Chapter 1: Yao Changqing's Camp

  Rumble...

  A deafening explosion shook Yue Weihan awake from his daze, followed by a violent earthquake that shook the mountains and a massive air wave howling in. Before he could even open his eyes, Yue Weihan was violently swept into the air, tumbling like dry leaves far away before crashing heavily to the ground.

  "My grass..."

  Yue Weihan only had time to curse half a sentence before his mouth was filled with stinky mud.

  A pungent smell mixed with the smell of rot, blood and corpses suddenly filled his nostrils. It was a bloody smell, along with an intense corpse smell. Yue Weihan had been a mercenary in Chechnya, Iraq and Afghanistan for so many years, he was absolutely familiar with this smell. That was the smell of the battlefield and death, and it was an absolutely brutal battlefield!

  "What the grass, what's going on? The American devils have discovered our underground base?"

  A huge sense of crisis suddenly enveloped Yue Weihan, was there a traitor within the armed forces of the Devil's Party? Otherwise, how could the American soldiers have arrived so quickly? No, the explosion just now didn't sound like an American drill bomb, but rather... the explosion of a heavy mortar!

  And listening to this explosion... The caliber of the howitzer will definitely not be less than 300 millimeters!

  Whoa, a howitzer with a caliber of over 300 millimeters!?! Yue Weihan was suddenly startled by his own judgment, and he abruptly sat up, his eyes which had been unable to open suddenly snapped open. In an instant, a brutal and suffocating war scene burst into his field of vision!

  As far as the eye can see, there are only collapsed and charred streets and city walls, overturned and burning houses, and corpses lying all over the place!

  The sky was overcast with thick clouds, and streaks of light dragged long tails of flame across the sky, only to suddenly plummet down in the distance. In an instant, a dazzling burst of intense light erupted, followed by violent tremors that shook the earth. Just as Yue Weihan struggled to his feet, he was knocked heavily to the ground once again.

  "Brothers, let's fight those little devils of Japan, kill them!"

  A hoarse yet murderous roar suddenly burst forth from beside Yue Weihan's ear.

  Turning back, I saw a group of soldiers wearing light yellow coarse linen military uniforms advancing fiercely in a scattered formation towards the front.

  For a moment, Yue Weihan couldn't tell north from south, and some of the soldiers were stunned, following him as he turned his head. In front of them, not far away, was an intersection with a three-story reinforced concrete building blocking it. More than a dozen dazzling flames spewed out fiercely from the windows on the second and third floors, as well as the rooftop, weaving together into a dense web of fire. The soldiers who had been charging forward with loud shouts suddenly fell down like cut scallions, one after another...

  "Pffft!"

  A soldier had just run up to Yue Weihan when he suddenly stopped, then seemed to be pushed hard and fell straight back. When Yue Weihan looked closely, he saw a small blood hole in the middle of his forehead, while the entire skull at the back of his head was torn open, with brain matter splattered all over the ground.

  "Hiss... Boom!"

  A short and piercing shriek was followed immediately by a massive explosion.

  Yue Weihan was knocked to the ground again, and when he got up again, he saw that a huge pit had appeared in front of him, with swirling green smoke inside. The soldiers who had just rushed into this position were nowhere to be seen, except for one soldier who was propping himself up on the edge of the pit, wailing miserably. His lower body below the waist had vanished.

  "Hmph."

  Something that was already charred and blackened fell from the sky and landed heavily in front of Yue Weihan, and to his horror, it was a severed leg!

  Yue Weihan's eyes suddenly widened, and despite having been a mercenary for over a decade, he was still shocked by the brutal scene before him. He swallowed hard, his ears ringing, and struggled to get to his feet, unable to think clearly for a moment.

  "You little devil, I'll be your ancestor for eighteen generations, go die!"

  A soldier with one arm missing, already covered in blood from head to toe, hugged a package with his only arm and jumped forward into the circular barricade. A loud explosion was heard, and the entire circular barricade instantly burst into smoke and dust, with several severed limbs flying through the air.

  "Second elder brother, second elder brother! You little rascal, I'll fight it out with you and your grandfather..."

