Chapter 29

The entire battle lasted over 2 hours. The hillside was littered with the bodies of the enemy, densely packed. On the Eighth Route Army's side, fewer and fewer soldiers were left to fire. Hu Hao himself didn't know how many times he had changed positions, always finding a soldier ready to reload his gun. Whenever he moved to a new position, there was always a soldier ready to reload for him, allowing him to focus on shooting.

Finally, the enemy could no longer hold on and began to retreat. They had no choice but to withdraw, as the bodies of their fallen comrades were piled high in many places, leaving no room to stand. In this battle, the enemy lost at least 4,000 men, while the Eighth Route Army had very few soldiers left. The soldiers, seeing the enemy retreat, did not cheer but instead first checked on their injured comrades.

"Brother, brother, wake up. Wake up, the enemy has retreated, brother." A soldier pushed a motionless comrade in the trench, shouting.

"Brother, brother, it's okay, the enemy has retreated. I'll take you to the hospital right away, it's okay, it's okay!" A soldier reassured an injured comrade, whose chest was torn open, blood gushing from his mouth.

"Gengzi, kill more of the enemy, take care of yourself, and tell our parents that I have been disobedient." The injured soldier said and then passed out.

"Brother! Ah!!" Gengzi cried out loudly.

Hu Hao was also busy, constantly moving through the trench to bandage and stop the bleeding of the wounded soldiers, waiting for the villagers to come and carry them away.

"Er Lengzi, Er Lengzi." A voice called out.

"Xiao Li, why are you here?" Hu Hao, who was bandaging a soldier, looked up and saw it was Li, the platoon leader of Colonel Zhang's guard.

"Er Lengzi, Er Lengzi, go quickly, Colonel Zhang, Colonel Zhang, he..." Xiao Li said, crying.

"What happened to my brother!" Hu Hao, hearing it was Colonel Zhang, grabbed Li's shirt and asked fiercely.

"Colonel Zhang is injured, a shell fragment hit his abdomen." Before Li could finish, Hu Hao grabbed his gun and ran to the regimental command post.

"Brother, brother!" Hu Hao shouted as he ran into the command post, looking for Colonel Zhang.

"Er Lengzi, over here, the colonel is here." The political commissar's voice came, his arm freshly bandaged, blood still visible on the bandage.

"Brother." Hu Hao threw down his gun, ran over, and knelt down, taking the chief of staff's hand to support Colonel Zhang.

"Brother, let's go to the hospital, come on, let's go to the hospital." Hu Hao said, trying to carry Colonel Zhang out.

"No, Er Lengzi, no, I'm fine. The shell fragment hit my abdomen, but it didn't hit any vital organs. I won't die." Colonel Zhang said.

"Brother, let's go to the hospital, okay, brother, let's go to the hospital." Hu Hao, unable to find words, tears streaming down his face.

"Er Lengzi, I am the colonel. I'm fine now. I can't retreat. If I retreat with just a minor injury, how can I be a colonel? Our regiment has suffered heavy casualties. If I retreat, the morale of the troops will be lost. If the enemy attacks again, our defense will be broken, and our plan to encircle the 20th Division of the Eighth Route Army will fail." Colonel Zhang said.

"Brother, you should still go to the hospital. The shell fragment is still in your body. If it stays too long, it will get infected. Let's go to the hospital, get it out, and then come back, okay?" Hu Hao continued.

"It's fine, I know my own body. What happened to your hand? Why don't you bandage it?" Colonel Zhang saw the blood on Hu Hao's arm and asked.

"Oh, brother, I'm fine. The bullet just grazed my skin, it didn't penetrate the flesh, I'm fine." Hu Hao said.

"Alright, go down and monitor the enemy. If it weren't for your accurate machine gun fire, we would have lost our defense. Go down, I need to discuss some matters with the chief of staff." Colonel Zhang said.

"Brother, if it really doesn't work, let's go to the hospital. Our regiment won't be short of one person." Hu Hao still tried to persuade, seeing the fine sweat on Colonel Zhang's forehead, knowing it was winter and very cold outside.

"I said go down, did you not hear me? If I need to, I'll go to the hospital myself." Colonel Zhang scolded.

Hu Hao had no choice but to comply. He knew Colonel Zhang was right. An army's commander is its soul. As long as he is there, the soldiers will fight to the death.

So Hu Hao said to the political commissar and the chief of staff, "Take care of my brother. If it really doesn't work, take him to the hospital. I'll go and fight the enemy."

"Alright, go. We'll take care of the colonel. You also be careful." The political commissar said.

After Hu Hao left, the political commissar said to Colonel Zhang, "Old Zhang, don't be so stubborn. I think you should go to the hospital. I and the chief of staff are here."

"Haha, not that I don't trust you, Old Wang. You are the political commissar, and although you have fought, you are not good at commanding battles. Chief of Staff Sun, you are good at handling details, but you lack experience in commanding battles. In a normal battle, I could leave it to you two, but this time it's different. It's crucial. If the enemy breaks through our defense, our Eighth Route Army base will suffer a severe blow." Colonel Zhang said.

"Colonel, a telegram from the division commander." A communications soldier handed a telegram to the three of them.

"Read it."

"Please, Colonel Zhang, hold out until tomorrow night. Our division has already begun to encircle the 20th Division. It is essential to maintain the stability of the rear defense. Additionally, our division's guard company has been dispatched to your command, under your command. Commander Chen of the 22nd Division." The communications soldier read.

"It seems our division is also under pressure. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent the guard company. The other regiments of our division must also be facing difficult tasks." Colonel Zhang said. "Old Sun, send someone to meet the guard company. It's 4 PM now. We'll see if the enemy attacks before nightfall. If they do, it will be another fierce battle."

At the enemy's forward camp,

"Eight thousand, two battalions, and you couldn't take a non-regular regiment's defense? What are you eating? You lost over 4,000 men. You should commit seppuku and apologize to the Emperor." Tōjō Kuniaki scolded General Sakai Takashi and the two battalion commanders.

"Yes, our army charged without artillery support, and we couldn't spread out here, which is why we suffered such heavy casualties. Please, Commander, give us another chance. We will charge again and guarantee to break the Eighth Route Army's defense." General Sakai Takashi said.

"No need. Your regiment has less than 4,000 men left. I don't want to have to rebuild the 28th Regiment after this battle. The next attack will be led by General Kuan Yuhu's 27th Regiment." Tōjō Kuniaki said.

"Yes, we will break the Eighth Route Army's defense immediately. Please, Commander, rest assured." General Kuan Yuhu said.

"General, give us another chance. We can break the Eighth Route Army's defense right away. If we don't, it will be a disgrace to the 28th Regiment!" General Sakai Takashi said.

"I don't have the time to let you wash away your disgrace." Tōjō Kuniaki said and left.

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