Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

In September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and then the war spread to the whole of Europe. Hitler's ambition for the whole of Europe has not been concealed at all.Western powers such as the United States, Britain, and France feel unprecedented threats, and politicians know in their hearts that a large-scale war is almost inevitable.Of course, the Japanese are well aware of this, and the idea of ​​taking advantage of the fire has become mainstream in the Japanese military cabinet.One night in Tokyo, the chief of the general staff, Prince Zairen, summoned Minister of War Hata Shunroku and Navy Minister Yoshida Zengo to the base camp.

Zai Ren sat on a chair casually, expressing his views on the current situation in a very relaxed tone: the development of the European situation has brought great changes to the international situation.There is no doubt that the German army wants to swallow the whole of Europe. Countries such as Britain, France, and perhaps the United States will be too busy dealing with the war in Europe to take care of Far East affairs.At present, there is a saying in domestic political circles, "Don't miss the bus". "Don't miss the bus", this sentence has become a buzzword in Japan at that time, both Shunroku Hata and Zengo Yoshida laughed with satisfaction.Zairen went on to say: That is to say, now is a good time for the empire to "go south" and seize the colonies of Britain, the United States, France, and the Netherlands in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

Yoshida Zengo said that there is no doubt that his navy is actually formulating relevant plans.Of course, the army agrees with this, but they are deeply involved in the Chinese battlefield, so the Minister of the Army Shunroku Hata is not so confident when he speaks: But this needs to end the war in China as soon as possible so that the troops can be drawn south. In fact, this is also what Zairen is worried about: the war in China must be ended as soon as possible. For this purpose, all political and war tactics must be exhausted.However, I recently received a report from the commander of the Chinese dispatched army, Hisao Nishio, that the Chinese army's winter offensive caused our central China army to suffer relatively large losses, which is unacceptable.

Avoiding Zairen's eyes, Hata Junroku explained: The army's offensive operations did appear to be hindered, and the biggest difficulty was that it could not find the time to fight the enemy's main force. Zairen had obviously heard enough of such nonsense, he hummed, and turned to look at Yoshida Zengo: I have already seen the plan of Narumi Inoue, Chief of Staff of the Fleet in China.Interesting. Hata Shunroku glanced at Yoshida Zengo without knowing why. Zai Ren went on to say: Now that Wang Jingwei's Wang Puppet National Government is stepping up its operations, the establishment of Wang's government will inevitably form a situation of rivalry with the Chongqing government.At the same time, we are also conducting secret contacts with the Chongqing government, forcing them to accept our conditions, achieving the goal of winning without a fight and peacefully resolving the China Incident.Of course, Chiang Kai-shek is still playing the so-called "waiting for change" trick.And if we want to go south, we cannot let him drag it on. We must put more pressure on the military to force the Chongqing government to surrender.For this reason, the base camp has formulated several policies. First, capture Yichang as soon as possible and further threaten Chongqing.

Hata Toshiroku hurriedly said: The battle plan for Yichang has been determined, and the battle will be fully launched after the "Sky Long Festival". Zairen nodded: second, to occupy French Indochina, cut off the Chinese supply line, and open the passage for the south; third, this is the most important, and it is also an important content of Major General Narumi Inoue's plan, which is to continue to strengthen the hinterland of China, In particular, the large-scale and prolonged bombing of Chongqing destroyed all its important facilities. Yoshida Zengo reminded: Major General Inoue Narumi emphasized that in order for the bombing to completely destroy the will and morale of the Chinese in the shortest possible time, the bombing must be indiscriminate.

