This is the first time Cai Jigang has stepped on the Zhangjiashan position. Before the war, when he and Ge Xiancai stood on the tiger-shaped nest position to observe the terrain, they observed Zhangjiashan with a telescope from afar, Zhangjiashan at that time was a small hill with green grass, and there was a stone road under the mountain that was not wide. There is also a small temple on the side of the stone road at the foot of the mountain, and several monks in the temple have been evacuated, leaving only an empty temple.

Looking at Zhangjiashan now, it has completely changed. There was hardly a single grass on the mountain, the vegetation was completely destroyed by artillery fire, the entire mountain was bare with soft red soil, the slopes were littered with craters, and the communication trenches dug before the war were still faintly visible, but they were almost flattened. Cai Jigang didn't take a few steps before he felt that something was wrong under his feet, why did this red earth tremble? There is no sense of solidity standing on the ground at all. Adjutant Shen whispered to Cai Jigang: "Sir, all the corpses are buried under this soil, and there is only a thin layer of soil on it, alas, the smell of corpses rotting is too bad." ”

Cai Jigang waved his hand in front of his nose, trying to drive away the strong smell of corpses. A ragged sergeant saluted Cai Jigang: "Sir, you just came up, and you still can't get used to it, in fact, it doesn't matter if you get used to it, we can't smell anything now, whether it's fragrant or smelly, we can't smell it." ”

Cai Jigang looked around the position and asked, "Are all the corpses of Japanese buried here?" What about our fallen in battle? ”

Kong Dachuan, the commander of the 3rd company, replied: "The Japanese soldiers buried here are all rushed up to die on the battlefield, and the corpses of the Japanese soldiers under the cliff were dragged away by the people they drove away, and we will not shoot when they collect the corpses, which has become an unwritten rule, and we can't wait to let them clean it up, otherwise, it will stink in less than a day, and we will be smoked to death." All of our brothers who died in battle have been sent down, and there are special people in the field hospital who are responsible for burying the corpses. ”

Zhang Baowang's platoon fought with the Japanese army next to the plane that landed in a forced landing, and both sides suffered casualties, but they finally snatched Cai Jiheng back.

The soldiers of the national army on the position looked at Cai Jiheng curiously, they had never seen the pilot up close, in the eyes of the soldiers, the outfit of this guy who fell from the sky was very weird, nearly 40 degrees Celsius in the hot weather, this guy was still wearing a leather jacket, wearing a leather flight cap, hanging a "Steng" style *** around his neck, and carrying a flight bag and umbrella bag in his hand.

Cai Jiheng climbed up from the slope where the artificial cliff was blown up, and when he saw Cai Jigang from a distance, he shouted happily: "Brother, I'm coming to see you!" ”

Cai Jigang only recognized his younger brother at this time, and he greeted him in surprise: "Jiheng, is it really you?" I saw you shoot in the artillery mirror, and I guessed it was you, but I wasn't sure. Quick, hurry up and take off your leather jacket, the temperature is almost 40 degrees today. ”

Cai Jiheng felt hot at this time, he took off his flying hat, took off his leather jacket, and stepped forward to hug his brother: "Brother, I'm so embarrassed, I let the devil beat me down, it's really embarrassing!" ”

Cai Jigang hugged his younger brother's shoulders affectionately and said, "Nonsense, who are you throwing away?" I have seen the whole process of air combat, and you have done a great job. Jiheng, you're not hurt, are you? ”

"It's okay, I just hit my head when I made a forced landing, and now it's okay."

"Come with me to the military headquarters in a while and have a good rest. Now that the enemy's encirclement is tight, we will find a way to send you back to the rear. ”

Cai Jiheng stopped: "Who said I want to go back to the rear?" I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to stay here to fight, and one more person is better than one less. You see, I have my own gun, so I won't trouble you. He shook his *** and said.

Cai Jigang felt amused: "What nonsense are you talking about? If a pilot wants to be changed to an infantryman, you can imagine that you pilots are all treasures, and you won't change them for a regiment. Jiheng, I said, where do you have so many strange ideas in your head? ”

As the brothers were talking, there was a commotion on the other side of the position, it was Tie Zhu and Ma Lao Wu who were fighting, and the reason for the fight between the two was a pocket watch. In the battle just now, Tiezhu's machine gun put down two Japanese soldiers, he firmly remembered the location of the Japanese soldiers, and believed that the two corpses were their trophies, who knew that when the battlefield was cleaned, Ma Lao Wu snatched a pocket watch from the corpse first, this time the iron pillar was gone, he grabbed Ma Lao Wu and asked for the watch.

How can Ma Lao Wu be a person who can spit out wealth? He thought that the devil was robbing whom, so he firmly refused the iron pillar's request. Tie Zhu was anxious, and punched Ma Lao Wu's nose, Ma Lao Wu's nose was beaten out of blood, he was immediately furious, and he threw down Tie Zhu and rode up, and grabbed Tie Zhu's neck tightly with both hands......

Mantang was a little embarrassed to see the two fighting, after all, Ma Lao Wu saved his life, he still owes Ma Lao Wu's love, if it is according to Mantang's meaning, the pocket watch will be given to Ma Lao Wu, but he hasn't had time to convince Tie Zhu, the two have already fought together, especially Tie Zhu has obviously suffered, this Man Tang can no longer stand idly by, my brother is reasonable and ignore it first put aside, you Ma Lao Wu dare to beat my brother in front of me, this problem can not be used to, otherwise this dog day will not be reversed in the future? Thinking about it carefully, Man Tang doesn't think that he owes Ma Lao Wu a lot of favors, didn't he pursue the matter of "Hei Nier" again? He and Ma Lao Wu are just leveling, and they can't talk about who owes whom. Thinking of this, Mantang finally made a move, he grabbed Ma Lao Wu's collar from behind and shook it hard, and Ma Lao Wu rolled down the slope to the bottom of the cliff.

Mantang and Tiezhu also climbed down the slope with a rolling belt, and the brothers held down Ma Lao Wu is a violent beating, Tie Zhu not only snatched back the pocket watch, but also looted the loot in Ma Lao Wu's pocket, and then the brothers climbed up the slope triumphantly.

As soon as Kong Dachuan, the commander of the 3rd company, saw the fight here, he rushed over to stop it: "Mantang, how are you beating people?" Today, Lao Tzu must be locked up for you. ”

Man Tang replied nonchalantly: "Company commander, you have thought about it, squatting and confinement is more comfortable than fighting, if you are not afraid of lack of manpower, then I will thank you!" ”

The iron pillar slapped the soil on his body and said, "Company commander, squatting and confinement is a beautiful difference, and I want to go too." ”

At this time, Ma Lao Wu climbed up along the slope and shouted: "Company commander, don't be in the middle of a full house, damn it, he beat someone and still want to squat and confin?" Why do you think about this beautiful thing, the person who should be beaten squatted and confined ......"

Company Commander Kong was speechless for a while, and he muttered self-deprecatingly: "Damn, when will squatting and confinement become a beautiful difference?" They are all rushing to ......."

At this time, Cai Jigang came over: "Full hall, we haven't seen each other for a long time." ”

When the hall saw Cai Jigang, he hurriedly stood up and saluted: "Hello Chief Cai!" ”

Cai Jigang looked up and down at the full hall and said sarcastically: "Well, like a veteran, you dare to fight and make trouble." ”

The hall was full of muttering: "Sir, I ...... I'm having fun with Ma Lao Wu. ”

Tie Zhu thought that the fight was his first move, and it should not be borne by his brother Mantang, so he stepped forward and said loudly: "Sir Cai, it is my hand that moves first, and it is not my brother's business, if you want to fight, you will punish me." ”

Ma Lao Wu took the opportunity to complain: "Sir, these two turtle grandsons also robbed me of my things, please give me the master." ”

Tiezhu said: "Fuck your fart!" Did you snatch my watch and spew the fucking blood? Ma Lao Wu, don't be busy, you kid, I'll clean you up at night! ”

Cai Jigang didn't know who was reasonable and who didn't, he led the soldiers, and knew that dealing with these uneducated soldiers requires skills, and the commander can only roughly preside over justice, the principle is that it should be coarse and not fine, some commanders don't understand this, they have to go in to find out who is reasonable and who is not, and the final result is often a confused account, not only can not solve the contradiction, but both parties are not satisfied.

Cai Jigang called Company Commander Kong aside and asked, "Company Commander Kong, what the hell is going on?" ”

Company Commander Kong said: "Sir, it's not a big deal, Ma Lao Wu and Tie Zhu fought to grab the loot, and when the whole house saw that his brother was beaten, he stopped doing it, so he beat Ma Lao Wu." ”

"So, the main perpetrators are Ma Lao Wu and Tie Zhu?"

"Yes, they fought first."

Cai Jigang asked: "Company Commander Kong, tell me truthfully, how did these two fighting soldiers behave in battle?" ”

Company Commander Kong said: "The performance is good, Tie Zhu is a machine gunner, and there are hundreds of devils who fell under his gun." Ma Lao Wu is the leader of the 2nd class, in addition to liking to take advantage of a little advantage, he is still unambiguous in the war. Sir, let's put it this way, since our battalion guarded Zhangjiashan, there have been no soldiers who are greedy for life and afraid of death and have escaped from the battle, not a single one, I can guarantee this! ”

Cai Jigang nodded, took off his watch from his wrist and handed it to Company Commander Kong: "Company Commander Kong, don't pursue this matter anymore, let Tiezhu return the pocket watch to Ma Lao Wu, and I will give this watch to Tiezhu." ”

Company Commander Kong asked in surprise, "Sir, what are you ......?"

Cai Jigang said: "Tell these two soldiers that this is a reward for their heroic battles on the battlefield, and I hope they will continue to maintain this will to fight, and when the battle is over, I will personally ask for credit for them!" ”

After Cai Jigang finished speaking, he patted his younger brother who was standing aside: "Let's go, follow me back to the military headquarters and go to see Commander Fang." ”

The stunned Company Commander Kong watched the Cai brothers walk off the battlefield, he carefully looked at the watch left by Cai Jigang, and recognized that it was a Swiss watch with the "Rome" brand. Kong Lian roared: "Ma Lao Wu, Tiezhu, roll over to Lao Tzu, you two rabbit cubs violated military discipline, gathered to fight, and gave the fucking rewards......"

