Chapter 4 The Flag Flutters (Part 5)

  For nearly two months, Zhang Songling has been in a state of semi-isolation from the world, knowing very little about external situations. He can't intervene and can only listen with his ears perked up, smiling wryly. Seeing his bewildered expression, Officer Gou's anger became uncontrollable. Pointing at his nose, he continued to scold loudly: "You think the 29th Army is something good? Those heroes who fought against the Japanese devils on the Great Wall with big knives are all dead! Now the remaining ones are just a bunch of useless cowards! The Japanese devils have been shelling Wanping since the 7th, and it's already the 14th. Song certain person is still flirting with the Japanese chief of staff. Because we're from the same Northwest Army, our old commander led the 26th Route Army to support us in the north, but Song certain person said he was afraid the Japanese would find an excuse to expand the situation and blocked us in Baoding City! Can't the Japanese devils find an excuse to expand the situation? During the '9.18 Incident', Zhang Xiaoliu was still hiding in Beiping, holding onto a woman's leg, and his subordinates didn't even dare fire a single shot. How did the Japanese take over the old nest of the Northeast Army?"

  At the time of the September 18th Incident, Zhang Songling was still young and very confused about the cause and process of the incident. This time, when he heard the old officer talking about past grievances, he couldn't help but listen with his eyes wide open. In his mind, the Northeastern Army had retreated into the Great Wall after a bloody battle, even if they were not fighting hard. He never thought that at that time, the Chinese people suffered the great shame of not even daring to fire a single shot!

  Four hundred thousand men all shed their armor, not a single one is a real man. Zhang Xueliang was infatuated with which woman at that time, Zhang Songling didn't know. But he could feel the honor of a soldier being trampled, although the military uniform on his body had been worn for less than half a day.

  He glared at the humiliated man with a look of contempt, and Officer Gou continued to scold: "On the 20th of last month, the Japanese devils' army bombarded Wanping again. Our brothers fought bravely for a whole day and night, hoping that Song Zheyuan, this commander, would show some courage and lead us to strike back at the enemy. But who would have thought that the next morning, we received news that we were abandoning Wanping and handing over our positions to the local security forces? On the 27th, the Japanese launched a large-scale attack, but Song Zheyuan did nothing except send out telegrams again and again, without making any adjustments to our battle deployment. On the 28th, the little devils attacked Nanyuan, and shells landed right on top of the recruits' barracks. It was as if they had practiced it many times before! And those five thousand students at the Nanyuan Recruit Training Depot hadn't even touched a real gun yet, but they all became ghosts under the Japanese cannons! Do you still want to go to the 29th Army? Even if you went, what could you do except become cannon fodder?"

  The student regiment was completely annihilated by the Japanese devils! In an instant, Zhang Songling's blood throughout his body seemed to freeze and stop flowing. The 29th Army Student Regiment, the anti-Japanese student army, was the team he had always dreamed of joining, where Tian Qingyu, Han Qiu, and Lu Ming sang songs about going. Who would have thought that waiting for them there was despair and death?

  He recalled Peng Xuewen's accusations against the 29th Army, which corroborated with Old Gou's words, making it impossible for him to refuse to believe anymore. And if he hadn't been detained by Wei Ding at the Iron Blood Union Hall at that time, now, he would probably have become a corpse under the Japanese artillery, just as Old Gou had said, without even knowing who had betrayed him until his death!

  "Our 26th Route Army currently has the 30th, 31st and 27th divisions, which are resisting the enemy's attack in Langfang. Their 29th army had just withdrawn from Beiping two days ago, and their headquarters is now located more than 80 miles behind us in Baoding Prefecture. Are you going to follow our 26th Route Army forward or turn south with their 29th army? You choose, I won't stop you!" With that, Officer Gou turned a deaf ear to Zhang Songling, who had been stunned into silence, and walked away.

  Until he had walked more than a hundred steps away, Zhang Songling suddenly came to his senses, ignoring the pain of his wounds, and chased after him, shouting loudly: "Wait for me, Officer Gou! Wait for me, officer! I'm not going to the 29th Army, I'll follow you with the 26th Army!"

