"Don't just stay together for nothing. If a Japanese cannonball falls, everything will be wiped out!"
Second Battalion Commander Chen Ming led several guards along the traffic trench to inspect various combat positions and sentry posts. When he saw the brothers gathering together again to smoke, chat, and spank, he cursed and kicked them several times.
The brother who was kicked was not angry. Instead, he laughed like a dead pig who was not afraid of boiling water: "Batalion Commander, the devils have gone back to sleep, so why can't they set off cannons at night?"
"You are a mouthy kid, aren't you? Believe it or not, I will slap you?" Chen Ming saw his brother with a playful smile and raised his hand as if to show off.
"No, battalion commander, I will go back after finishing this puff of cigarette." The veteran quickly put the cigarette butt into his mouth and took a deep breath.
Chen Ming urged impatiently: "Go back to your respective positions quickly."
These brothers knew that although the battalion commander Chen Ming was usually serious, he was a good officer who did not drink the blood of his soldiers and did not deduct their pay, so they all lay down at their positions with their guns in hand with a playful smile.
Seeing that the brothers had all returned to their positions, he gave up and reminded: "Open your eyes wide, don't let the little devil touch you and lose your head."
"Don't worry, battalion commander, I guarantee that the kid will never come back." came the confident reply from the brothers in the darkness.
During the day's battle, they held their positions firmly. The Japs failed to capture them several times, but instead lost many people. The brothers' spirits were also raised, and they were very enthusiastic about fighting.
Chen Ming walked along the trench while alerting the sentry posts, and soon entered a dark bunker.
"It's pitch black, why don't you light a lamp?" Second Battalion Commander Chen Ming almost hit his head and asked.
Someone struck a match in the darkness, and a dim oil lamp was lit, allowing Chen Ming to see clearly the dozen brothers leaning against the bunker.
"Isn't it because I was afraid that the Japanese would be interested in me, so I didn't let you light the lamp?"
The squad leader who lit the oil lamp explained while covering the shooting port with a cloth to prevent the light here from being seen by the outside world.
Chen Ming nodded: "You are quite thoughtful. Is there anything going on outside?"
The squad leader replied: "There's no movement at all. I guess the Japanese won't attack tonight."
Chen Ming shook his head and said: "The leader has given us orders not to be careless. The little devil has suffered a loss during the day and may come to find trouble at night."
"This bunker of yours is the support point of firepower. It must withstand it at the critical moment. Do you know how to do it?" Chen Ming asked.
The squad leader in charge of this bunker chuckled: "It's just a matter of carrying it to death. It's not like we haven't resisted. Unless everyone is dead, the little devil can't even think about taking a step forward."
Chen Ming patted the squad leader's shoulder and said, "With your words, I feel relieved. Let the brothers rest for a while so that they don't all fall asleep."
"Oh, I see."
"Okay, then I'll look elsewhere."
As Chen Ming spoke, he led the guards out of the bunker again, and the oil lamps in the bunker were immediately extinguished, making it pitch black again.
Chen Ming patrolled the position conscientiously, and the brothers were not careless.
Just as Chen Ming finished his inspection and was about to return to the camp headquarters to rest, a dark red fire suddenly erupted from the Japanese position in the distance.
Rows of artillery shells dragged dazzling flares that tore through the dark night sky and rushed towards the 174th Brigade position on the left wing.
"Rumble--"
The deafening explosion caused pain in the eardrums as the shock wave came in. Fires shot up from the distant position, and half of the night sky was burned through and turned red.
"Quickly, notify all companies to prepare for battle!"
Seeing this scene, Second Battalion Commander Chen Ming gave orders while running to the table and shaking the phone number of the regimental headquarters.
In the bunker at the regiment headquarters, Yang Ling had just fallen asleep when he was awakened by the deafening sound of artillery.
He got up in excitement and went straight to the observation port. He saw that the position of the 174th Brigade in the distance had been plunged into a sea of flames under artillery fire.
What do the Japanese want to do? Fight at night? Yang Ling is puzzled.
"Ding-ding-ding-" the phone rang rapidly, and the staff officer on duty rushed to answer the phone.
"Guide seat, hotel phone number!" the staff officer shouted to Yang Ling.
Yang Ling took three steps at a time and ran over to answer the phone: "Host, this is Yang Ling."
"I'm afraid the Japs are going to attack. No matter what happens, we must hold our position. We are not allowed to act without authorization. We must hold on until dawn!"
The Japs suddenly made such a big noise at night, which made everyone panic. After all, the night was a rare time for rest in the past, and the Japs would not attack at night.
"Please rest assured, sir! Our regiment promises to hold our position!" Yang Ling stood up and replied.
After hanging up the phone, Yang Ling called each battalion one by one and asked them to observe closely to prevent Japanese attacks.
The Japanese artillery roared, and fierce firefights soon came from the direction of the 174th Brigade, but there was no movement from the direction of Yang Ling and his 151st Brigade.
What Yang Ling was most worried about was that his brothers would not be able to defend their position if they were attacked by the Japanese. However, it seemed that all worries were unnecessary, as the Japanese's attack direction was not on their side.
"Tell all battalion commanders to be vigilant and report any situation immediately!" Yang Ling ordered the bleary-eyed regimental chief of staff Zhang Qingyun.
"Yes...yes!" Zhang Qingyun, chief of staff of the regiment, raised his head and agreed while buttoning his buttons.
The brothers hurriedly lay down in the trench, but when they saw the lively fighting in the distance, it was pitch black and eerily quiet here.
"The Japanese won't attack us, right?" a brother asked in a low voice.
But soon there was a shout from the darkness: "Shut up! Don't talk!"
The brother who spoke moved his lips and closed his mouth angrily. He aimed his rifle into the darkness and looked at the deafening explosions and gunshots in the distance. He was worried about the brothers over there.
"Boom!"
While the brothers were watching the lively fight in the distance, suddenly there was a booming explosion from the ravine on the left, and someone was thrown high in the fire.
The flames of the explosion also exposed the Japanese soldiers who wanted to infiltrate and attack secretly to the light. They were like mice afraid of light and wanted to hide in the darkness.
"Da da da--"
The brothers on the top of the mountain saw the Japanese coming up the ravine and hurriedly fired, and strings of scarlet bullets flew out.
Second Battalion Commander Chen Ming heard the explosions and gunshots in the ravine and cursed: "Damn it, the little devil went around to the ditch on our flank!"
"Third company commander! Third company commander! Bring people to reinforce!"
"Yes!" The third company commander shouted hurriedly: "Those of the third company, follow me!"
A company of brothers hurriedly ran towards the ravine, but when the Japanese saw their exposure, they also began to pounce towards the top of the mountain.
The brothers from the other two hills also opened fire, and the two sides instantly became involved.
"Fire a flare!" Having learned from the past, Chen Ming looked at the dark front of the position and ordered.
"Wha--" Two flares rose up into the sky, and the brothers' eyes also extended forward along with the scope of the illumination of the flares.
But when they saw the Japanese soldiers crawling on the ground like insects, having crossed the barbed wire fence, and crawling all over the ground in a black mass, their expressions were wild.
"Japanese! There are devils ahead!" A brother shouted in panic.
"Snapped!"
A hot bullet whizzed through and penetrated the chest of the shouting brother. His shouting stopped abruptly and he fell in pain in the trench.