Chapter 23

On the opposite bank of Pukou, at the Xiaguan Wharf in Nanjing. The ferries that used to shuttle between the two banks had long ceased operations, and the entire wharf had been transformed into a military stronghold. Trenches were everywhere, sandbags were piled up, and the soldiers of the First Regiment of Jiangsu, with their heads and faces covered in dust and looking utterly dejected, were scattered around. Craters dotted the ground.

Wang Dashan was now a squad leader. Since he first joined the battle on September 3rd, several months had passed. Wang Dashan had grown from a raw recruit into a seasoned veteran. Out of the entire squad he was in before the war, only he had survived.

Kicking the newly assigned recruits to urge these lazy ones to finish their dinner quickly, Wang Dashan, who had survived several battles, had developed an almost instinctive sense of danger. He felt uneasy tonight, looking at the vague outline of the opposite bank.

Although the officers kept saying that the enemy wouldn't dare to attack, Wang Dashan didn't believe a word of it. Two months ago, in a village near Jiading, the officers said the Zhejiang troops had fled, and everyone rushed into the village to loot. Only Wang Dashan and the old squad leader followed slowly behind. The hundreds of soldiers who rushed into the village first were ambushed and killed. Since then, Wang Dashan no longer trusted anything the officers said.

As the sky grew dark, Wang Dashan hid in the foxhole he had dug, waiting quietly for the artillery shells from the opposite bank.

Since being deployed to Xiaguan, they had to endure the rhythmic artillery bombardment from the opposite bank every night.

According to the remnants of the Third Mixed Brigade of Jiangsu, at first, their artillery had engaged in a duel with the enemy's. However, the enemy's large-caliber guns had a longer range, while their own smaller guns couldn't reach the enemy, and they were only able to take the hits. After a few days, their artillery was completely destroyed. Since then, they had been on the receiving end of one-sided bombardment, and the troops stationed here had lost all morale.

As soon as it got dark, they would hide in the foxholes. The enemy usually fired a round every half hour at night, stopping at dawn. Sometimes, they would fire a few shells before the half-hour mark. The old squad leader said they were using them for artillery practice. The old squad leader was killed by a shell while going to the latrine during a lull in the bombardment.

Wang Dashan felt something was off tonight. It was already 9:00 PM, and the enemy hadn't opened fire yet. Only the sound of the river waves hitting the shore could be heard, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Unable to contain his unease, Wang Dashan left the foxhole and went to the observation post, looking at the river under the moonlight.

After about ten minutes, the river remained calm. Just as Wang Dashan was about to return, a faint rumbling sound came from the river. He lay down and strained his eyes to see countless small black dots slowly approaching the wharf. The rumbling sound grew louder.

As Wang Dashan hurriedly got up to report to the officers, three red signal flares suddenly rose into the night sky from the opposite bank.

"Oh no," Wang Dashan scrambled back to his foxhole. Before he could reach it, the air was filled with the deafening whistling of shells, and the entire Xiaguan position erupted in chaos. The sound of artillery boomed, shrapnel flew everywhere, and the bright flames illuminated the area like daylight.

At 9:30 PM on January 7, 1925, Gao Yang commanded the First Division of the Anhui Army to launch an attack across the river to Nanjing. Over 200 artillery pieces with calibers of 75mm or larger bombarded the enemy's shore defenses and artillery positions, the dense artillery fire never ceased, and shells rained down on the opposite bank, creating countless bright explosions.

The first wave of thousands of soldiers boarded river ferries, fishing boats, and naval ships, heading for the Xiaguan Wharf. After Duan Qirui took office as the provisional ruler, the navy, which had been stationed near Yangzhou, was bribed by Gao Yang. Both in name and in actual benefits, Gao Yang had the upper hand, and the navy quickly defected to him. There was no longer anything to stop Gao Yang from crossing the river.

Leading the charge were three river ferries, with Gao Yang's order to beach and run aground. Just before grounding, several signal flares were launched from the ferries, and shortly after, dense artillery fire began to extend backward, blocking the roads leading to the Xiaguan Wharf.

As soon as the ferries reached the shore, hundreds of elite assault troops dressed in German-style uniforms, wearing steel helmets, carrying grenades and entrenching tools, and armed with MP18 submachine guns, stormed the position, shouting, "Lay down your weapons, and you won't be harmed."

The Jiangsu troops, who had been bombarded for over twenty minutes and were already demoralized, offered little resistance. Most of those still alive became prisoners.

The prisoners, huddled together with their heads down, watched as ship after ship docked at the wharf, and heavily armed soldiers marched into Nanjing in formation. They were all speechless. Wang Dashan looked up at the sky, where the shores of the Yangtze River were illuminated by the bright flames, and the dense artillery fire streaked across the sky like meteors, landing with a thud and creating bright explosions. "This is finally over," Wang Dashan sighed deeply.

Colonel He Cheng'en of the Third Regiment of the First Division of the Jiangsu Army, stationed at Hailing Gate and Lion Mountain Fort, sat in his command post, frowning. Across from him, Yang Dong sat leisurely, sipping tea.

