A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

On the highway, the wreckage of several vehicles bearing the Red Cross emblem was still emitting black smoke.

In the nearby wilderness, a 250-kilogram aerial bomb created a crater over 10 meters in diameter and 2 meters deep. The trees that still stood nearby had their branches and leaves stripped away, leaving only bare trunks.

At least 50 mutilated bodies and limbs lay scattered in a radial pattern, some belonging to civilians, but more to soldiers, extending for dozens of meters.

Second Battalion Commander Wu Xiuyuan stood silently behind Song Hongfei and said in a low, hoarse voice, "The Japanese planes dropped 250-kilogram bombs, a brutal and indiscriminate bombing that did not even spare the Red Cross vehicles and the wounded."

Some officers and soldiers gathered around, and upon witnessing this horrific scene, they were all filled with grief and indignation, their emotions running high.

"Regimental Commander, should we organize an air defense and take them down?" asked Liu Zishu, the regimental adjutant.

Song Hongfei sighed softly and said, "Our army's field air defense capability is weak. Without pre-deploying an air defense fire network, the few small cannons and anti-aircraft machine guns of the whole regiment are not very effective."

In truth, how could he not feel grief and indignation?

Song Hongfei looked around and realized that the officers and soldiers were in a state of heightened emotion and needed to be controlled. As the commander, he himself had to remain calm first.

He shouted, "This isn't the first blood debt the Japanese devils have incurred! But now is not the time for revenge; we have a more important mission! I want you to remember every single blood debt! Blood for blood! One day, we will make the Japanese devils pay tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"

Upon hearing Song Hongfei's words, all the officers and soldiers of the 3rd Training Regiment calmed down.

Song Hongfei waved his hand and said to the officers, "Organize the troops to continue marching and reach the designated forward positions for defense. If there is an air raid, immediately evacuate and take cover according to the air defense plan."

Soldiers who had fallen behind and become separated from their units emerged from the woods and fields in the distance, and some wounded soldiers helped each other to gather on the road.

Several more groups of wounded soldiers caught up from behind, some of them still cursing and swearing.

Why are there still people in the back? Song Hongfei, Liu Tuanfu, and the others found it rather strange.

They had planned to lay minefields at suitable locations and on roads to stop the Japanese army; it would be serious if their own Nationalist troops accidentally entered them.

Song Hongfei asked Liu Tuanfu to step forward and inquire about the situation: "What's going on? Which department are you from?"

The wounded soldiers chattered amongst themselves:

"From the 1st Army."

"From the 102nd Division."

"We are from the 61st Division!"

"From the 58th Division!"

It's a hodgepodge, and it's present in every department.

Commander Liu frowned: "Where is your commander?"

The wounded soldiers were even more furious and continued to chatter amongst themselves:

"There's no officer left, they've already run away!"

"They said they were retreating, but they abandoned us halfway through!"

"I'm risking my life on the front lines, and if I get injured, nobody cares!"

Song Hongfei felt a pang of unease upon hearing this, and sighed inwardly. The Nationalist army's retreats were always chaotic and utterly disorderly.

Song Hongfei stepped forward and waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Are there any officers? Officers, step forward!"

Upon seeing that it was a colonel who was speaking, the group of wounded soldiers immediately fell silent.

An officer stepped out of the ranks, his head, right arm, and left leg wrapped in bandages. His uniform was stained with blood, and the collar, covered in gunpowder stains, still bore the insignia of a second lieutenant.

The lieutenant stepped out from the crowd, stood at attention, and said, "Sir!"

He then said with a wry smile, "Please forgive me, sir, my right hand is injured and I cannot salute you."

Song Hongfei nodded: "Which part?"

"Reporting to the commander, this is Lin Zhiqing, Second Lieutenant of the 58th Division."

"Wasn't the 58th Division supposed to be blocking the enemy in the Zhaoxiang and Hongqiao area? How did you end up here? Where are you going?"

Lin Zhiqing replied, "We wounded soldiers originally came from the field hospital in Longhua and were evacuated. There were too many wounded soldiers. The seriously wounded were given vehicles to ride in, while those who could walk followed on their own. Each of us was given a wound certificate and 10 yuan, and we were told to gather in Anting and Kunshan on our own."

