The jungles from northern Myanmar to the Yunnan border were filled with scattered expeditionary soldiers and small squads of pursuing Japanese soldiers. The two sides were mixed together, and small-scale battles occurred from time to time. However, the scattered expeditionary army was no match for the Japanese.
Along the way, there were corpses of abandoned expeditionary soldiers and wounded soldiers. Zhou Heng ordered the wounded soldiers to be rescued, regardless of whether they could be saved or not. As for the corpses, they had to be collected and placed in a specific location. They had to be marked and transported out for burial in the future.
He didn't want these soldiers who went abroad to fight for the country to not even have a grave in the end. After they died, they were left in the jungle to be eaten by wild animals. He also didn't want their descendants to not be able to find a place to pay homage to their ancestors in the future.
More than 4,000 soldiers retreated in an orderly manner. The scattered soldiers of the expeditionary army instinctively gathered around them, especially when they saw that they were treating the wounded and collecting the corpses along the way. They followed this team even more closely so that even if they died, their remains could go home in the future.
Not only the army, but also the overseas Chinese refugees who had fled from Myanmar were also moving closer to this team. Now that there were scattered soldiers, Japanese, and refugees in the jungle, there was no order. There were many cases of robbery, murder, and rape. They all hoped to have a strong team to protect themselves.
As the troop grew larger and larger, almost reaching 10,000 people, the problems increased. Zhou Heng had no choice but to bring Lin Yi's military police camp back and forth to control the basic order of the troop. This also made many people recognize him.
Everyone knew that Commander Zhou of this team was a fair person with great prestige. The entire team trusted him, and this was what Zhou Heng needed the most right now. He did not have a strong organization to control such a large team, so he could only rely on his own prestige.
The huge team was advancing slowly in the forest. This speed made Zhou Heng anxious because they were not safe. According to the situation detected by the plane, there were two Japanese teams behind them that were rapidly approaching them. They could catch up in at most two days.
He reported the situation to Lin Yi, Meng Fan, and Wang Wenyuan. They immediately went to Zhou Heng to discuss how to deal with it.
"There are too many refugees, and there are many women and children among them. The speed of advancement is too slow. Should we evacuate them and advance quickly?”Lin Yi whispered.
Zhou Heng immediately waved his hand and rejected this suggestion." We can't leave them behind. Leaving them in this forest is asking them to die. We are soldiers of the country. If we abandon them now, we can abandon our comrades in the future. We can't do this."”
Knowing that he had said something wrong, Lin Yi blushed and quickly apologized to Zhou Heng, but Zhou Heng signaled him not to do this.
"We must change the bad habits of the People's Party. We pay attention to not abandoning or giving up. If the army does not pay attention to unity, it will become a mass of loose sand.”Zhou Heng said this to everyone present.
Transforming a team was not something that could be done overnight. It required perseverance. He was not afraid of them making mistakes, but he was afraid that they would take it for granted when they made mistakes.
"Well said, Regiment Commander. We won't abandon them, just like when we were retreating. Regiment Commander threw away those cannons, but we have to take away the wounded and the ashes of the dead soldiers.”Wang Wenyuan was very excited when he heard Zhou Heng's words. He liked this sentence.
However, the situation they were facing had not been resolved yet. The Japanese behind them were still approaching.
"I'll stay here and bring my 1st Battalion with me. Give me more mortars and let the Japanese know how powerful I am.”Meng Fan suddenly said.
However, what he received was not a compliment, but a pat on the head from Zhou Heng." You used to be afraid of death, but why are you so brave now? It's not time yet. Let's follow my plan."
First, let the team speed up. Let our soldiers carry the women and children who can't run. At this time, we don't have to worry about men and women. Second, I will order the air force to harass the Japanese behind us and delay their speed. We will try to reach the Nu River in three days. When we get there, we will have to fight a good battle."
Zhou Heng would not give up on the south bank of the Nu River. If he gave up now, it would be difficult to fight back in the future. The Southern Heavenly Gate was a bloody lesson. He had already decided to show the Japanese what a real war was like at the Southern Heavenly Gate. When the time came, the air force, tank companies, and howitzers would attack together. He guaranteed that these Japanese would have a good time.
After the matter was settled, Zhou Heng told them to hurry up. The three of them dispersed and immediately urged the troops to speed up. They asked the refugees to throw away unnecessary luggage, carry their children on their backs, throw away the heavy mortars that were temporarily useless, and bomb them. They would use them to pull the women and the elderly. In short, they would come as soon as possible.
Seeing that the soldiers were willing to throw away their cannons and bring them along, many of the refugees were moved to tears. After so many years, they had never seen an army do so much for them. They also began to help the army do what they could.
For example, helping to cook, helping to clean things, helping to take care of the wounded, and even a little girl who took a fancy to a soldier and left her contact information on a note.
This was also a baptism for the 3rd Regiment. For the first time, they felt the respect and love of the people. They were no longer the dead soldiers that people talked about, nor were they the bandits that people hid from. They were real warriors.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]