Sihang Warehouse, lobby on the first floor of the west building.
Breakfast has been served, and there are big meat buns sent by Su Ji from across the river. The tempting aroma of meat can be smelled from a long distance away.
But Yan Yan and Xie Jinyuan didn't even have the slightest appetite.
Because one body after another was carried in from outside the gate.
From the time the Japanese launched a counterattack until the last echelon withdrew, the ten echelons and 150 combat groups of the Songhu Independent Regiment persisted for a total of one hour.
Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that Yan Yan did not insist on sticking to it.
But Yan Yan also knew that even if he held on, he would only be able to hold on for half an hour at most.
This shows how disparate the combat effectiveness between them and the Japanese army is.
So if it weren't for the Sihang Warehouse, they probably wouldn't be able to survive even half a day.
But this is not what makes Yan Yan the most uncomfortable. What makes him most uncomfortable is that he lost twenty-six veterans at once, but only thirteen new recruits.
"What's going on?" Xie Jinyuan also couldn't believe it.
The survivability of veterans on the battlefield is incomparable to that of recruits. Even if they have to teach new recruits to protect them, they will not suffer twice as many casualties as new recruits.
The veterans in each group talked about their experiences.
"There are not many Japs on the other side, only three or two people in each group, but their marksmanship is extremely accurate!"
"The number of Japs is indeed small, but they are extremely nimble. They can jump in front of you if you are not careful. Even if Lao Jiu and the others are cut off by a group of Japs, their bodies will not be recovered."
"The key enemy is looking for our veterans. Sometimes the new recruits are too lazy to fight."
The encounters of each fighting group were similar. They all encountered one or several Japanese fighting groups of similar size. These Japanese were extremely accurate in shooting and specialized in hunting down veterans.
"Chief of Staff, I feel like something is wrong with these Japs. They seem to be prepared!"
Xie Jinyuan said to Yan Yan: "But that's not right. We have just started to sprinkle pepper. How could the Japanese make targeted deployments so quickly? According to the consistent style of the little Japanese, shouldn't they launch a large-scale offensive in a strict manner?"
The expression on the stern face also became more solemn than ever before.
"It seems we have encountered a difficult Japanese commander."
"The Japanese reacted so quickly. I really didn't expect this."
"I originally thought it would take three to five days for the Japanese to react, but I didn't expect that in just one night, they reacted and took targeted countermeasures. They formed a hunting team to hunt down our veterans."
"So, the Japs are really coming for our veterans? Chief of Staff, are we still going to continue training with fighting?"
Xie Jinyuan was very worried. If he continued like this, the new recruits would not be fully trained, but all the veterans would be involved. Wouldn't it be like picking up sesame seeds but losing the watermelons? Big loss.
"Of course we have to continue practicing, we must practice." Stern's attitude was very firm.
"I have long said that we have no retreat. If we cannot let the new recruits grow up as soon as possible, they may never have the chance to grow up. When the decisive battle comes, they will only be reduced to cannon fodder and will not survive a day!"
Xie Jinyuan stopped saying anything, because Yan Yan was telling the truth.
If these recruits cannot grow up as soon as possible, they will be reduced to cannon fodder on the day of the decisive battle.
After a pause, he said seriously: "What's more, as the old saying goes, everything with advantages must have disadvantages, and conversely, everything with disadvantages must also have advantages! The Japanese have set up a targeted hunting team to hunt our leaders. Being a veteran of the team is a bad thing, but it’s also a good thing!”
Hegel was right when he said that we should look at the problem in two.
In this world, there is no absolute good or bad thing.
"A good thing?" Xie Jinyuan asked in shock, "Can this be a good thing?"
Zhu Shengzhong, Tang Di, and Wu Jie also looked at each other. Was the chief of staff sleepy?
He asked harshly: "Captain, what is the most important thing for our Songhu Independent Group at this stage?"
"Of course it's military training." Xie Jinyuan said.
Yan Yan shook his head and said, "Think again."
Wu Jie suddenly said: "Build a fortress!"
"Yes, a fortress!" Yan Yan solemnly said, "Building a fortress is more important than training troops. If there is no fortress, it will be of no use even if the recruits are trained to be good. The Japanese's large-caliber naval guns can kill us all with just one round of bombardment." Blast to smithereens."
Wu Jie continued: "Or if a heavy bomb comes down, we will be blown up without a trace and no bones will be left!"
Xie Jinyuan was awe-inspiring.
Zhu Shengzhong said, "But this has nothing to do with the Japs hunting our veterans?"
"It's a big deal!" Wu Jie had already reacted and explained on Yan Yan's behalf, "Because the Japanese mistakenly thought that training new recruits was the focus of our work, there is a reasonable explanation for the subsequent purchase of steel and concrete in the concession."
"How to explain?" Tang Di asked blankly.
Officers like Tang Di were still not used to thinking independently.
Wu Jie is becoming more and more accustomed to thinking independently, and he is worthy of being the strictly selected literacy class instructor.
"The Japanese will mistakenly think that we are buying steel and concrete from the concession to build bunker fortifications in the buffer zone between Sihang Warehouse and Nanchuan Hong Road. We can even build some bunkers in the buffer zone as a show."
"In this way, the enemy's attention will be completely focused on hunting our veterans, and they will no longer care about what we are doing in the Sihang Warehouse and the Central Bank Building. The secrets of building the two fortresses can be preserved to the greatest extent. .”
After a pause, he added: "Three months later, when the Japanese realize that something is wrong, the two fortresses have been built. Even if the decisive battle begins, even if the Japanese launch large-caliber naval gun groups or even drop heavy aerial bombs, we will You will also have nothing to fear!”
"That's right!" Yan Yan said with a fist, "That's the truth."
"But our veterans can't hold on." Xie Jinyuan was still worried, "This is only the first day, and we have lost 26 veterans! According to this attrition rate, our Songhu Independent Regiment will be gone in half a month at most. Without veterans available, we won’t be able to last three months.”
"Captain, there will be veterans soon." Jun said, "Please believe me, Sophia's broadcast will bring us veterans who have recovered from injuries. The number may not be too many, but there will definitely be a few hundred. .”
"It's hard to say. If they were really willing to fight for the country, they should have come forward long ago." Xie Jinyuan suddenly had a whim, "How about we just go in and arrest them?"
The two major concessions had already treated many wounded soldiers from the national army.
Therefore, wounded members of the national army are discharged from the hospital almost every day.
Now that Songhu has become an isolated island, if these wounded soldiers still want to return to the army to fight the war, they can only come to Sihang Warehouse and defect to the Songhu Independent Regiment.
But the cruel reality is that there are almost no veterans who come to join the Songhu Independent Regiment.
Even the 55th Division, which had been disarmed by the French army, was defeated and would rather hide in the refugee camp.
This is a typical characteristic of the national army. When the organization is intact, it fights bravely, but once it loses the organization, it becomes a straggler.
It will be extremely difficult to mobilize these stragglers.
The 90,000 Nationalist troops in Jinling City were easily massacred by the Japanese army because they lost their organizational structure.
"It's definitely not possible to arrest people. Even if they are captured, they will be unwilling to do so, and it will only hinder us on the battlefield." Yan Yan said, "We have to let them join voluntarily."
"Then this matter is difficult to handle." Xie Jinyuan shook his head and said, "I think we should try our best to protect the existing veterans."
