Judging the same as Liu Fei, there are also Matsui Shigen and a large group of staff officers of the Central China Front.

Almost at the same time, Matsui Ishone held a military meeting at the headquarters in Tanghua Town, which belonged to the staff meeting, and all the officers of the headquarters could participate in it, and they could also freely express their opinions and discover their opinions, which was essentially different from the cabinet meeting held after the arrival of the commanders of each division and detachment.

Soon after Matsui Ishone gave the summoning order, almost all the officers in the headquarters gathered in the conference room, and because there were too few chairs in the conference room to sit, many of the low-ranking officers could only stand.

About half a minute after all the personnel arrived, Matsui Shigen strode in with his head held high and walked in with high spirits, and it was less than five minutes before and after, and the old devil who was still half-dead just now immediately came back to life with full blood!

Seeing Matsui Ishine come in, the senior generals and officers at all levels attending the meeting gathered their feet and stood upright.

Matsui Ishine strode to the main seat and stood still, first glanced around, and then pressed his hands to signal the senior generals who had seats to sit down, and when all the generals had taken their seats, he was the last to sit down.

Then, Tsukada Tsukata, who was the chief of staff of the Central China Front, stood up and said: "Gentlemen, this time Your Excellency the General has gathered everyone for only one thing, that is, how should the Battle of Nanjing be fought next?" Or, should the Battle of Nanjing continue, and does it need to be withdrawn to Shanghai? ”

As soon as the words fell, Chang Yong got up and said: "I oppose the withdrawal of troops, the battle of Nanjing must be fought!" ”

"I'm also against the withdrawal of troops!" A standing second lieutenant said, "It's a shame to withdraw now!" ”

Then, the adjutants and lieutenants present at the meeting all expressed their opinions, and none of them supported the withdrawal of troops!

Matsui Shigen bowed his head lightly and said: "But you have also seen it, at present, the hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers in Nanjing City have fully awakened, if the battle of Nanjing continues, the imperial army may face an unprecedented and tragic battle!" ”

"Your Excellency the General is overly worried." Muto Zhang said, "Although the hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers in Nanjing City have awakened, it is unknown how much of their combat power remains!" Taking a step back, even if these hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers can still maintain their previous combat effectiveness, there is no need to worry. ”

"Suodaga!" Chang Yong continued, "Although these hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers have awakened, their command system has long ceased to exist, and an army that lacks orderly and efficient command, even if there are 100,000 people, is just a basin of loose sand, and it will disperse as soon as the wind blows, and it is not vulnerable at all!" ”

Tsukada attacked: "Won't Zhong Yi re-establish the command system?" ”

Muto Zhang said: "What His Excellency the General said is extremely true, of course Zhong Yi will try to rebuild the command system, but unfortunately, if you want to re-establish the command system for these hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers, I am afraid it will not be possible to do it without ten days and half a month!" ”

Chang Yong said: "Therefore, the imperial army should launch a surprise attack while the defeated army has not yet re-established the command system!" Strive to solve the opponent in the shortest possible time, once hesitate and let the Chinese army rebuild the command system, then these hundreds of thousands of national armies will really become a big trouble! ”

Hearing this, Matsui Ishone turned his gaze to Tsukada and Iinuma Mamoru and bowed his head slightly.

At this point, the next guiding principle of the Battle of Nanjing is basically determined, that is, a rush attack! Take advantage of the fact that the hundreds of thousands of defeated troops in Nanjing have not yet re-established their command, and deal with them as soon as possible!

……

As soon as the staff meeting was concluded, the commanders of the Shanghai Dispatch Army and the divisions and detachments of the 10th Army also arrived.

So then came the cabinet meeting, and this time only the division commander and detachment commander were eligible to attend the meeting, and even Tsukada Tsukashi and Iinuma Mamoru were not eligible to participate.

The Central China Front has nine divisions and two detachments.

In addition to the detachment leader of the Kunisaki detachment, Noboru Kunisaki, who was in Pukou, the division commander of the 3rd Division, Fujita Shin, who was in Shanghai, and the commander of the 18th Division, Sadao Ushijima, was far away from Wuhu, and the remaining eight division commanders or detachment leaders all arrived.

These eight people are Chiaki Shigeto, commander of the Shigeto Detachment, Ryosuke Yoshika, commander of the 9th Division, Munetake Yamamuro, commander of the 11th Division, Tatsubei Ogisu, commander of the 13th Division, Nakajima Imasago Nakajima, commander of the 101st Division, Masakaki Ito, commander of the 6th Division, Shiro Inaba, and Shigeharu Suematsu, commander of the 114th Division.

Matsui Shigen's gloomy gaze swept over the faces of the eight division commanders or detachment commanders present, and said: "Gentlemen, I won't say much about last night's fiasco, now I just want to emphasize one point!" ”

After a pause, Matsui Shigen said again: "There is not much time left for us in the Central China Front!" Not only because there is not much military supplies left with the army, but also because the hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers stranded in Nanjing have fully awakened, if the imperial army cannot eliminate them in a short time, the outcome of this battle is unpredictable! ”

The commanders of the eight divisions or detachments were awe-inspiring, and their judgment was also the same as that of Matsui Ishine, and before they left for the headquarters, they had already discussed with their respective chiefs of staff, and they all agreed that in order to win the battle of Nanjing, they must attack and storm fiercely, and strive to occupy Nanjing in the shortest possible time!

Matsui Shigen continued: "Just now, the front army command has already determined the principle, that is, a rush attack, a fierce attack, do you have any different opinions on this? ”

The commanders of the eight divisions or detachments were silent.

"Yo Si." Matsui Shigen nodded happily, got up again, and shouted, "Order!" ”

The commanders of the seven divisions who attended the meeting, plus a detachment commander, stood up in unison.

Matsui Shigen continued: "The 6th Division attacked Zhonghua Gate, Wuding Gate, and Tongji Gate; The 114th Division attacked Guanghua Gate and Zhongshan Gate; The 9th Division attacked Taipingmen and Xuanwumen; The 13th Division attacked Heping Gate, Central Gate, Xiaobei Gate and Jinchuan Gate; The Shigeto detachment attacked Xingzhong Gate, Rujiang Gate and Dinghuai Gate; The 16th Division attacked Caochangmen, Qingliangmen, Hanxi Gate and Shuixi Gate; The 11th Division and the 101st Division are the strategic general reserves. ”

"Hello!" The commanders of the seven divisions plus a detachment commander all brushed their heads.

"This battle!" Matsui Ishine took a deep breath and said, "There is no main attack or auxiliary attack, all directions are the main attack, please all the kings must fight with all their strength, strive to eliminate the remnants of the stubborn resistance in the shortest possible time, occupy the city of Nanjing, and pay tribute to the Japanese Empire, His Majesty the Emperor, and the Great East Asian Holy War!" ”

"Hello!" The commanders of the seven divisions and one detachment commander again bowed.

Then, the division commanders and detachment commanders went away.

(End of chapter)