If you are not immersed in the scene, no one can understand the deep feeling of the defenders of Hengyang fighting bloodily and enduring the crisis, even Chairman Jiang can hardly feel it. This is because of the many things that have happened recently at home and abroad, and Chairman Chiang is overwhelmed and anxious to deal with them, and it is not easy to solve these problems, which are far beyond Chairman Chiang's actual ability. As far as the Battle of Hengyang is concerned, Chiang Kai-shek will be difficult to control even as the supreme commander, and the current military situation on the periphery of Hengyang seems to be foggy.

The defenders of Hengyang fell into a bitter battle and lived like a year. And the periphery of Hengyang is not without troops, just the troops distributed in Liuyang, Pingxiang, and Liling under the Ninth War Zone have a full 6 armies! If we add the troops distributed in the west bank of the Xiangjiang River and subordinate to the Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, and Ninth Theaters, a total of seven armies, then there are 13 armies and three or four hundred thousand people in the vast area on the periphery of Hengyang. If these troops are properly commanded and the soldiers use their lives, it should be possible to relieve the siege of Hengyang.

Unfortunately, these forces are currently struggling to protect themselves. Through aerial reconnaissance, Chiang Kai-shek learned that the regular corps of the 20th, 26th, 44th, 72nd, 37th, and 58th armies of the Nationalist Army in the Liuyang, Pingxiang, and Liling areas were now in a situation of guerrilla warfare. Most of the water networks and roads in Hunan Province are controlled by the Japanese army, and these field corps are all forced into the mountains, and the logistics support is nowhere to be found, and the troops' attacks and attacks are all completed by the small roads in the mountains such as Wugong Mountain and Luoxiao Mountain, and the transportation of materials such as baggage, artillery, grain and ammunition consumes a lot of combat power of the troops, and it is still difficult to protect themselves, how can they have the ability to support Hengyang?

The 74th, 73rd, 79th, 99th, 100th, 46th, and 62nd armies were active in the area on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River. According to the campaign plan, they were supposed to be the main forces supporting the Hengyang operation, but in the process of breaking the siege, the Supreme Command made the mistake of using troops one by one. When the two regiments of the 62nd Army did their best to assault the southwest suburbs of Hengyang, the 79th Army, which was supposed to cooperate with the 62nd Army, did not move north of the steaming water and failed to achieve the effect of a flanking attack. Under the repeated strict orders of the Supreme Command, when the 79th Army finally reached the west side of Hengyang with great difficulty, the two regiments of the 62nd Army had been defeated by the Japanese army, and all the Japanese reinforcements turned around to deal with the 79th Army.

On July 27, the defenders of Hengyang, who were fighting hard, were in a hurry and asked for reinforcements. When the 46th Army, which had rushed from the Fourth Theater of Operations, made an all-out assault near Santang in the northwest suburbs of Hengyang, due to the lack of cover on both flanks, it became a lone army in the depths, and was attacked by the Japanese army on both sides, and was defeated and retreated due to heavy casualties.

The 74th Army is the most elite main force in the battle sequence of the National Army, and has performed well in all previous battles. However, when participating in the siege relief operation in Hengyang this time, the 74th Army fought alone with the Japanese reinforcements in the area of Jiwo Mountain in the suburbs of Hengyang, and did not join forces with other reinforcements to attack, and when the Jiwo Mountain position was overcome, it suddenly and inexplicably withdrew.

The 62nd Army was arguably the most effective of the many reinforcements, having twice captured Yumu Mountain on the outskirts of Hengyang, just 12 kilometers from the center of Hengyang. At that time, the Japanese blocking force was the 234th Wing of the 40th Division, and later intelligence proved that under the desperate attack of the 62nd Army of the National Army, the defense line of the 234th Wing of the Japanese Army was broken through several times, and the Japanese officers and soldiers suffered heavy casualties. What made Chiang Kai-shek pound his chest was that at that time, there were the main forces of the entire three divisions of the 100th Army within 60 miles of the Hengbao Highway on the north side of the 62nd Army, but the two armies belonged to two different theaters of operations and did not form a coordinated operation, resulting in the most promising attack coming to naught.

Looking at the overall situation of the Hunan battlefield, the Nationalist Army did not have no opportunity to reinforce the troops from all walks of life in Hengyang, but because the reinforcements from all walks of life belonged to different command systems, there were many orders, and there was no unified command headquarters close to the battlefield, so there was great confusion in the command of the campaign.

I have to admit that in 1944, the Chinese army and its generals lacked the most proactive tactical awareness, and the passive combat mode had become a virus that penetrated deep into the bone marrow of this army. The generals were afraid that the lone army would go deep and no one would rescue them, but they would fall into the heavy encirclement of the Japanese army.

The Ninth Theater was originally a mixture of a number of local troops, but it has always been able to have good cooperation in the War of Resistance, and Xue Yue, the commander of the Ninth Theater, is not incompetent. However, this duke has serious flaws in his character, he is stubborn and self-serving, he is overjoyed in his achievements, he lacks the amount of tolerance for others, he takes the public with private interests when handling subordinate relations, it is difficult to convince the public, and he lacks the prestige and quality that a military commander should have. Chiang Kai-shek ordered him to go to the Guangdong-Hunan-Guizhou Triangle between the Yuehan Road and the Xianggui Road, Xue Yue refused to obey, he avoided the attack of the Japanese army, led the command organs of the Ninth Theater to withdraw to the border of Hunan, Jiangxi and Guangdong, and left the center of operations. As a result, the Ninth Theater was leaderless, and the command structure that guided the Hengyang operation and the lifting of the siege in Hengyang was paralyzed.

Chiang Kai-shek, who was far away in Chongqing, was even more to blame. The supreme commander-in-chief's overstepping command is consistent, characterized by a sudden change of orders and a lack of meticulous operational ability. Although the combat missions and attack directions of the 79th Army and the 62nd Army under Wang Yaowu in the Sixth Theater were the same, they belonged to different theaters, and there was no commander with unified command, but they were directly under the command of Chiang Kai-shek, who was sitting in Chongqing, and Lin Wei, the director of the chamberlain.

On the Hunan battlefield in 1944, another reason for the defeat of the Nationalist army was that the Japanese army deciphered the radio code of the Nationalist army, but the high command of the Nationalist army was always kept in the dark.

No matter how the reinforcements of the Nationalist Army hid their operational intentions, they were always accurately intercepted by the Japanese army in key areas, and at the same time of interception, they could also flank the flank of the Nationalist army's rescue force, resulting in an instant reversal of the Nationalist army's offensive and forced to abandon reinforcements.

Isamu Yokoyama, commander of the Japanese 11th Army, was an extremely clever opponent who saw through the strategic deployment of the Nationalist army at a glance, so he adhered to the original battle plan of the Japanese army. Although the Hengyang offensive was frustrated again and again, with heavy casualties, he only reorganized the 68th and 116th divisions responsible for the siege and did not reinforce them.

Isamu Yokoyama's explanation for the base camp is: "As long as the enemy's main force on the periphery is broken, the defenders of Hengyang will not be able to get reinforcements, and in the absence of supplies, when their combat strength is exhausted, they will not attack and will be destroyed!" ”

Sure enough, at the end of July, after the Japanese divisions on the periphery of Hengyang pressed all the national troops on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River to a far south of Hengyang, Yokoyama immediately transferred the troops of three divisions to the siege of Hengyang.

The Chinese battlefield in 1944 was really a nightmare for the Chinese army.

The third general attack of the Japanese army on Hengyang began at midnight on August 3. The three teams of Japanese Type 97 bombers were dispatched one after another to carry out carpet bombing on the highlands in the urban area of Hengyang and in the southwest. What was even more unfavorable to the defenders was that the Japanese army had repaired the runway of Hengyang Airport on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River, and its combat planes could take off and land nearby, regardless of fuel and range, and each plane could take off and land more than 20 times in a day.

The bombardment lasted from midnight to dawn, and as soon as the bombing of the planes stopped, the Japanese artillery groups around the city began to fire again, and more than 40,000 shells of different calibers drew a dense trajectory like a spider's web in the sky before dawn, and landed on the buildings and defenders' positions in the city with a terrifying roar, and Hengyang City was shrouded in flames and gunsmoke.

Yokoyama's intention was to destroy the fortifications and firing points in the city with saturation bombardment, in preparation for the infantry to break through the city and engage in street fighting.

For this siege, Yokoyama Yong redeployed his troops: ordered the 40th Division to move south, occupy the northwest corner of Hengyang City, and block reinforcements from the Sixth Theater of the National Army; The 58th Division was transferred to strengthen the siege force to the north; The 13th Division marched north from Leiyang and joined forces with the 68th Division to attack the south gate of Hengyang City; The 3rd Division was transferred from Chaling to Leiyang, as a campaign reserve, ready to join the siege at any time; The mission of the 116th Division to attack the west gate of Hengyang City remained unchanged; Other divisions and units directly under the 11th Army blocked the Chinese troops on both sides of the Xiang River, preventing them from approaching Hengyang.

In order to complete the final blow to Hengyang, Yokoyama Yong increased the strength of four more divisions, plus the 68th and 116th divisions that originally attacked the city, and the strength of the attack on Hengyang City reached six divisions. If we add the artillery unit, three bomber squadrons and two fighter wings of the 5th Air Army, its total strength is as high as more than 110,000 people, and there are more than 300 artillery pieces of various calibers.

Such a powerful combat force was only to deal with a 10th Army with more than half of the casualties, a broken structure, and about to run out of ammunition and food, which was unique in the eight-year War of Resistance Against Japan.

