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

[Unlimited Pay-to-Win System]

Host: Chen Zijun

Identity: Commander-in-Chief of the Shanghai Garrison, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Anhui

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

Unlocked technologies:

Army: Mauser 98k rifle, MG34 general purpose machine gun, Krupp 75mm infantry gun, 105mm howitzer

Navy: German UBIII-class submarine blueprints

Military industry: Sulfonamide mass production technology (87% complete), steel smelting technology

Available for purchase (updated in real time):

German Panzer I armored vehicle: £3.8 per vehicle

British 381mm twin-mounted fortress gun: £120 million per gun

The complete set of equipment for the Krupp arms factory: £800 million

Chen Zijun glanced at the system panel, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Two million pounds.

In those days, it was equivalent to the Nationalist government's entire annual revenue.

More importantly, the production progress of sulfonamides has reached 87%. It seems that Cao Qingdi's laboratory is working day and night to meet the demand.

But he doesn't have time to care about that right now.

Because across from his desk sat two grumpy-faced people.

French Consul General in Shanghai, Mr. Weilde, and British Consul General in Shanghai, Mr. Barton.

The two men rushed into the garrison command early in the morning, without even delivering a formal invitation.

The first thing Wei Lide said after standing up was to slam his fist on the table.

"Commander Chen! Your troops trespassed into the French Concession last night and massacred more than thirty people on Avenue Joffre! This is a serious violation of the sovereignty of the French Republic!"

His translator was translating rapidly beside him, his forehead covered in sweat.

Chen Zijun leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and tapped the rim of his teacup with the lid.

"Consul Welchland, are you finished?"

Wei Lide's face turned bright red.

"I haven't finished! I demand that you immediately issue a formal apology for this matter and compensate for all property losses in the French Concession!"

Chen Zijun put down his teacup.

"Shen Li."

Shen Li, who was standing at the door, stepped forward in response, holding a brown paper bag in his hand.

"Show Consul Welch what those people were doing last night."

Shen Li opened the paper bag and laid out the documents one by one on the table.

Maps of the Wusongkou coastal defense fortress. Detailed deployment of Chen Jiajun's troops. Also included is the execution schedule of the Japanese Cultural Association's codenamed "Poison Needle Project".

Each document bears the personal seal of Monk Huang and the stamp of Tanaka, a Japanese spy.

Wei Lide's expression changed little by little.

"What...what is this?"

"This is what the people I executed last night are selling."

Chen Zijun's voice wasn't loud, but every word landed like a nail on the table: "The coastal defense map of Wusongkou, the troop deployment of my Chen family army—all of it was sold to the Japanese. Do you know what that means?"

Wei Lide fell silent.

"This means that once the Japanese obtain this intelligence, their warships can sail directly into the Huangpu River. At that time, neither your French Concession nor Mr. Baldon's International Settlement will be able to escape."

Chen Zijun stood up and pointed to the documents on the table.

"Consul Wei, I've cleaned up a nest of traitors and spies for you, you don't need to thank me. But if you still want to use some kind of sovereignty to pressure me, then I can only say that your sovereignty, in Shanghai I acknowledge, is sovereignty, but under the guns of the Japanese... your sovereignty is worthless!"

Wei Lide opened his mouth, then closed it again.

His translator no longer dared to translate.

The French fell silent, and the British took over.

Barton cleared his throat, his voice much more polite than Wellington's, but his inherent arrogance remained undiminished.

"Commander Chen, we can understand the matter of colluding with the enemy. However, Mr. Felix of the Sassoon Company has submitted a formal claim for damages to the Municipal Council, demanding that the Chen family army compensate him for his commercial losses. As you know, the influence of the Sassoon family in London is beyond the imagination of ordinary people."

Chen Zijun looked at Baldon and suddenly smiled.

"Mr. Baldon, I recall your wife's maiden name is Hartung?"

Baldon was taken aback.

"How...how did you know?"

"There's nothing about Shanghai that I don't know."

Chen Zijun picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Your wife is from the Hardoon family. The Hardoon & Co. is the largest real estate developer in Shanghai. The Sassoon family used to be involved in shipping and opium, but they are currently transitioning to real estate."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Baldon meaningfully.

"Tell me, if Sassoon were to expand his real estate business in Shanghai, who would be the most affected?"

Baldon's pupils contracted sharply.

This question hit him where it hurts.

Once the Sassoon family established itself in the real estate sector, it would be taking away the Hardoon family's livelihood. His wife's family, his father-in-law, and all his interests in China were tied to the Hardoon & Co.

"Commander Chen means..."

"My meaning is very simple."

