Maldini is one of the few Italian officers who is relatively calm. His position is division commander and his military rank is lieutenant general. At this time, he was standing on a nearby hill, looking at the river with a telescope. He hoped to see warships flying the Union Jack flag appear. He was still looking forward to the British navy defeating the enemy and then coming to rescue them. After the bombing, Maldini quickly organized his troops and began to evacuate the tidal flat. If they stayed on the tidal flat, they would be dead. Under the leadership of Maldini, other officers quickly calmed down and began to rectify their troops. They finally successfully evacuated the tidal flat. And in this place, there are mountains along the coast. The trees on the mountains are lush and green, and the scenery is actually very beautiful. After rectification, the Italians discovered that the casualties caused by the Chinese bombing were far less than they imagined. Of the 40,000 Italian troops, there were still 23,000 survivors, and only five or six of them were actually killed in the bombing. There were only a thousand soldiers, and many more soldiers were actually on the British troop transport. They drowned after the ship was bombed and sank. Facts have proved that it is difficult to complete a war of annihilation by relying on a single combat method. Not to mention the air force of the United Provinces, even during World War II, under the bombing of the Germans, didn¡¯t the British still complete the Dunkirk evacuation, leaving most of them behind? The troops successfully rescued the British mainland across the English Channel. Although more than half of the soldiers survived, excluding those who were injured and unable to fight, there were still nearly 20,000 Italian troops, but all senior officers agreed that they no longer had the ability to fight. During the landings and the subsequent bombardment, many soldiers discarded their weapons and were now left empty-handed. Their heavy firepower weapons were either destroyed by bombs, fell on the beach, sank into the water, or were taken away by British transport ships that were eager to leave. It is even difficult to find a few heavy machine guns in the military. But the most important thing is morale. The morale of the current troops is extremely low. Weapons and equipment are inadequate, and we don¡¯t even have enough food. It is unrealistic to expect empty-handed troops to fight the enemy on an empty stomach. This does not mean that the Italian army is not good, because after all, they are not the Red Army, and they cannot fight with will. And can win. A plane is coming. The Italians who are still alive are beginning to feel lucky that they left that ghost place and are now looking at the place nearby. It is really not a good place. The long mountainous area is sunken over there, forming a narrow beach. It is not conducive to expansion and avoidance. It is really a good cemetery. But the plane did not drop bombs, but snowflake-like things falling down one after another. Soon the scouts brought those items back. Maldini asked for a piece of paper with Chinese propaganda text printed on it. "What did the division commander write?" asked Maldini's adjutant, who could not understand the handwriting. However, he could tell that it was English, and he still knew the twenty-six English letters. "Dear Italian brothers, we have no intention of being enemies with you, and I believe you are too. Your situation is not good now. We understand it, and you understand it better. I hope you will stop making unnecessary resistance. The land under your feet There are 400 million Chinese people living in the country. They are all peace-loving. If you are willing to lay down your arms, the warm and friendly Chinese people will definitely welcome you. If you want to resist, the people standing in front of you are China. Millions of troops. I hope you will think carefully and tell us your intentions. If you decide to lay down your arms, we will send you supplies and medicine to help you tide over the difficulties. If you still want to resist, we will. You sent bombs." "Where's this one?" Another officer handed over another leaflet, which was obviously different from the one in Maldini's hand. "Italian brothers. It's a pity that you were deceived. You were deceived by the despicable and hateful British Empire. They deceived you from the warm and comfortable Mediterranean to China thousands of miles away. The British are not worthy of their own lives to save their souls. They have fallen into hell. In their hearts filled with dirty blood, there is no justice and goodness, only greed and desire. Driven by endless greed, the British are committing the most heinous crimes in the world. , and the righteous Chinese people will never allow such demons to run rampant in their own land. But now that the demons are about to be subdued, they have used lies to trick innocent Italians into China. We believe that they are Italian brothers. After knowing the truth of the matter, you will definitely not side with the British imperialists. You will definitely listen to your inner calling and do what you know is right. Come on, put down your weapons, and don't be fooled anymore. The British took advantage of it." "There is also this letter." "There are also more than ten kinds of leaflets from the Chinese. An envelope from