Keiichi Yamada arrived in Hengyang three days ago with thousands of additional soldiers, and because the 68th and 116th Divisions involved in the siege suffered heavy casualties, Yokoyama had to transfer a large number of troops from other divisions to supplement the siege troops. A few days ago, Keiichi Yamada's 34th Division was blocking the reinforcements of the Nationalist Army northwest of Hengyang, and with the strength of one division, it was blocking the repeated attacks of the Nationalist troops of two or three armies, and the casualties were not small. When the division commander Lieutenant General Ban Jianxiong was complaining, he received an order from Yokoyama Yong to transfer troops, Ban Jianxiong knew that the battle in Hengyang was not going well, and Yokoyama Yong was on fire, where did he dare to refuse? So he gritted his teeth and dispatched the 218th Wing of Ichiro Needleya to Hengyang to cooperate with the 116th Division to attack the city, and Yamada Keiichi came to Hengyang in this way.

The escape of Tong Mantang, Zhang Baowang and others almost brought disaster to Keiichi Yamada, and he became the key suspect of Watanabe Shaosa. Watanabe is not a fool, he first quietly surveyed the escape route of Mantang and others, and found their footprints on the ground outside the warehouse window, and understood in his heart that the garrison must be out of the inner ghost, otherwise how could the prisoners of war enter the courtyard of the garrison? Watanabe interrogated two more drunken sentinels and two cooks, and many suspicions focused on Keiichi Yamada.

Of course, Keiichi Yamada bit the bullet and didn't admit it, he only admitted that he was drunk and violated military discipline, and he didn't admit the rest, anyway, he wasn't the only one who was drunk, Watanabe couldn't arrest all the officers, right?

Of course, Watanabe doesn't believe Keiichi Yamada's explanation, he only believes in his own reasoning and judgment, this inner ghost must be Keiichi Yamada, there can be no second person, and the only thing Watanabe can't explain is Keiichi Yamada's motives. Why did he let the prisoners escape? There is no indication that he knew the prisoners of war before, and it seems unreasonable to say that they were for money, because the prisoners had been searched numerous times before entering the camp, and it was impossible for them to bring in the money. Since he couldn't find a motive and there was no evidence, Watanabe really couldn't do anything about Keiichi Yamada for a while.

"Yamada-kun, if you did this, do you know what the consequences will be?" Watanabe asked pleasantly.

"Sir, I understand that letting go of prisoners of war is a serious crime, and you will be brought to a court-martial, and eventually shot! But...... Sir, I didn't do it, so why should I let the prisoners escape? There's no reason for that, sir. Kei Yamada replied without changing his face.

Two cold lights shot out of Watanabe's eyes: "Yamada-kun, I know that you can't be convicted by suspicion alone, and even if I want you to die, I can't rely on a military court to solve it." It seems that we have to think of individual methods, and you should know that there are many ways to solve this problem within my power without alarming my superiors. ”

"I believe, sir, anything can happen in wartime, and sometimes it needs to be resolved privately. For example, the higher authorities did not know about the duel, and the prisoner of war camp administrators and garrison soldiers naturally did not talk nonsense, so it was as if this kind of thing had never happened. ”

"Yamada-kun, are you threatening me?" Watanabe asked with a smile.

"No, sir, I mean, I promise I won't tell anyone what I've seen, now or in the future." Keiichi Yamada's face is sincere.

Watanabe was silent, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, as if thinking about something.

"Sir, I think ...... The job here is not for me, and I ask for a transfer. Keiichi Yamada plucked up his courage and said.

Watanabe, who was pacing, stopped: "Oh, where do you want to be transferred?" ”

"I want to go to the combat army, anywhere, I hope the commander will give me a chance to sacrifice my life for His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Oh, Yamada-kun, your desire to participate in the battle and not to work in the rear is something to be admired, and I will consider it carefully."

Kei Yamada thought to himself, Watanabe also had pigtails in his hands, and he couldn't do anything with himself for the time being. But working under him would be dangerous, Watanabe is a vindictive man, narrow-minded and cruel, and sooner or later he will come up with a way to put Keiichi Yamada to death.

He had no choice but to make a showdown with Watanabe.

The Buddha said, "Do good to others, and you will be in heaven; If you only think about yourself, you are in hell! Whether you live in heaven or hell, it's up to you to decide. The kindness of one thought, all things are good; With the kindness of one heart, all things are celebrated. To have compassion is to save others as well as to yourself. Keiichi Yamada did not regret letting go of the prisoners of war at all, and sometimes good deeds came at a cost, and even then, Keiichi Yamada thought it was worth it.

A few days later, the transfer order came down, and Keiichi Yamada was transferred to the 218th Wing of the 34th Division, which was fighting in Hunan. The 218th Wing consisted of three infantry brigades, and was also called the "Needle Detachment" because of the wing commander Ichiro Needleya.

Keiichi Yamada's second brigade was supplemented into the 116th Wing of the 133rd Division, and after more than 30 days of fighting, this wing suffered heavy casualties, and the number of soldiers had already been replaced. No wonder Wing Captain Hei Laiping's eyes turned blood-red and his temper was extremely irritable. To be precise, the original 133 Wing no longer exists.

Keiichi Yamada is a veteran of the 5th squadron, so he was appointed as the squad leader of the 10th squadron 5th squadron.

Among the remaining veterans of the 133rd Wing, Keiichi Yamada met several soldiers from his hometown of Osaka, among whom Saburo Nobuno and Tadaichi Sasaki knew each other before enlisting in the army, and they were both reservists who were called up.

Of course, it was a pleasure to meet old acquaintances in a foreign land, and after everyone talked a few words about the past, the topic immediately turned to war. Saburo Nobuno and Tadaichi Sasaki were drawn from the 40th Division, and as soon as they were added to the 133rd Wing, they caught up with the second general attack on July 11, and after several battles, the soldiers of the 133rd Wing suffered 70% casualties, and the formation was disabled again, and their survival was completely due to luck. However, before the battle of Hengyang is over, no one dares to boast of their good luck, maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, luck will slip away quietly, who knows.

Saburo Nobuno said with palpitations: "Yamada-kun, you can't imagine how cruel the battle is, the most terrible thing is not the machine guns of the Chinese army, but their hands, the kind of long-handled M24 hands, which are hundreds at a time, flying densely, they also have a kind of iron ring, which can connect two or four hands ** together, this kind of four cluster bundles explode no less than an 82****, just the shock wave can tear the human body into pieces, and most of our casualties are caused by the hands **." ”

Sasaki Tadaichi said: "Shinno-kun said this is very one-sided, who said that the machine guns of the Chinese army are not terrible? I think it's also very scary, the key is that they set up firing points, very clever use or modification of the terrain, the firing angle seems to be all-round ......"

Keiichi Yamada asked curiously, "What does it mean to be all-round?" ”

"That is to say, once you enter their defensive circle, there is no dead end to dodge the fire, their machine guns are rarely frontal, and most of them are side, oblique, down, and upward fire, and sometimes there are even secret fire points at the bottom of the trench, when you have nowhere to hide, you think it is safe to jump into the trench, then you are wrong, maybe you are in the trap of the Chinese soldiers, if you go in, don't want to come out alive, my former squadron leader died in the trench."

Listening to their accounts, Keiichi Yamada felt terrified, although he had also participated in many battles, but compared to this brutal siege of Hengyang, it was really a small fight. Seven years after the start of the war, the Japanese army had never suffered such heavy casualties on the battlefield in China. In order to dispose of the corpses, the 68th and 116th divisions and regiments specially allocated some troops to burn the corpses, resulting in a large shortage of firewood and other fuels, and the supply of porcelain jars specially for ashes was also in short supply. Keiichi Yamada saw the corpses dragged down from the front line, it was terrible, most of them were mutilated, and they were rotting and stinking, and the soldiers in charge of handling the corpses were so disgusted and vomited by the smell of corpses that they couldn't eat, as if they were living in hell.

Keiichi Yamada was not a professional soldier, he grew up in a Buddhist family, and was taught to cultivate himself and do good deeds, and to abhor all forms of violence. Since enlisting in the Chinese battlefield, Keiichi Yamada has also been forced to kill people, but it was on the battlefield, encountering Chinese soldiers, the other party has already raised a gun, and he has to shoot down the other party in order to save his life. Every time he killed someone, Keiichi Yamada regretted it for a long time, and recited the "Jizo Bodhisattva Sutra" in the quiet of the night, hoping to surpass the dead.

Seeing the battle situation in Hengyang, Keiichi Yamada's fear came from two aspects, that is, killing and being killed. He was not willing to kill anyone, and he was afraid that others would kill him. But in fact, this is impossible, Keiichi Yamada cannot control his own destiny, a soldier is a professional murderer, and it is impossible not to want to have blood on his hands.

The day after Keiichi Yamada arrived in Hengyang, the 133rd Wing captured 12 Chinese prisoners of war, and Heilai Dazuo waved his hand impatiently and said: "We don't have extra food to feed the prisoners of war, so let's deal with it the old way." ”

Second Lieutenant Matsui, the squadron leader of the 10th Squadron, immediately understood that the so-called old way of dealing with them was to kill them all and treat the prisoners of war, which was the most trouble-free way. Second Lieutenant Matsui was a squad leader 10 days ago, and after several battles, the officers of the 133rd Wing suffered 80% casualties, so Matsui was naturally promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and became the leader of the 10th Squadron.

The new officer took office three times, Matsui was very young, just turned 21 years old, and he became a squadron leader less than a year after graduating from the military academy, which made him in a state of excitement all the time, and he wanted to find something to prove his ability if he had nothing to do, not to mention that the wing captain sent a task, and of course Second Lieutenant Matsui had to carry it out to the letter.

Second Lieutenant Matsui excitedly said to Keiichi Yamada: "Yamada Juncao, the co-captain has given a beautiful mission, you bring some recruits to dispose of the prisoners of war, please!" ”

Keiichi Yamada said coldly: "Second Lieutenant Matsui, what kind of beauty is it to kill someone?" I'm a Buddhist, so it's not appropriate for me to do this kind of task, so you'd better find someone else. ”

Matsui looked at him in surprise: "Yamada Juncao, don't you think that killing people is a pleasure?" There are many people in our army who believe in Buddhism, but this does not prevent them from killing the enemy and making meritorious contributions. Let's save some ammunition and use our bayonets, so that the recruits can take the opportunity to practice their hands. ”

"No, Second Lieutenant Matsui, I don't want blood on my hands, I'm a religious person, please understand!"

