After hearing the news of the Commander of the 1st Brigade, Zenmitsu Ito, and the breaking of Satama, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke, the commander-in-chief of the 9th Division, showed great calmness both in face and psychology. The junior officers around him were a little overwhelmed, looking at Yoshizumi-kun's appearance with a quiet coldness, perhaps his heart was turbulent at this time, and even stronger anger was brewing.

Obviously, this worry is unnecessary, at this time, Yoshizumi Ryosuke's heart is as calm as water, and in the face of the shame of the death of his officers, he can still sit at a table and read a novel "The Tale of Genji" written by the female writer Murasaki Shikibu in Japan's Heian period, as if everything that is happening right now is an insignificant existence.

When another officer repeatedly reported the defeat of the 1st Brigade to Lieutenant General Yoshizumi, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi showed an expression of annoyance and waved his hand to signal his subordinates not to disturb him, as if to say, this matter is over, don't report it again.

To be honest, Lieutenant General Ryosuke Yoshizumi has been fascinated by this novel called The Tale of Genji. In terms of literary genre, this novel is similar to the Chinese Tang and Song dynasties, with elegant prose, concise details, and the charm of classical prose. Not only that, but throughout the text, there are more than 90 quotations from the famous poet Bai Juyi of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, historical facts and allusions from ancient Chinese books such as "The Book of Rites", "Warring States Policy", "Historical Records", and "Book of Han" are all on the page, but they are cleverly hidden in the plot of the novel. Reading and reading, the attentive Lieutenant General Yoshizumi seemed to smell a smell similar to the classic Chinese novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" from between the lines. Like the "Four Families" of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue in "Dream of Red Mansions", "The Tale of Genji" is also based on the Japanese aristocracy at that time. Not only that, but the rendering of love and life by the two is also similar.

When reading those amazing chapters, the commander of the Yoshizumi division would even be so excited that when the phone from the North China Front Headquarters rang, he did not have the slightest desire to answer. There is also another possibility, he is addicted to the sea of books, unable to extricate himself.

Nakagawa Hirosa, who was standing outside the tent, couldn't see it, so he had to rush in without authorization and answer the phone for Yoshizumi himself.

"Hey, who are you?" Nakagawa Kosa suddenly stood upright, and responded in a loud voice, "...... Yes, Your Excellency, Commander! I am Hiroshi Nakagawa, Chief of Staff of the 9th Division...... Well, Yoshizumi-kun, he's resting on the sidelines, and we've just returned from a front-line inspection when we get a call from you...... Well, yes, okay, I'll have Lieutenant General Yoshizumi talk to you right away, please wait......"

Before the words fell, Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke, who was "nibbling on the book" on the side, immediately returned to reality, he took the first step to take the phone from Nakagawa Kosa, and while covering the microphone with his left hand, he said half-jokingly: "Nakagawa-kun, I didn't expect you to become an army officer who can lie......" Then, he picked up the microphone and put it to his ear:

"Hello, Your Excellency Commander, I'm Ryosuke Yoshizumi...... Well, the intelligence department of the headquarters is indeed extraordinary, and even I have just heard the news of Ito-kun's broken jade, and I am very heartbroken for this, the warriors of his empire...... Well, you're saying that you're going to build a monument to Ito-kun at Kohwamon? Well, I agree...... What do you say? Oh, and I need to give you a detailed report on the issue of artillery assistance, and if you need to, you can take out a pen and paper to record it......"

……

Yang Longfei and the others are destined to be sleepless tonight, although they have won a small battle now, but they all know in their hearts that the Japanese army, which also has the blood of the Orientals, will never give up, both sides are armies that pay attention to revenge, and it will be a vicious battle tomorrow. Yang Longfei licked his chapped lips and thought with mixed feelings: When will this battle end?

At this moment, a herald ran in front of Yang Longfei and the others and handed over a letter sealed in brown paper. There was a line of small print written on the surface of the letter, and the signature was none other than Qiu Qingquan, the then chief of staff of the major general of the Central Teaching Corps, ———.

Qiu Qingquan's letter can be summed up in one sentence: The 25th Regiment needs to maintain contact with the command of the teaching corps to which it is temporarily subordinate at all times, and in case of sudden changes, it should take the initiative to contact the command headquarters and take corresponding measures.

Changes? The war has reached this point, what will happen? Regarding Qiu Qingquan's implicit warrant, Yang Longfei was puzzled. In fact, this letter was not only sent to the 25th Regiment, but also to almost all the units under the Central Teaching Corps that could be contacted at present. It is no secret to say that this warrant seems to be a military order, but in fact it is inseparable from politics.

Tie Haichuan, who has some political sense, seems to have insight into the true intention of this letter: At present, the Japanese army is attacking the city on a large scale, and in addition to Guanghua Gate, there are battles on the main peak positions such as Purple Mountain, Yuhuatai, Qixia Mountain, and Zhonghua Gate. On the other hand, looking at the current situation of our army, although Commander Tang has repeatedly sworn to all the troops participating in the war: swear to live and die with Nanjing. But the current situation can even be seen clearly by a fool, the Japanese army outside the city is still constantly replenishing the supply of troops, while the national army inside the city is trapped on all sides and fighting alone. If you want to talk about changes, it can only be a change in your own family. A big assumption suddenly appeared in Tie Haichuan's mind: Could it be that the garrison headquarters was ready to change hands in Nanjing? If this is the case, Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, will really be finished......

