Chapter 171 The Earth

(... Only veterans who walked through this land with their feet can truly understand the meaning of the sentence "The victory of the War of Resistance is the victory of the entire Chinese people". In that era, whether under the dark clouds of war or under the iron hooves, as long as the descendants of Yan and Huang who love this land, who are not soldiers?... "My Memories of the War of Resistance" - Cao Xiaomin)

The sky was still black, but the river surface that fell in Liang Xiaokuan's eyes could already see some things clearly. Apart from the white waves suddenly caused by the north wind, there was no movement on the river surface.

Don't be surprised, Liang Xiaokuan, everyone around him silently begged God and worshiped Buddha in their hearts. They crossed the river and it was always smooth; but in the end, the ship was ten minutes late, and there was no trace yet. Their commander Cao Xiaomin was on this ship, and there were those brothers with the worst injuries and the worst illness.

"Humbilical~" A cry of jackdaw came, as if urging everyone to dawn.

"The wind is much stronger and the water flow is also fast. Maybe they are sending two people to see it at a little downstream..." The one who spoke was not Liang Xiaokuan or the navy, but a fisherman and the local fishermen who are most familiar with the water.

"Let's go and have a look!" Two naval soldiers quickly walked away quietly along the river bank towards the downstream.

Soon, the two of them came back. They hadn't walked far before they met the last group of wounded people, led by Cao Xiaomin.

"I'm scared to death, I'm ten minutes late..." While speaking, everyone plunged into the river bank and continued into the inland forest without wasting any time.

"It's okay, I'm going back and forth four times a night. The brothers were too tired. They bumped into the wind on their heads and blew down a little..." Cao Xiaomin's casual words and "brothers" made the fishermen who risked their lives to cross the river four times a night warm up their hearts. The commander called them "brothers"! Just as they had been born and died on the position with him! The fishermen felt unprecedented pride - they were also part of the heroes in the War of Resistance!

There are the Kuomintang army in the reed marsh! There are the Kuomintang army that fought bloody battles with the Japanese in the city!... When the wedding of "Lao Gu Zhazi" was completed, when the eight idle men also returned, the news spread like wildfire!

"...The heroes are still there? This must be kept secret!" Every commoner who knows the news reminds those who inform them, and then they secretly and excitedly tell others and reminds them not to tell them. This is how they "maintain" their secrets. The news has been spreading under the noses of the Japanese stationed in Baguazhou, but it has never been heard into the ears of the Japanese traitors.

Soon, the prepared food was brought to the reed marshes by the "Laogu Scratch". It was obvious that all kinds of daily necessities were collected by each household. The soldiers could eat different temperatures of the food they ate for every meal, and the ingredients - every bite of rice they swallowed was saved in the mouth of every household in a fishing village!

During those five days, no fishermen would approach the reed marshal. During that period, all the fishermen were particularly respectful to the Japanese because they knew that they wanted to cover the soldiers who hid in the reed marshals! Every small fishing village in Baguazhou was covered with slogans such as Japanese-Chinese goodwill, establishing a co-prosperity in Greater East Asia, and from time to time, you can see fishermen brushing the fallen white ash under the leadership of the village chief. These fishermen were so supportive of the just cause of the empire, and the moved Japanese actually brought a large bucket of paint to the fishermen!

When Tang Shengzhi wanted to put away all the ships, some fishermen hid the fishing boats and buried them underwater in river mud. Now, in order to help the Kuomintang army crossing the river, they had to dig out these ships before the Japanese had even opened the ban. There were four of them, all of which were the small fishing boats that would be worried when they were bumping in the river waves, but they were always better than those coffins.

The village chief of the fishing village was always pestering the Japanese traitors, hoping that they could open the river ban soon, because fishermen would have no way to survive without fishing, and the Japanese also agreed. They also knew that there were fishermen with hidden fishing boats, and those small and broken fishing boats that they looked down upon and dared not go up to sit. Soon, the villagers' request was approved, and several small boats finally saw the light of day openly. Of course, the boats that had just been dug had to be maintained before they could be used, but the fishermen all knew that there were only ships that the Kuomintang army crossed the river this time, and the undepressing excitement and joy that everyone could meet was overwhelming.

