The Republic of Heroes

Just when Zhang Zhonglin's independent brigade had just gained a firm foothold in Ye County and was doubtful about the headquarters' intelligence, Wu Xiaoliang, who was far away in Jinan, was also exhausted by all kinds of intelligence.Wu Xiaoliang began to deploy his own intelligence network across the country ten years ago, waiting for this day to compete with the Japanese.The focus of this intelligence network is centered on Beiping and Shanghai respectively.

The information from Beiping came earlier, saying that a large number of Japanese troops boarded the ship and would go to the coastal provinces south of the Yellow River to land, and according to the unidentified source of the intelligence, the attack target is likely to be Shandong, and the landing site is roughly on the Denglai line. That is, the sea area near the Bohai Bay.The intelligence from the Shanghai station was the opposite. They also learned of the existence of such a landing force, but they had differences with the Beiping station on the landing site.

They believed that the Japanese army's priority attack target would be Shanghai, which is by no means a random guess, but well-founded.The Japanese army began to deter Shanghai with comprehensive force as early as a month ago. However, the domestic warlords in China have fallen into the quagmire of unprecedented political disputes since the Nanjing government unified the north and the south. None of the bigwigs on or off the stage had any intention of offending the Japanese first, or even allowed them to do so on purpose.

Therefore, all the pressure from the Japanese in Shanghai was borne by Zhang Zhizhong's Fifth Army.But unfortunately, the Fifth Army suffered heavy losses in the Songhu War years ago, and has not yet fully completed the replenishment and reorganization of troops, and Yu Jishi's troops were transferred to Nanjing by Lao Jiang. It is much weaker than before the Shanghai War.

The Nanjing government's troop deployment in the entire Beijing-Shanghai area is chaotic, and the defense force in important positions is very weak. It can be said that as long as the Japanese are not fools, they can see through it at a glance. Constantly sending out small units to harass, and intermittent bombardment of naval guns.Even so, it brought an extremely shocking psychological deterrent to the citizens of Shanghai and the defenders.

In this regard, Zhang Zhizhong had specially issued a mobilization order. According to his judgment, the Japanese would attack Shanghai sooner or later. The reason why they did not take action now was probably waiting for an opportunity. I believe that this appropriate opportunity will not be too far away.The most hateful thing is that neither Wang Zhaoming nor Jiang Zhongzheng in Nanjing can count on him. The former is just a party stick politician with no soldiers in his hands. Who among the warlords is willing to go to the battlefield first and serve as his pawn?Not to mention the latter, he was full of resentment just after leaving the field, this time Wang Zhaoming had internal and external troubles, and he would not come forward until the critical moment.

As a soldier, Zhang Zhizhong was responsible for defending the territory. Based on the above judgments, he issued an evacuation order for Shanghai on the one hand, and recruited young and middle-aged men who volunteered to join the army. He believed that even if the increase in strength was weak, it would still bring the Japanese army back Come for a resistance.

Within a month, all walks of life in business and academia were retreated westward in an organized manner by the Fifth Army. The first stop of the retreat was not Nanjing, but Wuhan in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.Because anyone with a discerning eye can see through that as long as Shanghai falls, Nanjing will become the front line, and the possibility of being captured by the Japanese army will be very high. Wuhan, which is relatively inland, is a safe place of refuge.

In this context, the Japanese army suddenly launched a surprise attack on the Shanghai defenders a few days ago, but the Japanese army was limited. At this time, it was no secret that the Japanese army had sent a large number of troops to land in the Kuomintang-controlled area in Wu Xiaoliang's entire intelligence system. On the one hand, it collected all kinds of information and made a judgment that the Japanese army will increase its troops in Shanghai.And he is extremely pessimistic about the direction of the battle.

Shanghai may fall in a short time!

Originally, Wu Xiaoliang’s insider in the Japanese army gave information that the Japanese reinforcements would land in Shandong. After the information from Shanghai reached Jinan, it was the first time he drew two conclusions from the information he had built up. Different intelligence analysis made him hesitate.

The strength of the Shandong army is limited, and he cannot reach the south of the Huaihe River. Wang Zhaoming has no military power, but is just a clown on the stage. The real strength sent Jiang Zhongzheng with enough troops to rescue Shanghai, but he has already left the field at this time. Let’s see the jokes in Nanjing It's too late, how could it be possible to send troops at this time and do a thankless move?

Wu Xiaoliang analyzed that Jiang Zhongzheng must be waiting for an opportunity, that is, when Wang Zhaoming is in trouble at home and abroad, when there are cliffs and abyss on both sides, and there is no way out, he will come forward to clean up the mess.But for such a situation, how much loss will China as a whole bear?I am afraid that the sacrifice of a Shanghai will be inevitable. At this moment, Lao Jiang may have flirted with the Japanese army in private.

Thinking of this, Wu Xiaoliang's heart skipped a beat. If Shanghai fell, then according to the course of history, the Japanese army would never be satisfied with it. China's capital was laid out in front of it like a piece of fat, so why not take a bite?Once Nanjing fell...he didn't dare to think about it anymore, wouldn't the catastrophe be staged in advance?

Can he just watch the tragedy happen?Can?

……

Zhang Zhonglin was unable to wait for the Japanese army to land in Ye County, but a news that shocked the whole country came from the south. The Japanese army suddenly increased its troops in Shanghai, and the Fifth Army stationed in Shanghai fought with them for three days and nights.

The news is very simple, within three days the Fifth Army was wiped out.Zhang Zhonglin can imagine the tragedy. He comes from the Central Army and knows the combat effectiveness of the Fifth Army. Although the equipment is not as good as that of the old Jiang's lineage, his fighting will is also one of the best in the country. If he can fight until the entire army is wiped out, it means The battle has been fiercer than ever before...

This news caused quite a shock inside the [-]st Independent Brigade. Many officers asked for a battle, asking to go south to fight the Japanese army instead of guarding some beach in Ye County for no reason.

For a moment, Zhang Zhonglin was even infected by the blood of his subordinates, but for a soldier, his bounden duty is to obey, and he cannot disobey the orders of the headquarters. Besides, the entire independent brigade has only ten thousand people, and they are desperate to go south for reinforcements In the direction of Shanghai, it is simply an act of death beyond self-control.Another point, deep down in his heart, he believed that Wu Xiaoliang, who had rushed to help Shanghai in spite of everything, would never look on the sidelines, and it would definitely not be a mystery to transfer his first independent brigade to Ye County.

Sure enough, just after everyone relaxed their vigilance towards the sea, the battle started extremely suddenly.