Chapter 1937 At Thirteen Minutes Past Three in the Afternoon

At thirteen minutes past three in the afternoon on December 13, 1937, the National Revolutionary Army’s 83rd Corps spotted an observation balloon rising in the direction of Jurong.

They also saw the seven large characters written on the balloon: "66th Corps is in Jurong!"

This situation left Deng Longguang, the commander of the 83rd Corps, who had received the news, hesitant and uncertain.

Of course, he hoped in his heart that the 66th Corps was in Jurong, so that the 83rd Corps could also go there.

But if this was a trap, the entire 83rd Corps, more than ten thousand people, would have no chance to escape.

After all, the possibility of breaking through a trap that had been set to lure them in was too low.

However, the current situation of the 83rd Corps made Commander Deng have to hope that the 66th Corps was really in Jurong.

Regardless of the situation ahead, Commander Deng Longguang, after a brief discussion with Wu Jianxiong, the commander of the 154th Division, and Li Jiang, the commander of the 156th Division, decided to:

Send a 200-man suicide squad to lead the way and advance to scout in the direction of the balloon.

Next, the entire army would temporarily stand still, and everyone would conserve their strength.

If there was a trap set by the Japanese ahead, then at night:

The 154th Division would lead the way, the corps headquarters would follow in the middle, and the 156th Division would bring up the rear.

After dark, the entire army would advance with all its strength towards the flank of Jurong.

Passing between Jurong and Chunhua.

If they encountered the Japanese again at night, they would have to try their best to break through the blockade and fight their way out.

Their team needed to break through all the way to Ningguo, where the Seventh War Area was located.

Although Commander Deng's plan was very firm, he knew clearly in his heart: the 83rd Corps had been marching continuously for a day and a night.

And the entire army had not started a fire to cook today, as the retreat order yesterday was given too hastily.

The entire army simply did not prepare enough dry rations, and in fact, most of the soldiers had not eaten anything since last night.

Now they were both tired and hungry, a standard exhausted army.

At this time, the soldiers had become spent arrows. If Jurong was really a trap set by the Japanese, it was difficult to predict how many of the entire army could break out.

They still had Langshan, Paotaishan, and Tuanshan to conceal their troop movements.

As the team continued to advance, the front was a flat open area, and the entire team was completely exposed to the eyes of the balloon observer.

If the soldiers on the balloon were Japanese disguised to set a trap, they would definitely fall into the Japanese encirclement next.

Therefore, after the 83rd Corps held a meeting of officers above the division level at the corps headquarters, they finally decided: to suspend the advance and wait for the results of the suicide squad's reconnaissance before making a decision.

Gu Puzhe was a battalion commander of the 154th Division of the 80th Corps, and the suicide squad was drawn from his battalion.

He himself served as the captain of this suicide squad. This was already the fourth suicide squad that the 83rd Corps had formed since leaving Nanjing through the Taiping Gate.

The previous three suicide squads had suffered heavy casualties. The soldiers were exhausted, and Commander Deng Longguang had forcibly ordered them to rest.

The fact that the entire 83rd Corps could still operate as a formed unit was the most gratifying thing for Commander Deng.

At least the 83rd Corps could still fight another battle when encountering small groups of Japanese!

This time, Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe led a 200-man suicide squad, and the mission they were carrying out was different from the previous three teams: he only needed to scout the way and see the situation.

No matter what the situation was ahead, he had to send a team back to report the situation.

If it was a trap, he would lead his two hundred brothers to fight their way out of the trap!

If it was a net, he would lead his brothers to tear through the net and open a path for more than ten thousand comrades behind him.

Commander Deng distributed the dry rations collected by the corps headquarters to these two hundred suicide squad members, allowing them to replenish some energy and reserve some power for the next action.

These dry rations were all the dry rations that the corps headquarters had collected after receiving the retreat order yesterday afternoon.

They were kept in centralized storage and distributed this morning and at noon to ensure the supplies of officers above the regimental level, and all that was left.

The entire 83rd Corps had actually run out of food before it had even begun to retreat.

These two hundred suicide squad members, who had not eaten for three meals, ate the last military rations of the 83rd Corps with cold water.

Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe led his team towards Jurong.

They left with the hope of the entire 83rd Corps.

The current location of the 83rd Corps was estimated to be ten kilometers away from the balloon.

After Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe led his team out of Langshan, they began to bend down and move forward.

