In response to the unusually fierce artillery bombardment of the Yue army, the Chinese defenders fired nearly 200 105 mm rockets from several places at the same time from time to time, which violently stifled the offensive momentum of the Yue army, and the Yue army often reorganized and fought again, and the attack on Yuhuatai reached a ** at dawn.

Rows of Japanese troops lined up in a neat formation, under the command of officers, along the collapsed walls of Guanghua Gate and Xishui Gate, and attacked the Chinese soldiers who continued to resist in ruins.

The two infantry brigades of the First Mechanized Division of the Rehe Army under the command of Hao Wenbin have been exhausted, and the huge casualties have greatly shaken Hao Wenbinye.

So the 114th Division of Shigeji Suematsu was transferred from the direction of Purple Mountain to the direction of Zhonghua Gate, preparing to plan a general attack along the West Water Gate and Guanghua Gate. Tonight seems to be the last moment to capture the Chinese capital, and it seems that China [***] has done its best, and we have not yet made a force! Under the command of His Excellency General Tada, I have great confidence in the capture of the capital of China. ”

The chief of staff of the 114th Division, Saburo Isoda, was from an authentic Fanmoto samurai family, and unlike Shigeharu Suematsu, Isoda Saburo, who was the chief of staff, was very dissatisfied with the sequence of transferring the 114th Division from Purple Mountain to join the Zhonghuamen attack force.

After all, a big battle has been fought outside the Zhonghua Gate, the Sixth Division has suffered heavy casualties again, and even the wing flag of the 23rd Infantry Wing has been captured here, so the Zhonghua Gate is not an auspicious place for the Yue Army.

Looking at the rising firelight, Shigeharu Suematsu tried his best to urge his troops to maneuver in the direction of Zhonghua Gate, and the fierce resistance of the Chinese defenders at Zhonghua Gate made the army from the subordinate wing commanders, brigade commanders, division commanders to Tada Jun think that this was the last crazy resistance of the Chinese defenders.

Tada Jun stood in front of the huge sand table, squinting his eyes and staring at the positions of the troops on the sand table that were constantly adjusted according to the communication staff contact, as if there was not much progress and breakthrough on the overall front of the fierce battle for one night?

Similar to Tada Jun, Zhang Xuewu was also standing in front of the sand table at the moment, and the army's offensive along the Zhonghua Gate, Guanghua Gate, and West Water Gate, which had lasted for more than 20 hours, showed no signs of abating? Do you think this is the lifeline of the defenders?

In fact, the main purpose of Zhang Xuewu sticking to the positions along the Xishui Gate, Guanghua Gate, and Zhonghua Gate is to attract the attention of the Yue army along this line, and he wants to use the city wall position to firmly attract the main force of the Yue army to attack the city here, and repeatedly consume the living force of the Yue army.

Zhang Xuewu also knew very well that once the Yue army was put into the city wall defense line, then the defense of Nanjing was bound to enter the final stage of street fighting, and the street battle stage was an opportunity for the Chinese defenders to intensively and quickly consume the living forces of the Yue army, but it also meant that the defense of Nanjing would enter the final decisive battle.

Therefore, Zhang Xuewu has also been due to, because he knows very well that once the city wall position is fully broken through by the army, the commander of the army may launch a fierce attack from the direction of Purple Mountain at the same time, the cruelty of street fighting Zhang Xuewu has a personal experience, the stage of the greatest loss of defensive strength in Chengde at that time is the stage when the sixth division of the army breaks into the city, and the street battle tests the will of both sides of the enemy, and the fight is also the strength, morale and firepower, Zhang Xuewu knows that his troops have a complete advantage in light weapons firepower, But at this moment, it is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of air power and ground artillery fire, which Zhang Xuewu has estimated before, but it is seriously underestimated.

Although Hu Zongnan's corps in Jiangbei has been fulfilling its duties, Zhang Xuewu can estimate that if the army concentrates the forces of two divisions and regiments to forcibly cross the river from Madu and other places, or if the army dispatches troops from central China to capture Xuzhou, then the two heavy artillery brigades deployed in Jiangbei will inevitably withdraw from the theater.

