Zhang Xuewu pulled Serogsiv and said with a smile: "My dear Soviet comrades, please take a seat, tonight I have arranged a very mellow liquor for your good friend from afar, as well as a small gift symbolizing our friendship!" ”

After opening the gift box handed over by Adjutant Zhang Xuewu, Shelogsiv was stunned, and in the box was a sickle and axe made of pure gold twenty centimeters long?

Extremely surprised, he picked up the sickle and axe weighing ten catties of pure gold, which symbolized the [***] mark, and said in surprise: "Is this too valuable?" General Zhang! The friendship of the Soviet people to the Chinese people is not mixed with any other components, please take back your gift, this is an insult to my personality and a sincere violation of the Soviet people? ”

Zhang Xuewu was immediately surprised, because Serogsiev's Chinese still has a certain degree of accomplishment, and during the warlord melee and even the Central Plains War, he was active in the hinterland of China for so-called tourism, and it was not until after the Middle East Road incident that he was deported, but he did not expect that a few years later he became a good friend of the Chinese?

This is probably the subtlety of international politics. Yesterday's enemy is today's friend? This is as unreliable as the factions in the melee of domestic warlords, comrades in the same trench may become enemies, and enemies may become comrades-in-arms, and no one can clearly explain the relationship between them, and the only thing that can be clearly explained is interests.

Zhang Xuewu felt a few different meanings from Scherogsif's words? Insulted the feelings of the Soviet people? What do polar bears have to say about China? I am afraid that it is true that they have persistent and sincere feelings for China's territory.

Zhang Xuewu saw that Xie Luo Ge Siv was talking about not talking about business, nor about the command of the volunteer air force and the ownership of the ground crew, etc., so he waved to the adjutant chief in anger and whispered a few words, and after a while, the adjutant general brought a small box, and after opening the box, it suddenly shone with golden light, and it was full of gold coins the size of the ocean.

Scherogsev's expression had changed from disdain to shock and confusion at this moment! Zhang Xuewu looked at Xie Luo Geshen with a smile, and said in his heart, Didn't you say that Lao Tzu insulted you? Lao Tzu is going to insult you once today, so that you know what an insult is.

Serogshev swallowed a mouthful of spit and said, "General Zhang is too polite, and I can only reluctantly accept your deep friendship." ”

Zhang Xuewu smiled slightly, this bastard is really too little, and he accepted it calmly after increasing the insult, the so-called assistance is actually very much insider, for example, I provide you with anti-aircraft guns, but the aiming system and the ruler heading system are listed separately as the so-called precision equipment, you don't give me benefits? I'll delay you, make you useless, even if you have anti-aircraft artillery, you can't exert combat effectiveness.

There are too many things like this, Zhang Xuewu now has no energy and time to dwell on these issues repeatedly, and his main energy is all focused on how to defend Nanjing City.

After putting away the gift with satisfaction, Serogsiv took out a form from his pocket, which showed the model and number of Soviet fighters coming to China this time, and what surprised Zhang Xuewu the most was that there were more than 40 Soviet-style 20mm four-barreled machine guns, these machine guns were obviously to provide ground fire cover for the airport, Zhang Xuewu hesitated for a moment and said: "Dear Comrade Serogsif, I think the possibility of the field airfield in Jiangbei being attacked by the Japanese army is extremely low, and these machine guns should stay in Nanjing!" Nanjing's city defenses, such as the fortresses of Purple Mountain and Qixia Mountain, are very much needed. ”

Serogene was slightly stunned, hesitated for a moment, and said: "We are here to fight against me, but these equipment belong to Major Galev's air defense brigade, if you hand over weapons, you will not be able to form combat effectiveness in a short period of time, I would suggest that Major Galev's air defense brigade directly join, and how about being directly under the Nanjing Garrison Command?" ”

Zhang Xuewu nodded with satisfaction, his money was finally not spent in vain, and Serugsiv then introduced the establishment of the Soviet Volunteer Air Force for China and the combat readiness rate and so on, and claimed that the Volunteer Air Force for China was completely under the command of the Nanjing Garrison Command and fought side by side with the Chinese Air Force and the Rehe Flying Tigers.

Zhang Xuewu nodded with great satisfaction, and also thanked him repeatedly, after Serog Siv left, Zhang Xuewu stood in front of the map and frowned for a long time, because Zhang Xuewu judged from the recent intensive mobilization of the Yue army and the tactical intention of the Yue army to drive the fleet up the river to cut off the connection between Jiangnan and Jiangbei, the Yue army must have made a relatively big move in the near future.

Zhang Xuewu believes that the Yue army is probably brewing a large-scale all-out attack, or even a full-scale general attack on Nanjing! Zhang Xuewu ordered all units to go on full alert, and the air force was attached to the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh brigades of the Nanjing Garrison Command, the Flying Tigers combat group, and the Soviet Volunteer Air Force to aid China, a total of 429 fighters capable of taking to the air were divided into four air combat groups, and the pilots' cockpits were on standby, ready to take off for combat at any time.

