The Japanese destroyers also knew that they were not far from the coast at this time and did not dare to continue sailing forward. However, they still refused to give up.
In order to maximize the firepower, the Japanese captain simply moved the warship sideways so that both the front and rear main guns and the side guns could be used.
The Japanese army was also praying, hoping to destroy the enemy's gunboat before it escaped.
The actions taken by the Japanese destroyers increased their firepower, and more shells kept flying over. Although there were still no shells that directly hit the gunboat, there were shells that kept exploding near the gunboat.
The gunboat kept bumping in the huge waves and was almost overturned. Suddenly, a large-caliber artillery shell landed only more than one meter away from the gunboat. The shell exploded violently, and the waves caused the gunboat to be thrown up suddenly.
The gunboat landed heavily on the sea again.
The huge shaking of the gunboat made it difficult to control his body. Wei Dayong tightly grabbed the railing of the ship's side to avoid being thrown into the sea.
The gunboat was traveling at high speed, getting farther and farther away from the enemy destroyer, and gradually disappeared into the vast darkness of the night.
The Japanese destroyers lost traces of the gunboats, but they still refused to give up and continued to fire shells in the direction where the gunboats disappeared. Only when they were sure that they could no longer hit the enemy gunboats did they give up helplessly.
The gunboat was getting closer and closer to the coast, and the captain did not dare to drive any further, so he changed his direction and drove along the coastline. When everyone saw that the enemy's shelling was completely blind, and the shells were far away from the gunboat's location, they
Breathed a sigh of relief.
Wei Dayong let out a long breath and walked from the stern to the bow to see Xu Dalong. However, when he came to the bow, he did not find Xu Dalong.
He checked carefully and didn't see Xu Dalong anywhere else, so he called softly: "Master Long, where are you?"
No one answered him, could it be... Wei Dayong broke into a cold sweat and shouted loudly: "Master Long, Master Long, where are you?"
When the people on the gunboat heard the shouting, they hurriedly searched around, but did not find Xu Dalong. After counting the number of people, they discovered that in addition to Xu Dalong, there was also a gunner who served as Xu Dalong's deputy shooter and had also disappeared.
Wei Dayong was so anxious that he started to cry. He shouted loudly: "Turn around quickly and go back to look for Mr. Long."
The captain did not dare to neglect, and immediately turned the ship's bow and sailed in the direction it came from. Wei Dayong and the special forces members stood on the deck, carefully searching the sea surface, hoping to find Xu Dalong who fell into the water.
Xu Dalong really fell into the water. The cannonball landed near the bow of the ship, and a huge wave rushed over. Xu Dalong was dizzy, lost consciousness, and was thrown into the sea by this powerful wave.
The deputy shooter was also thrown into the sea like him.
Wei Dayong and others kept searching, but in the vast darkness, it was almost impossible to find the person who fell into the water. Wei Dayong and others had no choice but to wait until dawn before thinking of a solution.
Wei Dayong knew very well that in the rough sea, one night, even if Xu Dalong was still alive, he didn't know where he would be swept by the sea water. But he had no choice now. He could only hope for a miracle to happen and find Xu Dalong after dawn. .
Time passed minute by minute, and the long night was so unbearable that it finally dawned. Wei Dayong and the special forces team members did not care that the Japanese army might still stay in this area, and immediately began searching on the sea. However, they never In the early morning, I found the sun setting in the west, but Xu Dalong was nowhere to be seen.
The special operations team members were so sad that they started to cry. Wei Dayong didn't know how many times he had cried, and he didn't know how to deal with the regret in his heart. After slapping himself hard in the mouth, Wei Dayong collapsed on the deck. Dayong is an orphan. He has already regarded Xu Dalong as his closest person, and he has already made up his mind to follow Xu Dalong throughout his life.
Xu Dalong suddenly disappeared and may never be seen again, which made Wei Dayong feel extremely painful. At this moment, his mind went blank, leaving only endless regrets. He and Xu Dalong came out to protect him, although he knew that After the battle started, it was impossible for Xu Dalong to stay in the cabin, but he still blamed himself deeply for not letting Xu Dalong hide in the cabin. This was his dereliction of duty. He was sorry for Xu Dalong, sorry for the superior organization, sorry for Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, etc. These close comrades-in-arms, I feel even more sorry for myself.
