Chapter 1 December 12, 1937

At eight o'clock in the evening on December 12, 1937, the troops in Nanjing who had received the order to retreat were organizing their withdrawal.

Most of the army officers were planning to cross the river by ferry from Xiaguan Wharf.

There was no risk in crossing the river from here. At this time, the officers and soldiers heading towards Xiaguan Wharf did not know that the two divisions defending Wulong Mountain had already retreated ahead of time. The cannons on the Wulong Mountain fort, which were supposed to block the Japanese warships, were being destroyed by the fort's soldiers.

Their performance at this moment was definitely not as good as that of the soldiers at the Jiangyin Fort.

The officers were all heading to Xiaguan Wharf, and the soldiers followed their officers.

All the soldiers and junior officers thought the same thing: since the officers were going to Xiaguan.

There must be many ships docked at Xiaguan, enough to take everyone across the river.

In reality, there were many ships capable of crossing the river in Jiangnan.

However, these ships were not only concentrated in Jiangbei by Tang Shengzhi, but also burned.

Even if those in Jiangbei wanted to send ships to pick people up, they had no ships to send.

Moreover, the commanders of the Nanjing Garrison Headquarters who arrived in Jiangbei at this time had no intention of organizing the retreat of the Jiangnan troops.

When they were in Jiangbei, they were shocked to hear that Japanese troops had appeared in Pukou.

They immediately wanted to retreat further, but they had not planned or prepared for a retreat in Jiangbei.

The soldiers struggled to find only two ox carts. The ox carts were covered in cow dung and smelled terrible.

Tang Shengzhi's face changed with anger: this was the third time he had been humiliated today.

Although his body had not been harmed each time, the humiliation was too much.

He immediately refused to ride in such a special vehicle, but these vehicles could not be let go: the things he had brought across the river filled five ox carts.

The entire Nanjing Garrison Headquarters continued to retreat overnight.

The officers and soldiers crowded at Xiaguan began to scramble to cross.

At this time, no one came out to organize, and these defeated soldiers had lost their minds. Before the ships docked, countless people rushed onto them.

Soldiers who could not squeeze onto the ships opened fire on them, and many ships were pushed under or capsized.

At half past ten, the Special Company finally loaded all the vehicles.

The formation was completed, and preparations were now underway to leave the city.

The Special Company's column had more than a hundred vehicles, and also carried heavy artillery.

The road requirements were high, so this time Lin Fan decided: the column would follow the Jinghang Highway.

He knew that all the Japanese troops were attacking Nanjing. As long as they broke through the first line of Japanese interception.

There would be no Japanese troops behind.

Now they had to go to Zhonghua Gate first; the Special Company would go through Zhongshan Gate.

What Lin Fan didn't know was that during the day, the Japanese had attacked fiercely, and Zhongshan Gate had changed hands several times, but was finally recaptured by the Second Regiment of the Training Corps.

Lin Fan had made full preparations for this breakout.

When his column arrived at Zhongshan Gate, it was stopped by Xie Chengrui's regiment.

Commander Xie, who learned from Lin Fan that the Nanjing Garrison had ordered a retreat, could not believe the news.

The officers and soldiers of their Central Training Corps were the troops most valued by Chiang Kai-shek.

If there was a retreat order, even if they weren't allowed to go first, they should at least be informed of the retreat order!

He immediately called the underground command of the Training Corps, but there was no response.

He also called the Nanjing Garrison Headquarters, but there was still no response.

Now he believed seven tenths of what Lin Fan said.

He immediately notified the regimental commanders, who had just been in a meeting discussing how to fight tomorrow, of this latest news.

Lin Fan had not received any retreat plan at all.

However, he still said to Commander Xie, "Why don't you follow us?

We'll break out through Zhongshan Gate, and it'll be safe once we get past Chunhua."

The four regimental commanders of the Training Corps discussed and decided: retreat to Xiaguan.

Cross the river from Xiaguan!

Lin Fan repeatedly told Commander Xie not to go to Xiaguan. When all the troops retreated, they would definitely think of going to Xiaguan, with hundreds of thousands of troops.

The ships were all in Jiangbei, and Tang had burned so many. It was impossible for enough ships to transport the troops across the river.

