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墨書 Inktalez
The Police Unit of Hu Lian has returned. When a team of over a hundred people came back, there were fewer than fifty, most of them still injured.
These soldiers from the guard company are different from Tie Zhu and his group. Their rations are the best in the entire unit, and they have separate meals that reportedly include more meat than what Tie Zhu and his team receive.
Their uniforms are also different; they all wear brand new Military Uniforms, receiving one set more per year than Tie Zhu's group.
Most importantly, their weapons are different. The worst among them carry semi-automatic Rifles that can fire multiple rounds in quick succession, similar to small Machine Guns. Some even have Flower Mechanisms attached; when those guns fire, bullets stream out rapidly, and with ample ammunition available, they can use live rounds during training.
Usually, the members of the guard company walk with swagger, boasting loudly and looking down on ordinary soldiers, treating them with disdain. But today, they all appear dejected, heads hung low and silent.
Tie Zhu's weapon is an Old Rifle. After taking out a Japanese soldier this morning, he switched to the Type 38 rifle. Most Nationalist Army soldiers use Old Rifles, even those in elite units.
The Old Rifle is a copy of the German Model 88 Rifle, officially adopted in 1888. As a replica, it is made with very poor materials and often suffers from barrel explosions. To mitigate this issue, an additional steel layer was added to the barrel, hence the name Old Rifle.
It seems that some units began transitioning to the new Zhongzheng Rifle two years ago, but Lin Qing has never seen one; he has always used the Old Rifle since he was a recruit.
Hu Lian looked grimly at the soldiers of the guard company before him; these were his own trained elite troops equipped entirely with automatic Rifles. Yet in their first battle, they had lost more than half their numbers!
"Where is your Company Commander? Where's that bastard Liu Qing? Where are you? Come out! You used to talk big about taking down seven or eight Japanese soldiers by yourself; how many did you take down today? Hiding behind now like a coward? Tell me, are there five or six hundred Japanese soldiers in Luodian Town for you to take down?"
"Regimental Commander, I... we..."
"Don't call me Regimental Commander; I can't afford that title. Look at you all! I told you to train more often and manage your ammunition better. You each bragged about your abilities; so what now? Now that you're on the battlefield, tell me how many Japanese soldiers you've killed! Liu Qing, you speak!"
"Ten... ten... over ten!" Liu Qing mumbled with his head down, nearly burying it in his pants.
"Speak up! Haven't you eaten? Let the surrounding soldiers hear how many Japanese soldiers the once arrogant guard company has killed today."
"Over ten!"
"Haven't you eaten? Did you feed your breakfast buns to the dogs? How many did you kill?"
"Report Regimental Commander, the guard company killed over ten enemies!"
Hu Lian slammed his hand on the table and picked up his belt, swinging it towards Liu Qing's head. "You better explain to me clearly, how many did you kill? Eleven or nineteen, it's all the same! How many Japanese Soldier did you kill?"
"Report, Regimental Commander, fourteen!"
Hu Lian dropped the belt. "Good, good, good! You guys are really something. Over a hundred people armed with automatic Rifle were killed by a few dozen holding Type 38 Arisaka rifles, and you only managed to kill fourteen Japanese Soldier? You guys are impressive. Even if you gave me a hundred pigs, I could make them headbutt more than you did!"
"Regimental Commander, I, we..."
Hu Lian pointed to the door. "Get out! All of you get out! Anyone who can walk, get out! Don't come back until you've cleaned out all the Japanese Soldier in Luodian. Go, just go!"
"Yes, Regimental Commander! We will complete the mission! Brothers, follow me! If we don't kill all the Japanese Soldier in Luodian, we'll die out here today!"
Liu Qing waved his hand and led the remaining dozens of soldiers from the guard company out quickly.
Tie Zhu stood trembling at the side for the first time witnessing Commander lose his temper. He couldn't find the words and silently fidgeted with his fingers.
Xu Staff Officer stepped forward. "Regimental Commander, calm down. We can't blame the guard company entirely; the combat effectiveness of the Japanese is indeed formidable. We saw it on the battlefield before. Our regiment attacked a position held by three hundred men and lost five hundred soldiers... sigh..."
Hu Lian waved his hand. "I'm not angry about that. You've seen how they strut around, not taking training seriously. They have enough bullets for the whole regiment! Look at them; dozens of them only killed fourteen Japanese Soldier! If they were using Old Rifle, I wouldn't say anything, but look at their weapons—they're even more advanced than those of the Japanese Soldier! And what was the result? This is an attitude problem!"
"Sigh..." Xu Staff Officer sighed and fell silent. The guard company indeed had significant issues that weren't apparent until they hit the battlefield. He felt a bit uncomfortable and started fiddling with his pistol, lost in thought.
About a minute of silence passed when Erzi ran back in from outside.
"Commander, look who I brought for you."
Hu Lian looked up to see the regiment's Communications Soldier, Clerk, Operator, and Radio Operator, all appearing at the door, instantly breaking into a smile.
"Report, Regimental Commander! The communications team from Regiment Headquarters reports to you!"
"Put it down; come in! Finally, some good news. Xiao Wang, you all need to send a telegram to Division Headquarters. Tell them that our 66th Regiment has endured half a day's fierce battle and around noon has captured most of Luodian. However, there are still remnants of the enemy holding out stubbornly in one corner. We are currently clearing them out but have encountered heavy artillery bombardment from Japanese naval forces with severe casualties. We urgently request reinforcements from Division Headquarters to strengthen the defense of Luodian. This matter is extremely urgent!"
"Yes, Commander!"
The Communications Soldier and Radio Operator immediately began setting up the radio station, preparing to send a message to Division Headquarters, while the rest of the Regiment Headquarters personnel busied themselves. A simple Command Post was quickly established.
"Tie Zhu, you're injured. Go upstairs and rest for a bit, and take care of your fellow townsman. I'm fine here."
Tie Zhu shook his head with a silly smile: "Regimental Commander, I'm fine. It's just a small injury; I'll stand guard for you!"
Hu Lian looked down at his things without raising his head: "Alright, go rest. That's an order, hurry up! Xiao Zhang, help me get two cans for Tie Zhu; this kid has been hungry all day and his stomach must be growling by now."
Xiao Zhang opened his mouth: "Commander, the cans are for you..."
"Give two to Tie Zhu; that's an order. You, Xiao Zhang, do your job as Orderly well, but you're too stingy. Alright, everyone get busy. Send someone to help the Catering Team bring something back; the soldiers have been hungry all morning!"
"Yes!"
Tie Zhu took two cans from Orderly Xiao Zhang's hands, ignoring Xiao Zhang's resentful gaze, and happily carried the cans upstairs, already overjoyed inside.
Canned food—this was something Tie Zhu had never eaten before. He had only heard Shunliu Brother mention it; this was the first time he had seen it. It felt strange; what could possibly be good in this little tin can?
As Tie Zhu went upstairs, he looked around. Aside from a picture of a cow on top and a large section of unfamiliar characters, Tie Zhu really couldn't see what was so special about it.
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