You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

The meeting room of the Municipal Council building in the foreign concession.

Everyone present was somewhat flustered.

"Gentlemen, the situation is out of control."

The Gallic consul general slammed his fist on the table, a hint of fear on his face:

"Yesterday, several Japanese bombs landed along the Suzhou River, and the shockwave shattered the windows of my mansion."

"And..." he lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming, "My military attaché reported that yesterday afternoon a yellowish-green smoke drifted across the river. It was poison gas, chlorine gas. Although the concentration was not high, several patrolmen have already shown symptoms of coughing and vomiting."

"The Japanese have gone mad. They've even used poison gas. If the wind picks up again next time, the entire concession will turn into a gas chamber."

The meeting room erupted in uproar.

Although foreigners are arrogant, they also value their lives, and no one wants to be the first to experience taking a bath in the special bathroom invented by 'IG Faben' in the future.

"Could we…" the Gallic consul tentatively looked at Major General Smollett, "could we allow Lin Feng to lead his troops into the concession? We'll assure the Japanese that they'll disarm as soon as they enter, but at the same time, we promise to guarantee the safety of the Great Xia soldiers. Perhaps this will calm things down?"

Major General Smollett shook his head with a wry smile, a hint of helplessness on his face:

"It's no use. That Lin Feng is like a rock in a latrine, both smelly and hard."

"I went to talk to him in person yesterday, and what did I get? He gave me a word—'Bullshit'! He also said that he would never leave the position unless ordered by his superiors or if he were a corpse."

"Damn it, that arrogant Chinese man."

Consul John stubbed out his cigar sharply: "Since he won't listen, then we'll make him listen, put pressure on Nanjing, put pressure on that person."

Tell him that if this mad dog-like army is not withdrawn immediately, the great powers will reconsider their policy toward Great Xia.

Tell him we are discussing intervening in the conflict, but first he needs to remove this unit.

-----

On the other side, just as dawn broke, Lin Feng was woken up by Zhao Yushu.

"Cousin, this is great news!"

Zhao Yushu excitedly handed over a telegram: "A special commendation order sent directly from the Nanjing Command and the Military Commission."

Lin Feng took a look and exclaimed, "Wow, what a grand gesture!"

"Lin Feng is hereby awarded the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun... promoted to Major General in the Army through exceptional promotion... It is hoped that his brigade will continue its efforts, persevere to the end, and sacrifice itself for the cause, upholding the honor of all soldiers..."

He was promoted to Major General.

This is real, hard currency, much more valuable than that empty title of Major General.

Lin Feng glanced at the telegram that followed.

Zhang Wenzhong, Li Dadao, Zhao Dashan, and Zhao Yushu were all rewarded, either by being promoted one rank or by receiving a medal.

Zhao Yushu's face was beaming with joy. He had truly brought honor to his ancestors this time. Perhaps when he returned, the family genealogy would even have a separate page dedicated to him.

But Lin Feng was inwardly sneering.

"To die for righteousness?"

Isn't this just sending him to his death?

He knows this plot all too well.

In the original timeline, Seele airdropped a marshal's cane to Paulus, the commander of the 6th Army who was besieged in Stalingrad.

The meaning is clear: I've already appointed you as marshal, so don't surrender. Just die there and leave a good reputation for the empire.

Now, Nanjing feels the same way.

"The orders are cold-blooded, but we can't really risk our lives."

Lin Feng casually tossed the telegram onto the table, not paying it any mind.

However, just a few hours later, at noon, the telegraph machine went off again.

The communications soldier handed over a second telegram with a strange look on his face: "Brigadier General... Commander Zhu's new order."

Lin Feng took a look and immediately burst into laughter and anger.

"Order: The 1st Honorary Brigade, prioritizing the overall situation, shall immediately abandon its current positions, transit through the International Settlement, and swiftly move towards western Shanghai to rendezvous with the main force... without fail."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Lin Feng slammed the two telegrams on the table, laughing so hard he almost cried.

"Look, look at them all."

"In the morning, they told me to die for my country and become a martyr; at noon, they told me to consider the bigger picture and run away as soon as possible."

"These men in Nanjing change their tune faster than flipping through a book; they're so unreliable when it comes to getting things done."

Zhang Wenzhong, Li Dadao, and the others looked at each other, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Lin Feng knew exactly what was going on.

This must be because the foreigners put pressure on Nanjing, and Nanjing immediately backed down as soon as they heard that the foreigners were angry.

It's likely that the other side also felt that this was a terrible and embarrassing move, so the telegram didn't mention anything about revoking the rank and medals, but only repeatedly emphasized "considering the overall situation" and "immediate evacuation".

"Alright."

Lin Feng stretched.

It seems that the days of resistance in Zhabei are coming to an end.

Next, we need to consider how to get all the brothers out safely.

"Return the telegram to Commander Zhu."

Considering that his superiors were begging him this time, Lin Feng's answer was quite firm:

"Withdrawal is fine, but my troops will never surrender. I want to cross the border with my guns."

After this fiery telegram was sent, a fierce argument and negotiation ensued.

The concession authorities finally agreed:

The fully armed First Brigade was allowed to pass through the concession, but not to stay; they had to leave the western side of the International Settlement overnight.

-----

late at night.

"Hurry up, Li Dadao, your regiment goes first."

Lin Feng directed the troops to begin their withdrawal.

The Japanese soldiers had obviously noticed the commotion.

"Slap! Slap!"

Several searchlights were suddenly turned on by the Japanese soldiers, and the pale beams of light swept towards the north bank of the Suzhou Creek, towards the direction of the concession.

"Da da da da!"

The Japanese Type 92 heavy machine guns began firing, attempting to block the area.

"Want to keep them? Did you even ask me?"

Lin Feng snorted coldly and grabbed the handphone:

"Artillery battalion's 120mm mortars, knock out those lights, and cover the Japanese machine gun positions."

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The heavy mortar on the rooftop has been deployed.

"boom!"

"boom!"

The searchlight went out instantly, and the Japanese machine gun fire stopped abruptly.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Japanese soldiers were stunned by the attack.

"Li Dadao, cross the bridge."

"Yes."

Li Dadao, carrying his broadsword, led over a thousand brothers, along with some of the seriously wounded, and charged up the new garbage bridge.

However, only a few minutes later...

"Sizzle..."

Then, Li Dadao's angry roar came over the radio:

"Sir, something's happened. Those foreign devils are untrustworthy."

"What happened?"

"On the other side of the bridge, those John men set up machine guns and put up barbed wire."

That Major General, what was his name again, Smollett, was shouting through a megaphone that we had to throw our guns down at the end of the bridge to cross, or he'd open fire.

"What?!"

Lin Feng's temper flared up instantly.

These foreigners really don't learn their lesson! Do they really think we're easy to bully?

"Just because I'm not showing my teeth doesn't mean I'm some kind of Hello Kitty!"