Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Tang Ji still had a strong face, but Yu Xiaoqing's face was already showing great dissatisfaction. Chen Dajun, who was standing behind the umbrella, was already hated by both gods and ghosts. Yu Xiaoqing kept glancing at the dead bodies standing on the side of the team, just like us, soaked to the bone.

  It's very depressing. We also can't see clearly what we need to replenish. The equipment on the empty ground is covered with tarpaulins, and the soldiers who are supposed to receive supplies are blocked by an umbrella array.

  Yu Xiaoqing was very unhappy, no superior - especially such a stern and powerful superior - would be happy to see his subordinate turn around and leave when he saw him waiting.

  No one is happy. Died on time but before that, it had already turned the handover ceremony into a funeral.

  Nobody speaks. The rain has stopped too.

  Tang Ji invited Director Chen to give a speech.

  Director Chen angrily refused, "I won't talk."

  Tang Ji no longer insisted. He could distinguish between courtesy and refusal. He looked at Yu Xiaoqing, who was just a wet iron plate, and then nodded to Zhang Lixian.

  Zhang Lixian opened the booklet and read "Now handing over the inventory of materials..."

  Yu Xiaoqing interrupted him, "No need to read on. If I want to stand, I will change places myself."

  Zhang Lixian was stunned and stopped talking. Tang Ji, on the other hand, still remembered to say something polite.

  "The Qiankun Legion has been determined to die since leaving Shu, and has been fighting in the bloody battlefield. Today, this spirit of going straight forward is to be passed on here. I am a Hunanese, and I will give you a few words that Hunanese people often say to those who are about to die: 'Endure bitterness, tolerate bullying, and bear annoyance.' I am a soldier, and in the name of Yu Shi, I entrust you with such an expectation: 'Orders must be obeyed, like Yue's presence at the abyss'."

  Yu Xiaoqing snatched the conversation "To put it bluntly, don't be too arrogant. I love talent and fight for it, but I also kill those who are arrogant about their talent."

  Dead dead dead said "yes" with utmost respect and courtesy.

  Yu Xiaoqing asked him, "What's the point of climbing the flagpole? It doesn't even count as preparing for battle."

  Dead dead staring at his toes.

  "Your silence is golden, I'll hang up and not ask," said Yu Xiao Wei.

  He Shuguang pulled out a white cloth from his bosom and unfolded it. It was not only a white cloth, but also a piece of white cloth that had been burned, scorched and pierced. On the flag, there was an ink painting of a headless figure. The brush strokes were very rough and ancient, like those of a mural from many centuries ago.

  Yu Xiaoqing said, "The flag is white because it was originally a funeral cloth for wrapping the dead. It's used to wrap the bodies of those who died in battle. It's not something you can use to surrender. A old painter from Sichuan sold his coffin and donated the money as military funds. He painted this on the funeral cloth and handed it over to the Sichuan soldiers. This is Xing Tian, beheaded and brainless, with breasts for eyes and a navel for a mouth, shouting at the sky that the war will not end, waving his halberd ceaselessly. Jing Wei is carrying small sticks to fill up the Milky Way. Xing Tian dances with his halberd, his spirit unyielding. I think I should give it to you, but now I'm a little afraid to give it to you."

  Dead and dead, can only sigh and scratch head. Someone will be excited about it, but it won't be him or us.

  Yu Xiaoqing still handed over the flag, "However, Lao Yu trusts people without suspicion. Although we travel together, we can also have our own ways. Cabbage and radish each have their own preferences. --- I just hope you live up to this longevity cloth."

  He's dead, he's dead. I took it over and saw that he had to say something like "mǎo gé guǒ shī" (a Chinese idiom meaning "to die in a foreign land"). That guy was thinking of words with his eyes rolling around, and even he felt a bit embarrassed.

  Director Chen suddenly spoke up. "Magnificent! Listening to Master Yu's explanation of the origin of this flag has truly dispelled the cold air in these mountains and by the river."

  We could only stare at him with wide eyes, including Yu Xiaoqing, and couldn't figure out what he wanted to say since he didn't speak.

  Director Chen continued, "I still remember a typical example. The commander of the Sichuan Army took over this flag and said something that would stir up mountains and rivers. He said as long as there is one Sichuan child under this flag, the Sichuan Army will coexist with the world. That's roughly what he meant."

  Yu Xiaoqin hummed in response, he really wasn't a person who played tricks. Facing such tactics was somewhat inexplicable.

  Director Chen looked at us standing in the muddy water and I can say he is a clumsy conspirator because his face is full of conspiracy.

  "Please come out and take the flag," he said.

  We were stunned that he was up to no good, which anyone could see. But we looked at each other in dismay for a while before realizing that among the twenty-three people still alive now, there wasn't a single person from Sichuan.

  Director Chen repeated or emphasized again: "Please send out Sichuan soldiers to receive the flag of the Sichuan Army."

  Yu Xiaoqing, who was not sensitive to conspiracy, was also stunned until Tang Ji whispered in his ear.

