Rise From Eight Hundred

"Brother Lin, have a drink of water!" A girl in coarse cloth and red armbands brought a bowl of water to the sergeant who was leaning against the earthen wall in the house with a rifle.

The army sergeant's face was covered with blood and he was shot at least three times, especially on his calf. Because he was hit by the bullet of the Type 92 heavy machine gun, there was a blood hole the size of a cup. Although the bone was not hit, the muscle tissue was torn apart by the bullet, and the muscles and meridians were exposed, which was unbearable to look at.

Due to the large amount of blood loss, the sergeant's face was as haggard as the bark of an old tree, but his lips were strangely pale.

"Zhao Xiaoni, you are not a qualified soldier. I told you to withdraw, but you didn't obey the military order!" The army sergeant glanced at the girl, but did not take the bowl. His haggard face was full of anger.

Lin Peng was naturally angry. As the highest-ranking officer in Zhaojiazhuang, he had issued an order for the militia platoon to withdraw before dusk, but the female militia refused to leave. Now, the two of them were completely blocked by the Japanese army in this small courtyard, and neither of them could leave.

They were the last soldier and militia in Zhaojiazhuang.

Since the Japanese army stationed in southern Hebei launched the "Clean-up Operation" again in mid-June, in a month, the military and civilians in southern Hebei used mines, tunnels, and ditches in the countryside to fight the Japanese army more than a hundred times.

They successfully crushed the Japanese army's attacks on plain villages more than 90 times, transferred and protected tens of thousands of people, and killed more than 4,000 Japanese soldiers, even surpassing the front battlefield of Zhongtiao Mountain.

But if you often walk by the river, you will get your shoes wet, and the same is true on the battlefield.

This battle of Zhaojiazhuang was obviously a battle carefully planned by the Japanese army after summarizing the lessons learned from the continuous failures in the past month.

The first to launch the attack was Hanjiazhuang, 6 kilometers away from Zhaojiazhuang. Nearly 400 Japanese invaders rushed there aggressively. Hanjiazhuang lit a beacon as usual, and the garrisons of the six surrounding villages each sent half of the regular army and militia to support.

As a result, the Japanese army actually used a trick to make a feint to the east and attack the west. When the fight broke out in Hanjiazhuang, they suddenly used trucks and motorcycles to carry nearly 600 people to besiege Zhaojiazhuang, which was closest to the highway.

And they quickly increased their troops, investing more than 1,000 people to deploy defenses around Zhaojiazhuang to prevent the arrival of support forces from other villages.

Because the Japanese army came too quickly, Zhaojiazhuang had no more than 20 minutes to react. In order to cover the people's transfer through the tunnel, Lin Peng, the deputy squad leader of the 1st squad of the 2nd platoon of the 7th company in Zhaojiazhuang, made a prompt decision and led the 6 people left in the 1st squad and the 60 people of the 4th recruit squad of the 3rd platoon of the Lincheng sub-district of the 80th Army in the South Hebei Division and 30 militiamen to build a defense point outside the village and engage the enemy.

Half an hour later, due to the overwhelming force of the Japanese invaders, the entire army was forced to retreat into the village, and fought fiercely with the Japanese army with the help of tunnels and high walls that had just been built.

The Japanese army used infantry artillery and heavy machine guns to bombard the village, and even transferred two mountain artillery for support two hours later.

According to observations, the Japanese army had already mobilized three infantry squadrons and a heavy machine gun squad to surround the village.

What Lin Peng and others did not know was that in the outer periphery, the Japanese army spared no expense to mobilize a full-strength infantry battalion, an armored vehicle squadron and two cavalry squadrons, with a total of more than 2,000 troops.

In Xingtai County, 50 kilometers away from here, there were two infantry battalions ready to go, ready to support the battlefield planned by Lieutenant General Yoshio Shinozuka, commander of the 10th Division, Major General Heisuke Sebu, commander of the 8th Infantry Brigade, and Colonel Takuma Numata, commander of the 39th Infantry Regiment, personally led the team to attack.

Shinozuka Yoshio was so frustrated!