The fishermen here welcomed the Imperial Army! After being invited several times, Prince Hirohiko Asakamiya personally inspected the Baguazhou, and promoted him to the magistrate because of the outstanding geopolitical ability of the Kawasaki team leader. King Hirohiko Asakamiya personally rated the Baguazhou and became a model area for the construction of goodwill in Japan and China!

Of course, this happy old Japanese man didn't know that during his inspection of Baguazhou, he had been secretly locked in the sight of the star! If it weren't for the unwillingness to implicate these fishermen who did their best to help them, the soldiers would have sacrificed their lives to kill the Japanese prince.

"A Japanese prince is a big deal! Is he worth our life exchange?... Think about Mr. Hu who came up to see us secretly, think about the 'lacks' that were waiting for a fish basin to come into the water for noon to catch it, think about the goat milk that the wounded drink every day... Let me tell you the truth, what Mrs. Zhang sent was not goat milk, but the milk that the three sisters-in-law in the village feed the children... In the face of these, the Japanese prince is a big deal! Our military merits are a big deal!..."

Accompanied by Chief Cao's lecture, the soldiers' minds were those kind faces: the old face with a goatee, the face that could always laugh at the most difficult times, the face that was a bit silly, the face that was fierce but unique to women... Yes, what is a Japanese prince in front of these? Could it be that letting all the brothers die, letting all the villagers be implicated and killed a Japanese prince, and letting their own photos appear in the newspaper is the pursuit of a soldier?... The so-called heroic spirit of all heroes and the so-called glory of all merits before everything these ordinary people do is actually so small, and the military medal is just made of paper and has no weight!

Surviving from the cruelest battle, the one who came out was a group of people who feared life, but they were a group of people who cherished life the most and respected life the most!

In order to make the soldiers eat well and to prevent them from being hungry on the road, the fishermen who had no boats used to use every tide to block every tidal flat with fishing nets, and then they took back the big and small fish left on the tidal flat to roast dried fish. For five days, no one in the fishing village sold fish, and even their own children who were standing by the stove drooling out of the kitchen. They were just for the legendary anti-Japanese heroes that most people in the reed marsh had never met before.

It is not a secret that there is a Kuomintang army in the Reed Marsh, more than 300 people know it; but it is also a secret that there is a Kuomintang army in the Reed Marsh, and more than 300 people keep the secret that the Japanese have not known for eight years! In eight years, the secret shared by this small fishing village in Baguazhou made the people under the iron hoof more united, more dear, and more proud - they did not pick up swords and guns to fight, but they also fought and were fighting all the time!

"Brothers, go back, don't send it again, otherwise you won't be able to go back before dawn..." After saying goodbye, the soldiers' eyes flashed with tears, looking at the fishermen who sent them across the river. They looked very ordinary, and each of them looked like the traces of wind and rain, exactly the same as other people who were seeking life on the riverside. Maybe when they see each other, the soldiers could no longer recognize them among so many fishermen, but people who look like this in their hearts will warm them in their dreams for the rest of their lives!

From time to time, the north wind blew up the cold waves like attacking among the sparse forests, rolling dry leaves to rush towards everyone, but the soldiers marching in the forest stood proudly, whether they were injured or uninjured; they understood why they had to go back to the battlefield against the wind, because there were so many kind people behind them, and they could not let them all be trampled under the iron hooves.

The night wind was blowing, and Zhulong Town, northwest of Chu County was filled with people who fled; refugees who could not leave quickly due to food famine were covered with every street in the town, and bamboo mats were covered with bamboo mats to block the wind; regardless of men, women, old and young, everyone spent the night on the cold stone slabs in the town. This was a big night, but many people who fled were searching in the streets of the town, hoping to find their lost relatives in panic.

