Chapter 5: One must have a resolute mind and no desire for life!

  "The enemy is approaching, what to do?" Hou Wanshan hurriedly came to General Zhao Dengyu's side, looking at the dense group of Japanese soldiers in front of the high ground, and asked anxiously.

  General Zhao Dengyu looked sternly ahead, a resolute glint in his eyes. With a swift motion, he raised the war knife in his hand and said in a deep voice: "Pass down the order, have our brothers wait for an opportunity. When the devils approach, throw out all the hand grenades, then prepare for close combat! Fight to the death with the Easterners, hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

  "Yes!" Hou Wanshan responded in a low voice with a serious expression, and immediately turned around to pass on the order.

  Zhang Xinghan leaned against the back of the bunker, picked up a handful of mud and applied it to the large knife that was already stained with the enemy's blood. He then wiped the bloody knife clean with force. At this moment, Hou Wanshan, the company commander, spoke in his low voice: "The battalion has issued an order, everyone prepare for battle! After throwing out all the grenades, we will engage in close combat with the Japanese!"

  Everyone in the squad heard Hou Wanshan's voice, each with a stern expression, rubbing their palms and cracking their knuckles, eager to try. But Class Leader Zhao Hei Ta had no expression, sitting beside the two wounded soldiers, not saying a word.

  In the battle just now, Zhang Xinghan's squad was the most severely damaged. Except for two wounded men, only Zhang Xinghan and Hou Wanshan were left standing.

  The two lying on the ground, one was cut open by the little devil with a bayonet, and his intestines were all out. Under the current medical conditions and environment, Zhao Hei Tower and Zhang Xing Han both understood that he would not live long.

  Another soldier was blown off a hand and a foot by a Japanese soldier who had pulled the pin on a grenade, both of them were wrapped in bandages, but without exception, all the bandages were stained red with blood.

  That warrior with his belly cut open, the gauze wrapped around his stomach, constantly had fresh blood surging out. His body also twitched involuntarily. One hand grasped Zhao Hei Ta beside him and weakly said: "Squad leader, am I... am I going to die?"

  "Don't talk nonsense! Didn't you say that your mother had arranged a marriage for you back in your hometown? Your second sister-in-law is still waiting for you to go back and marry her, you won't die!" Zhao Hei Ta grasped the soldier's hand tightly with one hand, while using his other hand to press down on the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

  "The warrior's expression was somewhat nostalgic, as if he had returned to his beautiful hometown. The sound of catching grasshoppers and playing hide-and-seek with Er Ya in the fields when they were young, and herding cattle for the landlord's family together, echoed in his mind. As he recalled that wonderful time, the warrior's face slightly relaxed, as if the good memories could temporarily alleviate the severe pain from his wounds."

  Suddenly, the warrior spat out a large mouthful of blood and began to convulse violently. Zhao Hei Ta hastily asked anxiously: "Ergouzi, how are you? Hold on!"

  "Monitor! I really want to go home! I miss my parents, Er Ya... " Er Gouzi said weakly, with blood still flowing from the corner of his mouth, choking.

  "Go home! After defeating those Japanese devils, Squad Leader will take you back home!" Zhao Hei Ta said with a somewhat choked tone.

  "Ah!" Er Gouzi convulsed violently and spat out another mouthful of blood. Zhang Xinghan, who was beside him, saw that his eyes were already becoming disordered and knew that this warrior had reached the end of his tether.

  "Class Monitor! I...I'm afraid I won't make it! There's something I want to ask of you, Class Monitor!" Er Gouzi said in a faint and intermittent tone.

  "You said!" Zhao Hei Ta's expression was somewhat excited.

  "After I die, if the class leader has a chance, please go to my hometown and help me take care of my parents' graves. Burn some incense money for them and tell them that their son is unfilial and can't often visit them. Also, please tell Er Ya that I miss her very much..."

  "Zhao Hei Ta was anxious and asked: "Er Gou Zi, are you okay? Hold on! Hang in there!"

  "Brother, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot be both fulfilled. Today, you fight for the nation, die for the country, death is also glorious! Your parents will not blame you, they will be proud of you! Rest assured! Your words, the squad leader will definitely help you deliver!" Zhang Xinghan said quickly to Er Gouzzi who was on his last breath.

  Only then did the two dogs hear Zhang Xinghan's words, smiled comfortingly for a moment, tilted their heads, and instantly stopped breathing, and their young lives came to an end.

  "Second Dog!" Zhao Hei Ta cried out in a low, mournful voice.

  It turned out that Zhao Hei Ta and Er Gou Zi were from the same hometown, they both joined the Northwest Army together. Their feelings for each other ran deep.

  At this moment, a crisp gunshot rang out, and all the officers and soldiers of the Big Knife Squad suddenly came to their senses. Zhang Xinghan and Zhao Heita also forgot their sorrow, as the gunshot was an order.

  The bomb-throwers who had long been ready opened the fuse caps of the hand grenades, pulled the strings and threw them out with all their might.

  At this time, the Japanese army was still more than 50 meters away from the heights. Although it wasn't close, due to the grenade throwers being higher up and throwing downwards, plus they were all strong-armed men in the troops, the first wave of grenades directly flew out at least 55 to 60 meters or so. Zhang Xinghan saw that the hand grenades fell like a swarm of locusts, hitting the Japanese vanguard crowd right on their heads.

  The hand grenade exploded on the ground, instantly blowing up the devils, making them fly and jump like chickens and dogs, with blood flowing freely. The flying shrapnel was like a scythe of death, knocking down batch after batch of devil soldiers.

