Yes, it is too necessary to win a victory to inspire the morale of the army and the people, the Battle of Songhu cannot even talk about a disastrous victory, the strategy is generally right, but the command is disordered, full of contradictions, poor organization, low efficiency, the Chinese army from top to bottom has no experience and means to carry out three-dimensional operations on land, sea and air, and can only fill in with human lives.

It is no wonder that even the commander-in-chief Chiang Kai-shek is just a student of the Japanese Zhenwu Non-commissioned Officer School, the Whampoa Military Academy is just a crash course, the political course is the mainstay, the military subject is still at the level of the European war, the commander is incompetent, tired to death of the three armies, and the German armor division that he has finally trained has become cannon fodder meaninglessly.

"The Model 17th Division has already suffered more than one-third of the casualties, and Xiao Yong has also hung up on the front line, do you want to transfer him back?" Chan asked.

Liu Ting shook her head: "I have to ask him about this, I can't make decisions for him." ”

Chen Zikun looked out the window, the drizzle was falling, and it was autumn.

Jiangdong Provincial City University, the first batch of supplementary soldiers are ready to go, the model 17th Division has been losing troops for a month, Chen Shou had to send elite soldiers from various units in the province to supplement reinforcements, this group of soldiers has 3,000 people, not as good as the first batch, wearing an American Tony steel helmet imported in the early years, carrying an M1917 rifle.

There was no military parade, no rhetoric, the supplementary soldiers set off silently, marching on the central street in the rain, the streets of autumn were a little bleak, many people had already received death notices, and the whole city was full of crying.

On the Songhu front, the company commander Liu Xiaoyong ushered in his first batch of supplementary soldiers, a total of 50 people, all of whom were veterans who had fought and seen blood.

On the real battlefield, seniority and military rank are not discussed, and serving people depends on real skills.

Liu Xiaoyong proved everything with his actions, and when the Japanese attacked again, he held a gun in his left hand and a knife in his right hand, and shouted: "Brothers, meet on a narrow road!" ”

"The brave wins!" The remnants of the infantry rushed out of the trenches with their bayonets raised, and the popping sound of sharp weapons entering the flesh was heard one after another.

The new recruits were dumbfounded, these baby soldiers really didn't want to die, they spit twice in the palms of their hands, and they also killed them with rifles.

Repelled the attack of the Japanese invaders, Liu Xiaoyong was covered in blood, tired and sat in the trench, just now he hacked to death three little devils, and he was also hit by a bayonet, fortunately he flashed fast, only scratched the oily skin.

Reaching out for the cigarette, the cigarette case is deflated.

"Company commander, smoke this." The new veteran handed the cigarette pouch and pot.

Liu Xiaoyong smiled faintly, and they finally admitted that they were the company commander.

……

With the expansion of the war, the Japanese army increased by 200,000 troops, the Chinese army increased by 500,000 troops, the Gui army, the Sichuan army, the Guangdong army, the Hunan army and the central army took turns to fight, sacrificing countless people, flesh and blood could not stop the Japanese artillery fire after all, in late October, the main position fell, the troops were forced to retreat to western Shanghai, leaving only the first battalion of the 524th Regiment of the 88th Division of the Central Army to guard the Sixing warehouse in the north of Suzhou to cover the retreat of the large army.

Sixing warehouse is the joint warehouse of Yanye Bank, Jincheng Bank, Zhongnan Bank and Continental Bank, reinforced concrete structure, extremely strong, can resist the Japanese army's medium-sized mountain artillery bombardment, 524 regiment commander Xie Jinyuan led his subordinates to block the Japanese army here, did not retreat, killed countless enemies.

Shanghai newspapers reported on the heroic deeds of the 524th Regiment, and people from all walks of life gathered on the south bank of Suzhou Creek from morning to night, shouting and cheering for Xie Jinyuan and the 800 brave men regardless of the danger of stray bullets.

Early that morning, Mu Yichen and his wife came to the bank of Suzhou Creek and looked forward to it, only to see a girl wearing a boy scout uniform getting off the Suzhou Creek and swimming to the other side.

The girl scout climbed up the north bank and entered the Sixing warehouse, and soon a brand new blue sky and white sun flag was raised in the Sixing warehouse, hunting and fluttering in the nascent sun, and the north bank was full of devastation and scorched earth, only this flag was so bright and dazzling.

The citizens of the South Shore were all in tears, and their passionate singing rang out:

China will not die! China will not die!

Look at that national hero, Commander Xie, China will not die! China will not die!

Look at those 800 heroes fighting alone on the eastern battlefield!

There is artillery fire on all sides, and jackals on all sides, preferring to die rather than retreat, and would rather die than surrender.

Our flag is waving in the encirclement!

Waft! Waft! Waft! Waft!

"They're all going to die, aren't they?" Che Qiuling's eyes blurred with tears, and she snuggled into Mu Yichen's arms and said.

Mu Yichen nodded sadly, and then shook his head again: "Not necessarily, think of a way to let them retreat into the concession, the Japanese don't dare to do anything." ”

Thanks to the efforts of the Chinese gentry and celebrities in the public concession, the British and American authorities finally agreed to allow the 800 brave men to withdraw into the concession, but demanded to be disarmed and not to participate in the war.

