Chapter 20: Better to be cannon fodder than a coward

  When Ye Tu Fei found out about this matter, he was very hesitant.

  His emotions told him that he should prioritize the lives of his comrades. These brothers had just returned from the gates of hell a few days ago, but they were about to go back again, and Ye Tu Fei couldn't bear it. His rationality, however, presented an opposing view: military orders are like mountains, once you wear the uniform, you're a soldier, and soldiers must prioritize obeying orders above all else.

  He remembered Zhang Luo Hui's performance at Er Lang Mountain back then, this stubborn brother who was like a mule, in order to complete the task, knowing it would result in the entire army being wiped out, still charged towards the Japanese army without hesitation.

  He acknowledged Zhang Luo Hui as a brother from the heart, just when Zhang Luo Hui led his more than 200 brothers to charge towards the Japanese army.

  To accept orders is to be cannon fodder, it's leading brothers to death.

  Refusing orders is mutiny, but it may save the lives of our brothers.

  Yè Tú Fēi, who was hesitating and contradicting himself, wandered aimlessly on the streets without a purpose, and unexpectedly found himself at the General Hospital. Coincidentally, ōu Yáng Xuě Píng seemed to know he was coming, standing alone at the entrance of the hospital waiting for him.

  "I have been waiting for you for an hour."

  "Do you know I'm coming?"

  "If you don't come again, I'll go to the campsite to find you."

  "Oh, luckily I'm here, what's up? Do you need something from me?"

  "Nothing, just wanted to talk to you. Our hospital is going to withdraw."

  "Go back there?"

  "I don't know either."

  "Oh, I don't know if we'll ever meet again."

  "I know your unit's number, once the hospital is settled, I'll write you a letter."

  "Write a letter? Oh, yes, I can write a letter."

  At that moment, a wave of sorrow surged up in his heart, and Ye Tu Fei almost burst into tears. Whether it was accepting the order or refusing the order, he and Ouyang Xueping's fate had already been exhausted.

  "What's wrong with you?"

  "Oh, nothing, just got sand in my eyes."

  "By the way, I heard your unit was assigned to cover our retreat?"

  "Uh-huh, seems so."

  "Isn't it quite dangerous?"

  "Not dangerous, Japanese are also human beings, no more than two heads better than us."

  "Haha, you're really funny. Even at a time like this, you can still be so relaxed. No wonder all your brothers are so obedient to you."

  "Do you know who I am?"

  "Hmph, of course I know, who doesn't know about the famous Ye Liu Ye?"

  "When did you know?"

  "I knew it from the start!"

  "Why are you pretending not to know?"

  "You're not pretending, so how can you tell me stories obediently?"

  "Heh heh, actually, if I were to tell you the story in first person, it would be even more exciting." "You're just cheating!"

  At this time, night had already fallen, and in the dimness, Ye Tu Fei met Ouyang Xue Ping's eyes for the first time, and they held each other's gaze for more than a second.

  The two of them stared at each other like that, staring at each other for a full minute. In the midst of their gaze, the emotions between the two people underwent a dramatic transformation. Ye Tu Fei had to use all his strength to barely control the urge to rush forward and hug Ouyang Xue Ping.

  After a moment of silence, Ouyang Xueping spoke up first.

  "Letting you retreat back to the temple was actually not a decision made by your division, but rather a decision made by the High Command."

  "Headquarters of the commanding officer?"

  "Yes, you know He Yingqin? He overstepped his authority and insisted on giving the position of commander of the 258th Regiment to Liu Yuje. This went against the opinion of the high command. The Fifth War Zone couldn't outdo Commander-in-Chief He, so they had no choice but to do this. But the character of the Fifth War Zone is to settle scores with those who have wronged them, so in making this decision, they were targeting Liu Yuje, precisely to take revenge on He Yingqin's overstepping and interference."

  “。。。。。。”

  "Don't you believe?"

  “。。。。。。”

  "Come on, I'll take you to see someone."

