Rise From Eight Hundred

Morning of July 30, 1940!

The streets of Yiling were crowded with people, but what was different from the crowds was that the streets were eerily quiet.

In addition to the soldiers wearing white flowers on their chests and holding guns to guard along the streets, there were more Chinese people holding soul-calling banners and looking into the distance with serious expressions as if they were expecting something.

They were waiting for someone, or they were sending someone off.

The coffin of the highest general who died on the front line of the Chinese Patriotic War for three years will pass through the Yiling city at 8:30 this morning and arrive at the airport further west.

According to incomplete statistics, more than 100,000 people went out to welcome General Zhang's coffin that day, which was almost 90% of the population of the entire Yiling city.

Perhaps, except for babies in swaddling clothes and octogenarians, as long as the Yiling people who could move came out of the city.

Because they all knew that General Zhang died for them.

As the war situation developed, the Chinese Supreme Command had to admit that they had made a mistake. One of the main purposes of the Japanese army in launching this campaign was to occupy Yiling City.

They intended to use this as a bridgehead to attack the mountain city along the Yangtze River with the navy and the army.

In the distance, in the morning mist, a team of slowly moving black shadows appeared, and the crowd became agitated.

As the team got closer and closer, people could finally see clearly that walking in the front were two rows of ragged soldiers with gunpowder and blood on their faces that had not been wiped off.

The words "33rd Army Group, General Headquarters" were written on the nameplate on the left chest of their military uniforms, and "Return my rivers and mountains" was written on the armband on the right arm. Everyone's expression was extremely sad, but their steps were still strong and firm.

Perhaps only those who understand the military organization would know that this front team, which consisted of only a few dozen elite soldiers, was actually the officers and soldiers of the 33rd Army Group Special Service Battalion who accompanied General Zhang in the bloody battle on the front line that day.

More than 600 officers and soldiers of the battalion paid the price of 85% of their lives in order to rescue the remains of the general and send them to the rear.

They tried their best, and they were worthy of the title of the most elite unit of the 33rd Army Group, but they still blamed themselves, thinking that they did not protect their commander well, so that they were not even willing to take any rest, and just guarded the general's coffin day and night.

If the war is included, many of them have not slept for several days and nights in a row. Just staying up can kill the remnants of the most elite unit of the 33rd Army Group.

It was Colonel Tang Dao, the deputy funeral officer who arrived in Yiling by a special plane last night, who ordered them to go to bed immediately. The reason is very simple. When they send the general through Yiling City tomorrow morning, they will be the front team to clear the way for the general.

This is an honor, respect, and encouragement!

In the words of Tang Tuanzuo: "You are my brother Zhang's most elite guards, and the sharpest knife of the 33rd Army against the Japanese army. If you die, the happiest will be the Japanese, and the most sad will be China.

The general died on the front line, which is a huge loss for China. If he sees you again in the afterlife and asks you how you got here and what China looks like now, how will you answer? Tell him that you died of exhaustion because you blamed yourself? Or tell him that I don't know what China looks like now, because when I left, the war was still raging?"

Tang Dao's words made the remnant army bow their heads and remain silent, but they lay on the ground 20 meters away from the coffin and slept for 5 hours.

Although their uniforms were torn and dirty, and their faces were still unwashed, they were full of energy and spirit, holding steel guns in their hands, paving the way for their supreme commander.

As they walked slowly, three trucks followed behind them. Each truck had a white banner and a huge white flower hanging on the front of the truck, but in the truck bed after the tarpaulin was lifted, there was a twin-mounted machine gun with the muzzle facing the sky.

That was the last anti-aircraft artillery and truck that the 67th Army could take out to prevent Japanese aircraft. There were only 6 trucks with such machine guns in the entire convoy.

Until four soldiers walked into the long street carrying a military photo, two lieutenant generals, a major general and an army colonel.

The nameplates on the chests of the three generals were all "33rd Army Group", which meant that they were all directly under the general, but the nameplate on the chest of the army colonel was written "Second War Zone General Command".

Behind the four people, a truck with a big "Dian" word written on it came into people's sight, and a huge black coffin was placed in the truck bed.

It is said that it was a local wealthy businessman in Jingmen who heard that the general died in the war and donated the nanmu coffin that his old father who had not yet passed away had kept for 20 years to hold the general's remains.

On both sides of the truck, there were two rows of people wearing white flowers on their chests. They included generals in uniforms, old men in long robes, and middle-aged men in black suits.

Perhaps only those who were familiar with them would know that the people escorting the coffin were all elites in the military, political, cultural, and business circles of the capital city.

The heavy voice of a female announcer came from the radio in the open shop on the street: "The commander of the 33rd Army Group died heroically for the country on the front line of the Anti-Japanese War a few days ago. He was 49 years old. The government issued the first honor and mourning certificate and held a state funeral for the general."

"The general will live forever!" An old man in a long gown in the queue suddenly shouted heartbreakingly.

"The general will live forever!" The people shouted together.

"Kneel to send off the general!"

As the convoy slowly moved forward, the people's grief was extremely strong. Regardless of gender, age, or young, they actually used the simplest and most solemn farewell ceremony in China, kneeling down and touching their heads to the ground!

