The smell of blood filled the thick smoke of gunpowder, and the air was filled with the screams and moans of the wounded. Since the artillery of the Forces nouvelles did not really produce any results, the dead remained intact. The shot on the body was only a large amount of blood loss, and the blood stains on the clothes were still within an acceptable range. The many holes and collapses created by the bullet in the head, or simply tearing off a large piece of the head somewhere, greatly challenge the limits of the human spirit.

The new army is still quite sharp, especially since these people have never been on the battlefield at all. When the battle began, the frenzy of the battlefield swept over the youth of the entire New Army, and the feeling of death was not strong. Or rather, they don't have time to pay attention to the existence of death. When these people return to the Shura field that they have personally participated in, and look at the lives that have been destroyed by the war, and those who are crying and dying, they will know what is called a battlefield and what is called death.

"You guys, go over and see if there are any brothers in that pile who have survived." The officer couldn't help but roar. The soldiers of the Forces nouvelles instinctively bypassed the tragic dead, especially in the final stages of the battle, accumulating the line between the most wounded and the dead.

Although at the urging of the officers, the Forces nouvelles, who had no experience in treating the wounded and brought the dead together, had to begin to identify the wounded. But the pale faces, frowning brows, and frightened eyes all revealed the psychological activities of these new troops who wanted to turn around and flee.

In order to avoid the tragic situation before them, the New Army had to raise its head frequently, and when they saw the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army not far away, they did not have this problem at all. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army did not have the fear of the new army at all, and when they saw the exact survivors, they quickly carried them out with their hands and feet, and immediately carried out battlefield treatment. There were also some fighters of the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants who surveyed the areas of the position one by one, pressed their fingers on the necks of those who were not moving, and after a while, called for help or continued to check on the next man who was lying on his stomach or crooked.

Maybe it's because I've seen too many bloody scenes, or maybe it's because the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's medical knowledge and practice are richer. Or simply because they had seen too many seriously wounded comrades-in-arms or enemies who had recovered their health after treatment, the soldiers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had no fear of the tragic battlefield in their minds at all. There is only one thought in everyone's mind, and they can save their comrades by hurrying up. Not only comrades-in-arms, but also the fighters of the Liberation Society showed that they were not afraid of death, and the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, as a friendly army, was very admired. The heart was full of longing to save lives, and every comrade's movements were swift and accurate.

The Ninth Town of the New Army was fortunate in uniform and the wounded and dead could easily be distinguished from the Liberation Society. Even a small number of Forces nouvelles members of the Liberation Society took off their collar badges and teared off their armbands. So it's easy to distinguish.

The New Army opposite the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was surprised to find that the People's Party did not simply lift people, but first carried out simple treatment. Gauze is used to plug the wound or a rope is tied around the leg or arm of the injured person. Although they did not understand the meaning of the tourniquet, the Novaeus clearly saw that the wound was bleeding at a reduced rate, and they instinctively felt that the white gauze was clean and effective.

"Brother, will you give us some pieces of your white cloth?"

"Big brother here, this person is the brother of our battalion, you see this blood flowing out. Help plug it up. ”

The medics hesitated slightly, although the two sides agreed not to be armed, but now the battlefield was full of guns. You can't have the heart to hurt others, and you can't have the heart to defend people. The officers and men on both sides who gathered the wounded and the dead had long been armed with the weapons on the ground. Since the Forces nouvelles did not rush to the core position of the Liberation Society in the end, there were not many overlapping areas between the two sides on the battlefield. This effort to collect one's own casualties is generally carried out in the default territory of both sides, and God knows what will happen once the default line is crossed.

In the midst of this hesitation, the Forces nouvelles also felt wrong. The officer headed by the New Army did not seem to be very hostile to the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and he bit his lip and looked in the direction of the New Army's position, and there was already a resolute look on his face when he turned his head. "Brothers of the People's Party over there, saving people's lives is better than building a seventh-level floating slaughter, you can't just watch people die like this. So if you will save our brothers? Up to this point, all the guns on the ground will be given to you! ”

The position where the officer stood was the farthest part of the Liberation Society's deceased area. This person is very clever, and from the time he led people to the battlefield, he stood in this position, which is equivalent to drawing the bottom line on the side of the new army. The BJP refused to make any extraordinarily out of its way, and had to give up a part of the area when it came to collecting weapons. This is what the officers are saying now, but in fact the losses of the new army are very limited.

