Chapter 65: If one dies for the country, what regret is there in death?

  Nanjing, Presidential Palace.

  Chiang Kai-shek was sitting in his office reviewing documents, at a time when the Battle of Shanghai was fiercely underway. Although logistics and supplies were handled by the Military Commission and Logistics Department, there were still some urgent and important matters that required Chiang's personal approval.

  Just as Director Chiang was showing signs of fatigue and preparing to stand up, walk around, and take a short break, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the corridor outside the office.

  Chiang Kai-shek turned his head to look at the door, and in an instant, he saw Wang Shih-chieh, the chief of the guard, hastily walking in with a file in his right hand.

  "Reporting for duty!" Wang Shih hastily stepped forward and stood at attention in front of Chairman Chiang.

  "Hmm! What's going on, General Chiang? You seem to be in a hurry."

  "Report! I just received a special telegram from the 88th Division Commander Sun Yuanliang, who is at the front line." Wang Shihe said as he opened the telegram and read it out loud: "The 88th Division reports that in the already lost Gongda Cotton Mill and other original positions of the 1st Training Regiment, our troops are still fighting with the enemy. After judgment and speculation, it is highly likely that the surrounded unit is the entire 1st Battalion of the 3rd Company of the 1st Training Regiment, because when the 1st Training Regiment was forced to retreat, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion had already entered the Japanese army's position and did not withdraw."

  "Three battalions and one company? Is that Zhang Xinghan's unit?" Chiang Kai-shek asked in surprise.

  "Yes!" Wang Shih nodded solemnly.

  "Immediately telegram Sun Yuanliang, immediately implement rescue, no matter what to get Zhang Xinghan and this one to pick me up." Chiang Kai-shek said with some agitation.

  Wang Shihe shook his head solemnly and said, "Delegate, regarding the rescue, the 88th Division is probably willing but unable. Currently, the Japanese Third Division has joined forces with the Japanese naval landing force at Gongda Fabric Factory and is launching a fierce attack on our 88th Division's position. The 88th Division can barely hold its ground, and if we abandon our solid defensive fortifications and launch an attack, it's likely that not only will we fail to rescue Zhang Xinghan and the soldiers of the 1st Company, but also risk losing control of the entire Shanghai battlefield, leading to a complete passive situation. I hope you will prioritize the bigger picture."

  Chiang Kai-shek remained silent after hearing this, and indeed, Wang Shih-chieh's words were all reasonable. As the commander-in-chief of the National Revolutionary Army, he naturally could not be unaware of the severe consequences that would result if he were to order the 88th Division to reinforce Zhang Xinghan's regiment at this time. The outcome would likely be disastrous, and the entire Battle of Shanghai might collapse completely.

  So, before the reinforcements of the Fifteenth Army could arrive at the front line, the various units of the Ninth Army could only hold their ground and absolutely must not launch a counterattack against the Japanese army's powerful air and land firepower.

  Chiang Kai-shek's face flashed a hint of regret and pain, Wang Sheng and the attendants hastily comforted him: "Director, the overall situation is important, Commander-in-Chief Zhou Zhenqiang of the 1st Division only hopes to give the martyrs who died in this Songhu battle an anti-Japanese heroic title, and properly handle and take care of their families, especially the entire officers and men of the 3rd Battalion's 1st Company who have already been surrounded!"

  Chiang Kai-shek paused for a moment, his expression solemn as he said: "Immediately order the Military Commission to dispatch personnel to register and record the names of the martyred officers and soldiers of the First Battalion in this battle. The entire company that was surrounded is no exception. Once they have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, Zhang Xinghan will be posthumously promoted to Colonel in the National Revolutionary Army, while the other officers and soldiers will each receive a posthumous promotion and be awarded the title of Anti-Japanese Martyr. In the future, every one of their names will be engraved on the Monument to the Heroes of the Resistance Against Japan, so that they may forever be revered by posterity."

  "Yes!" Wang Shihe stood up straight with a loud "crack", and immediately turned around and quickly walked away.

  ……

  No. 70 Dumei Road, Shanghai, back door of Du's Mansion.

  After dressing up, Du Qianxue transformed into a handsome young man with an extraordinary appearance. He wore all black attire, carried a black luggage bag on his back, and donned a black round hat, exuding an air of elegance that was intimidating to others. However, between his eyebrows, there was a hint of subtle sorrow.

  Miss, without me by your side, you must be careful and pay attention to safety. No matter whether Zhang Xinghan is dead or alive, promise me that you will come back. As she spoke, two lines of tears burst forth from her eyes.

  "Uh-huh!" Du Qianxue also felt a bit sentimental, and nodded solemnly: "Zhang Ma, don't worry, I'm fine, and I believe Xing Han will be too. Take care of yourself." After finishing speaking, she resolutely turned around and quickly walked away.

  Zhang Ma looked at Du Qianxue's gradually disappearing back with a reluctant gaze, full of worry. However, having already regarded Du Qianxue as her own, she was even more unwilling to see Du Qianxue crying every day, so she could only help her find the person who had been on her mind and made her heart ache.

