As the absolute main force of the 11th Infantry Brigade of the Sixth Division, the brigade commander Major General Tokutaro Sakai can be described as in high spirits at this moment, and the reinforced 13th Infantry Wing and the 47th Infantry Wing under his command are marching forward in a neat line in a four-way column, except for a small number of reconnaissance cavalry, the troops in the march of the army appear to be very relaxed, and the team of more than 8,300 people is discharged for several miles, and the relaxed state of the army is like coming to travel!

The bloody battle of Songhu has come to an end, the army has suffered more than 50,000 casualties, and the middle [***] team has suffered at least more than 300,000 casualties, and many of the troops that have suffered heavy losses are the elite German armament of the central army of the national axe of the country.

From the end of 1934, the Kwantung Army was ready to equip each division with an automatic vehicle wing with 260 trucks, but until the outbreak of the war, it was only equipped with ten divisions, and the Sixth Division was very honored to have an automatic vehicle wing.

However, some people are happy and some people are worried, the automobile has always been the main target of the attack of the Chinese army, so another brigade of the Sixth Division, that is, the 36th Infantry Brigade, the brigade commander Major General Ushijima Mitsuru, took on the trivial tasks of the division's baggage supply, automatic vehicle wing, field hospital, etc., and advanced together with the main force, and is still assembling to Zhenjiang at the moment!

In Sakai Tokutaro's opinion, by the time Mitsuru Ushijima and his main force of nearly 19,000 people climbed under the city of Nanjing, he had already entered the city of Nanjing in a grand manner, and what a glory it would be to capture the capital of China.

Sakai Tokutaro also hesitated on the question of whether to wait for the main force of the division, and he also asked the division commander Tani Toshio on this question, and the answer given by Tani Toshio made Sakai Tokutaro stunned and became very happy.

It is important to know that the 6th Division is a type A division, and the whole division has the 11th Infantry Brigade and the 36th Infantry Brigade, and the two brigades and regiments are respectively under the jurisdiction of the 13th Infantry Wing, the 47th Infantry Wing, the 23rd Infantry Wing, and the 45th Infantry Wing. It is also equipped with the 6th Cavalry Wing, the 6th Field Artillery Wing, the 6th Engineer Wing, the 6th Light and Heavy Infantry Wing, the 6th Automatic Vehicle Wing, the Communications Brigade, and the Field Hospital, with a total strength of more than 26,000 troops.

The most important thing is that Gu Shoufu is not in a hurry to make contributions and only dispatch the strength of one brigade, but his ammunition supply can barely maintain a brigade, and the food and grain can only be collected on the spot, so the 11th Infantry Brigade can be said to be burning, looting and going straight to Nanjing.

You can even see a lot of women in the marching columns of the army? These women were plundered by the army along the way, for them to vent their animal desires, often the next day these women will be killed, burning the corpse is the most common use of the army, and the effect of destroying evidence is also the best and most direct method.

The 23rd Infantry Brigade of the 18th Division of the Army, Brigade Commander Major General Ueno Kamepu is also commanding his subordinate 55th Infantry Wing and the 56th Infantry Wing to go straight to Nanjing at night, and there is a posture of entering Xianyang as the king.

The two subordinate wing commanders Fujiyama Saburo Nakasa and Notomi Shotoku Osa are also high-spirited, since the battle of Songhu, in addition to Jiangyin by the Chinese army division level after the blockade, it can be described as a horse Pingchuan, especially after crossing the Zhenjiang River, the sporadic attacks in [***] rarely appeared, perhaps the bloody battle in Songhu has frightened the timid and weak Zhina.

Although there is information that the Chinese army is preparing to hold Nanjing, most of the Chinese army that participated in the Battle of Songhu suffered at least one-third of the casualties, which according to international practice means that if a force has suffered heavy losses, if it gives more than two-thirds or three-fifths of the enemy's casualties, it can be regarded as a blow of annihilation or total annihilation.

Since the main force of the Zhina Army was severely damaged in the bloody battle of Songhu, how much combat effectiveness can they have after the so-called remnants are reorganized? Maybe the defense of Nanjing by the people of China was just a reluctant appearance? In front of the chariots of the imperial army, the people of China were only crushed.

Ueno Kamepu pointed to the distance in the dark night and said, "Fujiyama-kun, Notomi-kun!" The most noble honor of the emperor, the dream of 2,000 years will be realized by our own hands! The glory of the capital of Matachina will belong to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Glory, to the Imperial Army of the Great Emperor, and to our 18th Division, and I will order all units to speed up their advance, and I will apply for the award of the troops who arrive first under the city of Nanjing. ”

Saburo Fujiyama and Notomi Masadori looked at each other, took a deep breath, and almost at the same time nodded and said, "I am willing to serve His Majesty the Emperor, long live His Majesty the Emperor!" Long live the Empire! Long live the Imperial Army! ”

In the middle of the night, the marching ranks of the Japanese army suddenly burst into bursts of shouts of His Majesty the Emperor, and the marching speed of the troops increased instantly, and some officers and men fell straight to the ground as they ran, foaming at the mouth and falling to death on the side of the road, and tired military horses abounded.

