Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Tie Zhu was not seriously injured; the shrapnel only hit his shoulder and did not strike any vital areas, nor did it sever an artery. Only a small piece of shrapnel was embedded in his body, equivalent to being stabbed in the shoulder with a knife.
After removing the shrapnel, Xu Staff Officer helped Tie Zhu with a simple bandage. His technique was very skilled, clearly indicating he was an experienced hand.
Xu Staff Officer secured the bandage and clapped his hands. "Alright, Tie Zhu, don't get it wet for the next couple of days. Once the wound heals up, you’ll be fine. You’re really lucky; with such a big piece of shrapnel, it only hit your shoulder. If it had hit somewhere else, that would have been trouble."
Tie Zhu scratched his head and chuckled, "Hehe, my dad always said that we may be poor and our lives cheap, but we are tough."
"You brat, don’t talk nonsense. Our lives are given by heaven; there’s no distinction between who is precious and who is cheap. We’re all worth just one bullet! Now get up and see if you can move your shoulder."
Tie Zhu nodded with a silly grin and stood up, trying to move his shoulder. It was good; he could move it, though it hurt a bit. It was much better than before. "Hey, Xu Staff Officer, I’m fine! I can move it; look!"
After saying that, Tie Zhu rotated his shoulder a few times, but Xu Staff Officer quickly grabbed him. "Alright, stop moving around! Otherwise, the stitches will burst, and I won’t have time to sew you up again!"
Footsteps were heard outside once more, but this time the sound was loud and clear from quite a distance.
After receiving orders from Battalion Commander, Little Erzi rushed towards the area where the signal flares were launched. On the way, he encountered five soldiers from the Kuomintang. These five were also soldiers who had gotten separated from their unit like Tie Zhu and decided to join him in searching for Commander.
The signal flares were visible throughout the town, but pinpointing their exact location was difficult. After running for about ten minutes, Erzi nearly explored all of Luodian Town.
"Be careful; there’s fighting ahead!" Before Erzi and the others could approach the Crossroads, they heard sounds of combat in the distance—specifically the sound of Japanese Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun. The unique bursts of fire from this weapon could be recognized by any veteran who had been on the battlefield.
To conserve resources, the Japanese manufactured weapons that minimized costs—from tank armor to Rifle ammunition. The Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun inherited some advantages of Japanese weaponry: it was highly accurate. However, it also inherited a significant flaw of Japanese inventions: a very slow rate of fire.
In theory, the Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun could achieve 450 rounds per minute; in practice, it rarely exceeded around 200 rounds per minute. Japanese gunners typically controlled their rate of fire to between 60 to 80 rounds per minute as acceptable unless in urgent combat situations; exceeding this number would result in punishment.
Thus, on the battlefield, one often heard the sound of the Japanese Heavy Machine Gun firing in bursts—one shot after another—similar to a high-capacity semi-automatic Rifle being continuously fired. It was easy to distinguish.
Erzi and several Kuomintang Soldiers immediately slowed their pace and cautiously approached the Crossroads.
After a while of gunfire, it suddenly stopped, followed by an explosion.
A few people looked at each other, and in the end, they cautiously made their way along the corner of the wall.
Urban Warfare is not on flat ground; at any moment, someone could pop out from either side of a building and shoot you. Then, amidst the chaos, the sound of gunfire would attract both enemies and allies from around.
As they walked slowly, by the time they reached Crossroads, Xu Staff Officer had already started stitching up Tie Zhu.
Erzi and a few others hid behind the gun barrel, faintly hearing voices inside the house, but they couldn't make out what was being said.
Tie Zhu stood up to stretch his shoulders. After Xu Staff Officer loudly stopped him, Erzi confirmed that the people inside were allies. He waved his hand, and a few immediately turned and went down the alley.
There were five corpses of Japanese Soldiers at the entrance, likely killed in the recent firefight. Facing the bodies, there should be a Heavy Machine Gun positioned at the front door of the house.
Erzi hid in the corner of the wall and shouted, "Listen up inside! We are from the Nationalist Army. Don't shoot! If you hear us, respond so we can come in."
"Which battalion are you from? What's your Battalion Commander’s name?"
Upon hearing a response from inside, Erzi felt relieved. However, when he heard the question, he froze because he didn't know what his Battalion Commander's name was. He had heard it mentioned before but had forgotten.
"Um, I'm from the Second Battalion. I forgot my Battalion Commander's full name, but I know his nickname is Li Erlengzi. Which battalion are you brothers from? What's your Battalion Commander's name?"
Hu Lian immediately perked up upon hearing Li Erlengzi's name. That nickname was one he had casually given to Li Biao back in the day. Li Biao was brave but somewhat slow-witted; Hu Lian had jokingly called him "Second Fool," not expecting it to spread.
"Come on in! I'm from the Sixty-Sixth Regiment. Your Commander is Hu Lian."
As soon as Erzi heard this, he dashed out from beside the door and took a closer look. Sure enough, sitting in front of the Machine Gun was exactly the Commander he was looking for.
Erzi's face broke into a wide smile: "Commander! What brings you here?"
He pointed at the corpses of Japanese Soldiers on the ground: "Commander is amazing; you took down five of them all by yourself."
"I thought I recognized that voice! So it's you, little slippery one. Don't try to be clever; stand straight! A soldier should have some bearing. And stop flattering me; it was Tie Zhu who killed those Japanese soldiers. When you all arrived, help me collect the bodies!"
Erzi stood up straight with a flattering smile on his face after hearing Hu Lian's reprimand.
Hu Lian glanced at him and waved his hand, "Go, go, go, stand over there. At such a young age, you’re not learning anything good, just picking up all sorts of evil tricks. Look at you, you don’t even look like a soldier anymore; you’re just a Veterans slacker."
Erzi stepped aside and stood properly as several soldiers who followed him also entered and saluted Hu Lian, saying, "Commander, good!"
Hu Lian nodded, "You guys, tell me where your company or battalion is now and how the fighting is going?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Erzi immediately stepped forward, "Report Commander, our battalion has reached a landlord's courtyard on the west side of the town. I can't say how many casualties we have; the lower company was scattered by Japanese artillery. Our Battalion Commander is leading about twenty brothers in a strong assault on a small enemy stronghold."
"And you guys? Are you from the Second Battalion?"
"Report Commander, we are from the First Company. After we entered the town, we got separated from our company. There were about ten of us at first, but now only five are left. We’re not too clear about the situation in the battalion."
"You lost half your men after fighting just a few enemies?"
The soldiers looked at each other before finally lowering their heads and saying, "Two plus one Severely Wounded Soldier." After speaking, they kept their heads down, not daring to look up, preparing to face Commander's wrath.
"Ah!" Hu Lian sighed heavily. He really wanted to scold these soldiers for being useless, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. These men had never undergone proper Urban Warfare training and had barely fired their weapons during training. Engaging in combat with the Japanese in such a complex situation in town, this casualty rate wasn't too surprising.
Hu Lian nodded at them without saying anything. Inside, he was extremely angry, but there was nothing he could change. He sighed again; this was all he could know for now. It seemed that the casualties in the unit wouldn't be too low.
Comment 0 Comment Count