Chapter 724: Motion to Move the Capital

The 11-day battle to defend Nanjing, which ended with the loss of more than 600 Japanese planes, the annihilation of one air force, and the defeat of two fleets on the mainland, finally came to an end.

Of course, he would not fully believe the battle reports sent by Tang Qiuli every day, and the generals and agents of the Military Command Bureau who fought in Nanjing obtained a large amount of first-hand information, and they were by no means optimistic, perhaps the generals on the front line deliberately exaggerated the fierceness of the battle, created an image of bravery and good fighting for themselves, expressed their determination to be loyal to the leader, and made capital for their future promotions.

Perhaps the agents of the Military Command Bureau were laymen, and what they saw were shells and bullets flying all over the sky, corpses with missing arms and legs, wounded soldiers groaning in pain, and Japanese planes in the air, spitting tongues of fire and dropping bombs.

Objectively, it seems that Tang Qiuli's war report is more truthful, and it also strengthens Chairman Chiang's determination to move the capital. I'm afraid it's not that simple.

There was something in his heart, Chairman Jiang's suspicious mistake was committed again, he broke it open, crumpled and analyzed, and did not understand, Tang Qiuli's intention to pay out of his own pocket to reward the soldiers of the Central Army, however, he was sure of one thing, Tang Qiuli would never take refuge in the Japanese, just with the lives of hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers in his hands, the Japanese would never tolerate him, the two sides were mortal enemies, and the two sides would not shake hands and make peace, even if the Japanese military high-level had this intention, the generals on the front line would not agree.

These are all small things, the relocation of the capital is a big matter, all the staff and senior generals were gathered, discussed for a few days in a row, but they did not make up their minds, the staff and senior generals, each with their own opinions and ideas, there are different opinions, and some people even mentioned that they moved the capital to Nanning, Guangxi, which provoked Chairman Jiang's gloomy eyes, and he pouted fiercely, and the person immediately shut up, regretting that he almost slapped himself in the mouth.

This sentence touched Chairman Jiang's taboo, Nanning is the territory of Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi of the new Gui lineage, and when he got there, he was not controlled by others, and gave Li Bai and the two of them the opportunity to "coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes" out of thin air, Chairman Jiang can't forget the several times that Li Bai and the others forced the palace, and the conflicts between the central and local powerful factions, Li Bai and the two of the new Gui department did not do much tricks, just by virtue of these few words, Chairman Jiang will identify himself as a person from the new Gui family, and the possibility of mixing around the old man in the future is slim, sure enough, at the second meeting, The man had disappeared and was sent far away to the northwest to deal with the five horses in the northwest.

The discussion was fruitless, and his subordinates had their own opinions, each with their own plans, and regarded themselves as strange goods to live in, Chairman Chiang was upset and tempered, and he was about to be forced to leave Nanjing, loosening the money bag of Shanghai, and it was impossible to say that Chairman Chiang was not distressed and flesh aching, and he hated the Japanese more and more in his heart, and there were no Orientals to make trouble, and he sat firmly in Jinling City, commanding the whole country, where did so much trouble come from.

But the next step is to settle down there, Chairman Chiang really has no idea, it is not as good as Nanjing, or Yang Yongtai, secretary general of the Military Commission, reminded him that on such a major matter as preparing to move the capital, Tang Qiuli cannot be bypassed, and he has now become the backbone of the resistance to the Japanese, so he might as well consult his opinion, see what he says, and then decide how to go next, and also convene a meeting of the entire Central Committee of the Kuomintang during the extraordinary period to discuss matters related to the relocation of the capital, this is a necessary procedure, otherwise, Chairman Chiang will be alone and move to a different place. It wasn't that he had lost his old book, Chairman Jiang woke up like a dream, secretly scolded himself for being confused, and did not need a secretary, and personally drafted the telegram.

What Tang Qiuli is holding in his hand now is an urgent telegram sent by Chairman Chiang from Wuhan, inviting him to rush to Wuhan to discuss the country's plans; although the telegram does not clearly explain what is going on, and the words are vague and vague, Tang Qiuli still smells the smell of it, and the smoke and flames of war over Nanjing and the crazy practices of the Japanese have frightened Chairman Chiang, and he is ready to find another place to stay, and he wants to help him make up his own mind and where to go.

