Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

Chapter 412 The Challenge of the Guards!

The guard’s red eyes stared at Fang Xingwen in front of him, frightening Fang Xingwen so much that he couldn’t help but take two steps back.

“Colonel, this is what they said.”

Jinwei Xun sneered and said, “Very good, please go to the Sihang Warehouse again, Mr. Fang.”

Fang Xingwen asked with some concern: “I wonder why you asked me to go back to the Sihang Warehouse. Do you have any message for the garrison?”

Jinweixun gritted his teeth and said, “Go and tell them that the locust army will definitely take over the Sihang Warehouse.”

“We will take over the Sihang Warehouse at all costs.”

“If they continue to resist, they will only die, and their death will be meaningless.”

“Go and inform Captain Xie that I want to meet him.”

“If he has the courage, please come out and see me this afternoon.”

Fang Xingwen hesitated and said, “It doesn’t matter if I make another trip, but Captain Xie may not agree.”

The Guards said: “You can tell him clearly that we, the Imperial warriors, will never shoot from behind. We would never do such a despicable thing. We can ensure his safety.”

Fang Xingwen thought to himself: Haven’t you done enough despicable and shameless things?
However, he couldn’t say anything in front of the devils, so he could only say reluctantly: “In that case, I will go to the Sihang Warehouse again. I will convey all your words to Captain Xie. As for whether he will meet with you, I can’t guarantee it.”

Konoe Xun said politely: “You just need to convey my words.”

“I will definitely bring it there!” Fang Xingwen said hurriedly.

The Guards nodded in satisfaction and said, “Take Mr. Fang to collect his reward.”

“Hayi~!”

The translator responded respectfully and then left with Fang Xingwen.

After Fang Xingwen left, Jin Wei Xun could no longer suppress his anger and slammed his fist on the table.

“Bagayalu, these damn bastards are so arrogant.”

A Japanese officer nearby consoled him: “Colonel, calm down. Can you trust what this guy says?”

Konoe-kun said, “Is it necessary for a profit-seeking guy to deceive us?”

“In that case, there really aren’t too many defenders in the warehouse.”

“Eight hundred people. They only had eight hundred people, but they blocked the locust army for several days, causing the locust army to lose so many troops in vain, but they still couldn’t take down this small warehouse.”

“For the Imperial Locust Army, this is simply a great humiliation.”

Seeing that Konoe Xun was about to go mad with rage, the Japanese officers present were so frightened that they dared not say anything more.

The Guards gritted their teeth and said, “They dare to be so arrogant. Aren’t they sure that the Locust Army dare not use heavy artillery?”

“Send another telegram to the Commander, reporting the situation to him and requesting the use of heavy artillery again.”

“Given the current situation, only heavy artillery can quickly capture the Sihang Warehouse.”

“For the honor of the Locust Army, we must capture the Sihang Warehouse and eliminate these few hundred enemies.”

“Hayi~!”

A Japanese officer nearby responded respectfully and turned to send a telegram.

……

After Fang Xingwen left the Japanese, he quickly entered the Sihang Warehouse again, and this time he entered smoothly.

Because the Imperial Guards had already made arrangements in advance, Fang Xingwen did the same thing as last time. He sought help from foreigners and, under the guise of a foreign flag, took the opportunity to deliver a batch of medicines into the warehouse.

The Japanese didn’t care about these things. After all, there was not a severe shortage of supplies in the warehouse, and they naturally didn’t worry that carrying such a small amount of things would affect the entire battle situation.

Fang Xingwen successfully entered the warehouse and directly requested to see Captain Xie.

Li Guotao learned that this guy was back again, so he rushed over in advance and asked, “How is it?”

Fang Xingwen said: “As you said, I have told the devils everything.”

“It’s just that their frontline commander said they would definitely take the Sihang Warehouse, and they might use heavy artillery.”

“In addition, their Colonel Regiment Commander, Konoe-kun, requests to see Captain Xie.”

Li Guotao frowned slightly and said, “He wants to see Captain Xie? When?”

Fang Xingwen replied: “I think it will be this afternoon.”

“He will be on the battlefield by then. Please ask Captain Xie to come out and meet him. I estimate that during this period of time, the Japanese will not launch another attack.”

