Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Defending Changde

Everyone cheered up and rode their horses and whips in the cold air of late autumn.Lao Dan and Huang Ruimin ran ahead, trotting unhurriedly, and the hard horseshoes hit the gravel on the mountain road, making a rattling echo.The young boy shouted loudly and whipped the little whip vigorously. The pride of the eager man turned into smiling faces, and the sadness of leaving home was left behind.There were two horse riders who wanted to surpass Lao Dan, Lao Dan laughed inwardly, for these few years he has become a master who can handle even wild horses.He was lighting a cigarette while galloping, and caught sight of a few young men who were coming. The cigarettes were still being lit, and with a clap of his legs, his big mule rushed out like flying, killing the young men at once. Just pulled behind.The crowd were amazed, they knew that Lao Dan was a donkey and horse expert, and they only saw the real skills today, so they whipped a few whips and rushed forward.

Under the moonlight, the twenty-one riders were glowing with silver light, and they rushed to the north of Xiangbei without stopping. After a whole night, no one felt tired.Through layers of twilight, Lao Dan, who has been running ahead, reined in his mount on a hilltop and jumped down lightly. He patted the big mule that was foaming at the mouth, thinking that he had a good eye for picking you out.Climb up and look around.The land outside the mountain has already glowed with morning light, and the lights of a city in the distance are faintly visible.Zhao Haitao panted heavily, looked at the distant horizon, and asked Lao Dan excitedly:

"Brother? Are we there yet?" "No, look at the map and it's another small county. Changde City is far away. I think it will take a day to get there. I won't go into the county. I'll take the mountain road and go straight to Changde." The soldiers rushed up one after another, foaming at the mouth and sweating like the animals under their crotches.Everyone saw Lao Dan smoking like a normal person, not even in a hurry to drink saliva, and couldn't help admiring the endurance of the donkey company commander.Seeing Lao Dan looking around with a binoculars, several young people came over to watch the excitement while drinking water, Lao Dan turned around and gave Chen Yuming a wink, Chen Yuming understood, straightened the brim of his hat, and let out a low growl :

"Assemble! Stand at attention!" Huang Ruimin and Er Yazi immediately stood in a row when they heard the order. The other young people were panicked and out of order. Zhu Tongtou kicked a few of their buttocks a few times before they understood.Seeing that the team was standing still, Chen Yuming took a step forward, saluted Lao Dan with a standard military salute, and said loudly: "Huang Jiachong's battle squad has assembled, brother, please assign tasks!" The affectation of the two had been discussed a long time ago. Lao Dan considered that most of these young people had never been out and would be at a loss when they were in the team, and the cruelty and hardship on the battlefield would make them unbearable, so he wanted them to Practice on the road.Lao Dan took off the telescope and handed it to Chen Yuming, and said slowly:

"I won't talk about Huang Ruimin and the second child. Listen to the other young children. After leaving Huang Jiachong, you are no longer chicken babies in the mountains. By this time tomorrow, we may be able to enter Changde City. I want to do anti-Japanese war If you are a soldier, you must have no discipline and no rules. Otherwise, if Changde's team sees you guys who haven't eaten a few bowls of dry food, they may not pay attention to you. Since Mr. Huang entrusted you I, I want you to earn a living and go back, I have to make you look good. From now on, Chen Yuming and Huang Ruimin will teach you some sense of propriety in the camp, you have to remember carefully, when you arrive in Changde, you have to make Come on, don't let my old comrades say that I brought a bunch of scumbags to make up the numbers. The battlefield is getting closer, and the road to Changde may not be very safe. Everyone needs to grow a few more ears , open your eyes a few more times, and raise your spirits, do you understand?"

"Understood!" Everyone replied in unison. Suddenly there was a sound of motors on the other side of the mountain, and Lao Dan's hairs stood on end. I'm afraid I will never forget this sound. "Devil plane! Hide!" Lao Dan gave the order, and everyone immediately led the horses under the big tree, and quickly put the bridle on the mules and horses.Lao Dan, Chen Yuming and the others climbed over the top of the mountain and saw three Devil planes flying low over the mountainside in a triangle formation.Lao Dan even saw the ghost driver wearing a leather hat, and thought of Yulan's tragic death. At this moment, his teeth were itching with hatred.

"Are they going to Changde?" "Probably not. These are Devil fighter jets, and the number is too small. Changde's air defense force is not weak. They can't take advantage of it like this." It was Huang Ruimin who spoke, Lao Dan nodded approvingly and said: "Let Haitao go ahead to explore the road, and report back in half an hour. Liang Wenqiang and Daxue scout on both sides, with their guns loaded with fire, just in case... let's go!" After walking in fear for another day and a half, Zhao Haitao finally sent back good news. He arrived outside the south gate of Changde City and saw his own army.

The atmosphere in Changde City was not as tense as everyone thought. Although the walls outside the city were solid and clear, barbed wire and deer thorns could be seen everywhere, deep ditches and bunkers were scattered everywhere, but the troops did not see much.The city was full of traffic, but it was still very lively.The shopkeepers were shouting loudly, and the tables and tables of poker players in the teahouse were also very interested. The old man was holding a teapot and holding a cigarette bag on the side of the road, and occasionally saw some anti-Japanese slogans on the walls on both sides of the street. People think that this is just a border town a day away from the battlefield.

On the second day after entering the city, Lao Dan found Wang Lijiang.Wang Lijiang, who has been promoted to the head of the regiment, is currently arranging the defenses of the east city. When the two meet, they are naturally very affectionate.Lao Dan felt that Wang Lijiang had lost a lot of weight, and Wang Lijiang felt that Lao Dan had gained a lot of weight. When the two shook hands, they competed vigorously, but they were still equal.Hearing that Lao Dan also brought a small team, Wang Lijiang was very pleasantly surprised, and hurriedly took Lao Dan and Huang Ruimin to the Political Department of the 31st Regiment. Hearing that a veteran combat hero had come and brought back twenty-tiao Han, he couldn't help applauding.Lao Dan's punishment for leaving the army back then was all thrown to Java.The officers frowned, racked their brains, and helped Lao Dan and others arrange the preparation and reporting as quickly as possible, and the people stayed first, and the formalities came slowly.

