Chapter 135: Enraged Slaughter of He Da Shao

  The surging crowd gradually restored order on the bridge under Dong Limao's loud shout.

  Dong Li Mao was clear in his mind that there wasn't much time left for these refugees fleeing across the bridge. He knew that the Japanese devils' rapid vanguard would start competing for the big bridge on the evening of May 4th, which means that the time left for the refugees to escape was only two days. In these two days, his main task was to rescue as many lives as possible.

  Longshen Wu gave Hu San and Pan Guangzu 10,000 taels of silver, and after he led his men and horses across the bridge.

  Dong Li Mao made a decision: "Gu Hao, tell the brothers that except for people, vehicles and mules are not allowed to pass without my permission. Let people hurry up and cross the bridge!" Dong Li Mao looked at the endless stream of refugees on the mountain road and felt anxious in his heart: "Second brother, take people to search ahead, can't wait until they reach the bridgehead before checking, that's too slow!"

  Wang Jiagui led a group of soldiers to start investigating suspicious people, and Gao Hao let them all pass, standing on both sides to monitor the people crossing the bridge.

  Dong Li Mao's method is very effective, saving the bridge inspection procedure and winning more time for the people crossing the bridge.

  Zhang Zuowu, with the assistance of Zhao Yong and others, led a group of sappers to place explosives under the bridge piers and set up the detonation cord.

  May 3rd, everything went smoothly, except for Japanese aircraft reconnaissance, there was basically no situation.

  By May 4th, on this day, Baoshan City was reduced to ruins under the bombing of Japanese devils. On this day, Huitong Bridge also ended its historical mission.

  At around five o'clock in the afternoon, three planes with bandages flew over, neither shooting nor dropping bombs. They circled above the Huitong Bridge for a few minutes, making people waiting to cross the bridge even more panicked and rushing onto the big bridge. The iron chain bridge was squeezed and started shaking left and right, bearing too much pressure, extremely dangerous.

  Dong Li Mao had no choice but to let Gou Hao and the others restrict the people crossing the bridge again, with great difficulty controlling the flow of people within the range that the bridge could bear. However, the east end of the bridge was blocked.

  It turned out that a truck came from Baoshan direction and wanted to drive westward from the east end of the bridge. When it arrived at the east bank of the bridge, it was stopped by the soldiers of the guard bridge detachment.

  Zhao Yong saw a young man in velvet, wearing a top hat, jump down from the driver's cab of the truck and stride quickly to his front, questioning him with an air of urgency:

  "Why don't you let Laozi cross the bridge! Do you know who I am?"

  Zhao Yong glared at the person getting out of the car and said: "This is an order! Quickly back your car up!"

  This pickup truck driver who wants to cross the bridge is a mixed breed named He Shupeng, son of a high-ranking official in 'Xifeng Travel', also known as He Dashao. For some reason, while others are risking their lives to rush inland, he is heading in the opposite direction towards the border.

  "What are you? I am a veteran of Xifeng..."

  Two crisp slaps, He Dashao's left and right cheeks each received two ear slaps from Zhao Yong. The blows made He Dashao see stars, he seemed unable to believe that someone dared to hit him, staring blankly at Zhao Yong.

  "Get out of here! Otherwise, I'll shoot you dead!" Zhao Yong roared, pulling out his pistol and pressing the muzzle against He Dashao's forehead.

  He didn't dare to act rashly anymore, but his mouth still refused to concede: "Fine! You win! You wait for me!" He turned around and got into the car, started the engine. Perhaps he was dizzy from being hit by Zhao Yong or intentionally drove forward, his car not only didn't turn back but instead rushed onto the bridge, hitting several people. This time, the trouble escalated, and the scene at the bridgehead immediately became chaotic. The family members of those who were knocked down surrounded He Dashi's car, pulling him out to interrogate him.

  Dong Li Mao felt something was wrong, squeezed over the bridge to ask Zhao Yong what's going on. Zhao Yong briefly explained the situation, Dong Li Mao got furious, grabbed He Da Shao's collar and dragged him aside, ordering the special task force brothers to push He Da Shao's truck under the bridge.

  He Dashi loudly shouted: "Look, who dares to push my car into the river!" He actually disregarded his life and death, blocking in front of the car, as if this broken truck was more important than his own life.

  Dong Li Mao pulled out his pistol and aimed at He Da Shao, shouting loudly: "Get out of the way quickly! Otherwise, I'll shoot you first, you bastard!"

  He Dashi brandished his whip and shouted at Dong Li Mao, "Come on! You little rascal, dare to shoot me? If you dare kill me, humph! You'll be in for it! Come on, are you afraid?"

  Dong Li Mao did not want to kill his compatriots, he just wanted to scare He Dashi a little. When he killed the little devils, he didn't consider them human in his heart, but rather as beasts, so he naturally showed no mercy when taking action. Now facing a compatriot who speaks the same language as him, it's really not easy to make him open fire. Another reason is that Dong Li Mao did not want the sound of gunfire to frighten the ordinary people crossing the bridge. The bridge was crowded with men, women and children, if a shot rang out, these people would become even more terrified, and someone might be squeezed off the bridge into the river.

  "You..." Dong Li Mao's hands were shaking with rage: "If you don't move, I'll really shoot!" As he spoke, he slowly took step by step towards He Da Shao.