Jae-in smiled, because this is also nonsense, the past bombing by Japanese planes has actually never been indistinguishable.However, this operation will be carried out jointly by the army and the naval air force, because in his opinion, the current situation of the Chinese war has shown the army's incompetence. This time he will order Rear Admiral Yamaguchi Tamon to form and command the joint air force. Use all means to completely destroy the resistance of Chiang Kai-shek's government in the shortest possible time.Otherwise, you may really miss that "bus". This morning, his son Xiaohua lingered and didn't want to get up. By the time Sun Xiangmeng sent Xiaohua to the kindergarten and rushed to Jimin Hospital for work, he was already late.As soon as she entered the hospital building, she felt a rare joyful atmosphere. Although the doctors and nurses were busy as usual, they seemed to walk lightly.This feeling made her a little strange.As soon as she went upstairs, she met a nurse coming out of the ward with a tray containing several empty needle tubes. Seeing her, she said happily, "Dr. Sun, you are here."

Seeing the nurse smiling, Sun Xiangmeng asked, "What's the matter today?"Everyone is like a holiday. The nurse raised the tray in her hand: You don't know yet?The dean has brought in a batch of penicillin! This news surprised Sun Xiangmeng, she turned around and ran to the dean's office.He Xuezhu was taken aback by Sun Xiangmeng who hurried in through the door, but before he could react, Sun Xiangmeng had already pounced on her and hugged her exaggeratedly. He Xuezhu smiled and pushed her away: What is this for? Sun Xiangmeng said: You, the dean, still have face!Besides you, who else can let Mrs. Jiang personally distribute the scarce medicines to a small hospital like ours?

He Xuezhu couldn't help smiling wryly upon hearing this.She was about to quietly tell Sun Xiangmeng the true origin of this batch of penicillin, when there was a sudden sound of chaotic footsteps outside, and then several armed policemen rushed into the office.This surprised both He Xuezhu and Sun Xiangmeng. Sun Xiangmeng asked loudly: What are you doing?This is a hospital! No one paid any attention to her at all. An officer walked up to He Xuezhu: Are you He Xuezhu? He Xuezhu nodded, not knowing what happened. The officer waved to the gendarmes and said: Take her away. Two gendarmes came up and grabbed He Xuezhu's arm one by one.Sun Xiangmeng shouted in surprise: You can't just arrest people for no reason!

The officer pushed Sun Xiangmeng away and stood in front of He Xuezhu: You are suspected of participating in a case of stealing and reselling military supplies, and you have been formally arrested. Sun Xiangmeng looked at He Xuezhu in shock.At this time, He Xuezhu already somewhat understood what was going on in her heart, she tried her best to smile at Sun Xiangmeng, but said nothing.The gendarmes escorted He Xuezhu out of the office. Some doctors and nurses had already gathered in the aisle outside. Everyone didn't know what happened and just watched in surprise and silence. A night of heavy rain.The headquarters of the 74th Division of China's 33rd Group Army is located in a ruined temple. Officers above the regiment are gathered here to hold a military meeting.The so-called "Yichang Operation" by the Japanese army has been fully launched.The 11th Group Army of the Japanese invaders gathered 8 divisions and 3 brigades with a total of 220,000 troops and launched an attack from Xianghua Road. To control the traffic of the Yangtze River, advance to Chongqing.Since the start of the battle, the Japanese army has launched attacks from Xinyang, Suixian, and Zhongxiang in five routes, and has made considerable progress. The situation is already relatively severe for the Chinese army.However, Zhang Zizhong, the commander of the group army, believes that although the Japanese army has achieved a clear advantage on the whole, there are still opportunities for our army to find in some parts.Based on this judgment, Zhang Zizhong left the rear headquarters again and came to the west of the Xianghe River to supervise the battle in person, looking for opportunities to defeat the Japanese attack.

The sound of the rain outside came in through the broken windows.Zhang Zizhong stood in front of a picture of the "Battle of Zaoyi", looking at the officers below with relaxed and confident eyes.After the Battle of Suizao, Zhang Xuming, who had been promoted to regiment commander, sat among the officers.Like everyone else, his attention was not on Zhang Zizhong's face, but on the situation map behind him.On it, the blue arrows representing the Japanese army have formed an encirclement trend towards the red arrows of the Chinese army as a whole. Anxiety and tension were clearly written on the faces of the officers. Of course, Zhang Zizhong couldn't ignore them, but he knew in his heart that these officers who followed him and fought the Japanese army had not lost their courage to fight to the death.He turned around and pointed at the situation map, seeming to have deliberately ignored the blue arrows encircling the Chinese army as a whole, but emphasized the partial encirclement of the Japanese army formed by the red arrows: everyone should focus on these places.