  Yu Xiaoqing said after hearing the whisper, "Is this necessary? Because a team leader got too excited and said something wrong, should the Sichuan Army team disband just for this?"

  Director Chen retorted, "What nonsense is this? The team leader fought bravely and sacrificed his life for the country, his remains never to return. This is the last wish of a benevolent and righteous person, what nonsense is this?"

  Yu Xiaoqing said firmly, "He deserves to die. You know that with just one sentence, he can be so angry that it's enough to scatter his troops and kill himself."

  Tang Ji had no choice but to secretly hit Yu Xiaoqing with his hand behind his back. Director Chen didn't dare to provoke Yu Xiaoqing either, because that guy looked like he could attack us at any time and still have the upper hand.

  So he asked us again "Isn't there anyone from Sichuan here?"

  "Out of our silence ran a thick Yunnan accent 'Got some.'"

  "Who is it? Who is it? Come out!" Director Chen's eyes were wide with surprise.

  Then a person with a very elegant or deadpan expression appeared and said "There are Sichuan people here."

  "What...what is this? A Sichuanese speaking Yunnan dialect? ...How do you say it? What's the phrase? A Guizhou donkey learning to be a horse." Director Chen said.

  The Mourning Star argued, "I didn't say I was from Sichuan!"

  "Who is that? Come out. Come out from among your twenty-three people. I know none of you are Sichuanese!" Director Chen said with great certainty.

  Tang Ji and Yu Xiaoqing exchanged a glance. The dead eyes staring at the ground also seemed to have understood something. I looked at Director Chen's eyes, wanting to steal a smile.

  A person who is used to sitting at a banquet table and judging others will soon fall asleep. When they get into the muddy situation, they become too clumsy.

  He must have deliberately looked at our files and knew that this could not stop the reorganization of the Sichuan Army, he just hated people who were different from him, and making trouble for these people was his lifelong career.

  Yu Xiaoqing rushed to the mourning gate and shouted, "Let's make it clear. Which one is from Sichuan? My people won't be muddled."

  Then the mourning star began to take off his clothes. With a respectful and reverent attitude, he stripped down to his bare upper body, along with the bone package that had been on his back all this time. The people outside were shocked, and Director Chen's face looked even more unpleasant, thinking that this was ridicule and teasing.

  He had a devout expression on his face, he was not good at joking. "My brother is from Sichuan and was in the Sichuan Army Corps. He returned from Burma and died on the way after falling behind. I carried him into this troop and fought, then sent him back home." To clarify, he added another sentence: "My brother's name is Dong Jian. There are records that can be checked."

  Tang Ji ordered, "There is a name list. Zhang Lixian went to check."

  Yu Xiaoqing said, "Magnificent! After hearing the origin of this, it's as if the cold air in these mountains and rivers has been driven away."

  Tang Ji had no choice but to poke Yu Xiaoqing again.

  "Zhang Lixian, go and investigate quickly. Everyone is waiting in the rain here." Yu Xiaoqing urged.

  Tang Ji had no choice but to poke Yu Xiaoqing again and said, "Director Chen's place is very cold. Everyone is tired from the journey, do you still want to investigate?"

  Director Chen finally has an excuse to get out of it: "No need, no need."

  Yu Xiaoqing asked again, "Really won't investigate?"

  Tang Ji had no choice but to poke Yu Xiaoqing again, "Director Chen, please get on the car. Today is really tiring."

  "It's all right," said Director Chen.

  He retreated faster than we did, and with a burst of laughter, the umbrella was immediately stuffed into the car along with the person. Yu Xiaoqing glanced at that side and then at us, suddenly looking a bit dispirited. "The list of materials and personnel roster are all accounted for. That's it. See how you do now and make up for it later. Don't give me too much face, I've already offended people enough."

  Tang Ji instructed "The mission is heavy and the road is long."

  "Yes." Diedie replied.

  Zhang Lixian stuffed a few books and the longevity cloth into his hands, then Yu Xiaoqing and others also withdrew with a whoosh. This ending was even more perfunctory than the beginning. The only time Yu Xiaoqing stopped was when he saw the mourning star still holding the bone package standing in the mud and water, so he half-turned his body to pay respects to the bone package. His followers followed suit and paid their respects - but all the etiquette was also exhausted in this brief gesture.

  The wall of rain umbrellas that had always separated us had all turned into a distant splashing muddy water convoy. Our sparse and thin column faced a small square team that was our supplementary troops, which had been blocked by the umbrella wall all along.

  We helped Della lift the oilcloth cover, and a splash of water appeared on top. Della, who had been expressionless all along, now looked a bit silly. We, who had also been expressionless, pursed our lips tightly.

  That's not enough to equip a battalion, maybe it's enough to equip one or two squads escorting opium. A single rusty Maxim gun is the only heavy weapon. Mortars are absolutely non-existent. Several small grenade launchers and several light machine guns, rifles are packed in boxes to avoid being seen as too shabby. However, someone has already taken out a rifle to study the rusted firing pin. Everything we face may only be of interest to scrap collectors, even a broken sewing machine is mixed in with that pile of miscellaneous junk, more than half of which has nothing to do with military equipment.

