In Tokyo, Japan, an autumn rain has swept away, the temperature has dropped a little, the streets are in a hurry, and the trams are constantly tinkling. The Army Headquarters building in the heart of the city, which is as busy as ever. At present, the war in the Far East has entered a critical stage, and every day it receives snowflakes of front-line battle reports, and the sound of radio and telephone calls is endless.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the operator received another telegram from Shanghai, which was jointly signed by General Matsui Ishine and King Hatohiko of the East China Front.

The officer on duty sent the telegram to the head of the Army Headquarters, layer by layer. After reading it, he did not hesitate to give an affirmative reply and report it to the Supreme Command for a final decision.

In addition to the necessary supply of guns and ammunition for hundreds of thousands of troops, there are also many needs for firepower reinforcement, including more than 700 artillery anti-aircraft guns including 240mm * guns, 150mm cannons and other heavy guns, more than 2,000 rapid-fire guns, infantry guns, mortars and grenadiers, and 300 combat vehicles and armored vehicles.

In addition to these, the most striking was the proposal of the Japanese Tenth Army and its subordinate units to use mustard gas and other poison gas bombs during the attack on Nanjing. Although this was a clear violation of the rules of war, the High Command immediately approved it.

Everyone in the military department knew that after the capture of Suzhou, the East China Front of the Japanese Army issued the highest operational order, and it was necessary to take Nanjing in one go. Considering the construction of strong fortifications in Nanjing, the Japanese army expanded the existing divisions by force. They recruited thousands of artillery pieces from their homeland or from other units. It is necessary to use absolute superiority in forces and firepower to directly press down from the tens of thousands of broken troops of the Nationalist army in Nanjing on three sides.

However, at this time, the troops guarding Nanjing were only the remnants of a few hundred thousand people, and a large number of troops were temporarily recruited. Despite this, they were able to hold the line and maximize the damage to the Japanese troops in the face of the Japanese army's frenzied attacks, which caused a headache for Matsui and the Japanese military leadership.

In contrast, Germany, which is also a partner, is in full swing in Europe, and the commander of the armored division of Nazi Germany has already entered the city of Moscow and will take Moscow in the near future, while the Japanese side has been fighting with a weak country for several years and still has not brought it to its knees. In this regard, Matsui Shigen boasted that he wanted to take Nanjing before New Year's Day and New Year's Day.

Seeing the huge casualties suffered by the waves of army attacks, Matsui Ishine and Hatohiko decided that after taking Nanjing, they must wash the city in blood to deter other Chinese and force them to submit.

Not only Matsui Ishine, but also many lower-ranking Japanese officers believed that as long as there was a bloody enough massacre, it would inevitably have an unprecedented effect on the Chinese.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, a telegram from Tokyo for approval came. Matsui Shigen was proud when he saw it, and he smiled and said to King Hatohiko: "As long as these weapons are all in place, the attack on Nanjing can begin, and I plan to capture Nanjing within three weeks." ”

King Hatohiko nodded and smiled, "The general overestimates the high-level of China. Three weeks is just a worst-case scenario. I believe that before our army launches a full-scale attack, the top of the government in China will be the first to leave Nanjing. The army that left them behind was also terrified and had no fighting spirit, and as soon as the guns rang out, the enemy army would be scattered. Ten days is enough to capture Nanjing! ”

"War is about preparing for the worst." Matsui Ishine was obviously a little unimpressed by King Hatohiko's optimistic estimates, and this member of the imperial family, who was born with a golden key, naturally did not have a deep understanding of war as he did.

"No, no, no, the general is too worried. This is not an optimistic estimate, but a practical plan. King Hatohiko waved his hand and continued, "Does the general know? Wang Jingwei has arrived in Shanghai, and preparations are underway for a new government in China. At present, Shanghai receives a large number of people from the Nanjing government every day. There is a saying among the people of China that 'those who know the times are the best people', and many of their officials have no political beliefs and loyalty at all, and for them, those who know the times are the highest standard of life. So I believe that in this situation, their top brass will definitely disarm and surrender, and even if they don't come here to surrender, they will flee early. Once the top level has no goal, then the balance of war will be tilted to our side. ”

After listening to this analysis of King Hatohiko, Matsui Ishine also nodded in agreement. As someone who has dealt with countless Chinese officials, Matsui knows better than him the faces of those so-called high-level officials, who only care about themselves, and have no national survival and ordinary people in their minds at all.

"If it is really as His Royal Highness the Prince said, the capture of Nanjing will be just around the corner." Matsui Ishone said with a smile.

"At that time, I will stand at the head of Nanjing, overlooking this city that has given birth to countless emperors, and experience the pleasure of conquerors." King Hatohiko laughed.

Matsui Ishone laughed too.

……

While Matsui Shigen and the others were talking about how to attack, as the defensive side, the underground conference room where the Nanjing Ministry of National Defense was located was brightly lit, and Huang Ke, General Cui Wu, commander of the Nanjing Campaign, Xu Shaozhou, minister of the Air Force, Jiang Zhongzheng, minister of the army, and He Yingqin of the General Staff Headquarters were discussing the next deployment in the conference room.

