Chapter 414 Returning Home

(...Some soldiers who were separated on the battlefield quietly took off their military uniforms and walked back home, and walked back with their legs. They suffered from wind, frost, cold, dew, hunger and disease along the way, and could no longer pick up guns after returning home; some people were stimulated to become madmen on the battlefield, but they actually walked home. Maybe they made themselves remember the path they had walked along the way... Excerpted from "My Memories of the War of Resistance - Cao Xiaomin")

"The remnants of the 198th Division were supported by the 145th Division, and they all retreated across the west bank of the Luochang River. Because of their successful blocking of the Japanese army in the northeast, the 145th Division was able to seize the important land and build fortifications to complete the layout of the defense line. Now the 145th Division is connected with the 133th Division's position, and the Luochang River to Baidang Lake area is unbreakable... Our 199th Division has also completed the blocking mission and is being handled southwest of the Luochang River tributary. However, in order to delay the enemy's army, they were left on the east bank of the main stream of the Luochang River, and they are probably wiped out all the troops..." The staff officer reported on the side, but Bai Chongxi focused on staring at the map. He was reluctant to react to the report.

Suddenly, Bai Chongxi drew a heavy stroke on the map with his pen in his hand. There was no arrow or other changes, only a slanted stroke!

"How can I let Cao Liehou beautify me!" Bai Chongxi's stroke extended from Lu'an and cut across the southwest from the south bank of Chaohu Lake. That stroke cut off the march route of the Japanese Fifth Division, the 17th Division and the 22nd Division!

"Airplane, our plane!..." "Menqing" stumbled into the cave and saluted the "Ehu" leaning against the cave wall: "Report to the squad leader, our air force is dispatched and is bombing the enemy..."

"Boom!" With a loud bang, a lot of mud and sand fell from the top of the cave. "Menqing" was lifted by the air waves pouring in from the cave door and ate the mud and sand in his mouth. While spitting out the mud and sand mixed with blood and broken teeth, he crawled and rolled to the side of the "erhu" and helped his squad leader up...

"...Flipped over (squad leader), Sanhu is about to send him off (let's stop scolding), the Air Force is here... Cough cough... The Air Force is here, the Japanese are here..." With dizziness and the feeling of wanting to cough, "Men Qing" reported to the commander with tears of excitement...

The death of the "erhu" happened three days ago, but "Menqing" carried his body into the hole and asked him to sit cross-legged on the wall of the cave. He would report to him every day if there was anything.

Not only the "erhu", "big dog", "immoral" and "Kitchen God"... In one class, all the whole family was dead, and only "Menqing" was left to live!

"Menqing" placed the corpses of the brothers one by one on the gun positions, and placed a gun beside them, so that he would not be afraid, and the brothers were still there!

In addition to the brothers around him, "Menqing" also knew that the brothers "Eetou Peak" across the mountain were still alive, because fighting broke out from time to time. "Menqing" was always guessing how many people there were there, because the firefight was sometimes very intense, at least ten people, maybe more... In my imagination, I outlined the appearance of the brothers on the mountain over there, and became the only spiritual sustenance for "Menqing" when he was lonely.

"Our air force is here... the Japanese retreat... we won!..." "Menqing" was wandering around the position, straightening the bodies of the brothers who were blown upside down during the bombing. Every time he straightened someone, he would say something to them. Sometimes he would answer to himself: "Oh, I understand!" "What's there to make a fuss about..." "Let them not throw bombs, throw me a roast chicken..."

The bombing passed quickly, and the air was filled with dust and it was very hot. The hillside was bombed by the air force, and there were fewer corpses of the Japanese lying on it. Several large pits were blown out of the ground, and the red and yellow soil inside was exposed.

There are bonuses to destroy the Japanese, why are there fewer Japanese? "Menqing" counted and could not find sixty-one Japanese corpses. While asking the "big dog", he was thinking whether to go down and take a look--brothers must not go, only he can go down and take a look. The sixty-one Japanese corpses were fought bloodyly... The wealth left by many geniuses after bloody battles was everyone's wealth!

He did not participate in the first battle of the 199th Division's fortune. When he saw the soldiers who had withdrawn from the line of fire line line to receive the bounty the next day, he looked straight: I heard that no one died, and each person received five o'clock! He remembered the day when he brought a big red flower on his chest, the officer in the recruitment office gave his mother two o'clock...

"Big Dog, I'd better go down and take a look. The person hasn't counted yet. Don't let the wild dog hold the Japanese corpse..." "Men Qing" patted the "Big Dog" on the shoulder. "Big Dog" closed his eyes like before his death, holding a grass in his mouth - a grass that "Men Qing" inserted into him.

