In order to protect the military columns, he grabbed a shovel and sweated like rain every day in the mountains, and led his brothers around him to check the thunderstorm at night, but he didn't know that in just ten days, earth-shaking changes had taken place on the battlefield in Burma.

At this time, more than 100 kilometers away in Gutong City, Division Commander Dai Anlan was holding a combat meeting related to the survival of 200 teachers and students, and all the officers above the battalion level of the division were gathered in the conference room.

"I believe that you don't need to say that everyone knows that our allies, the Anglo-Burmese troops who were originally stationed in the area of the Beimiu Mountains and were on the horns of us, have already fled without greeting us."

General Dai Anlan's voice was not loud, but looking at his eyes that faintly emitted red flames, those who were familiar with him knew that this loyal and upright soldier, the pent-up anger in his heart had reached the verge of exploding.

"The main forces of our Fifth and Sixth Armies have just advanced to the vicinity of Mandler, and the new 22nd Division, which is responsible for the rearguard, has arrived at the line of Yangmidin and Binwen, and in my judgment, it will not be possible to support us in a short period of time!"

Speaking of this, General Dai Anlan bit his lip tightly, and after a while, he said in a deep voice: "Not only did our British friendly forces run away, but our rearguard troops could not support in time, even the 10th Air Force of our American allies, which was originally scheduled to be used in the Burma battlefield, was also transferred to North Africa to support the North African Corps, which was almost powerless to fight back by Rommel the Desert Fox. We are now a completely lone army, and the order I just received is that for the victory of the whole battle, in order to suppress the attack of the Japanese army, and to combat their arrogance, we must defend the ancient city and wait for reinforcements to arrive! ”

All the officers present closed their mouths, and the entire conference room was filled with a heavy and oppressive atmosphere. These days, the commanders who look at the map, constantly deduce in the face of the sand table, and carefully calculate all the possible battles and accidents, of course, clearly understand what the three Anglo-Burmese divisions on their right flank and the retreat of the imperial warehouse as soon as they fought with the Yue Junfu represent something to their lone army, which has not even had time to transport heavy weapons and tanks and combat vehicles to the front line.

In February of this year, an offensive was launched from the port of Bruga, the whole of Cyrenaica was captured, the British air base on the island of Malta was successfully attacked, the desert fox Rommel, who had already gained strategic and tactical air supremacy in the North African theater, and the Anglo-American coalition forces that were constantly massing on the Gachala Line...... All this seems to be very far away from everyone here, and you can ignore it if you are far away.

However, without the support of the US 10th Air Force and the checks and balances of a powerful opponent, the fighters and bombers would be able to hover in the sky unscrupulously, throw the ammunition they carry, and directly suppress the ground forces in the air.

Some of the professional soldiers present who had participated in the Battle of Songhu were quietly licking their lips that were suddenly a little dry, because at this time, they had already smelled the smell of the battlefield mixed with burning steel and blood. "After the fall of Yangon, the army was divided into three routes, advancing to the north line, and we now occupy the same ancient city, occupying the railway, highway, and waterway, the geographical location has been decided, it is a strategic place for the soldiers, and the army wants to continue to advance northward, it must first occupy Tonggu!"

General Dai Anlan's implicitly anxious eyes slowly swept over everyone's faces, and he said in a deep voice: "If we stay, we will inevitably be under siege." If we go, no matter what the reason, we will disobey the military order, and we will all be the most shameful deserters who will surrender their positions to the enemy in this national war to defend the homeland and the country! Although I am the commander of the 200th Division, the 200th Division is not my Dai Anlan alone, and I have gathered everyone here today, whether to leave or stay, whether to fight or flee, I just want to hear everyone's opinions. ”

Still no one spoke, and wherever Commander Dai Anlan's gaze swept over, the people everywhere involuntarily lowered their heads. Looking at the group of subordinates in front of him who lowered their heads and didn't say a word, Dai Anlan couldn't help but sigh lightly in his heart. In fact, they really can't be blamed, their 200 divisions are deep alone, and they have not had time to transport heavy weapons and chariots to the front line, under such circumstances, if they hastily occupy Tonggu City, they will be surrounded by their own army layer by layer, and they will face the danger of annihilation at any time, how can these officers not be pessimistic about the future when they have just been abandoned by the British "friendly army" and their morale is low?

