Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 190: Defense of Jinling

Before Lei Dongduo could say anything, Okabe Nahoko quickly protested:
"This is a blatant attempt to sow discord. The Empire's only target is China. China's resources and land are enough for the Empire to dominate the world!"

Okabe Naeko accidentally let the cat out of the bag, and Yue Qianli added a stab in time:
"As expected, they have great ambitions. The Japanese have always aimed to occupy China and then dominate the world!

The Tanaka Memorial has made it very clear: if you want to conquer China, you must first conquer Manchuria and Mongolia; if you want to conquer the world, you must first conquer China.

Now Manchuria and Mongolia have been conquered by them, and China is on the way to being conquered. Once they conquer China, their target will be the whole world.

As the saying goes, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. China has reached the brink of life and death and needs the support of all peace-loving friends. Those who have money can help with money, and those who don't have money can help with their personal support.

Don't wait until China is about to perish before offering assistance, it will be too late by then!"

Everyone was moved and decided to publish the article on the front page when they returned, calling on the government to pay attention to the Japanese ambitions and that China must not be taken over by them.

Then more and more reporters asked strange questions, and Yue Qianli could answer them one by one, sometimes talking eloquently, sometimes passionately, sometimes indignantly, sometimes furiously, making the straw-stage opera a great success;
Yue Qianli spoke a lot at the press conference and said many things he shouldn't have said. The principal was afraid of angering the friendly country, so he quickly asked the political department to convey his warning that in the future, no inappropriate remarks should be made without the order of the National Government.

In Jinling City, Tang Mengxiao has been officially appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Jinling garrison, Luo Youqing and Liu Xing as deputy commanders-in-chief, Zhou Lan as chief of staff, to fortify the outer positions and Fukuo of Jinling;
At the same time, the national government moved its capital to Chongqing, and the Military Commission moved to Wuhan, launching the Battle of Nanjing.

At this time, the troops gathered near Nanjing City, except for Gu Zhenglun's troops of the Capital Garrison Army and the main force of the Teaching Corps, all other troops were retreating from Shanghai. With the addition of Yue Qianli's troops, the total strength increased to 16.

At the garrison headquarters, a military deployment meeting was in progress. It was the first time that Yue Qianli attended such a high-level meeting as a brigade commander and sat at the very edge.

First, Commander Tang delivered a speech of acceptance, singing a lot of high-sounding words, and ended with the slogan of swearing to live and die with the city of Nanjing;
Everyone applauded and congratulated. Commander Tang was a big shot in the Hunan Army, one of the commanders of the eight armies in the Northern Expedition, an old member of the Tongmenghui, and had a lot of experience.

His biggest problem now is that he has no direct troops of his own. The Hunan Army has long been centralized and now only listens to the National Government.
Commander Tang has been away from the frontline for many years. His first combat command dates back to the Northern Expedition. The war model has changed fundamentally. I don't know what the principal was thinking when he asked an old antique to command such an important battle. Commander Tang really did it himself. He presented his defense plan like a treasure and said loudly:
“Everyone, Jinling’s defense system is divided into two parts: the southeast front outer position and the complex corridor position;
The outer positions on the southeast front are located in Jiangning Town, Niu Shou Mountain, Chunhua Town, Tangshan, and Longtan Town.

Its deployment is:

The right detachment of Sun Yuanliang's 72nd Army was sent to the vicinity of Jiangning Town to cover the right wing;
Yu Liangzhen's 74th Army was assigned to guard the area from Niu Shou Mountain to Chunhua Town, and forward troops were sent to Moling Pass and Hushu Town;

Ye Zhao's 66th Army was assigned to guard the area from Chunhua Town to Fengniu Mountain, and a powerful advance force was sent to the vicinity of Jurong... Xu Yuanquan's 2nd Corps occupied positions on the Qixia Mountain and Wulong Mountain line and blocked the Yangtze River.

The Fulang position includes Yuhuatai, Zijin Mountain, Wulong Mountain, Mufu Mountain and the Nanjing City Wall. It is the defense position of Nanjing City. The defense situation is as follows:
Sun Yuanliang's 88th Division was assigned to guard Yuhuatai and the south of the city in the right area;

Two divisions of Gui Yongqing’s teaching corps were assigned to guard the central area of ​​Zijin Mountain and the eastern part of the city wall…”

Thanks to the assistance of a large staff team, this operational deployment was done in a standard manner, with no major faults to be found, nor any highlights;
The terrain of Jinling City is three mountains and one body of water. If attacking from north to south, Jinling City is located in a strategic position. The Yangtze River defense line alone is enough to make the landlubbers in the north sigh in despair.

Now the Japanese army's attack route is exactly the opposite, attacking from the south to the north. The navy's warships will block the river surface. The Japanese army only needs to advance from the east, south, and west from the outside to the inside. Nanjing City is a strategic dead end.
Without the restraint of outer troops, the Japs could attack with all their might, and there would be no fortress that they could not capture.

After the deployment was completed, the commanders of the various departments immediately returned to their own troops and organized personnel to occupy the fortifications;
Some of these fortifications were permanent, while others were built by the government at great expense and were just put to good use.

Yue Qianli's guerrilla column could only watch others fight for the time being. There was no point in being anxious unless the Japanese advanced to Yuhuatai.

(End of this chapter)