Chapter 8 1. Soldiers approaching the city

On the day Chiang Kai-shek left, Nanjing Garrison Headquarters. Tang Shengzhi was sitting in the spacious office, smoking Three Fortress cigarettes one after another.At this moment in Nanjing, flames were shining all around, the sound of artillery was loud, and the headquarters was already filled with a tense atmosphere of soldiers approaching the city.Due to the departure of the chairman, everything in Nanjing fell on Tang Shengzhi, and he deeply felt the difficulty and heavy burden on his shoulders. The 14 divisions guarding Nanjing had 150,000 people according to the establishment, but there were actually only more than 110,000 people.Moreover, most of them were retreated from the Songhu front line. The number of troops was greatly reduced, and their combat effectiveness was greatly damaged. After many recruits were recruited, they rushed into battle without even having time for training.What especially troubled him was that he was not very familiar with many of the generals of the defending army because he had not led troops for many years.These troops come from all directions, with complex factions, and many of them are the direct descendants of the chairman. Although they have come together because of the anti-Japanese righteousness, they share the same hatred.But in times of crisis, he is not sure whether he can really obey his command.However, after the rhetoric came out, there was no way out. He could only pull himself together, sit in Nanjing fearlessly in the face of danger, and shoulder this extremely difficult and dangerous historical burden.In the headquarters, the phone rings one after another, one after another, and the smoke of the battle ahead and the roar of guns are constantly sent.

Zhou Lan, chief of staff of the headquarters, reported: "The 66th Army reported that the enemy who captured Jurong has launched a fierce attack on our army's position in Tangshui Town!" "Wang Yaowu's Department of the 51st Division of the Chunhua Guarding Army was attacked by the Japanese from the east and the west. The battle was very fierce!" "Japanese troops appeared in the area of ​​Longtan and Zijin Mountain, and the teaching corps has exchanged fire with the vanguard of the Japanese troops." ... Tang Shengzhi was a little surprised when he heard these battle reports.Shanghai fought for three months. According to his estimation, it should be no problem to fight Nanjing for 30 days. Didn't the chairman say that Nanjing should be able to support it for a month or two before leaving?Unexpectedly, the situation on the battlefield reversed so quickly. In a few days, the forward positions on the outskirts of Nanjing were almost lost, and the defense of the Fukuo position had begun.According to the estimation of the battle situation in the past few days, the outlook is not optimistic.No wonder after he accepted the task of defending Nanjing, his old classmate Ouyang Qixin would laugh at him as a Hunan mule, doing stupid things!He thinks that people need to do stupid things, and people need mules. It is worthwhile for him to stand up and be a mule dedicated to the Chinese nation when the country is in crisis!Therefore, he still commanded calmly, asking the chief of staff to order the generals of the troops to stand firm, fight the enemy to the death, and not to retreat without authorization; then, he personally shook the phone number of the 78th Army Headquarters and ordered again. Commander Song Xilian, while setting up defenses along the river, "It is strictly forbidden for stragglers to cross the river by boat without permission. Anyone who violates the rules will be arrested and dealt with severely. If they dare to resist, they will be stopped by force."

After making the phone call, many beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He took the hot towel handed over by the guard, wiped his face, took a few more sips of Longjing tea, and took a breath before sinking into the intense work again. among.