Second Lieutenant Matsui got angry, and his voice raised an octave: "Yamada Juncao, I want to remind you that this is the army, only talking about orders, I don't care what kind of faith you have, please carry out the orders!" ”

Keiichi Yamada had to give in, he didn't have the guts to disobey, otherwise he would have to go to court-martial, and the consequences were conceivable.

Soldiers tied prisoners of war to wooden stakes, and 12 recruits, armed with rifles loaded with bayonets, excitedly made preparations stance. The expressions of the prisoners of war were also very different, some begged for mercy in fear, and some glared at each other angrily. Keiichi Yamada wanted to ask them if he had anything to say before he died, but after thinking about it, he couldn't expose his ability to speak Chinese, otherwise he would be in trouble later. Standing on the side of the execution ground, he gave an order to the recruits: "All pay attention, be prepared...... Assault! ”

After giving the order, he turned away, unable to bear to look any more. Behind him he could hear the screams of the prisoners of war, and he could even hear the "pop" of a bayonet piercing into his flesh. A prisoner of war with a Hunan accent scolded bitterly: "Little devil, I'll fuck your mother!" I won't let you go if I'm a ghost......"

Keiichi Yamada departed quickly, and under the scorching sun, he felt a cold that penetrated into his bones. What's going on? Almost everyone has become an executioner, taking killing as fun, these recruits are all young people who do their duty before joining the army, they know how to be polite, simple, enthusiastic, and even shy, how can they become beasts as soon as they enter the army? If this continues, the Yamato nation will probably suffer a great calamity.

It is still permissible to do evil in heaven, and it is impossible to live for oneself to do evil. The Buddha said that if you have evil thoughts in your heart, you will eventually get evil results! If a person does evil, he will go to hell, but what if a people does evil? I'm afraid it will also end up bad!

Buddhism has six paths of reincarnation, which are the path of heaven, humanity, the path of asura, hell, hungry ghosts, and the path of animals. The former is the Three Good Paths, and the latter is the Three Evil Paths. In other words, there are six ways to go or return to the original gods after death. Those who accumulate virtue during their lifetime can enter heaven to enjoy the blessings of heaven after death; Those who have done both good and evil in their lives can be reincarnated in the world after death, and they can gather together due to the sins they created in their previous lives, or repay their favors or debts. There are also three bad destinations or endings, that is, because you have done too much evil in your life, you will fall into hell and suffer punishment, or you will be a hungry ghost in the underworld, or you will be reborn into various animals and livestock. One of the factors that Buddhism avoids killing and eating meat is based on the understanding that animals were human beings in their previous lives, and that people may also be reborn as animals after death. Legend has it that the Tang Dynasty monk Hanshan Master saw a lay family marrying a daughter-in-law, the bride was the reincarnation of the groom's grandmother, and at the same time saw the guests sitting on the feast drinking and eating meat, but it was the groom's cattle and horses reincarnated, and the pigs, sheep and fish in the pot were all reincarnated by his six relatives. Pity the six ordinary beings, who do not know cause and effect, and act upside down. When Master Hanshan saw it, he couldn't help but feel sad from his heart, crying loudly, and singing a verse: "Six reincarnation suffering, grandson marries grandmother, cattle and sheep sit on the table, and six relatives cook in the pot." ”

This is the story that Keiichi Yamada told him when he was a child in his mother's arms. Mother said that good and evil will be rewarded, not that they will not be rewarded, and the time has not yet come. Now, many years have passed, and Keiichi Yamada will never forget his mother's teachings. Although he did not kill with his own hands this time, he still fell into a deep self-remorse, in any case, he was indirectly involved in the crime of killing prisoners of war, can the Buddha forgive him?

At midnight on August 3, the third general attack of the Japanese army on Hengyang began, and the task of the 10th Squadron was to cooperate with the other two squadrons to attack the Yueping Mountain position. It was a dirt hill with an elevation of just over 90 meters, and the defenders dug an artificial cliff nearly three meters high at the foot of the mountain, and there were minefields, trenches and several barbed wire fences in front of the cliff. Keiichi Yamada heard the veterans say that in the first two general attacks, at least more than 2,000 soldiers lost their lives under this fatal artificial cliff.

Before the battle, the 10th Squadron prepared a lot of bamboo ladders to deal with this cliff. Squadron Leader Second Lieutenant Matsui also convened everyone to discuss how to use their brains to reduce casualties and quickly climb the cliff and occupy the position. After discussing for a long time, they couldn't seem to come up with any effective solutions. Tadaichi Sasaki joked that unless everyone grows wings, even if they grow wings, it only solves the ladder problem, and casualties cannot be avoided.

Not only did the soldiers not think of a good way, but the commanders at all levels also had no good way, and there seemed to be no better way to face such a position than to use the old procedures step by step. The attack was preceded by artillery preparations, as usual, and after the indiscriminate bombardment, a large number of infantry began to spread out in a multi-layered skirmish line and rushed forward in a chaotic manner. Keiichi Yamada saw that the enemy's position had been completely changed in the artillery fire, the artificial cliff was blown up by shells in many places, forming a slope of about 45 degrees, the trench under the cliff was almost flattened, most of the barbed wire was destroyed, and the defenders seemed to have been completely wiped out in the artillery fire, and the position was quiet and there was no trace of life.

As the skirmish line advanced, there were also a few sporadic explosions, this was because some soldiers triggered the remnants of the **, and this casualty was nothing at all. The recruits looked at each other with joy on their faces, and only the veterans had gloomy faces, cautiously watching the defenders' positions advance step by step. Past experience tells them that no matter how heavy the bombardment and shelling, the defenders never seem to be killed, and the devil knows where they are hiding?

The first wave of skirmishers was close to an artificial cliff, and the defenders' positions were still as silent as death......

Keiichi Yamada commanded the soldiers to erect a bamboo ladder and ordered the grenadiers to continuously fire ** at the top of the cliff for fire cover. The soldiers climbed the bamboo ladder and began to climb. Saburo Nobuno and Tadaichi Sasaki also climbed the ladder and were stopped by Keiichi Yamada: "You two are responsible for observing the situation above, and you will go up later." ”

They nodded gratefully to Kei Yamada, and everyone knew that the soldiers who went up first would be killed nine times out of ten. Keiichi Yamada is using the power of the squad leader to give them a little hope of life.

At this time, the soldiers on several bamboo ladders were already approaching the top of the cliff, and they slowly poked their heads out, ready to climb to the top of the cliff...... Suddenly, Keiichi Yamada heard several sporadic gunshots, and all four soldiers were shot in the head and fell from a height of nearly three meters......

Tadaichi Sasaki's face changed drastically, and he slammed down Keiichi Yamada...... At this moment, hundreds of hands fell on the top of the cliff, the continuous explosion was deafening, and the flying shrapnel cut off the bamboo ladder, turning the soldiers above into pieces of flesh and blood and falling down, and the soldiers under the cliff were lifted high by the powerful shock wave of the cluster hand**, and many stumps and broken arms were thrown onto the top of the cliff......

If it weren't for Sasaki Tadaichi throwing himself down and several soldiers around him blocking shrapnel for him, Keiichi Yamada would probably have lost his life under the first round of barrage attacks. He struggled to push away the corpse that was pressing on him, and wanted to stand up, but there was a whisper in Sasaki Tadaichi's ear: "Yamada-kun, don't move, the eighth squadron is coming up again." ”

As he was talking, the second wave of stragglers rushed to the bottom of the cliff again, most of the soldiers of the Eighth Squadron were newly replenished, and their morale was high, they completely ignored the bloody corpses and the screams of the wounded soldiers under the cliff, quickly set up a bamboo ladder, and scrambled to climb up, and some soldiers climbed up with their hands and feet along the slope that was blown up, who knew that this slope was completely composed of empty soil, and after a few steps, the soldiers rolled down with the new collapse.

This scene was exactly what the defenders wanted, they unceremoniously threw off the second group of hands**, and there was a burst of explosions that shook the mountains, Yamada Keiichi suddenly felt breathless, and five or six corpses were pressed horizontally and vertically on his body, and a large amount of viscous blood flowed on him, and the pervasive gunpowder smoke and heavy bloody gas choked him coughing again and again......

In just 40 minutes, the 133rd Wing launched five consecutive attacks on the Yueping Mountain position, and each time the result was the same, just after replenishment, the 133rd Wing, which was close to full strength, lost another 70% of its strength.

Keiichi Yamada, who was crushed under the pile of corpses, couldn't help but cry, crying not only for himself, but also for these rapidly disappearing lives...... Why did His Majesty the Emperor and those madmen from the military department start the war? Could it be that the Yamato nation has no other way out than war? It is truly deplorable that so many handsome, healthy, and vigorous young people have turned into bloody and wriggling pieces of flesh in an instant. Is it worth it for the single thought of the country's decision-makers to cause the destruction of countless living beings?

During the second general offensive of the Japanese army, Fang Xianjue ordered to abandon the positions of Zhangjiashan and the machine repair factory and the small highlands on both sides, Fengshu Mountain, and Tiger's Nest, and the regiments of the 10th Division retreated to the second-line positions in the areas of Xiaojiashan, Dalianping, and Xichan Temple, and the regiments of the 3rd Division were still defending on the first line of Wuguiling, Tianma Mountain, and Yueping Mountain.