At this time, Senior Commander Dai Anlan's gaze suddenly froze, because he saw a pair of eyes, a pair of eyes that were as clear and bright as a child, and even more untamed and brave eyes!

Facing Dai Anlan's eyes full of encouragement and hope, Huang Jingsheng, deputy commander of the 598th Regiment, stood up Huo Ran, and he said loudly: "I think that this battle must be fought!" ”

"The British can run, they lost Burma, but they lost a colony, but where are we going? Behind us, is our home! In this war, we have no choice, we just want to tell our brothers, don't expect any British planes to aid the Americans, and put them to death and live again, it's better to be a good man in 20 years than to be poked in the back and scolded for a lifetime, and insult your ancestors! ”

Dai Anlan raised his eyebrows fiercely, and said in a deep voice: "Deputy Commander Huang, you are the main battle, do you have the determination to defeat Yue Kou?" ”

"Nope!"

Facing the scrutinizing eyes of all his colleagues, Huang Jingsheng puffed up his chest, this usually resolute and resolute, but because of his surname, and clumsy in words, at this time, he spit out what he thought in his chest, but he really spoke loudly, and said the sonorous life of a professional soldier in the face of a strong enemy: "Report to the division commander, although the success of his subordinates is uncertain, Chengren is determined!" ”

Looking at the subordinate in front of him who was tall and raised his head, although he was not tall, but he had a manly spirit, Dai Anlan smiled, he really smiled. As a senior commander, General Dianlan knows better than anyone that panic is the fastest spreading disease among humans, and that it may only take a few hours to bring down an army armed to the teeth without a fight, and the most effective way to treat it is the most brilliant light that a warrior can burst out of in the face of danger!

General Dai Anlan made no secret of his admiration for Huang Jingsheng, he slapped his hands with one force, and shouted: "Deputy Commander Huang, if I send you to lead your troops to the forefront of the battlefield to snipe at Yukou and cover the British Allied troops retreating from Yangon, do you dare to accept this order?" ”

"Don't dare! Can't! Don't dare ......"

Huang Jingsheng raised his face that was swollen red because of excitement, and met everyone's surprised gaze, this lieutenant colonel deputy head who was really strong but childish, and not articulate enough, waved his arm vigorously in front of everyone, and blurted out: "Don't you dare to fart!! We ran to this kind of place where the locals were talking and were babbling, and they couldn't understand a word anyway, and it was only April when they were so hot that they were dying, nibbling on the cans of the British that smelled of sheep scratching, and suffering these living crimes, what are you here for, aren't you here to slaughter Xiao Yueben!! ”

"...... Uproar"

Seeing that his face was swollen and purple, and he had to use gestures to completely pour out what he wanted in his heart, the deputy head of the lieutenant colonel suddenly burst into the most cheerful laughter in the conference room, which was still dull and depressed just now. It was in the midst of loud laughter and looking at each other that these middle and high-ranking officers, pessimistic about the future war situation, because of the negativity brought about by the almost betrayal of the British allies, were washed clean and disappeared in an instant.

In the midst of this boiling laughter, Senior Commander Dai Anlan took a deep breath, and he suddenly shouted: "I order!" ”

The cheerful laughter came to an abrupt end, and everyone stood up in unison, as if they had been wound up.

"Our 200 divisions are sniping at the enemy in this ancient city! The division commander made a will here first, such as the division commander died in battle, the deputy division commander was replaced, the deputy division commander died in battle, the chief of staff was replaced, the regiment commander died in battle, the battalion commander was replaced, and so on, and so on! Until we fight to the last soldier, as long as we still have a breath left, we will never let Yue Kou step into the same ancient city! ”

Looking at these subordinates in front of him who were no longer fearless, Dai Anlan said word by word: "Here, I ask everyone to keep in mind what Deputy Head Huang said, because this is our Huangpu spirit!" ”

"Yes!"

