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

Shanghai Command Headquarters. Operations Room.

The smoke of battle at Wusongkou had not yet dissipated when Chen Zijun returned to his usual spot.

A large-scale nautical chart of the Huangpu River estuary was laid out in front of us, covered with red and blue triangular flags. The red ones belonged to Chen Jiajun's army, and the blue ones to the Japanese navy.

Only one blue flag remained—marked with the words "Izumo".

The system panel was quietly lit up in his mind.

`` `

[Unlimited Pay-to-Win System - Day 402]

Current fund pool: £3,247,891

(Sulfonamide orders continue to surge! Daily revenue increases by £127,000)

(Ammunition consumption in yesterday's Battle of Wusongkou: -38,640 pounds)

⚠Emergency Threat Warning

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

►Izumo-class armored cruiser from Japan

Displacement: 9,800 tons | Main armor: 178mm

Main guns: 2 x 203mm twin guns | Range: 29,000 meters

Escort formation: 6 destroyers / 4 torpedo boats

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

☠ Enemy main gun range exceeds the precision strike range of coastal artillery.

☠The thickness of the main armor is close to the maximum penetration depth of a 280mm armor-piercing projectile.

`` `

More than three million two hundred thousand pounds. That sounds like a lot.

However, the Izumo's 178mm armor and 203mm main guns cannot be stopped by savings.

Chen Zijun stared at the two lines of red text on the panel and tapped the nautical chart lightly with his knuckles.

The door was pushed open.

Mo Huixin walked in, carrying a stack of account books as thick as city wall bricks.

Two guards carrying boxes followed behind her.

"Young Marshal." Mo Huixin placed the ledger on the table and opened it to the first page. "The latest sales report for sulfonamides."

Chen Zijun glanced at it.

His pupils contracted slightly.

"A month?"

"Twenty-seven days." Mo Huixin's voice was calm, but a hint of a smile played at the corners of her lips. "Orders for sulfonamides in Europe are already booked until March of next year. The military procurement departments of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy have placed orders simultaneously. The total amount..."

She held up one finger and drew a line under the last line of numbers in the ledger.

"Three million eight hundred and seventy thousand pounds."

Shen Ligang almost choked to death when he picked up his teacup.

"How much?"

"Three million eight hundred and seventy thousand," Mo Huixin repeated. "After deducting raw material and labor costs, the net profit margin is two hundred and ninety-two percent."

Shen Li put down his teacup. He felt that this world was not quite real.

Chen Zijun didn't show much expression. He had long known that sulfonamides would be the most profitable commodity of the era. In 1924, before penicillin even existed, a gram of sulfonamide could save a life worth more than a ton of gold.

"Has the money arrived?"

"It's already cleared through HSBC in Switzerland." Mo Huixin closed the ledger. "Our secret cash pool has been updated. Starting next month, we'll have a stable monthly income of over £1.5 million."

Chen Zijun stood up.

"Okay." He walked to the nautical chart and picked up a red pencil. "Now that we have enough ammunition, let's start spending money."

He drew three arcs outward from Wusongkou on the nautical chart.

"First line of defense, minefield blockade zone."

A red pencil drew a circle around a fan-shaped area five kilometers outside the estuary. "From the north shore to the south shore, the entire channel entrance is covered with trigger mines. I don't want a few dozen scattered mines; I want to turn this sea surface into an iron hedgehog."

Shen Li leaned closer. "Young Marshal, we need mine-laying ships to lay mines—"

"No need." Chen Zijun said without turning his head. "Requisition all the fishing boats at the dock and lay them out overnight. Forty pounds per mine, I want three thousand."

Shen Li opened his mouth, then closed it again. Three thousand mines, 120,000 pounds. In the hands of any warlord, that amount of money would be enough to support three regiments for a whole year.

The young marshal gave him pocket money.

"The second line, the searchlight blockade." Chen Zijun drew another arc behind the minefield. "Eight 150cm caliber carbon arc searchlights, deployed at equal intervals along the coastline. Illuminate the entire waterway at full power at night, making it as bright as day. The Izumo wants to launch a night attack? Dream on."

"The third line." He pointed his pencil at the location of the Wusongkou fortifications. "All four 280mm coastal guns are on standby. The 88mm gun positions are being reloaded with ammunition. Also..."

He looked up at Mo Huixin.

"Huixin, help me calculate. If I want to buy at least four torpedo boats from the British now, each carrying two 533mm torpedoes, how much would it cost?"

Mo Huixin didn't even blink. She silently calculated in her mind for two seconds.

"Each torpedo boat, including the torpedoes, costs approximately £70,000. Four boats would cost £280,000. Add Victoria Harbour and fuel reserves, and the total would be £350,000."

"But that's just the base price. Now it's wartime, and the British don't have much stock left, so the price will probably go up."

"If we calculate it that way, even if there are four ships, we'd need to prepare at least £500,000."

"purchase."

One word.

That's half a million pounds.

Shen Li's lips began to twitch uncontrollably.

On the same afternoon that Chen Zijun spent money to build up his army.

The mailroom of the Shanghai headquarters received an unexpected visiting card.

Gold-stamped cardstock. Printed with the coat of arms of the British Empire.

"His Excellency Barton, the British Consul General in Shanghai, requests an audience with Commander Chen."

I earnestly request.

When Shen Li saw those two words, he almost thought he had made a mistake.

Three months ago, what was the attitude of this high-and-mighty representative of the British Empire when he met Chen Zijun? He crossed his legs, smoked a cigar, looked down on the world, and didn't even bother to give Chen a proper look.

