"When we surrender all our weapons, they will change their minds. Their faces are turned upside down! ”

The man who rushed to the hospital to report the news, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, no one would have believed that such a man whose face was covered with sweat and even tears, his whole body was covered with dust, and his military uniform was even more divided into the east and west, was a battle hero who followed Xie Jinyuan in the Sixing warehouse to face a hundred times his own army, and fought bloodily for four days and five nights.

As soon as he saw Xie Jinyuan, he cried loudly: "Those British don't allow the brothers to return to the army, I heard their squad leader say that the British want to send the brothers to Jiaozhou and invite us to be 'guests' there!" ”

Xie Jinyuan's eyes widened in anger, he stood up abruptly in the wheelchair, and then fell heavily on the chair. Hearing such news, Xie Jinyuan only felt that a hammer smashed into his chest, making his eyes glow and his hands tremble. After taking a few deep breaths, Xie Jinyuan finally managed to calm himself down and asked, "Who gave the order, Lieutenant Colonel Smith?" ”

"It's gone, regiment commander, you take the battalion commander with the front foot, Smith follows the back foot and leaves, he said that his work has been completed, and there will be a new officer, who will be responsible for receiving us!"

As soon as he heard this, Xie Jinyuan's heart sank to the bottom in an instant, as soon as Lieutenant Colonel Smith disappeared, all the agreements he had with the British [***] side, all the prior verbal agreements, and Lieutenant Colonel Smith's personal promises were all unproven.

"The new arrival is a major named Ma Fei, a squad leader in their army. Regiment commander, that guy is an out-and-out smiling tiger, in front of thousands of Shanghai compatriots, he politely invited his brothers into the barracks with a smile on his face, saying that he wanted us to have a good rest. When the weapons in the hands of the brothers, even the razors, were handed over together and dispersed to their barracks, the Ma Fei immediately changed his face. He told us to stay in the barracks and wait for them to deal with it, and he warned us that if we dared to make trouble and make any trouble, the British troops who were standing in front of the barracks with machine guns would shoot us! The deputy battalion commander just saw that the situation was not right, so he managed to contact a few brothers in the barracks, created a little commotion, and covered me to jump out of the window and escape, to report to the regiment commander! ”

The corners of Xie Jinyuan's eyes kept beating, this kind of action of the British [***] team, where was the "assistance" of the [***] team to retreat from the concession, so that their unit rushed to Nanjing by military vehicle. Putting a machine gun in front of the barracks, this method and attitude is tantamount to treating the more than 300 Chinese [***] people he led as prisoners who have been disarmed and surrendered!

"Take me back immediately," Xie Jinyuan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "I want to have a good talk with this Major Ma Fei in person." ”

An hour later, that is, at 10 o'clock in the morning of October 31, 1937, Xie Jinyuan, who was wrapped in heavy bandages on his thighs and had a haggard face and angry eyes flashing with flames, sat in the office of the leader of the Ma Fei squad of the British [***] team.

"I can only say sorry for the handling of my country's political axe, I am a soldier, I must obey the orders of my superiors, and I have the duty and obligation to protect the territorial integrity of Britain and defend the dignity of Britain with my life."

Major Ma Fei, like Lieutenant Colonel Smith, can speak fluent Chinese fluently, and he is more eloquent, talking about the duties and obligations of a soldier, but in Xie Jinyuan's eyes, this Major Ma Fei is more like a politician than a soldier.

At this time, Xie Jinyuan already knew that their army was likely to be a political bargaining chip, or it could simply be said to be a sacrifice. In the West, a famous writer has long said that in the veins of politicians, the liquid that flows is black.

"We in the UK are a country that advocates peace, freedom and openness, and we respect the territorial integrity and political and religious freedoms of any sovereign country. In the face of a war between two sovereign states, we have always stressed the need to resolve the war peacefully through negotiations, and we will never use our own military forces to get involved in such a military war. ”

With a righteous face, saying lies that can be told in vain, Major Ma Fei kept looking at Xie Jinyuan with a confident smile on his face.

Major Ma Fei is indeed qualified to laugh, after all the subordinates led by Xie Jinyuan walked out of the Sixing warehouse and handed over all the weapons in their hands, they were eagles without wings, tigers without teeth and claws, even if the murderous aura on their bodies was still there, but they no longer had deadly weapons, let alone the capital to resist. The negotiation between him and Xie Jinyuan, as if they had opened the customs and national gates of the Qing Zheng Axe with warships a hundred years ago, won them a large amount of silver and opened the port, were destined to be a negotiation that was by no means fair, and had already decided the final winner before it began.