The Japanese attack was really different from the past, and from the early morning of August 3, the Japanese attack on all fronts hardly stopped. Fang Xianjue, Sun Mingyu, Cai Jigang and others according to the analysis of the battle situation reported by the various positions, the Japanese army's attack was completely unfocused, regardless of priority, they relied on strong firepower and sufficient soldiers, with 100 people as an echelon, to carry out a non-stop rolling attack, when the first echelon was killed and wounded under the fire of the defenders, the second echelon rushed up again, stepping on the corpses and wounded soldiers of the first echelon to continue to attack, a wave of unsettled, wave after wave, like the sea water wave after wave of rolling forward. This brutal and lethal attack brought a violent irritation to the spirit of the defenders, and a sergeant of the 8th Regiment of the 3rd Division went insane under this endless attack, he howled and rushed out of the fortifications with his bare hands, and laughed wildly in the rain of bullets, and the sergeant was instantly beaten into a honeycomb by the machine gun. A soldier of the 29th Regiment of the 10th Pre-Division could not bear this endless torture, so he simply carried out a counter-charge alone with the cluster hand, and died with the enemy.

Cai Jigang said to the other party with a gloomy expression: "Brother Zishan, the combat capability of the troops has reached the limit, this is like a bowstring stretched to the limit, it is about to break, it seems that we need to make some preparations." ”

Fang Xianjue silently made a huge cross on the city defense map with a red pencil, and asked calmly, "Yunhe, do you have any suggestions?" ”

Cai Jigang and Fang Xianjue looked at each other, and said softly: "It's nothing more than two roads, either defend or break through!" ”

Fang Xianjue smiled slightly: "It's easy to defend to the death, it's nothing more than fighting to the last soldier, the 10th Army and Hengyang will be destroyed together, and everyone will be heroes." But when it comes to breaking through, trouble comes, what to do with our thousands of wounded? It is unrealistic to break through with a breakout, and if you stay, I am afraid that you will all die under the sword of the Japanese, and the Japanese army does not seem to care about the Geneva Convention at all. After Yu Chengwan's 57th Division broke through in Changde, most of the wounded soldiers left behind were killed by the Japanese, which is a lesson. ”

Cai Jigang was silent, he felt speechless.

The Battle of Changde took place just nine months ago. In November 1943, the 57th Division of the 74th Army of the National Army defended Changde and met the enemy with 8,300 men. The Japanese army attacking Changde was still the 11th Army, and the two old enemies in front of them who participated in the siege of the city, the 68th Division and the 116th Division, plus a 3rd Division, the total strength of the siege was more than 40,000 people. Yu Chengwan, commander of the 57th Division, led his troops to fight fiercely with the enemy for 15 days, and finally broke through with the remnants of more than 300 people, and heard that only 83 people remained in the division after the breakthrough. According to post-war information, most of the wounded of the 57th Division remaining in the city were killed by the Japanese army.

Fang Xianjue's voice suddenly raised an octave: "He Yu Chengwan can ignore the wounded soldiers, my Xianjue can't do this, I can't just leave by myself, leave thousands of wounded soldiers for the devil to kill, if you really want to do this, which soldier will be willing to be my subordinate in the future?" ”

Cai Jigang nodded and said: "Okay, I agree with your point of view, since you can't break through, then there is only one last way, live and die with Hengyang." ”

"Brother Yunhe, the Military Commission has called you several times to urge you to go back, I think you should go. Hengyang is currently surrounded on three sides, only the Xiangjiang River in the east is still a gap, you take a few guards to take a small boat down the river at night, and go ashore in Hengshan County even if the breakthrough is successful, then there are our troops nearby, you can find them and return to the rear. Fang Xianjue sincerely suggested.

"Brother Zishan, didn't I say that? I can't leave yet, Hengyang is still in our hands, the troops are still fighting, as a war supervisor, how can I escape first? Your brother Zishan has his own principles, doesn't Cai have principles? Cai Jigang argued.

Fang Xianjue was unmoved: "! This has nothing to do with principles, you and I have different responsibilities, I am the commander of the 10th Army, of course I should be with the troops, and you are just a war supervisor sent by the Military Commission, there is no need to advance and retreat with us. ”

Cai Jigang didn't want to argue anymore, he picked up *** and said while walking out: "Don't talk about this, I'll go to the city center to see the construction of the barricades, and there needs to be a fire support point at the intersection of Zhongzheng Road and Zhongshan Road, otherwise we will be very passive in street fighting." ”

Fang Xianjue asked, "When do you expect the street fighting to start?" ”

"In two days, how about giving me a chance to command the battle? The strength of one company is sufficient. ”

Fang Xianjue didn't answer his words, but said stubbornly: "I hope you will consider my suggestion carefully. ”

Cai Jigang turned around and walked out of the military headquarters.

Shen Xingyun walked down the ramp of the C-47 transport plane, this was her first time at Guilin Yangtang Airport, and she looked curiously at the airport's various facilities and the neatly arranged combat planes on the tarmac.

Yangtang Airport is located in the west of Guilin, only two kilometers away from Lingui County, this airport was built in early l933, and after 1939, nearly 40,000 migrant workers were mobilized in eleven counties around Guilin, and it became an official airport after three large-scale expansions. In order to facilitate the take-off and landing of heavy bombers, the 2,000-meter-long runway is all paved with gravel into a hard surface, and in the absence of construction machinery, thousands of migrant workers open the mountain to gravel, and then the road surface is compacted back and forth by manpower to pull a huge roller.

Shen Xingyun thought with emotion that the price paid by a poor country to build a modern airport is really unimaginable. Without mechanized gravel crushing equipment, tens of thousands of rural women had to smash large rocks bit by bit with hand hammers to pave the 2,000-meter-long runway.

An Air Force captain came over and greeted Shen Xingyun: "Excuse me, are you Miss Shen Xingyun?" ”

Shen Xingyun saluted the captain according to the army order: "Hello! Sir, I'm Shen Xingyun. ”

The captain also saluted: "I am Feng Tianxiang, a staff officer of the Sino-US Air Force Mixed Regiment, and I am ordered to accompany you, you can tell me if you have any requirements." ”

Shen Xingyun said: "I already said on the phone that I came to Guilin this time mainly to see Captain Wang Haiwen, where is he now?" I'm going to see him right away. ”

The captain looked at his watch and replied: "Now Wang Haiwen is leading the team on a combat mission, and it will be about an hour before he can return home." In this way, I will take you for a walk around the airport first, and by the way, I will also introduce the situation of Captain Cai Jiheng. Oh, I forgot to mention, Cai Jiheng and I are also good friends. ”

Shen Xingyun nodded: "Okay, then I'll visit the airport first." Staff Officer Feng, since you and Cai Jiheng are friends, have you also been a pilot? ”

"You're right, I used to be a fighter pilot and trained in India with Cai Jiheng. However, my luck was not very good, during the Battle of Changde last year, my plane was hit, and I broke a leg after parachuting. ”

Only then did Shen Xingyun realize that Staff Officer Feng was walking with a slight limp, but it was not obvious.

The two walked forward along the taxiway, Shen Xingyun looked at the heavy bombers and P-40 and P-51 fighters neatly arranged on the tarmac and asked curiously: "Why are there so many planes at your airport?" ”

Staff Officer Feng introduced: "There were not so many planes before, since the Battle of Changheng began, Hengyang Airport was lost, and Yangtang Airport has become an important station at the forefront of the Hunan and Guizhou lines. At its peak, more than 200 planes stopped every day. There are also quite a lot of units stationed here, including two squadrons of the 14th Fighter Group of the 23rd Air Force, two squadrons of the 308th Bomber Group, and then there is our mixed regiment of the Chinese and American Air Forces. You see, the forward command post of our regiment is located in the front of the Jigong Mountain Twelve Heavy Rocks. ”

Shen Xingyun asked absentmindedly and casually, "Where can our fleet fly farthest?" ”

Staff Officer Feng smiled: "Miss Shen's question is a bit of a layman, she should ask where the combat radius of our fleet can reach the farthest." Because the fuel carried by the plane is limited, after flying to the combat area, it is necessary to consider the return fuel, otherwise the plane will fall. Last November, our fleet attacked an important Japanese base in Hsinchu, Taiwan, which should be considered the farthest sortie. ”

Shen Xingyun didn't pay attention to Staff Officer Feng's words, she was thinking about other questions. Since Shen Xingyun learned the news that Cai Jiheng was forced to land in Hengyang, she has been in a state of extreme anxiety. This news was informed by Wang Haiwen by phone to Shen Xingyun, the telephone line during the war was very busy, it was not easy for Wang Haiwen to get through and find Shen Xingyun, and the quality of his call could not be more demanding, Shen Xingyun only got one message in a serious noise: Cai Jiheng's plane was damaged in the battle and had been forced to land in Hengyang...... As soon as Wang Haiwen said this, the line was interrupted, and no matter how hard Shen Xingyun tried, he couldn't connect again.

Shen Xingyun was anxious, Cai Jiheng's plane was damaged, what about the others? Will it hurt? If so, how serious is it? Even if you don't get hurt in the air, will you get hurt when you make a forced landing? Also, where exactly did the plane make a forced landing? Is it the enemy-occupied zone or our zone? It would be bad if he landed in an enemy-occupied area, with Cai Jiheng's character, he would rather commit suicide than be a prisoner. Shen Xingyun had so many questions that no one could answer, she thought about it, and the only way was to go to Guilin in person and find Wang Haiwen to figure things out.

Thinking of this, Shen Xingyun secretly regretted in her heart, she remembered the scene the night before she broke up with Cai Jiheng. Cai Jiheng also had a blue nose and swollen face when he fled back to the guest house from the "Beverly Hills" café, it seems that he and Shen Guangya did not take much advantage in the duel with American officers, but Cai Jiheng's mouth has not been idle along the way, he boasted to Shen Xingyun with great interest, how those American soldiers were hit hard, and the biggest benefit of this brawl is to teach those guys not to talk in public places in the future, otherwise there will be serious consequences.

Shen Xingyun wasn't so excited, she felt very scared, and at the same time wondered, where did she get so bold in the café just now? Actually daring to attack the gendarmes with a water dragon belt is really eating the gall of a leopard. Shen Xingyun grew up in a church school, and he has been used to following the rules since he was a child, where did he cause such a big incident? Fortunately, he escaped quickly just now, and if he was caught by the gendarmes, he would be in great trouble. The initiator of this incident is undoubtedly Cai Jiheng, but his brother Shen Guangya's performance was also excessive, and he actually took the initiative to participate in the brawl. In Shen Xingyun's impression, she had never seen her brother fight, which surprised her.

