The fact that the Chinese flag was flying freely over the 9th Chinese Military Battalion in the Third Country Concession and the bodies of two Chinese soldiers lying on its back made any clumsy or ingenious explanation useless. What's more, when Lin Qiming fell, the raised national flag was not only seen by Captain Rostow, his soldiers, and patrolmen, but also by the Chinese people on the buildings around the camp. The Chinese people stood on the balconies, in front of the doors and windows, and on the forks of trees, cheering and shouting to the camp as they did on April 9, when they celebrated the great victory of Taierzhuang.

Fei Xingyuan had no choice, and from the moment he walked to the position in front of the queue that belonged to Lin Qiming in the past, fate pushed him to the altar set up in the name of the country and the nation. He understood what it would mean to be pushed onto the altar, but he had to make a hopeless effort on the altar.

Fei Xingyuan knew very well that he would inevitably be the second Lin Qiming. He succeeded Lin Qiming and led the brothers to continue to shoulder the heavy responsibility to the country and the nation, which means that sooner or later he will have to sacrifice his blood and life. The bloody example is in front of him, he may die at the hands of his own brothers, like Lin Qiming, or he may die at the hands of Western devils or Oriental devils. He was unwilling, but there was no way out, Lin Qiming fell, and his retreat disappeared.

Now he is the highest military commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1776th Regiment of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army, and the conscience and sense of honor of a soldier require that he must accept the arrangement of fate and be in place immediately, facing any complicated and sinister situation.

The great luck in the misfortune is that when Niu Kangnian raised the shovel and killed Niu Kangnian, the guards at the gate of the camp did not find it. The guards may have been afraid of the sun and hid in the watchtower, or they may have been accustomed to seeing them out in the morning and did not pay special attention to them. In this way, he was able to raise the national flag while Lin Qiming was still alive, complete his first feat after taking office in a calm manner, and give his respected battalion commander the last comfort.

Now that the flag has been raised, he has to follow the plan he had discussed with Lin Qiming and lead the brothers to ensure that the flag will fly on the day of August 13, the 27th year of the Republic of China. After this day, whether he entered the arrest house or was extradited to the Japanese, he was resigned to his fate. Therefore, when Captain Rostow ordered him to hand over the murderers of Lin Qiming and Niu Kangnian, and asked him to lower the national flag immediately, he refused, and said coldly and calmly as Lin Qiming and Captain Rostow had negotiated in the past:

"Captain, this is an internal affair of the Chinese soldiers in the camp, and you have no right to interfere. Soldier Niu Kangnian attacked the commander of our battalion, Lin Qiming, and killed him, and deserved the same punishment. On the occasion of the first anniversary of our battalion's participation in the war in Shanghai, raising the national flag of our country is also the legitimate right of our Chinese soldiers. The place where we raised the flag was in our camp area did not infringe on the interests of any third country! ”

Rostovari screamed and repeatedly reiterated that the murderers must be handed over, the national flag must be lowered, and that the concession authorities would never allow such a murderous, chaotic, and lawless situation to occur in the Chinese military battalions under his rule, and claimed that if he did not obey immediately, he would exercise the authority of the battalion commander and use force.

It means bloodshed.

Looking at the posture, Captain Rostow was determined to bleed the brethren. The captain stood on the edge of the playground less than ten meters away from the brothers with his soldiers and patrolmen, his long and short weapons facing him and his brothers.

He was a little nervous. He could not imagine what a miserable scene would have taken place in the playground with the flags flying after Captain Rostow had given the order to shoot, and how the unarmed brethren would struggle in the blood that was spilling everywhere.

It was very hot, and in the moment of tense confrontation, his face and forehead were already covered with sweat, and the heavy responsibility and the looming danger were so oppressive that he could not breathe. He couldn't help but change his mind in an almost suffocating atmosphere.