Commander Xie immediately pointed out Lin Fan's loophole: "With the Wulong Mountain Fort in place, Japanese ships can't come up, and Xiaguan is as safe as Mount Tai.

Since hundreds of thousands of troops are all at Xiaguan, even if the Japanese enter Nanjing City.

Concentrating hundreds of thousands of National Army soldiers in a small area can definitely block the Japanese.

The troops can cross the river at ease.

Therefore, Xiaguan is safe."

After analyzing all this, Commander Xie looked at the long convoy of the Special Company and said, "Your long convoy should go through Xiaguan even more."

Lin Fan shook his head: "Xiaguan is a dead end! Without organization, without commanders, and without morale, no matter how many troops there are, they are just a pile of loose sand and cannot resist at all."

Commander Xie insisted on his own opinion: "Even if the commanders of those troops have escaped, as long as a senior officer stands up and shouts, he can still organize the soldiers."

Lin Fan was speechless.

He had no choice but to say, "I want to open Zhongshan Gate, is that okay?"

Commander Xie saw that Lin Fan was stubborn and looked at such a team with regret.

He had no choice but to say, "I'll take the troops to Xiaguan immediately, and I'll leave this place to you."

After speaking, he ordered the troops to retreat.

When Commander Xie led his troops out of the city at Yijiang Gate, they all dispersed. He himself was squeezed to death alive by the defeated soldiers at the Yijiang Gate gate.

After the soldiers of the Central Training Corps left.

Lin Fan immediately ordered the entire company to change clothes. His company was going to disguise themselves as Japanese troops.

On a night like this, it could at least make the Japanese hesitate for a few minutes.

The first and second squads were the first to leave the city through the collapsed part of the city wall to scout the way.

The company's password: "Break out! Nanjing!"

The artillery squad and the direct-support squad immediately moved sandbags.

He had considered this arrangement. Tonight, the infantry squads had to conserve their strength to prepare for a big battle. The artillery squads could only use infantry guns and mortars tonight.

The sandbags piled up at the gate of Zhongshan Gate were as difficult for the Special Company to move as they had been solid when they were first piled up.

Watching as another hour passed and the sound of gunfire was already coming from outside the city, Lin Fan could tell that the gunfire was a bit far away, it should be more than a thousand meters away.

He didn't know what the first and second squads had encountered.

Fortunately, Zhongshan Gate was finally opened.

The soldiers of the 30th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese 16th Division never expected:

That the defending army would launch a counterattack in the middle of the night.

During the day, they had tried their best but failed to capture Zhongshan Gate.

Although the city wall had changed hands several times, it was eventually retaken by the defending army.

Chen Sichuan and Liu Laopao led their respective squads to set out to clear the way.

Only two *li* or so out of the city wall, they encountered a Japanese camp ahead.

The Japanese camp was right next to the highway. If the Special Company were all infantry, they could detour around it.

Now, with the Special Company's more than one hundred vehicles, they could only pass along the highway, and it was impossible to avoid alarming the Japanese.

Chen Sichuan said in a low voice, "Kill!"

Liu Laopao: "You kill people here, I'll go ahead and clear the way first."

To his own soldiers, Chen Sichuan ordered, "Small explosive packs, get ready."

More than a hundred people quietly sneaked into this Japanese camp.

Although the 38th Infantry Regiment had suffered heavy casualties, there were still more than two thousand officers and soldiers here. These Japanese were stationed in a continuous area of five hundred meters.

They were also arranged with one battalion forming a larger camp.

A total of five camps.

Chen Sichuan's more than one hundred soldiers, thirty-four people in one camp.

Looking at the time, Chen Sichuan ordered, "Action simultaneously at 1:15!"

When the time came, more than a hundred small explosive packs were thrown into the Japanese camps at the same time.

The two heavy machine guns allocated to each camp also opened fire.

After throwing the bombs, the soldiers immediately began to charge.

These Japanese, who were still dreaming, were attacked by bombs mixed with countless iron pellets, and suffered many casualties in the first time.

Then came the sound of machine guns and killing.

Most of the soldiers did not react at all. They were lucky enough to escape the bomb attacks and the machine gun fire, but they did not escape the assassination of these Special Company soldiers who charged in.