Lao Dan learned that the 57th Division is not fully staffed, and there are only three resting regiments stationed in the city, waiting for new orders.Since the regiments were not full, the division headquarters ordered conscription on the spot, and required a deadline to reach the establishment, but during the rest period, the troops' salaries and oil and water were greatly reduced. The people of Changde donated food and noodles to serve the army, but they just refused to join the army.People from the political department and the conscription office ran around like a big show, lobbying everywhere with white papers, almost wearing out their lips.There was a shortage of soldiers, so Lao Dan and his party of 21 people naturally became popular.Wang Lijiang greeted the Political Department of the 57th Division. The director of the Political Department inspected Lao Dan's qualifications and made a quick decision in conjunction with the Operations Section.Lao Dan thought that his military rank should be higher, but the director of the political department said that the military rank had to be reported and determined, and he had to put on the lieutenant's collar badge first.

Putting on the brand-new lieutenant's uniform, Lao Dan was still a little uncomfortable. He had been lazy in Huang's house for many years and wore tattered clothes casually. Now he always felt that his neck was strangled by the discipline buckle, and the belt on his stomach was also a little tight.The familiar smell of the military uniform made him a little excited, and he couldn't help straightening his slightly stooped waist, and let out a long breath.Putting on this skin again, it will be difficult to take it off.The hatred of the country that rose and fell in my heart at that time now has a family feud that is engraved in the bone marrow. At this time, at that time, you have to have some bones to live. It may not be possible to return home. Since there is no certainty, it is better to use a gun to kill a way.In the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms and the Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties that Mr. Yuan Bai talked about, don’t the heroes such as Guan Yunchang and Qin Shubao have no balls?Commander Mazi's prestige was earned, but wasn't he also a kid in rural Henan twenty years ago? Times make heroes!Lao Dan remembered what Mr. Yuan Bai loved to say.Although I don't want to be a hero, but I can't be the bastard that Old Man Huang and Captain Mazi look down on, right?If you can't get home, just make a statement! A few days later, Lao Dan took office in the 4th Battalion and 6th Company of the 31st Regiment. Except for Huang Ruimin and Er Yazi who went to the 3rd Company and the 5th Company respectively as platoon leaders, the remaining 18 people were incorporated into the 6th Company. Liu Haiqun, Zhao Haitao, Liang Wenqiang and Zhu Tongtou served as platoon leaders. The 6th company was established according to the new organization, more like an independent company, most of the main members were deserters who deserted from Changsha City, and there were also stragglers from other troops. They were organized and undisciplined. . The 57th Division did a good job in political work. "Anyone who resists the Japanese should never blame the past!" If you don't pursue the past, why don't you rush to the 57th Division to make a living?So one after another came to defect. The battalion commander of the 4th Battalion is a brother brought out by Wang Lijiang. After hearing about Lao Dan’s methods, he also considered the commonality of deserters in this company. He put down a cruel sentence: Three months later, the 6th Company, which was in a state of disunity, must become the 57th Division of the 74th Army. ——The hard-boned company of "Hu Ben" will go to Changsha with the 31st regiment. The 6th company reorganized 175 people, divided into 6 platoons, without political instructors, and Wang Lijiang's regimental political office directly provided political guidance, and started training from now on. When he first arrived at the 6th company, Lao Dan was taken aback. Except for the people he brought, the other soldiers looked more like bandits.It is estimated that they are afraid that they will cause trouble, so they haven't been issued weapons yet. The Political Office of the 4th Battalion sent a student officer to take care of them. The thin-skinned and tender-skinned student officer thought he was overqualified, but he didn't expect to be exhausted by these bandits after a month, and he collapsed and lost a lot of weight.Soldiers often made fun of this doll. One day when he was shitting in the latrine, a grenade was stuffed into the crack of the door. He was scared out of his wits and rushed out of the latrine without lifting his pants. all over the floor.He lay on the ground and waited for a while, but there was no movement. When he went back, he found that the grenade hadn't pulled the string at all.The student officials felt ashamed to see others, and voluntarily hung up their boots and resigned.These rotten soldiers succeeded in their schemes, and they were even more unscrupulous.The food supply of the company was very ordinary, but the smell of roast chicken and roast duck often wafted out of the barracks.Neighboring people often came to the camp to complain that someone was stealing chickens and dogs in the middle of the night, saying that they did not look like ordinary thieves, so they concluded that they belonged to this company, but the officers could do nothing if they found no evidence. Before taking office, Wang Lijiang once invited Lao Dan to drink, knowing that he was going to manage the 6th company, he only said one sentence: "Brother has to come up with some unusual means!" Lao Dan understands, thinking to fuck you, within a month, I will call you guys to be obedient... Wang Lijiang asked for a combat staff officer from the division's staff office, named Gu Tianlei, who was the deputy company commander of the 6th company and partnered with Lao Dan.Gu Tianlei is from Mohe, Heilongjiang, Northeast China. He graduated from Huangpu Military Academy before the war and is now a lieutenant.He is tall and tall, half a head taller than Lao Dan. According to Banzi Village, he has the body of a butcher, and the military uniform is particularly crisp and pressed on him, as if it was tailor-made for him. .This man looked unusually burly, but there was a sinister air between his brows, as if he had something in his heart, which Lao Dan could see but couldn't explain clearly.Lao Dan has also seen many combat staff officers, most of them are gentle and open-minded, but he has never seen Gu Tianlei like this. Gu Tianlei and Lao Dan didn't recognize each other when they met, and after two days of rambling, they had a tacit understanding.Lao Dan followed Yang Tiejun's standard for training the spy company at that time to clean up the gang of "bandit soldiers". Every morning before the rooster crowed, he asked Chen Yuming to toss everyone up, stretching his arms against the stars and carrying out heavy training.He and Gu Tianlei took the lead, climbing mountains and crossing rivers shirtless to practice bayonets.Some soldiers were lazy, and some pretended to be stupid, or lingered on, or lay on the ground panting like dead dogs.When Chen Yuming saw such a soldier, he got angry and wanted to kick him when he went up, but Lao Dan stopped short.Ran over to see the rogue-eyed Lai Bing on the ground, Lao Dan knew it well, he wiped off his sweat, lifted Lai Bing up, took the guy's guns, ammunition and baggage, and carried them on his body just