"We kept encountering Japanese planes bombing and strafing along the way, so we scattered. We also met wounded soldiers from various places and units, so we all traveled together."

Lieutenant Lin looked again at the wrecked vehicles and corpses scattered on the ground, and said sadly, "I never imagined that the seriously wounded who were taken away in the vehicles... Alas!"

A group of soldiers caught up from behind, almost all of them wounded, some of whom were so badly injured that they needed to be helped to walk. Song Hongfei noticed that they were all still carrying guns.

These soldiers were all filled with grief and indignation, and they cried out in anguish: "We retreated all the way from Pudong. Some of our brothers were too tired to walk anymore and were caught up by the Japanese army. Those damned Japanese devils tied the brothers who had fallen behind to the tree trunks by the roadside to practice bayonet fighting. They were all stabbed to death by the Japanese devils, one stab at a time. Our brothers died so tragically!"

"The officials all ran away first, and without anyone to command us, we couldn't fight back. We could only hide far away and watch our brothers be tortured to death. It was truly humiliating."

Hearing the soldiers' indignant accusations, many of the soldiers and wounded present were stunned. Similar rumors had been circulating for a long time, but at first many people could not believe that the Japanese army had been so inhumane!

Everyone understood that the rumors were not unfounded, but a tearful accusation! Falling behind meant certain death at the hands of the brutal Japanese army.

"You guys are amazing!" Song Hongfei felt a lump in his throat. "You didn't abandon your weapons, and you didn't abandon your wounded brothers. You supported each other all the way to get here! You're all amazing!"

Song Hongfei was well aware that the National Revolutionary Army's logistical and medical capabilities were extremely limited, and many wounded soldiers could not receive timely treatment.

Not to mention that the troops had even worse reception capacity during the retreat after defeat. Soldiers who were separated from their units and wounded often got lost on the way. Those who could find their original units on their own were fine, but those who could not were forgotten.

The most feared thing for the Nationalist soldiers was being wounded. Being wounded and falling behind meant a slim chance of survival. It's no wonder they were so angry and cursing, because wounded soldiers were always the first to be abandoned.

"You must be Commander Song of the Training Corps!" Lieutenant Lin recognized him from the badge on Song Hongfei's chest.

The soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army were naturally familiar with the renowned Training Corps and Song Hongfei, who had received numerous commendations from the Military Commission.

As an officer, Lin Zhiqing was calmer and more composed than the average soldier, and he was also better at seizing opportunities. He said, "Commander Song, please forgive my impertinence, but please do us wounded soldiers a favor. We have been cut off from supplies since yesterday morning and have been relying on relief supplies all the way. We have been hungry since last night, and many of our brothers can no longer walk. We can't just stand by and watch our brothers fall into the hands of the Japanese."

Seeing that an officer had taken the lead in speaking, the group of soldiers who were still carrying weapons seemed to have found hope and pleaded, "Sir, lead us to fight the Japanese devils! We want to avenge our brothers who died tragically!"

"Commander Song, take us with you! We have guns! We're not afraid to die!"

"Commander Song, we want to fight the Japanese devils with you!"

Everyone fell silent immediately, and the wounded soldiers stared at him expectantly.

At least several hundred wounded soldiers had already gathered at the scene, with more arriving from the surrounding areas and behind. And everyone knew that there would be many more, perhaps countless, wounded soldiers on the way.

Looking at the expectant eyes, Song Hongfei felt a headache coming on.

If he had enough vehicles, he would have let the wounded soldiers get on the vehicles and retreat to the rear without saying a word. But now, let alone cars, the National Revolutionary Army had not even achieved the use of mules and horses. His 3rd Training Regiment was still marching on foot.

He didn't have many options. One was to take the wounded with him, which would slow them down, making it impossible to cover the main force's retreat and potentially leading to their capture and encirclement by the Japanese, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army. The other option was to abandon the wounded and leave them unattended.

Both choices were incredibly painful for Song Hongfei. Carrying the wounded was by no means a wise move, but he couldn't just ignore them either.

Never abandon, never give up! This was the motto he had always taught and instilled in the brigade.

Song Hongfei was well aware that these soldiers who had survived the brutal battlefields possessed rich combat experience. As long as they received sufficient medical treatment, most of the wounded could return to the fighting ranks, and the veterans who recovered were often the most elite fighting force.