"In this Sino-Chinese war, if we help your troops pass through the concession, it will be tantamount to openly saying that we, the British [***] team, support China. Once we lose our neutral position, our British political axe is actively promoting, and our good intentions to use peace negotiations to resolve this Sino-Chinese war will come to naught. Neither the military, nor the people will recognize the role of a country whose position has deviated to play the role of a mediator, right? ”

Major Ma Fei looked at Xie Jinyuan, and he really said like a knife: "I personally think that even if you are a national political axe, you don't want to see this, right?" ”

Xie Jinyuan opened his mouth, but his lips kept moving, and in the end he didn't say anything. He must admit that Major Ma Fei really has a thorough understanding of their national political axe!

"By the way, I still have a copy of the order that your political axe has just issued, and I hope I can convey it to you." Major Ma Fei put a telegram document in Xie Jinyuan's hand.

In order to commend the officers and men of the 524th Regiment who fought bravely in the defense of the Sixing Warehouse, all the officers and men who participated in the defense of the Sixing Warehouse were promoted by one rank, and Xie Jinyuan was promoted to the rank of colonel and regiment commander.

Looking at this commendation order, which should have been handed over to him by the division commander Sun Yuanliang or the chief of staff of Zhang Baiting, Xie Jinyuan raised his head and slowly exhaled a long breath, and suddenly Xie Jinyuan was already in tears.

Understood, everything understood.

That's right, the army led by Xie Jinyuan fought fiercely for four days and five nights with an enemy a hundred times his size in the Sixing warehouse, and their existence has become a beacon in the hearts of all Chinese compatriots in the War of Resistance. But...... After all, they are just a small army of a few hundred people, in order to implement the strategic plan of exchanging territory for time, the national political axe can even be abandoned in the three eastern provinces, they are such a small army of only a few hundred people, he Xie Jinyuan, a lieutenant colonel and deputy head of the regiment, what can not be abandoned?

Such a telegram is of course a commendation order, but when it appeared in Major Ma Fei's office, an officer from a foreign country knew the news earlier than Xie Jinyuan himself, which was a reminder to Xie Jinyuan that this decision of the British [***] team was likely to have been approved by the national political axe. He Xie Jinyuan and his more than 300 brothers have become the sacrifice that must be paid for the dignity and neutrality of Britain!

At this time, Xie Jinyuan, who had already made preparations for sacrificing his life for righteousness, had already prepared for the horse leather shroud, he burst into tears, he knew that at this time, he knew that he should be strong, and he should face Major Ma Fei, showing a flat smile, but at this time, he really had no way to do it, he just couldn't cry.

Knowing this, he really might as well take his brothers and fight to the death with the enemy in the Sixing Warehouse, he really might as well lead all his brothers to die in the ruins of the Sixing Warehouse, holding hands and smiling!

A political axe to sell the land of several of his provinces in exchange for temporary peace; A country wants to sell its own soldiers, and it wants to sell its heroes who shed blood and sweat for this country and this nation, in exchange for the dignity and justice of another country, in exchange for more and more faint hope! Even now, in the city of Shanghai, you can often see the door sign that "Chinese and dogs" are not allowed to enter.

"Congratulations, Colonel Xie, as a major, I should raise my hand to salute."

"Hahaha......"

Xie Jinyuan suddenly laughed wildly, as a soldier, who doesn't want to be promoted, who doesn't want a salary increase, and who doesn't want to get ahead? From the deputy head of the regiment to the head of the main regiment, don't look at it as just this step, it is already an absolute leap in power. But such a promotion, such a leap, the three words "Colonel Xie" spit out of Major Ma Fei's mouth are really the biggest irony in the world, the biggest joke in the world, listening to such sarcasm, listening to such a black joke, Xie Jinyuan really can't help but laugh.

Xie Jinyuan laughed loudly, he laughed and cried. He is crying for the future of the Chinese nation, and he is crying for the future of 40,000,000 compatriots.

Let the hero shed blood, sweat and tears, what a cruel reality and helplessness. In the face of such a country, in the face of such a political axe, these grassroots officers, have no enthusiasm to serve the country, and in the face of the irreversible torrent of history, they let their lives burn and make a splash, how small do they seem? !

At 10:45 a.m., the "negotiations" between Xie Jinyuan and Major Ma Fei had ended, and the 12 military trucks had already driven into the British [***] battalion and stopped in front of the barracks where the [***] people were being held.

More than 300 Chinese people, including battalion commander Yang Ruifu, who stabbed himself in the leg with a bayonet, all leaned on a cane and stood stiffly in front of the right side of the unit.

Everyone looked at Xie Jinyuan, and everyone's eyes fell on Xie Jinyuan's red eyes and the tears on his face that had not been wiped off.

"I just saw a commendation order issued by Chairman Chiang himself." Xie Jinyuan looked at the soldiers in front of him, he inhaled lightly, and said in a strange tone: "Because of our meritorious service in killing the enemy, we have played the dignity of a soldier and the prestige of the country, so Chairman Jiang ordered that all of us will be promoted to the next level!" ”

There was no applause, no cheers, everyone still stood there quietly, believing that no matter who suddenly heard the news of the promotion in an environment where machine guns were set up everywhere, they would not cheer or even get carried away and shout, right?

