Chapter 161: Air Raid on Jiangyin
Smith had already guessed some suspicions from Qin Feng's daily actions and layouts, but he never expected that Qin Feng's mind was so big, there were hundreds of thousands of people in Nanjing, even if a batch was transported across the river before the war, there would be no less than 100,000 people left in the city. "Boss, I don't know what to say, but I want to remind you that these things should be the responsibility of the government, and I'm afraid it's difficult for us people."
Qin Feng looked at the river in the distance, and said in a low voice, "I know, I know what you said, I know that you mean well, and I know what you are worried about." But I assure you that if you want to leave, I will not stop and get angry, this is my wishful thinking, you have helped me with a lot of things, and I am very grateful for the help you have given me. ”
When Qin Feng spoke, the corner of his eye kept paying attention to Smith's reaction, Smith often boasted that he was a Chinese expert, but he was not an authentic Chinese after all, if he was Chinese, at his current age, he would not know the word retreat. Qin Feng's trick of retreating into advance made it difficult for Smith to make a choice, as the United States, he should not have participated in this kind of thing, but there has always been a voice in his heart telling him that Qin Feng once saved his life and has been helping him make money, if it weren't for Qin Feng, maybe he would have died in a foreign land.
Smith's expression made Qin Feng's heart happy, but he still pretended to be miserable and continued, "Mr. Smith, this matter is my negligence, I forgot that all of you are not actually Chinese, you Westerners and us Chinese have great differences in culture and habits. I'll make this public to Angel and them, and as I promised, I'll respect their choice, whether they stay or go. ”
Smith has been in China for so many years, and his experience in dealing with people is not in vain, and he was only shocked by the news revealed by Qin Feng before. At this time, when he heard Qin Feng say that he would respect other people's choices, he subconsciously turned his head and glanced at Qin Feng, and Smith's heart immediately flashed, and he secretly scolded Qin Feng for wanting to play the trick of virtual and real with himself when he came to this point. "Boss, you know I didn't mean that, I just said your plan is crazy." Smith thought that Qin Feng was playing tricks on his own words, but he didn't think about anything else.
Smith's tone changed, Qin Feng's heart was secretly refreshed, and then he answered, "Mr. Smith, I don't want you to help the Chinese army fight the Japanese army. I just thought that once the Japanese broke through the city, you expatriates could join together and set up a safe zone. In the war between countries, it is the innocent people who suffer, and if there is a safe area in Nanjing that can accommodate these innocent people, I think it will be a great merit. ”
"Safe Zone?" Qin Feng's words made Smith fall into deep thought, and then thought of those custom-made American and German flags and Qin Feng's meeting with Linna, Smith instantly realized that his little boss was afraid that he had planned everything a long time ago. "Boss, I can only say that I will personally be very willing to do this, as for the others, I am afraid you still need to convince them." Just building a so-called security zone, without having to fight the Japanese army at all, is not a burden for Smith.
"No, no, Mr. Smith, you don't understand what I mean." Smith's words made Qin Feng shake his head again and again, and spread his hands towards Smith, Qin Feng smiled, "I want you to recruit Angel for this matter, Angel They are authentic foreigners, and this matter can only be done if you Westerners come forward." ”
Smith, who didn't care at the moment, took out a cigarette and took a puff, then nodded slowly, "Boss, you mean that this safe zone requires us foreigners, including Ms. Lina and Martin, right?" After all, Martin is a member of the Nazi Party, and the Japanese may embarrass us, but they will never dare to embarrass Mr. Martin. Slowly exhaling the smoke in his lungs, Smith gave a thumbs up to Kazuki, "Boss, I have to say that you are very cunning and mean. ”
"Hehehehehe" Smith's words of praise full of contempt made Qin Feng laugh repeatedly, "Mr. Smith, I am a Chinese, for the sake of my compatriots, I am willing to do anything, even if it is infamous for it." Mr. Smith, I really need your help, you are a devout believer, maybe our encounter in the bandits' den was arranged by God's old man, don't you think so? In the words of us Chinese, this is fate. ”
Qin Feng's words finally made Smith laugh, and the two stood side by side at the Shimonoseki Pier for a while, until Smith finished smoking the cigarette, and then the two drove back to their residence. "Boss, all I can say is that I'll do my best to do what you say, but I can't promise I'll be able to do it. You know, sometimes, things don't work out of our will and imagination, and maybe there will be some results that we don't want to accept. When he got out of the car, Smith, who had been muffled and silent, finally spoke again, although this kind of answer could not satisfy Qin Feng, but he also knew that this was Smith's maximum guarantee.