Li Guotao nodded thoughtfully and said, “Come with me to see Captain Xie first.”

Li Guotao then brought Fang Xingwen to Captain Xie’s command post.

Fang Xingwen explained the situation in detail to Captain Xie again.

Captain Xie didn’t say much and ordered two soldiers to take Fang Xingwen down to rest.

After Fang Xingwen left, Captain Yang said, “Commander, I don’t think the Japanese have good intentions. They can’t take the warehouse, so they want to trick you out.”

“We can’t be fooled.”

Shangguan Zhibiao said: “Yes, the Japanese are not trustworthy at all. They are going crazy now and can do anything.”

Captain Xie said thoughtfully: “If we don’t go, won’t the Japanese underestimate us?”

“I think it wouldn’t hurt to meet that Imperial Guard. They wouldn’t attack me from behind, would they?”

Captain Xie said as he looked at Li Guotao, who said, “It doesn’t matter if we meet once.”

“But for the sake of the leader’s safety, it’s okay if we don’t meet.”

Captain Xie smiled bitterly and said, “It’s the same as not saying anything.”

“Since he asked to see me, if we don’t meet him, it would seem that we are afraid of him.”

“Didn’t the Imperial Guard also say that he would take the initiative to show up at the battlefield when the time comes?”

“I will leave after he comes out. If the Japanese play any tricks, with a sharpshooter like you here, do you have any worries about not being able to kill that guy?”

“So I guess they won’t play any tricks.”

Captain Yang said, “What if they randomly send someone to pretend to be a Royal Guardsman in order to lure the regiment commander out?”

“I think, when they really show up on the battlefield, we should just kill him. There’s no need to talk to them at all.”

Captain Xie glanced out the window and said, “The whole world is watching us. If we shoot from behind, we will be laughed at by the whole world.”

Li Guotao said: “Actually there is nothing to talk about. It’s just that if we don’t go, we will weaken the other side’s morale.”

Captain Xie said: “That may not be the case. Only when we actually meet that Guard Honored Officer, we will know what he wants to talk to us about.”

“Maybe we can extract some useful information.”

Li Guotao said, “I think they are just threatening us with using heavy artillery to force us to surrender or retreat.” Captain Xie said, “Then let’s talk about it after we meet the Imperial Guards.”

“If anything unexpected happens to me, Captain Yang will take over my command.”

Captain Yang wanted to persuade them further, but before he could open his mouth, he was stopped by Captain Xie.

“Okay, that’s it, no need to say more.”

Li Guotao turned his head and looked out the window, and said thoughtfully: “Actually, what I’m worried about now is not what tricks the Japanese devils will play.”

“I guess they won’t rashly use heavy artillery unless they really have no other choice.”

“And now things might be going a little differently.”

“The foreigners will definitely be worried, and they will most likely mediate. I’ve told you this before.”

“If it really comes to that, and the higher-ups give the order to retreat, we can retreat into the concession, but we must not surrender our weapons.”

“That’s our bottom line.”

Captain Xie assured: “I have said it before, I can promise you this, I will not joke with the lives of my brothers.”

Sure enough, during the following period of time, the Japanese did not take any action. Even the snipers opposite them became obedient, as if the battle was over.

The warehouse defenders also all hid in a safe place and took the time to rest. For them, maintaining sufficient physical strength was more important.

Of course, some of the fortifications that were destroyed in the battle have already been repaired.

However, at this time, Captain Xie and his team received bad news.

The head of state of a Western country was embroiled in a political scandal, which led to the postponement of the Brussels Conference.

After hearing the news, Captain Xie couldn’t help but feel a little worried, because if the meeting was delayed, it would mean that they would need to hold on longer.

Although the Japanese had concerns and did not dare to use heavy artillery rashly, if they continued fighting like this, their patience would sooner or later run out.

What should we do then?
Captain Xie was naturally not afraid of death, but what he was afraid of was the failure of this battle, which would ultimately become meaningless.

What’s more, I’m afraid that if the Japanese really use heavy artillery and really detonate the large gas tank opposite, causing the concession to turn into a sea of ​​fire, I don’t know how many people will die in the sea of ​​fire.

So Captain Xie was also deeply worried.

