Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

The award was officially notified on a hot afternoon more than two months later, and it was Li Longdao, deputy chief of the 23rd Route Army General Headquarters, who came to notify.Li Longdao said: There are two reasons why the award was delayed for so long. First, the three comrades were seriously injured, and they were afraid that they would not be able to get out of bed when the award was awarded;Now, although their injuries have not completely healed, they can all get out of bed, and they have received a commendation telegram signed by Generalissimo Jiang himself, so it is time to celebrate and hold a grand and lively award ceremony.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held at 9:00 am the next day at the compound of the General Headquarters of the 23rd Route Army. At that time, Chinese and foreign journalists will take pictures and interviews, and everything has been properly arranged. When parting, Li Longdao repeatedly confessed that they should pay attention to military appearance and discipline, and not make a fool of themselves in their headquarters and make Chinese and foreign reporters laugh. At 8:20 the next day, two vehicles from the General Headquarters of the 23rd Route Army arrived at the hospital.Deputy Chief Li Longdao and two followers took Duan Renyi, Huo Jieke, and Ouyang Gui, who were wearing the new military uniforms of the 23rd Route Army, into the car.Fifteen minutes later, two cars arrived at the compound of the former land-based beach agency where the general headquarters was located.

General Han Peige was waiting downstairs at the gate of the compound, surrounded by a group of accompanying officers.As soon as Duan Renyi got out of the car, he noticed that the general was wearing a brand-new lieutenant general's military uniform and shaved his beard. He was dignified and energetic. He seemed younger than when he saw him in the provincial headquarters half a year ago.The general is still a general, and this tragic war that ruined the entire New Third Regiment, not only did not leave any traces on the general, but made the general look more calm and dignified. Duan Renyi was overwhelmed by General Han Peige's demeanor, and before he could reach the general, under the general's majestic gaze, he raised his arms in a mysterious way, and saluted the general and the officers accompanying him.Huo Jieke and Ouyang Gui beside him saw him salute, and they also saluted one after another.

The salutes were very standard, the general seemed quite satisfied, he returned the salute, and laughed.The general's eyes under his thick eyebrows narrowed slightly because of his smile, and many deep wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes and on his forehead.Lang Lang smiled, the general walked a few steps in front of them, first grabbed his hand and shook it, then shook hands with Huo Jieke and Ouyang Gui. The general shook Ouyang Gui's hand, turned to him and said: "Commander Duan, your New Third Regiment is fighting well! I, the commander-in-chief, have a bright face! I want to pay tribute to you!"

Ouyang Gui took his hand out of the general's hand and snorted: "More than 1,800 old and young masters have been shot, can't they fight well!" The general looked at Ouyang Gui attentively, and then turned his gaze to him.He was startled, calmed down, forced a smile and said: "Yes...it is the chief, you commanded well!" The general shook his hand: "Where! Where! It was the brothers who fought well! Without the three days of tenacious resistance and containment by the brothers, this great victory to promote the military and national prestige would not have been possible! The chairman read our combat summary, and at a military meeting not long ago The above said: "If all the departments of our army have such a dedication, within three years, they will be able to invade the country day by day!" The evaluation of the committee is very high!"

The committee also knew about this bloody battle?So, does the committee know how the Xinsantuan was betrayed?Probably won't know.The general in front of him would never report the real situation to the committee. The shady scene of the war is too deep. Duan Renyi thought. The general is so powerful, he seems to have seen through his thoughts, and when he invited them to sit down in the lounge, he sullenly said: "Many Chinese and foreign journalists are coming today, and some reporters may ask some weird questions. Well, for example, some people suspect that there is some secret behind the sacrifice of your new third regiment. It's absurd! Here, the commander-in-chief can be responsible. Let me tell you: The sacrifice of the New Third Regiment was entirely necessary for the overall situation of the battle, and there was no reason other than combat. People die in a war, and there is no question of who deserves to die and who does not. In the overall situation of the Battle of Hexi, the New Third Regiment The regiment is a chess piece; in the overall situation of China's war of resistance, even our entire 23rd Route Army is just a chess piece. You should be as clear as this commander in chief about this."

The general's words may be reasonable, but Duan Renyi doesn't believe it.The Xiejiadian incident was real, Duan Renyi will never forget it, and neither will General Han Peige.This narrow-minded general can shoot through the military map in the provincial capital headquarters, and can order the leveling of Xiongjiadian, so he will certainly be able to take revenge on the Xiongjiadian people by means of war. The general was still talking, calmly and naturally: "There is another rumor. It has a nose and an eye. It is said that the brothers of the New Third Regiment fought well because the commander-in-chief sent a supervising team and killed many brothers behind the scenes. Now, the commander-in-chief can also Let me tell you responsibly: The two conflicts with the 1761 regiment were all due to misunderstandings, especially on the last night, the 1761 regiment thought it was a sneak attack by devils. Oh, by the way: the 1761 regiment did not fight well this time, and the regiment leader surnamed Zhao , has been withdrawn by me. I have made a statement to the reporters and made it clear that no one in the New Third Regiment retreated in fear of the enemy, and no one fled in battle."

