PS: Part of the content of this article comes from "The Devil's Drummer and Apologist: Wartime Japanese News Media and the Nanjing Massacre", Nanjing Publishing House.

I was reluctant to write this, because some of them would have been disgusted and angry more than 70 years later, but we must also understand that Japan's invasion of China was by no means the sole act of a few militarists, and they were unanimously supported by the whole country.

This is not a war between the Chinese and Japanese soldiers, it is a life-and-death duel between China and Japan and a battle of national fortunes, and this is a patriotic war in which the Chinese nation fought for freedom and liberation.

When a large number of citizens marched in Nibiya Park to celebrate the capture of the Chinese capital, would they have imagined that a few years later, they would suffer the same fate?

When Japanese warplanes wantonly slaughtered innocent civilians in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Chongqing, would they have thought that the Americans' strategic bombing would be repaid?

When the Japanese chief of staff, the chief of military command and other high-ranking officials celebrated the Japanese army's attack on the city, would it be thought that a few years later, their emperor would cry and one of them would participate in the signing ceremony of unconditional surrender?

Forgive me for saying so much.

As early as the beginning of the peripheral battle of the Battle of Nanjing, the Japanese "Osaka Mainichi Shimbun" published a report on the "occupation of the Purple Mountain by *Japan". Before the Japanese army attacked the city, the Yomiuri Shimbun announced the "occupation of Nanjing", and lantern parades were held in various cities in Japan again.

How anxious was the whole Japanese nation to capture Nanjing.

After the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, the whole country immediately fell into madness.

Tokyo held an unprecedented ceremony on a scale that could only be compared to the "Tokyo Bombing" seven years later!

In Tokyo, the day after the capture of Nanjing, all the institutions hung lanterns to celebrate the capture of Nanjing, China.

More than 56,000 elementary school students, female students, and young women formed a procession of national flags and gathered at Jingu Gaien, Kudanzaka, Yasukuni Shrine, and Yamano Park in Japan, holding sun flags and chanting long live, marching from all directions toward Miyagi, the Ministry of Army, and the Ministry of the Navy.

Hibiya Square, Mayor Kohashi, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Matsunaga delivered a speech on "Hold the Gun Tightly and Defend the Victory." Subsequently, people from all walks of life in Japan, including the media, finance, industry and commerce, and education, met with the emperor and paid respects to the Meiji Shrine and the Yasukuni Shrine.

On the third day after the capture of Nanjing, a lantern parade of 400,000 citizens was held in Tokyo, and the people marched to the Ministry of the Army.

Housewives with children on their backs, gray-haired old men, underage dolls, young girls, vying to shake hands with the soldiers.

More than 100,000 students from the University of Tokyo and other students held a rally at Nijubashi in the outer garden of the Imperial Palace, which was attended by many government officials.

All communities in Tokyo held extraordinary meetings, visited the Yasukuni Shrine, held victory ceremonies and prayer events, and held a ceremony to celebrate the commander of the Japanese Third Fleet.

Nishi Honganji raised the banner of "Celebrating the Capture of Nanjing", and Higashi Honganji Temple "Celebrates the Great Victory of the Imperial Army", and together with Chion-in, Toji, Daitoku-ji, and Myoshin-ji Temple, Japan's famous temples sent congratulatory telegrams to Matsu, Ishione, and Hasegawa Kiyoshi to hold a celebration ceremony, and then bowed to Miyagi from afar, and shouted three long live.

The Asahi Shimbun held "Military Aircraft Donation" and "Imperial Army Condolences".

"Daily News" carried out "condolences to the Chinese and Manchurian Imperial Army, and the bereaved family rescue." ”

The Yomiuri Shimbun launched "Navy and Army Defense Donations"

Fukuoka Daily Shimbun donated

"Hochi Shimbun" donated quilts, "Kookmin Shimbun" donated fuel, and "Asahikawa Shimbun" donated ammunition.

"Asahi Shimbun", "Tokyo Nikichi Shimbun", and "Mainichi Shimbun" are soliciting "Song of Good News", "National Patriotic Song of Young People", and "Song of Marching......

This is not fiction, this is a fact, please forgive me again for saying so much.

In Nanjing, after the disaster, the smoke of burning houses has not yet cooled, and the smell of blood is still everywhere in the air.

