Chapter 44: A Full River Red

  Just dodged into the building and saw the devils' planes dropping incendiary bombs and high-explosive bombs repeatedly on our original position.

  In the building, Zhang Lieyang said to Zhang Xiangwu: "Let the brothers check how much ammunition is left?" As he spoke, Zhang Lieyang came to Fang Zhenghai's side, and Fang Zhenghai said lightly: "Brother, you are an educated man! Unlike me, Fang Zhenghai, who only knows how to fight hard!"

  "Don't worry! Fighting can be learned slowly, but the backbone of our Chinese soldiers cannot be missing!" Zhang Lieyang said as he began to check his own ammunition. After a while, Zhang Wu came to Zhang Lieyang's side and said: "Young master, our brothers' ammunition is running out! We can hold on until tonight at most! If those devils continue to suppress us with artillery fire tonight, then tomorrow we'll have to engage in close combat with them!"

  "Pffft!" Zhang Lieyang spat out the dust in his mouth and asked: "How are the casualties among you brothers?"

  "Nine lightly wounded! The others are fine!" Zhang Xiangwu thought for a moment before continuing, "Most of the devils' bullets were blocked by our brothers' bulletproof vests!"

  "Alright! Let the brothers take a tight rest!" Zhang Lieyang looked at Fang Zhenghai and asked, "Captain Fang, what's the situation with your men now?"

  "There are less than seventy of my men who can still hold up their guns and fight! We don't have much ammunition left either! And just now, the devils' artillery fire destroyed our temporary warehouse too!" As he spoke, Fang Zhenghai loaded some bullets into his own gun.

  After a while, the devils' bombing ended, and Fang Zhenghai and Zhang Lieyang led the men back to the position again! Looking at the destroyed defensive fortifications, Fang Zhenghai said with tears in his eyes: "Heap up all the bodies of our fallen brothers as trenches!"

  At this time, a soldier next to him shouted: "Battalion commander! Those are our brothers!......"

  "Brothers, behind us is the great Shanghai! What are we defending here for? Is it not to protect the citizens of Shanghai, just like our parents and siblings, from the calamity of the little Japanese devils? Is it not to live up to the expectations of the people of Guangdong who sent us to the battlefield? Is it not to uphold the honor of the 19th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army? The brothers in front of us have already taken the lead, and we may soon follow them! But their blood must not be shed in vain! As long as we are still here, we must avenge them! The little Japanese devils can only cross our lines by trampling over our corpses! And even if we die, we will drag down several of these little Japanese with us! If the fallen brothers want to blame someone, they can blame me, Fang Zhenghai! I, Fang Zhenghai, swear that if I fall in battle, I will personally apologize to my brothers when I meet the King of Hell! And if I survive, I, Fang Zhenghai, will spend all my wealth to give a grand burial to our fallen brothers!"

  The soldiers hesitated for a moment, then slowly and silently turned around, lifted the bodies of their fallen comrades, piled them in front of them, each with tears streaming down their faces.

  At this time, Zhang Lieyang saw this scene and couldn't help but say with tears in his eyes: "I, Zhang Lieyang, swear here! As long as I live, I will lead my compatriots to drive out the Japanese invaders and defend our home!"

  At this time, Zhang Xiangchun and others were humming in their mouths the "Jing Zhong Bao Guo" song taught by Zhang Lieyang: "Wolf smoke rises; Jiangshan looks north; Dragon rolls up; Horse neighs long; Sword energy like frost; Heart like the vast Yellow River water; Twenty years of galloping, who can resist? Hate wants to go crazy, where the long knife points; How many loyal souls are buried in foreign lands? What a pity to die for the country; Enduring sighs, no more words, blood and tears fill the eyes; Horse hooves go south, people look north; People look north, grass is green, yellow dust flies high; I wish to guard the land and reopen the borders; The great China will let the four sides... come to congratulate..."