The car lights in the distance made the soldiers of the first squad even more excited.

They knew that it was their team, coming out of Nanjing City.

The attack on the 38th Regiment did not attract the attention of other Japanese, after all, on this night, it was normal to have gunshots and explosions.

Battalion Commander Toyota Naoto was awakened by the explosion. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw streaks of heavy machine gun fire flying over his head in the air.

Listening to the shouts of killing at close range, he did not hesitate, not even putting on his clothes or grabbing his gun.

He rolled out of the tent from the edge.

He was not the only clever person like him.

Battalion Commander Toyota Naoto, who slipped out of the tent, immediately fled in the opposite direction of the shouts of killing.

In the darkness, there were many people like him.

It took Chen Sichuan a full half an hour to clean up this camp.

The machine guns, rifles and ammunition left here by the Japanese all needed to be taken away.

Even better, there were twelve Type 92 infantry guns, and even the shells were there, and all the mules and horses were there.

At this time, the team coming out of the city had arrived.

As a result, there were more than three hundred more mules and horses in the Special Company's retreat team.

Chen Sichuan just pointed these things to Lin Fan and simply said, "We couldn't wipe out all the Japanese."

Lin Fan immediately arranged for the fourth and fifth squads to be on guard, and the third squad to walk with Chen Sichuan's first squad, with the first three squads rolling forward in a staggered formation.

At this time, Liu Laopao in front was also fighting with another division of the 18th Division at Xiaolingwei.

Stationed here was the 33rd Regiment of the 16th Division. This regiment was heavily damaged when the Special Company broke through in Jiangyin, and the entire regiment was less than a thousand people.

They were attacked by Liu Laopao again at night, and the officers and soldiers of the entire 33rd Regiment did not resist at all, and fled in all directions.

Colonel Noda Kengo had developed the true ability to escape since Jiangyin.

Tonight, although his regimental headquarters was with the entire regiment, he still did not sleep very soundly.

This was also the psychological shadow left on Colonel Noda Kengo after his regiment was attacked by the Special Company at night outside Jiangyin City.

In recent days, he had been unable to fall asleep at night.

Tonight was the same, when he was tossing and turning and unable to sleep.

He heard slight footsteps coming from a distance.

Colonel Noda Kengo, who had been attacked by the Special Company, suddenly understood: someone was coming to attack.

Before he could speak to warn, the sound of machine gun fire was already heard outside.

It turned out that he was not the only one who could not sleep.

After being attacked by the Special Company at night last time, there were many soldiers in his regiment who could not sleep at night.

Just now, Squad Leader Minatani Matsui Haruo discovered the second squad who came to attack and opened fire in time.

This prevented Liu Laopao's sneak attack from achieving the best results.

Squad Leader Minatani Matsui Haruo was promoted after the Battle of Jiangyin.

The reason was nothing more than that too many squad leaders of the entire 33rd Regiment were killed in the Battle of Jiangyin.

There were not enough junior officers, so a group of soldiers were promoted on the front line.

As soon as Squad Leader Minatani Matsui Haruo opened fire, the machine gunners of the second squad immediately fired at him.

Even though Squad Leader Minatani Matsui Haruo was lying on the ground, he was still hit.

This was not the end, tonight, the soldiers of the entire Special Company liked small bombs.

The small explosive packs they made themselves, used three *liang* of explosives, five *liang* of iron pellets, and a three-inch fuse. (*liang* is a traditional Chinese unit of weight, approximately 50 grams)

The pull ring of the igniter was套 on a finger, and when it was thrown, the fuse started to burn.

It exploded when it was thrown on the head of the Japanese.

This kind of bomb now has the bomb placed in the middle, and a layer of iron pellets is wrapped around the outside.

When it explodes, the iron pellets scatter in all directions.

Three hundred and sixty degrees completely without a dead end.

The power is extremely great.

Using it on such a night, the effect is unknown how good it is.

The resistance of the 33rd Regiment did not last for a quarter of an hour before it was defeated by the Special Company.

This was at night, the second squad of Liu Laopao was in the depths of darkness, but the Japanese camp was fixed.

With the enemy in the open and us in the dark, the soldiers of the Special Company had no pressure at all to fight this kind of battle.

