The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 48 Recognition
...'I would rather die in battle than become a slave of a conquered nation', this sentence was first shouted out by Jin Zhenzhong, the battalion commander of the 29th Army, at Lugou Bridge.

For a long time afterwards, it inspired many soldiers and civilians to fight against the Japanese invaders.

But I have to admit that many of the brothers I know do not quite understand these simple principles because they have received too little relevant education or are from gangs.

But based on their trust in me, or perhaps out of loyalty, they still chose to fight me in one extremely cruel and fierce bloody battle after another.

They died in battles both known and unknown, and no one remembered them.

Whenever I think of them, I feel so guilty towards them...

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's diary collection "Hu Shuo"...

That afternoon, at the temporary base of the 804rd Company of the th Regiment of the Sichuan Army, a shooting training session was underway for all personnel, in which even the kitchen staff participated.

With his chest puffed out and his stomach in, Black Star stood in a standard military posture.

He shouted some shooting techniques to the thirty or so soldiers in front of him who were holding Sichuan-made Type 79 rifles:
"Pay attention, it's best to keep both eyes open when aiming.

Squinting one eye won't make you shoot more accurately. Opening one eye will actually help you observe the battlefield better. Not used to it? You'll get used to it with more practice."

Just as Black Star finished speaking, Uncle Bo was guiding the shooting training of another thirty people at the next table.

His voice then rang out: "Pay attention, control your breathing rate. Don't understand? It's best to exhale when shooting, and when you have exhaled the last breath, quickly pull the trigger.

Because holding your breath while aiming and then firing will cause your hands to shake and your shots to be inaccurate."

After hearing these voices, Hu Biao nodded with satisfaction.

Mainly in the later period of his last time traveling, that is, the last period of holding the No. 7 position, his marksmanship had become quite good.

But that was entirely through fighting with hundreds of bullets, gradually honing his sense of guns.

When asked to introduce or share his experience, he simply couldn't say anything.

It was nowhere near as clear and logical as what Black Star and Uncle Bo said. Even Hu Biao had never heard of these statements. However, after thinking about it in light of his combat experience, he felt that there was some truth to them.

In this way, the limited bullets in the three companies were quickly consumed by the sound of gunfire.

The sound of the rapidly depleting stock of bullets made Hu Biao very nervous, but he still had to bite the bullet and continue training.

Of course, Hu Biao also knew that they were only thinking about shooting training when the war was about to start. It was a bit like digging a hole in a hurry when they were about to go to the toilet.

The key question is, doesn't he have no solution?
Because when he, AT and Huang A'di came back from the brigade headquarters, they got a rather ridiculous question from Uncle Bo and others who stayed in the third company.

Among the Sichuan Army brothers of the third company, most of them have shooting skills that are not terrible, but at best can only be described as "mediocre".

The reason for this is that the Sichuan Army not only lacks guns, but also bullets. They have very few opportunities for live-fire training on weekdays, so naturally a considerable number of them are not very good at shooting.

What to do? The only option is to temporarily strengthen it.

There’s an old saying that goes, “Sharpen your sword before battle, even if it’s not bright, it will shine.”

So after reaching a preliminary agreement with Director Sun, Hu Biao, thinking that the Third Company could still replenish a large number of bullets before the war, began shooting training with the entire company.

Damn! Because one-third of the people don't have guns, and they can only take turns training like this.

Fortunately, during the newcomer's self-introduction, neither Black Star nor Uncle Bo boasted. They were very professional when guiding the shooting training, which was a great help to him...

******
In the interval between the sounds of gunfire, Hu Biao suddenly heard a sentence in his ear:
"Captain Hu, I heard that you've killed dozens of Japanese soldiers. Why don't you fire a few shots and let us see?"

In an instant, the atmosphere in the entire temporary shooting range became eerily quiet.

Chaozi, who was holding a Sichuan-made Type 79 rifle and trying hard to aim at the target to get a feel for it, instinctively turned his head to see who said this, and immediately thought to himself that something was wrong.

