Captain Xie said: “That’s right. No matter what, we can’t give up.”

“The situation is difficult now. If even we give up, then there will really be no hope at all.”

“Guo Tao, you have great insight. I want to ask you one more question. Do you think the foreigners will agree?”

Li Guotao said with certainty: “I think they will definitely agree, because they have no other choice.”

“Just wait, I believe there will be results soon.”

“But before that, we can’t be careless.”

“That old devil of Konoe-kun has been trying to save face. Maybe this guy will do something crazy.”

Captain Xie nodded slightly and said, “Yeah! That guy is indeed not someone we can trust completely.”

“Brothers, be ready for battle at any time.”

“The more we get to this point, the more we cannot let our guard down.”

“Yes!”

Captain Yang and others responded quickly.

……

Two hours later, the special correspondent suddenly called.

Captain Xie picked up the phone, but before he could say anything, he heard the special envoy’s stern voice from the other end.

“Zhongmin, I advise you to think about it again. Don’t be impulsive and have unrealistic fantasies.”

Captain Xie was inevitably a little angry and said, “We just asked to go to the west of Shanghai. It’s nothing more than borrowing a road. How can it be turned into an unrealistic delusion?”

The special commissioner explained: “We have negotiated with the concession authorities again and are still discussing it.”

“The other side’s attitude is very tough. If we allow you to enter the concession armed with weapons, it may give the Japanese an excuse. What if they take the opportunity to enter the concession?”

“They don’t dare take that risk now.”

“So you must surrender your weapons and disarm.”

Captain Xie said righteously: “If we disarm, we will be prisoners. We would rather die than be prisoners.”

“They are tough, can’t you be tough for once?”

“Instead of talking nonsense with me here, why not go back and talk to the foreigners? Show your strength against me and negotiate with them. I believe this is not a difficult thing to achieve.”

“We will not stay in the concession, so what excuse do the Japanese have to enter the concession?”

“Now they are also fighting us with the whole country’s strength, so how dare they offend those foreigners?”

“If the foreigners don’t dare to take this risk, will they dare to risk letting the Japanese use heavy artillery?”

“We don’t want to see the Japanese use heavy artillery and cause great suffering to the people. The foreigners certainly don’t want to see it either. The assets of those people in the Municipal Council are all in the concessions! Their people are also in the concessions! I believe they have a way to solve this problem.”

“I have made it very clear to you before that this is our bottom line and we will never make any concessions.”

After saying this, Captain Xie hung up the phone. The special envoy heard the sound of the phone being hung up and cursed angrily, but there was nothing he could do and he could only go back and negotiate with the foreigners.

In fact, Captain Xie was also very worried at this moment. What if the foreigners did not agree?

Captain Xie couldn’t help but feel a little hesitant. Although it was a matter of life and death for hundreds of his brothers, what if the Japanese really used heavy artillery?

There were two million people in the concession. After the war broke out, a large number of refugees poured into the concession.

The concession now is like a crowded bus, it is already overcrowded.

In this case, if the gas tank really exploded, the consequences would be disastrous.

Li Guotao comforted him: “Don’t worry, Captain. This matter can definitely be resolved.”

“We are afraid, but aren’t the foreigners afraid?”

“Aren’t the little devils afraid?”

“There are not only Chinese in the concession, there are also many foreigners, and even many Japanese devils.”

“So they definitely wouldn’t dare!”

Captain Xie said noncommittally: “I hope so.”

At this moment, in the Japanese front-line command center, the old Japanese soldier Konoe Xun was so furious that his lungs were about to explode.

Because he also received new orders, asking them to continue to keep their troops in place and not to provoke a new war.

Even the commander called and said bluntly that since the problem could not be solved by military means, then other methods should be used. There is no such thing as pure military means.

Tell him to control his troops and not take any action.

The commander also reprimanded him, saying that his act of challenging someone to a duel was the behavior of a reckless man.

This made the Guardsman very aggrieved, but since the commander had already given the order, the Guardsman could only obey it obediently.

