Nanjing Fugui Mountain is located on the east side of Taiping Gate, is a hill on the west extension branch of Zhongshan, it rises faintly on the inside of the ancient Nanjing city wall, the shape is like a round kettle, the forest is lush in the four seasons between the mountains, lush and green, Zhongshan stands in its east like a screen, the Ming city wall swims from the southeast corner of the mountain from the south to the north, and then turns to the west and winds again.

After dinner, Chiang Kai-shek came out of the air-raid shelter where he was sheltered, stood on a protruding rock railing, and looked into the distance, and the bustling city of Nanjing was in full view. It is a pity that Nanjing, as the capital of the Nationalist Government, has been subject to light control, so the whole city is dead and without the vitality of the past.

Chiang Kai-shek sighed with emotion.

Since the 77 Lugou Bridge Incident, most of the telegrams received were unfavorable news about the battle situation at the front line, which cast a haze over the hearts of all the military and political leaders in Nanjing, and Japan's national strength was far stronger than that of China. There were many factions within the Nationalist Government, and all the forces from the central to the local government had their own small calculations, which made Chiang Kai-shek's heart weigh as heavy as a boulder.

Considering the opinions of his think tanks, aides, and subordinates, Chiang Kai-shek's main intention in choosing to start a war in Songhu was to lure Japan to attack from east to west by relying on its naval strength, intending to exchange space for time and expand its strategic depth, and at the same time try to win the sympathy and assistance of the international community.

For this reason, Chiang Kai-shek did not hesitate to concentrate three elite German armourers to attack, preparing to take all the Japanese strongholds in Shanghai in one fell swoop, eliminate the threat from the belly and back, and achieve the effect of taking the lead, but he miscalculated the strength of the Japanese army, resulting in a series of defeats, which made Chiang Kai-shek's prestige faintly shaken.

At this time, the capitulation faction headed by Wang Jingwei began to attack Chiang Kai-shek's war strategy of leading the Japanese army from east to west, either explicitly or covertly, and at the same time, some generals in the army also intentionally or unintentionally criticized Chiang Kai-shek's strategy

All kinds of opposition caused Chiang Kai-shek a headache.

Today, we received good news from the Ninth Army and the New Second Division one after another, which can be regarded as a powerful counterattack to the opponents. Thinking of this, Chiang Kai-shek let out a heavy breath, his heart suddenly became much lighter, and his good impression of Wu Ming doubled.

Before it was completely dark, Chiang Kai-shek returned to the conference room in the anti-aircraft bunker and called a meeting of the bigwigs of the military council.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe everyone knows the battle report of the new Second Division, how to praise it, let's discuss it well," Chiang Kai-shek said straight to the point.

Yang Jie stood up and spoke: "This time, the new Second Division successively conquered two important Japanese strongholds in downtown Shanghai in one day, and its achievements are outstanding, and it deserves to be commended. After receiving the battle report, I went to the telephone to inquire and get first-hand detailed information, and after reading it, I had to sigh that Wu Ming used his troops to meet in the right way and win with strange soldiers, so strange and positive, even the famous generals of the ancient times are just like this"

"Hmm"

Chiang Kai-shek nodded, but his brows furrowed, and he was a little dissatisfied with Yang Jie's scholarly spirit. This meeting was convened to discuss how to commend the new Second Division, but unexpectedly, Yang Jie digressed and praised Wu Ming's military techniques, which was quite a bull's head and a horse's mouth.

Chiang Kai-shek reminded: "The new Second Division should indeed be rewarded, but now that the war is raging in Songhu, a tax-heavy area, and the treasury is empty, it is debatable how to reward it." ”

Bai Chongxi, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Military Commission and director of the Military Training Department, echoed: "The chairman is right, Wu Ming and the new second division have made the first contribution since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and at the same time broke the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese army, and they must be greatly praised, which will have a great encouraging effect on the front-line soldiers and the people in the rear." If we don't reward such heroes, won't it chill the soldiers on the front line? ”

Bai Chongxi really didn't feel a backache when he stood and spoke, and now the Nationalist Government was in extremely financial difficulty, and a large number of ordnance and advanced fighters and bombers purchased from Germany all belonged to the scope of loans, and the funds raised by Jiangxi Province to the central government for the development of the Dexing copper mine and the funds handed over by Wu Mingsu to the central government had already been used in other aspects, and for a time there was no real money to reward.

As for the fiat currency, the Nanjing government is still guarding the bottom line and does not dare to issue it indiscriminately, and there are special funds for government and military expenditures, and the Ministry of Finance's books can be described as bleak.

But Wu Ming and his new second division have made such a great contribution and cannot but be rewarded, for the generals to be rewarded, and the compensation for the fallen soldiers must be carried out as soon as possible, otherwise it will chill the hearts of the front-line soldiers, and Wu Ming will be unruly! personality, it is likely that there will be something to embarrass the bigwigs here.

Of course, Chiang Kai-shek can also give all the officers and men of the new Second Division a reward for promotion or promotion, but now Wu Ming has only been in the army for six or seven years, and he has already been promoted to major general and division commander, and then he will be promoted to lieutenant general.

On the premise of avoiding promotion, how to use the limited financial resources to praise the new second division is a big problem.

The bigwigs pondered carefully, and they all fell silent, and one by one they lowered their heads and looked at the notebooks in front of them, as if there were beautiful flowers on them.

