Under One Person: The Sea Emperor Who Shattered Heaven and Earth

In her reply, she clearly stated that if this miraculous drug, which could save wounded soldiers from infection on a large scale, could be successfully developed, it would be a great achievement that would benefit all people.

At the end of the letter, Duanmu Ying wrote: "This matter is of great importance and cannot be fully described in words. I have already packed my bags and will soon be setting off for Shanghai, hoping to explore this path together with Chief Jiang."

"Good!" Jiang Zhen slapped his thigh and exhaled a heavy breath.

Duanmu Ying agreed.

This woman, who would later become a crucial figure among the "Thirty-Six Thieves," was about to arrive.

Under Jiang Zhen's management, the canal gang has now become a behemoth. Since he killed the ninja leader and unified the waterways, the Japanese army's supply lines in the Yangtze River basin and coastal areas have suffered devastating blows.

The brothers of the Grand Canal Gang were not only sailors, but also the best guerrillas. They piloted fast boats and, in cooperation with official or civilian armed forces, intercepted and killed enemy transport ships on the river.

Compared to the chaotic state of the martial world in the original history, the current situation is much better. The Japanese supplies cannot be transported in, and the offensive at the front lines has naturally become sluggish.

Jiang Zhen had hoped that he could take advantage of Duanmu Ying's arrival to stabilize the rear and produce the divine medicine.

But before he could be happy for long, the door to the room was pushed open again.

This time, it wasn't just one person who came in, but Bai Fu, Zhao Yuan, and Master Feng.

The three men looked extremely grim, and their gloomy aura made the temperature in the room drop several degrees.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Zhen asked in a deep voice.

Bai Fu stepped forward, his voice hoarse: "Boss, the Japanese have gone mad. Just now, our spies in various locations simultaneously sent back the highest level of warning."

Zhao Yuan spread out a map and pressed his finger heavily on two locations: Shanxi and Nanjing.

"According to Manager Liu of Jianghu Inn and our own intelligence, while you were heading north to ambush the ninja of Mount Hiei, the Japanese had already completed a massive troop redeployment from their homeland. They clearly realized the fatal impact of the waterway blockade on the battle and intended to finish the job in one fell swoop." Zhao Yuan spoke rapidly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"They split into two groups. One headed north, aiming straight for Shanxi, attempting to open up a land route. The other..." Zhao Yuan pointed sharply at the location of Jinling, "...assembled nearly two hundred thousand troops, with their target Jinling!"

Two hundred thousand.

Jiang Zhen's eyes narrowed. In this era, he knew all too well what 200,000 well-trained and well-equipped regular troops meant, and he knew all too well what would happen if Nanjing were captured.

"And this too." Master Feng pulled a crumpled letter from his pocket. "Boss, this is an anonymous letter. The person who delivered it is extremely skilled and professional."

Jiang Zhen took the letter and unfolded it.

The letter was brief, but every word was chilling:

"The Japanese have mobilized 200,000 troops, with their sights set on Nanjing. Their intention is to take Nanjing and then advance down the Yangtze River for a decisive battle. Once Nanjing is captured, they can form an encirclement, contain Shanghai, and completely blockade the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. At that time, the orders of the Canal Gang will not extend beyond Shanghai, and the waterway blockade will collapse without a fight. I urge Chief Jiang to take good care of himself and make plans as soon as possible."

The analysis in the letter perfectly matched Zhao Yuan's intelligence, and even more thoroughly pointed out the enemy's strategic objectives—they not only wanted territory, but also wanted to completely remove Jiang Zhen, this thorn in their side on the waterway.

Jiang Zhen frowned: "Have you found out who sent it?"

Master Feng shook his head: "The other party was very professional, leaving no trace whatsoever. Except for the fact that the letter paper was the most common white paper on the market, making its origin impossible to trace. But..."

Master Feng pointed to the end of the letter, where there was no signature, only a simple sketch of a small mountain, with three characters written next to it:

"Emei Peak".

Upon seeing these three words, Jiang Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Emei Peak..." Jiang Zhen repeated softly.

As a time traveler, or rather, a soul with memories of later films and literature, he was all too familiar with this code name.

