Chiang Kai-shek then announced the generals of the Nationalist army defending the city.

Commander of the Nanjing Garrison: Tang Shengzhi; Deputy Commanders: Luo Zhuoying, Liu Xing

Commander of the 2nd Army Corps (41st and 48th Divisions): Xu Yuanquan

Commander of the 66th Army (159th and 160th Divisions): Ye Zhao

Commander of the 71st Army (87th Division): Wang Jingjiu

Commander of the 72nd Army (88th Division): Sun Yuanliang

Commander of the 74th Army (51st and 58th Divisions): Yu Jishi

Commander of the 78th Army (36th Division): Song Xilian

Teaching Corps Captain (3 brigades): Gui Yongqing

Commander of the 103rd Division: He Zhizhong

Commander of the 112th Division: Huo Shouyi

Commander of the gendarmerie of the gendarmerie (4 regiments): Xiao Shan Order

In addition, there are Jiangning fortress troops, artillery units, special service teams, etc.

Chiang Kai-shek made the announcement, and the faces of the named generals were covered with a layer of frost. A pair of resentful eyes shot towards Tang Shengzhi, and there was sparse applause from the audience, Tang Shengzhi suddenly stood up, straightened his sick body, and said loudly: "The country is in trouble, and the husband is responsible." As a soldier, he died on the battlefield, although he was defeated, he was still glorious. I, Tang Shengzhi, am willing to live and die with Nanjing! I hope that all of you will join me in sincere unity, go to the national disaster together, and fight to the death with little Japan! ”

Bai Chongxi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission for the defense of the capital, said: "The current troops are in dilapidation and incomplete, and there are no follow-up troops to dispatch, so it is recommended that Nanjing be declared an undefended city." Zhang Qun, secretary general of the National Defense Council, said: "If our army voluntarily withdraws from Nanjing, the Japanese army will not be able to claim to be the victor in the future peace talks." Chen Cheng, the former commander-in-chief of the enemy in the Third Theater, also opposed the defense of Nanjing at that time.

Liu Fei, then head of the operations group of the First Department of the Military Commission, said: "The Japanese army will take advantage of the favorable situation after the Battle of Shanghai to advance along the Yangtze River, Shanghai-Nanjing, and Beijing-Hangzhou National Highway (Nanjing-Hangzhou Highway) and other advantageous water and land communication lines with superior navy, land, air force, and heavy equipment. However, Nanjing is located in the bend of the Yangtze River, and the terrain is backed by water, so Nanjing can be blockaded and shelled by navy from the surface of the river, and the rear line of communication of the Nationalist army can also be cut off from Wuhu by land, and then attacked by the navy, land, and air force in a coordinated manner. The Nationalist army suffered too many losses in the Battle of Shanghai, and after a chaotic long-distance retreat, it had no combat effectiveness, and it could not recover its combat capability unless it had undergone a considerable period of supplementary training in the far rear. Based on the current combat mission of our army, in order to implement the policy of protracted resistance against Japan, it is necessary to avoid being forced into a decisive battle by the enemy in the initial stage. Nanking is the capital of China, and it is certainly not possible to give up without any resistance. However, we should not fight for the gains and losses of one city and one place with too many troops, and only use symbolic defense to make appropriate resistance and then retreat on our own initiative. In terms of the use of troops, 12 regiments, at most 18 regiments are sufficient, and too many troops will not be convenient for mobility. ”

In this regard, He Yingqin, minister of military affairs, Bai Chongxi, and Xu Yongchang, director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission, all expressed their approval, and Chiang Kai-shek also expressed his approval. However, Jiang pointed out that Nanjing is an international perspective, and it should be guarded.

