Traveling through 1937, starting from the Battle of Songhu

After leaving the 21st Army Command, Gu Changfeng did not return to the western battlefield immediately, but instead came to Liao Guangyi.

He still had some things to arrange, such as the evacuation.

"Changfeng, you have so much free time, why do you come to me?" Liao Guangyi asked in surprise in the soldier hiding cave.

"Let me take a look at your side. What losses did the Japanese army suffer in their attack yesterday?" Gu Changfeng said with a smile.

"Over 800 casualties, and about 500 Japanese soldiers killed. If it weren't for your bazooka support, I estimate the casualties would be even greater!"

Speaking of this, Liao Guangyi feels a bit bitter, as the battlefields on both sides are similar.

Gu Changfeng's troops still faced two regiments, but their casualties were much smaller than his, mainly because the Japanese killed more than 2,000 of them, which was completely incomparable.

Upon hearing this, Gu Changfeng didn't know what to say and could only shut up.

It’s not really a good idea to comfort him with the battle record of his subordinates, so I’ll just not talk about it.

Liao Guangyi looked at Gu Changfeng, seemed to know what he was thinking, and shook his head.

"Brother, let's not be so particular. You must have something to ask. Tell me, how do you want me to cooperate?"

Gu Changfeng said: "There is no need for cooperation. I will retreat directly to the city after the battle today."

"Not defending anymore?" Liao Guangyi asked in surprise.

He hadn't received any news in this regard, and he was suddenly a little confused. After all, it was only the second day of guarding.

"We still have to defend it. The military commander said he will make arrangements." Gu Changfeng replied.

"Actually, I don't recommend defending it. It wouldn't make much sense to waste so many people on such a position."

“I just can’t understand the thinking of the higher-ups.”

Liao Guangyi nodded and said, "In fact, I also don't think we can hold out for long, but there are so many Jinling people behind us!"

"As soldiers, it is our duty to defend our country."

It is probably the consensus of many defenders that Nanjing cannot be defended.

Given the terrain and the Japanese army's attacks from land, sea and air, China, an agricultural country, was almost certain to be defeated given its military strength.

Of course, if Gu Changfeng was the highest commander, the outcome might be different.

Gu Changfeng really has no good solution for the current situation.

"Brother, there is something I need your cooperation with, but not now." Gu Changfeng said.

He estimated that the bald man's order would come soon, but Liao Lei still hadn't responded.

Now he can only look for other ways, Liao Guangyi may be an option.

Liao Guangyi smiled and said, "If there's anything I can do, just tell me!"

"I estimate that the order to retreat will be issued soon. When that happens, tell your soldiers not to panic."

"I need some people to guard the road leading to the Xiaguan Ferry, and I will also cooperate in evacuating the people."

Given their friendship, Gu Changfeng had nothing to worry about and just said it directly.

Upon hearing this, Liao Guangyi said hesitantly, "Without orders, I don't think it would be easy for me to act."

"And if there really is an order to retreat, I estimate that Jinling City will immediately fall into chaos and it will be difficult to defend."

Gu Changfeng thought for a moment and continued, "We will do our best. Our goal is to evacuate the people."

"I have 500 ships ready, at Pukou."

"Have you prepared for this?" Liao Guangyi said in surprise.

How long has it been since Tang Shengzhi ordered the destruction of the ships?

It would have been impossible to do so if we hadn't been prepared in advance.

"We started preparing during the Battle of Shanghai, but we only have 500 ships," Gu Changfeng said helplessly.

"Did you know during the Battle of Shanghai that the Japanese would attack Nanjing?"

Liao Guangyi looked at Gu Changfeng as if he were a demon. This little brother was becoming increasingly difficult for him to understand.

"What's so strange about this? I guess many people in the upper echelons have the same expectation!"

"If Songhu can't be defended, Nanjing, the capital, is the enemy's target. How can we let it go?"

"In fact, the Battle of Nanjing should not have been fought. We should have expanded our forces to the interior as Commander Chen had proposed."

"I agree with this strategy, but the principal is not Commander Chen."

Gu Changfeng had said this before, so it was okay to say it again to Liao Guangyi at this time, and no one would suspect him.

Liao Guangyi nodded slightly, then said, "I'll consider what you said, and we still need to discuss it with the commander."

"I can only say that I will try my best to cooperate with you, but I can't guarantee anything else."

He wanted to cooperate, but he was just the leader of a small group with only a little over a thousand people at the moment, so he didn't know what would happen then.

Gu Changfeng said with understanding: "Let's just leave it at that. I'll go and make some preparations in advance."

He just wanted to recruit more people. If that didn't work, he could only save as many people as he could.

.........

At noon, the fighting finally stopped.

After attacking for several hours and leaving a field of corpses behind, the Japanese soldiers withdrew from the battlefield under the orders of the two regiment commanders.

At the city gate, a group of soldiers who had prepared in advance saw the Japanese retreating and began to run out of the city one by one.

Picked up weapons on the battlefield.

"Brothers, come here. There are some intact heavy machine guns here. Come quickly."

"The Japanese Type 99 rifle is mine, haha!"

"Get more bullets, guns, and grenades."

On the battlefield, the soldiers leaving the city shouted.

Some were holding a few Type 38 rifles, and some were picking up grenades and bullets from the corpses.

With the help of snipers and Zhao Ziqing, the Japanese soldiers did not have time to destroy many weapons when they retreated.

The soldiers were very happy to pick them up.

Next, as the prepared hanging baskets were lowered one by one, soldiers carrying weapons and ammunition began to run towards the city.

Guns, bullets, and grenades were loaded into the hanging basket and then pulled up to the city wall by the soldiers above.

"The Japanese must be so angry now, haha!" Huang Zhengkui said happily.

Gu Changfeng pulled the hanging basket and said with some regret:

"Damn it, if I had known I wouldn't have collected the Japs' bodies last night."

He had not expected that there would be a large number of Japanese soldiers lurking outside the city. Now when he thinks about it, he feels really stupid.

Zhao Ziqing said, "It's the same tonight. If we don't leave our weapons behind, the Japanese won't be able to come and collect our bodies."

"But we have to be careful. If the Japanese bombard us, we will be in a passive position."

He also felt that his actions last night were a bit stupid, but it was indeed a tacit understanding on the battlefield, and there was nothing he could say.

Gu Changfeng said ruthlessly: "If they piss me off, I won't even give them my body. I'll just leave it all outside the city and see what they do!"

"It's winter now, so it won't rot that quickly. Let's just pile it up for a few days and see how they attack the city."

Zhao Ziqing said speechlessly: "Isn't this a bit bad?"

Speaking of this, Gu Changfeng felt stupid again. The Japanese had no rules.

He does poison gas bombs, kills civilians, and does all kinds of evil things. He doesn't need to follow any rules.

"Let's do it this way. I'll have someone tell Brother Liao later. Even though we won't be defending the city anymore."

"But this method still works for them, no matter what the devil thinks."

"If the devils could burn the corpses during the battle, I would obey them."

If the Japanese knew that Gu Changfeng suddenly did this, they would be so angry that they would die!

But now I am almost pissed off!

After receiving the report from the soldiers, Endo Torapi picked up the telescope and stared at the outside of the city wall!

After watching for a while, he couldn't stand it anymore and shouted angrily: "Bakayalo, let the artillery squadron bombard and wipe out all these Chinese!"

This was a slap in the face. As the commander of a regiment, how could he tolerate such a slap in the face?