Chapter 5: On the Front Line (Part I)

All night, the procession kept heading north. Along an undulating path, lined with rocks and trees, the occasional foot on a soft spot would hear the sound of stones rolling into a ravine. Before he could be afraid, he had already been grabbed by the belt around his waist by his companions behind him, and followed closely, he heard the low scolding voices of the officers, "Be careful, be careful with Lao Tzu." Pay attention to your feet, you yourself fell to death and didn't care, bring the little devil plane, and all of us will be reimbursed! ”

The reprimanded brothers did not dare to return the favor, but stuck out their tongues and continued to walk forward one foot deeper and one foot shallow. Sometimes, when I climb over a mountain beam, I see the railway at the foot of the mountain less than two miles away, and the two tracks reflect the starlight, like two sleeping pythons. Sometimes, when you walk into the valley, you can see a small village with only a few families. The dogs in the village heard the unusual sound, opened their throats, and desperately "puffed". Then some of the windows were lit up, and then the dog whimpered and became completely dumb. The windows that had already been lit quickly extinguished the candles, not daring to come out to watch or protest.

When Zhang Songling was in high school, he participated in several excursions organized by the school. In one day, after only forty miles of walking, I was so tired that my tongue stuck out. But tonight, he didn't feel tired at all, he only felt that his heart was hot, as if the blood in his whole body was burning.

I'm finally going to do it with the little devils, and I'm going with the big army. This used to be a coveted honor for many members of the Blood Flower Society? Now, everyone's wishes have fallen on his shoulders alone. How could he not be excited, how could he not be excited?

The first devil to be killed was killed for Brother Zhou; the second, it can be regarded as Tian Fatzi and Han Qiu; the third is dedicated to Lu Ming and Liu Jing; the fourth is to be used to commemorate Peng Weiwei; the fifth is dedicated to Grandpa Wei; In the sixth ......., while stumbling and marching, Zhang Songling calculated in his heart how many devils he should kill to be enough. He came from a family of traders and habitually paid baht. He will not allow himself to be left behind until he has paid off everyone's blood debts!

The first night was a hurried march and was spent in complete excitement. After dawn, the team hid in a very remote valley and began to eat and rest.

All day, everyone was sleeping. It is forbidden to move around at will, and it is not allowed to light a fire to boil water. In the evening, he got up again and continued to hurry north under the urging of the officer. This time, Zhang Songling was a little unbearable. His legs sank as if he had been filled with lead, and his waist was sore, as if he had been injected with dozens of catties of old vinegar.

Fortunately, Shi Liangcai was beside him, and kept whispering to him to distract him. In this way, he stumbled and walked all night without dragging everyone back. In the early hours of the morning, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions suddenly turned around and headed east, leaving only the 1st Battalion to continue their rapid march northward.

After the sky was fully bright, the team infiltrated a dense forest. "Eat some dry food and rest in place. To relieve your hands, you have to ask the squad leader for leave and go downwind. After the big solution, it was necessary to dig up the earth and bury ......" several officers with unfamiliar faces trotted back and forth to deliver orders. The brethren, who were extremely tired, immediately sat down in the dew-stained grass, took out the marching kettle, and ate the dried steamed buns prepared for the group by the cooking squad the night before. Then he casually stroked a few handfuls on the ground with his hands, and fell asleep, and after a while, the snoring sounded one after another in the woods.

The platoon commander and above officers of the whole battalion gathered around Lao Gou for a short meeting. Shi Liangcai took the guard squad and formed a circle around the officers, prohibiting any unrelated people from approaching. Zhang Songling belonged to Lao Gou's cronies who had worked hard to cultivate, and although he did not have a specific military rank and position, he was also allowed to observe. It's just that he doesn't have any military literacy, and he only seems to understand what everyone says.

