Next, Wang Yaowu personally inspected the terrain and assigned personnel and equipment.

Wang Yaowu and Xu Ming did not have much confidence in this kind of thing, once the Japanese army held an entry ceremony, they would definitely sweep the surrounding area repeatedly, and they had to find a hidden place. Wang Yaowu specially set up two firing points in an inconspicuous place 2 kilometers away from the presidential palace, and also pulled a temporary telephone line on the mezzanine of a building as an observation point and a bullet correction point.

Xu Ming was busy until three o'clock in the morning before returning to the Xiaguan Wharf, at this time in Xiaguan, only the last group of soldiers were ready to board the ship, but there were still a large number of ordinary people on the shore ready to evacuate, Xu Ming didn't care about the noisy environment and cold wind on the shore, so he found a vacant place and fell asleep.

In a daze, Xu Ming heard the sound of cannons, and when he opened his eyes, the sky was already white.

"What time is it?" Xu Ming rubbed his eyes and asked.

Qiu Linfeng and his brother changed shifts, saw Xu Ming asking, and replied: "5:45"

Xu Ming nodded, he had slept for less than three hours just now, and the sound of the Japanese artillery should be a tentative attack, and a new day, a more serious challenge is coming.

Xu Ming picked up the notebook, which recorded the data of the retreat, more than 71,000 soldiers had retreated, and more than 30,000 ordinary people had retreated, which was smoother than originally expected.

But the smoothest time has passed, and Xu Ming knows that whether it is the Wulongshan Fort in the east or the outflanked Japanese army, any way of the two Japanese troops to Xiaguan means the end of the retreat and the beginning of the massacre.

Xu Ming is most worried that the Wulong Mountain Fortress will be lost, Xie Ruihua's hundreds of people will definitely not last long, as long as the fort is lost, the Japanese warships will arrive at Xiaguan in one hour at the earliest! On the contrary, the situation of the Japanese troops attacking the city was better, and the progress of the Japanese army in the city could not be very fast, and they had to first capture the presidential palace, the engineering school and other important places, and they could not reach Shimonoseki at noon at the earliest.

Qiu Linfeng persuaded: "Xu Tuanzuo, you go to Jiangbei, here are me and Deputy Regiment Commander Chen, Battalion Commander Qin, and Battalion Commander Shangguan." ”

Xu Ming shook his head, now only his position is the highest here, besides, it is impossible for him to lose his new group and withdraw first.

A steamer docked, and an adjutant walked down from the bow of the ship, Xu Ming saw that it was a staff officer under Xiao Shanling of the military police force, and the staff officer walked up to Xu Ming and said: "Member Xu, several generals are waiting for you in Jiangbei, your troops will withdraw first, here our military police will take over, and we will be responsible for the retreat of the common people in the end." ”

Xu Ming thought about it, but still rejected the other party's kindness, it should be no problem for the gendarmes to maintain discipline or fight, but it is estimated that it will not work to drive the boat, Xu Ming, Xie Qianli, Qiu Linquan and others have managed this place very smoothly, others take over, once there is a mistake, the retreat efficiency will decrease, and now the most precious and the most undelayed thing is time.

The staff officer had to persuade again, Xu Ming said: "That's it, I'll go to Jiangbei, but it's impossible to let me go first, I'll be the last to retreat." ”

Xu Ming arrived in Jiangbei, and sure enough, Song Xilian, Yu Jishi, Wang Yaowu and others did not leave, Xu Ming said his worries, and Wang Yaowu agreed.

"Qianli, have you calculated how long it will take to evacuate the people?"

"I've done the math, there are about 50,000 people on the riverside now, and normally it will be 1 p.m."

"I speculate that the Japanese will arrive at Shimonoseki at about three o'clock in the afternoon, but it is difficult to say the warships on the river, if the Wulongshan Fort is lost, the fastest half an hour, the slowest two hours, the Japanese warships can reach here." Song Xilian replied.

Although Xu Ming's ships were relatively large, they were all ships loaded with cargo and passengers, and it was impossible to compete with Japanese warships or even small gunboats. Thinking of this, Xu Ming also had no idea.

The generals didn't care about the common people, but since their troops were successfully withdrawn, it was impossible to watch innocent countrymen being slaughtered by the Japanese army, and they really came up with a solution for a while.

