Anti-Japanese War, weapons designer at Fengtian Arsenal

Captain Joel and the other party exchanged insults for a long time. What made Li Ruinian feel sorry was that the conflict between the two sides was limited to insults.

Joel is a professional captain after all. Although he dares to criticize the Japanese warships because he has the support of the powerful United States, he dare not actually attack the exercise area.

Li Ruinian said a few more trash words, teasing the old white man to curse the Japanese ancestors for eighteen generations, but Li Ruinian saw that the man was just thundering without raining, knowing that he could not drive the boat to attack the exercise area, so he gave up.

Li Ruinian was not afraid that the old white man would really go crazy and attack the exercise area. If the Japanese really did that and blew up the two ships of cargo, Li Ruinian would laugh his ass off. The Japanese would go to war with the United States in advance. Not to mention two ships of cargo, even 10 ships of cargo would be a huge profit!

After a stalemate of several hours, Captain Joel was sure that there was no way to dock, so he could only order the fleet to circle around at the lowest power, which lasted until the evening.

Li Ruinian came to the stern, leaned against the railing, and looked at the Japanese destroyer following them behind him, with a fierce look in his eyes.

The temptation of a destroyer was too great. Even though the Kikuzuki destroyer was a World War I destroyer and was quite backward in terms of layout, power and main guns, he still felt that he had to find a way to get it. This might be a rare opportunity for the Punitive Army to capture an intact enemy ship, but how should he do it?

When Li Ruinian was thinking about countermeasures, Captain Joel came to him, tightened his clothes and said, "Li, go back to the cabin. It's too cold here."

Li Ruinian shook his head.

"Mr. Joel, I'm wearing a coat, so I can bear this temperature.

Hey, Mr. Joel, do you know? 50 nautical miles away, in my motherland, on that land, our soldiers are standing against the Japanese invaders in single clothes.

Joel's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Watt? Your soldiers are only wearing thin clothes in such cold weather? Oh my god!! Your general must be crazy, this will freeze people to death! If it were the United States, if the general dared not provide warm clothes for the soldiers, the soldiers would drop their guns and go on strike!"

Li Ruinian waved his hand.

"Mr. Joel, my motherland is very poor now. Various backward ideas and warlord forces have divided this land. It is very weak now! The generals also want to give the soldiers better support, but the conditions do not allow it."

Joel looked at Li Ruinian with some sympathy.

"Alas, in this situation, you still have to face an ambitious industrialized country. This is really pitiful..."

"Mr. Joel."

Li Ruinian interrupted him and stared into Joel's eyes.

"Do you think we'll win this war?"

Joel didn't even hesitate before he began to shake his head.

"I'm sorry, Li. I don't see any hope for you to win. In fact, I know some friends in the military who have conducted many military flag simulations and believe that China will lose a lot of territory to Japan in the next 20 to 30 years. The reason why it is erosion rather than destruction is that the United States will not sit idly by and watch Japan grow bigger. Once Japan gets enough in China, the United States will take action to stop their greed."

He was very proud when he said this, as if he was superior!

"Mr. Joel, you are too arrogant."

Li Ruinian's tone was flat, but his eyes were sharp and bright as he looked at the destroyer in the distance. At this moment, a plan had been completed in his mind.

Joel thought that his words had caused Li Ruinian's disgust. This guy was quite generous. He didn't want to offend this Asian financial sponsor, so he apologized immediately.

"I'm sorry, Li. What I said just now was abrupt. It's getting dark soon and the weather will get colder. Go back to the cabin or you will catch a cold."

As he said this, he walked towards the cabin, and Li Ruinian called him from behind.

"Mr. Joel, I'm sorry."

Joel was stunned for a moment, smiled at him, and continued to walk into the cabin.

He thought Li Ruinian's apology was to ease the relationship between them, but in fact, Li Ruinian was apologizing in advance for what he was going to do next...

At 11 p.m. on January 19, dozens of Japanese soldiers rushed out of the headquarters and forcibly occupied Tiantong'an Station. A large number of Japanese troops also emerged at the Qiujiang Road intersection and marched quickly along Tiantong'an Road, Baoshan Road, Baoxin Road, and Qinyun Road, attacking the soldiers of the th Route Army stationed at various intersections. The January th Battle of Shanghai officially began!

That night, the Japanese army dispatched a large number of soldiers and tanks, using the International Settlement as a fulcrum to attack the urban area controlled by the 19th Route Army.

The commander of the 19th Route Army was Cai Tingkai, a native of Guangdong. He had sensed the Japanese's offensive intentions as early as when the Japanese were planning the Japanese monk incident. He immediately ordered the soldiers to build a defense system based on the complex streets in the city, and did ideological work on the soldiers, telling them that if they did not want Shanghai to become the second Northeast, they must fight to the death!

This is what he demands of his soldiers, and this is also what he demands of himself!

At this time, the Nationalist government still had illusions about Japan and wanted to negotiate. The government even made a guiding principle of not breaking off diplomatic relations, not declaring war, not making peace, and not signing a treaty. The top leadership all had this idea. It is conceivable how much suffering the soldiers on the front line would suffer!

During many negotiations, Japan threatened the town government of the Republic of China that if it did not stop all anti-Japanese movements, it would attack Shanghai by force.

So the Nationalist government ordered the 19th Route Army to withdraw from Shanghai and hand over the position to the General Tax Police Corps. Cai Tingkai refused verbally. He had smelled the strong smell of gunpowder. He did not want to become a national sinner like the young marshal, nor did he want Shanghai to fall into the iron hoof of the Japanese invaders! With his repeated insistence, the 19th Route Army always held its position until the night of January 1, when the Japanese invaders attacked.

It can be said that it was his persistence that prevented Shanghai from becoming another Northeast. The 19th Route Army met the Japanese attacking forces with a fully prepared attitude, laying the foundation for the subsequent victory.

But one bitter thing is that after the 19th Route Army entered Shanghai, the first enemy it faced was not the Japs, but its own people.

General Cai Tingkai wanted to build fortifications in the city, which required a large amount of money to purchase reinforced concrete and barbed wire. However, the Ministry of Military Affairs ignored his request and did not allocate a penny. The consortium controlled by someone also refused to provide him with assistance.

This is not the most outrageous thing. The most outrageous thing is that throughout the Battle of Shanghai, the democratic government had been sabotaging the war. For example, it repeatedly ordered the fighting troops to retreat, disrupted the morale of the troops, and did not provide support or ammunition at critical moments.

What is most infuriating is that from the beginning of the war to the end of October this year, the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs withheld 10 months of military pay from the 19th Route Army, a huge amount of 8 million yuan!

What use do soldiers have for money when the war has reached this stage? They can't go shopping in a bombed-out store, right?

But military pay is not just a material reward! It is also the country's recognition of the soldiers! The recognition of the soldiers' heroic fighting! Every military pay is the country's protection of the established fact of the soldiers' contribution!

It’s a pity that the soldiers of the 19th Route Army bravely resisted the invaders, but were stabbed in the back by their own people and did not receive recognition from the government at that time. It’s really hateful and infuriating!

Fortunately, many years later, people still remember their contributions.