Chapter 262

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Until everyone finished discussing and formed a draft of the retreat plan, Lv Muzhi presented the draft to Tang Shengzhi.

Tang Shengzhi only then discovered that only he and Lv Muzhi remained in the conference room.

"Commander Tang, take a look; this is the retreat plan we have drawn up."

Tang Shengzhi's expression had already recovered; he took the plan and looked at it carefully, then walked to the map to compare them one by one.

"Wei Yue, what do you think I should do?" Tang Shengzhi faced the map, his back to Lv Muzhi, and asked.

Lv Muzhi could not see Tang Shengzhi's expression, but knew his heart must be struggling.

Strictly speaking, whether intentional or not, the old man had played him, issuing two mutually contradictory orders.

At first he ordered Tang Shengzhi to defend Jinling to the death, and finally ordered him to retreat.

The grand words of before were still before his eyes; Tang Shengzhi was tormented—if he retreated, would he not be violating his oath to live and die with Jinling City?

"Commander Tang, why did you accept this post of Jinling Garrison Commander back then? Given your state of mind at the time, think about what you would do next—it could be considered seeing things through to the end..."

Hearing Lv Muzhi's words, Tang Shengzhi's heart tightened; he folded the retreat plan and said with forced calm: "Hah, the plan is very well done. The reason I asked you is because you see farther than I do... I have one more question: what about you? What will you do afterward?"

Lv Muzhi replied: "Very simple: take my men out of this absolute ground, then deliver them to another absolute ground."

The Central China Area Army has already suffered heavy losses in these months of fighting; North China will surely have another great evil battle. I cannot die here—that would be irresponsible to the country and to the revolution.

Tang Shengzhi smiled bitterly: "I wish I were like you—traveling three thousand li in battle, one sword worth a million divisions, without having to stifle my anger in this position."

"Commander Tang need not be like this. Do not forget that on the Northern Expedition battlefield, serving the National Revolution together, your Eighth Army was once glorious..."

What Tang Shengzhi ultimately planned to do, he did not tell Lv Muzhi even when the half-hour conversation ended.

Lv Muzhi had no time to manage him; all units must immediately begin deploying troops according to the retreat plan.

December 12: the Japanese river fleet was about to reach Jinling. Navy Minister Chen Shaokuan dispatched all his warships to intercept them, and the Yangtze River Torpedo Brigade sent out all remaining thirty-plus torpedo boats to cover the withdrawal of the Jinling garrison forces.

Matsui Iwane, seeing the navy about to support and simultaneously detecting the Xia State Army's movements preparing to withdraw, immediately intensified the offensive, hoping to annihilate as many enemies as possible.

The devils again pressed with a great army; on the Yangtze to the east, thunderous cannon fire could already be heard, and the little devils on land launched multiple waves of attacks from the encirclement.

Jinling had never been so perilous. Even those senior officers who had once been calm and composed grew nervous; some left a retreat order and departed Jinling City first, abandoning their troops to break out on their own.

Yuhuatai position.

Gunpowder smoke stained the sky a murky gray-yellow. The 88th Division's position was already unrecognizable; trenches had been plowed over by heavy artillery. Among broken walls and ruins, soldiers leaned against shattered bricks and the remains of their comrades. Xie Jinyuan succeeded as commander of the 524th Regiment, still defending the position to the death, pinning down Japanese troops.

The Japanese offensive waves came one more ferocious than the next. Several Type 95 light tanks and Type 89 medium tanks pressed toward the tottering main position.

"Anti-tank team! Charge!" Xie Jinyuan roared loudly, his voice faint amid the explosions.

"Report to Commander Sun: request reinforcements; our pressure here is too great!"

"Division headquarters is empty; Commander Sun cannot be found! Commander Lu orders us to hold out; he will send reinforcements!"

"Damn it!" Xie Jinyuan cursed, and could only carry his anger back into battle.

Several soldiers operating the 37mm anti-tank guns worked nervously, firing shell after shell into the enemy lines.

But more tanks crossed the filled-in anti-tank ditch and continued to assault the Yuhuatai position.

