The spring rain continued, and in the mountain jungle, streams of water mixed with blood flowed down the mountain. Near the streams, corpses wearing Argentine military uniforms were scattered here and there.
On the bank of the stream, Ma Jizu and his party stopped and carefully observed the situation.
"The corpse has started to smell. According to the time, the battle happened about five days ago." Ma Jizu covered his nose and inspected the nearby corpses, then said.
"Company Commander, a week ago the fourth batch of transportation troops reported encountering Argentine troops, resulting in the failure of the transportation operation. Could it be that that operation exposed the camp location of Master Sun's troops, so this battle broke out." Ma Jizu's deputy company
Chang speculated.
"It is possible." Ma Jizu lowered his head and thought for a moment, then agreed: Mr. Sun's troops have been fighting against the Argentine encirclement and suppression army for more than half a year. Our operations of transporting food supplies have been going on. It is impossible for Argentina to not notice it at all. I guess Argentina
People probably know that the troops led by Mr. Sun are supported by the National Defense Forces. However, because the main Argentine troops are fighting the Paraguayan army and cannot concentrate their efforts to exterminate the uprising armed forces in the north, they do not declare war on the National Defense Forces.
"If the Argentines discover that the northern armed forces are supported by our army, wouldn't Mr. Sun's troops be in danger?"
The deputy company commander said worriedly.
"Not only will Master Sun's troops be faced with a difficult situation, but transportation operations will also become more difficult." Ma Jizu frowned. "The situation in northern Argentina has undergone new changes. After we return, we must immediately report the situation here to the superiors. Also, now all
People must be on alert and carefully respond to possible enemy situations!”
"As commanded."
After the order was given, the soldiers who were resting on the rocks by the stream quickly got up and scattered and hid in the high ground beside the stream, behind trees and other positions according to the battle formation.
Soon after the soldiers dispersed and took cover, the three soldiers who set out on a reconnaissance mission quickly climbed down from the mountain and jungle.
Taking off his camouflage, a soldier gasped, "There are corpses everywhere in a camp on the mountain. There are thousands of people densely packed."
"Where is Master Sun? Have you seen our troops?"
Thousands of people died in the camp. Ma Jizu subconsciously felt something was wrong and asked urgently.
"No, there's not a single living person in the camp."
"Quick, take me to the camp immediately." Ma Jizu was anxious and ordered decisively, "Leave twenty people to guard the ship and supplies, and the others will follow me immediately."
"Whoa, whoa, whoosh," the soldiers on combat alert immediately divided into two teams. One team of more than fifty people quickly picked up their rifles and followed the three leading soldiers toward the mountain camp.
In the camp, the wooden buildings and fences built along the mountain pass fell to the ground, and the thatched huts and wooden shacks were burned by the fire, leaving only pieces of incomplete wooden boards smoking in the rain.
"Everyone is on alert and searching. I can't find anyone alive!"
The densely packed corpses in the camp included not only Argentinian whites, but also more bare-chested Indians. Among the corpses, Ma Jizu had already seen five or six Chinese wearing Indian costumes.
The previous fears became a reality, because the last transport operation failed, the Argentines discovered the camp of Sun Qi Sanctuary and concentrated a large number of troops to launch an attack on the camp.
They died on the battlefield and were wrapped in horse leather. Thousands of corpses were left at the scene of the battle. Neither the Argentine side, which had a slightly smaller number of people, nor Sun Qisheng's troops collected the corpses, which shows that the fighting scene at that time must have been very fierce.
Ma Jizu's face was heavy. At this time, the soldiers who were scattered and searching reported the situation: about 600 Indians died in the camp, more than 70 Chinese corpses, and about 500 Argentine soldier corpses.
"Have you found any survivors?"
"No, we searched all over the camp and found no living person."
"There are two hundred National Defense Force brothers under Mr. Sun. Only the bodies of more than seventy brothers were found at the scene. The other brothers must still be alive. Search carefully and we must find Mr. Sun!" Ma Jizu was excited and ordered loudly.
The reporting soldier glanced at Ma Jizu fearfully. Before he could utter his words of advice, he was interrupted by the deputy company commander beside him: "You go down first, I have something to say to the company commander."
