Rise From Eight Hundred

"I asked him, where did you come from and where are you going?" Tantai Mingyue behind the microphone fell into memories.

Everything that happened last night seemed to be vivid in my mind.

"Who are you? Why are you asking these questions? Do you know this is a military secret?" The young soldier looked at Tantai Mingyue, who was wearing casual clothes, warily.

Tantai Mingyue took out her press card and the pass issued by the theater headquarters, which made the young soldiers relax their vigilance.

Of course, Tantai Mingyue's famous name may be the main reason for this young soldier who must have read the newspaper to answer the question.

"Reporter Tantai, I am from the 67th Army. I was transferred from the North China battlefield. I am going to the front line. Okay, I have to return to the team quickly. The company commander wants to name my name." The young soldier was very polite, but obviously did not care about the interviewer. Awakening, he looked at the queue gathering in front of him, reported his number casually, and tried his best to get rid of Tantai Mingyue's hand and leave.

"I only ask one more question." Tantai Mingyue looked at the young soldiers who were eager to return to the team, feeling slightly distressed.

At this age, her brother was still studying in school and still acting coquettishly at his parents, but he was going to the front line carrying a spear that was almost taller than her.

"Okay, Tantai reporter, please ask." The young soldier had the unique vitality of young people. Although he was a little embarrassed, he still extended a finger. "But it's just one!"

"Having gone to the front line, have you ever thought that you might not come back?" Tantai Mingyue knew that this question was cruel, especially for a young man of his age who was about to go to the front line.

However, she still wanted to know, wanted to know the truest answer.

Because, in all the newspapers and radio stations, what was written and broadcast was about how the soldiers fought high-spiritedly to defend their homeland and the country. The generals who led the troops were all impassioned, saying that the Japanese pirates would not return the enemy even if they were wrapped in horse leather.

Perhaps that is their true voice, but what do the most ordinary soldiers think in their hearts?

No one knows, and probably no one wants to know.

A small soldier is always just a number in the eyes of big men.

"Have you ever thought about the problem of not being able to come back?" Tantai Mingyue's voice, lost in memories, echoed throughout Songjiang City.

From the general to the soldiers, everyone was in a trance at that moment.

yes! What should I do if I can't come back?

A few tears suddenly welled up in the eyes of Battalion Liu, who was afraid of death. Then his wife might have to live alone with her young son. There would never be a man in her life to tuck her into bed again. She picks wild flowers from the mountains and puts them into the vase in front of the window. She will no longer lean at the door and look into the distance, waiting for him to come home from vacation. She will have a hard life in the future!

The security battalion commander Zhuang Shisan, who was leaning on the sandbag and silently lighting a cigarette, held his hand tightly. In the palm of his hand was a one-inch black and white photo of his daughter who had just turned one year old. The chubby little girl had a braid that made her head grow taller. Tooth's mouth was open happily, with saliva drooling from the corners of his mouth.

He held her tightly, like he was holding her.

The reason why he led people to ransack his sister and brother-in-law's home, donated all the food, gold, silver and jewelry, and gave the strongest building to the headquarters, was because he had only one goal, to survive! He has never heard his daughter call him daddy!

Yang Xiaoshan and Niu Er looked at each other, took a puff of cigarettes, and had some thoughts on their minds.

yes! If they can't come back, how sad will their parents be at home? Will they be able to withstand such a blow at their old age?

They don't know, but they know it must be heartbreaking.

In front of the window of the headquarters, the thoughtful Lieutenant General Guo was looking ahead with his hands behind his hands. The muscles in the corners of his eyes were twitching slightly on his face that no one could see.

Tantai Mingyue's question reminded him of the eight colonels who died under his command.

He remembered that Xie Guji, the leader of the 152nd Regiment, took a short leave of absence for a long time before leaving. As an only son, he went to wash the feet of his mother, who had been widowed at a young age, and then kowtowed and left.

Did the general under his command ever think about this issue when he turned around and said goodbye to his mother in tears?

He must have thought about it! Otherwise, there would be no poems like "I wish to be a ghost on the battlefield after death, but not a native of my hometown during my lifetime!"

But now, he can't go back! How could his widowed mother survive after hearing this news?

Thinking of this, even though the army lieutenant general was as wise as the ocean, he couldn't help but feel a twinge in his heart.

Tantai Mingyue asked this question, and everyone from the generals to the soldiers were speechless.

Everyone has their own concerns. For them who have already set foot on the battlefield, death is not the most terrifying thing. What they can't let go of are those they care about and care about them.

"I know that you are all thinking about how to answer this question. It seems very simple, but when you ask it in your heart, it is extremely difficult." Tantai Mingyue's voice sounded again.

"The young soldier answered me like this..."

"He said, if you can't come back, then you can't come back!"

Tantai Mingyue, who almost whispered the young soldier's answer, still remembered the young soldier's expression at that time, which was a little surprised and a little funny.

After answering this question, the soldier left the stunned Tantai Mingyue behind, rushed into his team, and set off outside the station.

When Tantai Mingyue came to her senses, more blue people poured out of the train, filling the station with people, and the thin figure of the young soldier disappeared.

For some reason, Tantai Mingyue thought of the soldier's answer, and felt like something was missing in her heart. She wanted to catch up to him and tell him: "No, you have to work hard to come back."

"Now, you know why I'm here! Because of an interview, I decided not to go to Jinling. I want to follow this heroic army from the North China battlefield to the southeast battlefield. I hope that I can see that comparison. A soldier not much older than my brother can stand in front of me again and say to me with a smile, Tantai reporter, I am back." Tantai Mingyue's voice continued to float over Songjiang.

The young soldier in the corner had tears streaming down his face, but his eyes looked firmer.

No one can know the outcome of the war, let alone whether the soldiers will have a chance to walk off the battlefield. What Tantai Mingyue said is undoubtedly just a good expectation.

I've been away for half my life, but I'm still a teenager.

Tantai Mingyue finally saw the young soldier who was engraved in her memory again.

However, when we met again, it was already at the medal ceremony of the 67th Army after the end of the Great Patriotic War. The soldiers in the photo still looked seventeen or eighteen years old.

He smiled shyly, showing his white teeth.

Private Gao Sen died in the Battle of Songjiang in November 26th of the Republic of China.

. . . . . . . .

"I have to thank this little brother. It was he who allowed me to make the decision to change my itinerary and allowed me to have the honor to accompany you in this Songjiang blockade, which was related to the safety of hundreds of thousands of my troops. Thank you for swimming against the current and allowing me to I didn't miss the opportunity to be with him and you this time." Tantai Mingyue's soft voice sounded again.

"Brothers, let's get to work!"

"Hurry up. If you want to go back alive, dig the trench deeper for me."

"I would rather die from exhaustion than be blown up by the Japanese cannons. My mother and my wife are still waiting for us to go back!"

. . . . . . .

The battalion and company commanders on the construction site took the opportunity to shout various slogans, urging the exhausted soldiers to pick up their tools again. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians seemed to have been given a shot in the arm, screaming and working hard.

Reporters from Taiwan National University say they are lucky to be with them, so what else is there to say? We have to fight with the Japanese.

As for a certain "him" that Tantai Mingyue mentioned alone, she was equally agitated.

This was the first time he had heard such an affectionate confession in his previous life.

That feeling, how can I put it!

I can stop a hundred with one!

Someone feels like the cells on his toes are numb.

. . . . . . . . . .

PS: This chapter was written with quite a feeling. At least when Feng Yue finished writing it, tears filled her eyes. I don’t know if you can empathize with me, but I hope so. Thank you for reading Feng Yue’s story, thank you!