Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Tie Zhu watched the Kuomintang Soldiers passing by him, and his feeling of unease grew stronger.
After everyone had walked past him, Tie Zhu remained frozen in place.
"Tie Zhu, what's wrong? Let's go! Don't just stand there!" Hu Lian turned around, wanting to chat with Tie Zhu, but upon turning back, he found that Tie Zhu was no longer there.
"Oh, Commander, have you seen my Shunliu Brother? Xu Staff Officer just told me that he went out with you!"
Hu Lian looked around and indeed did not see Wang Shunliu. He slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot about Wang Shunliu! Don't worry; your Shunliu Brother is a veteran and will be fine. He'll be back soon. Let's go back and wait!"
Tie Zhu glanced around and nodded. "Alright, maybe Shunliu Brother is already waiting for me at the Temporary Command Post!"
The Temporary Command Post had resumed normal operations, with several cooks busy preparing dinner. Although there had been significant casualties in the morning, these veterans were accustomed to life and death and knew how to adjust their emotions.
The troops began to slowly gather at the temporary Command Post, with many Kuomintang Soldiers around, almost all of whom bore injuries and wore somber expressions. However, they still joked with one another and laughed heartily at happy moments—true camaraderie.
"Regimental Commander, the casualty report has been compiled! We've suffered quite a bit today!" Hu Lian had just entered the Regiment Headquarters when Xu Staff Officer approached him with a frown and a report in hand.
"How are the casualties? Let me see!"
Hu Lian took the report and began to review it carefully. The more he read, the more serious his expression became until his brows were nearly locked together.
"Ah! Let the troops rest in place. Send the casualty report to Division Headquarters and ask them to reinforce us as much as possible. If I am to continue holding Luodian, I need at least two battalions reinforced—at least one battalion must be veterans! Otherwise, we won't be able to hold Luodian!"
"Understood!"
Xu Staff Officer nodded and quickly walked towards the communications officer to send the message.
Hu Lian slowly walked upstairs and collapsed wearily at the stairway on the second floor.
The casualties were simply too great, so much so that he could not accept it at all. The entire 66th Regiment had been severely damaged; if the Japanese Army had been a little stronger, the 66th Regiment might have been completely wiped out and unable to help Luodian.
By 8 AM this morning, the total number of casualties in the Nationalist Army's 66th Regiment had reached 1,102 killed, over 1,600 wounded, and more than 500 seriously injured and rendered incapable of fighting. Additionally, 126 people were missing. One Battalion Commander was killed, and only one basic-level officer from a company survived: the Second Company’s Company Commander and a Deputy Company Commander. Only one Platoon Leader survived, and the Third Battalion could already be disbanded.
The situation in the Second Battalion was not much better than that of the First Battalion. Although the Battalion Commander was still alive, only one Deputy Company Commander from the Second Company survived among the company and platoon leaders; all others were killed. There were fewer than two hundred soldiers left in the entire battalion, which had effectively been wiped out—there weren't even enough soldiers left to fill a single company.
The Third Battalion fared slightly better; one Company Commander was killed and three Platoon Leaders were lost, but they managed to retain most of their structure, although nearly everyone was injured.
An enhanced regiment had suffered such heavy losses in just one morning; facing fewer than five hundred Japanese soldiers, they had been decimated in less than six hours.
Hu Lian's morning ambitions had now turned into deep regret. He held his head in his hands, wanting to scream and run away, but he knew he could not do that. He was the pillar for all the soldiers; he had to hold on to lead the remaining soldiers to survive.
“Xu Staff Officer, send someone to help transport all severely wounded soldiers to the rear. We’ve lost Luodian; the Japanese will soon counterattack. It will be difficult to evacuate them later. Also, send someone to Division Headquarters to urge them for supplies. I need medicine and personnel here—whatever they can provide—otherwise we won’t be able to hold Luodian Town!”
“Yes, Regimental Commander. I will send someone right away. And Regimental Commander, please don’t be too upset; in war, there are always casualties!”
