To the north of Pukou Town, you can still hear the rumbling sound of artillery coming from the other side of the river. The entire city of Nanjing is covered with dark gray smoke. From a distance, it looks like countless ghosts are lingering and unwilling to leave. The darkness is so dark that it makes you heart-stopping.
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"Miss Zhang, let's leave quickly. If this little devil catches up, we'll be in trouble."
In a dilapidated village next to the railway line north of Pukou, Shunzi held a dusty 79 rifle in his hand and persuaded Zhang Hongying, who was looking south.
The reconnaissance platoon leader Shunzi accepted Yang Ling's order and escorted Zhang Hongying and the wounded soldiers to cross the river. After they crossed the river, the common people and the defeated soldiers fled for their lives.
Zhang Hongying was unwilling to leave, insisting on waiting for Yang Ling and others who had not yet crossed the river. This made the investigation platoon leader Shunzi very helpless. He was ordered to protect the safety of Zhang Hongying and others, but this place was too close to Nanjing and was very dangerous.
The smoke of gunpowder blackened Zhang Hongying's fair face, and she looked haggard. Faced with Shunzi's persuasion, she stubbornly shook her head: "Platoon leader Shunzi, please protect the wounded soldiers and leave first. I can wait here alone."
Already."
Shunzi sighed helplessly when he heard Zhang Hongying's words. Although it was easy to say it, he couldn't rest assured about leaving a defenseless woman here. If something happened to her, how could he explain it to the battalion commander Yang Ling?
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Moreover, Shunzi also knew in his heart that the relationship between Zhang Hongying and Battalion Commander Yang was unusual. He admired Yang Ling and was willing to follow Yang Ling to death, so he carried out the things Yang Ling told him without hesitation and had to protect Zhang Hongying no matter what.
Waiting like this was not an option. Shunzi arranged for the wounded soldiers who had been rescued to cross the river to be moved to the rear along the railway, while sending people to Pukou Town to inquire about Yang Ling and the others.
Zhang Hongying stood on the broken steps, looking towards the smoke-filled Nanjing, feeling empty in her heart without any sense of security, and worried about Yang Ling's safety.
When Yang Ling rescued her from the brutal Japanese army, she could no longer hold anyone else in her heart. No matter how dangerous the environment was, Yang Ling could always protect her from the wind and rain like a mountain. Yang Ling had become the person in her heart.
An unparalleled hero, but now that Yang Ling's life and death are unknown, her heart is also hanging.
The broken soldiers who fled from the direction of Pukou Town were in twos and threes. These broken soldiers were in a state of dispirited and miserable state. They seemed to have lost their souls. Many of them had empty hands and hurried towards the rear to escape for their lives.
"Have you seen Camp Commander Yang Ling?" Whenever Zhang Hongying saw the defeated troops approaching, she would rush forward to stop them and ask for news about Yang Ling.
"Battle Commander Yang hasn't crossed the river yet, and he is leading his men to stop the Japanese."
Yang Ling arranged countless boats to rescue people. Although he was only a low-level officer at the battalion commander level, everyone who crossed the river alive was grateful to Yang Ling and answered Zhang Hongying's questions without hesitation.
"The Japanese opened fire on the river beach, and most of the people who stayed on the river beach were killed."
"The Japs' gunboats sank many boats crossing the river. I'm afraid Battalion Commander Yang has died for his country..."
The news brought back by these defeated soldiers was messy, but without exception it was all bad news. Zhang Hongying's heart gradually sank to the bottom, but he still did not believe that Yang Ling was killed in battle, and was still waiting stubbornly.
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"Well done, Commander Yang. Without him, I wouldn't be able to cross the river. Alas, what a pity for such a good commander."
After the defeated soldier finished speaking, he shook his head regretfully and continued walking away, leaving the devastated Zhang Hongying still standing in the cold wind.
