1-7

Kenichi Ishikawa walked behind the armored vehicles of the 9th Division, passing through the half-collapsed Kohwa Gate, his chest swaying with his steps, his leather boots creaking on the broken bricks, and his mood was extremely complicated.

The dwellings on both sides of the ancient city gate have been beaten to ruins by intensive artillery fire, the charred corpses in the cave are being dragged out and cleaned, and the thousand-year-old ancient city wall is full of bullet marks, leaving dark brown flesh and blood burn marks on the blue bricks. Until a few hours ago, it was in the hands of the Chinese army, who were not affected by the successive storming of the Nanjing city gates, nor did they flinch in the face of the army's heavy artillery and armored vehicles, but fought tooth for tooth until they received the order to retreat.

Since General Matsui Ishine gave the order to the whole army to attack Nanjing, it has only taken ten days to work, and the area around the ancient capital Nanjing has become a bloody Shura field. After three days and nights of fierce fighting, from partial occupation to deep penetration into the urban area, the Central China Front and the 10th Army Corps rushed and fought hard, and the enemy's will to resist was finally completely shattered.

The strategy of attacking the city and attacking the heart formulated by the military department is very effective, and the armistice and persuasion to surrender a few days ago is a fatal blow to the enemy's morale, and the ancient Chinese art of war has long been explained, and in the case of the first line of life and death, pressing forward step by step will only make the enemy hate the enemy and fight against the enemy. Where there is a glimmer of life, disintegration will inexorably begin to take root from within the enemy.

As expected, Tang Shengzhi, the enemy's military chief, refused the army's persuasion to surrender knowing that he would be defeated. Coupled with the siege on three sides, the army deliberately left a life-and-death passage across the Yangtze River in the north when the siege was closed, and the will of the resistance soldiers in the city was gradually disintegrating.

Kenichi Ishikawa has a particularly deep understanding of this war, he is not just a war correspondent, this is just his cover identity, his other identity is an intelligence officer of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consulate in Shanghai, he has lost count of how many times he has been to Nanjing, the army and the special intelligence departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been preparing for the incident in China for many years, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Beiping...... A dense intelligence network has long been weaved, and he is only a small node in this large network.

Yesterday evening, the enemy leader Tang Shengzhi issued a retreat order to the Chinese defenders who were still in Nanjing, "most of them break through the encirclement and a small part cross the river." However, the communications and communications in Nanjing had long been interrupted, and from the intelligence analysis obtained by the informants, the 36th Division of the enemy's troops supervising the battle did not receive this order for a considerable period of time, and the Chinese defenders in Nanjing even exchanged fire in order to retreat. As the saying goes, defeat is like a mountain, and in just a few days, all the enemy's persistence was crushed at this moment.

Nanjing has become an undefended city.

The Central China Front Military Information Department has issued an order, and major Japanese news organizations will announce to the world at 10 o'clock tonight that Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, has been completely occupied by the Japanese army.

Beside him, the soldiers of the Ninth Division, who had been fighting for many days, were ecstatic at this inspiring news, but he could not laugh.

The ancient capital of the Six Dynasties and a cultural resort, Kenichi Ishikawa felt deep regret for the ruins in front of him.

The Army is advancing resolutely without hesitation, and he is about to take up his mission with him.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed the embassy to resume its work as soon as possible after the occupation of Nanjing, in order to pacify the personnel of the embassies, protect their lawful property, and place the citizens of the countries remaining in the city under effective control; At the same time, a detailed report was made on the post-occupation dynamics of the Army in order to respond to international public opinion.

The Army had already occupied Shanghai, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believed that international public opinion on the occupation of Nanjing was under control, but Kenichi Ishikawa believed that the occupation of Nanjing could be a disaster for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The reason for his bad mood was not only the flesh and blood on the battlefield, not long ago, he had just witnessed the execution of hundreds of prisoners of war by the Ninth Division, and according to the feedback of Chinese informants, the military discipline of the troops leading the advanced city was worrying, and his informants, even if they had secret documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were in the same situation as ordinary Chinese people.

The resistance in Nanjing has not been completely cleared, there are still tens of thousands of armed soldiers lurking inside and outside the city, such a huge regular army lurking in the corner of this strange city, is a huge force that is extremely difficult to control, from this point of view, the army's policy of not leaving prisoners and screening the people is not to blame, in the face of the streets full of Chinese corpses, Ishikawa Kenichi can only comfort himself in this way.

In order to cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central China Front sent a military police officer to accompany Ishikawa to the German legation, knowing that the Germans were currently presiding over the so-called "international security zone."

"Your special mission, you will be the first to enter Nanjing with the army, in addition to completing your own mission, you must strive for the understanding and recognition of the international community, and reduce Japan's diplomatic pressure!"

The words of his immediate superior, the Vice Consul of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Shanghai, Tani Hengtaro, are still in my ears.

Japan also had diplomatic personnel in Nanjing, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' routine work did not allow him to be transferred to Nanjing as soon as possible, and his secret mission was to seize time and find a key person in the huge city of Nanjing and the army's intelligence department.