The battlefield was full of wounded people, knowing that life and death were at stake. The wounded of the Forces nouvelles did not care whether the men in blue were enemies, let alone who had inflicted their wounds. They all wanted to receive treatment, and for a while the voices of distress on the battlefield rang out.

In the case of salvation, the benevolence of the healer is an instinct. The provision of local medical treatment was also common for the troops of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, and after a little discussion, the military doctors began to treat the wounded soldiers carried by the new army. Bandaging, even simple flaw detection, bullet removal, and stitching up wounds, the military doctors are extremely skilled. The wounded of the Forces nouvelles know their own affairs, the Forces nouvelles lack a medical doctor, and the wounded soldiers who were wounded a few days ago have not been able to receive medical attention. Although the People's Party military doctors are now being treated, everyone is already dying of pain, and no matter how painful it is, it is impossible to be miserable, and no one even resists the treatment.

The New Army was taken by the prestige of the People's Party, and seeing that these people were skillful, they also asked the officers and men of the New Army to help them in the treatment. As for the treatment methods used and the content of treatment, it is also completely within the scope of understanding. Originally, everyone was a little worried that the military doctors of the People's Party would play yin, but later psychologically it turned into a kind of trust.

When the dead and wounded were gathered on both sides, the sun was also in the west. Wang Youhong did not expect that the military doctors of the People's Party would be willing to treat the New Army, even if the People's Party was buying people's hearts, Wang Youhong knew that this matter must not be investigated deeply. Seeing that the troops had no will to fight after the battle, he also ordered the troops to retreat and camp a little.

The two sides gathered their weapons within the default dividing line, and the day's battle finally came to an end.

In the past few days, the BJP's military doctors have done their best to treat the wounded, the minor wounded have been bandaged, and the seriously wounded have undergone surgery. In addition to the wounded who were completely unable to move, Tao Chengzhang specially sent people to escort the members of the Guangfuhui who could not continue the fight back to Hangzhou. There are not many wounded left in the military hospital. In today's fierce battle, the number of wounded has skyrocketed. Although it is necessary to send troops to guard important places, patrol, and be ready to fight at any time. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, which was fully engaged in the work of treating the wounded, was simply unable to send too many men.

The troops behind the Liberation Society, plus the wounded who were rescued, totaled more than 1,000. On a normal day, they would certainly not be able to obey the command of the BJP. Fortunately, Xu Xilin did not lose his clarity before he was seriously injured and fell into a coma, and he called the leaders of the various departments of the Liberation Society who remained here and asked them to completely obey the command of the People's Party. The whole group of the Restoration Society, which had turned around in front of the Ghost Gate, knew the need to work together, and no one objected. The remaining 200 or so troops of the Liberation Society were divided into teams of 10 people, each led by two People's Party comrades. The BJP sent the same number of troops, and the entire mixed group stabilized its positions.

The closed operating theatre in the BJP's medical barracks was lit up all night, and portable hand-cranked generators were shaken all night. Coupled with the power supply of lead-acid batteries, the People's Party operated one after another in the microscopic operating room, which was barely made of electric lamps and large mirrors.

Kuroshima didn't know whether to be proud of the achievements of the BJP or to be worried about the number of injured people. He returned to headquarters and sat down. Mental exuberance and physical exhaustion simultaneously invaded the body and mind of this Japanese revolutionary youth. Perhaps in this kind of exhaustion, people are easy to think of the past. Two years ago, Kuroshima Ren resolutely went to China in order to pursue the revolutionary road and defected to the People's Party, which Chen Tianhua strongly admired.

Two years passed in a blink of an eye, and Kuroshima was shocked to find that every time he recalled Japan. This motherland, which once made me feel painful, seems to be getting farther and farther away from itself. Compared to the intense and vivid days of the present day, the life of the past is like a picture of a gradual yellowing. Hitoshi Kuroshima had hoped that he would return to Japan with a new revolutionary idea and a revolutionary path, and what he had seen and experienced every day since he participated in the Chinese revolution launched by the People's Party. In particular, the cause created together for the first time as a true "equal comrade" captured Hitoshi Kuroshima's body and mind more and more.