  He died and died, then turned around and walked towards his supplementary soldier, hoping that he shouldn't have gone. We are so far apart, but we can see that the other side has added up to two regiments at most, but he still approached with a kind of adventurous mentality.

  A group of country bumpkins stood in a formation that was clearly beaten out with sticks, wrapped in newly put on military uniforms, and the only content in their eyes was confusion and terror.

  He's dead, he's dead, then pulled up his sleeve and took a look at the rope marks on his hand. He was indeed tied up all the way here.

  "Where did you come from?" he asked.

  He then let out a series of indistinguishable sounds, "zhi zhi zhi", which even he himself found urgent.

  He's dead, he's dead. All that's left is to rip open his clothes and take a look at the skeleton specimen wrapped inside. It takes courage to keep looking. He quietly patted the person who was about to switch places.

  That guy who was knocked down by a single punch is really scared to death "Are you okay?"

  He was met with a grief-stricken face "Boss, when's dinner?"

  Then died in the face of local team explosion opened a voice wave

  "After finishing speaking, you'll be given food!"

  "The old boss hasn't even had a bowl of rice for two days!"

  "When the old general tied us up, he said there would be food and pay!"

  Finally, a look of embarrassment appeared on his face as he walked away from us by over ten meters. We burst out into another wave of laughter, laughing wildly and uncontrollably to the point of almost falling down, something we hadn't done in a long time.

  That clever man has been doing foolish things since he came back, threatening, enticing, forcing, deceiving, stirring emotions, being pathetic, despicable and ridiculous, all to create an illusion of a fighting team sharpening its sword and polishing its horse.

  Now he's back among us. Roll around in the mud and don't forget to hum when you're comfortable.

  Amen.

  We lay, sat, and leaned on the pile of rubbish we had just received. Even the most curious guy didn't want to touch those broken guns that couldn't even be cocked. He came back from the other end, this time he was really depressed.

  "Is the dream over?" I asked.

  Dead dead heart is not present very "oh."

  I gloomily said "Mark's wheelchair can't be pushed and has rusted to death. Let's just carry it back as a corpse later."

  "Oh."

  "Turn around and form a dare-to-die corps to try it out, I'm afraid of bursting shells."

  "Oh."

  "You're just in time, I was just about to tell you something I've figured out."

  "Oh."

  "Where is our Sichuan army going?" I asked him.

  Die die, with a sullen expression, unfolded and then folded up that piece of longevity cloth again "Isn't it?"

  "Don't pretend to be stupid. The Sichuan Army was defeated and reorganized, went to Myanmar and was brought back by Yu Xiying. We were still dying at the South Heaven Gate, and the credit for defending the east coast went to Old Yu, who became a division commander. Old Yu became a division commander, and the Sichuan Army he brought back was incorporated into the main force division, the special task force, all becoming Yu's family army. But there is a saying that just happens to have someone in charge of socks bring back a team, who knows what kind of thing it is? Old Yu stuffed the dead with cloth and said you are the Sichuan Army. What a skillful move of grafting flowers!"

  "It's worth your while to think about it."

  "I don't understand why you didn't tell Yu Xiaoqing that you brought us to the Flag Slope. Judging from his behavior, he would have applauded and praised you, and you wouldn't have offended him." I asked him.

  "What I'm afraid of is that he will strike the table again, and Vice-Dean Tang will get excited again, and Dean Chen will discuss it again. When a person dies, they're dead, and their corpse is cold, there's no need for living people to feel chilled to the bone."

  I put a stone on the muzzle of Ma Ke's gun. "Now you understand, you can't be Yu Jiajun, that's the trusted confidant. You are the framework team of Bi Ma Peng Da Ren, to quietly collect broken things and also those rotten vegetable leaves caught by the strong men on the other side. Yu Jiajun will ride the wind and waves, see the wind and grow, but it won't be your turn. Also offended people, but I think Chen Da Yuan and others, even if they are reborn three times, are not the opponents of Yu Xiao Qing and Tang Ji." I poked at the stone with my hand, "Moving a mountain is easy, moving Yu Jiajun is difficult. Yu Xiao Qing is a capable person."

  Dead dead now start flipping through those few books left behind by him opened again and thought of in the rain "Umbrella! Who gave you an umbrella?!"

  There are a few people holding up that big oilcloth with bamboo poles.

  The snake's buttocks were puffed up as it shouted "Raise the account!"

  Dead dead mouth no heart praise "has achievement."

  Dead dead drilling in now even have a tent just half pull.

  I chased after him and asked "Didn't you hear what I said?"

  "Die die die, flipping through his book 'I finally know why you have a hanged look on your face every day. You're always thinking of ways to deceive yourself.'"

  "What a wonderful set I've compiled! I'm delighted. Which headquarters would dare to send such a team to fight? That's not even worth having a headquarters. We won't even need to fight, and we'll still get paid. Is that right?"

  "Are they?" is what those guys who put up oilcloth to shelter from the rain say, and then all of them start echoing "Yes! Yes!"

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