Chapter 8: Kill the Devils

  Lu Gang thought of a long, big knife and told Xiao Lin about it. Xiao Lin said that since he wanted one so badly, why not go to the county town to buy one and have some fun? Having a knife on him would make him feel more powerful. Lu Gang's heart itched at Xiao Lin's words.

  The next day, they arrived at the county town and asked several iron shops to make a big knife. No matter how well they said it, they were unwilling, unless they made a pickaxe or a hoe blade. They had no choice but to give up.

  By noon, they saw a plane with a band-aid on it flying low, and the machine guns on the city wall fired at the plane in vain. The plane climbed high to avoid the range of fire, rotated in the air, flew around the city for two more laps, and disappeared into the clouds.

  The whole street was in an uproar. Many people were jammed at the city gate, and the soldiers wouldn't let them out, with a stalemate ensuing. A warhorse galloped up, and an officer jumped off the horse and onto the earth mound of the city gate's parapet, shouting loudly: "Everyone, please don't panic! The plane just now was only a reconnaissance plane, no big deal. With our national army here, the Japanese won't dare harm you. Those who are from within the city, stay within the city; those not from within the city, please hurry and leave. Orders from above: the city gate will be sealed off immediately."

  Some people started scolding, mostly scolding these soldiers for being useless and unable to shoot down planes. They scolded them for knowing only how to eat, drink and have fun in peacetime, but running away at the sight of the enemy, faster than rabbits, from Huairou all the way here, bringing disaster to the common people. The scolding made the soldiers' faces full of grievance, and the officer who came on horseback jumped back onto his horse, leaving behind a sentence "Don't talk back to the common people" before galloping away. The remaining soldiers ignored the scolding and didn't retort. Some people carrying bundles scolded as they walked away, while some non-locals left the city after being questioned by the soldiers.

  "Kobayashi, let's go to Kyōei-chō, shall we?" As they exited the castle, Rokkaku suddenly remembered Kyōei-chō.

  Kobayashi, of course, had to get in. Without saying a word, he arrived at the defense zone of Gengying Chang. It looked very busy here, with groups of three or five people shuttling back and forth, and cars carrying ammunition coming in and out. When they arrived at the gate and were about to go inside, they were stopped by Xiaogouzi, who was standing guard outside, and seemed not to recognize them, pulling up his voice and saying, "The officer has ordered that no non-military personnel are allowed to enter the front line."

  No matter how hard they tried, it was all in vain. They could only leave with their tails between their legs after the little dog ignored them despite their wheedling and cajoling.

  "Brother Lu, go back and tell my parents that I'm doing fine here, don't let them worry." Xiaogouzzi shouted from behind. "Not enough loyalty, I won't care about it!" Lu Gan pretended not to hear and continued walking forward, Xiao Lin also followed Lu Gan's lead and shouted back at Xiaogouzzi who was still looking at them: "Not enough loyalty, I won't care about it!"

  The puppy heard this and felt very wronged, muttering to himself: "It's not that I didn't let you in, it's a military order, you know? If the devils really came at this time, I couldn't protect you either."

  Here is the translation:

  "Along came Jia Xiaomai, scolding and grumbling, with a dejected and terrified look on his face. Battalion Commander, what do you say we do with him? Thinking of deserting, what kind of nonsense is that? Soft egg, bear package." After finishing speaking, he kicked Jia Xiaomai with one foot, kicking him to the ground, causing him to cry out in pain.

  Geng Ying Chang hurriedly asked what was going on? Geng Chang said repeatedly, letting him speak for himself.

  Jia Xiaomai didn't dare to speak, lying horizontally in the trench, only crying. Geng Yinglong stepped forward and helped him up, saying, "Missing home? Missing your parents?" Another soldier interrupted, "Think about it, who doesn't miss them? Just you think about it, don't say anything else, Colonel. Military law dictates that we should execute him. If everyone were like him, how could we fight this war?" After finishing speaking, he drew his pistol and aimed at Jia Xiaomai's head.

  Geng Yingchang shouted loudly: "Xiaomai, I'm asking you, why did you run?"

  He replied that the class monitor had hit him. Why? Geng Zitang looked into his eyes.

  He, he... Last night he wanted me to wash his feet, I didn't agree, and he hit me. I want to go back, I'm not staying here anymore, I want to see my parents. Growing up so big, my parents have never hit me, waaahhh... After finishing speaking, he untied his belt and rolled up his clothes, indeed his body was covered with bruises.

  Before Geng Yinglong could get angry, Jian Liang had already started yelling, pulling his throat and shouting, "You damn it! Squad leader, come here for me!" The squad leader ran over, and as soon as he saw Jia Xiaomai, he knew that things were exposed. He could only humble himself and apologize in a low voice: "I was wrong, I was just joking."

  Geng Yingchang listened to his words and scolded loudly: "What kind of stinky rules are these? Who made them? You're quite bold, aren't you? More special than me? Are you tired of living? Do you want to be beaten too? Usually, I often tell you that we should take care of the soldiers, they are also born by their parents. But you have the ability, not to your liking, and you hit them at every turn. You're a big official, aren't you? Go, go to the river and fetch me a basin of water. Today, I'll let this little brat wash Xiaomai's feet and see how he behaves."

  The squad leader didn't dare to delay, took over the basin and walked towards the side of his companions. "Run while walking." Another squad leader shouted from behind.

  Forget it, Regimental Commander, Battalion Commander, I won't run away. I don't know the rules here, said Jia Xiaomei.

  Geng Yingchang said, don't be afraid, but crying is not a man's business. Come on, wipe your nose clean, don't let others laugh at you, especially when the Japanese devils come, we can't do this, okay?

  Jia Xiaomai burst into laughter. A loud and clear "yes" was her response.

  A team leader came, jogging over, panting. Come on, little brother, it's my fault, I'll wash your feet for you. Jia Xiaomai said no need, no big deal. No way, he must be made to do it. Geng Zitang said sternly. Team Leader Li also chimed in, that's right, let him learn a lesson.

  Jia Xiaomai was about to leave, but Geng Yingzhang called out to him and said, "Don't go, just stay by my side." Did you hear that? Jia Xiaomai was taken aback, and while he was still speaking, he didn't even thank Geng Yingzhang.

  Before the battle map of the 6th War Zone, Sun Zhonglian's expression was solidified, and he had been thinking. The 6th War Zone he received seemed to be calm, but he understood that Hengshan Yu was not easy to deal with. This was his view of Hengshan Yu after Wang Jinzhai was cleaned up, feeling that he was not an ordinary person, not simple. Across the river, they had been staring at each other for a long time, like a lion that would open its bloody mouth at any time and would never give up on this piece of fat land in Jiangnan. If it weren't for the outbreak of the Pacific War, if it weren't for the turning of the situation on the Soviet-German battlefield, their attack would have started long ago. Sun Zhonglian clearly understood that Hengshan Yu's intention was only one, which was to break through his 6th War Zone and fight his way to Chongqing.

  At the thought of this, he couldn't help but curse out loud. What a ridiculous thing to do! Damn it, those little Japanese devils are really asking for it! After cursing, he told his chief of staff that each defensive zone should make good preparations for battle and not underestimate the enemy or relax their guard. They should report any situation at any time. He was worried about the 73rd Division; their defense line was easy to attack but hard to defend, but there was no other way - they had to hold on. If the Japanese devils launched an attack, it would be best if they could hold on for four hours, which would reduce the pressure on the other defending troops. Looking at the battle map, he let out a long sigh and then sat down in his seat, closing his eyes to calm his mind.

  The Chief of Staff handed a telegram to Sun Zhonglian, saying that according to reliable intelligence, the 11th Division of Yokoyama's devils had gathered and was ready to attack our war zone at any time. The specific time is unclear. Chairman Chiang specially ordered us to make full preparations for battle and not to be careless. If all else fails, we can retreat. Sun Zhonglian listened to the Chief of Staff's words and read the telegram again, jumped up from his chair, and burst out laughing, saying that the little devils had finally arrived. He ordered each unit to be ready to respond at any time and annihilate the invading Japanese enemy. Indeed, since Sun Zhonglian's Taierzhuang Battle, he had never felt so exhilarated.