He deliberately wanted to hide the whereabouts of the entire team, preferring to take a detour, and looking for a path that was not easily discovered by the eyes in the sky.

Their line of action increased a lot of resistance to their advance.

Especially when they encountered a small pond in front of them, they had to go a long way around to hide their tracks.

After advancing about five kilometers, Gu Puzhe ordered Platoon Leader Bai Haokuo: "You take ten team members and wait here. If we don't come back in two hours.

You go back and report to the commander: there's a trap ahead!"

Wei Tianrui was named to stay behind by Platoon Leader Bai Haokuo, and he said loudly, "Report to the battalion commander! I want to go with the team to fight the Japanese."

Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe smiled and said, "It may just be brothers from the 66th Corps ahead. We'll go scout first, and you guys hide here and don't expose yourselves."

Battalion Commander Gu's painstaking efforts to hide his whereabouts were actually not very useful.

This 200-man team was discovered by Li Deben just two kilometers out of Langshan.

The intelligence was immediately reported to Lin Fan.

Hearing that a team of hundreds of people was coming from the direction of Tangshan, Corps Commander Ye Zhao happily said, "I'll send someone to pick them up."

He had a guess in his heart: this may be a team from the 83rd Corps that had become separated from the main force.

Lin Fan said with a smile, "I'll also send a deputy company commander over. Li Xian! You take ten people to meet the people coming over."

Ye Zhao ordered, "Staff Officer Shu Lebang, you take ten people from the corps headquarters to check the situation. If they are brothers from the 66th Corps, immediately send someone back to report."

He explained to Lin Fan, "Staff Officer Shu Lebang was transferred from the 83rd Corps this April.

He has worked in the 83rd Corps for four years and is very familiar with both sides."

Lin Fan said with a smile, "That's good. It's best if both sides can recognize each other, which can eliminate many misunderstandings."

A 20-man cavalry squad set off immediately.

Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe had just arranged the backup plan, and the team had advanced less than a hundred meters when they felt the ground shaking.

They immediately lay on the ground and listened carefully: cavalry was coming.

He quickly told the hundred or so suicide squad members behind him to hide.

Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe, lying prone in the grass, nervously observed in the direction of the approaching hoofbeats.

Before long, the cavalry team rushing from the direction of Jurong appeared in sight, and twenty cavalrymen could be seen in the distance.

"It's a reconnaissance squad!" Gu Puzhe's heart sank when he saw this cavalry squad.

"It really is a trap ahead. The 66th Corps couldn't possibly have cavalry. When we left the city, only the corps commander and division commander had warhorses.

Adding them all together, there wouldn't be more than two or three warhorses." All the members of the suicide squad thought so.

Seeing that the direction in which the cavalry reconnaissance squad was advancing was towards them.

"Prepare for battle!" Although the cavalry reconnaissance squad was still far away from the suicide squad, the voice of Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe when giving the order had already begun to lower.

He was afraid that his voice would be too loud and be discovered by the cavalry team.

"Battalion commander! The person at the very front seems to be Chief of Staff Shu." A soldier in the suicide squad said.

Shu Lebang had been a chief of staff in their regiment for a year, and this soldier recognized him.

With this sentence as a beginning, more and more soldiers followed suit:

"Battalion commander, I saw it too. The soldiers on the warhorses seem to be our people."

"Remove the word 'seem'. They are soldiers wearing our military uniforms.

The one running at the very front is Staff Officer Shu!" Company Commander Hao Yaoqi said affirmatively.

Gu Puzhe also recognized him: it was Staff Officer Shu!

He was happy in his heart, but he still did not let down his guard: "You guys lie in ambush and be ready to fight at any time.

I'll go meet them."

After saying that, he led a dozen or so suicide squad members and stood out generously.

He was also waving a tree branch in his hand to attract the attention of the charging cavalry.

Staff Officer Shu Lebang and the others only knew that there was a team in this direction and had run to this position.

But this place was too big, and Battalion Commander Gu and the others were deliberately hiding.

Staff Officer Shu and the others who rushed here could not see anyone at all, and they did not know if they had missed them.

Li Xian was also a little troubled: how should he search in such a large area?

Just as they stopped their warhorses and looked around, Li Xian discovered that someone was waving a tree branch in the left front, obviously attracting them to go over.

He shouted loudly to Staff Officer Shu Lebang, "On the left! They are on the left!"

Staff Officer Shu Lebang recognized Gu Puzhe at a glance: "It's Battalion Commander Gu! From the 154th Division."