For Major General Tatsumi Kusaba, commander of the 19th Infantry Brigade of the 16th Division, which was already lagging behind, how could the capital of the Chinese people be attacked with a single shock? The fiasco in the Battle of Chengde made Caochang Chenji seem very cautious, after all, Nanjing has much more defense troops than the small Chengde in terms of city defense and depth and defense, thanks to Zhang Xuewu being isolated in Rehe, if Zhang Xuewu is allowed to lead his troops to defend Nanjing? Kusaba didn't even dare to imagine what kind of tragic experience the Imperial Army would suffer again.

The 9th Infantry Wing and the 20th Wing of the 19th Infantry Brigade of the 16th Division did not advance as quickly as the 6th Division and the 18th Division.

The three armies of the army were all rushing to Nanjing with the strength of one brigade and regiment, and Zhang Xuewu summoned all the officers above the company level of the troops under the Nanjing Garrison Headquarters to give the last general mobilization lecture in the defense of Nanjing.

In the large school field, Zhang Xuewu saluted in the direction of the departure of the provisional first division and said loudly: "Brothers! Our brothers thought that they had already embarked on the journey, and they would meet the three divisions of the Third Route Army for us, so that the Japanese could see the power of our dignified China! Look at what it means to be in the wild! ”

Zhang Xuewu couldn't see the audience clearly in the night, even if he lit a lot of torches, Zhang Xuewu looked around Gui Yongqing, Yu Jishi and others and took a step forward and said: "I have a dream, that is, I take a walk with my lover and children under the shade, filial piety to my parents, a cow on thirty acres of land, and a hot kang head for my wife and children, this is my ideal, maybe everyone will laugh at my ideal simplicity?" I don't want to be a king and a marquis, I don't want to be a supreme minister, and I don't want to go down in history! As soldiers, we were killed in a hundred battles, and we were returned to the horse leather shroud! If I am a king and a prince, if I am a supreme minister, if I am famous in history, then how many bones do I need to pile up my glory? People are raised by their mother's parents, and I just need an ordinary life. ”

Zhang Xuewu paused and waved his fist and continued: "But it's such a tiny ideal, now I don't want to give it to me, they deliberately ignited the flames of war, they intend to destroy my China and my race!" It is said that the Kou since the beginning of the war will burn and loot, the robbery and robbery are everywhere, the five thousand years of the Chinese people, we have never been completely defeated by foreign people, there has not been before, and there will never be in the future, maybe our weapons are not as good as the Kou, but our blood is hot, we still have flesh and blood, Nanjing is the place where the mausoleum of the former prime minister is located, the capital of the Republic of China is located, absolutely not allowed to be touched by the army and beasts, you and I are soldiers, in the face of the invasion of the enemy, knowing that the guns and artillery are inferior to the enemy, repeated defeats, and if you want to lose, you will fight again, The sacrifice has reached the last moment, behind us are our fathers and relatives, the battle line is at our feet, who wants their relatives to be killed by themselves? Sisters, wives and daughters were humiliated? Who wants to turn their backs on their ancestors and change their name and forget their ancestors? Born in Si, grew up in Si, today we are going to die in Si! My greatest wish is that when I fall, the blue sky and the red national flag behind me are still flying high, in the face of foreign invasion, weapons and national strength are inferior to the enemy, it is the greatest glory of our generation of soldiers to be able to die on their own land! ”

Zhang Xuewu's voice became higher and higher: "I have brought all the coffins, the whole army is now saying that I will implement the method of sitting in the company of my Rehe Legion, the squad leader retreats to kill the squad leader, the platoon commander retreats to kill the platoon commander, and the company commander retreats to kill the company commander. This official will die in Nanjing if he does not win this battle, and I encourage you comrades! If Nanjing is lost, I will go to the ghost gate! ”

Fight against the Japanese invaders! Fight to the end! Fight to the last soldier! Swear to live and die with Nanjing!

In the sound of the slogan that shook the sky! Zhang Xuewu looked at the generals with very serious expressions behind him, and was the first to walk to a bright red national flag and solemnly wrote: Lieutenant General Zhang Xuewu, commander of the Nanjing garrison, will live and die with Nanjing! People are in the city, and people are lost in the city! In desperation, the generals standing behind Zhang Xuewu also left their names, and representatives of various divisions and brigades also came up to sign.

(To be continued)