MaldiniPassed. The meaning is similar, coercion and inducement, hoping that the Italians will surrender. If you surrender, you will be safe. If you surrender, you will not have to endure hunger or suffer from fear. If you continue to resist, you will only die. If you continue to resist, you will never be able to return to your hometown in Italy. In other words, surrender will be warmly welcomed by the Chinese people, while resistance will face the wrath of millions of Chinese troops. The sky is getting dark. After this night, you are far away from this nightmare day. Maybe everything will be over tomorrow. If you wake up tomorrow and find that everything is just a dream, maybe you will be able to wake up. I found myself sleeping on a soft bed in my own home, next to my beautiful and charming wife. "There is someone!" Suddenly the scout discovered that a small boat was slowly sailing towards the river bank. It was a wooden boat with a white flag hanging on it. They are Chinese, Chinese soldiers, they are here to persuade us to surrender. Fortunately, Hamilton knew English. The visitors only brought an English translator, and they could not find an Italian translator yet. The Chinese soldiers expressed the hope that the Italian army would surrender immediately. They would receive protection as stipulated in the International Prisoners of War Convention and receive fair treatment. They would not be threatened by death, would receive basic living supplies, the wounded would receive treatment, and they would retain their property. A certain dignity. Maldini said that they need to consider that the Chinese said they would only give the Italians one day, before 5 pm tomorrow. A reply must be made, otherwise they will face new attacks. "Run, run, run, as long as you run, you will win." In the night, groups of people and horses ran forward along the Yangtze River. Under the moonlight, the river surface looked like a jade belt, which marked their direction well. It won't cause people to get lost. This is Gu Pinzhen¡¯s army. They set off from the mouth of the lake and marched all the way downstream. Throwing away unnecessary equipment and only carrying rifles and dry food, this was really a luxury for Gu Pinzhen, who had always been scarce in weapons and equipment. He even personally ordered the troops to throw away dozens of heavy machine guns. Not to mention ordinary soldiers, even he, a senior officer who had reached the military level, was heartbroken. However, Zhao Zeyong has already promised that after this battle, he will be replenished and everything discarded will be replenished. They will come back again, and there is no need to give out anything captured. But none of this is the key. The key is that they are fighting tens of thousands of Italian troops. They are all Western armies and the armies of the great powers. I didn't expect that this kind of task would fall on me. Gu Pinzhen was very excited, excited and cherished it. But he must be fast. The Italians have been almost bombed, but if they are slow, there is no guarantee that something will not happen. What if they recover. What if they get rescued, what if they run away. If the Italians regain some combat effectiveness, it will only increase the difficulty of attacking for Gu Pinzhen. It would be bad to get rescued. If they leave, it will be difficult to come back. It is not easy to capture the army of the great powers. It will be even worse if they flee. It will be all over the mountains and plains to capture prisoners. So we can only run. As long as we run, we will be victorious. Not only did they discard most of their heavy weapons, they even discarded their heavy machine guns, but they were still slow. The physical fitness of the soldiers varies. Some run fast, some run slowly, some run easily, and some run heavy. From the neat formation at the beginning, to the loose formation later, and now It almost turned into a long snake formation, spreading for several kilometers. "Order the troops to rest on the spot if they can't run and return to their own homes. Those who can run continue to run. As long as they reach the place, they will have meat to eat." Gu Pinzhen gave the order. If they keep running like this, they will not be able to catch the enemy. . Since yesterday, the team has only finished setting off in the evening. By night, it has already left Hukou dozens of kilometers away. But they have to go downstream to a place more than 100 kilometers away from the mouth of the lake, and there is still more to run. On the second day, no one could run anymore, so we had to start walking. And when they saw the place marked on the map where the enemy had landed, it was already noon the next day. Maldini and other senior officers also suffered all night. It was really difficult for them to make up their minds about what decision to make. The frontline headquarters that brought them to fight this time was completely wiped out. Only two and a half of the four division commanders were alive. The reason why there were only two and a half was because one of them was blown apart. With one leg and one arm, he is basically half a person. But no one can decide whether to surrender or resist. It has nothing to do with power or honor. No one wants to accept surrendering without fighting a battle or even seeing the enemy. This kind of war may last forever. Military history. But it happened that their