After saying that, he immediately urged his warhorse and ran towards Battalion Commander Gu.

Li Xian lagged slightly behind. Lin Fan had told him: be careful in everything!

He lagged behind by four or five meters, and saw that the soldiers who stood out on the opposite side had smiles on their faces.

It did not seem like they were faking it, and only then did he relax a little.

Battalion Commander Gu shouted loudly before Staff Officer Shu could run over, "Staff Officer Shu! Where did you get rich? You actually got such a good warhorse?"

Staff Officer Shu laughed happily, "It's not that I got rich, it's that the brothers in the Special Company got rich.

They sent two hundred warhorses to our 66th Corps!"

He saw that Li Xian was still behind and pointed at Li Xian and said, "This is Deputy Company Commander Li Xian of the Special Company.

He came specifically to welcome you.

This is Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe of the Garrison Battalion of the 154th Division of the 83rd Corps."

Li Xian also jumped off his warhorse and said with a smile, "Battalion Commander Gu, thank you for your hard work!

Let your brothers come out, their guns have been pointing at us all the time, and I feel a little uncomfortable in my heart."

Staff Officer Shu was still thinking: "What happened to the more than a hundred people that we agreed on? How come there are only these ten?"

Only now did he realize that the main force was still hiding.

"You! You always have a lot of small tricks." Staff Officer Shu pointed at Battalion Commander Gu and laughed.

Battalion Commander Gu shouted, "Brothers, come out!"

Those suicide squad members who were lying in ambush around them immediately stood up, and someone shouted, "Staff Officer Shu! Did you bring cigarettes? I haven't had a cigarette for a day, I'm dying!"

Hearing this voice, Li Xian really relaxed.

He could tell that this voice was Cantonese, proving that these soldiers were indeed Guangdong soldiers.

That was enough.

Battalion Commander Gu Puzhe asked, "Staff Officer Shu! After coming out of Taiping Gate, what did you encounter?"

Staff Officer Shu also asked at the same time, "Battalion Commander Gu, after coming out of Taiping Gate, what did you encounter?"

"You speak first!"

"You speak first!"

…

The two of them opened their mouths at the same time and closed their mouths at the same time, like they were performing a duet.

Li Xian said with a smile, "You two really have a telepathic connection! Let me tell you!

When our Special Company was fighting the Japanese in Tangshan, the brothers of the 66th Corps were in Tangshan.

They cooperated to drive the Japanese from Tangshan to Jurong.

They are now fighting in Jurong.

Battalion Commander Gu, what about your 83rd Corps?"

Staff Officer Shu added from the side, "They are the Special Company of the 542nd Regiment of the 88th Division."

Seeing that Battalion Commander Gu was still a little unclear, he continued to explain, "They are the team with heavy artillery in Nanjing City."

Only then did Battalion Commander Gu suddenly realize, "It's you!"

The Special Company had already raised observation balloons in Nanjing City, and had also shot down many Japanese planes.

At that time, the raising of observation balloons in Nanjing City had surprised the various teams guarding the city.

At this time, Battalion Commander Gu finally completely relaxed, "The commander and the others are still in Langshan, waiting for our news."

After saying that, he said embarrassedly, "We also saw the words you wrote on the observation balloon, but no matter how we looked at it, it looked like a trap."

Li Xian also laughed, "It's always right to be careful when the army is moving, otherwise, a general's incompetence will exhaust the three armies."

Li Xian's words clearly gave the 83rd Corps a way out.

Battalion Commander Gu nodded repeatedly, "Yes! Our commander also thinks so."

Staff Officer Shu said, "Do you have supplies in Langshan?"

"There are more than ten thousand people, how could there be supplies in the wilderness?" Battalion Commander Gu said.

Staff Officer Shu immediately ordered, "Wei Kangshi, you give up your horse and walk back with Battalion Commander Gu.

Battalion Commander Gu, you send someone to take us to pick up Commander Deng and the others. The Special Company in front has supplies.

Let the brothers get to Jurong as soon as possible and have a good night's rest."

Li Xian also said to Wan An, "Wan An! You take two people back immediately to inform the company commander: Commander Deng and the others have been found, and a team of more than ten thousand people will arrive later."

Battalion Commander Gu ordered, "Company Commander Hao, you are familiar with the situation here, take Staff Officer Shu and the others to find the commander.

We continue to move forward."