At this time, Xiao Hubei ran in and said, “Commander, Staff Officer Li said that the little devil came out and is shouting outside. He wants to see you.”

Upon hearing this, Captain Xie came to a shooting hole outside the west wall and observed the outside.

Sure enough, not far from the warehouse, a Japanese officer appeared, riding a tall horse, with a young Japanese soldier standing next to him, who seemed to be an interpreter.

Another Japanese soldier held up a loud speaker and shouted, “I am the Colonel of the 68th Regiment of the th Infantry Brigade, Konoe Xun. I would like to ask Commander Xie to come out and see me.”

Li Guotao asked, “Captain, do you really want to go out and meet that little devil?”

“Hmm~!”

Captain Xie nodded and said, “I’ll leave this to you.”

At this time, Xiao Qiyue said, “Captain, I will go with you.”

Captain Xie frowned slightly.

Xiao Qiyue explained: “Didn’t you see that the devil was riding a horse? We can’t lose to them in terms of momentum. The commander is also riding a horse. I’ll lead the horse for you.”

Captain Xie asked: “Aren’t you afraid?”

Xiao Qiyue shook her head and said, “Don’t be afraid!”

“it is good!”

Captain Xie smiled slightly and said, “Then come out with me.”

Then Captain Xie rode a white horse, and Xiao Qiyue led the horse, and they walked out of the warehouse together.

Captain Xie rode his horse until he was about ten meters away from the Guards and stopped.

Konoe Xun glanced at Captain Xie and said, “I am Konoe Xun, the colonel commander of the 68th Regiment of the th Brigade.”

The translator next to him immediately translated this sentence to Captain Xie.

Commander Xie said, “Xie Jinyuan, Lieutenant Colonel and Deputy Commander of the 524th Regiment.”

The Guardsman nodded slightly and said, “Thank you, Captain. I admire your bravery and I’m glad to see you here.”

Captain Xie sneered and thought to himself, you are not happy at all, you are probably thinking about how to kill me.

The Guardsman continued, “Do you really think we dare not use heavy artillery?”

Captain Xie replied: “I don’t know. I only know that the order we received was to defend the Sihang Warehouse to the death. As long as we didn’t receive the order to retreat, we would continue to defend it. Even if we all died in battle, we would not retreat even a single step.”

Konoe Xun sneered and said, “I guess you don’t know yet, our Imperial Locust Army has already issued an ultimatum to the Concession Municipal Council.”

“We will use heavy artillery tomorrow, but the concession authorities have promised that they will communicate and negotiate with your government to allow you to withdraw from the concession. They can guarantee your safety.”

“This way we can avoid continuing the fight and end this meaningless battle as soon as possible.”

“I think you will receive the order to retreat soon.”

Captain Xie said indifferently, “Let’s talk about it when the time comes.”

At this time, Captain Xie looked relaxed on the surface, but he was actually extremely shocked in his heart, because this was exactly what Li Guotao had guessed.

Although Captain Xie’s previous analysis of his words made some sense, he did not absolutely believe it. But now that the Guards have also said so, it is likely to be true.

The Japanese put pressure on the concessions, and the concessions had long been worried that the war would spread to the concessions, and had been trying to find a way to stop the fighting. The only way was to put pressure on Nanjing.

If Jinling really cannot bear the pressure, and the Brussels Conference is delayed, it will be impossible to wait any longer. It is possible that a retreat order will be issued directly, forcing them to withdraw into the concession.

Thinking of this, Captain Xie couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

The Guardsman went on to say: “I admit that your troops are the most respectable opponents I have encountered in this war. Your resistance is very tenacious, and I admire you very much.”

“But you will soon receive the order to retreat, and we have also received the order to use heavy artillery tomorrow.”

“This way, the battle will be over and no one will pay attention to it anymore.”

Captain Xie still had an indifferent attitude and said, “This has nothing to do with me.”

“Of course it matters!”

Konoe Xun suddenly became angry and shouted loudly: “There will be a new commander to replace me, and I will always be a loser.”

“Our meeting this time does not represent the military, but only my personal opinion.”

“We’ll have another fighting chance tomorrow.”

“This is a battle of honor between you and me, and a battle between two men.”

“Do you dare to accept my challenge?” (End of this chapter)