Kuroshima has gradually forgotten that he is a Japanese called "Kurodo Renichiro", and he does not consider himself a Chinese called "Kuroshima Ren". There is only one member of the People's Party, Ren Kuroshima. A person who works with other revolutionary comrades to create a tomorrow for the welfare of the people. Even if these people are Chinese, even if the target of treatment is a comrade of the People's Party, or the Restoration Association as a friendly army of the People's Party, or the captured Qing army. But everything that doesn't change is the same, and all the work that Kuroshima does is to save lives. Even if he takes up arms to fight, Hitoshi Kuroshima still doesn't consider himself a killer. This feeling is indescribably different from being a Japanese or a Chinese, as a savior, a revolutionary, there is something beyond the country or the camp.

This indescribable thing left Kuroshima both confused and fascinated.

However, the situation did not give Kuroshima Ren, who was a revolutionary, much time to face his personal problems, and after a short rest, the correspondent excitedly led two young men in civilian clothes to rush into the headquarters where Kuroshima Ren was. Seeing Ren Kuroshima, the correspondent immediately shouted: "Black political commissar, the comrades of the support troops have arrived!" ”

It was absolutely impossible for the BJP to leave any unit out of the field and ignore it, and a battalion of responding troops was organized at the base area before the medical team set out. During the battle a few days earlier, Hitoshi Kuroshima and the other commanders agreed that the Liberation Society would not be able to win. The receiving troops began to approach the battlefield. But Kuroshima didn't expect to be able to get in touch with the receiving troops so quickly.

"How far are the troops from here?" Kuroshima Ren immediately stood up and asked.

"Black political commissar, the troops are still a day's journey from here." The liaison officer of the support unit replied with a salute.

If it was just a medical team and an escort team, Kuroshima Ren would definitely be confident that he would easily get rid of the new army on the other side and withdraw to the base unharmed. But now that there were thousands of wounded members of the Kofukai on the battlefield, it was a very difficult thing for Kuroshima to make up his mind to abandon them and retreat alone.

The liaison officers are all capable comrades, and he didn't just come here to bring good news to Kuroshima Ren, the liaison officer asked seriously: "Black political commissar, we have sent someone to report the current situation to the support troops." I don't know if the black political commissar is going to send these wounded members of the Liberation Society back to Zhejiang, or let them act on their own. Or are we going to take them back to our base? ”

Most of the members of the Liberation Committee who were left behind were wounded, and their weapons and ammunition were almost depleted. Let them return to Zhejiang on their own is no different from letting them die. If the new army pursues them from behind, these people are doomed.

It is also undesirable to send them back to Zhejiang, where there is now a shortage of troops. One of the battalions of the support unit is said to be supporting, but in fact it is also the vanguard of the defense base area. If the Jiangnan New Army launched an attack on the base area in a delirious way, this unit would have to be used as the first line of defense. It is really a big joke that an entire battalion of thousands of troops traveled thousands of miles to Zhejiang.

Since neither of the first two items is desirable, the only rational option left is to bring the wounded of the Liberation Society back to the base area. But Kuroshima Ren is now just a regimental political commissar, and this kind of major matter is not something he can completely decide. However, the current situation was that 17,800 people, including the wounded of the Liberation Society, were facing Nanjing, which had tens of thousands of people. Moreover, this army is the army of the palace, if the Qing army in Nanjing is determined to pursue the fleeing Guangfuhui, then it must break the Kuroshima Rensuo department that is close in front of them.

Kuroshima Ren suddenly remembered his "savior's feelings" not long ago, and if he wanted to be a savior, he could only stand at the forefront of difficulties all the time and let himself withstand the wind and rain of harsh reality. Only in this way can those who are behind suffer less.

Seeing that Hei Daoren was silent, the liaison asked tentatively, "Black political commissar, what are your plans?" ”

Kuroshima Ren asked, "What does Commissar Xu think?" ”

"Political Commissar Xu is definitely going to bring the whole battalion here, and the idea of the party committee is to bring the medical team back to the base area safely." The correspondent said it very simply.

The rank of Ren Kuroshima is one level higher than that of the battalion political commissar of the reinforcements, and the battalion political commissar cannot command the political commissar of the regiment from the command point of view. Moreover, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army will never let any accidents happen to its precious medical team.

"Then after everyone comes, let's convene a party committee to decide on this matter." Hitoshi Kuroshima was reluctant to make a decision so early. If thousands of lives are at stake, even if the other party is the Liberation Society, even if the Liberation Society does not hesitate to leave the People's Party's friendly forces behind. Hitoshi Kuroshima was still unable to give the order to abandon these people completely.

After arranging for the correspondent to go down, Kuroshima Ren decided to sleep for a while anyway. Either way, it takes a lot of energy to take action. If you don't rest now, you won't be able to do well when it's time to act.

