Southern guerrilla warfare: I led the Red Seventh Army Corps to amassed a million troops.

But as more and more Red Army soldiers gathered, their firepower advantage gradually became apparent.

The previously suppressed lines began to advance inch by inch.

The Japanese bayonets were no match for the overwhelming firepower, and the corpses piled up thickly in the middle of the street.

Matsumoto Ichiro looked around and saw that there were fewer and fewer people around him, a resolute look flashing in his eyes.

He raised his sword high and roared.

The remaining Japanese soldiers simultaneously pulled back their bolts, ejected their empty magazines, and then, with a click, fixed their bayonets.

However, they soon discovered something that horrified them.

The Red Army soldiers opposite them did not charge forward to fight with bayonets as they had expected.

Instead, they spread out to the sides, revealing a dark anti-tank gun behind them.

Matsumoto Ichiro's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he blurted out a curse:

"Baka! These Chinese have no samurai spirit whatsoever!"

His interpreter, pale with fright, stammered, "Sir...they...they have no martial ethics..."

Before he finished speaking, a ball of orange-red flame shot out from the cannon.

"boom!"

The shells struck the area with the highest concentration of Japanese residents, instantly knocking more than a dozen people overboard, their severed limbs flying into the air.

Then came the second shot, the third shot...

Gunshots were still ringing out, but that arrogant arrogance, like charcoal embers doused with cold water, began to hiss and die down.

After the initial passion fades, a bone-chilling cold follows.

Some of the Japanese expatriates threw down their guns and knelt on the ground, wailing loudly; some huddled in corners, hugging their knees and trembling; and some tried to play dead, lying motionless on the ground, but their damp crotches gave them away.

Yamamoto Shiro stood there, his face covered in blood, leaning on his broken sword, his eyes glazed over.

Looking at the corpses lying haphazardly before him, at the overseas Chinese crying and wailing, and then at the Red Army soldiers advancing step by step, he finally understood a truth.

This is not Tokyo, not Manchuria, not a place where they can run rampant.

This is Fuzhou, on Chinese soil.

Bang bang bang, after a burst of gunfire, Zhou Zeyuan slowly walked through the smoke-filled street and glanced at the corpses lying scattered on the ground.

He said something to the communications officer beside him, his voice as calm as if he were talking about something trivial:

"Seal off the consulate. Investigate everyone inside, one by one. Anyone found with a gun should be treated as a member of the armed forces of a belligerent nation."

"By the way, tell all units that anyone who breaks into homes and bullies civilians, no matter who they are, should be killed on sight."

The Japanese consulate was a two-story Western-style building with a black sign with white lettering hanging at the entrance that read "Consulate of the Great Japanese Empire in Fuzhou".

The main door was closed, but dim light shone from the windows, and one could vaguely see people moving around inside.

Hu Tiantao led her men to the door and knocked. No one answered.

"Commander, should we just kick it open?" a soldier asked.

"That's too rude. We need to show the Red Army's style in front of our international friends."

Hu Tiantao shook her head, then called out to the upstairs window:

"Listen up, you people inside! We are the Red Army's Fuzhou city defense force. Your consulate's overseas Chinese took to the streets armed, attacked our troops, and engaged in arson, murder, and looting. They have now been completely annihilated by our side."

"We suspect that armed personnel are still hiding inside the consulate and need to conduct a search. Please open the door immediately and cooperate, otherwise we will take coercive measures!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a corner of the curtain upstairs was lifted, revealing a terrified face.

"Our Consul Yoshida has gone out. We cannot open the door without his orders."

Hu Tiantao shouted impatiently, "You can't refuse to open the door without my orders. Otherwise, I'll make sure you die in the line of duty right now."

The soldier whispered, "Commander, didn't you say that in front of international friends..."

"Can that little Japanese devil be considered a friend? He might not even be considered a human being."

After about two minutes, the door finally opened a crack.

A middle-aged man in a black suit poked his head out and said in broken Chinese, "I am Yamada, the clerk from the consulate. What can I do for you?"

Hu Tiantao was too lazy to waste words with him and waved her hand: "Search!"

Dozens of Red Army soldiers filed in and quickly took control of all the rooms in the consulate.

Secretary Yamada was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet, but he didn't dare to stop her. He could only follow Hu Tiantao and mutter something in Japanese.

The search proceeded quickly. Apart from a few civilian staff members, no other armed personnel were found inside the consulate.

But in a storage room on the second floor, the soldiers found a hidden compartment containing a high-powered radio and more than a dozen brand-new rifles.

Hu Tiantao had the radio and rifles brought out, then gave Yamada a cold look: "How do you intend to explain these things?"

Yamada's face was as white as paper, and his lips trembled for a long time, but he couldn't say a word.

"Take them away. All consulate personnel are to be brought back to headquarters for questioning."

The Red Army soldiers moved swiftly and quickly brought out all the dozen or so people inside the consulate.

Those Japanese diplomats who were usually so arrogant were now all dejected, some even barefoot as they were pushed onto the truck without even having time to put on their shoes.

Just then, a short, stout middle-aged man in a gray suit suddenly rushed out of a small building diagonally opposite the consulate. He was waving his hands as he ran, shouting something in Japanese.

This person was none other than Shigeru Yoshida, the Japanese consul in Fuzhou.

"Stop! Stop!" Yoshida Shigeru ran up to Hu Tiantao, panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat. "Who are you? Where is your commander? I need to see your highest-ranking officer!"

Hu Tiantao sized him up and down: "I am the commander here, Hu Tiantao, commander of the First Division of the Red Army. Consul Yoshida, what do you want to say to me?"

Yoshida Shigeru straightened his back and shouted sternly, "This is a serious diplomatic incident! Our Consulate of the Great Japanese Empire in Fuzhou enjoys diplomatic immunity. You have no right to search, much less arrest consulate staff! You are declaring war on Japan! Have you considered the wrath of the Great Japanese Empire?"

Hu Tiantao looked surprised after hearing this.

He tilted his head and stared at Yoshida Shigeru for a moment. "Consul Yoshida, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"In 1932, the central government of our Soviet Republic had already declared war on Japan. Are you unaware of this, or are you deliberately pretending not to know?"

Shigeru Yoshida's expression froze.

Hu Tiantao continued, "After the September 18 Incident, your Japan occupied my three northeastern provinces and massacred my compatriots. My Soviet government issued a 'Declaration of War Against Japan' that year, announcing war against Japan. It's written in black and white. Would you like me to find a copy for you to see?"

Shigeru Yoshida opened his mouth, but was momentarily speechless.

Of course he knew about this, but he never imagined that such a desperate anti-government force would actually have the audacity to challenge the majesty of their Great Japanese Empire!

However, Yoshida Shigeru was a seasoned diplomat and quickly adjusted his strategy.

"Even if... even if you declare war, so what? According to international law, diplomats from both sides in a conflict enjoy diplomatic immunity. Your arbitrary arrest of consulate staff is neither legal nor humanitarian!"

"Humanitarianism?" Hu Tiantao sneered. "You Japanese talk to us about humanitarianism? When you were massacring civilians in Northeast China, what about humanitarianism? When your expatriates were burning, killing, looting, and raping women in Fuzhou, what about humanitarianism?"

"According to the laws of our Soviet government, anyone possessing weapons against the Red Army in a war zone is considered an illegal armed group and will be arrested. As for your question about diplomatic immunity..."