At the Second Defense Conference, Li Zongren also advocated abandoning Nanjing: "Nanjing is a Jedi tactically, the enemy can be surrounded on three sides, and the north is blocked by the Yangtze River, and there is no way to retreat. Bai Chongxi proposed that the army should be withdrawn from the city, "to monitor Nanjing, cover Xuzhou, and retain strength so that it can maneuver to attack the enemy." Chiang Kai-shek then asked the German military adviser Alexander von Falkenhausen, who agreed with Li Zongren's argument from a military point of view and strenuously advocated "no unnecessary sacrifice." ”

Tang Shengzhi said: "Now the enemy is approaching the capital, and the capital is where the mausoleum of the father of the nation is located. At the moment of the great enemy, if we do not sacrifice one or two generals in Nanjing, we will not be particularly sorry for the Prime Minister's spirit in heaven, and even more sorry for our supreme commander. I advocate defending Nanjing to the death and fighting the enemy to the end! ”

After making the decision to "hold on to Nanjing for a short time", Chiang Kai-shek acted quickly, based on the garrison of four divisions in Nanjing, and mobilized another 11 divisions to reinforce Nanjing, and subsequently, the number of defenders of Nanjing increased to 15 divisions, totaling 150,000 people. In order to express the determination of the long-term war of resistance, the people also made two preparations: at that time, Chiang Kai-shek on the one hand actively prepared for war, in addition, on November 20, the people officially announced the relocation of the capital to Chongqing, in a secret telegram to the commanders at all levels in the army on the relocation of the capital, Chiang Kai-shek said: "It is advisable to hold the determination to break the cauldron and sink the boat, and to strengthen the confidence of the final victory. ”

However, Chiang Kai-shek also understood that under the military superiority of the Japanese army, it was not cost-effective to calculate the gains and losses of one city and one pool...... You can only hope for a shorter period of defense. If you want to defend the city for a short time, you don't have to sacrifice all your base troops, but you have to use it as a cover for retreat." "If you have to abandon Nanjing, the defending troops will retreat, and you have to have cover."

"Good! Meng Xiao, don't worry, this time to defend the city, no matter whether you win or lose, I, Jiang, will fully support you! Nanjing is the national capital, and if we abandon the city, it will make the whole world laugh. ”

"Thank you, Chairman!" Tang Shengzhi once again gave Chiang Kai-shek a standard military salute.

Tang Shengzhi finally relieved himself, he knew that guarding Nanjing this time would be more auspicious than lucky. Among the troops defending the city, Chen Liugui Yongqing's three brigades and Xiaoshan's four military police regiments had relatively strong combat capability, and the rest of the combat units were incompetent in terms of military equipment and combat quality compared with the Japanese army, which was too far behind the Japanese army. The 74th, 66th, and 83rd armies, which were covered by Songhu, were ordered to retreat to Nanjing to participate in the battle. All three armies were crippled, with few veterans and most of the recruits were untrained. There is little combat effectiveness. In the face of the ferocious and tenacious Japanese army, the result is needless to say. He came from the flames of war to where he is today, and he is not a fool.

He knew very well that the Japanese soldiers had undergone rigorous training, and about ten Chinese soldiers had been killed or wounded before they could fight out a Japanese soldier. The Japanese army is well equipped, most of the weapons are German standard equipment, and the weapons made in the country are also very advanced, as far as rifles, Japanese 38 and the national army's medium formality, the Japanese effective range is more than 1,000 meters, and accurate. The formal form is less than half the distance of the 38 style. The militaristic education of the Japanese army completely brainwashed every soldier and did not want to die in battle, while the soldiers of the national army all came to catch strong men, and some soldiers were soldiers with mixed food. The perverted spirit of bushido made the combat ability of Japanese soldiers especially terrifying! Their crazy performance on the battlefield made the national army suffer a lot and paid a heavy price in life.

Tang Shengzhi already knew that the commander of this attack on Nanjing was called Gu Shoufu.