  He Dashi glanced at Dong Li Mao's trembling hand, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. He thought that his own aura had intimidated Dong Li Mao and didn't believe that Dong Li Mao would dare to shoot him, so he became even more arrogant: "Hmph... So you're just a coward! A weakling!"

  Dong Li Mao could no longer hold back, and when the muzzle of his gun was pressed against He Da Shao's forehead, his hand did not tremble. The He Da Shao in front of him had also turned into a little devil. His finger decisively pulled the trigger, and a crisp gunshot rang out. He Da Shao still had his big eyes open, unable to believe it, with a blood hole shot out of his head, his body still standing in place, pointing at Dong Li Mao and saying his last words: "You really opened..."

  Dong Li Mao kicked He Da Shao into the river with one foot and said: "You are a accomplice of the little devil!"

  The gunshot startled the terrified refugees who were crossing the bridge, and more people rushed onto the bridge, which was difficult for Gao and his men to stop. He fired his submachine gun into the air, hoping to scare off the crowd, but it had the opposite effect. The sound of gunfire echoed through the valley, frightening the refugees even more, and the iron chain bridge creaked ominously.

  However, the sound of Gu Hao's submachine gun firing into the sky also startled the Japanese army's quick response team disguised as civilians. Their vanguard squad had already quietly approached the west bank of the bridge, about 200-300 meters away from the west bank of the Grand Bridge. With the bridge in sight, everyone tensed up and upon hearing the gunshot, they thought their identities had been exposed. They all took out their weapons from their bodies. The leader intended to take down Wang Jia Gui and his men first, so he aimed his gun at one of the special task force soldiers.

  Wang Jiagui was the first to see someone in the crowd pull out a weapon and aim at one of his brothers. He swiftly drew his pistol, shot the little devil's head off, and fired again. Originally two actions, but in Wang Jiagui's hands, it became one action, incredibly fast.

  Dong Li Mao killed He Da Shao in anger, and the special agent Lian Di and the refugees who were stuck on the bridge pushed the blocked truck down the bridge. Suddenly, they heard the sound of guns fired by Gou Hao towards the sky from the east end of the bridge. Dong Li Mao thought: The little devils have finally arrived!

  "Brothers! The devils have arrived at the east bank of the bridge! Everyone follow me!" After that, he began to push against the refugees crossing the bridge, squeezing towards the west direction of the bridge, with Zhao Yong and others following behind him.

  Zhang Zuowu heard Dong Li Mao's words and lifted his heart. He didn't care about anything else, standing alone beside the detonator that would set off the explosives placed under the bridge, ready to detonate at any moment.

  History often has dramatic contingency. If it weren't for He Shupeng, history might have been different. Sometimes, minor characters or even antagonists can change the course of history. At least on the evening of May 4th, 1942, He Dashao, a minor character, changed the fate of the bridge and shattered the Japanese devils' dream of quickly occupying Huitong Bridge. Lieutenant General Sakaguchi was also unable to drive his tanks into any place in China because of He Shupeng. If He Shupeng hadn't recklessly retreated and enraged the soldiers guarding the bridge, who shot him, it's possible that the little devil's tank could have really crossed Huitong Bridge and pressed on to Chongqing.

  The sudden gunfire that killed He Dashi not only frightened the refugees crossing the bridge, but also snapped the tight string of nerves of the devils who were vying for control of the bridge. The commander leading the rapid column was unaware of the farcical drama being played out on the east side of the bridge. This commander, named Nakamura Toshihide, suddenly remembered that his daredevil squad had been exposed, and he thought that his men were scattered and not advancing uniformly like a large unit. He also believed that the vanguard squad had clashed with the garrison troops defending the bridge. After hesitating for only a few seconds, he ordered the daredevil squad to charge forward. At this time, Nakamura Toshihide's main force was still over 1,000 meters away from the Huitong Bridge. In order to reach the bridgehead in the shortest possible time, they shot and killed many refugees along the way.

  Dong Li Mao and Zhao Yong, from the east of the bridge to the west, walked at a snail's pace. Suddenly, they heard gunfire coming from the west side of the bridge. Dong Li Mao was anxious and shouted for the refugees on the bridge to hurry up.

  Wang Jiagui killed the little devil's vanguard leader with one shot, and the rest of the devils also started firing wildly. The brothers of the special task force also swept those who held guns. Wang Jiagui was a man with very rich combat experience, he loudly ordered his brothers to quickly retreat back to the bridge head, fortunately he gave this order, otherwise, it's likely that he and more than a dozen soldiers under him would not be able to see Dong Limao again.

  Gu Hao, Zhang Dali and Liu Yuzhen were all guarding the west bank of the bridge. They heard the sound of gunfire rising up in front of them, dense and unceasing, and saw many people falling down like wheat stalks cut off at the waist by a sickle in a field.

  Liu Yudong led his reconnaissance team to occupy the high ground on the mountain.

  Zhang Dali and Gou Hao's men, scattered behind the fortifications at the bridgehead or beside parked trucks, were all ready for battle, but they didn't know who to shoot at - in front of them were refugees and people in military uniforms.

  Wang Jiagui led the men in a retreat, with several Japanese kamikaze troops hot on their heels. Gu Hao gave the order to open fire, shooting and killing both the approaching Japanese soldiers and several refugees.