On November 19, the day Bai Fei arrived in Nanjing, the Japanese army captured Suzhou, and then marched to Wuxi, getting closer and closer to Nanjing.

When Chiang Kai-shek learned the news, he became even more anxious, so he called all the senior party, government, and military officials to a meeting. In the face of the urgent situation, ****** asked loudly at the meeting, whether Nanjing will defend or not?

Bai Chongxi and others said that although Nanjing had strong fortifications, the Japanese army was attacking fiercely, and most of the officers and soldiers defending the city were the remnants of the army who had withdrawn from the Songhu battlefield, and they were already exhausted and unable to hold on to time, so Nanjing could not be defended and could not be defended.

After listening to the words of Bai Chongxi and others, he was slightly disappointed. I feel that whether Nanjing City is defended or not is not a question of whether it can be defended, but a question of time. Because at this time, he still hoped that he would hold on to Nanjing for a few months, and then he would be able to wait for the Soviet Union to send troops.

At that time, among the international powers, the Soviet Union, which had many frictions with the Japanese army, was the only country that expressed its willingness to support China, and in November 37, Marshal Fromhilov, an important leader of the Soviet Union, told the Chinese delegation in Moscow: When China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression reached a life-and-death juncture, the Soviet Union should send troops and never sit idly by. As a result, ****** placed high hopes on the Soviet-United forces to send troops, completely forgetting the loss and embarrassment of Lord Pawangyang's "scratching his boots" in condemning and "mediating" against Japan during the Battle of Songhu.

On the other hand, Nanjing, as the capital, has an impact of "international outlook". Nanjing's lonely city, whether to defend or not to defend this issue, is it against the top and bottom, for the country and the people, which is difficult to do? So ****** heart is also very entangled. In addition, the mausoleum of the former Prime Minister Sun Yat-sen is also in Nanjing, if you don't keep the truth, you can't say it, and you are ashamed of the Prime Minister's spirit in the sky.

So ****** pondered for a while, and finally said that Nanjing must be defended.

Subsequently, ****** asked the generals present for candidates to defend the city, but the venue suddenly fell silent, and no one stood up for a long time. Jiang's face became more and more ugly, and he said excitedly: "When the country is in crisis, you are all afraid of war, and no one is willing to stand up, then I, Jiang, will stay and defend the city, and I will die in battle and you will continue to resist Japan..."

At this time, Tang Shengzhi, the former Hunan warlord who had been deprived of military power for a long time, thought that his opportunity had come, so he stood up and said: "The chairman of the committee should coordinate the overall situation, and it should be the responsibility of my generation to defend the city.

…..

On the afternoon of November 20, Bai Fei received a notice that he would go to the cocktail party held by the presidential palace at 6 o'clock in the evening.

The first time I went to the presidential palace, I couldn't be rude, so Bai Fei carefully prepared clothes. At four o'clock in the afternoon, Li Hu came to report that Chief Chen Cheng and Chen had arrived.

Bai Fei hurriedly greeted him, and when the two met, Chen Cheng looked at Bai Fei with a smile, nodded and said, "It seems that you are ready, then let's go, follow me to the presidential palace." ”

Bai Fei looked at his watch, the time was only 4 o'clock.

Chen Cheng explained: "Before the reception, the chairman wanted to meet you. ”

Bai Fei didn't dare to slack off, explained to Wang Weiguo and others, and boarded the car with Chen Cheng.

After coming to the presidential palace, after a strict search by the security personnel of the presidential palace, Chen Cheng and Bai Fei were let in.

As soon as he walked to the door, an officer in his forties wearing a general's uniform greeted him, and Chen Cheng smiled and said, "Brother Mu Yin, how dare you greet you in person." ”

Then Chen Cheng introduced to Bai Fei: "This is Director Qian Dajun Qian. ”

Bai Fei was taken aback, it turned out that he was Qian Dajun, who was known as one of the Eight King Kongs.

