The two chatted for a while, Zhu Xia took his leave on official business, and after Xu Shijiu returned to the headquarters of the 58th Division, Feng Shengfa was angry with him for the first time and said, "Where did you go?" Leaving the team without permission at this critical juncture? ”

Xu Jiu scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "I got some pork for the brothers to improve the food." ”

"You." Feng Shengfa's anger immediately disappeared by nine points, the salary of the army was just issued yesterday, needless to say, Xu Nineteen must have used his salary to buy pork, and there are few chief officers in the national army like Xu Nineteen who are willing to use their salary to improve the food for the officers and soldiers under his command, and he Feng Shengfa can't do it.

At that moment, Feng Shengfa said again: "Don't take it as an example, forget it this time." ”

"Yes." Xu Jiu stood upright and said, "Master, why are you in such a hurry to find me?" ”

Feng Shengfa sighed and said, "The Command has just ordered that our Seventy-Fourth Army has been transferred from the Third Theater to the Nanjing Garrison Command, which means that we have to stay and live and die with Nanjing." ”

The original chief of staff of the 58th Division has been transferred, the new chief of staff has not yet arrived, and the chief of staff of the division headquarters and several senior staff officers are all newly graduated Lu University members, and their scholarly spirit and business are far from being proficient, so Feng Shengfa is more willing to consult Xu Shijiu, the de facto guard battalion commander, when he has something.

Xu 19 said: "I have already heard Zhu Xia, chief of staff of the 61st Division, say this on the road, in addition to our 74th Army, it seems that there are six or seven more armies, right?" To be honest, this is really a terrible decision, the troops have just been withdrawn from the Songhu battlefield, the recruits have just been added to the ranks, and now they urgently need time to reorganize, and the ordnance has not been replenished, as the mainstay of the veterans' energy and physical strength have also reached the limit, in this case, how much combat effectiveness can be achieved? ”

Feng Shengfa was silent and didn't speak, how could he not know this?

"Frankly speaking, Nanjing cannot be held at all, even if all the 80-odd divisions left behind are left in Nanjing, they will not be able to hold it, and if Nanjing can be held, we will be able to withstand the Japanese attack on the two defense lines of Wufu and Xicheng." Xu Shijiu continued, "Therefore, it is neither necessary nor wise to leave so many troops to defend Nanjing. ”

Feng Shengfa sighed and said gloomily, "These are not things we can decide. ”

"Well, since you have to defend it, Nanjing can still be defended after all." Xu Shijiu nodded, and said, "But what I'm most worried about is that at a critical juncture, Chairman Jiang will give us another salary, and at that time, not only will Nanjing fall quickly, but the dozen or so divisions left behind in Nanjing will also die without a place to be buried." ”

"Draw a salary from the bottom of the kettle?" Feng Shengfa said awe-inspiringly, "Ah Jiu, what do you mean by this?" ”

Xu Shijiu shook his head and said, "Master, it seems that you still lack enough understanding of Chairman Jiang." ”

Feng Shengfa frowned and said, "You kid, don't speak yin and yang, if you have anything to say, just say it." ”

Xu Shijiu said: "Division, let's put it this way, Nanjing is actually not undefendable, the outer fortifications are still solid, as long as the peripheral divisions can hold the determination to die, the divisions in the city will rely on the city wall fortifications and even the street buildings to fight with the Japanese army, there is still a lot to do, even if Nanjing Zuihou falls, it is bound to cause great casualties to the Japanese army." ”

Feng Shengfa said: "I think so too, and I believe that the command also thinks so." ”

Xu Shijiu said: "But I'm afraid that when the time comes, Chairman Jiang will pat his head and change his mind again, and the example of the Battle of Songhu has already been placed there, if it weren't for Chairman Jiang temporarily changing the decision of the General Staff several times, how could the war situation be so unbearable?" Not to mention anything else, just say that after the Japanese army landed at Jinshanwei, if it were not for Chairman Chiang's order to change day by day, if our army could have retreated decisively, how could the defense line of Wufu and Xicheng be lost so quickly, and how could the Battle of Songhu be so defeated? ”

Feng Shengfa said: "Ah Jiu, the Battle of Nanjing is different from the Battle of Songhu. ”

"Same." Xu Shijiu said categorically, "Division, or we make a bet, I bet that the outer fortifications will not last for three days, and once the peripheral fortifications are lost and the dozen or so divisions left behind in Nanjing are in danger of being completely annihilated, Chairman Jiang will inevitably order a breakthrough, and then the morale of the army will be in chaos, and the battle situation will definitely take a sharp turn!" ”

Feng Shengfa said: "What you said is a bit arbitrary. ”

"Arbitrary? No, not at all. Xu 19 pursed his lips and sneered, "Chairman Jiang's style has always been like this, of course he wants to defend Nanjing, the capital, and where Sun Dacang's mausoleum is located, but he may not be willing to pay more than a dozen elite divisions for Nanjing, once the battle situation is not smooth, it is completely possible to change the decision temporarily, this, to say that it is better to say that it is the first rat at both ends, indecisive, and to say that it is difficult to say that it is called both wanting to be a bitch and building a memorial arch......"