He turned around and looked at everyone: I came here this time to lead the brothers to penetrate behind the enemy, find opportunities to ambush the enemy, destroy the enemy, contain the enemy's offensive momentum, and stabilize the entire battle situation. Accumulate strength and wait for the opportunity to attack.It depends on whether you have the guts or not. The officers responded with easy laughter. Zhang Zizhong said seriously: What are you laughing at?Having guts doesn't mean you're ready. As he spoke, he pointed to the bottom and said: Stand up for everyone to see.Under the gaze of everyone, an officer sitting next to Zhang Xuming hurriedly stood up. He was no different from the others, and the same traces of gunpowder smoke were left on his face and military uniform, but his waist lacked his own. With a gun. Zhang Zizhong looked at him and said: You are the head of the regiment, but where is your gun?Now is the period of combat, and every officer must be ready to fight like a soldier anytime, anywhere.As a commander, you must always wear a pistol. The first is self-defense, and the second is to kill yourself!I said that we soldiers have to do our best and die before we can be considered to have fulfilled our military responsibilities. I also said that if there is a chance, I will definitely lead you to find a dead end.Perhaps this opportunity has come. After finishing speaking, he sat aside calmly, and the commander of the 74th Division issued a combat order: Before dark, the 38th Division of our group army entered the south of Jujiawan and found about 5,000 people from the enemy's 13th Division camping here.According to the commander-in-chief's order, the 38th Division will attack this enemy at dawn. The task of the 74th Division is to quickly go south to Gengjiaji with the main force to cut off the enemy's way.At the same time, one of Zhang Xuming's regiments deployed westward, preparing to intercept the reinforcements from the direction of Huanglongdang and cover the rear of the 38th Division.The ministries are immediately ready to go. Zhang Zizhong was still sitting there, and raised his hand to signal: I have one more thing to say, the final victory must be won with blood and heads, if you shout victory in vain and wait for victory, there will never be victory.We are now trying to survive from the dead, and everyone can't take any chances. After the meeting was over, Zhang Xuming was about to leave with other officers, but Zhang Zizhong stopped him when he reached the door.Zhang Xuming hurriedly turned around and came to him, saluted: Commander-in-Chief! Looking at the heavy rain that was still falling outside, Zhang Zizhong warned: The task of your regiment is very difficult, and the enemy's reinforcements are bound to rush wildly. If you can't stand it, the 38th Division will be finished. Zhang Xuming: Commander-in-Chief, rest assured! Zhang Zizhong nodded: "Okay, let's go." Zhang Xuming stood still and said: Commander-in-Chief, I have something to say. Zhang Zizhong: Tell me. Zhang Xuming: Commander-in-Chief, you shouldn't have left the headquarters to come here.You are the commander-in-chief of the entire right-wing group, which is too dangerous. Zhang Zizhong smiled: Everyone of you sees me with these few words, can you say something else? Zhang Xuming: That means you should stay west of the Xianghe River. Zhang Zizhong looked at him: Do you think I am so afraid of death? Zhang Xuming: No, soldiers are not afraid of death.But you are not a soldier. Zhang Zizhong: So what?If I die, the commander-in-chief can be replaced by someone else.You remember, the reason why the Japanese are so rampant is not that they are not afraid of death, but that we are too afraid of death.If we are not afraid of death, they will not dare to do whatever they want.War is like this, fear and retreat are not the way out, because if you don't fight today, you will still fight tomorrow; if you don't fight in the front, you will still fight wherever you retreat.Death is the same death, and sacrifice is the same sacrifice, but in vain to be ridiculed by the world.What's more, Yichang is the gateway to Chongqing. If Yichang is lost, Chongqing may suffer more than just bombing in the future. There is no way for us to retreat.Well, don't talk about it anymore, no one can persuade me. Zhang Xuming knew it was useless to say anything.After saluting, he walked into the black rainy night. In the afternoon of the next day, the blocking position on the western