  Ke Zitang received a call from the regimental headquarters. The regimental commander told him that from now on, he must go all out to make good combat preparations. The devils are coming soon.

  "Damn it, come on then! My brothers and I are waiting. Commander, can you get me two mortar guns? We're on the mountain, with a clear view..." "No way." Before he could finish, the commander cut in: "You've already been given two Czech machine guns, and now you want more? You're being greedy. Listen up, there's no order to retreat, you must hold your ground until death. You're on the first line of defense, if it doesn't work out, you can retreat to the second line and fight alongside your brother unit. Do you understand?"

  "I understand." Geng Zitang hung up the phone, adjusted his uniform, looked at the river in front of him, and called out to Captain Chang, telling him to bring a few brothers to the riverbank to lay mines. He also told them to bury some mines along the front line of the battlefield. Captain Chang led the soldiers carrying the mines away.

  Geng Zitang glanced at the sky and arrived at the cooking class, telling the old cook to prepare more delicious food for the next few days to nourish their bodies and fight against the devils. After finishing speaking, he asked the old cook for a cigarette. The old cook was surprised but didn't ask, only muttering to himself: Go ahead and smoke, who knows if you'll have the chance later? Ah, old cook, say something auspicious, okay? The old cook smiled and said, I'm curious, why did you start smoking this today, Battalion Commander? Geng Zitang laughed after hearing this, borrowed a light, and took two big puffs. Choking, he was about to throw away the remaining cigarette when the old cook stopped him, saying, Don't, don't waste it, it's such a pity. He took over the remaining cigarette from Geng Zitang's hand and slanted it in his mouth. What flavor is this? You old cook can still smoke so fiercely.

  Western Island was excited, and he was about to go to the front line. The first time he fought against the Chinese army was when they were searching for the remains of Jia Tianzhai in Dabie Mountain, but in his opinion, that battle didn't count as anything. What really mattered was a face-to-face life-and-death struggle with the National Army, which would show off his heroic nature. Fighting against the main forces of the National Army had been his dream since he entered the Chinese battlefield, but this dream was disrupted by Hengshan Yong, who transferred him to be the captain of the military police, responsible for maintaining order in the city. This was something he couldn't avoid, and he respected Hengshan Yong like a father. However, from time to time, he would mention to the general that he didn't want to do military police work but wanted to go to the front line instead, which made him feel resentful. Now that Hengshan Yong had finally agreed to let him go, Western Island was extremely excited, his eyes shining like a hunter who had spotted prey, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

  He was watching Sakura dance when he suddenly remembered something. He called a halt, put on his uniform and attached his sword, saying "I'm going out to take care of something."

  He arrived at the Garrison's torture chamber, looking at everything familiar, everything was very intimate. Here, countless times interrogated countless Communist Party members, New Fourth Army and National Army cadres who were anti-Japanese. Their lives were eliminated in the woods by the river under his revenge mentality. He made them martyrs, he made himself a demon.

  He arrived at the cell where Baozi was being held. Today, he would make a blood sacrifice with the ancestral chrysanthemum knife he wore on his body, and he was going to war. He called the constable to take the wooden and numb Baozi out of the cell, covered his eyes and had a constable get on a motorcycle, personally driving it to a forest by the river. He let the constable pull off the cloth covering Baozi's eyes.

  The fatty covered his eyes from the glare of the sun, then focused on the Western Island in front of him. Recognizing the murderous king who killed his father, he shouted and pounced towards him. The constabulary immediately stepped forward, but Western Island stopped them, saying: "Put up your bayonets for him."

  The constable handed the rifle with a bayonet to the fatty, who took it without knowing what was happening. He grasped the gun and charged at the man in front of him who had killed his father. At this time, Xī Dǎo's knife had already been drawn from its scabbard, waiting for the fatty to charge towards him. With a swift turn of his body, Xī Dǎo swung his knife sideways with both hands, and a stream of fresh blood splattered onto the surrounding tree trunks. The fatty didn't make a sound, his intestines spilling out from his belly as he fell to the ground, convulsing violently.

  Nishijima wiped the bloodstains off his knife on Pao's clothes. Perhaps the military policeman had never seen a killing before, or perhaps he was a new recruit; he looked at the intestines scattered over the grass and felt a wave of nausea wash over him, as if he were about to vomit. He bent down towards Nishijima and said: "Captain, I'll go start the car." Nishijima pointed the tip of his knife at the military policeman, then at the long gun beside Pao's body, saying: "You give him another stab."

  The Kempeitai didn't dare, and Nishijima's face sank: "Hachō, we're about to rush into battle, and you can't even be bothered to finish off a corpse? Are you going to shame the great Empire of Japan?" The soldier was frightened, picked up his gun, and with trembling hands and closed eyes, gave the fat man another stab. The fat man died.

  "Ah, I see," said Nishi, with an air of triumph, satisfaction and a smile, as he walked towards the embankment. The constable who had been following him ran past him quickly and rushed to the motorcycle, and just as he was about to start it up, he saw Nishi's look of satisfaction at having killed someone frozen on his hideous face, which looked exceptionally ugly in the clear sunlight.

  In accordance with the combat plan, various troops participating in the "Jiangnan Annihilation Campaign" made preparations to depart for their assembly points. Some units that were farther away from the assembly points also set out ahead of time and were en route.

  Nishijima returned home from the base, still early for departure. He saw Sakurako busy inside and felt a surge of affection. He approached her from behind and hugged her, telling her he was heading to the front lines. Sakurako burst into tears upon hearing this. Nishijima turned her around and looked at her. Sakurako tightly wrapped her arms around him, sobbing in his chest. This made Nishijima love her even more; he gently licked away her tears, filling her with happiness. She responded to his lips, meeting them halfway...

  "Hey kid, come here." A soldier was calling out to Lu Gang and Xiao Lin.

  Lu Gang was rejected by the little dog's father from entering the defense zone, and after returning home, he still brought the words to the little dog's parents. After staying at home for a day, helping his parents dig a good cellar, he came to the county town again the next day. Nothing else, just thinking about that big knife. They didn't give up. But the blacksmith shop just wouldn't do it, using the excuse that they couldn't make a big knife to shirk responsibility. The sun was about to set, and when they walked out of the last blacksmith shop in frustration, they heard someone shouting, turned around, and saw a soldier holding a gun calling them. They didn't think it was for themselves, looked around, and no one responded to the soldier. Looking at the soldier again, he beckoned to them and shouted: "Come over, yes, you two are called, hurry up."

  "Big Brother Jun, what's wrong? We need to hurry back home for dinner." Lu Gang said with a not-so-good mood.

  "Come with me. After finishing the work, you will have food to eat." The soldier took them to an arsenal. Only after asking did they know that they were asked to transport military supplies. At first, they were not very happy, but later when they asked where these military supplies would be transported to, they became excited and said "we want to go". After moving box after box of military supplies onto the military vehicle, the soldier let them go back, but they refused.

  Just then, an officer came over. It was the same man who had shouted at the city gate last time. He asked what was going on. The soldiers said they were going to Commander Geng's position and I wouldn't let them, so they were arguing.

  Officer asks: "Have you been a soldier before?"

  "No, no, what for? To send ourselves to death?"

  Lu Gang said: "No, we are not going to die, but to deliver these ammunition."

  "Also, we need to go see Commander Geng. We know Commander Geng, he used to live in our village too." Little Lin also hastened to say.

  "That's right, that's right, and he also taught us how to shoot a gun." Lu Gang started fabricating.

  The officer looked at the two of them and said, "You two little rascals aren't bad kids after all. Do you really know Commander Geng?" After listening to Lu Gang and Xiao Lin say "We're fooling you", he turned to the soldiers: "Let them go, anyway they need people to transport military supplies there, take advantage of the time before the devils arrive, and try to transport more ammunition. You two little rascals deliver a message for me to Commander Geng, tell him to take care of himself, after we win the battle I'll invite him to drink."

  The two young men jumped up excitedly and laughed loudly, saying "Alright, alright, we'll definitely pass on the message. But, we still don't know your name!"

  He smiled and said: "Han Xiao Cheng."