Because the person who spoke was an old veteran in the company, or maybe a squad leader of the "Pao Ge".

After this squad leader, who seemed to be called "Flat Head", spoke, some of the other original officers in the company showed no intention of stopping him.

Instead, he put down his gun, crossed his arms, and joined the other Sichuan Army soldiers, looking like he was watching the fun. The so-called Pao Ge was a famous gang organization in the Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou regions during the Republic of China period. It was spread across almost all walks of life and had a great influence.

There are also a considerable number of them in the 20th Army, which belongs to the Sichuan Army system.

It seems that these Pao brothers, together with the officers and soldiers of the other three companies, are somewhat dissatisfied with these airborne personnel, especially the company commander Hu Biao.

When they were trained in the construction of fortifications, anti-artillery and anti-aircraft defense in the morning, their attitudes were somewhat perfunctory.

By now, he probably couldn't help himself after seeing how terrible the shooting skills of the four rookies, himself, AT, Dachui, and Huang A'di were.

Of course, this can't be blamed on them. In the modern world, how many gentlemen in China have ever played with real guns? They are so nervous about secretly buying a gas dog.

Without any practical foundation, isn't it normal that your shooting skills are not good?

The key point is that if Hu Biao doesn't dare to accept the challenge, or performs poorly, no one may listen to them next.

But the person they challenged was Hu Biao, the acting company commander. Uncle Bo and Black Star, who were the best marksmen among these time travelers, were indeed difficult to replace.

For a moment, Chaozi and others, who had little confidence in Hu Biao's marksmanship, became a little worried.

"Want to see my shooting skills? Of course," Hu Biao agreed confidently in a plastic Sichuan dialect after hearing the words.

After seeing this scene, Chaozi and others felt relieved.

The result? Hu Biao casually took a Sichuan-made Type 79 rifle, raised his hand, and fired three shots in a dozen seconds.

All the targets a hundred meters away missed the target without exception.

"Damn it! It would be better to let me go first. Maybe I can even get shot by chance." Upon seeing this, Chaozi complained in his heart.

Amidst the mocking looks of his Sichuan Army brothers, Hu Biao didn't care at all. After refilling the magazine, he said to Chaozi:
"There's a pile of tiles at your feet. Throw them out at five-second intervals."

"You can't even hit a fixed target, and you're trying to show off at a moving target. Don't you think it's embarrassing enough?" Chaozi complained in a voice that only he could hear.

But now that it has come to this, what else can he do?

He could only squat down, pick up five tiles with his right hand, and throw them out one by one with his left hand.

Then, when the first tile reached its highest point, a gunshot rang out and it was smashed to pieces; the same thing happened to the next four tiles, which were all smashed into pieces in the air.

I didn’t expect that Hu Biao, who was not good at shooting fixed targets, could actually shoot moving targets very well.

After firing five shots, Hu Biao, who had emptied the gun chamber, put the gun away with a beautiful movement.

Suddenly, thunderous cheers rang out, and the looks of the Sichuan Army brothers from the Third Company finally changed from the initial unwillingness to a look of recognition.

In the military, since ancient times, what matters is personal strength.

Now that the people in the third company discovered that Hu Biao, the airborne acting company commander, did have some skills, they began to believe Zhu Cong's bragging about the No. 7 position.

Naturally, there is more recognition for these guys who came from nowhere.

What they didn't know was that Hu Biao's pants were soaked with sweat at this time.

Of course, he knew how important his performance just now was in winning over the hearts of the people in the third company. He was extremely stressed throughout the whole process, but he was just pretending to be calm.

Fortunately, the fierce battle during his last time travel helped him improve his marksmanship in shooting moving targets, and with some luck, his performance just now was pretty good.

Finally, the morale of the Sichuan troops in the third company was initially restored.

But this level seems not enough, and we need to find ways to continue to improve it.

While Hu Biao was pondering how to proceed, he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but laugh. Isn't this like someone giving you a pillow when you're sleepy...

(End of this chapter)