Mount Emei? Could it be that romantic one?

Although this is a world of supernatural beings, and the timeline and characters may be out of sync or overlap, at this particular juncture in time, delivering such top-secret information using this codename...

"Boss, do you know this 'Emei Peak'?" Fifth Master Feng noticed the strange look in Jiang Zhen's expression and asked tentatively.

Jiang Zhen took a deep breath to calm himself. He slowly shook his head:

"I don't know him. But since this righteous man has already handed us the knife, if we don't act, we'll really be letting this letter down."

Jiang Zhen stood up and grabbed Hantian.

"An army of two hundred thousand... Hmph!"

Bai Fu asked with some worry, "Chief, this is, after all, a tough battle on the main battlefield. Although we have a group of brothers who are good at fighting and killing, facing an organized army with artillery and tanks, a head-on confrontation might be..."

Jiang Zhen walked to the window, looking at the bustling Huangpu River in the distance, his eyes revealing a ruthless glint.

"The Japanese want to use Nanjing to contain Shanghai, and they want my orders to leave Shanghai? Then I'll make those 200,000 men grind their teeth under the walls of Nanjing first!"

Jiang Zhen turned around and gave the three orders:

"First, continue to contact Jianghu Xiaozhan to gather intelligence."

"Second, immediately organize personnel and allocate resources to prepare for war."

After speaking, Jiang Zhen slammed the Heaven-Shaking Sword into the ground with a muffled thud, and the marble floor cracked instantly.

"Before, we were killing petty thieves in the shadows, fighting interception battles on the water. But now, they've come to our doorstep..."

Jiang Zhen's tone became unusually calm, yet it exuded an undeniable air of dominance:

"Then pass down my order. The Cao Gang is preparing to officially join the main battlefield!"

With Jiang Zhen's series of orders, the entire canal gang, led by Shanghai, seemed to be a sophisticated war machine, and started up with a roar at this moment.

Jiang Zhen looked at the three words "Emei Peak" on the letter and thought to himself, "Thanks, buddy. I, Jiang, will take this information. Whether you are that person or not, I will definitely accept this favor."

Chapter 58 Telegram to the Whole Country

Inside the headquarters of the Grand Canal Gang, the atmosphere was so oppressive it was hard to breathe. The map on the table was torn to shreds by pencils of various colors, each line representing the advancing iron hooves of the Japanese army.

Master Feng and Zhao Yuan strode in, not bothering to wipe their sweat, their voices trembling slightly: "Boss, the intelligence has been updated. The Japanese are moving even more frantically than we expected. The newly formed divisions transferred from the mainland, together with the existing troops stationed along the route, are pushing their forces toward Nanjing. Conservatively speaking, they number close to 300,000, and they also have a lot of heavy artillery and tanks."

“Three hundred thousand…” Jiang Zhen sneered.

It seems that the Japanese were completely enraged by his blockade of the waterways.

"Yes, the army marched in a mighty, fan-shaped formation, heading straight for Nanjing."

"So fast?! Don't they care about logistics?" Jiang Zhen stared at the map, his brows furrowed into a deep knot.

"No, we won't wait."

Master Feng's face was grim. "According to the reports from the brothers on the river, the Japanese army has completely abandoned the usual occupation tactics this time. They used their firepower advantage to forcefully break through the strongholds. Once they broke through, they didn't leave anyone to garrison them, and they ignored the guerrilla attacks in the surrounding area. They rushed towards Nanjing at full speed. Their goal is very clear—to remove Nanjing, this thorn in the side, in the shortest amount of time and with the most absolute force."

This fighting style is extremely ruthless, a blitzkrieg attack that disregards all costs.

Jiang Zhen tightened his grip on Hantian. The dark red patterns on the blade seemed to sense their master's killing intent and emitted a faint hum.

"Pass down my order." Jiang Zhen's voice echoed in the hall, cold as ice. "Notify all the brothers blocking the river that from now on, the blocking of the Japanese army will be changed to flanking harassment. Do whatever is disgusting, but absolutely no head-on confrontation is allowed. Safety first. I don't want my brothers to fill the bellies of river fish before we even see the enemy in Nanjing."

