Chapter Six: Hospital Stay and Recovery
Li Daichen made the arrangements and left the munitions factory that night on a train carrying supplies. He especially arranged for Xu Liang's stretcher to be placed in his own compartment. The factory sent a young man named Yan Xuewen to accompany Xu Liang to the hospital to care for him.
11 brothers of the air defense squadron were killed, 4 seriously injured and 6 slightly injured. Several brothers died after being seriously injured, also counted as martyrs. Deputy Captain Xu Liang was hit by a shrapnel in his right ribcage and suffered serious injuries. One anti-aircraft gun was blown to pieces, another was severely damaged and could not be repaired.
Xu Liang had been through many battles, and death or injury were nothing new to him. Chen Hao and the brothers he brought with him had experienced the intense bombardment and bloodshed of the Songhu Battle, so they wouldn't be shocked by casualties or injuries either. But He Wu Ting had never suffered any losses before, and this battle resulted in some damage to the air defense team, with personnel and equipment lost, leaving him gritting his teeth in anger.
The factory suffered losses in this raid. 18 high-explosive bombs fell within the factory grounds, some buildings were damaged, the gun carriage workshop was hit and caught fire, and the dormitory for employees was completely destroyed. No machines or important materials were damaged. Three apprentices died and five were injured. They were all personnel assigned to burn fires in various chimneys around the factory. The three young apprentices who died were sacrificed in the employee dormitory. Because most of the employees had evacuated earlier, many of the dormitories were empty. There were only a few heating devices in the dormitory at that time, and there was a separate boiler room. Several apprentices were temporarily assigned to burn the boiler and were allowed to stay overnight in the employee dormitory, which made them very happy. Normally, it would be unthinkable to do so.
When the air raid siren sounded, people rushed into the air-raid shelter. A few workers, however, showed no fear and continued to add coal to the fire, causing the dormitory chimney to emit thick smoke, as if competing with the factory's chimney. It was likely that the personnel on duty had already entered the air-raid shelter. When the battle began, a few young people who did not know the severity of the air raid took turns climbing onto the rooftop to watch, cheering and laughing when they saw an enemy plane being shot down and exploding in mid-air. However, when the second wave of enemy planes broke through the defense network and dove into the factory area, the building with thick smoke was instantly engulfed in flames and collapsed with a loud explosion. Three brave young people who were loyal to their duties sacrificed themselves in this way.
It was a meritorious deed, shooting down 2 enemy 96 bombers and severely damaging 1, with the main defensive target remaining intact. From an air defense perspective, the air defense squadron can be said to have achieved another victory. However, the combat effectiveness of the air defense squadron was also severely damaged. The two destroyed high-altitude guns could not be replaced or supplemented, and nearly half of the air defense squadron's best-trained high-altitude gunners and machine gunners were casualties, more importantly, Deputy Squadron Leader and Chief Instructor Xu Liang was seriously injured.
Li Daidan urgently ordered the General Affairs Department to arrange for rescue and treatment, as well as consolation. He also busied himself contacting Li Zhenyuan, wanting to send Xu Liang to the hospital set up by the Zhengzhou Railway Authority for treatment. At that time, this was the best hospital in Henan Province. In the many years that followed, the Henan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China also sent the famous Lankao County Secretary Jiao Yulu to the railway hospital in Zhengzhou for treatment. The reason was probably similar to Li Daidan's at the time.
What made Li Daitan feel slightly relieved was that the dismantling and packing of machinery equipment had been completed, and after tonight's departure, the large-scale relocation work would come to an end. At least, the relocation work from Gongxian would be over, and what lay ahead on their journey, with its many dangers, was another story. Moreover, the fake anti-aircraft guns that had been set up and manufactured a few days ago were also complete. Li Daitan had originally arranged for the woodworking workshop to make eight fake anti-aircraft guns. The head of the woodworking workshop, Director Pei, led his team to measure the dimensions of the real anti-aircraft guns at the air defense squadron that day, and then led skilled craftsmen to work through the night to manufacture them. By the second evening, the eight wooden anti-aircraft guns had taken shape. They were carefully painted in a color similar to that of the real guns. Chen Hao and Xu Liang visited the woodworking workshop in the evening to see the fake anti-aircraft guns and praised them without end, admiring both the craftsmanship of the woodworkers and Li Daitan's clever tactics. Xu Liang said, "Our factory director may have an engineering background, but he really understands the subtleties of military strategy! If these fake anti-aircraft guns could fire and emit smoke, it would be even better - we'd definitely be able to confuse the enemy, make them dizzy and frightened."
Xu Liang originally said it casually, but unexpectedly Director Pei was a person with extremely high aspirations, who sought perfection in everything he did. He loved to study and refine his work, so when he first heard Chen and Xu's praise, he didn't think much of it, probably because he had heard such words many times before. But Xu Liang's later words stuck in his mind, and he thought: "Yes, our anti-aircraft guns are too few, we should set up a maze to confuse the devils, just make some wooden guns that won't fire or move, and scare the devils away!" So Old Pei gathered his skilled craftsmen overnight to discuss how to make 8 more fake anti-aircraft guns to scare the devils.
