For most senior generals of the national army, Nanjing is a desperate situation. Whether it is based on historical experience or the current situation, it does not make much sense to stick to it. It is better to preserve strength, so they advocate giving up Nanjing.

At the third high-level meeting held to discuss the abandonment of Nanjing, Tang Shengzhi, who had been ill for many years, appeared at the meeting. Unlike many senior generals from the Huangpu and Baoding cliques who sat in an upright posture, this senior general

But he was squatting on the chair, jumping down and squatting up again. His behavior was completely incompatible with the atmosphere of the entire venue.

At the meeting, senior generals stated the reasons why Nanjing should not be defended. Soon abandoning Nanjing became the mainstream of the meeting, and it seemed that a unanimous opinion was about to be formed. At this time, Tang Shengzhi suddenly stood up, stood solemnly, and shouted loudly: "

Now the enemy is approaching the capital, which is the site of the tomb of the founding father. At this time, if we do not sacrifice one or two generals in Nanjing, we will be sorry for the Prime Minister's spirit in heaven, and even more sorry for our supreme commander. I advocate defending Nanjing and fighting the enemy to the end!

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Tang Shengzhi's aggressive appearance at the meeting instantly changed the atmosphere of the meeting. No one advocated abandoning Nanjing anymore, and everyone remained seated and silent.

Later, Chairman Chiang asked: "Who is responsible for guarding Nanjing?"

Facing Chairman Chiang's question, the venue was silent. Finally, it was Tang Shengzhi who broke the long silence in the venue. He took the initiative and said: "Chairman, a soldier has pledged his life to the country. How can we be afraid of the difficulty and seek peace in this dangerous moment?"

If Chiang Kai-shek does not appoint a candidate to serve as Chairman, I am willing to do so, and I will definitely stick to it and swear to live or die with the city of Nanjing!"

In this way, Tang Shengzhi took up the post of commander-in-chief of the Nanjing Garrison Headquarters and took charge of the defense of Nanjing. Everyone knew that he took the initiative, but few people knew that his initiative was because Chairman Chiang approached him alone before the meeting. Tang Shengzhi knew that he had not

The reason for rejection was because he knew that Chairman Chiang had decided to let him defend Nanjing, and of course he had difficulties as a last resort. He also knew that Tang Shengzhi was one of the makers of the Nanjing city defense plan. Perhaps this was the reason why Chairman Chiang chose him.

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Nanjing is the capital of the Republic of China, and whether it is abandoned or defended is a matter of great importance. He was the one who advocated sticking to Nanjing at first, but now if he evacuates first, of course he is afraid of the liquidation of history. He is afraid of becoming a sinner of history and afraid of being criticized by future generations.

Therefore, he told Gu Zhutong on the phone that he must first clearly convey the supreme commander's intention to the garrison generals before evacuating.

Tang Shengzhi's attitude was quickly reported to the Wuhan Base Camp. On the evening of the 11th, a call came from the Wuhan Base Camp: "If the situation cannot last for a long time, we can retreat immediately in order to organize the situation and prepare for a counterattack."

After receiving the telegram, Tang Shengzhi, deputy commander Luo Zhuoying, Liu Xing and chief of staff Zhou Lan studied it and convened the staff in the early morning of the 12th to urgently formulate a retreat plan and order. This is how the retreat plan in front of him came out.

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When Tang Shengzhi was reviewing the retreat plan, battle reports came one after another, making him increasingly panicked. At this time, he finally realized the true strength of the enemy and realized that the exhausted Central Army was so vulnerable.

I felt that the city of Nanjing was in danger of being surrounded at any time.

Now, he no longer cared about the promise he had made. Suddenly, he thought of the only safe way to retreat in Nanjing - Xiaguan Pier, and suddenly he broke into a cold sweat behind his back.

Tang Shengzhi tried his best to restrain his inner uneasiness. At 14:00 on the 12th, he issued an order to the 36th Division of the 78th Army at the Nanjing Garrison Headquarters to maintain order in the city and Xiaguan. The main contents were: "1. Xiaguan leads to Pukou, for us.