front held by Zhang Xuming's regiment was violently attacked by Japanese reinforcements. On the No. 5 high ground occupied by the 3rd Battalion and 2nd Company, the soldiers hid in the temporarily dug trenches and were overwhelmed by the enemy's shelling.A very young soldier squatted in the trench, holding his head tightly.Not far from him, a soldier squatted in the bunker, smiled at him, and shouted loudly: It's okay!Can't blow you up! As soon as the words fell, a shell roared and landed beside the soldier, and after a violent explosion, the broken stones and mud that were thrown up fell on the little soldier with a splash.When he shook off the dirt all over his body and looked over there again, the soldier who was talking to him just now had disappeared. Suddenly, it seemed, the artillery fire ceased.The company commander Maoyao ran along the trench, shouting "The enemy is attacking," and then he saw the little soldier who was still curled up in the trench, pulled him up, and shouted: "Pick up your gun!" ! After the company commander ran away, the little soldier put on his crooked steel helmet and lay down on the trench with his rifle in hand.A large black mass of Japanese soldiers on the hillside began to charge.Once the battle broke out, the little soldier was not so afraid, and he fired with his rifle without haste.The machine gun firepower of the Japanese army covering the attack was very fierce. As the Chinese soldiers were continuously knocked down in the trenches, the Japanese army gradually approached the position. In the regiment command post in the hidden place behind the high ground, Zhang Xuming was yelling into the phone: 2 Battalion, 2 Battalion!You immediately send a company to support the left flank of Height 7!The enemy attacked fiercely, and the 1st Battalion was about to be overwhelmed!As soon as he put down the phone, a staff officer yelled through the sound of gunfire: Commander, Height 5 has been broken through by the enemy!As soon as Zhang Xuming heard this, he drew his pistol and walked out, saying to the staff: If the No. 5 highland is lost, the entire defense line will be over!Bring the reserves and follow me up! On Height No. 5, soldiers had engaged in chaotic hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese in and out of the trenches.A soldier who was shooting at the Japanese army with a machine gun failed to find the Japanese army who had jumped into the trench and approached him.When he heard the movement and was about to turn around, the bayonet of the Japanese army had already pierced his back.Hearing that the machine gun suddenly stopped firing, the little soldier hurriedly turned his head, only to see the Japanese soldier rushing towards him with a bayonet in his hand.The Japanese army was very big, and the little soldier would definitely be no match for the bayonet fight. The little soldier hurriedly fired a shot, and the Japanese soldier fell down.He immediately jumped over the fallen Japanese soldier, raised his machine gun and fired at the swarming Japanese soldiers.In front of the trenches, the Japanese army was killed and wounded, and the momentum of the charge was temporarily contained.At this moment, the Japanese soldier who had just been shot by him and fell down in the trench suddenly got up from the ground, rushed over covered in blood, and crushed the little soldier under him.The little soldier resisted desperately, and the two wrestled and rolled in the trench... Soon, the Japanese army rode on him again and strangled him tightly by the neck.The little soldier struggled and became weaker and weaker. Suddenly, a bayonet pierced through the back of the Japanese soldier. The little soldier saw the point of the bayonet dripping with blood protruding from the Japanese soldier's chest, and then the Japanese soldier tilted his body and fell down.Behind the fallen Japanese army was the company commander who was also covered in blood. Just as the company commander stretched out his hand to pull the little soldier up from the ground, several Japanese soldiers jumped into the trench. The company commander blocked the little soldier behind him, yelling and fighting with the Japanese soldiers in front of him to fight with bayonets.The little soldier picked up a rifle from the ground to shoot, but found that there was no bullet in the chamber. When he ran a few steps to find a gun again, he saw several Japanese soldiers stabbing the company commander at the same time, and the company commander suddenly