The whistling bullets were embedded in the wall, and smoke and dust were flying everywhere. The Japanese soldiers were like enraged beasts, rushing towards Jiao Chaoming's hiding place crazily.
Jiao Chaoming shot and retreated, shouting for the women to run away.
The panicked women struggled to get up under Jiao Chaoming's reminder and staggered towards the distance.
"Baga Ya Road! Dead!" The Japanese officer was furious when he saw the prey he had obtained running away. He raised the short gun in his hand and pulled the trigger.
The bullet penetrated the chest of a young woman and embedded itself in the ground. The woman screamed and fell to the ground, her dirty face full of pain.
The Japanese officer's face was horribly twisted, and he ordered to the Japanese soldiers: "Kill them!"
The Japanese soldiers who did not pursue Jiao Chaoming laughed ferociously, stood up with their guns drawn, and opened fire on the women who fled in panic.
There was a crackling sound of gunfire, and the bullets flew out at high speeds with gunpowder smoke. The running women were shot and fell to the ground. Some of them did not hit their vital points and struggled to continue crawling, trying to escape the clutches of the Japanese army.
Jiao Chaoming was already in a panic when being chased by more than a dozen Japanese soldiers. When he turned around and saw the women being shot dead on the spot, his eyes immediately turned red.
"You little devil! I'm trying to kill you!" Jiao Chaoming cursed loudly, with a cry in his voice. He wanted to save people, but found that his power was so weak.
Jiao Chaoming ran in the rain of bullets, cursing, and the cold wind filled with gunpowder smoke poured into his throat, making him choke and speechless. A line of clear tears flowed down his eyes and onto his cheeks, making his face full of gunpowder smoke appear. A trail of gray marks.
"Puch!"
The Japanese army had no mercy or sympathy for the women who were shot but survived. The sharp bayonets pierced their vital parts without hesitation. They were carrying out a brutal and inhumane massacre.
These Japanese soldiers who have lost their humanity have turned into beasts at this moment. In their view, everything in the city they fought hard to conquer now belongs to them, and they can enjoy everything and slaughter everything without restraint.
"Kill!"
"You little devil! Die!"
Just as the little devil was pulling out the blood-red bayonets from the women's bodies, a large group of Chinese soldiers suddenly rushed out from the smoke and dust on the street, roaring like beasts.
"China people! China people!" Japanese soldiers saw these murderous Chinese soldiers and hurriedly shouted a warning.
"Da da da da da da-"
The Chinese machine gunner who rushed at the front hung the machine gun around his neck, hugged the machine gun and fired while running. The trembling machine gun shot out hurricane-like bullets.
"Puff!" The violent machine gun bullets instantly flew off the Japanese helmets and shattered their heads. Being unobstructed on the street, they became the best living targets. They fell down wailing continuously, just like The people they just shot and killed.
The bullets swept across everything violently, and smoke and blood mist floated in the air. In just one moment of meeting, more than half of the Japanese troops had already fallen into a pool of blood.
"Retreat! Retreat!" When the Japanese second lieutenant saw the large number of Chinese soldiers, he hurriedly roared and ran away. Although they were not afraid of death, it did not mean that they were fools.
When Liu Yidao saw the streets littered with dead bodies, he shouted with red eyes: "Chase me! Leave no one behind!"
Liu Yidao led more than two hundred veterans with bayonets to chase the remnants of the fleeing Japanese soldiers, while Yang Ling and others stayed behind.
"The little devil is really worse than a beast!"
Seeing nearly a hundred residents lying dead in a pool of blood, anger filled the chests of every brother, like a surging volcano that might explode at any time.
Jiao Chaoming was rescued by Yang Ling and the others. He knelt down beside the dead people and cried loudly: "I am really useless, I am useless..."
He watched these people being slaughtered by the Japanese army and was helpless, and his heart was filled with self-blame.
Jiao Chaoming was Yang Ling's subordinate when he was on the battlefield in Shanghai, and later worked as a squad leader in the deputy garrison commander's guard camp. This time the commander's headquarters evacuated, and Wu Jiang asked him to come over and deliver news to Yang Ling.
Seeing Jiao Chaoming crying so sadly, every brother felt uncomfortable. As soldiers, although they didn't understand much of the truth, they felt sad when they saw their own people being slaughtered so unscrupulously.
I also felt pain and hated those cruel Japanese.
"Stop crying, we will avenge this blood feud!" Yang Ling patted Jiao Chaoming's shoulder and comforted him in a deep voice.
Jiao Chaoming wiped away his tears and stood up. Although he was deeply saddened, he did not forget his mission.
"Batalion Commander, Commander Tang ordered the retreat..." He told Yang Ling the order to retreat.
Although Yang Ling knew that this day would happen sooner or later, he still held on to luck and hoped that a miracle would happen. However, the day finally came and the officers fled.
Wang Huzi, who was covered in blood, heard Jiao Chaoming's words and immediately became anxious: "What did you say! Withdraw! Nanjing is still in our hands, why withdraw!"
There are sufficient ammunition and food reserves in the city of Nanjing. Although the city wall has been breached, various troops are still relying on the buildings in the city to resist. Now they are withdrawing at any time, which Wang Huzi cannot accept for a while.