Suddenly, a gong sounded on the street, and refugees who were extremely tired and unable to fall asleep in the cold all stood up in panic - did the Japanese invade?!

"Today is the Great Eve. Everyone is here from afar. The town is limited to material resources and has not fulfilled its friendship with the landlords. A bowl of lotus root soup is used to express their feelings..." At the entrances of all streets, local gentry representatives came to comfort the refugees. They asked people to carry large wooden barrels, and there were hot lotus root soup inside!

A warm feeling was filled with tears with the fragrance of everyone! The sound of cannons in the distance was still ringing, and the north wind above his head was still roaring, but for a moment, the town was filled with warmth!

The lotus roots are abundant from Zhulong to Yanhe, but the lotus roots were all harvested in late autumn and early winter. At this moment, the lotus roots that make lotus root soup were dug out of the frozen mud in the town under the cold wind! Because most of the lotus roots in the lotus ponds and lakes have been harvested, there are not many lotus roots left under the mud. In order to let each refugee drink a bowl of soup and eat a few pieces of lotus roots, the young and middle-aged people collected in the town have been drying in the water for a whole day!

Because they found that the refugees were still hungry and could not go fast, the officers and soldiers of the 31st Army originally planned to free up some military rations to help them, but after counting the stored grain, each army found that their food could no longer last until the defense time limit. When there was no choice, some gentry in the town suggested that they could dig lotus roots for food, and they could also donate some so that refugees could eat a steamed bun with a fist. In order to allow the people to eat enough and escape, the officers and soldiers of the 31st Army also killed two injured war horses and cooked them in lotus soup. In this way, less than five miles behind them was Zhulong Town, the battlefield, and these people who took their children to leave their hometowns finally got a hot meal. In the middle of the day, the largest "Grand Celebration" dinner came to the town...

Touched and grateful, the lotus root soup of the refugees was eaten with the smell of tears. In addition to reappearing blood on their numb faces, they also rekindled their hope for life!

The town office had just finished telegram with the division headquarters. Brigade Commander Zhong Yi, who had to fight to the death to protect the people, hurriedly drank the lotus soup on the table and swallowed the soup residue into his stomach. At this time, a soldier came in to report that the heroes who returned from crossing the river in Nanjing had been rescued successfully, but when these heroes walked to the Guanshan position of the 823rd Regiment, which was blocking the Japanese attack, they refused to leave and stayed in Guanshan to fight...

"Okay! This is the true nature of a hero. Let's go and meet them..." Zhong Yi, who was originally planning to go around the town to comfort the people, was about to rush to Guanshan after hearing the news, and his guards looked at each other: they had just returned from Guanshan less than half an hour!

The 823rd Regiment guarding Guanshan is the strongest regiment of the entire 138th Division and even the entire 31st Army: Most of the soldiers of the 31st Army recruited new soldiers from Guangxi at the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japan. As soon as they formed an army, they went to Xuzhou. The soldiers had neither combat experience nor sufficient training. The 1st Battalion of the 823rd Regiment of the 138th Division was a veteran of Guizhou. They are the treasures of the entire army! But now, in order to resist the Japanese army catching up behind to protect the refugees, Zhong Yi actually put the most important regiment in his hand on the front line.

Because Zhong Yi's troops who had cut off the rear personally fought for a long time in the western suburbs of Chu County, they then set up small troops along the road to resist step by step while fighting and withdrawing the Japanese. They were tortured by the Japanese on the mountain road. Although the Japanese were not seriously injured or killed, they were exhausted. They stopped in front of the Guanshan position, but only let the artillery bombardment and did not attack.

