Courtyard House: Home Alone

The surprise attack on Lushun went far more smoothly than expected. Not only did they capture the landing point, but they also seized a large number of trucks and artillery, as well as six armored vehicles. Meanwhile, the mountains of supplies piled up in the dock warehouses laid a solid foundation for the subsequent main force to gain a foothold.

With a smooth journey, the cargo ship docked smoothly at the Tianjin pier the next morning, where Xu Zheng and his team were already waiting on the shore.

Upon seeing Lin Yifan disembark, he immediately came forward and reported, "Young Master, everything here is ready. The brothers who stayed in Tianjin have all packed their equipment and are just waiting for you to come back and arrange the next steps."

Lin Yifan nodded and followed Xu Zheng into the pre-arranged car, heading towards Victoria Road in Tianjin.

On the way, Lin Yifan asked about the situation in Shanhaiguan. Xu Zheng smiled and said that he had just received a telegram from Lü Wei and his men that morning, saying that they would arrive in Tianjin this afternoon.

Their operation went relatively smoothly, but they still lost nineteen brothers and more than forty were injured, which delayed their journey.

Lin Yifan nodded. In a battle of this scale, sacrifices are inevitable. We must properly compensate the families of the fallen brothers and deliver the full amount of compensation to each family. The wounded brothers must also be given the best medical treatment. We cannot let our brothers bleed and cry at the same time.

The car quickly arrived at the office on Victoria Road. Lin Yifan sat down and rubbed his temples. He had only rested for a short while when he heard the sound of a car engine outside. Lü Wei had arrived with the core members of the Shanhaiguan operation.

Lin Yifan got up and went out to greet him. Seeing that Lü Wei looked a little tired, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "You've worked hard. Arrange for the brothers to rest first. Send the wounded to the hospital immediately. We'll discuss the follow-up arrangements later."

Lu Wei nodded, made arrangements for his entourage, and followed Lin Yifan into the house. He sat down and reported, "The Japanese garrison at Shanhaiguan was almost completely wiped out by us. When we withdrew, Deputy Commander Kong had already led his team to Fengtian. It's just... the casualties this time... were quite high."

Lin Yifan nodded after listening, patted Lü Wei's arm, and comforted him, "Casualties are inevitable. What we're doing is risking our lives to survive."

I have already arranged for the families of our fallen brothers to receive their compensation. We should remember their contributions and drive the Japanese invaders out of China in the future; that will be the best tribute to them.

"You go and rest for half a day, and we'll have a meeting tonight to discuss the follow-up."

Watching Lü Wei leave, Lin Yifan turned to Xu Zheng and said, "Go out and contact a few famous chefs right away. Go to our warehouse and cook a big dinner for the brothers to reward them."

They were also given drinks, but were told they could enjoy themselves, but not get drunk.

"Young master, we have a total of three thousand men. This might not be easy to manage." Xu Zheng was taken aback.

"Indeed, we have too many people, and the warehouse is completely empty."

Suddenly, Lin Yifan had a flash of inspiration and said, "I've got it! Why don't we have them prepare the food at their respective restaurants and deliver it to our warehouse? Yes, that's the idea!"

Xu Zheng's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he nodded, saying, "Young master, this is a good idea. I'll go and do it right away."

He turned to leave, but Lin Yifan called out to him again: "Wait a minute, remember to prepare more steamed buns and meat soup, and send them to the injured in the hospital first. They need to have something hot to nourish themselves."

"Also, have the logistics team send over the nutritional supplements for the wounded as well, so they don't suffer any losses." Xu Zheng agreed and quickly turned to leave to make the arrangements.

Lin Yifan sat alone at his desk, spread out a map of Hong Kong Island, and circled it with a red pen. While calculating the personnel and equipment he had, he pondered which people should be sent to Hong Kong Island first.

According to intelligence, there are about 8,000 Japanese troops stationed on Hong Kong Island. This time, Chen Gongshu will take 2,000 men with him to try to completely control the entire Hong Kong Island before the Japanese surrender.

In this way, after the Japanese surrender, the new governor of Hong Kong will have to act according to our wishes. Lin Yifan put down the red pen, rubbed his throbbing temples, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, and waited quietly until the evening meeting to summarize the intelligence from all sides before finalizing the action plan.

As darkness fell quickly, Xu Zheng hurriedly returned to Victoria Road and went to his study. Seeing Lin Yifan already standing, he quickly said, "Young Master, dinner and wine are ready. Are you going to the warehouse to join the brothers? Or...?"

"Let's go together. I have a few words to say to them." With that, he walked out of the study first.

The two got into a Cadillac and drove towards the warehouse by the Haihe River.

Fortunately, the warehouses are usually empty, only filled with goods on the few days of trading. There are eight large warehouses belonging to the "ghosts". When the two entered the warehouse, they were startled by the dark mass of people inside.

The brothers, about ten of them, sat in a circle on the ground with oiled paper spread out in the middle. Seeing Lin Yifan frown, Xu Zheng quickly said, "Young master, there are just too many of us. We have no choice but to make do."

The dishes delivered by the restaurants were mainly braised dishes; stir-fried dishes were simply impossible. So, they searched twenty-three restaurants of all sizes in Tianjin before they could barely... gather enough food for the brothers.

After listening, Lin Yifan waved his hand and walked towards the middle of the warehouse, saying as he walked, "It's okay if it's a little crowded. It's better for everyone to be together. The reason I gathered everyone here today is to explain the arrangements for the future."

As soon as he finished speaking, the noisy warehouse fell silent. Everyone stood up and straightened their backs in Lin Yifan's direction.

"Xu Zheng, go and call over the leaders of the other warehouses as well, so they can relay the message when they get back."

Xu Zheng immediately ran to another warehouse. Soon after, the captains of each team crowded into this warehouse and stood neatly in front of Lin Yifan.

Lin Yifan's gaze swept over the tired yet still energetic faces in front of him, and he slowly said, "During this time, we fought all the way from inside the pass to outside the pass, and then fought our way back from outside the pass. Everyone traveled and fought day and night, and suffered a lot. Many brothers even lost their lives on the way."

Today's feast is not only to reward everyone, but also to commemorate our fallen brothers. When we finally drive the Japanese out, we will erect a monument to each of our fallen brothers and inscribe their names so that future generations will remember their heroic deeds.

After speaking, Lin Yifan picked up a bowl of liquor in front of him, raised it high, and said, "The first bowl is for our fallen brothers, bottoms up!"

Thousands of people around them raised their bowls in unison, and after a low roar, they all finished their drinks.