"What these dogs call officials are worse than beasts!"
When these brothers who were fighting bloody battles on the battlefield heard that their superiors had withdrawn, they started to curse. In Shanghai, the superiors also ran fast. Hundreds of thousands of troops were in chaos and suffered a huge rout in the morning. This time, the superiors ran away again. How could they not let them go?
They were disheartened.
"Batalion Commander, please lead your brothers to withdraw quickly. All the troops have started to run away. If you don't leave, you won't be able to leave by then." Jiao Chaoming saw that Yang Ling had not spoken for a long time and urged.
Wang Huzi grabbed Jiao Chaoming's collar and said: "If we withdraw, wouldn't my dead brothers die in vain!?"
Jiao Chaoming also spread his hands, feeling very helpless: "Chief Tang has already withdrawn. If you don't withdraw, I'm afraid you will have to leave here and there will be no chance of revenge."
Yang Ling also came to his senses. Now that all the troops have withdrawn, their staying here is like throwing an egg at a stone. Although he wanted to die to serve the country and avenge his dead brothers.
But he is a battalion commander, the commander they trust and follow amidst the hail of bullets, and he cannot push them into a pit of fire.
If the officers were still in Nanjing, there would still be a glimmer of hope of victory in the street fighting. But as soon as Tang Shengzhi and the others left, the people's hearts dispersed. It was not like him, a small battalion commander, could turn the tide. What he had to do now was not to fight the Japanese but to fight hard.
It is to carry these brothers to survive.
"Except for the guns and bullets, throw away everything else and prepare to evacuate!"
Yang Ling's voice remained calm, calming the minds of those brothers who were panicking after hearing the evacuation order.
"Have all surrounding troops received the retreat order?" Yang Ling pulled Jiao Chaoming aside and asked.
Jiao Chaoming replied: "The division commanders of each army sent people to notify separately. They should all have been notified."
Yang Ling felt that it was not safe, so he called a few agile brothers over and asked them to notify Commander Xie Chengrui and the brothers of the 156th Division who were still fighting nearby to retreat together.
The brothers in the guerrilla camp fought bloody battles to defend Nanjing, shedding blood and tears, but now they had to evacuate from Xiangguan in embarrassment. Their hearts were full of unwillingness, and they were completely disappointed with those officers.
Yang Ling is also anxious to rush to Xiaguan now, because he informed Lao Yanqiang that they collected the ferry and agreed to arrive at Xiaguan at night. If he wants to save more people, he must first control the boat. If the boat is robbed by the rebels,
Then everything is over.
When Yang Ling and others hurriedly retreated from Xianguan, many troops who persisted in fighting did not receive orders to retreat and were still fighting repeatedly with the Japanese army.
"Old Sun, I think something is wrong with the situation." Chen Yiding, deputy commander of the 87th Division, found Sun Tianfang, deputy commander of the 261st Brigade, and said.
Their contact with the division headquarters has been cut off, and they have been separated by the Japanese army and friendly forces. Now their eyes are dark, and they hear gunshots that sound strange.
Deputy brigade commander Sun Tianfang also felt something was wrong and hurriedly sent several capable scouts across the line of fire to find friendly troops to inquire about the situation.
Two hours later, the scouts came back and reported the news, saying that the 83rd Army of the Guangdong Army had left Taipingmen and headed northeast. There was no longer a defender on the city wall from Zhongshan Gate to Zhonghua Gate...
"Mom, please, these weaklings are probably going to run away," the deputy commander of the 87th Division yelled after hearing the report.
Deputy Brigadier Sun Tianfang said solemnly: "Then what should we do? All friendly forces have withdrawn, there is no cover on the flanks, and there is a risk of being surrounded."
Chen Yiding sighed and said: "But we have no order to retreat. If we evacuate the position without authorization, who can bear the responsibility?"
As soon as these words came out, both of them were speechless and frowned.
"Why don't you call the regimental commanders to discuss it? It's better than just sitting back and waiting for death." Deputy Brigadier Sun Tianfang suggested.
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Chen Yiding agreed to the proposal without hesitation.
Soon all the regiment commanders fighting on the front line were rushed to the division headquarters, and they also felt that the atmosphere was unusual.
"Everyone, the troops on our flanks have withdrawn. We have lost contact with the headquarters. We don't know what is going on. But if we are tired from staying here, we may be surrounded by the Japanese army. Let's discuss what to do." Chen Yiding.
He spoke of his current predicament without hesitation.
The group leaders were all talented people, and they all said in unison: "We listen to Chief Chen. Whatever you say, we will do it."
Chen Yiding knew that those who evacuated the position without authorization would be shot. Who dared to bear this responsibility? He hurriedly waved his hands and said: "We should all discuss it."
"We'd better withdraw." Sun Tianfang suggested at the right moment.
Chen Yiding looked at the group leaders and said: "It is okay to withdraw, but all of us here must sign and press our fingerprints."
The artillery roared outside, and the Japanese offensive became more fierce. Several regiment leaders looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and signed the retreat order.
"Everyone, go back and prepare quickly. Don't take anything you can't take with you. We will evacuate to Xiaguan first and then make a decision."
Several regiment leaders did not dare to hesitate and immediately went back to organize their troops to break out and retreat.