Squad Leader Minatani Matsui Haruo, as the first whistleblower, was also the first to die under the machine guns of the Special Company.

However, at least half of the thousands of soldiers of the entire 33rd Regiment escaped.

Regimental Commander Noda Kengo had long ago quietly disappeared into the darkness. He led hundreds of Japanese to retreat behind those stone tablets to the mountains behind.

If these attacking teams continued to chase, they would defend the mountain.

This mountain was where the Central Training Corps had defended for three days and three nights. Even if those fortifications were destroyed a lot, they could still be used.

The soldiers of the second squad watched the Japanese retreat into the mountains in the darkness.

They did not continue to chase. Their mission tonight was not to eliminate the Japanese, but to clear the way for the entire company.

Liu Laopao left ten soldiers here to guard, waiting for the Special Company soldiers who came up later.

These ten soldiers turned on the captured machine guns and were ready to welcome the Japanese who had just fled back for a second attack.

There were several hundred Japanese who retreated, and if they really attacked back, these ten people would not be able to resist them anyway.

It's just that Liu Laopao knew in his heart: the Special Company's main force was behind. The first squad should be catching up soon.

His idea was not wrong, the main force of the second squad had only been gone for less than ten minutes, Chen Sichuan and Jia Shusheng's two squads had caught up.

Chen Sichuan and Jia Shusheng brought two squads up and saw that there were only ten soldiers guarding here, and hundreds of Japanese were hidden in the darkness behind the stone tablets.

Chen Sichuan couldn't help but scold Liu Laopao: he only knew how to rush forward and didn't care about the safety of the main force at all.

In this situation, he discussed with Jia Shusheng: "I'll take the first squad and leave first, you set up a defense line here,

Hide quietly in front of this stone tablet, just waiting for the Japanese behind the stone tablet to rush out.

Catch them off guard. If the Japanese don't rush out, wait until the main force has left and then you chase up."

Jia Shusheng also knew that the hundreds of Japanese hidden in the darkness were a hidden bomb to the convoy behind.

Of course, nothing would happen if those Japanese did not rush out, but if the Special Company's team was cut off from the middle or the rear by these Japanese, the losses would definitely be great.

Now every car in the entire convoy was filled with supplies, those things were money, all money!

He accepted Chen Sichuan's arrangement: "You take the team and leave first, I'll ambush here!"

Hearing that the main force was behind.

These ten soldiers were also happy. When they heard that Squad Leader Jia was going to wait for the main force here, these ten soldiers were even happier.

They turned around and ran, rushing forward, they were going to chase Liu Laopao.

Chen Sichuan saw that Liu Laopao only left ten soldiers to clean up the battlefield, Chen Sichuan reflected on himself: he shouldn't have delayed too much time when cleaning up the battlefield just now.

This allowed Liu Laopao to take the lead.

And he was one step ahead, step by step, and never thought of stopping.

He had just annihilated the main force of the Japanese outside the city. The only ones who escaped were just three or two small shrimps, which was very different from the hundreds of Japanese who ran away from Liu Laopao.

Xiaolingwei was already five *li* away from Zhongshan Gate.

When Lin Fan led the main force of the Special Company here, it was already 2:30 in the morning.

A figure stood out in the darkness: "Password!"

"Break out! Reply!"

"Nanjing!"

A soldier approached Lin Fan and explained the situation in a low voice, saying that there were still hundreds of Japanese on the mountain not far away.

Lin Fan remained calm and did not issue any more orders, but let the team move forward at its original speed.

As for the equipment that Liu Laopao cleaned up,

In less than five minutes, it was all piled into the Special Company's convoy again.

Qian Jiao felt extremely fresh walking with the team on foot this evening.

She ran back and said, "Daddy! This team is so strange. Since leaving our house, they have been picking up things all the time.

It's like picking up garbage. The more things they pick up, the more they pick up, aren't they afraid of not being able to pull them?"

Old Man Qian was also in good spirits tonight, and said with a smile, "Silly girl! They are collecting spoils all the way.

We can only see them collecting things all the way, but this car is full of strategic materials.

I also saw just now that they collected all the weapons and ammunition from outside the city."