The car bumped all the way, struggling to move forward through the ruins and rubble, the bodies of the war dead floated in the water under the Dazhong Bridge, more than half of the houses on Zhongzheng Road were destroyed by artillery fire, and the burning houses emitted blue-black smoke, and the central shopping mall and Dahua Theater were ...... The once-bustling streets are in ruins.

"Ishikawa-kun, aren't you a war correspondent! There's good material ahead! The gendarmes pointed to the empty streets and said to him.

"What material?"

"After the 36th Wing broke through the Guanghua Gate, it has bravely pursued the enemy north ahead of us, and the German Legation you are going to is exactly on this route."

"Oh?"

"Before leaving, I heard them say that they want to kill all the Nanjing men! Now, it's probably already being executed!"

"The order is just to keep no military prisoners!"

"That's right, but the soldiers are angry now, and they won't show mercy to the enemy!"

"Soldiers don't clash head-on with foreigners, do they?"

Kenichi Ishikawa was at a loss and hoped that victory would not overwhelm them.

"Probably not, the hatred for the Chinese is also fought in the past two days!"

When the car arrived at Nanjing's most famous Xinjiekou Square, the familiar huge ** sculpture was still there, as if a palpitating prophecy, and then drove forward, the car was blocked by its own people, and there was a commotion in front.

What's wrong? Ken Ishikawa picked up his camera and jumped out of the car, picked up the onlookers, and squeezed forward in three steps and two steps.

It is one of Nanjing's most famous entertainment venues, the four-story Xindu Grand Theater, just a stone's throw from the German Legation and the international security zone for foreigners, just across the wide Zhongshan Road.

At this moment, at the entrance of the theater, hundreds of Chinese gathered, different from the customers who watched the theater and entertainment in the past, they were all forced to stay here by the guns of the black hole, and there were Chinese who were pushed into this growing team one after another.

"Which of you are Chinese soldiers, stand up."

The officer leading the line was a major and was ordering the Chinese next to him to translate.

The crowd fell silent.

"You don't have to be afraid, the war is over, and the Japanese need labor to clean up the city. If you stand up now, not only will your lives not be in danger, but you will still be paid two dimes a day! ”

The translator strives to improve the voice.

People looked at each other, hesitant.

"They have many ways to screen soldiers, if you don't stand up now, you will be found in a while, and you will be killed on the spot!"

The interpreter wiped the beads of sweat from his head and repeated the officer's words word by word.

Ishikawa walked up to the group of soldiers who had just finished fighting at Gwanghwamon Gate and held up his camera.

"You, don't take pictures!"

The second brigade of the 36th Wing, it turned out that he was Yamada Kazumitsu, who was famous for his combat bravery.

Ishikawa handed over his credentials, "I have permission from the reporting department. ”

"Don't take pictures!"

Yamada reached out and pushed the document back, repeating with an expressionless face.

Ishikawa had no choice but to put away his camera.

"Don't go out, they're going to kill!"

A faint voice reached Ishikawa's ears.

Anyone understands Japanese? Ishikawa quickly turned his head, and in front of him were more than a hundred roughly similar faces, and he didn't know who was talking just now.

Seeing that no one responded, the translator was anxious, took out a piece of fiat currency from his pocket, pointed to the truck next to him and said, "Brothers, people have guns, we can't beat them, if you want to live, get in the car!" ”

"Phew, traitor!"

Someone in the crowd shouted.

Yamada nodded, his hand on the holster at his waist, and two soldiers went up and dragged the man out.

Ishikawa's heart tightened.

"You're a Chinese soldier!" Yamada is not very fluent in Chinese.

"Lao Tzu Xing will not change his name, he will not change his surname, Liu Yinian, captain of the Training and Administration Department of the 156th Division of the National Revolutionary Army! I hate that I don't have a gun in my hand at this moment, and I can't be loyal to the country! He roared loudly.

Yamada waved his hand and said "send him to the car" in Japanese.

Two soldiers carried Liu Yinian and put him on the truck.

Scolded the Japanese, but was not shot.

This move shook people's will, perhaps, the other party really came to find soldiers to serve hard labor?

The interpreter was sweating profusely and was still persuading, but more and more people came out of the sporadic scene, and the two trucks were almost full.

"Anything else?"

"It seems that those who should have come forward have already stood up, and those who have not come forward probably want to hide it to the end."

Yamada waved his hand, and the soldiers rushed into the crowd and pulled out a dozen or so men, bang, bang, bang, bang a series of gunshots, and these people who were pulled out fell in a pool of blood on the spot, the crowd screamed, and the people who had already gotten into the truck also struggled and cursed.

"These, soldiers!"

Yamada waved his hand again, and the soldiers pulled out another group of people, and they were still shot on the spot, and if there was one who could not be killed immediately, he immediately shot again.

Blood, too much blood pooled along the brick cracks, seeped into the dirt, and soon turned purple-black.

