diymy Chapter 70 Gathering the defeated troops and supporting Chief of Staff Xiao Shen
Chapter 70 Gathering the defeated troops and supporting Chief of Staff Xiao Shen
Then came the second, the third...
The Nationalist soldiers, who had been fleeing in panic, were now somewhat encouraged and began to pick up their rifles and machine guns and fire at the Japanese warplanes in the air.
On the city wall, Song Xilian had even considered shooting himself, after all, he was the one who had made a grave mistake.
Seeing the fire support, he rallied and roared:
"Brothers, fire on the air!!!"
Sensing the threat of fire from below, the Japanese warplanes began to fly to higher ground.
However, this would significantly reduce both bombing and firing accuracy, making it far less effective than dive bombing.
After exhausting their bombs and ammunition, the Japanese air force hastily withdrew.
Song Xilian looked at the rows of machine guns firing into the air on the rooftops not far away and was quite surprised.
Which unit is this?
Despite the chaos, they were still able to organize so many machine guns to fire at the air.
If they hadn't deterred the Japanese warplanes just now, the number of people killed by the Japanese outside Yijiang Gate would probably have doubled.
Picking up his binoculars, Song Xilian spotted a familiar figure on the rooftop.
"It's him? It's actually him! Wasn't he at Yuhuatai?"
Li Jianghe looked at the numb and terrified crowd. After the Japanese warplanes left, the group of soldiers continued to surge towards Yijiang Gate.
Ultimately, most of them were unable to cross the river and died under the guns and bayonets of the Japanese army.
"Wang Dayong, make a path and get me onto the city wall."
Li Jianghe shouted.
"yes!"
After Wang Dayong finished speaking, he called over a hundred soldiers under his command and charged out aggressively, using rifle butts and clubs to forcefully clear a path through the crowd.
At this point, nothing you say will work; only violence can suppress the panic in the crowd.
Li Jianghe pushed through the crowd and finally climbed onto the city wall, where he saw Song Xilian guarding the place.
"Commander Li, I didn't expect it to be you. If it weren't for you organizing the anti-aircraft fire, who knows how many more people would have died at Yijiang Gate."
Song Xilian grabbed Li Jianghe's hand and said.
Li Jianghe knew that Song Xilian was also a capable fighter. He currently lacked sufficient troops and could not withstand the Japanese army's attack from three sides, so he had to take advantage of the situation.
"Commander Song, my troops are building barricades in the city to fight street battles and delay the Japanese army."
However, we are short of troops. I wonder if Commander Song would be willing to provide support to our troops?
If we can delay the Japanese army for two or three days, more people can successfully cross the river and avoid being slaughtered by the Japanese invaders.
Li Jianghe's words were sincere and earnest, which moved Song Xilian deeply.
He knew very well that Li Jianghe was not a mindless brute, but rather excessively clear-headed.
In the garrison command, Li Jianghe had no powerful backers, yet he dared to speak out for justice. This required courage no less than that required to face the Japanese invaders' guns and cannons directly.
Song Xilian glanced at the soldiers on the city wall and said helplessly:
"Commander Li, I said you are a division commander, but you only have three thousand remnants of your army, which is probably less than the number of troops you have."
If you don't mind, I'll give you my three thousand remaining soldiers, but I can't do anything more for the rest.
Li Jianghe shook his head and said:
"No, Commander Song, I don't want your three thousand soldiers. I need you to help me gather the remaining troops."
As a regimental commander, I am looked down upon by them, and it is difficult for me to even rally the remaining troops.
But you're different. You're a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy and a division commander. Your efforts to rally the remaining troops will definitely be more effective than mine.
Upon hearing this, Song Xilian finally understood what Li Jianghe meant.
Without hesitation, he decisively said:
"I will certainly do my utmost!"
After saying this, he picked up a megaphone and shouted at the soldiers and civilians who were crowding below the city wall.
"I am Song Xilian, lieutenant general and commander of the 36th Division, leading my soldiers to supervise the Nanjing garrison."
Since Nanjing has fallen, I do not wish for you all to die in vain, so I have opened the city gates wide to allow you to cross the river.
However, the number of ships at Xiaguan Wharf is limited. Chief of Staff Xiao Shen has already led troops to block the Japanese army along the river. The Japanese army is invading fiercely from the front. Are you all planning to be killed by the Japanese army with machine guns at Xiaguan Wharf?
"For three days, would anyone be willing to hold out in Nanjing for the sake of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians?"
As soon as he finished speaking, people started talking amongst themselves.
"That sounds nice, but all the officials have run away, leaving us common soldiers to die?"
"Exactly! The Japanese have blown up the city walls. How can we fight this battle now?"
"That's right, we've run out of bullets, not even a single grenade. What are we going to use to fight the Japanese? Our teeth, our fists, our rifle butts?"
·····
Amidst the murmurs and chatter, Li Jianghe stepped forward angrily, raised his MP28 submachine gun, and fired a magazine of bullets into the sky.
As the crowd quieted down slightly, Li Jianghe angrily addressed the people below the city walls:
"I am Li Jianghe, the commander of the Provisional Third Regiment. My soldiers are still at Yuhuatai and still defending Zhonghuamen to the death."
No bullets, no guns, hungry people, come to me, I'll give you everything!
"As long as you stand with me and hold Nanjing for three days, holding off the Japanese invaders and buying time for the people to evacuate!!"
Li Jianghe's achievements are well-known in Nanjing.
After all, he had inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army in succession, and commendation orders were being issued one after another. At this moment, his words were actually more effective than those of Song Xilian.
The soldiers below began to whisper among themselves again.
"Commander Li is a good man; he still hasn't given up on Yuhuatai."
"That's right, it's like two Japanese divisions are launching a fierce attack, yet they're still holding on. If we fight alongside Commander Li, at least he won't abandon us."
"The key is that we have guns, bullets, and food."
"I'll follow. If we die, we'll die facing the heavens. Following a hero like Commander Li, even death will be meaningful."
······
Finally, someone shouted:
"Commander Li, I am from the 87th Division of the National Revolutionary Army. I will go with you."
"Me too! I'm from the Training Corps, I'm going with you too!!!!"
People started raising their hands, and more and more people wanted to join in.
However, Li Jianghe noticed that more soldiers chose to remain silent.
Morale has already collapsed; how easy is it to rally it back?
The people who are willing to follow him now are those who still have some backbone; these people are useful.
Otherwise, forcibly leading a group of routed soldiers to face the brutal and tyrannical Japanese army would likely result in another defeat.
"Wang Dayong, gather the soldiers! Those who are willing to come with us will be given guns, bullets, and rations!!!"
After Li Jianghe finished speaking, he looked at Song Xilian and said:
"Commander Song, thank you very much."
Song Xilian, however, said with a hint of shame:
"No need, I haven't been able to help at all. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
After a moment's thought, Li Jianghe said:
"I heard that Chief of Staff Xiao Shen is blocking the Japanese army along the river. If Division Commander Song doesn't mind the trouble, I hope you can help me send a batch of ammunition to Chief of Staff Xiao Shen. His military police are short of ammunition and won't be able to hold out for long."
After he finished speaking, he pointed to two trucks transporting ammunition in the distance.
There was a truckload of grenades, 4,000 in total, and another truckload of ammunition, 200,000 rounds in total.