The friction between the military train wheels and the rails made a crisp clanging sound, and countless villages, towns, mountains and rivers submerged in the darkness quickly disappeared from sight as the train roared past.
A swaying horse lantern hung on the wall of the stuffy carriage, and the dim light reflected the haggard faces of the brothers.
They received orders from their superiors to move from the Bengbu area to the vicinity of Wuhan, Hubei for training. However, the battle of Xuzhou had already begun, and the route was crowded with fleeing people and troops heading to the front line.
Most of the railway bridges were blown up by Japanese aircraft. It took them a week to stop and go on the road before boarding the military train bound for Wuhan.
Yang Ling's regiment headquarters and the special agent company directly under the regiment headquarters were crowded into the same stuffy carriage. In this carriage, which was only paved with some hay, it was really not comfortable. Moreover, the brothers packed the carriage to the limit, and the turbid air could make people feel uncomfortable.
asphyxia.
The brothers stayed in this carriage for two full days. Although the train stopped many times along the way, the superiors had orders not to get off the train and even the carriage door was not allowed to be opened.
During these two days, the brothers' convenience relied on a few wooden barrels placed in the carriage in advance, and the stench mixed in the carriage and the smell of sweat on the brothers' bodies was really unpleasant.
Although the biting cold wind penetrated through the gaps in the carriage from time to time, Yang Ling still felt like a suffocating fish, praying in his heart that the military column would arrive at the station faster.
Qin Shou, the commander of the special agent company directly under the regiment, stuck his butt out and looked out of the gap from time to time. He could see nothing except those black shadows that were retreating rapidly.
"Old Qin, can you clearly see where you are?"
The deputy battalion elder rolled the tobacco leaves and stuffed them into the cigarette holder, lit the match and lit the cigarette, flicked out the match, took a deep breath of dry smoke, and turned to ask Qin Shou.
Qin Shou moved his eyes away from the gap and sat down against the cold iron sheet again: "It's pitch black outside and you can't see anything. Who knows where we are."
Riding in this kind of stuffy car is really a kind of torture. You have to stay inside from the time you get on the car to the time you get off. You have no idea about the things outside. It's boring and boring. You can only watch the sky dawn and darken outside.
.
Many of our brothers were traveling on military trains for the first time. They shouted excitedly at first, but all day long they became slumped and anxious to arrive at the terminal right away.
Yang Ling was wrapped in a military blanket and fell into a deep sleep amidst the rhythmic friction of wheels and rails. In this kind of suffering, sleep was the only way to pass the time.
When Yang Ling woke up again, it was already slightly bright outside. Through the gaps in the carriages, he could clearly see the gray tiled buildings on both sides of the railway. Some were scattered alone in the fields, and some were connected in a large area. Here, there were still
The dark early morning seemed extraordinarily quiet.
The war on the front line was raging again, and the tranquility and serenity here was something that the brothers had not seen for a long time, giving them the illusion of being in another world.
The speed of the military column slowed down, and eventually it became a glide. Finally, it stopped at a station with countless straw huts. The brothers all woke up and scrambled to look through the gaps to see what was going on outside.
"Where is this? Are we there yet?"
"You can't see clearly, but there are quite a lot of people."
The brothers seemed to be alive again and kept chattering.
"Everyone get out of the car and assemble! The battalion commanders of each regiment go to the platform and wait for orders!"
The voice of the messenger came to my ears from a distance, and then became clearer and clearer.
"We're here, we're at the station."
"I'm finally free. It's such a suffering."
Seeing the messenger shouting and running past the carriage, the brothers' haggard faces showed smiles, and they wished they could jump out of the car immediately. They never wanted to take this so-called train again in their lives.
Yang Ling also packed up his things and stood up, ordering: "Everyone pack up their weapons and equipment and get ready to get out of the car and gather!"
