20demayo Chapter 41 Li Jianghe Guards Yuhuatai
Chapter 41 Li Jianghe Guards Yuhuatai
The people in the command post were quite surprised to see Chief of Staff Xiao Shen bring in a lieutenant colonel.
After all, those who can attend this meeting are basically at the level of division commanders and army commanders.
Li Jianghe glanced around and spotted many familiar faces, such as Commander-in-Chief Tang and "Flying General" Sun Yuanliang.
Seeing Chief of Staff Xiao Shen return, Commander-in-Chief Tang glanced at Li Jianghe and smiled:
"Commander Li has arrived as well. Alright, our meeting can begin."
The people in the room all turned their gazes to Li Jianghe.
Sun Yuanliang, commander of the 88th Division, began to speak:
"Commander, who is this gentleman?"
He glanced at Li Jianghe's rank; he was still only a major, because although Li Jianghe had been promoted to lieutenant colonel, he had not yet received his shoulder insignia.
Commander-in-Chief Tang smiled and said:
"Commander Sun, you should be familiar with Regiment Commander Li. He led his troops to break out of the Sihang Warehouse and completely outmaneuvered the entire Ninth Division."
Sun Yuanliang then revealed a look of sudden realization and said:
"Oh, it's Commander Li! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sun Yuanliang, commander of the 88th Division."
He walked over enthusiastically and shook hands with Li Jianghe.
Li Jianghe thought to himself, "They're being so enthusiastic towards me, they must have ulterior motives."
Maybe they want to freeload off the soldiers they trained.
The crowd began to discuss it amongst themselves, clearly having heard of Li Jianghe's name.
"Oh, it was him. He's so young."
"Heroes emerge from among the young, after all. To be able to beat that old Japanese devil Yoshizumi Ryosuke so badly that he couldn't fight back, that's quite an achievement."
"That's not all. He was able to lead his troops all the way to Nanjing. He really has some skills."
"The Guangxi Army is indeed producing talented generals. First there was the Little Zhuge Liang, and this successor is no less capable."
,,,,
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Commander-in-Chief Tang finally spoke:
"Alright, everyone, the Japanese army has already captured Jiangyin and is continuing its offensive on Zhenjiang. The situation is urgent, and we don't have much time left to prepare."
The Chairman has requested that we hold out for at least half a month after the Japanese general offensive. Does anyone have any good suggestions?
The crowd looked at each other, whispering amongst themselves, but no one spoke.
Li Jianghe thought he should just stay out of the spotlight and not offer any insightful opinions, otherwise he'd be the one to stick his neck out.
Thinking of this, he even subconsciously took half a step back, wanting to hide his figure behind the chief of staff.
Just then, Commander-in-Chief Tang's gaze fell upon him.
"Commander Li, I heard that you led your troops all the way from Shanghai, not only annihilating a large number of Japanese troops, but also gathering up many defeated soldiers, and repeatedly inflicting heavy losses on the Japanese army in Sihang Warehouse. I think you must have some brilliant ideas on defense. Why don't you tell me first?"
Commander-in-Chief Tang smiled and looked at Li Jianghe.
Li Jianghe thought to himself, "I'm doomed. They're picking on those without any backing first. I really don't have any backing in the Nationalist army."
To be honest, it seems that only Commander-in-Chief Li's side can still speak up, since they are also part of the Guangxi Army's combat order.
Li Jianghe cleared his throat, originally intending to say a few random words.
But then I thought, perhaps if my suggestion were adopted, it could save countless lives.
Even if the probability of this suggestion being adopted is extremely small.
"Nanjing is a hopeless place and cannot be defended. Moreover, the Japanese army suffered heavy losses in Shanghai and has already committed many atrocities along the way."
If this place is captured, there will inevitably be a massacre, even a city-wide massacre, at which time the people will suffer and blood will flow like rivers.
Therefore, the best course of action now is to evacuate the civilians as quickly as possible, while simultaneously holding off the vanguard of the Japanese army outside Nanjing, thus buying time for the civilians to move.
These words caused an uproar among the crowd.
"Cowardly before even fighting! This young man is nothing special."
"Sigh, you shouldn't say things like that in this kind of situation."
"How reckless! How reckless!"
,,,,
As the crowd whispered among themselves, Chief of Staff Xiao Shen cleared his throat and defended the group:
"Commander, we can't let our words get us into trouble. I think Commander Li wants to minimize the losses."
He knew very well that saying such things at this time involved a great risk.
Because most of the soldiers in Nanjing were in a state of panic and low morale, the generals outwardly said they would resolutely resist, but in reality they were all thinking about when to retreat.
Commander-in-Chief Tang needs to establish his authority, and the simplest way to do that is to kill someone.
Chief of Staff Xiao Shen did not want Li Jianghe to become the one sacrificed as a sacrifice.
As expected, Commander-in-Chief Tang's face turned icy cold as he glanced at Li Jianghe and said:
"It seems that after the battle of Sihang Warehouse, the Japanese have completely extinguished Commander Li's heroic spirit."
However, considering Chief of Staff Xiao Shen's words, he did not punish Li Jianghe further, but instead looked around at everyone in the headquarters and said:
"Gentlemen, I, Tang, am determined to live and die with the capital. I will never leave; I will fight to the death."
"Anyone who tries to desert their post will be the first to object."
After he finished speaking, he slammed the Browning pistol from his waist onto the table with a loud thud.
Then, Commander-in-Chief Tang pointed to the map and said:
"I have given the order to confiscate all boats crossing the river. We are determined to hold Nanjing for at least half a month."
When the Japanese army loses its fighting spirit, that will be the time for our army to launch a counterattack!
After he finished speaking with an air of righteous indignation, his cold gaze fell on Li Jianghe.
"Commander Li, I've heard you're skilled in defense, so I'll leave Yuhuatai outside Zhonghua Gate to you."
"yes!"
Li Jianghe didn't say much, but answered firmly and forcefully.
At this moment, Tang Shengzhi looked at Sun Yuanliang and said:
"Commander Sun, you will lead the main force of the 88th Division to defend Zhonghua Gate. Once the battle begins, immediately close the gate. No one is allowed to open the gate without my order!!!"
His words seemed to be addressed to Sun Yuanliang, but even more so to Li Jianghe.
The phrase "close the city gates" was, in essence, a call to action to force Li Jianghe's troops to fight to the death at Yuhuatai, even if it meant total annihilation, rather than allowing them to retreat into the city.
In Tang Shengzhi's view, since you think Nanjing is difficult to defend and want to run away, then fine, I will completely cut off your thoughts and make it impossible for you not to die in battle.
As Li Jianghe listened to Tang Shengzhi's military orders, he was filled with fervor and unwavering resolve.
But the thought of these people abandoning the city and fleeing, leaving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Nanjing to be slaughtered by the Japanese army, made Li Jianghe feel extremely ironic.
Unfortunately, he couldn't say these words aloud; he had to keep them to himself.
He was thinking about how to survive, and how to help more people survive.
After leaving the command post, Chief of Staff Xiao Shen took the initiative to find Li Jianghe.
"Commander Li, you're too young. In future meetings like these, don't say what's on your mind. Just say polite things, understand?"