When the expeditionary force was in full swing and preparing to go to the battlefield in Burma, Huang Zheng, who was in Suzhou, also began to purge the remnants of the enemy in Suzhou.

After more than a month of overcoming difficulties, the headquarters of the Airborne Corps concentrated superior forces and finally overcame the Japanese troops entrenched in the city of Suzhou and achieved the goal of recapturing the entire territory of Suzhou. At this time, Xue Boling's division, which was advancing eastward, also broke the defensive line formed by the Japanese Sixth Division, forcing the Sixth Division to begin to retreat eastward, and finally achieve the strategic goal of connecting Suzhou with Nanjing.

Victory is joyful, but the battle is brutal.

After this battle, that scene was unforgettable for Huang Zheng's life.

In the final battle of Suzhou, the Japanese army used the reinforced concrete buildings in the city center to resist stubbornly. Street fighting is probably the most difficult of all forms of fighting, especially in your own country and city. Because after the simple repair of the building used by the enemy, ordinary small arms cannot shoot through, and for the enemy, every window can become a shooting hole, can be arranged as a firing point.

Huang Ke led the paratrooper regiment to seize the area around Tiger Hill, where the Japanese army stationed about a large brigade of troops. When the Airborne Forces were fighting elsewhere in Suzhou, the Japanese troops here were ready for street fighting, and they renovated the surrounding buildings, reinforcing some walls, and smashing them to break through them, and relying on barbed wire and sandbag fortifications to build defensive lines on the roads.

The light and heavy firepower were properly coordinated, and the group of Japanese troops had already fought the trapped beasts, and after the ammunition was exhausted, they formed a suicide attack like a "Banzai charge", which brought heavy casualties to Huang Zheng's troops.

By midday, the troops had to cross a river, and directly opposite the bridge was a three-story dwelling. The houses were renovated by the Japanese army, the windows were covered, only a few shooting holes remained, and many mines were buried in front of the bridge.

The brothers who charged up were unreservedly exposed to the dense fire net of the Japanese army, and fell down one by one like wheat that had been cut down.

Zhu Fucai, who served as a spearhead, ran over and reported to his battalion commander in disgrace: "Battalion commander, slow down, such casualties are too great!" My brothers in that platoon have now lost a third of their casualties, but we have advanced less than half the distance of the bridge. ”

The battalion commander also knew such a scenario, so he had to ask the regiment commander Huang Zheng to make a decision.

Huang Zheng put down the binoculars, he saw the battle scene just now, not to mention that he was familiar with Zhu Fucai, this is a guy who is not afraid of death, he came back and took the initiative to ask for repairs before attacking, which is enough to fight on the side head-on.

Huang Zheng didn't want to fight like this anymore, the people left behind by his paratroop regiment had gone through many bloody battles, and he couldn't just shed blood and sacrifice in this place in vain, if he was calculated according to this casualty rate, I am afraid that before the battle was over, he would become the commander of the light pole.

"Go and get a few guns from the rear, and shoot directly flat to knock down this building." Huang Zheng said directly to Chen Maojun, the commander of the third battalion.

Chen Maojun hesitated, he asked tentatively: "There are all civilian buildings on the opposite side, if they are bombed down, will it cause other casualties?" ”

Huang Zheng hesitated, but after a while, he said again: "I can't care so much, now I think the people on the other side should all be evacuated, go and transfer two 75 cannons, and we must take the area around Tiger Hill before dark." ”

"Yes!" The commander of the third battalion, Chen Maojun, prepared to go down to convey the order.

After he left, Huang Zheng still seemed to be talking to himself, but he did say to the people around him: "There should be no ordinary people on the other side, right?" ”

Without waiting for everyone to answer, he replied to himself: "Yes, it should be gone, the people have already moved away." ”

After a few minutes of hesitation, Huang Zheng felt that the atmosphere in the command post was a little dull, so he took a steel helmet and shouted to the guards to go to the front line battlefield to have a look.

The gunfire of the battle had stopped, most of the officers and soldiers were eating, and the brothers who had just died in the battle were also carried down one by one. Because of the lack of preparation for the battle, the body bags were not fully prepared, and the officers and soldiers who had been beaten and whose flesh and blood were blurred had to be pushed back in the carts.

Blood was dripping from the pocket of the cart, and the road to the front was filled with a strong smell of blood mixed with the smell of *. The officers and soldiers around them all looked at all this indifferently, they were all used to death, no one would cry or cry anymore, no one would be indignant, and of course, no one would be afraid anymore.

"Commander, you're here." A voice came from behind him, and Huang Zheng looked back, it was the gray-faced Zhu Fucai.

Huang Zheng patted him on the shoulder and did not speak.

It didn't take long for two 75mm caliber support guns to be pushed over, and Huang Zheng gave the order to open fire. The gunner found a position on the other side of the bridge, adjusted the two support guns to a flat angle, and after one reload, the gunner pulled the running bolt.