This Gu Shoufu was born as a farmer. In November 1903, he graduated from the 15th Infantry Section of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School, and was awarded the rank of second lieutenant in infantry in March of the following year. Participated in the Russo-Japanese War, during which he was promoted to lieutenant. In November 1912, he graduated from the 24th class of the Japanese Army University, ranking third in the term, and was sent to study in the United Kingdom. Later, he served in the General Staff Headquarters and embassies abroad. When lecturing on land tactics at the Japanese Naval University, he stressed: "Plunder, banditry, and rape in combat are important means of maintaining morale." When he was an instructor at Lu University, he also interviewed Matsukawa Toshiyin, the former head of the Operations Section of the Manchurian Army Headquarters, and wrote a "Confidential History of the Russo-Japanese War", which is very valuable. This is what the Japanese say about his great contribution to the military, political and military education of the Japanese Army. On March 18, 1925, he was promoted to Army Commander; On August 10, 1928, as the chief of staff of the 3rd Division, he participated in the invasion of Shandong, China. On August 1, 1930, he was promoted to major general and served as the representative of the Japanese army and air force stationed in the League of Nations. In 1932, he returned to China and served as chairman of the Military Investigation Committee. On August 1, 1933, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Brigade of the Guards Division (the commander of the division was Lieutenant General Hatohiko Asakanomiya, the main culprit of the Nanjing Massacre). On August 1, 1934, he assumed the post of commander of the Tokyo Bay Fortress. On June 5, 1935, he was appointed commander of the left-behind division of the 9th Division, and on December 2, 1935, he was appointed commander of the 6th Division.

In 1937, when the Anti-Japanese War broke out, Gu Shoufu served as the commander of the Japanese Sixth Division as a lieutenant general, led his troops to participate in the battle to attack North China, and also connived at his subordinates to massacres civilians in North China. After October, he was transferred to the Central China Front, participated in the Jinshanwei landing within the formation of the 10th Army of Lieutenant General Yanagawa Heisuke, and then made a long-distance attack on Nanjing, despite the lack of logistics. He won many battles and was considered by the Japanese to be an excellent senior commander.

Against such an opponent, it will be difficult for him to take the lead in battle.

His subordinates were all remnants of the army that had just been withdrawn from the Battle of Songhu, and there was basically no sound organization. Forty percent of the troops withdrawn from the Battle of Songhu were all newly recruited recruits, and many of these recruits were dragged to the Battle of Songhu without firing a gun. Of these, veterans account for only 60 percent, which is basically the same as the number of new recruits. On the other hand, the Japanese troops attacking Nanjing City at that time were all newly recruited troops, all of which were composed of veterans who had been on the battlefield for a long time, and were equipped with fully armed weapons and had strong combat effectiveness. How to fight the remnants of such a team defending the city of Nanjing, it is not a grade at all, so why would Chiang Kai-shek pull such a force to defend in the city of Nanjing? Chiang Kai-shek's vision was still accurate at this point, and he had long seen that once the Japanese army took Shanghai, it would definitely invade Nanjing immediately, so Chiang Kai-shek did not think about holding Nanjing, because those who are familiar with the geography around Nanjing know that the city of Nanjing has always been equivalent to a dead place in history, and all those who defended Nanjing in history basically ended in failure. In the face of the Japanese army, Nanjing City was not only a threat from the army, but also from the Japanese warships and air force. Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek's original purpose was to use the troops withdrawn from the Battle of Songhu to hold the city of Nanjing for a period of time. The fall of Nanjing was inevitable, and it was not intended to defend the city.

Tang Shengzhi knew that he had no way to retreat, only to fight to the death. He looked at the generals who participated in the military meeting, and none of them said anything except himself. Just when he was disappointed, one person finally stood up, and it turned out to be his old subordinate: Xiao Shanling, Major General.

He was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as the mayor of Nanjing, the deputy commander of the capital garrison (commander Tang Shengzhi) and the commander of the Nanjing garrison, and became the actual person in charge of the defense of the national capital.

Xiao Shanling first gave a military salute to Chiang Kai-shek, and then gave a military salute to Tang Shengzhi, and said loudly: "Chairman Chiang, old chief, I, Xiao Shanling, promise: Our gendarmerie will charge ahead in this battle to defend the city, and will not be a deserter, no matter what the battle situation is, we will defend Nanjing to the death and live and die with Nanjing!" ”

"Good!" A smile finally appeared on Chiang Kai-shek's cold face......