Chapter 47 "My ancestors are buried here..."

  Eagle-shaped mountain summit, Japanese army position.

  Several Japanese soldiers in their 40s and 50s, along with a few teenage soldiers, sat together, holding lunchboxes and drinking clear water porridge, eating rice balls.

  Iwai looked worried and Kuroda said with a gloomy face, "It's been several days since we've had any food delivered. Every day it's just two rice balls and clear water gruel."

  Iwai: "Let the soldiers hold on a little longer, supplies will be airdropped over."

  Kuroda looked at Iwai with a mixture of trust and doubt. Iwai smiled helplessly: "Let's just say that."

  On the National Army's position on Eagle Mountain, it was a different scene. The soldiers were eating canned beef while chatting and laughing. One soldier threw an empty can towards the Japanese army's position and shouted: "You little devils, try some! It's canned beef! I even left you some soup!"

  Qin Zhiyong and other soldiers in the trench burst out laughing.

  The US Army Major liaison officer walked over, Qin Zhiyong hastily stood up and saluted. The major returned the salute and walked to the bunker, looking at the Blue Sky White Sun flag fluttering on No. 3 high ground, saying in a low voice: "I've seen it all, you guys fought well! What's his name?"

  Qin Zhiyong asked in surprise: "Who?"

  "That... lieutenant I yelled at."

  Qin Zhiyong: "What's his surname? What's he called... I don't remember."

  The lieutenant was somewhat emotional: "I hope he can forgive me. He died very bravely, like a soldier. Qin, you should remember his name."

  Qin Zhiyong gazed into the distance at the mountain ranges: "I have many brothers, they all died heroically, I can't remember their names, but I can never forget their faces. Sometimes, I still see them walking back and forth in front of me, back and forth..."

  The lieutenant colonel nodded silently: "I can understand."

  The lieutenant colonel pulled out a photo of a young naval officer from his uniform pocket and said to Qin Zhiyong, "My son, isn't he handsome?"

  Qin Zhiyong smiled and nodded, "His appearance always appears in front of me."

  Qin Zhiyong's smile faded, and the lieutenant colonel's voice became hoarse: "Four years ago, at Pearl Harbor, he sank to the bottom of the sea with the Arizona. To this day, he is still soaking in the icy seawater. Those self-proclaimed samurai spirits of Japan launched a sneak attack on that port."

  The lieutenant colonel's tears welled up in his eyes.

  At this moment, the earth-shaking cannon sound suddenly rang out, and the Japanese army's position was ablaze with flames, the soldiers in the trenches stood up one after another, cheering:

  "We've fired! It's our heavy artillery!"

  "Damn it! We've been battered by their artillery in the past, now let them taste the flavor of being bombed!"

  "Hahaha!"

  Major Qin Zhiyong and the soldiers looked towards the Japanese army's position together...

  "On the artillery position of the National Army, a lieutenant colonel of artillery shouted out orders: '...Number two loading! Shrapnel shell, instantaneous fuse, entire company, four thousand five hundred, increase by one hundred, three distances, each firing once...'"

  The cannons roared loudly, shells continuously fell on the Japanese army's position, and the soldiers cheered loudly.

  Qin Zhiyong said to the American major: "Major, these sounds of gunfire and cheering, I believe your son must also be able to hear them."

  The lieutenant colonel was very excited and nodded. He raised his binoculars and looked excitedly at the Japanese army's position in the distance, where flames were soaring into the sky.

  Night fell, and at this time, the Japanese military position on Eagle Mountain was in a miserable state. The Japanese soldiers were like lonely ghosts wandering around looking for something to eat.

  A few emaciated Japanese soldiers were fighting over leaves to eat, Nishizono stuffed the stolen leaves into his mouth, chewing with a painful expression, retching, and tears streaming down his face. Suddenly, he saw Captain Iwai's military horse tied to a tree outside the command post. He stared at the horse, his eyes gleaming with greedy ferocity. Slowly, he drew out his bayonet and approached the horse. The other Japanese soldiers, who had been struggling to swallow leaves, also saw the horse and stopped chewing, their eyes flashing with greedy ferocity. They spat out the remaining leaves in their mouths, drew out their bayonets, and approached the horse. Nishizono, who was walking ahead, turned around and saw the other soldiers following him, so he quickened his pace. The soldiers behind him simply ran, and Nishizono also started running, everyone holding up their bayonets and rushing towards the horse in a frenzy...

  A communication soldier walked to Iwai's temporary command post and handed him a letter. After reading it, Iwai said to Kuroda: "The commander ordered us to abandon our excess baggage and move towards the main force."