He mobilized a permanent division of the Empire and 5,000 security troops, and used nearly 20,000 soldiers from the infantry, cavalry, engineering, and logistics branches to carry out a month-long "cleansing operation". The Chinese villages still stood in the wilderness, and the Chinese did not kill many. When he counted his losses, he lost an infantry regiment quietly.

If he continued like this, in another two months, he, the division commander, would soon become a commander without troops.

What made Shinozuka Yoshio even more angry was that he had been looking forward to the 4th Division, but in the end, those Osaka vendors did not seem to be here to fight, but more like to do business. They were so unscrupulous that they started trading with the Chinese in Handan City.

If the Chinese had antiques, calligraphy and paintings to sell, they would not only trade fairly, but also use not the gold yuan issued in the occupied areas, but the Chinese's favorite ocean.

It really made the Imperial Army lose face. The Chinese were the losers, so what qualifications did they have to choose fairness?

If it was just business, it would be fine. The key is that Okuma Konosuke is a typical hard-core person. Shinozuka Yoshio can't use him at all. Whenever there is a combat meeting, he is always sick. Only a lieutenant colonel staff officer comes. It will take several days to ask him for instructions.

If it weren't for the fact that the 4th Division is "notorious", Shinozuka Yoshio would have rushed into the barracks with a command knife and killed him.

Anyway, for more than 20 days, the 7,000 officers and soldiers of the 4th Division have never moved beyond the city wall of Handan City.

The only use is that with the 4th Division in Handan, Shinozuka Yoshio can rest assured to mobilize his troops to attack the vast countryside in Handan and Xingtai.

Then, a large number of people died!

It was in this context that Shinozuka Yoshio, who was unwilling to fail, racked his brains to come up with a "feint to the east and attack in the west", and chose the territory of Lincheng County, which belongs to the Xingtai area.

Although the area there is mountainous, hilly and plain each accounting for one third, it is 50 kilometers south of Xingtai and 80 kilometers north of Shimen. If the main force of the Chinese gathers, Xingtai, Shimen and Handan can form a siege.

If the Chinese dare not come, it is simple. The massacre of the entire village is also an example of the "cleansing operation" led by the commander, but the troops mobilized are a bit too many.

This may also be a result that Shinozuka Yoshio did not expect when he was ordered to lead his troops to arrive in southern Hebei. In order to massacre a village in southern Hebei with a population of only a few hundred, he, the imperial lieutenant general division commander, racked his brains to plan and mobilized most of the infantry brigade to implement it.

But no matter what, he succeeded.

After a hard battle throughout the afternoon and a night, the defense of Zhaojiazhuang was completely lost, dozens of enemy troops were killed, and the last stubborn enemy was blocked in a small courtyard, and it was only one step away from annihilating the opponent.

Although the Chinese on the periphery attacked the defense line fiercely, they were basically light infantry and could not break through the defense line.

The annihilation of this village and all the Chinese in it was inevitable.

A smile appeared on Shinozuka Yoshio's face far away in Handan City. No matter how cunning the Chinese were, they could only die in the face of absolute strength.

"Yoshi! After killing all the Chinese there, fill up all their wells and put in poison. I want to make it a no-man's land. All the Chinese villages that are conquered in the future will be handled in the same way." Shinozuka Yoshio was very happy and issued a military order to Colonel Numata Taku who was on the front line.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I'm sorry, Brother Lin, this is my home. I can't just watch you fight for us!" The girl, who was not even 18 years old, had tears in her eyes and shook her head fiercely.

"Hold on, Brother Lin, I heard gunshots in the distance. Someone must have come to rescue us."

"The Japanese have been planning for so long and finally got this opportunity. They will not let our people rush in so easily." Lin Peng shook his head gently.

"I said you are an unqualified soldier, don't be unwilling to admit it. Soldiers have to obey orders as their first duty. Our regiment commander said that we can rebuild our homes if we lose them, but if we lose people, we will lose everything."

"I know you and those brothers stayed to cover us to leave, but how can I watch you use your lives to exchange for our lives? If you want to die, die together." The girl bit her lips stubbornly.

"Do you have any bullets?" Looking at the girl's stubborn face, Lin Peng couldn't bear to criticize her anymore.