Shen Xingyun cautiously said to Cai Jiheng: "Jiheng, you have to promise me that you will never fight again in the future, is it okay?" ”

Unexpectedly, Cai Jiheng refused: "No, I can't agree to this, if I encounter something that makes me angry, a fight is inevitable." ”

The hotel where the two stayed was booked by Shen Xingyun in advance, and for some consideration, Shen Xingyun specially booked two single rooms, which was equivalent to telling Cai Jiheng unmistakably that she did not plan to live with Cai Jiheng at present.

When Shen Xingyun handed over the key to the single room to Cai Jiheng, Cai Jiheng was quite surprised: "Xingyun, what does this mean?" Wouldn't you want to live with me? ”

Shen Xingyun replied: "Jiheng, forgive me, I am a Christian, and I can't live with you for the time being, because we haven't had a wedding in the church yet." ”

Cai Jiheng said disapprovingly: "As far as I know, there seems to be no mention of premarital sex in the Bible, and it is not explained in the Ten Precepts. Besides, there are many Christian denominations, and each denomination has completely different interpretations of this issue, and the statement that Christians are not allowed to have sex before marriage depends on which doctrinal denomination you are, and there are many denominations of Mormonism alone, some of which practice polygamy. I think you're being too conservative. ”

Shen Xingyun didn't want to explain, she just smiled and said, "I'm sorry, as a Christian, this kind of behavior is not a question of whether it is okay or not, but it should not be done at all." Marriage is ordained by God, and there are many guidelines for marriage in the Bible, and even if it is not explicitly stated, this kind of behavior is not encouraged by God, just as no one would ask a Christian if he can rob a bank, because it is self-evident. ”

Cai Jiheng smiled bitterly: "I have never dealt with Christians before, and your code of conduct surprised me, but our relationship is ...... We are ready to get married, but because of the war, the wedding has not yet taken place, and is it not permissible for God to live together in such a predetermined relationship? ”

"Dear, cohabitation does not prove that we are married, but it is a principle that we can cohabit when we are married. I don't want to do things that are not pleasing to God, please forgive me. Jiheng, we must all be patient, do not indulge ourselves, God is watching us, and when we have a wedding before God, I will present myself to you without reservation. ”

Shen Xingyun could feel that Cai Jiheng's gaze was a little dim, and he was restraining the disappointment in his heart, but he immediately returned to normalcy and opened his arms to Shen Xingyun: "Come, let's hug, even if it's goodbye, tomorrow we will go our separate ways, I will miss you." ”

Shen Xingyun threw herself into Cai Jiheng's arms, tears came out of her eyes, she listened to Cai Jiheng's heartbeat, once, again...... The powerful heartbeat sounded like a drum.

The two hugged for a long time, but neither spoke.

That night, Shen Xingyun tossed and turned, sleepless all night, it was difficult for her to describe this feeling, her heart was struggling, her body was hot, restless. The power of faith and primal instinct collide violently, colliding ...... When she was in so much pain that she couldn't help herself, she couldn't help but want to knock on Cai Jiheng's door, but in the end she restrained herself and didn't act. Shen Xingyun buried her face in the pillow and cried silently, there was a vague hope in her heart, why couldn't this fool take the initiative anymore? If Cai Jiheng came to knock on his door at this time, Shen Xingyun might rush into his arms desperately, even if she was severely punished by God afterwards, she would admit it.

However, Cai Jiheng never came to knock on the door.

"Miss Shen, Wang Haiwen, they have returned." Staff Officer Feng's reminder brought Shen Xingyun back to reality.

The roar of the engines of the planes was heard in the sky, and P-40E fighters painted with shark mouths appeared over the runway, and the planes entered the runway one by one to land......

Staff Officer Feng nervously counted the number of planes, his face gradually turned pale, and he whispered, "Oops! Only four came back, and it seems that two of them had an accident, and when they took off, they were in a six-plane formation......"

Shen Xingyun's heart tightened suddenly, she found that the fuselage of the four fighters returning was also full of bullet marks, the cockpit canopy of one of the planes was shattered by bullets, and the pilot covered in blood was carried off the plane by the ground crew, I really don't know how he flew the plane back. Shen Xingyun couldn't imagine what kind of brutal air battle these pilots had just gone through.

Wang Haiwen jumped off the gangway with his umbrella bag and flight bag, and he shouted loudly to the ground crew: "Hurry! Refuel and reload me, hang 250 kg of parachute bombs on the wings, and we'll wait here. ”

A ground crew member was surprised and asked, "We haven't been notified, do you still want to take off?" ”

Wang Haiwen said lightly: "When we returned to the sea, we found a Japanese oil depot, and I will go again and kill that oil depot!" ”

Wang Haiwen walked to the side of the runway, he was a young man of twenty-four or five years old, but judging from the demeanor on his face and the posture of walking, he looked like a battle-hardened old pilot. When the injured pilot was lifted in front of him, a large amount of blood fell on the runway through the canvas stretcher, Wang Haiwen turned a blind eye, he quietly gave an American-style military salute to the injured pilot, and then smiled and raised two fingers to make a "V" gesture, the movement was so natural and free.

Shen Xingyun secretly thought, this is a veteran who is already accustomed to blood and death, there is nothing in the world that can scare him, and Cai Jiheng also belongs to this kind of person.

Staff Officer Feng stepped forward to greet Wang Haiwen: "Haiwen, are there any casualties today?" ”

Wang Haiwen threw the umbrella bag on his shoulder and replied nonchalantly: "Hi! Can there be no casualties in the war? The key is to see if it's worth it, we lost two, but we can kill four of them, it's enough, I'm content! ”

Staff Officer Feng introduced to Wang Haiwen: "Haiwen, this is Shen Xingyun, Cai Jiheng's fiancée, she flew over from Yangjie Airport specially. ”

Wang Haiwen was stunned for a moment, and immediately stretched out his hand politely: "Hello!" Miss Shen, I often hear crocodiles mention you, do you have anything to do with me? ”

Shen Xingyun said eagerly: "I want to know the whole situation of Cai Jiheng, under what circumstances did he make a forced landing?" Were there any injuries after the crash landing......"

Wang Haiwen comforted gently: "Don't worry, don't worry, you speak slowly, I'll answer your first question first, the crocodile shot down two enemy planes in that air battle, and his own plane was also seriously damaged, I watched him make a forced landing, and I didn't fly away until he was rescued, I observed from the air, he should not be injured, please rest assured!" ”

"Brother Haiwen, after Heng forced to land in Hengyang, I didn't get any official notice except for you who called me, isn't this too irresponsible? In addition, no one told me when Cai Jiheng would be able to return to the rear. ”

"Oh, I'm afraid the crocodile is to blame for this problem, he didn't report to his boss that he had a fiancée, only a few of us knew, and now that Duhi and Jellyfish have died, I'm the only one who knows about it. As for when the crocodile will return to the base, I can't answer, because now Hengyang has been surrounded like an iron bucket, and all water and land transportation has been cut off, and the crocodile may not be able to return until Hengyang is cleared. ”

Shen Xingyun let out a long breath, she finally put her mind at ease, Cai Jiheng is fine, once the tension of the past few days relaxed, Shen Xingyun suddenly felt weak in her limbs and her body was paralyzed, she really wanted to find a place to sit.

Wang Haiwen hugged her with concern: "Xingyun, are you not feeling well?" Why don't you ask Staff Officer Feng to arrange a place for you to live immediately and rest first? ”

Shen Xingyun shook his head: "No, I'm fine." Brother Haiwen, you are a good friend of Jiheng, I should treat you as a brother, I ...... There's something I'd like to discuss with you......"

"You say, as long as I can do it, I will promise you."

"Please tell me, is there any way to enter Hengyang? I still have a month of vacation, I want to go to Hengyang and be with Cai Jiheng, besides, the troops defending Hengyang must be short of manpower now, and I can be a nurse. ”

Wang Haiwen smiled: "Xingyun, you are whimsical, there is no possibility. As I said, at present, Hengyang's water and land transportation is completely cut off, and the defenders' food and ammunition supply can only be barely replenished by air......"

Shen Xingyun's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "In the air? That's a good idea, can you help me find a parachute? I can go to Hengyang with the airdrop transport plane and then parachute down. ”

Wang Haiwen suddenly became stern: "Nonsense! Have you ever learned to skydive? If you are not trained, there is no other possibility than to fall to your death. Besides, the take-off weight of the transport aircraft is strictly calculated, and if you can load an extra kilogram, how can you weigh fifty kilograms, right? Instead of loading you, it is better to load an extra fifty kilograms of ammunition. Nebula, stop thinking nonsense, the crocodile is safe now, maybe even safer than us, what else are you worried about? ”

A ground crew member ran over and shouted, "Squadron leader, your plane has finished refueling and is ready to take off." ”

Wang Haiwen nodded: "Got it!" He turned to Shen Xingyun and said, "Xingyun, please ask Staff Officer Feng to arrange a place for you to live in a while, stay here tonight, and return to Yangjie Airport tomorrow, don't think about it anymore, if there is any news about the crocodile, I will inform you as soon as possible." ”

Shen Xingyun looked at the three planes lined up on the tarmac in turn, and asked worriedly, "It's so late, do you still have to take off?" ”

Wang Haiwen put on a flight cap, jumped up the gangway and replied: "A small job, it won't take long." Nebula, if I can come back, I'll treat you to dinner tonight! ”

Shen Xingyun's tears flowed down suddenly, and she realized the meaning of Wang Haiwen's words: "The crocodile is very safe now, maybe even safer than us." "These fighter pilots are on the verge of life and death at every moment, and every time they take off, they are accompanied by death, this is war, and it is extremely cruel.

Shen Xingyun looked at Wang Haiwen and whimpered: "Brother Haiwen, promise me that you must come back well, God bless you!" ”

Wang Haiwen smiled and didn't answer, he started the engine and made that dashing "V" gesture through the cockpit glass again.