In his heart, Wei Dayong hoped that it was him who was in trouble, and not the amiable and respectable Lord Long. Thinking of this, Wei Dayong couldn't help but burst into tears again.
The special operations team members were also in great pain. When they heard Wei Dayong's cry, they also burst into tears.
Zhao Gang was stunned when he heard the bad news. He gave orders to the Coast Guard, asking them to organize manpower and ships to search and rescue, and took a boat to meet up with Wei Dayong and others.
Zhao Gang was very anxious. After meeting Wei Dayong, he saw that he was in despair and his eyes were red and swollen from crying. Despite this, Zhao Gang did not have the slightest sympathy, but shouted sternly: "Wei Dayong, you damn thing, let you I came here to protect Captain Xu, why didn’t you protect him? Now that something happened to him, but you are fine, I really don’t know what you do for a living?”
Wei Dayong felt extremely remorseful. Faced with Zhao Gang's severe accusation, he did not make any excuses and said painfully: "Yes, it's all my fault. It's all my fault. If something really happens to Mr. Long, I will definitely go to accompany him." ."
When he said these words, Wei Dayong's eyes were full of determination. Zhao Gang knew the relationship between Wei Dayong and Xu Dalong, and believed that if Xu Dalong really passed away unfortunately, Wei Dayong would definitely accompany him.
At this time, Zhao Gang had no time to pay attention to Wei Dayong's inner feelings and said angrily: "What's the use of talking nonsense? Hurry up and find a way to find Captain Xu."
Wei Dayong had already searched this area, but he didn't say anything else. He responded and immediately organized people to search again.
After receiving the news, Mr. Chen immediately organized a large number of manpower and material resources to launch search and rescue operations in a vast sea area.
However, everything was in vain. For three whole days, Mr. Chen mobilized tens of thousands of people and hundreds of fishing boats of various types. The search area covered hundreds of square nautical miles, but still found nothing.
Staff Officer Gao was also in great pain. He hoped to find Xu Dalong, so he waited until the fourth day before discussing with Zhao Gang and telegraphing the news to the comrades in charge.
Taking into account the impact of all aspects, the comrade in charge decided to keep the disappearance of Xu Dalong secret for the time being, and instructed Staff Officer Gao and Zhao Gang to continue organizing manpower and material resources to search and rescue Xu Dalong.
The instructions of the comrade in charge are undoubtedly correct. Xu Dalong is a famous anti-Japanese hero. If something happens to him, it will be an extremely heavy blow to the morale of the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians. Now Xu Dalong’s whereabouts are unknown, the news cannot be announced, and there is absolutely no
Necessity of publication.
Zhao Gang also deeply understood this truth, so when he organized the search and rescue, he only said that he was searching for and rescuing missing special forces members, and did not mention Xu Dalong. Zhao Gang also did not report this matter to Commander Si, Li Yunlong, Zhang Dabiao and others.
Not only the impact on the morale of the soldiers and civilians fighting against Japan was taken into consideration, but also the feelings of Lin Xueying and others were taken into consideration.
While Zhao Gang continued to organize the search and rescue of Xu Dalong, on the other hand, he blocked the news about Xu Dalong during normal telegram exchanges with the Mawushan Military Division.
Comrades in charge, Zhao Gang, Wei Dayong and other people who knew the inside story kept the secret. However, such a large-scale search and rescue operation still attracted the attention of some people, especially the Japanese and puppet spies. They provided the Japanese army with Xu Dalong's itinerary.
They also knew that the Japanese navy had launched an attack on Xu Dalong. Seeing the large-scale search and rescue operation carried out by the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians, they concluded that something must have happened to Xu Dalong. If they were ordinary special forces members, they would not have made such a big fuss.
There is no airtight wall in the world. Thanks to the efforts of the Japanese and puppet agents, the news of Xu Dalong's disappearance came out. The Japanese and puppet agents were eager to take credit and reward, and reported the news to their superiors.
The good news quickly reached the ears of Yamashita Fengwen and others. He was overjoyed and excited, and felt that this matter could be put to good use. Although there is no definite whereabouts of Xu Dalong, he is missing after all.
Yamashita Fengfumi decided to use this incident to undermine the morale of the anti-Japanese military and civilians. He made his own suggestions to the base camp and planned to activate the propaganda machine to announce that the Japanese navy had killed Xu Dalong.