  A robust soldier, as sturdy as a small mountain, glared with eyes like slits, holding a machine gun and suddenly stood up from beside Yue Weihan. Accompanied by the intense sound of explosions, the dazzling flames swept towards the windows and rooftop of the building in front like a gust of wind. Several figures instantly let out miserable cries as they fell headfirst from the rooftop of the three-story building.

  Unfortunately, the machine gun's roar lasted only for a moment before it suddenly stopped.

  Two dazzling flames swept across, the soldier's strong body first paused suddenly, and then fell straight back like a sawn tree trunk. Before he hit the ground, his neck had already been blown off by shrapnel, and his broad chest was almost riddled with holes.

  "Hiss... Boom!"

  Another short and shrill whistle cut through the air, followed by a massive explosion that brought with it a powerful blast of air. Yu Weihan was once again violently knocked to the ground, and as he fell, his head was heavily struck by something, causing him to black out and lose consciousness once more.

  …………

  This daze had lasted for an unknown length of time, and when Yue Weihan came to again, the scenery around him had changed once more.

  The sky above was still dark, the bloody smell and stench of corpses in the air were still nauseating, but the huge explosion sound could no longer be heard, only a faint distant explosion sound could be heard, and the previous fierce battlefield was now quiet.

  A team of soldiers with bayonets on their rifles are carefully searching the battlefield. When they encounter a soldier wearing different uniforms, whether dead or alive, they stab them in the chest with a bayonet. When they encounter a soldier wearing the same uniform, they move their bodies to the side of the street and arrange them neatly in a row. If there are wounded soldiers, they immediately call for medical personnel to bandage them.

  Before Yue Weihan came back to his senses, the soldiers had already searched their way to the front.

  The leading officer was also wearing a light yellow coarse linen military uniform, without shoulder straps, with a red and gold-edged collar badge on his collar, with a golden stripe in the middle, and a three-star triangle on top of the golden stripe. He looked like a junior lieutenant. When he saw Yue Weihan's eyes wide open, the officer immediately turned around and shouted loudly: "Medical soldier, medical soldier! There is still one alive here, hurry!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  Not far away, a voice responded with a shout, and immediately a soldier ran up to Yue Weihan.

  Yue Weihan and the lieutenant locked eyes for a moment, during which time the medic had quickly examined Yue's entire body. He then stood up and reported to the officer: "Reporting to the superior, this brother is in good physical condition and has not been injured."

  "Isn't anyone hurt?" The lieutenant officer glanced at Yue Weihan with a slanted eye, suddenly made a gesture, indicating that the soldiers behind him continued to sweep the battlefield, and then asked Yue Weihan, "What's your name?"

  Yue Weihan was still dizzy and subconsciously shook his head upon hearing this.

  The officer frowned and asked again: "Which unit are you from?"

  Yue Weihan was speechless and shook his head. The officer asked again: "Then who is your superior?"

  Yue Weihan shook his head, and a soldier next to him couldn't help but interrupt: "Sir, I wonder if this brother was stunned by the devils' cannonballs?"

  The medical soldier who had just examined Yue Weihan immediately added: "Comrade, this comrade's head was hit and it is possible that he temporarily forgot some things."

  "Are you kidding me?" The officer furrowed his brow even more tightly.

  "You're the stupid one." Yü Weihan hated it when others called him stupid, and he immediately retorted.

  "Hey, you're still not stupid." The officer seemed too lazy to waste words and immediately reached out, "Your ID?"

  "What documents? What documents? Passport?" Yue Weihan's eyebrows furrowed instantly, this thing can't be shown to people casually.

  "What a mess! I'm talking about your officer ID!" Although there was no insignia on Yue Weihan's collar, the young lieutenant could still tell that Yue Weihan was also an officer. Without hesitation, he reached into Yue Weihan's breast pocket and pulled out a green leather wallet, glanced at it briefly, and his expression changed slightly as he read out loud, "Central Military Academy Instructional Corps First Division Second Regiment Captain Yue Weihan?!"

  "What? The Central Military Academy's Training Division, Whampoa Military Academy?"

  "First Division Second Regiment? The troops that fiercely attacked the Daxiang Factory a few days ago?"