Is it worth the hard work of the brothers for a flag? Will he die for this flag, and will the brothers also die for this flag? If he had obeyed the order of Captain Rostow and lowered the flag, everything would have been well resolved. Lin Qiming was beaten to death by Niu Kangnian, and Niu Kangnian killed his own commander for no reason and should pay for his life, although this is not in line with the laws of the Westerners, but there are many people involved in the fight against Niu Kangnian, and the real responsible person cannot be found. He couldn't be sure who had dealt the fatal blow to Niu Kangnian at the scene, and Rostow couldn't be sure. He remembered in a trance that he didn't know whether it was Xiao Huozi or Bai Kequn who finally smashed a shovel on Niu Kangnian's head, but when he smashed that shovel, Niu Kangnian was already lying on the ground and couldn't move, and nine times out of ten he was already dead.

The key issue is not the two dead, but the flag, the flag that is still flying. When the flag was raised, a spiritual symbol was completed, and there might be no need for the brothers to sacrifice their precious lives for the inanimate cloth.

Almost about to give the order to lower the flag, Captain Rostow's gun rang out in the air, and three crisp shots in succession pushed a formidable warning to him and his brothers.

Unexpectedly, the warning gunfire not only did not work, but angered the brothers behind him and the Chinese people outside the camp. After the gunshots rang out, the brethren gathered around him without asking for a greeting, and they gathered around him and protected him tightly, as well as the flagpole where the national flag was hung. The men and women in front of the doors and windows of the apartment buildings outside the camp, on the balconies, on the roofs, and on the forks of the trees shouted in unison:

"If the national flag is not lowered, the national army will not be lowered!" "If the national flag is not lowered, the national army will not be lowered......"

He froze, and so did Captain Rostow.

He saw Captain Rostow turn and look at the shouting crowd outside the camp for a moment, then look at the brethren around him, and his hand holding the gun hanged.

The brothers around him made a clear choice in the face of the guns of the Western devils, and the people outside the camp supported them so enthusiastically, that they forced him to insist on a position of confrontation, and he could not retreat, and his heart was hot, so he once again said clearly to Captain Rostow:

"On behalf of all the Chinese soldiers of the 9th Chinese Military Battalion, I would like to reiterate once again: we are carrying out a peaceful commemoration and Mr. Captain and the concession administration have no right to interfere. If Mr. Captain illegally uses force and causes a bloody conflict, Mr. Captain and the concession authorities can only bear full responsibility for all the consequences! ”

Captain Rostow was restless, muttered a few words to a White Russian devil who looked like a patrolman, waved his hand, ordered the soldiers and patrolmen to put down their guns, and then hurried away with the White Russian Inspector.

As soon as Rostow and the White Russian Inspector left, the interpreter Liu Liangjie nervously ran up to him and the brothers:

"You...... Be careful! Captain Rostow called, and probably Lieutenant Colonel Bradick's garrison headquarters would send troops, as would the Concession Police Department...... People will come too. ”

Tu Guoqiang immediately squeezed in front of him and said:

"Deputy Fei Ying, you have to make some preparations, you can't suffer the immediate loss! I'll get some guys and get ready to defend myself! ”

He couldn't remember what else could be used to defend himself in this military camp, but he still nodded at Tu Guoqiang:

"Alright! Take ten brethren and go quickly! ”

After a while, Tu Guoqiang and the ten brothers who were looking for a guy came back, each of them hugged a bunch of chopped desk legs, and fell to the ground with "bang", "bang", "bang". The brothers flocked to get it, one for each of them, ready to fight with the Western devils.

A bloody battle to protect the flag seemed inevitable. This was not a choice he forced his brothers to make, but a choice that the brothers made on their own initiative. This is very strange, in the past, when the flag was raised and the drill was carried out, many brothers were full of complaints, and now as soon as the posture of the bloody battle is opened, the brothers are united in unison. It seems that Lin Qiming's hard work for the brothers in the past was not in vain.

Then let's fight! It was his duty and that of his brothers to fight. He and his brothers chose a career as a soldier, that is, a career in combat.

The national flag fluttered on his head, and a heavy sense of mission crept into his heart, and he once again thought that he had been pushed to the position where Lin Qiming was during his lifetime, and no matter what the outcome of this battle to protect the flag was, he would lead his brothers to do their best—knowing that he could not do it. He thought sadly, maybe today is not only Lin Qiming's sacrifice day, but also his sacrifice day.