  "It's not the 26th Army, it's the 26th Route Army!" Officer Gou originally didn't intend to really abandon Zhang Songling, but hearing the shout from behind him, he turned his head with a stern face, "Originally our 26th Route Army has been reduced to almost nothing, if we're demoted another rank, there's no need to fight at all!"

  "Yes, sir. I was wrong, I was wrong!" Zhang Songling accompanied with a smile, looking like he was willing to accept punishment.

  "You were originally a muddled egg! Fortunately, Old Ji still treated you as a precious treasure!" Officer Lao Gou kicked his foot and scolded in a huff.

  "Wasn't I wounded in the head by a cannonball fired by the devils?" Zhang Songling sneered, following the other's tone, as long as he was willing to be a soldier, he didn't care how others jeered at him.

  The officer, Lao Gou, was suddenly delighted and stretched out an arm to pull him over, using his other hand to point at the badge on his uniform: "Got it? Stop pretending to be stupid. This is D, the English letter D, you should recognize it better than me. The number after D is 27, meaning you're from the 27th Division. Our 26th Route Army has five divisions under its name, but in reality, only three can be led by our old regimental commander onto the battlefield. They are: the 27th, 30th, and 31st Divisions. The other two are still being reorganized in Nanjing, who knows when they'll finish! Remember this clearly, from now on, if someone asks you, tell them loudly that you're from the 26th Route Army, don't embarrass me again by being unclear!"

  "Yes, sir!" Zhang Songling knew that Lao Gou was saying this, it meant he had accepted himself again, puffed out his chest and replied loudly.

  "You used to remember the 29th Army, and our 26th Route Army are all under the command of Old Feng. The commander of this troop is also our old camp chief, surnamed Sun, named Lianzhong, who was one of the thirteen Taibao under Old Feng's command along with Zhao Dengyu, the deputy commander of the 29th Army who died in battle two days ago in Beiping. Later, when Old Feng had a falling out with Chairman Chiang and lost the war, announcing his retirement, our Northwestern Army also split into several factions..." Fearing that Zhang Songling would make another joke about not being able to tell the difference between the 26th and 29th Armies, Officer Gou grasped his shoulder and took the opportunity to teach him some common sense in the army.

  He spoke very illogically, where he should have explained in detail, he would often gloss over with just one sentence. Where he should have given a brief introduction, he would instead talk endlessly and aimlessly. Nevertheless, Zhang Songling roughly understood the basic situation of his unit, and his originally irritable mood gradually calmed down.

  According to Lao Gou's statement, the full name of this army is: The 26th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army. Its predecessor was the Eighth Route Army of the Northwestern Army under General Feng Yuxiang, with Sun Lianzhong as the commander-in-chief, one of the thirteen Taibao under General Feng Yuxiang, known for his bravery and good fighting skills. After the success of the Northern Expedition, General Feng Yuxiang had a falling out with the Central Government, which led to many awkward situations. The Northwestern Army also split into several factions in the complex and changing situation. One part became the 29th Army, with Song Zheyuan as its leader, having the strongest forces. Another part became the Third Route Army, with Han Fuqu as its commander-in-chief, having the thickest family background. And another part was the 26th Route Army, which was not favored by either side and was jokingly called the "Beggar's Army" by its peers, with Sun Lianzhong as its commander-in-chief.

  Last month on July 7, the Japanese army attacked Beiping, and the 29th Army launched a counterattack. The 26th Route Army came to support with justice, considering that both sides were originally from the same root. However, Song Zheyuan was afraid that after the arrival of the 26th Route Army, his own power would be weakened, so he made excuses to refuse General Sun Lianzhong's kindness. Having no choice, Sun Lianzhong had to withdraw his troops halfway and temporarily stationed them in Baoding with two divisions led by Guan Linzhen of the Central 52nd Army.