In an abandoned sewer, a soldier bent his waist, "Platoon commander, the devil seems to be moving." ”

Platoon Commander Wu Zhulin glared at him, "Be quiet, don't let the devils hear." ”

The soldier whispered: "Squad Leader Liu saw it just now, and the devils are lining up." ”

The platoon commander beckoned his men over, and he first handed out a bag of instant noodles and an apple to each soldier, which would be their last lunch.

From the Shimonoseki Wharf to the Zhongshan Gate, the road was full of Japanese troops lined up and on guard, and in order to prepare for this entrance ceremony, half of the five divisions of the Japanese army were responsible for guarding and half holding ceremonies.

Matsu, Ishione, and Hatohiko of Asakanomiya rode tall horses and led his staff through the Zhongshan Gate, followed by a long line of military bands and drummers, followed by officers from other units marching in line.

In order to ensure the safety of the invasion of the city, the Japanese army intensified the Nanjing Massacre and repeatedly searched and swept the city, except for a certain unknown sewer.

In the sewer, Wu Zhulin solemnly saluted the soldiers, and the 22 people below raised their hands to salute in return.

Matsu and Ishigen arrived at Huangpu Road, where they were greeted by soldiers from the Japanese Third Fleet.

Wu Zhulin began to order the inspection of equipment, and all the soldiers checked the binoculars, hands, grenades, mortars, lengths, and guns one by one.

Under the leadership of the officers, the Japanese troops marched triumphantly toward the center of Nanjing, with the leading officers riding horses and holding command swords, the flag-bearers holding the military flags, and the drummers and trumpeters behind them.

The soldiers began to assemble mortars and artillery shells in the sewers, loaded them with bottom and fire, filled them with high-explosive ammunition packets, and connected them to the fuses.

When Matsu and Ishigen arrived at Xinjiekou, a large number of Japanese reporters began to cheer, and some photographers were shooting films.

Wu Zhulin began to assign tasks one last time, emphasizing the main points, and saying the things that everyone could memorize for the last time.

When Matsu and Ishigen arrived at the National Government Building, there was a flash of lights, and Matsui specially selected a group of the largest and most majestic chestnut horses today, and he rode a tall horse like a baboon lying on an elephant.

All the soldiers of Wu Zhulin's platoon have arrived at the firing position, pressed the tripod, fixed the seat, and erected the gun body at 45 degrees.

Matsu and Ishigen made a final review at the Government Square, waving their hands.

Yu Wei held the leg with his left hand and the muzzle of the gun with his right hand; Another soldier began to set up his sights, zeroing out the side disc and angle sheet......

Matsu and Ishigen were still waving.

The two mortars began to rotate the high and low planes and the direction machine to determine the direction and angle of fire.

The Japanese army began the flag-raising ceremony, and the military band worked hard to accompani.

Liu Qingyuan, the squad leader, personally pulled out the letter tube safety pin of the shell and inserted the tail of the fin into the muzzle, and the platoon commander Wu Zhulin also loaded the other one with his own hands.

Matsu and Ishigen took the lead in bowing to the east, and all the soldiers raised their arms, "Load!" Onboard! Onboard! ”

The sound was earth-shattering, and the howl could be heard clearly in an inconspicuous building 2 kilometers away.

Jiro Suzuki, a reporter for the Tokyo Daily Shimbun, has already prepared the title: "Candlelight on the Green History, Nanjing's Entry Ceremony, General Matsu and Jing are majestic." Next to him was Suzuki Inoue of the Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo, who wrote: "What an exciting moment, the Japanese flag was waving in the wind, the ceremony was magnificent, and the loud naval band began to play the ...... of Kimi-no-yo."

According to the following plot, these manuscripts and films will be flown to Japan as soon as possible, and then various celebrations will be set off in Japan again**.

But the plot did not play out as expected, because the tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers present were not the protagonists, they were just the backs and Emperor Jing, although they were the best supporting roles.

The main characters are twenty-three warriors, and the props are two mortars, as well as 50 shells that are "gifted" for free.

Matsu, Ishigen, Hatohiko of Asakanomiya, Hasegawa Kiyoshi and the commanders of the various units are taking a group photo, and then they will enter the Nanjing State Mansion and dine here, which will be their moment of victory.

Although his ears were not very bright, he heard a cracking sound, followed by another sharp whistling sound in his ears. One shell exploded in the crowd of Japanese soldiers lined up, and one fell into the ranks of the "pen troops".

