On the bumpy mountain road, a force of more than 100 people marched rapidly to the east.

With winding mountain roads and towering trees, this team overcame obstacles and ran bravely against all odds.

All of them had nothing but pickaxes and shovels, guns and bullets, and a small bag of dry food. But the equipment was good, there were heavy machine guns, light machine guns, all the soldiers were Mauser rifles, and the steel helmets on their heads shone green.

It was the winter of 1937. The sky was cloudy and the wind was cold, but almost all of the people in this group were sweating profusely.

"Quick! Fast! Be sure to rush to Nanjing City at noon tomorrow! ”

The shouters jumped back and forth beside the long snake-like queue, waving their arms from time to time, their faces full of anxiety.

This young man dressed as a lieutenant is the highest military commander of this unit: company commander Zong Tao. Zong Tao was twenty-seven years old at the time, and he had been tied to the position of company commander for five years, and many of the brothers who had joined the army with him became his superiors.

Zong Tao was born in a scholarly family in Dabie Mountain, and his knowledge is not shallow, but his career is sluggish. Soon after he joined the army, he was selected into the cadre training class, and because of his excellent practical performance, he was soon appointed to the position of second lieutenant platoon commander and transferred to the company, and in the third year, he was promoted to captain and company commander by his fellow township boss, and then made no achievements. The reason is simple, when entering the Soviet area, his company became a soldier.

In Jiangxi's "suppression of bandits," the company he led was very ineffective, firing guns blindly and emptying their guns, and before they could engage the "bandits," they led their troops to retreat. If it weren't for the protection of his fellow boss, Zong Tao would have been dealt with by military law.

From then on, Zong Tao nailed himself to the position of the captain and company commander. And its troops have also become known as the "Soldier Company".

Three days ago, his boss assigned him a task to travel 200 kilometers west to pull the bandit team that had been recruited not long ago to make a strong name. But when they arrived, the team had been reorganized by other units.

Zong Tao made this trip and hurried back to the station, but the troops had already started.

After inquiry, his regiment quickly moved eastward as soon as he carried out his mission. Zong Tao immediately understood the intention of this fellow leader. He must have transferred him under the pretext of having a bad reputation in his company and fearing that it would affect morale.

Before the mission, Zong Tao heard that his regiment had undertaken the responsibility of defending the territory of Nanjing, and Zong Tao also asked about it when he was leaving, but the head of the fellow regiment denied it and warned him that the mission was not carried out effectively and would be carried out in accordance with military law.

The head of the fellow regiment finally explained whether he completed the task or not, and returned to the original defense place to standby.

Zong Tao only obeyed.

Now that he heard that the troops had been mobilized, Zong Tao was angry and his lungs were blown up, and his eyes were also red.

The task was not completed, and he didn't want to know how Shangfeng would punish him, but for such a major task, if he didn't pull his company, Zong Tao was unwilling.

Zong Tao urgently assembled his troops.

Company Vice Chang Dagui said worriedly: "Company commander, wait for the order." We didn't complete this mission, and we don't know how to deal with it yet. If you transfer without authorization, you and I can't afford to be guilty. ”

Zong Tao's eyes widened angrily and shouted: "The national disaster is at the head, and we have to wait for instructions!" The Japanese army is well-equipped, there are more people than our garrison troops, and those brothers are determined to die, waiting for the order, how can we be ashamed! ”

Snow shame! Snow shame!

Zong Tao stared at the hazy sky, and a look of iron determination appeared on his face.

In the decisive battle of Songhu, Zong Tao regretted not participating. Our soldiers fought against the brutal and brutal invaders with their flesh and blood, which made his blood boil long ago.

Zong Tao gritted his teeth, waved his arms and shouted: "We are not a 'soldier company', we are bloody Chinese men!" The Japanese devils destroy our homeland, bully our compatriots, and plunder our resources, brothers, should we fight? ”

More than 100 people shouted in unison, raising their arms and shouting: "Japanese devils who fight dogs!" ”

Zong Tao continued: "We did not contribute to the so-called suppression of bandits in the Soviet area, because they were our brothers. Now Chairman Chiang has also reorganized them into a regular army. Blood is thicker than water. In the face of foreign enemies, they are doing the same thing! If we exterminate those compatriots, how can we strengthen our camp today? ”

Chang Dagui was so anxious that he tugged at the corner of Zong Tao's clothes. Zong Tao looked back and smiled.

"Lao Chang, are you still afraid of misfortune coming out of your mouth? This time we are going to face well-armed and extremely fierce Japanese devils, which, to be honest, are holding eggs against stones. I didn't think about surviving! ”

Chang Dagui thought about it and nodded.

Facing nearly 100 brothers, Zong Tao said with a solemn expression: "This time, we did not receive instructions from the upper peak, and if we acted without permission, we may be punished." If a brother is afraid to act, he can rest on the spot. ”

"No, we are going to war, we are going to fight the Japanese devils, and we are going to defend our homeland!"

"But brothers, we have very little chance of surviving this battle!"

