Chapter 074: If You Don't Kill The Enemy, Can You Still Be Called A Soldier?
Dong Li Mao accepted the task, or rather, he agreed to this rescue mission of journalists and missionaries for the sake of that photo of his great-grandfather.
The rain that fell in the middle of the night was driven away by the sun rising in the east in the morning.
Dong Li Mao and the translator walked out of the headquarters of the British First Division, standing at the door, he looked up at the sky and muttered to himself: "The old lady's photo has been settled."
Following Dong Li Mao's gaze towards the sky, the piercing sunlight forced him to cover his forehead with his hand. He asked curiously, "Didn't you see any photos falling down?"
"How can a photo fall from the sky?" Dong Li Mao smiled and said, "I need someone who is familiar with Ren'an Qiang City, preferably someone who knows the terrain around the church and the deployment of Japanese troops in the area."
"Alright, I'll go look." The translator responded and left first.
Dong Li Mao looked around, and had already forgotten where he and his brothers had come from. The distant mountains, under the morning sunlight, looked like Myanmar's jade, as if a giant jade screen stood behind Pingba.
This is a very large plain, along the riverbank from east to west for about twenty kilometers. The Ren'an River divides the plain into two halves. If it weren't for the ruins of houses on both sides of the street, Dong Li Mao would not have believed that he was in the center of the siege by the Japanese army. The calm before the war made him feel like a huge stone weighing on his heart, feeling extremely depressed. As he walked, he thought: The new 38th Division's 113th Regiment should launch its final rescue attack tonight.
Zhu Yongsheng crouched at the corner of the wall outside the temporary rest house of the special agent company, smoking. Seeing Dong Li Mao walking back, he threw the cigarette butt to the ground and stood up to ask: "Company Commander, did Sihai Te agree to follow us?"
"Older brother, give me a cigarette." Dong Li Mao first took a cigarette and lit it up, taking a few puffs before saying: "Our mission has changed. Scott doesn't want to leave his troops. He wants our special forces unit to rescue several hundred journalists and missionaries by noon today. They are in a church, where only one company of British soldiers is holding out against the Japanese army, which has already been cut off. If we don't get them out, I'm afraid hundreds of people won't make it through tonight."
"Have you agreed to the British man's request?" Zhu Yongsheng asked with wide eyes.
Dong Li Mao nodded, as if he had done something shameful and felt guilty towards Zhu Yongsheng and the other brothers. It could be said that half of his agreement with Scott was motivated by selfishness, in order to get the reporter to take that damn photo of him.
"You..." Zhu Yongsheng was so angry that he couldn't speak, and stamped his foot: "For that damn Scot, we sacrificed more than a dozen brothers to break into the encirclement, and now that son of a bitch wants us to go rescue some journalists and missionaries! Isn't this just sending us to our deaths?! Why doesn't he send the British to rescue them?! Those journalists and missionaries, if they were all Chinese, I'd have nothing to say, but probably not many of them are Chinese!"
Dong Li Mao and others finished venting their grievances, then took a final drag on his cigarette, threw the butt to the ground and said: "No matter what nationality they are, they're human. If we don't go rescue them, all we can do is wait for the Japanese devils to harm them, slaughter them like pigs and sheep! In the future, will our consciences be at peace? Even if it's just so we can sleep better at night, not having nightmares, we should do this. At least that way we'll be true to our own conscience! If you're afraid of death, I won't force you!"
"I'm afraid of death! If I were afraid of death, I wouldn't have followed you, Dong Jiacheng, through thick and thin all these years. It's true that before I met you, Dong Jiacheng, I was afraid of death! But it was for the sake of my family, my wife and children, that I started this small business. You know this very well! Now, do you want to bring up old accounts? Fine! You can shoot me dead right now! See if I'm afraid of death or not!" Zhu Yongsheng became more agitated as he spoke, pausing for a moment before continuing: "I'm thinking of the over 100 brothers in our special operations unit. Which one of them hasn't gone through nine deaths and one life to survive until now? The worst off have probably killed at least one Japanese devil with their own hands. They've already done more than enough for our Chinese compatriots, can't we avoid throwing away our lives here for the sake of these British devils?"
