Episode 29: The Fox of the Fog

At one o'clock in the night, the Central Command Hall of Purple Mountain Fortress.

If the atmosphere here was turbulent before this, then there was a sense of horror now.

The officers made the phone anxiously, asking and verifying the situation over and over again, but the statements were quite contradictory and many of the phones could not be reached at all.

"What? I heard the sound of cannons in the south?... When did it happen?... What about the scale? Can't you hear it? Then you guess it!... I guess it's not? Well, that's it!"

"Hey, are there any defeated soldiers there? No?...Okay, I understand."

"I am the commander-in-chief. How about your Jiangning County? I found that the Qing army did not have it?...I don't know? Forget it!"

"Ah, are the defeated soldiers coming to you? Where are you?...Dongshanqiao Town? I understand, which part of the defeated soldiers? Is it the newly formed 74th Infantry Division?...How many people? More than twenty? Are they fighting so far? Are those soldiers here? OK, okay, let them answer the phone!"

The last few words immediately calmed the officers around him, and everyone's attention was attracted. Because this was the first time that the defeated soldiers were actually discovered in an hour after receiving a report of a battle near Moling Town.

An officer picked up the phone on the speaker.

Suddenly, a small piece around me heard the miserable voices on the phone:

"Sir, our new 74th Division is over..."

When this sentence broke out, no one had the heart to call. They all hadtily finished the phone in their hands and came over to listen. Soon the whole hall was quiet, and a group of people gathered around the small speaker.

The officer who answered the phone immediately turned pale, a big bead of sweat rolled down, swallowed, and said:

"Speak slowly, don't hurry...what the hell is going on?"

"Sir, our division had just driven to the south of Moling Town, and asked the Qing army to make dumplings on the road!... We didn't know what was going on, so we exploded, and there were grenades, shells, and machine guns everywhere. The car in front of me exploded directly, and no one got off! My car overturned to the side of the road, and there were only three of us in our class and we climbed out, and I even broke my arm..."

"Tell me the point! How much firepower does the other party have? How dense is the density?"

"Density? The density is too high. Mortar shells are like raining, and no one can hide. Most of the brothers were killed before they even ran to the roadside. Those who ran off the road were swept to death by machine guns... The three of us ran off the road. They had just run dozens of meters and rushed to the front. They were all tall and big. The two brothers were killed by bayonets. I ran fast, and they didn't chase me..."

"How many people were estimated to be there in the Qing army?"

"I guess? It's probably a lot, at least 50,000 or 60,000! You think, no one came out of our division... Our company commander broke a leg and died halfway. Before he died, he said that the one we met was probably the Eight Banners Division..."

The hall was silent. The Chief of Staff, who was listening, sat down slowly on the chair, took out a handkerchief to wipe his forehead, and looked up at the garrison commander Wang Hantang, who looked like a dead person.

He murmured:

"Commander Wang, what should you do?"

Wang Hantang also sat staggeringly on the chair:

"The army who was transferred from Qixia to the south went south to block it."

"It's too late."

This ruthless saying completely defeated Wang Hantang. Yes, it was too late. The map was placed in the minds of these people. Qixia was in the north of Nanjing, and Moling Town, where the battle occurred, was in the south of Nanjing. If you want to block this Qing army, you must at least take twice as fast as others and walk twice as much as the road. This Qing army can march ten kilometers in two or three hours, and go deep into the Ningyi Highway from the riverside to fight ambush. Such a marching speed is difficult to surpass even the elite capital garrison troops of the Ming army.

Zhang Zhao, Chief of Staff of the Command Headquarters, sighed first:

"Mark it on the picture first."

"Then... how much is it?"

Zhang Zhao looked at the big map first and pondered:

"This Qing army will not have 50,000 or 60,000 people. It should not be a large army that can cross our military cordon and go deep into the mainland. The main purpose of this Qing army is very clear, which is to annihilate our vanguards in advance, to buy time for the Qing army's large forces to eliminate the riverside defenders, and to launch troops. It should be a strengthened Eight Banners Division. It is about 15,000 to 20,000... 50 are first marked."

A little female soldier under the big map took out a handful of red little people. While wiping her tears, she placed her poles on the map one by one. The female officer next to her whispered to her:

"Why are you crying? Looks like you are scared like this. Are you still a soldier? What are you afraid of? Even if the Qing barbarians enter Nanjing, they will not be able to enter the Purple Mountain Fortress!... Besides, even the little man in your hand cannot be able to enter Nanjing at all."

The little female soldier sobbed and asked with a sob:

“For… why?”

The female officer looked at the officers around her and comforted her quietly:

"Tsk, haven't the People's Guards moved yet..."

Although the last sentence was not loud, it happened to be silent for a while and it seemed very clear. Many people around heard it.

The lower-level female officer looked at the generals and marshals around him and looked at him in fear. She quickly lowered her head and helped her to show off her little man.