  On the bus, Lu Gang said: "That long knife, I still want to borrow it and play with it." Xiao Lin said: "I'm going to go beat up that little kid again."

  What a coincidence, I met the little dog on duty again.

  "This kid only has the fate of standing guard, which time did you see him not like this? Xiao Lin, don't you think?" Lu Gong said jokingly to Xiao Lin. Xiao Lin nodded in agreement and said that it was different this time, as they were called by an officer, and the little dog had no right to interfere. However, he was stopped by the little dog again.

  "The little dog is quite responsible, every one of them wants to get off. Hey, little dog, let's not get off, we're not soldiers, I and Xiao Lin are here to do hard labor, there's nothing good to check, right, Xiao Lin?" Lu Gang said with a smile, looking at the little dog in the carriage.

  "It's you two again, Gun Brother. Are my parents okay?" Little Dog didn't ask them to come down, just asked a question. Lu Gun repeatedly said they were fine, and had already reported their safety the last time he went home. After hearing this, Little Dog said "thank you" and suddenly pointed his gun at them, loudly shouting: "All of you get down here!"

  Lu Gong and Xiao Lin were suddenly stopped by him. Xiao Lin said, "Little dog, you really came, we are here to sell our labor."

  "Shoo, you want to see Commander Geng? He's very busy and doesn't want to be disturbed. That's the discipline of our troops. Last time, I refused your request and he even praised me for it. Our squad leader told me." Seeing they were still unsure, he smiled and said: "Come on down, I was just teasing you." The little dog felt a bit proud and put away his gun. Then he looked around and pulled out two bottles of Nan Zhou Da Qu from his pocket, saying: "Do me a favor and deliver these to Commander Geng."

  Lu Gong and Xiao Lin tilted their heads, ignoring him. The little dog saw them like this, pulled their hands and gave a military salute, Lu Gong then handed over the wine to let Xiao Lin hold it.

  Geng Yingchang's command post was extremely busy, a temporary stone and wood shed hastily set up. People were coming in and out, one phone call after another, it seemed the battle was about to begin. Geng Yingchang: "Understood, we will definitely hold on for 4 hours. Don't worry, Regimental Commander." He put down the phone and shouted: "Communications soldier! Inform the company commanders and deputies to come over for a meeting, after the meeting we'll eat together." The communications soldier took orders and left.

  "You little bastard, you've finally arrived. I'll be waiting right here for your ancestors from eight generations ago to come and deliver your death." He finished by slamming his fist on the table, causing everything on it to jump up.

  "Geng Yingchang. Look who's here." Geng Yingchang knew at once that it was the loud and boisterous voice of Battalion Commander Feng. Behind Battalion Commander Feng were Lu Gang and Xiao Lin.

  "What are you guys doing here?" Geng Yinglong was puzzled. He really hadn't expected this. He sternly asked the company commander, "What's going on? How did they get in? Call the sentry for me, I'll kill him."

  "Geng Yingchang, they've come to see you, and he even helped me transport the ammunition." The company commander hastily explained.

  "Geng Yingchang is someone we have to meet. We're not kids anymore, let's go out and take a look around, broaden our horizons, it's been ages since I've seen you, just want to see how you and Lian Zhang are doing."

  "What's going on now? You're coming at this time, aren't you causing trouble?" Geng Yinglong said angrily.

  Lu Gang hastily said: "No way, we have plenty of strength, we can help you transport weapons and ammunition, we're not afraid."

  "Aren't you afraid? You're not afraid, but I am. Your father wouldn't even let you join the army, and if he knew you were here with me, what would I say to him? Alright, alright, since you've come, Battalion Commander, finish dinner and I'll send someone to escort them out." Captain Geng's voice softened.

  Kobayashi took out the wine from his bag and said, "This is Xiaogouz's respects to you, he asked me to give it to you." Geng Yingchang asked if it was that Xiaogouzi from your village. Lu Gong said yes. Geng Yingchang asked when did he learn this trick? Lu Gong said he just did it out of respect.

  He went on to say, "Geng Yingchang, I know that little dog, he's from our company. Didn't I tell you last time? It was these two kids who wanted to come in and were turned back by the little dog. The little dog was praised by you and remembered it."

  Geng Yingchang said to Lu Gong: "Do you know? This is my soldier, when being a soldier, one must follow discipline and do things in an orderly manner. However, sending wine is not good, especially at critical moments. But I understand his intention, I know that after drinking the strong liquor from Nanzhou, we will have the strength to fight against the devils." Lu Gong and Xiao Lin rubbed their heads and smiled.

  At this time, all the company commanders had arrived. Commander Geng said to Lu Zhuang and his men, "There's nothing for you to do here, go out and have some fun, we'll call you when it's time to eat." Lu Zhuang walked over to Company Commander Zhang, made a few suggestive noises, and pointed at the large knife on his back. Company Commander Zhang understood what he meant, and readily pulled out the knife from his back, saying "Go ahead, go have some fun." Lu Zhuang repeatedly thanked him, but Company Commander Zhang was not pleased. Lu Zhuang then gave him a sloppy military salute, which made Company Commander Zhang burst out laughing. He patted Lu Zhuang on the butt, saying "Little brat, scram!" Lu Zhuang happily took the knife and left with Xiao Lin.

  Geng Yingchang gathered them around the table and said: "The headquarters has given us an order, requiring us to make good combat preparations. According to intelligence, the enemy will launch an attack at dusk today. The superiors require us to hold out for 4 hours. First Battalion Commander, you are the first line of defense, you must hold out here for me. Second and third battalions, form a fan-shaped second line of defense, ambush on the mountain heads on both sides of the first battalion commander, and provide emergency support wherever necessary. In short, we must hold out for 4 hours, let the devils taste our strength."

  Lu Dagang was wielding a big knife with great enthusiasm, while many soldiers beside him were drinking and having fun. Xiao Lin asked a soldier next to him to teach him how to shoot, just as he was taking aim, the communication soldier came running over and called them to go back to the barracks for lunch.

  After dinner, each company commander returned to their own position. Commander Geng escorted Lu and Xiao Lin out of the trenches. "Teacher Yang has left, do you miss him?" Commander Geng asked.

  "Of course, I do. Teacher Yang didn't tell us where he went when he left," said Lu Gong. Geng Yingchang responded with an "oh", saying: "Lu Gong, Teacher Yang had high regards for you. If it weren't for your father's opposition to you joining the army to resist Japan, I'm afraid you would have been taken there by Teacher Yang long ago."

  "What does that mean?" Lu Gong asked.

  "The place where we are fighting the devils is very far from here. That's a unit of the New Fourth Army."

  "New Fourth Army?" Lu Gan remembered these three words and felt a bit mysterious.

  Geng Yingchang said he wouldn't see them off, and let Xiaogouz protect them. He urged them to hurry back home, lest their parents worry. Then he turned back to the command post and notified each company by phone that tonight they would not undress or leave their posts, closely watching the movements on the opposite bank of the river.

  The sky had already darkened for 10 days. Lieutenant Colonel Li led three soldiers to the sentry post, originally today's sentry was Xiaogouzi and Jiamiaomi, but because Xiaogouzi wanted to send Lugong and Xiaolin back, Jiamiaomi was not feeling well, so Battalion Commander Geng did not let him go, and instead assigned three other soldiers to guard the sentry tonight.

  On the way to the sentry post, a soldier said: "The company commander told us that officials love riding horses. If there is only one, let's shoot together; if there are two, I'll shoot the left one and you shoot the right one."

  Another soldier replied: "Good. The company commander also told me that if we find the enemy, we should first open fire and shoot directly at the enemy, not into the air."

  The soldier next to the tree suddenly remembered something and said, "If I shoot from the tree, won't the devils discover me? No way, I can't shoot. How about this, wait for me, I'll go get a box of hand grenades, you two help me get it up the tree, I'll just throw the grenades, and you two shoot, take turns shooting and changing positions, don't stay in one place waiting to be hit." The two soldiers thought it made sense, so they hurried back to the camp to fetch a box of hand grenades and returned to the base of the tree. After tying up the box, the soldier who climbed the tree pulled on one end of the rope and quickly ascended, found a good spot, and with great effort pulled the box up, put it in place, threw down the rope, and told them it was done.