The two guns fired almost simultaneously, and the shells flew flat into the building where the Japanese were stationed. The reinforced concrete building also became vulnerable to the shells, not to mention the improvised protective measures, and after the shelling, the sound of falling masonry could be heard, and a large hole was blown open in the fire point of a window, and a bloody Japanese soldier rolled down the line.

"And those few! The left, the windows on the left. Zhu Jingxing commanded the artillery to adjust the position, and the six artillerymen wearing only shoulder pads meticulously aimed at the opposite side.

Tata Tower! A Japanese heavy machine gun in the building opened fire, and the bullets flew like bullets, and a reloaded artillery brother was pierced through the neck, and the blood was splashed half a meter away, and the others and the shell in their hands also rolled down.

The steel baffle in front of the gun did a trick, and the bullet hit it and splashed a burst of fire, saving a few artillerymen who were hiding behind it.

"Direct artillery fire means exposing the artillery directly to the Japanese fire, and if the devil gets a few sharpshooters, it will be miserable."

"Get our fire cover!" After Huang Zheng's order was issued, the machine guns on this side were deployed again, and the gunfire of Tata Tata began to sound, and the suppression of fire from both sides began.

Accompanied by the crisp sound of machine guns, the 75 guns rang out again, and the dull sound of the artillery was intertwined with the sound of falling masonry and the wails of the Japanese being hit. After a volley of artillery, Zhu Jingxing rushed forward with his spearhead again.

……

After laying down the area of Tiger Hill, the task of attacking the city side was also completed. Liao Xiangdong, commander of the Airborne Force, sent a telegram saying that Huang Zheng should be cleared of the remnants of the enemy as soon as possible, and that in 10 days, other troops would come to handle the handover with them, and they would continue to fight at that time.

Huang Zheng understood the meaning, and when he had dinner, he arranged the order. Because of the siege tactics adopted for the city of Suzhou, the Japanese army was not able to completely move, and although the city has now been generally routed, in fact, some remnants of the Japanese army remain in the city.

These recruits either managed to escape and join up with the Japanese forces from other directions, or they stayed in the city to deal with them. Either way, you have to dig out this group of man-eating demons.

The anti-Japanese organizations behind enemy lines led by Wu Chunsheng played no small role in this, and they mixed with the regular troops and began a dragnet search. In this case, Huang Zheng believes that in less than a week, the remnants of the enemy can basically be eliminated.

After dinner in the evening, Huang Zheng tidied up and prepared to rest and sleep. At this time, the communications soldier ran over and said that Ji Xingwen, the commander of the first regiment, called and said that he had something important to look for him.

Huang Zheng shook his head, what else could this guy do? The two of them are in Suzhou West and the other in Suzhou East, and they are at the same level, so what can they do? It's just because the relationship between Huang Zheng and Ji Xingwen is not bad, this guy is also a master who dares to cause trouble and can fight, and the two of them have a good temper, so they often contact by phone.

It is estimated that this kid has no American cigarettes again, Ji Xingwen likes to smoke camel brand cigarettes, so he often comes to ask Huang Zheng for it.

But this time, Ji Xingwen didn't grin after the phone call, but asked cautiously, "Have you heard?" Is it true? ”

Huang Zheng asked happily, "What did you hear?" If you don't say something, how do I know if it's true? ”

"Alas!" Ji Xingwen, who has always been optimistic, sighed and said: "General Zhang Zizhong has been martyred!" ”

"What?" Huang Zheng was stunned when he heard this.

……

When the news of General Zhang Zizhong's martyrdom was reported to Huang Ke, Huang Ke couldn't calm down for a long time after hearing it. After half a ring, he asked, "What's going on?" Is the message confirmed? ”

Chen Liewen nodded and said, "Commander Liu Jian's side has already confirmed." The Japanese army in North China has made a full-scale counterattack in recent days, and a few days ago, the defensive line of the front line began to shrink. The Japanese army mobilized a large number of troops to encircle General Zhang's headquarters, General Zhang took the lead in the battle, and after being besieged by the Japanese 39th Division, he failed to break through the siege after a night of fierce fighting, and then the whole army was annihilated, and General Zhang Zizhong was martyred. ”

When he said this, Chen Liewen's voice choked, Zhang Zizhonggui was a lieutenant general, but he also died on the battlefield, and his iron bones were really moving.

"Where is the body now?" Huang Ke asked with a stern face.

"The body has been placed in Chenjiaji by the Japanese army, and the Japanese army is preparing to bury it early tomorrow morning!" Chen Liewen said.

"Telegraphed to Liu Jian that General Zhang's body must be retrieved at all costs and sent back for burial." Huang Ke ordered.

"Yes!" When Chen Liewen turned around and was about to go out, Huang Ke shouted to him again: "Wait a minute, let people check again, why didn't General Zhang have reinforcements when he was besieged?" What's going on? ”

"Yes!" After Chen Liewen finished speaking, he turned around and walked out.