The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 146: Sihang Warehouse Taken in Three Hours (Updated 9/11 for the Color Shadow Master)

On October 10, the second day of the Battle of Sihang Warehouse, at 28: in the morning.

Even though it was only early in the morning, the south bank of the Suzhou River, the riverbank and streets opposite the Sihang Warehouse, as well as the balconies and rooftops, were already bustling with activity.

There were crowds of people everywhere, and the number of people was at least ten times more than yesterday.

There is no doubt that they were all people who hurried here after hearing the news about the Sihang Warehouse battle last night.

They have different identities, and their reasons and ideas for coming here to watch the game are also different.

But it didn't affect the situation at all. On this somewhat cold morning, an extremely wonderful scene was formed in this area...

For example: At the entrance of an alley, Zheng Agou, a wonton vendor, had put down his carrying pole, but was surrounded by a large group of people.

In the crowd, Zheng Agou was busy cooking wontons.

As he spitted, he recounted how he was the first to spot the dark figure of the Japanese climbing through the window last night, alerting the Chinese soldiers in the warehouse and achieving a great victory:

"I've had very sharp eyes since I was little. I spotted those little devils right away..."

In response to Zheng Agou's narration, everyone around him gave him a thumbs up, praising him for doing a great thing and making a great contribution last night.

Some people even expressed their appreciation by ordering a bowl of wontons.

He didn't mind the flying saliva at all. There were also many bowls used to hold wontons, some of which were broken last night or had just been mended with copper nails.

As he spoke, Zheng Agou's face was indescribably full of energy, as if he had reached the peak of his career.

About ten meters to the left of the wonton stall is the small building where Li Yong, a middle-aged man studying abroad, lives.

At this moment, his small living room was filled with relatives and friends. Li Yong was dancing and talking as if he was reciting a treasure:
"Don't worry, everyone! We only have half an hour left before the Kuomintang soldiers across the street throw down the dead Japanese soldiers from the rooftops, letting you count them for fun."

Li Yong's voice had just fallen when his wife, who was seven or eight years younger than him, came to him.

A Shanghai woman with fashionable curly hair, wearing an embroidered cheongsam and delicate makeup, quickly added in her Shanghai accent:
"Oh! You know, it's so fun to count."

After hearing the above statement, everyone in the room looked towards the Sihang Warehouse across the street with increasing anticipation and enthusiasm.

In the past two months, Li Yong was not the only one who was filled with unspeakable depression and wanted to vent it out...

Continue to the left from Li Yong’s small building, and you will find the "Night Jasmine Dance Hall" about twenty meters away.

Although this place is called a dance hall, it actually also operates as a casino, a sex trade and other industries. Every single person living there, regardless of gender, is not a good person.

But these guys are not good people. Even though they stayed up half the night last night, they didn't sleep for a few hours at all.

But it was a rare opportunity to get up early, and look at the quiet building opposite with great interest, waiting for some good show to begin.

At this moment, they heard a cry of surprise: "Boss Du is here, Boss Du is here, everyone quickly cheer up and prepare to serve tea, good tea~"

Amidst such exclamations, several cars stopped in front of the entrance of "Night Jasmine".

After some men wearing black shorts and looking tough protected the surroundings, Boss Du, who was very famous in Shanghai, got out of the middle car.

After getting off the car, Boss Du waited for a while.

They waited until a young woman came down before walking into the ballroom together.

Only a very few people knew that this young woman was the person in charge of propaganda for the National Government in Shanghai; she came here obviously because she felt a huge opportunity.

An opportunity to boost the spirits of the Chinese people and encourage them to continue to resist Japan...

And just outside the 'Night Jasmine Ballroom', a den of filth and corruption, a group of young men and women were performing diligently.

To be more precise, these are a group of boy scouts under the jurisdiction of the Demon City Government.

They took advantage of this opportunity to perform some street dramas to call for resistance against Japan and raise funds.