"Presumptuous!" Feng Shengfa was furious and shouted, "Watch your words!

Xu Shijiu immediately closed his mouth, he was a little smooth just now, Feng Shengfa valued him right, but no matter what, he was a student from the Whampoa Military Academy after all, and his respect for Principal Jiang had been integrated into his bone marrow, how could he tolerate Xu Shijiu so wantonly slandering the supreme Principal Jiang in his mind?

Feng Shengfa quickly suppressed his anger again, stepped forward and patted Xu Shijiu's shoulder, and said earnestly: "Ah Jiu, your concept should really be adjusted and adjusted, let him go after some things have passed, why bother?" If you can change your attitude towards leadership, you will soon be promoted

Xu Shijiu smiled and said: "Thanks to the master's seat and the important task of entrusting the leader of the 19th Independent Brigade, the humble position is already very satisfied, not to mention that the ambition is not old, how can it be humbled to kill the enemy?" ”

Feng Shengfa could only sigh, Xu Shijiu's dissatisfaction or prejudice against Chairman Jiang had been integrated into the bone marrow, just as his Feng Shengfa's reverence for Chairman Jiang had been integrated into his blood, and there was no way to change this over time, but fortunately, Xu Shijiu still took the overall situation into account and understood the general situation, and did not do anything to destroy the Great Wall because of personal feelings.

At that moment, Feng Shengfa changed the topic and said: "It's okay if this bet is not fought, let's talk about business first, I came to you to discuss with you, how to adjust the mentality of the officers and soldiers of the division as much as possible, at the moment the officers and soldiers of the whole division are full of complaints, if this problem is not solved well, morale and fighting spirit will be lost." ”

Xu Jiujiu also quickly got rid of the unpleasantness just now, and suggested: "If you want to adjust the mentality of the officers and soldiers of the whole division, you must first let them eat and sleep well, and if possible, transfer a few opera troupes to come over and sing a few church meetings for them

Feng Shengfa's heart moved slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "You mean...... Will the mourning soldiers win? ”

"Yes, the mourning soldiers will win." Xu 19 said, "The land is lost, the compatriots are humiliated, as long as they are people, they will have a sense of humiliation, Nanjing is the capital of the Central Chinese Army, and the loss of Nanjing is a great shame for the Central Fujian State and the Chinese nation. ”

Feng Shengfa thought so, and asked again: "If I leave this matter to you, can you handle it?" ”

"The lowly duty must do everything in his power to do this." Xu Shijiu paused, then looked at Feng Shengfa and said very seriously, "But Master, there is something I have to remind you that there is a premise for jī to encourage the mourning soldiers, and the premise is that the senior generals can take responsibility for themselves, once the senior generals take the lead in escaping, the mourning soldiers will collapse faster than imagined!" ”

Feng Shengfa said solemnly: "I don't dare to say what others do, but I, Feng Shengfa, as long as the leader does not give an order, I will never take half a step back and swear to live and die with Nanjing."

Xu Jiu sighed in his heart, I was afraid that your leader would give an order when the time came, but with the dispute just now, Xu Jiu finally didn't say it again.

Back at the station of the 19th Brigade, Xu 19 called Shu Tongwen to him.

"Tongwen, I know you are not eloquent, I heard that you used to be able to cry when you gave a speech at Peking University, and now I will give you a task."

"Captain, what kind of mission do you say?" Shu Tongwen puffed up his chest, Xu Nineteen's words made him feel that he was not a waste, and made him feel that he was still useful to the Nineteenth Brigade.

Xu Shijiu said: "Go to the city of Nanjing, use your eloquence, use your speech to mobilize the people of Nanjing to support the front line, we need a stretcher team, we need a transport team, and we need a condolence group. ”

Shu Tongwen said: "I don't want medals, I want film, and I want a platoon of manpower." ”

"No problem, I'll borrow money to buy you film when the time comes." Xu Shijiu said, "As for manpower, I'll ask Gao Shenxing to take the guard platoon with you, and get a slide projector back by the way." ”

After that, Xu Shijiu called Gao Shenxing in again and asked him to bring the guard platoon into the city with Shu Tongwen.

Gao Shenxing was a little reluctant at first, and said, "Captain, can you change to another platoon?" ”

Xu Shijiu glanced at Gao Shenxing, of course he knew Gao Shenxing's knot, the last time he reunited with Jiaxi, when the two made love in the straw stack, she once said that Yao Nianci was the number one courtesan in Diaoyu Lane's "Cuixi Building", Gao Shenxing was obviously a sad person, and it was completely understandable that he was unwilling to return to the sad place again.

However, Xu Jiu hoped that Gao Shenxing could untie the knot, although Gao Shenxing hid it well, and it seemed to be nothing on the surface, Xu Jiujiu could still feel that Yao Nianci was very important in his heart, and said at the moment: "Shen Xing, this is not like your style, you are not afraid of death and are you afraid of a woman?"

"Captain, you're not very clever." Gao Shenxing pursed his lips and said, "But since you have said so, it seems that it is not possible for me not to go on this trip." With that, Gao Shen stood up and saluted Xu Shijiu, then turned around and strode out of the barracks.