Jinweixun stared at Captain Xie fiercely, wishing he could rush up and fight him to the death right now.

Captain Xie frowned slightly, thinking that this guy had a good plan.

If he does not accept the challenge at this time, he will undoubtedly lose to the other party in momentum.

Captain Xie sneered and said, “You said that a new commander will be coming to take your place soon!”

“But there is no one who can take over my position yet, and my mission is not yet completed.”

“Do you think this is a fair challenge?”

When Konoe Xun heard this, he was obviously stunned. It seemed that this was indeed unfair. This guy was also an extremely proud devil, so naturally he would not stand taking advantage of others for nothing.

But he didn’t want to miss such an opportunity and be branded as a loser forever.

The Guards said stubbornly: “You will soon receive the order to retreat. This battle is over and your mission will soon be completed.”

Captain Xie continued, “Even if we withdraw from the Sihang Warehouse as you said, I still have hundreds of men under my command. If I don’t bring them safely to the west of Shanghai, my mission will not be accomplished.”

“I have a mission to accomplish. The lives of hundreds of our brothers rest on my shoulders.”

“As a soldier and a commander, I cannot abandon my responsibilities and duel with you like a reckless man.”

“If there is a chance, once my troops have safely retreated to the west of Shanghai, I would be very willing to accept your challenge.”

“Although this battle is over, the war is not over yet. If you go to Shanghai West, we will see each other on the battlefield soon.”

“At that time, you and I can put everything aside and have a fair duel. I’m just afraid you don’t have the courage.”

“Bagaya Deer~!”

Konoe-kun said angrily: “You are insulting a true samurai!”

Captain Xie sneered and said, “In that case, let’s meet in the west of Shanghai for the final battle.”

The Guardsman gnashed his teeth and said, “I will chop off your head with my own hands to wash away today’s shame.”

Captain Xie said disdainfully: “It depends on whether you have the ability. I also want to see whether your neck is harder or my sword is sharper.”

“Yoshi~!”

Jin Weixun nodded slightly and said, “You are indeed a worthy opponent. I will definitely go to Huxi to find you.”

“I hope you can get there safely.”

Not being able to get what he wanted, the Guards felt helpless, but this was probably the only way to deal with things today.

Konoe Xun left unwillingly.

Xiao Qiyue led the horse and followed Captain Xie back to the warehouse.

As soon as Captain Xie entered the room, a group of people surrounded him.

“How about it?”

“What did the little devil talk to you about?”

Captain Xie said casually, “Nothing. They just said that they are going to use heavy artillery tomorrow and want us to surrender.”

“But I guess they are just threatening us on purpose.”

“Of course, we also have to be fully prepared.”

“The Japanese may launch another attack. All troops must be ready for battle at any time.”

“Yes!”

Everyone responded quickly.

No one took the threat from the Japanese seriously.

Captain Xie then called several key officers to the headquarters for a meeting.

Li Guotao also came to the command center. He also guessed that things should not be that simple.

Captain Xie glanced at Li Guotao and suddenly said, “That little devil said we might have to receive an order to retreat.”

Everyone was surprised when they heard this.

Captain Yang asked, “How did the devil know that?”

Commander Xie explained: “Because the Japanese have issued an ultimatum to the Municipal Council, they will use heavy artillery tomorrow.”

“And the concession authorities have also tried to mediate over the past two days, trying to stop us from continuing the fight.”

“In this way, the foreigners will definitely put more pressure on the G government.”

“Plus, the Brussels meeting has been postponed. We can’t delay any longer, so the higher-ups may issue an order to retreat.”

Captain Yang frowned and asked, “Can we trust what the devil said?”

Captain Xie sighed helplessly and said, “It’s hard to say. Who knows if the Japanese will really dare to use heavy artillery or if it’s just bluffing? I guess the concession authorities don’t dare to gamble.”

Li Guotao asked: “Captain, why would that little devil tell you this?”

“It stands to reason that there is no need for him to disclose such information to you.”