"I still have 3 rifle bullets here, and there is one last bullet in the pistol!" The girl took out three bullets from her cloth bag, hesitated slightly, and raised the Type 14 Nambu pistol in her hand.

That gun was captured by the brave Zhao Xiaoni and her three cousins ​​a week ago when they killed a Japanese sergeant with a homemade earthen gun in the battle to support Sunjia Village. The rifles were distributed to other strong militiamen, and the Type 14 Nambu pistol was given to her as a reward.

"Give me the rifle bullets. You will get into the tunnel under the earthen kang later. Don't go outside the yard. I have heard the sound of the Japanese digging around. They must have cut off all the connections between this yard and other places. You just hide inside and don't make a sound. Don't use the last bullet easily until the last moment!

Remember, this is the last military order I will give you as the highest commander of Zhaojiazhuang. I don't need you to avenge me. All the brothers in my class died here. I, as the deputy squad leader, failed to take good care of them. I should go down to accompany them." Lin Peng certainly knew what the little girl meant by the last bullet.

That bullet would not be left to the enemy, but only to herself. The girl who violated the military order and stayed behind had already decided to die.

But, she was so young, how could Lin Peng bear to let her die here?

Big tears rolled down the girl's dusty cheeks, but she still held the bowl stubbornly.

Lin Peng had no choice but to pick up the bowl and drink up the turbid water in the bowl. His eyes gradually softened: "Little girl, Brother Lin will tell you one more thing. If you have the chance to live until after the war, I hope you can go to the Martyrs Cemetery where my Four-Line Regiment is stationed to see me and tell me what the future China will look like."

"Brother Lin, is this an order? If it is an order, I will not accept it. I would rather not be a militiaman. Just treat me as your landlord." The girl took up her dirty sleeves and wiped her red eyes fiercely.

Unfortunately, she still couldn't wipe away the tears.

She knew that the brother who had lived in her house for three months wanted her to live.

But did the brother know the reason why she disobeyed the order?

"It's not an order, it's a request! A request from a comrade!" Lin Peng subconsciously avoided the girl's eyes.

People are not plants, who can be heartless! How can a 21-year-old youth not know the thoughts of the 17-year-old girl in front of him?

However, the military regulations of the Sihang Regiment were strict, especially after entering southern Hebei. According to the military order of Tang Tuanzuo, each company issued military regulations strictly prohibiting love with women in the villages where the garrison was located.

Love between men and women is not all romantic, and scumbags are not unique to later generations. There are many cases where men secretly do things to other people's girls because of hormones, and then refuse to admit it. There are also men who steal other people's young wives. Once the news is exposed, it will not only be a huge loss of face. At this special stage where the army and the people need to be united, Tang Dao will definitely not allow such things to happen.

Simply use strict military orders to kill them all at once, at least in the early stage of the anti-Japanese war behind enemy lines.

Lin Peng, who has been following Tang Dao since the Guangde Anti-Japanese War, will naturally not violate the military orders of the regiment, so he pretends to be a straight man and does not know anything on weekdays. At this time, he has already made up his mind to die, and he will not delay the good woman.

"You just treat me as a comrade-in-arms, right!" The girl's eyes showed despair. "Okay, I promise you, I will try my best to survive."

"Listen, people in the house, you have been surrounded, and the tunnel has been dug out by us, so don't think about running away.

Taijun said that she admires your bravery very much. You can resist the 16-hour attack of 600 troops of the Great Japanese Empire with an army of more than 60 people. You are really a hero. We, the Great Japanese Empire, respect heroes. As long as you are willing to surrender, we will not kill you. If your superiors are willing to exchange prisoners of war, you will also be included in the exchange. Give you three minutes to consider. When the time is up, we will attack."

Suddenly, there was a shout of persuasion to surrender outside the house. It should be the devil's translator.

The girl's face darkened. The number of people the Japanese army mentioned was exactly the number of all the regular soldiers who set up defensive positions in front of Zhaojiazhuang yesterday afternoon to cover the evacuation of the people in the village. Including Lin Peng, there were 66 people in total. At dusk, 10 regular soldiers used their lives to cover the evacuation of the remaining 15 militiamen.

Now that the Japanese army can report a number of more than 60 people, it means that all the soldiers died in the battle. Except for Lin Peng, no one survived.

