It was the third day of April in the twenty-fifth year of Chongzhen. It was supposed to be spring, but it was already very hot in the mountains of Myanmar.
The weather is too hot. Wearing long sleeves to cover the skin will cause heatstroke. Wearing short-sleeved military uniforms will not withstand mosquito bites.
There were hateful mosquitoes everywhere. As long as the soldiers of Yizi Camp stopped chasing them away for a moment, the mosquitoes immediately clung to the soldiers' skin and pierced their blood-sucking straws into the skin. The soldiers of Yizi Camp were bitten all over the mountains.
It’s a small bag, but there’s nothing you can do about it.
In such a hot day, any kind of training is out of the question. Li Dingguo's task for the Yizi camp is to cultivate themselves and recharge their batteries to prepare for the war.
The soldiers have no training mission, but they still have to fight mosquitoes. Many people have been infected with malaria due to mosquito bites. Because of malaria, the number of non-combat casualties is more than the casualties in half a year of combat.
For the sake of health and safety, the soldiers had to stay away from low-lying ponds and rivers and rest on higher hills and mountains.
Jing Shanning, a soldier in the first corps of the third line of the fourth team of the "Zhongyong Bureau Lizi Brigade" of the Yizi Camp, is known as Shanmao and is an active member of this corps. He looked at the buzzing mosquitoes above his head and said:
"Jianzi, how long are we going to stay in this bloody place?"
Da Zi was the leader of this team. He glanced at Shanmao and said, "You have food and drink, what are you in a hurry for?"
The mountain cat passed by and spat: "Where is there food and drink? How many people have died from malaria? This Nanyang is really not a place for humans. We still want to go back to Henan."
After a pause, Shanmao said again: "And the prince has not paid our Yizi camp until now. Although we were traitors who surrendered, we fought a war in Japan, and now we are fighting in Nanyang, killing four people."
It’s a country, so it’s time to pay us.”
"If I don't get paid as a soldier, how can I get a wife?"
Dazhi sneered and said, "With all your virtue, do you still want to marry a wife?"
Guo Shanmao's face became angry and he cursed: "What's wrong with me? Although Guo Shanmao has lost a little weight, he has a good-looking face. When I was a child, all the girls in the village liked to play with me. Who said I couldn't find a wife?"
"
Dazi looked at the dense forest on the top of the mountain and said nothing.
After Shanmao passed by, the short soldier known as "Crawling on the Ground" came over and said: "Damazi, after fighting for so long, I think it's time to pay. Why don't you go and ask for us, maybe we can start
We’ve been paid, but we haven’t been notified yet?”
Jia Zi was stunned and asked, "Have you heard the news?"
Mandiquan rubbed his head and said: "When I was leaving the ceremony, I saw the soldier from the Xinzi Brigade next door holding a Tianjin banknote and looking left and right, with excitement on his face. If you said he was not paid, where would he come from?
Where are the banknotes?”
Duzi thought for a while and got up from the ground: "I'll go to the brigade and ask."
Hemazi strode down the mountain with long strides.
Man Crawling watched Ya Zi go away, then he came close to Guo Shan Mao and said: "Guo Shan Mao, I didn't dare to say anything when Ya Zi was here. Now that he has gone to the brigade, I want to ask you."
"You said that our 110,000-strong Yizi Battalion and the Samurai Army are guarding Burma, which is a bloody place, and we have to deal with 200,000 Indian soldiers and horses. Isn't this looking for death?"
"I heard that the Indians also have guns and cannons, and their equipment is similar to ours. We Yiziying bandits are not a strong force, so how can we defeat the Indian army of 200,000 with one against two?"
"Those samurai troops are even more miserable. They don't even have rifles and cannons. How can they really withstand the Indian rifles and cannons?"
"Using 100,000 people against 200,000 people, doesn't this mean we are going to die?"
The mountain cat raised its head and glanced at Crawling on the ground, frowned and said: "Crawling on the ground, do you want to be a deserter?"
Mandiquan waved his hands and shook his head in panic, saying, "No! Don't talk nonsense, Shanmao!"
After looking around to make sure no one noticed him, he crawled on the ground and said, "I just feel that we can't be allowed to die like this."
Guo Shanmao sneered and said: "Don't think about it. There is no place to escape in this damned Burma. If you take the main road, you will definitely be captured and shot. The mountains are full of Burmese natives who have been defeated by us. If you enter the mountains, you will definitely be hacked to death by the natives."
.Where can you escape alone?"
"This is not Henan. You can escape all the way back to your hometown."
After hearing Shan Mao's analysis, I crawled all over the ground and flopped down on the ground helplessly, sighing.
Although the two men spoke in a low voice, the other two soldiers around them still heard it. Seeing that Wu Commander Dazhi was not around, they all came over.
"Guo Shanmao, you have the best brain. Please analyze and analyze whether this battle can be won and how many people will die?"
"Is there any way to escape?"
"How about getting a fishing boat and sailing away?"
The mountain cat scolded: "You brainless idiots, which one of you can raise the sail and sail the boat? How can a fishing boat sail back to Henan, thousands of miles away, without old handles?"
"Stay there honestly, fight when we are told, and rest when we are told! Being a soldier is your destiny. Whether you can survive or not depends on your fate!"
Everyone looked at each other for a while, sighed helplessly, and went back to the shade to lie down.
After a while, Wang Mazi came back carrying a large sack.
Everyone's faces were a little listless, and no one cared what Wang Mazi was carrying.
Wang Mazi looked at everyone's faces, thought about it, and cursed: "While I'm not here, you talk about the war again? Do you want to desert?"
"I tell you, I, Wang Mazi, will be the first to kill anyone who escapes!"
Guo Shanmao said: "No, Wang Mazi, we are just wondering when the salary will be paid!"
Wang Mazi carefully placed the sack on the ground and took out twenty-seven Tianjin banknotes from his pocket.
"Come and get money. Starting from this month, we will have pay. I, Wang Mazi, will get seven taels, and each of you will get five taels."
Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard this number. Five taels of silver, that's not a small number. You must know that the Huguang official army's salary is only two taels a month, and it is still being deducted by the officers.
If you save five taels of silver a month for a few years, you can live a good life back in Henan.
Wang Mazi kept seven taels for himself and handed 20 taels to Shanmao. The other three happily surrounded Shanmao. Wang Mazi took out a shotgun from the sack.
"The new gun issued in the brigade is called a shotgun."
When the four people heard that a new weapon was being issued, they all stopped grabbing money and looked at the new gun.
Winning this war and saving lives is more important than money.
The use of the shotgun is the same as that of an ordinary rifle. Wang Mazi skillfully loaded the gun and aimed it at the dense forest ten meters away.
"boom!"
The rifle sprayed out a huge spark, spraying the shotgun shells onto the dense mountain forest.
The mountain forest ten meters away seemed to have been hit by a storm. Within a circular area of one meter, all the small branches were snapped, and the leaves fell like rain. Even one tree was two fingers thick.
The branches of the banyan tree were all broken, exposing rough yellow-white fractures.
The five people stared blankly at the damage caused by the shotguns, speechless for a moment.
It took a long time before Duzi burst out laughing: "What a gun! What a gun. With this gun, we can kill as many Indian soldiers as we come!"
