Chapter 9 2. On the eve of the Great War

At the same time, Suzhou, Japan Central China Front Army Command. Commander Matsui Iwane was sitting at a large desk, looking at the "Surrender Advice Letter" sent by Secretary Masaaki Tanaka to the Nanjing Guard Forces.Matsui Iwane is thin, with a gentle appearance, and looks quite like the legacy of his sinologist father.However, when he led the imperial army to massacre the Chinese people frantically, he was no more merciful than any brutal Japanese general. Today is naturally a day when Matsui Iwane is proud of the spring breeze. Although the wind is cold outside the window, the general is still full of joy.Since the outbreak of the Songhu War, the Japanese army has suffered frequent defeats. On August 23, Matsui Iwane led his troops to land in Shanghai. After nearly three months of hard work, he finally occupied Shanghai.Then he led the army of six divisions and marched to Nanjing City in a mighty manner.Now the soldiers are approaching the city, and the city of Nanjing is just around the corner.He will be recorded in the annals of the imperial army as the first general in Japanese history who led his troops to capture the capital of China, and will be famous through the ages.As a "China hand", he naturally read the ancient Chinese "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and knew the truth that "the whole army is the first, followed by breaking the army", so he asked his secretary Masaaki Tanaka to draft a "Surrender Advice" for General Tang Shengzhi After reading it, he made some deliberations and revisions.Now, looking at the revised and finalized "Surrender Advice" on the case, he was as proud as looking at his own carefully written work, and he couldn't help shaking his head and whispering:

Reading, reading, Matsui Iwane immersed in the joy of victory, radiant and reverie.Afterwards, he took out his pen, solemnly signed his name on the "Surrender Advice", and added a line of small characters behind it: Regarding this advice, the imperial army will accept the reply from the commander of your army on the sentry line from Zhongshan Road to Jurong Highway at noon on December 10, and discuss with them the agreement on accepting Nanjing.If no reply is received by then, I will begin the siege. After finishing writing, Matsui Iwane read it carefully from beginning to end, then nodded in satisfaction, and then handed it over to Secretary Masaaki Tanaka, telling him to print it as soon as possible, and notified the Air Force to send a plane to Nanjing to distribute it by air on the 9th.

On December 9, Nanjing Garrison Headquarters. The atmosphere was tense, and in the busy headquarters, Tang Shengzhi was sitting at his desk looking at the defensive map of the Fukuo position.An adjutant came in and said, "Report! Commander Tang, this is a letter airdropped to you by the commander of the Japanese army Matsui Iwane." Tang Shengzhi took a look and saw "Surrender Advice" written in big black characters on it. Unconsciously, my heart skipped a beat, and then I looked down calmly.After reading it, he thought for a while, and asked his adjutant to invite Deputy Commander Luo, Deputy Commander Liu, and Chief of Staff Zhou over immediately.

Tang Shengzhi informed several senior commanders of the headquarters about the airdrop of the "Surrender Advice" by Iwane Matsui. The commanders discussed nervously for a while, and then held an emergency meeting of all staff of the headquarters.The meeting was chaired by Chief of Staff Zhou Lan, and Tang Shengzhi reported the current emergency situation in Nanjing.He said: "Nanjing City is now surrounded by the enemy, and the Japanese army may launch an attack on our city gate at any time. Just now, we received an ultimatum airdropped by the Japanese commander Matsui Iwane. Deputy Commander Luo, Deputy Commander Liu, and I The Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff Zhou discussed it together, but we didn’t think about it, and we didn’t plan to give an answer. There are only martyred generals in Nanjing City, but no generals who surrendered!” At this point, his voice was particularly passionate and tragic, with two words The thick eyebrows were tightly locked together, and a thick black beard on the lips kept moving gently.

"After noon tomorrow, the enemy will launch a fierce attack on Nanjing City. We must be fully prepared. The chairman ordered me to guard Nanjing. From the first day I accepted the task, I made up my mind to live and die with Nanjing. I am Commander, if Nanjing falls, I will not die." Having said this, Tang Shengzhi took a breath.The guard quickly handed over a hot towel. Tang Shengzhi wiped his face, drank a few sips of tea, and continued: "You are in a different position from me. I don't ask you to sacrifice with me. If the city is destroyed, you You can still break out at that time. I only ask you to unite and fight to the end while I am still alive." His voice was not loud, but it was extraordinarily tragic, heavy, and touching.Many officers in the headquarters were deeply moved and thought, since you as the commander are determined to live and die with Nanjing, why should our subordinates cherish this life?Even if I sacrificed for the country together with you, it would be a great honor!

Finally, Tang Shengzhi said in a firm tone: "In order to thwart the enemy's attack, I will go down tomorrow to inspect the fortifications of the city gates, so I will supervise the battle at each city gate." Luo Zhuoying was startled when she heard this, and quickly said: "General Tang, you are the commander, and you are not in good health, let me go downstairs!" Liu Xing also quickly said: "Commander Tang, it's better for you to stay at the headquarters. General Luo and I can go separately to inspect and supervise the battle." What Tang Shengzhi wanted to say was stopped by Zhou Lan. Zhou Lan said: "Tomorrow's battle will be very fierce. General Tang must sit at the headquarters to coordinate and command. Let us do the following work!"

After the meeting adjourned, Tang Shengzhi kept walking back and forth in the office, then stopped suddenly, and ordered the operator to immediately send an urgent telegram to Generalissimo Chiang in Lushan and dictated the content of the telegram. Tang Shengzhi was most worried about whether the generals of the troops would be able to hold their positions resolutely, so he asked Zhou Lan to immediately issue an order to defend Nanjing to the chiefs of the guarding troops in Nanjing.After thinking about it for a while, he dictated the content of the order: "The officers and soldiers of each army should stick to it with the determination to survive and die with the position, and never give up an inch of land lightly to shake the whole army. If anyone does not obey the order and moves back without authorization, he will definitely obey the order." The appointment order is strictly handled according to the law of consecutive sittings."

The time for the decisive battle to defend the city of Nanjing has arrived, and Tang Shengzhi is determined to welcome the coming of this bloody battle with the spirit of seeing death as home without hesitation. After issuing the order, Tang Shengzhi hissed softly, then walked to the window and looked out the window.At this time, in Nanjing City, gunshots were heard all around, thick smoke and flashing fire rose from time to time in the distance, and groups of panicked refugees were everywhere in the streets.Suddenly, a shell roared and landed not far from the city. After a violent explosion, there was the sound of buildings collapsing.

He knew that a fierce battle was coming.