The drizzle is still falling.
The Japanese troops outside the city basically stopped and hid in the trenches, as if they would not launch an attack without absolute certainty.
The defenders in the city were also happy about this. The Japanese wanted to delay the attack, which was a natural thing for them. They could use this time to continue to strengthen the fortifications or allow the soldiers to repair it.
The power of the Japanese 105 howitzer and 127 naval gun has been witnessed by many people. Except for the original air raid shelter built in Songjiang, which can guarantee absolute defense, the rest, whether they are newly dug bomb shelters or fortifications built with sandbags and logs, are under its violent
There are weak people in front of the waves of energy.
But the terrible thing is that not everyone can hide in the air-raid shelter. There must be enough manpower to stay on the position even when the shells are flying.
Otherwise, when the artillery fire stops, the Japanese infantrymen who run over from the air raid shelter a few hundred meters away and start the attack following the artillery fire will almost arrive.
Once the Japanese army reaches the 50-meter charging position, the battle will be much more difficult.
If you want to survive such artillery fire, you can only continue to strengthen the fortifications and not skimp on your physical strength.
But since the Japanese army was about to arrive, most of the 6,000 young men who had stayed behind had left. Only a small number of less than 1,000 people chose to stay. That was because they had nowhere to go and even food was a problem, so it might as well be
It's safer to come with the army.
Now they are basically sent to transport supplies, and all the work of building fortifications can only fall on the soldiers themselves.
Taking advantage of the idle period when the Japanese army stopped attacking, the various regiments and positions in the city continued to be busy building stronger fortifications. After eating, the Cangcheng defenders, no, it should be said that the security battalion directly under the Songjiang Command held a funeral ceremony for the fallen soldiers.
ceremony.
However, in addition to the bodies that were transported back under darkness last night, more than 300 people are buried underground in Cangcheng, which the Japanese army has occupied. Only another 300 can be buried in the city.
White smoke rose from the Japanese army positions outside the city and lasted for more than ten miles in the autumn rain. It was because they were burning the bodies of their dead soldiers in large numbers to facilitate the transportation of the ashes back to the country.
But Chinese people are very particular about resting in their graves. It was in a vegetable garden in a corner of Songjiang City near the north city.
Tang Dao personally led the remaining 200 people from the security battalion, and spent an hour digging a large pit several meters deep, nearly 30 meters in diameter, and larger than a basketball court.
The 200 people were already crawling around in the Cangcheng position, covered in mud and water, like clay figures. Now that they had dug a pit, their faces were covered in mud, and their uniforms were full of holes in the flames.
, very embarrassed.
But no one complained. Compared with their dead comrades, they were all lucky.
The 300 remains that were brought back last night, washed and wrapped in white cloth, were placed in the open space outside the pit. There were no coffins to protect them from the wind and rain. The white cloth was the best courtesy that the Songjiang garrison could give to these dead comrades.
.
The two army colonels Wang Xirui and Lao Wang, the commanders of the 644th Regiment, attended the burial ceremony in the guard camp. The soldiers who died here turned out to be their subordinates, so they both had to attend due to circumstances.
Apart from them, Tang Dao did not invite any higher-ups, because although the Japanese have temporarily suspended the war, it is wartime after all. If there are too many people gathered, if there is a bombardment by the Japanese army, it is not necessary to give up all the farewells.
Send it away!
However, when the big pit was dug and the two army colonels personally accompanied Tang Dao and others to neatly arrange the 300 remains at the bottom of the pit, and then stood at attention waiting for people to seal the large tomb, there was a sudden sound outside the vegetable garden.
Shouted: "Salute!"
Then, two hundred soldiers covered in mud and water saw the two top commanders of Songjiang City walking up to the two army colonels in the front row, straightening their backs, and standing still in the drizzle.
"Seal the land!" Liu Zhenshan, who temporarily acted as the etiquette officer, shouted loudly.
The soldiers around the pit covered the remains with soil.
Originally, Qian Dazhu, who had accepted the separation and thought he could be a good platoon leader, thought he would not shed tears so easily again. However, when he saw his once-familiar face gradually disappearing into the soil, especially when he stood beside him,
When Private Taozi beside him began to sob softly, his nose was still sore.