That is, to set up artillery positions and heavy machine-gun positions along the river, and if the warships coming are not too big, they should be able to cope with it.

"What if a Japanese plane comes to bomb it?" Such a question was raised.

Wang Yaowu also came up with an idea, "Then put some anti-aircraft machine guns on the ship, maybe it will be useful." ”

Some people say that the time of happiness feels short, but when Xu Ming found that he was anxious, time flew by, and after a while, he found that the time had slipped to 11 o'clock in the morning.

Although he was extremely hungry and very tired, Xu Ming couldn't take a break at all. As the cannon fire approached, panic arose among the crowd, and the recent arrival of citizens spreading the brutality of the Japanese added to the mood of the people.

Xu Ming, Qin Lieping, Xie Qianli and the others were busy sweating profusely, trying their best to maintain order on the shore, letting the women and children and the elderly go first, and the young and middle-aged last. Xu Ming roughly calculated, after this trip is completed, two more trips, and the retreat can basically be completed.

Xu Ming had just taken the time to wipe the sweat on his face, when suddenly someone in the crowd shouted: "Little devil's warship." ”

There were 5 black dots on the river in the east, Xu Ming picked up the binoculars, it was a Japanese gunboat, and it seemed that the Wulongshan Fort had been lost.

"Boom" a shell exploded on the river, the Japanese apparently knew what was most important to the Chinese, and 5 gunboats bombarded the ships on the river.

Although there were no shells on the shore, the crowd was completely chaotic, and some citizens let out desperate cries when they saw the Japanese warships firing, and some turned around and ran towards the city, ignoring Xu Ming's hoarse dissuasion.

The Japanese warships were getting closer and closer, and it seemed that the ships were about to come into their effective range. Suddenly, there was a roar on the north bank of the river, and it was dozens of mountain guns of the squadron firing.

Generally speaking, mountain artillery is not suitable for fighting warships, and it is better to use heavy artillery and armor-piercing shells to fight warships. But the Japanese were not big ships, but gunboats of more than 100 tons, and a constant column of water immediately rose around these gunboats.

At the same time, heavy machine-gun positions on the shore also began to fire fiercely, at least hundreds of heavy machine guns, bullets smashed like hail like Japanese gunboats.

The Japanese ships maneuvered in a "Z" shape in an attempt to dodge the bullets, but the guns of the squadron were too dense, and after a while, a Japanese gunboat suddenly turned around on the river.

In Xu Ming's binoculars, the ship's helmsman turned the steering wheel like a windmill, but unfortunately it had no effect. The top machine is broken. Although the power of the ship is there, the orientation cannot be controlled. The devils in the cab are like ants on a hot pan. Soon, the annoyance of the ants disappeared, and a cannonball hit the cockpit. Xu Ming felt like a cannon had been lit there, and the stumps of the devil and the objects in the cabin were scattered in all directions.

People on both sides of the strait all stood up and watched the artillery battle, and when the gunboat began to sink, I don't know who took the lead in singing.

"Arise, you who do not want to be slaves."

"Cast our flesh and blood into a new Great Wall."

……

The singing grew louder and louder, and soon, the singing on both sides of the strait spread and echoed in the sky.

**'s artillery seems to be infected, and the shells are getting denser and more accurate. Another gunboat was hit, and then the devil's ship exploded, as if it had blown up the ammunition compartment, and the ship was directly blown into two parts, and a heavy machine gun on board was thrown into the air more than 50 meters in the air, and then fell heavily, causing a splash.

The devils on the rest of the warships saw that the situation was not good, and tried to escape, but they didn't expect to make a mistake in their busyness, and the two gunboats actually collided together, giving the squadron a big gift for no reason.

Xu Ming saw the end of the artillery battle, and his heart calmed down, Japan's sneak attack was defeated and lost, and more than a dozen prisoners were caught just now, which was a surprise. The Japanese probably didn't expect the squadron to retreat so quickly, otherwise, send a few large warships over, like the "Izumo", with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons and heavy artillery of more than 200 mm caliber. Ships like the "Anqing" and "Datong" may be doomed if they are hit by one shot.

There were less than 10,000 people on the shore, and Xu Ming personally went to the ship to command, and the last two trips could not be wrong.

Suddenly, an observer in the cabin shouted: "Devil planes, 7 planes, azimuth to the left".