At dawn the next day, the military doctors, who had been busy all night, finally completed the basic treatment. In the early morning, the camp was filled with the smell of blood and disinfectant water. The troops who guarded the whole night changed their guards, and early morning was the most dangerous time, and the military textbooks of the People's Party believed that early morning and early afternoon were good times for surprise attacks, especially early in the morning, when the sky was just bright. The vigil was extremely tired, and the troops that took over had not yet entered the state. That's when mistakes are most likely to go wrong.

The Qing army seems to have run out of energy in yesterday's battle, and has no intention of attacking at all. As the sun rises, the camp with the hospital fortifications as the core gradually becomes a bit lively. The fighters of the Liberation Society did not speak, and after dawn they were in two states, some of them completely obeying the command of the People's Party. Others regrouped, talking to each other and whispering.

Kuroshima Ren got up to patrol the camp, and what he saw was the blank faces of the soldiers of the Liberation Society, and the soldiers who were not afraid of death yesterday were now like wooden people one by one. I was wondering if these people were too stimulated, but I saw several leaders of the Liberation Society approaching.

"Mr. Black, we're leaving." The leaders were blunt. Since the troops of the palace have temporarily held the rear road, and the Qing army has no signs of continuing the attack, they believe that their responsibility has arrived, and there is no reason to continue to stay here.

"Then what are you going to do with the injured comrades of the Restoration Society?" Even though he knew that these detached people would not be willing to take people away, Kuroshima Ren still couldn't help but stimulate them.

"Some of the brothers who were slightly injured were willing to go with us, and we took them away. For the rest, you brothers from the BJP will have to rely on you. The leaders replied simply, "Mr. Black, we remember your life-saving grace." ”

Kuroshima really didn't know how to answer, looking at the nervous appearance of the leaders, Kuroshima Ren thought that these people were worried that they would not be able to walk quickly with the wounded. Just as he was hesitating, he heard the leaders continue: "Mr. Hei, we are about to leave now, and if we leave late, we are afraid that the Qing army will attack." ”

Only then did Kuroshima realize that the nervousness on the faces of the leaders was not because they felt embarrassed, but because they were unwilling to fight again. He was already completely desperate for these people in his heart, and Kuroshima Ren was reluctant to say some meaningless and unpleasant words, "You guys take the lightly injured and go." ”

The people of the Liberation Society left in a hurry, and they didn't care what the People's Party and those members of the Liberation Association who did not want to leave thought of it, saying that they had brought with them the lightly wounded. In fact, they were all wounded who only needed to be bandaged slightly. Those with limited mobility, they didn't bring any of them.

The Qing army seemed to know what was going on in the People's Party camp, and remembered the sound of the horn from afar. Ren Kuroshima hurriedly rushed to the high ground with his troops. The Qing army sent troops, and from a distance, the ant-like Qing army troops began to line up again on the opposite side of the valley in a not very neat line. Under the command of the officer, the artillery corps, machine gunners, infantry formations in the front row became more and more neat. To Kuroshima's annoyance, two observation balloons were even raised on the positions of the Forces nouvelles. The balloon grew taller and higher, and soon overtook the hilltop heights in height. The entire position of the BJP was completely exposed to the observation balloon's field of view.

This was the last chance to retreat, and Ren Kuroshima's face was gloomy, and he said to the correspondent: "Convene a meeting of the party committee!" ”

Major matters in the army must be decided to go through the party committee, and the more urgent the matter, the more so. At the party committee, Ren Kuroshima simply told the comrades about the situation they were facing. After speaking, Kuroshima Ren added: "Comrades, we didn't have any casualties before, because it was the Liberation Society that fought the war. Our great victory yesterday would not have been easily achieved if it had not been for the comrades of the Liberation Association to withstand it at the forefront. Now if we go to war, we will bear all the casualties. ”

The party committee did not go through the motions, and immediately a comrade got up and said: "Now it is no longer a problem of the queen of the palace. The intelligence brought back by the scouts we sent is now at least fifty miles away. Even if we are not here now, the Qing army will not be able to catch up with the Restoration Society. We are now dealing with the wounded of the Liberation Society. ”

The comrades nodded their heads, and this is the key to everything.

"If we take them away now, how many people can we take?"

"I can't take a few with me. The medical team is now exhausted, and we have a lot of equipment to carry. The limit is what we can do with the equipment ourselves. The key metal parts of the equipment were removed, and the other wooden parts were left. We're already so tired ourselves, and we can't walk fast in this situation. ”

"There are also a lot of weapons of the Liberation Society and the New Army, if we bring these things, I'm afraid we won't be able to outrun the Qing army."