The three fighters roared up to the runway one after another, gradually accelerating, and then one by one they took off and disappeared into the clouds......

Shen Xingyun stared at the sky blankly, refusing to leave for a long time.

When Mantang's 3rd Company withdrew from the Zhangjiashan position to the second-line position, the 30th Regiment of the 10th Pre-Division was already incomplete, and according to the statistics of the regiment commander, Colonel Chen Dema, the 30th Regiment was now able to participate in the battle with less than 400 soldiers. Except for the current company commander Kong Dachuan, all the officers of the 3rd Company were killed, and the whole company had less than 40 soldiers.

During the first general offensive of the Japanese army, division commander Ge Xiancai considered strengthening the second-line position, and he believed that with the development of the war, the first-line position would have to be abandoned sooner or later, so it was urgent to consolidate the second-line position. With the assistance of the engineer battalion of the military headquarters, 15 to 20 meters wide and 12 to 15 meters deep were dug in front of the positions in Xiaojiashan, Daxianping, and Xichan Temple, and hung on the two walls of the trench with sharp barbed wire, and minefields were laid in front of the outer trenches.

The 3rd Company was responsible for defending the Xiaojiashan position. Compared with the Zhangjiashan position, the terrain and fortifications here are completely different, the outer trench more than ten meters deep has replaced the previous artificial wall, but the defenders' firepower point is no longer built on the jagged tip position, but a lot of hidden forts are set up irregularly, and some of the shooting holes of the hidden forts are actually opened at the bottom of the trench.

In the early morning of August 3, when the third general offensive of the Japanese army began, the Japanese siege force had reached six divisions and regiments, and the strength was extremely sufficient, so it appeared that the use of troops was rich. They carried out continuous rolling attacks in large groups, and every 500-meter-wide front of the line reached thousands of Japanese attacks in each wave.

What frightened the house the most was the saturation bombing that preceded the Japanese attack, which was more intense than any previous bombing. The Japanese Type 97 bombers flew around like marquees, raining down on the positions. Anyway, they repaired the Hengyang airfield, and they didn't have to worry about fuel and range, just take-off and landing plus the time to load the bomb. The Japanese 100-mm cannon and 150-mm ** guns also deepened the fear of the defenders, and the power of shells of this caliber was amazing, and the crater formed after the landing explosion was seven or eight meters deep, and even the strongest shelter could not withstand a direct hit.

The luck of the 3rd Company was not bad, only seven or eight casualties were suffered in the first round of artillery fire, while the position of the adjacent 2nd Company was not so lucky, a 500-pound aviation ** directly hit a shelter, and none of the more than 30 brothers escaped.

The Japanese infantry were almost following the point of the shells, and as soon as the sound of the artillery stopped, their skirmish lines appeared in front of the outer trenches, and the number and momentum of the defending brothers made the defenders gasp, and the mere sound of thousands of throats was enough to make the hearts and minds of the people feel terrified.

In the minefield in front of the outer trench, the remaining ** under the artillery fire was trampled one after another, the explosions came and went, and the stumps and broken arms of the Japanese soldiers were constantly thrown into the air by the air waves, and the Japanese infantry of the brigade were not moved at all, they didn't care about this casualty at all, and the straggler lines indifferently crossed the wounded soldiers lying on the ground wailing, and moved forward firmly......

The forward line of the Japanese army approached the outer trench step by step, and there was still silence on the defenders' positions. The Japanese soldiers also seemed to be affected by some kind of infection, they stopped shouting, the attack and defense were silent, and the whole position fell into a deathly silence...... It's a battle of spirit and willpower, and both the offensive and defensive sides are waiting for the moment when the sudden explosion will occur.

100 meters, 50 meters, 30 meters, the distance was shortened little by little in the suffocating ordeal, and when the Japanese forward line advanced to only three or four meters from the outer trench, the company commander Kong Dachuan's shell gun rang out, and a Japanese lieutenant fell with a bullet in his eyebrows...... Dense firepower suddenly burst out from the defenders' positions, and the fire net composed of light and heavy machine guns turned dozens of Japanese soldiers at the front into a honeycomb and fell one after another.

Only then did Man Tang, Zhang Baowang and others see that this position was so cleverly set up, and a large number of Japanese infantry were intercepted by dense fire nets on the unsheltered open ground, and their only reaction was to jump into the outer trench in a panic, so as to avoid the killing of the rain of bullets. As soon as the Japanese soldiers jumped in, they were waiting for them with sharp barbed wire barbs, which hung on the wall of the ditch, and the sharp, barbed barbed iron spikes unceremoniously penetrated the flesh and sank deep into the bones, and it was not so easy to pull them out, just like a fish that swallowed a hook, and it was difficult to get rid of the barbs on the iron barbs by their own strength. The Japanese soldiers' will to fight was commendable, and although they were in unbearable pain, they still pulled out one foot after another and continued to move forward, but the same barbed wire and spikes were waiting for them in front of them, and in this way, the first batch of more than 100 Japanese soldiers who jumped into the outer trench were all hung on the barbed wire of the trench wall, and they were covered in blood and could not move.

The follow-up troops of the Japanese army saw their own people in front of them enter the outer trench, and immediately accelerated their reinforcements, and the infantry behind did not care about observation under the threat of the fire of the defenders, and all regarded the outer trench as a refuge, so wave after wave of soldiers jumped off the outer trench, completely unaware that this was a trap that could go down and could not come up, and in less than half an hour, more than 600 Japanese soldiers jumped into the outer trench without hesitation. Hei Laiping, the commander of the 133rd Wing of the Japanese Army, who was watching the battle from behind, could not help but be shocked when he saw this scene in the telescope, he could not understand that this trench had swallowed up 60 percent of the men of an infantry brigade at once, and not a single soldier could climb out of the outer trench.

Heiichi Kuroyori had just been promoted from Osa to major general just a few days earlier, and so far, he was the only major general wing commander in the Japanese Army, which also indicated that his next position would inevitably be promoted to brigade commander. Hei Lai Pingyi, who had just entered the general rank, was more cautious, and those who became generals could no longer be like in the past, holding a command knife at every turn to personally lead the troops to charge, otherwise he would not be able to afford it.

Major General Hei Laipingichi decided to stop the offensive immediately, and his decision saved the lives of most of the soldiers of the 133rd Wing.

At this time, more than 600 Japanese soldiers in the trench were in a desperate situation, and some strong soldiers were unwilling to do nothing, they endured the pain of their skin and flesh, broke free from the messy barbed wire, dug out their pedals on the nearly 90-degree steep trench wall with bayonets, and climbed the edge of the ditch step by step. As soon as a soldier poked his head out, a bullet accurately entered his eyebrows, and after a while, seven or eight Japanese soldiers in front and behind him became Sun Xincang's guns. The remaining Japanese soldiers no longer dared to act rashly, they could only pin their hopes on reinforcements, and the wing commander had his own way after dawn.

Company commander Kong Dachuan discussed with several squad and platoon commanders under him how to clean up these hundreds of devils who were in a desperate situation. Ma Lao Wu spoke first: "Company commander, can you get a few barrels of gasoline?" Pour the gasoline below, and then draw a match, and burn these turtle grandsons as firewood! ”

Kong Dachuan scolded: "Bullshit! Where do we find gasoline? Don't give a damn idea of uselessness. ”

The full house said: "I think it's better to greet with my hands, it's almost enough to have 200 hands**." ”

Zhang Baowang objected: "This trick doesn't work, there is a safety blind spot in the explosion of the hand **, the devils are all lying at the bottom of the ditch, they can still erect the corpse to block the shrapnel, and they can't clean them all up by hand **." ”

Kong Dachuan agreed: "That's it, it's still Baowang's brain, these devils are beasts, they don't take their own people's corpses seriously, they want to use dead people as covers, we really can't do anything about them." Besides, we can't afford to waste 200 hands. ”

Tie Zhu suddenly burst out with a sentence: "Company commander, it's still easiest to use a machine gun to do it, have you forgotten?" There is a shooting hole under the ditch, which was repaired by the engineer battalion. ”

Kong Dachuan patted his head and suddenly realized: "Damn, why did I forget about this!" There is a dark fire point under the ditch, and the firing range is straight through, and once the fire is fired, these dogs have no place to hide. Let's do this, Tie Zhu leads a few machine gunners into the dark fire point and does it from below. The rest of the machine guns are set up on the edge of the ditch and beckoned down, which is called closing the door and beating the dog! Tiezhu, your kid's idea, I'll give you credit when the battle is over! ”

Tie Zhu said embarrassedly: "What kind of work, if the company commander really has this heart, it is better to invite me and my brother to eat pancake stall eggs." ”

"No problem, just eat pancakes, eggs, and pig's head meat, and when the battle is over, as long as I, Kong Dachuan, am still alive, I will take out three months' military salary and invite the brothers of the whole company to eat!" Kong Dachuan patted his chest and said.

Zhang Baowang looked at the sky and reminded: "Company commander, while the next round of attacks by the devils has not yet begun, let's do it now, so as to save a lot of dreams at night." ”

Kong Dachuan picked up a Czech light machine gun, replaced it with a magazine and shouted: "All in place, ready to shoot!" ”

Iron Pillar and the secondary shooter carried machine guns, took 20 magazines full of bullets, and drilled into a bunker through the dark tunnel. When the co-shooter removed the camouflage plate from the shooting hole, the iron pillar clearly saw the scene in the trench, and could not help but sigh at the ingenuity of the brothers in the engineer battalion in constructing the fortifications. It turned out that the hole was opened at a height of one meter from the bottom of the ditch, and it was fired directly in front of the straight trench, and the Japanese soldiers at the bottom of the ditch were exposed to the muzzle of the gun. The iron pillar gently pulled the bolt away, making a slight metallic grinding sound. This sound alarmed a Japanese soldier, he found that a black hole suddenly appeared on the wall of the trench, and immediately let out a frightened shout, another Japanese soldier Cao was a veteran, he reacted very quickly, and quickly took out the **......

