In the wee hours of the morning, fine snow fell.

The fine snow is like sprinkling salt in the air, embellishing the south of the Yangtze River like an ancient ink painting. For the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, this snow is not the heaviest in decades, but it is undoubtedly the coldest.

The cold wind was cold, but the battle situation in front of him was even colder than this cold wind.

Li Zongren, commander-in-chief of the Eastern Theater of Operations, put on a wool-collared general's tweed coat and walked out of his residence in Nanjing, and the guards followed behind with some simple luggage.

At the gate of the compound, a convoy of green Yellow River jeeps was ready, and a group of officers and soldiers wearing tweed coats and armed belts stood in the wind and snow.

Li Zongren knew that these must be security personnel. When he was about to get to the front of the car, a neatly draped major stepped forward to open the car door for Li Zongren.

Li Zongren glanced up at him, felt a little embarrassed, and asked, "Are you?" ”

The major said uprightly: "Report, I am Li Haisheng of the Security Department of the Ministry of National Defense, and I have come to escort you to your post on the order of my superiors." ”

Li Zongren nodded, this must be what Huang Ke meant, the security work of the theater commander is generally the responsibility of the security bureau of the theater command under his jurisdiction. This time, he took over from Zhang Zhizhong, because the matter was hasty, and the Eastern Theater Command was located in Suzhou, so it was not easy to mobilize guards to escort him to take office.

In desperation, the guards had no choice but to mobilize personnel and vehicles from the troops stationed near Nanjing. The dispatch of personnel from the Security Department of the Ministry of National Defense to take charge of the security work shows Huang Ke's concern for his trip.

"Hmmm! Great work. Li Zongren nodded at Li Haisheng, and then got into the car, and the others entered the car in turn. The vehicle started, the convoy lined up in a long shape and drove forward, after going out of the central gate, the convoy began to speed up, and the Yellow River brand jeep with snow chains ran fast in the snow, and the guard Li Haisheng looked at the surrounding road signs and was surprised, because this road is not taken to Suzhou.

He saw that Li Zongren had already leaned on the car and closed his eyes to recuperate, and he couldn't help but get nervous.

"Where are you going?" Li Haisheng asked the driver.

"Oh, it's fine. Let's go to the Jiangyin defense line first, and then go to Suzhou. Li Zongren opened his eyes and said to Li Haisheng.

Li Haisheng was a little puzzled, but he was only in charge of the guards, so naturally he had no right to ask.

Ordered in danger, Li Zongren was very aware of the weight on his shoulders. Just as Huang Ke said to him before he took office: "Your front is related to the safety of Nanjing and half of China, and the burden is very heavy, but you have to carry it." ”

After receiving orders from the Central Special Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, Li Zongren decided not to take up his post in Suzhou first, but to inspect the Jiangyin defense line first.

Zhang Zhizhong was transferred out of the Eastern Theater due to health reasons, and Li Zongren took his place. This order is a little surprising for Zhang Zhizhong, who is preparing for the bloody battle in Suzhou, after thinking about it carefully, he understands it thoroughly, although he fought hard in Shanghai, but after all, he lost it, and now Suzhou is also facing this situation, if Suzhou is lost, the door of Nanjing is wide open, for the sake of insurance, it is also a wise move to change generals at this time, and the troops involved in this battle are mostly Guiren, in order to boost morale, it is more appropriate for Li Zongren to come.

However, he was still a little reluctant to give up after all, and before he took office, he said to Li Zongren on the phone: "Brother Delin, please leave it to you on the eastern front, Suzhou is the top priority!" ”

Li Zongren naturally answered firmly, and his actions were also firm.

Suzhou is the location of the former Songhu Theater Command and the current Eastern Theater Command, and its location is naturally extraordinary. After inspecting the Jiangyin defense line, Li Zongren drove to Suzhou overnight.

At this time, Suzhou had completely entered a state of war, and when General Zhang Zhizhong was the commander before, he had already carried out war preparations in the city. All police stations, military academies, and militia regiments in the city have been militarized and ready for war, and all personnel have been issued Hanyang-style rifles and bullets, and company platoons have also been issued with corresponding light machine guns. The enthusiasm of the citizens for the war of resistance was even higher, the merchants and gentry donated money and materials generously, the common people had money and contributed powerfully, and even the nuns in the nunnery bought their own sewing machines to make cotton clothes for the soldiers on the front line.

At the same time, defense preparations in the city are in full swing.

According to Huang Ke's previous requirements, if the battle of Suzhou fails on the periphery, it is necessary to be prepared to enter the city to fight street battles. Based on this requirement, when General Zhang Zhizhong was in office, he ordered the urban area of Suzhou to strengthen preparations for street fighting.

The municipal government mobilized the people of the whole city to participate in it, and hundreds of people pushed small cars and shouted the number to build Suzhou into a strong city. In less than a week, sandbags were piled up on the streets of Suzhou, and the buildings on both sides of the streets were reinforced, as well as reserved shooting holes. In some important military and political departments, not only sandbag fortifications were piled up, but also barbed wire and horses were rejected; In addition, a lot of grain and ammunition reserve warehouses and underground fortifications were reserved in the urban area, and a large number of war materials were transported to Suzhou.

In the literary and artistic circles, many stars led by film directors and stars Zheng Junli and Zhao Dan went to Suzhou and Changshu to volunteer, and they performed their own rehearsals of the Anti-Japanese War drama "Put Down Your Whip", "Poison", "Defending Shanghai" and other plays, which inspired the military and civilians.

