Shen Shaofan's National Youth League began to drive in the direction of Shanghai, this time it was different from the one from Beiping, there was no train for transportation, all military trucks, a long convoy along the highway all the way, the speed was much slower than the train.

At noon, the Central Staff Headquarters issued another telegram order, ordering Shaofan's National Youth League not to go to Zhoujiaping and directly enter the downtown area of Shanghai to carry out urban defense battles.

Shen Shaofan sat in the jeep and looked at the telegram and sneered: "This He Yingqin is really not a piece of war material, it's okay to play tricks and make some conspiracy." Fighting a war, a chief of the General Staff is not as good as those of us who are juniors. ”

"Yes, Shanghai is a big city, once the scorched earth method is used to fight street battles; Urban warfare can only destroy the city! Sun Zhiyu took the telegram and said.

Shen Shaofan sneered and said: "The principal said that our National Youth League does not consider politics, so it is hopeless and disadvantageous, but these days, don't say that you have to understand politics, and you must also be able to play conspiracy." ”

Sun Zhiyu was shocked when he heard this: "You mean this is a conspiracy of the General Staff?" ”

"It's not the whole staff that plays a conspiracy, but one person, our National Youth League has influenced his career in the government, and challenged his authority, so he wants our National Youth League to step into an abyss from which there will be no return. The current situation is obvious, our army has to destroy the enemy on a narrow beach, and only then can we be sure of victory, but once Jinshan is breached, then the whole of Shanghai will only fall into a city defense war, and then our National Youth League will become the sinner who destroyed the city, and if we do not defend it, we will have to bear greater responsibility once we are defeated. It's killing two birds with one stone! Shen Shaofan sighed and said: "The key to the survival of the country, those high-ranking officials are still thinking about how to calculate others and remove others, and they are all thinking about their own interests. Pathetic! ”

Sun Zhiyu seemed to know who was doing the trick and said: "Indeed! Once Songhu is defeated, it seems that they can justifiably propose peace talks. ”

"Humph!" Shen Shaofan sneered: "They still haven't figured out the principal's temper!" The defeat of Songhu will promote the principal's anti-Japanese heart, and it will also promote the cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The crisis in North China is a foregone conclusion, once Songhu loses our party-state, the living space of our party-state will be much smaller, and the principal will not jump out in a hurry! ”

Sun Zhiyu said: "What should we do now? ”

Shen Shaofan said helplessly: "Shanghai must enter Shanghai, let's talk about it!" The current situation of the war has changed dramatically, and he is talking there after discussing it with General Zhang Zhizhong. ”

Sun Zhiyu nodded, didn't say much, closed his eyes to recuperate, Shaofan also closed his eyes, maybe he was too tired recently! As soon as Shaofan closed his eyes, he fell asleep and slept until the car stopped. As soon as Shaofan got out of the car, he realized that the troops had entered the boundary of Qishuyan, and the troops simply camped in a wide wood, burying pots and cooking food.

At this time, the battalions of the army also received the news of going to the downtown area of Shanghai, and the following has been discussed, blocking the sky; Zhang Wenshan also hurried over to confirm the accuracy of the news.

Blocking the sky and said: "Shaofan, are you really not going to Jinshan?" ”

"What? What's wrong with not going to Jinshan? Shaofan asked.

Zhang Wenshan said: "Is the gold mountain not guarded? ”

Shen Shaofan said with a smile: "It's not that you don't defend it, it's that you change troops to guard Jinshan." ”

Blocking the sky and still unconvinced: "Then what's the use of us going into downtown Shanghai?" ”

Shen Shaofan said: "Fight devils!" ”

"What devils are there in the city?" ”

Shen Shaofan smiled: "It's a shame that you are from Huangpu!" Now the situation in Shanghai is quite complicated, Zhang Zhizhong's 9th Group Army has wars in various parts of Shanghai, and the central government has also continuously sent reinforcements into Shanghai, and we have come to Shanghai to assist General Zhang Zhizhong in defending Shanghai, whether it is in the periphery or in the urban area, whether it is in Jinshanwei or in that area of Shanghai, there are not many devils! ”

It seems to make some sense to listen to it, so he didn't say much and said to himself: "Then you have to make it clear!" It's all going on below. ”

Shen Shaofan said again: "You go down to tell the ins and outs of this matter to the soldiers below, don't let them spread it around." ”

"Yes!"

The troops marched for four more days and entered the periphery of the Shanghai area on 18 August, just when Zhang Zhizhong's 9th Army was counterattacking on a large scale, and the National Youth League had not yet received any task so it had to camp in Zhujiajing, on the outskirts of Shanghai, and wait for orders. By the time Zhang Zhizhong learned that the National Youth League had arrived on the outskirts of Shanghai, it had been 25 days, and the National Youth League had rested in Zhujiajing for seven days. Zhang Zhizhongzhong regretted it very much, because their plan to encircle was to lose a living force to block the Shanghai advance force of the Japanese army landing from Yangshupu District, which led to the threat to the flank of the 9th Army, and the entire counteroffensive plan was in vain.

