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

At Xiaguan, Zhao Yunwen's appearance was too flamboyant, not only scaring away the ferry but also making the area around the riverbank even more chaotic. In chaotic times, human life is as cheap as grass.

Zhao Yunwen also considered rescuing all the refugees, but that was wishful thinking; he was just a time traveler, not a god.

The scene was too chaotic, with defeated soldiers mixed among civilians. They no longer resembled the elite Nationalist troops and were as docile as lambs to the slaughter.

Zhao Yunwen came here this time to forcibly bring them back to the battlefield. Soldiers can die in battle, but they must never kneel and be slaughtered by foreign tribes.

He has no right to demand that civilians fight, but soldiers cannot!

Zhao Yunwen raised his submachine gun, fired several consecutive shots into the sky, and then roared:

"Shut the hell up, all of you!"

"Stay put, no one is allowed to make a sound!"

The brothers from the former Special Service Battalion of the Training Corps brandished their weapons. They had all changed into military police uniforms before coming. Their appearance quickly stunned the scene, and the fleeing soldiers shrank their necks in fear.

After order was restored, Zhao Yunwen stood up with a gloomy face and said:

"First, let me introduce myself. I am the Major General Commander of the Su-Lu Guerrilla Detachment. I have come here on the orders of Commander Tang to reorganize military affairs. All soldiers must undergo rectification."

"Soldiers, step forward! What kind of cowards hide among the common people when the nation is in peril?"

The crowd looked at each other, watching and waiting. Their superior's abandonment had chilled their hearts. Zhao Yunwen thought he could get them to work for him with a few high-sounding words? No way!

A major general from the Ministry of National Defense was the first to speak out:

"What kind of commander are you? Who do you think you are? Commander Tang has already fled by boat. I don't respect any of the other commanders' orders!"

The officers in the Ministry of National Defense were half a rank higher than him, and the guerrilla commander was clearly a nobody, so he couldn't be intimidated.

Seeing a major general, a high-ranking advisor to the Ministry of National Defense, jump out to cause trouble, Zhao Yunwen's eyes flashed with murderous intent. He had no time to waste now and said grimly:

"I was a graduate of the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy. My guerrilla detachment belonged to the 18th Army, a genuine elite force of the Central Army, and was under the command of Deputy Commander Luo Youqing."

I'm giving you all one more chance. Anyone who disobeys will be treated as a deserter.

The phrase "first class of Whampoa" and "treated as deserters" still intimidated many people. In particular, the title of "first class of Whampoa" was very effective in front of the junior students of Whampoa. Which of the first class graduates who guarded Nanjing was not a division commander or army commander?

The major general didn't take the trouble seriously because he wasn't a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, but rather a Japanese graduate with seniority. He was relegated to a position as a major general senior advisor in the Ministry of National Defense, wasting his years.

Feeling very annoyed, he spoke without any tact, letting out a cold snort:

"I graduated from Baoding University! I studied in Japan, so if I went to Whampoa Military Academy, I would at least be an instructor for you guys for one term."

"If you want us back on the battlefield, produce orders from headquarters; otherwise, don't try to act all high and mighty."

"That's right, even if you're a first-year student, you can't just make empty promises!"

"This is something that gets people risking their lives..."

Seeing someone take the lead, the others also mustered their courage and started making a fuss, figuring that if the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up.

A murderous glint flashed in Zhao Yunwen's eyes. He raised his gun and fired a burst at the major general, killing him instantly.

He didn't want to get his hands dirty with the blood of his own people, but someone insisted on courting death, so he had no choice but to use ruthless methods. He then said with a cold face:

"This person is a Japanese spy. He was recruited while studying in Japan and intended to sabotage the war effort. He should be executed on the spot!"

Those who had been shouting the loudest earlier quickly shut their mouths. If a major general and senior advisor could be killed without hesitation, who would want to die?

The soldiers of the Special Operations Battalion raised all their submachine guns, and everyone fell silent. The Whampoa Military Academy officers inside no longer dared to question whether Zhao Yunwen had given a military order.

"This is the arrogance of the first senior brother!" one of the majors shouted.

"Good riddance! This man was a traitor who disrupted morale, and we can all testify to that."

Another lieutenant colonel also said:

"That's right, he was just trying to get us to surrender. I wish I could kill that traitor with my own hands."

"Sir, please lead us to fight the Japanese!"

"I'm from the 87th Division, I'll fight those bastards to the death!"

"I'm from the 74th Army..."

The crowd was indignant. Zhao Yunwen pressed his hand down, and all the "military police" lowered their guns. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Yunwen pressed his advantage, saying:

"Brothers, there are only a few boats in Xiaguan. Staying here is a dead end. We might as well take a gamble and fight the Japanese devils."

Killing one breaks even, killing two makes a profit! It's better than fighting with civilians for boats and trying to escape—that's a disgrace to soldiers!

