The bright sunshine shines through the clouds over the small village on the edge of the battlefield in Yichang. A clear stream flows past the village. Women carrying wooden basins are squatting by the stream to wash clothes.
If it weren't for the sound of gunfire from time to time in the distance, this place would be like a paradise.
After Yang Ling and the others withdrew from the Jingzhen Mountain position to rest for the night, they were ordered to move to this small, isolated village to rest for the next day.
The village is not big, with dozens of tile-roofed houses scattered around the mountains and rivers within a radius of two miles. It can be said that there is no traffic like chickens and dogs.
Most of the men in the village formed a stretcher team and went to the front line to help carry the wounded. The only ones left in the village, except children and the elderly, were women.
At its peak, this village only had a population of 200 people. Now that more than 300 people from Yang Ling's Fiery Special Warfare Brigade have settled here, the small village has suddenly become crowded and lively, and has regained its vitality.
Yang Ling and the others had received brand new military uniforms and weapons at the temporary military station, replacing the battered military uniforms, and now the entire team had a brand new look.
Facing these unfamiliar soldiers with live ammunition, the people in the village seemed a little scared at first. After all, soldiers in troubled times are not as good as bandits. If they encounter troops with poor military discipline, the village will suffer.
However, Yang Ling has always been strict with the military discipline of the officers and soldiers of the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade. After they entered the village, they did not make the village uneasy like other teams.
Under Yang Ling's order, the officers and soldiers of the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade adhered to strict discipline and soon made these simple people put down their guard and entertained Yang Ling and others with good wine and delicious food.
Naturally, Yang Ling and the others did not eat and drink for free. In addition to giving part of the military pay to the people as their food expenses, they also helped with the work in the village.
After a few days, the leaky houses in the village were renovated, and the debris everywhere was cleaned up. The Lieyan Special Forces Brigade also helped the people in the village tend the crops in the fields.
The actions of the Lieyan Special Forces Brigade made the people in the village look at them with admiration. At the same time, they also had a good impression of them, and the army and the people got along harmoniously.
After resting in the village for a week, most of the things inside and outside the village were taken care of by the Flame Special Forces Brigade.
Even the muddy path connecting various households in the village was repaired and paved with fine cobblestones by the officers and soldiers.
The officers and soldiers of the Lieyan Special Warfare Brigade had been through life and death, and now they were able to live a peaceful life for a while. After all, Yang Ling did not let the brothers go into training.
The brothers' daily task now is to lie in small groups on the hillside next to the village to bask in the sun, play chess and wipe the weapons in their hands. The days suddenly slow down.
Although the sound of artillery could be heard from a distance from time to time, the Japanese were tired from fighting for several months and had lost their vigor. After all, they were born from human flesh, and Japanese were also human beings.
From time to time, Japanese planes fly to various places to bomb, but it has become a routine matter, and they leave immediately after the bombing.
On the battlefield in Yichang, China has assembled several armies. Although most of them are troops that have just been recruited with new recruits, the elephants are being killed by ants.
Although the Japanese's 13th Division and 3rd Division were both elite ace troops, they felt powerless in the face of a large number of Chinese troops.
Sometimes the Japanese captured positions during the day with the help of fierce firepower from aircraft and artillery, only to be recaptured by the squadron at night.
The two sides were stalemate on the battlefield in Yichang. The Japanese 11th Army was very weak. After completing the combat mission, many troops were reorganized and garrisoned at their original places. They did not have the ability to mobilize more troops to attack Yichang.
Although the 4th Division drawn from the Kwantung Army was already on its way south, the 4th Division could only maintain their expanded occupation area.
And now the Japanese troops are still bravely attacking Yichang, just because they don't want to give up putting pressure on Chongqing. In fact, they are no longer able to advance westward.
The Chinese ** team also seemed to feel that the Japanese attack was weak. However, although the Chinese ** team had a large number of people, its combat effectiveness was not good. There was still a long way to go to eliminate the Japanese.
Therefore, the war zone commander also changed his tactical strategy, which was to rely on the stalemate battlefield outside Yichang to drag batches of troops who had just completed the training of new recruits to fight against the Japs, in order to achieve the purpose of actual combat training.
Those units that had suffered heavy losses in the battle were retreating to rest and recuperate. Among them, the 18th Division of the 18th Army was disabled in the early battles and had been ordered to withdraw to Chongqing to recuperate.
The battlefield was bustling with excitement, with hundreds of thousands of troops competing day and night on countless small battlefields.
Yang Ling and his group seemed to have been forgotten as they retreated to the mountainous village to rest, allowing Yang Ling and his group to live a rare and peaceful life.
The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and the officers and soldiers of the Lieyan Special Operations Brigade, who have nothing to do, are pampered and resting all day long, but all of them have gained weight around their waists.
He threatened to fight the Japanese when he grew up.
Some brothers built a dam in the creek in front of the village, and the water silted up to form a pond. They jumped into the pond naked and played in the bath when they had nothing to do. They lived a very happy life.
"Sir, the bones of our brothers are about to fall apart. Should we resume training again?"
Seeing these tenacious soldiers on the battlefield now followed by a group of children or playing chess in the sun, looking decadent, Zhang Tie worried that the combat effectiveness of his brothers would decline if this continued.
So he found Yang Ling, hoping to resume the training of the troops. After all, the rest was temporary, and they would have to return to the battlefield sooner or later.
"Brothers are all veterans. They have just escaped from hell. Now they finally have a chance to rest. Let them relax."
Yang Ling knew the principle of relaxation and moderation. I'm afraid there will be a lot of battles in the future, but there are not many peaceful days like now. He can let his brothers rest as much as possible.
"But I'm afraid that if our brothers continue to go crazy like this, they won't be used to it if they suddenly return to the battlefield." Zhang Tie was full of worry.
Yang Ling smiled and shook his head, pointing at the brothers who were laughing and basking in the sun and said: "Look, the brothers are always with their guns close to them. Don't look at them now, they seem to forget what they are doing. In fact, they can be there at any time."
Prepare for war."
Yang Ling knew that these were veterans, soldiers accustomed to the battlefield, and they would not easily forget the battlefield.
Moreover, they also knew that they might be killed in the next trivial battle, so they took advantage of the fact that they were still alive and enjoyed the time they were alive to the fullest.
"How is the situation on the battlefield?" Yang Ling asked Zhang Tie as he asked him to sit down.
Zhang Tie sat down on the grass next to Yang Ling and replied: "Now all the troops are taking turns to fight against the Japs. The fighting is fierce at the front, but neither side can do anything about the other. But I heard that they will be re-established soon."
It’s the sixth war zone, and I don’t know which war zone we will be in charge of when the time comes.”
"Whatever, we are soldiers, we just obey orders, why bother thinking so much." Seeing Zhang Tie's frown, Yang Ling said with a smile.