  Two soldiers each went to find a foxhole, but one soldier felt scared in the hole and ran to another soldier's spacious hole. He told him he was afraid, and asked if they could stay together. The other soldier said he would be delighted to.

  Unconsciously, a moment, a minute, and a second passed. When one of the soldiers woke up from his dream, white light had already appeared on the horizon, and dawn was approaching. Suddenly, he saw someone's shadow moving on the opposite bank. He poked awake the person beside him, and both of them immediately became tense all over, not daring to move a single bit. Silently, they pulled up their gun bolts. According to their prior agreement, each of them took aim at one of the two figures riding horses.

  Two gunshots rang out, and a figure fell from the horse's back. The person on the horse next to him jumped down quickly and waved his hand, signaling the troops behind him to hide. This group of people was led by Xī Dǎo.

  The interpreter beside Nishijima hastily hid. Several devils quickly dragged the fallen wounded down the embankment. Nishijima hurriedly dismounted and came to the front of the injured devil. The war horse beside him was sniffing at the devil's face, rubbing against his body, and blowing air from its nostrils. Seeing that its master had not moved for a long time, it became restless, not neighing, but only pawing anxiously at the ground with its hooves. Nishijima anxiously supported the wounded man, holding him in his arms, and called out to Matsui.

  Matsui came to, his eyes slightly open, tears streaming out, weakly and intermittently saying: "Nishijima-kun, I can no longer serve the great Empire of Japan, not having fought with you, I am deeply regretful." After finishing speaking, he died. Nishijima slowly laid him down, then half-knelt, removing his military cap and lowering his head to his body, the entire unit was in silence. He vowed: Matsui-kun, rest assured, I will definitely avenge you. After finishing speaking, he ordered the soldiers to bury Matsui's body on the spot, at the same time issuing an order to the artillery unit: Artillery prepare to fire.

  The two soldiers in the pit opened fire and said, "How did you open fire? Didn't we agree that you would shoot at the one on the left and I would shoot at the one on the right?"

  "Sorry, I'm too nervous. Look, they're all gone." Another said with a trembling voice.

  The sound of gunfire startled all the soldiers in the trenches from their idle chatter, dozing or writing letters home. Just as they were tensing up and wondering what was happening, a loud shout came: "Something's going on, get ready to fight!"

  Geng Yingchang heard the sound of gunfire, took the binoculars from the command post and looked forward, but it was dark and couldn't see clearly in front. He had a premonition, brought the communication soldier together to go to the position of the first company commander. The first company commander had made sufficient combat preparations.

  After arranging the combat mission, the company commander said to the soldier who came back to report: "You go back and continue to monitor the enemy's movements. If you find out, just shoot, don't be afraid, and fight with me to the death." The soldier then returned to his hiding place.

  Xi Island's eyes were blazing with ferocity, and after leaving the entrance of Songjin Port, he lay on the slope of the embankment, looking at the opposite bank of the river with binoculars. At this time, the sky was getting darker, except for the sound of insects, it was quiet all around, he didn't know where the enemy's gunfire came from, causing him to lose a capable comrade, and his heart couldn't help but feel a wave of anger, gritting his teeth and cursing: Chinese pigs, I will definitely kill you all.

  "Where is this place?" Wang shook his head and said he didn't know. Of course, he didn't know, he said he wasn't clear, not a local.

  Xī dǎo jiào tōng xìn bīng yào lái le de dì tú zǐ xǐ kàn le qǐlái. Tā zhī dào yī chǎng zhàn dòu mǎ shàng jiù yào kāi shǐ le, tā yì cháng de xīng fèn, jiè zhe shǒu diàn tōng de guāng xiàn kàn wán le dì tú hòu, tā màn màn de chōu chū le tā de zhàn dāo, yòng shǒu zhǐ qīng cā zhe zuò liàng de dāo miàn. Yè sè lǐ, dāo fēng shǎn bō zhe bī rén de hán guāng.

  The 11 puppies escorted Lu and Xiao Lin, but before they left the trenches, they heard gunfire. The puppies told them to hurry back, saying that the gunfire was an order and they couldn't escort them anymore.

  Lu Gong and Xiao Lin didn't want to go back, they wanted to see what the devils looked like. They begged and pleaded with Xiaogouzzi to take them to the battlefield. But Xiaogouzzi wouldn't agree.

  Just then, a fierce artillery shell exploded around them, and the night was illuminated by flames, it was clear that Xishan had launched an attack.

  Indeed, Xi Dao couldn't wait too long and had to launch an attack. He ordered the mortar troops to fire blindly at the opposite bank. The landing points of the shells extended continuously from near to far, left and right. For Xi Dao, no matter what, as long as the artillery caused damage to the enemy, it would be very beneficial for him to reorganize his troops and force a crossing of the river to annihilate all remaining enemies.

  A shell fell into the two soldiers' hole, and in an instant, people and guns were blown up with the air wave of the shell, and then they fell heavily to the ground without any movement.

  The soldier hiding in the tree saw and scolded, later he couldn't help but cry. While crying and scolding the Japanese devils and their eight generations of ancestors, he was also sorting out the hand grenades in the box, twisting off the lid one by one.

  Geng Biao, who was on the mountain top, heard the sound of gunfire and artillery. He ordered: "The devils are going to attack, brothers, get ready for battle."

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin, including the little dog, were all blown away by the cannon and didn't know what to do. The little dog didn't forget the captain's orders, so he pulled them both out and started running. He had no experience, when the shells came, he didn't know to hide in some existing shell craters, he just thought about sending them out, getting them out of the artillery environment, then going back to the trenches to fight the devils.

  Upon hearing the cannon fire, Lu Gang became somewhat excited. He pulled Xiao Lin back and didn't let him run away with Little Dogzi, instead pulling Little Dogzi down to squat at the edge of a small hill and saying: "Little Dogzi, forget about sending us off, we'll go together to fight the devils."

  Kobayashi chimed in, "I want to see what the devils look like." The little devil naturally wouldn't agree, "Don't dream about it, this isn't a place for you guys. Even if I agreed, the battalion commander wouldn't agree either. Alright, you guys leave now and hurry back. I'm going to go fight the devils, if I'm late, the company commander will scold me as a deserter, got it? Deserters are shot." After finishing speaking, he picked up his gun and was about to leave when Lu Gang held him back. Lu Gang said, "Right, right, Little Devil is correct, we don't want to be deserters either."

  "Alright, you're not soldiers anyway. Your dad didn't let you join the army and now you regret it? You can't even hold a gun and want to go kill devils? Maybe next life, you."

  This remark left Lu Gong stunned, unable to utter a word for half the day. It was Xiao Lin who snatched the conversation and said, "Little dog, I know how to shoot, come, let me show you." As he spoke, he tried to grab Little Dog's gun but was blocked by him. Upon hearing this, Lu Gong immediately replied, "I can play with a big knife."

  The little dog said: "I won't bother with you guys anymore, I don't care about you, do whatever you want, but you must leave." After finishing speaking, he ran towards the camp.

  The shells were still pouring down, the flames illuminated Xiao Gouzi's figure, Lu Gang and Xiao Lin looked at the direction where Xiao Gouzi ran to, then they looked at each other, their faces showing what they meant: whether to go back or not? Xiao Lin punched Lu Gang and said hastily: "Gang brother, look! Xiao Gouzi, he fell down!" Lu Gang turned around and saw that Xiao Gouzi was struggling to get up but still fell down.

  "Was it hit by a bomb? Come on, let's go take a look." Lu Gang pulled Xiao Lin to run towards Xiaogouz's direction. Xiaogouzi was hit by the shell, his military uniform was blown to shreds. They were overcome with grief, tears involuntarily streaming down their faces, their hearts aching like being stabbed by needles as they saw their lively companion suddenly become like this.

  They hugged the little dog and called out to him urgently. The little dog opened his eyes, looked at his childhood companion, smiled slightly with the corner of his mouth, and said weakly: "Gunzi, I...I really didn't do anything, didn't kill a single devil." After finishing speaking, he struggled to lift his hand but his body went limp and he closed his eyes again.