But seeing Qian Dajun looking at Bai Fei, he said with a smile: "It seems that this is the head of Bai who is famous in Shanghai." ”

Bai Fei immediately saluted and said, "Hello Chief Qian!" ”

Qian Dajun nodded and said, "Sure enough, it's a fierce general!" Alright, let's go inside, the chairman is still waiting to see you. ”

Qian Dajun led the way first, led Bai Fei Chen Cheng into a conference room, and Qian Dajun said: "You wait here for a while, the chairman will come over soon." ”

Chen Cheng nodded, and beckoned Bai Fei to sit on the chair in front of the table and wait.

After all, Bai Fei was seeing Chiang Kai-shek for the first time, and he was a little nervous.

Seeing this, Chen Cheng smiled and said: "Chairman Jiang is very kind, this time I saw you mainly because I thought that you had a wonderful performance in Shanghai, and I didn't want to reprimand you, just relax..."

Bai Fei nodded slightly embarrassed.

At this time, I heard someone outside shouting: "Seat down!" ”

Chen Cheng and Bai Fei immediately stood up, and saw ****** wearing a Mao suit walking in from outside the door. He was followed by a large number of people, including several of Bai Fei's old acquaintances, including Sun Yuanliang of the 88th Division, Wang Jingjiu of the 87th Division, Song Xilian of the 36th Division, and Luo Zhuoying, the top boss, but the rest of the senior officers Bai Fei did not know.

As soon as everyone came in, Bai Fei immediately became the focus of everyone's attention and became the target of everyone. Bai Fei was extremely unaccustomed to it, and he was a little nervous, so he was stunned for a while.

Seeing this, Chen Cheng gently pushed him from behind, Bai Fei reacted, immediately straightened his waist, and saluted ******: "Hello chairman!" Bai Fei, commander of the 18th Regiment of the 11th Division of the 66th Army, came to repay. ”

looked at Bai Fei from head to toe, then stretched out his hand and shook Bai Fei, nodded and said, "Okay!" I am very satisfied with your performance in Shanghai, which not only dealt a great blow to the arrogance of the Japanese army, but also inspired the enthusiasm of our army and people for the War of Resistance. ”

Bai Fei said: "Everything depends on the lives of the soldiers, and the chairman has won the award!" ”

smiled and patted Bai Fei's shoulder, and then said to everyone, "Everyone sit down..."

Everyone sat around the conference table, Bai Fei didn't know where he should sit, so he had to wait for everyone to sit almost before finding the last seat to sit, and after sitting down, he looked left and right, but found that Sun Yuanliang and Wang Jingjiu didn't know when they were also sitting next to him.

Sun Yuanliang whispered: "Brother, why are you also invited?" ”

Bai Fei didn't know what he was doing here today, he just heard that ****** wanted to see him, but after he came, he found that things seemed to be more than just meeting him.

So Bai Fei quietly inquired to Sun Yuanliang, but heard Wang Jingjiu on the other side whisper: "Most of the generals here today are appointed as the commanders of the garrison forces of Nanjing City, and it seems that this time they will be able to fight side by side with you, brother." ”

Bai Fei suddenly realized that Bai Fei had no opinion on going to the battlefield. Anyway, as long as it's a devil, everything is not a problem.

At this time, I listened to ****** straight to the point: "Ladies and gentlemen, although the war in Shanghai has passed, but the Japanese army is rampant, after the occupation of Shanghai, yesterday it invaded Suzhou, and then the army entered Wuxi, getting closer and closer to the capital Nanjing, the situation is precarious... In view of this, yesterday it was decided by the Supreme Military Council that we would resolutely defend the city of Nanjing, because this is the capital, the place where the Chinese government is looking forward, and the place where the former prime minister's mausoleum is located, so we must resolutely resist the atrocities of the Japanese invasion and never allow the Japanese army to drive straight into and wreak havoc..."

Chiang Kai-shek relieved himself and continued: "I have called you here today, first, to commend some of the generals who have made meritorious contributions in the battle in Shanghai, and second, to make arrangements for the troops defending the city of Nanjing, so that everyone can be prepared that the official order will be issued in the next few days. ”

After speaking, ****** said to He Yingqin, who was sitting at the bottom: "Jingzhi, you can read it." ”

"Yes!" He Yingqin immediately picked up a folder, opened it and read it.