  Kuroda smiled wryly: "The soldiers have been eating tree bark and leaves for days, and the ammunition is almost gone. What supplies are left?"

  Suddenly there were sounds of fighting and neighing horses coming from outside.

  Iwai asked anxiously: "What happened?"

  Kuroda: "I'll go take a look."

  Kuroda rushed out of the command post.

  Outside the command post, a group of Japanese soldiers were frantically cutting flesh from horses with bayonets and eating it, their mouths full of blood, as the horses wailed in agony.

  Kuroda saw this and couldn't help but get furious, he drew his sword and shouted loudly: "Bastards! This is the captain's horse! It's a military horse! Are you guys crazy?!"

  Kuroda swung the back of his sword at the soldiers scrambling for horse meat, cutting down several who were injured and crawling on the ground wailing. Saionji and a few other soldiers cocked their Type 38 rifles, attaching bayonets with a "click" and aiming them at Kuroda, stained with horse blood.

  Saigō Temple and several Japanese soldiers approached Kuroda with bayonets, Kuroda retreated step by step with his sword raised, suddenly he raised his military sword high, let out a loud cry, and was about to slash Saigō Temple when a sudden shout came from behind: "Kuroda!"

  Kuroda and his soldiers saw Iwai and hastily put down their weapons.

  Iwai walked to his horse's side, crouched down, and gently stroked the horse's mane with his hand. The horse panted heavily, looking at him helplessly. Iwai pulled out a pistol, his heart extremely painful, "Become a Buddha." Iwai pulled the trigger, shooting his own horse dead.

  Iwai stood up and said to Kuroda, "Let's divide the horse meat among everyone."

  Kuroda choked: "Yes."

  Xiyuan Temple lowered his head and sobbed.

  Iwai said to the soldiers with a sorrowful expression: "We have now reached the end of our resources, and tomorrow the enemy will surely launch an attack. Everyone, please prepare yourselves, and I, Iwai, will take responsibility for your lives."

  Kuroda bowed deeply with all his soldiers towards Iwai: "Yes!"

  The next morning.

  Uehara crouched in a foxhole, observing the front of the position. Kuroda jumped into the foxhole and Uehara hastily saluted him.

  Kuroda smiled: "It's Uehara, what's up?"

  Uehara: "No, I'm an adult."

  Kuroda sat in the foxhole, pulled out two cigarettes and handed one to Uehara. Uehara eagerly took it and exclaimed: "Ah, great! It's been ages since I last had a smoke. Not having any cigarettes is really tough!"

  Kuroda rummaged through his pocket for a match, while Uehara sniffed at the cigarette under his nose and looked at Kuroda, saying: "Sir, do you still think so?"

  Kuroda had a cigarette dangling from his mouth and asked indifferently, "What?"

  Uehara: "Are we really fighting for our own country?"

  Kuroda was taken aback and smiled wryly: "Uehara, I've even hit you for this problem before, so you must still be holding a grudge against me?"

  Uehara Emiri: "No, it's not like that."

  Kuroda: "Why ask then?"

  Uehara: "I just wanted to hear a positive response from an adult once more, so I could feel a little better."

  "Of course we are fighting for our own country, but also for ourselves and our families. Do you want to go home?"

  Uehara: "I've been thinking about it, even in my dreams."

  "Then let's prepare for battle. Only by winning can we return home early."

  Uehara: "But sir, why did we come to this country?"

  Kuroda was still fumbling for matches in his pocket, muttering to himself: "Why... why... ah... why... let me think why... it's because the officer ordered us to come, isn't it? The officer's orders are the Emperor's orders, aren't they? Do you have to ask why? You fool!"

  Kuroda rummaged through his pockets for half a day but couldn't find any matches.

  "However, sir, why did His Majesty the Emperor ——"

  Kuroda got impatient: "What's with all these whys? Huh? Hey! Don't you have a match?"

  Uehara shook his head: "No."

  Kuroda was furious: "No fire? Why is there no fire when you want to smoke?"

  Uehara: "I... I'll go look."

  Uehara hastily crawled out of the foxhole, crouched and ran to another foxhole, jumped in, Kuroda watched him take a match from a comrade's hand, crawl out of the foxhole again, with a cigarette in his mouth, crouching and running this way...

  Huang Xintian crouched on the bunker, holding his gun and searching for targets through the scope. Suddenly, he saw a Japanese soldier with a cigarette in his mouth running towards the foxhole. The crosshairs moved along with the shadow of the Japanese soldier.

