Volume 1: First Battle Chapter 8: Gasoline

  What's waiting for me up ahead? I don't know, all I know is that either I die or Little Japan dies!

  Half an hour later, the troops set out and Nan Yuan left only one company of soldiers to cover up and attract the attention of the Japanese army.

  Of course, the troops that stayed behind to cover us wouldn't be our second company. I shamelessly thought that this might be because of me. Tong Lin Ge wanted to keep me, a talented person, after all. He wouldn't let me die on the battlefield due to covering duties under the Japanese bayonet... From this point of view, my efforts seem not to have been in vain. At least they successfully saved my life...

  So it's up to my strategy now whether I can temporarily save my life!

  As soon as the order to retreat was received, the entire Nan Yuan became busy. Some soldiers were laying mines in Nan Yuan to prevent the enemy from pursuing, some were sorting out their luggage in the trenches and preparing to withdraw, and more were loading strategic materials in the warehouse... What made me and others feel a bit unexpected was that the troops did not become as chaotic as we had imagined. I think this may have something to do with the fact that most of the members of this troop are students, with high overall cultural quality, which naturally makes the troops more orderly, easier to control, and also more combative!

  In various corners of the military camp, a group of soldiers were burning car tires everywhere according to the officer's orders.

  This is also my proposal. There is a saying that "reading history can make one wise". I used to not understand the meaning of this sentence, thinking that history was just something that had already happened. How could reading about it make someone smart? Now I finally know that this saying is truly reasonable! For example, I learned from historical books that when our army was dealing with enemies who had air superiority, the most commonly used and practical method was to burn car tires.

  This won't do. Throw a few car tires into the fire... soon there will be thick, black and smelly smoke rushing straight up into the sky, and before long the area within a radius of tens of kilometers around Nanyuan will be shrouded in suffocating fog.

  The purpose of doing so is obvious, first of course is to prevent the Japanese army from detecting our military's withdrawal action, and another... is to make arrangements for my own retreat plan not far away.

  Of course, this is just one of the plans. Whether we can successfully withdraw from here depends on these buckets of gasoline being transported.

  "Old squad leader!" I heard someone under him ask Hu in a low voice, "Didn't you say we're retreating? Beijing is only a dozen or so kilometers away from here, what's the point of transporting so much gasoline?"

  Student soldiers have many advantages, but the problem is that they all have their own ideas and many problems.

  "What's with all these questions?" The old squad leader casually replied: "We soldiers just need to follow the orders of our superiors and that's it!"

  "That's right!" Another person chimed in, "The gasoline stored in Nanyuan has at least 500-600 barrels, all of which need to be transported back... How can we withdraw like this? I think the higher-ups value the gasoline more than our lives?"

  Another drawback of student soldiers is their fondness for speculation.

  "Brothers! Why don't we go together to persuade the superior, let the superior take the overall situation of resisting Japan as important, and not give up great righteousness for small gains!"

  "Right! Let's go, we'll go together!"

  Another disadvantage of student soldiers is that they are prone to forming cliques and opposing their superiors, often with high-sounding excuses...

  "What are you doing?" As a squad leader, I certainly couldn't let them do this, so without thinking much, I blocked their way.

  "We want to get to the bottom of this!" At a time when everyone else had stopped talking, Hu Xu Zha Zi stood up: "Aren't we retreating back to Beiping? What's the point of bringing these petrol tanks with us? Can we outrun the Japanese devils with these petrol tanks? Is it more important for us to keep our lives or these petrol tanks? We don't want to lose our lives over these petrol tanks!"

  "Gasoline is important!" I replied coldly.

  "Sir!" The bearded man, unwilling to give in, pointed at an oil barrel on the ground and said to me: "If gasoline is so important, can I use this barrel of gasoline to exchange for your life?"

  "Hurrah!" The soldiers all burst out laughing.

  I am their squad leader, they are all soldiers under me, but now I find myself unable to control them.

  "Chen Dalie!" The old squad leader hurried over to intercept Hu Xuzi and scolded, "What are you doing? How dare you speak to a superior officer like that? You're looking for trouble!"

  Chen Dalie disdainfully glanced at me and coldly snorted: "We go to the battlefield to protect our country and fight against the Japanese, not to die for those stinky officials' sake! If the superior doesn't think about the country or its people, then even if they're overthrown, so what?"

  "Not so!" I stepped forward to meet Chen Dalu's gaze and said: "This is the army, the army has its own rules, you are soldiers, and as a soldier, your duty is to obey orders! As long as you wear this uniform, you must follow the orders of your superiors. Otherwise, you will be dealt with according to military law, no need to talk about face!"

  I paused for a moment and then continued, "Let me make it clear to you, I was the one who told my superior to transport gasoline, so I can tell you with certainty... Gasoline is more important than human life!"

