Amidst the chaos and noise, Lao Yanqiang received a brand-new 79 rifle and dozens of bullets. He rubbed the heavy and cold rifle with his rough hands. Some couldn't put it down. He secretly thought in his heart that a soldier must have a gun. If you don't have a gun,
I always feel empty and insecure.
"All officers above the company commander, come and assemble!" Lao Yanqiang took the ammunition and just found a place to sit down when the cold-faced officer started shouting again.
Lao Yanqiang was the company commander when he was in the 61st Division. Although he was injured and sent to the wounded soldiers hospital in the rear, his rank was still there, so he immediately wiped the mud off his butt and stood up.
The cold-faced officer still didn't talk much. After introducing the current situation in a few words, he immediately took action to divide the troops among the company commanders. Lao Yanqiang also assigned more than 80 people, and he was finally no longer a mere commander.
.
Looking at the eighty-odd people standing crookedly in front of him, Lao Yanqiang frowned and sighed. Apart from more than twenty veterans who had returned from injury, the other young people here were all childish.
.
These young people are all student soldiers who volunteered to join the army. Many of them are full of enthusiasm, but they have never even touched a gun.
They don't know how to use their guns now. They have to take these untrained people to the battlefield. Old smokers can imagine the outcome with their eyes closed. However, the losses of the troops are too great now, and the supply of troops is temporarily tight, leaving the student soldiers
Replenishing the troops is also a helpless move. How many of these people will survive can only depend on luck.
The veterans were appointed as squad platoon leaders by Lao Yanqiang, and they immediately took action to teach the student soldiers how to use guns. Although being able to shoot and being able to shoot accurately are two different things, time is urgent now, and they can only be used as doctors if they can teach them.
What degree counts as what degree?
"Company Commander, where are we going?"
Fatty Tian San, who was a veteran who had fought on the front lines in Shanghai and was now serving as a platoon leader, approached the sad-faced Smoker to inquire about the situation.
Lao Yanqiang replied: "Sir Liu has already said that we will add troops to the front line in Jiangyin and Changzhou to reorganize the defense line."
Although the fat man had already made a guess in his mind, when he heard Lao Smoking's confirmation, he still felt a sudden jolt in his heart. Thinking of the miserable state of the wounded who had been pulled down from the carloads in front of him these days, the fat on his face began to twitch. It was fright.
have to.
Although Fatty also fought head-on with the Japanese on the front line, the comfortable life behind him had passed for a long time, and when he heard that he was going to another bloody battlefield, he would inevitably feel a little resentful in his heart.
"But don't worry, we are not fighting alone. I heard that many of our troops have been gathered there. We may not be going to die this time." Seeing the fat man's face turn pale, Lao Yanqiang patted his shoulder to comfort him.
.
The fat man nodded. Now that the matter has come to this, it is useless even if he regrets and wants to run away. The military police standing around with guns and ammunition are not vegetarians.
The news that they were about to go to Jiangyin and Changzhou to stop the Japanese on the front line had spread. The veterans who had returned from their injuries were all affectionate and numb and silent, because they knew that it would definitely be another bloody battle.
The newly recruited student soldiers were gearing up excitedly, ready to fight. After all, no matter how loud the slogans were, only by fighting the Japanese with real swords and guns can we truly kill the enemy and serve the country.
Dinner was served at about five or six o'clock in the evening. After leaving the hospital, it was difficult to enjoy the treatment of wounded soldiers. Dinner was rice soaked in salt water. Even this was simple and could only guarantee one bowl per person. The student soldiers had a sad face and could not swallow it.
The veterans knew that they were about to go to the battlefield, and every one of them even licked the bottom of the bowl clean. Who knew if it would be the last meal of their lives.
After dinner, the order came down for all the companies to start marching. One company after another marched with torches, majestic and majestic, like a long dragon winding on the dark earth.
After walking south for less than half an hour, the troops stopped because there was no road ahead and the dark air-conditioning hit them. They had already reached the ferry on the Yangtze River.