run.Seeing Lao Dan like this, the fellow felt embarrassed, and hurriedly gritted his teeth to catch up, and asked for the equipment back with a smile on his face.Chen Yuming suddenly realized, and immediately imitated holding a gun from a soldier who couldn't run, and told Liang Wenqiang that they would do the same. While running back and forth, Gu Tianlei encouraged everyone loudly, and when he saw someone who couldn't run, he went to help them.This guy's physical strength is even better than Lao Dan's, and he also has a scar on his back. He does have two brushes.In the second battle of Changsha, Gu Tianlei was hit by an air-burst bomb, and the shrapnel on his back was cut into ravines like a chopping board for chopping meat.The tendons and scars all over his body were shaking violently, and the fifteen kilograms of ammunition felt like a small cotton pillow on his back.Lao Dan was envious in her heart, but she insisted on running ahead.Gu Tianlei shouted to the soldiers: "Brothers! There are no cowards in the soldiers of 'Hu Ben'. Since the establishment of the establishment, they have fought fierce and vicious battles. They are the trump card 57th Division whose legs tremble whenever the Japanese devils hear it! Let's sweat a little more today. Let the bastards bleed more when you beat the devils! The Japanese devils I have seen can run for fifty miles with 20 kilograms of weapons and equipment on their backs, and they can attack us as soon as they stop! So if we want to kill the devils, or To avoid being beaten to death by the devils, we must run faster than them and become more ruthless than them. The only things we can rely on are the rifles and grenades in our hands, and only the brothers who share life and death with us. Brothers, follow the old The company commander is running like hell..." Veterans don't like Gu Tianlei's tricks at all. These guys think they have experienced many battles. Who hasn't seen it?When they saw the bumpy scars on the backs of the two leading company commanders, they restrained a little, and an invisible force quickly spread through the team.During the break, the platoon leaders Liang Wenqiang and Zhu Tongtou gave the soldiers water and cigarettes first, and then helped them check their equipment one by one for any problems.After a day's training, the gang of soldiers who had been lazy for a long time were too tired to go to bed.Just after taking a sip of porridge and lying on the bed trying to fall asleep, everyone suddenly smelled the smell of barbecue.A few soldiers curiously opened the barracks and stretched their heads out, only to see an animal roasting on each of the two fires in the yard, and several officials were busy with their lives.The soldiers couldn't help shouting excitedly, and suddenly regained their energy. They put on their shoes and ran out, smiling and gathering around the fire.Lao Dan was covered in blood, and was shaving a big dog with a knife, and several platoon leaders were also busy adding fuel to the fire.A soldier ventured to ask: "Company commander, what are you going to do tonight?" Lao Dan raised his blood-stained face, smiled mysteriously, but didn't answer, just moved the knife in his hand quickly, like a butcher behind a meat case.At this time, I saw Gu Tianlei coming over with three boxes of wine in his arms. These three boxes of wine weighed a hundred and ten catties, but Staff Officer Gu carried them here by himself, which is really a lot of strength.He put the wine on the ground lightly, as easily as a bench, he raised his head and said: "The company commander thought that you hadn't practiced for a long time. I'm afraid that you will be so tired that you will grow chicken feathers this day. The food these days is not greasy. I'm afraid you gluttons can't bear it, so the company commander sent a few platoon leaders to the field to knock A few dogs came back, so that everyone can eat meat and train vigorously! This dog came for nothing, but this wine was bought for everyone by my brother! Let me ask you, are you tired today?" "Not tired!" The soldiers yelled in unison, looking at the squeaky roasted dog meat, they were so greedy that Halazi was about to drop to the ground.Since the establishment of the company for more than a month, the food supplies in the Binhu area have been blocked by the Japanese army. Going to steal chickens and dogs, aroused the complaints of the people.Seeing that Lian Boss is so thoughtful about his brothers - he has been training for a day, and he still works tirelessly to provide food and drink for everyone, everyone is moved.A warrior shouted: "Company commander, as long as the brothers have meat to eat and wine to drink, let alone training every day, it is up to you to go up the mountain of swords and go down into the sea of ​​fire. It all depends on your words! Brothers have all played bayonets with devils, so just do what you want, company commander, If the company commander is relentless, we don’t have any complaints, brothers, don’t we?” "yes!" "That's right!" "Naturally!" Everyone responded loudly. "Line up!" Chen Yuming shouted loudly.At this time, the soldiers were full of energy one by one, and stood in three rows in unison.Lao Dan nailed the knife to the chopping board, wiped his face with a towel, stood still in front of the team, and said loudly: "Brothers! In this time of war and chaos, it is fate that we brothers can get together. My old man was originally a farmer, and I don't know a lot of characters, let alone see the world. It's just that I have fought a lot of battles. , I have seen too many of my brothers die under the gunfire of the devils, and die beside me. I can survive this life today because so many brothers have blocked countless devils' guns for me and helped me protect me. This rotten life! The brothers I brought, especially your platoon leaders, all of them have died several times. They have given up their good days and insisted on following me to fight devils, no For other reasons, one is for brothers of life and death, and the other is to beat the devils away and go home to have a peaceful life. From then on, we are brothers of life and death. You eat meat first, drink wine first, and use medicine first. I want one. Don’t give it to me during the war, don’t embarrass the famous 'Hu Ben' 57 division, let alone let our dead brothers laugh at it, don't let the little Japanese who only have the height of the kang head look down upon ! Brothers, can it be done?" "Yes!" The soldiers replied loudly. "Yesterday, I went to the regiment headquarters for a meeting, and the commander of the regiment said that this devil's life is getting worse day by day, and his home was also bombed by the American allied forces. Changsha, they have been fighting for a year and they can't take it down. What a strong... Strong... the end of the strong bird!" The soldiers roared with laughter.Lao Dan smiled and waved his hands as self-deprecating, and continued: "Anyway, it turned out that I always couldn't see any hope in fighting devils, but now I seem to see it. I don't know why the 57th Division is called 'Hu Ben', and I don't understand... How can this tiger be stupid? But I know The 57th Division has never lost a battle since it fought against the devils. It is the trump card of our national army! Now that our company has received an order, the entire 57th Division may stay in Changde to fight the devils instead of going to Changsha. The people here will also retreat. We need to intensify training and build fortifications. Commander Yu Chengwan is a hard-bodied old man with hard bones and hard discipline, so my company