You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you ended up with a German-equipped division

Chapter 186 Reunion of Old Comrades-in-Arms, Promotion of Zhu Chi and Xiao Shanling, Among Others

Kawabe Torashiro cautiously reminded him from the side:

"That's true. Nishio Toshizo is arrogant and haughty. The fact that he specifically sent a telegram to warn us to be careful of Li Jianghe means that the armored unit he leads is indeed extremely difficult to deal with."

Hata Shunroku smiled calmly, waved his hand, and looked completely unconcerned.

"There's no need to worry too much. After all, this force only has about 20,000 to 30,000 men."

The number of troops our army has deployed this time is unprecedented. The troops that were initially assembled in the Shanghai-Nanjing area were less than half of the troops we have mobilized for this battle.

In Hata Shunroku's view, no matter how capable Li Jianghe's Third Column was, it was still just one unit with a size of 20,000 to 30,000 men. It might play a crucial role in local battles, but it could not ultimately change the overall situation of the Wuhan battlefield.

Moreover, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are crisscrossed by rivers, lakes, and swamps. This terrain greatly restricts armored forces, making it impossible for them to fully utilize their proud mobility advantage.

Therefore, in Hata Shunroku's view, this enemy armored force did not pose a significant threat to their Wuhan operation.

What we really need to be wary of are the elite main forces of the Nationalist government's Central Army.

Inside Wuhan, outside a military logistics warehouse, Li Jianghe slowly walked out, his gaze falling on rows of train carriages loaded with fuel not far away. A weight was finally lifted from his heart.

This batch of 20,000 gallons of fuel was undoubtedly a significant supply for the Third Column, which was mainly composed of armored units, relieving their immediate crisis.

He had already sent a telegram in advance ordering Yang Ruifu to lead the supply troops to Xinyang as soon as possible to receive the fuel.

Just as he stepped out of the logistics warehouse, a military jeep roared up and came to a steady stop in front of him, kicking up a light cloud of dust.

Several people got off the car one after another. Li Jianghe looked up and his eyes lit up.

The group was dressed in crisp Central Army officer uniforms, their rank insignia standing out prominently in the sunlight. They were all old acquaintances of his—Zhu Chi, Xiao Shanling, and Hua Pinzhang.

Xiao Shanling raised his hand and took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of bright eyes. He laughed heartily and walked forward, patting Li Jianghe on the shoulder: "General Li, how have you been? Do you have some free time today? Would you do me the honor of having a simple meal with us defeated soldiers who escaped from Nanjing?"

"You..." Li Jianghe looked at the three familiar faces in front of him, his eyes filled with surprise and joy, and he was speechless for a moment.

After regaining his composure, he quickly asked:

"You've come to Wuhan too? Are you also going to participate in the battle to defend Wuhan?"

Zhu Chi smiled and nodded, pointing to Xiao Shanling beside him, his tone filled with admiration: "That's right, we are now all under the command of the 11th Army, and this is our army commander."

As he spoke, he reached out and patted Xiao Shanling's shoulder heavily.

Li Jianghe understood. It seemed that Xiao Shanling had led his troops to defend Nanjing to the death, demonstrating the backbone of Chinese soldiers. He had also received the promotion he deserved in the Central Army and was directly promoted to commander of the 11th Army.

He was genuinely happy for his old friend who had fought alongside him. He exchanged a few pleasantries with the group and then got into the jeep. In the jeep, he inquired further and learned that after their near-death experience in Nanjing, most of them had been promoted.

In addition to Xiao Shanling being promoted to army commander, Gao Zhisong, Zhu Chi, and Hua Pinzhang are now all division commanders, each leading a division, all under the command of the 11th Army.

"Wow, the speed at which you guys get promoted is something I can't keep up with."

Li Jianghe said half-jokingly, but secretly thought to himself, "Sure enough, those who graduated from Whampoa Military Academy are different. They all have powerful backers and can get promoted as soon as they want. It's much smoother for them than for someone like me who isn't a direct descendant."

Hua Pinzhang, however, was a straightforward person. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but sigh, a look of grievance and helplessness appearing on his face:

"Sigh, don't even mention it. Although I'm called a division commander, the soldiers under my command are all supplementary troops plus those we recruited ourselves. The three divisions combined have less than 15,000 men. That's an average of only 5,000 men per division, which is at most the size of a reinforced brigade."

At this point, he was even more furious and couldn't help but complain in a low voice: "That's not all. The key issue is that the weapons, equipment, and military supplies provided by the higher-ups are severely insufficient. It's even a struggle to equip 10,000 men. Right now, my soldiers can only share one rifle between two men. And those are old Hanyang rifles with worn-out rifling, which jam after firing a few shots."

This is truly a case of the front lines being in dire straits while the rear is feasting!

Hearing this, Xiao Shanling, who was sitting in the front row, turned around and glanced at him, reminding him in a serious tone:

"You're talking too much. We need to be careful with our words in the military! The higher-ups have their own difficulties; the shortage of supplies is a fact, and as soldiers, we need to understand that."

"You're talking too much. We need to be careful with our words in the military! The higher-ups have their own difficulties; the shortage of supplies is a fact, and as soldiers, we need to understand that."

Hua Pinzhang pursed his lips upon hearing this. Although he was unconvinced, he dared not say anything more and simply leaned back in his chair with his head down.

Li Jianghe glanced at Zhu Chi and Hua Pinzhang, already having a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

Although these people were graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy, they could not be considered the principal's absolute cronies. In addition, they had spoken up for him when he was fighting in Nanjing, so even if he was promoted, he would inevitably be relegated to the back of military supplies and suffer some grievances.

As they were talking, the jeep slowly pulled up in front of a restaurant on the street. The restaurant was not large, but it was clean and tidy, and it was obviously a place that catered to military officers.

The group got out of the car and went into the house. Li Jianghe looked up and was immediately stunned. There were quite a few people inside, all of whom were old comrades-in-arms from the Nanjing battle, such as Gao Zhisong and Han Xianyuan. They were sitting together and talking in hushed tones.

After a lively exchange of pleasantries, everyone took their seats. Commander Xiao cleared his throat, picked up his teacup, and leaned over to Li Jianghe, lowering his voice to say, "Jianghe, someone else is coming over in a bit. If you don't want to see him, I'll have someone stop him at the door right now and not let him in."

"Who?" Li Jianghe was taken aback and asked casually.

Hearing this, Hua Pinzhang couldn't help but spit out his tongue, his tone full of dissatisfaction: "Who else could it be? That deserter, of course."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Chi kicked him hard in the calf. Zhu Chi glared at him, and Hua Pinzhang realized that he had misspoke. He quickly shut his mouth and picked up his teacup, pretending to drink water.

Li Jianghe instantly understood that the "deserter" Hua Pinzhang mentioned was Song Xilian, who had agreed to break out of Nanjing with them but ultimately used the cover of artillery fire from Jiangbei to cross the river alone, abandoning the remaining troops in Nanjing.

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said in a calm tone, "Let him come. After all the trials and tribulations, brothers are still brothers. A smile can make all the difference."

Li Jianghe had several reasons for agreeing to meet Song Xilian.

Li Jianghe could understand Song Xilian's initial choice, but he found it difficult to accept emotionally. However, objectively speaking, Song Xilian's military command ability should not be underestimated, and he later fought a brilliant and tough battle in the defense of Wuhan.

In the Battle of Fujinsan, he led his troops and routed the Japanese Second Army led by Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko, forcing them into a series of defeats.