It looks so close, so far! "Menqing" finally walked up to "Eetou Peak".

When he walked down the mountain to inspect the Japanese corpses, he felt that there was really no one around him, so he continued walking in a daze and walked to the foot of the mountain without realizing it!

The foot of the mountain is like on the hillside, with corpses everywhere, but there are really no living people, so the Japanese retreated!

How are the brothers on the Etou Peak? Subconsciously, "Men Qing" knew that all the brothers in his class had died for their country. He longed to see a living brother. The Japanese retreated and could meet the brothers on the Etou Peak!

It was already midnight when "Menqing" walked up to "Eitou Peak". There was no silence everywhere, except for the wind, which sounded the same as the barking of wild dogs eating corpses. He was a little scared and kept moving forward with the rifle in his hand tightly.

"Someone!? Someone!?" He didn't notice that his red, swollen and corrupt mouth, whose front teeth were bombed, was so trembling and ambiguous. He continued to shout and search and move forward.

He kept stepping on the soft corpse, sometimes he stepped on the corpse for more than ten steps on the way forward, but he did not slip. Since the regiment headquarters received the order to stay behind for support, he has stepped on the corpse many times. Sometimes he was still on the charge, and he has become accustomed to stepping on the corpse without being tripped and slipping...

So tired! How many days have you not slept? "Menqing" suddenly felt a sense of sleepiness coming, and his steps began to become weak, but he continued to walk along the terrain and walked into a depression.

It was a concave that was blown out by an aviation bomb. After "Menqing" walked in, he felt as if he couldn't walk out. His feet were a little too high... He began to spin around the lowest end of the depression, but under the cold moonlight on all sides, he only saw radial scattered bodies, many, blocking all directions. He couldn't walk out, and he fell down...

As the morning light first appeared, a lonely soldier on the mountain road was carrying several guns and staggering towards the mountain like a conditioned reflex. His mouth was blurry, purple and red, and his broken teeth were trapped in the flesh. His body was covered with a thick layer of mud and dust, and his original skin color and appearance could no longer be seen. His military uniform was torn into strips by thorns and pointed stones. He was hung in a black shape and was blown on his body from time to time by the wind...

"The war is over, you can go home..." "Menqing" walked blankly and muttered to himself. He saw a gurgling stream of water.

"Yes, it's time to go home cleanly!" The soldier with a numb face suddenly became cheerful: "You can go home! Go home!" He removed the heavy guns and ammunition, and he took off his legs and jumped into the water.

The water was very clear, with the cold. The soldier felt a little dizzy when he was stimulated by the cold water, but soon the comfortable coolness spread throughout his body. He hummed happily, carefully washing every inch of his blackened skin...

When he lowered his head, the cold water stimulated the injury on his mouth, but he didn't feel the pain. He just felt cool, as if he was brushing his teeth...

"Hurry, hurry up, brush your teeth..." The stern father came again. He always rushed himself and his two younger brothers to brush his teeth. Is brushing his teeth really that important? Why do you have to brush your teeth every morning? I hate it so much that I will bleeding my teeth every time I brush my teeth...

"Okay, come and have breakfast..." It was my mother's soft call. Although there were not a few rice, my mother could always make the porridge so fragrant, sprinkle with chopped salted peppers, which was so delicious!

"What a good teacher... a good teacher..." "Men Qing" showed a satisfied smile on his face, and closed his eyes to the sunlight that spread on his face and continued to enjoy the warmth of his family.

After soaking in the water for a long time, "Menqing" finally stood up. He got ashore without taking his gun or putting on his bad military uniform. He continued walking along the road naked...

I recognize this road, and I came along this road. I can walk all the way to get home... "Menqing"'s face was full of joy and joy, and he would jump and scream from time to time.

The 199th Division stayed at the east of Luochanghe and a regiment died for his country. The only remaining soldier was walking home naked along the way he came.

This crazy man with a smile on his face might get lost and die in a foreign land, or he might really walk home; everyone along the way would see this naked young madman, and they might even tease him; no one knew that this was a hero who fought with the enemy on the line of fire for nine days and nights!

The situation in various defense lines in Jiangbei has stabilized. Countless passionate men from Guizhou, Hunan and Sichuan provinces will still be discovered by off-roaders in the mountains in decades and resisted the crazy attack of the Japanese army!

Bai Chongxi began to deploy a counterattack. In the Nine-day War of the Jiangbei Defense War, countless heroes were born. After the counterattack war, more people would be promoted. But the honor of heroes only belongs to those names that can be seen in the newspaper, those who were originally covered with stars. Those who could only get two oceans when wearing military uniforms. After a battle, people who only thought about their homes could only abandon their bodies on the side of the way home...

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Chapter completed!