In the early morning of May 25, 1937, the 16th Division and the 11th Division of the Yamamuro Somu Division, supported by the artillery of the 11th Brigade of the Heavy Artillery of the Japanese Army, first launched a fierce attack at 2 a.m. on Niushou Mountain, which was held by the 5th Brigade of the 1st Mechanized Division, and the 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Teaching Corps.

At the same time, the 3rd Division under the command of Fujita Shin and the 9th Division under the command of Yoshika Ryosuke also began to launch a general attack on the Chinese defenders' positions on the eastern line of Zijin Mountain, which were firmly held by the 36th Division in the east of the city.

The 51st and 57th Divisions of the 18th Army took the first line of Gujiaying, Yangjiazhuang, Dashishan, and Liuzhuang as the key support, relying on the geographical advantages of the Qinhuai River branch to build fortifications, and at the same time, Yu Jishi sent the headquarters of the 58th Division to build a second-line position at Guanghuamen according to Zhang Xuewu's deployment, relying on the city wall for in-depth defense.

The positions of the Chinese defenders along the Qinhuai River, the Taiwan Shigetsu Detachment and the 13th Division of the Won Zhou Li Military Station attacked the 103rd Division of the Gui Yongqing Division of the Teaching Corps to garrison the Qixia Mountain Fortress.

The prelude to the defense of Nanjing was finally opened, and the fierce artillery fire of the enemy and us reflected the entire city of Nanjing in the sky, and all kinds of ammunition of 75 mm, 90 mm, 105 mm, 150 mm, and 240 mm were unscrupulously swaying, and the air was filled with the choking smell of gunsmoke, and the rumbling sound of artillery made the earth tremble slightly, as if the end of the world was coming.

It can be said that Nanjing has become the core of the fierce struggle between the two armies at this moment, and it is said that Prince Hatohiko of the Asahika Palace is bound to win, and Zhang Xuewu, the commander of the city defense on the Chinese side, swears to defend the city to the death!

All kinds of signal flares and flares pierced the night sky, and the miserable white light illuminated the night sky as if it were day, and the explosion of 105 mm and 150 mm high-explosive grenades produced orange-red fire balls flashing from time to time, such dense artillery fire was unprecedented since the Great War in China, and in order to capture Nanjing, the army sent three of the army's only six standing heavy artillery brigades to Nanjing, in order to deal with Nanjing's thick city walls, The army even did not hesitate to transfer the 11th Brigade of heavy artillery equipped with a 240-millimeter caliber howitzer of the Taisho 4th type and a 150-millimeter cannon of the 38th type to participate in the battle in Nanjing.

Niushou Mountain and Jiangjun Mountain in the west of the city were completely submerged by artillery fire, almost all artillery with a caliber of more than 75 mm was pouring fire on Niushou Mountain and Jiangjun Mountain, and the Chinese artillery positions had been concealed on the anti-slope plane and were on standby, and the artillery bombardment that lasted for half an hour began to become more and more intense, and the infantry of the Yue Army began to move their bodies on the starting position of the attack, because the harbinger of the increasingly fierce artillery bombardment was the signal that the infantry was about to start attacking.

Sure enough, five minutes later, the artillery fire of the Yue army began to extend, and under the guidance of 22 Type 95 light tanks, the soldiers of the Yue army broke out into onboard shouts, and the soldiers who formed a skirmish line followed behind the chariots at trotting speed and began to attack.

The 22 chariots formed a 22-sword-like attack formation, and the soldiers of the Yue Army were very familiar with the coordination tactics of the infantry tank, and knew well the essentials of using the chariots to carry out a rapid breakthrough, and the commander of the 30th Infantry Brigade of the 16th Division of the Yue Army, who was responsible for the main attack, Major General Sasaki Zhiichi was personally coming to the front line to supervise the battle, and the 33rd Infantry Wing commanded by Shinji Fukuda, who was not tall and had some lap legs and a hunchback, put into two fully equipped infantry brigades at one time, and it was bound to win the position on the outer line of Niushou Mountain.

In Shinji Fukuda's opinion, the fierce artillery fire just now is enough to smash the earth out, what kind of creature can survive under such fierce artillery? It was not so much an attack as a direct occupation, and Shinji Fukuda was confident in capturing the position on the main peak of Niushou Mountain after dawn, after all, the 33rd Infantry Wing under his command had the title of blade in the 16th Division.

And in the defense command headquarters of the Niushou Mountain Fortress, Sun Guiming crooked his mouth and held an unlit cigarette, lying on the artillery mirror and observing in vain, Sun Guiming was very annoyed by the lack of battlefield vision brought by the dark night, a battalion deployed at the foot of the mountain of the Ninth Regiment was rapidly entering the position, and the sound of the engine from the direction of the attack of the Yue army could prove that he must have used the chariot as a pilot in this attack.

The chariot of the Yue Army may be a nightmare existence for other [***] troops, but in front of the Rehe troops of Zhang Xuewu's department, the thin-skinned canned food of the Yue Army is a dish.

(To be continued)