  The soldiers behind the young officer whispered a few words to each other, and when they looked up at Yue Weihan again, their eyes showed more respect. The Central Military Academy's Instructional Corps was one of the first troops to enter the Shanghai-Hangzhou War Zone to fight against Japan, especially in Daxiaobang, where the Instructional Corps fought extremely fiercely. It goes without saying that although these young faces from the Central Military Academy's Instructional Corps looked delicate and tender, they were all quite impressive.

  "Is he Yue Weihan?" But Yue Weihan did not know what they were talking about. He furrowed his brow and asked in return, "Who is Yue Weihan?"

  The officer did not respond, and instead pulled out a folded paper from the green leather case, slowly unfolding it. After glancing at it briefly, he read aloud in a low voice: "Graduation Certificate of the Chinese Nationalist Party Army Officer School: This certifies that student Yue Weihan of the 10th term infantry department has completed his studies with satisfactory grades and is hereby awarded this certificate. Principal Chiang Wen-rong, June 16, 1936."

  "Whampoa Military Academy of the Nationalist Party of China? Huangpu Military School!? 1936!?"

  Yue Weihan muttered to himself for a moment, and his eyes suddenly widened as he thought back to the brutal battlefield scene. A terrifying idea took shape in his mind: could it be that... he had traveled through time? Taking a deep breath, Yue Weihan hastily asked the officer, "Brother, what year and month is it now?"

  The officer replied without lifting his head: "August 31st, 1937."

  "Twenty-six years of the Republic!?" Yue Weihan suddenly took another cold breath and exclaimed, "Then what is this place?"

  The officer carefully stacked the certificates and handed them back to Yue Weihan, along with his military ID. He then stood at attention and saluted Yue Weihan with a standard military salute, loudly responding: "Reporting to the superior officer, this is Baoshan County, Third War Zone. I am Cao Xinglong, junior lieutenant and platoon leader of the 583rd Regiment's 3rd Battalion's Guard Platoon of the 98th Division."

  "Third War Zone, Baoshan County Town? 98th Division, 583rd Regiment, 3rd Battalion!?"

  Yue Weihan heard this and suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave in the depths of winter, a chill running from the base of his spine to the top of his skull!

  Wasn't the 26th year of the Republic of China in 1937? Wasn't the Third War Zone the Songhu Battle Zone? In August that year, wasn't it the time when the Songhu Battle was raging like wildfire? In this battle, Little Japan deployed nine elite divisions and two detachments of its army alone. The National Army assembled more than 70 divisions, nearly a million troops. Both sides fought fiercely in the Songjiang area for three months, with countless casualties!

  As for the 98th Division mentioned by this junior officer, Yue Weihan was even more familiar with it as a military history enthusiast.

  The commander of the 98th Division, Xia Zhongyu, was a graduate of the first class of Huangpu. The 583rd Regiment's third battalion under his command was also known as the heroic "Yao Changqing Battalion" in the eight-year history of resistance against Japan! During the second phase of the Battle of Shanghai, when Chinese forces switched from offense to defense, this battalion defended the isolated city of Baoshan and fought fiercely with Japanese troops for seven days and nights. The entire battalion, including its commander Yao Changqing and over 500 soldiers, died heroically in battle.

  According to historical records, today, August 31st, is the day when Yao Changqing's troops entered Baoshan County.

  In seven more days, that is September 6th, Baoshan County will fall into the hands of the Japanese invaders. The entire regiment from Regimental Commander Yao Changqing down to over five hundred people will all sacrifice their lives for the country, not a single one will survive!

  "What's going on? What's going on? Why are you all gathered together?"

  Just as Yue Weihan's mind was in turmoil, a hoarse yet majestic voice suddenly came from behind him. He quickly turned his head to see an officer wearing a woolen military uniform walking up to him with big strides. The officer had a medium build, fair skin, and wore a pair of reading glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking refined but not very pleasant in expression.

  The officer's epaulette had two golden stripes, with two golden stars on top, which was the rank of lieutenant colonel. Yue Weihan didn't need to guess and could confirm that this person was definitely Lieutenant Colonel Yao Changqing, the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 583rd Regiment, because in the National Army's sequence, company commanders were usually senior captains, deputy battalion commanders and chiefs of staff were usually majors, and battalion commanders were lieutenant colonels.