"I have observed that the troops dispatched by the Qing army this time are not the same people as yesterday. The physical strength of these people will not be bad. ”

After summarizing the various situations, as in previous meetings, Kuroshima found that his comrades' observations and understanding of the battle situation were no less than his own. This is the meaning of the party meeting, and it is absolutely impossible to have a comprehensive understanding if the comrades are not allowed to share this information with each other. It is even more impossible for everyone to reach the most scientific decision.

"Black political commissar, if you can't withdraw, fight them."

"Yes, reinforcements are here today, and we can take care of that time no matter what."

"The tactics of the Qing army are simply the tactics of sending people to death. I don't think they can come up with a different tactic today than they did yesterday. ”

"The point is that we don't have enough troops, and it's too dangerous to outflank. Even if the enemy's formation is disrupted, the frontal forces will not be enough to launch a charge to deal with the enemy. ”

"There is no other way than positional warfare, but to fight and shoot."

"It would be nice to have a machine gun. No matter how bad it is, it's good if the cannon has shells. ”

Although democratic centralism is very efficient, it is also the most common problem that it digresses when it is discussed. Hearing that the comrades had already made up their minds, Hitoshi Kuroshima interrupted the discussion on the details, "Do you all agree to fight?" ”

"Agreed."

"There's no better way to do it than to fight."

"Agree to fight!"

"Then start setting up your position."

In the face of the People's Party, Wang Youhong made up his mind. The Qing army's exploration horses had actually been released far away. Last night, Tanma captured a dozen members of the Liberation Society. Since they were defeated and retreated, the morale of the captured personnel was not so high. Even so, Wang Youhong was both soft and hard, and after a long period of torture, Wang Youhong explained, "As long as the news of the People's Party." "Knowing that it was not to betray the Liberation Society, some of the Liberation Society personnel who could not stand the torture told the information of the People's Party.

Knowing that there were no more than five or six hundred People's Party troops on the other side, and that there were a large number of doctors among them, Wang Youhong was overjoyed. Although he didn't know why the People's Party wanted to stay in the hospital, Wang Youhong knew very well that this was his biggest opportunity. The wounded soldiers had difficulty moving, and the BJP would certainly not be able to leave unless they completely left these people behind.

Although the 9th Town of the New Army suffered many casualties, the large forces of the Liberation Society have fled. Nanjing as a whole gathered more than 30,000 horses. There was no shortage of artillery and machine guns, and Wang Youhong did not believe at all that the five or six hundred people of the People's Party could withstand such a large-scale attack by troops in turn.

As soon as the morning dawned, Wang Youhong began to mobilize troops, not only the new army. Wang Youhong's backbone Jiang Defense Army was also mobilized and looked at the empty hill opposite. Wang Youhong ordered the balloon troops to take off.

The news is encouraging, the BJP has not retreated, but in the telescope, some people have run away. However, it is not a dark blue uniform. That is, even the remnants of the Liberation Society abandoned the BJP forces.

"Reward for those who go ahead! Kill the retreater! Pass the order down, and whoever goes up the mountain first will be rewarded with a hundred taels! "If the 500 members of the People's Party can be annihilated, Wang Youhong will be the commander of the greatest victory of the Manchu Qing over the People's Party. As for the reward, Wang Youhong didn't care at all.

Stimulated by the bounty, the troops of the Qing army showed considerable euphoria. The officers instigated: "Brothers, how much can you buy for a hundred taels!" What do you eat and drink? Everybody knows it! ”

A burst of noise immediately erupted in the ranks of the Qing army. This attraction was by no means something that the Qing army could resist.

"Brothers, the money rewarded by the king is rewarded by the king. I promise you the benefits of my side, if you win this time, I will wrap Yixiang Building, please rush up to the brothers to have a good time! ”

The troops of the late Qing Dynasty were extremely addicted to eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling, and this call for sensual stimulation was far more powerful than that of allegiance to the imperial court. The noise in the Qing army became louder.

"The People's Party is afraid of a ball!"

"In Wuhu, we will repel them. Here in Nanjing, we are afraid that they will do anything. ”

With the high spirits, the first Qing army troops set off towards the position of the People's Party, holding high the military flag.

As yesterday, on the hill on which the People's Party is located, there is nothing but a lone red flag.