  What was happening before their eyes made Lu and Xiao Lin almost unable to believe that reality could be so cruel. At this time, they really didn't understand that the harm caused by war went far beyond the death of the little dog in front of them. They didn't understand that war was a contest between flesh and steel, between perseverance and weakness, between wisdom and ignorance, and a game between madmen and ordinary people that could end at any time. They really didn't understand, but they did know that the departure of the little dog in front of them was indeed caused by the war, and that the invaders had taken away their childhood companion.

  The flow of blood cleared their eyes and the impulsiveness of youth, and also started their hearts to avenge their partners. "Xiao Lin, don't be afraid, just follow me." Lu Gang comforted Xiao Lin. Who's afraid? I've come, so what if I'm afraid? Brother Gang, with you here, I have nothing to fear.

  At this time, the explosions gradually became less frequent. Xiao Lin looked at Lu Gang's determined face and felt a little calmer. Lu Gang pulled Xiao Lin's hand and said: "There is no other choice, Teacher Yang has said that the devils are evil and their crimes will not be forgiven. As a man, for the country to resist Japan and sacrifice one's life, death is also worth it." Seeing Xiao Lin nodding, Lu Gang turned around and spoke to Xiaogouzi's body on the ground: "Xiaogouzi, rest assured, I'll help you kill the devils, after I've killed the devils and avenged your hatred, I'll come back and take you to see your parents."

  Kobayashi picked up the rifle and bayonet beside the little dog and rushed into a long trench. A horse galloped from behind them, and Han Xiao Cheng on the horseback saw their vague figures in front of him in the dark night, pulled hard on the reins to stop the warhorse that was rushing forward. Behind him were thirty soldiers. Han Xiao Cheng approached and saw it was them, shouting loudly: "What are you still doing here? Want to die? Hurry back with me!"

  Kobayashi was about to speak when Lu Gang pulled him back and said, "Alright, let's go back." After saying that, he pulled Kobayashi along as they headed back.

  Actually, Lu Gang wouldn't leave, he didn't want to conflict with Han Xiao Cheng, if he was stubborn, it's possible that he would be driven away, at that time wanting to avenge Xiaogouzhi would also be a helpless matter.

  Xiao Lin was convinced by Lu Gong's words.

  As those soldiers ran forward, they turned back again and followed them to the position where gunfire was already intense.

  After a burst of artillery fire, Commander Xi ordered the vanguard troops to cross the river at full speed and launch a fierce attack on the National Army's positions on the opposite bank. The soldier in the tree saw the Japanese army throwing something into the river, and with his level of training, it was impossible for him to throw hand grenades to the other side. He held onto his grenade quietly and waited. It was impossible to shoot, as soon as he opened fire, he would undoubtedly reveal his position to the enemy. He silently waited for the enemy to enter his throwing range. What the Japanese army threw into the river were Type 95 folding boats. They moved in an orderly manner towards the riverbank, boarded the boats and quickly charged towards the opposite bank.

  Wang the translator stood beside Xi Island, watching as groups of Japanese devils surged onto the boats, his emotions in turmoil. He hated these Japanese people. He vividly remembered how he had just returned from Japan and was forcibly conscripted as a translator by the Japanese devils at Hankou Dock. He was extremely painful, thinking that he had returned to fight against the Japanese, but it turned out to be such a return journey, his heart always filled with resentment. The fleet of boats rowed in groups towards the middle of the river.

  The soldier on the tree gritted his teeth and said in his heart, "Come on, little devils, Grandpa is waiting for you." Suddenly an explosion sounded from the river surface, the water mine took effect, and some boats were blown over. The devils were thrown into the air one by one and fell into the river. Some became ghosts in the water, some cried miserably in the water, and blood floated with the water. However, those Japanese soldiers who had not died or been injured due to their armed swimming training did not panic, and they continued to swim calmly towards the opposite bank in the dark night.

  The situation in the river was seen by Nishijima, who got angry and loudly said to Matsuo: "Hachigaya, how could you not notice that the enemy would come up with this trick?" Matsuo said: "Lieutenant Commander, please calm down, the final victory is ours."

  Wang Translation muttered under his breath, "F**k your mother's fart."

  "No matter what, I won't let that Chinese pig in front of me get away. Pass on my orders and launch a fierce attack." Xishima shouted loudly.

  The soldier on the tree was excited, and with a loud thunder, he knew that the enemy had entered his throwing range. With the firelight, he threw one by one hand grenades into the enemy group, blasting them in all directions, like wolves with red eyes, randomly firing their guns around. A machine gunner crouched on the boat, aimlessly sweeping back and forth to the front and sides for a while.

  When the soldier on the tree was about to destroy the machine gun with his last grenade, Xi Dao spotted him through binoculars and got furious. He grabbed a rifle from a nearby soldier and shot down the soldier on the tree who had no more grenades left. As the soldier fell off the tree, he shouted: "Lieutenant Geng, I've avenged you..."

  In the midst of gunfire, both the company commander and platoon leader jumped up in anger to request a charge against the enemy, but were stopped by Commander Geng. "All of you calm down, they are good guys. The battle has just begun, we will wait here for the devils to come, when they do, I'll have you attack them like wolves and strike with all your might."

  "Brother Ge, I'm here." A voice came over and a man appeared in front of him. "Reporting to Captain Ge, brother has been ordered to report for duty."

  "Ah, Lieutenant Colonel Han, Xiao Cheng, is that you? My brother, how did you come?" Colonel Geng recognized the comrade standing in front of him and excitedly shouted as he saw him leading thirty men behind him.

  Han Xiao Cheng said the captain is worried that you can't hold on, and asked me to bring these brothers to support you.

  Geng Yinglong said, "This place is not needed, the team headquarters, only Nanzhou County town is important."

  Han Xiao Cheng said, I don't care, since it's the squad leader who called us here, it's a battle. Assign the task.

  Geng Ying Chang didn't say much after hearing this, and told Han Xiao Cheng, "You go to the front line now."

  As they spoke, they didn't notice or even think about Lu Gang and Xiao Lin who were lying in a ditch not far behind them.

  The enemy formally charged, although they were blown up by some landmines when they reached the riverbank and the front line, but the high-spirited devils continued to charge towards the company commander's position amidst the thunder of explosions, only to encounter more landmines and be met with a fierce counterattack led by Company Commander Han and Xiao Cheng.

  The devils finally met their match, and with a fierce expression, they formed an attacking formation like a wolf pack, launching a fierce impact on the long defensive position.

  Gunfire erupted.

  Lu Gang and Xiao Lin watched the intense battle with gunfire in front of them from a mountain valley. Lu Gang asked Xiao Lin, "Gunfire."

  Kobayashi: "Lost."

  Lu Gong knocked on Xiao Lin's head: "Not enough to make things happen, but enough to ruin them."

  "It's all my fault, that official saw me holding a gun and wouldn't scold me or take us away. It's also my fault, if it weren't for me, we wouldn't be here watching them fight."

  "You're so nagging." Lu Gang felt that Xiao Lin was right: "Forget it, let's not talk about it, we need to think of a way to get a gun."

  "Where to find." Little Lin looked around: "Want a gun, can only go down the mountain to pick it up, you have the guts, I don't have the guts."

  "Go." Lu Gang didn't bother to respond, pulling Xiao Lin along as he ran towards the ammunition depot. Bullets whizzed past them, landing on the slope beside them, kicking up clouds of dust and smoke in the intense light of the flares. They scrambled and ran until they reached the storage area for military supplies. It was just this afternoon that they had stored the ammunition here; Lu Gang knew he should be able to find guns among these crates.

  "Don't move, what are you doing here?" One of the soldiers who came to transport ammunition saw them while they were searching for guns. He suddenly shouted at them, and they were stunned, then calmed down, and Lu Gang smiled and said: "Big Brother Army, we're not doing anything, nothing, we're here to help you move the ammunition."