Everyone shouted loudly, at this time, these officers, who may be attached to different factions, may have intrigued with each other, and even rivaled each other, straightened their bodies, felt the scorching flames emanating from everyone, and in their hearts, suddenly raised a sentence that they are already familiar with at the same time, and when this soldier is in danger and is bound to be besieged, they really tasted the three flavors of the oath: "Whampoa spirit, if you don't succeed, you will become benevolent!" ”

When Lei Zhen led the brothers of the special service platoon to find Huang Jingsheng, who had already led the troops and rushed to the Pew River to defend the river, what rushed over him was a big warm hug from Huang Jingsheng.

"I heard that you did a good job, first standing on the train, using a light machine gun to dare to fight a fighter jet, then set a trap, and slaughtered the hundreds of people who ambushed you, the most important thing is that you can't help but stretch out your thumb and say a word of obedience, it is you who actually led people, drove the train into the valley, and played hide and seek with Xiao Yuben's reconnaissance plane!"

Huang Jingsheng patted Lei Zhen's shoulder hard, and shouted with a loud laugh: "I have already reported your merits to the division headquarters, and I believe that within a few days, the military merit medal will be issued to you." Don't worry, you have to fight battles, you have earned merit, and of course you have been promoted! I, Huang Jingsheng, really didn't look at the wrong person, digging out such a good brother as you, it was not in vain that I ran to the recruiting office every day and grabbed the conscription officer's chair! ”

Speaking of this, Huang Jingsheng laughed, looking at his complacent appearance, as if he had made such a great achievement, and the person who was about to receive a military merit medal was not Lei Zhen but him Huang Jingsheng.

Feeling Huang Jingsheng's sincerity from the heart, Lei Zhen also smiled, he also learned Huang Jingsheng's movements, and patted each other's shoulders hard, in the eyes of the people around them, these two laughed loudly together, slapped each other hard, and the men who exchanged feelings through this kind of action are really like two brothers who are so close that there is no interval, only care for each other.

At this time, a second lieutenant suddenly ran over in a hurry, and after a military salute, he quickly reported: "Deputy regiment commander, there is a situation ahead, I think you had better go over in person!" ”

"Good!" Huang Jingsheng didn't let go of Lei Zhen's hand, he dragged Lei Zhen and walked to the direction of the Pew River Bridge together.

The 598th Regiment controlled the north bank of the bridge over the Pew River, and standing on the bridgehead, within sight, a group of Anglo-Burmese soldiers who had been beaten into stragglers by the Japanese army were mixed with the Burmese natives, forming a force of up to six or seven hundred people. And among these teams, the twenty or thirty ox carts were piled with food, bedding and even pots and pans and other daily necessities, and it seems that those Burmese natives moved their families to escape the war.

"Isn't it just facing our nostrils facing the sky, a pair of Anglo-Burmese troops who have already collapsed?"

The British allies said goodbye, exposing the right flank of the 200th Division to the enemy's attack, Huang Jingsheng despised such an act, and when commenting on the British colonizers' recruitment of local natives in Burma, of course, there was a little less due politeness in his tone, "Their masters have fled with their tails between their legs, and they are all chickens and dogs, of course, they have to smear oil on the soles of their feet. ”

"It doesn't seem strange."

Faced with Huang Jingsheng's slightly impatient question, the second lieutenant who was in charge of guarding the bridge said cautiously: "But in the early hours of yesterday morning, after releasing a group of British and Burmese troops, their commander clearly told me that they were the rear guard responsible for sniping and chasing soldiers, and they were already the last troops to retreat through the bridge!" Even if they are the same group of troops, they are said to have been broken up by themselves, and they are only so much on the road, so they will not be more than a day behind each other, right? ”

Listening to the second lieutenant's report, Huang Jingsheng couldn't help frowning in distress. This is indeed a big trouble, if those people are really the defeated soldiers of the Anglo-Burmese army, and not allowing them to cross the bridge over the Pew River, it is tantamount to pushing them under the enemy's guns, not to mention that the British will definitely be there chattering and protesting and demanding so-called justice, even from the standpoint of humanitarianism and comrades-in-arms, such a thing must not be done.

