Chapter Twelve Arrival at Luo Village

  Walking on the muddy road, his feet started to ache again. You Fei bit his teeth and stopped complaining. He walked up to Jiang Zhuang's side and asked, "Dead fatty, your socks aren't torn, are they?"

  "It doesn't hurt much, big brother, it's just that my feet are aching terribly!" Jiang Zhuang chuckled and rubbed his head with a smile.

  You Fei finally put his mind at ease. The fatty originally had ulcers on his feet, if the socks were to break again then his feet would be ruined.

  Seven "93" type light bombers of the Japanese army flew in formation, making a loud noise. Yi Anhua was shocked and shouted: "Quickly set up anti-aircraft machine guns to fire, all soldiers rush forward." However, the 137th regiment only had three anti-aircraft machine guns, and Yi Anhua understood better than anyone that these three machine guns could not play a big role at this critical moment.

  Bombs poured down, and on the open plain, the officers and men of the 259th Regiment and the 137th Brigade had nowhere to hide. Wherever the bombs exploded, a piece of flesh flew down, and the soldiers could only run forward with their eyes open. Those who were hit by shells sacrificed themselves for the country first, while those who were not hit picked up a life.

  The 93rd plane whizzed by, dropping all the bombs it was carrying and then made another round of machine gun fire. Bullets rained down, cutting down the lives of the officers and soldiers. "Little devils, come on! Grandpa is here!" A machine gunner shouted wildly as he fired his high-angle machine gun into the air. One of the enemy planes seemed to have heard the challenge of this machine gunner and dived towards him. The machine gunner laughed frantically, calmly continuing to fire at the incoming enemy plane. A burst of bullets came down, and the machine gunner was riddled with holes, blood gushing out like a fountain, staining the badge on his chest red. "Chinese Army 87th Division 259 Brigade" became a bloody inscription on his chest.

  The diving plane's tail emitted black smoke, and the warriors who had been holding back their anger for a long time cheered loudly, shouting "Good!" in unison as they advanced forward. The hit enemy plane flew crookedly for a while before crashing into the crowd on the ground, exploding with a loud bang, and none of the surrounding warriors escaped unscathed.

  "Madman, ghost is really a madman!......" Feng Ping muttered to himself.

  Yi Anhua snarled, "We're not soft persimmons either! Brother Fengping, those bastards are well-equipped and ruthless. If we want to defeat them, we must be even more ruthless and vicious!" Yi Anhua's steel teeth were tightly clenched, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

  "Feng Ping burst out laughing: 'Which good fellow doesn't kill people, which hero doesn't shed blood? I, Feng Ping, can stake my life on protecting my family and country, it's worth it, haha!'"

  Yi Anhua also burst out laughing loudly, although they were both high-ranking generals, but they were also marching on foot with the soldiers.

  Not far away, You Fei saw Yi Anhua and Feng Ping laughing together, but he couldn't help but admire the two officials for being able to laugh at a time like this. He had been keeping an eye on his four brothers with the corner of his eye, and seeing that they were all still alive made him feel slightly more at ease. However, thinking about the other comrades who had died made You Fei's heart ache secretly. They had died unjustly without even having a chance to fight back, and You Fei truly felt sorry for them. He glared hatefully at the planes in the sky, wishing he could crush them with his bare hands, although it was just an idle fantasy, but he really wished that if only he could do so, how great would that be.

  Finally, the remaining six planes seemed to have finished dropping all their ammunition and flew back. The soldiers of the 259th Brigade and the 137th Regiment, who were rushing forward like ducks with their necks pinched, finally let out a sigh of relief and were able to catch their breath.

  The warriors were all exhausted and about to collapse, but Yi Anhua was still shouting loudly: "Brothers, cheer up, the friendly troops at Luo Village are waiting for our support!"

  Without even a moment to catch their breath, the soldiers were again running forward under the loud shouts of their officers. Gradually they entered Luo Village, where the houses around the road had almost all become ruins, with only the rubble and broken walls on the ground indicating that this was once a place where people lived and worked in peace.

  During the war, there was no peaceful day. Don't even mention having three tiles to cover one's head. It was already a great fortune for ordinary people to escape alive. Under the rubble, who knows how many bodies of women and children were buried? The soldiers rushing along the road didn't have the heart to care about these things. What they cared most about now was to hurry up and arrive at the Luodian battlefield. If they delayed, the enemy's planes might come again to bomb them.

  Finally arrived at the south of Luo Zhuang, about one mile away is the location of the Luo Zhuang position, but what greeted the soldiers of the 259th Brigade and the 137th Regiment who rushed to support was the fluttering bandages on the position.

  "It seems we're too late!" Feng Ping said in annoyance.

