Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

At Xiaomaofeng, Zhao Yunwen faced Yuhuatai, silently took off his military cap, his eyes filled with tears.

Major General Zhu Youqing, commander of the 262nd Brigade, has fallen; he was a junior from the third cohort.

Major General Gao Zhisong, commander of the 264th Brigade, died alongside the enemy; he was a junior from the third class.

Hua Pinzhang, deputy brigade commander and commander of the supplementary 1st Regiment of the 262nd Brigade, sacrificed his life; he was an elite of the fourth term.

Lieutenant Colonel Huang Jifu, commander of the 527th Regiment, died in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese soldiers...

The officers and soldiers suffered heavy casualties, the Yuhuatai position was lost, and the Japanese began to besiege Zhonghua Gate. Sun Yuanlang led the remnants of two supplementary regiments into the city, and Zhonghua Gate was soon breached.

On the eastern front, the 16th Division was ordered to reinforce the 9th Division and attack the Training Corps from both sides. The defenses of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and the First Peak were in dire straits, and entire battalions and regiments of troops were killed in battle.

On the western front, part of the 6th Division and the Kunisaki Detachment of the 5th Division launched a strong attack on the Shuixi Gate and Hanxi Gate. They also divided their forces to occupy Wuhu, cutting off the defenders' westward retreat route.

On the northern front, the 13th Division attacked Wulong Mountain, Mufu Mountain, and Yijiang Gate; the Navy dispatched a large number of gunboats to block the river; a part of the Kunisaki Detachment crossed the river to attack Pukou, cutting off the defending troops' retreat route to the north.

Under the siege of 200,000 troops from all sides, the defending 74th Division, 88th Division, 87th Division, and Training Corps suffered heavy casualties, their entire units were wiped out, and the city gates were breached one after another, allowing the Japanese to flood into the city like a tidal wave.

The city defense command headquarters was filled with generals and officers of division commander rank and above. All officers had been ordered to attend the meeting. With the army pressing in, people were filled with anxiety and the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Commander Tang Mengxiao read out Chiang Kai-shek's secret order on the spot:

"If the situation cannot be sustained for long, one may retreat as appropriate in order to regroup and prepare for a counterattack."

Then the chief of staff read out the breakout order, requiring each group to break out along different routes. After that, Tang Mengxiao added:

"If the 87th Division, 88th Division, 74th Army, and Training Corps cannot all break through, they can cross the river to Chuzhou when there is a ferry."

This was tantamount to allowing the Central Army's elite forces to bypass the frontal breakout and instead squeeze directly into Xiaguan, thus causing great chaos.

Gui Yongqing, Sun Yuanlang, Wang Jingjiu, Yu Liangzhen, Song Yingguo, and other fellow disciples from the same cohort exchanged glances, all knowing the truth.

The breakout of 100,000 people was carried out without any designated rearguard, giving it a distinctly "every man for himself" feel to it.

Shortly after the meeting ended, at eight o'clock in the evening, Tang Mengxiao, Luo Youqing, Liu Xing and other high-ranking garrison officers, along with a small number of attendants, took a pre-prepared small steamer and crossed the river from Xiaguan to Pukou.

Luo Youqing was quite considerate; before leaving, he gave the guerrilla detachment, which was also part of the Civil Engineering Department, the order to break out of the encirclement, and granted Zhao Yunwen the authority to do so.

Shortly after the meeting, Sun Yuanlang abandoned his troops, first hiding in the embassy district, and then disguised himself and fled to Jiangbei.

Wang Jingjiu, Gui Yongqing, and Yu Liangzhen didn't even return to their troops; they went straight to Xiaguan. They all left ferries on the river and each had their own way of doing things.

Song Yingguo was responsible for guarding Yijiang Gate and maintaining order. He led his troops across the river in the early hours of the next day. After crossing the river, he ordered the boats to be burned to block the follow-up troops.

The various units in Nanjing were in complete chaos. Only the 66th and 83rd Armies of the Guangdong faction carried out Tang Mengxiao's orders, leaving the city through Taiping Gate, passing through Tangshan and Jurong, and converging in Ningguo, Anhui Province.

The marching order was 160th Division – 159th Division – 156th Division – 154th Division. They set off overnight, identified by a white towel tied to their left arm, and the command was "Diuna Ma". They annihilated any small groups of Japanese soldiers they encountered, and broke through the encirclement as a whole before dawn.

In addition, the remnants of Wang Yaowu's 51st Division of the 74th Army broke through the encirclement from Xiaguan, using a ferry privately owned by Yu Liangzhen. Of the 2 troops, only 5 survived. Song Yingguo's 36th Division also broke through the encirclement from Xiaguan by boat, but sank the boat afterward, leaving the rest of the troops stranded in the city.

After watching the Guangdong Army break through right under his nose on the eastern front, Zhao Yunwen convened a meeting of key officers to plan the next course of action:

"Brothers, Commander Tang has already issued the retreat order. Senior officers have abandoned their troops and fled. Now, Nanjing is leaderless and the people are in a state of panic. The Japanese haven't reacted yet. They didn't expect that the 100,000-strong garrison would collapse overnight. This is an opportunity for us."

