158: First, give the Japanese a good whack on the head.

Late at night, in the study of Xiafei Manor in the Shanghai, the air rippled slightly as Lu Fan's figure quietly appeared.

The dull and tense atmosphere of a summer night in 1937 rushed toward him.

Without stopping for a moment, he walked straight to the telephone and dialed Sheng Aiyi's number.

The phone was picked up almost immediately, and Lu Fan asked point-blank, "Aiyi, it's me. What's the current situation?"

"Lu Fan? You're finally back. The situation is very bad."

"Sigh... it's hard to explain over the phone. I'll come over!"

Sheng Aiyi's voice carried a hint of fatigue, but more than that, it was filled with anxiety.

Lu Fan slowed his speech and urged, "Be careful on the road, no rush!"

Half an hour later, Sheng Aiyi arrived at the villa under the protection of Li Zhenshan.

"Boss—" Li Zhenshan gave Lu Fan an excited bear hug. "Everyone is here, just waiting for you!"

"No rush, I need to understand the situation first." Lu Fan calmed the impatient Li Zhenshan and turned to Sheng Aiyi. "You're here."

More than a month had passed since their last meeting.

Compared to their previous encounter, the Seventh Miss Sheng had grown much thinner.

As their eyes met, it felt as if a string had been plucked in their hearts, sending out ripples of emotion.

"Mm!" Sheng Aiyi responded softly, and after sitting down, she began her report in a businesslike manner.

"Sixth Brother and the others all transferred five days ago and have now safely arrived at New Port."

"The industrial zone is fully operational and has entered a state of high combat readiness as per your requirements."

"Lin Tianrong's procurement in the US is in full swing."

"So far, four batches of supplies have arrived at the port..."

Sheng Aiyi spoke methodically while handing over the corresponding documents.

Lu Fan took a glance—good heavens!

The preparatory work was so meticulous it made him, the hands-off boss, feel rather embarrassed.

Their capabilities were not at all inferior to Liu Zhicheng and the others; in fact, they were even superior.

After finishing the corporate report, Sheng Aiyi shifted the topic to the political situation: "This time, Nanjing has made up its mind."

"They've appointed General Zhang Zizhong as Commander and mobilized elite forces to build a defensive line. Everyone is united in their resolve to settle scores with the Japanese Army."

"However, the start hasn't been smooth. A Traitor leaked the plan to blockade the Yangtze River with scuttled ships, so the Japanese fleet wasn't blocked at all."

"Today, their ships entered the inland rivers, and their naval guns took the lead in bombarding a district in Shanghai, marking the beginning of the war."

Even though he already knew this history, hearing it confirmed with his own ears still made Lu Fan's heart sink.

The wheels of history were heavy, but with his presence, perhaps he could try to give them a nudge.

Thinking of that Traitor, Lu Fan said, "Have Old Fourth call his good buddy, Director Dai."

"The Traitor who sold the information is named Huang Jun, the confidential secretary of Wang Jingwei."

"Understood!" Sheng Aiyi stood up briskly and picked up the phone to implement the order.

"Old Li, is there any other news from the battlefield?" Lu Fan handed a cigarette to Li Zhenshan and gestured for him to sit and talk.

He needed to grasp as much information as possible right now.

When it came to the battlefield, Li Zhenshan got excited and said impatiently, "Boss, I'm all over this."

"After the fighting started, our army acted out of character and took the rare initiative to go on the offensive."

"The Ninth Group Army, under the command of General Zhang Zhizhong, launched a fierce assault on Japanese Army strongholds in Hongkou District and Yangshupu."

"The 87th Division occupied Shanghai University, and the 88th Division captured key points such as Chizhi University and Wuzhou Cemetery."

"The officers and soldiers at the front are united, and they've achieved some good results."

As the two of them worked on the map, marking the positions of friend and foe, a light shone in Lu Fan's eyes.

It matched. Everything matched.

General Zhang Zizhong had already semi-encircled the Japanese Army and intended to push forward along the defensive line.

Once the Japanese Army's maneuvering space was compressed to the limit, they would inevitably gather by the riverbank.

Then they could be surrounded and annihilated.

This was exactly what he had seen in historical records.

However, while the idea was beautiful, reality was harsh.

Because of the disparity in combat power, under the bombardment of naval guns, the plan went up in smoke.

But at this moment, because of his own presence as an uncertain factor, it was hard to say who would emerge victorious.

Lu Fan's eyes flashed with sharp light; the change would begin with this battle.

He turned and asked, "Old Li, how many men did you bring this time?"

Li Zhenshan was like a shark smelling blood, replying with high spirits, "Not many, not many, just 600 people."

"Six hundred people? All of them deployed?"

Lu Fan looked at Li Zhenshan suspiciously; the Security Team recruited earlier only numbered 600 at most.

Seeing Lu Fan's expression, Li Zhenshan pulled a long face and said helplessly, "Boss, they passed the assessment."

"There's no reason not to let them go to war. We can't just let them wait at home and eat for free, can we?"

"Even if you agreed, they wouldn't!"

"After all, everyone came here with the goal of killing the Japanese Army."

Hearing Li Zhenshan's aggrieved complaint, Lu Fan understood that the morale was high and ready for use.

Seeing Lu Fan's tacit approval, Li Zhenshan quickly struck while the iron was hot, "Boss, rest assured."

"I personally assessed them. They're all veterans with no issues in combat skills. Every one of them is an expert, top-notch."

Lu Fan nodded after hearing this and then asked, "Right, how is the recruitment of the reserve team going?"

Facing this question, a proud smile appeared on Li Zhenshan's face.

He said arrogantly, "Boss, you should have seen it! Once they heard we were sweeping through the enemy in Beijing,"

"our old comrades-in-arms flocked to join us like a tide."

"They don't care about the money or the benefits; what they value is that we're actually fighting the Japanese Army for real."

"After Commander Tang's strict screening, there were actually a full thousand qualified reserve members!"

"Without this reserve team, I wouldn't have dared to pull out the entire Security Team, would I?"

Lu Fan was very surprised by this number; he hadn't expected such enthusiasm for the resistance.

Immediately, a surge of pride rose in his heart. With such a people, how could Huaxia perish? How could it possibly perish?

He asked with a solemn expression, "Where are the brothers now?"

Feeling the battle intent radiating from Lu Fan, Li Zhenshan was now absolutely certain that war was imminent.

He quickly replied, "The brothers are all at Boss Chen's Liuhe Dyeing Factory. Jin Biao is leading them while they rest."

"These past few days, the brothers have been eating and drinking well, conserving their strength. They're so bored they're practically growing fur."

"Every single one of them is holding it in, just waiting for you to give the word to fight the Japanese Army."

At this moment, he was already itching to go, just waiting for the moment the order to enter the battlefield was given.

After gathering the basic information, Lu Fan began sketching on the floor.

About ten minutes later, a combat plan was clear in his mind.

He turned to Li Zhenshan and instructed, "Go call Jin Biao and tell everyone to get some good rest."

"Tomorrow, we're going to give those devils a head-on blow—"