Captain Xie replied: “That guy wanted to challenge me, saying that we were going to retreat and the battle was about to end, and he didn’t want to bear the reputation of a loser.”

Li Guotao nodded slightly and said, “These bastards care most about their reputation, which is understandable.”

“You won’t accept his challenge?”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes fell on Captain Xie.

Captain Xie smiled and waved his hand, saying, “That little devil has bad intentions, how could I be fooled by him?”

“I told him that we can duel if we want. Once we arrive safely in the west of Shanghai, we will have plenty of opportunities to duel on the battlefield over there.”

Li Guotao smiled and said, “The commander is wise.”

“This is a modern war, not a gladiatorial arena. We don’t need to pay attention to their reckless duel.”

“That little devil lost the battle and will probably be punished. He just wants to save some face before leaving.”

Captain Xie nodded and said, “He did say that a new commander would be taking his place.”

Li Guotao said: “This old devil is not simple either. If I have the chance, I really want to kill him.”

“Let’s get back to the point. If this is the case, the credibility of this matter is still very high.”

“Although the Brussels Conference was suddenly postponed, our delegation has arrived as scheduled. During this period, it is estimated that it has also had contact with major powers such as the United States, Britain, and France.”

“I’m afraid we now know the attitude of the great powers. Anyway, I think those foreigners are not reliable at all. They will not offend the Japanese for us. It is just wishful thinking on our part to try to gain more assistance. In this case, there is really no need to continue this war.”

“Now these foreigners are using excuses to put pressure on Nanjing. Under such circumstances, the higher-ups may indeed order us to withdraw from the Sihang Warehouse.”

“In order to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible, the concession will certainly allow us to enter the concession, but these foreigners are unreliable.”

“The Japanese have lost so much face this time, they will definitely not let us go easily.”

“So you can retreat, but once you enter the concession, you must not surrender your weapons.”

“As long as we still have the guns in our hands, we still have the initiative. If we surrender our guns, we will just become lambs to be slaughtered. The foreigners will not care about our lives.”

“Once the Songhu area is completely occupied and the Japanese continue to put pressure on the concessions, we may be handed over to the Japanese, which will be a dead end.”

“So we have to be strong enough in this matter.” “The foreigners are eager to get rid of us plague gods. As long as we insist on not surrendering our weapons and not staying in the concession, and directly pass through the concession to the west of Shanghai, then they will definitely make concessions and just want to get rid of us as soon as possible.”

“This matter concerns the life and death of our brothers. We have no choice.”

Captain Xie nodded and said, “Don’t worry! I won’t ignore the lives of my brothers.”

“I was the one who led everyone into the Sihang Warehouse, and I will lead everyone out.”

At this time, a huge British flag slowly came over from the other side of the bridge.

The Guards have already given orders that there is no need to shoot in such a situation.

Therefore, the people under the flag were able to enter the warehouse safely.

The soldier in charge of the response quickly verified the identities of the people who entered the warehouse.

“Report to the head of the delegation, the special envoy has arrived.”

“Special Commissioner?”

“Yes, sent by Jinling.”

“Please ask the special commissioner to come up.”

“Yes!”

Li Guotao said to Captain Xie: “Captain, this special envoy may be here to convey the order to retreat.”

Captain Xie glanced at everyone and said, “I understand. You can rest assured.”

Not long after, the special envoy was taken to the headquarters.

Captain Xie and several officers stood up and saluted together.

“Special Commissioner.”

The special envoy nodded slightly, glanced at the people behind Captain Xie, and his eyes finally fell on Captain Xie.

“Zhongmin, let me talk to you alone.”

Captain Xie’s courtesy name was Zhongmin. At that time, many educated people had courtesy names.

Captain Xie nodded slightly and said, “You all go out and continue to lead the soldiers to repair the fortifications.”

“Yes!”

Everyone responded and walked out of the command center one by one.

When Li Guotao left, he glanced at the special envoy and then turned and left.

Head Xie said politely, “Special Envoy, please take a seat.”

The special envoy found a seat and sat down, then took out an order from his jacket pocket and handed it to Captain Xie.