After sending away the soldiers who had reported, the deputy company commander said: Only more than seventy bodies of the National Defense Force brothers were found in the camp, which means that Master Sun and the remaining more than a hundred brothers are still alive, but today is the agreed time for supply handover, Master Sun
After escaping the encirclement and suppression by the Argentine troops, they did not send their subordinates to respond as agreed, which means that they had left the area around the camp and were under pressure from the Argentine troops and were unable to contact us.
"Master Sun's men are all carefully selected elite soldiers. If they can force him to abandon the camp and leave, they must have encountered great difficulties." After listening to the analysis of his deputy company commander, Ma Jizu's mood gradually stabilized.
"More than 500 people died in Argentina, which cost a huge price. We will never easily set fire to the surviving troops of Mr. Sun. Therefore, we should immediately return to Rio Grande do Sul to explain the situation to the superiors. His Highness the Crown Prince will make a decision and discuss countermeasures to solve Mr. Sun's problem."
Your Excellency is in a critical situation."
"Shortly after the battle, the Argentines may leave troops nearby to perform blockade missions. We will be in danger if we delay here for too long. So I decided to send you to lead the main force back to Rio Grande do Sul. I will stay and lead Thirty to be responsible for the search.
And contact Mr. Sun."
"Company Commander, just leave the task of contacting Mr. Sun to me. You don't have to take the risk yourself."
"No, you have just carried out two transportation missions. You don't know the situation in northern Argentina, so your remaining role will be of little use."
"But the company commander..."
"Nothing but, I know another secret camp set up by Mr. Sun. They are probably hiding there. It would be more suitable for me to stay." Ma Jizu showed the majesty of an officer and ordered, "Unload the food and supplies, and leave two more
A small boat, you lead the remaining brothers to leave and return to the sea, Deputy Company Commander Wu, execute the order immediately!"
"Yes." The deputy company commander responded and reluctantly led more than 40 soldiers to leave.
After his deputy company commander left, Ma Jizu led his thirty soldiers to temporarily place the unloaded grain and two hundred Dreiser rifles in a hidden jungle, and then drove two small boats to another place with sufficient ammunition.
Secret base.
In a valley four hundred miles away from Ma Jizu's location, a Chinese soldier in camouflage flexibly walked through the dense jungle, pulled away the bushes blocking the front at the bottom of the mountain, and entered a secret cave.
"How is the situation outside?" a lean man asked.
"The exit of the valley is defended by 700 Argentine troops, and they show no sign of retreat."
"It seems the Argentines want to trap us in the valley."
The capable man looked back at the dozens of wounded lying in the cave. He said solemnly, "After breaking through the encirclement of the Argentine troops, we lost all our weapons and ammunition. The only three 75mm artillery pieces were left in the camp and were not brought out.
With the current seventy or eighty rifles and five or six hundred rounds of ammunition, it is difficult to break through the blockade of the Argentine troops deployed in the valley. The situation is very unfavorable to us. Sitting in the valley is the only way to die. Brothers, please share your views and see if we can
Find a solution to your dilemma."
For the first time, the capable man felt helpless. After thinking hard to no avail, he could only put the problem in front of all the surviving soldiers, hoping to rely on their ideas to find a way out for the remaining troops.
"Deputy Commander, if there hadn't been Indian spies in the camp, and we cooperated with the Argentine troops to attack the camp, we wouldn't have lost so miserably. There are only about 80 brothers who can maintain combat effectiveness, and there are more than 40 brothers who are injured.
In this situation, even if all the brothers who can fight are gathered to attack the Argentine blockade force, the injured brothers will not be able to evacuate. From a professional perspective, it is better to fight against the Argentinians while the brothers still have some strength.
Better than staying in the valley and starving to death!"
"Brothers are all crawling out of the dead. I believe that no brother is afraid of death, but you are the elite selected from tens of thousands of troops in the National Defense Force. I brought you to northern Argentina to complete the important task assigned by the prince.
, before the task is completed, any talk of killing oneself is an act of disobedience to the Crown Prince's orders!
Second Lieutenant! You must understand your mission and don’t live up to the responsibilities you bear!”
