Episode 1 Blitzkrieg! Dawn Attack!

October 4, 1936, 2:00 a.m., D-day, h-.

The long-awaited days have finally arrived.

On the offensive front, which is 400 kilometers from Anqing to Zhenjiang and 350 kilometers from Wuhan to Xiangfan, a total of 800 kilometers wide, 2,300,000 troops, 50,000 artillery pieces, 3,000 tanks, and 2,800 planes have made final preparations.

Under the bright moon, the pitch-black clouds moved at a moderate speed. The tents that used to stretch endlessly have now been put away. Under the snowy moonlight, only countless steel helmets could be seen shaking, reflecting the cold light of metal.

The river wind was fierce, and the national flags, military flags, and trumpet flags of various units were unfurled in the wind, stretching and rolling to their heart's content. On the battalion of the armored division and on the command tanks of each battalion and company, the small triangular flags shook rapidly in the wind, making a "pop" snapping sound, which was extremely crisp.

Today is the nineteenth day of the lunar calendar, but the moon is still round and bright, scattering as much light as possible on the earth.

Even though it was night, there was good visibility. Category 4-5 northerly winds. A bit of a headwind, but not a big problem. Cloudy, but not so much that it affects aircraft operations. It seems that even God is on the side of the attackers.

The officers and men who participated in the front-line offensive have already finished their meals. At the stations of the divisions, the signal corps had also set up all the telephone lines and connected the loudspeakers to the command vehicles at intervals.

The officers and men had dinner at five o'clock yesterday afternoon, and then at six o'clock they were ordered to go to bed and recuperate. Then, at one o'clock in the evening, an hour ago, the wake-up call rang one after another on the 800-kilometre long station.

Now everyone understands what is going to happen. Although the officers and men did not know the scale of this war, nor did they know whether it was a battle or a war that was about to take place, and still less did they know what the strategic objectives of this battle (war) were, this did not prevent each of them from being full of excitement, nervousness, and excitement. They don't have to ask for it at all, they check their weapons, equipment, and ammunition over and over again.

Firearms, bullets on a base, grenades, rations, water bottles, life jackets, gas masks, first aid kits...... Such a large pile of equipment was piled at the feet of each soldier, like a hill. However, with a single command, the soldiers can wear this "hill" on their bodies in the shortest possible time, and they can march, charge, and fight with it.

On October nights, the mist on the riverside was silent. The bushes and grass were covered with dew, and the soldiers' piles of equipment were damp. Although the station of several hundred kilometers was crowded with more than two million people, it was still quiet, except for the countless whispering "buzzing" and "Krakala" of checking equipment, there was still the silence that originally belonged to the night. It's as if nothing will happen after dawn and it will be a normal day again.

……

Nanjing, in the central command hall of the Purple Mountain Fortress, the telephone rang one after another, and the staff officers carried documents back and forth, almost all of them trotted, and everyone seemed to be wound up. From marshals and generals to non-commissioned officers and soldiers, everyone has a common strange feeling, and their blood boils when they think about it-

What happened two hours later will go down in history forever. And I'm getting involved.

Above the giant map on the front wall, a large clock powered by alternating current turns the second hand at a uniform speed. Every 15 minutes after walking, there would be a soft "ding-" sound, and in the central radio above the hall, a soft female voice would say:

"It's 2 o'clock x tick Nanjing time, and there are x hours x ticks left until h o'clock......"

In the interval of "hourly broadcast", the latest situation will be transmitted from time to time in the central broadcast:

“…… The 22nd Army is fully ready and has entered a state of imminent battle...... The 22nd Army is fully ready and has entered a state of imminent battle......"

“…… The 6th Bombardment Aviation Regiment was fully prepared and put into a state of imminent combat...... The 8th Bombardment Aviation Regiment is fully ready and has entered a state of imminent battle......"

“…… The 1st Combat Aviation Regiment was fully prepared and put into a state of imminent combat...... The 1st Combat Aviation Regiment is fully ready and has entered a state of readiness for battle......"

Next to the giant map, on two mobile ladders, four female officers with headsets climbed up and down from time to time, using long poles to move the markers on the map, pushing them to the correct position according to the latest news.