Company Commander Hao led the way and ran towards Langshan. Now they didn't have to run too fast.

It was just that Company Commander Hao was anxious and wanted to bring the 83rd Corps out of Langshan as soon as possible.

The five-kilometer journey was run back in less than ten minutes.

Before they reached Langshan, Commander Deng, Division Commander Wu, and Division Commander Li were all outside Langshan to greet them.

Ever since they sent out the suicide squad, they had been sending people to keep an eye on all directions.

When they saw the cavalry coming from afar, they had already recognized Hao, the company commander of the suicide squad who had just been sent out, in the lead through the telescope.

Staff Officer Shu was next to Company Commander Hao.

These big shots all knew Staff Officer Shu: he had been transferred to the 66th Corps in March of this year.

When Staff Officer Shu saw Commander Deng from afar, he dismounted thirty meters away, ran forward quickly, and gave a formal salute: "Military Staff Officer Shu Lebang of the 66th Corps reports to Commander Deng:

Our army is attacking Jurong in coordination with the Special Company.

The progress is currently smooth, please advise."

When Commander Deng heard that they were attacking Jurong, the expression on his face was a little puzzled.

He came and said, "Tell me about the situation first!"

Staff Officer Shu explained that after the 66th Corps came out of Taiping Gate, they encountered a Japanese sniper and charged all the way into Tangshan.

The entire army got lost. Near noon, they discovered that Japanese paratroopers had appeared in front of their team.

While they were attacking, the Special Company came forward to help, and the two sides met.

Only then did they learn that the Special Company had been fighting all the way from Nanjing City along the main road to Tangshan, and had been chasing the Japanese all the way to Jurong.

They had now established a heavy artillery position in front of Jurong and were concentrating their forces.

When he said this, Staff Officer Shu pointed to Li Xian and introduced, "This is Deputy Company Commander Li Xian of the Special Company."

He also introduced to Li Xian, "This is Lieutenant General Deng Longguang, Commander of the 83rd Corps, this is Major General Wu Jianxiong, Commander of the 154th Division, and this is Major General Li Jiang, Commander of the 156th Division."

Li Xian stood at attention and saluted, "Greetings, Commander Deng, Division Commander Wu, and Division Commander Li."

Commander Deng asked, "Is the attack on Jurong going smoothly?"

He was looking at Staff Officer Shu when he asked.

Staff Officer Shu said with a bitter smile, "The entire battle is being fought by the Special Company. Our 66th Corps has not rested for a day and a night and has not eaten a hot meal.

So, after eating a good meal in Tangshan at noon, the soldiers are only doing guard duty now.

The Special Company's soldiers are still doing the attacking."

When he introduced the situation just now, although he said that the 66th Corps was cooperating with the Special Company, the officers of the 83rd Corps only thought that he was being humble.

In the hearts of these officers of the 83rd Corps, they were thinking: it must be the 66th Corps as the main force and the Special Company as the auxiliary force.

Now, listening to what he said, they realized that it was the other way around: the 66th Corps, which had an unknown number of times more people, was actually resting.

And the team with fewer people was fighting the Japanese!

That was fighting the Japanese!

Only at this time did Commander Deng begin to pay attention to the company vice in front of him, "Company Vice Li! How many people are in your company that you dare to attack Jurong alone?"

Only now did Li Xian fully feel the respect from the commander, and he said with a smile on his face, "The Special Company has a total of 1,500 people, divided into nine platoons, seven infantry platoons, and two heavy artillery platoons.

Attacking Jurong are the first and second platoons."

His performance was really too successful.

There were more than fifty people here listening to their conversation, including officers, staff officers, and surrounding guards.

When they heard that only two platoons of the Special Company dared to attack Jurong, they were so surprised that they couldn't believe it.

Commander Deng was also a little doubtful. He looked at Staff Officer Shu, who used to be his subordinate.

What he said should be credible.

Staff Officer Shu said with a bitter smile, "It's true, the Special Company came out of Nanjing City, and the first and second platoons have always been the vanguards.

They also have to arrange for people to cover the rear.

Soldiers also have to be arranged to protect the middle of the team. The most important thing is that they are carrying too many supplies.

It also takes up a lot of manpower."

Staff Officer Shu's words made the officers and soldiers of the 83rd Corps present feel that he was being Versailles!

Our team of tens of thousands of people came out of Nanjing City without bringing any baggage.

They brought a lot of things when they came out as a company?