Zhang Xuewu has always been very strange, why did the army blindly attack the walls of Nanjing? And the Chinese response force that crossed the river to attack Jiangbei without dividing the troops? Could it be that I am waiting for myself to finally abandon Nanjing? The commander of the army is a first-class idiot, as a soldier of the country, how can he abandon the land when the foreign humiliation invades the country? An inch of mountains and rivers, an inch of flesh and blood! He has no right to give up every inch of land, especially since this is also the capital of China.

A burst of intensive artillery fire occurred violently about 100 meters away from the command post, and a violent wave of air rushed into the command center, Zhang Xuewu was accidentally overturned, and after getting up from the ground, Zhang Xuewu spit out the sand in his mouth and coughed a few times, after the power was restored, Zhang Xuewu looked around, and Zhang Xuewu waved his hand and said: "Don't worry about me!" Go back to your posts. ”

At this time, Ye Yunfei walked into the headquarters with a telegram, and first looked at Zhang Xuewu in surprise: "Commander, there is nothing wrong, right?" ”

Zhang Xuewu nodded and smiled bitterly and said, "Little devil of the dog, the one hundred and fifty mm heavy howitzer is not powerful enough?" A two-hundred-and-forty-mm gun was used? ”

Ye Yunfei patted the dust on Zhang Xuewu's body, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Commander, do you remember Sun Guiming, the brigade commander of the Fifth Brigade of the First Mechanized Division?" ”

Ye Yunfei's words made Zhang Xuewu slightly stunned, Zhang Xuewu frowned involuntarily, obviously Ye Yunfei once again mentioned the sad thing that he had just forgotten, Sun Guiming was his best brigade commander, and he was also the officer of the Rehe Legion who was ready to be promoted.

Zhang Xuewu glanced at Ye Yunfei and said, "What's wrong?" Is the bereavement pension in place in Rehe? Or is there a change in the army in the direction of Purple Mountain? Song Xilian was ordered to make every effort to hold the first and second main peaks of the Purple Mountain, and in case of an attack by the army, he should defend it and not retreat, and the 36th Division should live and die with the Purple Mountain fortress. ”

Ye Yunfei nodded and said, "Commander, it's about Guo Xiangfei, the commander of the first battalion of the infantry of the Fifth Brigade. ”

Zhang Xuewu didn't know what Ye Yunfei was doing at this critical juncture? However, except for a group of wounded men of less than 100 people who had been withdrawn from the Fifth Infantry Brigade before, the entire brigade fought hard at Niushou Mountain.

There is still a battalion commander alive in the 5th Infantry Brigade? And there happened to be a telegram from Rehe? Zhang Xuewu felt that he still needed to take a look and see who was so powerful and daring to send a telegram to him.

In the flesh mill of Nanjing, it is not new for lieutenant generals, major generals, division commanders, and major general brigade commanders to sacrifice their lives for the country, and it is really difficult for Zhang Xuewu to take the life and death of a major battalion commander to heart.

However, if you can send a telegram to your headquarters from the rear, presumably this Guo Xiangfei is not an idle person, right? If this Guo Xiangfei was really seriously injured in battle, even if it was a telegram pleading, Zhang Xuewu would consider whether he would open the net?

Ye Yunfei put the telegram in front of Zhang Xuewu and said: "Guo Xiangfei's second brother Guo Xiangmin was martyred in the Chaoyang Guard, the third brother Guo Xiangjin was martyred in the defense of Zhangjiakou, the fourth brother Guo Xiangwei was martyred in the Chifeng counterattack, only Guo Xiangfei is still reincarnated among the four brothers of the Guo family, we have sent people to his home in Baotou, and found that there is only one blind old mother and a young sister, the living environment at home is not very good, the four brothers are outside, and the old mother of the three families has not proposed to take care of the political axe, led the little sister to pick up rotten vegetables in the market every day, until the three brothers were killed, and when the local political axe contacted their families to prepare for the distribution of pensions, they found out that these three people were actually three brothers, and there was a big brother in Nanjing. ”

"What?" Zhang Xuewu was stunned as if five thunderbolts had hit the top, isn't this the real version of saving Private Ryan in later movies? Conceal your identity as a military family member and stand up and don't rely on relief? What kind of behavior is this? It is hard for Zhang Xuewu to imagine that it is a kind of consciousness, which is a taintment of it.