"What kind of death is this, unclear and unjust?! Right in front of us are the Japanese devils, as a soldier! A proper Chinese soldier! If we don't kill the enemy, can we still be called soldiers?!" Dong Limao roared.
"Commander, we're willing to follow you!"
"Right, we're all willing!"
"Give your orders, what do you want us to do?"
"As long as it's killing devils, we're not afraid of death!"
……
Dong Li Mao and Zhu Yong Sheng's quarrel woke up the brothers who were sleeping in the house, one by one came out of the house, chattering incessantly, not a single one said they were unwilling.
Dong Li looked at his brothers, who were exhausted and had uniforms that were no longer recognizable as any particular color. He felt a pang of regret in his heart, wondering if these young lives would disappear from the world one by one because of him just an hour later. He regretted impulsively agreeing to this nearly impossible task with Scott, despite knowing from historical records that over 500 journalists and missionaries were rescued during the Battle of Yan'an. However, he didn't know how many soldiers died or were injured in the process, only learning from official reports that the 113th Regiment of the 38th Division suffered nearly 600 casualties while rescuing the British First Division and armored regiment. He didn't believe this number was accurate, thinking it must be higher. Only politicians like ** knew the true cost of victory.
If Tai Gong said that he really participated in this battle, leading the special forces to rescue journalists and missionaries, then what was his purpose? He must not have agreed to Scott's request just for the sake of a photo. Was it due to orders from above or did Tai Gong himself feel responsible for doing so? How many brothers under Tai Gong would be killed or injured in this rescue mission...
All of this was unknown to Dong Li Mao, but one thing he was certain of was that Tai Ye did not die in this battle, which means he himself would not die.
"Brothers, check your weapons and ammunition, eat well and drink enough, we set out at eight o'clock." Dong Li Mao wanted to say some encouraging words to boost morale, like those he had seen in domestic war-themed movies and TV shows, where officials would give a long speech before going into battle. But Dong Li Mao couldn't bring himself to say such hypocritical words. Instead, he was moved by the simple language of his comrades: "We are willing to follow you, give us orders, what do we need to do? Kill the devils, we're not afraid to die..." As a commander, what he feared most was that his men would lose heart or flee in fear at critical moments. Dong Li Mao had only been with these people for a short time, but they already trusted him so much - no, it should be said that they trusted his great-grandfather very much, and were willing to follow his great-grandfather into the fire.
Dong Li Mao didn't need to say anything more, this was enough. All he needed to do now was organize the rescue battle well and minimize casualties among his brothers.
Zhu Yongsheng was also moved by his brothers' words. His eyes were filled with tears, and he patted each of his brothers on the shoulder.
"Commander Lian, what do you say we take action?" Zhu Yongsheng finally said as he walked up to Dong Limao.
At this time, the translator brought a local young man running over, and that person was also holding an assault rifle.
"Dong Lianchang, he is willing to guide you." The translation was given to Dong Li Mao.
"Alright, come and tell me what buildings are around the church?" Dong Li Mao sat on a broken brick in front of the door.
The translator and the guide squatted down, and Zhu Yongsheng also squatted beside Dong Limao.
The guide began drawing a map on the muddy ground with his hand and explained it to Dong Limao as he drew.
"The church is located in the northern part of the city, forming a separate community with the surrounding residential areas and shops, about two kilometers away... To the left of the church is a middle school, to the right is a residential area, across the street is also a residential area, behind which is a forest, and beyond the forest are streets, residential areas, and shops. The Japanese army cut off all roads connecting the area where the church is located with the main city..."
"How many Japanese troops are there?" Dong Limao asked again.
"There are many, but it's unclear exactly how many."
"Are there any heavy weapons? Like tanks?" Dong Limao asked as much detail as possible.
"No tanks were seen, but there are mortars, on top of a residential building about five hundred meters to the right of the church."
