Chapter 12 Song Zheyuan

  The common people are like this, after suffering from the oppression of foreign enemies, they will not hesitate to show their enthusiasm and emotions to any army that dares to fight against the enemy!

  I don't know how I ended up in Beiping, and I'm not even sure when I arrived in Beiping.

  All the way I only knew to follow others running forward, without looking back or stopping for a moment. But I knew that the little devils were getting closer and closer to us, which could be heard from the increasingly dense gunfire behind me, and from time to time several soldiers beside me would fall silently to the ground and never get up again.

  No one dared to help them up at the same time no one dared to stop because everyone knew what it would mean if they stopped for even a few seconds!

  Maybe someone will say we shouldn't give up on these comrades, we should live and die together...

  But here is a living battlefield, a bloody battlefield!

  The warriors are not timid, the battle of Nan Yuan is enough to prove that their bravery is not inferior to the cruel little Japan; The warriors are not cold-blooded, if they leave behind something that can be exchanged for a comrade's life, I think they will do so without hesitation!

  But can they? The answer is obvious, at this time leaving more people will only cause more unnecessary casualties.

  Of course, I have to admit that my running forward at the time was not because of the above excuses. What I thought at the time was very simple, which is to keep my own life and not fall into the hands of Little Japan... As for what assistance to comrades, preservation of useful bodies to settle accounts with Little Japan in the future, it's all nonsense! When the time comes, who will still care about so much? Others may... just like the soldiers under Tong Lin's command who refused to leave him until death, but that would never be me!

  To be honest, at this moment I can only blame my parents for not giving me an extra pair of legs... Sometimes I think, if only I could bring a motorcycle from modern times here, or even just an electric scooter!

  But that's just a thought, for the sake of my own life I still have to muster up all my strength and sprint forward... until someone next to me let out a cheer, then several people came up to offer watermelon and other refreshments, and some even ran alongside me, while running they handed me a large bowl saying: "Little brother, drink a bowl of sour plum soup and take a break..."

  My heart can't help but lean on something, who would still think of drinking plum soup at this time? I'm afraid my life is not long enough! But thinking again... no way! The little Japanese are chasing after me, who has the energy to prepare sour plum soup for me?

  Turning my head, I suddenly realized that there were old common people wearing rough cloth clothes all around me. Stopping and turning back, an old-fashioned city gate stood behind me, and nearby, a group of old common people surrounded those comrades of mine, offering tea and water, busy with joy... It turned out that I was chased by those devils and ran wildly, without even knowing when I entered the North Ping City!

  Finally arrived, I let out a breath of relief and my legs went soft as I collapsed onto the ground...

  "Little brother!"

  "Comrade!"

  ……

  Several female students rushed up, wiping my sweat and massaging my legs as if I were their own old master... So I thought to myself, if I fainted at this moment, I wonder if they would give me artificial respiration...

  "Hard work, comrade!" One of the female university students, wearing a white headband and hair clips, handed me a bowl of water: "Thirsty, right? Here... drink a bowl of water first!"

  She said that, and I realized I was really thirsty. Without saying a word, I grabbed the bowl and drank it all in one gulp. Then, panting, I grabbed another bowl... When I grabbed my third bowl, the female student hastily stopped me, saying: "Comrade, you'd better rest for a while before drinking again, look at you... you're out of breath!"

  "...here..." I panted and asked: "Is this... Peiping?"

  "It's Beiping!" The female student nodded: "You are safe now!"

  Safety? I couldn't help but let out a wry smile, knowing that history was clear in my mind. Arriving in Beiping didn't mean safety, because Song Zheyuan would soon abandon his defense and withdraw the 29th Army.

  However, the female student in front of me didn't know any of this. She was still excitedly staring at me and said: "Comrade! You guys fought really well this time, we all saw it!"

  "That's right!" The other female students chimed in, "A fire that burned the little devils to the point of abandoning their helmets and armor, at the very least it must have killed tens of thousands of those ghosts!"

  "This victory will be a good revenge for us Chinese!"

  "When the devils' planes came to bomb, we were all worried that you wouldn't be able to return to the city! Who would have thought that you would be so clever and know how to use wet quilts to put out the fire? The devils really wasted their efforts this time!"

  ……

  "Long live the Chinese people!"

  "Long live the 29th Army!"

  "Down with Japanese imperialism!"