Regardless of the mood of these officers and soldiers of the 83rd Corps, Commander Deng understood one thing: the Special Company was not a company, it was just a code name.

And this team of the Special Company was particularly powerful in combat. Following them, the possibility of a successful breakout was much greater.

With this understanding, Commander Deng immediately ordered, "Proceed to Jurong according to the original plan."

Tens of thousands of soldiers immediately took action.

When they started, Corps Commander Ye Zhao and Lin Fan of the 66th Corps had already received the news.

It was just that the two of them could not spare the time for the time being. The battle to attack Jurong was still continuing, and they needed to stay here to command.

The third and fourth platoons had already advanced to Zhangjiazhuang at this time, and they had become the ones to clean up the battlefield for the two teams in front.

These Japanese soldiers were not strong in combat and did not carry much equipment. They only had rifles and 150 rounds of ammunition.

However, the clothes on their bodies and the leather shoes on their feet could all be collected.

Now Lin Fan was not in a hurry anymore. With two armies, a team of more than 20,000 people, the Japanese were not prepared and were simply not enough to fight.

Therefore, the standards for cleaning up the battlefield were restored.

Liu Laopao led the team through Zhangjiazhuang, and in front was Zhaojiabian, where the Japanese had been waiting for a long time.

This was the third line of defense that Prince Asaka Yasuhiko had set up to defend Jurong.

The line that Liu Laopao led the team through, which the second platoon was cleaning up the battlefield, was the second line of defense set up by Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

The team that Ryosuke Kurashima supplemented was a thousand soldiers from the transportation team, and they were staying in Miaogang.

The weapons and equipment carried by this group of soldiers were obviously much more formal.

After Captain Ryosuke Kurashima arrived in Miaogang, he immediately ordered the team to start digging trenches to prepare for battle.

The battle at Xiejiazhuang just now started too quickly. As soon as the battle started, they were greeted by the strafing of five planes.

Captain Ryosuke Kurashima and his team stationed in Miaogang had not been able to react.

The more than 1,000 people led by Captain Taro Kuroo had already been killed in battle.

From the time the National Revolutionary Army began to attack to the death of more than 1,000 people in Captain Taro Kuroo's team, it was less than thirty minutes.

This also surprised Captain Ryosuke Kurashima and the officers and soldiers in his team.

In fact, compared to the Japanese soldiers that the first and second platoons had attacked in front, the team led by Captain Ryosuke Kurashima.

Captain Ryosuke Kurashima's team could be considered a truly combat-ready team.

At least the soldiers in this team no longer had any wounded.

Although the 1,000 people who had been supplemented were all transport soldiers, compared to regular infantry.

Their combat quality was definitely going to be worse.

However, these soldiers had brought their weapons and equipment well: all the equipment that only Class A troops could be equipped with, they had all brought up.

Jurong had now become the material gathering place for the entire Tenth Army. Except for the small number of Japanese soldiers, there was everything else.

Ordinary light machine guns, heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, and mortars were all available here. They were all prepared to be sent to the front line to supplement the consumption of the combat troops.

Even the Type 92 infantry guns, they had also dragged up five of them. In fact, there were a total of thirty of these guns in Jurong Town.

When Liu Laopao led his team to attack Zhaojiabian, the team that Taiki Furihata supplemented was also a transport team of this kind.

They also transported the equipment up and were well-equipped.

When Liu Laopao's team was still 200 meters away, the heavy machine guns of Taiki Furihata's team began to fire.

They didn't have one or two heavy machine guns.

Among the 1,054 people in the team, these Japanese soldiers had brought thirty heavy machine guns.

Such dense firepower made Liu Laopao calm down all of a sudden: they had been fighting too smoothly just now.

Relying on their firepower advantage, they could directly crush the Japanese wounded troops.

Now the firepower on the other side was much stronger than their own.

The battle could only be fought slowly.

At this time, Chen Sichuan also encountered the same trouble. Just now, he had only captured the Japanese position in Zhangjiazhuang.

There was also a Japanese team in Miaogang on the flank of Zhangjiazhuang, staring at them covetously.

It was impossible not to get rid of this Japanese team.

So Chen Sichuan's platoon attacked Miaogang, which was occupied by Captain Ryosuke Kurashima's team.

They also encountered the same difficulties as Liu Laopao: the Japanese firepower was strong, even stronger than the firepower of the Special Company.

Especially the Japanese heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, and mortars were coming like raindrops.

