At this moment, Murong Yao suddenly interjected,""Uncle Kuang, is Division 36 the legendary German Machinist?”
Kuang Jiuxi smiled bitterly again. The strongest combat force in the country's armed forces were the German Machinists. The National Government was preparing to form a total of 60 German Machinists. However, there were only three true German Machinists, and they were: Division 87, Division 88, Division 36. "Our instructors are all officers sent by the Dé country's government. The training they receive is also based on the Dé country's military standards. Their weapons are also completely German. Although the guns we use are Chinese-made Zhongzheng rifles, they are modified from the Dé country's standard Mauser rifles. Strictly speaking, Zhongzheng rifles are also considered German weapons and are currently the best rifles in the country."
"Aren't you in the Central Teaching Corps? Why is he in the 36th Division?" Niu Yunfeng asked.
"It's a long story. At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, the principal had a guard battalion with him. As the Northern Expedition continued to win, this guard battalion was gradually expanded. At first, it was expanded into two guard battalions. When the Northern Expedition won and Nanjing was established as the capital, these two battalions had been expanded into two garrison divisions, namely the First and Second Garrison Divisions of the Capital. After the successful cooperation between the Chinese government and the French government. These two Garrison Divisions became German Machinists with instructors and equipment provided by the German side. Their numbers were Division 87 and Division 88 respectively. These two garrison divisions also have a supplementary brigade in Nanjing, a total of four regiments. After the military committee expanded this supplementary brigade, the third all-German machinist division was established, which is our 36th division. Because the 36th Division was expanding, it lacked many officers. The Military Committee transferred a group of officers from the Central Teaching Corps. The Central Teaching Corps was originally meant to train officers, and that was how I got to the 36th Division.”
"Who is your master?"
"General Song Xilian, you may not know him. He also participated in the Northern Expedition, but he has been on the eastern battlefield of Zhe-Jiang.”
"Can you tell me about the situation on the Songhu battlefield?”
"Alright!" This was a painful memory. Kuang Jiuxi was silent for a long time before he slowly recounted,"Our division was one of the first to participate in the Songhu battlefield. After the 87th and 88th divisions, on August 18th, they rushed from Xi'an to Shanghai and directly entered the Ninth Army. On the 19th, they entered the battlefield to participate in the battle. The two regiments had a fierce battle with the Japanese army near the Yangshupu concession. On the 20th, our troops, together with the 87th division, rushed into the Yangshupu concession and went straight to the Huishan dock on Yuezhou Road. They fought with the Japanese army repeatedly, causing heavy casualties. On August 23rd, the Japanese army sent two divisions to reinforce the Baoshan area. The two sides had been in Baoshan and Chuansha for more than two months. Both China and Japan were constantly increasing their troops. The Japanese army was increasing their elite troops, while our troops were uneven and slow. The Sichuan army had been on the road from Sichuan for more than a month. Their equipment was simple, their organization was insufficient, their training was poor, and their pay was insufficient. Many troops came to Shanghai hungry. The Jungong Road, Songhu Road, Yuepu, and Luodian became a meat mill. Many troops, especially those local warlords, would suffer heavy casualties under the Japanese artillery fire the next day. Only a regiment was left. It was simply sending themselves to death. Our regiment also suffered heavy casualties. The most well-trained and well-equipped troops of the National Government had entered the frontline of the battlefield. There were a total of 75 divisions and more than 700,000 people. Most of them were the direct troops of the Central Army. They had been at a disadvantage in the battle. The troops had been retreating as they fought. They had already retreated to the periphery of Shanghai, but they had been desperately resisting. The turning point happened on November 5th. In addition to the 200,000 troops that the Japanese army had invested in the Songhu battlefield, they suddenly landed 120,000 elites near the Jinshan Guard of Hangzhou Bay. The Eighth Army of the National Army along the Hangzhou Bay was mostly adapted from the local security regiment. The quality of the soldiers and weapons were very poor. They could not stop the sudden attack of the Japanese army, causing the entire line to collapse. This collapse blocked the retreat of the 700,000 National Army troops on the Songhu battlefield. All the participating troops were placed in a dangerous situation. Our regiment happened to be in the front line of Qingpu and Song Jiang. Division Commander Song ordered our regiment to immediately go to stop them. Who knew that as soon as the troops arrived in Jiaxing, they would encounter a turbulent tide of defeated soldiers. These defeated soldiers were really like a tide. They threw away all their weapons and equipment and desperately fled. These ruffians couldn't fight the Japanese, but they could escape faster than anyone else. We went to stop them, but who knew that these scattered soldiers would shoot first. The two brothers who were injured today were injured by these soldiers. "Our reinforcements were also scattered by these defeated soldiers. When we reached Chongfu in Tongxiang, there were less than a hundred brothers left by my side. In desperation, we could only retreat to Deqing and Huzhou. We were still losing people along the way. We wanted to retreat to Nanjing, but the Nanjing-Hangzhou National Road had been occupied by the Japanese army. We could only retreat to Guangde. When we reached Xuancheng, we wanted to retreat to Wuhu. However, we heard that there was the shadow of the Japanese army in Wuhu. This road was blocked, so we could only continue west.""I wanted to try my luck at Chizhou. When the troops set out to reinforce us, we didn't prepare any supplies in a hurry. Now that we've run out of ammunition and food, we've also spent all the money we had with us. We've run out of medicine long ago. We're at the end of our rope here. We also know that we can't harass the people, but we can't help the situation now. I can't bear to leave my brothers behind. I didn't abandon any of them. We walked very slowly. If we didn't meet you today, who knows what the road ahead would have been like?" Old platoon leader, I can't thank you enough!" Kuang Jiuxi stood up and bowed deeply to Niu Yunfeng.
