On the morning of December 26, 1934, Zhabei Railway Station, Zhabei Railway Station, Zhabei Railway Station, Zhabei Railway Station, Zhabei Railway Station, Zhabei Railway Station

A group of well-dressed Western gentlemen with civilized sticks in their hands have been waiting here since the early morning of this day.

In the cars behind them, the license plates of diplomatic missions were hung, and the flags of Britain, France and the United States were flying.

Around them, two armies with loaded guns were facing each other from afar: the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army with the red flag of sickles and hammers on one side, and the British, French, and American garrisons in Shanghai on the other, plus the "volunteers" of the French Concession and the International Merchant Corps of the Public Concession.

-- Since the first small Red Army unit broke into downtown Shanghai along the railway in the early morning and prepared to seize the Zhabei Railway Station, the allied forces of various countries deployed here in advance to intercept them have started a confrontation with them...... As time went on, more and more Red Army troops arrived at Zhabei Railway Station, and the situation of the coalition forces became more and more unfavorable. But despite the drumming in their hearts, these Western soldiers continued to persevere.

This is because the consul generals in Shanghai need to show their armed liliang as a backing for negotiations and negotiations with the Red Elements.

“…… Dear Mr. Consul, you see...... Should we return the concession? ”

Seeing the Red Army soldiers who rushed to the scene of the confrontation one after another, setting up machine guns on the streets and buildings, vaguely with the intention of encircling the coalition forces, Brigadier General Chai Keley, the commander of the British forces in Shanghai, could not help but feel a little apprehensive. Sir John said, "...... The strength of the Red Elements is increasing. And they also seem to be very well equipped......"

“…… Feel relieved! They don't dare to open fire, Brigadier General! Please show your courage! Don't lose the momentum and face of the Imperial soldiers! ”

Brand. Sir John glared at him disapprovingly, "...... We're going to keep the reds out of the gates of this city! At the very least, they should not be allowed to set foot in the concession. Just like the Japanese in the '128 Incident'......"

“…… But how do I remember that at that time, the Chinese and the Japanese all entered the concession, and even fought directly within the concession...... Well, just when I didn't say anything, Mr. Consul. Noticing that Mr. Consul's eyes were becoming more and more unkind, Brigadier General Zacre quickly stopped muttering.

In general, the Consul General of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Shanghai, Mr. Bran Brown. Sir John. is a very arrogant person.

This may not be in his natural nature, but his years as a career diplomat have shaped his arrogant posture to overlook everything.

Because. Brand. When Sir John became a diplomat, it was at the height of the British Empire's history.

This small land, with an area of less than 250,000 square kilometers and a population of only 60 million, has stirred up the earth's turmoil for nearly 200 years.

As the most powerful country on this shijie. The flag of the empire flutters in every corner of Shijie. Enjoy the sun all the time; The fleets of the Empire galloped across every ocean of Shijie, bringing thousands of waves into the Queen's rule; The diplomats of the empire roamed the capitals of every civilized or uncivilized nation, arrogantly and confidently setting the order and rules of this shijie. Both the friends of the empire and its enemies were envious and jealous to call it a word full of supreme glory, calling it the great "empire on which the sun never sets".

This is Bran. Sir John has always maintained all his capital in an arrogant posture in the face of the "uncivilized Chinese" for many years.

And, like all older people. The consul general also likes to hold on to his little capital and hold it firmly in the palm of his hand. I'm afraid it will slip through my fingers...... Therefore, he hated both those who tried to take this capital away from him, and he hated those who did not regard his capital, the splendor of the empire on which the sun never set.

Unfortunately, the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, which had suddenly broken into Shanghai in front of them, belonged to the latter category -- because of the sudden arrival of this group of Red elements, forty-eight hours before that, Bran Brown. Sir John had just spent one of his worst Christmas in his life in the midst of an explosion.

-- The elaborate Christmas party was interrupted in the middle of the process, and the urban area north of Suzhou Creek was reduced to a sea of fire, and the British Empire suffered heavy economic losses as a result...... Although half of the public concession north of Suzhou Creek had been gradually occupied by the Japanese since a few years ago. But the British Imperial Government, the Concession Bureau, and the British capitalists still had a number of assets on that land, such as the Broadway Building, the Tilanqiao Prison, the Yangshupu Power Plant, and so on, which they still delude themselves into calling the Eastern and Northern Districts of the Public Concession, rather than the de facto Japanese Concession.

On top of that, tens of thousands of homeless people are living on the streets south of Suzhou Creek due to the severe damage to the entire North and East districts, with little food and clothing, and complaints rife. Anti-Japanese groups took advantage of the opportunity to stir up trouble and turmoil, and they still do not know how to deal with the aftermath. The sunken Japanese warships blocked the narrow channel of the Huangpu River, paralyzing port traffic in the Public Concession...... This series of troublesome things forced Bran to do so. Sir John gave up his Christmas holiday and continued to hold emergency meetings without sleep, but he still failed to get the point.