  "...This is not a place you should come to, this is my mountain, my land, my home, where my ancestors are buried..."

  Uehara puffed on his cigarette and ran with a stoop...

  Kuroda crouched beside a foxhole and watched Uehara, feeling somewhat uneasy as he glanced towards the National Army's position.

  Kōshi Tanaka took aim with his rifle, the crosshairs of the scope locked onto Uehara. His mouth was still muttering silently: "…This is my territory, you're trespassing, damn it! I'll send your soul back home!"

  Huang Xintian pulled the trigger, a gunshot rang out, and Uehara, who had already run to the edge of the trench, was hit in the neck and fell headfirst into the trench.

  Kuroda lifted up Uehara, and Uehara's eyes, which were gradually losing their luster, gazed up at the sky. A bloody foam emerged from his mouth, staining the cigarette still clenched between his lips red, while his hand tightly grasped a box of matches.

  Huang Xintian put away his gun, and a soldier next to him exclaimed: "Hey! Squad leader, your marksmanship is really good!"

  Kuroda took the matchbox from Uehara's hand, opened it with a trembling sound, pulled out a match, and looked at Uehara's pale face, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.

  Kuroda: "Uehara, don't you want to take a break?"

  Kuroda tried to light a cigarette for Uehara, who was already dead, but after several attempts he couldn't get it lit. Infuriated, he crushed the matchbox and cursed, "Damn it!"

  Kuroda raised the rifle of Uehara, just about to shoot at the National Army position, when suddenly the sound of planes roaring in the sky came, Kuroda looked up and saw several P-40 bombers flying from Zhijiang Airport to the top of Yingxingshan Mountain, diving and bombing the Japanese army position, a number of incendiary bombs fell on the Japanese army position, instantly, the position was plunged into a sea of fire, Kuroda had just crawled out of the foxhole, when an incendiary bomb landed in the hole, flames quickly engulfed Uehara's body, the cigarette at the corner of Uehara's mouth burning in the flames.

  Kuroda ran to the top of the mountain in a panic, several Japanese soldiers engulfed in flames were running around, desperately wailing, and soon fell to the ground, swallowed by the flames.

  On the National Army's position, the soldiers looked at the distant Japanese army position and saw flames burning, and they all cheered.

  The US major observed the Japanese position with binoculars, gritting his teeth and cursing: "Go to hell! This is the fire of hell!"

  Qin Zhiyong held a submachine gun and jumped out of the trench, shouting loudly to the soldiers behind him: "Brothers! Kill the devils!"

  Grenade also holding a submachine gun jumped out of the trenches, shouting: "Charge!"

  Huang Xintian leapt out of the trench with his bayonet-tipped rifle and shouted: "Kill!"

  The warriors jumped out of the trenches, holding submachine guns and bayonet-mounted rifles, rushing towards the top of the mountain...

  At this time, on the Japanese military position at the top of the mountain, the Japanese soldiers had been burned to a crisp, and Iwai gazed despairingly at the miserable scene in front of him.

  Xiyuan Temple was engulfed in flames from head to toe, and he crawled to the side of Iwai, who hurriedly helped him put out the fire on his body.

  Xiyuan Temple has been burned beyond recognition. He hugged Iwai's leg and said painfully, "Captain, please fulfill me..."

  Iwai bowed down and examined him carefully: "Who are you?"

  Saionji sobbed: "I am Saionji!"

  Iwai wept, grasping his hand tightly and said in a trembling voice: "Saionji, it must be very painful? Your heart is suffering? You must want to go back...?"

  Xiyuan Temple also shed tears: "For so long I have caused you a lot of trouble - it's really unbearable - please let me die comfortably"

  Iwai slowly pulled out his pistol, aimed at Saigō's head, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger, shooting him dead.

  At this time, a shout came from the foot of the mountain. Iwai looked up and saw that the National Army soldiers were rushing towards the top of the mountain all over the mountains and fields.

  Kuroda busily directed the soldiers to intercept, and the Japanese army's machine guns swept wildly at the National Army soldiers, row after row of whom fell down and rolled down the mountain.

  Qin Zhiyong and Duanzi led the soldiers in a charge towards the Japanese position on the mountain top, shouting as they advanced through the hail of bullets.

  The calf on its back carries the captured "crooked handle" light machine gun, carrying a lunch box to the battlefield to deliver food. The bitter doll has a "turtle box" tucked in his waist, holding a bamboo basket full of steamed buns, following behind the calf.