"The trenches here need to be dug deep... sandbags piled up like this... Yes, carry the machine guns over, remember to only hit the Japanese from the side, and don't worry about the others..." Li Bin just arrived at Guanshan position and became a commander. The shadow of the tree, Sihangcang, Shao family (actually he didn't fight), Wangting, Nanjing... When Li Bin arrived at Guanshan, he found that he and Li Tianhao had become idols in the hearts of the entire Guizhou soldiers! I heard that one of the two heroes of the Guizhou army arrived in Guanshan, whether it was the veterans of Guizhou or the new recruits who had just picked up the gun, they wanted to see the style, but Peng Zhigao and others who led the team were neglected a lot.

Li Bin was not polite, so he went to inspect the positions and condolences with the commanders of the 823rd Regiment to visit the positions and comfort the officers and soldiers, just like Chief Cao did on the Nanjing Fire Line. When he saw the fortifications behind the soldiers, Li Bin couldn't help it. He immediately expressed his combat experience while putting forward new opinions on the construction of the fortifications. The officers above the platoon leader in the Gui Army were all graduated from military academy students. When he heard his explanation, he understood a little. For a moment, the fortifications and firepower arrangements of the position mountain were immediately adjusted according to his arrangement, and he actually became the commander-in-chief of the front line!

"Look at it! This is the consequence of surrender!... On the ruins of the Zhonghua Gate, our brothers fought with the Japanese for fifteen days. On the fifteen days, we had no food or drink, were cold and hungry, and finally couldn't hold on. Later, we surrendered..." A veteran took off his upper clothes in the cold wind on the position, revealing the wound on his collarbone that was still clearly visible and was still slightly inflamed: "The Japanese used iron wire to tie us up in strings, traveled to the streets, and then pulled them all to a place called the Grasssha Gorge by the river to shoot. It was Chief Cao Xiaomin who personally led the troops to rescue us, and then forced the Yangtze River with us... I am not a hero, I am just a veteran waiting to wash away the shame in the next battle! As a veteran, I just want to tell everyone that no matter how difficult the battle is, I cannot surrender. I would rather die in battle than surrender!"

"I'd rather die in battle than surrender!" The soldiers on the position shouted over and over again, resounding throughout the night sky...

OK! With such a few veterans, my troops will soon become powerful! Zhong Yi, who had just arrived at Guanshan position, heard the speech of the shirtless veteran from afar and saw the indignant soldiers; then he became an audience member, standing behind the soldiers, listening to the veteran talk about the battle in Nanjing, and listening to the next veteran who will see the massacre in Nanjing... The officers and soldiers of the entire 823rd Regiment, including their highest commander, Zhong Yi, the brigade commander of the 414th Brigade, were moved by three veterans who stood up to speak one after another within half an hour. Everyone had forgotten the cold and the horror of the Japanese artillery fire they had seen. They just wanted to fight, fight for their dead compatriots, comrades, and the people behind them!

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Suddenly, it was not the Type 92 infantry artillery fired by the Japanese at the foot of the mountain, but the attack of a group of field artillery artillery above 105mm! The rain of shells hit the fortifications of the defenders in the Guanshan defense line before the entire line was improved. In the dark night, orange-red fires were lit up dazzlingly on the mountain, drawing the outlines of the mountains from the darkness; from time to time, you can see inexperienced recruits running in the fire for various reasons.

"Lying down!..." Amid the anxious shouts of the veterans, the officers and soldiers who had just seen the heroes in their hearts leave their posts with their own eyes and ran back to the position they should stick to; they were very brave, knew to fight to the death, and knew to return to their combat positions; but they did not seem to know how to go back at the best time, brave the artillery fire, and rushed to the death among the flying shrapnel and gravel at the fastest speed, and from time to time, people fell into the artillery fire...

The flares then came, and the orange artillery fire and the pale flare light illuminated the position instantly as day. From every explosion of the artillery shell, the reflections of the steel helmets at the foot of the mountain could be vaguely seen. The Japanese offensive troops who were ready to go had already assembled and were waiting for the artillery fire to stop.

"Sir, will you withdraw?..." According to the plan, each unit will retreat as long as the Japanese's heavy artillery is hit; but now there are at least 4,000 refugees in Zhulong! A staff officer stumbled from behind and rushed to Zhong Yi.

