Chapter 40: Seeing Off the Red Army

  Now people don't care whether it's for winning the war itself - General Patton

  As Burton said, blind faith made this team, which was basically composed of military prisoners, incredibly brave. They had nothing, no support, no cover, no logistics. All they had was their faith in Liu Qi, and they were willing to give everything for the messenger of God, including their lives.

  Due to the 'Matilda' 2 type tank's speed being too slow. In addition, there were heavy artillery units among the troops guarding Cairo, and even if the tank had thicker armor, it couldn't withstand the shells of the 105mm and 155mm howitzers. So Liu Qi ordered that explosives be installed directly on the tanks, destroying these 4 'Matilda' 2 type tanks.

  As for the more than 1,000 British prisoners of war in Ahlemann, Liu Qi also had no way to deal with them and could only leave them there to decide whether to stay or go. Among them was Major General Matthew of the Fourth Division, who was also left behind. It is worth noting that among these over 1,000 British soldiers, there were two major generals, dozens of high-ranking officers, and more than 300 mid-level officers. If they were sent to Berlin, it would be a sensation throughout Germany. In the war against Britain, no German unit had ever captured so many British officers at once. Especially after the Battle of Britain, Hitler had already lost confidence in invading the British Isles. Suddenly capturing so many British officers might have restored Hitler's confidence in conquering Britain.

  All the other British troops stayed behind, but Liu Qi took Major Beck with him on the road. The reason was that Liu Qi knew that Major Beck had temporarily replaced others from Cairo to arrive at the front line. He estimated that Beck would be very familiar with the situation in Cairo, so he brought Beck along. Of course, the cucumber in Major Beck's crotch had already been taken out. Major Beck could only follow Liu Qi to Cairo with a helpless face.

  Don't look at the German troops in various occupied countries in Europe, there are less than 100 divisions. But Hitler is a madman who can't be understood by ordinary people. Even if it's 100 regiments, Hitler might dare to attack Britain. On the premise that Hitler has enough confidence to support him.

  Liu Qi led the hundreds of people to sit in the cars that the British military had assisted from the United States. This time was different from the previous few days, and from the British military command camp, they captured five special British Bren armored personnel carriers. Each car can hold 12 people and is equipped with a 20-barrel machine gun. The semi-tracked design makes this car like a flat ground in the desert area. The bullets of ordinary rifles or light machine guns cannot penetrate the steel armor of this vehicle, but Liu Qi was afraid of this armored vehicle. The reason is simple: in the desert, the temperature can reach 40 degrees during the day, and entering this well-sealed armored car is like entering a sauna steam room. Liu Qi would not torture himself.

  Rommel once made a documentary to illustrate the harsh conditions of desert warfare. In one scene, he cracked an egg on the armor plate of a tank and it was cooked in no time by the scorching hot steel. Of course this was impossible, clever Rommel had someone use a blowtorch under the steel plate to produce this effect. This was also Rommel's desperate attempt to get supplies especially oil supplies which he couldn't get out of them.

  For a young man who grew up in an air-conditioned room in the 21st century, this kind of hardship is unbearable. Although the weather for the past few days has been overcast and rainy, with temperatures in the air only around 20 degrees Celsius. Liu Qi still did not go to try out the treatment of an armored vehicle, but instead chose a US-made Willys Jeep, comfortably sitting in the front passenger seat.

  The team leader is still Kaito, who is far ahead with 2 armored vehicles as the vanguard. As the highest military officer of the Italian soldiers now, Kaito can be said to have great power in his hands. Originally, no one among the Italian soldiers dared to provoke Kaito, and now he is even more intimidating. And Kaito's management of the Italian soldiers also saved Liu Qi a lot of trouble.

  The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world outside of Antarctica, located in North Africa. The climate conditions are extremely harsh and it is one of the most inhospitable places for biological growth on Earth. In Arabic, "Sahara" means "great desert". It lies between the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean to the north (about 35°N latitude), and the 14° N latitude (250 mm rainfall line) to the south, stretching from the Atlantic coast in the west to the Red Sea in the east. Spanning across North Africa, it is approximately 5,600 kilometers long and 1,600 kilometers wide, covering an area of about 9 million square kilometers, which accounts for about 32% of the total area of Africa. The entire continental United States can fit inside it.