According to the original plan, we should take these twelve military vehicles through the British Concession, and after getting rid of the encirclement of the Yue army, we should quickly advance in the direction of Nanjing, and participate in the Battle of Nanjing, which may break out at any time. However, now that our itinerary has changed, I believe you can see without me that if they really regarded our army, which had given them all their weapons for their temporary 'safekeeping', as guests and friends, they would never have pointed their machine guns at us. ”

"We were going to be sent to a military camp on Jiaozhou Road in Luxi, where we were 'temporary' guests. I don't know what kind of treatment we 'guests' will face there, and I don't know how long the host will keep us 'guests' there. Xie Jinyuan's gaze slowly swept over the faces of every soldier present, and he suddenly raised his arm and roared loudly: "No matter where we are going, no matter what fate we have to face, here I want to say loudly that we are a group of soldiers who have long been ready to face death. We are not even afraid of the horse leather shroud that died on the battlefield, what else do we have to be afraid of?! Whatever the future may be, it will come as it comes!! ”

At this time, everyone's eyes lit up. Xie Jinyuan is right, they are not even afraid of death, they still have so many brothers who share life and death, why should they be afraid of the unpredictable future?

"Now listen to my commands, and puff up your chests!"

Xie Jinyuan pointed to the twelve military trucks and said proudly: "Remember, we are not prisoners of war, we are not surrendering troops, we are not soft eggs who bend our knees and beg for mercy from the enemy in the face of death!" The weapons in our hands were not captured by the enemy, but we were ordered by our superiors to give them back to us before handing them over to others for safekeeping. We are a heroic army, we are a heroic army that has won the battle and successfully broken through the encirclement and blockade of tens of thousands of enemies! Therefore I want each of you to puff up your chest, lift up your head, and take on the posture of a victor, and go to face your fellow citizens outside the barracks who cheer us on and cheer us on; I want all of you to show your best state to those secret agents hiding in the crowd, what kind of heroes are the [***] team that blocked their tens of thousands of troops in the Sixing Warehouse for four days and five nights! ”

At 11 o'clock in the morning of the same day, under the leadership of regiment commander Xie Jinyuan, more than 300 Chinese warriors boarded the 12 military trucks. When the 12 cars carrying more than 340 Chinese warriors slowly drove out of the British [***] camp, on both sides of the road, applause and cheers suddenly rang out like a storm.

I don't know how many Chinese compatriots are standing on both sides of the road, when Xie Jinyuan sat in the military truck, rolled down the window, and raised his hand to the compatriots on both sides of the road, a raindrop of bread, fruits, and cigarettes suddenly fell in the sky.

Everywhere there were cheering crowds, everywhere there were small national flags constantly fluttering in their hands, everywhere there were fanatical shouts, everywhere there were revered eyes as hot as fire, everywhere were facing this small convoy, to this group of Chinese warriors with an unknown future, and to bending down to salute the Chinese compatriots. I don't know how many girls with spring ran under the military vehicle with red faces, their eyes quickly swept in the carriage, and then quickly stuffed a love letter that had been prepared a long time ago into the hands of a soldier they looked at the most, and then covered their faces and ran away quickly.

The cries of "Long live the heroes of resistance" and "Down with this imperialism" rose and fell on both sides of this long highway, and Xie Jinyuan and his subordinates waved their hands desperately in front of these enthusiastic compatriots in the military vehicle, allowing their tears to flow from their eyes.

At this time, looking at the enthusiastic faces, whether it was Xie Jinyuan or every soldier led by his subordinates, they felt that their fierce battles for four days and five nights, their experience of narrowly revitalizing from the death again and again, and the unknown future they had to face seemed to have become insignificant.

Twelve military vehicles finally drove to their final destination. When more than 300 Chinese [***] people jumped out of the military vehicle with their arms full of fruit and bread and looked around, they were all stunned.

As far as the eye can see, the entire "barracks" covers an area of dozens of acres, which can also be called a "vast territory", but the whole camp is desolate, the ground has become potholes due to the lack of necessary maintenance and repair, and there are domestic garbage dumped here by the surrounding residents everywhere. Housing is so simple that it can only serve as shelter from the wind and rain.

It was a camp that could only be described as a refugee camp around it, with a barbed wire fence more than two meters high, guarded by a small group of heavily armed White Russian soldiers in front of the gate, and light machine guns on the guard tower. This is not so much a military camp as it is a prisoner of war camp.

Major Ma Fei stood by Xie Jinyuan's side, "admiring" this lonely barracks with him, and he suddenly said: "Lieutenant Colonel Smith, before leaving, please let me convey a word to Colonel Xie, he is very sorry that a hero like you was born in a weak nation and in an unsuitable era. ”

"Did you see that," Xie Jinyuan stretched out his hand and pointed at his subordinates, "They are all heroes." Please reply to Lieutenant Colonel Smith for me, the beginning of a nation's rejuvenation must be full of heroes! ”

(To be continued)