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

May 30, 1925, Qianmen Railway Station in Beiping.

Shen Li glanced down at the watch on his wrist.

Forty-seven minutes had passed since he arrived in Beiping. There was still plenty of time before he was to bring Uncle Cao back within a week of his promise to Chen Zijun.

But he didn't intend to linger in Beiping for even a second longer.

Every second of delay increases the variables. Beiping is a place where all sorts of people mingle, and undercurrents surge. The Northwest Army, the Fengtian clique, various intelligence agencies, even the Special Higher Police from Japan... who knows how many other eyes are watching them from the shadows.

Therefore, a swift and decisive victory is necessary.

They've arrived. Pick them up, then leave.

It's that simple.

At this moment, the atmosphere on the platform had become extremely tense.

The muzzles of 120 MP18 submachine guns remained steadily aimed at Liu Guanglie and the more than 30 Northwest Army cavalrymen behind him, who were now pale with fear. The dark barrels of two MG34s, like two venomous snakes ready to devour their prey, slowly swept through the crowd.

Cold sweat rolled down Liu Guanglie's forehead.

He wasn't someone who hadn't seen the world. He had fought under General Feng for over a decade, rising from a common soldier to a major general and brigade commander. What kind of battles hadn't he seen?

But he had never seen anything like it before.

The feeling of being pointed at the head by more than a hundred submachine guns at the same time is beyond what the word "fear" can describe. It's a suffocating feeling that comes from the depths of your soul, making you afraid to even breathe.

What chilled him even more was Shen Li's last sentence.

The Central Reorganized 10th Division and the Shanghai Independent Armored Brigade.

That wasn't just trying to scare him. That was a real threat.

Who in the country doesn't know about Chen Jiajun's armored brigade? Those iron lumps transported from Germany are no match for his few dozen cavalrymen armed with broadswords and rifles.

And then there's the reorganized 10th Division, formerly the famous Beiyang 10th Division, which later became the Central 10th Division. Now I hear that Chen Zijun has turned it into a German-equipped division, with all new German equipment and a full complement of reinforced personnel. One division, more than 20,000 people, can you believe it?

If we really provoke Chen Jiajun, they might send the entire division...

Liu Guanglie shivered.

"Um... Chief of Staff Shen." He chuckled dryly, his voice trembling, "Since this is the young marshal's family matter, we naturally shouldn't interfere. Um... please, please."

After saying that, he scrambled onto his horse and, with his thirty-odd cavalrymen who were equally ashen-faced, rode away without looking back.

Before the dust kicked up by the horses' hooves had even settled, a low murmur of discussion broke out across the platform.

The military police, railway police, and intelligence personnel who were watching all looked at Shen Li and his guard company as if they were looking at a ghost.

Someone whispered, "These Southerners... they're crazy."

Some people gritted their teeth and said, "This isn't just a madman, this is a madman with guts."

Shen Li ignored the noise. He withdrew his right hand, and the team neatly lowered their guns before quickly boarding the pre-arranged truck.

"Let's go. To Dingfu Street."

……

Dingfu Street.

This is a quiet and wide old street in Beiping (Beijing). Tall locust trees line both sides of the street, their dense shade covering most of the street.

At the end of the street stood a mansion surrounded by a high gray brick wall. The gate was tightly closed, and four guards in Northwest Army uniforms stood at the entrance, pistols slung at their waists, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

This is the place where former President Cao Yu was placed under house arrest.

Five military trucks rumbled to the front of the mansion and came to a stop.

One hundred and twenty German-equipped guards jumped from the vehicles and, with astonishing speed, formed three ranks in combat formation in front of the gate. The first rank crouched with their rifles at the ready, the second rank stood with their rifles at the ready, and the third rank was ready. Two MG34s were quickly mounted on the high points on either side.

The four Northwest Army guards at the door were completely dumbfounded.

There are only four of us, while you have over a hundred people!

We only have four broken guns, while you have over a hundred men charging in and you even have two machine guns. Are you bullying us?

They instinctively reached for the pistols at their waists, but before their hands even touched the handles, they thought of the more than one hundred dark gun barrels opposite them.

"I advise you not to move." Shen Li jumped off the truck and walked slowly to the gate, his tone as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today. "If you move, my brothers might slip up."

The four guards withdrew their hands as if they had been electrocuted.

Shen Li walked to the gate and raised his right foot, which was wearing a tall riding boot.

boom--!

He kicked the door open!

The heavy wooden door flew open to both sides with a screeching sound of breaking hinges, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Shen Li strode inside.

They passed through the screen wall, the front yard, and the central courtyard. All the servants and menial laborers they encountered along the way were so frightened that they clung to the walls and dared not move.

backyard.

An elderly man, dressed in a gray long gown, with gray hair but still standing ramrod straight, was sitting in a rattan chair under an old locust tree, holding a thread-bound copy of "Zizhi Tongjian" in his hand.

