The War of Resistance Against Japan: Special Operations Battalion Traverses Shanghai and Slaughters

While Long Fei was engaged in a fierce battle at Guanghua Gate, Commander Tang was simultaneously holding an emergency meeting at headquarters.

At the meeting, Commander Tang did not formulate a detailed and comprehensive withdrawal plan.

The only notification was that the Nationalist government had issued a retreat order, instructing all troops to withdraw from their positions after dark and proceed to the Xiaguan Wharf.

They were transferred to the north bank of the Yangtze River using pontoon bridges and ferries, and then evacuated towards Anhui.

Commander Tang also told everyone that the 57th Army and the Longyan Unit would be responsible for covering the retreat of all troops.

The meeting lasted only half an hour; the announcement of the retreat order instilled a sense of pessimism among the commanders of all units.

There were also some military commanders, such as Zhou Zhengqiang, Chen Yiding, Zhu Ci, Wang Yaowu, and Ding Zhipan.

They were all very worried when they heard that Long Fei's troops were to provide cover for the 57th Army.

After the meeting, they returned to their unit and immediately sent a telegram to Long Fei inquiring about the situation.

Ke Longfei's reply was simple: "Please, officers, cooperate with the Longyan Force's operational plan."

Long Fei had saved the lives of all these troops, and now that he wanted their cooperation, no one would refuse.

Therefore, when Long Fei's troops arrived and told the officers about the "closing the door and beating the dog" tactic, everyone immediately took action.

Before nightfall, a spectacular scene of closing doors and beating the dog unfolded at four locations: Shuixi Gate, Zhonghua Gate, Zhongshan Gate, and Heping Gate.

The news that the Japanese attacking forces from five locations had been ambushed and wiped out in the city was quickly relayed to all units.

As darkness fell, the division commanders of the Japanese troops besieging Nanjing all issued orders to halt their offensive.

Long Fei then dispatched two mine-laying vehicles, starting from Guanghua Gate and moving towards each of the city gates. After the defending troops withdrew, they quickly laid mines in the vicinity.

There are still 1,000 wooden box mines, 1,000 glass mines, and 1,000 bounding mines left in the system's inventory as previously awarded.

Long Fei also asked the engineers from various units to help lay mines.

By 10 p.m., all 28,000 M14 anti-personnel mines and 3,000 mines of various types had been deployed.

At that moment, Long Fei also received a call from Xie Qiang.

Xie Qiang reported that around 5 p.m., Commander Tang and Commander Gui of the Training Corps had already crossed the Yangtze River.

All other garrison troops have also safely crossed the Yangtze River and are requesting instructions on their next steps.

Long Fei replied: Hold the dock and wait for the 57th Army and the Special Operations Battalion to cross the river.

Then, Long Fei found Liu Anqi and reported the news to him.

"Commander Liu, I just received a report that all the troops defending the city have crossed the river and no longer need our cover."

Liu Anqi nodded excitedly and took Long Fei's hands in his own.

"Commander Long, if you hadn't put on such a great show of trapping the enemy this afternoon and scared them so much, they wouldn't have stopped their attack."

“You not only bought time for all the troops to retreat, but also allowed my 57th Army to leave safely. I sincerely thank you.”

Long Fei smiled calmly and said, "Alright, Commander Liu, let's not be so polite. Let's retreat quickly."

"There are likely Japanese spies infiltrating Nanjing. Be careful that these spies do not report the situation to the Japanese troops."

Liu Anqi frowned: "Alright, let's cross the river first, and talk about it when it's safe."

On the way to Xiaguan Wharf, Long Fei first went to the girls' school; it was time to evacuate the field hospital.

Seeing the bloodshot eyes of Gan Honglie and Gan Yini, Long Fei knew they must not have rested much.

Since it wasn't convenient to offer words of comfort right now, Long Fei simply offered a brief greeting.

After returning the field hospital to the system warehouse, Long Fei led the special operations battalion and the remnants of the 57th Army straight to Xiaguan Wharf.

But the once bustling and lively dock now appears so deserted.

When Xie Qiang saw Long Fei arrive, he hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.

"Commander, should we cross the river now?"

Long Fei glanced back at Jinling City in the night and sighed softly.

"Let everyone cross the river, and then destroy the pontoon bridge."

After saying that, Long Fei walked straight to the riverbank and, taking advantage of the others' inattention, put all the ferries into the system's warehouse.

Several ferries left behind by the Nationalist army were still moored at the dock. Leaving them would only benefit the Japanese. Without a second thought, Long Fei put them all into the system's storage room.

After everyone had crossed the river safely, Long Fei checked again to make sure no one was left behind before he stepped onto the pontoon bridge.

Xie Qiang led three team members carrying flamethrowers at the back. After crossing the river, they set the pontoon bridge ablaze.

The pontoon bridge burned fiercely in the night, like a fiery dragon coiled on the Yangtze River.

After crossing the river, Liu Anqi bid farewell to Long Fei and led the 57th Army on a continued march.

After watching the 57th Army leave, Long Fei gave the order.

"Everyone, rest where you are. We still have combat missions after dawn."

Long Fei's orders left everyone somewhat bewildered, as they had already evacuated Jinling City and crossed the Yangtze River.

At present, there is no chance of encountering Japanese troops in this area, so what combat mission could there be?

"Commander, can you explain this more clearly?"

As the deputy head of the regiment, Xu Peng was the first to start digging into the details.

Everyone stared at Long Fei, waiting for him to continue.

Long Fei lit a cigarette and said quietly, "After the Japanese occupied Nanjing, they found that they were left with an empty city. They certainly couldn't swallow this insult."

"Moreover, Matsui Iwane and Prince Asaka Yasuhiko have always wanted to gain fame both domestically and internationally by occupying the National Government capital."

"But in the end, all they get is an empty city. Wouldn't that make them lose face?"

"So I judged that after the Japanese entered the city tomorrow, they would definitely send planes to pursue the National Army, so we just waited here for them to come to us."

Long Fei's analysis was immediately echoed by Gao Hong.

"I think the regimental commander's analysis is spot on. After the Japanese occupied Nanjing, it was impossible for them to cross the Yangtze River immediately, so sending planes to pursue them was the most likely course of action."

Xie Qiang then added, "Commander, we still have more than two hundred Hidden Blade anti-aircraft missiles left, which should be enough to deal with the Japanese planes."

Since the system's reward of weapons and equipment hasn't been unlocked yet, Long Fei decided to keep it a secret for now.

To avoid making everyone feel depressed after they find out, it's better for Long Fei to bear this frustration alone.

Of course, Long Fei had another plan, and he had done the preliminary preparations, but whether he would actually implement it was another matter.

Knowing that it would be very cold at night and that everyone was camping in the open, Long Fei quickly brought out the Japanese soldiers' uniforms so that everyone could wear them to keep warm.

They also set aside two kitchen trucks to prepare a hot meal for everyone.

The kitchen truck was very efficient; it could prepare meals for more than a thousand people in less than an hour.

As everyone enjoyed the delicious meal, they gazed across the river at the city of Nanjing, feeling somewhat melancholy.

Just then, a group of people walked over from a distance.

After questioning them, the special operations battalion sentries hurriedly brought the group of people to Long Fei.