Xiao Shanling, the mayor of Nanjing and commander of the military police, strode out of the conference room in the basement of the Ministry of Railways, and the cold air outside made him shiver. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Sir Xiao, let's go too." The adjutant hurriedly greeted him from the car and handed the tweed military uniform to Xiao Shanling.

Tang Shengzhi hurriedly gave a retreat order and left, which made Xiao Shanling feel as if he had lost his backbone, and ordered him and his gendarmerie troops to cross the river from Xiaguan.

But Xiao Shanling also knows that he is not only a general, but also the mayor of Nanjing, if he leaves, what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of residents in Nanjing, he really can't bear it.

Xiao Shanling took a deep breath of cold air and ordered: "I am the mayor of Nanjing, if you want to leave, you will be the last to go, you go and give me an order to gather all the gendarmes and police forces in Nanjing, let them maintain order, and cover the evacuation of residents from Xiaguan."

The adjutant frowned and persuaded: "Chief Xiao, there are still three or four hundred thousand residents in Nanjing City, how can we evacuate in this time and a half, you better go first."

"If you want to leave, you can go, I will not force it, as the mayor of Nanjing, I should evacuate with the people of the city." Xiao Shanling was a little angry.

The adjutant sighed helplessly, knowing that Xiao Shanling's temperament was stubborn, if the residents hadn't evacuated, he probably wouldn't have left, and shook his head to convey Xiao Shanling's order.

The news of the army's withdrawal spread like a plague in the city of Nanjing, and the city of Nanjing, where the guns and cannons rumbled, suddenly became like boiling water, and there was indescribable panic and chaos.

A few days ago, Tang Shengzhi also vowed to live and die with Nanjing, and his words were published in newspapers everywhere, and he encouraged the residents of Nanjing, and many people hoped that he would be able to turn the tide and defend his homeland.

The people of Nanjing spontaneously organized stretcher teams and medical teams to assist the army in defending the city, selflessly took out their own food, and donated money to contribute to the country.

Now that Tang Shengzhi was about to evacuate, the people panicked for a while, and while scolding Tang Shengzhi for being a liar, they hurriedly packed up and prepared to flee for their lives.

The streets were crowded with residents full of parcels, who rushed in the direction of Shimonoseki, crying, scolding and shouting, and the whole city suddenly spiraled out of control and became extremely chaotic.

The liaison officers who rushed to the various units from the headquarters of the garrison commander to convey orders were also carried in confusion towards the Xiaguan Rujiang Gate, and many of the orders to retreat were not conveyed to those troops who were still fighting bloody.

It was Song Xilian's 36th Division guarding the Rujiang Gate, and they did not receive an order to retreat at all, and the order given to them by Tang Shengzhi at the beginning was to block the ferry and kill those who crossed the river without authorization.

The road from Zhongshan Road to Rujiangmen was crowded with troops, and those troops who had been ordered to retreat were to break through at night according to the original plan.

But as soon as the order came, the people's hearts were scattered, most of them were troops who retreated from the Songhu battlefield, and the rout made them still have lingering palpitations, and they finally became devils' knives after retreating.

All kinds of rumors were flying all over the sky, and the commanders of the various units ran away first, and the troops were suddenly in chaos, and the desire to survive made them take care of the order there, and went straight to Xiaguan, because the devils came from the south and east, and only the Xiaguan side they thought it was still a way to live.

The road was boiling over, crowded with soldiers and horses and civilians from all walks of life vying for their lives, and vehicles, equipment and men trampled on each other, and there was great chaos.

The troops of the 36th Division stationed at Rujiangmen looked at the troops and civilians who were rushing over in the black, and immediately ordered one after another, thinking that the deserters were coming with the people, and hurriedly pulled the bolts, and the muzzles of dozens of machine guns were aimed at the people who rushed over, and they were still enforcing Tang Shengzhi's ban on crossing the river.

"Dada-da-"

A battalion commander of the 36th Division opened fire into the sky with a machine gun in his arms, and bullets flew over the heads of the crowd.

The battalion commander shouted: "Commander Tang has an order, no one is allowed to retreat and cross the river without authorization!" Hurry back to your positions and continue to resist! ”

The officers of the defeated troops also ran to him and explained loudly: "Brother, the commanders have already run away, the order to retreat has been issued, get out of the way, let everyone go!"

The officer was about to go over as he spoke, when the battalion commander of the 36th Division held a machine gun to his chest.

"You cowards who are greedy for life and afraid of death! Commander Tang said that he wanted to live and die with the city, when did he give the order to retreat, you are just afraid of death and want to be a deserter, now I order you to retreat and return to your position! ”

"The commanders really gave the order to retreat!" Someone in the crowd shouted.

The battalion commander also did not understand the situation, and when he saw that more and more people were rushing over, he hurriedly went to ask the regiment commander for instructions.

The entire 36th Division had never received an order to retreat, and the regiment commander said coldly: "The machine guns are mounted, and no one should be allowed to cross the river, otherwise the upper authorities will be held accountable, and we will not be able to afford to bear the blame."

With the order of the regiment commander, the battalion commander returned to the position and immediately ordered the troops to prepare for battle, and warned the influx that the trespassers would be killed!

The devils had already attacked, and there were friendly troops blocking the way in front of them, and many people couldn't wait any longer, so they simply rushed forward, trying to break out of the way.

The troops of the 36th Division shouted warning while shooting into the sky, but they could not stop the people who rushed over in a frenzy, and the crowd did not know who shot the soldiers of the 36th Division, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.

The people of the 36th Division thought that the rout was about to break through without permission, and the machine guns and rifles that were supposed to deal with the devils everywhere were all fired, and many people who rushed in front were immediately shot and fell to the ground.

"Brethren! Rush to kill! Fight your way out! Some people in the crowd raised their arms and shouted, and all kinds of rifles, pistols and machine guns rang out, and the entire Rujiangmen suddenly became a battlefield.

The troops who were anxious to flee for their lives fought with the 36th Division blocking the gate, bullets flew in the air, and the crowd screamed in terror like a flood that burst the embankment, and rushed to the city gate despite the rain of bullets.

"Don't fight, don't fight!" The battalion commander of the 36th Division also realized that something was wrong, because there were too many people rushing over, but as soon as he finished speaking, he was killed by bullets.

The crowd poured towards the city gate under the rain of bullets, but the city gate was only opened once, and the gate was narrow, and the flow of people trampled on the people who were squeezed down, wailing constantly, but the people were already crazy, and they rushed to the riverside of the lower pass without their lives.

Some of the wounded soldiers who were squeezed by the door turned red-eyed, pulled the grenade they carried with them, and with a bang, blood and flesh flew near the city gate.

"Stop them! Block them! The commander of the 36th Division was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, and seeing that the crowd was about to break through his own defenses, he personally grabbed his machine gun and joined the battle.

Those defeated troops, who were the opponents of the 36th Division, were quickly pressed down, and the entire Rujiangmen had turned into a sea of corpses and blood, which was unbearable.

Because of the escape of the commanders, the Rujiangmen fought each other in a chaotic situation, and many brothers did not die at the hands of the devil soldiers, but at the hands of their own people.

Those who wanted to escape saw that the Rujiang Gate was blocked, so they had to turn around and run into the city, seeking other ways to escape, and many soldiers took off their uniforms and fled to the refugee area, hoping to escape.

When the city of Nanjing was chaotic, many of the troops on the front line did not receive the order to retreat, and they were still fighting bloody battles with the devils, but they did not know that the rear had become a pot of porridge.