There are still two hours until dawn. The closest unit to us is the Training Corps. Commander Gui has already fled, and the Japanese troops from the 9th and 16th Divisions are besieging them.

Our mission is to take advantage of the darkness to create an opening, incorporate the remnants of the Training Corps, and then make further plans.

The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment will remain on the 2nd Peak to care for the wounded and supplies. The main force will accompany me to the 1st Peak, Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and other locations to incorporate the remnants of the Training Corps. Immediate action is required!

Although it was night, Zhao Yunwen had a small map, was familiar with the surrounding terrain, and knew the officers above the regimental level in the Training Corps, so his plan had a lot of room for maneuver.

The second peak is only about 400 meters away from the first peak, and the two peaks are one entity, so the training corps only left a small number of observation posts on the east side.

To successfully take over the remnants of the Training Corps, the key was to persuade Qiu Fengzi, who was still on the First Peak. Zhao Yunwen decided to go there personally, taking only the reconnaissance company of the Second Regiment with him. Wang Guohua led the main force of the Second Regiment to follow, and the Third Regiment set off after receiving the signal.

The reconnaissance company easily took control of the observation post and the guard platoon. When Zhao Yunwen appeared at the command post without anyone noticing, Qiu Fengzi was completely unaware.

He was discussing countermeasures with the Fourth Regiment Commander, Sui Youlan, and had no idea that Gui Yongqing had abandoned his troops and fled.

Zhao Yunwen coughed lightly and said:

"Staff Officer Qiu is so diligent!"

Qiu Fengzi broke out in a cold sweat and instinctively reached for his gun, but after recognizing who it was, he asked warily:

"Why is my senior here? Where is he?!"

"Staff Officer Qiu, don't be nervous. I have no ill intentions. It's an emergency. The brothers are just under the control of my men. No one was injured."

Commander Sui's hand remained in its holster, watching Zhao Yunwen warily. Qiu the Madman continued, "..."

"Why aren't you on the second peak? What brings you here?"

If he hadn't witnessed Zhao Yunwen's ruthlessness in killing Japanese soldiers, he would have definitely thought that the other party was about to defect to the enemy, that the city was about to fall, and that people's hearts were no longer what they used to be.

Zhao Yunwen said solemnly:

"Commander Tang has already issued the order to break out. I also received a copy from Deputy Commander Luo. As brothers, we do not intend to retreat now."

Commander Sui coldly shouted:

"Nonsense, you're trying to demoralize the troops. Our commander-in-chief hasn't returned from the meeting yet."

"Commander Gui will not be coming back. He and several division and army commanders who graduated in the first class have already abandoned their troops and run away. This is Deputy Commander Luo's order."

After Zhao Yunwen finished speaking, he handed the general's order to Qiu Fengzi. After reading it, the latter slumped into a chair. Many things could be explained now. It turned out that the commander-in-chief had abandoned the troops and run away!

Zhao Yunwen revoked the military order, burned it in front of Qiu Fengzi, and then said:

"This is an imperial edict!"

"Chief of Staff Qiu, my action means I'm giving up my chance to escape. Now you should believe me, right?"

Qiu Fengzi's expression returned to normal, and he asked in a deep voice:

"What do you want?"

Zhao Yunwen did not answer the question directly, but instead asked in return:

"Chief of Staff Qiu, senior officers have collectively abandoned their men and fled. Do you know what that means when the news spreads throughout the troops by daybreak?"

Qiu Fengzi and Regiment Commander Sui's expressions changed drastically. They were both commanders, and they were barely holding on. Once the news spread and morale was completely lost, they would collapse without the Japanese even needing to attack.

Zhao Yunwen continued:

"There's still more than an hour until dawn, we don't have much time left!"

I need your help to restrain the brothers of the Training Corps, and then storm into the city.

"What does the senior want to do?"

Zhao Yunwen instantly revealed a murderous aura and shouted:

"Naturally, it is my duty as a soldier to fight the Japanese in the streets of the city!"

Rather than descend into chaos and be slaughtered by the Japanese, let's unite the routed soldiers in the city and fight the Japanese for three hundred rounds. Even if we break through later, we'll have the numbers to fight them.

Brother Qingquan, do you have the courage to fight me to the death?

Qiu the Madman shouted coldly:

"Don't try to provoke me with those words, senior. You just want to use the tens of thousands of defeated soldiers in the city as cannon fodder."

I'll take the cannon fodder role. I just hope that when you break through, you'll treat everyone equally and take the brothers with you, instead of running away alone!

Zhao Yunwen turned his gaze to Commander Sui, who said:

"I'll listen to Chief of Staff Qiu!"

"Alright, let's not delay any longer. Let's contact all the units and wipe out all the Japanese soldiers blocking our way!"

Qiu the Madman grabbed the flower-shaped mechanism on the table, deftly loaded the bullet, and shouted:

"Senior, please give the order, and the Training Corps will obey without question!"

Zhao Yunwen waved his hand and said:

"Set off!"