Tie Haichuan dared to think in his heart but didn't dare to say it, because this matter itself involved politics and exceeded his management authority as a regimental commander. In addition to the panic in his heart, he is now praying to the heavens, praying that his ideas will not become reality. You know, once the garrison headquarters gives the order to break through to the outside of the city, what will it mean to the city of Nanjing! The Japanese outside the city have already killed their eyes, if the national army is withdrawn, what will the people in the city do?

Fang Luocheng, like Yang Longfei, is a professional soldier who has no interest in politics, he doesn't like to do any political thinking, so don't expect him to have other thoughts about this letter from Chief Qiu, except for fighting devils, he doesn't bother to think about these things.

Yang Longfei casually threw the letter to the ground, leaned against a sandbag fortification, and silently lit a cigarette, at this moment, only cigarettes can eliminate the huge fatigue and boredom of body and mind, he doesn't want to talk to anyone, let alone have others to disturb him. He just made a bet with God in his heart, betting on whether he could see the moon tomorrow night......

……

Although Tie Haichuan is not very interested in politics, his political sense is extremely sensitive, and his brain is also very fond of thinking.

The implicit "accident" in the letter sent by Chief Qiu Qingquan, chief of staff of the Central Education Corps, to the various units implied that once the headquarters revoked all the original plans and carried out a forced breakout outside the city, all units were required to obey the orders of the commanders, follow closely behind the steps of the commanders, and never act without authorization or disobey the commands. In fact, this is a death order with a subtle tone, and the reason why it has not been publicly revealed is that first, it is necessary to stabilize the morale of the army, and second, it is afraid that the order will leak to the Japanese army, which will greatly enhance the enemy's offensive momentum.

Chief Qiu Qingquan, who wore the rank of major general, was staying in a relatively simple attic at this time, standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass window with a rather Western architectural style, smoking a "Three Forts" brand cigarette like Yang Longfei. At this time, his mood was not much better than that of those grassroots officers who were on the front line, but he seemed even worse. There is no way, who made him the deputy of Lieutenant General Gui Yongqing, the captain of the Central Teaching Corps? The official position is not high, it is said that it is not low, and the rank of major general is applied, but what is the use of this? They cannot go to the front line to personally direct the battle, and they do not have the right to adjust their strategic arrangements and make a final decision.

Qiu Qingquan, who has always been short-tempered, broke out all of a sudden, and when his emotions were completely out of control, he subconsciously raised his right foot and kicked the floor-to-ceiling glass in front of him...... With a loud "pop", the fragile glass slipped off the window frame and fell to pieces, and the splashed glass slag collapsed in all directions, most of which slid out of the window and fell heavily on the ground. Chief Qiu was still angry, he picked up a broken piece of glass ballast in the shape of an obtuse triangle from the ground and held it in his hand, and the bright red blood water flowed out of his fingers in an instant, like a red stream.

……

Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke and Matsui Ishine, commander of the North China Front, had been on the phone for more than half an hour, and the two sides had a very harmonious chat. After repeated discussions, Matsui Ishine said that the general offensive will officially start tomorrow morning, and that a flying group, ground tanks, and armored vehicles will cooperate with the siege troops to carry out a devastating blow to the hinterland of Nanjing. Troops from all over the country, such as the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 16th Divisions, will also pour out of their nests and mobilize the strength of the whole army to attack and occupy all the alleys, villages and towns, and transportation arteries in Nanjing. Each Japanese soldier had to be equipped with enough ammunition to be able to fight the Chinese defenders in the streets.

After hanging up the phone, the head of the Yoshizumi division showed unprecedented relaxation and excitement, and this bitter battle was finally coming to an end...... Although the battle lasted for only eighty-four hours, it was a small amount of time compared to the Battle of Songhu, which lasted for three months. But in terms of the hardship of the battle, the long-experienced commander of the Yoshizumi division had to admit that this was the most troublesome battle he had fought in his decades-long career. After this battle, the head of the Yoshizumi division lost his former self-confidence and even conceit. All this is to blame for the Chinese officer named Yang Longfei. For him, at the juncture when he has entered middle age, it is not only his misfortune but also his great luck to meet a young but energetic opponent. Being able to fight such an enemy, although it is inevitable to be exhausted, but Lieutenant General Yoshizumi Ryosuke feels that it is worth it.

Ryosuke Yoshizumi slowly closed the copy of The Tale of Genji, which he had held upside down on the table, and muttered to himself.

"Tomorrow will be our decisive battle, Yoshizumi vows that he will fulfill his promise, and the contemptible will personally cut off your head and make a specimen. As a token of apology, I will also bury you with the highest standard of etiquette, and I have to say that you are a Chinese officer who can be admired by Yoshizumi from the bottom of his heart. But you are no match for me, I will use this saber that symbolizes the glory of the Yoshizumi family to end your life, and in order to avoid a great opponent on the battlefield in the future, you must die! Yoshizumi Ryosuke said as he silently picked up the *, a symbol of family honor and status, from a pair of display shelves made of antlers.

With that, he threw out the scabbard suddenly, tilted the blade to 45 degrees, and slashed at a blue and white porcelain vase from an official kiln of the Ming Dynasty in front of him......

Just heard the sound of "pop", and the precious porcelain vase, which was worthless in the eyes of Yoshizumi Ryosuke, was instantly split into pieces. Ryosuke Yoshizumi caressed the blade and blade of this saber like a baby, and a hideous smile condensed on his face.