Republic of China: German-equipped divisions massacred as warlords guarded the nation's borders

1925 years.

March 16th.

3:50 a.m.

Chen Zijun sat in the armored command vehicle with his eyes closed.

The system panel appeared in his mind.

[Unlimited Pay-to-Win System]

Current funds: £2,334,716 (+£1 per second)

Unlocked: All Army units, Naval Fortress, Submarine Wolfpack, Air Defense System

Unlockable: Heavy aircraft carrier module (requires £2000 million)

More than seven million pounds.

He heard a lot, but it was far from his shipbuilding plan.

Aircraft carriers, heavy battleships, long-range bombers—aren't they all money-devouring behemoths?

The things in this warehouse today are his ATM.

"Young Marshal."

Shen Li's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"It's 3:55. All units are in position. The First Regiment is on the front, the Second Regiment is blocking the flanks, and the Third Regiment is sealing off the rear alley and waterway. Two armored vehicles are at the main gate, and the 37mm guns are loaded with high-explosive shells. Six MG34s are in place, and the crossfire network is set up."

What's that noise inside the warehouse?

"The scout just reported that the people inside are still asleep. There are two Type 91 light machine guns at the main gate, and sandbags are piled up behind the gate. There are about forty men on night watch in shifts, and the rest are lying down."

Chen Zijun's lips curled slightly.

crooked handle?

sandbag?

Using this piece of junk to block his 37mm armored tank gun?

It's as ridiculous as trying to block a Krupp cannon with a paper shield.

"Have the leaders been confirmed?"

"Confirmed." Shen Li's voice was extremely calm. "The last three active gangster bosses in Shanghai are all in there. Zhou Tietou from Hongkou, Liu Banxian from Nanshi, and Zhao Sizhi from the French Concession. Together, these three control more than 70% of the opium smuggling channels in Shanghai. Sassoon distributed his goods to the five southeastern provinces through them."

"it is good."

Chen Zijun opened his eyes.

He glanced at his watch.

Three fifty-eight.

"Pass on my orders."

"It's exactly four o'clock."

"We will not accept any form of negotiation."

"We will not accept any form of surrender."

"attack."

……

It was exactly four o'clock in the morning.

Warehouse No. 3 of Sassoon & Co.

Three hundred meters west of the boundary of the International Settlement.

This is a giant warehouse covering more than 2,000 square meters, originally used by the Sassoon family to store imported goods. But starting three years ago, it became the largest opium transshipment station in the entire Shanghai.

Fifty thousand boxes of premium opium were neatly stacked, piled from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

The warehouse doors were two solid teak doors, each more than half a foot thick, covered with a layer of sheet metal.

There were seven or eight layers of sandbags piled up at the entrance, and two Type 96 machine guns were mounted behind them.

The thugs on night watch were wrapped in military overcoats; some were dozing off against sandbags, while others were squatting in corners smoking pipes.

More than 1,200 people.

That sounds pretty intimidating.

But what are they holding in their hands?

Hanyang rifles, old-fashioned rifles, Charlemagne replicas, and even arquebuses from the Qing Dynasty.

There were only four machine guns, all of them Czech-made or Type 91 light machine guns.

The ammunition was cobbled together from various sources, and the calibers didn't even match.

Of these people, less than a third had actually fired a gun.

They thought they were fighting a defensive battle.

But they didn't know what was on the other side.

boom!!!

The first 37mm high-explosive shell accurately hit the door frame on the left side of the warehouse's main entrance.

The half-foot-thick teak door was shattered, the sheet metal flew out like pieces of paper, and the sandbags were overturned by the blast wave, sending sand flying more than three meters high.

Before the thugs guarding the gate could react, the second shot arrived.

boom!!!

The right side frame of the main entrance was also blown up.

The entire door detached from the frame and crashed to the ground with a thud, raising a cloud of dust.

"Rush!!!"

Yang Yanzhao stood on top of the armored vehicle and let out a loud shout.

Six MG34s opened fire simultaneously.

Da da da da da da! ! !

A hail of bullets rained down on the warehouse door.

The two light machine guns at the entrance didn't even have time to fire a single shot before the gunners were riddled with bullets.

The thugs behind the sandbags screamed as they fell to the ground.

Someone tried to escape through the side door.

Outside the side gate was the fire blockade line of the Second Regiment.

Four Maxim heavy machine guns, with water-cooled barrels and belt-fed ammunition.

Six hundred shots per second.

As soon as the side door opened, Maxim on the other side began to roar.

Da da da da da da! ! !

The three people who ran out were torn to pieces by bullets.

The people behind were so frightened that they scrambled back.

three minutes.

In just three minutes.

