Traveling through 1937, starting from the Battle of Songhu

Chapter 208: Dealing with Deserters

The next day, Gu Changfeng arrived at Xiaguan Ferry.

The river was cold and windy in the morning, but there were still a large number of people waiting for the opportunity to board the boat.

With the special forces guarding here, officials who wanted to escape were directly driven back to Nanjing, and all the soldiers were detained on a temporary platform for observation.

What’s interesting is that the name of the person who escaped, as well as the unit number and rank, were written directly on it.

Now things get interesting.

With so many people gathered here, there must be some who can read.

As soon as this thought came out, the people began to spit in disgust, and the platform became a place where saliva was flying everywhere.

The news then spread more and more widely. It can be said that these escaped officers had a bad reputation after they escaped, and it was almost impossible for them to return to their original units.

Gu Changfeng's move was enough to kill them directly.

"Commander Gu, there's a brigade commander from the training corps trying to sneak onto the ferry, and we caught him. What do you think we should do with him?"

Xiaowu reported seriously.

Gu Changfeng had supported the Teaching Corps before, but he was afraid that the two sides had a relationship, so he hesitated to take action.

"Treat them all equally and put them all up." Gu Changfeng said in a flat tone, not taking a small brigade commander seriously at all.

"Yes," Xiao Wu agreed, and then laughed, "This guy seems to have a very powerful backstage. He even said he would go to the chairman to sue us."

"It doesn't matter. As long as he can get out safely, you can sue him."

Gu Changfeng looked up at the dozen or so officers on the stage. Some were dressed like beggars, some were dressed normally in coarse linen clothes, and no one was wearing a military uniform.

It has to be said that these people almost lost all their skin in order to escape.

"How did you catch these people, and which troops are they from?" Gu Changfeng pointed at the people on the stage and asked Xiaowu.

Xiao Wu heard this and said happily: "Just look at their palms. Generally, hands that hold guns for a long time are different."

"As for which unit they belong to, you'll know when you see them."

Xiao Wu said this and immediately went to get the information and handed it to Gu Changfeng.

Gu Changfeng looked up at the list and couldn't help but yelled:

"It's all the staff officers from various armies. Officers above the regimental level are leading the escape. If this continues, how can the soldiers have the courage to continue killing the devils?"

Xiao Wu said, "When we found out, they were all very arrogant, but after being beaten up, they all behaved themselves."

After looking around, he leaned over to Gu Changfeng's ear and whispered, "Brother Gu, I've discovered a problem."

"The officers and soldiers of the 36th Division here hardly paid any attention to us, and sometimes even helped to maintain order."

"And last night they brought over quite a few boats, saying they were for us to use to evacuate the civilians."

Gu Changfeng was surprised by Xiao Wu's words and asked in a low voice, "How many ships did they get?"

Xiao Wu said, "A group of them just left in the early morning. There were about three or four hundred large ships, each carrying thousands of people."

"We counted this morning, and including those on the ferry, we transported over 30,000 people last night."

Gu Changfeng was puzzled and continued to ask: "Is there anything unusual here?"

He felt that the 36th Division was a little strange. Why did they cooperate with him so well?

Xiao Wu shook his head and said, "There's nothing unusual about him. He's just very cooperative. He doesn't say anything and gives me whatever I need."

Gu Changfeng thought for a moment and said, "That's it. If they don't tell you, don't ask. Transport the people out quickly."

"By the way, always pay attention to the Japanese planes and report any situation immediately."

"Yes, Commander Gu." Xiao Wu replied seriously.

After this incident, Gu Changfeng did not stay in Xiaguan any longer. He returned to Pukou and pulled Tang Shengzhi out of bed.

Gu Changfeng didn't care about Tang Shengzhi's unhappy look and asked directly.

"Commander Tang, do you know the 36th Division? And their commander, Song Xilian?"

Tang Shengzhi was stunned, then after a moment's hesitation, he said, "Song Xilian is a good person with a very impressive resume."

As he spoke, he stood up gently, took the kettle from the stove and made himself a cup of tea, then continued.

"This man has a very impressive resume and is a decent person. He is deeply trusted by the Chairman. Otherwise, the Chairman would not have entrusted the elite 36th Division to him."

Having said that, things in Gu Changfeng's memory slowly emerged.

This man is a capable subordinate of the bald man. Since the previous Northern Expedition, he has been promoted from platoon leader to army commander.

He was dismissed from his post after the failure of the Battle of Nanjing, but was soon reinstated. After his reinstatement, he continued to serve as the commander of the 71st Army. Finally, he was captured and imprisoned in Gongdelin in 1949.

"Commander Tang, I have a very strange question. Why did the 36th Division go all out to help transport the civilians, even using the boats they had left behind?"

Gu Changfeng remembered some information about Song Xilian, but still didn't understand why this person helped him.

Being in such an environment, Gu Changfeng had to be more careful.

"Oh? Is that true?" Tang Shengzhi frowned, obviously he was also surprised.

Gu Changfeng then told Tang Shengzhi the detailed process and what happened.

With Tang Shengzhi's experience in the Kuomintang's senior leadership, he wanted to see if he could get a different answer.

After listening to Gu Changfeng's story, Tang Shengzhi smiled, but it was a bitter smile.

He shook his head and said to Gu Changfeng, "You can ignore him. If nothing unexpected happens, he will cooperate with you to evacuate the people."

Upon hearing this, Gu Changfeng looked at Tang Shengzhi's expression carefully, seemed to understand something, and nodded.

"Then I know what to do. Please send another telegram."

As he said that, he took out the stack of lists given by Xiaowu and handed them to Tang Shengzhi.

"These are the generals who secretly fled to Xiaguan after the order was issued. Let them become famous."

Tang Shengzhi took the list and asked, "You didn't shoot them?"

Gu Changfeng laughed and said, "That's not necessary. With so many people watching at Xiaguan Ferry, you can imagine what will happen to these guys in the future."

"Just make it clear in the telegram and let the generals at the front decide for themselves."

"I want to see who is shameless enough to run into my gun."

Tang Shengzhi became increasingly bitter and said, "Your idea is quite good, but I will be the one to take the blame from now on."

Gu Changfeng said seriously: "As long as we can get through here safely, the truth about you being held hostage by me will naturally be revealed. Then they will come to me for any grudges they have."

He is not afraid of bald guys, so why would he be afraid of some small cats and dogs? If they dare to come to his door, he will kill them directly.

Tang Shengzhi sighed and said, "It doesn't matter. I can't refuse anyway."

He was now under the eaves and had no choice but to obey, so he simply stopped struggling and let Gu Changfeng do whatever he wanted.

He wanted to see whether all these people could get out under Gu Changfeng's plan.

Just because he didn't mention something doesn't mean it doesn't exist, like the people who were evacuated...