Chapter 68 Finale (Part 1)

  Demon Capital, Lu Gong's residence. Wearing his nightclothes, Young Master Lu was like a raging bull, kicking the sofa and smashing cups. Even the butler who came to invite him for lunch was kicked to the ground. At this moment, Young Master Lu felt as if he was about to go mad with rage.

  But just an afternoon's time, the 10th Division with over 10,000 men, considered by his father to be the absolute main force, was lost like this? And also sacrificed the 6th Mixed Brigade! How did these idiots lead their troops?!

  Lu Gongzi is not stupid, on the contrary, he is quite clever. Growing up in wealth and luxury, he likes to eat, drink and have fun, but he also knows what he enjoys all this with!

  Once his Zhejiang army was defeated by Gao Yang, Lu Gongzi became like a plucked chicken with nothing left, and he knew this very well in his heart.

  Now Lu Gongzi's heart is filled with anger and thick regret! If he had known earlier that Gao Yang was so formidable, he would not have gone to provoke Gao Yang even if he were beaten to death. At the beginning, he was deceived by Tōyama Kenji and blinded by hundreds of millions of yen, putting aside his desire for revenge against his father's killer to cooperate with the Japanese and prepare to rob Gao Yang, but unexpectedly, the robbery failed and he ended up sacrificing himself!

  Commander He Fenglin of the Magic Capital Defense Command pushed open the door and walked into the living room. Lu Xiaoja's eyes lit up as he hurried forward to grab He Fenglin's hand, exclaiming "Uncle He, how is the front line?!" His eyes were filled with anticipation, hoping that He Fenglin could bring him even a single piece of good news.

  He Fenglin felt a sense of helplessness in his heart, thinking that now he was suddenly remembering to call him Uncle He. Shaking his head slightly and looking bitter, he said: "The Zhejiang First Division has sent a telegram saying that the Jiangyin fortress has been lost, and the 10th Army and the 6th Mixed Brigade have not been able to get out! They are retreating with the Zhejiang First Mixed Brigade towards Kunshan, suffering heavy losses from air raids." Lu Xiaojia's face turned white as soon as he heard this.

  He Fenglin shook his head, thinking to himself that he hadn't even dared to tell the truth yet. What a terrible loss! The Zhejiang First Division and the First Mixed Brigade were shattered by the intense artillery fire of the Sixth Division and fled in disarray, not only completely dispersing themselves but also routing the Zhejiang Second Mixed Brigade and part of the Fourth Army on their way to Jiangyin Fortress. Now, from Jiangyin to Shanghai, there are no longer any organized troops!

  Lu Xiao Jia sat down on the sofa with a thud, holding her head in both hands and tugging at her hair as she muttered to herself "How did this happen? How did this happen? I was fine just last night!"

  He Fanglin looked at Lu Xiaoja's useless appearance and sighed deeply. Lu Dajun, a famous general for his lifetime, how could he have a son so worthless! How can Lu Xiaoja be a match for Gao Yang with his current state?

  He Fenglin walked a few steps forward and whispered to Lu Xiaojia, "Xiao Jia, this is not the time for regret. You must find a way out for our tens of thousands of Zhejiang brothers!" Lu Xiaojia suddenly stood up and shouted loudly, "Where's Tōyama? That son of a bitch! Didn't he say he would help me?! Quick, let the Japanese send troops to assist us! Quick, call him over!!"

  He Fenglin's face immediately turned gloomy when he heard Lu Xiaoja's words. Now the Zhejiang army and Gao Yang are fighting each other to the death, they are all family members fighting for their own things, it's a sibling quarrel! You want to call in the Japanese? If this news gets out, won't we be scolded to death by people from all over the country?!

  He Fanglin took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Governor, don't you understand? The Japanese are using you as a gun! You want the Japanese to send troops, let alone they won't agree, even if they really agreed, what would happen? It would become a national war! At that time, how many people from Zhejiang Army would still follow you? Moreover, countries like the US, UK, and France will definitely not agree. The Japanese dare not offend so many powers."

  He paused and continued, "Now that things have come to this, the commander should think about how to seek peace." "Seek peace?" Lu Xiaoja was taken aback for a moment before saying, "Right, right, right! Gao Yang is my uncle after all! Uncle He, quickly go find Gao Yang and tell him to withdraw his troops in consideration of my father's face, Uncle He, hurry up!"

  He Fenglin coldly looked at Lu Xiaoja, who was dancing with excitement and had bloodshot eyes. He let out a sigh, then his face tightened as he stood at attention and saluted before turning to leave, taking away the Zhe army's last hope for Lu Xiaoja!

  The Sixth Division, which had been following the Jiangyin fortress all along, set off in their trucks after lunch and refueling, heading straight for Shanghai along the riverbank highway!

  The Zhejiang army prisoners of war walked in a long queue towards Nanjing, the entire road was crowded with cars and people, as well as various supplies, extremely congested.

  Gao Yang had made up his mind to end the battle as soon as possible. The various units of the Sixth Division started a racing competition, rushing towards Modu all the way. There was no organized resistance on the road, but many scattered soldiers were captured.

  Those who resisted were killed on the spot, while those who surrendered were rounded up and marched in formation towards Nanjing.

  A few hours later, the 5th Regiment, which was at the forefront of the charge, caught up with the defeated soldiers of the Zhejiang First Division and the First Mixed Brigade at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain outside Changshu. These two branches were far inferior to the local troops of the Tenth Army in terms of equipment, training, morale, and combat awareness, just like the antelopes being chased by a pride of lions on the African savannah, crying and fleeing in all directions. The defeated soldiers had already exhausted their physical strength after escaping from Jiangyin to Changshu without eating lunch, so how could they outrun the car wheels now?

