funbook-pk Chapter 998 Taking orders in times of danger
Chapter 998 Taking orders in times of danger
When they heard that Li Shaoyi was to be the commander-in-chief of the Pujiang War Zone, reporters from various countries and many Chinese reporters gathered at Jinling Airport in large numbers, just like cats smelling fish.
After hearing Li Shaoyi's promise, everyone took a deep breath and marveled at the strength of the 72nd Army, which could actually meet the needs of all soldiers in the Pujiang War Zone. Was this a joke?
However, Li Shaoyi also made a promise. Thinking about the promises Li Shaoyi had made before, no one has broken his promise so far. He is different from many officials of the National Government who like to talk big and empty words. Anyway, there is no specific promise, so in the end it will not be held accountable to them.
But it is completely different on Li Shaoyi's side. Every promise he makes is about specific things. Li Shaoyi likes to assign responsibilities to others, so when he demands things of himself, he also assigns responsibilities to others.
"General Li, can what you just said be considered a military order?"
After the brief press conference, Li Shaoyi walked to his car, surrounded by nearly a hundred reporters, almost all of whom were reporters from well-known domestic newspapers.
This was even more lively than the National Government's meeting. Some officials of the National Government were already jealous, thinking that Li Shaoyi was stealing the limelight. This was Nanjing, not your island city.
"We all pee standing up, and we're all masters, so naturally we're on the same page. I want all officers and soldiers in the Pujiang War Zone to promise that in two weeks, all supplies will be provided by me. But I'm going to make it clear up front: anyone who dares to put their hands in their pockets will be shot immediately. No mercy will be shown. All supplies must be used for the anti-Japanese war."
Li Shaoyi knew that his original words would definitely be published in the newspaper. Most of the soldiers were rough and uncouth. If he spoke to them in a flowery manner, they probably wouldn't understand. It would be better to say something that everyone could understand.
"Commander Li, we are all very excited by your words. Could you please tell us a few words about the prospects of the Pujiang battlefield?"
A foreign reporter struggled to squeeze to the front of the crowd. They also wanted to know what Li Shaoyi's attitude was towards the Pujiang battlefield.
Should we resist to the end or retreat after a fight?
"This reporter friend asked a good question. Regarding the Pujiang battlefield, I have pledged to the people of the country that I will fight to the very end. As for the specific guarantee you want, I can say this: either I will defeat the three Japanese armies in Pujiang, or I will kill 500,000 Japanese troops in Pujiang."
When Li Shaoyi said this, many reporters felt a sense of déjà vu. Li Shaoyi had said something similar when he was at the city of Tianjin. At that time, many people felt that Li Shaoyi was crazy. Could your 72nd Army really allow the Japanese to leave behind 200,000 corpses?
But what was the outcome? The Japanese fought from Bohai Bay to Peking, and more than 200,000 people died. Although the Japanese army tried to conceal the truth, these reporters still got the news from various sources, and the total number of deaths was close to 300,000.
Now Li Shaoyi is still using that method of guarantee to make the Japanese lose 500,000 troops in Pujiang. If this is really the case, the Japanese army will probably not be able to take Pujiang even if they evacuate all the people from the mainland.
The other reporters still had a bunch of questions to ask, but Li Shaoyi had already gotten into the car and had said everything he needed to say. Li Shaoyi had not yet considered the remaining tricky questions. He knew that he was good at using the media, but he must not make a mistake in the media, as he could not afford to do so now.
Li Shaoyi's car had just started to move forward when a bunch of reporters were already queuing up in the telephone booth next to the airport. They had written down everything Li Shaoyi had just said. It would be too slow to take the bus back to the newspaper office to write the article, so they had to quickly tell the people in the newspaper office about what they had said, and ask them to write it down as soon as possible and notify several copy editors so that they could write the article together.
At the same time, several transport planes began dropping leaflets over Nanjing, all of which were printed by the 72nd Army's Nanjing Office.
The leaflet described the fierce fighting situation on the Pujiang battlefield and called on all the people in the rear to support Commander Li and take revenge on Japan in Pujiang.
"This kid is not hiding anything now!"
Boss Dai stood on the roof of the Renaissance Society building and picked up a flyer next to him.
Judging from the inflammatory language above, this is basically to establish the personality cult of Li Shaoyi. In the past, these leaflets would be considered reactionary language and would have to be confiscated.
But at this moment Li Shaoyi linked these things with the Anti-Japanese War. If you oppose the above language, it is equivalent to opposing the Anti-Japanese War.
The whole country is now in a mess with the Japanese. If you are against the anti-Japanese war, you can imagine what your personal social situation will be like.
"Actually, we can't blame Commander Li. Some people pushed the other side too hard. If Guo Shaoqiu's troops had been allowed to stay in Pujiang at the beginning of the war, the situation wouldn't have turned out like this."
Secretary Mao came over from behind, holding a similar leaflet in his hand.
"You're right. The higher-ups don't want Commander Li to get involved in Pujiang affairs, but the problem is you need to be capable. If you don't have the ability to defend Pujiang and prevent them from getting involved, and now the war situation is getting worse, you've invited them back. If they do something excessive, everyone will have to stare at them."
Boss Dai also dislikes the senior military officials who disregard national interests for their own benefit. Now, if Commander Li is not willing to come back to clean up your mess, you will have to bear the responsibility for the failure of the Battle of Shanghai.
"But does the 72nd Army really have the ability to inflict 500,000 Japanese casualties on Pujiang?"
Secretary Mao thought of another thing and handed a folder to Boss Dai. It contained the remarks made by Li Shaoyi at the airport. As the first spy organization in Jinling, it was normal for them to know these remarks at the first time.
"You've all been so distracted by these 500,000 people that you've forgotten one thing: Commander Li might not be able to defend Pujiang."
As soon as Boss Dai said this, Secretary Mao was stunned. It was indeed as Boss Dai said. The reporter's question was about the prospects of Pujiang. If Commander Li could defend Pujiang to the death, he would naturally say that every inch of land must be fought for. But now he only mentioned 500,000 Japanese troops, which attracted everyone's attention.
"If Japan fought to the death with the 72nd Army at Pujiang, even if they could capture Pujiang, their aorta would be ruptured."
Secretary Mao had long heard of the 72nd Army's combat effectiveness. This was going to be a tough battle...