Xu Ming hurriedly ran to Class A, raised the binoculars and saw that 7 planes were flying in the sky on the left, and the plaster marks on the plane were clearly visible, and even the pilot's hideous face could be seen.

Seven Japanese fighters began to dive from all angles, and the machine gunners of each ship fired fiercely into the air.

The "Anqing" was the largest and most conspicuous, and was immediately attacked by three Japanese planes from various directions.

"Shoot, target 75 degrees to the upper right, sweep and release! Sweep and release..."The squad leader above the cabin knelt on it, desperately commanding. A shuttle bullet swept over, the squad leader screamed, rolled into the water from above the cabin, and the deputy squad leader immediately took over the command position, "Concentrate fire, target left, 64 degrees, sweep away!" Sweep and put away! …”

Xu Ming was on the "Datong" when a Japanese plane pounced viciously from behind the flank, and bullets rained down on Class A, and a miserable cry was immediately heard from the crowded crowd. Xu Ming was extremely angry and ordered loudly: All heavy machine guns, light machine guns, and rifles will be beaten to me, and they will be beaten hard. ”

A Japanese plane concentrated its fire on the bow of the ship and fired fiercely, and when piloting the ship, it was a mess, and everyone on board felt that the ship was shaking, Xu Ming hurriedly ran to the wheelhouse, only to see that the pilot and the co-pilot were killed and injured.

"Captain Xu, look," a guard pointed to a small steamer, which could only carry more than 300 people, and the "Datong" and "Anqing" were big ships, and they didn't die after a few hits, and the small steamer had just eaten a near-miss bullet and lost its ability to move. Xu Ming was more than 500 meters away, and he could feel the desperation of the people on board.

The heavy machine guns of the ships continued to fire in vain, but not a single plane was hit. The Japanese planes attacked seemingly randomly, but they were extremely methodical, with one plane suppressing the ship's firepower and the other dropping bombs or firing, while each ship fought on its own, forming an effective anti-aircraft firepower, and not a single plane was hit.

The ship that was about to sink, the civilians who died innocently, the shooting that found nothing, at the critical moment, Xu Ming suddenly calmed down.

The way you played just now doesn't work!

Xu Ming shouted to the heralds: "Send a signal, send a signal, let the ships come closer!" Get the boats close! ”

"Let the 'Anqing' and our ship move forward to the left in 7 knots, and the rest of the ships will remain in formation."

……

The heralds commanded in sign language, and 14 ships gathered around the small steamer, which had tilted, to form a coordinated anti-aircraft fire.

At the juncture when the fleet was adjusting its formation, two Japanese planes swooped down one on the left and one on the right, and they arrogantly regarded the four heavy planes on the "Anqing" as if they were nothing, and the rest of the Japanese planes were also flying left and right in an attempt to disperse the defenders' firepower.

"Anqing's heavy machine guns, blocking the plane's forward route!"

"Chase heavy machine guns, two blockades on the left side, two blockades on the right!"

"The rest of the ships have their own heavy machine guns, concentrate their fire, shoot!"

The leader was a 93 light bomber, but when it rushed down, it was found that the dozens of heavy machine guns of the squadron were no longer scattered fire, but formed a network of fire. In an instant, dozens of holes were punched in the plane, and black smoke rose from the engine on the left side.

The pilots on the Japanese planes were no longer arrogant just now, and they were desperately trying to control the planes that were no longer obedient to their orders, and the rest of the Japanese planes saw that they were not good, and they responded one after another.

"The machine gunners concentrated their fire, concentrated their fire, concentrated their attacks (smoking Japanese planes)." Ignoring the interference of other planes, Xu Ming still ordered all the heavy machine guns to concentrate on attacking the injured plane.

The bullets flew into the air like rice threshed by a threshing machine, and the light bomber stumbled and almost fell into the river, but the pilot's skillful skill saved his life, and he pulled up again at the moment when he was about to enter the water, but he did not dare to stay any longer, and accelerated his speed to escape to the east.

There was also a Japanese fighter who did not know whether to live or died, and broke through to the front of the fleet, but this time there was no good luck of the bomber, the fuselage of the aluminum foil was like tofu being hit by a slingshot, and the pilot was killed immediately, and with a "boom", the plane fell into the water, causing a splash.

As the Japanese planes fell into the water, countless people on both sides of the Jiangnan River began to cheer, and the cheers became louder and louder.