This guy stood in front of the window, staring fiercely at the warehouse opposite, wishing he could fly over right now and kill all the defenders inside.

But that was impossible, he could only think about it casually.

Li Guotao sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the situation on the other side of the river. It was still as lively as ever.

There were still quite a few people gathered by the river, looking at the situation at the warehouse across the river.

There are those who come simply to watch the fun, and there are also those who are truly paying attention to this battle.

There are also spies sent by various parties to gather information and they are always keeping watch here.

As for the group of foreign reporters, they were very leisurely. Basically, they all gathered on the balcony of the small western-style building, drinking red wine and coffee and chatting.

Telescopes and cameras were set up nearby, and they were ready to take action at any time if anything happened.

Li Guotao was smoking and drinking, it was rare for him to be so free.

He guessed that the Japanese would not launch another attack.

Of course, this is just a guess. Li Guotao is not sure about the details.

At this moment, Li Guotao couldn’t help feeling a little worried. He was also worried about what to do if the foreigners really didn’t agree?
When the superiors continue to exert pressure, will Captain Xie be able to withstand this pressure?

Li Guotao was lost in thought when Little Hubei suddenly came over and said timidly, “Staff Officer Li, can you teach me how to shoot?”

Li Guotao stood up, smiled and touched Little Hubei’s head, and asked, “Do you still want to continue fighting the devils?”

Little Hubei nodded vigorously and said, “Didn’t you say that this war will not end in a short time? I will keep fighting the devils until they are defeated.”

Li Guotao felt very gratified that such a young child could have such determination. What was ridiculous was that some people were willing to be traitors.

Li Guotao asked: “Aren’t you afraid?”

Little Hubei shook his head and said, “Don’t be afraid. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

“Even if I die, I can be a good man again in ten years.”

“Then we’ll continue fighting the devils.”

Li Guotao smiled and said, “It won’t take that long.”

“Okay, I’ll teach you how to shoot.”

Since they were free anyway, Li Guotao taught Xiao Hubei how to shoot a gun. This kid, who was only a little taller than the gun, had some talent. Li Guotao explained in detail and he listened very carefully. He also did the movements very well. Li Guotao just treated it as a way to kill time, and he didn’t know how much time had passed.

Xiao Qiyue suddenly ran over and said, “Staff Officer Li, the commander wants you to come over immediately.”

Li Guotao frowned slightly when he heard this, then stood up and walked quickly towards the command center.

At this time, several other key officers also rushed to the headquarters.

Captain Xie glanced at everyone and said, “Now that everyone is here, I have something to announce.”

“Just now, the other side called again.”

“The Concession Municipal Council has agreed to our request.”

Hearing this, Li Guotao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This time he made the right bet again.

Those foreign devils finally made concessions.

Captain Xie’s stern face finally showed a smile, his eyes fell on Li Guotao, and he said with a smile: “Guotao, you guessed it right again this time.”

Li Guotao smiled and said, “I told you that as long as we risk our lives, the foreign devils will definitely give in, because this is actually not a big deal at all, and they can withstand the pressure from the foreign devils.”

“It’s not worth it for them to take such a big risk for such a small thing.”

“As for those little devils, they also won’t take such a big risk just to deal with a few hundred of us.”

“But if we are detained by the concession, the Japanese will definitely not let the concession authorities release us for the sake of their reputation.”

“And the concessions won’t care about our government’s attitude. They might really hand us over to the Japanese at that time.”

Captain Xie nodded slightly and said, “The foreigners don’t want us to stay in the concession for too long. They will clear the road in advance and send a car to pick us up, so that we can leave the concession directly and go to Shanghai West.”

“Western Shanghai is still in our hands. Once we get there, we will be safe.”

“According to the original plan, we will retreat in two batches to avoid being fooled by the foreign devils.”

“The first group will be led by Guo Tao and will depart at 12 a.m. tonight.”

“The troops withdrew into the concession and then took a bus to the west of Shanghai.”

“When the troops are in a safe place, Guotao will make another trip and come back here. Then call me and let me know that the troops are safe. Then I will lead the remaining brothers to evacuate the warehouse.”