Ishikawa was so shocked that he could no longer consider the international implications of how much international pressure would be on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for such a public execution of disarmed prisoners of war on the street across the street from the Nanjing International Security Zone.

His mind went blank.

"That, Lord Yamada!"

He deliberately used an honorific that a soldier with the rank of junior officer is rarely called Your Excellency by his own people.

Yamada raised an index finger in front of his lips and made a silent gesture, as if something was sealing Ishikawa's mouth.

"He, they, they have steel helmet prints and marks on their heads, they are soldiers."

The translator's voice trembled and stumbled.

The massacre continued, the man with the calloused part of the gun in his right hand was brought out, shot, with a belt on his body, shot, and did not answer questions fluently, shot.

In an instant, dozens of people were already lying on the ground.

The air seemed to freeze, and Ishikawa looked around him, and the gendarmes who came with him frowned.

"This, isn't it ......?"

"Ishikawa-kun, the 36th Wing has suffered heavy losses in Guanghuamen, and the current situation, if they don't work hard to check the remaining soldiers, I'm afraid the situation will not be easy to control." The gendarme whispered.

Ishikawa didn't know what to say, he knew that Yamada Ichimitsu's team had come to retaliate.

This is not a secret, stationed in Guanghuamen is the Chinese army in the all-German-style equipment, the most elite Central Army Military Academy Teaching Corps, this tragic battle, with flesh and blood is not enough to describe, from the army's heavy artillery three days ago to collapse part of the city gate, the two sides engaged in repeated tug-of-hand combat, the army for a long time to attack, once broke into the city gate tunnel, but was burned alive by the enemy's fire. During this period, the enemy's 87th Division and 156th Division were reinforced several times, until they took the initiative to retreat, and the army never took this city gate, which was an unprecedented setback for the 36th Wing since the beginning of the war, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it was a nightmare experience.

The commander of the 1st Brigade of the 36th Wing, Ito Yoshimitsu Shaosa, was killed in this battle, and since entering the Chinese battlefield, the 9th Division has not suffered such a great humiliation.

At this moment, Yamada's team has already killed the red eye, and in this case, any move to stop the slaughter will face the wrath of these soldiers.

Less than half of those who died, plus those who boarded the trucks, remained.

"Also, there's no one to get into."

The translator's legs were too weak to stand.

"Don't worry, translate one more sentence and your mission is done. Shout, shout to them, stand up! Yamada raised his gun and pointed it at the interpreter.

"They lied to ......" The man who had just uttered half a word was shot dead by Yamada himself.

He looked at Ishikawa, Ishikawa was beating a drum in his heart, and the war reporters who accompanied the army also came from the rain of bullets, but at this moment he felt great fear.

If he had to shout those two words himself, would he collapse in the face of these defenseless enemies?

"For the final screening, we're ready to close the line," Yamada said to the soldiers, who confirmed the order, turned around, lined up, and looked like they were about to go.

"Stand upright!"

Yamada suddenly shouted.

It is difficult for a military man who has been trained all year round not to react to this word.

The gunfire continued, and Ishikawa closed his eyes.

A crying voice sounded, "Report, I don't want to die, I, I want to report!" ”

"Please translate it." Yamada walked over and bowed politely.

Ishikawa saw a pale face on the truck.

"He, yes, yes, that's him, he's an officer, yes, yes, I can't forget, his name is Yu Xiaoshu, he fought with you in Shanghai, and he spoke at the city gate yesterday!"

"Isn't it meritorious? I'm just a vegetable seller, you let me go, let me go! Before he could finish speaking, he let out a scream, and a young man beside him bit him on the neck.

"Fuck you, you traitor bastard." There was a mess in the car.

"What did he say about that man?" Yamada turned his ear sideways.

Ishikawa hesitated, not knowing how much Chinese Yamada really understood, and the man named Yu Xiaoshu was also looking at him, but he was very calm.

"Stop! I want to see Tetsuya Kamiyama, the military attache of the Japanese Embassy! ”

A man who looked like a scholar stood up next to Yu Xiaoshu, his voice was a little trembling, but his Japanese was extremely fluent and pure.

"You're Japanese?" Yamada's eyes narrowed.

"I am a classmate of Tetsuya Ueyama Hosei University, my father Liang Chengjie, who studied in Japan in his early years and was a friend of General Yoshizumi Ryosuke! I would like to protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Japanese Army, and to the world what you have done today! ”

I don't know if it's fear or excitement, his whole body trembles.

Yamada had a strange look on his face, but Ishikawa could no longer let him make any out-of-the-ordinary moves, because he heard an extremely crucial name, "Liang Chengjie"!

It's really hard to find nowhere to step on the iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it!

He pressed Yamada's hand as if asking for help, and hurriedly said to the surprised gendarme, "I am a special commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you can verify my identity with the Consul General in Nanjing, please be sure to assist me in my work!" ”

"I, I'm going to report, I, I'm going to sue!"

Liang Liqun's voice was still waving around on the empty Zhongshan Road.