Zhang Xuewu didn't know, let alone know, but he knew very well that the soldiers couldn't shed blood and then shed tears, and the military families must take care of it, so that the soldiers in front could fight with confidence.

Zhang Xuewu said to Ye Yunfei: "Where is this Guo Xiangfei now?" Have you already crossed the river with the retreat of the wounded troops? ”

Ye Yunfei shook his head helplessly and said: "If he is willing to retreat, it would be fine, just rely on the hospital, claiming that whoever dares to transfer him will tear out his intestines and commit suicide, and he must wait for Niushou Mountain to be recaptured before he can leave Nanjing." ”

"Nonsense!" Zhang Xuewu slapped the table violently, then picked up the steel helmet and carried the submachine gun and said to Ye Yunfei: "Follow me to the field hospital, order the Xiaguan wharf to immediately prepare speedboats to prepare to cross the river, and send the wounded to cross the river a few more times overnight, the attack of the Yue army will be more intense, once the forts of Yanziji and Wulong Mountain are suppressed by the Yue army, then the destroyers of the Yue army and navy can drive straight to Xiaguan, and it will be even more difficult to send the wounded across the north of the river." ”

Ye Yunfei nodded and said: "Commander Zhang, so that's it, but we have also made a certain response, using 150 mm heavy howitzers and 88 mm anti-aircraft guns along the river as strike firepower, in order to prevent the sudden penetration of the ship." ”

When Zhang Xuewu arrived at the headquarters of the field hospital of the garrison headquarters, Guo Xiangfei was shouting loudly, holding a bayonet to his neck.

When Zhang Xuewu walked into the ward, all the patients stopped walking and noisy, everything became silent, Guo Xiangfei was also extremely embarrassed to put down the bayonet in his hand, and hurriedly saluted: "Guo Xiangfei, the commander of the first battalion of the first battalion of the Fifth Infantry Brigade of the temporary first mechanized division, greets the commander!" ”

Zhang Xuewu glared at Guo Xiangfei and said, "What's wrong?" Killing this devil is not enjoyable? Do you want to kill yourself? See what you look like? Where is the appearance of the commander of the 5th Brigade of the 1st Mechanized Division of my Rehe Corps? Where is the image of the [***] person in me? Mighty and unyielding! A soldier can only stand and die in front of the enemy, and must not steal his life, what is the difference between you committing suicide and stealing your life? ”

Guo Xiangfei's eyes turned red and said: "Commander, our entire battalion of brothers has not been defeated, and now the entire brigade has been wiped out, and the brigade commander, deputy brigade commander, chief of staff, and director have all died in battle, how can you let me go now?" I don't have the face to see the dead brothers and the chiefs! Commander, give me a gun, and I can still go into battle to kill the enemy!" ”

"Give us a gun, and we can still go into battle to kill the enemy!" Many of the seriously injured who were still able to move also stretched out their hands.

Zhang Xuewu looked around with some excitement, the soldiers are all good soldiers! Zhang Xuewu knows very well that he can command a regiment to be decent, but a division will be a little out of the box, and now he is commanding such a large army to fight alone under the condition that China's domestic logistics support conditions are very imperfect and sound, and as long as even the slightest problem is exposed, it will make him feel like an earth-shattering situation.

Zhang Xuewu took a deep breath and said, "Brothers! You are all good, it's me who is incompetent and derelict in my duties, I'm sorry everyone! What are you wounded and bleeding for the country? In order to kill all these greedy and brutal militarists, why don't we talk about sacrifice lightly, meaningless sacrifices are absolutely worthless, and the devils have not been killed, they are still wreaking havoc on our land, so you will lightly say that you want to sacrifice? Now I order you to go to Jiangbei to the rear, and return to Rehe through the passage in the northwest of Jin, this is definitely not a retreat, let alone an escape, to heal your injuries today, in order to be able to kill more devils tomorrow! Everyone heals their injuries and kills at least ten of my devils! ”