And now, for the safety of the lives and property of hundreds of thousands of residents of various countries and British citizens in the Public Concession, Bran. Sir John had no choice but to stand up himself, threaten to go to war, and sternly warn these Chinese Red elements not to enter Shanghai, which is ideally the highest goal, and the bottom line of negotiations is to demand that the Red Army respect the interests of all countries in Shanghai, recognize the extraterritoriality of foreigners, and not send troops into the concession.

Obviously, this will not be a peaceful, courteous, and cheerful diplomatic negotiation, but it is destined to be full of gunpowder.

According to the opinion of most consulate staff, this is probably even more difficult than the war between China and Japan three years ago to mediate the "128 Incident" between China and Japan.

Some years ago, some years ago, in British proper. Brand. Sir John had also dealt with some of the leading English trade unions who embraced Marxism - an unpleasant experience for the arrogant, honorable civil servants of the British Empire, but barely bearable...... However. Bran at this time. Sir John suddenly felt that compared with the Chinese Red elements in front of him, who completely ignored the majesty of the British Empire, even the rude and bold British trade union leaders at the beginning could be called polite gentlemen!

――No way, there are always some things in this world that need someone with the right position to stand up and solve them.

For example. Negotiations and negotiations between the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the consular corps of various countries in Shanghai.

In general, the negotiations went terribly wrong from the very beginning - both the time-travelers and the leaders of the Red Army in this time and space were arranging the operation for the attack on Shanghai. They all just regarded the foreigners from all over the world in Shanghai as the object of robbery, not the object of negotiation. And the only one who thought of and mentioned this matter, Chen Duxiu, the former general secretary of the party, the founder and founder of the party, after obtaining werewolf blood. Happily traveled to modern China for a "party affairs investigation". By the way, harassing the fragile nerves of the bigwigs in Beijing's Zhongnanhai...... Thus completely forgetting about this matter to the clouds.

Therefore, in the order to march to Shanghai, the command of the Red Army did not say anything about what to do after encountering foreigners.

So, when Bran. When Sir John tried to warn the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, he found himself in a state of largely ignored men.

-- On the morning of December 25, when Bran. When Sir John first made a speech on the radio, threatening war and demanding that the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army not enter Shanghai. The Red Army did not respond at all to this; In the afternoon of the same day, the British Consulate-General sent an envoy to investigate. At last he met a group of scouts from the Red Army in Nanxiang Town, but when the diplomat made a threatening remark, the other party did not give any reply, and drove him straight back; This morning, Bran got the accurate news. Sir John personally went out with the consular corps of various countries and a Triple Alliance army to block the vanguard of the Red Army entering the city at Zhabei Railway Station...... However, the other side still did not take the initiative to come and contact, and after the two armies met, they immediately looked for favorable terrain for concealment and defense, thus starting a long confrontation......

How so? The two sides did not look at each other and went off the rails, thanks to the restraint of the coalition forces and the prudence of the Red Army.

Naturally, Bran. Mr. Consul General John regarded this disregard or disregard as a grave contempt for the British Empire and for himself, as an intolerable humiliation, as a manifestation of arrogance and arrogance. So feel that the self-esteem is hurt by Bran. Mr. Consul General John is now very, very angry, almost turning into an angry bull - how can a diplomat of the British Empire be treated like this?

Obviously, negotiating with an angry bull is definitely not easy, and it is almost a percent thing that the negotiations will break down.

In fact, Bran who blew cold wind for hours. Mr. Consul General John has secretly decided in his heart that even if the leader of the other party is willing to lower his posture and apologize to him at that time, he will fully show his thunderous anger so that these damned red elements will not be able to come to power!

However, what the angry English gentleman never expected was that the reds on the opposite side had no intention of negotiating with him from the beginning!

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On the other hand, when the arrogant Bran. When Mr. Consul General John was full of anger because his pride was hurt, Brigadier General Zacre, the commander of the British forces in Shanghai, who was not so arrogant, carefully looked at these "rebels" that were not quite as imagined from the eyes of a soldier.

-- Up to now, the Red Army units that have arrived at Zhabei Railway Station have all been pure light infantry. Aside from a handful of trucks and a few Scouts' bicycles, there were no legendary tanks or armored vehicles, as if they were rumors that weren't true.

But even so, the military appearance and equipment they showed at this time had already made Brigadier General Chacre feel quite moved.

According to the Kuomintang government's public propaganda for many years, the Chinese Red Army, huddled in remote mountainous areas to confront the government, was supposed to be a rabble of escaped prisoners, beggars, hooligans, and bandits, living in dirty, smelly thatched huts. Eating food stolen from all over the countryside, wearing tattered clothes, and carrying a patchwork of worn-out firearms. They even fought with sticks and knives against government troops......

All in all, it is basically the common image of "fierce barbarians" in the stories of Western explorers.