How can the iron pillar allow the devil to succeed? He pulled the trigger sharply, and the light machine gun screamed wildly, and a string of bullets pierced through the chest of the Japanese soldier, and its penetrating force did not decay, and the bullets continued to penetrate the Japanese soldiers behind. The shooting at close range caused an astonishing amount of damage......

The ZB-26 light machine gun has a bullet muzzle velocity of 830 m/s, a scale range of 1500 meters, and an effective range of 800 meters.

As soon as the machine guns of the iron pillar were fired, the seven or eight machine guns mounted on the edge of the ditch also fired condescendingly, and the hundreds of Japanese soldiers trapped at the bottom of the ditch let out a desperate scream...... The iron pillar finished firing 10 magazines in one go, the sub-shooter took 10 seconds to replace the barrel of the red shot, and the light machine gun continued to fire at a rate of 500 rounds per minute, and in the blink of an eye, another 10 magazines were emptied.

At this time, Kong Dachuan's scolding voice came from the edge of the ditch: "Stop shooting!" Iron pillar, you fucking open my eyes wide, there's no one alive under the ditch! ”

The bottom of the ditch was silent, and more than 600 Japanese soldiers were stacked horizontally and vertically into a pile of corpses more than one meter thick, and a large amount of blood was flowing silently, quietly seeping into the soil......

Although the soldiers of the Nationalist Army were numb to the bloody slaughter, they were still stunned by the slaughter scene in front of them, and they all stared at the strangely shaped Japanese corpses at the bottom of the ditch in silence, a little overwhelmed.

Kong Dachuan sat on the ground with his butt and muttered to himself: "It's the fucking ruthlessness, alas, Zheyang Shou, but what can I do?" Who told you bastards to come to China to kill people and set fires? ”

Zhang Baowang whispered to the pile of corpses: "Don't complain any of you, if you want to complain, complain about your emperor!" ”

After four consecutive days of fighting, the attacking Japanese army was already in a state of madness. For the first time, the commander Isamu Yokoyama issued such a decisive order to his troops: if the task of occupying Hengyang cannot be achieved, the troops participating in the siege of the city, regardless of the officers and soldiers, will commit suicide by seppuku to thank the emperor!

When the order was issued to the besieging troops, the bushido fanaticism of the Japanese officers and soldiers suddenly broke out, and all divisions, regiments, and infantry brigades set up death squads one after another, and even some officers of the Osa-level went into battle shirtless and personally led the death squads to participate in the charge. Tens of thousands of Japanese officers and soldiers chanted the slogan "Long live the Emperor" and launched a raging attack on the Nationalist positions regardless of casualties.

The defenders of Hengyang were in a desperate situation, and all the wired communications from the headquarters of the 10th Army to all divisions and positions were destroyed by Japanese artillery fire, and communication was interrupted. On the morning of 7 August, the Japanese concentrated artillery fire on Xiaoximen for more than four hours, and Xiaoximen was finally bombarded with a gap, and an infantry brigade of the Japanese army quickly seized the gap.

Fang Xian felt the news of the break, and urgently ordered the military headquarters guard battalion to carry out a counter-assault on the breakthrough, and the commander of the 190th Division, Rong Youluo, also sent a reinforced company to assist in the defense, and the two sides fought hand-to-hand combat for control of the breakthrough, and after an hour of fierce fighting, the counterattack troops of the national army were finally outnumbered and all killed. The Japanese firmly controlled the breach, and a large number of follow-up troops continued to rush into the city.

At this time, Fang Xianjue no longer had any reserves in his hands, so he had to order the entire line to shrink his troops, and the national troops guarding the second-line positions retreated one after another to engage in street battles with the Japanese troops who rushed into the city. On this day, the streets in Hengyang City were like flying locusts, and the blood flowed like a river, and the attacking and defending sides fought street by street and house by house. The Japanese pushed the 92nd infantry guns into the streets and alleys, and fired directly at the defenders' firing points, and the streets of the city were reduced to rubble. Despite this, the officers and men of the 10th Army were still fighting the trapped beasts, taking advantage of the favorable terrain of some lanes to fight to the death, and both the attackers and defenders suffered heavy casualties.

On this day, Chiang Kai-shek, who was far away in Chongqing, finally used his blood capital in extreme anxiety. In order to relieve the siege of Hengyang, the 142nd Regiment of the 48th Mechanized Division of the National Army stationed at the head of Guangxi was ordered to dispatch.

The predecessor of the 48th Mechanized Division was the armored unit of the 5th Army of the former National Army, which was officially reorganized into the 48th Division on January 1, 1944, with one tank regiment and two motorized infantry regiments under its jurisdiction. The 142nd Regiment was a tank regiment, which was armed with Soviet-made T-26B light tanks, which weighed 9.5 tons and was armed with one 45 mm gun and two 7.62 mm machine guns. On the Soviet-German battlefield in 1944, this light tank had long been eliminated by the Soviet army due to weak armor and insufficient firepower, and was replaced by the T-34 medium tank with excellent performance. On the Chinese battlefield, this kind of light tank, which has long been outdated, was regarded as a baby bump by Chairman Chiang, and he was afraid of falling on his head and melting in his mouth, so he was easily reluctant to take it out and use it.

Now even the baby bumps have been taken out, which shows how much Chairman Jiang attaches importance to the Battle of Hengyang.

This is a rare time since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression that the Chinese army has used tank units in a structured way to participate in a war. The tank forces were accompanied by infantry units of the 46th Army and the new 19th Division, and Chiang Kai-shek had high hopes for this armored force. According to people close to Chiang Gong, on the night before the attack, Chiang got up three times a night and prayed silently, wishing his beloved tank unit a victory.

But unfortunately, Chiang Kai-shek's painstaking efforts did not move God, and the Japanese army, which had already cracked the telegraph code, set a trap for this tank unit. They mobilized Type 1 47-mm rapid-fire guns to lie in ambush on the road, silently waiting for the appearance of the national tank troops.

On the morning of August 7, six T-26B tanks serving as the vanguard of the 142nd Regiment arrived at Santang on the outskirts of Hengyang. What puzzled the Japanese anti-tank artillery was that there were no infantry to cover the front and rear and the left and right flanks of this tank unit. Compared to the degree of mechanization on the European battlefield, the Japanese army was already considered a dumpling, but even the dumpling understood a minimum principle of mechanized warfare: in the face of an opponent with anti-tank firepower, a tank without infantry cover was basically a living target for anti-tank weapons.

Sadly, on the Chinese battlefield in 1944, there were very few generals of the Nationalist army who knew how to cooperate with the tactics of infantry. Technical weapons such as tanks may seem like behemoths, but they are actually vulnerable, and can even be destroyed by the rudimentary cluster of infantry without forming an armored cluster. The generals of the national army did not understand that before the arrival of the tank column, the infantry detachment should take the lead in assaulting the opponent's anti-tank positions and occupy both flanks to establish cover positions, so as to ensure the safety of the tank troops.

The first sortie of the 48th Regiment of the 142nd Mechanized Division was out of the ocean, the infantry unit was at least two kilometers away from the tank column, and the attitude of the infantry commander was very clear, since there were tanks charging in front, then the infantry should stay away, don't get in the way, and wait until the battle is over to go up and collect the trophies, otherwise what's the use of spending so much money to buy tanks abroad?

The battle was over in less than a minute. The majestic tank column was driving slowly on the road, when a small high ground in front of it flashed with fire, and two armor-piercing blasting shells whistled in, hitting the two tanks in front, and with two violent explosions, the two T-26b tanks immediately burst into flames......

The tank crews of the national army reacted very quickly, and they would never give the Japanese anti-tank gunners a second chance, and before they had time to re-aim, the remaining tanks of the 142nd Regiment had already turned around and escaped from the range of the Japanese rapid-fire guns, and the infantry brothers of the 46th Army and the new 19th Division naturally let go of the sheep. The reason for the infantry brothers is very good: if they can't even carry a fucking tank, how can the flesh of the brothers carry it? At this point, the only option is to retreat quickly. To tell the truth, the performance of this armored unit made the Japanese anti-tank gunners feel very disappointed and depressed, because of the limited firing angle, most of the gunners did not have time to open fire, and when the smoke cleared, there was not even a ghost on the road.

I have to admit that in reality, the will to fight of most of the Chinese army is like porcelain in Jingdezhen, which can be shattered at the slightest touch. No matter how much the Supreme Commander Chiang Kai-shek was distressed, they ignored it, and the speed of their escape was inversely proportional to the speed of the attack.

There is a saying that "under the whole world, it is not the king's land; On the shore of the land, it is not the king's minister; The doctors are uneven, and I am the only one who is a good man[1]

”。 This is the ancient literati acupuncture Zhou Youwang political malpractice of a complaint, its meaning is to warn the rulers, to pay attention to the fairness, to govern the country can not be without errands, but the territory is vast, there are many officials, can not only work a few people, but make some people only care about enjoying leisure. It seems that the focus of this passage is not in the first four sentences, but on the last two sentences of "The doctors are uneven, and I am engaged in the sole virtuous". It is a pity that after circulating for 3,000 years, this passage was taken out of context by later generations, leaving only the first four sentences, which conventionally evolved into the theoretical basis of centralized rule.

For the emperor, any idea that is conducive to centralized rule is unwanted. Since Confucianism has a strong sense of servility, it is logical that the emperors of the past dynasties advocated Confucianism. What's more, Confucianism is taken out of context to provide a legitimate basis for imperial rule. For three thousand years, the small people of Shengdou have also recognized this sentence, which brings a paradox: since the world is the emperor or ****, the small people only have the share of taxes, and they cannot enjoy any benefits brought by the state power, so who loves to go to the bloody and desperate things, it is not the business of the small people.

Don't forget that during the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, the huge Chinese army was composed of countless such small people, and it was difficult for such an army to become a tiger and wolf army to conquer the city.

[1]

This sentence is from "The Book of Songs, Xiaoya Gu Feng Shi Beishan".