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

Just before the Japanese pirates retreated into Shanghai, they contacted their superiors as soon as possible.

At this moment, the Japanese pirates urgently dispatched a large number of troops to support, and the number reached an astonishing 240,000.

This was also the overall plan of the Japanese pirates. They could mobilize all the troops without affecting the other two armies' invasion of the south. Any more troops would affect the Japanese pirates.

When Jiang Li heard the news, he immediately looked worried, because he knew too well that the enemy had an army of more than 200,000.

There must be a large number of tanks and planes. If they join forces with the navy and the Japanese pirates in the city to encircle them, they will be in trouble.

But there is no way to retreat at this point. Judging from the current situation, it is absolutely impossible to retreat, and there is nowhere to retreat.

Now, all the defensive fortifications around Shanghai have been built as well as possible. If we are still unable to compete with the Japanese pirates even with the geographical advantage and numerical advantage, then this war will be impossible to fight.

As for the Japanese pirates, after they received the order for help, they immediately began to mobilize their troops. Muto Yoshigumo knew too well the impact of the victory or defeat in this battle.

If this battle is lost, the whole of China will surely be excited.

Those warlords, landlords, gentry, and local officials who had previously expressed their intention to surrender would probably immediately change their positions and firmly support the war of resistance.

By then, let alone three months, even three years might not be enough to conquer the entire China, because China is too vast. If we cannot rely on the power of those fence-sitters in China,

With the limited wealth that Japan has, they will inevitably be dragged down to death in this huge country.

So when Mutō Yoshinobu received the news, he immediately dispatched a large army to the south for support, and he also swallowed his pride and negotiated many conditions with the navy.

After making a lot of concessions, they finally persuaded the Japanese Navy to fully support Shanghai and helped them transport a group of 20,000 support troops by land and sea to Shanghai.

The other troops do not need to assemble and can march towards Shanghai from their current locations.

Speaking of which, sea transportation is indeed much faster. From the time they received the mission and boarded the ship to the time they arrived in Shanghai and landed, it only took them two days and two nights, which can be considered very fast.

However, the land march was not that fast. After all, the distance was a thousand miles. It took more than half a month to complete the assembly near Jiangsu.

After they assembled, they advanced towards Shanghai. It was after they arrived that the Japanese pirates launched a tentative attack.

But Jiang Li knew that his air force was weak, so he never sent them into battle. Instead, he ordered each unit to rely on defensive fortifications to resist step by step, trying to delay more time.

This would allow Liu Huaqiang and his two companions time to build their guerrilla force, and time for the anti-Japanese volunteers from all over the country to grow. It would also take time to clear out the Japanese pirates in Shanghai.

As for the logistics of more than two million people, he is not too worried. Although he has not yet completed industrialization, the guns and bullets can fully meet the demand.

As for food, he had nothing to worry about because he had the support of a large number of gentry and landlords and countless volunteers to help with transportation. All he had to do now was to fight this battle well.

Just after Jiang Li issued the order to hold on, the Japanese pirates who were trying did not gain much advantage, so they decided to wait until the follow-up heavy-armored troops arrived before launching an attack on these sturdy fortifications.

But the Japanese pirates in Shanghai could not wait any longer. When they learned that the reinforcements had arrived, they immediately sent telegrams frantically, urging them to send reinforcements as soon as possible.

Because they had suffered heavy casualties during this period and had no place to replenish their ammunition, it was almost exhausted.

After learning of their situation, the Japanese pirates' reinforcements had no choice but to bite the bullet.

Without the support of tank units, relying only on artillery and infantry, they launched an attack on the Anmin Army, which occupied the advantageous terrain and had strong fortifications.

He also discussed with the navy and decided to launch attacks from two directions at the same time, hoping to relieve the pressure of the Japanese pirates in the city.

However, although the Japanese pirate army did not have tanks, their planes took off quickly and arrived near the battlefield after the main force arrived, ready to provide fire support to the army at any time.

Just as the Japanese pirates' navy and army began to attack the Anmin Army's defensive positions, Jiang Li accelerated the work of clearing out the Japanese pirates in Shanghai city.

Now he can only hope that defensive fortifications can be relied upon in various places to block the Japanese pirates' reinforcements. Otherwise, if an attack really breaks out in the center, it will be a huge trouble.

But Jiang Li's worry was completely unnecessary. After all, the Japanese pirates only had a small number of planes and cannons at this time, although they could pour a large amount of artillery fire on the Anmin Army.

However, the Anmin Army had solid anti-artillery holes and a large number of tunnel systems, as well as an absolute advantage in numbers, so they were able to fight the Japanese pirates on equal terms.

It was under such circumstances that the Japanese pirates in Shanghai were gradually compressed into a very small area.

But at this time, the Japanese pirates' baggage train had also arrived at the battlefield. With their joining, the pressure on the defending Anmin Army immediately increased greatly.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Li dispatched many more troops to them and issued a death order, requiring them to hold their positions to buy time for the army to wipe out the remaining troops in the city.

On the other side, the Anmin Army suffered heavy casualties on the battlefields outside the city, while the Japanese pirates inside the city were retreating step by step, although they had an air force and dropped some weapons and ammunition from time to time.

But this can only allow them to maintain a certain level of combat effectiveness so as not to be swept away by a wave of attacks due to running out of ammunition and food.

As for air fire support, there was none, because if the Japanese pirates outside the city wanted to attack Shanghai with the help of air fire support, they had to go all out and could not waste any firepower.

Therefore, the remaining troops in the city, without fire support, sent messages for help more and more frantically, and the offensive of the Japanese pirate support forces outside the city became more and more crazy and fierce.

It was their madness that made the defenders realize the necessity of their blocking. Even though many places were hit by shells again and again, the Anmin Army still did not use tunnels and continued to fight with the Japanese pirates' support forces.

On Jiang Li's side, just when he was getting overwhelmed by the continuous reports of casualties coming in, he finally received some good news.

They were Liu Huaqiang and two other people. In Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other places, they relied on Jiang Li's reputation and his declaration to fight against the Japanese aggression and save the country.

In just one month, a guerrilla force of more than 100,000 people was assembled, including peasants, bandits, some defeated soldiers and warlords. When they learned that the battle situation in Shanghai was at a stalemate, they immediately split into three groups.