"General, rest in peace!" A five-year-old child knelt on the ground under the guidance of his mother and shouted crisply.

Perhaps, the child did not understand what life and death, separation, and sacrifice were, but he still followed his mother's example and sent off this Chinese soldier who was not in his world.

When he grows up, he will understand, and he will also stand there with his head held high like these soldiers in front of him.

The inheritance of China has always been like this!

"Return the salute!" A lieutenant in the army who was walking in the front and responsible for clearing the way suddenly shouted with tears rolling down his face.

He is now the highest commander of the 33rd Army Special Service Battalion. These remnants want to thank the Yiling soldiers and civilians for the great gift on behalf of the general.

All the soldiers put away their guns and hung them on their shoulders, raised their right arms, and saluted in a standard military salute to the people who sent off the general with great gifts.

The four officers carrying the portrait also put the wooden frame on their left hands and raised their right hands!

The soldiers knew that their sacrifice was worth it!

The people also knew that the people who sacrificed were all their fathers and brothers!

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians looked at each other at that moment, all with tears in their eyes.

A faint roar came from the horizon!

. . . . . . . . . . .

As the captain of the 1st Squadron of the 12th Air Force of the Second Joint Air Force of the Navy, Captain Shinteng Saburo was actually very reluctant to carry out this mission.

But the words of the superiors are still ringing in my ears: "It is a blessing for the Great Japanese Empire that the Chinese general died on the front line, but the Chinese are best at using propaganda to incite the emotions of those numb lower-class people. We must completely kill this possibility and never let the Chinese send him back to the capital safely and thus inspire stronger resistance.

Jin Teng Jun, compared with being able to allow more imperial warriors to return home, what does personal honor and disgrace matter?"

Looking at the ruined town in the distance and the crowd on the ground like black ants moving, Captain Jin Teng Saburo knew that the imperial intelligence agency was not wrong. The coffin of the Chinese general was indeed transported to Yiling City today.

The mission of him and the four Zero fighters he led was actually very simple, which was to use machine guns to shoot at the funeral crowd and bomb the coffin of the Chinese general with two bombs hanging under the wings.

Destroy his body, so that his soul cannot return to his hometown, and further destroy the Chinese people's will to resist.

Although this is very immoral, it is a military order, and the war between the two countries does not allow the etiquette bottom line he once insisted on.

"All aircraft are ready to enter the battlefield and freely search for targets to attack, but you must be careful, the Chinese will definitely have defense forces!" Captain Jin Teng Saburo issued an order on the radio.

"Jin Teng, you are worrying too much. What threat can the Chinese air defense force that uses the army's heavy machine guns as anti-aircraft machine guns pose to the Empire's latest fighters?" A Japanese pilot chuckled.

"Yoshi! Let the Chinese tremble in front of the Empire's new fighters!" Another Japanese pilot laughed on the radio channel.

It is no wonder that these Japanese pilots are so proud, because the performance of the Zero fighter that the Empire has just put into service is too excellent.

At an altitude of 4,000 meters, the maximum airspeed is 270 knots; it only takes 7 minutes and 30 seconds to climb to an altitude of 6,000 meters; it carries various radio equipment, including directional equipment; the internal fuel range can reach 2,200 kilometers, and the addition of auxiliary fuel tanks can reach an exaggerated 3,300 kilometers.

Such a fighter with excellent performance is the top existence even if you look at the world, let alone on the Chinese battlefield.

In their eyes, the old biplane fighters such as Yin 15, Yin 16 and Hawk III equipped by the Chinese were just clumsy and slow live targets, not to mention the anti-aircraft machine guns modified from the army-type heavy machine guns on the ground. If they could eat their exhaust, they would be considered powerful.

In fact, these Japanese pilots were not blindly arrogant. If nothing unexpected happened, they would be led by Captain Jin Teng Saburo in the Bishan air battle one and a half months later, with a score of 13vs30 and 24 to 0, making the Chinese Air Force harvest the most shameful air battle in the entire history of the Anti-Japanese War.

The Chinese on the ground were obviously not deaf. They all heard the roar of the engine from the air. Looking up, they saw six small black dots appearing on the horizon getting closer and closer.

The altitude of the Japanese planes would never exceed 3,000 meters, and their purpose was obvious.

According to common sense, when the crowd saw this, the most important thing they should do was to flee immediately. With the density of the crowd on the street at this time, riots and terrible trampling were inevitable.

Even the army lieutenant general who personally arranged the remains of General Zhang and put on his military uniform was shocked and angry in the face of this situation.

The Japanese army's move would not only disturb the general's heroic spirit, but also cause huge casualties to the 100,000 people who saw him off. This made the battle-hardened lieutenant general division commander somewhat helpless at this time.

He knew that if he shouted a warning, the people would be even more panicked.

Even the man in a Zhongshan suit, the head of the eight spirit-carrying officials, who was the top think tank around him, also had a look of panic on his face at this time, and cast his eyes on Tang Dao.

After all, Tang Dao was the person appointed by the emperor to be responsible for security.