did not move. He fell down heavily when several bayonets were pulled out from his body... It was dusk when Zhang Xuming led the reserve team to recapture the No. 5 Heights.A scarlet sunset appeared in the western sky, and the sound of gunfire completely stopped. On Height No. 5, there were corpses of Chinese soldiers and Japanese soldiers everywhere.Zhang Xuming walked slowly on the high ground, looking at those subordinates who died tragically, with a sad expression on his face. Among the entangled corpses of Chinese soldiers and Japanese soldiers, Zhang Xuming saw the bloody face of a Japanese soldier, one of his ears was missing.Next to him, the ear of the Japanese soldier was still bitten into the mouth of a Chinese soldier.The Chinese soldiers were also covered in blood, with enemy bayonets stuck in their chests.Zhang Xuming squatted down, pulled the ear out of his mouth, took out his dirty handkerchief, and wiped the blood off the soldier's face... This is the little soldier.Zhang Xuming looked at the once full of childish face, tears welled up.He slowly lifted his eyes blurred by tears, let out a long sigh, and looked up at the sky. In the sky, the sunset glow is becoming bleak, and the night is coming. The temporary headquarters of the 33rd Group Army was set up in an ordinary residence in a small village on the west bank of the Xianghe River.Under a few oil lamps, Zhang Zizhong and the division commanders of the divisions under his jurisdiction and other senior officers were analyzing and summarizing the results of the past few days.After several days of fierce fighting, the 38th Division, with the cooperation of the 74th Division, wiped out nearly 2,000 people from the 13th Division of the Japanese Army on the front line of Meijiagao Temple, and seized a large number of spoils of war;Although the Chinese army also paid a relatively high price, the offensive arrogance of the Japanese army was obviously contained.But Zhang Zizhong knew that these victories were bringing him even greater crises.His eyes were fixed on the map, and he said to the people around him: The victories in local battlefields these days have made the Japanese army focus their attention on us.At present, the 13th and 39th Divisions of the Japanese Army are oppressing from the east, west and north.The overall situation has not been fundamentally reversed because of the victory of one or two battles. A division commander said: Commander-in-Chief, the defense of the Xianghe River is indeed worrying as the main force of the enemy continues to advance southwest.The more than 300-mile river defense that our 33rd Army is responsible for defending has become very empty because three divisions have crossed the river to fight.And our current troops on the east bank of the Xianghe River have also suffered heavy losses and are weak in strength.I think that we should not stay on the east bank of the Xianghe River for a long time to fight, but should withdraw to the west bank in time and defend to the death along the river. Another division commander expressed a different view, thinking that the three divisions should continue to stay in Hedong and insist on active defense on the outside.His point of view immediately won the support of the majority, because it is obvious that if he returns to the west bank and passively defends along the river, it may be difficult to ensure river defense in terms of existing troops.And leaving the main force of the three divisions on the east bank to deal with the enemy should be the best defense.Because as long as the enemy cannot drive the Chinese army back to Hexi, they will never dare to cross the river rashly, otherwise the Chinese army will have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and cut off the way back.But despite this, everyone is still concerned about Zhang Zizhong's safety. An officer suggested that at least the group army headquarters should be withdrawn to Hexi for now. Zhang Zizhong was immediately angry when he heard this: The three divisions were still fighting the enemy desperately in Hedong, but at this time the headquarters retreated across the river?Absolutely not!If the Xianghe barrier is breached, Jingxiang will not be protected, and Sichuan and Han will be in danger.When such a situation occurs, the rear will be in jeopardy.Although we are at an obvious disadvantage in Hedong, if we fight hard, the enemy's strength will be reduced by one point, and our defense will be strengthened by weakening their spirit