At the Jinling Garrison Command, the retreat order was delivered with difficulty to each blood-fighting unit via telephone and messengers.

According to the plan, the breakout sequence was activated.

Toward Taiping Gate, the first to move was the 160th Division of the Yue Army system.

They moved by battalion and company, quickly passing through the ruined city gate.

The Japanese encirclement in this direction was relatively weak. According to plan, behind them came the 159th, 156th, and 154th Divisions in sequence, following one after another via Tangshan and Jurong, retreating toward Southern Anhui.

Xiaguan Wharf was now completely controlled by Qiu Qingquan's military police and Song Xilian's 36th Division.

The wharf was crowded with people, but not combat troops—mostly agency personnel, some wounded, and special units that had already received orders.

Boats came from upstream; each time one docked, it caused a suppressed commotion, then order was restored under the bayonets of the military police and the stern rebukes of the officers.

In the distance, naval guns from both sides roared; in the sky, fighters from both sides fought.

The soldiers of the 36th Division had their backs to the Yangtze and their muzzles pointed toward Cheng Nei. Their task was clear: stop any units not on the list from approaching the wharf, especially those that should have broken out by land.

"Why can they take boats while we have to run on two legs?" Some defeated troops tried to rush the checkpoint and were mercilessly driven back.

"Headquarters has issued a death order! Except for the 36th Division maintaining order at Xiaguan Wharf, all other central direct-lineage units—such as the Training Corps, 87th Division, 88th Division, and 74th Army—must break out toward the designated land directions! Violators will be subject to military law!" Song Xilian waved his pistol, glaring at soldiers trying to find loopholes.

Qiu Qingquan stood on an automobile and fired the Browning heavy machine gun mounted on it into the sky, warning units not in the water retreat sequence not to cause trouble.

The two brigades of the Youth Army, as the main force, undertook the task of breaking out by land from the western line.

After receiving the order, Zhang Fei and Liao Yaoxiang quickly gathered their troops and launched a decisive assault at the junction of the Japanese encirclement.

Inside the Garrison Command, Zhang Fei and Liao Yaoxiang, accompanied by several guards, rushed in hurriedly.

Both smelled of gunpowder and blood, clearly just withdrawn from the front lines.

"Commander Lu! The troops have already started moving; you cannot stay here!" Zhang Fei saw Lv Muzhi still standing by the map making a phone call and spoke urgently.

Liao Yaoxiang also urged: "Commander Lu, Commander Tang is gone; what are you waiting for?!"

After a while, Lv Muzhi turned around, put down the telephone, and said: "The retreat plan was made by me. The units moving does not mean they can all get out."

"I must stay here to steady morale, ensure orders are communicated, and monitor feedback from all directions. You withdraw first."

"But it's too dangerous! The devils could enter the city at any moment!" Zhang Fei stepped forward.

"Precisely because it is dangerous, I must be the last to leave. If tens of thousands of troops collapse, that would truly be the disgrace of me, Lv Wei Yue!"

"Also, I must reiterate: take as many wounded as possible; absolutely no organized soldiers are allowed to remain within Jinling City."

"Either break out, or die in battle on the road of breakout!"

As for me, I will withdraw together with Song Xilian's Thirty-Sixth Division; one of my brigades will meet us on the Opposite Bank, and nothing will happen.

Zhang Fei and Liao Yaoxiang exchanged a glance, knowing further persuasion was useless.

Things Lv Muzhi decided were rarely changed, especially at such a critical moment.

"Then... you must definitely catch up as soon as possible!" Liao Yaoxiang gritted his teeth.

"I will." Lv Muzhi nodded. "Let's go. Bringing the fighting strength out is your greatest task right now."

The two straightened their bodies, gave Lv Muzhi a final military salute, turned, and walked away quickly. Their footsteps echoed in the spacious corridor, growing fainter and farther away.

Seeing the two leave, Lv Muzhi picked up the telephone and said, "Yu'an, send the Military Police to support the 524th Regiment. Also, Sun Yuanlang, commander of the Eighty-Eighth Division, is missing. Find him for me and enforce discipline!"