  Upon hearing the song, Fang Zhenghai curiously asked: "Brother, who taught you this song? It really lifts one's spirits!" After a pause, Fang Zhenghai continued: "I, Fang Zhenghai, have always revered General Yue Fei!" He slowly recited: "Anger brings forth a heroic spirit, standing at the railing, the gentle rain has stopped. Looking up to the sky, I let out a long sigh, my heart is filled with passion! Thirty years of fame and fortune are but dust and dirt, eight thousand miles of road are but clouds and moonlight. Don't waste your time, for your youth will be gone in vain! The shame of Jingkang has not yet been avenged; the hatred of a minister's son, when will it be extinguished? I'll drive my chariot to break through the Helan Mountains' pass. With a heroic spirit, I'll eat the flesh of the barbarians and drink the blood of the Xiongnu! Let me start anew, gather up the old mountains and rivers, and face the imperial court!"

  "What a great 'Man Jiang Hong'! In the past, the Jin army bullied the Song Dynasty, and General Yue's grand ambitions were not fulfilled; now the Japanese pirates bully our China, with large tracts of land in the Northeast lost, how many Chinese people have been displaced, families broken, wives separated from husbands, children scattered! As Chinese soldiers, we must have the backbone of a Chinese soldier!" Zhang Lieyang said excitedly.

  "Yes!" Fang Zhenghai loudly said to the soldiers: "Brothers, our heads can be cut off and our blood can flow! As long as we are still here, we cannot let the devils easily cross our lines!"

  Looking at Fang Zhenghai's spirited appearance, Zhang Lieyang calmly said to himself: "This is the Chinese military soul! The backbone of the Chinese nation!"

  Not long after the warriors had piled up the trenches, Zhang Lieyang and Fang Zhenghai saw through binoculars that the devils were holding "38-style" rifles, with shiny bayonets neatly lined up in rows towards the position.

  At this time Zhang Lieyang said to Fang Zhenghai: "Commander Fang, we don't have many shells and ammunition now. We can only let the devils get closer and fight them, so that we can get some ammunition from their bodies!"

  "Alright! I'll do as you say!" Fang Zhenghai said, and then went off to make arrangements.

  The special warfare team members took out American-style hand grenades and waited for the devils to approach, 400 meters, 300 meters, 200 meters, 100 meters, 50 meters! "Open fire!" With the simultaneous command of Fang Zhenghai and Zhang Lieyang, one by one, the hand grenades and hand bombs exploded in the midst of the devils, followed by the free shooting of submachine guns and rifles that instantly knocked down a large group of devils. The devils behind immediately fell to the ground, using the bodies of their companions as cover, and began to counterattack in an orderly manner.

  At this time, Fang Zheng came over with a smile and said: "Brother, let's have a shooting competition to see who's better!"

  "Alright! Since we're bored anyway, let's use the devils as our target practice!" Zhang Lieyang casually picked up a Type 99 rifle, checked it and said: "We'll each have 100 bullets, see who can kill more devils!"

  "Alright! Let's start now!" Fang Zhenghai said, also rolling over to the side with a rifle in hand.

  Zhang Lieyang gently pulled the bolt, one by one knocking down the devils' machine gunner and commander as well as the person holding the military flag. In a flash, Fang Zhenghai arrived at Zhang Lieyang's side and asked: "Brother, how are you?"

  "I've settled eighty-four devils with my hands and still have sixteen bullets left!" Zhang Lieyang said, shooting another devil dead, pulling the bolt: "Eighty-five now!"

  "Brother, you're really something! I fired a hundred rounds and only killed 83 devils!" Fang Zhenghai said as he reloaded his gun.

  After a while, Zhang Lieyang had the special warfare soldiers crawl out of the trenches and drag back the bodies of the devils. About half an hour later, the special warfare soldiers piled up many devil corpses in front of the originally fallen warriors. Then they gathered all the devil's bullets together. At this time, Zhang Xiangwu smiled at Zhang Lieyang and said: "Young master, although the tank was destroyed by the devil's plane, the machine gun bullets and shells inside are still intact!"

  Upon hearing Zhang Xiangwu's words, Zhang Lieyang smiled and said: "Xiangwu, you're something! You truly are the young master's man!" As he spoke, Zhang Lieyang ordered someone to bring out the tank's machine gun bullets and cannon shells.

  After dark, Zhang Lieyang led the special warfare team to sneak out of the trenches and hid the shells under the bodies of the devils. Then he made a fake mine with hand grenades and returned to his own trench with a smile!