"Yes!" Bai Fu responded and relayed the order.

"Boss, this is letting them advance unimpeded!" one of the leaders couldn't help but shout.

"To try and stop this massive steel torrent with our equipment and flesh and blood would be suicide." Jiang Zhen glanced at him, his eyes deep. "These lives won't buy us much time."

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

"Master Bai, draft a telegram for me!" Jiang Zhen immediately called out to Bai Fu.

A moment later, Bai Fu held a draft telegram in his hand.

"Boss, are you sure you want to do this?" Bai Fu's voice trembled.

Jiang Zhen took the pen and paper and signed his name heavily at the end.

"Send! Connect the entire nation to the power supply, leave no room for compromise!"

……

this day.

A telegram signed by Jiang Zhen, the leader of the Shanghai Canal Gang, swept across the desks of major newspapers, government offices, and warlords like a hurricane.

The telegram was brief, yet its domineering nature was chilling:

"Three hundred thousand Japanese invaders intend to attack Nanjing. I, Jiang, though unworthy, am willing to lead one hundred thousand men of the Canal Gang to single-handedly resist them. I urge all commanders and righteous men to disregard Nanjing and instead send all their forces north to support Shanxi, to safeguard the backbone of our Chinese nation. The southern gate will be closed by me, Jiang Zhen!"

The telegram caused a global uproar.

"Arrogant! It's utterly ridiculous!"

Inside a government office, the sound of a porcelain cup shattering was crisp and jarring. A man slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, trembling with rage.

"Damn it! Who does Jiang Zhen think he is? Does he think this is some small-time operation at the docks? Three hundred thousand... that's over three hundred thousand well-trained regular troops! They have cannons and tanks! What are his Canal Gang? A bunch of laborers carrying machetes and bamboo poles? At most, they'll have a hundred thousand. The numbers are half of what they're worth, but the equipment is worlds apart!"

"He thinks he can stop the steel torrent with 100,000 human bodies? Is he so desperate to be a hero that he's gone mad, or does he want to hand over Nanjing to the Japanese as a pledge of allegiance!"

A staff officer beside him whispered, "Chairman, Jiang Zhen's telegram has already caused a huge uproar, and public opinion is now very unfavorable to us. The whole country is watching our reaction..."

"You bastard!" the man cursed. "This is no place for a mere gangster to spout nonsense! He's slapping the government in the face! He's slapping the regular army in the face! Pass down the order, the defenses of Jinling..."

Before he could finish speaking, another adjutant rushed in: "Report! Chairman, an urgent telegram from Shanxi! The Japanese mechanized forces on land are moving too fast. Their vanguard has already reached the outer defense line, and they keep sending telegrams requesting reinforcements!"

……

The world of supernatural beings.

Jiang Zhen's news was spread through various channels, and all sorts of sects were completely blown out of the deep mountains and forests.

Longhu Mountain, Celestial Master's Mansion.

The old Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing stood on the edge of a cliff behind the mountain, clutching a message sent back by a lay disciple who worked for the government. Behind him, a group of young Taoist priests stood silently.

"Master, is Chief Jiang really going to lead a group to... guard Jinling alone?" Zhang Huaiyi asked in a low voice.

Zhang Jingqing looked into the distance and sighed, "I never expected that young friend Jiang would cultivate the power of dominance and act in the way of the king."

He then angrily cursed, "That bastard Zhang Zhiwei! He's really learned his lesson this time coming down the mountain! He was already on his way without even saying goodbye!"

The old Celestial Master turned around, his eyes becoming incredibly sharp: "Pass down the order: all disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion who have achieved a certain level of cultivation are to voluntarily descend the mountain to Jinling to support Chief Jiang."

Wudang Mountain.

Several elderly Taoist priests with white hair sat facing each other in the main hall.

"The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every citizen." An old Taoist priest slowly stood up. "Wudang disciples should enter the world to eliminate evil. Let's go."

Jishengtang.

Duanmu Ying looked at her parents with a determined gaze: "The penicillin that Chief Jiang mentioned hasn't been developed yet, but there's already a bloodbath there. Lin Zhu is there, and I should be there too. Doctors, after all, have to be at the place where the most people die."

……