and blunting their actions.Although the sacrifice is unavoidably too great, but where the righteousness lies, we can only disregard success or failure and fulfill our bounden duty as a soldier.Those who are afraid of death cross the river, and those who are not afraid of death stay with me in the river! After speaking, he gave everyone a majestic look.The officers knew Zhang Zizhong's temper, so they kept silent. This evening, the headquarters of the 39th Division of the Japanese Army was also extremely busy.Division head Keisaku Murakami and several officers gathered in front of a map.Keisaku Murakami pointed to the front line of Meijia Gaomiao and said: The 13th Division was encircled and wiped out here, and it must be the main force of the enemy's 33rd Army from the west of the Xianghe River.Otherwise, the 13th Division would not have been hit hard.We must continue to cooperate with the 13th Division to encircle and annihilate this group of Chinese troops and gather them in the pumpkin shop area... At this time, a staff officer hurried in and reported: Our communications unit monitored tonight and found that there is a large army in the ditch. Near the front line of the pumpkin shop, the enemy's radio communications are extremely frequent, and they use many different frequencies to send them separately.From this, the intelligence department judged that the headquarters of the enemy's 33rd Army is very likely to be in this area. Keisaku Murakami was taken aback, and hurriedly lay down on the map. His hand moved from the happy shop west of the Xianghe River, where the headquarters of the 33rd Army was marked on the map, all the way to the Gouyanli and Pumpkin Shop in the east of the river.Then he slowly raised his head: It turned out to be like this, no wonder the 13th Division suffered a big loss. A Japanese army commander said: Division commander, so Zhang Zizhong, the commander of the 33rd Army, is in this area? Keisaku Murakami became excited because he finally found the trace of Zhang Zizhong. He ordered: Immediately report this situation to the 13th Division, let them charge forward with all their strength, and encircle our troops as soon as possible.Order the troops on the left and right wings to advance at full speed, forming a two-wing encirclement of Gouyanli and Pumpkin Shop.Order aviation units and artillery to stand by, and launch a full-line attack after dawn. The next morning, Zhang Xuming's regiment fought a fierce battle with a part of the right-wing unit of the 39th Division of the Japanese Army at Niuligu Mountain, north of Gouyanli, and fought until noon.Repeated charge and counter charge, the two sides saw each other cruelly, resulting in serious casualties.Beef Rib Mountain has been covered by Japanese artillery fire many times. There are large and small bullet craters everywhere on the not too wide mountain ridge. The smoke is filled with gunpowder and the air is full of sulfur smell.Zhang Xuming moved his regiment headquarters to the forward position and commanded it himself.The soldiers braved the fierce artillery fire and stubbornly resisted the Japanese army's charges again and again.Everyone knows that the defensive position in front of them is extremely important, because behind them is Chenjiawan, where the group army headquarters is located. Chenjiawan is a small village, submerged in the deafening sound of gunfire.There were few officers in the headquarters, and most of them were already at the front.Zhang Zizhong squatted on the ground, calmly looking at the map unfolded under his feet.The current situation can be seen from the map. The Japanese army has formed a three-sided encirclement of Chenjiawan and Niu Rigu Mountain, and the situation is precarious. Zhang Zizhong's personal adjutant discussed with the battalion commander of the pistol battalion, and came to Zhang Zizhong worriedly.Zhang Zizhong looked at the two of them, didn't say anything, and continued to look at the map.The adjutant winked, and the pistol battalion commander had no choice but to say cautiously: Commander-in-Chief, the situation is critical, the enemy has formed a three-sided encirclement.Move around! Seeing Zhang Zizhong as if he didn't hear him, the adjutant also said: Yes, Commander-in-Chief.Now that the enemy has not closed in the northeast direction, we still have time to break out of the encirclement over the long mountain, fight a way out, regroup, and then look for an opportunity to fight decisively. Then Zhang Zizhong