  "Ah..." Chen Dalie was so angry that he was speechless, but at the same time, he also knew I was right. As a soldier, one must obey orders from superiors, and for a moment, he couldn't say anything.

  "Otherwise, it's like this!" I swept a glance at the soldiers under my command and said to Chen Dalie: "I know you're not convinced in your heart. We can make a gentleman's agreement. If I can prove that gasoline is more important than people, then you will give me three loud knocks on the head. Otherwise, I'll give you three loud knocks on the head. How about it?"

  "It's settled then!" Chen Dali couldn't help but reveal a joyful expression.

  "It's settled then!" I smiled and nodded in agreement.

  "Brothers, move!" Chen Dalie waved his hand at the soldiers behind him and glared at me fiercely, saying: "I'd like to see how he proves that gasoline is more important than people!"

  "Alright! Move!" Seeing this, others had nothing more to say and soon they were all busy again.

  Looking at their appearance of preparing to watch me make a good show, I couldn't help but find it funny. These guys thought they were smart, but they had no idea that they had already fallen into the trap I set...

  If I can prove that gasoline is more important than human life, then naturally I win; if I cannot prove this point, it means we will all die under the Japanese guns... what's the use of bowing our heads?

  Alas! The university students of this era compared to our modern university students have a huge gap that's not ordinary at all!

  "Form a line!" Just as I was directing my soldiers to transport gasoline, Captain Xu hurried over: "The deputy commander has arrived!"

  "Hmm!" Upon hearing this, I didn't think much and turned around to follow Xu Lianchang out of the warehouse.

  Not many steps later, I saw Tong Lin Ge walking in my direction surrounded by guards and officers. I couldn't help but sigh: Nationalist Party officials are so concerned with appearances, if the Japanese were to see this grand display, they would think it's a great show.

  "Ah, Fang!" Old Man Tong Lin gazed at me from afar and smiled as he waved in greeting.

  Tong Lin's affability was known to everyone in the 29th Army, but as a deputy army commander, his familiarity with a platoon leader still drew curious glances from nearby officers and soldiers, including those under my command who didn't take me seriously.

  "Vice General!" I hastily took three steps forward and two steps back to greet him with a bow.

  Actually, sometimes I think that on the battlefield, it shouldn't be necessary to salute, because this is openly telling the enemy that the person in front of me is an officer, but nowadays the national army doesn't seem to care about this.

  "Good luck!" Tong Lin Ge enthusiastically shook my hand and said: "How's the preparation going?"

  "Reporting to General, everything is almost ready!" I stood up straight and replied.

  I knew clearly that this was just a polite phrase. The troops responsible for transporting gasoline had as many as two regiments, and this question should be asked to Wu, the chief of staff in charge of this matter.

  "Hmm!" Tong Lin Ge nodded in satisfaction, then leaned in close to me and whispered: "I just received news that the Japanese army's trail was discovered near the Great Red Gate, and even tanks were found. Because they didn't dare to alarm them, no further reconnaissance was conducted, but it's estimated that there are many people. Your guess is correct, the Japanese army has indeed set up a large ambush on our retreat route back to Beiping!"

  "Hmm!" This answer was within my expectation. The Japanese ambush troops were a force of six or seven thousand people, and such a large team would be easily discovered even with the cover of the terrain. The military training group in history did not discover the Japanese ambush because they retreated too hastily, now that I reminded them to investigate carefully, it's another story.

  At this moment, I couldn't help but think of a question hidden in my heart: am I changing history with what I'm doing now? Or... has history already been decided, and no matter how hard I try, I won't be able to change it?

  I couldn't help but sigh and say: "Man proposes, God disposes, now it's up to heaven to decide!"

  Upon hearing this, Tong Lin Ge couldn't help but burst out laughing. He patted my shoulder with great confidence and said: "Don't worry! Fang Paolang... I feel like you're a godsend to help us escape this desperate situation!"

  "Aha!" The officer beside Tong Lin Ge also burst out laughing, but I noticed that their laughter sounded a bit fake. Moreover, some of them looked at me with eyes like knives, as if they couldn't wait to kill me...

  Seeing this, I couldn't help but remind myself that the internal relationships within the Nationalist Party are indeed complex and intricate. Am I being too sharp and inviting jealousy from others?

  "Vice Military Commissioner!" At this time, Wu Canmou squeezed into the crowd and stood up to Tong Lin Ge: "Everything is ready, more than 500 barrels of gasoline have been transported!"

  "Good!" Tong Lin's face turned serious, and he immediately ordered: "Carry out the plan at once!"

  What's waiting for me up ahead? I don't know, all I know is that either I die or Little Japan dies!