The current situation of the Japanese army on the battlefield is extremely unfavorable, which has greatly affected the morale of the Japanese army and the people of the island country. The base camp has also decided to use this incident to make a big fuss. Even if Xu Dalong can really come back from the dead, at least at this stage he can attack the enemy.
Morale, boosting one's own morale, which is extremely beneficial to the island country.
Therefore, the base camp immediately held a press conference to announce the death of Xu Dalong. Yamashita Fengfumi and the Japanese Navy also held press conferences respectively, reporting extensively on the process of the Japanese Navy's killing of Xu Dalong.
This incident caused an uproar, especially in China. The Japanese and puppets felt that they had obtained a treasure and exaggerated the matter.
The majority of anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians were also very concerned about Xu Dalong. They discussed the matter one after another, which invisibly expanded the propaganda of this matter. Soon after, almost everyone among the anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians was aware of it. This news was of great significance to
The fighting morale of the anti-Japanese army and civilians was greatly affected. Countless anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians were immersed in grief. The atmosphere in various anti-Japanese army base areas, especially the Mawushan base area, was very depressing.
After receiving the news, Officer Si Ling was shocked and hurriedly sent a telegram to Zhao Gang to ask what happened and blamed him for not reporting it to him immediately.
Zhao Gang was very helpless and said that concealing the information was an instruction given by the comrade in charge. Of course, he truthfully reported the entire incident to the leader.
The commanding officer replied with a telegram in a very stern tone, reprimanding Zhao Gang and others for why they let Xu Dalong take a gunboat on a long journey at sea even though they knew that the Japanese army was powerful at sea. If Xu Dalong insisted on going to Wake Island, he could pass through first.
Travel by land and then cross the sea by boat. There is only 17 nautical miles of sea journey there. If the Japanese army wants to intercept them silently, it is simply impossible to do so.
Commander Si Ling is a man of great wisdom. Under normal circumstances, he would not accuse his subordinates like this when he has not conducted on-site inspections. But Xu Dalong is really too important and has an irreplaceable role in his mind.
Due to his position, he was a little uncool when he was emotional.
After Zhao Gang was severely reprimanded, he did not blame the leader, but deeply blamed himself. Indeed, the leader's words were undoubtedly pertinent. If Xu Dalong first took the land route and then crossed the sea, although it would waste a lot of time, it would not
This happens.
Facing the criticism and accusations from his leaders, Zhao Gang had no idea of shirk-shirking responsibility. He sincerely criticized himself and asked his superiors to impose severe punishment on him. He will continue to invest a lot of manpower and material resources to search for the whereabouts of Xu Dalong.
The news reached Li Yunlong's ears, and he was struck by lightning. In his mind, Xu Dalong was not only a good comrade-in-arms, but also a good brother. The relationship between the two was also extremely close. This strong man no longer knew how many
I haven't shed tears in years, but this time I couldn't help but burst into tears and burst into tears.
The anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians in Mawushan respected Xu Dalong very much. When they heard the news, they were also shocked, and everyone's hearts were filled with pain and regret. The anti-Japanese soldiers, especially the special forces led by Xu Dalong personally
In addition to grief, they were full of hatred for the Japanese army. They wrote blood letters one after another, intending to go to the battlefield to kill the enemy and avenge their beloved captain.
After hearing the bad news about Xu Dalong's accident, Zhang Dabiao was also in great pain. However, he was a man with a rough appearance and a delicate heart. While grieving, he remembered something and hurriedly came to see Li Yunlong.
Zhang Dabiao walked into Li Yunlong's office and saw Li Yunlong, his eyes red, drinking alcohol there.
Zhang Dabiao stepped forward, refilled Li Yunlong's wine, drank two glasses with him silently, and then said cautiously: "Captain, something happened to Brother Dalong, and Director Lin was the one who was hit the hardest. We
We must find ways to appease her emotions and we must not let anything happen to her again."
Li Yunlong became a little anxious when he heard that. He stood up suddenly and said eagerly: "Da Biao, you are right, something happened to brother Da Long, but we can't let anything happen to his younger siblings again. Please inform your sister-in-law immediately."
, and your spouse and the others, go over and take care of your younger siblings. Let’s go over and comfort her as well.”
Zhang Dabiao said: "Captain, I have asked my wife to notify my sister-in-law. They should have rushed over."