"Intelligence shows that the Japanese offensive forces are divided into two directions: the eastern front and the southern front. Advancing along the Taihu Lake to the east were the 3rd, 9th, 13th, and 16th Divisions of the Shanghai Dispatch Army of King Hatohiko, and the 11th Brigade of the 11th Division. Advancing from the south were the 8th Division, the 114th Division, the 6th Division, the 5th Division, and the 9th Brigade of the 9th Army of Lieutenant General Heisuke Yanagawa Heisuke. ”

"At present, the Japanese army has a total of 6 divisions, 1 brigade, 2 independent field heavy artillery brigades, 3 field heavy artillery, siege heavy artillery wings, 7 siege heavy artillery brigades, 1 heavy mortar artillery brigade, 1 heavy artillery squadron, 16 anti-aircraft artillery teams and 3 reserve mountain artillery teams, 21 independent automobile teams and other support units, totaling 300,000 people."

The chiefs of staff on duty introduced the various situations ahead, and the senior generals below listened intently to various reports. The comparison between the enemy and us is clear at a glance, the Japanese army is strong and strong, and the remnants of our army are defeated, and the difficulty of this battle is not ordinary.

After listening to the report of the chief of operational staff, Huang Ke glanced around and stabbed the senior generals with his eyes. All of them lowered their heads, not daring to express their opinions in this easy.

"Let's talk about it, what do you all think about this battle?" Huang Ke put down the teacup in his hand and said lightly.

No one spoke, because the results at the moment were obvious: the disparity between the enemy and us was great, the enemy was strong and we were weak, the enemy was outnumbered, the guns were inferior to the people, the artillery was inferior to the people, the logistics were inferior to the people, and the training was not as good as the people......

But Huang Ke insisted on going his own way again and decided to stick to Nanjing, what else could they say at this time?

Seeing that no one answered, Huang Ke picked up the teacup again, leaned back and said, "Chief of Staff He, say it, you, the chief of the General Staff, should say your opinion." ”

Seeing that Huang Ke ordered his general, He Yingqin knew that it was not good to say it. He glanced at Jiang Zhongzheng next to him, leaned forward again, and said seriously after thinking about it: "Just now, everyone has also seen the comparison of the forces of China and Japan, and there is no need for me to introduce it." After the Japanese army captured Suzhou, it could complete the maneuver along the Yangtze River and favorable water and land communication routes such as the Shanghai-Nanjing and Beijing-Hangzhou national highways. Next, it became obvious that the Japanese army could not only blockade Nanjing from the river, but also cut off the lines of communication in our rear by land or from Wuhu, and then attack Nanjing by land, sea and air forces. This is not an estimate, the Japanese army is already doing this. It's not that I'm overly pessimistic, to be honest, Nanjing can't be defended. ”

Everyone didn't expect He Yingqin to point out this result so directly, but since the meeting was discussed, it was inevitable that he would say whatever he thought, so from this point of view, He Yingqin's statement was not too novel.

Huang Ke nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"As the chief of the General Staff, I must tell you the truth, that is, our army suffered too much loss in the Battle of Shanghai, and after a chaotic long-distance retreat in the Battle of Suzhou, at least half of our troops have no combat effectiveness. I know that these units will not be able to regain their combat effectiveness until they have undergone a long period of replenishment and training in the rear, and there is no point in continuing to fight in this way, and it will only consume a large number of troops. ”

"But Nanjing is the capital, and our army will give up without any resistance, whether it is the impact of the war or the subsequent battles, it is not advantageous. Therefore, I suggest that we should symbolically defend the defense of Nanjing, and then take the initiative to retreat and retreat a large number of troops to the next line for rest, so that we can fully coordinate our forces. From this point of view, the strength of the defense of Nanjing should be the most suitable for 15 regiments and tens of thousands of troops, after all, too many troops are not conducive to mobility, and they will not be able to withdraw when the time comes. ”

After He Yingqin finished speaking, the other senior generals began to mumble in a low voice. Without a doubt, this is the most ideal approach.

Huang Ke glanced at everyone, and his eyes were still piercing everyone like a needle. No one knows why Huang Ke has to stick to Nanjing, and what is the significance of Nanjing? Many staff members told him about the relocation of the capital in the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty, but they were all rejected by Huang Ke one by one, and it seems that no one can change his determination to stick to Nanjing.

After listening to He Yingqin's speech, Huang Ke didn't speak for a long time, he didn't expect that the resistance to defending Nanjing would still be so great? But they all ran away, what should Nanjing do? What about hundreds of thousands of people?

Huang Ke knocked on the table: "Please pay attention, what we are discussing is how to defend Nanjing, not whether to defend it or not." Cui Wu, tell me about it, you are the commander-in-chief of the campaign, tell me your opinion? ”