Guo Xiangfei looked at Zhang Xuewu with a reluctant face: "Report to the commander of the corps, I am only willing to shroud the body in horse leather, and I am not willing to fight after the war!" ”

Zhang Xuewu's eyes glared at Ye Yunfei and said, "I order!" Guo Xiangfei, who had violated military orders, was immediately relieved of all military duties, escorted to Rehe, and handed over to the Rehe Armaments Bureau, the training base of the newly formed Sixth Division in Rehe, and the acting director of the base. ”

Guo Xiangfei was stunned for a moment, now that the Rehe War broke out, almost all brigade commanders have been promoted by the Ministry of Military Affairs to their ranks, from colonels to major generals, the function of the Rehe Armaments Bureau is to form a new unit of the Rehe Army, because the Rehe Army is responsible for the main task of containing the entire Kwantung Army, so only Chairman Jiang of the Supreme Military Council authorized the Ministry of Military Affairs to give the Rehe Army the only power that can form a new unit, such as after the start of the Battle of Nanjing, The new units formed by the Central Political Axe were all started by the newly formed Seventh Division, because the first six indicators were occupied by the Rehe Army.

And Guo Xiangfei, a minor major, was able to be promoted to acting director of the Sixth Training Base of the Armaments Bureau, which means that Guo Xiangfei will change from a major to a major general, at least he is a major general or deputy division commander of the newly formed Sixth Division of the Rehe Army.

But all soldiers have a dream of being a general, and Guo Xiangfei is naturally not exempt from vulgarity, let alone exceptions! Zhang Xuewu's appointment caused an uproar, because among the lightly and seriously wounded were many brigade commanders and regiment commanders of various units, and even several regiment commanders of the provisional First Mechanized Division under the Rehe Corps.

In all fairness, Guo Xiangfei's injuries are only between minor injuries and serious injuries, and he can still be promoted if he can retreat at this time? Several people present suddenly had a feeling of great surprise, and they secretly guessed what the origin of this Guo Xiangfei was?

However, Guo Xiang, who was excited, flew for a while, and said with a solemn expression: "Report to the commander of the corps, the qualifications and abilities of the lowly post are insufficient, so the surname is ashamed to be a lowly position, I am sorry for you, please choose another good general, and the lowly is willing to be a centurion for the country!" For the nation, do your best and die! ”

Zhang Xuewu said with a cold face: "Guo Xiangfei! What did you hide when you signed up for my Rehe Legion? ”

Guo Xiangfei was slightly stunned and said, "The department didn't hide anything?" The ministry is loyal to defend the country, and this new month can be seen! Heaven and earth can be seen! ”

Zhang Xuewu slapped the table next to him violently, but the palm of his hand slapped on a wooden thorn, and suddenly blood flowed, Zhang Xuewu frowned slightly and looked at Guo Xiangfei and said: "The four brothers joined the army to serve the country, you are all hot-blooded, but why do you want to hide that you have a blind mother and a young sister at home?" What do you want to do? Do you want me to learn Wudang as the kind of shameless person who makes his relatives cry after the hero bleeds? ”

"Where the hell did you put me, the Legion Commander? Am I still not your legionnaire? All the salaries of your four brothers are donated to the Patriotic National Salvation Fund every month, are you great? Bullshit! You let the old mother take her young sister to beg for leftovers? ”

Guo Xiangfei's face was pale and said: "My father died thirteen years ago, and my mother dragged her ten-year-old sister at home alone. Soldiers should take Yue Wumu as a model and serve the country loyally! When the country broke the mountains and rivers fell, the only way to repay the country was to repay the horse leather shroud. ”

"Fart" took out the wooden thorn from the palm of his hand and said loudly: "Who is not raised by his father's biological parents?" Filial piety comes first! The country is important, but so are your loved ones, and your family has already given enough. But do you know that Guo Xiangfei's second brother Guo Xiangmin was martyred in the Chaoyang Defensive Battle, the third brother Guo Xiangjin was martyred in the Battle of Zhangjiakou, and the fourth brother Guo Xiangwei was martyred in the Chifeng Counterattack? I let you be the future commander of the new Sixth Division, that is, let you lead our good sons and daughters of China to take revenge on shame! Didn't promote to you, you know? ”

(To be continued)