With the strength of two wings, the Japanese launched an attack on Gao Zhisong's 264th Brigade.

The officers and men of the 264 Brigade stubbornly resisted, and the Japanese army was not to be outdone, roaring and screaming, facing the bullets and grenades fired by the officers and men of the 264 Brigade, launching a death-like charge to the position, and more and more people fell, both from the national army and the Japanese army.

According to the actual situation of the battle, Gao Zhisong adjusted the deployment while thinking, he believed that the light blocking attack could not complete the repulsion of the enemy's attack, and it was necessary to carry out a fierce counterattack, and he could not blindly hold on without attacking.

So, he picked up the phone, gave the order to the regiments to counterattack, and then took the lead, raised his pistol, and shouted: "Brothers, follow me!" ”

Under the leadership of Gao Zhisong, the officers and men of the 264 Brigade bravely slaughtered the enemy position, and launched a tragic and bloody white-knuckle battle with the Japanese army.

When the bayonets were bent, the officers and men threw away their guns and hugged the enemy, fighting and fighting, and many officers and men rolled down the hill with the enemy, and the merit was lost.

In the hand-to-hand encounter, Gao Zhisong's ear was bitten off by the enemy, and the blood flowed, and in the short interval of the battle, he did not care about bandaging the wound, and the ninja said to the officers and soldiers in severe pain: "Brothers, the enemy will come again, we can only rest for a while, and prepare for a more brutal battle." ”

Gao Zhisong asked each regiment to count how many soldiers could participate in the battle now.

The statistical table was sent.

From the time they arrived at Yuhuatai to participate in the blocking battle, the 264 Brigade had nearly 10,000 people, but after two days of hard work, there were only four or five hundred people left in the entire brigade.

At this time, the murderous Japanese army attacked again, and Gao Zhisong ordered the officers and soldiers to open the back covers of all the grenades, connect the fuses, and place them in front of the position.

The enemy was getting closer and closer, and when there were still thirty meters left from them, Gao Zhisong calmly observed the enemy and ordered everyone to listen to his orders.

The attacking Japanese troops, seeing that there was no Tokyo on the positions of the Chinese troops, thought that the Chinese had run out of bullets, relaxed their vigilance, danced excitedly, and shouted"

Catch alive, catch alive! ”

They shouted and rushed forward.

As they got closer and closer to the position, everyone could see the excited and happy expressions of the Japanese devils, and they couldn't help but grab the steel gun in their hands.

Gao Zhisong suddenly shouted: "Pull the fuse!" ”

Tightly locked, a colossus engulfed the attacking Japanese troops, and also engulfed the defenders on the position, like a huge bomb, rising thick gunpowder smoke on the position.

Calm returned to the position.

Xia Yuan, who came to support, led a company to the position, and the explosion engulfed the position, and it was completely impossible to see what was happening, until the position returned to calm, and there was not a single living person in the entire brigade's defensive line.

This tragic resistance battle also deeply shocked Xia Yuan and inspired him to keep moving forward.

He then led the last battalion to participate in the defense of Yuhuatao.

One battalion defends the line of defense of two brigades, and the end can be imagined.

In just one day's effort, the entire battalion's defense line was swallowed up by the Japanese army, and the officers and men fought desperately, causing huge casualties to the Japanese army.

The defenders in the direction of Yuhuatai held out until December 12, but due to the lack of sufficient troops and timely replenishment of ammunition, the larger the troops, the fewer they were, and the blood was sprinkled all over the hills, and the corpses were all over the field.

On the afternoon of this day, with Xia Yuan's retreat, the new commander of the 264th Brigade counted the remaining soldiers and horses of the two brigades, led less than 2,000 people, and transferred to Xiaguan. During this period, he contacted Xia Yuan and wanted Xia Yuan to evacuate with him and withdraw from the sequence of the Jinling Defense Battle, Xia Yuan shook his head:

"Jinling is the capital of the country, the battle is not over yet, and I can't evacuate yet."

It was on this day that the Japanese tanks and infantry rushed through Yuhuatai and swarmed towards the Zhonghua Gate wall.

As early as the evening of December 6, the rumbling cannon sound in the suburbs was already heard very clearly at Xinjiekou in the center of Jinling City.

Moreover, the Japanese flares have already hit the city, and the common people are helping the old and the young to move to the refugee area west of Zhongshan Road.

The war is imminent, but the Tang Mansion in Baiziting is very lively, with all kinds of cars and jeeps parked at the door.

In the living room, many chairs were temporarily added, and it was full of high-ranking generals guarding Jinling. Each of them has at least one shining star on his epaulette.

This is the general of the Jinling garrison unit, all the commanders above the rank of major general are sitting here respectfully, the atmosphere in the meeting hall is serious and tense, the generals can only whisper, bow their heads and talk.

"The chairman has arrived!" Suddenly, the adjutant of the herald shouted, and the generals stood up from all their habits and saluted.