Seeing that everyone didn't speak, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to turn his head and ask He Yingqin, the Minister of Military Affairs sitting on the right-hand side: "Respectfully, the new Second Division has achieved such good results, do you think it is a telegram to commend and inspire the determination of the army and the people to resist the war?" ”

"It's-"

He Yingqin saw that Chiang Kai-shek kicked the ball to him, and hesitated for a moment: "Commission, I also think that Wu Ming and his new second division should be commended, but——"

"Okay, Jingzhi's thoughts coincide with me, very good"

Chiang Kai-shek interrupted He Yingqin's words, took a sip of the boiled water in front of him, and continued: "Wu Mingbu's commendation, please ask the virtuous brother to draw up a charter, and we will discuss it again when we go back."

He Yingqin nodded helplessly, his face a little bitter.

After the outbreak of the Battle of Songhu, He Yingqin's logistics were ineffective, and many offensive weapons did not have time to reach the Shanghai front, which directly led to the 36th, 87th, and 88th Divisions attacking the Japanese army's strong military strongholds and pillboxes. Although He Yingqin can't be blamed for this, the quartermaster logistics department and the transportation department are all responsible, but he was ordered to coordinate the Songhu war situation, and he still has to bear the responsibility for the problem.

He Yingqin knew what Chiang Kai-shek meant, and this time he had to give an explanation to the new Second Division no matter what, because this was directly related to Chiang Kai-shek's face.

"Commission, although the new Second Division has made great achievements this time, judging from the battle report sent by General Zhang Zhizhong, the losses are also quite large

Tang Shengzhi probed his body and suggested: "Now that the Japanese army in downtown Shanghai has suffered extremely heavy losses, and only Huishan Wharf is left in the stronghold, I don't think it is better to replace the new Second Division for the time being, and give Wang Youping (Wang Jingjiuzi) and Sun Yuanliang a chance to perform."

Tang Shengzhi's proposal made Chiang Kai-shek very moved, after all, the 87th and 88th Divisions developed by the Imperial Forest Army were Chiang Kai-shek's real confidants. After pondering in his heart for a moment, Chiang Kai-shek still shook his head: "Now that the situation has just improved, Wu Ming's new second division will be withdrawn, what will others think of us?" Meng Xiao, let's put this proposal aside" The previous continuous attack of the Ninth Army with several times the superior strength of the Japanese army was damaged, which made Chiang Kai-shek very uneasy about the combat effectiveness of the two German armament divisions and unwilling to take any more risks.

After discussing the commendation of the new Second Division, Chiang Kai-shek turned the topic to the anti-landing operation of the Left Wing Army against the Japanese army on the Songhu battlefield.

The bigwigs were silent again.

The Japanese 3rd and 11th Divisions had already gained a firm foothold along the Yangtze River and at the mouth of the Huangpu River, and although Chen Cheng, commander of the Left Wing Army at the front, had not yet sent a telegram, everyone knew that the situation in the road was not optimistic.

Seeing this, Chiang Kai-shek had to say a few words and hastily announced the adjournment of the meeting.

On the Luojia Highway, the crowd of people fleeing to the interior is like a river with no end in sight, and some of them slowly squirm westward day and night.

With the smoke of gunpowder billowing and the sound of artillery rumbling, Chen Cheng, the former commander-in-chief of the enemy and commander of the group army in the Songhu battlefield, sat in a bumpy jeep with his brows furrowed.

The jeep honked incessantly and drove slowly through the westward flow of people on the highway.

Chen Cheng opened the car window and saw the dirty, tired and panicked faces of the refugees helping the old and the young flashed outside from time to time. Seeing the destruction and displacement of thousands of ordinary people's homes, Chen Cheng's long, unsmiling serious face became extremely ugly, his hands clenched into fists, and his knuckles were pinched with a crisp sound.

"When will we be able to get to Luodian like this?" Guo Chen, the chief of staff, looked at his watch and said anxiously.

Luodian is located in the middle of the Hutai Highway, located on the side of Songhu, and is a transportation hub between Jiangsu and Shanghai. Luodian to the south, along the Hutai Highway through Liuhang, Dachang, can go straight to the downtown of Shanghai; Follow the Luojia Highway to the west and go directly to Jiading; To the east, you can go straight to Baoshan along the Baoluo Highway.

If the Japanese army captures Luodian, it can cut off the Hutai Highway and directly endanger the safety of Dachang. If the Japanese army further attacked Jiading from Luodian, the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway, the lifeline of the Chinese army on the Shanghai front, would be cut off by the Japanese army. If things develop to this point, it will mean the collapse of the entire Shanghai front.

Therefore, Luodian became a strategic point that the Japanese army had to overcome, and it also became a key defense site for the national army. In order to defend Luodian, Chen Cheng transferred the 67th Division of the 18th Army of his descendant army to guard Luodian

"I can't help it in a hurry"

Chen Cheng looked outside the car and shook his head.

The car drove for four hours in the flow of people and finally arrived at the front line of Luodian. Chen Cheng's arrival made Luo Zhuoying and others happy and discouraged. Rejoicing because they had repelled the attacks of the 11th Division of the Japanese Army many times in the past day, they were discouraged by the lack of counteroffensive strength, and they could not attack and effectively kill when they saw the Japanese retreating.

According to the regulations on the battlefield, Luo Zhuoying did not salute Chen Cheng and his entourage, and directly welcomed the commander and chief of staff into the former enemy headquarters, and asked as he walked: "Old commander, why did you come to the front line?" ”

"I'm not at ease in Jiading, come and see for yourself"

Chen Cheng waved his hand, not caring about the vulgar etiquette at all: "The 11th Division is a standing division of the Japanese army, with all kinds of light and heavy weapons in place, and a powerful fleet artillery group for ground support, but our army's artillery is obviously insufficient, you must be fully mentally prepared to fight a tough battle——"

Luo Zhuoying didn't say anything, put away her smile, took Chen Cheng's hand to the lookout, and handed the telescope in her hand to Chen Cheng:

"Old commander, now that the Japanese army is attacking, you can see for yourself"