Chapter 126: Shanghai Security Division

—Quick! Quick! Everyone run to the concessions!

On Shen City's streets, panicked crowds were everywhere. The sound of guns and cannons came from the western city, each blast making the townspeople tremble with fear.

—I heard the Lu Family's troops have broken in!

—The Security Corps is also besieging the city!

—It's over, it's over, Shen City is about to change!

People carried bundles, pushed carts, cradled children, and rushed headlong toward the various foreign concessions. At the concession gates, long lines had already formed.

The British Concession was the first to issue a statement, dispatching armed patrols to set up roadblocks at the concession border. A spokesperson for the British Consulate in Shen City read the declaration in fluent Great Dry:

—The British Concession is extraterritorial jurisdiction. Any military conflict that spills into the concession will cause a serious diplomatic incident. We demand that the warring parties exercise restraint and ensure the concession's safety.

The French Concession and the American Concession followed suit. The French Consulate sent gendarmes to fortify the concession border. Armed United States Marine soldiers set up checkpoints at the main entrances of the concession.

—All persons entering the concession must be inspected! a Marine shouted loudly, —No weapons are permitted inside!

The Eastern Concession reacted the fastest. They not only sealed the concession border but also installed machine guns at key intersections. The spokesperson for the Eastern Consulate smiled warmly, yet spoke firmly:

—We will not allow any act that jeopardizes concession safety. The security of the Eastern Concession is tied to the stability of the Greater East Asia Co‑Prosperity Circle.

The stances of the foreign concessions made Shen City's situation even more complicated. Yang Chengdong sent envoys to the various consulates, hoping to restrict the enemy forces from using the concessions. Yet each consul's reply was purely diplomatic:

—This is an internal affair of Great Dry; we remain neutral. However, if the flames of war reach the concessions, we will take all necessary measures to protect concession safety.

Foreign firms and banks inside the concessions shut their doors one after another. Foreign merchants hid in their villas, watching the fleeing crowds through the windows.

—These Great Dry people are truly pitiful, a British merchant said, shaking his head, —War is breaking out again.

—But this is an opportunity for us, his companion laughed, —When the war ends, whoever holds power will have to rely on our banks and trading houses.

At this moment, Shen City had become a divided metropolis. Inside the concessions lay another world—bright lights, wine, music, and endless revelry. Outside, the roar of guns and cannons thundered, and refugees streamed in endless waves.

—Please, let us in!

—We brought nothing, we just want a safe place!

—Give the children a way to live!

But the concession gates had already shut. Patrolling soldiers raised their rifles, looking coldly at the crying crowd outside. To them, these were potential threats to "concession safety."

The war tore the city into fragments. The lofty concessions stood like isolated islands, watching the bloody power shift with cold indifference.

—Boom!

Another shell exploded at a street corner. Xiao Yunqi wiped the blood from his face and stared fixedly at the road leading to the French Concession. The border was only three hundred meters away, yet those three hundred meters felt like a road of death.

—Company Commander! a communications soldier crawled over, —Young Commander's message: the French Concession is ready to receive us! As long as we can reach the border…

Xiao Yunqi looked around. The brothers of the Seventh Company curled behind broken walls and ruins, their ammunition dwindling. Meanwhile, the Security Army's artillery was squeezing their living space inch by inch.

—Tell the brothers, he gritted his teeth, —Prepare for a final push. Gather all the hand grenades…

Before the words finished, a rapid gallop of horse hooves came from the west.

—Report! a brother crouched on the rubble, —It's… it's the French Concession's gendarmerie!

Xiao Yunqi startled, grabbed his binoculars. Indeed, a squad of French gendarmes was lining up at the concession border. They wore crisp uniforms, armed and loaded. Behind them, several Haguchi machine guns were already set up.

—Command the troops! Xiao Yunqi's voice was hoarse, —Prepare to break through!

Meanwhile, inside the French Concession.

—Gentlemen, Director General Lei Nuo stood on the balcony of the Public Administration Bureau, gazing at the distant flames, —Now is the time to make a statement.

—The gendarmerie is in position, Dele Sack said, —If they really reach the concession border…

—Then let them see what French resolve looks like, Lei Nuo said coldly.

In the final moments before dawn, the remnants of the Seventh Company, led by Xiao Yunqi, launched a final charge. They concentrated all firepower, using their last bullets and hand grenades to tear a gap in the Security Army's encirclement.

—Charge!

Xiao Yunqi raised his Mauser rifle and led the charge. The brothers behind him followed tightly, sprinting desperately toward the slim hope of survival.

The Security Army's machine guns roared, shells exploded beside them. Yet the Seventh Company's soldiers could no longer care about that. They saw the French Concession's boundary marker and the armed French gendarmes…

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three crisp gunshots. They were warning shots from the French Concession gendarmes. Immediately, a loud French voice shouted:

—Security Army, cease pursuit immediately! Otherwise you will be deemed a provocation against the French Concession!

Zheng Shihao's troops were forced to halt. They watched helplessly as the remnants of the Seventh Company surged across the line. Under the cover of the French gendarmes, these blood‑soaked soldiers finally set foot on French Concession soil.

Xiao Yunqi was the last to cross the line. When he passed the boundary marker, the eastern sky had already turned a pale, fish‑belly white.

That night's blood‑soaked battle finally came to an end.

—Transmit my orders, Yang Chengdong stood before the sand table, his eyes sharp, —Security First Division, enter combat readiness immediately.

The operations room was silent. All staff knew that this main division stationed north of the city was the Security Army's true ace. Three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment equipped with Krupp field guns imported from Germany, and an engineer battalion—this was the real trump card in Yang Chengdong's hand.

—The First Regiment will spearhead the northern front, the Second Regiment will flank from the side, Yang Chengdong drew on the map with his baton, —The Third Regiment is in reserve. The artillery regiment…

His gaze lingered on the map for a moment: "All firepower concentrates here. The Lu Family's two brigades are merely a ragtag mob. Once the artillery covers them, they will surely crumble."

—But Commander… the Chief of Staff said with some worry, —the civilians inside the city…

—It's already too late to worry about that, Yang Chengdong's eyes flashed with ruthlessness, —Issue the order, have the residents of every district evacuate at once. Those who ignore the warning will bear the consequences themselves!

Outside, the sky had already brightened. The streets were filled with panicked civilians, while to the north, the Security First Division's tanks and armored vehicles began to mobilize. The heavy tread of tracks rolled over the streets—the sound of true war machines awakening.

—Tell Colonel Li, Yang Chengdong's voice was icy, —This battle must be swift and decisive. We cannot give the Lu Family any breathing room.

—Yes!

—Also, he turned to the intelligence chief, —Keep the French Concession under a tight watch. Sun Lingyun and Qin Chang'an, those two dogs, let them live a few more days inside the concession. When I finish dealing with the Lu Family's troops…

Before he finished speaking, a rapid footfall sounded.

—Report, Commander! the communications officer's face turned pale, —The Lu Family's two brigades have already broken through the Fifth Brigade's defensive line! They… they are equipped with heavy artillery!

Yang Chengdong's gaze hardened. He knew the real contest was just beginning.

—Command the Security First Division, he said deliberately, —All units, advance!

The sky over Shen City was already shrouded in gunpowder smoke.