The general glanced at him, Huo Jieke and Ouyang Gui, and said lightly: "Mr. reporters are very difficult to deal with. You have to be careful when answering questions!" At this time, it was approaching the time for awarding the honor. The general looked at his watch and got up to leave. At about nine o'clock, surrounded by Li Longdao and a group of adjutants, he, Huo Jieke and Ouyang Gui entered the conference hall through the side door of the war room of the headquarters, and sat down in the prominent seats reserved for them in the audience.As soon as they sat down, two foreign journalists with blue eyes and blond hair and four or five Chinese journalists rushed over to take pictures. The camera lights flashed like cannon fire and white smoke came out.

Before the photo was taken, someone was already speaking on the stage, who seemed to be a person from the general headquarters in the uniform of a major general.Probably read Chairman Jiang's commendation order.Many people in the audience applauded, and amidst the applause, the military band played military music.Li Yongdao asked them to come on stage, saying that General Han Peige, Deputy Commander Liu, and Chief of Staff General Shao would award them honors respectively. He looked at Huo Jieke and Ouyang Gui, stood up first as the team leader, and walked up the steps with heavy steps.

The long-awaited moment has finally arrived. A county that lost its man will take revenge on a general. The Ma'anshan blocking battle will end in the general's own headquarters at this honor ceremony. There was no panic, no fear, and he had already died once that wet night.This death after revenge is only a supplement to that unfinished death. He walked up to the general calmly and composedly. The general smiled at him. The general's smile was far-fetched and awkward, his mouth seemed to be pulled open by some invisible pincers, and after being pulled open, it closed slowly, very slowly...

The general held a medal tied with a red ribbon, which was as red as blood, hanging limply from between the general's fingers, hanging above the long table covered with a clean white tablecloth, shaking slightly. The chunky Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu and General Shao, Chief of Staff also held medals in their hands, but they were not the Blue Sky and White Sun Medal.The Blue Sky and White Sun Medal, which represents the highest military honor, was only exceptionally awarded to the former county magistrate. When he walked in front of the general, Huo Jieke passed him and walked in front of General Shao. Ouyang Gui also stopped in front of the short and fat deputy commander-in-chief Liu. Chinese and foreign reporters rushed to the steps and pointed their cameras at them again. It's time to start. He slowly raised his injured right hand, and before touching the military cap to complete a military salute, he decisively used his left hand to reach for the six-wheeled pistol hidden in his pocket. However, as soon as the guns were drawn out, the shell guns in Huo Jieke's and Ouyang Gui's hands exploded first, and at least four shots hit the general's chest.Before the general could react to the sudden violent attack, he slumped down on the sheepskin-covered chair behind him. The general's blood, the same as the blood that flowed over his body and the more than 1,800 fallen brothers of the Xinsan Regiment, burst out from his chest, staining the straight military uniform and staining the blood. The white tablecloth in front of him was red, and the medals that fell on the tablecloth were also dyed red. Revenge has come true, the attack is over, he didn't have time to shoot, and there is no need to shoot - Huo Jieke and Ouyang Gui have more reasons and are more qualified to shoot than him, and they still have the remains of the 1761 regiment. Their warheads, shrapnel. The hand slowly lowered, and the six-round pistol that hadn't been detached fell to the ground. Almost at the same time, many guards rushed to the side of the stage.The gun in the guard's hand also rang, and Ouyang Gui was shot dead at his feet, and Huo Jieke was also shot in the leg.Before he could recover, he and the re-injured Hojack were wrestled by the swarming guards. Unbelievably, after being shot four times, the general did not die, but stood up with support, and handed over the blood-stained Blue Sky and White Sun Medal tremblingly with a bloody hand, smiling wryly. tell him: "Take...take it! You...yours!" This took him by surprise.He was not prepared to accept the medal at all, he came to revenge with the determination to die, and the general asked him to get the medal right now!He didn't want to take it, and he couldn't take it. His hands were tightly held by the guards, and he couldn't even move his whole body. The general waved his hand and told the guards to let him go. After being released, he still maintained the original distorted posture in shock, standing blankly, like a painful and numb statue. The general supported himself desperately, let the short and fat Deputy Commander Liu force the medal into his hand, looked at him kindly, and said intermittently: "It looks like an officer, Duan...Regimental Commander Duan! Remember...remember what I...I said to you in the provincial capital headquarters? I...I said, it won't take half a year, it's called... ...I want you to be like...a decent commander! No... not bad!" The medical officer came up to bandage the general's wound, the general pushed him away, panting, and continued: "The number of the new...new third regiment is still...still, this regiment leader, you...you still have to do it! If the war of resistance...is not over, just...go on! And you...your regiment deputy , also... continue to do it, I... I will ask Deputy Commander Liu and... the brothers of the 23rd Route Army... brothers to treat... treat you..." In the end, the general straightened his bloody body, and said to him, to the officers around him, and to the people in the audience, as if sighing: "It's all... let's go, the award knot... is over!" After finishing speaking, the general fell down with a bang, like a wall fell down. He was stupefied, numb, not knowing whether he was alive or dead, or where he was.Holding the bloody medal in his hand, he seemed to have returned to the frontier of Ma'anshan, which was filled with gunfire and smoke, and seemed to see the corpses all over the mountain again.He thought that the fallen general was Fang's staff officer, Lan was loyal, and he was hit by the enemy's guns. He wanted to cry and shout, but he couldn't cry or shout.He thought he was dead again, the bullet of the wet night had pierced his skull, he was not a man but a wandering ghost. When his eyes went dark, he fell down...