"We don't want to be slaves!"

It's all a bunch of bloody men!

Zong Tao choked back tears and said emotionally: "They are all my good brothers!" Raising soldiers for a thousand days, using soldiers for a while, the country is in danger, as soldiers, who is not on it? ”

"Let's go! Let's go! ”

The loud roar was like the turbulent waves of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.

Zong Tao glanced at the queue and stopped at a small soldier.

"Hou Xiaoxi!"

"Here!"

"Get out of the line!"

Hou Xiaoxi looked at Zong Tao in confusion, slowly came out of the ranks, and stood in front of Zong Tao.

"How old are you? Answer honestly! ”

Hou Xiaoxi put his feet together and replied in a loud voice: "Report to the company commander, I'm seventeen." ”

Hou Xiaoxi is only 1.6 meters tall, with a baby face, and looks less than fifteen.

Hou Xiaoxi was picked by Zong Tao on the way to carry out his mission. He was like a beggar, hungry and weak. Zong Tao originally just wanted to give him some pestering and send him home. Unexpectedly, Hou Xiaoxi's story moved him greatly.

Hou Xiaoxi is a native of Sichuan, and after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, all five of his elder brothers joined the army and went out of Sichuan with the army. Because of his young age, confiscate him. But Hou Xiaoxi ran with the team. But he was small and lacked physical strength, and when he heard that the army had arrived in the Jiangxi area, Hou Xiaoxi begged all the way, but he couldn't find that unit.

Such a young child had to resist the Japanese, Zong Tao was very moved, and made an exception to accept him as his own orderly.

Zong Tao stiffened his face and said: "You are less than sixteen years old, you lie and deceive people, from today on, you are not my soldier!" ”

Hou Xiaoxi was so anxious that tears came out, and shouted: "Company commander, you bully honest people!" ”

Zong Tao smiled and said, "Are you honest?" In front of the brothers of the whole company, you are still lying! ”

Zong Tao's heart was really unwilling to bring Hou Xiaoxi. His five elder brothers are all on the battlefield, and their survival is unpredictable, if Hou Xiaoxi has another mistake, who will take care of his elderly parents?

"Regardless of age or order, this is the government's call."

Zong Tao slammed his arm and gave Hou Xiaoxi a slap. Hou Xiaoxi was beaten and shook a few times, but he stubbornly straightened up again and looked at Zong Tao.

All the brethren were stunned. Zong Tao has always treated his brothers well, don't talk about doing it, and there are not many times to scold.

Chang Dagui was busy pulling Zong Tao. Zong Tao glanced at him, and Chang Dagui understood.

Chang Dagui slowly paced in front of Hou Xiaoxi, and said reproachfully: "Hou Xiaoxi, the company commander is right, you are dishonest and can't go to the battlefield." ”

Hou Xiaoxi saw that Chang Dagui also accused him like this, so he was so aggrieved that he took off the gun, threw it into Chang Dagui's hand, and ran away with tears.

All the brothers understood what the two chiefs meant, and they were both moved and regretted.

Seeing Hou Xiaoxi running away, Zong Tao took a breath and said loudly: "Brothers, this confrontation with the Japanese army, to be honest, the chance of survival is almost zero, if anyone is afraid, please come out, I will not force it!" ”

"We're not bastards!"

Zong Tao was very excited, looked around in front of the queue, and said loudly: "In order not to affect the speed of the march, we must travel lightly!" Bring enough dry food for three days, and throw away everything except guns and bullets! ”

At the sound of an order, the troops ran forward, which was hundreds of kilometers away from the city of Nanjing, and it took two days to travel under the stars and nights. But Zong Tao and his brothers were anxious. Has the Battle of Nanjing begun? Are their brothers fighting the powerful artillery fire of the Japanese invaders with their flesh and blood?

Fast! Fast!

The procession is like an arrow from a string, running wildly on a rugged mountain road. When you fall, you get up and run again, when you are hungry, you grab a handful of dry food, and when you are thirsty, you drink a sip of cold water.

On this day and night, the troops ran more than 200 kilometers.

The sound of artillery was faintly heard. The explosion rang out like fried beans. Zong Tao's eyes were straight.

The Battle of Nanjing has begun!

Zong Tao shouted hoarsely: "Brothers, hurry, rush to rest outside Nanjing!" "The troops had not rested for more than 20 hours, and the brothers had long since become exhausted. But Shoutao was worried.

After a few more hours, the sky was already bright, and it was time for the card.

The rumbling cannon is getting more and more deafening, and the suburbs of Nanjing are approaching!

Suddenly, there was a humming roar in the sky. Zong Tao looked up and saw a group of black-pressed planes coming from the southern skyline like a hornet. The Japanese army logo on the wing is clearly legible.

All the brethren were red-eyed. Someone raised a gun. Zong Tao gestured to stop it.

A gun is not capable of shooting down an airplane, it will only expose itself and be bombed by devils in vain.

"Lie down, hide in place!" The smell of gunpowder smoke is getting stronger and stronger.