  After being bombed, the devils behind did not stop advancing, but under the command of their commander, they rushed up even faster, firing as they went.

  The following devils' grenade launchers began to exert their divine power, sending one after another grenades onto the heights.

  The grenade exploded as soon as it hit the ground, and the entire hill was suddenly swept up in a dazzling red glow.

  The grenade squad originally didn't have many grenades, and after the previous consumption, after the grenadiers threw less than three rounds, almost all the grenades were thrown out.

  Although the devils were heavily damaged, they did not stop advancing. Moreover, several hand grenades were hit by the devil's godly marksmen and sacrificed on the spot.

  Seeing the devils approaching within thirty meters, General Zhao Dengyu, holding a large knife, roared: "Brothers, follow me!"

  "Go! Go!"

  "Kill! Charge!" Including Zhang Xinghan, all the members of the Big Knife Squad jumped up one after another, their roar like thunder, like fierce tigers rushing down the mountain, under General Zhao Dengyu's leadership they charged at the devils.

  "Kill!" A Japanese lieutenant was overjoyed to see the Chinese army charging out and engaging in close combat with the Imperial Army, and he excitedly waved his command sword, ordering his men to charge forward. The Japanese soldiers quickly pulled the bolts of their guns, ejected all the bullets from the barrels, and also shouted as they rushed forward in disorder.

  A distance of thirty meters, and they were upon each other in an instant. Both sides immediately launched into a fierce melee of clashing blades.

  "Kill!" Zhao Hei Ta's voice was like a loud bell, and with a single slash of his knife, he cut down a Japanese soldier who was trying to block him with his gun, splitting the man in two.

  At this time, Zhao Hei Ta's eyes were bloodshot, and his ferocious face was full of murderous intent. Like a wild beast that had gone mad, he roared and hacked away.

  Zhang Xinghan's skill was naturally not comparable to that of these ordinary Japanese soldiers, and the sharp big knife instantly ended the lives of two Japanese soldiers.

  Killing intent rose, Zhang Xinghan also couldn't help but loudly roar along with it, the large knife in his hand never stopping.

  General Zhao Dengyu, with his wounded body, led the soldiers to fight against the enemy in a bloody battle, which greatly encouraged the warriors of the Big Knife Troop. The morale of the officers and soldiers was greatly boosted, and they fought fearlessly, launching a desperate and bloody battle against the enemy in front of them.

  At this time, the bright moon hanging high in the night sky was surrounded by dark clouds, as if the night sky and the moon were both feeling tragic about the bloody battle being fought on the ground, and couldn't bear to witness the bloody struggle between two different nations.

  The fierce battle lasted for nearly half an hour, and nearly two companies of Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded by the Big Knife Squad before retreating in disarray like a receding tide.

  In the night sky, gunpowder has not dissipated, hot blood has not cooled down.

  General Zhao Dengyu held a knife in one hand and looked at the retreating Japanese soldiers, unable to help but throw his head back and laugh loudly: "Haha! Eastern dwarfs, I suppose you still dare to look down on Chinese soldiers?"

  Zhang Xinghan and Zhao Heita were both covered in blood, like two bloody killing gods who had just returned from hell. The two men held their knives and gazed at the retreating Japanese soldiers, then simultaneously sat down on the ground with a thud. They were too exhausted.

  …………

  Headquarters of the 4th Division of the Japanese Army.

  The chief of staff, Ho Yizhen, hastily rushed into the headquarters, without even standing at attention, and reported to the division commander, Suzuki Yoshisuke: "General, the 17th Infantry Regiment reports that Hill One and Hill Two have been completely occupied by the Chinese army. The hundreds of Imperial Army soldiers on the two hills were all annihilated. The counterattack organized by Sakai later also ended in failure, with heavy casualties among the Imperial Army's attacking troops."

  "What?" Suzuki Mitsuto suddenly stood up and angrily said: "How can this be?"

  "Reporting to the General, Sakai-kun reported that the Chinese army on the two high grounds had extremely strong combat power. The Imperial Army, with its advantage in troop strength, engaged in a bayonet fight with them and ended up failing!" Ho Yizhen answered respectfully.

  "What a shock! Unbelievable! The brave warriors of the Great Japanese Empire's Imperial Army, actually lost to those weak Chinese pigs in close combat! And it was when we had the advantage in numbers too! It's simply humiliating! Since the Meiji era, the Imperial Army has never been defeated after defeating Russia and sweeping through Manchuria!" Suzuki Mitsumichi exclaimed, shocked and regretful.

  Immediately, Suzuki Mitsune's face sank, and he said sternly: "We absolutely cannot let the Empire's Army's undefeated reputation be ruined in our hands! Order the artillery to launch a fierce bombardment on Hill 1 and Hill 2 at once! After the bombardment ends, order the 17th Infantry Regiment to immediately launch an attack. Before dawn, we must retake Hills 1 and 2 and annihilate all Chinese troops on the hills."

  "General! A night battle would be quite disadvantageous for the Imperial Army. Shall we wait until dawn to launch an attack on positions one and two?" suggested Ho Yee Tin.

  "Damn it! If we wait until dawn, the Chinese reinforcements will arrive, and if we stop attacking now, it's like giving them a chance to catch their breath. They can take advantage of this opportunity to repair their defenses, and when we try to take the high ground again, it will be even more difficult! Do you understand?!" Suzuki Mitsumasa shouted angrily.

  "Ah-hai!" Ho Yee Jan suddenly bowed his head and quickly turned around to leave.

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