  Liu Qi sat in the jeep, gazing out at the endless Sahara Desert landscape while humming a little tune about sending off the Red Army. It was incredibly comfortable. Behind him sat the doctor and Major Beck, who after several days of careful accompaniment by the doctor had almost become a doctor himself, often inadvertently bringing up medical jargon in conversation. The previous tension he felt when seeing doctors had been greatly alleviated.

  When Liu Qi finished playing the "Ten Sending Red Army", Major Beck couldn't wait to say, "Colonel, the piece you just played is really too beautiful. Although the rhythm is simple, it's catchy and has a strong emotional flavor of bidding farewell to loved ones. It deeply moved me. May I ask which composer wrote this piece? I've studied music for over 20 years and have never heard it before."

  Liu Qi couldn't help but laugh, thinking to himself that it would be strange if you had heard it before. This was a folk ditty hummed by the villagers when they bid farewell to the 26th Army of the Chinese Red Army in 1935 as they left their base on the Long March. Not to mention you, even most of the original Red Army cadres and soldiers who are now fighting in China wouldn't know this song. This song was written by a musician after he went deep into the old district three times to collect folk songs after China's liberation. However, this also proves that only what is national is the most beautiful.

  However, Liu Qi also admired Captain Beck's musical imagination. A simple melody could convey the central idea of bidding farewell to loved ones with reluctance. Thinking of this, Liu Qi couldn't help but think of his parents in his hometown decades later, and his heart felt a little sad. Ah, when can he return home?

  Liu Qi couldn't help but hum along to "Ten Sending the Red Army" again, and Major Beck also started humming along with Liu Qi's melody. Even the doctor was whistling along in accompaniment on one side. The few people were completely immersed in this simple yet beautiful music.

  It wasn't until they stopped to rest and eat halfway that the simple concert finally came to an end. Liu Qi said to Bai Ke, "This piece of music is an accompaniment to a folk song from a distant country, which has not been widely spread in the world yet. But with your musical talent, I think it's not difficult to remember. After the war, you can compose and write lyrics yourself, but I have one request, that the name must be 'Ten Red Armies'."

  "Ten Red Army deliveries - what a strange name. Why would you want to send out the Red Army in ten separate shipments?" Major Becker asked curiously.

  "Dizzy, the Red Army is not an object, but a troop. Ten send-offs for the Red Army means that the people who see off this troop have deep feelings for it and are reluctant to part with it." Liu Qi explained.

  "Why are people reluctant to part with this army? Don't they know that armies are meant for battle?" Becker asked, still puzzled.

  "It's like this, the Red Army is an army that serves the people, and they have done many good things to help the local residents. That's why the residents are so fond of them." Liu Qi said.

  "Beam me up," said Major Bek.

  "Doesn't this army train normally? What's the point of serving the people?" Major Beck asked Liu Qi again, looking like a confused and ignorant young man.

  Liu Qi suddenly became furious and said in an impatient tone, "This team is of course trained, but in the spare time of training, it helps the military and civilians solve difficulties. Serving the people means solving the daily difficulties and problems for all the people."

  "Oh, so after the military training is over, they can just leave the troops? Why don't they go to a bar or a movie theater instead? Why do they have to interfere with other people's business? And why do the local residents accept help from soldiers instead of solving their own problems? Why don't they go find the police? And these people who serve the public, do they get paid or not?" Major Beck's curiosity was endless.

  Facing these questions, Liu Qi's head was a bit big, but as a regimental commander, he couldn't be asked to answer in front of his subordinates. So he patiently replied: "It's not that this army doesn't want to go to bars or movie theaters after training, it's just that the country where this army is located is very poor and there are no such consumer venues. Many young people from the local residents are serving in this unit. The labor force is not very sufficient, so they will accept the help of soldiers. Moreover, the local police agency has a lot of bureaucratic power and cannot actually help the local residents solve problems. As for the salaries of these people who serve the people, I think there should be some."

  It wasn't until then that Major Beck seemed to understand a little. He opened his mouth and said, "Oh, I see. So there are many young people from the local residents serving in this army. That's why this song sounds so sad like a farewell to loved ones. However, the problem of police bureaucracy is not unique to one country, our British Empire's police are also like that, dragging their feet and pushing the blame around, I can understand that. But what I don't understand is that you people who serve the public, since you receive a salary, shouldn't what you do be what you should do? It's just like the service staff in a hotel, you provide me with good service, I give you the tip you deserve, isn't that right?"

  Liu Qi this time finally understood what it means 'to oppose a small truth is the wrong choice, while to oppose a great truth is another truth'.