"You've been waiting for a long time, please sit down." Dressed in a military uniform and a yellow-green military coat, Jiang walked into the meeting hall accompanied by Mrs. Song, Qian Dajun, director of the chamberlain, and Tang Shengzhi, Luo Zhuoying, and Liu Xing, the chief and deputy commanders of the Jinling Garrison Army.

The generals waited until Chiang and his entourage were seated before they sat down.

"The chairman is still in Jinling!?" Chiang's appearance caused a stir in the hearts of the generals, because the facts debunked the rumors that Chiang had already left Jinling.

Jiang Cao used his official words of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, "We have been fighting for five years, and the results are still there, the enemy's ambitions have been more exposed, and the mood of our army and people for the war of resistance has become even higher." Ladies and gentlemen, look at the situation, don't look at the surface, don't look at the fact that we have temporarily lost this place and lost there. We should not care about the gains and losses of one city or one place; in the long run, the people will stand on our side, and the international public opinion advocating justice will favor us, and we will definitely win. Now, in order to command the overall situation, I have to leave Jinling temporarily, and I will come back. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, Jinling is the capital, the international view, and the location of Mr. Sun's mausoleum. I hope that under the command of General Tang, you will be determined to become benevolent if you do not succeed, and swear to defend Jinling to the death, so that people can live and die together in Jinling! ”

Although Jiang said one sentence in the east and one sentence in the west, he still won a round of applause.

On behalf of the officers and soldiers defending the city, Tang Shengzhi expressed to Jiang his determination to live and die with Jinling.

Jiang took Tang Shengzhi's hand and said, "Get rid of General Tang, I thank you on behalf of the government!" ”

"Rest assured, Chairman of the Committee, it is the duty of a soldier to defend Jinling, and without your order, I will never take a step back!"

Tang Shengzhi swore an oath.

The car at the door started, and Jiang said goodbye to everyone with Mrs. Song, and watched Jiang leave the Tang Mansion and go straight to the official residence on Huangpu Road.

In the early morning of the 7th, Jinling City had not yet begun its day's hustle and bustle, only heavily armed soldiers hurriedly passed through the cold streets.

A convoy of 10 luxury cars set off from the temporary residence of Jiang in Qingliangshan and drove through the streets covered with plane leaves to the Ming Palace Airport.

Inside and outside the airport, security is tight.

Jiang and Mrs. Song, escorted by a team of guards, walked to the gangway of the special plane, and they shook hands with Tang Shengzhi, Luo Zhuoying and other senior generals who came to see them off: "Thank you for your hard work, Jinling, it depends on you." ”

"Take care!" The generals replied.

This is the final goodbye.

At 5:45 a.m., the Meiling special plane began to start, and under the escort of a small group of fighters, Chiang's plane rose into the air.

The plane circled over the ancient city.

The Yangtze River, like a yellow broadband, surrounds half of Jinling City. Nakayama Suzuki, covered with blue glazed tiles, stands among the pines and cypresses of the Purple Mountain.

Inside and outside the stone city, beacon fires are lit, and trenches are vertical and horizontal.

Jiang looked through the porthole and looked at Zhongshan and Shicheng in the distance, his expression was quite melancholy, his heart fluctuated, and he remembered the famous poem of this person in the Yuan Dynasty:

'On the stone city, looking at the sky and looking low, the eyes are empty. Pointing to the six dynasties shaped resort, only the green mountains are like walls. Covering the sun and flags, even the clouds and trees, the white bones are like snow, a river north and south, how many heroes are consumed! ’

Jinling Zhonghua Gate City Tower is the city tower built by Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhonghua Gate City Tower is the largest city tower in Jinling City Gate, it is magnificent, strong and majestic, 128 meters long from north to south, 90 meters wide from east to west, there are four city gates before and after, there are 23 Tibetan soldier holes, it is claimed that 3000 soldiers can be hidden, it can be called the world's most.

The width of the city wall, five horses can gallop, like the Great Wall, and climb high and look far away, inside and outside the city at a glance.

The Qinhuai water outside the gate, which runs through the front of the city gate, has improved its military value.

Because the Zhonghua Gate Tower is connected to the Qinhuai River with the sound of oars and lights, there are many tourists here.

Since Zhu Yuanzhang built the city wall, there have been nearly 100 bloody battles at Zhonghua Gate, but those big and small battles can be described as small compared to the battles that took place in December 1937.

On December 9th, the Japanese army was attacking Yuhuatai fiercely, and at the same time, Niushou Mountain and Chunhua Town were in an emergency, Tang Shengzhi learned the news, and estimated that the enemy would continue to attack these places with one step, and at the same time, he would soon bypass Niushou Mountain and Chunhua Town with a force and go straight to Yuhuatai and Zhonghua Gate.

He told his judgment to Deputy Commanders Luo Zhuoying and Liu Xing.

