My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

"This war is not only the responsibility of the soldiers, but also the common mission of all Chinese people."

"Every city, every village, every family, and every citizen should wake up! We must let the enemy know that the land of China cannot be invaded! We will not give up an inch of our ancestors' legacy!"

"My fellow countrymen, no matter where you are or what you do, please actively participate in this war of resistance, contribute your strength, money and wisdom, and unite so that we will not be invaded by foreign enemies."

"The victory of the war of resistance will surely belong to us! Let us work together to ensure that the five thousand years of Chinese heritage will not be cut off!"

"In order to prevent our descendants from becoming slaves of the Japanese, fellow countrymen, please join this sacred battle and drive the invaders out of our homeland!"

"I, Jiang Li, swear in the name of this Xuanyuan Sword that fighting the Japanese invaders will atone for my past sins. I will drive out the Japanese pirates. We Han people should share the world!!!"

As Jiang Li finished his words, the Chinese reporters below were already extremely excited, and the old-fashioned cameras in their hands kept clicking.

Although those Western reporters didn't quite understand what was said, seeing their colleagues around them so excited, they guessed that Jiang Li must have said something extraordinary.

So they all started filming, and after leaving, they asked each other what Jiang Li had said specifically. As a result, they were stunned, because they had just witnessed a call for a war to defend the country!

So they started writing articles and preparing to release this important news to their people based on the previous photos. They thought that such an exclusive news would surely bring them great benefits.

The focus of these foreign journalists is to make money, but the focus of those Chinese journalists is different.

When they heard Jiang Li say that he was holding the Xuan-Yuan Sword, they were so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths, but they didn't know whether it was true or not.

All they could do was give close-up shots of the Xuan-Yuan Sword, hoping to capture some more details so they could later identify its authenticity.

However, Jiang Li did this on purpose. He wanted to take this opportunity to make the Xuanyuan Sword appear in the world and increase the chances of winning this war.

So instead of stopping them, he intentionally or unintentionally changed his position while speaking so that the reporters could take clearer pictures.

After the press conference, Jiang Li even took out a large sum of money to help these reporters spread the news quickly so that the people across the country could pay attention to this war as quickly as possible.

The final result was not unexpected. In just ten days, the news of this inspiring victory spread throughout the country. A large number of knowledgeable people and local armed forces rushed to Shanghai, hoping to help in this war to protect the country.

Among them were literati who were well-read in poetry and books, warlords who occupied a certain area, and many outlaws who had the world in their hearts. In short, people from all walks of life across the country responded.

Even the landlords, gentry and wealthy businessmen donated money and supplies, either directly sending them to Shanghai through their connections, or giving the supplies and money to the volunteer army passing by.

That’s right, among the troops heading to Shanghai at this time, many were dressed in tattered clothes and had simple weapons, and they didn’t even look like an army.

However, these are all patriots who are willing to serve their country. It would be somewhat disrespectful if they were not called volunteers.

As for those landlords, gentry and wealthy businessmen, no one knows whether they are truly serving the country or they contribute money and materials because of what Jiang Li said, that fighting the war to save the country can atone for past crimes.

Of course, more people are discussing the authenticity of the Xuan-Yuan Sword, especially those who believe in the so-called destiny, who are even more crazy about it.

I racked my brains and read various books, hoping to get a definite answer so that I could make a choice as to whether I should destroy my family property and try my best to gain the credit of being a dragon's follower.

But Jiang Li didn't care about these. He was now worried about the people who were coming from all over the country to help in the battle!

Because there are just too many of them, and most of them are ordinary people who are full of passion but don't have much military skills.

Many of them were dressed in rags and were obviously either farmers or bandits.

As for their weapons, they were even more horrific.

Being able to get an old rifle was already quite good. Some of them even came with cold weapons such as machetes or bows and crossbows, which made Jiang Li's eyes twitch.

Judging from this situation, even if Jiang Li gave each of them a gun, they probably wouldn't use it. By then, Feifan might not be able to help much and would instead hinder the army.

So he simply selected those people who had shooting experience, distributed weapons to them and organized them into an army.

Others who have no shooting experience will either become medics or be sent directly to the logistics department to help transport weapons, ammunition and supplies.

As for those scholars, Jiang Li arranged them into the newly reorganized army to serve as messengers, clerks, and material managers.

As for those who had actually received military education, Jiang Li directly made them officers, staff officers, etc. to assist in the rapid formation of the new army.

As a result, the army, which already had 1.3 to 1.4 million soldiers, expanded again and directly reached 2 million soldiers.

Moreover, troops from other parts of the country are still arriving in an endless stream, and by then there will be more and more troops.

In order to enable these new troops to grow rapidly, Jiang Li directly divided them into small groups and let them join the street fighting in Shanghai.

As a result, their first battle was against the defeated Japanese pirates who had lost their heavy weapons and had no air support, and were led by the elite Anmin Army.

I think they won't be defeated just because they are involved in a battle with opponents in this segment that don't belong to them.

But the reality was somewhat beyond his expectations. These enthusiastic new soldiers were full of morale after getting their new guns.

But after following the Anmin Army and fighting the Japanese pirates in street battles for a day, his enthusiasm immediately disappeared and he gritted his teeth and held on, relying on the persistence in his heart.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Li did not attack them, but directly replaced them with other new troops to join the battle, allowing them to take a few days off to avoid suffering psychological trauma.

As for why this happened, it was naturally because the Japanese pirates had strong military skills, while these new recruits were too inexperienced, and the two sides were simply not on the same level.

However, for these people, this experience was not entirely a bad thing. At least it cooled down their manic hearts.

Sincerely seeking advice from the veterans has enabled them to grow quickly and truly have a taste of becoming a strong army.

Besides, the achievements of the Anmin Army in the past half month are really great!

Since the Japanese pirates lacked heavy weapons, they had basically no good solution when facing the Anmin Army's tactics of leading with tanks and armored vehicles and coordinating the advance of elite troops.

They could only retreat step by step. Within half a month, the Anmin Army killed at least 30,000 people, which was almost equal to the results of the previous army in a month.

The casualties of the Anmin Army itself were much smaller, with 10,000 deaths and 30,000 wounded.

As for why the casualty ratio of the Anmin Army changed so much before and after, it was naturally because the heavy weapons mentioned earlier were lost, and their own aircraft were unable to provide support, which resulted in such a loss ratio.

If the Japanese pirates were not on the defensive side and could occupy advantageous terrain in advance, the casualty ratio would have been even greater.

As for why the Japanese pirates' navy did not send planes to support the army in the city, it was naturally because they had been plotted against by Jiang Li and had lost a large number of planes and pilots.

Now they are being held back by the defenders of Jinshanwei, so they dare not hastily support the army in the city without being sure of the enemy's air force strength.

But this situation did not last long.