"In the first year of the Empire, the storm of war was swept up in Asia"

The year 4603 of Yanhuang is an unforgettable year for any Chinese, this year, on the fourteenth day of the first month, the founding of the empire, this year, in the face of the dignity of the country, this country that has been enslaved by foreign races for 260 years, under the rule of the foreign people's foolish policy, has long been weak, and still chooses to maintain the dignity of the country with war.

In the face of Japan and Russia in the Northeast Jiāo War, and in the face of the trampling of national dignity, China has no choice but to war, but in the face of Japan, which defeated Russia, a traditional European power, this can be said to be the most powerful country in Asia, China, which was defeated by Japan ten years ago and regarded as a fish by the foreign powers, is it possible to challenge him?

When the battlefield broke out, almost everyone suspected that this might be another "madness of Gengzi Year", but desperately rushed over a dozen battles, and actually won many battles, and all of a sudden, sudden victory made this country that had suffered defeat in foreign wars become forgetful, and the Chinese experienced unprecedented national excitement for the first time.

How is this not the case?

Before the Chinese Empire, the Chinese had the experience of "national" from the future, living in an era when there was no concept of a country, for the Chinese they were at most a member of the family, a member of the family, until the "nationalism" indoctrination during the restoration period, the Chinese really had the modern concept of "nation" and "state" for the first time.

The Chinese Imperial Government has taken great pains to instill in the Chinese the concept of the state and the people, and for the government, the government needs patriotic, loyal, and willing to pay for the country.

As for the emperor himself, what he hopes to cultivate is "the subjects of His Majesty the Emperor", which is easier to understand and accepted by the people than the "citizens of the state" proposed during the reign period, after all, the concept of loyalty is a traditional idea carved into the bones of the Chinese, and "subjects of His Majesty the Emperor" is more accepted by the people than "citizens of the country".

The humiliation indemnity in the Manchu era made the "subjects" realize what "national shame" was, and the rampant foreigners made him feel the personal shame brought about by the weakness of the country, and the humiliating history of 260 years of foreign enslavement made them understand the relationship between the state and the individual.

Shame borders on courage, and the relationship between the state and the individual is invisibly balanced by nationalist propaganda. The repeated victories on the battlefield made the "subjects of His Majesty the Emperor" realize for the first time what the glory of the country is, and the excitement brought by the victory of the war made them really feel what the concept of the country and the people is.

It is precisely the shame of the "one or two heads" reparations that supports the will of this young and somewhat surprising army to keep fighting, thanks to the extensive use of mortars, light and heavy machine guns, the Guards, which has more firepower than any army of this era, miraculously won victory after victory.

The warning of the past and the encouragement of victory are the most fundamental support for this army to continue fighting, and it is not easy for an army that has just been indoctrinated with nationalist ideas.

In Pyongyang, the smoke that had been raging for days finally cleared, the smoke cleared and the gunfire subsided, leaving only craters, trenches and blood-stained land as a reminder of what had happened here.

The order to retreat came very suddenly. Yesterday, the general staff of the division just issued an order to build a second line of fortifications, and when the ammunition was insufficient, it was necessary to build a second line of defense, so as to achieve the purpose of supplementing the firepower with a complex defense line system, and even the division's heavy soldiers continued to demolish the houses of the Koreans and set up rafts, so that under the cover of the night, they could cross the Taedong River and get supplies from the other side of the river, but now the order to retreat has been issued.

"Why do you want to withdraw?"

When the order was given to the 40th Division, every soldier asked the same question, they crossed the mountains and mountains desperately to the south of the Taedong River, forming an encirclement of the Japanese army in Pyongyang, although from the beginning, limited by logistical supplies, they could only rely on the defensive line for defense, but after the order to withdraw was issued, these relieved soldiers, but they could not understand the orders of the commanders.

If you understand it, you have to carry it out, and if you don't understand it, you have to implement it, and this is a military order.

The officers did not give much explanation to the soldiers, when they set off, each person carried 180 rounds of ammunition, which would be at most only a dozen or twenty rounds, the mortars had long been out of shells, and even the machine guns in the core of the Guards were out of ammunition, and if they did not retreat at this time, they would probably really be rounded. ,

"I'm leaving North Korea"

In the end, the officers tried to explain to them their intentions of leaving North Korea.

Well, because a joint communiqué was signed on the Nanjing side, and the Japanese withdrew their troops from Manchuria, so we were going to withdraw our troops.

Isn't this a damn official betraying us?

Of course not, in addition to the withdrawal of troops by the Japanese, they also returned Taiwan to us.

Eventually, under the explanations of the officers, the soldiers were finally convinced of one thing, they did not lose the battle, they were still winners, a people who had lost for 260 years, and whose heart was so fragile that they simply could not accept any defeat.

Although there is a certain explanation, although the vast majority of people choose to understand, not everyone understands this military order. Especially for those military personnel who, deep down, have completely integrated themselves and their country.

In the drying field in front of the division headquarters, thousands of officers and men stood silently on the drying ground and the rice fields around the drying field; although the weather was fine, anyone could feel an inexplicable emotion, and even anger was brewing in the hearts of the officers and men.