Even with two tanks to help the first platoon, the attack was still difficult.

The reason that made Chen Sichuan withdraw the tanks was: the Japanese on the other side actually had Type 92 infantry guns.

The first platoon had already fought three groups of Japanese here, and had not seen the Japanese having mortars and infantry guns.

Now that they found that the Japanese had infantry guns, Chen Sichuan still had his tanks retreat.

He reported the situation at the front line to the company commander. After receiving the report, Lin Fan immediately ordered the heavy artillery platoon to provide fire support to the first and second platoons.

Jia Shusheng led the third platoon to bypass the Japanese defense line on the front of Miaogang and moved to the flank of Miaogang to attack from the Japanese's back.

Xiao Dongbei led the fourth platoon to move to the south flank of Zhaojiabian in the same way, encircling the Japanese and fighting them.

After receiving the support order, the heavy artillery platoon immediately began to adjust the firing angle of the artillery under Li Deben's observation.

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko received news from the front in the headquarters of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force in Jurong:

The National Revolutionary Army that came to attack had attacked the two defense lines of Zhaojiabian and Miaogang.

No news had been received from the previous positions.

No news was news! All the officers in the headquarters of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force knew that the 3,000 lightly wounded soldiers should have all been crushed.

This was an unfriendly guess, and no officer dared to say it out loud.

Now, no officer dared to suggest a retreat!

Just half an hour ago: General Iwane Matsui, the commander of the Central China Area Army, had not been able to persuade Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko to retreat.

These ordinary officers did not even have the qualifications to speak.

It was just that they now had only the last two lines of defense in Jurong.

If the team of the Headquarters was to be counted as a line of defense.

The headquarters had three lines of defense left.

None of the officers in the headquarters had confidence in whether these three lines of defense could hold out until reinforcements arrived.

It was now 4:07 p.m. in 1937. Just half an hour ago.

All the teams in the entire Central China Area Army received a new combat order: all the nearby teams were to advance to Jurong with all their strength.

Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was surrounded by unknown troops of the National Revolutionary Army in Jurong, and the situation was very critical.

They were in urgent need of assistance!

The 9th Division, the 16th Division, the 6th Division, the 13th Division, and the 114th Division, which were rampaging in Nanjing City, finally understood the seriousness of the situation.

They had just occupied Nanjing, but had not completely controlled the overall situation.

They could not completely abandon Nanjing City, but they could not not save Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

This was a dilemma! And in order to attack Nanjing City, the soldiers of these divisions had not rested since last night.

Now they had to march nearly a hundred miles to Jurong, which was not an easy task.

The cavalry and vehicles that could quickly maneuver in each division had been exhausted.

Now, to relieve the siege of Jurong, the soldiers could only run there on foot.

The huge pressure made each division hesitant.

The headquarters of the Central China Area Army was also very clear about the situation of each division: the Battle of Nanjing, from the time Commander Iwane Matsui issued the order to launch the general attack after noon on the 10th.

The entire Central China Area Army had been maintaining a high-pressure offensive posture, and the soldiers were exhausted and had no more strength to fight.

This time, the Central China Area Army had been fighting all the way from Shanghai, and although it had captured cities and territories along the way, it had also suffered heavy losses itself, and each division had suffered heavy casualties.

In particular, the 9th Division had reached the point where its strength had been reduced by more than half.

Under this situation, each division was unable to send soldiers.

Privately, the division commanders still had some small opinions: "It was clear that as long as Commander Prince Asaka Yasuhiko had entered Nanjing from the direction of Chunhua, all the problems could have been solved."

But Prince Asaka Yasuhiko was the emperor's uncle, and no one in the entire Central China Area Army could dissuade his small willfulness.

The Central China Area Army finally formulated a new combat plan: in addition to the 9th Division, each division would send out two battalions of infantry to support Jurong.

The 114th Division and the 6th Division each sent out two battalions and temporarily formed a regiment.

Under the command of Brigadier General Mitsuru Ushijima of the 36th Infantry Brigade, they would support Jurong along the direction of Gaoqiaomen and Chunhua.

The 13th Division and the 16th Division each sent out two battalions and temporarily formed a regiment.

Under the command of Brigadier General Toyotashima Yamazawa of the 25th Brigade, they would go to Jurong from Taipingmen through Linggusi, Qilinmen, and Tangshan.

The headquarters of the Central China Area Army specifically pointed out that the two regiments must ensure that each had more than 5,000 combat personnel: this was an order!