  An hour later, Ye Tu Fei met the person introduced to him by Ouyang Xue Ping, Colonel Yan Xiwen of the General Staff Headquarters.

  "Hey Ye Liu Ye, didn't expect this, did you? I'm Xue Ping's big brother! Haha, if you want to be friends with my little sister, you have to ask me for permission first!"

  Yan Xiwen's slightly sarcastic teasing caused Ye Tufei and Ouyang Xueping's faces to flush simultaneously, fortunately it was dark, so no one could see anyone's face.

  "Come on, little brother! Don't be so reserved, huh? Hehe, where's the momentum you had at the award ceremony last time? Right? A hero shouldn't be bothered by trivial matters, I don't care, what do you care about?"

  Yan Xiwen was unusually calm, appearing very magnanimous, tolerant, kind and gentle. The aura he exuded made Ye Tu Fei secretly admire him.

  Next, Yan Xiwen explained the ins and outs of the situation to Ye Tufei as an insider. Finally, he said to Ye Tufei: "If you disobey orders, not only will you be called a coward, but you will also be cleared out by the National Army. In the end, you will definitely lose your reputation and die without a place to bury your body. Believe what your brother says, they do what they say, without any ambiguity. You can only lead your troops forward bravely, maybe you can find a glimmer of hope. I believe that with your experience and wisdom, you will be able to survive in the most desperate situation."

  "Whatever you do, don't get into a fight with Liu Yu-jie. You must unite and only then will you have the opportunity to find a way out of the encirclement by the Japanese army. Also, my real name is Ouyang Xue-ping, 'Xue' as in learning, if someone can simultaneously call out both names to you, that person is trustworthy and will definitely help you with all their might."

  Ye Tu Fei suddenly stared at Yan Xiwen for a full half minute, then asked word by word: "Are you people Communist Party members?"

  Yan Xiwen smiled and said, "Does it matter? The country is in crisis, whether it's the Nationalist Party or the Communist Party, their goal is only one, that is to resist Japan. Ye Liu Ye, you are a young man with conscience, blood and ability, China's anti-Japanese cause needs you, the liberation of the Chinese people needs you."

  Yan Xiwen's words made Ye Tufei feel a little feverish, while Ouyang Xueping's additional sentence completely boiled Ye Tufei's blood: "You must survive, we need you to survive, and I especially need you to survive."

  Yeutou flew back to the military camp near zero point.

  The brothers are still gathered in YETU's dormitory, including Zhang Luohui, staring at their mainstay with eager eyes.

  "I just went to the General Hospital, I went to see Old Feng, I told Old Feng about our situation, and Old Feng only replied with one sentence: A great man should die hanging upside down, if not dead then turn over. You all know that Old Feng lost an arm, I believe that even with just one arm, Old Feng can still knock the little Japanese flat." Ye Tu Fei spoke slowly, using the battle hero of Er Lang Mountain, Feng Zhong Liang, as the opening anecdote.

  "Do you guys understand what Old Feng said? Our lives were given by our parents, and no one is more deserving of death than anyone else. This might be the biggest resentment in all your hearts - thinking that we've already fought a bloody battle with the Japanese at Erlang Mountain, and have already escaped from the gates of hell once. But they still want us to go die again, which isn't fair.

  However, brothers, think about it: when we were fighting the Japanese at Erlang Mountain, it was our own choice. We knew we couldn't beat them, but not a single brother retreated. Why? Because in our Zhongyitang, there are no cowards. All of us are heroes of the jianghu.

  What does it mean to be a hero of the jianghu? It means being unafraid of death, and preferring to die standing rather than live kneeling. So today, if we don't accept this mission, regardless of the reason, others will think that we're just a bunch of cowards who are afraid of death.

  I hope you all understand what I mean by now. If you're willing to follow me, Ye Tufei, and be heroes once more, I welcome it. But if you feel wronged and don't want to follow me to our deaths, then I won't look down on you either."

