Chapter 8: National Revival (Part 2)

  The head of the intelligence department said: "According to the intercepted Japanese telegram, the general situation is roughly as follows. Last night, a small group of National Army troops attacked the forward base of the Japanese 3rd Division, and the division commander Teng Tianjin happened to be there at that time, resulting in his death in the explosion of ammunition."

  "What did you say?" Gu Zhu Tong seemed to have not heard clearly, but in fact, he didn't dare to believe.

  The chief of staff immediately repeated: "Commander, a small detachment of the National Army raided the Japanese army's forward base and also killed the commander of the 3rd Division, Teng Tianjin!"

  "Teng Tianjin? If I'm not mistaken, the division commanders of the Japanese army should all be lieutenant generals?" Gu Zhu Tong muttered to himself for a moment before suddenly saying, "Good grief, they actually took out one of the little devils' lieutenant generals! This is probably the highest-ranking Japanese military officer our army has taken down since the September 18th Incident!"

  The deputy officer, the head of the confidential department and the confidential secretary were also in high spirits.

  Gu Zu thought for a moment and then turned to his deputy and said: "Cha, you go check immediately and see which small unit did it."

  The deputy officer replied in a low voice: "Commander, according to the 98th Division Commander Xia Zhongyu's speculation, this small unit is likely from Baoshan County Town."

  "Baoshan County Town?" Gu Zhu said thoughtfully, "I have an impression of this unit, it's a battalion under the 98th Division, and their battalion commander should be called Yao Changqing, right?"

  The deputy officer nodded repeatedly: "Right, it's Yao Changqing's camp."

  Gu Zhu furrowed his brow and said: "Isn't Bao Shan already lost? Isn't Yao Changqing's army already completely defeated?"

  "Report back to the commander-in-chief, this is currently just a conjecture by Xia Shilong, and we still don't know what the truth really is."

  Gu Zhu Tong asked the head of the telegraph department again, "What about the Japanese army? Have there been any mentions in the Japanese army's telegrams about the number and origin of this small National Army unit?"

  "This is unlikely," said the head of the machine department hastily. "The Japanese army must also be investigating the origin of this small unit's number."

  "Hmm..." Gu Zhu hesitated for a moment, then turned back to the female secretary and said, "Immediately send a telegram to Nanjing, informing Chairman Mao of this extraordinary good news."

  "Should we postpone it?" The deputy officer hastily reminded in a low voice, "After all, this news has not been finally verified."

  "It won't do, if such a big thing isn't reported in time, the commander will be angry." Gu Zhu Tong shook his head and said, "However, whether this small unit is from Yao Changqing's camp or not, indeed needs to be verified. In that case, when drafting the telegram, try to avoid using affirmative language, just say it's Xia Shilong's speculation."

  The female machine responded with a soft "oh" and turned around, swaying her slender waist as she left.

  …………

  Nanjing, Presidential Palace.

  At 6:15 in the morning, it was still dark outside. Principal Jiang Wen Zheng suddenly woke up from his sleep and got out of bed without any drowsiness. He went to the backyard alone for a walk.

  Since the outbreak of the Battle of Shanghai on August 13, Principal Chiang's heartstrings have never relaxed.

  For the Battle of Shanghai, Principal Chiang had pinned all his hopes on it. To say that this battle directly concerns the life and death of the party-state is no exaggeration; it even more so concerns the life and death of the entire Chinese nation!

  In order to win the Battle of Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek even invested all his Central Army forces except for the Tang Enbo group, including the three elite divisions - 36th Division, 87th Division and 88th Division as well as the Training Brigade of the Central Military Academy, were all deployed on the battlefield in Shanghai. This shows how determined Chiang Kai-shek was.

  But ideals are just ideals after all, and reality is cruel.

  At the beginning of the Battle of Shanghai, although the National Army had an absolute advantage in terms of land forces, it lacked artillery support. The Japanese army, on the other hand, was at a disadvantage in terms of land forces but had strong naval and air support. After a month of fierce fighting, not only did the National Army fail to drive out the Japanese garrison in Shanghai, but it also suffered heavy casualties under the intense bombardment by Japanese warships and aircraft.

  By early September, Chiang Kai-shek was already very clear that it was absolutely impossible to win the Battle of Shanghai. What needed to be considered now was no longer winning the Battle of Shanghai, but rather persisting on the battlefield as much as possible to gain time for the strategic transfer of personnel, materials and factories from Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the southwestern rear.