slowly raised his head and looked at them angrily: I was ordered to pursue the enemy, so there is no reason to retreat!If a soldier retreats from battle and wants to beheaded, can the commander-in-chief run away when he encounters danger?How unreasonable!Is our life is life, and the life of soldiers is not life?Our Chinese army is bad because officials are too afraid of death!Today I must fight to the end here to set an example for the army!Stop talking! Seeing Zhang Zizhong's appearance, the adjutant and the pistol battalion commander didn't dare to say anything. There was a brief silence on the Niu Rib Mountain position.At noon, the Japanese stopped their offensive.In front of the trenches of the Chinese army, countless corpses and bomb craters were left behind.In the trenches, there were fewer Chinese soldiers, and the remaining soldiers were covered in blood, collecting scattered bullets and grenades.Zhang Xuming has been injured in many places, and his head is also wrapped with bandages.Sitting in the ditch, he took a cigarette from a soldier next to him, smoked it, and then gave it back to him. Everyone has the heaviness and strength of a fight to the death. A drop of rain fell on Zhang Xuming's face, which was icy cold.He looked up at the cloudy sky, and then took out a photo with Li Sufen and his son from his pocket.The photo has been crumpled, but the son's round face, eyebrows and eyes, as well as his wife's smile, are still as clear as before.The photo was taken last year, when my son was less than one year old. The soldier also leaned over to look at the photo, but more raindrops fell from the sky, and some of them splashed onto the photo. Zhang Xuming hurriedly put the photo back into his pocket.As the raindrops fell, the Japanese bombardment started again. The artillery shells tore through the air, flew over from the depths of the Japanese army, and then fell densely on the hilltop like raindrops. The entire position was suddenly enveloped by violent explosions and flames.Zhang Xuming shouted loudly, and picked up the rifle beside him.At this time, he heard the whistling sound of a shell getting closer and closer to the top of his head, but the soldier beside him had already stood up.Zhang Xuming rushed over, pulled the soldier down in the trench, and pressed him on top of him. The shells fell beside them and exploded... The light rain has been falling non-stop since noon.Xingren Mountain in the north of Chenjiawan was also violently attacked by the Japanese army. Looking from the village, dark red flames and thick black smoke had already covered the mountain, and there were dull explosions and crisp gunshots. Zhang Zizhong understood that it was completely meaningless to stay in the headquarters of Chenjiawan at this time, so he resolutely led the few senior officers, staff officers and the last pistol battalion to leave Chenjiawan and rush to the almond mountain.On the top of the hill, the mud was mixed with blood, which was kicked up by the constantly exploding shells.Zhang Zizhong had just stopped at the edge of the trench that had been almost flattened by shells, when a shell exploded near him, and his right shoulder and leg were hit by shrapnel at the same time, and he fell to the ground.Several officers and soldiers immediately shouted and surrounded them. Zhang Zizhong shook his head: Don't make such a fuss. The major general's chief of staff looked at Zhang Zizhong's blood-stained uniform and said: Commander-in-Chief, we have too few people, and the reinforcements from the 38th Division can't keep up.It seems that I can't stand it anymore, let's break out from the direction of Changshan!This is the last chance! Zhang Zizhong looked at the officers in front of him, with a trace of sadness in his eyes, and finally said: Chief of Staff, take the brothers away. The chief of staff shouted in amazement: Commander-in-Chief! Zhang Zizhong had a determined look on his face: any of you can leave, but I can't.Leave me alone, leave now! The commander of the pistol battalion said loudly: Commander-in-Chief, we are not afraid of death, you go first.If I don't repel the enemy, I will die on this mountain!Let's go, Commander-in-Chief! As he spoke, he yelled and rushed out of the trench with a dozen soldiers.Zhang Zizhong watched silently as the commander of the pistol battalion and the soldiers rushed into the pattering rain, his eyes were moist... At Zhang Zizhong's insistence, the remaining senior officers of the command headquarters led