  Yi Anhua let out a long sigh: "The 56th Infantry Regiment only has one company's strength to garrison this place, how can it be defended? Now in front of us are the devils lined up with machine guns waiting for us. Time is pressing, hurry and gather all cadres above company level to hold a meeting!" Feng Ping nodded in agreement.

  Each column opened in array and waited sternly in front of simple works constructed by engineer companies.

  Cadres above the rank of Lianji quickly gathered together, and Yi Anhua was no longer polite, directly entering the key point, saying: "The top has ordered that the 259th Brigade must take down the Luo Store's position and hold it to the last soldier, so we must capture the front position. According to reconnaissance, the vanguard of the Japanese 11th Division is currently blocking our way. We must annihilate them before their reinforcements arrive, which means we need to retake the Luo Store position before sunset. The Japanese are well-equipped and well-trained, and I think everyone has understood their combat effectiveness from the battle with the 10th Division's independent brigade. So I want you to tell your brothers that I, Yi Anhua, want them to use all their strength to launch a fierce attack and suppress the Japanese. The 146th Regiment will attack in turns from the west side, while the 147th Regiment will attack in turns from the east wing. Fang Ping, you and the 137th Regiment will be the reserve team, let our brothers from the 259th Brigade show their skills first."

  "How can this be, Anhua brother? The brothers of the 137th Regiment can also fight in the vanguard, why do we have to be the reserve team?" Fan Ping retorted.

  Yi Anhua smiled and said, "Feng Ping brother, let's not speak of two families. I think the 137th regiment is mainly composed of new recruits. If we let them fight in the front line, I'm afraid they will suffer too many casualties. The soldiers under my command are all seasoned veterans who have been through fire and water. Letting them lead the charge will definitely yield better results."

  Feng Ping awkwardly smiled and indeed, he couldn't argue any further.

  Yi Anhua immediately arranged the troop requests from all parties and went down, and the company commanders rushed back to prepare for pre-war mobilization.

  Looking at the quiet but deadly Luo Tian's formation not far away, Feng Ping smiled wryly and said: "An Hua brother, this is indeed a hard bone to chew!"

  "Even if I have to gnaw off all my teeth, I must chew this hard bone into pulp and swallow it." Yi Anhua said loudly.

  The 137th Regiment soon received notice that they would be held in reserve, to stand by on the spot and provide support to the main attacking 259th Brigade at any time.

  As soon as You Fei heard that the 137th Regiment was to be used as a reserve, he cursed: "I say, Feng Ping is really a scoundrel. Why do we have to play the role of turtle grandson? His 259th Brigade is all in the front line playing heroes. This is too shameful!"

  "You'd better shut up, you little brat! If you can't keep your mouth closed, I'll find a needle and thread to help you sew it up!" Hu Weiyue shouted angrily.

  He Tianhao burst out laughing and said, "Squad leader, what the old man said is also true. The 259th Brigade will probably be singing behind our backs that we are old sons who need to be pampered!"

  The other brothers also shouted in unison, Hu Weiyue's face changed and said: "Less nonsense, get ready for Laozi, the reserve team is not here to eat soft food, when we are called up, we must be able to go up."

  "Class monitor, everyone is a leader, if we go up, isn't it easy?" He Tianhao laughed loudly. The others in the class burst into laughter, and even Chen A Si and Liu Li Quan, who were usually quiet and rarely spoke, couldn't help but laugh until their waists were bent.

  Hu Wei Yue could not help but ignore He Tian Hao's crazy words, his resolute face wore a hint of worry that others rarely saw, because he knew that launching an assault was no trivial matter, and how many lives would have to be sacrificed in order to pave the way forward, although You Fei and these new recruits were unclear about this, but Hu Wei Yue was very clear.

  He looked up at the sky, which was still gloomy and oppressive. Hu Weiyue sighed, and as far as he could see, except for some houses in the town, everything else was flat land. The enemy's air raid was probably because they hadn't yet gained a foothold, and the superior officer would likely soon order a fierce attack on the front lines. On flat land, whoever fought more fiercely would win, and neither side had much of an advantage to rely on.

  "Comrades, fix bayonets and be ready to charge at any moment!" Hu Weiyue shouted loudly.

  Remove the bayonet from the wooden holder, everyone has put on the bayonet. After Yufei put on the bayonet, he continued to sharpen the knife with a whetstone, and gently wiped the blade with his fingers. The cool feeling made Yufei feel extremely refreshed, and he asked Hu Weiyue in a low voice: "Sergeant, where is this knife most effective? Can it kill the enemy with one stab?"

  "With the knife in hand, pressed against the ribs, the blade facing upwards, when thrusting straight into the enemy's abdomen, with a sudden upward motion of the wrist, no one can survive. The throat, eyes, three inches behind the brain, and the groin are all vital points, if hit, even if not fatal, will be crippled!" Hu Weiyue said coldly.

  You Fei nodded lightly and saw that cold knife body, a cruel smile appeared on You Fei's face.