1928: The Rise of Giants

The ceasefire between the two sides does not mean that they will stop fighting, but rather that they are increasing their troops in preparation for a major attack.

Seeing this, Mr. Wang could not wait any longer, and on the morning of the 30th he personally called the principal, expressing his willingness to hand over power, and only asked the principal to come back as soon as possible to take charge of the situation and quickly send the soldiers he could not dispatch to Zhabei.

If Shanghai fell like Fengtian, he, Wang, would be the second Zhang Hanqing.

How miserable is Zhang Hanqing now?
They are not human inside or outside.

Mr. Wang would rather give up the power of the Nanjing National Government than become a drowned dog that everyone wants to beat.

The principal took this opportunity to make many more requests and finally agreed to return to Jinling on the 30th.

On the afternoon of January 1, the principal who had resigned due to the Mukden Incident sent a telegram to the whole country announcing his comeback. He was immediately appointed as a member of the Military Commission by the Central Conference of the Kuomintang (Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Zhang Hanqing were also appointed as members), responsible for mobilizing the army and commanding the Battle of Shanghai.

On the same day, the president rushed to Nanjing and immediately formulated the principles for dealing with Japan, namely, "prepare for negotiations while actively resisting", and stipulated: "Negotiations must set a final line of defense and a maximum limit, which must at least not hinder administrative and territorial integrity, that is, not undermine the spirit of the Nine-Power Treaty and not lose national sovereignty. If this limit is exceeded and concessions are made to an unbearable line of defense, a decisive battle will be fought, even if we are defeated and killed. Only with this determination and spirit can we talk about negotiations."

At the same time, the president also made the military deployment that "the 87th Route Army will defend the Zhabei defense line with all its strength, and the front guard army (i.e. the 88th and th divisions) will defend Nanjing with all its strength."

The reason why he was so tough this time was because he saw what happened to Zhang Hanqing, and he was unwilling to give the so-called "non-resistance" to others for any excuse.

As long as he can win the battle, he can still justify it even if he suffers a crushing defeat.

The principal wrote in his diary that day: "Do the Japanese pirates intend to invade our southeast again? I have no choice but to fight them to the death!"

At 1:30 p.m. on January , the president issued a telegram to the soldiers of the whole country: "Since the soldiers of the th Route Army have risen up to defend themselves bravely, all the revolutionary soldiers of the whole army should fight for dignity for the country, seek survival for the nation, fulfill their responsibilities for the revolution, and be determined to fight against the violent Japan that destroys peace and despises faith and integrity at this time when the country is destroyed and the race is extinct and the danger is imminent."

He called on the soldiers across the country to "work hard, unite against the enemy, and be ready to fight to save the country from danger", and said that he "was willing to swear to live and die with all the soldiers and fulfill my duty."

After this telegram was released, it had a great impact. People from all walks of life responded and expressed support for the principal. Under the leadership of Ye Luo, the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce immediately dispatched a convoy to Zhabei to transport various supplies to assist the soldiers in fighting the enemy.

On the same day, Ye's Automobile announced that it would suspend all types of business during the war, even the most profitable taxi industry would stop working, and all idle cars would be sent to Zhabei to help transport injured soldiers and civilians.

His move also dealt a heavy slap to the faces of the peace-loving businessmen.

Yu Qiaqing, who had followed Wang in causing trouble, and Fu Xiao'an, who secretly returned to Shanghai in an attempt to make a comeback, suddenly became the rats crossing the street that everyone wanted to beat.

The war correspondents of Shenbao and Xinwenbao photographed and recorded the various relief activities of Ye's Automobile Dealership in Zhabei, as well as the Ye's Charity Foundation, which immediately devoted itself to charity work.

In contrast, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial group headed by Yu Qiaqing became a coward, without any sound at all.

Yu Qiaqing, who was sitting at home drinking tea, knew that the situation was hopeless. He did not stand firmly on the side of the principal. When the war was over, everyone in their Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium would die and would definitely be liquidated.

Fu Xiao'an ran to the Japanese concession overnight to seek refuge from the Japanese.

Shortly thereafter, the Nanjing National Government issued the "Declaration of Moving the Capital to Luoyang", stating that it would never surrender and would move all National Government departments to Luoyang from that day on. However, the Military Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remained in Nanjing. At the same time, it ordered the front-line troops to be jointly commanded by Minister of Military and Political Affairs He Yingqin and Chief of Staff Zhu Peide.

The whole month of February was filled with war. The Japanese army continued to reinforce, and Chen Mingshu was in urgent need of help. He had no choice but to ask Ye Luo for help many times. Ye Luo took the initiative to discuss with the principal over the phone, and let the Tax Police Corps obtain a temporary number and rush to Zhabei to participate in the war in the form of reinforcements.

The principal had always thought that the Tax Police Corps was a security team that Ye Luo and Song Ziwen played with. Since the head of the corps was Wen Yingxing, a direct descendant of the Song family, he had to agree to let this field force participate in the battle. He only hoped that this battle would not destroy the toys of these two people. Then they could take the opportunity to ask him for money to reorganize the security team.

I never thought that the joining of the Tax Police Corps would actually improve the situation!

It was also the first time that the Japanese invaders encountered such well-equipped Chinese troops, which seemed to have endless ammunition and food.

These people were all well-trained elites. With sufficient ammunition, they pressed in from all directions and quickly crushed several Japanese invaders' units.

After a day of fierce fighting, although the Wusong open-air artillery fort was destroyed by the enemy's bombardment, the Japanese army was unable to land due to the resistance of the Tax Police Corps.

The 156th Division, which was then under the command of the 4th Regiment of the 88th Brigade of the th Route Army, also shot down a Japanese plane with anti-aircraft guns.

After the general offensive was crushed, Yukichi Shiozawa was dismissed and transferred back to his country.

The defenders, having taken a long breath, received new supplies from Ye’s investment. They immediately regained their strength and continued to fight the Japanese invaders.

2月5日上午9时，中央空军第6、7队的飞机9架（轰战机5架、战斗机4架），在第二大队长石邦蕃率领下，从金陵明故宫机场起飞奔赴上海滩参战。

When the fleet passed Kunshan, it had a brief air battle with the Japanese Naval Air Force.

At 11 o'clock, our fighter planes landed at Hongqiao Airport and were refueling and loading bombs in preparation for attacking Japanese ships. Suddenly, Japanese planes attacked and our fighter planes immediately took off to fight.

During the battle, the deputy captain Huang Yuquan, who had just gotten married, died in a plane crash due to mechanical failure, becoming the first person in the domestic air force to die in the war against Japan.

After the news reached Ye Mansion, Ye Luo immediately called Shi Liangcai and Wu Liande, asking them to spare the front page of their respective newspapers to write extensively about this first air force martyr.

In fact, the combat effectiveness of the National Army at that time was not much worse than that of the Japanese Army. By combining the strength of many warlords, they indeed fought back and forth with the Japanese invaders in Zhabei.

What they lack more is morale and support.

The North had fallen, morale had plummeted, and a big victory was needed to boost everyone's confidence.

Southern Media Group has fallen into Ye Luo's hands and has played a powerful role at this time.

Not only newspapers, but also radio stations were under Ye Luo's control, broadcasting the war situation 24 hours a day. People were closely following the war situation on their way to and from get off work, and many people ran to the city hall and were willing to go to the front line to cooperate in the battle.

It can be said that Ye’s Investment has built up the entire defense line and has become the first medium for the public to understand the front line at this time.

It was at this time that the principal called Ye Mansion for help. (End of this chapter)