kingnovel Chapter 1106 Blowing Up the Building
Chapter 1106 Blowing Up the Building
"Don't worry about us. We've left everything behind. Even if the whole city is trapped and we can't win a decisive battle against the Japanese, we can still break through if we have to head towards the Huangpu River."
Wu Zhenkui also said with great pride, "This is the truth. In addition to the troops needed by the National Government, we also have three militias around us. However, these three militias are different from usual. Usually, they only have a broken rifle and nothing else."
But we have plenty of good stuff right now. These three regiments are almost all disguised as armored regiments, but they haven't been brought out yet. When the time comes, even if we charge towards the Japanese front lines, we can still advance 200 kilometers without any problem. Do the Japanese have a 200-kilometer-deep defense?
"Then I won't worry. But there's one thing you need to remember: this place is not like Huangpu River. No matter how far you go around Huangpu River, there are our people. Most of the troops here have retreated. You can't just look at the unit numbers of the troops that are left behind. Although they may sound like elite troops, most of them died in Huangpu River. Those who are left here are just some replacements whose combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced."
Before leaving, Li Sibei told Wu Zhenhui about the real situation around her. Wu Zhenhui knew about these things. The two shook hands with each other. Li Sibei led the remaining group of people onto the plane to the north. All the remaining personnel were military personnel, including some civilian staff officers in the army. They all went back to the north on this plane because there was no benefit in staying.
The 72nd Army's Office in Nanjing
"Quickly, quickly, move everything to the airport, then blow up the whole building."
When an infantry company commander was directing his men to transport supplies, those around him were startled by his next words. This building was an imposing structure, originally a Japanese trading company, and considered a landmark in the area. Now, before the Japanese even arrived, they were going to blow it up.
"Young man, the Japanese haven't arrived yet, have they? The newspapers say we're going to fight them to the death. Are you going to blow up this building already? It'll cost a fortune to rebuild it later."
An old man was fleeing with his family. They could still escape to the west and north, but if they had gone any later, well, they might have had nowhere left to go.
"Dad, we can fix it later. It's not ours anymore, so let's hurry up and leave. Don't ask us about our affairs."
The infantry company commander was also heartbroken. They all came from poor families, let alone such a large building. The fact that some good things were damaged during the moving process made him feel so bad that he couldn't sleep.
But this has to be done. It's said to be an order from headquarters. Nanjing is probably indefensible, and everyone is retreating. What's the point of leaving these things behind when we retreat? Of course, we have to blow them all up, otherwise, wouldn't we just be leaving them for the Japanese?
Other government offices within Nanjing did not do the same. According to them, this was only a temporary retreat, and they would return in the future. Therefore, if these buildings were damaged, they would still have to spend money to repair them later; it was acceptable to let the Japanese see them for now.
Contrary to their ideas, Li Shaoyi believed that their office was taken from the Japanese, and now the Japanese had no chance of taking it back. He would rather spend money to rebuild it than give it back to the Japanese now. Therefore, after all the items were moved out, the office had to be blown up. At the same time, it was also a reminder to everyone in the city that those who could leave should leave as soon as possible, because even the 72nd Army could not defend this city.
The old man glanced back at the 72nd Army's office, shaking his head helplessly. Just moments ago, news of a victory at Pujiang had arrived, but now even his own office was about to be blown up. Which was true? Weren't they saying the Japanese had also suffered heavy losses? How could they have reached Nanjing so quickly?
At this moment, the Japanese command post was in complete chaos. Some people said they should take this opportunity to speed up the advance, while others said that the personnel of each division were all newly added and that the new combat power had not yet been formed. Moreover, the troops around Nanjing were not weak, and they had also intercepted the new orders from the Nationalist government. Several artillery regiments were rapidly deploying around Nanjing.
If we were to rush in now, we might be able to take Nanjing, but our casualties would be no joke. When we attacked Pujiang, the Japanese estimated that the number of casualties would be at most tens of thousands, but now that number can't even fill the gap from the early stages. Especially in the last few days of the retreat, the 72nd Army went crazy, throwing more shells at the positions every day than the number of enemy heads.
In this situation, ashes were transported back to Japan one after another. During those days, two strange things happened on the battlefield. One was that everyone was celebrating the victory. But not far from the victory celebration, in an open area, lay the corpses of Japanese soldiers, one after another, seemingly mocking this so-called celebration.
Now, according to the orders of the General Headquarters, new troops have arrived, and all kinds of supplies have been delivered to you, almost emptying the Japanese army's coffers. So you must charge forward with all your might. No matter how difficult the road to Nanjing may be, you must push forward now. Our country also needs such a victory.
Because of the heavy losses suffered at the Battle of Shanghai, many ideologies have begun to rise within the country, including the belief that we cannot win. If no good news arrives, anti-war sentiment will intensify, and a segment of the population has been misled by these individuals, even developing doubts about the war itself.
Among the six major powers, Japan is the weakest, yet its domestic fighting spirit is the strongest, and its execution is also quite good, largely due to the Japanese government's effective indoctrination. If they were to falter over this greatest advantage, no matter how much effort they put in, they would likely ultimately fail.
Therefore, we can't care about the number of casualties on the front lines, nor how long they need to gel. The point is, you must launch an attack now and take Nanjing as quickly as possible. Only then can the Japanese face their people, face all the resistance groups, and suppress their thoughts with victory, maintaining a high level of mental focus across Japan as before…