The armed resistance outside the warehouse completely collapsed.

The remaining thugs threw down their guns, knelt on the ground, raised their hands above their heads, and cried out in surrender.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting! We surrender! We surrender!"

But Chen Zijun said so.

Surrender is not accepted.

German-equipped infantrymen, carrying 98K rifles, stormed into the warehouse in tactical formation.

Upon reaching a corner, first throw a German-made long-handled grenade, then rush in to clear it out.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of grenades exploding echoed continuously.

Screams, cries, and gunshots mingled together.

The entire warehouse turned into a battlefield.

……

4:20 a.m.

The battle is basically over.

Chen Zijun stepped down from the armored vehicle.

The morning breeze carried a heavy smell of gunpowder and blood.

The warehouse's main entrance was gone, leaving only two dark door frames. The sheet metal on the frames was blown out of shape, resembling two outstretched metal claws.

The ground was littered with spent shell casings and broken bricks.

Several corpses lay scattered at the entrance.

Chen Zijun stepped on the spent cartridge cases as he entered the warehouse.

The sight before him made him squint slightly.

Piles of opium.

Box after box, stacked higher than a person, stretching all the way to the depths of the warehouse, with no end in sight.

Each box was marked with the Sassoon & Co. eagle head logo.

"Young Marshal."

Shen Li walked over quickly, holding a list in his hand.

"Preliminary inventory complete. 53,000 cartons of opium, 50 catties per carton. At current market prices, this shipment is worth at least four million pounds."

Four million pounds.

That's enough to build two destroyers.

But Chen Zijun's expression did not change at all.

Because there were other things that concerned him more than the opium.

In the corner, there were more than twenty metal boxes piled up.

Shen Li walked over and pried one open.

With a whoosh, a flash of silver light appeared.

A whole box full of silver dollars.

"This is the money Sassoon paid those thugs for their lives. Twenty-three boxes, five thousand silver dollars per box. A total of 115,000 silver dollars."

Chen Zijun gave a cold laugh.

"Sassoon was quite generous. It's a pity the owner of this money will never be able to spend it."

He glanced back at the warehouse entrance.

The three corpses were dragged out by German-equipped infantry and thrown onto the open ground outside the warehouse gate.

Zhou Tietou. He had been shot twice in the head, his eyes were wide open, and he was beyond dead.

Liu Bansian. His chest was riddled with holes from MG34 bullets, his entire chest was mangled.

Zhao Sizhi. He was still clutching a Mauser pistol in his right hand, but the left half of his body was charred and mangled by a grenade.

"Hang it up."

Chen Zijun's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Hang it at the warehouse entrance. Let all of Shanghai see that this is what happens to anyone who dares to traffic drugs on my turf."

"yes!"

……

It was 6:30 a.m.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

A black Bentley sped towards us from the direction of the International Settlement like a madman.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, the door was kicked open from the inside.

Sassoon.

Today, the Jewish tycoon was wearing a wrinkled dark blue suit, his tie was not properly tied, and his hair was a mess.

He had clearly just been woken up from bed.

He was followed by two bodyguards from a foreign firm and a British lawyer.

Sassoon strode toward the warehouse, and before he even reached the door, he saw three corpses hanging on the lintel.

His steps suddenly stopped.

His face turned deathly pale instantly.

But he quickly gritted his teeth and continued walking.

"Chen Zijun!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, mixing English with broken Chinese.

"Are you crazy! Do you know what you're doing?!"

"This is the legitimate property of Sassoon & Co.! It is private property protected under the British Empire's Trade Protection Clause! This is blatant robbery! A blatant violation of international law!"

He turned to the lawyer beside him.

"Write this down! Write it all down! I'm going to lodge a formal protest with the Foreign Office in London, with the International Court of Justice, and with Geneva!"

Chen Zijun stood in the warehouse, his back to him.

He didn't turn around.

He was looking at the boxes of opium that had been cleared out on the ground.

Sassoon called out again.

"Chen Zijun! I'm talking to you!"

Chen Zijun then slowly turned around.

He looked at Sassoon.

Then he walked over.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

He walked right up to Sassoon, only half a meter away.

Sassoon instinctively took a step back.

Chen Zijun drew his Mauser pistol from his waist.

He didn't point at Sassoon's head.

He pressed the muzzle of the gun against Sassoon's chest.

The coldness of the steel seeped through the suit jacket and directly onto Sassoon's skin.

Sassoon's breath caught in his throat.

The two bodyguards behind him reached for their waists, but were immediately stopped by eight 98K rifles pointed at them simultaneously.

They dared not move.

"Mr. Sassoon."

Chen Zijun's voice was very soft, as if he were chatting casually.

"I've heard of the international law you mentioned."

