Chapter 2: The Nine Linked Brothers

  Dong Li Mao had read the book about the Burma Expeditionary Force that Bai Ru Xue gave him, of course he knew that the commander of the Fifth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, Du Yi Ming was an anti-Japanese general he admired very much. Now, it seemed like he finally understood that the transmigration he saw on the internet before had actually happened to himself. However, those online transmigrations he read about were about the protagonist becoming either a powerful emperor or a renowned general after transmigrating, whereas he had transmigrated and become an old man who was only considered an anti-Japanese hero by his own family.

  Thinking of this, Dong Li Mao asked Dao Lan Xiang with a bewildered face: "Am I really the company commander of the newly compiled 9th Company? Did I really travel through time and become Tai Ye? So, did you also travel through time, Rusong?"

  "Li Junyi, listen to him, he's still talking nonsense." Dao Lanxiang said with a bitter smile.

  "Haha...... Commander Dong, you're really good at joking. You were originally the commander of the 9th company of the new regiment." Li Jun thought Dong Li Mao was just kidding.

  "That... is now 1944? The year my great-grandfather died in battle?" Dong Limao seemed to be muttering to himself.

  "Dong Lianchang, have you really forgotten? It's now the 31st year of the Republic, or 1942 AD. Today is April 1st, the day to celebrate the great victory of Donggua." Dao Lanxiang said, walking to the window and pushing it open. Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers came in from outside: "Listen, they're celebrating the great victory of Donggua outside."

  "So, it's not yet the day my great-grandfather died in battle?" Dong Li Mao muttered to himself again, thinking: It's still more than two years before Great-Grandfather dies in battle. What has he been doing during these two years?

  Dong Li Mao asked Li Jun Yi: "Can I see the brothers of the 9th Company?"

  "This... should be okay, they're just outside the ward, but..." Dr. Li pushed his glasses with his hand, seemingly worried: "Comrade Dong Lianchang, there aren't many brothers left in the 9th Company..."

  "Let them all come in." Dong Li Mao said hastily.

  Li Junyi and Dao Lanxiang exchanged a glance, and saw that Dao Lanxiang nodded slightly. He then turned around and walked to the door of the ward, hesitated for a moment, and pulled it open.

  Ten people came in, all with varying degrees of injury, three were supported by others. One wore a junior military uniform, his left arm bandaged and slung over his shoulder. He walked to Dong Limao's bedside, stood at attention, and gave a military salute: "The entire 9th company reports for duty, Commander!" His eyes welled up with tears, his voice choked.

  "You are......" Dong Li Mao looked at the saluting officer, unaware of his name.

  The officer looked at Qiu Lanxiang with a puzzled expression, wanting to know from her why Lian Chang didn't recognize him.

  "Dong Lianchang woke up and couldn't remember some things," explained Dao Lanxiang to the officer.

  "Reporting to Company Commander, I am Second Platoon Leader Zhu Yongsheng!" The officer stood at attention again and loudly reported to Dong Limao.

  "Oh, Zhu Paichang, those several brothers of his are..." Dong Limao cast his eyes towards the other ten people wearing soldier uniforms.

  One of the tall and sturdy men took a step forward, standing to the right of Zhu Pai Chang, saluting Dong Li Mao loudly in Northeastern dialect: "Reporting to Company Commander, I am First Squad's First-Class Soldier Zhang Dali, alias Heavy Machine Gun!"

  Next, a slender and tall figure stood to the right of Zhang Dali, reporting in Sichuan dialect to Dong Li Mao: "Reporting to Company Commander, I am First Sergeant Wang Jiagui, also known as Er Tiao!"

  The rest, one by one, reported, and Dong Li Mao saw from their expressions that they admired themselves, no, it should be Tai Gong, among whom the youngest-looking one, named Hu San, was still sniffling.

  Dong Li Mao looked at Hu San who was crying and asked: "How old are you?"