……

The headquarters of the various attacking units were moved to the Purple Mountain Fortress and commanded on the spot. The People's Guard Mobile Brigade, as the main force of the attack, bore the brunt of the attack and became the protagonist in the command.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and the senior officers of the mobile team, as well as the main generals of the other attacking forces, gathered around a huge sand table in the center of the hall, each with a telephone and a dense schedule. The generals commanded their troops at any time according to the schedule arrangement.

On the sand table, several large black arrows are arc-shaped, straight into the north of the Yangtze River. On the big arrow, there are small tank models. Black arrows, representing armored units. On either side and behind the black arrows, there are more blue arrows with models of small military vehicles on them. This stands for motorized rifle divisions.

There was a "ding-" sound in the air over the hall, and everyone looked up at the electric clock. The announcer's voice sounded again:

"It's 2 o'clock in Nanjing time, and there are still two hours to ...... h."

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the timetable in his hand, grabbed the phone, and said:

"Connect to Jinling Broadcasting Company. …… I am Xiang Xiaoqiang, commander of the People's Guard. It was H-2 and I ordered the pre-offensive signal to be broadcast to the territory of the Northern Qing Dynasty. To repeat, I ordered the pre-offensive signal to be broadcast to the territory of the Northern Qing Dynasty. ”

……

The radio silence, which had lasted for 18 hours, was broken. A lone radio wave was emitted from the transmission tower of the Nanjing Broadcasting Building.

In the long dark night of the Northern Qing Dynasty, many radios are still turned on, and the channels are still tuned to the medium-wave programs of the Jinling Broadcasting Company. Although there was no signal for more than ten hours, the owners of those radios still stayed on this channel, fighting spirits, and staying by the radio.

Suddenly, the murmur of "hiss" disappeared, and a clear male voice appeared:

"This is the medium-wave program of Jinling Radio Station, and we are broadcasting to the people in the occupied areas. Here's a special message......"

All the members of the underground organization who were guarding the radio suddenly cheered up, held their breath, and listened with their ears pricked up.

The announcer reads without emotion:

"Listen: the night has given me black eyes, but I use them to find the light......

"I repeat: the night gave me black eyes, but I used them to find the light......

"Repeat: the night gave me black eyes, but I used them to find the light......"

……

No more doubts!

All the underground organization fighters jumped up, and their blood boiled for a moment. They didn't have to wait for the second sentence, they rushed to the place where the weapons and ** were hidden, and armed themselves in an instant. Then he kissed his wife and children goodbye, pushed open the door of the house with tears, and rushed into the boundless darkness.

The verses that I had been waiting for for many days were finally heard! For so many days, this poem has been repeatedly recited in the hearts of the backbone of the underground organization, and it has already been ripe. Just yesterday, they conveyed the meaning of the code to every branch member.

Although they don't know the name of this poem from later generations, they all understand the meaning of this poem, which is: liberation!

……

Soon, explosions sounded one after another in the long area several hundred kilometers north of the Yangtze River defense line.

Telephone poles were blown down one by one. The transformer and distribution box in the open air were blown up. The power equipment "sizzles" sparks, like fireworks at a festival. Telephone line poles were also blown down one by one. On the railway, every other distance, a dark shadow crouched on the ground, struggling to turn the road nail wrench, and soon dragged away a steel rail......

In the towns near the Qing army station, in those brothels of Qinglou, there was also a crisp sound of gunfire, followed by the screams of women......

Today is the weekend, and the officers who came to have fun and sleep in the Qinglou last night were killed one after another in the gentle township.

The fighters of the underground organization have been looking forward to this day for a long time. Although the moment they rushed out of the house with their weapons, many people knew that they would not live until tomorrow morning and would not see the day they had been waiting for for a long time, but they still went out without hesitation.

The three hours before the early hours of October 4, 1936, would have been the three hours with the highest number of casualties.

What guides them is this simple sentence:

The night gave me black eyes, but I used them to find the light.

……

In Beijing, the headquarters of the sticky pole accurately captured the first radio wave that had disappeared for a long time.

Along with the broadcast, there was also a clear call sign in Morse code. Both of them are like obsessed with each other, turning over and over again, and constantly broadcasting the same sentence.

The officer on duty at the sticky pole and the deputy commander on the right looked at this "literary" poem on the telegram paper, pinched his chin fiercely, and felt that his head was a little big, and he was not sure what to do. He hesitated, not knowing whether to call and wake up Deputy Chief Zuo. Under normal circumstances, this should be reported to the highest officer at the sticking rod. But now the highest officer at the sticky pole is the emperor's youngest son, just a six-year-old little brother......

