Section XXXIII

The fine crushed soil slowly slid down the hillside, and gradually, some small stones surrounded by the soil also lost their support and tumbled down, and after the stones hit the fragments of the shells and the warheads, there was a slight collision sound, which was inaudible, but at this moment, it was abnormally clear.

This is the halfway point of Fang Mountain, the second and last line of defense of the first battalion, and the top of the mountain is the flat mountaintop, and there are no other fortifications.

The third company of long stones sat quietly in the trench on the mountainside, looking up at the sky, silent, as if he was seriously thinking about something. But if someone looks closely at his eyes, they can see that his gaze is slightly scattered, and he is completely absent-minded and wandering in the world.

What's even more strange is that in the long trench beside the stone, most of the people in the third company maintained such expressions, as if they had been hooked by someone.

"Stone, come here!" Shouts were heard from the woods behind the position, breaking the silence.

Unexpectedly, such a flat voice was like dropping a big stone on the calm water, and the stone in the distraction suddenly responded with palpitations: "Who?" Who else? ”

Looking at the stone's eager expression, watching him look left and right, and even waving his hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes, Staff Officer Dai, who was standing with Zheng Pusheng, suddenly sighed incredibly, looking quite unexpected.

Zheng Pusheng seemed to have long been accustomed to the expression of the stone, and he didn't care about it at all, but Staff Officer Dai's soft "oh" made him very uncomfortable, he had just gotten the battle situation on the left and right flanks, and he was already in a bad mood, and when he heard this, he suddenly said coldly: "Does Staff Officer Dai think that the stone should not cry as a company commander." ”

Staff Officer Dai, who knew that he was a little out of shape, was also embarrassed and said: "Where, where, Company Commander Shi is brave and good at fighting, and now his true feelings are revealed, and he sheds tears for the brothers who died in battle, which is really touching." ”

Zheng Pusheng snorted noncommittally and said with a sigh: "Since he can remember, he has been fighting non-stop, from Luodian all the way to the present, the Pao Ze brothers beside him have changed batch after batch, and the acquaintances around him are getting fewer and fewer day by day, and the devil is inexhaustible, the more and more battles are fought, if you change to Dai Staff Officer, I don't know what you will think?" ”

Staff Officer Dai immediately responded: "Battalion Commander Zheng is in love, I just graduated from the military academy, and I can only talk on paper, how can I compare with the front-line brothers who have experienced a hundred battles." ”

Although he knew that this Staff Officer Dai couldn't help but say some nonsense, but no matter what, he was also the staff officer who supervised the war, and he represented the regimental headquarters at the moment, which made Zheng Pusheng not too rude, but he sneered in his heart and stopped talking.

Shi Shi had already come over at this time, and when he figured out that it was Battalion Commander Zheng who called him, and not that there were new casualties, he finally let out a long breath and walked over listlessly, even disrespecting his usual military salute, and said in a hoarse voice: "Battalion Commander, you called me?" ”

Seeing that the blood on the stone uniform had coagulated a thick layer, several cuts on his face had scars, and the whole person was in an abnormal mood, Zheng Pusheng asked with concern: "How is it?" I didn't get hurt! ”

Stone shook his head almost mechanically, and said tiredly: "Battalion commander, I'm fine!" ”

Zheng Pusheng nodded and asked in a low voice, "What about the casualties of the three companies?" Can it still withstand it? ”

When Shi Shi heard this, he immediately thought of the brothers who had died in battle, and the tears in the corners of his eyes slipped down involuntarily, and he choked up and said: "Lao Meng is gone, the big axe is also gone, Brother Zhuzi was shot in the arm, the entire platoon, now there are only six people left, the second platoon has also killed more than a dozen brothers, and several squad deputies have sacrificed their lives for the country!" ”

Zheng Pusheng has also been paying attention to the battle situation below, the reinforcements of the third platoon are his orders, and he should have a premonition in his heart about the heavy casualties of the team, but when the stone said a series of familiar and unfamiliar names sadly, he also changed color, and exclaimed in disbelief: "What? Lao Meng is gone? Chen Daaxe is also gone? Stones, you can't be mistaken! ”

Staff Officer Dai on the side also widened his eyes in disbelief, this is the first wave of the devil's attack, the third company lost more than one platoon, according to this attrition rate, it is difficult to say whether they can withstand the next wave of attack, the situation in front of them is far more unbearable than they imagined.

As soon as Zheng Pusheng's words blurted out, he was silent, looking at the stone in front of him, he clenched his fists fiercely, he knew that his words were all nonsense, such a thing, how could the stone be wrong?

After being silent for a moment, Zheng Pusheng finally gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go, go to the front and have a look!" This battle has just begun, and no matter what, we have to continue to consume the devils. ”

The stone bowed his head and did not speak, apparently still silent in mourning and did not come back to his senses.