  Many of the routed soldiers who were really unable to run any more simply lay down on the ground and did not get up again, and soon the pursuit turned into a capture of prisoners.

  Only on a small hillside at the foot of Fenghuang Mountain did about two companies of Zhejiang Army build simple positions and rely on several Maxim guns to stubbornly resist for more than half an hour, causing not insignificant casualties to the pursuing Sixth Division.

  It wasn't until the field artillery battalion arrived in trucks and unleashed a barrage of cannon fire that they were finally eliminated. According to the captured prisoners, they belonged to the 4th Division, and the resistance was organized by their division chief of staff Zhang Fangzheng earlier. Chief of Staff Zhang was killed during the shelling, leading to a rapid collapse of the defensive position.

  The news soon reached Gao Yang, who calmly said, "The gap between the regular army and local security forces is too big."

  The advancing troops soon arrived outside Changshu City. The mayor of Changshu and the gentry in the city brought pork, mutton, white wine and 600,000 taels to comfort the soldiers, hoping that the Sixth Division would not enter the city to disturb the people.

  The pigs and sheep have all been taken in, the wine and ocean have been returned. The captain of the 5th battalion said "We must enter the city, there's no room for discussion. Don't worry about disturbing the people, Commander Gao hates it most when military discipline is violated, we soldiers are more afraid of making mistakes than you!"

  Mogodu, Garrison Command. Before dinner, He Fenglin convened a meeting of high-ranking military officers from Zhejiang in Mogodu. Everyone present was gloomy and silent, not saying a word.

  It's only been a day, and the entire Zhejiang army has already collapsed! The defeat is like a mountain collapse. He Fenglin knocked on the table and said in a low voice, "The 4th Division has sent a telegram, Zhang Fang was killed in battle at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. Now the vanguard troops of the 6th Division have entered Changshu, less than 100 kilometers away from us! Before his death, Zhang Fang sent a telegram saying that the entire 6th Division is on trucks, with at least over a thousand vehicles! From Changshu to Modu, there are no more troops left, and the 6th Division will definitely arrive in Modu by tomorrow at the latest. Everyone, let's share your thoughts now."

  "The Sixth Master is really rich."

  "You don't even know whose troops the Sixth Division is."

  "Speaking of money, who can compare with Commander Gao."

  “......”

  Zhejiang's supplementary travel long Zongzhipei knocked on the table, after everyone calmed down, Zongzhipei looked at He Fenglin and said in a low voice "Does Director Lu have any instructions?" He Fenglin wiped his eyes and shook his head slightly, saying "Director Lu wants to ask the Japanese to send troops!"

  The sentence was like pouring a bowl of water into a pot of oil, and the conference room immediately boiled over. The crowd, who had been dissatisfied with Lu Gongzi for a long time, finally erupted in a barrage of criticism, insults, and curses towards their female superior, before calming down, and all eyes turned to He Fenglin.

  He Fanglin understood everyone's meaning, and just as he was about to speak after clearing his throat, the door of the conference room was pushed open.

  He Fenglin's face was displeased, and he was about to scold a few words when the officer who rushed in with the telegram shouted loudly: "The Shanghai Navy Fleet Commander Lin Jianzhang sent a telegram expressing support for Governor Gao's suppression of the traitor Lu Xiaojia! The Shanghai Navy Fleet announced that it would follow Governor Gao!"

  "Alas." He Fenglin sighed and said in a low voice, "When disaster strikes, everyone flees for themselves." After the crowd had digested this news, He Fenglin said solemnly, "Everyone, Lu Xiaojia has colluded with the Japanese for personal gain and led our Zhejiang army into the fire pit. Now we must rescue ourselves!"

  "What Commander He said is right!"

  "Lu Xiaojia this son of a bitch has killed us."

  "It is, it is."

  "This traitor, last month's military salary has not been issued yet!"

  "We'll also go to seek refuge with General Gao!"

  "Whatever you say, Commander He, we'll all listen to you."

  “......”

  The meeting room was filled with a cacophony of voices, and just as everyone was getting excited, a cold voice rang out: "Didn't you all say you wanted to follow Master Lu to divide up the Gao family's property when you took the money?" This sentence was particularly jarring at this moment! It was like being doused with a basin of cold water, and the whole room fell silent.

  The people in the conference room were stunned and couldn't speak, their faces showing different expressions, but all of them looked at Zang Zhiping with anger. Zang Zhiping was expressionless, holding his teacup and drinking tea, as if he hadn't just spoken.

  The scene was momentarily awkward, and He Fenglin's eyes flashed with anger as he coughed and said, "We were all deceived back then. Never mind, this isn't the time to talk about it. What I mean is that we should also learn from Commander Lin and get close to Director Gao, after all, we're all from the Anhui clique, right? How about it? Everyone can share their thoughts."

  Zhang Zhiping put down his teacup and said calmly, "Let me say a couple of things. What's our situation now? Our main force has been defeated, the front line has been breached, and the enemy is already at our gates! Are you going to follow Governor Gao's army? And then what? Do you still think you can continue being the commander of the Magic Capital's garrison? Do you think you can keep your own troops? Kick out Lu Xiaojia and find a richer master to continue being your military leader? If you were in Governor Gao's position, would you agree?"

  With a loud "bang", He Fenglin slammed his hand on the table, stood up abruptly and pointed at Zang Zhiping, shouting loudly: "Then what should we do?!!!"

  (PS: Please give some collection and recommendation to those who like this book, thank you everyone.)