"Haha! The devil's words can be believed, sows will climb trees!" Lin Peng in the house did not show any sadness. Instead, he smiled slightly and looked at the terrible wound on his calf covered by dust. "Even if they don't kill me, I can't resist the bacterial infection. Do these idiots know what antibiotics are?"

"Three minutes? It won't take that long. I'll show you what a soldier of the Four-Line Regiment is!" The next moment, Lin Peng, who had pressed the last three bullets into the gun chamber, stood up with difficulty, and was full of fighting spirit. He looked back at the tearful girl and threw his Black Star pistol with an empty magazine to her.

"This gun is more effective in killing the devils. It's yours!"

He never looked back.

Outside the house is his battlefield, and inside the house are the people he wants to protect. He can't look back!

As the highest commander of all Japanese troops who attacked Zhaojiazhuang, Captain Lin Muqingyuan of the 6th Infantry Company of the 39th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Infantry Brigade was not as excited as he imagined.

After a careful count, there were 56 enemy corpses that were roughly intact, 5 of which were half-incomplete, and there were several that even the most skilled tailors could not piece together.

But in fact, although there were infantry guns and mountain guns attacking, because of the special terrain of Zhaojiazhuang, the artillery fire basically destroyed houses and walls, and only one out of a hundred could really hit the human body and cause it to be shattered.

That means that those mutilated human bodies used the self-destruction tactic before they died!

There was a popular saying in the Imperial Army: Save the last bullet for yourself! This kind of lofty words always made Captain Lin Muqingyuan excited, but the Chinese here saved the last grenade for themselves, which made Lin Muqingyuan cold all over!

What made Captain Lin Muqingyuan even more frightened was that there were as many as 500 infantrymen attacking Zhaojiazhuang, plus artillery, heavy machine gunners and other arms, a total of 650 troops were mobilized, almost ten times the enemy.

But what was the result? Only more than 60 enemies were eliminated, but more than 200 officers and soldiers of the Empire died in battle, and more than 70 people in Lin Muqingyuan's infantry squadron alone died in battle.

Note that it is death, not injury.

The tunnels that the Chinese spent a lot of effort to build were really terrible. They could come out from any unexpected place and shoot at you, and the firepower of their submachine guns was fierce enough. If you were not careful, five or six soldiers would be shot. Even if the huge bullet holes left by the 9mm bullets were not fatal on the spot, the soldiers would hardly survive until the sun rose due to the heavy blood loss.

This was really a nightmare battle. If possible, Lin Muqingyuan would never want to fight in such a village where he could die at any time.

The best way for the empire to deal with such a village with crisscrossing alleys like a maze was to completely wipe it out from the ground with heavy artillery, rather than filling it up bit by bit with the precious lives of the empire's officers and soldiers.

However, the scene that really shocked Lin Muqingyuan's soul was about to appear in front of him.

The Chinese man surrounded by at least 50 soldiers in the courtyard appeared.

Lin Muqingyuan already attached great importance to this last resister in Zhaozhuang, that is, this Chinese soldier, who used the terrain and superb individual tactics to kill no less than 20 imperial officers and soldiers. He was a very scary and powerful enemy.

But all the Japanese still underestimated him.

Three shots, he only fired three shots, and three Imperial warriors were killed.

They just exposed a little too much of their torso, or because they were close to victory, they were too proud and actually held their guns and shot at the Chinese who were fighting desperately.

They obviously hit the opponent, and the blood splashed from the bullet penetrating the man's body. Lin Muqingyuan, who was close at hand, could see it with his own eyes.

However, three more people died. The Chinese 92mm caliber bullet was more powerful than the Empire's 5-caliber Arisaka bullet.

The Chinese successfully completed the result of exchanging wounds for deaths in front of 50 Imperial officers and soldiers!

"Prepare to attack! Machine gunners and grenade launchers provide fire cover!" Lin Muqingyuan's face was cold, and he waved his hand to give up the plan to capture the Chinese soldier who killed at least 23 of his officers and soldiers alive.

"I'm out of bullets, surrender!" A rifle was thrown out from the yard, and a somewhat weak voice sounded.