Li Guotao said: “Captain, you should withdraw first, and I will stay behind to cover your retreat.”

Captain Xie waved his hand and said, “There’s no need to argue about this matter.”

“I said that I was the one who brought the brothers to the Sihang Warehouse, and I also said that I would lead the brothers out safely.”

“Even if there is only one brother left here, I will not leave the Sihang Warehouse early.”

“Okay, it’s settled.”

“Captain Yang.”

“Here!” Battalion Commander Yang responded quickly.

Commander Xie said, “You will lead the second and third companies and all the wounded to retreat with Guo Tao as the first group.”

“After arriving in Huxi, you will be responsible for commanding the troops and preparing to meet us.”

“Guo Tao came back to report. After we meet up, we will make the next arrangements according to the orders from our superiors.”

“But remember, you must leave the concession and arrive at our defense zone. You can only stop when it is safe. You cannot be careless about this.”

“Yes!”

Captain Yang quickly responded: “Make sure to complete the mission.”

Captain Xie nodded in satisfaction, and then said: “Shangguan Zhibiao, Lei Xiong, the first company and the machine gun company, will evacuate with me in the second batch.”

“Yes!”

Shangguan Zhibiao and Lei Xiong responded quickly.

At this time, Captain Yang said: “But what if the Japanese suddenly launch an attack while we are retreating?”

“I think we still need to leave some people behind to cover our retreat, but…”

Captain Yang’s meaning was very clear. If anyone stayed behind to cover the retreat at this time, they might not be able to leave.

Captain Xie couldn’t help but frown. He naturally hoped to take everyone away.

But for the sake of safety, retreating in two groups will definitely alert the Japanese. If the Japanese take the opportunity to launch an attack, it will be troublesome.

For the sake of the overall situation, it is inevitable to leave a group of people behind to defend the rear and buy time for the troops to retreat.

Li Guotao said: “We still have a few hours before evacuation. I think as long as we make careful arrangements and deployment, we don’t have to leave anyone behind to cover our retreat. We can all evacuate together.”

Captain Xie smiled and said, “I knew you were capable.”

“Okay, you will be in charge of this matter. Shangguan Zhibiao, Lei Xiong, you two should follow Guo Tao’s arrangements.”

“Yes!”

“Everyone go down and get ready.”

“Yes!”

Li Guotao was about to turn around and leave when Captain Xie suddenly called him.

After everyone left, Li Guotao asked, “Captain, do you have any concerns?”

Captain Xie said: “We disobeyed orders this time, although we finally gained a chance to retreat safely.”

“But we have also offended a lot of people! I am worried that after we return, someone will make a fuss about our disobedience.”

Li Guotao smiled and said, “What the commander is worried about is true.”

“Those guys weren’t serious about fighting the Japanese, but they were very active in targeting their own people.”

“But you don’t have to worry, Commander, because our heroic act of defending the Sihang Warehouse is known not only throughout the country but also throughout the world.”

“Our 800 warriors of Sihang Warehouse have become a banner of the War of Resistance.”

“I believe that some people will definitely not punish you even if they resent the commander for disobeying orders.”

“After all, even if we shoot you or all of us, it won’t help.”

“So it’s better to treat us well and keep this anti-Japanese war flag to boost the morale of the army.”

Captain Xie nodded slightly and said, “What you said makes some sense, but I guess that by then I will definitely be shelved and will never have the opportunity to lead troops on the front line again.”

Li Guotao sighed helplessly and said, “The commander is wise. With their behavior, I think they will most likely do this. They will transfer you to Nanjing and give you a promotion in name only to protect you.”

“In fact, it’s because you disobeyed orders. No leader wants to have a subordinate like that.”

“Besides, your reputation is too great now. It has overshadowed your superior’s reputation and it is easy for people to envy you.”

“So the regimental commander will most likely be promoted and transferred directly to the Ministry of National Defense, the Military Affairs Department or some other department to take up a sinecure. In name it’s a promotion, but in reality it’s just a deprivation of your military power.”

“Do you regret it?” (End of this chapter)