  "Fifteen... waaah... " Hu San wiped his nose with the back of his hand: "They want to disband the 9th Company, and split us up into other companies... waaah... I don't want to leave the 9th Company... I want to avenge my fallen brothers... waaah... damn those little devils... they stabbed Old Steward to death with bayonets... Old Steward was shielding me when he got stabbed... waaah..." Hu San's crying caused ten others to join in.

  Zhu Yongsheng choked with sobs: "The 9th Company is now left with just a few of us, others are celebrating the great victory of Dongguan, but we have no joy in winning the war. If it weren't for Captain leading us to break through the enemy's defense line, if it weren't for over a hundred brothers who used their lives to charge forward, there wouldn't be any great victory of Dongguan... now they want to disband the 9th Company..."

  "Who said that the Ninth Company should be disbanded?" Dong Li Mao was completely drawn into the role of company commander by the tearful complaints of the eleven remaining officers and men of the Ninth Company, and he asked indignantly.

  "It was the company commander who said it himself at the celebration banquet!" Zhu Yongsheng replied: "I attended the celebration banquet of the battalion headquarters on behalf of the whole company last night, and that short pumpkin pulled me aside, asking me to do a good job in ideological work for my brothers, and also said...also said he wanted to promote me as company commander..."

  "Who is Dwarf Pumpkin?" Dong Limao thought of his classmate Tu Hongbo, whose nickname was also Winter Melon.

  Zhu Yongsheng was stunned for a moment before answering: "It's the squad leader, because he is short and stout, we all call him 'Short Pumpkin' behind his back."

  Dong Li Mao glanced at the window and saw Qie Lan Xiang standing there, thinking to himself: I've crossed over, and so has Ruo Xue. Could it be that that little scoundrel Dong Gua also followed us in crossing over?

  At this time, Diao Lanxiang also happened to look at him with both eyes, seeing Dong Li Mao looking at himself, and quickly turned his gaze to Zhu Yongsheng and others: "Alright, Captain Dong has just woken up, and his body is still very weak. You all go out first and let Captain Dong rest well."

  "Zhu Pai Chang, I will ask...ask the superiors to keep the Ninth Company." Dong Li Mao said as Zhu Yong Sheng and the others turned around to leave the ward.

  After Zhu Yongsheng and others left the ward, Dong Li Mao asked Dao Lanxiang: "Ruxue, where are my clothes?" Throughout the ward, he never saw his own clothes.

  Dolan Xiang said, "Why are you still calling me Ruxue? Didn't I tell you already? My name is Dolan Xiang." Then she replied to Dong Limao, "When you were transferred here, your whole body was covered in blood. It's likely that the hospital nurses took off your military uniform, and a new one hasn't been issued yet because you've been unconscious the whole time and haven't had a chance to go to the quartermaster's office to get a replacement. Besides, you're not even able to wear clothes right now, so it's more convenient for us to change your dressings and clean you like this."

  "So you're saying that during these days when I was unconscious, it was all you who took care of me?" Dong Limao's heart felt warm.

  "It was three days after Commander Du came that the director arranged for me to take care of you." Knife Lanxiang replied.

  "How long have you been in the Fifth Army Field Hospital?" asked Dong Li Mao again.

  "After the expeditionary force arrived, the five armies used this hospital as a wartime hospital. I was a nurse at this hospital before, and all the doctors and nurses here were temporarily recruited." answered Dao Lanxiang.

  Dong Li Mao felt somewhat disappointed, as it turned out that Dao Lan Xiang was not what he had imagined, but rather Bai Ru Shuang who had traveled through time. He didn't ask anything else and his stomach growled with hunger, so he asked: "I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"

  "Look at me, I forgot to get you something to eat." Dao Lanxiang's mouth corner revealed a slightly embarrassed smile, and two small dimples appeared on her cheeks: "You wait for a moment, I'll go take a look, you can only have liquid food now."