But just like the second lieutenant in charge of guarding the bridge said, in the early hours of yesterday morning, the last group of rearguard troops had already passed the bridge, and looking at their appearance, it seems that there was no fierce battle with the Yueben army, even if it was to escape from the battlefield as soon as possible and save a small life, these soldiers of the British and Burmese army would not walk slowly and leisurely, lest the Yueben army not be able to catch up, right? If they were not soldiers of the Anglo-Burmese army, but soldiers who tried to get through the customs and then enter the ancient city to destroy it, given their numbers, once they made trouble in the ancient city, it would cause a lot of damage.

"Where's the commander?"

"I'm still in the division headquarters, and I haven't come back."

After listening to the report of a subordinate, Huang Jingsheng's brows furrowed even deeper, Zheng Tingjian was the commander of their 598th Regiment, but he was also the commander of the 200th Division, and he wore many hats, so it was naturally impossible for him to stay in the 598th Regiment at any time. And Huang Jingsheng is more than brave, and it seems a little powerless to deal with this kind of thing.

At this time, Huang Jingsheng suddenly heard a sentence, "They are enemies!" ”

Facing Huang Jingsheng's puzzled gaze, Lei Zhen handed the telescope in his hand into his hand, and said indifferently: "I don't know if you have paid attention to Brother Huang, although the Anglo-Burmese army is composed of Asians, like the original army, but in terms of details, there is a big difference. Behind the soldier's hat, there are two pieces of cloth, many people call it 'fart curtain', saying that what he is most afraid of is being cut off by the Chinese broadsword team on the battlefield. In fact, it was the result of the research of the Aoki Organ, and adding a few pieces of cloth to the back of the hat can protect against the sun, and effectively maintain ventilation, so that the body can quickly consume the calories generated by physical exertion. It is because of this design on the hat that when the soldiers are marching, in order to prevent the strap of the rifle from pressing the wind curtain behind the hat and affecting its heat dissipation effect, they have always carried the gun on their shoulders. ”

Lei Zhen said that Huang Jingsheng nodded again and again, and the officers and soldiers standing beside them cast a look of surprise and admiration at Lei Zhen, everyone has been dealing with the soldiers for so long, and they have always thought that the few rags behind the soldiers' hats are like children's diapers, ugly to death, but I didn't expect that there would be such a reason.

"No wonder you can determine the identity of these little devils at a glance!"

Huang Jingsheng, who held the binoculars and carefully looked at the "British-Burmese" soldiers, was not stupid, and under Lei Zhen's reminder, he quickly found the flaws of the other party. Whether it's a curiosity, or a test of this brother who has already surprised him too much, Huang Jingsheng suddenly asked: "Brother Lei, I now know why the little devil marches and has to carry a rifle on his shoulder, but can you tell me why the army composed of Burmese natives is used to hanging a gun around their necks, and when they walk, they always like to lower their heads as if they have missing a tendon in their body?" ”

Lei Zhen smiled and said indifferently: "It's not just the Burmese army that likes to hang the rifle around the neck, using this method, the weight of the gun can be evenly distributed to the shoulders that the human body can most resist pressure, which is suitable for long-distance marching, or on some terrain where you must have free hands to maintain body stability." Geographically speaking, Myanmar belongs to the subtropical monsoon climate, I think they like to keep their heads down when marching, not because they are lazy, but because they know better than us outsiders how to effectively prevent their eyes from being stabbed by the sun or strong wind, and even know how to lower their heads better, so that they can reduce their body temperature loss in a cold environment. ”

If Lei Zhen's evaluation of the soldier's hat is just impressive, hearing this, the people around him are already shocked.

"One more thing, so I was able to confirm their identity." Lei Zhen pointed to the group of people who were becoming more and more clear in their field of vision, and said with a smile: "Actually, as long as we look carefully and think carefully, we can find quite a lot of flaws in their bodies. Those refugees were driven by ox carts, piled with all kinds of daily necessities, and it seemed that they were going to take refuge with their families, but if you look at the proportion of refugees, don't you find that there are only one or two women out of ten refugees, and there are very few old people, and there are not a single child? According to conventional theory, the ratio of men and women in the ranks of refugees should be similar, and the ratio of the elderly to children should reach about 35 percent, right? ”

Huang Jingsheng nodded again and again, analyzing this, everyone knows that not only those soldiers wearing Anglo-Burmese military uniforms are pretending to be soldiers, but even those refugees are not good birds.