also needs to have some hard rules, let Deputy Company Commander Gu tell everyone!" Gu Tianlei was listening, seeing that Lao Dan managed to subdue this group of bandits and soldiers with only one stupid speech, two wild dogs, and three boxes of broken wine, he secretly sighed in admiration.This is indeed a great evil skill!I was born in Huangpu, but I didn't learn such skills.When he first came, he still looked down upon the foolish Lao Dan, so why should he be the company commander?Why did you take yourself out of the division and serve him as a staff officer?At this time, he got acquainted. He rubbed Ji Li Gu Lu's stomach, coughed a few times to calm himself down, and then began to take the conversation, telling the soldiers about the military rules and regulations of the 57th Army.Don't let Lao Dan underestimate her!Gu Tianlei spoke with all his strength, explaining the military discipline and rewards and punishments of the 57th Division in a simple and clear manner.The soldiers all listened carefully, and the military rules and regulations were clear about rewards and punishments. For example, after the battle, all the commanders will have a first-level military rank, and there will be some Guangyang to take; would be shot, and so on.This time, the soldiers have a plan in their minds. It seems that in this army, there is no way to fool around. However, it is difficult to have such two commanders who are well-organized and caring for the brothers. It is practical, after all, it is better than being cannon fodder in the past, right? After listening to Staff Officer Gu's long speech, Lao Dan saw that the soldiers were so greedy that they were about to pounce on them, and they tried their best to stand upright one by one. He secretly smiled and said: "Brothers, do you understand?" "got it!" "Got it!" "Understood!" Chen Yuming saw that everyone answered incoherently, and shouted: "Do you understand?" "Understood!" The soldiers shouted with all their might.Chen Yuming said with satisfaction: "Sit down where you are! Come up one by one to get the meat and the wine, don't mess around!" Lao Dan performed the knife himself again, and cut the roasted dog meat piece by piece to the soldiers. His skillful knife skills won the praise of several soldiers who had been butchers for a living.Zhu Tongtou had already set up a big pot to boil water. He collected the shaved bones and the bones everyone had gnawed and threw them into the big pot. He also chopped a few big white radishes and put them in the pot. No matter what the ingredients are, the pot of bone soup will be full of fragrance in a short while.In the light of the fire, the soldiers sat on the ground, gnawing with relish and creaking, wishing they could chew up all the bones and sticks and swallow them.Everyone was given a small amount of wine, but everyone's faces were flushed.Everyone suddenly noticed that the old company commander, Staff Officer Gu, and several platoon leaders were all standing there, gnawing on dry bone sticks with little meat, and their noses became a little sore.Huang Ruimin's younger brother, Huang Ruiling, ran up to Lao Dan and wanted to give his own meat to Lao Dan. Lao Dan pushed him away with a smile, and said with a smile: "Boy, you don't know, before you came out, we had secretly gnawed a few mouthfuls!" From then on, the soldiers were like a clockwork machine.Everyone went out early and returned late, training hard around the camp with great fanfare, shooting and fighting with bayonets, and the loud shouts surprised the people who were about to retreat around the camp. Why did these bandits and soldiers change their appearance?Lao Dan had already trained Liang Wenqiang and Zhao Haitao to be sharpshooters in the mountains, and Chen Yuming, Da Xue, and Liu Haiqun had trained them to be masters of swordsmanship and stabbing, so they practiced very smoothly.Only Zhu Tongtou, who can't do anything well, has mastered good cooking skills by self-taught, and has firmly captured everyone's appetites, and his popularity index keeps rising. The soldiers eat well, and they train very consciously and hard, and no one is lazy.Gu Tianlei attaches great importance to the political and ideological training of the company. He often arranges some work to help the common people retreat and relocate after training. Remove timber.If the native people were unwilling to leave, the soldiers came to persuade them in units of squads. If one squad failed, they would change to another squad, saying that you can leave at ease. The house is guaranteed to be returned to Zhao in its entirety.The soldiers coaxed and deceived the people around the camp and sent them away one by one. Soon there were no people around the camp. At this time, the sound of the rumbling artillery from the north could be heard. For two months in a row, the 6th company trained in a tense atmosphere.From the east, from the north and from the south, every day came the rumble of cannon, and everyone knew that the real battle was coming.Lao Dan and everyone else were a little nervous, and the training was even harder.The regiment headquarters still had no clear combat instructions, so Gu Tianlei went to the division headquarters once and brought back some bad news. "Company commander, on the outskirts of Changde, several of our main forces have been dispersed." "What do you mean, how many people are here?" "It is estimated that there are at least 50,000 people. The division has only received news in the past few days that the devil's main attack direction is Changde... The 29th Army, the 73rd Army, and several divisions of our 79th Army have almost been wiped out...Look It turned out that I fell into the devil's trick and was surrounded by the enemy..." "This...how come...how many troops do we have in Changde?" "Only our 57th Division, the other regiments were stopped by the Japanese army... the nearest one is 100 kilometers away..." "But there are only 8,000 people in Huben, and they are fighting 50,000 devils. How can we fight? When will the reinforcements arrive?" "I guess it won't be there for a while! As far as I know, the main forces in the war zone are concentrated in Jinhe, Lihe and the area west of Nuanshui Street, in order to take care of Yueyang. There is no echelon deployment around Changde... The devil is prepared Come on, I played our ancestors' siege and reinforcements and leading snakes out of the cave. We underestimated the enemy too much. How could we fill in several armies in a daze? We suffered such a big loss! Let's not talk... Tomorrow the division headquarters will hold a mobilization It will be clear what the situation is at the General Assembly." Hearing this frightening news, Lao Dan's heart skipped a beat, and his mind was buzzing.In previous fights with the devils, most of them were fought by the national army, with deep ditch and barriers and sea tactics. Moreover, the devils with superior firepower, advanced tactics, and strong combat effectiveness were beaten back and forth. The attack of 50,000 devils does not have enough heavy weapons, nor does it have a solid city defense fortification, and the organization is not complete. How can this battle be fought?According to my own observation, Changde City is surrounded by air leaks, and the boundary between southeast, north and west is only fifty miles. It is not a fortified city that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The devil's artillery can hit any corner!After killing the anti-aircraft artillery fire, the devil's plane could pull out any point of firepower, and Lao Dan felt a chill in his heart, and he was