War of Resistance: Glory of the Beasts

Chapter 402 Children's Club

"Hahahahaha..."

Hearty laughter is Song Zheyuan's trademark. Although Song Zheyuan did not hold a grand cocktail party to celebrate the victory of Tong County at this moment, he still called the people around him to his home and held a small party in the study.

Xu Chaoyang attended the party, but Deputy Director Li did not. Other participants included Qin Dechun, Tong Linge, and Zhang Zhizhong.

These people get together and have to chat. They won’t finish until midnight…

"Hey, if this news is reported in newspapers of various countries tomorrow, won't the Japanese be so angry that their faces will turn green?"

After Tong Linge said this, he turned and looked at Zhang Zhizhong.

Zhang Zhizhong took a drag from his cigarette and said, "They deserve it!"

Qin Dechun looked at Xu Chaoyang and said, "Chaoyang, this time your 217th Regiment has won honor for our 29th Army. Why don't you say anything?"

Xu Chaoyang sat on the sofa, leaning his elbows on his knees and said, "I lost more than 400 brothers."

With that one sentence, everyone fell silent.

This is the sorrow of all generals from ancient times to the present. After Ling Tong in the Three Kingdoms period had his troops exhausted, there was no mention of him in history books. Even in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Guan Gong was going to fight in Changsha, he shouted, "Just bring 500 troops."

What is a part?
Not an ordinary soldier!
It’s the third uncle, the sixth uncle, the eldest nephew, and maybe even the second uncle who is a generation apart!

They often lead the charge on the battlefield, attack the stronghold during sieges and cover the rear during retreats, because in their eyes, this is a battle for their family's foundation, and as long as this group of people is not wiped out, the army will have spirit and vigor.

Why did Xiang Yu refuse to cross the Yangtze River?

Why did Xu Chu become so dejected after losing his 3,000 personal soldiers?

It's not a question of how many people die.

"Okay!"

Song Zheyuan, who was wearing pajamas, turned around at this time, and walked over with a cigar in his left hand and a wine glass in his right hand: "You are just a soldier, right? I will replenish you!"

What Song Zheyuan said was not layman's talk, but...

"Some time ago, I went back to Leling to visit the graves. My former fellow villagers were always trying to find a way out for their children by sending them to the army."

"I was also forced into a corner..."

"If I don't take them in, I'm afraid these villagers will make up stories about me, saying that I, Song Zheyuan, don't recognize people anymore since I became a high-ranking official. If I take them in, where should I put these children?"

"So, Chaoyang, I'll hand these kids over to you and let you raise them from a young age. After a few years, they'll all be 17 or 18-year-old young men, and they'll be a whole new group of fighting forces."

Xu Chaoyang looked up at Song Zheyuan and asked, "Are you all fellow villagers?"

Song Zheyuan was amused. He knew that Xu Chaoyang understood what he heard: "Relatives are using relatives to trap relatives."

But no!
Xu Chaoyang finally remembered who these children were. They were the youngest heroes of the 29th Army - the Children's Company!

The youngest was twelve or thirteen years old, and the oldest was only fifteen or sixteen. This group of children was mentioned in the "Last Witnesses of the July 7 Incident" described by "Han Licai".

At that time, as there were no suitable military uniforms, these children swung their wide sleeves and rolled up their trouser legs to attend half a day of cultural education and half a day of military training in the 29th Army. After the July Incident, they withdrew from Peiping with the army and went to Baoding for reorganization.

And what fate awaited them was... At that time, Song Zheyuan ordered that 16 people under the age of 280 be sent back to their hometowns, and 17 people over the age of 290 be kept in the army on standby. A difference of one year meant the difference between life and death.

This group of children was not even written about in military history. They came to light in 1983 when someone interviewed Yu Anxiang, the platoon leader of the children's company, while collecting historical materials on the War of Resistance against Japan. Yu Anxiang had served as a guard for General Zhang Zhizhong twice, and later became the battalion commander of the reorganized 59th Army Special Service Battalion.

Yes, it is the 59th Army that everyone knows.

During the Battle of Linyi, this group of children were pushed onto the battlefield by Zhang Zhizhong who had no reinforcements. At that time, they were guarding the high slope above the battlefield. That was in 1938. All the children in the former children's company were 18 years old... But the final result was that at the end of the battle, only Yu Anxiang and two children were left in the entire children's company.

They did not back down and even engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese on the battlefield. If one person could not defeat one Japanese, two or three people would fight against one Japanese!
"You kid, isn't it just a loss of some soldiers? Why are you crying?"

Xu Chaoyang's eyes were indeed wet for this company of children, but Song Zheyuan felt that he still felt sorry for his more than 400 brothers.

"Lao Ding, you traded a bunch of kids for Chaoyang's 400+ battle-hardened brothers. If it were me, I would cry too."

Hahahahaha!
Qin Dechun was still laughing to ease the atmosphere, and his laughter inspired everyone else in the room.

Song Zheyuan took a sip of the foreign wine in his glass while laughing, and said, "Can I only give it to Chaoyang's group of children?"

"With Xu Chaoyang's contributions, he should have been promoted long ago."

Getting promoted again?
Only then did Xu Chaoyang raise his head.

Qin Dechun joked when Xu Chaoyang didn't show any smile: "Look up, you look up, you feel more energetic when you hear about the promotion."

"Chaoyang, I can't promote you for now. After all, the Dagu Shipyard is too important to our 29th Army... But once this storm is over, your promotion is a sure thing."

"Do you remember the batch of loot you sent up?"

Song Zheyuan looked at Zhang Zhizhong, who replied, "Chaoyang, those guns are so consuming. I have never seen such consuming guns. I used those guns to form a machine gun company. My God, that machine gun company used up all the bullets of my entire regiment!"

Song Zheyuan then continued, "It was at Longmen Station, when the 38th Division and the Japanese fought, the batch of machine guns you provided was a great help."

"So, you are in Dagu and you can't move yet."

"Also, the number of the Guard Regiment cannot be changed. We have just dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese. If we change the number of your Guard Regiment, no matter if it is called a Guard Brigade or a Guard Division, it will be a challenge. Let me give you some power. You don't have to hide the workers you secretly trained in Dagu Shipyard. If you want to be incorporated into the official organization, you can be incorporated into the formal organization. If you want to recruit more people, as long as you can afford it, you can do it."

"Old Qin, when Chaoyang leaves later, give him ten gold bars as my reward for his battle."

Qin Dechun spoke again: "Lao Ding, my wife's family is rich, so this is not a big deal..."

"Bullshit! What they have is theirs, and this is given by me, how can it be the same?"

Xu Chaoyang understood that Qin Dechun was deliberately trying to put words into Song Zheyuan's mouth in order to draw out his half sentence.

But what Xu Chaoyang was still worried about was the 570-member children's company!
These are children who have never been tainted by dust and filth. They will become what you want them to be!

At this time, Xu Chaoyang raised his head and asked Song Zheyuan: "Lao Ding, what about that kid?"

"Take it away!"

This time Xu Chaoyang was happy!
He already had an almost crazy plan in his mind, so crazy to the point of being... shocking!

(End of this chapter)