The army is the only communication road, and efforts should be made to maintain order and strictly prohibit the concentration of troops, soldiers and stragglers to ensure key points; 2. The 74th Army fought fiercely with the enemy in Shangxinhe Town (Shangxinhe), and its rear transportation should be through Hanxi Gate (Hanzhong)

Gate) to contact the city and prohibit the army's troops from retreating into Xiaguan through the Sancha River; 3. Immediately implement martial law in the area from Yijiang Gate to Xiaguan and prohibit all activities."

Just when Tang Shengzhi issued this order, another major change occurred in the battle to defend the city. At this time, the Japanese 6th Division Hisao Tani was like a mad dog. His left wing troops were approaching Shuiximen. The 16th Division and the 3rd

The division had already advanced towards Zhongshan Gate and Guanghua Gate. However, the route left for Yu Jishi's 74th Army to retreat in Tang Shengzhi's order would fall into the enemy's hands at any time. Forced by this cruel fact, Yu Jishi's 74th Army sent people to Sancha River to build a pontoon bridge.

They attempted to cross the river here and then cross the river via Xiaguan Wharf to retreat to Pukou in the north of the Yangtze River, but were ruthlessly discouraged and stopped by the 36th Division of the 78th Army.

In late September, Song Xilian, then commander of the 36th Division, was appointed commander of the 78th Army (concurrently serving as division commander) by the National Government Military Commission. In fact, the army did not expand and still actually commanded one division of the 36th Division.

In the battle in Shanghai, the 36th Division was crippled. When Song Xilian led his troops to retreat to Nanjing, he had more than 10,000 men and only had more than 3,000 guns. He received nearly 4,000 additional troops in Nanjing, and his troops were only 7,000.

There are many people. Most of the 4,000 new recruits are young people who have just joined the army, and some have never even touched a gun.

The 36th Division of the 78th Army established a defensive position in the north of Sancha River. It was to protect the beach outside Yijiang Gate and south of Zhongshan Road to prevent the Japanese army from breaking through, advancing all the way north and occupying Xiaguan Wharf, or even going north to encircle Nanjing.

Compared with other national army units, although the defensive tasks of the 36th Division are not heavy, for Song Xilian, he knew that his division was only slightly stronger than an empty frame, and he actually did not have much confidence in his heart. Because he

Knowing that this is a life-and-death war, he already knows how powerful the enemy is, and he even knows the combat effectiveness of his troops.

It is for this reason that Song Xilian was most afraid of friendly forces retreating without authorization and attacking his own position, which would shake the morale of the troops.

The 78th Army's retreat from Sancha River will inevitably affect the 36th Division's defense at Sancha River. This defense is closely related to Nanjing's last and only retreat. Therefore, the actions of the 74th Army are absolutely unacceptable to Song Xilian.

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After receiving the report from the 36th Division, Tang Shengzhi knew that the military morale of the Nanjing defenders had been shaken due to the Japanese army's general attack on the city. Now, he knew that it was urgent to announce a retreat order. So, he was ready to issue an order for the entire army to retreat.

However, at this time (three o'clock in the afternoon), the Wuhan base camp once again secretly telegraphed Tang Shengzhi, the headquarters of the Nanjing garrison: "...If the enemy does not dare to attack fiercely, as long as our city is safe, our army will still focus on holding on to Beijing for a long time.

We must sacrifice at all costs to improve the status and reputation of our country and our army, and to be the only cardinal who can turn defeat into victory for our revolution. If Nanjing can be defended for one more day, the nation will gain an extra layer of glory. If it can be defended for more than half a month,

Then the internal and external situation will change drastically; and our field army will be able to respond as scheduled without being encircled by the enemy."

The "big change" in the international situation described in Chairman Chiang's telegram may be the Soviet Union sending troops. However, there are huge variables in whether and when the Soviet Union decides to send troops.
Chapter completed!