In the early morning of December 9, 1937, the Japanese army began to organize troops to clean up the Chunhua Town battlefield. When cleaning an artillery fortification on the last line of defense, three Japanese soldiers accidentally touched a corpse. "Booby trap" and was killed...
That same morning, Japanese planes dropped thousands of pieces of paper on Nanjing. Even Zhang Tianhai's troops who were guarding Yijiangmen picked up this piece of paper.
"Everyone, everyone, no good, the little devils are throwing surrender letters outside." Early in the morning, before Zhang Tianhai could have a good sleep, he was woken up by Liu Houming.
"What kind of surrender letter was thrown? Could it be that the Japs have already reached the outside of Nanjing?" Zhang Tianhai asked with a sleepy face and a confused look on his face.
"No, it's the surrender letters dropped by Little Japan from the plane. They are all over the ground outside!" Liu Houming said anxiously.
After hearing this, Zhang Tianhai quickly put on his clothes and walked towards the city wall. He saw that the devastated ancient city of Nanjing was covered with yellow papers, which made the already tense atmosphere seem more urgent. .
The gray sky, the blue bricks of the city wall, the collapsed buildings, the smoke burning in the sky in the distance, and the pieces of yellow paper on the bluestone floor covered with yellow sand all formed a picture.
This is no longer the prosperous ancient city of Nanjing in the past, but a city of purgatory, very much like the "Fengdu Ghost City" mentioned in ancient mythology.
Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhang Tianhai felt a little inexplicably flustered, so he quickly said to Liu Houming beside him: "Quick, show me the surrender letter."
Liu Houming quickly handed the surrender letter written on butter paper to Zhang Tianhai.
I saw the five characters "Surrender Advice" written in Chinese above the title, and then the text below:
"One million Japanese troops have swept across the south of the Yangtze River, and the city of Nanjing is under siege. Judging from the general situation of the war, future fighting will be harmful but not beneficial. The only place in Jiangning is the ancient city in the central part of the country, the capital of the Republic of China, and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and other historic sites The famous Hedgehog Collection embodies the essence of East Asian culture. Although the Japanese army was extremely fierce and unforgiving towards the resisters, they treated innocent people and the non-hostile Chinese army with leniency and did not harm them. As for East Asian culture, they still protected it. Enthusiastic. If your army wants to continue fighting, Nanjing will inevitably be spared the scourge of war, which will turn thousands of years of culture into ashes and ten years of business will eventually become a bubble. Therefore, on behalf of the Japanese army, my commander advises your army to peacefully open Nanjing City, and then press The following methods are used to deal with it.
Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Army Matsui Iwane
Replies to this advice should be submitted to the sentry line on Zhongshan Road and Jurong Avenue at noon on December 10th. If your army dispatches someone who represents the commander's responsibility, the commander is also prepared to send a representative there to sign the necessary agreement with you on the issue of taking over Nanjing City. If there is no reply within the above specified time, the Japanese army will have no choice but to start an attack on Nanjing City. "
After seeing these words, Zhang Tianhai's expression changed slightly. He immediately walked quickly to the communication room dedicated to the communications staff, and then said: "Quickly, in my name, send an urgent telegram to Chief of Staff Guo who is staying at the regiment headquarters!"
"Yes!" With that said, the communications staff officer took out paper and pen to record the content of the order Zhang Tianhai wanted to issue.
Zhang Tianhai cleared his throat, and then said slowly: "Brother Qiliang, your words are as clear as your face. After you read this telegram, you immediately privately ordered the commanders of each battalion to strengthen troop patrols to prevent deserters and other situations. Whenever there is an unauthorized incident, Anyone who leaves the army without authorization will be shot! Zhang Yulin, call urgently at 7:10 am on December 9th."
"Yes!" The communications staff member quickly recorded what Zhang Tianhai said.
Zhang Tianhai knew that the appearance of this letter urging surrender would really shake the morale of the army, and the consequences would be disastrous, so he gave a death order!
Even a small regiment commander like Zhang Tianhai knew the consequences of shaking the morale of the army. How could Tang Shengzhi, the commander-in-chief of the Nanjing Garrison, not know? Sure enough, not long after Zhang Tianhai issued the order, Tang Shengzhi's order arrived at the headquarters of various troops, including of course Song Xilian's division headquarters.
"All troops should coexist with their positions. Those who retreat without authorization will be severely punished according to company laws! Song Xilian, the 78th Army of the garrison battlefield law enforcement team, is ordered to be responsible for guarding along the river. No troops are allowed to cross the river! Each unit controls its own All ships crossing the river were handed over to the 78th Army for unified management and were not allowed to be detained. Tang Shengzhi, Commander-in-Chief of the Nanjing Garrison Commander's Department, sent an urgent call at 7:18 a.m. on December 9. "
Song Xilian looked at this emergency order and frowned slightly. He said to the division staff next to him: "Forward Commander Tang's order to each brigade and regiment, and then dispatch the 216th Regiment and the Directly Affiliated First Regiment." The main force of the regiment was to guard the river and collect the ships seized by various units. It was enough to leave two companies at Yijiangmen. I personally sat with Zhang Tianhai at Yijiangmen and asked Zhang Tianhai to immediately send a battalion to take over Hepingmen and other two companies. Defense of the 16th Regiment!”
"Yes!" the division staff officer responded.
"Master, do you think it is possible to implement the order of collecting ships given by Commander Tang?" Xiang Xianju asked. He is already forty-five this year, and the strands of white hair on his head show that he is at this time. Not young anymore.
The question asked by Xiang Xianju directly touched people's hearts. Nanjing was already in a precarious state. Everyone knew that the only way to survive was by water. The boat in his hand was the only tool that led to the way. Let's not talk about the soldiers. The problem of non-execution is gone. Even the senior officers of various ministries will not hand over these ships, especially Xu Yuanquan's Second Army Corps.
After all, the composition of the Second Army can be regarded as a miscellaneous army in the Central Army, and they are not directly related. For the officers of these miscellaneous armies, they have been on the battlefield for decades. Who can survive until now, who is not a brain? person?
Song Xilian smiled bitterly and said, "Even if we know they won't hand it over, we still have to carry it out, right? Chief of Staff, you are more than ten years older than me, and you have seen more storms and waves than me. You also know that our second The Thirty-sixth Division is the supervising force of the Nanjing Garrison. If our Thirty-sixth Division is also greedy for life and does not carry out orders, our national army will fight for half a month just to hold on to Nanjing. I am afraid that we will soon be It has become an empty phrase.”
"Master, I understand what you mean. You want to personally supervise the battle at Yijiang Gate. Are you afraid that Commander Zhang and others will not be able to withstand the pressure of the troops retreating from the front?" Xiang Xianju asked.
"Yes, Zhang Tianhai is still too young. But if the troops at the front collapse, many senior officers will definitely retreat from the front. Zhang Tianhai will definitely not be able to withstand the pressure of these officers. What if the gun goes off? Well, if we supervise the battle team and fight these defeated troops, the gains outweigh the losses. In this situation, even if Liu Ying is present, I am not at ease. If only the Hu Jiaji were here..." Song Xilian let out a long sigh.
"What about the Peace Arch? Do you want to send someone there?" Xiang Xianju asked.
I saw Song Xilian saying resolutely: "If you must, let Commander Li Zhipeng of the 106th Brigade sit in charge and tell him that any officer or individual who retreats without orders from the garrison commander's headquarters will be advised to do so." If you return, if persuasion to return fails, you will be shot!"
"Yes!" Xiang Xianju responded.
…
PS: The second update, after the third update, it all depends on your motivation, hehe.
