Captain Tang Dao resigned as the commander-in-chief of the warehouse defense, and the order to be replaced by Major Shangguan Yun, the commander of the first company, was given while the warehouse defenders were having dinner.
Tang Dao smiled bitterly, knowing that this was a disguised expression of dissatisfaction by the lieutenant colonel against his arbitrary opinions, and it was also a warning.
As the top commander of the warehouse, the Army Lieutenant Colonel is telling everyone that he has absolute control over this army, and all military operations must be approved by him, not even Tang Dao.
Tang Dao's resignation as the commander-in-chief of defense means that the army lieutenant colonel must re-adjust the deployment of night guard troops.
Sure enough, all the sentries on the side of the concession where the warehouse was located were drawn from the second and third companies.
That means whether or not it is as Tang Dao said, the Army Lieutenant Colonel has decided to face it personally instead of trying to delay it like Tang Dao did.
However, the lieutenant colonel of the army gave Tang Dao face after all, and the two guys who were tied up were ignored as if they had never appeared.
But since one or two can come, a third one will come.
At about ten o'clock in the evening, a middle-aged man wearing black night clothes sneaked across the Suzhou River and came to the outside of the warehouse. Because he did not know that the warehouse and the Suzhou River were actually connected, he entered the warehouse through a rope lowered from the second floor of the warehouse.
The security squad escorted him to a secret room in the building. After a careful search, the Army Lieutenant Colonel personally went to talk to him. All this was done in extreme confidentiality, and no one except the security squad knew about it.
No one knows how long they talked, and no one knows whether the person left or not.
At 12 o'clock, Tang Dao received an order that the Army Lieutenant Colonel wanted to see him. The two met in a secret room with no windows and dim lighting.
The lieutenant colonel of the army sat alone on a chair made of grenade boxes in the secret room. His face was slightly gloomy. The stubble that he had shaved with a bayonet for the flag raising yesterday morning was thick again. He had always fastened his discipline button very tightly.
The collar of the shirt was unbuttoned, revealing some dirt.
When Tang Dao came in, he stood at attention and saluted. Instead of returning the salute as usual, he threw a cigarette and waved his hand to signal Tang Dao to sit opposite.
The two of them smoked cigarettes at each other, and no one spoke first. It was not until the lieutenant colonel threw the cigarette butt on the ground angrily, crushed it with his leather shoe, and then said in a dull voice:
"Tang Dao, you are right. Because the radio station cannot be contacted, someone from the Central Command came two hours ago to convey military orders to the theater headquarters. Our combat mission has been completed, and I was ordered to withdraw into the concession at 2 o'clock tonight.
At the same time, the high-level officials on the concession side have negotiated and can retain their armed forces. When the time is right, we can return to the army and continue fighting against the Japanese invaders. The Japanese army has also agreed to allow us to retreat into the concession. What do you think?"
Tang Dao had naturally expected it, and with a flash of light in his eyes, he simply said directly: "Sir, you are the supreme commander of Sihang Warehouse. Everything is naturally decided by you. If you are willing to abide by the military order and evacuate to the Western Concession.
I have nothing to say, but I am just obeying the order. After withdrawing from the concession, I belong to the Sichuan Army. When I return to the old army, I hope that the commander will not stop me when he arrives.
The chief will be busy with affairs at that time, so I'm afraid I won't have the chance to say it. Tang Dao is very grateful to the chief for taking care of him these past few days. I would like to wish the chief a successful career with his military exploits in this battle. I hope that one day Tang Dao will be lucky enough to be able to fight with the chief on the anti-Japanese battlefield.
Fight side by side."
"Tang Dao, you..." The lieutenant colonel of the army heard Tang Dao's farewell message, and his eyes filled with anger. He suddenly stood up and wanted to get angry. After pacing back and forth several times, his face finally turned into a slump.
sighed:
"Tang Dao, there are doubts about your origins, but I never doubted you from the moment you chose to enter the battlefield alone and kill more than ten Japanese invaders. Not for anything else, just because you killed the Japanese!