Niu Yunfeng was silent for a long time. This was the helplessness of a poor country, the sorrow of a backward country! She was being bullied openly. The 36th division was considered the pride of the country. If they were in such a state, one could imagine the other retreating troops!
"By the way, Old Platoon Leader, how did I meet you here?”
"Haha! This is my hometown! During the northern expedition, I was in the 4th army's independent regiment, which was Ye Ting's advance party. This was an iron army. Of course, the so-called iron army was built with the lives of his brothers. When I attacked Tingsi Bridge, I was injured and one of my arms was blown off. I left the Northern Expedition Army and went home. Battalion Commander Kuang, you don't have to worry about daily necessities anymore after you come to my place. You can stay here for the time being. With the current situation, what can you do even if you come to Chizhou? My village is about ten miles to the east, and it's quite remote. You have two brothers who need to recuperate, and your other brothers are also suffering from hunger and cold. I'll arrange for you to stay in the village for a while. Oh right, I forgot to ask you. Will there be any brothers from your 36th division coming over?”
"There must be. Although we have been scattered, there is only one way to retreat. There must be more brothers behind us. They must be in dire straits!”
"I will send two people, and you will take turns to send two people to wait at the intersection of the county town every day. The main thing is to gather all your brothers. We can't let heroes shed blood and tears and let the anti-Japanese soldiers be destitute on the road. I was once a soldier.”
Kuang Jiuxi's voice was a little choked up."Thank you, Old Platoon Leader!"
"You don't have to thank me. I won't let you idle around. I've organized a self-defense force in the village. There are hundreds of people. The military training now is different from the Northern Expedition. " Then I'll hire you to help me train. From formation tactics to weapons, I can teach you everything. Weapons are not a problem. We are a traditional martial arts village, and the quality of our soldiers will not be bad. Fighting the Japanese is not just your military's business. The Japanese have already attacked our land, so it is the business of all of us! If you encounter any artillery, engineering, or other technical soldiers during the gathering, you can take them all if you are willing to stay. Of course, you don't want the ruffians! I will pay you."
Kuang Jiuxi's eyes lit up." I have an artillery officer here. There's also an officer from the regimental headquarters. He studied in Japan and can speak Japanese."
At this moment, Murong Yao interrupted and asked,"How's the officer's Japanese?" If he was talking to a Japanese, could the Japanese tell that he was a foreigner?”
"I don't think so. You'll have to ask him for the details. However, he didn't study military affairs. He studied biology at New York University for four years, so he can only be an officer!”
"Isn't the military secondary? As long as he could speak Japanese properly, it would be useful, very useful! What we lack right now is someone who knows Japanese. If not only does he know Japanese, but he can also teach us, that would be great!”
At this point, both parties knew that there was no point in saying anything else.
In the evening, Murong Chi came over. The two injured soldiers miraculously started to retreat. The one with the leg injury had already woken up and could talk and communicate with others!
Kuang Jiuxi was overjoyed. He did not expect to meet a noble person in a small place like Qingyang. He had really found a way out of a desperate situation. Even the injured soldier he was most worried about had improved. He ran back.
Seeing that his two brothers 'expressions had returned to normal and that they had already eaten, Kuang Jiuxi felt a mix of emotions. The hardships he had endured along the way had all paid off. He pressed down on the wounded soldier.
Kuang Jiuxi said," Brother, your life is no longer your own. It belongs to the doctor who pulled you back from the hands of the King of Hell. It belongs to the old platoon leader, to the villagers of Qingyang County, and to the Japanese!"”
That night, after dinner, other than the two wounded soldiers who stayed in the clinic to continue their treatment, the rest of the 35 soldiers, including Kuang Jiuxi, returned to Sanjia Village with Niu Yunfeng and Murong Yao. Murong Lin also returned home. After arranging everyone, it was already late, so Murong Yao strolled back to his own home.
What awaited Murong Yao was also a big surprise!
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