  This is also the reason why Xiao Er, the master of the Iron and Blood Society, went to Baoding last month and was dazzled by the majestic appearance of the local garrison. The two divisions of the 52nd Army, the 2nd and 25th Divisions, were all reorganized according to the German advisor's requirements, equipped with uniform German-made imported weapons. Although the 26th Route Army did not receive as much attention from the central government as the 52nd Army, under General Sun Lianzhong's persistent efforts, the elite 27th Division also replaced most of its firearms with German-made ones. Only the field artillery and automobiles were not yet equipped due to the central government's tight finances, and it was unknown when they would be fully equipped.

  As Zhang Songling had heard from the wounded soldiers beforehand, the 27th Division was a large formation of three regiments and six brigades. It was not equipped with weapons, but in terms of personnel scale, it was larger than the 25th Division of the Central Army. Two infantry brigades were ordinary combat units under the command of the division headquarters. The other cavalry regiment and special regiment formed an elite guard brigade, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the military department, except for Sun Lianzhong himself, no one else had the right to mobilize it.

  Thus, after Tie Xue Hui's Xiao Er and Ji Tuanzhang formed an alliance, they were able to immediately exchange food for a large batch of old Hanyang-made guns, which was just what they needed. The 27th Division had just received a large shipment of new German guns and was looking for a place to get rid of the old Hanyang-made ones. Exchanging them with Tie Xue Hui would not only provide much-needed food but also give them a good reputation for supporting local anti-Japanese forces, so why not?

  It was just that the officer who made the decision to sell Hanyang Arsenal to Tie Xuehui at that time probably didn't expect in his dreams that Tie Xuehui, which claimed to have a scale of nearly 1,000 people, had a large number of guns and ammunition, but scattered like birds and beasts in front of a small Japanese reconnaissance team of more than a dozen people. If it wasn't for Ji Tuanzhang and others arriving just in time, I'm afraid the guns, ammunition, food, and cloth stored in the warehouse would have been taken advantage of by the Japanese devils!

  "You Iron Blood Society, are actually not bad!" As soon as Zhang Songling mentioned the three words "Iron Blood Society", his face twitched continuously. Officer Lao Gou patted him on the shoulder and comforted with a smile: "You guys at least fought against those Japanese scouts and wiped out half of their small squad. The nearby Beile Village Self-Salvation Association, Daming Temple Red Gun Association, and Sigegge Village Dare-to-Die Squad, before the battle, forced the villagers to take out food for them to feast on, saying they wanted to eat their fill before going to fight the Japanese to the death. But as soon as the Japanese appeared, they immediately set up an incense table and knelt down to welcome the enemy, without even daring to fire a single shot!"

  He was at a loss for comfort, and Zhang Songling really didn't know whether to cry or laugh. This was his compatriot, this was the nation for which he had shed hot blood in times of crisis. In the long and glorious history of this nation, there were those who would sacrifice their lives and shed their last drop of hot blood for the country. At the same time, however, there were also those who were always ready to betray her, trample on her fallen body, and seize wealth and glory for themselves and their families! Their silhouettes overlapped, jointly forming this civilization that had lasted for thousands of years. Their overlapping silhouettes made it impossible for later generations to say whether this nation was despicable or lovable.

  "And what's this, you'll see things ten times more unbearable, ten times more infuriating in the future, and there will be many more. Looking at the young face that was just as naive and painful as his own when he discovered the truth, Officer Lao Gou shook his head, showing his teeth in a smile. "You're still young, you've seen little. Gradually, after seeing more, you'll get used to it. Once you're used to it, you won't feel angry anymore. What others do, we basically can't control. But as for us, at least we can still control ourselves!"

  Note: The 29th Army Student Battalion was composed of some university students from Beiping and some middle school students who received military training in the 29th Army. Song Zheyuan's original intention was to cultivate reserve officers for the 29th Army through the student battalion, but this move touched on the interests of some people. After the July 7 Incident, Song's confidant Pan Yonggui provided the location and internal detailed maps of the student battalion to the Japanese army. On July 28, the Japanese devils first bombarded and then launched a strong attack, massacring more than 5,000 patriotic students inside.