completely at a loss.He lit the cigarette pot to suppress his beating heart, looked up at Gu Tianlei, his brows were also furrowed with a cloudy face, and the two of them were silent for a while. In the barracks not far away, the soldiers snored one after another, heartily.Lao Dan was originally prepared to fight a tough battle, but he never expected to encounter such a vicious battle with an absolutely disparate power balance! We all know how powerful the "Hu Ben" is. When this team fought against the warlord Sun Chuanfang, it was very powerful, and it also withstood the attack of half a division of the devils in Changsha.But now facing the planes and cannons rushing over, plus 50,000 desperate Japanese soldiers, if they can withstand it?Just expect a miracle to happen.I never thought that just after leaving Huang Jiachong, I would fall into a desperate situation immediately! Lao Dan and Gu Tianlei sat face to face all night, the floor was full of dropped cigarette butts and knocked ash... The next day, the division's order came down, and a pre-war mobilization meeting was held today. All officers and soldiers of "Hu Ben" gathered in front of the central bank to stand by. When he saw the soldiers of the 4th Battalion and 6th Company of the 31st Regiment lined up to the central square with their rifles in high spirits, full of energy, and lined up to the central square, Lao Dan finally felt a little more at ease.After two months, this gang of gangsters was finally trained into a company with excellent skills and strict discipline.They are all strong and strong, with bright eyes and confidence, and they trust and obey the commander's command very much.Lao Dan couldn't help being comforted: the combat power of the 6th company will definitely not lose to the Japanese devils who are rushing over! When the 6th company entered the venue with a loud chant, the regiment leaders were all amazed at the refreshing changes in this army.Where is this group of living bandits, they are obviously a mighty iron army!They are all strong and strong, with vigorous movements, and their bayonets are polished brightly, reflecting their dark and strong faces.Wang Lijiang also admired Lao Dan's ability, and briefly reported the situation of Lao Dan's training of the 6th company to the slightly surprised Commander Yu Chengwan. Mr. Yu couldn't help but nodded, but did not speak. Chief of Staff Long Chuyun smiled Said to Wang Lijiang: "This person will lead troops, and he is worthy of a heavy responsibility!" As dusk came, flaming torches were lit around the venue, and eight thousand warriors stood on the spot.Now it is October of the lunar calendar, and the weather has turned cold. A violent northwest wind blew across the venue, and the high flagpole whistled "Ri Ri Er". "All listen to the order! Stand at attention! Raise your gun!" All the soldiers raised the steel guns in front of them with a "wow", then placed them on the right side of their bodies, and at the same time stood at attention in a standard manner. "Tiger Ben!" "Invincible!" "Tiger Ben!" "Long live!" Eight thousand soldiers shouted in unison, and the sound was like a thousand troops roaring past, echoing in the square.Master Yu Chengwan walked to the stage calmly.On his brand-new lieutenant general uniform, shiny medals were neatly arranged.With majestic eyes, he scanned all the soldiers slowly, saluted them solemnly and forcefully, then turned his hands behind his back, and stood firmly. "Take it easy!" He paused, and then said loudly and loudly: "Brothers of 'Hu Ben'! Today we held a mobilization meeting for nothing else but to welcome a glorious battle! These days, everyone must have heard the sound of artillery around Changde. The sixth and ninth of our army The fraternal troops in the war zone are fighting bloody battles with the 100,000 elites of the devils on the front line. The Japanese devils want to conquer Hunan through this battle, lay down the door to attack the rear, and attack our army's front day and night without hesitation. The 74th Army's Several other divisions have been fighting in a place not far from us for more than two months. The brothers are united. Although the blood flowed like a river, it made it difficult for the army of 100,000 devils and suffered heavy losses. Now, the devils have sneaked in a few A coalition with tens of thousands of people wants to take Changde, a precious granary, with swagger and ease. Don't even think about it! If you want to fire a few small cannons and throw a few bombs, you can capture Changde like a bag. Don't even think about it! Because there is' Huben'in, because we are here! "Brothers, although Changde is small, it has great strategic significance. The gains and losses of Changde can be said to be related to the fate of the entire Chinese nation! If Changde fails, the defense lines of the two theaters will collapse, and Changsha and Hengyang will soon be lost. , this precious land in northern Hunan, this large granary, will fall into the hands of the Japanese invaders... Therefore, it can be said that if Changde dies, Hunan will be defeated, if Hunan is defeated, the country will be destroyed, and if the country is destroyed, the family will be destroyed! Changde faces water on three sides, we can say Fighting to the last stand is a place to die and survive! Our city defense area is only more than forty miles from north to south, which can be described as a tiny place on the map, but how important it is! It is even more important than Changsha No less. We have defended Changsha City, and we will certainly be able to defend Changde City! "For the sake of the party, the people, and our loved ones, we must fulfill this sacred mission, and use our blood and body in exchange for the survival of the entire country and nation! Now, I order you to go up to the division headquarters and down to the cooks, We must be prepared to fight bloody battles with the Japanese army to the last man, the last bomb, and the last trench. 'Hu Ben' is with Changde!" Master Yu's right hand swung down violently, as if cutting off the enemy's thousands of horses.The soldiers' blood boiled with excitement, and when they saw the trumpeter on the stage waved their hands, they immediately shouted in unison: "Hu Ben! Invincible! Tiger Ben! Long live!" Lao Dan was also greatly encouraged, and the gloomy mood of the previous night was swept away.He thought to himself, this 57th division really deserves its reputation, and the division commander is really an extraordinary and powerful character!I only heard Teacher Yu continue to say: "Our 'huben' army has never been defeated before, and it will not be defeated this time! We want to let the Japanese devils know that they are facing the most tenacious army in China. Now, Not only our Chinese people, but also the anti-fascist forces all over the world are paying attention to us, waiting for the good news of our victory, so as to strengthen the confidence of the people all over the world that the anti-fascist will win!" "Brothers, we must be worthy of the millions of brothers who have died heroically, we must be worthy of the Chinese people who were brutally massacred by the Japanese invaders, and we must be worthy of the land of China trampled by the Japanese invaders! Our opportunity to serve the country has come! Our opportunity to make contributions has come. ! Tiger Ben!" "Invincible!" "Tiger Ben!" "Long live!" The shouts of the officers and soldiers of the 57th Division broke through the sky and went straight to the sky... The battle soon began. When a shell exploded next to the command post with a shrill whistle, Lao