  ……

  It was unclear who started it, but soon the city gate was filled with wave after wave of slogans, as students and citizens of Beiping shouted loudly while holding flags with the blue sky and white sun emblem, their cheers momentarily drowning out the sound of gunfire outside the city.

  The common people are like this. After suffering from the oppression of foreign enemies, they will not hesitate to show their enthusiasm and emotions to any army that dares to fight against the enemy!

  However, I feel unworthy of it. The reason is simple: because I know that neither I nor my comrades nor the entire 29th Army can protect them. Once they wake up after a night... they will find that the 29th Army has left Peiping and the Japanese army will own this old city...

  "Fall in!" At this command, I and the soldiers hastily supported each other to get up from the ground and line up, while the surrounding civilians and students also cooperated quietly.

  A few military officers squeezed in among the crowd, with the leading officer having bloodshot eyes and a very disheveled eight-character mustache, but the stars on his epaulets seemed to indicate that his rank was not low.

  A mustachioed military officer hastily walked up to us, saluted and asked: "Which unit are you from?"

  "Report, sir!" Xu Lianzhang hastily stepped forward and replied: "We are from the Military Training Regiment, I am Battalion Commander Xu Changqing of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Regiment!"

  "Ah! So it's the Military Training Corps!" The eight-character military officer's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and then nodded and asked: "Where is your team leader? Where is the deputy commander?"

  Warriors look at me I look at you all don't know how to answer, they all rushed northward in the battle without a word, who would notice where the general is?

  "Perhaps..." Xu Lian said hesitantly: "Deputy General may still be behind!"

  "Report, sir!" I stepped forward and replied: "The deputy commander... he has already sacrificed himself!"

  "What?" Upon hearing this, everyone including the villagers outside the formation all cast me surprised glances.

  "Y...". The eight-character military officer's face changed, and he viciously grabbed my collar, then asked word by word: "Are you sure the deputy commander has sacrificed? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

  "Report, sir!" I nodded and replied: "Indeed, it was what I saw with my own eyes, the deputy commander was... by the enemy's plane on the retreat route..."

  The eight-charactered military officer's face changed color again and again, then he looked up at the sky and sighed: "Brother Jie San, it was I who wronged you!"

  "General!" A military officer stepped forward and said, "Death and injury are inevitable on the battlefield. Please, General, restrain your grief and take care of your body to cope with the current situation in Beiping..."

  It was only then that I realized the eight-character military officer in front of me was actually Song Zheyuan, the commander of the 29th Army. So I couldn't help but take a closer look at him. He looked about 40 or 50 years old, but his face was full of fatigue and worry, making him appear much older. I thought this must be the result of his inner turmoil!

  I know the history, and I'm clear about what's going on in his mind. Song Zheyuan is a contradictory person, and the root of this contradiction lies in his desire to maintain his own power and control over his territory as a local warlord. In fact, Chiang Kai-shek also wanted to use the Japanese to eliminate uncooperative forces like Song Zheyuan. To avoid being outmaneuvered and to preserve capital for future resistance against the central government, Song Zheyuan, once a famous anti-Japanese general, made mistake after mistake, ultimately leading to his downfall and loss of reputation.

  "You have cut off my left arm!" Song Zheyuan was stunned for a while before roaring with remorse and hatred: "You little devil, this vendetta will not be shared under the same sky, I will definitely take revenge tomorrow!"

  Saying that, he stamped his foot and turned around to leave.

  Looking at Song Zheyuan's back, I shook my head in dismay: he would no longer have the opportunity to avenge himself. Even now, he still thought that the Japanese were only seeking to gain some benefits as before and would not launch an all-out invasion of China, so he still held onto the illusion of resolving the issue peacefully. It was precisely this illusion that led him to make a series of unbelievable strategic decisions, ultimately causing him to lose both military and civilian support. By the time he really wanted to counterattack, the 29th Army had lost its former spirit of daring to fight and kill...

  "Attention! At ease! Attention, left face... forward march..."

  One of the officers stayed behind, shouting a series of orders at us, and then led us into the city of Beiping. Along the way, there were constant cheers from the people, and even several female university students took the initiative to offer kisses, which scared the soldiers who had just walked off the battlefield. They looked at these enthusiastic female university students with a mixture of shyness and expectation in their eyes...

  I don't know where to go or what to do, these things seem not to be known by a small soldier like me. All I know is that the prospects waiting for me ahead won't be bright and the road ahead can't be smooth...

  Why did I come to this era? Why did I become a soldier? I ask myself again!

  It is by