The divisions that received the combat plan immediately began to gather soldiers to prepare to form an army and set off.

Normally, a regiment also had more than 4,000 people, but these 4,000 people also included medical personnel, transport personnel, and engineer personnel. In fact, only about 3,000 people were actually fighting on the battlefield.

Now, what the headquarters was requiring was to form two regiments of all combat personnel.

In fact, it was equivalent to each division needing to draw all the combat personnel from a regiment in its existing strength in order to put them together.

The divisions, which were already short of troops, did not dare to draw transport teams and engineer teams to fill the ranks.

They could only grit their teeth and gather combat personnel.

While the Japanese in Nanjing City were trying their best to piece together a support team, Andrei and his flight squadron had returned to Wuhan.

They immediately reported the intelligence that they had discovered the 66th Corps between Jurong and Tangshan, and that the 66th Corps was breaking through the siege.

Air Force Commander Zhou Zhirou immediately reported the intelligence to Soong Mei-ling and Chiang Kai-shek.

After receiving this situation, Chiang Kai-shek looked at the map of Nanjing for a long time. He had participated in every discussion of the entire Nanjing defense plan.

He was already very familiar with strategic points such as Tangshan and Jurong.

When he heard that a team from Nanjing City had broken through Tangshan and arrived in Jurong.

He was silent for a long time, and finally ordered, "Please have Captain Andrei come over."

Just as the guard was about to go out to convey the order, he further instructed, "Please have the entire Andrei squadron come over.

I want to have dinner with them and thank them for everything they have done for us."

Soong Mei-ling said to him, "We can pay attention to this 66th Corps and also publicize them.

There are many rumors outside now, and the people need heroes."

…

Chiang Kai-shek cordially met Andrei and his group of five at the Wuhan Garrison Headquarters.

He listened to them pointing to the terrain on the sand table and introducing the situation they had seen in Jurong.

Soong Mei-ling proudly accompanied him: these Air Force pilots, every time they won a battle, she would personally bring pastries and sweets to congratulate them.

She was very dutiful in her position as Secretary-General of the Aviation Committee.

The pilots who came to report today could be considered her subordinates, so she also accompanied them throughout the entire process.

Chiang Kai-shek listened very carefully to Andrei's explanation. When he heard that he had seen the words "66th Corps is in Jurong!" written on the aerial heavy artillery observation balloon.

He secretly noted it in his heart.

In Nanjing City, all of his heavy artillery was on the Jiangning Fortress, and the officers and soldiers of the fortress had blown up those artillery pieces when they retreated.

Among the defensive teams in Nanjing City, the only one that still had heavy artillery was that nondescript Special Company.

Chiang Kai-shek was full of thoughts, but the expression on his face did not change.

He heard that the National Revolutionary Army still had the advantage on the ground, and Andrei and the others had also helped a little.

Regarding the Japanese teams in Jurong Town, Andrei estimated that there would not be more than 3,000 Japanese soldiers.

Thinking of the combat effectiveness of the Japanese soldiers, it was hard to say whether the 66th Corps would be able to break through the Japanese blockade line in Jurong.

Although he was worried, Chiang Kai-shek still warmly entertained Andrei and the five of them, thanking them for their friendship.

At the same time, he proposed, "If possible, go and take a look again tomorrow!"

Andrei agreed at the time.

After dinner, Chiang Kai-shek summoned the generals of the Wuhan General Headquarters and told them the intelligence that Andrei and the others had scouted in Nanjing today.

He especially mentioned that the 66th Corps was fighting fiercely with the Japanese in Jurong, and whether any team could go and rescue them.

Assisting the 66th Corps in breaking through the Japanese blockade line in Jurong.

After listening to Chiang Kai-shek's proposal, the generals present looked at each other.

Chiang Kai-shek explained, "We must have a team that can independently break out of the Japanese encirclement from Nanjing City.

Use the spirit of this team to improve the anti-Japanese spirit of the entire nation.

Now, only such a team has been discovered in the entire Nanjing Garrison, and it has been observed that most of the 66th Corps's organization is still intact, and it is estimated that there are still about 8,000 to 9,000 people.

This is very much in line with our propaganda needs!"

The senior staff beside him reluctantly circled a place on the map. To get from Jurong to the west, they would have to pass Wuhu and Xuancheng before they could have troops to meet them.

The Japanese 18th Division was in these two places, and our teams did not have