"Colonel He, the gunfire is getting closer. If you don't make a decision soon, it will be too late," Yang Dong said casually.

Colonel He was a native of Nanjing and originally a brigade commander in the First Division of Jiangsu. However, the First Division had suffered defeat in every battle, and Qi Xiaoyuan, in anger, called it a women's army, dismissing the division commander and all the regimental commanders. However, Colonel He's wife had a good relationship with Qi Xiaoyuan's adjutant, who, after receiving 50,000 yuan, helped him retain his position as a regimental commander.

The walls of Nanjing were thick and high, wide enough for cars to drive side by side. During the war, the Japanese had bombed for half a month and failed to breach the city. Gao Yang had no intention of slowly besieging Nanjing; the best way was to break it from the inside. Yang Dong had entered Nanjing over a month ago and chose Colonel He, known for his corruption, as his target.

"Commander Qi has treated me well..." Before He Cheng'en could finish, Yang Dong stood up and said, "Colonel He, let's not waste time. If you open the city gates and let our troops in, you'll receive 600,000 yuan as a reward." He paused and smiled, "I heard your wife and Commander Qi's adjutant played mahjong for two days and two nights. Heh, don't you want to have a chat with the adjutant? Heh heh heh."

"I want 800,000 yuan," He Cheng'en said, his face as black as a pot bottom, gritting his teeth.

"Agreed, it's a deal," Yang Dong extended his hand.

Qi Xiaoyuan received the telegram at 2:00 AM on the 8th, his hands trembling as he read it, his teeth grinding. "These women's troops, useless, useless, ahhh." In just a few hours, Nanjing was almost entirely lost, which Qi Xiaoyuan found hard to believe. "Are the Anhui troops gods? You can't even hold out for a few hours behind the city walls?"

Qi Xiaoyuan hastily gathered his troops and rushed to Nanjing's aid, ignoring the Zhejiang troops for now.

Awakened from their sleep and called to assemble, the Jiangsu troops marched along the riverbank through the night. By dawn, they were exhausted and hungry, and their morale was at a breaking point. Qi Xiaoyuan, in a panic, could not afford to consider their condition. His mind was solely focused on retaking Nanjing, and the fact that the soldiers hadn't had breakfast was not a concern.

As dawn broke, the Jiangsu troops on the verge of mutiny suddenly saw dozens of warships slowly approaching the river. These were the Beiyang Navy ships carrying the Third Regiment of the First Division of the Anhui Army to Yangzhou. At dawn, they discovered a large group of Jiangsu troops along the riverbank.

Li Junxi immediately ordered the ships to approach and fire a few rounds. Since they had been paid by Gao Yang, they had to show their support. After firing, they could even get reimbursed for the shells, and there were many of Gao Yang's soldiers watching.

The warships fired dense artillery, and the shells rained down on the marching troops, causing countless casualties. The already furious Jiangsu troops panicked and fled in all directions.

Qi Xiaoyuan, riding a tall horse, tried to stop the soldiers from fleeing with his whip, but no one could stop them. A 127mm shell exploded near Qi Xiaoyuan, and when the smoke cleared, he and his horse were gone. With the highest commander dead, the troops collapsed like a house of cards.

Tens of thousands of troops were scattered by a few rounds of naval artillery, a rare occurrence. Qi Xiaoyuan, the traitor who had betrayed his country and killed countless compatriots, was now out of the picture.

The navy, after firing, continued to Yangzhou, unaware that these few rounds had ended a war that had lasted for months and engulfed half the country, initiated and ended by Qi Xiaoyuan.

Gao Yang learned of Qi Xiaoyuan's death from a captured soldier the next day. "I wanted to put this traitor on trial, but he got off easy," Gao Yang said angrily.

Now was not the time for such thoughts. Lu Yongxiang's troops were already seizing territory. Gao Yang ordered the navy to blockade the Yangtze River and secure the north bank. Then it was a race against Lu Yongxiang.

Clearly, Lu Yongxiang's Zhejiang troops, marching on foot, could not keep up with Gao Yang's motorized forces. Two days later, the two sides met in Yixing, Wuxi, and Jiangyin. They agreed to use the actual control line as the boundary and not interfere with each other.

Wang Dashan's wish to leave the army could not be fulfilled. Gao Yang formed several security battalions with a large number of prisoners and new recruits, along with mercenaries and newly trained non-commissioned officers, and stationed them in various places. The main First Division was gathered and quickly sent to Xuzhou, while the navy transported a regiment of troops and heavy weapons to Lianyungang. The bandit army led by Zhang Zongchang was advancing into Shandong!

With hundreds of thousands of troops, General Feng could not stop Zhang Zongchang, who, after occupying Shandong, continued south toward Xuzhou in Jiangsu.

Although Duan Qirui immediately appointed Gao Yang as the Inspector of the Lower Yangtze River, overseeing Anhui and Jiangsu, the bandit Zhang Zongchang, in response to Duan Qirui's order to stop advancing into Jiangsu, simply replied, "I can't read."

Upon receiving the message, Gao Yang smiled and said to Yuan Dian, "Not being able to read is not a problem; recognizing shells is enough."

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