  However, thinking of the prosperous Jiangnan and Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl, which would soon fall into the hands of the Japanese invaders, causing the country's tax revenue to lose eight or nine out of ten, and thinking that his hometown Ningbo in Zhejiang might also fall soon, even the ancestral tomb might not be preserved, Principal Chiang could not help but feel sad.

  Just as Principal Jiang was lost in thought, a light and nimble footstep suddenly sounded from behind him.

  Without turning his head, Principal Jiang knew it was his wife who had arrived. He said without looking back: "Madam, why are you up too?"

  "Darling, this is the telegram that just arrived at the attendants' room. Gu Zhuang has just sent it back from the Songhu Front Line." Hearing the joyful tone in his wife's voice, Chiang Kai-shek couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He immediately turned around and took the telegram from his wife's hand. After reading it, he was overjoyed and exclaimed "Good!" repeatedly.

  "Shall we call Shihe over?" asked Madame Chiang with a smile.

  Principal Chiang nodded repeatedly: "Alright, alright, I'll have Shihe come see me right away."

  Soon, the head of the national government guard, Wang Shihe, arrived in front of Chiang Kai-shek and his wife. Wang Shihe was also a first-term student at Huangpu and a fellow townsman of Chiang's. Chiang handed him the telegram and said in his distinctive Ningbo dialect: "Shihe, you immediately go to three places to investigate and see what kind of background this Yao Changqing has."

  Wang Shihe took orders and went, and the efficiency of handling affairs in San Chu was quite high. Soon, he found out about Yao Changqing's background.

  It's said that Yao Changqing is indeed from the Whampoa Military Academy, and Principal Chiang immediately beamed with joy: "Good, good! Immediately send a telegram to the Shanghai-Wusong War Zone, and then send a congratulatory telegram to the whole party, the whole army, and the whole nation. The Third War Zone launched an active offensive last night, killing the Japanese enemy's 3rd Division Commander-in-Chief Teng Tianjin, and dealt a major blow to the enemy! The whole party is stirred up! The whole army is stirred up! The whole nation is stirred up!!! The Republic of China will definitely not perish, the Republic of China will definitely not be destroyed!!

  Wang Shihe suggested in a low voice: "Your Excellency, shouldn't the telegram of commendation be temporarily suspended? After all, this matter has not been finally verified."

  "No need, no need." Principal Jiang waved his hand repeatedly. "I'm absolutely sure that this is what Yao Changqing did, there's no mistake, absolutely no mistake! Oh right, also inform Gu Zhu to spare no expense in rescuing Yao Changqing and his company, even if it means using the entire 15th Army Corps as a trade-off."

  It's no wonder Principal Chiang is so excited, it's just that the party and the country need heroes too much, they need this good news too much.

  The 400 million Chinese people really need the anti-Japanese heroes and this uplifting good news. Since the July 7th Incident, the National Army has been defeated repeatedly in North China and Shanghai, losing many soldiers and generals, and has never achieved any significant victories on the battlefield. As a result, public opinion at home and abroad has become increasingly pessimistic. It's time to reverse the trend of public opinion now.

  …………

  Principal Chiang gave an order, and instantly the whole country was shaken.

  Except for a few remote areas such as Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as the already fallen Manchuria and North China, almost the entire Chinese territory received the broadcast of the Central Broadcasting Agency in Nanjing. On that morning, university students and large numbers of enthusiastic young people in major cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha, and Guangzhou took to the streets, holding a grand **.

  This time, the military and police in major cities are no longer as vigilant as they used to be, like waiting for a great enemy!

  Moreover, many military and police officers spontaneously joined the massive **. Since the September 18th Incident, the Chinese nation had been suppressed for too long. Although Lieutenant General Teng Tian, commander of the Japanese 3rd Division, was not even a tactical-level target, the entire Chinese nation still went crazy after his death.

  Tens of thousands of young people put down their books and enthusiastically signed up to join the army, with recruitment centers in major cities almost bursting at the seams!

  Many merchants and wealthy businessmen from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai also donated money and goods, organized large and small comfort teams to rush to the front line to care for the soldiers. Even the Green Gang and Red Gang, such underworld forces, were secretly organizing porter transport teams to help various social groups transport comfort goods and military supplies to the Songhu Battlefront. At that time, the Songhu battlefield was indeed turbulent.

  ……

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