You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you ended up with a German-equipped division

Chapter 176: Awarded the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun, and promoted again in military rank an

The world depicted by Wu Yun in his later years can be found in "I Let You Guard the Sihang Warehouse, and You Brought Out a German-Equipped Division".

He had no doubt that Chiang Kai-shek must have had incredibly complex emotions when he awarded him the medal.

After all, not only was his merit too great and threatened the master, but he wasn't even one of Chiang Kai-shek's men; he was an officer from the Guangxi clique, and he was constantly exchanging glances with Commander Li.

As for the battle situation on both the northern and southern fronts, Li Jianghe made some calculations.

After continuous battles, his soldiers were not made of iron and needed a period of rest.

Li Jianghe's decision to engage in a direct confrontation with over 200,000 Japanese soldiers was not to preserve his strength, but rather because he feared that a complete defeat would ruin his plans for a counter-offensive.

We must upgrade steadily and only attempt a counter-offensive after we have the strength to completely overwhelm the Japanese army.

As the steam train whistled, the group disembarked.

At the medal awarding ceremony, Li Jianghe mainly chatted happily with local military commanders such as Chi Fengcheng and Wang Mingzhang, after all, they were comrades-in-arms who fought side by side.

In Taierzhuang and Tengxian, there was no trace of the Central Army; it was these "poor brothers" who supported each other through it all.

"Brother Jianghe, how have you been?"

The voice sounded somewhat familiar. Li Jianghe turned around and saw Tang Enbo, who said neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"Commander Tang, it's been a long time."

Tang Enbo laughed and patted Li Jianghe's shoulder lightly.

"From now on, just call me Brother Tang. There's no need to be so formal. In the Battle of Tengxian, if your unit hadn't taken the initiative, our 20th Army Group would probably have suffered a great loss."

"I had some misunderstandings with Brother Jianghe before, but after this incident, I have a deep admiration for Brother Jianghe's character and integrity."

For a commander-in-chief of an army group, and a close confidant of the principal, to say such things to Li Jianghe in public is nothing short of flattery.

Li Jianghe didn't know how much truth or falsehood was in this person's words, after all, it was a fact that the Third Detachment had rushed to the aid of the 20th Group Army.

"Brother Tang, you're too kind. It's all for the sake of the Party, the country, and the nation."

His answer was neither humble nor arrogant.

Tang Enbo still had a big smile on his face and said:

"Indeed, if all soldiers were like this, how would the Japanese invaders dare to invade China? Brother Jianghe, if there is any trouble on the battlefield in the future, I, Tang, will do my best to help you."

Li Jianghe thought to himself, "I'm afraid my telegraph machine will break, but Commander Tang will still remain unmoved. I dare not place my hopes on you."

However, a promise, whether true or false, is better than nothing.

"That's only right!"

Li Jianghe responded.

Just then, a sound came from inside.

"The Chairman has arrived."

Someone spoke up.

Almost at the same time, everyone gathered towards the entrance of the hall. Li Jianghe also moved forward with the crowd, but he stood a little further back.

When he first met the principal, he noticed that he was somewhat thin, dressed in a well-tailored military uniform, and holding a shiny black scepter. As he walked, he smiled and greeted the officers who were surrounding him.

Reporters' cameras were all pointed at him, constantly pressing the shutter, filling the entire entrance to the hall with camera flashes.

"Keqin?"

The principal smiled slightly and looked at Tang Enbo. "You have made great contributions in this operation. If it weren't for the 20th Army Group blocking the Japanese invaders' retreat, the main force of the Japanese army would have had the opportunity to flee north."

Tang Enbo was somewhat surprised, because the greatest credit for the battle would undoubtedly go to Li Jianghe, and Tang Enbo could at most rank second, or even third.

As a top student of Whampoa Military Academy and a protégé of the emperor, he quickly understood the principal's intention.

The role of the Central Army in this battle should not be overshadowed by that of the local armies, at least not on the surface.

So Tang Enbo stepped forward and said:

"Thank you for your guidance, Principal. I will strive to be loyal to the Party and the country."

After saying that, he glanced at Li Jianghe, who was standing to his side and behind him, and a struggle flashed in his eyes. He was unsure whether he should be modest and give the credit for the battle to this man.

Just then, Officer Li, who was accompanying the principal, chuckled and said:

"Keqin did perform exceptionally well in this battle, but Li Jianghe's Third Detachment, as well as the Sichuan Army and the Northwest Army, were equally commendable and can be considered the mainstays of the army."

The principal mentioned Tang Enbo first, while leaving Li Jianghe, who had made the greatest contribution to the battle, aside. Commander Li was dissatisfied and naturally wanted to protect his own, so he also dragged the Northwest Army and the Sichuan Army into the discussion.

The principal understood perfectly well what Commander Li meant by those words, and he chuckled and said:

"That's true. By the way, where's Li Jianghe? He's our great hero. I've been wanting to meet him for a long time."

Li Jianghe then stepped forward, saluted, and said:

"Li Jianghe has met with the Chairman."

He had overheard their conversation, so after saying this, although Li Jianghe's gaze fell on the principal, his body remained close to Commander Li.

The principal stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"As the ancients said, heroes have emerged from among the young. Back then, Huo Qubing sealed the wolf's lair. I think Jiang He also has the demeanor of a champion marquis."

This evaluation is undeniably high, demonstrating that the principal genuinely approves of Li Jianghe.

The only thing that bothered him was why this person wasn't his student? Why wasn't he a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy?

Li Jianghe replied calmly, unfazed by praise or criticism.

At least it had to look presentable. Li Jianghe didn't really want to get much benefit from the principal. As long as the principal didn't cause him any trouble or make things difficult for him, that would be good enough.

Later, when I've gained enough power, I won't care who you are, I'll just ignore you.

For now, it's best to remain humble and low-key as much as possible; otherwise, the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind, and the highest mound on the bank will be swept away by the current.

The principal still had a smile on his face, thinking to himself that Li Jianghe didn't seem to be such an unruly person.

"Good, good, Jianghe is capable of undertaking great responsibilities."

He said "okay" twice before walking up to the stage with Commander Li and his entourage.

After a lengthy speech, the awarding ceremony officially began.

Li Jianghe was among the first recipients of the medal, and he took the stage with Wang Mingzhang, Chi Fengcheng, and several others.

This batch all received the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun.

In the National Army's medal system, this is considered one of the top medals, with the next highest being the Order of National Glory.

However, throughout history, only five people have received the Order of National Glory, one of whom was the principal himself.

Before 49, only the principal and that person from the Ministry of Water Resources had it.

The Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun is also known as the "get-out-of-jail-free card" because Huang Baitao's only son was sentenced to death for intentional homicide. His mother used the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun to plead with the principal, and the death sentence was eventually commuted to life imprisonment.

The first person to receive this medal was the Young Marshal.

In addition to medals, there are also promotions in military rank and position.

The Third Detachment under Li Jianghe was reorganized into the Independent Third Column, which was equivalent to the treatment and organization of a division.

Click to begin your wondrous journey in "You're tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, but you end up leading a German-equipped engineer."