All the generals looked at Zhang Zhaoxian again. Zhang Zhao first glanced at the female officer, and then said to everyone:

"What do you think of this?"

There was a silence around.

Zhang Zhaoxian said again:

"The People's Guard is the army that defends Nanjing City. It cannot be transferred to him unless it is absolutely necessary... But I think it is now a time of absolute necessity. What do you think?"

As soon as this sentence was said, everyone around him stared at him, and many officers were already nodding.

Zhang Zhaoxian said to the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Commander of the Garrison:

"Let's go, let's see your Majesty."

...

Xiang Xiaoqiang and Rommel were not sleepy, and were staring at the map in the war room, chatting without a word. Xiang Xiaoqiang arranged for the staff to "see the market" in the fortress command hall, and then told the changes of each step by phone, and the staff here immediately reflected on the map.

The two of them suddenly stopped talking at the same time and stared at the map intently. The staff officer next to the map was placing red little people not far from the south of Nanjing.

Xiang Xiaoqiang jumped up and ran forward, wanting to be sure that he was right. The staff officer who was posing as a villain looked at him nervously and said first:

"Sir, I'm asking, I'll come here soon."

At this time, the phone rang, Xiang Xiaoqiang took it, and listened to the terrified sound on the other end of the phone, his heart beat wildly.

"That's all? OK. I understand."

He hung up the phone and stared at the map, a feeling of nervousness and excitement spread throughout his body. He told the situation to the staff and sought their opinions. Everyone agreed that Nanjing was already in danger.

Xiang Xiaoqiang then asked:

"Where is Lieutenant Colonel Rommel?"

“Sleeping.”

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"Tell him not to sleep and get up and fight."

Then he said to the staff:

"Now there is no troops between this Qing army and us. They can attack Nanjing from the north, and attack the defenders on the riverside from the west, and form a clamping force with the main force of the Qing army. No matter which one, Nanjing is in danger! We have not received the transfer order yet, but we will definitely receive it soon. Because we are the only ones who can save Nanjing! Now I order the mobile troops of the People's Guard, the entire army will be installed on the train, and be ready to set off!"

...

The entire station roared.

Tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, towed artillery, trucks... one after another drove out of the warehouse, and the military police with armbands commanded them to line up and drive out of the gate and drive onto the highway. Various orders were shouting one after another, and teams of soldiers stood neatly under the lights and ran onto the car according to the organization.

The dogs in the surrounding villages were barking wildly, and many villagers were wearing clothes to watch. In the heavy fog, they only saw endless headlights parked on the road in the distance.

There were nine German officers in total, but Xiang Xiaoqiang did not plan to install so many foreign staff members in the first battle, which would be troublesome. He planned to bring Rommel only. Rommel was simply a genius in such an unpredictable battle.

Xiang Xiaoqiang stood on the field, watching cars driving out, listening to countless engine noises in his ears, and his heart was surging. This was the first battle since the People's Guard was built. His treasure command car, Rommel, and staff members were busy making combat plans.

Since this was the first battle of the People's Guard, and it was related to the safety of Nanjing, it could only win but not lose. Xiang Xiaoqiang asked the People's Guard mobile team to come out in full swing. He sent a car to send Qiu Qiu and the others to the headquarters in the city to prevent the Qing army from coming around in the heavy fog.

At this time, a staff officer came over and asked Xiang Xiaoqiang to go to the office to answer the phone. Xiang Xiaoqiang felt excited and knew that the phone call in hope had finally arrived.

A weak voice in the earpiece:

"Teacher Xiang..."

"His Majesty."

Zhu Yourong's voice was filled with shame and regret, and she said with a sob:

"The Qing barbarians are coming... The reinforcements are defeated... The Qing barbarians are advancing towards Nanjing, we...we..."

Xiang Xiaoqiang felt soft, but he didn't expect that Zhu Yourong had reached this state. But this was exactly what he hoped. The more Zhu Yourong was, the more he had to be like a strong backing, making her feel like her strongest defender and making her feel safe.

His voice is calm:

"Your Majesty, I already know."

Zhu Yourong sobbed and said:

"It's all my fault... If I listened to you and sent the People's Guards over there, the Qing throne might not have been able to get through... That division might not have been destroyed... I really feel uncomfortable..."

Said firmly to Xiaoqiang

"No, Your Majesty, this is not your fault, this is the fault of the Qing barbarians. If the Qing barbarians do not launch this war, then there will be no misfortune."

Zhu Yourong sniffed her nose and asked softly:

"Teacher Xiang, is it still time now? Are you...are you sure?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled slightly and said:

"You listen to it yourself."

Then he opened the window and held the microphone to the window.

The roar of the engine outside had become a chorus, the glass was shaken slightly, and the sound of commands came one after another to the room.

Xiang Xiaoqiang took back the receiver and asked:

"Did you hear it?"
To be continued...