"I picked this place with Lao Ji yesterday, and the second battalion and Lao Ji picked here and here." In front of the officers, Lao Gou was no longer the image with an angry face, he clicked on the map a few times very calmly, and said in a low voice: "From the distance, we have a big advantage over the second and third battalions. But the trouble is that the surrounding terrain is relatively open, and it is quite difficult to lean on it unconsciously! ”

The commander of the first company, surnamed Gong, is a red-faced Shanxi man, and his accent is a little strange when he speaks, "If you march at this speed two nights ago, you can feel that side after walking for half a night at most." These two towns on the road are places we must pass through. If I were a little devil, I would definitely have to send a few squads to serve as guards in the town. Just in case someone suddenly pops out of the mountains! ”

"You will send a platoon of brothers to open the way in front of the head, and you are not allowed to use guns, but daggers and broadswords to deal with them! If there are locals who dare to hook up with the little devils, solve it together, and there must be no room for survival! Lao Gou's eyebrows jumped, and he quickly made a decision.

"Okay, when the sun goes down tonight, I'll send people out immediately!" Gong Company Commander nodded and agreed in a low voice.

"If I were a little devil, this bridge would ......." another platoon commander dressed as a man poked his finger at the map.

"From five miles downstream, pull the rope over. Then send a few people to wait halfway, once our men fight the little devils, the defenders on the bridge will definitely turn around and look. At that time....... "Lao Gou compared his hand to his neck and made a wiping posture."

"I remember that there was a mountain depression in this location, which could hide a lot of people. We can take a breath in the ravine in the middle of the night, and then ...... around 3 a.m."

"If we put a few machine guns here, even if the devils come to reinforcements, they can be blocked for a while!"

"Leave another platoon on the right to block the attack, but it's just ......" Before the words could be finished, a black and thin second lieutenant had already stood up and said in a low voice, "Let's go to the platoon, half of our platoon is collected from the rout of the Northeast Army, and they all have a blood feud with the devil." ”

"Try to bring everyone back. After you come back, Lao Tzu personally recommended you to the top and let you go out to be the battalion commander! "Lao Gou himself is a captain, but he dares to give others the same level of reward as himself.

The black thin platoon leader smiled and thanked him, as if he didn't doubt that Lao Gou's promise could be fulfilled. His immediate boss, a thin man with a yellow face, reached out and patted him on the shoulder, and whispered, "Then you can go down and rest." Speak to your brethren and write it down on a piece of paper if anyone has anything in his heart that he can't put down. When the little devil is defeated, as long as I, Wang Tiehan, am still alive, I will definitely be able to help him! ”

How the black thin man answered, Zhang Songling couldn't hear it at all. All he felt was that his nose was starting to sour, and there was something hot pouring out of his eyes. Afraid of being seen by others as a joke, he quietly turned his head, wiped the corners of his eyes with the sleeve of his clothes, and then slowly adjusted his breathing, and pulled the things in his eyes back into his nose little by little.

By the time he was calm again, the impromptu meeting was drawing to a close. Each company commander and platoon commander were assigned specific affairs, and everyone's face was flat, as if they were about to go on a boring outing, which was neither worthy of joy nor too much attention.

"Did you hear it all?" Waving his hand to send all the officers to rest, Lao Gou turned his gaze to Zhang Songling, "When you hear it, try to write it down, even if you don't understand it, you have to remember it desperately." Lao Tzu is not afraid that you will steal the teacher, but I am afraid that you will not learn by heart. After this battle, Lao Tzu will explain to you why he arranged it this way! ”

"Thank you, sir!" Zhang Songling responded in a low voice, his heart was warm and moving.

Officer Lao Gou's next words immediately made him lose all respect in his heart, "No thanks, Lao Tzu is leaving seeds for our secret service group!" You read the most books, and you should spend less effort on cultivating them! Hurry up and go to bed, and when the sun sets, there are still dozens of miles to go. ”

Zhang Songling didn't dare to disobey his boss's order, so he crawled to the side and fell asleep holding his three magic weapons. At noon, he was forcibly woken up from his sleep by Shi Liangcai, drank a few sips of spirits, and chewed half of the raw jerky. Then continue to seize the time to regain strength. When the sun sank into the valley to the west again, the battalion commander Gou called everyone up, put on a straight face, and ordered in a low voice: "Check the weapons and bullets, and throw away the useless bits and pieces." Tonight, Lao Tzu will take you to clean up the little devils! ”

"Oh!" The brethren had long known that they were going to clean up the little devils, but when they heard the chief's personal confirmation, they still let out a low cheer. This time, Lao Gou didn't think that everyone's voice was high, he pressed his hand down, and continued: "Why do you want to fight devils, Lao Tzu won't say anything." We are all gentlemen, and we know it. What Lao Tzu wants to say today is that when others threw off their armor and ran south, our 26th Route Army Special Service Regiment rushed north overnight. With this alone, no matter who we see in the future, no matter how big the commander is, we can turn our nostrils upwards! ”

"Huh! Hehehe! The brethren laughed innocently, and there was a smug smile in their smiles. Officer Lao Gou's gaze slowly swept over the simple smiling faces, as if he wanted to keep everyone in mind, "Let's go!" the little devils! ”

"Let's go, the little devil!"