the remaining troops to break out in the direction of Changshan helplessly. up.The Japanese offensive became more intense. Zhang Zizhong and his personal adjutant led a dozen soldiers to abandon the position on the top of Xingren Mountain and retreat to a depression at the foot of the mountain.The Japanese army shouted and rushed down the hillside. Zhang Zizhong and his adjutant also pulled out their pistols and shot at the Japanese army that was getting closer. On the hillside, the Japanese army set up machine guns, and the frenzied strafing made the people in the depression almost unable to lift their heads.Soldiers who were still stubbornly resisting died one after another.Several machine gun bullets hit Zhang Zizhong's chest, and he fell to the ground on his back.The adjutant hurried over and saw a ball of blood slowly soaking on Zhang Zizhong's rain-soaked military uniform. Zhang Zizhong looked at the adjutant and said weakly: "I can't do it!"It is very good for me to die like this, it is good for the country and the officer, and my conscience is safe. As he spoke, he tried his best to pull out the dagger at his waist to kill himself.The adjutant was speechless, weeping, and firmly grasped his hand.During the stalemate, several Japanese soldiers had already rushed into the depression, and the shining bayonets were right in front of them.The adjutant raised his gun and shot them down.Another Japanese soldier jumped down from the side and charged at Zhang Zizhong with a bayonet in his hand.The adjutant jumped up, blocked the Japanese bayonet with his body, and fell in front of Zhang Zizhong.Zhang Zizhong grabbed the pistol, struggled, and wanted to stand up and raise the gun to shoot, but several other Japanese soldiers who swarmed in stood on the edge of the depression and fired first.Zhang Zizhong was shot several times and finally fell down. The gunfire disappeared, and the drizzled land suddenly became extremely silent. The Japanese soldiers surrounded Zhang Zizhong's body in the depression, all in a daze.A Japanese major came over and took a look at Zhang Zizhong's blood-soaked military uniform. He couldn't believe his eyes: Is he a general? Then, Shao Zuo squatted in front of Zhang Zizhong's body and began to rummage through his belongings.From the pocket of Zhang Zizhong's left coat, Shao Zuo took out a Parker gold pen, and saw the words "Zhang Zizhong" engraved on it.He was so astonished that he almost involuntarily stood up and took a few steps back, then stood at attention and respectfully gave a military salute to the dead Zhang Zizhong. The light rain fell on Zhang Zizhong's already stiff face, but it couldn't wash off the blood on his face. In the morning in Chongqing, the weather is good.Outside Chiang Kai-shek's official residence in Huangshan, the air is fresh and humid, and the dense forest is verdant under the sun.Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling came back from a walk along the stone path, walking slowly and leisurely, both of them were in a good mood.As soon as they stepped onto the platform outside the mansion, they saw Chen Bulei hurried out from the gate of the mansion, and greeted Chiang Kai-shek in panic: Appointed seat! Chiang Kai-shek glanced at him very unhappy, and stood down.Song Meiling asked: I'm flustered, what's wrong? Chen Bulei's voice was a little trembling: the intelligence department just heard the broadcast from the Japanese military radio station, General Zhang Zizhong was killed in battle! Hearing the news, Chiang Kai-shek's eyes widened in astonishment. After a while, he hit the ground hard with his cane and shouted: This is impossible!This is a rumor! Seeing Chiang Kai-shek's reaction, Chen Bulei looked at Song Meiling for help.Soong Meiling already looked sad, and she knew in her heart that such news could not be false. Since the beginning of the Zaoyi Battle, she had not heard any good news. Even Chiang Kai-shek himself may have long been concerned about the success of this battle. Victory holds no illusions.However, Zhang Zizhong's death still shocked her. Song Meiling looked at Chiang Kai-shek with a livid face, and said to Chen Bulei: You should immediately contact General Li Zongren directly to check. Seeing Chen Bulei leave in a hurry, Chiang Kai-shek stood there dumbfounded, angrily poked the ground with his cane again, made a loud noise, and shouted stubbornly: The radio station of the Japanese invaders is trying to mess with our army's morale!I can't believe it!