Dan felt a chill from head to toe, and subconsciously wanted to squat down with his head in his arms.His scalp was taut, and his facial features were aching from the shock wave, like starched sackcloth.The lower body trembled inexplicably, and there was a burst of urination.An old soldier was lighting a cigarette not far away. The old soldier's hands were steady as if he was doing needlework. Lao Dan was so ashamed that he wanted to cover his face with his hands.After leaving the battlefield for a long time, the original energy of not fearing death was compromised. In an instant, the memory of the stable and leisurely rural life was immediately blown away by a few shells without a trace.He squeezed his toes, which were numb and painful like being pricked by needles, straightened his military cap, flicked the dirt that fell on his shoulders, took a few deep breaths secretly, and finally felt the blood start to surge all over his body again.The familiar smell of explosives, the smell of soil from the shells, and the sound of the soldiers rattling and pulling the bolts made him gradually feel that he was on the scene, as if he had returned to the past.It didn't take long for him to feel as if he had never left the battlefield. The days of leisure in Huang Jiachong, like the gods, were the same as the earth-shaking night spent with Ah Feng in Doufang Mountain, but it was just a dream. A beautiful flash of lightning, today's hail of bullets, bugles and horseshoes, and the god of death who is about to patronize himself or the brothers around him, is the life that he has to face truly. Two Devil planes flew over the hidden command post recklessly, sweeping down a dense rain of bullets.Lao Dan even saw the sharp faces of the two skinny orientals on the plane under their fur hats, one of whom still had a funny Rendan beard.Thinking of the ghost pilot squeezed in the narrow cabin of the plane with his crotch sandwiched, what should he do if he wants to pee as hard as himself?Lao Dan suddenly lost his mind, felt a little funny, and forgot to lower his body to hide from the rain of bullets like plowing the ground, Gu Tianlei next to him threw him to the ground suddenly.A few machine gun bullets smashed the command post into a mess, the Eight Immortals table brought from the people's house to put the map was smashed into pieces, and the radio station was also smashed into parts.Lao Dan stood up in a daze, saw Gu Tianlei's strange eyes, and looked around. Fortunately, no one in the command post was injured. "Damn it! The devils are coming up! The phone is broken, the communicator! Go and give Chen Yuming a message. Be tougher and throw more grenades. The first wave of devils will definitely come up like mad dogs." Go ahead, don't let the devils get a taste of the sweetness! In addition, let them pay attention to responding to the 5th company next to them, and don't let the devils get into their crotches and run over!" Strange to say, when I brushed past death at that moment just now, the tense feeling disappeared all of a sudden.Isn't this very familiar?I'm back, my old man has returned to the place he is familiar with... He felt that his heartbeat had slowed down, and there was even a kind of excitement in his heart. He wanted to lead this well-prepared army to stick to this position and continue to write his own story. The legend is gone!He picked up the binoculars and looked towards the front line of the company's defense.The devil's shells exploded like firecrackers on the forward positions defended by Chen Yuming and Daxue. The positions were shrouded in turbid smoke and dust, and the weak houses around them were turned into ruins under the artillery fire.As soon as the Devil's plane turned around and left after dropping the bomb, a blood-red plaster flag, a black and green steel helmet, and the Devil's sharp bayonet appeared in the binoculars. Devils charged! "Blast the enemy formations with mortars! Reserves get ready!" Gu Tianlei gave orders while observing the front position.He was puzzled by Lao Dan's sluggish reaction just now, why didn't he hide when he saw the enemy plane shooting at him?Punish heroes?It doesn't look like it, only an officer who has never fought a bad battle will do this.Could it be that you are a little confused after not going to the battlefield for a long time?Now, he finally saw Lao Dan observing the front position calmly.A few shells that exploded not far away dropped a lot of shrapnel and rubble, which rustled on the branches used for camouflage, and many of them hit the two of them, but Lao Dan remained motionless.The command post was too close to the forward position, but Lao Dan insisted on setting it up here. Gu Tianlei fought with Lao Dan for a long time yesterday for this.Taking care of Tianlei's understanding of the devils, once the devils' plane finds out that this is a headquarters, it will immediately be covered by devastating artillery fire. The devils' shells are not as expensive as the national army, and they can be hundreds of rounds at every turn.But Lao Dan is used to watching his brothers fight, and he pays attention to both offense and defense.Lao Dan arranged two reserve teams—the 3rd row led by Liang Wenqiang and the 4th row led by Zhao Haitao were both in the deep trench 150 meters ahead, and Zhu Tongtou's guard row was also in the hidden area on the right. You can rush to the position in a minute or two. During the bloody battle in Changsha, Gu Tianlei summed up some experience. The devils have great advantages in positional warfare, and their ability to coordinate multi-armed operations is far better than that of the national army.In terms of artillery, the artillery of the Japanese army has high shooting accuracy and extremely quick response. This is inseparable from the accuracy of the devil's map and the seriousness of the forward observation post.In terms of the air force, the Japanese army has the most powerful air strike force in Asia. The Soviet-made and old American aircraft of the national army are far from being the opponents of the Zero fighters. The strength could not prevent the Japanese bombs from hitting the target accurately, which caused a great psychological shock to the ground troops of the national army.In terms of the army, the Japanese army's individual combat capability and unit coordination capability are also far superior to the national army. A Japanese regiment is equivalent to a regiment of the national army, but it can often be achieved with the cooperation of the air force, artillery and intelligence departments. , hit the defense line of a division of the Transnational Army, or even wiped out the division. Such examples abound during the Songhu Battle.Of course, the Chinese front-line combat troops have also summed up a lot of combat experience in repeated defeats. When fighting against the devil's cluster charge, blindly defending will not do. If it doesn't work, even if three national army soldiers can fight off one devil, it's worth it. Gu Tianlei has some doubts about Lao Dan's military command ability. This guy seems to have fought some tough battles, but is his method of sticking to it okay?Thinking about Changde's small land, there is no combat depth, and the 31st and 169th regiment headquarters are located in the east gate. Lao Dan set up the command post here in Sipu Street. Once it is unplugged, the front line will lose its command system, and it can be said that it is easy for the devils to break through such a line of defense. "Hu Ben" and the devils can't afford to consume their troops, and the counter charge may be in the devil's arms.Gu