  Zhang Luo Hui was the first to speak up, saying: "Forty days ago, I had already made up my mind to die. Being able to drag it out until today, I've already broken even. This is all thanks to Master Liu, without Master Liu there wouldn't be a Zhang Luo Hui today. No matter how you decide, Master Liu, Zhang Luo Hui will never leave your side."

  Then all the brothers expressed their attitudes one by one, and they all showed a fearless attitude. The children of Jianghu are so passionate!

  On the second day, the troops of the five war zones began to implement strategic shifts. The 258th Regiment and the main force moved in opposite directions, with their rearguard defending the mountain of Woyao Shan northwest of Xuzhou City.

  This is a solitary mountain and also a barren mountain. It is named after the shape of the mountain body, which looks like a sleeping yellow cow from a distance. The mountain has three highlands: one is the "Cow's Head", which is relatively steep and faces northwest; another is the "Cow's Back", which is behind the "Cow's Head" and is lower in height, with a relatively gentle terrain; between the "Cow's Head" and the "Cow's Back", there is a rather rugged mountain ridge connecting them. The third one is the "Cow's Hip", which has a similar height to the "Cow's Back" but an even more gentle terrain.

  From the perspective of strategic routine, Niutou Gaodi directly faced the direction of the Japanese army's attack and should have become the forefront of the 258th Regiment's defense line. The Niubei Gaodi formed a depth response with the Niutou Gaodi, and the Niupiggaodi naturally became the rear support point for the two highlands in front. Therefore, after simply checking the terrain, Liu Yuje made a deployment of troops.

  Zhang Luohui led the first battalion to defend Niutou Heights, the third and fourth battalions defended Niubei Heights, and he himself led the second battalion as a reserve team to defend Niupigong Heights.

  Zhang Luohui had a different opinion, he said: "The direction of the Japanese army's attack is from north to south, so Niutou Gaodi is the first line of defense. If Niutou Gaodi is breached by the Japanese army, it will form a dominant attacking posture against Niubei Gaodi, I'm afraid... So, my suggestion is to put two battalions of troops on Niutou Gaodi and have the remaining two battalions ready to support Niutou Gaodi at any time."

  Liu Yujie waved his hand and said, "Our mission is to hold out until the 19th. According to reliable intelligence, the Japanese army will arrive at Woniushan tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. That means that by tomorrow morning at the latest, the Japanese army will launch an attack on our position at Woniushan. Everyone, we need to hold out for two days and nights on this barren mountain! How can we do it? We must not give up a single inch of land, every inch must be fought for! If I put two battalions on Niutou high ground and the Japanese army breaks through, what will I use to fight them with?"

  Zhang Luohui wanted to continue arguing, but was stopped by Ye Tufei. He said to Zhang Luohui: "Commander Liu has his difficulties, doesn't he? Commander Liu? So, we should understand Commander Liu's difficulties! Our bandit regiment is the strongest combat force in the team, and Commander Liu arranged for us to be stationed at Niutou Mountain, which means we are ready to fight to the death with the Japanese. Isn't that right, Commander Liu? Alright, Brother Luohui, we should listen to Commander Liu's arrangements. If everyone were like you, Commander Liu would not be able to command anything!"

  Liu Yujie unexpectedly received Ye Tufei's support, and his backbone suddenly stiffened. He said, "Ye Liu still understands reason, unlike this Vice Captain Zhang, ah, never mind."

  Ye Tu Fei burst out laughing and pulled Zhang Luo Hui aside, whispering: "I've already made arrangements, don't mess things up, okay?!"

  Zhang Luohui had a hundred grievances against Liu Yujie, but he had thousands of admirations for Ye Tufei. He immediately followed Ye Tufei's advice and stopped arguing with Liu Yujie unnecessarily.

  Thus, Liu Yu-jie completed the first step of the covering mission, the allocation of troops on the battlefield.

  (Ranked for three hours, the results are decent. From today on, I will update three times a day to repay everyone's support and Editor Da's promotion. Old Smoke thanks you again!)