Zhang Zhizhong had also heard of Shaofan's National Youth League, so he hoped that the National Youth League would join the battle as soon as possible, so he briefly introduced the situation to Shaofan, Shaofan had not been idle for seven days, had been studying the war in Shanghai, and had already understood the battle situation and battle situation in Shanghai at that time.

Zhang Zhizhong said: "Commander Shen, what do you think of the battle situation in Shanghai?" ”

Shen Shaofan said with a smile: "General Zhang, the contemptible and the National Youth League are at the disposal of General Zhang, how dare the juniors play a big knife in front of General Zhang!" ”

Zhang Zhizhong laughed and said, "Okay! At present, the situation in Nanhui is the most tense, and there is the 19th Marine Division of the Japanese army to the east of the Suitang River, while our army has only one division west of the Suitang River, and it is impossible to organize an effective attack, and Heqing and Xingang were still in the hands of our army three days ago, and they were taken by the Japanese army this morning. ”

Shen Shaofan looked at the map and said: "The next goal of the Japanese army is to attack and occupy Dongmin along the west of the Suitang River, and then cross the Pudong Canal and go straight to Gaoxing, so that the key Chongjin Bridge and Donggou on the periphery of Shanghai are in danger." ”

"Not bad! Now the newly added 31st and 122nd Divisions have been reinforced, Gonglu and Wanggang, the only Gaoxing, and only one police corps is holding on. Zhang Zhizhong said.

Shen Shaofan said: "General Zhang, in my opinion, we will only be beaten when we rush to Gaoxing." It's better to give up Gong Lu; Wang Gang and Gao Xing General 31st Division; The 122nd Division and the troops entrenched there withdrew to Jinqiao and Donggou respectively, which was the pass into the downtown area of Shanghai. Our department immediately rushed to the aid between Donggou and Jinqiao, and now we can arrive in the evening. In this way, our division had ample time to build fortifications and arrange combat missions. ”

Zhang Zhizhong looked at the map and found that Donggou and Jinqiao were indeed the gateways to enter the downtown area of Shanghai, and now the north and south of Shanghai were in a state of confrontation, and the Japanese army had to make a fuss in the east if they wanted to enter the downtown area of Shanghai, and whether they could hold the area around Donggou and Jinqiao was the key to the battle situation in the east. At this time, the 18th Army and the 54th Army to the north of Shanghai and the 11th Division of the Japanese army were in Luodian; A confrontation was formed in the area of Puyue, and the 1st Police Corps and the 38th Division were in the south; The 36th Division and the 1st Division of the Japanese Army confronted each other across the Sitang River. Only in the east has not yet been decided. Zhang Zhizhong secretly applauded the young man in front of him, and immediately agreed with Shen Shaofan's opinion. At the same time, the 31st Division Liu Feng was ordered to follow the 43rd Division; The 45th Division withdrew to Jinqiao, and the 122nd Division Zhang Zhiheng and the 2nd Police Corps withdrew to Donggou to actively build fortifications.

Immediately after receiving the order, the National Youth Regiment marched at full speed towards the area between Donggou and Jinqiao, and the troops marched along the road straight into the downtown area of Shanghai, crossed the Huangpu River with the help of the Zhouqiao Battalion of the 9th Group Army, and entered the predetermined position in the evening. As soon as they entered the position, the troops began to build fortifications, and the whole regiment threw themselves into the ranks of strong fortifications, and by midnight, the forward position of the National Youth League had been issued and the scale of the Donggou; The positions of the golden bridge were connected in a line and became an impregnable wall.

As soon as the National Youth League entered Shanghai, it received a serious defensive task. 31st Division; The 122nd Division and the three branches of the National Youth League were originally in Jinshan and Jiulongshan; What kind of morning will the troops that have built a fortress of guns in the north and south lakes usher in a position east of the outskirts of Shanghai?

Donggou; The position around Jinqiao is a position facing the Pudong Grand Canal and backing the Huangpu River, and it is also the only barrier for the Japanese army to enter the downtown area of Shanghai. In addition to the National Youth League, the 31st Division, the 122nd Division, the 45th Division and the 43rd Division of the 9th Group Army, and the Police Corps also added the 131st and 12th Artillery Brigades of the 15th Group Army and the 11th Artillery Regiment directly under the 10th Group Army.