Tianlei only had a dark face, but he couldn't come up with better suggestions for a while. In fact, for half a month since the Battle of Changde, the actual combat situation in the four directions of east, west, north and south is relatively consistent with Gu Tianlei's expectations.The deep ditch barriers outside Changde were quickly broken through by the devils. Although the devils rushed to attack from a long distance, their combat effectiveness remained undiminished.The bunkers and fortifications that the Changde defenders spent two months building were blown to pieces in half an hour.Each battle order has at least one-third of the casualties before meeting the devils.The soldiers rushed into the enemy's assault team under the artillery fire, which was almost the only way to stop the devil's artillery, so almost every inch of land here had to be defended by hand-to-hand combat.Of the more than 2,000 people defending the outer positions, only a few hundred remained.A large area of ​​defense fell into the hands of the devils, and the Orientals swaggered and pushed their flat-firing cannons to the front, releasing them slowly, and the shells almost flew around close to the ground.For some reason, the 57th Division did not leave a few heavy artillery, and the small steel artillery in the company was extremely limited, and the shells could not wait to open the flaps to fire. At the beginning of the battle, the devils who came from a long distance obviously did not pay attention to the defenders in Changde City. After more than a month of fighting in the periphery, the Japanese devils who had recuperated white and fat killed nearly 100,000 national troops The troops beat up the main force of the National Revolutionary Army and scattered and fled in all directions.The entire company, entire battalion, and even the entire brigade of the Chinese people were captured by the imperial army. For a moment, the devils felt as if they had grown a bit taller, and the defeat in Changsha City had long been forgotten in Hokkaido.This road is full of busy fighting, and I haven't even seen a few flower girls. I have long heard that Changde is an ancient city with a history of two thousand years in China. It is the most important granary in northern Hunan. It's even better.Now seeing that this ancient city is about to become a spoil of war for the imperial army, how can we not be airy and full of imagination? When the first army of devils finished drinking shochu, hummed their hometown tunes, hung raw sweet potatoes and hand grenades on their waists, leisurely enjoyed the scenery on both sides of Tujia Lake, boarded the assault boat carelessly, and rowed while urinating into the lake When heading to Changde on the other side...they were strongly resisted by an iron army of the national army! In the first battle, the devil suffered a big loss, and just now seriously studied the defense situation and firepower equipment of the 57th Division of the defenders, and re-formulated a thorough attack plan.After half a month, they captured the outer defense lines in the east, west, and south directions, and the national army was compressed to the front line of the city wall.From the point of view of the Devil Command, Changde City has no food and no reinforcements outside. The shells can hit any corner of the city, and the battle can be completely ended in less than a week. The resistance of the 57th Division of the National Army was so resolute and tenacious!This is a bit rare.No matter how the Japanese army's heavy artillery and planes bombed, no matter how many people were left in the forward position, the officers and soldiers of the 57th Division just didn't take a step back, and they would die with the devils who rushed to the position at every turn!This style of play made the Japanese army very uncomfortable. What they have always been proud of is the superior and indomitable morale of the soldiers of the imperial army.When they charged, they never knew what to be afraid of. In the battle after Nanking, the devils charged more fiercely, and they didn't even like to use tanks much.But on the front line in Changde, no matter how many Japanese soldiers rushed up, before the flag of victory could be planted, there would always be Chinese soldiers with more than a dozen hand grenades strapped to them rushing over and knocking smoking grenades on the Japanese soldiers' heads.The Bushido spirit in the devil's bones held his breath, so that they would not turn around no matter how frightened they were, and they hoped that the Chinese soldiers' tricks were only used to scare people.Therefore, during the battle, several Chinese soldiers and dozens of Japanese soldiers often exploded to pieces.Over time, when this desperate devil thought of the even more desperate Chinese soldiers in front of him, he began to slouch, and even crawled forward when he charged. The 6th company was guarding the front line of Shahe and Sipu Street at the east gate. The outer line of defense had already fallen into the enemy's hands, and the remaining soldiers retreated into Chen Yuming's position.During the interval of the battle, Chen Yuming ran back to the company command post. Except for a place on his arm that was blackened by fire, he looked fine.He said that after an hour of shelling by the devils, more than 20 brothers were either dead or injured and unable to fight. Just now, they repelled a company's charge of the devils and killed more than 30 devils.The devil pushed the flat-firing gun over, and it is estimated that it will rush up soon. "Let everyone stick to it for another night! What's the difficulty?" Lao Dan asked Chen Yuming. "Where's the artillery? Why didn't the artillery of 'Hu Ben' fire?" Chen Yuming asked puzzled. "Our whole division only has eight heavy artillery, and there are not many shells. The others have not been brought in. We need to fire again at the most critical moment!" Gu Tianlei said sullenly. "Then give some more grenades! We can block it!" "Okay! Pay attention to saving ammunition, let everyone not idle between battles, and dig the trenches more solidly! How is Da Xue?" Lao Dan turned his head and looked at it in surprise when he heard that the artillery force of "Hu Ben" was so weak for the first time. Gu Tianlei glanced and said. "Da Xue is fine, there were only two devils who rushed to the front of the position just now, and they were all killed by him!" "Great, I won't find someone to change defense at night, what else can I say?" "Gu Lianchang, let Tongtou cook a pot of soup for the brothers? The brothers said that drinking his soup will give you strength in war!" Lao Dan and Gu Tianlei laughed, Zhu Tongtou just came back from the regiment and brought two boxes of ocean and beef as rewards from the division headquarters. Gu Tianlei hurriedly called Zhu Tongtou who was giving money to the soldiers to give instructions.When Zhu Tongtou saw Chen Yuming, the two embraced as if they hadn't seen each other for a few years.Zhu Tongtou patted his chest and shouted: "Thanks to the brothers who think highly of me, this pot of beef soup is wrapped on me, and you will see how delicious I am, and wait to drink it tonight! I will deliver it to you myself!" "How many more pieces of meat do you want?" "Don't worry, I can give you more? In the evening, I will go to your trenches with a jug of wine, and we brothers will have another two glasses..." "See you tonight, Tongtou!" Chen Yuming clapped hands with Zhu Tongtou heavily, then turned and walked towards the position. In the afternoon, the sound of guns and artillery from all directions was getting closer