Chen Zijun held up one finger. "Sassoon wants to oppose me, and I won't stop him. But you, Mr. Baldon, don't need to take a bullet for him. If you speak up for Sassoon and win, Sassoon benefits, and Hardoon suffers. If you speak up for your own people, we can cooperate and squeeze Sassoon back into his Indian curry den."

Baldon's hand holding the cane trembled slightly.

He didn't say anything more, but Chen Zijun knew that the scales had already tipped to the side.

After the two consuls left, Mo Huixin came out from the side hall.

She had been listening in from next door, holding an account book in her hand.

"Young Marshal, the Sassoon family has seven core warehouses in Shanghai, valued at approximately £300,000. They are currently in a state of panic and disarray. If we seize this opportunity to acquire them at a low price, we can take them all for less than £200,000."

Chen Zijun glanced at her.

"purchase."

"all?"

"Yes, all of them. Haven't you noticed that the locations of these seven warehouses are all quite good? So evenly distributed throughout Shanghai, if I build fortresses in these places in the future, then Shanghai will be my impregnable fortress. If I upgrade these fortresses into air defense towers, then whether on land or in the air, anyone who wants to enter Shanghai will have to ask me, Chen Zijun, for permission first!"

Mo Huixin nodded slightly, a faint smile appearing on her lips. She flipped open the account book, made a mark, and said softly, "Then I'll have someone bring cash to discuss this afternoon."

"No need to discuss."

Chen Zijun stood up from his chair, walked to the window, and looked at the sails on the Huangpu River outside. "Take the money, take the German-equipped tax police, and tell them that either they can take the money and leave, or my tax police will help them move."

Mo Huixin lowered her head, noted it down, and left.

Shen Li was waiting at the door.

"Young Marshal, the French shouldn't cause any more trouble. As for Baldon... did you deliberately bring up his wife?"

Chen Zijun stood with his hands behind his back, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Shen Li, the Jews in Shanghai aren't a monolithic group. Sassoon made his fortune in shipping and opium, and now he wants to get into real estate. Hardoon made his fortune in real estate, and what he fears most is a wealthy competitor like Sassoon. I help Hardoon suppress Sassoon, and Hardoon helps me keep the British in check. What do you call that?"

Shen Li thought for a moment.

"Using barbarians to control barbarians?"

"No." Chen Zijun turned around, picked up the military cap on the table and put it on. "This is called letting the foreigners bite themselves."

Shen Li grinned.

"The young marshal is brilliant."

As Chen Zijun walked to the door, he suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, any news from the police station?"

"The French police issued a statement this morning saying that the incident on Avenue Joffre was a 'fight between criminal gangs within the concession' and had nothing to do with any external forces."

Chen Zijun gave a cold laugh.

"It seems that Wei Lide is a smart man after all."

"But young master, perhaps the Frenchman isn't entirely without ulterior motives?"

When faced with Shen Li's question, Chen Zijun simply smiled and did not answer.

After all, the British's disruptive nature meant that they might have other plans for their desired coal and steel complex and arsenals. That's when the French came in!

After all, it wasn't just the British who could seize these industrial equipment from the Germans; the French did too!

German equipment, British engineers, French technology...

Does it matter whose it is?

3 PM.

Mo Huixin was even more efficient than Chen Zijun had anticipated.

Of the seven Sassoon warehouses, the transfer contracts for the sixth warehouse were signed that afternoon. The manager of the seventh warehouse claimed that he would wait for Felix's instructions, but Mo Huixin did not say a word. She simply had the two German-equipped soldiers following behind her take their rifles off their shoulders.

The manager's hand trembled so badly as he signed the document that it was shaking like a leaf.

£187,000.

All seven core warehouses, along with the inventory within them and the right to use the docks, were transferred to the Chen family army's name.

Mo Huixin folded the signed contract, put it in her purse, and got into her car.

Her face was expressionless; she simply sat in the car and gently stroked the brass clasp on her handbag.

"The young marshal told me there's no need to discuss it."

She muttered to herself, her voice very soft, "But I still saved him thirteen thousand pounds."

It was evening.

Chen Zijun was reviewing the coal and iron exploration report for Ma'anshan at the headquarters when Mo Huixin came in again.

This time, she had an extra document in her hand.

"Young Marshal, news has come from Dr. Cao."

"Um?"

"The first batch of sulfonamide samples has left the laboratory. Dr. Cao requested a meeting with the Young Marshal, saying he had news that could change the entire battlefield situation and needed to report it in person."

Chen Zijun's hand stopped on the report.

Sulfonamides.

No one in this era knows what these two words mean.

But he knew.

In his previous life's timeline, the advent of sulfonamides directly reduced the casualty rate of World War II by 15 percent. One drug saved millions of lives.

Now, this drug is scheduled to be mass-produced in 1924.

This was twelve years ahead of schedule.

He stood up and put his military cap on.

"Let's go take a look."