  The calf found that the array was empty, and the warriors were charging towards the top of the mountain with their guns. The calf put down his burden, picked up the "crooked handle" light machine gun behind him, and shouted "Charge!" Rushing up the mountain, Su Wa poured out the steamed buns in the basket, picked up the scattered hand grenades on the array, and loaded them into the basket...

  On the top of Yingxingshan Mountain, Yan Jing held a military sword and led his soldiers to charge at the oncoming National Army warriors. The soldiers used their submachine guns to sweep across the enemy, firing an entire clip before retreating a few steps to quickly reload and continue sweeping fire.

  Iwai and Japanese soldiers fell one after another.

  The little cow charged up the mountain with a "crooked handle", firing as he went, knocking down several fleeing Japanese soldiers. Kuwa followed closely behind him, carrying a full basket of hand grenades and occasionally pulling out clips from his pocket to reload the little cow's machine gun.

  At this time, more and more soldiers of various countries rushed up to the Japanese army's position.

  The Japanese boy soldier who was once let go by Old Cao hastily raised his hands in surrender, and Iwai, who was seriously injured, shot the boy soldier dead with one bullet.

  Iwai struggled to climb a large tree, and saw Chinese soldiers rushing up the mountain. In despair, he put down his command sword, raised his pistol to his temple, closed his eyes, but hesitated to pull the trigger. He put down the gun, covered his face and burst into tears. At this time, a sudden cry of "Junichi" came from nearby.

  Junichi, who had been burned to a crisp, and a group of Japanese teenage soldiers in their teens knelt on the ground, holding up their guns with both hands over their heads, shouting loudly in Chinese to the charging Chinese soldiers: "Don't shoot! Don't shoot——"

  Iwai glared at Junichi, who was kneeling on the ground with his hands up in surrender. "You've disgraced the Iwai family!" he cursed inwardly. Iwai raised his gun and took aim at Junichi, but his hand shook violently, unable to pull the trigger.

  At this time, Huang Xintian charged up the mountain with a bayonet-equipped rifle and killed two Japanese soldiers who were struggling in agony in the flames. He then rushed towards several young Japanese soldiers who had surrendered on their knees.

  Iwai, hiding behind the tree, pulled the trigger, but his target was not his nephew, but Huang Xintian. The bullet hit Huang's chest, and he stumbled without falling. At this time, Xiaoniu rushed up with a "crooked handle" and wanted to sweep the kneeling Japanese boy soldier, Junichi and the boy soldiers cried out in terror, Iwai hurriedly raised his gun to aim at Xiaoniu and shoot, but saw Huang Xintian press down the barrel of the machine gun in Xiaoniu's hand.

  "Let go! I'm going to kill these bastards!"

  Huang Xintian pressed the muzzle of the calf's gun down hard, and his body also fell down with it.

  Iwai stared at this scene in surprise and slowly put down his gun.

  The calf saw Huang Xintian's wound and cried out: "Uncle Xintian, you're injured! Medic! Medic! Uncle Zhang!"

  Little Cow hugged Huang Xintian tightly, and Huang Xintian looked at Little Cow with difficulty, saying: "Little Cow... remember... we... are different from them..."

  The calf nodded tearfully.

  A warrior holding a blue sky white sun flag ran past Huang Xintian's side, rushing towards the mountain top. Huang Xintian looked at the flag and slowly closed his eyes...

  The stretcher bearer and the medic ran over, the medic examined Huang Xintian's wound and shook his head at the stretcher bearer.

  "Revenge for Huang! Brothers, charge!"

  The warriors followed the stake and continued to rush towards the top of the mountain.

  Jun bowed his head and clasped his hands together in front of Huang Xintian's body.

  The calf slowly got up and walked towards Junichi with the "crooked handle", while Iwai behind the big tree raised his gun again to aim at the calf.

  The young ox walked up to Junyi and the other Japanese boy soldiers who were surrendering, and with a flourish, he pointed his gun at them and shouted in Japanese, which he had learned from Zhou Guangren: "Surrender and you will not be killed!"

  Junichi and those Japanese boy soldiers hastily threw away their raised guns and raised their hands.

  The young ox loudly gave orders to these Japanese boy soldiers: "March in step!"

  Junichi and the other boy soldiers all stood up, raised their hands, and obediently followed Xiao Niu down the mountain.

  Iwai knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he watched Junichi being taken away. He slowly raised his gun to his temple, pulled the trigger, and a shot rang out. The body fell heavily to the ground and rolled down the mountain.