and closer, but it suddenly fell silent when the evening approached. Except for the occasional cold gunshots and the wailing of the wounded, the only sound was the crackling and burning of houses. sounded. The devils stopped attacking across the board.This is not a good thing! Wang Lijiang and other officers did not dare to neglect, and ran to the 6th company's position to inspect.The two rows of private houses that were intact yesterday are now a pile of rubble, and the horizon can be seen at a glance.The battle here is so fierce!The defensive position on the east side is different from that on the Yuanjiang side. It can be defended according to the danger, thanks to the fact that there is a river blocking it. Here, except for a row of ancient city wall piers more than one meter high, there are only some private houses for cover.Now the one-meter-high city wall has been flattened by the devil's artillery fire. All the soldiers in the forward position can only lie in the trenches with strange turns. It seems that they are well hidden. Can't see it.As early as a month ago, the soldiers had already dug the defensive position here into ravines, extending in all directions, all the civilian houses were opened up, and there was a fast troop transport road from the command post to the forward position, and it was camouflaged. The newly installed telephone finally got through, and bursts of cheerful laughter came from the other side of the phone, and the soldiers shouted over there, asking when Zhu Tongtou's beef soup could be delivered?Wang Lijiang and other officers were very happy to hear this, and passed on the greetings from the division headquarters to everyone. In the evening, Zhu Tongtou's beef soup was finally ready.He called a cook, put the soup in a big bucket, carried a few baskets of steamed buns on his back, and put a bottle of wine in his arms, and walked slowly towards the front line under the dim moonlight in the night sky.The soldiers were already so hungry that they could smell the aroma of the soup from a long distance away, and surrounded them happily, dipping the steamed buns into the soup with bullet boxes and helmets, and ate it.Zhu Tongtou cheerfully swung the spoon to share soup and meat for everyone.To the soldiers, Zhu Tongtou was the kindest officer in the company, and even a master chef. Although everyone knew that he was not very good at fighting, they also respected him a lot.At this moment, several soldiers who had gotten close to Zhu Tongtou reached into his arms to drink wine, Zhu Tongtou hurriedly dropped the spoon and shouted: "The soup is brought to you. These few ounces of wine are for Platoon Leader Chen. Do you still want to grab them? This idea of ​​wine is not enough for the two of us to wet our mouths. Hurry up and eat meat. There are not many yuan in the pot!" Hurry up, Daxue, or these bandits will steal all the beef." Chen Yuming couldn't help being moved that Zhu Tongtou was so kind to him.In Huangjiachong, Chen Yuming hadn't talked to Zhu Tongtou very much, and the two of them were not close.But the situation is different now, no matter how much estrangement the two usually have, now there is only a life-and-death friendship left.Daxue ran over bumpily, seeing that the proud Zhu Tongtou looked like a non-commissioned officer on military pay, he couldn't help letting out a series of strange dry laughter.Zhu Tongtou saw that Daxue's body was so dark that it looked like he was dying, so he quickly put down his spoon and came over, staring at him and touching him.Daxue saw that Zhu Tong was touching his head seriously and his eyes were full of concern, so he also happily patted him on the shoulder and touched the cigarette on him.Da Xue used to look down on Tongtou's fear of death when he was fighting, and even more contempt for his usual money-bending appearance when he saw the ocean.He and Tongtou had an awkward fight over the distribution of rice seeds in Huangjiachong. Later, they kept their own lives and had little contact with each other. But at this moment, like Chen Yuming, he had exhausted all his thoughts. That's the cuteness of this guy. "Da Xue, the blood on your body is all devils? Are you scaring me to death? There are several packs of cigarettes here, all of them are yours! Brother, take it easy, if you can hit devils with guns, don't use bayonets ..." Chen Yuming greeted the soldiers in the trench, and drank Zhu Tongtou's wine one by one, and even the lying wounded soldiers came up to take a sip.Chen Yuming handed a telescope to Zhu Tongtou and said: "Bronze head, go back quickly, there will be another fight here soon, and I can't protect you in a fight! Your beef soup is worth a reserve team, thank you!" "Brother Chen, why are you talking like this? Without your help, I can't even get out of Wuhan. Where else can I go to cook for everyone? Brother is not born to fight, but his ability to give everyone a good meal, Then I bring food to you every day, so I can’t catch up with a reinforcement company?” "Bronze head, come here..." Chen Yuming pulled Zhu Tongtou aside, avoiding the soldiers who were eating hard, and whispered to him, "Tongtou, bring this telescope to my brother, and..." "...Brother Chen, why don't you say anything? You know that I can't hold things in my stomach, so don't hide from your brother. Do you have any orders, what can I do for you? You say !" "Tongtou! It's not the same thing if you think about it. Copperhead, you have to go back and tell my brother quietly that this position...can't be held. Look at this devil who doesn't charge up. I guess there must be someone behind him." Big move. Our reinforcements can't get through... Maybe the reinforcements have been wiped out by the devils... The artillery can't keep up. Copper head, brother! I'm not afraid of death, our brothers have long been lonely without an older brother Ghosts and ghosts, we followed my brother back to the battlefield in a daze, and we encountered this vicious battle. The devils on the opposite side seemed to be determined to win, and the brothers couldn't hold on for too long, and they couldn't retreat. You know how the first two waves of devils The ones who went down? It was our brothers who strapped explosives on their bodies and ran up to die with them, otherwise they couldn’t go down. Daxue wanted to go up with a bunch of grenades, but I grabbed him..." Hearing this, Zhu Tongtou was covered in cold sweat, looking around, it seemed that there were countless guns pointed at him in the dark night, and a gust of night wind blew through the trench with frost, and he suddenly felt trembling all over, and his limbs were cold. "Tongtou, I can't tell if I can stay here until tomorrow. If the Devils come up with a single team, Wen Qiang and Haitao's reserve team may not be able to stop it if they go all-in. You have to remember, Tongtou, we When you can't stop it, you keep an eye on my brother and pull him to the back. And my wife and children, I'll leave it to you and my brother, do you hear me?" "Listen... I heard it!" "Brother, I beg you..." "Yuming, how can you say that? Who do you think I am, my brother! What, you want to be here heroically? No way! Did you leave the ball knowing you couldn't beat us? Could it be that we all have to confess that we can't be here? " Chen Yuming patted Zhu Tongtou's shoulder, and said seriously: "Since you come, you will be safe. There will be such a day sooner or later. Step back, and behind you is the 'Hu Ben' supervising team, which is also a death. Let's fight the devils." Maybe I’m afraid, as long as a support army can come, there may be hope for th