The capable man was Sun Qisheng, who escaped from the camp. When resisting the attack of the Argentine encirclement and suppression troops, he neglected to supervise the Indian armed forces under his command, which led to a rebellion of an Indian armed force that had just defected to the enemy. The rebellious Indian armed forces used the main force of the camp.
Deployed on the front line, due to the weak internal defense of the camp, he deceived the Chinese soldiers guarding the ammunition depot with the excuse of receiving ammunition. Then, when the guarding soldiers were unprepared, he annihilated more than 30 Chinese soldiers and blew up the ammunition depot in one fell swoop.
As a result, the defense of Sun Qisheng's headquarters failed, and they had to abandon the camp and lead the remaining Chinese to fight and flee.
Indians and Argentinian whites have been loving and fighting each other for hundreds of years. During this period, there were not only those who resisted the rule of the white Argentines and gathered armed forces to fight against the whites, but also Indians who were disappointed with their future and were willing to seek refuge with the whites in exchange for a way to survive.
Sun Qisheng successfully completed many missions under Li Mingyuan. After entering northern Argentina, he quickly opened up the situation with the support of a sufficient number of guns and ammunition from the rear. The maximum number of Indian armed forces under his command reached 1,700. The too smooth combat operations made
He ignored the instability of the Indian armed forces, which ultimately led to the loss of the camp.
After the camp was lost, Sun Qisheng's painful lessons made him realize his negligence and shortcomings. However, the consequences of the Indian armed rebellion had already been caused, and Sun Qisheng's first consideration was how to lead the remaining more than 100 soldiers to escape the encirclement of the Argentine troops.
After scolding a low-level officer with radical ideas, Sun Qisheng glanced at the soldiers in the cave, but no one spoke.
After a long silence, Sun Qisheng sighed, "Brothers have no idea, so let's use the last method. The surviving brothers stayed in the cave, sent a few brothers to pass through the Argentine army's blockade, and then contacted the transport troops from the rear.
Strive to obtain weapons supplies from the transport troops, and then look for opportunities to break the blockade of the Argentine troops."
Today is the time agreed between Sun Qisheng’s headquarters and the rear transport troops to hand over supplies. However, Sun Qisheng and others were trapped in the valley and could not escape. Moreover, their hiding place was more than 300 miles away from the destroyed camp. They wanted to break through the blockade of the Argentine troops and
It is very difficult for transport troops to get in touch.
Sun Qisheng understood the dangers of crossing the Argentinian army blockade and the risks of crossing hundreds of miles to communicate with the transport troops. However, when more than a hundred surviving soldiers were in desperate situation, he could only have a chance of survival by adopting this method.
Licking his dry lips, Sun Qisheng said seriously, "Although it is relatively easy for a small group to cross the Argentinian army blockade, the brothers participating in the operation still face the danger of nine deaths. This mission is a voluntary operation. Which brother is willing to carry out it?"
You can stand up for the task, and I won’t force myself if I don’t want to carry out the task..."
Sun Qisheng had just finished speaking when more than ten people stood up in the cave.
"Don't make a decision so quickly. Give everyone a quarter of an hour to think about it. It won't be too late to make a decision after you think about it." Sun Qisheng waved to the soldiers who had stood up to sit down.
"Deputy Commander, it is better to stay in the cave and wait for death than to rush out with all your strength. I have already made my decision, no need to think about it again!"
"Going out to contact the troops may save the lives of the brothers in the valley. Commander, we are ready. Please give the order!"
Several voices of voluntary execution of orders fell, and more and more soldiers stood up on their own initiative.
"Very good." Sun Qisheng stood up and said happily, "You are all good brothers of the Kingdom of Heaven. I believe in your courage and bloodshed, but it is best not to exceed five people on the breakout mission. Too many people will not only weaken the strength of the valley.
The defensive force will also increase the risk of being discovered by the Argentine troops, so I decided that the five brothers who stood up first will carry out the breakout mission." The other brothers who can still stand up will be responsible for launching a feint attack on the Argentine troops tonight to cover the five brothers.
Breakout, do you have any opinions?
"Follow the orders of the deputy commander!" A chorus of voices responded to Sun Qisheng's question.
"Check the remaining weapons and ammunition, and launch an operation at noon tonight."