Luo Zhuoying agreed, and said: "After the Japanese army failed to attack Guanghuamen, Tongjimen, and Purple Mountain, it will concentrate elite troops to launch a fierce attack on Zhonghua Gate. ”

Liu Xing pointed to the map and said: "You see, there is a long pole bridge outside the Zhonghua Gate, and we must strive to block the enemy on the south side of the bridge, and if we let the enemy cross the bridge, the Zhonghua Gate will be in trouble." ”

Speaking of this, he said to Commander Tang: "It is the 88th Division and the 306th Regiment of the 51st Division of the 74th Army that are guarding the Zhonghua Gate, and I will immediately go to convey our intentions to them, and ask them to defend to the death, and resolutely not let the enemy succeed in their goals." ”

The commander of the 88th Division is concurrently served by Sun Yuanliang, the commander of the 72nd Army, Sun Yuanliang is a lieutenant general, an old qualification in the Kuomintang, and Liu Xing at this time is a major general, Commander Tang is worried that Liu Xing will go alone and will not be able to suppress Sun Yuanliang, so he said to Luo Zhuoying: "You are a general, Sun Yuanliang is a lieutenant general, and the official is a senior officer who crushes people to death, I think it is better for you to go with General Liu." ”

Luo Zhuoying nodded, and then came to Zhonghua Gate with Liu Xing, and talked with Sun Yuanliang and Zhang Boting, chief of staff of the division, about how to defend Zhonghua Gate on the castle.

At this time, Luo Zhuoying's adjutant Lu Weisan pointed to the sky in the distance and said nervously: "Hurry up, hurry up, the enemy plane is coming to bomb, hurry up and hide!" ”

Sun Yuanliang and Zhang Boting commanded the troops to quickly enter the Tibetan Cave to hide.

Luo Zhuoying, Liu Xing, and Lu Wei followed them into the Tibetan Soldier Cave for three nights, and as soon as they entered with their front feet, the enemy planes flew over the Zhonghua Gate with their hind feet and dropped bombs one after another.

As the bomb was heard, the houses of the Zhonghua Gate Tower and the nearby residential buildings turned into a sea of fire in an instant.

The houses burned and shook in the fire, the tiles splashed everywhere, the grass and trees kept swinging from side to side with the shock wave generated by the explosion, and a gust of wind blew away the smoke and filled the place, and suddenly the sky was dark, and the sun and moon were dark.

The common people were also shocked by the sound of the earth-shaking explosion, and they shouted in terror, ran and cried out, looking for a place to hide.

The Japanese attacked Zhonghua Gate with the 6th Division and the 114th Division. The 6th Division was the main attack, and the 114th Division was the auxiliary.

The commander of the 6th Division was Toshio Tani, who was known for his ferocity in the Japanese army.

Tani Toshio was born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1882, graduated from the Infantry Department of the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School in 1903, and participated in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905.

After graduating from the Japanese Army University in 1912, he served as military attache at the Japanese Embassy in India. During this period, he secretly murdered many high-ranking anti-Japanese Indian officials.

Later, he served as the commander of the 6th Infantry Wing, and also secretly killed his colleague who affected his promotion, Tian Tsujiro.

During his tenure as Chief of Staff of the Army's 3rd Division, he once got drunk and threw an unknown person into the river and drowned him alive.

In 1930, he was promoted to major general, and in 1934 to lieutenant general, serving as commander of the 6th Division.

Gu Shoufu has two characteristics, the first is fierce and brutal, and he will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. The second is his official fortune enjoyment. And his official fortune was obtained by fighting wars and paving the way by murderous murder.

After the July 7 Incident in 1937, Gu Shoufu, then the commander of the 6th Division of the Japanese Army, led his troops to attack the Yongding River in North China. After capturing the Yongding River, he connived with his troops to kill all the captives, looted the belongings of the garrison villages and burned them, and raped and killed all the local women.

On November 5, Gu Shoufu's division joined the Battle of Songhu.

Gu Shoufu bombarded the Chinese army with naval artillery, and then used infantry to tear a hole in Jinshanwei, capture Jinshanwei, Jinshanzui, Caojing and other places, and break through the positions of the Chinese defenders.

Then, he advanced deep to the north, and the villages he passed through were all killed, and the villages he passed through were all killed, and the bloody villages were dozens of them, and the hands of him and his soldiers were stained with the blood of the Chinese.

An American journalist once wrote in an article: "With the mad rage of a demon king, Gu Shoufu galloped in all directions in the fog, killing people everywhere and setting fires, and he killed not a single man, woman, and child in every village. ”

Gu Shoufu bloodied Jinshanwei and commanded the troops to capture Songjiang Town on the outskirts of Shanghai.

Subsequently, in Songjiang Town, Gu Shoufu's division frantically burned, killed and looted.

A British journalist arrived in Songjiang nine weeks later, and he revealed to the outside world the circumstances of witnessing the tragic sacking of Songjiang by the Japanese army:

"There is hardly a single building that has not been burned, and the ruins of houses and uninhabited streets that are still smoldering present a frightening sight. The only ones alive were the wild dogs who had become bloated and fat by eating dead bodies. In the town of Songjiang, which was once densely populated by about 100,000 people, I saw only five old Chinese people hiding in the courtyard of the French church in tears. ”

(End of chapter)