battle, so they naturally understood the principle of a "century-old navy".

What Shen Wang said were all very real issues.

"So, what do you think we need to do now?"

The deputy director looked at Shen Wang with utmost sincerity: "As long as we can build our own navy, no matter how difficult it is, we can do it!"

"Tell us what you need us to do, and we'll provide whatever we can, whether it's manpower or supplies!"