Captain Xie was sitting on a chair, he reached out to take it, took a close look at the warrant, and couldn’t help but be slightly moved.

Sure enough.

The special commissioner saw a bottle of wine on the table, so he stood up and picked up the bottle, then took two teacups, and poured wine into the teacups while saying, “This is the president’s order.”

“Order the Sihang Warehouse garrison to withdraw from the Sihang Warehouse via the British Concession at 12:00 tonight.”

“October 30, the 26th year of the Republic of China.”

After the special envoy finished speaking, he picked up a glass of wine and said, “Zhongmin, I’ll drink it.”

After saying this, he picked up the teacup and drank it all.

The special envoy’s drink was naturally to thank the commander and his men for their heroic deeds in defending the Sihang Warehouse during the war of resistance.

Captain Xie read the warrant carefully several times, couldn’t help but sigh slightly, then picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

Although he had been prepared for a long time, Captain Xie still felt a little depressed when he received the retreat order.

Once they withdraw from the Sihang Warehouse, it means that SH City will be completely occupied.

After nearly three months of fierce fighting, 700,000 soldiers rushed to the front line, suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties, but ultimately failed to save the city.

This is the sorrow of the entire nation.

However, Captain Xie also understood that the soldiers had really tried their best and had no fault. If there was any fault, it was mainly the fault of the decision-makers, otherwise the battle would not have ended like this.

Of course, the main reason for the failure is that the gap between the two sides is too big.

Commander Xie said, “Special Commissioner, I understand. But please also convey our determination to hold on to the Sihang Warehouse to Chief of Staff Zhang.”

“I believe our efforts will gain more international support at this conference.”

Captain Xie actually didn’t really want to stay and hold the position. This move was also to retreat in order to advance, and he was also thinking about how to evacuate safely.

The special envoy was also familiar with Captain Xie’s character and was not at all surprised by what he said.

The special envoy said helplessly: “The Brussels meeting was postponed, or ended early.”

“The delegation has already contacted representatives from various countries and has also ascertained their general attitudes.”

“The United Kingdom, the United States and other countries are considering their own interests, and no one is willing to help us.”

Upon hearing this, Captain Xie couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. He once again remembered Li Guotao’s words: those foreign devils can’t be relied on, no one can be relied on, it is better to rely on oneself than on anyone else.

Any person or country only cares about their own interests. Who would really care about the life or death of others?

Society is so realistic.

If the motherland is strong, perhaps there will be people willing to help you. If the country is poor and weak, it will be bullied by others and no one will really be willing to help you.

In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, that is, during this period, the only country that strongly supported China’s war of resistance was the Soviet Union.

They support us not out of any moral obligation, but mainly because they are worried that if the Japanese invaders in Asia become the only dominant force, it will seriously threaten their safety. After all, their relationship with the Japanese invaders is quite tense.

Based on the principle that my enemy’s enemy is my friend, they will support us to prevent us from being swallowed up by the Japanese and further enhancing their strength. They also want to use this to deplete the Japanese’s strength, and that’s all.

Captain Xie said: “We are not fighting this battle just for the foreigners to see!”

“The Battle of Songhu lasted for three months, and was lost for three months. Seven hundred thousand troops were deployed on the battlefield, but in the end they were completely defeated.”

“People’s hearts are divided and soldiers are afraid of fighting. If things continue like this, we will be in real danger.”

“I believe this battle can, to some extent, rekindle people’s confidence in the war situation and boost morale so that they can continue the war of resistance.”

The special commissioner said helplessly: “What’s the use? The overall situation has been decided!”

“The fall of Songhu is a fact. What 700,000 troops failed to accomplish, can you, a few hundred people, accomplish?”

“give up!”

Captain Xie stood up suddenly and asked angrily, “What? Do you think so too?”

“If even people like us have lost our confidence and fighting spirit, do we still have hope?”

The special envoy also looked helpless and said, “I am just stating a fact. The gap between us is too big.”

“And this battle has already been lost. We can only think of other ways.” (End of this chapter)