"Let's go, the little devil!"

The company commanders and platoon commanders repeated Lao Gou's words in a low voice. Then, with their respective teams, they lined up in a long line and quickly set foot on the northbound mountain road. From the night sky just getting dark, all the way to the starry sky. Then he walked to the Milky Way and slowly cleared overhead, and Morning Glory and Weaver Girl looked at each other in the distance. Around midnight, the team crossed another hill. At the same time, a series of artillery shots were heard from the northeast, and the explosions splashed with fire, staining half of the sky blood-red.

"This little devil is still firing indiscriminately in the middle of the night, as if there are too many shells to run out!" The palace company commander scolded in a low voice beside Lao Gou, and his voice was full of envy that could not be concealed.

"Whistle when you pass by the cemetery, and give yourself courage!" Lao Gou pursed his lips, his face full of disdain. "Are your people in place? But there's news coming back! ”

"A town has been settled. The next one is on the way! Gong Lian Commander didn't think about it, and replied quickly.

"You go to the front and keep an eye on it, and notify me of any changes in time!" Lao Gou nodded and ordered in a low voice. Immediately, he turned his head to the other company commander, "Are your people already in place?" ”

"The rope has been drawn, and eleven shallow places have been found! The dogs in the villages along the way have also been easily dealt with! The other company commander nodded, and Masase agreed.

"Then hurry up!" Lao Gou waved his hand and ended the short military discussion. led the rest of the brothers and continued to move forward quietly. Soon, they passed through the first town and came to an unknown river. The brethren who were exploring the way ran and pointed out the direction of the ropes. Several officers took the lead, pulling the rope in one hand and quickly swam towards the opposite shore.

One by one, they followed the example of the chiefs and swam across the river like ghosts. Then regroup your team and pounce on your target. Several possible nails along the way have been pulled out in advance by the vanguard. So the team went very smoothly. It was only two o'clock in the middle of the night, and it had already entered the depression closest to the target.

An officer gestured to order everyone to rest, and Shi Liangcai led the people of the guard squad to dive into the grass only a mile away from the target. Remembering what the other party asked him to do before leaving, Zhang Songling crawled cautiously to keep up. After a while, he climbed shoulder to shoulder with Shi Liangcai.

"Why did you get up?!" Shi Liangcai paused and asked in a whisper-like voice. After asking, he quickly understood Zhang Songling's intentions. He smiled lightly and handed over a telescope, "Don't squeak, I got it from Old Qian." The one in the chief's hand is not as good as mine! ”

Zhang Songling took the telescope, fiddled with it a few times, and quickly mastered its correct use. Through the two layers of lenses, he could see a mile away, a few thick barbed wire fences. Behind the barbed wire, there are three or five makeshift watchtowers, each with searchlights, sweeping the bright lights around.

Perhaps because the Chinese army has been fighting and cannot fight back, the devils on the watchtower are very vigilant. Several searchlights almost hit Shi Liangcai's body, scaring Zhang Songling so much that his heart almost jumped out of his throat, but the ghost soldiers on duty didn't take any action at all. And those devil soldiers who were patrolling back and forth behaved even more slackly, and even straddled the three or eight guns around their necks, humming a little tune in their mouths uncertainly.