When Li Daichun received the report that the wooden cannons were completed, the carpentry workshop had actually made 16 fake cannons. The eight "cannons" made later had iron pipes added to the inside of the barrels, and two wires were connected from the back of the "cannon" body. After electrification, the "cannon mouth" could continuously spray fireworks, similar to the modern firecrackers played by children during the Spring Festival, but without the colorful colors. The size was enough to make any fireworks factory sigh in admiration. After the "fireworks shells" were shot out, they exploded in mid-air, producing a large amount of black smoke... Old Pei also asked the master who had made clay sculptures for temples to make a batch of mud-sculpted "cannon soldiers" that matched these "high cannons". Li Daichun led He Wuting and others to inspect Old Pei's "High Cannon Troops", and in his heart, he couldn't help but sigh: "If China's education industry were developed, craftsmen like Old Pei could receive systematic scientific education in technical schools. With our country's vast human resources, we would have what the powers have, and we would also have what the powers don't have. Why should we let our eastern neighbors come to our doorsteps, making our people suffer greatly? Unfortunately, our 5,000-year-old brilliant civilization has not promoted science, so many skilled craftsmen can only be artisans, many inventions and creations, and many strange skills are lost. The masters are not born in the world, and later generations cannot stand on the shoulders of their predecessors to continue climbing, gradually leading to national decline and poverty. Now, craftsmen like Old Pei can only make 'high cannons' with no actual combat power, which is a pity."
Time did not allow Li to indulge in sentiment, he hastily ordered Chen Hao to receive and deploy the 16 "high cannons". The first eight were placed in a dense forest, with only the muzzles exposed, and iron buckets were placed underneath. Inside the buckets were large firecrackers, which would be ignited by electric wires to create sound effects; the remaining eight were deployed along with fake artillerymen at the original high cannon positions.
The rest of the main equipment in the factory will be started tonight. The Military Affairs Department ordered the establishment of a garrison office at the Arsenal, and Li Daitian appointed He Wuting as the director of the garrison office to handle all matters related to the relocation of the arsenal. During the period after the arsenal moved out, the garrison office had to deal with many complicated affairs, and He Wuting would have to face some trivial administrative work. The troops guarding the factory only left behind a squad of soldiers.
Zi Chenhao's anti-aircraft artillery unit arrived at the factory, and the Military Affairs Department repeatedly asked to transfer them away. Li Daichun did his best to reason with them and argue against it. After the factory's first air defense battle, the Military Affairs Department issued a commendation order for the factory's guard team, which was seen as an acknowledgment of Li Daichun's arrangement. Chenhao and Xu Liang's military ranks were also approved. At this time, the factory's relocation was about to be completed, and the Military Affairs Department again ordered Li Daichun to disband the factory's air defense unit and set up defenses in Kaifeng. From now on, the air defense tasks during the factory's garrison and transfer would be undertaken by the Air Force and the local air defense units.
At this time, it was already late December 1937. Shanghai had fallen on the 2nd. Matsui Iwane ordered the Japanese army occupying Shanghai to "live off the land", advancing in multiple directions and rushing towards Nanjing. The most beautiful and prosperous Jiangnan region of our country fell into a bloodbath. On December 13th, China's capital at that time, Nanjing, fell into enemy hands. A massacre unprecedented in modern world history began. This is an eternal pain in the heart of the Chinese nation.
May our descendants never forget! In December 1937, a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions occurred in Nanjing, the ancient capital of China, leaving an indelible mark on the Chinese nation.
In the face of an unprecedented severe situation, the National Government is preparing to hold a high-level military meeting in Kaifeng. Strengthening Kaifeng's air defense capabilities is inevitable. Li Daichun, although unaware of the meeting, was clear about the battle situation. He abandoned his plan to let Chen Hao's air defense troops retreat with the factory and prepared to execute the Military Affairs Department's orders without hesitation.
At night, on the railway dedicated line, people were nervously loading the last batch of equipment from this factory. Li Daichen held a meeting with the heads of various departments in the factory for the last time to arrange the withdrawal matters.
The anti-aircraft squadron was ordered to take the train on the second night and transfer to Kaifeng. Li Daichun specifically instructed Chen Hao, "Tonight, we must withdraw the high-altitude cannons and machine guns from their positions." He emphasized: "We cannot manufacture these anti-aircraft weapons at present. The factories have basically been evacuated, so it is essential that these high-altitude cannons do not suffer any losses. We must withdraw them and hide them well. This is crucial! I am not a person who is stingy with things, but good steel should be used on the blade! These weapons will be of great use in the future, and we can confront the enemy's planes again after arriving in Kaifeng. You must listen to my orders and not act impulsively. Captain He, when they leave, please let them take as many cannonballs from our factory as possible, and try to transport them all away."
At the thought of parting with this respected superior at a time when war is raging and the country is in peril, I wonder if we will ever meet again in this life or the next. He Wu Ting, Chen Hao, and those men who fearlessly fought against the enemy on the battlefield, my nose can't help but feel a little sour. Li Dai Chun was also moved to emotion, his eyes were slightly moistened.
Li Dailin made the arrangements and left the munitions factory that night on a train carrying supplies. He took special care to have Xu Liang's stretcher placed in his own compartment. The factory had assigned a young man named Yan Xuewen to accompany Xu Liang to the hospital and take care of him. At the time, the speed of the trains on the Longhai line was only over 20 kilometers per hour, so even though the special train from Gongxian to Zhengzhou didn't stop along the way, it still took more than three hours. The compartment had thick black curtains hanging in the windows, and the dim yellow light cast a pale glow on Xu Liang's face, which was weak but still showed his heroic spirit. Li Dailin sat at the desk, looking at the young man lying on the stretcher, thinking over and over about one question: "Such a talented young man, with both brains and bravery, why did he join the Communist Party? Fortunately, in this time of national crisis, they accepted the government's amnesty and from now on will not oppose the government but can be used by the country. Hopefully, after we defeat the invaders, there won't be any more internal strife due to differing political views or conflicting interests. The Chinese nation has so many excellent talents; if we unite as one and work together to build our country, we will definitely have a bright future."
After the train arrived in Zhengzhou, Li Zhenyuan's car was already waiting at the station and took Xu Liang directly to the hospital set up by the railway bureau.