After all this was done, the city government mobilized the citizens to move westward, and as the westward trains started, the people began to move from Suzhou City to the resettlement area near Nanjing, leaving only the people and soldiers who stood in the city.

After inspecting the defense of the Jiangyin fortress, Li Zongren drove straight to Suzhou. These were two important nodes of the Japanese attack, one held the Yangtze River, and the other controlled the land, so the strategic location was naturally crucial.

After Li Zongren arrived in Suzhou, he met with Zhang Yilu, Li Gengen, Li Liejun, and others who stayed here. On the same day, all walks of life in Suzhou held a welcoming meeting in Zhongshan Hall, and Li Zongren knew that time was precious, and after delivering a brief speech on the War of Resistance Against Japan, he went straight to the headquarters to hold a military meeting to listen to the report on the current war situation.

The commanders of several group armies and the senior operational staff officers of the headquarters gathered together, and Li Zongren first listened to the battle reports from the front, and yesterday the Japanese Sixth Division and the Ninth Division had already set out from Kunshan and began to attack along the route to the west. The 13th Division of the Japanese Army, which was responsible for attacking Suzhou, had captured Liuhe Town, Taicang had been lost, and the situation was very serious.

Li Zongren looked at the atmosphere of the crowd and knew that it was time to cheer up, so he generously said: "The Ministry of Defense of Suzhou World War I gave us great support, and the Air Force sent planes from Hangzhou and other places to Suzhou, and at the same time, the Air Force stationed in Nanjing also deployed many planes to support the front line. This is Lieutenant Colonel Fu Guoqiang of the 32nd Brigade of the Air Force. ”

As he spoke, Fu Guoqiang, who was standing in the back row, was saluting the people around him, and the officers burst into sparse applause.

Li Zongren stretched out his hand and pressed it: "I just came from the Jiangyin defense line, and the situation there is not optimistic, the Japanese army is stationed tens of thousands of troops in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and even the old-fashioned Krupp cannons on the Jiangyin defense line are pulled out and used." The soldier in charge of guarding the Jiangyin defense line said, 'People are in the city'! I also make a military order here today, and I am in the city! ”

……

Fighting on the periphery was already raging, with the Japanese inflicting heavy casualties at every step of the attack, but on the whole they were still advancing.

Matsui Ishone, commander of the East China Dispatch Army, together with Yoshizumi Ryosuke, commander of the Ninth Division, and a group of senior staff officers stood in Kunshan, which had just been occupied, and looked out over the Chinese land under their feet.

They were so interested not for anything else, but to accompany King Hatohiko, a member of the royal family who had just arrived in China.

This general, a relative of the emperor, was warlike and well-versed in military affairs since childhood, and although he was weak and delicate on the outside, he was extremely cruel on the inside. As soon as he arrived at the Chinese battlefield, he shot and killed several Chinese civilians passing by on the side of the road, and in his opinion, the lives of ordinary Japanese people were like ants, let alone the people in the occupied areas?

This group of senior generals stood on the high slopes of the south of the Yangtze River in China, trampling on this red earth with calfskin boots.

King Hatohiko raised his binoculars, and a cloud of smoke rose from the village in the distance, and he frowned and said in surprise: "How can there be smoke there?" Could it be that there are still remnants of the Shina army that have not been wiped out? ”

The commander of the 16th Division, Nakajima Imago smiled and said, "Your Royal Highness, it was the soldiers of the empire doing a picnic in a village. ”

Gu Shoufu, the commander of the Sixth Division, also laughed and said: "The people of China are very cunning, they always hide chickens and ducks in the house. The soldiers of the Imperial Army had no choice but to burn down their houses so that they could be with the chickens and ducks. Ha ha. ”

"Haha......" The senior generals laughed.

King Hatohiko of the Asaka Palace also laughed, and he raised his binoculars to look in the direction of the village, and in the binoculars he saw several Japanese soldiers chasing a young girl, whose clothes seemed to be torn, and she was running in great terror, and several Japanese soldiers surrounded her as if they were a prey.

King Hatohiko of Asaka Palace became excited when he saw this, and he shouted, "Catch her!" Get her! ”

The girl panicked, and in a desperate situation, she crashed headlong into a stone monument not far away, and then collapsed.

"It's just a little bit, if the soldier in the back is faster, she won't be able to escape!" King Hatohiko of the Asaka Palace said with some annoyance.

He continued to observe with his binoculars, only to see several Japanese soldiers surrounding the dead girl, as if they were scolding in annoyance. They seemed to have taken their anger out on the other villagers, who took their bayonets up and stabbed them at them......

Seeing this, King Hatohiko of the Asaka Palace smiled with satisfaction.

Matsui Shigen put down the binoculars and said to King Hatohiko of the Asahika Palace: "Your Highness, not far ahead is Suzhou City. This is a place where ancient Chinese culture is concentrated, and it must be a beautiful city. ”

"The moon is falling and the sky is full of frost, and Jiang Feng is sleeping. Hanshan Temple outside the city of Gusu, the bell rings in the middle of the night to the passenger ship! Matsui Ishine, who is familiar with Chinese culture, can't help but recite an ancient poem about Suzhou.

King Hatohiko of Asakamiya nodded, he was not familiar with Chinese culture, but his strategy for this battle was very clear: "Yoshizumi-kun, after your ninth division captures Suzhou, you must give the stone tablet engraved with this poem to General Matsui." ”