  "Oh! May heaven bless this loving couple, and may they live in peace and safety." Zhang's mother sighed, clasped her hands together and prayed.

  Du Qianxue hastened her pace, although she was also reluctant at this time. However, in order to find her loved one, the man who had once sworn an oath with her to grow old together, despite the dangers that lay ahead, she would take big strides forward without hesitation.

  In Du Qianxue's heart, she had already made up her mind that if Zhang Xinghan really died in battle for his country, she would never live a life of ignominy and shame. She wanted to die on the battlefield against Japan just like him, only then could she be worthy of being his woman.

  ………..

  The Gong Da Silk Factory, one after another in front.

  Everywhere were the corpses of soldiers from both sides, with naturally more of those devils.

  As the fierce battle continued, more and more Japanese troops gathered, launching no less than four rounds of continuous attacks on the company in shifts, but were all repelled by Zhang Xinghan and the soldiers of the whole company who fought to the death.

  The bodies scattered all over the battlefield were enough to illustrate the cruelty of the fierce battle.

  In the trench, a hand covered with a mixture of blood and mud stretched out. The palm, which looked somewhat eerie, slowly emerged and then slapped onto the edge of the trench. Immediately afterwards, another bloody hand also stretched out.

  Two bloody hands grasped the edge of the trench, and due to the mud around the trench being loosened by the intense bombardment of enemy artillery fire, the bloody hands grasped hard, with all ten fingers sinking in.

  "Ah!" Zhang Xinghan roared, using the force of his hands to grab and pull himself up. At this moment, there were many places on his body that were bleeding, some small wounds had already dried into a mixture of blood and dirt, and his originally neat and tidy lieutenant's uniform was now tattered and worn out, with crimson blood and mud intertwined to cover its original appearance.

  Zhang Xinghan took a deep breath, and then laboriously spat out a mouthful of phlegm mixed with blood and mud. His gaze swept slowly around his surroundings like a sharp knife.

  The entire battlefield was silent and still. Seeing this, Zhang Xinghan couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in his heart. His comrades, his brothers, had they all fallen and sacrificed their lives?

  "Victory, Old Sun, Old Zhou, and the Four Seas!" Zhang Xinghan's voice echoed for a long time in the vast factory area, sounding particularly desolate and solemn.

  After a while, in a trench covered with mud, Sun Siwei, who was also covered with mud, struggled to get up.

  Immediately afterwards, Zhao De Sheng, Zhou Wei, Li Si Hai and others stood up one after another. There were more than 40 people in total, but nearly two-thirds of them were injured.

  "Haha...haha.....You're all still alive, you're all still alive."

  "Haha……. To be alive, yes…. to be alive!" Sun Siwei also burst out laughing loudly, but his voice was somewhat mournful. He turned his head to look at the sparse crowd standing on the battlefield, and a hint of sorrow flashed in his eyes.

  "Comrades, I am delighted to be fighting alongside you! You are all the finest soldiers! I am proud and honored to have such excellent subordinates!" Zhang Xinghan exclaimed sincerely.

  "Great, Captain! You're also the best officer! Being able to fight against the devils with brothers and protect our home country is truly exhilarating!" A superior private with a wounded left arm responded loudly.

  Just then, a deafening and chaotic howl rose up in front of them.

  Zhang Xinghan glanced at the devils' soldiers in the distance who were preparing to attack, and turned his head solemnly to say to everyone: "Brothers, the little devils are going to attack again, we're probably all going to die for our country! Are you not afraid?"

  "To hell with it! Let's fight these Japanese pirates to the death!"

  "So many brothers have died, I, the third elder, don't plan on living either. Since we can't live to return, before I die, I'll take a few down with me as backing!" The officers and soldiers exclaimed indignantly.

  "Now I order....." Zhang Xinghan paused, picked up a Chinese-made rifle from the ground and pulled out a bayonet from a fallen soldier.

  The other officers and soldiers also followed suit.

  After a pause, Zhang Xinghan's expression turned stern and he shouted: "I order, fix bayonets!" As soon as he finished speaking, he attached the bayonet to his own rifle.

  "Clang! Clang!" More than 40 officers and soldiers followed suit, mounting their blood-stained bayonets on the gunheads, gazing coldly ahead.

  "Brothers, today's battle, although we are surrounded and trapped, but we cannot bring shame to the Chinese military. We would rather die on the battlefield! If we die for our country, what regret can we have? Thousands of years later, our descendants will forever remember us!"

  "Fight for the country, die for the country! Even death is glorious!" The crowd erupted in a thunderous chant.

  "Long live the Party! Long live the principal! Brothers, follow me!" Zhang Xinghan shouted loudly, and immediately held up his bayonet and was the first to jump out of the trench.

  "Long live the Party and the State!"

  "Long live the principal!" More than 40 brave warriors shouted in unison, their voices hoarse and loud, shaking the earth and spreading far and wide.

  Immediately following Zhang Xinghan, they jumped out of the trenches one after another, shouting slogans that moved people's hearts and launched a desperate counterattack against the Japanese army!

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