After all, I couldn’t help it!
Two lines of hot tears flowed freely on his cheeks. Those who once squeezed into a big street with him would never see him again.
Farewell now is forever.
The gentle rainwater floated on the face of each soldier who stood upright, but it seemed to become thicker in an instant, and actually washed away traces on the muddy cheeks.
However, apart from the uncontrollable sobs of a few recruits, the sound of shovels and dirt was heard more at the scene.
The rain washed everyone's face clean and covered the veterans' sadness.
Like the commanders who stood before them, they stood until the hole was completely filled with soil.
However, they were not piled into a mound like the Chinese custom. This was to prevent the Japanese army from finding a place to bury the soldiers together after the city was broken.
Tang Dao has considered this very carefully.
Then, Tang Dao, who was standing behind the general and colonel, roared: "Take off your hat!"
All soldiers, from generals to privates, took off their helmets.
"salute!"
Everyone, raise your right hand and salute!
Until a minute later, Tang Dao roared loudly: "The ceremony is over!"
Everyone, wait and put down your right hands.
"Please give me a lecture, sir!" Tang Dao strode forward and stood at attention to salute the two generals who turned around.
Lieutenant General Wu's sharp eyes glanced over the clay soldiers in front of him, who were lined up neatly but were in tatters, and whose faces were washed away by rain and tears until they had big painted faces.
Colonel Wang Xirui on the side was busy explaining to the soldiers: "The Japanese threw sulfur bombs. Many brothers' clothes were burned. They just participated in the excavation, so the military appearance is not good and the military power is low. Please forgive me, sir."
Lieutenant General Wu waved his hand, strode forward, and walked into the queue of soldiers. His eyes solemnly rested on the soldiers' tattered uniforms that had been burned into holes.
With tears in his eyes, the top general of Songjiang City slowly walked past each soldier.
"Salute!" Lao Wang, who was deeply shocked, shouted sharply.
All the soldiers faced their general and raised their right hands in unison.
Lieutenant General Wu returned the salute until he walked out of the queue of soldiers.
"Your regiment commander just said that your military uniforms are in tatters and their appearance is not in good shape, which has led to a lack of military prestige." Lieutenant General Wu looked at the soldiers under his command who were in tattered and extremely dirty clothes, with their heads covered with mud and rain. "But I
I want to say, no, this is the neatest military uniform and the most magnificent military power I have ever seen."
The soldiers stood in the rain holding their breaths, their chests involuntarily raised.
Pointing to the newly sealed tomb of more than 300 officers and soldiers, his voice was high-pitched: "They, together with you, created a miracle in the Songhu Battle. With less than a thousand soldiers, they resisted the Japanese army with more than an infantry regiment carrying dozens of soldiers.
The artillery bombarded the area for more than ten hours and killed more than 2,000 Japanese troops.
Not only did you hold your position, but you also inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese invaders, so much so that the Japanese invaders now no longer dare to attack again.
With such an army, who dares to say that your military power is not strong?
You Cangcheng frontline defenders, to be precise, are our Songjiang Garrison Battalion, the sharpest sword among my tens of thousands of troops. When you choose to step into that battlefield, you already are."
"Deputy Commander Guo and I came here not because we were invited by your Battalion Commander Tang, but because we came on our own initiative." Lieutenant General Wu continued. "First of all, we wanted to see these young people off. They are all good people.
Secondly, I just want to see you, see what you, the sharpest swordsmen, look like, and more importantly, see if you will rest on your laurels and rest on your laurels.
Now it seems that you are doing well.
But I still hope you will tell me personally, if there is still a tough battle in Songjiang, if I give the military order, will you dare to fight against the little devil again?"
"Dry!"
"Dry!"
"Dry!"
Under the shouts of Tang Daozhen's arms, 200 officers and soldiers collectively waved their arms and shouted together with their commanders.
The roar was deafening and soared into the sky.
That was not only an answer to his supreme commander, but also the best farewell to Paoze who had just been buried in the soil.
The morale of the security battalion reached its peak at this moment...
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This chapter has been completed!