Volume 1 Deserter's Bloodbath Chapter 5: Deadly Military Discipline
Luodian, the company where Feng E was stationed had already entered the town, with constant roars heard in the night sky; the violent explosions and flames in the direction of Chuansha had disappeared for several hours, it was almost dawn, the stars in the night sky were blinking hard, and the light of the moon was generously sprinkled on the town.
"Captain, there are no troops; there are no people or fortifications to the north!"
"Neither in the west..."
"Neither in the east..."
The brothers who were sent out to search have slowly returned. In the town square, a company commander has a serious look on his face; there are really no troops stationed here!
"Go back and report to the battalion commander, and tell him that the first company is stationed in Luodian. Please send support as soon as possible !"
"good!"
The brother who was named looked very happy. This place could be attacked by the Japanese army at any time, and he didn't want to stay here.
"Go back by yourself and find a place to hide. I won't bother to care about you. I finally managed to escape with my life. I don't want to die!"
The brothers who turned around thought happily that if they were to carry out the mission in this way without a supervisory team or officers, no one would be there to supervise them!
"Wait, brother! This is a national war, we are fighting the Japanese devils, don't be a deserter. If you deliver the message, I will give you the credit of two heads. If you desert, you will die. You only have a mission of five heads! Have you thought it through?"
The company commander looked solemnly at his brothers who were about to leave. He had no choice now. He only had three platoon leaders and nine squad leaders, and one had already been sent back. If he sent these people back and a fight really broke out with the Japanese, he would not be able to control the troops!
"Yeah!" The brother turned around and nodded, feeling a little conflicted;
"Remember, all the brothers here are waiting for your news. If your message is delayed by one minute, dozens of us may die. If you don't want to be haunted by the ghosts of your brothers, hurry up!"
The captain continued,
"Captain, I got it. I will deliver it as quickly as possible! Let's go!"
The last two words were clearly affirmative, and the brothers, carrying their rifles, left along the same path they came!
"Everyone, build defensive positions to the north; move!"
"First platoon leader, take two brothers and go out to guard!"
"Captain, we only have bayonets and rifles, how can we dig trenches? Why not use the house as a shelter? There's no one here anyway!"
A brother pointed at the dark houses and said,
"No, have you forgotten the military discipline? Go dig a shelter in the field outside the town!" The company commander refused with a dark face.
"In the middle of the night, you're digging a shelter with your hands and bayonets? Are you kidding? Even if you can find a hoe or a shovel in an ordinary person's house, it will be fine!"
Another brother muttered with a dark face,
"Don't forget, you are a death squad that has redeemed yourself for your crimes. If you violate military discipline, I can execute you on the spot! How do you want to work for me? Figure it out yourself!"
The captain finally got angry.
To the north of Yuepu Town is a cotton field. It is not yet time to harvest the cotton. The death squad that rushed into the cotton field was a little confused and didn't know how to attack the hard soil.
“Crack!”
One of the brothers poked with his bayonet and found that the ground was harder than he expected, and only a little soil rose up.
"Damn it! If we dig this way, we will die of exhaustion but still not be able to dig a foxhole. I won't dig anymore. It's easier to wait for the Japanese artillery to bomb. One shell will make a big hole, and those who are still alive will have shelter!"
The cursing brother lay dejectedly in the cotton field. After running for most of the night, he began to rest!
Feng E did not get the task of going forward to guard, so he came to the edge of the cotton field, walked around twice, chose a slightly higher ridge to stop, and then climbed down. He didn't know how to dig a shelter at this time.
In front of the ridge of the field is the dirt road, unobstructed and extending under the pale moonlight to the riverbed where the sound of gunfire continues.
"Captain, this won't work! We really can't dig it out. How about we go find some hoes and shovels or something?"
The platoon leader made a bitter face and pointed at the brothers lying on the ground. In this state, even they didn’t know how to dig?
"Okay, you lead the team. Remember, don't touch other people's things. Only take the hoe and shovel, and return them after use!"
The company commander finally compromised and let the officers go look for it themselves. He simply tried to out of sight and out of mind, hiding in the field and lighting a cigarette.
“Hoo, hoo…”
The officer who took his brothers to find shovels and spades had not yet returned, but snoring sounds were heard from the cotton field. The brothers who had been running around all night fell asleep in the cotton field!
Feng E did not sleep, although he was also very sleepy. This was his first time to be so close to the battlefield. No matter how good his training results were on the training ground, he was still just a new soldier without actual combat experience. He was a little nervous and kept stroking the rifle in his hand, hoping that the cold sound of the gunshot would bring him a sense of security. Unfortunately, this was just wishful thinking...
"Get some sleep! Once the fight starts, there won't be any time to sleep!"
An old soldier's voice of persuasion came from behind. The old soldier had been dazed for a while. Looking at Feng E who still had his eyes open, he felt a little sorry for the young man.
"What a good cadet! How did he become a member of the suicide squad?"
"I can't sleep. Do you think the Japanese will come?" Feng E asked in a low voice.
"They will definitely come. With such fierce artillery fire, the people from the 56th Division will definitely not be able to withstand it!" The old soldier shook his head and put his head back on the cold helmet, which of course was placed on the hard ground.
"Why hasn't the platoon leader come back yet?" Feng E looked at the darkening night sky. He didn't know when the moonlight had disappeared.
"It's almost dawn, they are probably sleeping in the houses. This company commander is so stubborn. There are so many houses. If the Japanese come, they will all be blown into ruins by the artillery fire. Is this the time to follow military rules? What's wrong with letting the brothers hide..."
The old soldier muttered, his voice getting quieter and quieter until he could hear the snoring again...
“Pah, snap…”
The sound of chaotic footsteps was faintly , and the sleeping old soldier jumped up with a start.
"Captain, someone is coming, a large group of people!"
The old soldier next to the company commander patted the sleeping company commander and shouted hurriedly.
"Who is it? From which unit?" the company commander asked anxiously, completely awake.
"I don't know! It came from the north." The old soldier shook his head.
"Prepare for battle! No shooting without orders!" The company commander issued standard orders. He seemed to have forgotten that they had not yet built field fortifications.
"Captain, how do we fight in this wilderness?" the old soldier asked with a bitter look on his face.
Not to mention fighting the Japanese, even in a melee between warlords, few veterans could withstand a battle in the wild without fortifications. It was completely a matter of luck. No matter how skilled they were, they could not avoid flying bullets, not to mention that the only Czech light machine guns they could rely on were two, not to mention other heavy weapons rifles, shooting at the fierce Japanese army in the wilderness was not a battle, but a one-sided massacre!