During the performance, the young girl Yang Huimin kept telling herself that she must concentrate on her performance.

But he still couldn't help turning his head and looking towards the warehouse opposite from time to time. Because apart from the concession on the south bank of the river, some British Union Jacks were raised.

On the other side of the river, there were Japanese flags flying everywhere, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

In addition to the above situations, there are too many people in this area.

There were beggars and refugees who took advantage of the large crowds of people here, kneeling on the roadside, stretching out their dirty hands, and shouting "Sir, please be merciful, have mercy on me."

There were actors wearing costumes and painted faces, who set up a stage on the street to perform; they were also smart, and the play they performed today was "Yue Wumu Conquers Zhuxian Town".

There are street performers who wield swords, perform stone-breaking tricks with their chests, and sell magic pills.

There were British soldiers stationed at the Garbage Bridge, the only small bridge leading to the other side of the river, yawning and watching the scene lazily. They were walking and cursing at the Municipal Council police who were blocking the way.

However, there are more foreigners who occupy this area, and the locations and views in some high-rise buildings are all the best.

Regardless of gender, they were all dressed in their best clothes; they drank coffee, talked about the weather in Shanghai today, and waited for the battle to begin.

For them, it doesn’t matter who wins or loses in the battle today.

They arrived today simply because they wanted to watch the battle from a close distance after their own fleet arrived, without having to worry about the Japanese attacking.

Just to kill time and provide more topics for future conversations.

It was also in this atmosphere that Hu Biao and his friends' old acquaintance, the reporter Harrison Forman from Uncle Sam's House, set up a camera and a video camera...

******
On the south bank of Suzhou River, in such a bustling environment, time passed little by little; it was almost eight o'clock in the morning, the time when the Japanese planned to attack the Sihang Warehouse.

Groups of newsboys, carrying bags full of stuff, ran out of the printing house of the foreign newspaper "North China Daily News".

After seeing this scene, Compton, the editor-in-chief of the North China Daily News, was filled with indescribable pride.

Because he spent a high price and bought some very explosive news from a well-informed Chinese man in France.

This news will not only cause a sharp increase in the sales of The North China Daily News, but will also cause a huge sensation.

This was indeed the case. When the newspaper boys running down the street shouted out the contents of the newspaper, they immediately shocked everyone who heard it:

"Extra, Extra! The defenders of the Sihang Warehouse are the 88th Regiment of the 524th Division of the Nationalist Army. Their commander is Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jinyuan, the regimental attaché.

According to reliable sources, the number of soldiers under Xie Tuanfu's command is less than a thousand..."

"Extra, Extra! Major General Okawachi, commander of the Japanese Navy's Demon City Special Marine Corps, has ordered his men to launch an all-out attack at 8:00 AM.

The Japanese Marines had 8,000 soldiers, a large number of tanks and artillery, and it was said that they could completely capture the Sihang Warehouse within three hours.

Let the devil’s flag fly on the roof of the Sihang Warehouse..."

The first of the two pieces of news above is easy to say, but it lets everyone know which Kuomintang unit is guarding the Sihang Warehouse.

The next piece of news is quite scary.

There was no other way! In the previous two months of war, the Nationalist army of over 70 soldiers faced 20 Japanese soldiers, but they still suffered heavy casualties. The Magic City was about to be lost.

The Japanese now have many times more troops than the defenders, and they also have artillery and tanks.

So since the Japanese said they could take over the Sihang Warehouse in three hours, it seems very likely.

As soon as this point was thought of, the hearts of the Chinese people immediately became nervous; and those foreigners started to gamble on whether the national army could hold out for three hours.

For a time, even if the National Army could hold on to one piece and win, they could win three pieces. However, there were very few people who could hold on to the National Army.

These foreigners made their own judgment in this way.

It was in this atmosphere that the second day of the Battle of Sihang Warehouse began...

(End of this chapter)