Anti-Japanese War, weapons designer at Fengtian Arsenal

This action of the Punishment Army shocked the world. If the Punishment Army was only influential domestically before, now they have become popular internationally.

After all, the Japs were a modern industrial country, and the combat effectiveness of the army of an industrial country could not be too poor. As a result, they were pinned to the ground and hammered by the Punitive Army. What's even more amazing is that the Punitive Army ignored the power of the great powers and dared to attack the International Settlement, killing a team of British gatekeepers, burning the Japanese Concession into a white emperor, and killing thousands of Japanese soldiers.

The great powers were shocked! They all condemned the Punitive Army's massacre, but surprisingly, the condemnation was not loud.

Before rushing into the Japanese Concession and setting fire, the punitive troops dropped a large number of leaflets, which described in various languages ​​the atrocities committed by the Japanese devils against the people of Shanghai.

Dozens of civilians were blocked in the alley by the Japanese and shot to death, leaving corpses all over the ground. They rushed into civilians' homes, stabbed entire families to death with bayonets, and rushed into shops to smash, loot and burn.

All these incidents and scenes were captured by the disciplinary military cameras, printed on propaganda leaflets, and spread all over the International Settlement and downtown Shanghai, exposing the devils' abominable deeds to the public.

As a result, the international community's attitude towards the Punitive Forces' military operations has become ambiguous. The major media and official mouthpieces are still blaming the Punitive Forces, but the rhetoric has become more formalized. The public and some small media have praised them highly, believing that the Punitive Forces are true warriors. If the enemy swings the sword at my people, I will swing the sword at your people. This is fair.

The American magazine "Time" called the Punitive Forces the Bloody Guardians.

The French newspaper Le Figaro said that the Punitive Forces are bloody knights who forge their shields with slaughter and intimidate the enemy so that they dare not kill again, which is in line with the spirit of chivalry.

The "Dragon Daily" said that the National White Blood Cell Punishment Army once again eliminated the virus that invaded the human body.

After Shanghai residents saw the leaflets sent by the Punitive Army, their anger reached its peak and anti-Japanese activities were unprecedented.

The common people began to donate supplies to the front-line troops in large quantities, and delivered hot water to the front line under limited conditions. Even some chaebols who obeyed someone were touched and began to secretly provide food to the soldiers on the front line.

The disciplinary army filmed these scenes and published them in newspapers with the title "We are unprecedentedly united! We are extremely powerful! The Chinese nation will never be defeated!"

With the dual support of emotions and supplies, the main attack towards Miaohang led by the third commander of the Japanese army, Ueda Kenkichi, was resisted by General Cai.

General Cai also launched an encirclement operation against the Japanese, successfully annihilating more than 1000 Japanese soldiers and destroying more than 10 tanks. Although the remaining Japanese troops fought desperately to break through the encirclement and retreated to the defense zone, this unit was completely crippled and it would be impossible to restore its combat effectiveness without repairs for a year or two.

Victory after victory inspired the Chinese people. Li Qinwu felt the strong power of emotion. He immediately sent people to the urban area to buy a large number of fireworks, which were set off in the early morning of that night. The colorful fireworks exploded in the dark night, adding a touch of color to this gray era.

Unlike the joy on the Chinese side, the Japanese side was shrouded in dark clouds.

According to Japanese statistics afterwards, more than 2000 people were killed or injured in the Japanese Concession, with direct economic losses of more than 4000 million yen. Someone had to take the blame for such a horrific loss, and Kenkichi Ueda, who served as the commander, was undoubtedly the best person to take the blame.

Ueda Kenkichi felt that his life was over. His future and dream of becoming a marshal were all gone. The only thing he cared about now was how to escape the tragic fate of committing seppuku to apologize.

However, the attitude of the domestic army leaders gave Kenkichi Ueda an opportunity.

The domestic army leaders planned to do their best to protect him and put the blame for the poor performance of this battle on the navy, saying that it was because the navy was timid and afraid of the heavy artillery of the Punishment Army that they withdrew the fleet to the open sea, resulting in no ships of their own on the sea. The Punishment Army was able to cross the river without worries, and the navy was the driving force behind this defeat!

This reason is barely tenable. If the Japanese had warships parked at sea, the ship-borne weapons could block the section where the Huangpu River estuary meets the sea. But once the navy withdraws, the punitive army landing force will have no worries and can land calmly.

The army boss told Kenkichi Ueda that there would be a debate between the cabinet and the navy when he returned to China, so he must be well prepared and must not take the blame.

Kenkichi Ueda was curious about why the army leaders were trying so hard to protect him. According to tradition, if the enemy had such an outrageous record during his tenure, the army would definitely sacrifice itself to preserve the army's reputation. What was the meaning of setting up a battle line to fight the navy to the death?

What Kenkichi Ueda didn't know was that the burning of the Japanese Concession was a huge responsibility, and the Army would never let him take the blame. At this time, the country was in an uproar. More than 2000 Japanese were killed by the punitive army, and their families were marching in the country. They demanded that those who had failed to give orders commit seppuku to apologize, and be responsible for compensating for their losses!

So many people died and so much property was lost, how many people had to commit seppuku? How much Japanese yen had to be paid in compensation? Who the hell dared to take the blame?

Therefore, the army intended to do its best to shift the blame to the navy and protect Kenkichi Ueda.

The navy thought the same thing. They launched a public opinion offensive in the country, exaggerating the incident as the incompetence of the army. They said that the enemy had not dared to launch an attack when your army generals were in office, but as soon as your army generals took office, the punitive troops attacked and even broke into the public concession, killing so many people. It was all because of your army generals' fault.

The tension between the navy and the army was so strong that it was about to go to civil war. The Japanese cabinet realized that something was wrong and hurriedly asked the emperor to leave.

The Emperor, as a mascot, made the navy and the army sit down and debate separately. To put it bluntly, it was a blame-shifting meeting, and the blame would be passed on to whoever had greater skill.

The Emperor's intervention brought the armed struggle back to the stage of cultural struggle. The navy and the army were holding their breath, and their hatred for each other increased several levels.

Kenkichi Ueda boarded the ship and returned home that same day. He was the main force in this debate. Kenkichi Ueda also became the commander with the shortest tenure. Not counting the armistice period, he was removed from office just two days after taking office. Who the hell can he complain to?

Ueda Kenkichi passed away, and his successor was Shirakawa Yoshizawa, who was still an army general.

The smile on Yoshizawa Shirakawa's face never stopped when he took office. He brought the 11th and 14th divisions, bringing the Japanese army's strength in Shanghai to the highest level during the Battle of Shanghai, more than 9 troops!

By now the Chinese side was already quite exhausted, with heavy losses in personnel and weapons. His entry at this time was simply like picking peaches.

But this idiot doesn't know that during the time he has been in office, the Punishment Army has already prepared a big one for him, one that is even bigger than the one that burned down the Japanese Concession!

However, before this big event broke out, Shirakawa Yoshizawa ran into trouble.

The 12 countries in the International Settlement brought China and Japan together to hold a ceasefire meeting. Shirakawa Yoshizawa sent people to attend the meeting, and then found out that the ceasefire was fake, and the real thing was to hold the Japanese side accountable!