"His grandmother's, the little devil is too arrogant!" Lao Gou didn't know when he climbed to the front line, snatched the telescope in Zhang Songling's hand, and scolded in a low voice while watching. Shi Liangcai didn't dare to ask for it back, as long as he looked at his boss with his eyes, hoping that the other party would be merciful. But Lao Gou didn't have any shame at all, and quickly put away the binoculars and hung them around his neck, "Lao Gong, give you half an hour to prepare, and after half an hour, you will bring someone to blow up this turret for me." Stone, Xiao Zhang, you two are responsible for protecting me, and no one is allowed to run around! ”

"Yes!" The commander of the palace company agreed happily. Shi Liangcai and Zhang Songling were like crops beaten by frost, and they responded weakly. "What's the hurry, there will be your battles in the future!" The officer, Lao Gou, said another mantra, turned around, and crawled towards the depression in the distance like a four-legged snake. After a while, it completely disappeared without a trace.

Shi Liangcai and Zhang Songling took the guard squad and helplessly followed Lao Gou to retreat. Then he crawled in the wet depression and stared at the searchlights of the enemy camp in the distance.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Another cannon sounded, and the fire spewed out from the muzzle of the cannon was clearly seen by Zhang Songling. He knew what Camp Commander Gou was doing with everyone, and his heart became more and more excited. Accidentally, his fingers scratched his palm, and beads of blood slowly dripped down the edge of his palm.

He didn't feel any pain, and continued to clench his fists and quietly count in his heart, "One, two, three, four...... One hundred, one hundred and one ......, one thousand, one thousand and one ......."

The half an hour passed very slowly, Zhang Songling counted from one to six thousand, and then from six thousand to one, but he didn't hear any movement in front of him. Just when he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, more than thirty black shadows suddenly appeared under the searchlight and went straight to several turrets.

Time quickly stopped, about two breaths long, and there was a dead silence in the four fields. Immediately after, the machine gun on the turret rang out, and "Da Da Da, Da ......" swept out a net of fire.

The three brothers who rushed to the front writhed back and forth as if they were being pulled by countless hands. Red smoke quickly poured up from behind their chests, unreal as if they were dreamy. The brothers, who were not hit by the machine guns, continued to run forward with their heads bowed, and those in front fell, and those behind stepped over the pool of blood in their robes. At the same time, the machine guns of the company also let out an angry roar, "Dada, dada, dada....." A few bursts of fire knocked the machine guns on one of the turrets into dumb.

"Whoosh-" "Whoosh-" The two mortars, which were usually hidden like treasures, quickly fired their shells at the searchlights. "Boom!" At the sound of the explosion, thick smoke quickly rose, blurring the vision of both the enemy and the enemy. Zhang Songling saw several brothers pounce on the barbed wire, and then saw several brothers rushing over their backs and pounced on the second barbed wire.

"Two, three, press forward!" Without waiting for a series of attacks to succeed, Lao Gou led the rest of the brothers to rush out of the depression. Like a tidal wave, it rushed to the enemy camp. Before they could rush within the range of their rifles, a large number of devil soldiers also emerged from the enemy camp, standing inside the barbed wire, shooting desperately. The mortar shells quickly adjusted their direction and smashed into the devil pile, setting off a wave of red heat. Almost at the same time, a company of brothers who had rushed to the last barbed wire fell silently, as if they had never been in this world.

"Give me the second company!" The officer, Lao Gou, took the opportunity to break off and continued to organize the attack. The commander of the second company, with his brothers, shouted and rushed to the enemy camp. The devil soldiers were stunned by the swarming crowd and had to turn their guns and distract themselves from the second company. A company of brethren, who had already fallen beside the barbed wire, suddenly stood up a dozen more, and in groups of three, climbed over the last barbed wire, held grenade bundles, and pounced on the turret.

The blue smoke from the grenade was clearly visible in everyone's eyes. The devil soldiers who were shooting were flustered, and instinctively ducked into the distance. "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" A loud explosion woke up the sleeping land of China. The devils improvised turrets collapsed in the explosions one after another. The brothers of the second company stepped over the barbed wire, dropped their rifles, drew their broadswords from their backs, and slashed at the devil's skull.

"Brothers, rush me in and blow up the devil's cannon!" The battalion commander Lao Gou carried the box cannon in both hands, led the rest of the team, and slaughtered into the enemy camp, as strong as a leopard coming down the mountain.

"Blow up the cannon!"

"Blow up the cannon!"

The brothers shouted loudly and rushed forward after Lao Gou. Everyone carried a large blade behind their backs, and the blade reflected the starlight and fire, chilling through the bones