You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

Zhang Wenzhong, the former commander of the Ningxian Security Regiment and now the commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 3rd Brigade of Zhejiang Provincial Security Forces, was riding a skinny horse, urging his men to hurry on their way.

"Hurry up! Hurry up, all of you! Stop dawdling!"

Although Zhang Wenzhong is over fifty years old, he is still in good health. He holds a riding whip in his hand and his brows are furrowed.

News of the fierce fighting in the Battle of Shanghai had spread far and wide, and as he prepared to step into this blood-soaked hell, his heart was heavy with apprehension.

"Commander, a vehicle is approaching from ahead."

The scout suddenly shouted.

Zhang Wenzhong looked up and saw a gray-painted armored vehicle rushing towards him on the dirt road in the distance, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Japanese devils?! Japanese armored vehicles?!"

Zhang Wenzhong's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively pulled out his Browning M1910 pistol from his waist and roared:

"Scatter, scatter quickly, take cover, prepare for battle."

The more than 800 militiamen behind him instantly fell into chaos. Some rolled into the ditch, some hid behind trees, and some were so frightened that their legs went weak and they collapsed in the middle of the road.

However, the armored vehicle did not fire, but stopped a hundred meters away from them.

Zhang Wenzhong squinted and looked closely. He saw that the car did not have the disgusting Japanese flag. Instead, it was painted with a striking emblem of the Republic of China.

"call……"

Zhang Wenzhong let out a long breath, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

At this moment, the turret hatch of the armored vehicle opened, and an officer leaned out halfway, shouting through a metal megaphone:

"I am the platoon leader of the first platoon of the armored reconnaissance company of the 3rd Security Brigade. Brigade Commander Lin sent me to welcome you. We just fought a battle with the Japanese in Qibao Town and won. The brigade commander invites you to come and join us."

"Did you win?"

Zhang Wenzhong paused for a moment, then put the gun back in its holster, muttering to himself:

"They probably ran into a Japanese reconnaissance squad or their vanguard, right? It's good that they won, it's good that they won."

Although he knew that Lin Feng's troops were well-equipped, he didn't dare to think about the unbelievable scenario of annihilating a reduced-size regiment.

"Brothers, it's alright, we're on the same side."

Zhang Wenzhong waved his hand: "Everyone, get ready! Run! To Qibao Town!"

Twenty minutes later.

When Zhang Wenzhong led his panting troops to the battlefield outside Qibao Town, the scene before him completely petrified this veteran who had fought his whole life.

"This...this..."

Zhang Wenzhong opened his mouth wide, making a "clucking" sound in his throat, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

The once flat riverbanks and farmland outside the town were now completely ravaged by artillery fire, with huge craters everywhere, scorched soil swirling around, and a pungent smell of gunpowder permeating the air.

On that scorched earth, the most striking feature is a few "small hills".

It was made up of Japanese soldiers' corpses.

These corpses had been stripped naked, leaving only their white loincloths, and were piled up haphazardly like dead fish.

Soldiers were pouring gasoline, apparently preparing to set it on fire.

Although each Japanese soldier was not tall, only about 1.5 or 1.6 meters, the visual impact of hundreds or thousands of corpses piled together was simply devastating.

"My goodness..."

The militiamen following behind Zhang Wenzhong were terrified, some even vomiting on the spot.

"How many Japanese soldiers are there...?"

"There must be over a thousand people, right?"

"Who exactly is this Brigade Commander Lin? How could he kill so many Japanese soldiers in one go? Even the main force division of the Central Army couldn't do that, could they?"

Zhang Wenzhong took a few shaky steps closer and looked at the horrific wounds on the corpses—some were cut in half by large-caliber bullets, some were blown to pieces by artillery shells, and others looked like they had been burned to a crisp.

This is a truly tough battle.

This is an absolute crushing defeat in terms of firepower.

"Old Zhang, you're here?"

Just then, a cheerful voice rang out.

Lin Feng walked over with Zhao Yushu and several guards.

Although he was covered in dust, he was in high spirits, and his confidence and murderous aura could be felt from a distance.

Zhang Wenzhong suddenly came to his senses and looked at the young man in front of him; his eyes changed completely.