  "Reporting to the superior officer, I am leading the team to clean up the battlefield." Cao Xinglong immediately ran forward and stood at attention, saluting Yao Changqing.

  Yao Changqing hummed in response, but his cold gaze was fixed on Yue Weihan as he asked, "Cao Xinglong, what's going on here?"

  "Report to the superior officer, this is Lieutenant Colonel Yue Weihan, commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Brigade of the Central Military Academy's Training Division."

  "Yue Weihan? Are you the instructor of the General Headquarters?" Yao Changqing's expression on his face immediately eased, and he said to Yue Weihan, "Are you from Whampoa Ninth or Tenth period? I am from Sixth period."

  "Uh, this......" Yue Weihan was speechless for a moment.

  Yao Changqing slightly frowned and turned his head towards Cao Xinglong.

  "Report, sir," Cao Xinglong hastily said. "According to the medic, Captain Yue may have suffered a head injury, which is why he's temporarily forgotten his past. However, he indeed is the company commander of the Training General Headquarters, and I've already checked his officer ID and diploma. He graduated from the 10th term infantry department of Huangpu Military Academy."

  "Looks like you're badly hurt, can't even remember who you are?" Yao Changqing's face flashed a hint of pain and regret, then looked up at the sky, furrowed his brow and said, "It's almost dark, the Shanghai battlefield is in chaos, and Commander Gui's instructional regiment has disappeared... Yue Weihan!"

  Yue Weihan didn't know that Yao Changqing was calling him and for a moment he didn't react.

  "Bastard, the officer called your name and you didn't respond? As a Whampoa Military Academy graduate, how could you forget even the most basic infantry drill?" Yao Changqing was furious at once, but soon realized that Yue Weihan had lost his memory. He sighed and said, "Look at my memory, never mind, just temporarily stay in my camp as my deputy officer for now."

  "Yes!" Yue Weihan finally reacted at this time and hurriedly responded loudly.

  In this way, Yue Weihan became a Huangpu tenth military officer, and he had no choice but to follow Yao Changqing into the city of Baoshan County. Although he knew that Baoshan would fall in a few days and that Yao's regiment would be annihilated, Yue Weihan had no other option at this point.

  As a military history enthusiast, Yue Weihan was well aware that although the miscellaneous troops in the National Army were mostly undisciplined and relied on passion to fight, the Central Army's 98th Division was well-trained and disciplined. Especially the officers from Whampoa Military Academy were strict with themselves and their subordinates to an almost ** degree.

  For example, just now, if Yue Weihan dared to show a little fear of the enemy, Yao Changqing, who also came from Huangpu, would have killed him without hesitation.

  Moreover, as a traverser, Yue Weihan would not watch idly as Yao Changqing's camp reenacted the tragedy and ultimately ended in total annihilation. Although such an ending was heroic and could inspire the nation, it was not what Yue Weihan wanted. Having finally traversed once, he did not want to "heroically sacrifice for the country" like this, nor did he want Yao's camp to repeat the mistakes of history.

  Staying in Yao Changqing's camp was just a temporary measure. Yue Weihan, who knew the direction of history, had already made up his mind.

  The top priority is to persuade Yao Changqing as much as possible, and let him not stubbornly stick to the treasure mountain. The superior's order must be resolutely implemented, but the degree of implementation must be flexible. The principle that saving the land will lose people, losing both land and people; saving people will lose land, but both people and land can be preserved must be repeatedly explained to him, again and again, until he fully understands the spirit.

  As soon as the Battle of Shanghai is over, Yue Weihan will unhesitatingly leave the National Army and lead his troops north to Shanxi to join the Eighth Route Army. Although Yue Weihan's current identity is that of a Huangpu faction officer with an extremely bright future in the National Army, he will not have any attachment to the National Army because of this.

  Whether out of emotional consideration or realistic consideration, joining the Eighth Route Army was the only choice. Because Yue Weihan was very clear that the National Army's final defeat and retreat to Taiwan was an irreversible historical trend. Yue Weihan did not want to follow "Chiang Kai-shek" to a remote island and die abroad as a lonely soul decades later.