  "Alright, hurry up, just right, fast." After finishing speaking, he moved a box of ammunition along the trench and ran out. Lu Gang responded quickly, after the soldier moved the box of ammunition and ran out, they searched for guns in the box for a while but didn't see any, only some bullets and hand grenades. Lu Gang shouted and pointed at a box of hand grenades saying: "Forget it, Xiao Lin, move this one." Xiao Lin responded and quickly carried a box to follow Lu Gang running out.

  They carried a box of ammunition and ran towards the trenches. The battle was extremely fierce, with the devils carrying backpacks and holding bayonets on their Type 38 rifles, charging forward under the light of flares in front of the position, each one brave and extraordinary. The first row fell down, the second row fearlessly shouted and charged forward. The wounded devils did not fall back from the line of fire, opening fire on the National Army with unyielding spirit. A devil soldier who was obviously seriously injured knew that he could no longer hold on, fearing that he would drag his comrades down, took off the bayonet from his rifle, shouted "Long live the Emperor", and stabbed himself in the chest.

  The Japanese devils' frenzy enraged Commander Geng, and the Chinese soldiers defending their territory. They fought fiercely, rendering the enemy's first wave of attack ineffective, with heavy casualties. Just as Commander Geng was in the heat of battle, he suddenly spotted Lu Gang and Xiao Lin running towards him, carrying a box of ammunition into this trench. As they approached, he pushed them both down into the ditch, then scolded them loudly. "Are you trying to get yourselves killed? Is this where you're supposed to be?"

  "Geng Yingchang, Xiaoguzi is dead." Lu Gong couldn't care about Geng Yingchang's scolding and said tearfully.

  "Is the puppy dead? Didn't you just send it out earlier? How did it die?"

  "He's dead." Kobayashi said, tears streaming down his face. Geng Yinglong stared at the sky for a long time without making a sound. Suddenly he bellowed at them: "Do you know? This is war! This is a war that requires lives and blood to be paid! You knew people would die, why didn't you follow me back instead of coming here to get involved?! Are you dissatisfied with my workload?! With so many devils in front of me, do I need to split myself to take care of you little rabbits too?! Get out of here now!"

  "We won't go back, we must avenge the puppy." Lu Gang heard his words and not only was he not intimidated, but instead became even more determined to stay and kill the ghost. He shouted loudly at Geng Yingchang.

  Kobayashi and Lu Zhuang shouted in unison, "We won't go back! We must avenge Xiao Gouzi!" Their tone of voice overwhelmed Commander Geng, but he asked them, "What can you do if you stay?"

  "I'll take the bullets." Kobayashi puffed out his chest and said loudly. "I can wield a big sword, I can do kung fu, and I can carry an ammunition box." Lu Gang replied confidently and loudly.

  Geng Yingchang let out a loud shout: "Jia Xiaomai, take them to the company commander's position, have them load bullets, carry ammunition boxes, and play with big knives." Jia Xiaomai led them running towards the company commander's position.

  All the way, listening to Kobayashi say he's going to take a bullet, Lu Gang almost laughed.

  Kobayashi said I am a diligent person, but it's not necessarily true.

  Lu Gang said to him, "It's okay, but when I got there, I couldn't carry the ammunition box on my back. You have to tell me how to load the bullets."

  After arriving at the position, Xiao Lin loaded bullets for the soldiers while telling Lu Gang how to load the bullets. At the same time, he was boasting in front of Lu Gang about how smart he was and said with a smile: "Later when I shoot and kill an enemy soldier, don't be jealous."

  "You think I really can't shoot? When I was using guns, you were still playing with mud somewhere?" Lu Gang retorted.

  "You're shooting birds, not devils. Look at me." Xiao Lin teased Lu Zhuang. As he spoke, he slowly poked his head out of the trench with a good bullet in his gun. Lu Zhuang followed suit and also poked his head out. Xiao Lin aimed his gun and fired, "Bang!" The recoil sent him stumbling backward, causing Jia Xiaomai and Lu Zhuang to burst into laughter. Lu Zhuang rushed forward to ask if Xiao Lin was okay? Xiao Lin dazedly said he was fine, only saying that it felt like the gun butt had knocked him down earlier.

  Jia Xiaomai told them that this was the effect of the rear seat power.

  Kobayashi ignored him and kept asking Lu Gang: "Did I hit the devils?"

  Lu Gong replied: "You're just farting, the bullet is probably flying to the moon, hit Chang'e, Wu Gang will settle accounts with you."

  Kobayashi said he didn't believe it and wanted to get up and fire a second shot. Lu Gang snatched the gun from Kobayashi, and his heart was also itching to try it out. Kobayashi wanted to snatch the gun back, and just as they were arguing, Lian Chang saw them and shouted loudly: "What are you doing? Quickly bring me bullets, I'm out of bullets!" Seeing Jia Xiaomai still there, he said to him: "You go back, go to Commander Geng's place, did you hear?"

  Xiao Mai didn't go alone, but instead ran with Lu Gang and the others towards the ammunition depot. On their way to transport the ammunition, Lu Gang asked Xiao Lin while running, "How do you actually shoot a gun? Is it like shooting birds?"

  Kobayashi waved his hand like a gun and said, "It's not that at all. Birds are birds, devils are devils, these are two different things. Guns are guns, your gun can't be compared to mine."

  "I don't believe it, I can hit such a small bird, but the devils are so hard to hit? Today I will fire a few shots to try."

  "You're not mistaken at all, you're shooting a whole flock of birds. Just casually release them, and without even aiming, there are dozens of them, go ahead and boast."

  Lu Gan was unwilling to give up and hugged Xiao Lin tightly: "Then quickly tell me what's the trick?"

  Kobayashi was hugged by him and said in a row: "I'm not too clear either."

  Jia Xiaomai said to Lu Gong, "Three points in a line, three points in a line, just aim at the devils with the foresight." Lu Gong let go of Xiao Lin and didn't care about Xiao Lin anymore. He thanked Xiaomai and ran to the ammunition depot, picked up an iron box and took off. He remembered how to shoot and was determined to avenge Xiaogouzi.

  Entering the trench, Lu Gang put a box of bullets next to the machine gun and ran to Xiao Lin's side, taking the gun from his hand that was still loading. Xiao Lin crouched beside him and said loudly: "I just asked, it's because the recoil is too strong, this, the stock must be pressed tightly here, can you hold it steady? Got it?"

  "Got it, go, go, go, stay aside." With the light of the tracer bullet, Lu Gang aimed his gun at a ghostly figure rushing up. In the tension, he asked Xiao Lin whether to shoot the head or the body.

  Kobayashi told him to shoot wherever he was sure. Lu Gang took aim at the devil's chest, his finger moved, and the bullet flew out. The devil fell to the ground motionless. He hugged Kobayashi and jumped with joy, but was scolded by a stern voice: "Want to die? Quickly squat down for me." They hurriedly crouched down at the edge of the trench.

  Lu Gang said to Xiao Lin: "Admit it, kid." First time fighting devils, first time using a gun and he's already awesome, Xiao Lin naturally admitted defeat.

  Geng Yingchang saw the enemy's offensive slowly weakening, and the enemy's gunfire gradually ceased. He ordered the signal soldier to fire a flare, and in its light, he saw the devils retreating towards the riverbank.

  Geng Yingchang said: "The devils have retreated, let's go and take a look at the battlefield." Geng Yingchang's judgment was correct. The Western Island saw that they had been attacking for a long time without success, and in the dark night, they were not very familiar with the environment of the battlefield. Blindly launching an attack would only bring more casualties, so the Western Island ordered the troops to withdraw and rest temporarily by the river. After careful consideration, the Western Island decided not to launch another attack that night and ordered each unit to be on high alert.

  Geng Yingzhong called the company commander to report the number of casualties, inspect the weapons and ammunition, and strengthen the guard. When the battle started, he didn't hear any gunfire from the second and third companies, knowing that everything was calm there. After the fighting stopped, he worried that the devils might suddenly launch a surprise attack from the left or right flank if they suddenly retreated. He said to Han Xiaocong: "Xiaocong, you go over there, I'll go here, let's take a look at the situation?" Han Xiaocong nodded and ran towards the left position, while Geng Yingzhong and the communication soldier went to the right position.

