Mei Ting's Diary Excerpt (6)

  Republic of China 26 years old lunar calendar October 8th Wednesday weather: ***

  Yesterday, Shanghai fell. Our hundreds of thousands of soldiers fought bitterly in Shanghai for three months and finally lost. The Japanese occupied Shanghai. Many brave soldiers died in battle. They are our pride, the best sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. For this country plagued by disasters, they paid with their young lives, defending the dignity of the nation with their own blood.

  Shanghai has fallen, and Nanjing is in imminent danger. The Japanese army's next move will definitely be towards Nanjing. As the gateway to Nanjing, Shanghai has already been lost, and Suzhou has become the front line. However, the morale of the retreating troops is very low, and it's only a matter of time before Suzhou falls. I've made many phone calls home, but no one answers, and I don't know how my parents and siblings are doing. It's really worrying me to death. Sometimes I wonder, if Liu Zhenfeng's troops were deployed to the Shanghai battlefield, what would be the outcome? Haha, am I a bit foolish? In this huge furnace of the Shanghai battlefield, every day is a new division being thrown in, and Liu Zhenfeng's troops are just one division. Even if they were deployed here, the outcome wouldn't change, perhaps it would just mean killing a few more Japanese devils.

  The Japanese bombing of Nanjing has become more and more frequent, the Central News Agency is planning to evacuate Nanjing and move inland. According to internal news, the National Government seems to be considering setting Chongqing as a secondary capital, our Central News Agency will also move to Chongqing. It seems that Nanjing cannot be defended. However, I absolutely refuse to leave Nanjing. This war reporting opportunity is hard to come by, and I absolutely cannot give it up!

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  Republic of China 26 years old lunar calendar October 9th Thursday weather: ***...... Republic of China 26 years old lunar calendar October 28th Tuesday weather: ***

  Today, I proposed to the director of Central News Agency that I am willing to stay in Nanjing as a war correspondent. The director was shocked because under current circumstances, everyone wants to leave Nanjing, but I want to stay. Of course, he was surprised at first. Initially, the director disagreed, but I explained my reasons and moved him with emotions. Besides, during the Battle of Shanghai, I volunteered to report on the front line, but the director did not agree. Now that I volunteer again, there is no reason for him to refuse!

  In the end, the boss agreed to let me stay behind, and our photographer Lin Wanxiang also volunteered to stay with me. I was very grateful to him, but in fact, I knew he had feelings for me, yet in my heart, I only regarded him as a good friend.

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  Day and night bombing, the entire city of Nanjing is full of ruins and broken walls. The once prosperous metropolis is gone, leaving only a wasteland behind. Refugees are pouring in batch after batch, unaware that our leaders have already planned to abandon Nanjing. It's actually the most unwise and unsafe decision to come to Nanjing at this time. I vaguely think that as the capital, the Nationalist government will put up a show of defending it before abandoning it, but because of this, many people are pinning their hopes on finding shelter in Nanjing - how is that possible? Once Nanjing falls, what can we do? Will the Japanese spare us? No one knows...

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  The Central News Agency has finally left Nanjing, and many government agencies have relocated inland. Our Chairman Chiang Kai-shek has appointed Tang Shengzhi as the commander-in-chief of the Nanjing Garrison, leading the city's defense forces to defend Nanjing in a desperate battle that is almost certain to be lost. The wealthy are fleeing to the interior, sparing no expense, while those left behind are mostly poor families. During my time reporting on the streets of Nanjing, I've seen only impoverished ordinary people who can barely afford food, let alone have the means to escape. Many elderly people refuse to leave Nanjing, including refugees who just arrived from the southeast, believing that the capital is safe and that the Japanese army will not dare to do anything once they arrive in the capital. But what about reality?

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  Every day I turn on the radio, hoping to hear some music to alleviate my fear and stress, but every time I listen, it's a funeral march. What does this mean? Are we going to die at any moment? Maybe, who knows, judging from the current situation, our prospects seem very bleak. In the Battle of Shanghai, our national army's elite forces were all lost, and no one knows what will happen in the defense of Nanjing. Unconsciously, I find myself thinking more about him, who is far away in North China. Is he doing well? I heard that the situation in North China is relatively stable because the Japanese are currently focusing on the Jiangnan battlefield. If something happens to me, would he lead his troops to rescue me? Haha, am I being foolish? I'm not Chen Yuanyuan and he's not Wu Sangui, how could we possibly be like those legendary lovers who moved armies with their tears? Never mind, if Nanjing falls and I don't have time to leave, and I unfortunately fall into the hands of the Japanese devils, then I can only choose death to preserve my honor.

  These past few days, Zhou Junsheng has been coming to me nonstop, wanting to take me away from Nanjing. Honestly, if I were going to leave Nanjing, I would have left with the Central News Agency long ago - why bother staying here? I won't go, I want to stay in Nanjing and break through the siege with the troops!

  May heaven bless Nanjing!