With a crashing sound, the iron door of the carriage was opened, and a stream of cold air with clean fragrance poured into the carriage, dispersing the turbid air in the carriage. Yang Ling took a deep breath and suddenly felt refreshed.
He jumped out of the carriage first, turned around and shouted to the brothers who were jumping down in a mess: "All company and platoon commanders should take care of their brothers and gather on the spot! Don't run around!"
"The three battalions and one company must assemble here!" Captain Wang Meng, the company commander, shouted.
"The 1st Battalion and 2nd Company are here!"
…
The brothers also learned a lot from the training in the Bengbu area. The voices of the company and platoon leaders soon started to sound one after another, and they began to assemble their brothers.
Yang Ling saw that these officers quickly got into their roles. He immediately rushed to the platform with First Battalion Commander Lu Xing and Second Battalion Commander Chen Ming to receive orders.
There were not only refugees with their families on the platform, but also troops wearing various military uniforms. It was so chaotic and noisy that Yang Ling and the two battalion commanders finally managed to squeeze out a passage.
"Brother Yang, here." Zhang Lingfu, leader of the 305th Regiment, also returned from injury. Seeing Yang Ling crowded in the crowd, he raised his arms and waved to him.
Yang Ling strode to Zhang Lingfu. Although they both belonged to the 51st Division, Zhang Lingfu and the others had been recuperating in the hospital, so Yang Ling did not see Zhang Lingfu again after they left Nanjing.
Yang Ling stood next to Zhang Lingfu, and the two exchanged a few words. Qiu Weida, the commander of the 306th Regiment, also squeezed through the crowd with three battalion commanders, cursing.
"Damn it, we've finally arrived." Qiu Weida is lean, but his eyes are shining brightly, making people dare not underestimate him.
"Come on, Brother Yang, let me introduce you. This is Qiu Weida, the commander of the 306th Regiment."
The battle to defend Nanjing was fought fiercely. All four regiment commanders of the 51st Division were seriously injured. They were all heroes. Yang Ling admired them very much. Yang Ling hurriedly extended his hand politely and introduced himself: "Hello, Commander Qiu,
I am Yang Ling, acting deputy commander of the 301st Regiment."
Qiu Weida also shook hands with Yang Ling politely. His big hands were powerful. He said with a smile: "But Deputy Commander Yang who won the Medal of the Blue Sky and White Sun in Jiangyin?"
Zhang Lingfu also joined in and said: "Lao Qiu, Brother Yang is not a young master officer in vain. When we were in Chunchunhua Town, Nanjing, if he hadn't helped him, my position would have been broken through by the Japanese.
"
When Qiu Weida heard Zhang Lingfu's praise, he looked up to Yang Ling a little more, and said with a teasing smile: "Brother Yang, if I have difficulties in the future, you can't just ignore me, haha."
"If such a day comes, I, Yang Ling, will certainly not stand idly by..." Yang Ling also replied with a smile.
"What are you talking about? Why are you so happy?" Ji Hongru, leader of the 302nd Regiment, also walked over with a smile.
"Old Ji, you have been promoted to captain, you have to treat us to a drink." Qiu Weida has a bold temper. When he saw Ji Hongru coming over, he hurriedly asked for a drink.
Ji Hongru was originally the deputy commander of the 301st Regiment. During the Nanjing Defense War, he acted as the commander of the 301st Regiment and was seriously injured in a bloody battle with the Japanese army. He had outstanding military exploits. After recovering from his injuries, he was transferred to the 302nd Regiment as the commander, which was considered a high promotion.
The group leaders all greeted each other and joked with each other from time to time. Most of the battalion commanders who followed also knew each other and got together to talk and laugh.
Soon, 151st Brigade Commander Zhou Zhidao and 153rd Brigade Commander Li Tianxia strode over, surrounded by 51st Division Commander Wang Yaowu.
Wang Yaowu was very strict in managing the army, and most of the regiment and battalion commanders did not dare to act impudently and hurriedly stood up and saluted.