Song Hongfei looked around, waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said loudly, "I said in the Training Corps—Never abandon, never give up! This sentence applies to all the Nationalist brothers here! We will not abandon anyone! You are heroes on the battlefield, and I cannot let you shed blood and then shed tears!"

Without hesitation, Song Hongfei gave the order: "Commander-in-Chief Liu! Quartermaster Wang!"

Regimental Commander Liu and Quartermaster Wang stepped forward and stood at attention: "Present!"

"Take out all the canned food and rations we captured from the ambush of the Japanese cavalry and distribute them to the wounded brothers! We'll continue marching after we've eaten."

"Yes!"

"Director Fang, the military doctor!"

Doctor Fang stepped forward: "Here!"

"Hurry up and organize on the spot to provide emergency treatment and bandaging for the wounded who need it!"

"Yes!"

"Second Lieutenant Lin Zhiqing!" Song Hongfei pointed to Lin Zhiqing, the second lieutenant of the 58th Division.

Lin Zhiqing paused for a moment, then stepped forward to stand at attention and replied, "Present!"

"You are the highest-ranking among all the wounded! I'm giving you a task—lead the wounded brothers to a safe retreat to the rear!"

"The wounded in each unit should form a squad if they have enough men to form a squad, and a platoon if they have enough men to form a platoon. Each squad or platoon leader should be selected, and so on. All units should be led by Second Lieutenant Lin Zhiqing, who will support each other and withdraw to the rear together!"

"Director Fang, please organize some military doctors and medics to escort the wounded of our regiment to retreat together."

"Does anyone have any objections? Does anyone want to leave on their own? If so, you're welcome to leave as you see fit!"

As any soldier knows, the greatest value of an army lies in its organized and efficient system. Only with organization can there be combat effectiveness; otherwise, it is just a disorganized mess, at the mercy of others.

Moreover, Commander Song made it very clear that the military doctors and medics from the Training Corps would retreat together, with supplies and medical care provided! Even the most foolish person could see that!

"Very good!" Song Hongfei's piercing gaze swept around the room. "The most important thing, the most important thing! Remember this—be organized! Be disciplined! Don't panic! Do you all understand?!"

"Understood!" the wounded soldiers shouted.

The wounded soldiers' eyes lit up, and their previously low morale was restored.

Song Hongfei added, "Our 3rd Training Regiment has been ordered to stay behind to cover the main force's retreat."

He addressed the squad of soldiers still armed: "You have completed your mission on the battlefield. Now your mission is not to fight. I am giving you a new task—to protect the wounded and ensure their safe evacuation!"

He then publicly addressed several sergeants, saying, “You are all veterans of many years, and from the same unit. Lead your troops well, do not abandon the wounded, and obey Lieutenant Lin Zhiqing’s orders in all actions until you safely return to the rear! My regiment will hold off the enemy from behind. There are no Japanese troops in front. If anyone dares to plot against the wounded soldiers’ property, kill them without mercy! Do you understand?”

The veterans stood at attention and said, "Yes, Commander Song, we understand!"

"Lieutenant Lin Zhiqing! Lead all the wounded to retreat! Can you complete the mission?!"

With his swift and decisive actions, Song Hongfei's clear and unambiguous command of orders, displaying the demeanor of a great general, deeply impressed Lin Zhiqing, the second lieutenant of the 58th Division, who felt a surge of admiration for him.

Lin Zhiqing straightened up and shouted, "Yes! Mission accomplished!"

Song Hongfei then looked at some villages in the distance and said to the military doctors and Lin Zhiqing, "The wounded are unable to move easily. If they encounter Japanese air raids while traveling on the highway, it will be difficult to evacuate them. You should take the side roads! Contact the local village chiefs to see if they can hire some mules, horses, or oxcarts to transport the seriously wounded. Then, through them, contact Chongshantang to collect and bury the remains of the martyrs along the way as soon as possible."

Everyone answered in unison, "Yes! We understand!"

Song Hongfei's burning gaze swept over everyone: "After we retreat to the rear, I hope all the wounded brothers will come back and fight the Japanese devils with me, Song Hongfei! Every blood debt owed by the Japanese devils must be repaid with blood! Blood for blood!"

Everyone roared, "Blood for blood! Blood for blood!"

The blood in every soldier's body seemed to be boiling.