The plan will never keep up with the changes. It turns out that the 138th Division of the Gui Army formulated the attack and retreat while fighting and retreating is signaled by the Japanese heavy artillery group. If the Japanese heavy artillery group arrives, the main force will follow, and they will continue to retreat to Chihe. But who would have thought that the Japanese heavy artillery or the main force would come so quickly? They almost arrived after chasing them.

"Why are you evacuating? Didn't you see me still here?... It's just a few steps away from Chu County. The Japanese cannons can be fired as long as the car is pulled and moved. The heavy cannons do not mean that the main force is coming. Do you understand! Don't be treacherous and hold on to me!" Zhong Yi ordered loudly, and rushed to the front-line trenches with the guards.

Yes, here is only a few steps away from Chu County. The Japanese heavy artillery can be hit by "moving the muzzle"... But who said their infantry can't "moving the butt"?

Whether to evacuate or not will no longer refer to the Japanese cannons as a reference. Whether to evacuate or not is only based on the same: where will the refugees go?

Behind them are the common people, and the Chinese Democratic Party soldiers have no way out!

. "...Today, I want to take everyone to find a way out and see where I die for the country in the future!..." Every soldier's speech was heard in his ears; since he had become a soldier, since he had put on his military uniform at the critical moment of survival of the nation, it was as the commander said, let's see where I die for the country in the future! A team of Kuomintang troops rushed into Xiao Bengbu on the north bank of the Huai River in anger in the dark. Every soldier of this army looked like he was holding his breath and seemed murderous; although they did not violate the houses on both sides, the timid people still closed the doors and just stared at these soldiers in the windows...

The 59th Army of the National Revolutionary Army arrived at Xiaobengbu on the evening of January 31st, with the commander of the army Zhang Zizhong. (The first battle for General Zhang Zizhong to clear his name after returning to the army was not to rescue Pang Bingxun but to take Xiaobengbu at night. Because of the time traveler Cao Xiaomin in the novel, Xiaobengbu and even Bengbu are still in the hands of the Kuomintang army, General Zhang will fight another battle for the name...)

"... Someone asked me, how to fight this battle, whether to fight? (In the tradition of civil war, many troops have to ask whether the chief officer will fight before the war) Is it okay to fight the Japanese army now? Can you still be worthy of the Chinese if you don't fight? Can you still stand in China? Our Northeast Army, because we have not fought before, have already lost our family and province. If we don't fight now, will we still want to destroy our country?? This battle is related to the survival of the nation. The honor of our army. All our officers and soldiers should be consistent and determined to sacrifice. Even if the enemy crosses the river tenaciously, we must take advantage of the half-cross and duel with the enemy to fulfill the military's duties. If we shrink back and retreat without authorization, the military law will never be located.

Gu Kuan! Relying to the commander of the division, the commander, follow the commander, and follow the commander together..." Every officer and soldier know that this battle is to fight, and fight with his old foundation and fight with his desperate efforts! The commander's orders and teachings have been explained. This time, even if the foundation of the Northeast Army is fully covered, he will fight with the Japanese to the end! Another army on the north bank of the Huai River has arrived. They were originally ordered to defend the north of the Huai River to defend the enemy, but the defenders who were accidentally pulled from Nanjing have been in Chu County for so long. Quanjiao has not yet fallen. The Gui army and the Japanese in front of them have fought to the death... Now they have received new orders, advance and stand firm in Mingguang and fight against the enemy on the south bank!

The vanguard of the 51st Army of the National Revolutionary Army arrived at Linhuai Pass on the same day, and the army commander Yu Xuezhong.

The soldiers and the war horses were Xiaoxiao, behind the 31st Army of the Gui Army, more than 100,000 Chinese iron-blooded men from all over the world set themselves as bricks and tiles and continued to fill the Great Wall of the nation's flesh and blood...
Chapter completed!