Siheyuan: Hang Jia Dongxu, smash Banggeng to death!

The outer defenses of Shanghai were brightly lit.

Lu Yongxiang's troops were stationed in the suburbs, surrounded by barbed wire, sandbags, and machine gun positions.

The soldiers, carrying Type 38 rifles, shivered in the cold wind, their breath visible in the lamplight.

Lu Yongxiang stood in the command post, wearing a military overcoat, his face ashen, veins bulging on his forehead.

When he heard that a steel army was heading towards Shanghai, he assumed it was the remnants of some warlord's forces.

When he finally saw those tanks and armored vehicles he had never heard of before, the cold sweat on his back never dried.

"Commander!"

The adjutant rushed in, his face ashen. "The enemy's vanguard is already three miles away, and none of the scouts we sent out have returned."

Lu Yongxiang's hand trembled slightly as he gripped the edge of the table, knowing in his heart that it wasn't that he hadn't returned, but that he would never come back.

"Let's go, go take a look, and send a message."

He straightened his military overcoat and walked out of the command post.

Under the lights, the outline of the steel behemoth gradually emerged.

The gun barrels of the Type 99A main battle tanks were faintly visible in the fog, like ancient behemoths lying in wait.

The machine gun of the 04A infantry fighting vehicle points to the sky, and the antenna on the top of the radar vehicle slowly rotates.

The soldiers stood in silent ranks, their faces expressionless, only the cold glint of their gun barrels flashing.

Lu Yongxiang's legs felt weak, and he reached out to steady himself on the jeep next to him, muttering to himself:

"What kind of tank is that? I've never seen one before!"

No one could answer him.

The adjutant, supporting him with trembling hands, shook his head and said, "I don't know either. The Beiyang Fleet doesn't have anything like this."

Brigade Commander Chen jumped off the command vehicle and strode toward Lu Yongxiang, wearing digital camouflage clothing, a helmet, an automatic rifle, and a pistol tucked into his waistband.

"Are you Lu Yongxiang?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was deep and clear, especially in the open wilderness.

Lu Yongxiang swallowed hard, trying to appear calm: "Yes, I am. And you are?"

"Chen Zhen, commander of the Huaxia Independent Brigade."

"We are now officially taking over Shanghai. If you know what's good for you, take your troops and leave Shanghai, otherwise—"

He patted the pistol at his waist, "I won't hold back with the guns in my hand."

Lu Yongxiang's face turned even uglier.

He looked at the steel behemoths behind Chen Zhen, then at the old Type 38 rifles in his soldiers' hands.

I have so little to my name; it's not even enough to fill a tooth gap in front of others.

But he couldn't bear to part with the lucrative Shanghai market.

Having worked his way up in Shanghai for many years and finally established himself, how could he be willing to hand it over so easily?

"Brigadier Chen, your Chinese Independent Brigade... I've never heard of it before?"

Lu Yongxiang asked tentatively.

"Never heard of it?"

Chen Zhen laughed, "It's not too late to hear about it now. You still have fifteen minutes to consider. After fifteen minutes, our artillery fire will cover your position."

Sweat beaded on Lu Yongxiang's forehead. He glanced at his watch; it was 2:43 a.m.

He turned and went back to the command post, saying to the telegraph operator, "Send a telegram to Nanjing, quickly!"

The sound of "drip-drip-drip" echoed in the command post tent.

Nanjing, Presidential Palace.

Chiang Kai-shek was woken from his sleep and sat in his study wearing a bathrobe.

His face looked terrible; no one would be happy to be woken up in the middle of the night.

"What is it?"

Old Jiang lit a cigarette.

An attendant handed over a telegram: "Chairman, an urgent telegram from Lu Yongxiang, the Governor of Zhejiang, says that a force calling itself the 'Chinese Independent Brigade' is going to take over Shanghai. They are extremely well-equipped, with a large number of tanks and armored vehicles of unprecedented models."

Chiang Kai-shek frowned: "The Chinese Independent Brigade? Which number? Have you checked?"

"I've checked, and there's no such number in the Central Army's order of battle. I've also asked all the major war zones, and they all said they don't have it either."

Old Jiang took a deep drag on his cigarette, the smoke billowing from his nostrils, and a thought popped into his mind:

Could it be Communist troops?

How could their troops possibly have such sophisticated equipment? Tanks and armored vehicles—even the Central Army didn't have many of those.

"Ask Lu Yongxiang again, how many men and tanks were in that unit? Who was the commander?"

A short while later, another telegram arrived.

The aide read aloud: "Approximately five or six thousand men, over a hundred tanks, over a hundred armored vehicles, and a large number of artillery pieces. The commander identifies himself as Chen Zhen, and is in his forties."

Chiang Kai-shek stood up and paced back and forth in his study, feeling agitated. This unexpected army was like a thorn in his side.

"Send them a telegram asking if they are willing to join the National Revolutionary Army. If they are willing, let them garrison Shanghai; if not..."

He stopped and looked out the window at the gray sky.

"Chairman, what if the other party is unwilling?"

"If you don't want to come in, you're not allowed in."

Chiang Kai-shek's voice was deep, but the aide-de-camp sensed the hesitation in his words. When Lu Yongxiang received the telegram, he almost smashed the radio.

"Fuck you!"

He slammed his hand on the table, and the teacup jumped up and shattered on the floor. "Old Chiang is using me as a pawn. If I could beat them, would I need to ask you for help?"

I only ask for help because I can't beat them, and you want me to ask you?

"If they're willing to join, I'll lose territory; if they're not willing to join, they'll launch a full-scale attack, and I'll still lose territory. Either way, I'm going to lose Shanghai!"

The adjutant asked cautiously, "Commander, what should we do?"

Lu Yongxiang gritted his teeth, puffed out his cheeks, and walked to the window to look at the steel behemoths outside. The outlines of the tanks became clearer and clearer, and the cannons gleamed coldly in the headlights.

"Go ask them if they are willing to join the National Revolutionary Army."

Soon.

Commander Chen dictated the message, which his adjutant read out word by word: "The Chinese Independent Brigade does not accept any renaming or change of its designation, and is not affiliated with any force."

We will only do one thing: defend our homeland, drive out the Japanese invaders, and take over Shanghai.

Lu Yongxiang crumpled the telegram into a ball, threw it on the ground, picked it up, unfolded it, and read it several times before slumping into a chair.

He had been a warlord for so many years, and he had never seen such a tough army.

"Pass the word down, prepare to evacuate."

"Commander!"

"withdraw!"

Lu Yongxiang slammed his fist on the table again. "I'm not done living yet. I don't want to die here. Those tanks could blow me to smithereens with a single shot. My meager possessions aren't even enough to fill their teeth."

The adjutant opened his mouth, then turned and went out to relay the order.

The night in Shanghai was broken.

The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the city.

"An army is about to attack Shanghai!"

"I heard they came from the north, and there are several hundred tanks!"

"What's their background? The Central Army? Or the Japanese?"

"I don't know, but they're definitely not a good guy."

The police were the first to receive the news.

"Detective! Something terrible has happened! A huge army has arrived outside the city—tanks, armored vehicles, a dark mass!"

Huang Jinrong suddenly stood up, knocking over his chair: "What? Which part?"

"I don't know, but I heard it's the China Independent Brigade that's going to take over Shanghai."

Huang Jinrong was stunned for a moment, and he was full of questions, mainly because it was too sudden.

……