communication equipment was damaged and they lost contact with the headquarters in Shanghai. They had to make their own decisions. "Vote anonymously!" In the end, Maldini's suggestion was agreed by all officers, allowing officers at regiment level and above to participate in voting to decide whether they should surrender or continue fighting. ? ?The result of the vote was that those who recommended surrender were three votes more than those who called for continued fighting. This proves that Italians love life. They are like this when facing the Austrians, they are like this when facing the French, they are like this when facing the Germans, and they are like this even when facing the Ethiopians. Now it is their turn to face the Chinese, and there is no need to change their traditional habits. "Division Commander, center, Chinese troops!" When the sun had passed its strongest point, the British finally saw the Chinese troops. It was not yet five o'clock in the afternoon. Maldini did not speak, but sighed in his heart. The arriving Chinese army looked like it was only one regiment in number, and looked tired, but looked very high-spirited. The military appearance is no longer neat, but the fighting spirit is still very strong. It wouldn't be a shame to surrender to such an enemy. But when the Italians came into contact with this unit, there was a misunderstanding. The other side seemed not ready to surrender and seemed to be here to fight. And the strange thing is that no one in this army understands English. It is difficult for both sides to figure out through gestures with hands and feet that one side wants to surrender, while the other side is here to fight. After figuring out the facts, the Chinese readily accepted the surrender. The Italian troops came down from the mountain in rows. According to the Chinese requirements, the weapons were placed on the left, and the people walked to the right to line up. The beach at the foot of the mountain, where they suffered heavy losses, became the square where the Italians lined up. The Italians lined up neatly, which fully showed that they had received good military training, and even surrendered in an orderly manner without losing military style. But in the middle of the Italian surrender, suddenly a wooden boat approached the river. They were all soldiers. At first glance, they looked like more elite soldiers. They stood on the boat like a mountain and like ballast. The pressure made the ship steady. These soldiers have neater military appearance, neater weapons and uniforms, and even their momentum seems to be uniform. Compared with the army that accepted their surrender, it was like a beggar. Although it was very vigorous, it seemed a little loose, energetic, and a little reckless. There was no doubt about its fighting ability, but it gave people the impression that the military discipline was not very good. In this way, he is more like a Liangshan hero. Gu Pinzhen greeted Li Zongren¡¯s subordinate Tao Jun who came off the boat with a smile. Regardless of military qualifications or military rank, Gu Pinzhen was higher than Tao Jun. Tao Jun could only salute Gu Pinzhen first. Gu Pinzhen raised her hand casually in return. He had worked with Zhao Zeyong before, and Yunnan had given it to Zhao Zeyong himself, otherwise Zhao Zeyong's rise would never have been so easy. Of course, he did not regret handing over Yunnan to Zhao Zeyong. On the contrary, he was very pleased with his decision because he felt that what Zhao Zeyong did in Yunnan was right. Because of this relationship, Gu Pinzhen often regarded Zhao Zeyong's subordinates as his own nephews and was not polite to Tao Jun at all. But Tao Jun was very angry. He personally contacted the Italians to surrender. He took a lot of risks at the time, but in the end he was cut off. How could he not be angry? But you can¡¯t take it out on Gu Pinzhen if you¡¯re angry. Gu Pinzhen¡¯s status in Yunnan is very transcendent. He was the one who gave up Yunnan to Zhao Zeyong. Everyone knows this. Therefore, when Gu Pinzhen returns to Yunnan, she always talks directly to Zhao Zeyong, and he is very natural in Yunnan, just like at home. Going back to the provincial capital is like going home, no one dares to stop me. Asking for something is like asking for something from your own home. You have to give it even if you don¡¯t want it. Zhao Zeyong is naturally on the same level as Gu Pinzhen, and other senior officers of the United Provincial Army, such as Zhu Yude and others, can only be Gu Pinzhen's descendants. ¡°You can¡¯t lie to Gu Pinzhen, there¡¯s no need to be polite to Italians. Tao Jun immediately asked the Italians why they surrendered to Gu Pinzhen. Now the Italians are depressed, and some people are very angry, Maldini is one of them. Damn it, I have surrendered. I surrendered to you Chinese. But do you still need to be so insulting? Is it wrong for us to surrender to the Chinese army? Do we still need to choose which Chinese army to surrender to and which one not to surrender? Do we need to ask you for instructions in advance on all this? . Grandma, those who surrender also have dignity, no matter what they can tolerate, we surrender as prisoners, not as slaves. Then Maldini said coldly to Tao Jun: "I can only say that I am sorry, but we cannot surrender to different Chinese armies twice in a row." The majesty that Maldini said cannot be violated.