I don’t care if you are from the Sichuan Army, from the Central Unification Committee, or even from the north. It doesn’t matter. You are Chinese and you fight against the Japanese. That’s enough. Yes or no?”
"Yes!" Tang Dao nodded, but said: "But I sincerely admire you, sir, but it's not because of your trust!"
Except for Tang Dao himself, I'm afraid no one in the world knows that the reason he refers to is that he wants to say thank you to this anti-war hero on behalf of all future Chinese people.
"You and I are the best, so there is no need to mention words of praise." The Army Lieutenant Colonel's eyes dimmed slightly. "I understand what you just meant, but you just said that I put the general's order above the fate of the country and was foolishly loyal. That is not true.
It was a smart move, so I wanted to leave.
"Xie came to Sihang Warehouse this time with the original intention of using Sihang Warehouse as Xie's grave. As long as it can arouse the determination of the whole nation to resist the war, even if it means death, that is Xie's wish.
Seeing that the fire has been lit, the people of our country are being inspired by it.
However, military orders in the war zone have been issued, and as a soldier, Xie must obey military orders as his bounden duty." At this point, the Army Lieutenant Colonel's eyes flashed with tears as he hissed.
"The fire of the nation's war of resistance is as important as Mount Tai's military orders and Tang Dao. Tell me, if it were you, how would you choose between the two?"
"Sir, military orders are irresistible to our generation of soldiers." Tang Dao looked at the green stubble of the Army Lieutenant Colonel that seemed to have grown overnight. Respect flashed in his eyes, and he still said firmly: "But, it is in vain to take care of me.
The Tang sword does not respect the military orders for the future of the country and the nation!"
Tang Dao can only tell him his choice, but he is not Tang Dao.
For this army lieutenant colonel, this is really an unsolvable multiple-choice question.
If we continue to fight, the lone army in the warehouse can burn the anti-Japanese fire even more fiercely.
The soldier was alone outside the main army, surrounded by the Japanese invaders, with no supplies and no backup. Even though he had a way out, he still chose to fight in a hail of bullets. This blood-curdling story is enough to ignite more and more Chinese people whose blood is not yet cold.
The fire in people's hearts.
But what are the consequences?
From the position of an army lieutenant colonel, if he disrespects military orders, it is no longer a matter of him or his family bearing the consequences.
Respecting Shangfeng's military order, even if all the members died in this battle, they died because of the national war. Even if the pensions and benefits that should be paid cannot be paid immediately, they will be paid in the future.
But if you don't respect military orders, even if you die in battle, not only will all your military achievements and pensions be lost, but the families of the officers and soldiers will also be affected, and some angry people may even be labeled as rebels.
The words "disrespecting stupid military orders" can be said by Tang Dao, but the lieutenant colonel of the army cannot easily push more than 400 officers and soldiers into the abyss, including those who are already dead.
Otherwise, a calm and decisive soldier like the Army Lieutenant Colonel would not have suffered so much.
"What's more, I have every reason to believe that, not to mention that the Westerners will definitely renege on their word, once they enter the concession, our army will have no choice but to let them prey on them;
Even the Japanese won't let us in easily." Tang Dao said firmly.
"The Japanese who were hurt by our beatings will let my elite army enter the battlefield again?"
"You mean..." The Army Lieutenant Colonel raised his brows slightly, not surprised but happy.
If it is true as Tang Dao said, he gave a reason that convinced him. It may be okay to obey the military order and withdraw the troops, but obeying the military order and letting his more than 400 subordinates be massacred by the Japanese invaders is something only a fool would do.
"Over a thousand Japanese have been killed by our troops in the past two days. Their commander really hates us. If they don't attack us while we are leaving the warehouse building, then I really respect him as a man.
"Tang Dao pointed at the left and right wings of the warehouse.
"I can tell that they have already deployed light and heavy machine guns on one side of the Suzhou River Bridge tonight, waiting for our troops to withdraw! The Suzhou River bridge deck is not within the scope of the concession."
"Really?" The Army Lieutenant Colonel's eyes flashed, and his fists clenched slightly.
"That's just another fight!"
This chapter has been completed!