Zhang Hongying waited all night until dawn and then at noon. The number of defeated troops escaping from Nanjing became less and less. In the end, the road became empty and no more routed troops came. Zhang Hongying wanted to go to the river to find Yang Ling, but was stopped.
Zi stopped it.
"Miss Zhang, it's dangerous to go to the river." Shunzi and several veterans from the guerrilla camp stopped Zhang Hongying and refused to let her go back to look for her.
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way..."
Zhang Hongying tore and pushed Shunzi and the others who were blocking her, but she, a weak and tired woman, was able to rush past her. No matter how she cried out to Shunzi, they would not let her go back and take risks.
Zhang Hongying squatted down in pain, held her head and cried loudly, which made Shunzi and others feel heavy. They did not believe that such a good officer died like this, but they had not escaped yet, and the hope of survival was already slim. Although not
I'm willing to admit it, but facts speak louder than words.
"Take Miss Zhang away." Shunzi waved helplessly to the veterans around him, preparing to continue the transfer with Zhang Hongying.
At this moment, a sentry on guard suddenly pointed to the railway line and shouted in surprise: "The battalion commander and the others are back, they are back!"
Shunzi and others turned around and looked towards the south. A large group of soldiers wearing tattered military uniforms were trotting towards them. A large group of familiar figures were among them, and Yang Ling was among them.
"Miss Zhang, the battalion commander and the others are not dead, they are not dead!" Shunzi also shouted excitedly.
Zhang Hongying's eyes were filled with tears. She looked up at Yang Ling, who was walking over with firm steps. The gloom and worries in her heart were swept away. She stood there and cried with joy, and her tears couldn't help but fall.
"Shunzi, what the hell is going on with you? Who made Miss Zhang cry?" Wang Huzi saw Zhang Hongying wiping tears from a distance, and loudly asked Shunzi and the others who were standing aside.
Shunzi suddenly complained in his heart and hurriedly explained: "Company commander, please don't accuse me unjustly. This is really none of our business."
Yang Ling also walked up to Zhang Hongying. When she saw Zhang Hongying crying with a big face, she felt pity for her. He stretched out his hand to wipe the tears on her face and said: "If you cry again, you will become a big cat. Everyone, look at it."
It’s a joke.”
"You still said that." Zhang Hongying was immediately embarrassed by Yang Ling's teasing, and she hit Yang Ling's broad chest.
When the brothers around saw this scene, some burst into laughter.
Zhang Hongying didn't care about so many people watching around her at this moment, and buried her head in Yang Ling's arms. After life and death, the two finally broke through the ambiguous relationship. Yang Ling also reached out and hugged the tired Zhang Hongying, willing to give
Her broad shoulders protect her from wind and rain and keep her safe.
The brothers around them had narrowly escaped death. Seeing this scene, they all felt envious. Thinking of their long-awaited family members in the distance, a strong feeling of homesickness arose spontaneously.
"My Battalion Commander Yang, if you keep hugging me like this, the little devil will catch up with you." Battalion Commander Zhao Wenbin looked at the two hugging people with envy, and walked over to remind him kindly.
Yang Ling and Zhang Hongying let go and looked at each other. Although they didn't have any heroic words, they tacitly understood their affection for each other.
The ambiguous relationship between Yang Ling and Zhang Hongying after escaping from death was just a small episode. In view of the fact that a large number of Japanese troops from the Japanese Army's Kunozaki Detachment had already rushed towards Pukou, they did not stay too much and immediately evacuated along the railway line.
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After breaking through, Yang Ling and the others were in a state of disarray. Most of their equipment was abandoned on the other side of the river. The more than 300 defeated soldiers who had gathered together only had more than 100 guns, and there were even fewer bullets. In addition, their morale was low, so they could not
Dare to contact the Japanese army.
Communication methods in this era were backward. After breaking out, everything went dark. I didn’t know where the troops who broke out had withdrawn, and I didn’t know where the Japanese pursuing troops had gone. I could only keep walking and try to stay away from the hellish city of Nanjing.