  Gao Yunlong walked away, and after busy with military affairs, he teased Lu Zhuang. "Little rabbit, not bad, you just picked up a gun and killed a devil, I used a machine gun to sweep for so long and only swept a dozen or so, not bad."

  Lu Gang smiled and raised his tail: "Needless to say, I've been shooting birds on the river since I was a kid, so I naturally have good marksmanship. This is called being born with the makings of a great shooter."

  Kobayakawa Michiaki: "Fire away, if I hadn't taught you, you still wouldn't know where the bullets fly."

  "Even a blind cat can kill a mouse by chance. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe you're not trembling with rage." He patted Lu's head repeatedly.

  "Who said that, Brother Gun is a sparrow on Dongting Lake, having experienced storms." Xiao Lin smiled at Lu Gun, but at the critical moment, he still stood by Lu Gun's side, making everyone laugh.

  Lu Gang whispered in Xiao Lin's ear: "You should think big, don't say sparrow, say eagle, it should be the eagle on the high mountain."

  "Right, right, right! Brother Gun is a heroic eagle, on the high mountain, fighting against the blue sky." Xiao Lin hastily corrected with spirit. Lu Gun became even more pleased with himself.

  He burst out laughing, wiped off the dust on his face, and with a gleam of white teeth said: "Then tell me what an eagle looks like?"

  Kobayashi stared at Lu Gang without a word, he really hadn't seen it before. Lu Gang said: "Anyway, it's bigger than a sparrow and flies higher than a sparrow."

  "Sparrow or eagle, you two come with me." Geng Yinglong returned from the other side of the camp.

  Lu Gong and Xiao Lin's excitement suddenly disappeared.

  Right, right, right, they hurriedly responded in unison: "Go back, hurry back, or your parents at home will be anxious." After finishing speaking, he wanted to pull them out of the trench. Lu Gong and Xiao Lin broke free from his hand, hugging a wooden stake in the trench and refusing to go back.

  "Little rabbit, listen to me. The devils you saw tonight will not be the same by tomorrow morning."

  "What's it like?" Kobayashi asked hastily.

  "A bloody basin-like mouth, a green face with fangs, three legs and four ears, five hands and six toes, with long hair on its shoulders, like a devil." The continuous shouting scared them, and the words also made the soldiers nearby laugh.

  Lu Gang hugged the stake and said, "Xiao Lin, believe me, I won't believe his nonsense." Xiao Lin followed Lu Gang and said, "Don't believe it, don't believe it." In fact, he was a little nervous in his heart.

  Geng Ying-chang said to the surrounding soldiers, "What are you looking at? Be vigilant. When the devils sneak up next time, your own heads won't know how they got chopped off." Deep down, Geng Ying-chang really liked these two kids who grew up by the lake and river. But they weren't soldiers, they were ordinary people, students. This was a battlefield, where people die. He walked forward to Lu Gang and said: "Gang, you guys should go back, it's not safe here. The devils don't know when they'll attack again, and next time, I really won't be able to protect you."

  "Mind your own business, as long as I can kill devils, don't mind me, I want to kill devils."

  "Ah." Geng Yingchang was at a loss for what to do, and shouted out: "You're really a stubborn ox. Jia Xiaomai, take a few soldiers and get them out of here!"

  "Wait a minute." Han Xiao Cheng, who had just returned from another camp, stood beside them for a long time. He pulled Geng Ying Chang to one side and said: "Old Geng, I think these two kids are not bad, they're not afraid of death, they're ambitious young men, you should follow them. Besides, it's too late to go back now, the road is not safe, if we really run into devils, it won't be a good thing."

  Geng Yingchang listened without saying a word, came to their front, and told them that they would stay here tonight and couldn't go anywhere. Tomorrow at dawn, someone would send them back. As soon as he heard that they didn't need to be called back, Lu Gang was so happy that he jumped up. As long as they weren't allowed to return now, staying here could catch a few devils, and it would be fine whether they returned tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

  Han Xiaocheng made a suggestion, whether to send a group of people to harass the devils' garrison, which can eliminate some devils and explore their strengths and weaknesses.

  Geng Ying Chang thought for a while and did not respond. The reason is simple, the devils' action this time is not a simple action, the number of people is not just a few hundred, and another devil retreated after receiving our fierce interception, they temporarily do not know our details, maybe now they are collecting our intelligence. As long as we stick to it here without changing, the superior also instructed so.

  Han Xiao Cheng listened and no longer insisted on his own ideas.

  Kobayashi gazed into the dark night, the cat in the trench pointed with his hand towards the direction where the devils were stationed, and whispered to Lu Gang: "Gang brother, is what the company commander said about the devils true?" Lu Gang tapped Kobayashi on the shoulder and said: "Yes, the company commander was right. They are different from us. Tomorrow when you see them, it's strange if you won't be scared to death. Don't talk anymore, let's go to the company commander." When they arrived at the company commander's place, he returned the big knife to the company commander.

  The moon occasionally shuttles through the cloud layer, and a strong pungent smell of gunpowder still lingers in the air.

  The horizon gradually turned white after 14 days. A day filled with murderous intent, filled with gunpowder smoke, filled with gunfire and screams of slaughter is about to arrive.

  Xi Island walked out of the tent, looking haggard and sleepless from the night before. His eyes were bloodshot as he gazed through his binoculars at the battlefield where they had clashed with the National Army the day before. A hill, several layers of trenches, and the occasional appearance and disappearance of National Army soldiers' heads could be seen. As he shifted his gaze to either side, he noticed wisps of smoke rising from a nearby mountain, wondering who would live in such a desolate place. Upon closer inspection, the silhouettes of enemy soldiers appeared on the surrounding hills, causing him to involuntarily take a deep breath. Fortunately, they had not launched a rash attack the night before, or they would have fallen into an ambush. He hastily summoned his subordinates for an emergency meeting to discuss the impending battle that day.

  Geng Yingchang woke up early, picked up the binoculars and looked towards the riverbank in front of the position. Just then, he saw Xi Island and several officers pointing and gesturing towards the direction of the 2nd and 3rd companies. He felt strange, seeing thick smoke rising from the mountain tops on his left flank, which was the time for cooking, he knew something was wrong, it must be that the devils had discovered the ambush on the mountain top, so he hastily ordered the communication soldier to call over the company commanders and Han Xiaocong.

  Geng Yingchang told them what he had seen, severely criticizing the battalion commanders of the 2nd and 3rd battalions, scolding them for committing a major military taboo, scolding them as a group of rice buckets who only knew how to eat, exposing their targets was a dead end, and also said that if they couldn't hold the position, they would be sent to the military court, scolding those two battalion commanders so much that they didn't dare look up.

  The loud noise woke up Lu Gong and Xiao Lin from their sleep. Han Xiao Cheng remained calm, persuading Geng Ying to extinguish the fire and discuss a countermeasure together.

  "What to do now? The situation on both mountain tops has been exposed, we can't stay here anymore. If the devils launch a barrage, they'll all be done for. Originally, we were going to use one company as bait, wait for the devils to attack and then pretend to retreat, letting them fall into our trap. But now it's all messed up by you people! Damn it!" Captain Geng was angry again.

  "Alright, Old Geng, don't worry," said Han Xiao Cheng: "Since the devils have discovered our intentions, why not turn their plan against them? We'll continue to hold the front line and stick to the devils, while giving up the positions of the 2nd and 3rd companies. We'll circle around to the left and right flanks of the devils, hide in the forests on both sides, and wait for an opportunity to act, in order to relieve the pressure on our front line." Commander Geng thought about it and felt that under the current circumstances, this was the only way to go. He considered it feasible, and Han Xiao Cheng began to explain the battle plan in detail to the company commanders of the 2nd and 3rd companies.

  Lu Zhuang and the others who were eavesdropping outside heard this, and their hearts were both excited and nervous. They were excited because they would be fighting against the Japanese devils again, but they were also nervous because they feared that Commander Geng would send them away. What to do? They had to think of a way.

  Lu Zhuang pulled Xiao Lin and ran, wanting to hide first and not let Commander Geng and the others see him. Once the battle started, it would be impossible for them to chase them away, as they would be too busy fighting. The two of them ran to the other side of the mountain in one breath, and from their vantage point on the mountaintop, they could see the situation below very clearly.

