88: Chapter 88 We are here, China is not dead.
On the top floor of The Warehouse, Wang Ye poked his head out and saw the machine guns set up by the Japanese Army.
Seeing this, he immediately pulled his head back.
Then, he shouted to the Chinese Soldiers beside him, "The Japanese Army has set up machine guns on the nearby rooftop. Everyone be careful, don't stick your heads out."
The Chinese Soldiers inside The Warehouse did not need to worry much, but those of them on the top floor were in some danger.
After all, apart from that one wall, there was hardly any other protection.
Just as Wang Ye finished shouting.
Not long after, the Japanese Army's machine guns opened fire.
The machine guns fired toward the top floor, and dense bullets flew over Wang Ye and the others' heads.
Wang Ye lay flat on the ground nervously, but after the Japanese Army machine guns fired for a long time, not a single bullet hit them.
Wang Ye was a bit confused. What was going on?
Just then, he suddenly noticed the national flag.
Bullets kept flying toward the national flag.
Was the Japanese Army's target the national flag?
This thought flashed through his mind.
Then, he saw several bullets pass through the national flag.
Leaving bullet holes on the national flag.
"Protect the national flag!"
Wang Ye shouted.
He immediately scrambled up from the ground and walked quickly toward the national flag.
The Chinese Soldier closest to the national flag grabbed the flagpole with his hand to steady the national flag.
At the same time, he pulled over sandbags from beside him to reinforce the base of the flagpole.
The national flag was standing; it could not be allowed to fall.
The Japanese Army machine guns kept strafing the direction of the national flag, and the Chinese Soldiers below also discovered the Japanese Army's machine guns.
They fired at the Japanese Army's machine guns.
But every time a Japanese Army machine gunner died, another took his place, desperate to shoot down the Chinese national flag.
On the other side, Takamori Sho was constantly monitoring the status of the Chinese national flag on the top floor.
The sound of gunfire continued, but that national flag still stood tall above.
"Baka, useless, you are all useless!"
Takamori Sho returned to the Command Post and asked the communications officer to call his superiors to request air support.
They had to shoot that national flag down.
The Japanese Army's machine guns fired for nearly half an hour before finally falling silent.
It seemed they had run out of ammunition.
These half an hour were exceptionally thrilling; several times bullets hit the national flag, leaving scars on it.
But the flagpole remained intact.
The national flag was still fluttering in the wind.
Wang Ye saw that the national flag was still intact and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Japanese Army temporarily ceased their attack.
Afterward, until the afternoon, the Japanese Army did not continue their attack.
Wang Ye returned to The Warehouse from the top floor.
He came to Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin's side.
"How is the national flag?"
"It is intact."
Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin nodded upon hearing this.
He was an important officer in this defense battle, and the top floor was too dangerous, so he had not remained there.
At this moment, a Chinese Soldier suddenly ran over.
"Lieutenant Colonel Xie, there is a call from the International Settlement. A reporter from a news agency wants to interview you."
"An interview?" Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"Yes, the reporter is still waiting." The Chinese Soldier nodded.
Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin immediately followed him to the phone's location.
This phone was an internal line connected to the International Settlement.
For the past two days, residents of the International Settlement had been calling them constantly, some to send greetings, others to provide intelligence.
Wang Ye followed Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin to the phone.
Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin picked up the phone.
"Hello, I am Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin."
A man's voice sounded from the other end of the phone.
"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Xie, I am a reporter from the news agency. The purpose of this call is to interview you regarding the details of this battle."
Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin did not refuse upon hearing the reporter's words.
Now, they needed the attention of external public opinion.
Their purpose in guarding this place was also for this.
As long as there was a glimmer of hope, they would hold their ground here.
"Of course, is there anything you would like to ask?" Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin agreed immediately.
The reporter on the other side, upon hearing Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin agree, immediately took out the questions he had prepared in advance.
Then he asked them.
"May I ask Lieutenant Colonel Xie, what is the purpose of your unit moving into Sihang Warehouse? Given the current situation, the battle in Shanghai has no suspense; what is the significance of defending Sihang Warehouse to the death?"
The reporter's question was very sharp and also very realistic.
It was very quiet here, and Wang Ye could hear the questions the reporter asked over the phone.
He looked at Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin, wanting to see how he would answer.
He also had some doubts in his heart.
Although he had read the introduction to the defense battle and knew it was to gain international attention.
But the text was too simple and could not fully depict the situation at the time.
"Although this is an isolated force and the last piece of territory in Zhabei, a soldier's duty is to defend the land and protect the people. As long as we have a breath left, we will swear to fight the Japanese Army to the end!"
Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin's answer could be called flawless.
A soldier's duty is to defend the home and country. Since Sihang Warehouse had not yet been occupied, they had a duty to hold this position.
Although he was also clear about the intentions of his superiors, he could not speak so bluntly in front of the reporter.
"Very well, Lieutenant Colonel Xie, may I ask if your unit really has as many as eight hundred men?"
"It does not. My unit actually only has over four hundred men," Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin answered the reporter truthfully.
"Then why does your unit claim to have eight hundred men externally?"
"Although my unit only has over four hundred men, the number of eight hundred is to demonstrate the will of our Chinese Soldiers and civilians to be of one mind.
Today's resistance at Sihang Warehouse is not just my unit fighting alone; this is a battle shared by all four hundred million of my Chinese compatriots!" As Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin spoke, his eyes became determined.
Wang Ye listened from the side, touched in his heart.
An isolated force of over four hundred men guarding Sihang Warehouse alone, without support from other units.
Three sides were surrounded by the Japanese Army, and the only side left was the International Settlement.
Perhaps the purpose of setting the battlefield at Sihang Warehouse was to show it to the foreigners in the International Settlement.
To let them see the determination of the Chinese people to resist.
In the livestream room, many viewers truly understood the intention behind this defense battle.
"Was China at that time already so desperate that it had to rely on foreigners for salvation?"
"This defense battle was purely fought for foreigners to see, using the lives of their own soldiers to gamble for others' sympathy. If one is not strong oneself, how can one save oneself?"
"If you put yourself in the situation at that time, doing this might have offered a glimmer of hope. If they could obtain help from foreign powers, the War of Resistance would certainly have more hope."
"That's right, this war was inherently a battle of unequal strength. China, as an agricultural nation, could only rely on human lives to stop the Japanese Army's offensive. But once the people died, they were defeated."
Wang Ye saw the viewers' comments, looked at Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin, and couldn't help but feel sorrowful.
To save the country, they were willing to die, holding their ground here without reinforcements, just to demonstrate the Chinese people's determination to resist, to show it to the foreigners.
"Lieutenant Colonel Xie, your deeds of holding Sihang Warehouse have now attracted the attention of our International Settlement press, including foreign newspapers from the United Kingdom and United States. They are all very concerned about your current situation."
"Is that so? If that is the case, I would like to say a word to them, may I?" Regimental Adjutant Xie Jin heard the reporter's words, and a complex look flashed in his eyes.
"Certainly, please speak."
"Please tell the whole world: Chinese Soldiers would rather fight until the last bullet and the last man than ever surrender! We are here, which proves that China is not yet lost!"