Shen Shaofan's National Youth League is in the center of the Hudong defense line, which is the most widely impacted defensive position, and it is also the forefront of the defense of the Hudong defense line, which is called the 'shield' position. On the left side of the position is the Donggou position, which is dominated by the 122nd and 131st Divisions, and on the right side is the 31st and 45th Divisions; The 43rd Division was the main Jinqiao position, and the position was divided into four lines of defense. The bunkers of the defense line are mainly trenches and tunnels, and the horizontal and vertical tunnels connect all the main trenches of the four defense lines, and the position of the entire National Youth League is like a number of 'Tian' characters overlapping each other, the branches of the tunnels are staggered, and the trenches are intertwined.

Shen Shaofan responded to the promise made to Su Li and placed the independent column on the front of the first line of defense, and there were 3 battalions; The 4th battalion cooperated with the defense of the first line of defense, and the 2nd battalion was arranged on the second line of defense; 1 battalion and teaching column, the third line of defense had a reserve column and 5 battalions defended. The fourth line of defense is that there is a special service company where the regimental headquarters is located; reconnaissance company; The guard company and the rifle company of the logistics column were responsible for the vigilance. There were several mortar positions between each line of defense to support the fire, and in the center of the fourth and third lines of defense was the artillery company of the National Youth Corps. The artillery company's position is placed under the mutual support of the general headquarters and other troops, and the artillery company can cover the positions of Donggou and Jinqiao on the left and right sides on this position, and at the same time can also provide strong fire support to the positions in front of the front, on the contrary, the artillery of Donggou and Jinqiao can also support the front line of the 'shield' position, and the artillery on all the defensive lines are connected and echo each other in one breath, forming a staggered and vertical heavy artillery fire network.

It is also to blame that China's troops automatically withdrew from Gaoxing; After Gong Lu and other positions, the Japanese did not dare to enter rashly, for fear of deception, the Japanese army had been wandering in the Pudong Canal for several days before ordering to cross the river, did not want to cross the river, unexpectedly smooth, except for the bridge on the river was bombed, did not encounter any resistance. The commander of the 19th Division of the Japanese army was called Kono Sabei, a sophisticated and cunning lieutenant general, the commander was also a fascist fanatic, his troops entered Gaoxing without any resistance, and he was inevitably a little worried, but his troops began to be arrogant and felt that no one could defeat them, and some troops openly looted the property of the Chinese people and raped Chinese girls in the occupied areas, killing the Chinese people, causing the occupied areas to suffer destructive destruction.

The whole Gaoxing was dead, and there were no pedestrians except for the drunken Japanese devils. In a restaurant in the center of Gaohang County, Kono Left Guard hosted a banquet for the troops to enter Gaohang, and the senior commander of the 19th Division.

Kono Sabei raised his glass and said, "Thanks to your help, the 19th Division has successfully completed half of the mission and entered the high line. Come! I would like to give you a toast. ”

All the officers at the dinner table stood up in unison and said, "Serve the emperor!" ”

Kono said, "Ladies and gentlemen, since the war started in China by our Great Japan, Shanghai has always been the target that our Great Japan wants to compete for. Shanghai is China's wallet, and as long as we hold Shanghai, our great Japanese empire will have innumerable wealth. This glass of wine is to wish our 19th Division the first to enter Shanghai, cheers! ”

"Cheers!"

Kono Sabei was so excited that he couldn't help but sing the Japanese military song, and all the officers sang along with each other, clapping their hands to the rhythm.

The 19th Division was divided into three divisions and was stationed in Gaoxing; Gu Lu; Gong Lu Sandi also has a 10th Marine Corps from the Japanese mainland in Gulu, with a strength of about 40,000 troops, and the commander is called Kitaoka Yoshino. The 10th Marine Corps is an ace unit, all of which are recruited by Japan, high school students have been trained in the country for the source of soldiers, and the combat effectiveness is very strong, and the commander of Major General Kitaoka Yoshino is a Japanese officer who is very good at fighting, and he has also studied in Germany, so the 10th Marine Corps is also known as the Yoshino Division.

Kitaoka Yoshino was alone on the map watching the battle situation, and an officer walked in and said, "Your Excellency, Major General!" Lieutenant General Kono of the 19th Division asked for a specific time to attack Shanghai? ”

Kitaoka Yoshino was a little proud that he did not encounter a decent attack from the ** team after landing, and said: "Now is the best fighter, and it can be used at any time." ”

"Yes!"

Kitaoka Yoshino looked at the terrain between Donggou and Jinqiao and said to himself, "It seems that the army of our Great Japanese Empire will soon march into Shanghai. ”

At this time, a soldier ran over and said: "Our forward position is guarded by the National Youth League of the Chinese Army. In Pingjin, Takagi Yoshito was defeated at the hands of this army. ”

Kitaoka Yoshino was slightly shocked and said: "That battle is a shame for our Great Japanese Empire, let's wash away this shame from now on!" ”

"Hey!"