Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 118 Defense Switch
On the night of March 29th, in front of the Guandi Temple

This place was originally quite remote, surrounded by a large area of ​​wasteland. Since the start of the war, the residents here have all fled.

Now, this wasteland was filled with soldiers standing densely packed together. Su Yaoyang stood in front of these soldiers, holding a tin megaphone and shouting loudly:
"brothers!"

"Wow!"

"Take a break!"

"Today is our fifth day in Taierzhuang."

Su Yaoyang looked at Li Gaoyuan, Li Tao, and Hou Tianyou standing in front of him.

"Over the past five days, I have witnessed firsthand what it means for every inch of our land to be stained with blood! Battalion Commanders Li Gaoyuan, Li Tao, and Hou Tianyou, along with more than 1,800 brothers, fought on this deadly ground of Taierzhuang and demonstrated the indomitable spirit of the Chinese soldiers!"

Having said that, he suddenly pointed to the still-burning city walls in the distance.

"See that collapsed north gate? Battalion Commander Li Gaoyuan led more than 600 brothers to defend it for three days and three nights. When they ran out of bullets, they fought with bayonets. When the bayonets bent, they used their teeth to bite them! The Japanese charged six times, and you knocked them back six times!"

Su Yaoyang bent down and grabbed a handful of bloody soil.

"Li Tao's 4th Battalion withstood heavy artillery bombardment from the Japanese on the east bank of the canal. The entire battalion suffered 30% casualties but did not retreat an inch! In yesterday's bayonet battle, Battalion Commander Hou Tianyou personally stabbed three Japanese officers with his bayonet. Company Commander Li Qingxiang's intestines almost spilled out, but he still did not retreat and held on until reinforcements arrived."

What is this? This is the spirit of the Chinese people!

All the soldiers listened quietly. In the past five days, the first, fourth, and fifth battalions, nearly two thousand men, had defended this village, which was only two square kilometers in size, against an attack by Japanese troops several times their size.

Although the soldiers of the security regiment inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese army with their brothers and superior light weapons, the three battalions themselves also suffered considerable casualties. The nearly 50% casualty rate made Su Yaoyang's eyelids twitch with heartache.

After much deliberation, he decided to withdraw Li Gaoyuan and his men back to Xuzhou for rest and reorganization, and have the Second, Third, and Sixth Battalions enter the village to take over for them, which led to the handover ceremony tonight.

At this point, Su Yaoyang turned to Li Gaoyuan and asked, "Old Li... is there anything you want to say to Old Huang and the others?"

After five days of fighting, Li Gaoyuan, whose military uniform was already tattered, shook his head, looked at Huang Guantao with bloodshot eyes, and said softly, "Old Huang... we are handing Taierzhuang over to you. Don't disgrace the Chinese soldiers."

Huang Guantao gave him a solemn salute: "Don't worry, Lao Li, as long as one of us is alive, Taierzhuang will not fall!"

After saying that, he suddenly turned around and shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Attention, everyone... Salute to the brothers of the First, Fourth, and Fifth Battalions!"

"Wow!"

Accompanied by the unified sound, the nearly two thousand soldiers who had just entered the village saluted the soldiers of the first, fourth, and fifth battalions in unison.

Soldiers from the 1st, 4th, and 5th battalions returned the salute in unison.

Led by their respective officers, the soldiers, who had been fighting for five days, then silently marched in formation toward the pontoon bridge...

Inside the Guandi Temple, Su Yaoyang was giving instructions to Huang Guantao, who had just entered the village.

"The command called today, asking me to return to Xuzhou to report on the battle situation and receive the next combat mission. If things go smoothly, I will be back tomorrow. Until I return, you will be in charge of all affairs in the village. You must defend Taierzhuang well."

Huang Guantao solemnly said, "Sir, rest assured, as long as I have a breath left, Taierzhuang will be safe."

"Okay... then I'll head back first." After instructing Huang Guantao, Su Yaoyang followed Li Gaoyuan and the others across the canal pontoon bridge. More than a hundred trucks from the logistics department and the transportation company were already waiting there. After the group got into the trucks, they headed towards Xuzhou.

Although Taierzhuang is only about 80 kilometers away from Xuzhou, everyone knows what the roads are like these days; a speed of 30 or 40 kilometers per hour is considered quite good.

So the group traveled for more than three hours, finally arriving at the campsite on the outskirts of Xuzhou at around 3 a.m.

Upon arriving at the camp, Su Yaoyang handed over the rest of the tasks to Li Gaoyuan, found a tent, lay down on a cot, and fell fast asleep in less than two minutes.

The tent smelled of disinfectant mixed with a familiar, faint fragrance, and the canvas of the cot groaned under the weight as he lay down.

He vaguely heard the groans of wounded soldiers in the distance, but the sleep forged by the sound of gunfire was like a piece of black iron, instantly plunging him into chaos.

A soft, warm touch suddenly pierced the dream.

Su Yaoyang jerked up as if electrocuted, pressing his right hand to his waist, only to touch a slender neck.

Looking down, he saw a soft, delicate body curled up like a shrimp against his chest. Underneath the dirty white coat, her ribs were clearly visible, and tears still clung to her eyelashes.

A wooden basin, presumably used to wash bandages for the wounded, was lying askew beside the bed, with half a bar of soap floating on the water.

He stood frozen, too afraid to move, when the sound of a spatula scraping against a wok came from outside the tent. The midday sun shone through the bullet holes in the canvas, casting dazzling spots of light on the girl's face.

He felt his arm go numb from being pressed down, and just as he was about to pull away, he startled the girl who was fast asleep in his arms.

Xiao Lu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the moment she opened her eyes, her almond-shaped eyes were still misty. But when she saw the person in front of her, her eyes suddenly brightened, like a stream thawing in early spring suddenly reflecting the morning sun.

She sat up abruptly, her dark hair falling onto Su Yaoyang's gunpowder-smelling military uniform.

Her fingertips trembled slightly when they touched his gaunt cheeks, and when she felt a scabbed abrasion, tears streamed down her face.

Before Su Yaoyang could even speak, he was enveloped in the scent of jasmine. Xiao Lu buried her face in the crook of his neck, warm tears seeping into her collar. Her hands, wrapped around his waist, clenched tightly, as if letting go would cause him to vanish like smoke.

Outside the tent, the sounds of the nurses laughing and joking could be heard, mixed with the clanging and tinkling of things.

Su Yaoyang looked down and saw a small patch of skin peeking out from the stray hairs on the back of her neck, which was even whiter than the scattered pear blossoms beside the trench.

The warmth in his arms was so real that his eyes welled up with tears. The nerves that had been taut from the heat of the day finally relaxed in this small space.

After a while of tenderness, Su Yaoyang, being young and vigorous, quickly became excited, but before he could make a move, the girl noticed.

Xiao Lu wrinkled her pretty nose and sniffed gently, then said coquettishly, "Young Master, you stink! Get up now, I'll go get some hot water for you to wash properly."

Su Yaoyang gave an awkward smile and quickly scrambled to his feet.

After spending several days on the battlefield, the smell of sweat, gunpowder, and tobacco mixed together, making me feel nauseous. The smell was indescribably pungent.

Xiao Lu also felt sorry for her man, so she quickly brought two buckets of hot water and served Su Yaoyang a comfortable hot bath.

(End of this chapter)