Xiao Shanling, the mayor of Nanjing and commander of the military police, strode out of the conference room in the basement of the Ministry of Railways. The cold air outside made him shiver.
"Sir Xiao, let's go too." The adjutant hurriedly came over from the car and handed the woolen uniform to Ling Xiao Shan.
Tang Shengzhi hurriedly issued a retreat order and left. This made Xiaoshan Ling seem to have lost his backbone, and ordered him and his military police to cross the river from Xiaguan.
However, Xiao Shanling also knew that he was not only a general, but also the mayor of Nanjing. If he left, what would happen to the hundreds of thousands of residents in Nanjing? He really couldn't bear it.
Xiao Shanling took a deep breath of cold air and said: "I am the mayor of Nanjing, and even if I want to leave, I must be the last one to leave. Go and give me the order to gather all the military police and police forces in Nanjing and let them maintain order.
Cover the residents and evacuate from Xiangguan."
The adjutant frowned and persuaded: "Mr. Xiao, there are still three to four hundred thousand residents in Nanjing City. It will not be possible to evacuate them all in this time and a half. You'd better leave first."
"You can leave if you want. I will never force you. As the mayor of Nanjing, I should evacuate together with the people in the city." Xiao Shanling was a little angry.
The adjutant sighed helplessly, knowing that Xiao Shan Ling had a stubborn temper. If the residents had not evacuated, he might not have left. He shook his head and went to convey Xiao Shan Ling's order.
The news of the army's evacuation spread like a plague in Nanjing. The city of Nanjing, with the roar of guns and cannons, suddenly felt like boiling water, causing indescribable panic and chaos.
A few days ago, Tang Shengzhi vowed to coexist with Nanjing. His words were published in newspapers everywhere. He inspired Nanjing residents. Many people hoped that he could turn the tide and defend their homeland.
The people of Nanjing voluntarily organized stretcher teams, medical teams, etc. to assist the army in defending the city. They selflessly took out their own food and donated money to contribute to the country.
Now that Tang Shengzhi was suddenly about to evacuate, the people immediately panicked. While shouting that Tang Shengzhi was a liar, they hurriedly packed up their belongings and prepared to escape.
The streets were crowded with residents packed with parcels, and they rushed towards Xiaguan. Crying, yelling and yelling could not be heard. The whole city suddenly lost control and became extremely chaotic.
The liaison officers who went from the headquarters of the garrison commander to various units to convey orders were also rushed towards Xiaguan Yijiang Gate in the chaos. Many orders to retreat were not conveyed to those troops who were still fighting in blood.
Guarding Yijiang Gate was Song Xilian's 36th Division. They had never received an order to retreat. The original order Tang Shengzhi gave them was to block the ferry and kill anyone who crosses the river without permission.
The road from Zhongshan Road to Yijiangmen was crowded with troops. Those troops who were ordered to retreat followed the original plan and broke out at night according to the order.
But as soon as the order was given, people's hearts dispersed. Most of them were troops who had retreated from the Songhu battlefield. That great rout left them still frightened. After the retreat was completed, they became the victims of the Japanese.
All kinds of rumors were flying all over the sky. The commanders of each army ran away first, and the troops were immediately in chaos. Their desire to survive made them ignore orders and go straight to Xiaguan, because the Japanese were fighting from the south and east.
On the other side of Xiaguan, they thought there was still a way out.
The roads were full of chaos, crowded with soldiers and civilians from all walks of life scrambling for their lives. Vehicles, equipment, people and horses trampled on each other, creating chaos.
The troops of the 36th Division stationed at Yijiangmen looked at the dark crowd of troops and civilians, and immediately ordered them to rush in. Thinking that deserters were coming with civilians, they hurriedly pulled the bolts of their guns, and the black muzzles of dozens of machine guns were aimed at the surging troops.
For those who came over, they were still enforcing Tang Shengzhi’s ban on crossing the river.
"Da da da--"
A battalion commander of the 36th Division held a machine gun and fired into the air, and the bullets flew over the heads of the crowd.
The battalion commander shouted loudly: "Sir Tang has an order that no one is allowed to retreat across the river without authorization! You must return to your position and continue to resist!"
Officers from the defeated army also ran up to them and explained loudly: "Brother, the officers have all run away, and the order to retreat has been issued. Please make a way quickly and let everyone pass!"
The officer was about to walk over as he spoke, but the battalion commander of the 36th Division held a machine gun to his chest.
"You are a group of cowards who are greedy for life and afraid of death! Commander Tang said that he would live and die with the city. When did he give the order to retreat? You are just afraid of death and want to be deserters. Now I order you to retreat and return to your position!"
"The officers really gave the order to retreat!" someone in the crowd shouted.
The battalion commander was also confused about the situation. Seeing more and more people coming towards him, he hurriedly asked the regiment commander for instructions.
Their entire 36th Division had never received an order to retreat. The regimental commander said coldly: "With the machine guns set up, we must not let anyone cross the river. Otherwise, we will be held accountable by the authorities and we will not be able to bear the consequences."
With the regiment commander's order, the battalion commander returned to the position and immediately ordered the troops to prepare for battle, and warned the people coming over that trespassers would be killed without mercy!
The Japanese had already attacked, and there were friendly troops in front blocking the way and refusing to give way. Many people couldn't wait any longer and simply rushed forward, trying to clear a way.
The troops of the 36th Division fired into the air and shouted warnings, but they could not stop the people who were rushing towards them. No one in the crowd shot the soldiers of the 36th Division, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.
The people of the 36th Division thought that the broken troops were trying to break through without authorization, so they opened fire with machine guns and rifles everywhere that were supposed to deal with the Japanese. Many people who were rushing forward were shot immediately and fell to the ground.
"Brothers! Charge! Fight a bloody path!" Someone in the crowd raised their arms and shouted, various rifles, pistols and machine guns rang out, and the entire Yijiangmen suddenly turned into a battlefield.
The troops who were anxious to escape fought with the 36th Division who was blocking the gate. Bullets were flying in the air, and the crowd screamed in terror, like a flood that burst the embankment, and rushed towards the city gate regardless of the hail of bullets.
"Don't fight, don't fight!" The battalion commander of the 36th Division also realized that something was wrong because there were too many people coming over, but he was shot to death as soon as he finished speaking.
The crowd rushed towards the city gate despite the rain of bullets, but only one gate was opened. There were many people and the door was narrow. The crowd trampled on the people who were squeezed down. They kept wailing, but the people were already crazy and they were closing it down desperately.
River surges.
A wounded soldier who was squeezed against the door turned red-eyed and fired the grenade he carried with him. There was a loud bang and blood and flesh flew everywhere near the city gate.
"Block them! Block them!" The commander of the 36th Division was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. Seeing that the crowd was about to break through his defense line, he personally picked up a machine gun and joined the battle.
Those defeated troops were the opponents of the 36th Division and were quickly suppressed. The entire Yijiang Gate had turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, which was too horrible to look at.
Because the officers fled, Yijiangmen started killing each other in chaos. Many brothers did not die in the hands of the Japanese soldiers, but died in the hands of their own people.
Those who wanted to escape saw that Yijiang Gate was blocked and had to turn around and run into the city to find other escape routes. Many soldiers even took off their military uniforms and fled to the refugee area, hoping to escape.
When the city of Nanjing was in chaos, many of the troops on the front line did not receive the order to retreat and were still fighting bloody battles with the Japanese, unaware that the rear area had become a mess.