"Brothers, there are still tens of thousands of our comrades fighting the Japanese devils in the city. Do you still want to use your guns?"

The crowd shouted in unison:

"I can carry it!"

Zhao Yunwen raised his arm and called out again:

"Do you still dare to kill Japanese soldiers?"

"dare!"

Ten thousand people roared, their voices shaking the heavens. Zhao Yunwen exclaimed in praise:

"Very well, from now on, consider yourselves dead and fight with me!"

The response was overwhelming. Chinese people have a herd mentality; as long as an official takes the lead, under the threat of death, everyone will choose to follow the leader and fight to the death.

Most of those who stayed behind to guard Jinling were determined to die, but they were disheartened by their superiors' abandonment.

Seeing that the morale of the routed soldiers had been restored, Zhao Yunwen began to reorganize the troops. He started with those who had guns, forming pure infantry, with 500 men per battalion, assigning them positions according to rank, and putting them to use as they were formed.

On the main road in the south of the city, Zhonghua Road, the Japanese advance encountered great trouble. At first, the Hashimoto Battalion was able to stay obediently in the main area, with two tanks leading the way and infantry protecting the flanks, advancing in multiple columns.

Before long, they were attacked from the streets on both sides. The attacks were small-scale, sometimes by a Czech light machine gun, sometimes by several grenades.

It wasn't very harmful, but it was extremely humiliating. The Japanese soldiers couldn't withstand it at all; they would explode at the slightest provocation and chase after the defending troops relentlessly.

When they chased the Japanese soldiers deep into the alleys, the ambush troops emerged and opened fire and threw grenades at them from alley intersections, rooftops, stairwells, doors, and windows, killing the unsuspecting Japanese soldiers.

The defenders were very flexible in their tactics, killing one at a time, and luring those they couldn't eliminate immediately into the rear.

The Japanese soldiers were not peaceful either. As they advanced, they broke into houses, killing people and looting valuables, and searching everywhere for young women.

The soldiers, in small groups, hid in the houses and alleys of the civilians and ambushed the invading Japanese soldiers, gaining considerable advantage.

Upon hearing the gunfire, the Japanese rushed to reinforce their troops. Both sides fought their way through the city streets and alleys, a fight to the death.

As more and more Japanese soldiers moved away from the main road, the fighting in the alleys intensified, with soldiers from both sides clashing together, losing all clear battle lines and turning the battle into a chaotic mess.

Zhao Yunwen had already considered this point. In the chaotic fighting, he could only contact the regimental level.

The regimental commander couldn't even contact the battalion commander. Everyone was a combatant. The regimental headquarters was usually located in a large courtyard, with only one guard platoon around him. Everyone else had been sent out.

The regimental headquarters didn't have a fixed location; they would fight if they could win, and leave if they couldn't.

By 3 p.m., gunfire had erupted across most of the southern part of the city, some German-made and some Japanese-made, intermittently, like firecrackers during a festival.

On the eastern front, the main forces of the 9th and 16th Divisions also broke into the city. Just as they were preparing to celebrate, they were attacked by thousands of soldiers from three regiments of the guerrilla detachment. There was no clear battle line; everywhere was a battlefield.

At first, the Japanese soldiers didn't pay much attention; their minds were focused on burning, killing, and looting. When they rushed into the houses, what awaited them were often deadly gun barrels.

The Japanese continued to reinforce the city, and by nightfall, several regiments of over 10,000 men had poured into the south and east of the city.

Under the deliberate guidance of the guerrilla detachment soldiers, the civilians all fled to the safe zone in the northwest, which made room for street fighting.

In the Xiaguan direction, Zhao Yunwen has organized six battalions to reinforce the south and east of the city, which has gradually stabilized the front line, while the Japanese casualties are surging.

After dark, the fighting continued, with chaotic gunfire and artillery sounds filling the air. The first to notice something was wrong was Tani Hisao, the commander of the 6th Division.

"Shimonoseki-kun, have you noticed that the resistance in the castle has become more organized?"

Chief of Staff Colonel Shimotsuke Kazuhiro quickly replied:

"It's not just the south side of the city; there's constant gunfire in the east as well. Intelligence indicates that the garrison's senior officers have all fled, and the army is collapsing like a house of cards. The key question is, who has the ability to organize the routed troops?"

Tani Hisao was startled by his own thoughts and shook his head, saying:

"This is indeed a bit strange, but gunfire can't be faked. How do we deal with it?"

After pondering for a moment, Colonel Shimono said:

"Only by increasing troop numbers can we nip this problem in the bud!"

Gu Shoushou wholeheartedly agreed, and said with murderous intent:

"Yosh! Immediately order the 13th and 23rd Infantry Regiments to enter the city and annihilate all the Chinese!"