Chapter 261: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa, Chapter 261: Tang Shengzhi Caught Between a Rock and a Hard

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The Xia Guo and Japanese fleets fought until dusk, both withdrawing from the battlefield covered in wounds, the scene littered with ship wreckage and debris.

Without the cover of coastal batteries, the two fleets ultimately suffered comparable casualties.

Several old cruisers of the Xia Guo fleet ended their service in this battle, resting forever at the bottom of the Yangtze River; the main ships Pinghai, Ninghai, and Yixian were damaged to varying degrees and sailed upstream toward Jinling.

The battle downstream of Jinling quickly spread within Jinling City.

"Our navy has suffered considerable losses and is retreating to the vicinity of Jinling to reorganize. We have fewer ships while the Japanese have more. Before long, the Japanese fleet will continue advancing until they strike Jinling directly with naval gunfire. You must prepare..." Deputy Garrison Commander Luo Zhuoying of Jinling said.

"Prepare? What more is there to prepare?!" Tang Shengzhi stood up, both hands braced on the desk. "I've long been ready to die for righteousness!"

"Commander..." a staff officer walked into the conference room, handing over a letter: "A personal letter from Matsui Iwane, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Central China Area Army..."

Tang Shengzhi furrowed his brow, opened the envelope, quickly flipped through the three pages, then tossed them toward the ceiling of the conference room: "Since I pledged a military vow to the Leader, I still say the same thing—I swear to live and die with Jinling City! Song Xilian!"

"Present!" Song Xilian, division commander of the 36th Division, stood up.

"The situation is pressing. Your 36th Division must immediately go to Xiaguan Wharf to assist the Military Police under Qiu Qingquan in strictly investigating deserters who flee by boat!"

Song Xilian glanced at Lv Muzhi; seeing that Lv Muzhi said nothing, he could only accept the assignment: "Yes!"

Lv Muzhi bent down to pick up the three scattered pages on the ground—they were precisely the surrender letter personally written by Matsui Iwane.

In the letter, Matsui Iwane smugly declared that the Xia Guo Navy had suffered heavy losses, that Commander Gu Qingchuan's Combined Fleet would dispatch additional warships, arriving at Jinling within days to bombard the garrison positions.

Before that, if the Jinling garrison surrendered, prisoners would be treated well, and the city's soldiers and civilians would be safe.

The officers present clearly did not believe Matsui Iwane's ghostly talk of treating prisoners well, but it was indeed a fact that the Japanese fleet was about to arrive at Jinling.

The situation was indeed bad.

Tang Shengzhi sent Song Xilian's 36th Division to guard Xiaguan Wharf because he feared deserters might appear.

Choosing the 36th Division was also because Tang Shengzhi truly had no one available, no army of his own, so he sent the Central Army Direct Lineage anyway; after all, he took orders from the old man, and the Central Army Direct Lineage could hardly slap his own face.

After assigning everyone to their posts, Tang Shengzhi kept only a few deputy commanders behind.

"Wei Yue, how much strength does the Torpedo Battalion have left? Send them all out to block the Japanese fleet; hold out as long as you can. When the outer perimeter can no longer hold, shift into the city for street fighting, fighting to the last soldier..."

Lv Muzhi asked: "Commander Tang, I especially want to ask—if the old man issues a retreat order now, what would you choose to do?

Continue to live and die with Jinling City, or organize troops to retreat?"

Hearing this, Tang Shengzhi finally began to think: would the old man actually issue this retreat order? His earlier arrangements all reflected the mindset of fighting to the death with one's back to the wall.

"If that's really the case, no—how could the higher-ups issue such an order? Jinling is the national capital; if it's just abandoned like that, it would be a huge blow to the morale of the entire nation's army!"

"Jinling couldn't hold Shanghai that long anyway. Due to time and terrain, its combat results couldn't surpass Shanghai's. If it falls so quickly, disappointment will spread across the whole country..."

"Someone must take responsibility for the loss of Jinling..."

"Unless... unless I..."

Saying this, Tang Shengzhi looked at the three deputy commanders around him, a shocked expression appearing on his face.

The Central Army's elite were almost all inside Jinling—the Youth Army, the reorganized German-equipped divisions, the Training Corps, and even remnants of Du Yuming's Armored Corps... Would the old man really be willing to leave them all in Jinling like that?

Luo Zhuoying said: "Commander Tang, why must you keep loudly proclaiming that you will live and die with Jinling? In the end, it's you who won't be able to step down..."

"Commander, urgent telegram from Chongqing!" a staff officer rushed into the conference room in a panic, handing the telegram to Tang Shengzhi.

Tang Shengzhi stood dazed without taking it. Lv Muzhi, seeing this, took it on his own initiative, opened it, and after reading it wore an expression of "as expected."

The other deputy commanders also gathered around to look. The telegram was very short: "If the situation cannot be held for long, you may withdraw at your discretion to reorganize and prepare for a counterattack."

Tang Shengzhi finally took the telegram and finished reading it. The retreat order Lv Muzhi mentioned had actually arrived. So what did his earlier military vow amount to? What did his loudly proclaimed stance of dying for righteousness before the outside world amount to?

If he obeyed the order and left, wouldn't he become a laughingstock for later generations? As Garrison Commander, he would surely not escape being condemned by thousands.

Remembering the operational meeting the old man held in Jinling—no one dared touch this hot potato, yet he himself had volunteered, being propped up to such a high position.

Without the old man's retreat order, he might have died calmly; but now the chance to live was right before his eyes, and Tang Shengzhi truly hesitated.

Seeing Tang Shengzhi remained in a daze, Lv Muzhi, as Chief of Staff of the headquarters, said: "Today is December 11th. The devils have come all the way from the Wufu Line, and we've achieved considerable results.

The situation is now critical. The Japanese fleet has a tendency to blockade the Yangtze River. Since there is a retreat order from above, we must make early plans—formulate retreat and breakout plans for each unit.

Which unit provides cover, which unit blocks, which unit evacuates by boat from Xiaguan Wharf, which unit breaks out by land—all must be planned now."

Luo Zhuoying said: "Brother Wei Yue is right. Fortunately, the two brigades of the Youth Army were already providing cover on the outer perimeter. The ships are currently on standby upstream and can sail to Xiaguan Wharf at any time."

Liu Xing also strongly agreed: "A frontal breakout is also possible. Although the Japanese have so many divisions, using them to attack a city might be generous enough. But as long as we move, it's impossible for them to annihilate us in one breath. The devil's encirclement is thin-skinned with a big filling. Find a few breakout directions, and breaking out isn't difficult."

The several deputy commanders spoke one after another, but only Tang Shengzhi did not join the discussion.

Tang Shengzhi remembered his earlier grand words and felt deeply conflicted inside.

Should he obey the order and withdraw from Jinling City after all?