It was awe, admiration, and above all, the excitement of seeing hope.

"brigadier!"

Zhang Wenzhong straightened his back and snapped to attention, giving a perfect military salute, more precise and forceful than ever before.

"These...these are all..." he said, pointing to the pile of corpses, his voice still trembling.

"Oh, the Japanese 149th Regiment, probably a reinforced battalion or so."

Lin Feng said casually, as if he had just stepped on a nest of ants: "They tried to outflank Shanghai's urban area, but I ended up surrounding them. It's a pity that some Japanese soldiers escaped, and I couldn't wipe them all out."

"Complete...total annihilation?!"

Zhang Wenzhong felt his head buzzing.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of the object Zhao Yushu was holding out of the corner of his eye.

That charred flag, that golden chrysanthemum emblem.

"That's... the regimental flag?!"

Zhang Wenzhong cried out, rushing over as if he had been electrocuted, his hands trembling as he wanted to touch it, but he dared not, as if it were a hot potato.

"It really is the regimental flag...it really is..."

Zhang Wenzhong was overcome with emotion and tears streamed down his face.

He looked up at Lin Feng, his voice choked with emotion:

"Brigade Commander Lin, I, Zhang Wenzhong, was inspired by Mr. Sun Yat-sen to abandon my studies and join the army."

"But I graduated from the Baoding Military Academy and fought half my life, the Zhili-Fengtian War, the Central Plains War... In the end, it was all us Great Xia people fighting each other. It made my heart turn cold and my blood turn cold, so I hid in the county to live a life of ease and waiting to die."

"But today..."

Zhang Wenzhong pointed at the pile of Japanese corpses, his face flushed with excitement:

"Seeing this scene, I realized that our Great Xia army is also capable of fighting foreign wars and can slaughter the Japanese like pigs."

"The younger generation surpasses the older generation. Seeing you, Brigade Commander, I, an old soldier... feel ashamed."

He abruptly wiped away his tears, stood at attention again, and roared:

"Brigade Commander Lin, from now on, my life, Zhang Wenzhong's life, belongs to you. You tell me where to shoot, and I'll shoot there. Even if it's to fill the Japanese machine gun emplacements, if I, Old Zhang, even flinch, I'm a stepmother."

-----

The battlefield was cleaned up quickly, or rather, thoroughly.

Holding a list, Zhao Yushu reported to Lin Feng with a beaming smile:

"Brigadier, we've struck it rich this time. Although we've damaged a lot of the Japanese artillery, some of it is still usable."

"We destroyed a total of six Japanese Type 41 mountain guns, Type 92 infantry guns, and grenade launchers; and captured one intact Type 41 75mm mountain gun, one Type 92 infantry gun, and nine grenade launchers."

"Regarding light weapons, we captured 4 Type 92 heavy machine guns, 9 Type 91 light machine guns, over 400 Type 38 rifles, and a quantity of ammunition and grenades."

Lin Feng nodded.

Although these Japanese goods seem rather shabby compared to the high-quality Han Chinese products produced by the system, especially the Type 91 light machine gun, whose ammunition feeding system is simply an anti-human design.

But for friendly forces that are severely lacking in automatic firepower, these are highly sought-after assets.

Soon, the team regrouped and set off in a grand procession towards downtown Shanghai.

The ancient temple field hospital was also packed up and taken away.

Dean Zhang was moved to tears as he looked at the dozens of horse-drawn carriages specially set aside to transport the seriously wounded and medical equipment, as well as the soldiers of the Third Security Brigade who helped push the carriages and carry the wounded.

He had never seen such a benevolent army in his life, nor had he ever seen such a wealthy army. Even the wounded were not carried on stretchers, but in horse-drawn carriages!

After the main force left, Qibao Town became deserted.

Lin Feng, however, made an excuse to stay until the end.

He stood on the devastated battlefield, looking at the craters and scattered parts, a "thrifty and hardworking" smile playing on his lips.

"Time to get to work."

Soon, the wreckage of Japanese artillery pieces destroyed by the bomb, twisted machine gun parts, rifles broken in two, and even Japanese helmets and boots—anything that was metal or had recycling value—was all swept into the system space.