Roughly revealing his plan to Smith, and getting Smith's assurance, Qin Feng suddenly felt that the pressure on his body was much lighter. Over the next few days, Qin Feng and Smith were both busy, with Smith frequently visiting Martin's residence and actively contacting expatriates from all walks of life in Nanjing. Qin Feng drove around the city with a big ox all day long, and after a few days, Qin Feng actually drew a map of Nanjing.
After the Japanese army landed in Jinshanwei, the government immediately ordered Chen Cheng, the former enemy commander of the Songhu battlefield, to deal with the situation, and Chen Cheng urgently ordered the 67th Army of Wu Keren of the Northeast Army of the Right Wing Army to reinforce Songjiang, but the enemy could not retreat. On the night of November 8, the Japanese army broke into Songjiang City from the east, south and west with strong firepower, and the 67th Army of the Nationalist Army was completely annihilated, and the Japanese army occupied Songjiang.
After occupying Songjiang, the Japanese army immediately divided into two routes, one along the east bank of Taihu Lake, through Zhejiang and Anhui to Nanjing, and the main force pointed to Fengjing Town, Jiaxing, and Pingwang. On the 9th, the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway and highway were cut off. At the same time, the 16th Division, under the command of Nakajima Imasago, successfully landed at Baimaokou in Taicang, Jiangsu, and the advance was directed at the Beijing-Shanghai railway and highway, forming a trend of convergence. After the six divisions of the Japanese army on the north bank of the Suzhou Creek forcibly crossed the Suzhou Creek on October 31, they quickly moved closer to the Japanese troops who landed on both routes, and the 700,000 Chinese troops in the Songhu area were suddenly in a dangerous situation.
As early as the evening of November 8, Chiang Kai-shek had ordered the Songhu Nationalist Army to carry out a comprehensive retreat, and all troops withdrew from the Shanghai battle and retreated to Nanjing, Suzhou, and the area west of Jiaxing by two routes. Unfortunately, due to the hasty issuance of the retreat order, coupled with the fact that the command system of the national army has been out of control, the retreat has evolved into a comprehensive retreat of the national army in Songhu. On the 9th, the Japanese army repelled the scattered resistance of the Chinese army, occupying Hongqiao Airport, Longhua, Fengjing, and Qingpu, and on the 11th, the Japanese army advanced to the bank of the Suzhou Creek, and the troops of the Nanshi and Pudong National Army who were responsible for the covering task were ordered to withdraw from their positions.
On November 13, the Japanese army occupied Shanghai, the Battle of Songhu ended, and Jiangyin became the gate of the Yangtze River, forming the last defense area on the Shanghai-Nanjing line with Wuxi, Suzhou, Changshu and Fushan. On November 14, the 13th Division of the Japanese Army captured Liuhe Town, Taicang was lost, and the entire Zhajia Line was lost. On November 18, the Songhu battlefield was retreated on all fronts, and the Japanese army launched an attack on the Wufu Line position on Lijiaqiao north of Changshu and the west bank of Kuncheng Lake south of Changshu, at this time the main force of the Nationalist army in Suzhou had withdrawn westward, and Chiang Kai-shek ordered the 36th and 88th Divisions that had retreated from Suzhou to Wuxi in advance to move to Nanjing, ready to defend Nanjing.
On November 19, the Wufu line was broken through by the Japanese army. A large number of Chinese troops began to retreat to the Xicheng line, and on the same day, the Jiangyin front line gathered the four main divisions of the Jiangfang Group Army to use the Jiangyin Huangshan fortress as a firepower base to implement a strong positional defense. On November 20, the main force of the national army retreated from Suzhou to the area of Jiangyin and Wuxi, and the 154th Division also arrived near Jiangyin on the night of the 20th