  They saw Commander Geng and his group walking along the trenches, inspecting each soldier's gun. Commander Geng was also asking the communications officer something, and the communications officer looked around and shook his head.

  They were probably looking for them. Geng Yinglong looked around everywhere in the morning, and presumably didn't see them so he returned to the command post.

  Lu Gan and Xiao Lin let out a sigh of relief. "But, brother Lu, what are we going to do if we stay here? We can't really die here, my dad won't agree to that, will he? If you die, there's still your sister, and if I die, who'll take care of my dad in his old age?" Xiao Lin's eyes again flashed with the miserable scene of Xiaogouzi's death.

  "What's wrong with you? Teacher Yang always told us that the rise and fall of a country is everyone's responsibility. Look at your cowardly appearance, get out of my way, don't interfere with me killing the devils to avenge Xiao Gouzi." Lu Gang was so angry he wanted to kick him: "At the critical moment you become like this, let me see, let me see if your pants are wet with urine."

  Kobayashi got up and ran away: "Fine, I won't tell you, even if I said it casually. Who knows who will fight the devils less when the time comes?"

  Before the words were finished, several cannonballs exploded with a loud "boom", drawing the attention of the two young men. They saw that the second and third companies' positions on the mountain were under intense artillery fire, trees were blown to pieces and flew everywhere, mud was splattered all over the mountain, and cooking pots were sent flying into the air.

  He didn't want his soldiers to make meaningless sacrifices, the lives of the Great Japanese Imperial Army were especially important to him. After consulting with the officers, it was decided to first use artillery to bombard the National Army's ambush positions on both sides for a while, and then send out a main force to conduct a final sweep, occupy the left and right wings and encircle the enemy in front, annihilating them all at once. The idea was simple, he didn't want his troops to become fish in a barrel, but rather have Chinese soldiers become his dumplings in a pot, meat on a chopping board.

  As the shells flew towards the enemy's position, he cursed: "Blast these Vietnamese pigs to death, a group of stupid pigs!" He was glad that he had discovered it early, if he had really fallen into the National Army's trick, the consequences would have been unthinkable. He wanted to take advantage of the enemy's inattention and wipe them out with artillery fire, then concentrate his forces to wipe out the frontal enemy. However, Xi Dao's plan did not come true, unexpectedly, Geng Battalion Commander had already detected and guarded against it, and the two companies had already withdrawn from their original position and entered a thicket at the foot of the mountain.

  Two mountain peaks with flames soaring into the sky, smoke filling the air.

  Lu Zhuang and his men saw it clearly on the mountain. Geng Yinglong saw it clearly too. All the soldiers saw it clearly. Each of them was rejoicing in admiration for Geng Yinglong's extraordinary insight.

  The commanders of the second and third companies, who had withdrawn, were all startled and broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, they withdrew in time, otherwise, without firing a single shot, they wouldn't have even hit a single enemy soldier, nor would they have known what the enemy looked like. They almost became ghosts under the enemy's cannon fire.

  The cannon fire gradually died down.

  Geng Yingchang knew that the devils were about to attack, so he ordered the soldiers to take their positions and prepare for battle. He didn't need to worry about the second and third companies, as they had already made preparations in the morning and had been deployed carefully. If the enemy was found to be charging straight towards the first company's position, it would mean that the devils' attention was still focused here. There was only one road leading to the county town from here, because the devils probably thought that their previous artillery fire had already eliminated the National Army troops on the side.

  However, Geng Yinglong was still wrong and underestimated the enemy. The Western Island did not put all its forces into the position of the first company, but instead divided its troops into three routes, with the main force advancing towards the position of the first company in the middle, while the left and right wings dispatched part of their forces to clear the battlefield on both sides.

  When the enemy launched a surprise attack on his position, Geng Yinglong did not know that the enemy had divided into three routes to attack his troops. All of this was seen by Lu Zhuang on the top of the mountain. He found it unusual and didn't care about anything else, running down from the mountain, without caring about the bullets whizzing past him. He rushed towards Geng Yinglong's command post. Xiao Lin saw Lu Zhuang rushing down to the position at the foot of the mountain and also rolled and crawled to chase after Lu Zhuang.

  Lu Gan ran to Geng Yingchang's side and said something, Geng Yingchang saw him, first stunned, then loudly said: "How are you still here? What did you just say, I didn't hear it, hurry back home, don't interfere with me fighting the devils." At this time, Little Lin also came panting.

  Lu Zhuang knew he hadn't heard, and raised his voice again: "Commander Geng, there are devils on both the left and right sides!" Commander Geng listened to him and quickly picked up his binoculars to look around. In his line of sight, he saw the devils moving rapidly to the left and right, while those in front were advancing slowly. He realized that the original ambush position had been discovered by the devils, and after a barrage of artillery fire earlier, the devils had changed their strategy. They thought that the National Army on the left and right wings had been wiped out by the cannon fire, and then occupied the two mountain heads before turning around to encircle their own positions from both sides.

  "Despicable devils." He understood the enemy's intentions and cursed in his heart. Then he shouted loudly: "Signal soldiers, Xiao Mai, you go to the second and third companies to convey my orders, let them quickly enter the second line of defense."

  The second line of defense mentioned by Geng Yingchang is actually the mountain where Lu Gang and others were hiding. Now there's no other way, we can only use our main force to deal with the devils. On the mountain, you can look around in all directions, defend against the enemy's attack, and even if the devils break through along that highway, they will still be dealt a severe blow.

  The communications soldier and Xiao Mai heard the order and immediately ran to the right and left towards the woods. As soon as they left, Geng Ying Zhang pressed Lu Gang and Xiao Lin into the trench and shouted loudly in the midst of gunfire: "I thought you guys had retreated earlier, but it turns out you're playing hide-and-seek with me! You'll pay for this after the battle is over! Since you're here, go with the company commander to get ammunition."

  Lu Zhuang thought that Geng Yingchang would drive them down the mountain, and after hearing his words, he excitedly said "we must win, we must win". Lu Zhuang ran to the side of the company commander, who smiled at him but didn't speak, still firing his machine gun. Suddenly a bullet hit his right chest, and he felt a wave of pain, blood gushing out, his right hand which had been holding the trigger stopped moving. Han Xiaocong, who was nearby shooting at the devils with a long-barreled gun, ran over, didn't say anything, took over Lu Zhuang's machine gun and swept it across the charging devils.

  Lu Gang supported the company commander who was leaning against the edge of the trench and said, "Company Commander, are you okay?" The company commander looked at him and said, "Listen, kid, I'm telling you the truth. Originally, I wanted to use this knife to chop up a few devils, but it seems I won't be able to do that now. So I'll give this knife to you. This knife is useless to anyone else. If you hadn't played so well that day, I wouldn't have given it to you. Today, if you don't follow me to kill a few devils, just watch how I deal with you."

  Lu Gang excitedly said to Lian Chang, "If I don't kill a few devils for you today, I'm not Lu Gang, but a useless piece of trash."

  A burst of laughter, at this time, he heard the intense gunfire, he wanted to stand up, but the severe pain in his right chest made him sit down again. A medic ran over and helped bind his wound. At this time, Xiao Lin came carrying a box of machine gun bullets. Seeing that Lianzhang had been injured, preparing to comfort him, Lianzhang spoke: "Kid, don't mind me, hurry up and load your bullets, go over there to load bullets." Xiao Lin obediently put down the ammunition box and went to a soldier's side to load bullets.

  When the two detachments sent by Xidao rushed towards the position of Erlian Sanbian, the soldiers sent by Yilianzhang and the communication soldiers of Gengyingzhang had already taken a step ahead to the forest where Yilian Erlian was hiding, conveying Gengyingzhang's order. The two battalions immediately rushed out of the forest under the command of Lianzhang and rushed towards the mountain head.

  The devils discovered their intention and shot them in the back while chasing, killing several soldiers, but the soldiers of the second and third companies didn't care about that, they concentrated all their strength on rushing to the top of the mountain.

  Geng Yinglong saw them gathering on the mountain top through his binoculars, an arc-shaped battle offensive had unfolded, and his eyebrows relaxed.