Usually, the things in the sticky rod are decided by the two sub-chiefs on the left and right. However, the relationship between the two deputy ministers is close to political enemies, which is also intentional by Guangwu. It is said that after Nanming Radio was silent for more than ten hours, it suddenly resumed broadcasting, but it only repeatedly broadcast such a strange sentence, although he didn't know what it meant, but a deep sense of foreboding had enveloped his heart. The right deputy chief had the heart to call the left deputy chief's house to wake him up and discuss it with him, but he was afraid that nothing would happen in the end, so he had a false alarm and was laughed at by him.

Wake up the emperor?

This thought only flashed through my mind for a moment, and without leaving a trace, it passed. …… Just woke up the emperor with such a call sign, and that was the brain.

……

3:50 a.m., Purple Mountain Fortress, Nanjing, Central Command Hall.

A powerful command:

"Standing ————"

Suddenly the whole hall fell silent, and all the officers stood up, facing the entrance.

Empress Zhu Yourong walked in.

Although everyone knew that His Majesty would come at this time, and they were already mentally prepared, they still couldn't help the excitement in their chests at this moment. Everyone said in unison according to the rhythm of training:

"See Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yourong also suppressed the excitement in her chest, smiled as peacefully as possible, waved her hand, didn't say anything more, and followed Zhang Zhaoxian, who greeted her, and walked into a broadcasting room behind the senior generals.

The technical officer adjusted the microphone for her and placed it on the microphone stand. Zhu Yourong stood in front of the microphone stand, took the speech, cleared his throat, looked at the technical officer opposite, and waited for his gesture.

……

On the 800-kilometer-long offensive front, the horns on the command vehicles were connected to the transmission lines. Before the war, all speeches were transmitted by wire, first along the telephone line to the various military stations, and then to each command vehicle separately.

At 4:00 a.m., all the troops stationed above the ground echoed the voice of Her Majesty the Empress:

"Soldiers of the Ming Empire! ……”

Soon, waves of cheers rang out from all positions. From Zhenjiang to Anqing, from Wuhan to Xiangfan, the morale of the 2.2 million officers and men rose to the highest peak along the frontal of the offensive of several hundred kilometers, accompanied by incessant cheers.

This time, it is no longer the unbearable and forced to fight back after being bullied by the Qing captives. It is no longer necessary to worry about the safety of one's homeland and the lives of one's family when he comes back after crossing the river to fight the Qing captives.

This time, the issue of purging will be resolved once and for all.

This time, the Central Plains will be set north and the homeland will be recovered.

This time, every corporal, every private, private, will be the same as the general marshal, and will become the one who makes history.

……

In the central command hall of the Purple Mountain Fortress, the hands of the large electric clock have reached 4:59, and the second hand is completing the last few squares.

The vast hall was silent, and all the generals were holding the telephone receivers, their eyes fixed on the clock face.

The entire hall echoed with the quiet voice of Miss Central Broadcasting:

"Ten...... Nine...... Eight...... Seven...... Six...... Five...... Four...... Three...... Two...... One! ”

Zhu Yourong decisively pressed a red button after the last second.

"Ding ————"

A crisp bell rang through the hall, and the whole hall suddenly became noisy, and countless voices commanded into the phone:

"Let's go!"

"Take off!"

"Action!"

"Attack!"

"Forward!"

"Let's go!"

……

At 5 o'clock in the morning on October 4, 1936, the War of Unification began.

The sky roared and deafened. Numerous bombers rose into the air, formed formations, and flew towards their designated targets.

On the front of the attack of Army Group on the right, countless assault boats were pushed into the water by the soldiers, and then sat on them, started their motors, formed a formation on the river, and advanced to the north bank.

On the front of Army Group Left's attack, numerous tanks were launched. The minesweeper tank drove in the front, and the engines roared all over the mountains behind, one after the other, one after another.

The commanders stood triumphantly in the turret, their upper bodies exposed, and with a majestic wave of their right arms, they led the brothers behind them and began to advance.

The largest and densest torrent of steel in the history of human warfare is advancing with unstoppable momentum in the roar of the earth-shattering roar.

At this moment, the earth is trembling, and the sky is trembling.