However, the Red Army soldiers who appeared at the Zhabei Railway Station at this time were dressed in uniform dark green military coats, long boots that were luxurious in China in this era, and even everyone was equipped with steel helmets! And underneath the military overcoat. It's a fancy and weird military uniform...... Those who lacked knowledge might have laughed at it as a beggar's garment, but Brigadier General Zacre recognized it with astonishment.

“…… Damn it. These Chinese reds are actually wearing camouflage uniforms? This seems to be something that only the Italians have (in 1929, the Italians developed the first camouflage uniform on the shijie, but it was not quickly popularized in other countries)...... They're really funky......"

Brigadier General Zaikret whistled and muttered to Colonel Grahan, the commander of the Merchant Order. “…… Generally. The rebels looked much more bold than we thought, especially the military uniforms and boots worn by the Red officers...... I have to admit that it does look very beautiful and handsome, and even I would love to wear it to hunt in the forests of the Scottish Highlands......"

“…… Your Excellency, I think that the most important thing we need to be concerned about now is not what these Red Army troops are wearing......"

Colonel Grahan sighed and said worriedly, "...... Look at the weapons in their hands! Not that old-fashioned single-shot rifle. Instead, a repeating rifle with a magazine and an automatic firing mechanism was used, and possibly even a submachine gun...... How come I've never seen a firearm like this? ”

“…… Yes. It looks like the structure is complex and precise! It seems to be much more advanced than the Lee-Enfield rifle we are armed with......"

Brigadier General Chaikre also frowned, "...... God, what disturbs me even more is that each of them is armed with such a gun, and it seems that they have achieved the standardized armament of individual soldiers. I don't know how they managed to do it in a country with little industry...... Hell, I feel like I'm facing a European army, and an elite European army! They looked far more like regular troops than Chiang Kai-shek's troops! ”

“…… And those strange little cars that look like beehives......" Colonel Grahan clasped his hands over his chest and nodded at a few 107 rocket launchers in the distance, "...... It looks like a cluster launcher for Congreve rockets (early rockets from the Napoleonic Wars era were largely obsolete in the late 19th century due to their ballistic instability), but I don't think any arsenal is producing such obsolete gadgets today......"

“…… Actually, the only thing I really care about is the mysterious weapon that they destroyed the Japanese fleet the night before......"

Brigadier General Chatrickley glanced disappreciatively at a certain 107 rocket launcher, and then changed the subject, "...... The public statement of the Ministry of Industry Bureau and the Consulate was that the planes of the Red Elements bombed the Japanese troops in Hongkou...... But I don't believe a word about this statement, not to mention where they got the planes or how they found good pilots who can fly at night. On that night, I saw neither the planes nor the roar of the planes - the screams that night were definitely not from the planes, I am absolutely sure! ”

“…… I think so too, Your Excellency. Colonel Grahan nodded, "...... I thought about this mystery for a long time, and Zuihou only came up with one possibility - that is, the long-range artillery cluster of the Red Elements! It seems that this is the only way to explain the whistling sound in the air at that time......"

“…… But the problem is that, according to our careful investigation, that night, within ten kilometers of Hongkou, there was absolutely no artillery position of the Red Elements. It wasn't until the next day that the vanguard of the Red Elements had just arrived in Nanxiang Town......"

Brigadier General Zaikre sighed, "...... Do you know what reminds me of that? The Paris cannon in the Shijie War! ”

“…… With the distance between the red elements and the downtown area of Shanghai, it is not necessary to be able to shoot monsters for hundreds of kilometers like the Paris cannons, but at least they need train guns that have been transformed from the main guns of battleships...... Or the 'Big Berta' siege artillery used by the German Emperor to destroy the Belgian fortress of Liège. ”

Colonel Grahan said, "...... It is even more incredible that something like this, which concentrates the essence of the most advanced industrial jishu of our time, can appear in uncivilized China, especially in the hands of an anti-government force, than the Soviets sent them tanks......

-- In an era when aircraft carriers and air forces have not yet become the mainstream, and countries are still generally admiring giant ship cannons, an obvious feature of judging a country's military industrial strength is that it can build battleship main guns of many lengths, and it can directly determine the outcome of naval warfare. Almost every old industrial nation is doing its best to build the most powerful battleship guns and transform them into train guns for use in land warfare...... At that time, the status of giant artillery in people's hearts was roughly the same as that of long-range strategic missiles in the future.

Therefore, after discovering that the "Chinese Red Elements" were likely to possess such powerful weapons, those diplomats who did not understand military affairs were not the same, but the soldiers of various countries stationed in Shanghai all put away their contempt, and in this confrontation, they did their best to maintain restraint, and did not deliberately provoke and kill a few people before the negotiation as they did when they suppressed the May Day Movement and deterred the Northern Expeditionary Army in previous years......

But it is a pity that even if they did not want to take the initiative to find trouble, the Red Army had already included all imperialist shili in Shanghai as a target for purging.

What's more, the thinking of diplomats seems to be completely different from that of these soldiers. (To be continued......)