At that moment, Tie Zhu was weaving through the wounded soldiers at the entrance, checking each one in hopes of finding Shunliu Brother. However, after searching around without success, he found various injured individuals gathered together chatting and lamenting.
Tie Zhu stood alone in the middle of the entrance like a helpless child who had lost his beloved toy.
“Shunliu Brother, where are you? Where are you!”
Feeling increasingly helpless, Tie Zhu shouted a couple of times, hoping for a response, but after waiting for a long time without finding him.
“Find the Commander! I need to find the Commander! The Commander must know where Shunliu Brother is; maybe Shunliu Brother is waiting for me somewhere!”
As his anxiety grew heavier, Tie Zhu hurriedly pushed through the crowd and ran toward the command post.
“Commander! Commander! Shunliu Brother hasn’t returned; do you know where he is?”
Tie Zhu rushed up to the second floor without encountering any obstacles. The Clerk on the first floor had gotten to know Tie Zhu today, as the Regimental Commander personally rewarded him with two boxes of canned goods, leaving an impression of this new recruit.
Second Floor
Tie Zhu saw Hu Lian sitting alone in a corner, staring blankly, with some cigarette butts at his feet, looking quite haggard.
When Hu Lian noticed Tie Zhu coming up, he smiled and said, "You’re here, Tie Zhu. Are you looking for Wang Shunliu? I can send someone to take you to him. I was so anxious chasing after the enemy earlier that I forgot to let you know that Shunliu Brother should come along; he’s probably still around somewhere!"
Tie Zhu nodded, " Commander, are you okay?"
Hu Lian shook his head, "I’m fine, just feeling a bit down! Li Erlengzi, get over here!"
Leaning out from the second floor, Hu Lian shouted at the Second Battalion Commander, who was downstairs checking on the wounded.
"Hey, Regimental Commander, wait a moment! I’ll be right up!"
Upon hearing Hu Lian’s call, the Second Battalion Commander quickly tossed the cigarette butt on the ground and hurried upstairs.
"Regimental Commander, did you call for me?"
Hu Lian nodded and patted Tie Zhu on the shoulder. "Send someone to take Tie Zhu to that Corner Building where we just fought the enemy. Wang Shunliu might still be there. We left in such a hurry that we didn’t have time to inform him. Wang Shunliu is Tie Zhu’s brother; please help him out!"
"Alright, I’ll arrange for someone to go right away. Hehe, Commander, that Wang Shunliu is a treasure of my Second Battalion. I’ll personally go find him!"
As soon as the Second Battalion Commander heard the name Wang Shunliu, he immediately recalled how impressive he had been earlier. He slapped his thigh and wondered how he could have forgotten such a good soldier in their battalion!
"What are you doing? You go check on the wounded! If they need anything, just let me know. If it’s something I, Hu Lian, can handle, I’ll make sure it gets done. Just send someone over! Be careful!"
"Okay, Tie Zhu, come with me. I’ll find someone who fought alongside us just now; they’re familiar with that area!"
"Thank you, Commander, thank you, Battalion Commander!"
Tie Zhu grinned and immediately followed the Second Battalion Commander downstairs, moving quickly as he couldn't wait to see Shunliu Brother.
"Little Liuzi, come here!"
On the first floor, the Second Battalion Commander waved at a soldier in the distance, and the soldier quickly ran over.
"Battalion Commander, you called for me?"
Little Liuzi looked at the Battalion Commander and then at Tie Zhu, scratching his head, unsure why the Battalion Commander wanted him.
The Second Battalion Commander slapped him on the head: "Don't think about slacking off. Take Tie Zhu to the Corner Building and find someone. It's the first one who rushed out just now, Wang Shunliu. Do you remember?"
"Of course I remember! Shunliu Brother is a celebrity in our camp. What's up? Shunliu Brother hasn't come back yet?"
The Second Battalion Commander slapped Little Liuzi's head again: "I told you to go, so go! Why are there so many questions? Hurry up and come back!"
"Alright! Tie Zhu, let's go!"
Tie Zhu happily nodded and followed Little Liuzi toward Shunliu Brother's location.
Comment 0 Comment Count