Just when Tang Qiuli was preparing to go to Wuhan, the war in the Songhu area broke out again, and the Nanjing Dispatch Army, which had been renamed from the reserve unit of the North China Dispatch Army, finally arrived at the outskirts of Shanghai after more than 10 days of turbulence on the sea.

The rest of the unarmed transport ships were unarmed, but they were badly unlucky, and after indiscriminately strafing and bombing, they used up all the machine gun bullets and threw all the bombs, and then they flew away, and the sea was full of burning Japanese ships and transport ships, and the corpses of Japanese infantrymen floated on the sea, and went away with the waves, attracting a large number of sharks to follow, and regarded this as a rare feast.

The Japanese army units that did not have the cover of sea and air firepower, after suffering losses, did not know for what reason, they still rushed to land on the beach outside Shanghai, and with less than 100,000 troops, fiercely attacked the defense line of Zhang Zhizhong's Songhu Theater, and the battle of Shanghai broke out again, and Zhang Zhizhong's troops guarding Shanghai had nearly 300,000 troops, and there were carefully built permanent fortifications, so as to wait for work.

The Japanese attack was fiercely counterattacked by the defenders at the beginning, and the overwhelming artillery fire covered the beachhead, and Gao Zhihang's destroyer troops, when they flew over the battlefield for the second time, the Japanese army was already pressed by artillery fire on the beach and could not raise their heads.

In the evening, the Japanese army was overwhelmed, the beachhead could not gain a foothold, and pieces of corpses were left, so they had to retreat to the transport ships on the sea, and the Japanese commander, who was sad and did not know how to make a big deal tomorrow, received an order from the base camp, gave up attacking the positions on the outskirts of Shanghai, and immediately transferred to Taiwan to rest and recuperate.

Regarding this inconspicuous battle in the eight-year-long Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese military circles, especially the army, had a lot of slander against Emperor Hirohito, and after the complete failure of the plan to bomb Nanjing, this army should immediately stop the task of attacking the Songhu area.

In the end, the troops who were able to retreat to Taiwan were only two-thirds of the original force, but they were only half a day of fighting, and more than 40,000 loyal and brave imperial soldiers died in the outskirts of Shanghai in China, for the sake of Emperor Hirohito's so-called dignity, and the consequences of irrational orders, all of which were borne by ordinary Japanese soldiers.

The small-scale Songhu Campaign lasted less than a day, and General Zhang Zhizhong's troops in the Songhu Theater let the Japanese army flee in a crushing defeat without much effort, and Tang Qiuli also used the excuse of rectifying Nanjing's defense and was unable to rush to Wuhan for the time being.

The sound of gunfire on the Songhu battlefield was less than a day, but it made Chairman Chiang more determined to move the capital, the ancients said: "A gentleman does not perform in danger," not to mention that the lord of his own country, how could he be under the guns of the Japanese, and sent several urgent telegrams, urging Tang Qiuli to rush to Wuhan to prepare for the extraordinary meeting of all the Central Committee members of the Kuomintang. Where is the best place to go.

On the morning of 21 June, Tang Qiuli took Mei Xue, Shanhu, and dozens of special guards to board a gunboat from Nanjing, traced the Yangtze River, and arrived in Wuhan in the evening of the same day, and landed at the Jianghanguan wharf.

On the huge banner, the words "Warmly Welcome Vice Chairman Tang to Wuhan" were extremely conspicuous under the bright daylight light, and many high-ranking members of the state government, important generals, and veterans of the Kuomintang all came to the wharf to greet them in person, and there were no less than several hundred reporters, and there were even many celebrities and noblewomen dressed up in fancy clothes and jewels, and the fragrance was permeated, adding a lot of spring to the welcoming ceremony.

The welcoming scene, presided over by Yang Yongtai, secretary general of the Military Commission of the National Government and chairman of the National People's Congress, was guarded by Yang Yongtai, the standard of protection was so high that Tang Qiuli expected, along the wharf to the shore, the armed gendarmes had blocked all the roads nearby, and all those who entered the welcoming scene must have a special pass, otherwise, the gendarmes could kill them on the spot. Keep an eye on all suspicious people.

Tang Qiuli hadn't gotten off the gunboat yet, and through the glass window, he saw the grand scene, and shook his head secretly, Chairman Jiang would spare no effort to greet those who wanted to take advantage of it, thinking that at the beginning, the Northeast Army changed banners, and Zhang Xueliang was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of the national army, navy and air, and when he arrived in Nanjing, the welcoming scene must be even more grand than now, right?

(To be continued)