There was indignation on the faces of each of them, and the officers and men looked ahead with their bare hands, and although they never said a word, although they only said that they wanted to see the commander from beginning to end, no one doubted that when the anger burned, they could tear apart the enemy with their bare hands.

The gendarmes standing outside the division headquarters looked helplessly at these comrades-in-arms with sad and angry expressions in front of them, although their behavior can be understood, but military orders are military orders, as military police, they must maintain the dignity of military law, and the military discipline of the guards is harsh, enough for all these thousands of soldiers to be sentenced to death.

"Division commander, if you don't stop them, I'm afraid that there will be a big luàn."

"Yes, division commander, there are at least one or two thousand people out there now, if ......"

"If you continue to develop, you will ...... It's a mutiny."

While the officers and men outside the division headquarters were filled with grief and indignation, Wu Luzhen, who was a firm-faced staff officer in the headquarters, closed his eyes and remained silent, or even turned a deaf ear, until the chief of staff spit out a military mutiny, he opened his eyes slightly.

"If there is a military mutiny, then ...... They don't wear it. ”

The cold words almost didn't spit out a sentence from Wu Luzhen's mouth, "If it turns into a military mutiny, everyone should be shot."

"Sir, military law in the army is harsh, and military law is not merciless, everyone understands this, but ......"

Without waiting for the chief of staff to finish speaking, Wu Luzhen directly interrupted him.

"What? Does the law not hold the people accountable? ”

With a sweep of his eyes, Wu Luzhen sighed again.

"Military law is military law, from ancient times to the present, how many mutinies, how many routs, how many people do not hold the idea of the law not to blame the public, today, I will dispel their idea from the root."

Just when that anger continued to linger in people's hearts, out of the big mén corridor of the division headquarters was a general with the rank of colonel, as soon as they saw this rank, everyone knew his identity Wu Luzhen, the commander of the division, the three heroes of the Japanese army.

As soon as the commander walked out of the command post, the military police who were confronting each other outside the command post and the officers and men who came to inquire stood up and saluted at the same time, without any hesitation.

"Hello Sir"

Order in the army had not been damaged by the previous confrontation, after all, every one of them was a soldier of the Guards, and discipline was still their most fundamental honor, and they were here to ask for an explanation, not to start a military mutiny.

"Tell me who you are"

Looking coldly at the officers and soldiers who came to the division headquarters to ask for explanations, Wu Luzhen's voice did not carry a trace of emotion.

"Report sir, a soldier of the Imperial Chinese Guards Army"

A captain, only seventeen or eighteen years old, stepped along, and the team cheered back.

"Do you still know that you are a soldier of the Guards? Look at what you are doing now, questioning the commander's order, what kind of behavior is this behavior of the siege headquarters, it is questioning the commander's order, saying that it is heavy, that is, the military mutiny, I didn't expect the Guards to be the first to begin, and the precedent of the military mutiny, it was actually out of the division, looking at you, I am so angry for you that I am panicking, tell me what your oath was, tell me"

Wu Luzhen looked a little angry when she spoke, and her eyes seemed to be bursting with fire.

"Long ...... Sir,......"

When the captain squeaked and could not speak, a soldier walked out, his face filled with unconcealable grief and indignation.

"Sir, why retreat, we can still fight"

"Sir, this ...... Didn't we say that we want to defeat Korea and restore the old domain? Retreat in our guards, isn't there never an order to retreat? As long as you give the order, sir, the brothers will swim to the other side of the river, and you can also take Pyongyang down, and then we will fight all the way to Busan."

The words of the soldiers were re-reasoned, and it was the commanders who told them over and over again that in the dictionary of the Guards, there was no such thing as retreat, only attack, attack, and now? The commanders told them that they were going to retreat, just when they thought they could conquer the whole of Korea.

Since entering the DPRK, the commanders have repeatedly told them that Korea is China's thousand-year-old domain, and that eleven years ago, the Manchus lost Korea by incompetence, and now they want to defeat Korea, and what they lost their faces there will be recovered there, and for these soldiers who have just linked themselves to the country, they cannot accept the order to retreat.

"Sir, the commanders told us that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Japan signed a joint communiqué, we withdraw our troops from Korea, they withdraw from the northeast and Taiwan, sir, I have been a soldier, I can only learn to read, I read less, but I also know a good word, even if we want to withdraw the army, it is the Japanese to withdraw, let's withdraw the mén army, North Korea is Chinese, Taiwan is Chinese, we have to take our own things, to exchange them for the things that the robbers have robbed at the very least, this reason, it doesn't make sense"

In a word, Wu Luzhen's words were blocked.

For these soldiers, who have just passed the teaching of officers and continued victories, and finally established the "honor of soldiers", they simply feel that this exchange of North Korea for Taiwan is undoubtedly a shame on their faces, isn't this a clear indication that they are incompetent?

If it had the ability, would the country suffer such a big loss? So whether it's for the sake of the country's face or their personal sake, they want to fight.