Squinted at Lei Zhen, who looked calm, and even slowly raised a smile at the corner of his mouth, in line with the mentality that there must be my teacher in a threesome, those who are more persistent and capable should work harder, brother, I just happened to be lazy, Huang Jingsheng simply humbly asked for advice, "Brother Lei, if you are me, how should you deal with them?" ”

"When I was a child, when it snowed in the winter, my favorite thing to do was to sprinkle a few grains of corn under the basket that had been erected, and then lie down behind the rocks and wait for the greedy birds to jump under the basket on their own. At first, I was too anxious, and often before the bird jumped to the middle of the basket, I pulled the stick tied to the rope, so that the bird could often escape with cleverness, and then I learned to be smart......"

Just as Huang Jingsheng was listening intently, Lei Zhen turned his head, glanced at the ancient city not far behind them, and said with a smile: "I changed to a big basket, and every time I didn't pull the rope until the bird jumped in the middle, I would pull the rope violently. ”

Following Lei Zhen's gaze, they turned their heads to look at the Tonggu City not far behind them, and after a long time, Huang Jingsheng glared at him and said, "You kid won't think about putting them in the Tonggu City before you do it, right?" ”

"Where can I find such a big basket?"

Lei Zhen still had a smile on his face, but listening to his words, even Huang Jingsheng, a brave general on the battlefield who was not afraid of death, couldn't help but shudder, "Isn't our division headquarters in the city, now we can even save the work of sprinkling corn kernels as bait." ”

After staring at Lei Zhen blankly for a long time, Huang Jingsheng lowered his voice and said, "I really regret letting you be the platoon commander of the spy platoon now." ”

Lei Zhen stretched out his voice, "Oh~~? ”

"Your kid's eyes are sharp enough, and he has a lot of heart eyes, and he only knows how many of them are few, and even the chief of staff of the regiment is estimated to be not enough for you to play compared to you, I think it is more suitable for you to be a dog-headed military division."

Speaking of this, Huang Jingsheng had an idea, he stretched out his hand and patted Lei Zhen's shoulder, and said: "I announce, from now on, Captain Lei Zhen, you will continue to serve as the platoon leader of the 598th Regiment's special service platoon, and at the same time concurrently serve as the deputy commander of the 598th Regiment's lieutenant colonel Huang Jingsheng's personal dog-headed military division, this is an order, as a soldier, you must not disobey!" ”

Listening to this kind of laughter, but he had to add an order not to disobey the military order, Lei Zhen's face was really wonderful at this moment. And Huang Jingsheng's words behind him made Jiangdong Sun Shangxiang, who was standing behind them, directly cover his mouth and bend over with a smile, "By the way, also, as a private dog-headed military division, no matter what the reason, you must not take Lieutenant Colonel Huang Jingsheng's deputy head as any corn kernels, pine seeds, and peanuts, this is also an order, as a soldier, you must not disobey!" ”

Faced with such a childlike brother who was already a bit of a national treasure, Lei Zhen could only smile bitterly and responded: "Yes, the owner!" ”

In the whispers of the two people, and the uncontrollable laughter of the brothers behind them, they looked at the group of Anglo-Burmese soldiers dressed as soldiers, carrying rifles with confidence, and following the Burmese natives who were driving ox carts, to the ancient city of Tong.

Looking at the ruts left on the road, Huang Jingsheng suddenly smiled: "I also found a flaw in them, if it was just some food, bedding and pots and pans piled up in the car, even if there were one or two people sitting in the car, how could it leave such a deep imprint?" I think they must have thought that the rifles in their hands were too low-powered, and they hid some heavy weapons in the ox-carts. ”

Lei Zhen also looked at the deep ruts on the ground, and he muttered to himself, "Heavy weapons? Those soldiers who said that they had eleven light machine guns on their backs to attack a division headquarters defended by only one guard company, such firepower was enough, where did they need heavy machine guns or even heavy weapons such as grenadiers and mortars? It seems that their ambitions are not small! ”

Huang Jingsheng tilted his head sideways and took another step closer to Lei Zhen, "What did you just say?" I didn't hear clearly. ”

"I mean, if you can draw inferences from one case and learn from each other, Brother Huang, you are really a teachable owner, and an owner can be taught."

(To be continued)