Hearing the loud noise ahead, he slowly put down his book and looked up.

In those cloudy yet deep eyes, there was no panic, no fear. Only a calm that came from having experienced the vicissitudes of life.

Cao Yu.

Former President.

Even in his current state of destitution, his posture remained upright, like a ruler, and the dignity he exuded was something that ordinary old men could not possess.

"Another group has arrived." Cao Yu's voice was calm and aged, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "Whose people are they this time? Are they General Zhang's men? Or does General Feng want to move me to another place to be locked up?"

Shen Li walked up to him, stood at attention, and snapped a perfect German military salute.

"Mr. Cao, I am Shen Li, Chief of Staff of the Chen Family Army. I have come on the orders of my young marshal Chen Zijun to welcome my father-in-law on his journey south to Shanghai!"

Cao Yu's body trembled slightly.

Father-in-law?

His mind raced for a few seconds, then he remembered something.

However, the Chen family is now at its zenith, and Chen Zijun is now a young hero of China!

And me? I'm not even as good as my old friend Chen Yuhe!

Will he still acknowledge that marriage contract?

Before he became president, he arranged a marriage between his daughter, Qingdi, and the Chen family of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, betrothing his most beloved daughter to the young master of the Chen family. At that time, he thought the Chen family's background was too low and not worthy of his Cao family's social standing. If it weren't for Chen Zijun's mother being the elder sister of a general in their Beiyang Army, how could he have agreed?

He was later ousted from office and placed under house arrest here, cut off from the outside world for more than half a year.

But he is not deaf.

He silently memorized every word and phrase that the Northwest Army soldiers guarding him occasionally mentioned in casual conversation.

What sinking of Japanese warships, what annihilation of the Fengtian clique army, what being the number one warlord in Southeast China...

That little kid has grown into such a person.

"You said..." Cao Yu slowly stood up, his gray robe fluttering slightly in the wind, "Chen Zijun wants to marry my daughter?"

"Not only will he marry her," Shen Li said with a slight smile. "The young marshal said that once you arrive in Shanghai, he will hold a grand wedding immediately. He wants to give Miss Cao a wedding that will be a sensation throughout China. And before that, he will not allow his father-in-law to continue to suffer the slightest grievance in Beiping."

Cao Yu remained silent for a long time.

Then, he smiled slowly.

That smile held relief, joy, the satisfaction of surviving a disaster, and the deep peace of a father knowing his daughter had found a good man.

"it is good."

He only said one word.

Then he bent down to pick up the "Zizhi Tongjian" from the rattan chair, patted off non-existent dust from his long gown, and walked towards the gate with his head held high.

As he reached the door, he paused and looked back at the mansion where he had been imprisoned for most of the year.

There was no lingering attachment, no resentment, only the indifference of someone who once possessed the world.

"Let's go."

Shen Li immediately followed, and with a wave of his hand, the Imperial Guard automatically split into two ranks, forming an impenetrable steel wall of protection around Cao Yu. One hundred and twenty elite German-equipped soldiers escorted an elderly man with white hair, marching out of Dingfu Street in a grand procession.

The citizens of Beiping along the way stopped to watch.

An elderly man who recognized Cao Yu exclaimed in a low voice, "That's...that's President Cao?"

"Who? Who brought him out?"

"Look at the equipment of those soldiers...that's the Chen family army! The Chen family army from the south!"

Whispers rose and fell. But no armed force dared to step forward to stop them.

In the Northwest Army's barracks, Liu Guanglie locked himself in his room and wouldn't come out no matter who called him.

At the Fengtian clique's liaison office in Beiping, several officers looked at each other, and ultimately none of them gave the order to move out.

Because everyone was thinking the same thing: Chen Jiajun's chief of staff was someone who really dared to kill. And the Chen Zijun standing behind him was a madman who dared to sink even a warship of the Japanese Empire.

Going against a madman will only lead to a bad end.

……

Qianmen Railway Station in Beiping.

The steam engine of the special train had been preheated, and white steam was billowing out of the chimney.

With Shen Li's help, Cao Yu boarded the special train. He entered the carriage and saw that it was covered with thick carpets, furnished with brand-new mahogany tables and chairs, and even had a pot of steaming Longjing tea on the table.

"The young marshal said," Shen Li said respectfully, "Uncle Cao, you've had a long journey, so please don't worry about anything. When you arrive in Shanghai, the young marshal will personally pick you up at the station."

Cao Yu picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

Good tea.

He took one last look at the ancient city through the car window.

Then, the steam whistle blared.

The special train slowly started moving, rolling over the tracks, heading south, towards Shanghai, and rumbling away.

Shen Li sat down in a corner of the carriage and wrote four characters on the telegram paper:

"The person has been received."

The telegram was sent out quickly.

Meanwhile, back in the Chen mansion in Shanghai, today is the final delivery day for raw silk futures trading.

A lingering, chilling aura of death had already permeated the second floor of the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai, located within the International Settlement.