"Fall!" Tang Dao roared in a heavy but firm tone.

The four men stood still and placed the wooden frame carrying the general's photo on the long street.

"All anti-aircraft guns, prepare for firepower at level one! All soldiers, draw your guns." The sound of Tang Dao continued to echo in the long street. "The spirit of the general is not far away. Let's see how many devils the Chinese soldiers and civilians kill to see you off."

The crowd on the long street, which was originally a little agitated, actually quieted down. They just watched the soldiers in the six trucks firmly sit on the shooting seats of the twin machine guns, constantly shaking the handles at the command of the artillery squad leader, and aiming the long gun barrels at the direction of the Japanese planes in the sky.

"Find a commanding height, and beat the dog for me." The Chinese army lieutenant at the front had a flash of anger in his eyes and waved his hand to give an order.

Although there were only dozens of people, most of them were either rifles or submachine guns, but these elite soldiers still obeyed the military orders, passed through the crowd, and rushed to the roofs of the houses on both sides.

The soldiers all stood on the roofs, aiming their guns at the direction of the high-altitude Japanese planes diving.

Facing the enemy planes rushing at high speed, they knew that the guns in their hands were not much better than fire sticks. The Japanese planes only needed a wave of strafing to make them bloody.

But they still had to do this, and they had to do it. Even if they couldn't land a bullet on the enemy plane, they had to be live targets for the enemy planes to shoot, and they couldn't let the Japanese planes leave bullets for the people who were still standing on the street.

When the army lieutenant passed through the crowd, he brushed past the pale young woman who was holding the hand of a five-year-old child tightly. He had already run several meters away, but then returned, squatted down and touched the top of the child's head: "Remember to hold your mother tightly, but don't open your eyes. When uncle finishes fighting the devils, I will give you a bag of shells as a gift, okay!"

"Really?" The child couldn't help but cheer.

You know, bullet shells are a real hard currency in the playmate circle today. Not only can you improve your status, you can even find a peddler to exchange for candy, and even adults can use the collected bullet shells to exchange for some food.

A bag of bullet shells, how much is that?

"My name is Lu Weizhen, and I never tell lies. As long as you can do it, I will keep my word." The lieutenant promised solemnly.

"Then let's make a pinky promise!" The child opened his innocent eyes and stretched out his little hand.

"Pink and hang, and don't change for a hundred years!" The lieutenant stretched out his rough fingers and hooked them with the tender little hand.

"Wait a minute, try to stay away from here, and help me cover his eyes." The lieutenant whispered before leaving.

The young woman cried!

As a soldier's wife, how could she not know what the soldier in front of her wanted to express.

This is the battlefield where they and the Japanese planes will fight to the death.

They have no chance of winning.

But he didn't want the child to see the bloody and tragic scene of their soldier uncles!

Would her husband, the father of the child, make such a choice? Thinking of this, the young woman's heart ached.

The think tank named Chen over there was helpless. He didn't expect that the infantry regiment commander who was famous in North China would make what he thought was the stupidest choice.

What's the use of 6 machine guns? Shancheng has deployed 3 anti-aircraft regiments with more than 100 anti-aircraft guns and dozens of fighter planes. Won't it still be bombed by Japanese bombers from time to time?

When the bombs fall from an altitude of 2,000 meters, what can the 6 machine guns do? Do they use their heads to block them?

And they killed a few devils to see the general off. Is it with those machine guns or those small pistols?

The rumors are true. Tang Dao is really a lunatic!

However, he is a stupid lunatic!

Glancing at the people around who gradually calmed down because of the defense of the soldiers and the anti-aircraft guns that were ready, Chen's think tank was even more bitter.

He knew that there was a 50% chance that he would become cannon fodder with these ordinary people who knew nothing about military common sense today.

The Japanese planes were obviously coming for General Zhang's coffin. At this time, the most correct thing to do was to lift the coffin off the car and hide it in the houses on one side.

But the consequence would be great panic among the people. There were tens of thousands of people on this street alone. Once a mass panic was formed, the casualties caused by the trampling and crowding would be no less than the bombing and strafing of the Japanese planes.

Since Colonel Tang Dao, the first person responsible for security, had issued a military order to counterattack on the spot, even with his current status, he could only obey the order, otherwise, the result of resisting the order in front of the battle

The elites from all walks of life on both sides of the truck followed the lead of Chen's think tank. Seeing him standing on the spot with a bitter face, his calves almost cramped. It was only because of years of self-cultivation and life experience that they could still stand on the spot.

But I'm afraid that 100% of them cursed Tang Dao in their hearts.

I don't know whether sadness overcame fear, or the calmness of the soldiers gave the people confidence. The more than 10,000 people on this long street did not flee in all directions when facing the aggressive enemy planes, but retreated to the eaves on both sides of the long street and looked up at the sky.

The outline of the Japanese plane gradually became clear, and the huge roar was getting closer and louder.

The sound was deafening!

Because, in the higher sky, there were a few more small black dots rushing down, and the roar of their engines was even louder than that of the Japanese planes at an altitude of less than 2,000 meters.

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