"The order to retreat has been given, soldiers, indeed, some call today a victory, but I regard today as a disgrace, please remember this day on May 15, 4603"

Wu Luzhen saw that the grief and indignation on the faces of the soldiers became even stronger when they heard him say this, but most of the staff officers behind him during the war showed confusion and even uneasiness, what did Wu want to do? Could it be that he wanted to incite the soldiers to rebel?

"This is a great shame for both China and the Army, because we have made a jiāo exchange with the robbers, and at the cost of the blood of the soldiers and the territory of the country"

With Wu Luzhen's words, the atmosphere of grief and indignation in the air became even stronger, and the officers and soldiers in front of the division headquarters became short of breath, and the anger on their faces had reached the point of irrepressible anger.

"Shame, how can it not be a great shame for a soldier? How can it not be a disgrace to the country? ”

Taking a deep breath, Wu Luzhen became a little excited, and even when he said this, his eyes couldn't help but flash with some tears.

"Sir, we can fight and we can defeat North Korea"

There was a shout from the crowd, a cry of grief and indignation.

"It is now that we can defeat Korea, Your Majesty will not doubt your ability, Your Majesty's heroic warriors will definitely be able to do this, but why, why would the country rather bear this great humiliation, Your Majesty would rather suffer such humiliation and make this difficult choice?"

Wu Luzhen seemed to know His Majesty better than everyone else, and better understood the original intention of signing the joint communiqué than the politicians and foreign officials in Nanjing. But the soldiers were willing to listen to him, and they were willing to listen to his explanations, which was different from the official explanations.

"For us, we defeated Korea, but we don't have a strong navy to defend the coast, as long as the Japanese army lands in our rear, we can cut off our rear route, and we can die in Korea in vain."

"We are not afraid of death"

"Yes, you are not afraid of death, and I am not afraid of death, but the country is afraid, Your Majesty is afraid, he is afraid that his soldiers will die in vain, he is afraid that the country has accumulated the strength that has been accumulated, and it is easy to die in the blink of an eye, and it is easy to defeat North Korea at all costs, and it is easy to have your group of patriotic soldiers who are not afraid of death, not to mention North Korea, even Europe can fight it, but let me ask you, is there only one Japan as our enemy of China? When we came, when we fought in Tianjin, didn't we look at the barracks of the Eight-Nation Alliance? Weihaiwei, Hong Kong, Kowloon, all let the British occupy Qingdao and the Germans occupied, that is, the Yangtze River, the foreign warships swaggered, thought about it, wanted to go, our capital is there, if we all die here, then who is the happiest? It's those foreign devils who occupy our land, and at that time, who will defend the motherland, who will knock the foreign devils out of the country, and who will tell me"

Looking at these warriors in front of him, Wu Luzhen roared loudly, if there was a reason to give them, the current situation of the country was the only reason. ,

"The overall situation, what is the overall situation, this is the overall situationOur country has long been ruined by the Manchurian Qing Dynasty, how can a strong country be a one-time achievement, what is the Imperial Guard? It is the most fundamental support of the country, as long as we are here, no country will dare to invade us, we have taught the Japanese a hard lesson in the northeast in Korea, that is, to kill the monkey to see, and in the future, not to mention North Korea, it is Annam, Nepal, it is the land of Jiangbei, we have to fight back sooner or later, but now...... Soldiers, we must save our strength and wait for him to decide the victory."

Silence, this time the originally grief-stricken officers and soldiers suddenly quieted down, they looked at the commander in front of them, thinking about the current situation of the country, biting their lips tightly, unwilling tears flashed in their eyes, and a sad and indignant whimper came from their throats, which was a self-suppressed whimper.

"What are you crying and crying, in a few years, let the Japanese, let those foreign devils cry, take back all your tears for me, men bleed without tears, don't forget that you are soldiers"

Wu Luzhen said this, but he couldn't help crying, the reason he said was not for the soldiers, but more about what he thought.

"Yes"

Everyone shouted in unison, and the grief and anger in their eyes would turn into suppressed anger, but this anger was only directed at foreigners.

"You are all guards, that is, soldiers, you must know that although the military order is like a mountain, although there is a reason for everything, but the group of people who act in violation of the military order, Wu is responsible for discipline and will be sentenced to twenty flogging, others and so on, and the soldier will be punished with five. Captain seven, colonel ten"

Wu Luzhen issued the punishment order in a timely manner, at this time, the officers and soldiers who were originally surrounding the division headquarters were stunned for a moment, but then they still chose to obey, the military order is like a mountain, this is the first truth they learned after becoming a soldier, in the army, the only truth is the military order, and the crime they committed, to put it seriously, even if it is not too much.

At this time, the military judge, who had been silent, came out and said to Wu Luzhen.

"Sir, you are responsible for poor management, and you need to be punished with forty lashes, and the rest of the officers and soldiers will be punished twice."

His words were exchanged for the angry eyes of the officers and soldiers, and Wu Luzhen's face was blank and he snorted coldly.

"Execution"