"I've heard of the business protection clauses you mentioned."

"But have you ever heard a single word of Chinese?"

Sassoon's lips were trembling.

"Wha...what did you say?"

Chen Zijun gently tapped Sassoon's chest with the muzzle of his gun.

"On my turf, anything that poisons the Chinese people, I can confiscate it if I say so."

"Besides, you must know about international anti-drug laws. Do you want me to repeat them to you?"

"From this day forward, this opium has absolutely nothing to do with your Sassoon family."

"Sue me if you want. Sue me all the way to London, or all the way to Geneva."

"But you'd better remember one thing."

His eyes suddenly turned extremely dangerous.

"My cannon is faster than your lawyer's."

Sassoon's face turned a deep liver color.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the cold pressure from the muzzle of the gun rendered him speechless.

Chen Zijun put the gun back at his waist.

Then he turned to look at Shen Li.

"Shen Li."

"arrive!"

"Issue my order. In view of the Sassoon family's long-term use of foreign firms' warehouses to stockpile opium and poison the Chinese people, effective immediately, all of the Sassoon family's real estate, warehouses, dock berths, and bank deposits in the five southeastern provinces are to be frozen and seized."

Sassoon's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

"What...what did you say?!"

"Didn't you hear me?" Chen Zijun said without turning his head. "Then I'll say it again. All of the Sassoon family's assets in Shanghai are confiscated."

"You can't do this!" Sassoon roared hoarsely. "The British Empire won't tolerate it! You'll cause an international dispute!"

Chen Zijun stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and glanced at Sassoon.

That look in his eyes was as if he were looking at an ant.

"Mr. Sassoon, do you think the British Empire would go to war with the Chen family army, which sank the Izumo, Hyuga, and Yamashiro warships, for the sake of a Jewish opium merchant?"

"In the Far East, the rules I, Chen Zijun, define are the rules, and the laws I endorse are the laws!"

Sassoon was startled.

Yes.

Izumo-class armored cruiser!

Battleship Hyuga!

Battleship Yamashiro!

Those were the three behemoths of the Japanese Combined Fleet. They were also a guarantee of military power to deter the entire Far East region.

They were all sent to the bottom of the sea by the person in front of them.

British?

The British don't even dare to send a single heavy cruiser to the Far East now.

Sassoon's lips trembled a few times.

In the end, he said nothing.

He turned around and stumbled back to his Bentley.

The moment the car door closed, a twisted, furious roar came from inside the car.

But the sound was quickly swallowed up by the roar of the engine.

The Bentley sped away.

Yang Yanzhao walked to Chen Zijun's side.

"Young Marshal. Sassoon's assets in Shanghai are conservatively estimated to be worth over forty million pounds. Are you really going to confiscate them all?"

Chen Zijun watched the Bentley disappear into the distance and smiled faintly.

"Why can't he get back the money he made by poisoning the Chinese with opium?"

"Besides..."

His gaze shifted to the depths of the warehouse.

"This warehouse contains more than just what's on the ground."

……

Eight o'clock in the morning.

Mo Huixin, accompanied by three quartermasters and two engineers, came up the stairs from the basement of the warehouse.

Her face was pale, and her lips trembled slightly.

He was clutching a thick ledger in his hand.

Chen Zijun was standing at the warehouse door talking to Shen Li.

Seeing Mo Huixin's expression, he raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What's wrong?"

Mo Huixin walked up to him.

She opened her mouth, her voice trembling slightly.

"Young master...we've struck it rich!"

"There was a vault in the basement. It had three iron doors, which were blown open by sappers using explosives."

"There's something inside..."

She swallowed.

"Three thousand two hundred standard gold bars, each weighing one kilogram. At the current gold price, that's equivalent to £1.28 million."

"There are also seventy-six boxes of US dollar cash, with an initial estimate of no less than eight million US dollars."

"There's also a whole cabinet of land deeds, share certificates, and bonds. A quick glance reveals properties and shipping shares in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Their value..."

She took a deep breath.

"It's impossible to estimate at the moment. But it's definitely an astronomical figure."

Chen Zijun remained silent for two seconds.

Then he laughed.

That smile stood out brightly in the smoke-filled warehouse.

"Huixin" (慧心).

"exist."

"Take inventory and catalog everything. Gold bars and cash should be deposited into the treasury immediately. Land deeds and share certificates should all be transferred to the legal department for legal confiscation procedures."

"Yes."

Chen Zijun turned around and looked at the sky outside the warehouse, which was gradually brightening.

The morning light from the east pierced through the smoke of battle and shone on his military cap.

Seven million pounds in system funds plus today's vote...

The funding for the aircraft carrier has been secured.