……

The two divisions of the Japanese army landed in Hangzhou Bay, the Chinese army retreated in full danger, the fierce battle of Songhu and Shanghai, the heavy sacrifices, the Yangtze River, Suzhou, Jiangyin, and Wuxi defense line were not guaranteed, and the retreat turned into a rout, and the entire southern Jiangsu was full of routs, and the Japanese planes roared in the sky, unscrupulously dropping bombs and strafing, and the Chinese Air Force was completely lost and unable to counterattack.

The war situation in North China was not good, Nankou was lost, Zhangjiakou fell, Datong fell, Taiyuan fell, the Japanese army went south along the Pinghan line, captured Baoding, Shijiazhuang, Anyang, and the other road Shunjinpu Road went south, captured Dezhou, Lubei, and the front of the army pointed directly at Jinan.

On November 20, the Nationalist Government moved westward to Chongqing, and the base camp appointed Tang Shengzhi as the commander of the Nanjing garrison, leading 150,000 troops to hold the capital.

After the model 17th Division formed by Jiangdong's soldiers was withdrawn from Shanghai, only 3,000 of the 10,000 people remained, and they were barely organized into a brigade.

After the defeat of the Battle of Songhu, morale plummeted, and in the temporarily constructed forward command center, Chen Shou and Chen Qilin were studying defensive tactics, and suddenly someone from outside came in, and it turned out to be Xue Bin, who had not been seen for a long time.

Xue Bin's department was reorganized into the tax police corps and then retreated to northern Jiangsu for training, this time the battle of Songhu went to the front line again, and the system was broken up, and there were only more than 300 brothers left in the old anti-smoking law enforcement corps, Xue Bin simply took them out of the tax police corps and returned to the arms of the Jiangdong army.

The old brothers fought side by side again, everyone put on the military tea jar, opened two boxes of canned food, opened the ring and drank freely, Chen Shou said: "The battle is like this, do you think Nanjing can be held?" ”

Chen Qilin said: "Nanjing is a tiger in the dragon pan, there is a natural danger of the Yangtze River, but since ancient times, threats have come from the north, this time the Japanese came from the south, there is no danger to defend, and it is only a matter of time before it falls." ”

Chen Shou said: "What should we do, we can't die here in vain." ”

Chen Qilin said: "What can I do, Nanjing is the capital of China, everything has to be defended, the duty of the soldier is here, and the horse leather shroud is not hesitated." ”

Chen Shou said: "Dead and white, what's the point, we fought in Shanghai for three months and lost 7,000 people, this revenge must be avenged, but it is not necessarily reported here in Nanjing, stay in the green mountains, don't be afraid of no firewood, Lao Xue, what do you think?" ”

Xue Bin took a sip of wine, slapped the table and stood up: "Fight, don't let an inch of land, even if you die, you have to pull two backs, I want to eat Nanjing in one bite and break the front teeth of the dog!" ”

Chen Shou sighed: , he knew that Xue Bin's daughter-in-law died of illness the year before last, leaving no one to take care of the two children, Lao Xue had no hesitation, and he had nothing to say: "Since you insist on fighting, I will sacrifice my life to accompany you, but it is best to leave some seeds for Jiangdong Army, not in one pot." ”

Chen Qilin thought for a moment and said, "I agree." ”

The next day, Liu Xiaoyong and some young officers received an order to escort the remains of the martyrs back to Jiangdong, and let them leave the battlefield before the war. ”

A captain was unconvinced: "Even if it is important, it is enough to send one person, why send so many people together." ”

Chen Qilin said: "This is an order, you just have to obey, you don't need to ask why." ”

"At the moment of the great enemy, we are all backbone officers, and we can't go!" The captain hit him in the face.

"Law enforcement team, arrest me and shoot me!" Chen Qilin gave an order, and the wolf-like gendarmes pounced on the captain and twisted him, and the other officers saw that the division commander was really coming, and they all knelt down: "Master, please take back your order!" ”

Chen Qilin said: "Leave nine deaths for a lifetime, why do you suffer." ”

The officers said in unison: "Horse leather shroud, soldier's duty." ”

Chen Qilin's eyes were red, and he was emotional: "Brothers, there are still many years of war with the Japanese, and our 17th Division has already suffered more than half of the casualties. ”

Everyone lowered their heads, the division commander's hard work, they didn't know, but at this juncture, no one could bear to leave their robes and steal their lives alone.

In the end, a compromise plan was adopted, and half of the people were sent back by drawing lots, and Liu Xiaoyong grabbed the note and was ordered to escort the remains back to their hometown with twenty comrades.

In the provincial capital in December, the cold wind was biting, and on the colonel's field outside the city, 7,000 clay pots were neatly arranged, like soldiers who went out on the march, this is the ashes of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the 17th Division, there were too many people killed in battle, the coffin was not enough, and the transportation pressure of the body evacuation was too great, so it could only be packed into cans and transported back after collective cremation, in fact, the ashes in the jar may not match the name, but each jar is the ashes of the children of Jiangdong.

Inside and outside the school field, mourning was everywhere, and the fathers and elders who sent their children off four months ago were now recognizing the names of their relatives on the clay pots, and the fresh and strong young men had turned into a cup of loess.

Snowflakes floated in the gray sky, Liu Xiaoyong, who had bandages on his left arm, and several comrades-in-arms, slowly raised his right arm to salute, and the desolate earth seemed to echo the roar of the soldiers: "Meet on a narrow road - the brave wins!" ”