This made Zheng Pusheng very angry, and immediately scolded: "What are you crying for? Isn't it normal to raise your head and fight to the dead? What are you crying about? Sooner or later, we're also going to go back and forth, what the hell is there to cry about? If there is a kind, they will hold their heads up and arrange the fortifications well, and kill a few more little devils, even if they have taken revenge for them. ”

Saying that, Zheng Pusheng looked up at the sky, and seemed to be quite angry, but no one noticed that he was just making such a gesture just to widen his eyes and prevent the tears in his eyes from slipping down.

Shi finally nodded, and reached out again to wipe the corners of his eyes, in fact, he didn't understand these truths that the battalion commander said? There are more than two batches of the Pao Ze brothers who fell beside him, and every time he feels that his tears should be dried up and numb, but every time he sees a familiar person falling, he always finds it difficult to suppress his tears and control the sadness in his heart.

After watching these two people say a few words, they were stunned there, Staff Officer Dai looked at the Japanese army in the distance and seemed to be moving again, and immediately reminded eagerly: "Battalion Commander Zheng, let's hurry up and take a look at the front, the devil seems to be attacking again." ”

His words suddenly woke up the two, Zheng Pusheng gave a heavy sigh of gratitude, and then walked towards the front without looking back, and walked quickly to the position of the third company.

The pillar's arm was wrapped in a thick bandage, and his face was pale leaning there, although he was as lonely and silent as usual, but there was a big difference in his expression, less calm, more dazed, and the pillar who didn't say anything from beginning to end, now his expression somewhat revealed the true emotions in his heart.

On the side, Xiao Shandong was sitting curled up with his legs curled up, his head buried deep between his knees, and the steel helmet on his head made him look comical. But there was no sound on the battlefield, let alone laughter, and even the sound of speech could not be heard.

Zheng Pusheng's arrival caused a little reaction, seeing the battalion commander walk into the position, the brothers of the third company who found the situation on the side stood up one after another, saluting the military salute crookedly, but they didn't dare to look at the battalion commander with their eyes, looking quite uneasy.

The only thing that was a little better was the third platoon, their losses were not too serious, and the charge behind them gave the devils a hard blow, so that the Japanese army left a hundred corpses on the entire section of the position, if it were not for the heavy casualties of the brothers in the other platoons, I am afraid that they would have achieved such a result, they would definitely be happy.

"What's wrong? One by one, the same as the plague chicken? Going to run out of gas? After Zheng Pusheng finished the military salute, he yelled with a stern expression and scolded mercilessly.

These words had a little effect, at least those people with their heads bowed finally raised their heads, and then they saw Camp Commander Zheng with a stern expression, his eyes swept over everyone's faces as sharp as a knife, and they stood up one by one uneasily.

"Look at your little bit of talent? Look at your bears now! Just like you, you deserve to wear this military uniform? Zheng Pusheng continued, without the slightest scruples.

Zheng Pusheng's words immediately made everyone in Sanlian dissatisfied, after all, they were fighting for their lives, and they had been fighting with the devil with their heads, but they didn't expect to get such an unbearable evaluation, who could stand it? If it weren't for the fact that Zheng Pusheng was originally the commander of the third company and their old commander, I am afraid that someone would have spoken out on the spot.

Feeling the unkindness in everyone's eyes, Zheng Pusheng said disdainfully: "Do you think I'm talking nonsense, do you think I've erased your merits?" Do you think that if you use guns to fight devils, you can be regarded as the pillars of the national hero country? ”

"What are you a soldier for? Whether you were forcibly dragged here, or in order to eat a bowl of rice, you must understand the meaning of this uniform, you must protect the country and peace of mind, and you must live and die with the Pao Ze brothers! Look at your current appearance, with the appearance of your group of plague chickens, can you hold this position? ”

"Boom!" At this moment, a sudden violent explosion exploded on the hillside, and after resting for a while, the devil seemed to attack again, still starting with artillery, and its fierce momentum and the dust raised made Staff Officer Dai and the others on the side change color, and instinctively shrank to the side, but when his eyes fell on Zheng Pusheng, his face suddenly turned red, because Battalion Commander Zheng stood so straight that he didn't even move.

Zheng Pusheng, who did not change his face, waited until after the explosion before continuing: "If you lose Fang Shan, you will lose the barrier in the southeast of the capital, so that the little devil can face the capital directly!" We will be a disgrace to the nation, this is disloyalty! You can't kill devils, you can't crush the enemy in front of you to avenge your dead brother, this is unrighteousness! If Kyoto is lost, the country will die, that is, to trap parents and relatives in fire and water, this is unfilial piety! When you put on military uniforms, do you want to be such disloyal, unrighteous and unfilial people? ”

These words seemed to anger the Japanese troops in the distance, and after one shell, a series of shells suddenly bombarded, and as one after another approached, the entire Fangshan was once again shrouded in artillery fire.