The Japanese army was like a hornet's nest doused with a bucket of boiling water, scattering and running, but how could tens of thousands of people hide in a small space, and every shell that went down was a broken limb and leg.

A shell exploded less than 5 meters away from Matsu and I, and what comforted Matsu and Well was that the five meters around him were people, no, it should be called a meat pad, which blocked the shampnel well.

A staff officer hurriedly helped Matsu and Jing onto the horses, don't look at Matsu and Ishigen are already 60 years old, but when it comes to running, he still seems to be very agile, he quickly got on the horse, regardless of the "imperial army" rolling under the horse's hooves, yes, now he is still very majestic, and all the soldiers who stood in front of him were mercilessly swept down.

A Japanese soldier with a blood-spurted face looked at the commander who knocked him over with resentment, and before he could curse, he felt a sharp pain, and another horse stepped on his waist, and he ran towards King Hatohiko of Xiangmiya.

Matsu and Ui had just run to a place where there were fewer people, and they were about to successfully "turn" into a building, when suddenly, a cannonball hit and landed right in front of him, and now he had no cover of a meat pad. The whole body of the war horse was covered with shrapnel, the horse was in pain, the two front hooves stood up, and Matsu and Well were thrown off the horse.

This can kill him, Matsu and Ishigen hit the ground on their backs, and the old bones fell apart.

After five minutes, the sound of shells, or rather, the urging finally stopped, and there was a terrible scene in front of the square.

A soldier was blown off his legs and was rolling and screaming, and an officer stepped forward and slashed down.

The "pen troops" also suffered several shells, and in their writings, war is beautiful, killing is pleasant, I don't know if they still think so.

A camera fell to the ground, trampled to a dehumanized shape, and next to it, was a bloody military cap.

I don't know whose command knife fell to the ground, and a plaster flag was like a rag, trampled on footprints.

Wu Zhulin and his soldiers were surrounded by at least a thousand Japanese soldiers, and he had less than 10 brothers around him.

"Get on the bayonet!"

"Charge!"

The last 8 ** soldiers were out of bullets and made a final charge towards the Japanese army. Wu Zhulin didn't know how many bullets he had received all over his body, he struggled to stand up, picked up his bayonet, and stabbed at a Japanese soldier with all his strength.

The Japanese soldier was lightly moved, and Wu Zhulin had no strength in his whole body and fell to the ground.

His last words were: "It's a big deal." Then, forever closed his eyes.

Soon, except for Japan, all other countries reported on the "Nanjing Attack" in a big way, and Japan's entry into the city became a laughing stock.

"Ta Kung Pao": "Coming majestically, weeping and grieving and leaving." ”

"JoongAng Daily": "The chief of the Japanese and the great general Jing were killed immediately by our warriors, and their intestines were broken and their waists were broken. ”

The Times: "The Japanese army entered the city and became a laughing stock, and the Chinese 23 warriors attacked to the death. ”

The Chicago Daily News: "The most arrogant ceremony, the most brilliant counterattack." ”

Germany's Haitong news agency was slightly neutral, but the headline was also unrelenting: "A large explosion occurred at eight o'clock last night (Berlin time), and high-ranking Japanese officers were killed and wounded." ”

All of a sudden cease of activity in Japan overnight, and there was a lot of talk about it, and although it was not known what had happened and there was no newspaper report, it was clear that something unusual had happened.

In China, various commemorative activities have been held in various places to commemorate these 23 warriors. Yuming Company also quickly filmed a documentary: "Twenty-Three Warriors of Nanjing City", which was broadcast worldwide.

In recognition of these martyrs, platoon commander Wu Zhulin was awarded the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun, which was the second lower-level officer and soldier to be awarded. The rest of the soldiers were awarded the Order of Baoding and the Order of Loyalty.

In Japan, half a month later, Matsu and Ishigen's urns arrived in Tokyo, and Matsui and Ishi's litter of old and young people cried extremely sadly.

In charge of the defense of Nanjing, the commander of the Nanjing garrison of the Japanese invasion of China, and the commander of the 16th Division, Nakajima Imago was assigned to the reserve, and the commander of the Japanese army in charge of the accident area committed suicide by disembowelment.

The Japanese headquarters issued an order: "In the future, there will be no more such entrance ceremonies." ”

……