There were many large ships and small boats parked on the ferry, which was densely packed with lights. The cold-faced officer went to negotiate and ordered the troops to start boarding the ferry.
Lao Yanqiang and the others were in the 11th company. More than 80 people in the company boarded a merchant ship carrying goods. The ship sailed away from the shore while shaking, slowly drifted to the center of the river, and began to move towards the river along the current.
Head east.
The wind was strong at night, and everything was pitch black. Lao Yanqiang sat on the bow of the boat and looked around. He could only see the lights hanging on the ships behind. The entire fleet was moving down the river in a mighty way, heading straight for Jiangyin.
The wind was strong and the waves were rough, and the ship was bumping violently. Those veterans who were very powerful on land also had weak legs and pale faces. They were lying on the string of the ship and vomiting until the sky was dark. Lao Ciangqian knew that they were seasick.
After struggling for a whole afternoon, the boat was sailing in the dark and no one knew where it was. Lao Yanqiang simply found a place and started sleeping with his 79 rifle in his arms. However, the boat was bumpy and he woke up several times in the middle of the journey. The boat had not stopped yet.
.
"Company Commander, wake up, wake up." Old Smoking was woken up from his sleep by Fatty Tian San. When he opened his eyes, it was already bright outside.
"Are you here?" Lao Yanqiang looked around and asked.
The fat man shook his head and said, "Not yet. I guess there's still some distance to go, but there are dead people floating on the river over there."
When Lao Yanqiang heard what the fat man said, he immediately stood up and checked. Sure enough, there were many dead people soaking in the water near the river bank. Many of them were wearing gray military uniforms, and they should be soldiers.
They pulled over a boatman and asked what was going on. The boatman replied with no surprise: "A few days ago, a troop transport ship was bombed by a Japanese plane. Those dead people must have fallen into the water and got stuck in the shallow water on the river bank.
Most of them have been washed downstream by the water."
Hearing what the boatman said, Lao Yanqiang suddenly felt a layer of gloom in his heart. It seemed that it was not safe to stay on this boat. They were all landlubbers. They would all be doomed if they fell into the water. He could only pray silently in his heart that the Japanese plane would not come.
But as the saying goes, whatever you are afraid of will come to you. Lao Yanqiang prayed that the ship would safely deliver them to their destination, but after a while, several Japanese planes flew over along the river.
Hearing the roaring sound of the motor, everyone on the boat panicked and hurriedly tried to hide. But they could hide on land, but there was nowhere to hide in such a big place on the boat. They watched the Japanese planes roaring towards them.
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-two tongues of fire flew down from the sky and penetrated the roof of Lao Yanqiang's boat, revealing two rows of translucent holes. Two lines of blood mist rose up on the boat, and more than a dozen brothers
The machine gun bullets that flew in caused blood and flesh to spatter, and he wailed again and again.
Lao Yanqiang dodged quickly, and the bullets passed by him. The head of a student soldier next to him was blown open, and red and white splashed all over Lao Yanqiang's face. He ignored the bloody smell that rushed into his nose.
Gun hurriedly shouted to stop the brothers who were desperate to jump off the boat. The water in the Yangtze River was deep, and those who couldn't swim would die if they fell.
Although Lao Yanqiang shouted in time, a few people still jumped down, only to see a large group of white waves splashing out, which soon disappeared, and the other brothers were so frightened that they did not dare to jump again.
There were not many Japanese planes, only six. A ship on Lao Yanqiang's left was hit by a bomb. There was a loud bang and a large ball of fire. The whole ship was blown to pieces. A company on the ship was all killed in the sea of fire. Look.
The soldiers on the other ships had their eyes spitting fire, cursed and raised their guns and started to shoot at the Japanese planes, but it was in vain, the Japanese planes were still arrogant.
The fleet was attacked by Japanese planes and suffered heavy losses. Two ships were bombed and sunk, and the others also suffered losses. There were countless wooden planks and corpses floating on the river, and Lao Ciangqiang's mood became very bad.