Now? Please?

"Let him in." Chen Zijun put away half of the nautical chart, revealing a huge pile of arms orders and system exchange lists on the table. It was intentional.

Ten minutes later.

Bardon walked into the operations room.

He looked terrible. Dark circles under his eyes, pale lips, and he looked ten years older overnight. Witnessing three warships being torn apart in three minutes from the top of the Sassoon House yesterday had clearly dealt a devastating blow to his mental state.

But when he remembered that the man before him was the one who could bring him arms deals worth tens of millions of pounds, a thought suddenly popped into Baldon's head—

If you can't beat them, join them.

If I can obtain a large amount of revenue outside the imperial budget through trade with Chen Zijun, can I start the expansion plan for the Singapore Fortress?

At that time, will I be the strongest contender for the position of Governor of Singapore?

"Commander Chen." Barton surprisingly spoke first, and in Chinese at that. Although his pronunciation was awkward, like chewing pebbles, it at least showed his attitude.

"Mr. Baldon." Chen Zijun remained seated in his chair. "Please sit down."

Bardon sat down. His gaze drifted to the arms orders on the table, and his Adam's apple bobbed twice.

"I have come here on the instructions of the British Minister to China," he said, carefully choosing his words. "Given the rapid changes in the situation in the Far East, the British Empire is willing to discuss some frank possibilities for cooperation with Commander Chen."

"Um."

"To be specific," Barton lowered his voice, "the British Empire owns a medium-sized shipyard in the Shanghai International Settlement. It's currently idle, and there are several unfinished small warships inside. If Commander Chen is interested—"

Shipyard?

An unfinished small warship?

Isn't this just the torpedo boat that I want to buy?

Sure enough, the British's troublemaking nature never goes out of style!

"How much?"

Baldon was interrupted. He paused for a moment.

"Uh, our appraised price—"

"I'm not asking for your appraised value." Chen Zijun picked up his teacup and took a sip. "I'm asking you, how much are you going to sell it for?"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Baldon's forehead. He wanted to ask for a high price, but the roar of those four 280mm cannons from yesterday was still ringing in his ears.

"Five hundred and fifty thousand pounds," he said through gritted teeth. "Including the dock berths and the complete set of slipway equipment."

"Five hundred thousand."

"Wh...what?"

"Five hundred thousand pounds." Chen Zijun put down his teacup and smiled. "Mr. Bardon, you're a smart man. You should know that the shipyard you own loses seven hundred pounds a day in maintenance costs. In my hands, it can build things to protect your concession."

He paused.

"And you should also know who is in charge of the 30,000 pounds sterling in the concession security fee you have. When to give it, or whether to give it at all, depends on whether everyone is on the same page."

Baldon's lips twitched. He wanted to retort, but couldn't open his mouth.

Three minutes. Three warships.

The image of those four enormous, jet-black cannon barrels lingered in his mind.

"Deal." Bardon stood up, his voice hoarse. "Five hundred thousand pounds. But I have one condition."

"explain."

"If the Japanese bombard the concession," Baldon said, looking directly into Chen Zijun's eyes. "Commander Chen must protect the safety of the British nationals."

Chen Zijun stood up and extended his hand.

"make a deal."

When Baldon grasped it, he found his hand was still trembling slightly.

After seeing Baldon off, Shen Li came over.

"Young Marshal, five hundred thousand pounds for a shipyard?"

"It's not cheap." Chen Zijun walked back to the chart table, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes. "He has no choice but to buy it. The fact that three warships were sunk in three minutes has not only frightened the Japanese, but also the British, French, and Americans. They are all reassessing their influence in Shanghai."

"They're not afraid of me hitting them. They're afraid of me not protecting them."

"So, you think he sold a shipyard for 500,000? A shipyard can't build warships right away. What he's actually selling are those four so-called unfinished warships in the dock."

Shen Li suddenly realized.

Chen Zijun looked down at the blue flag marked "Izumo" on the nautical chart.

The minefield is being laid. Searchlights are being set up. Torpedo boats are also available...

But that's not enough.

The Izumo's 203mm main guns have a range of 29,000 meters. The 280mm coastal artillery, however, has a precision strike range of only 25,000 meters. That seems far enough, but the Izumo isn't stupid; it won't sail in like the Tenryu and throw its life in the water.

It will slowly bombard you from beyond its range, blowing up your fortresses one by one.

We must find a way to bring it in.

Lure it into range. Lure it into the meat grinder.

"We need to let the Izumo walk in by itself." Chen Zijun picked up the red pencil and drew a large question mark on the nautical chart. "I need its escort formation diagram. The exact deployment positions of all destroyers and torpedo boats. Where are the blind spots, where are the gaps?"

He put down his pencil and turned around.

"Molanzhi".

In the corner of the operations room, Moranzhi, who had been standing quietly, stepped forward.

"Your subordinate is here."

"Could you get your hands on the escort formation diagram for the Izumo?"

Moranzhi's eyes narrowed slightly. It was the look of a hunter eyeing its prey.

"Every Thursday evening, there is a cocktail party for senior officers at the naval club in the Japanese concession. Among the attendees are staff officers from the Third Fleet."

"how long?"

"Three days."

Chen Zijun stared at her for two seconds.

"be safe."

Moranzhi did not answer. She turned and walked out of the operations room, disappearing into the shadows of the corridor.

Ten minutes later.

Inside the Military Intelligence Bureau's safe house, a beautifully crafted Japanese kimono was laid out on the table.

Mo Lanzhi looked at herself in the mirror and gave a cold smile.

She began to change her clothes.