Chapter 34

Hu Hao drove the jeep towards the defensive line. When he reached the foot of the mountain, he opened the car door and started climbing up the hill.

"Brother! Brother!" Hu Hao shouted loudly even before he entered the command post.

"Hush!" The political commissar, seeing the reckless one, quickly made a gesture for him to be quiet.

"What's wrong with my brother?"

"He just fell asleep. You kept him up all night yesterday, and with the Japanese shelling and bombing, how could the regiment commander sleep? He only fell asleep after hearing that the Japanese were defeated," the political commissar whispered.

"Oh," Hu Hao walked over to Commander Zhang, touched his forehead, and was shocked by how hot it was. He had a high fever.

"Commissar, quick, get a wet towel. My brother has a high fever. Forget it, you get the wet towel, I'll take my brother to the hospital," Hu Hao said, then picked up Commander Zhang, who was still covered in a blanket, and carried him out.

"Reckless one, Reckless one, wait!" The political commissar chased after him with a wet towel.

Hu Hao couldn't wait and went straight to the jeep at the foot of the mountain. Seeing a soldier nearby, he shouted, "Come here, help me open the car door."

After placing Commander Zhang in the back seat, the political commissar finally caught up and placed the wet towel on his head.

"Two soldiers, follow Reckless one to take Commander Zhang to the hospital. Hurry, put down what you're carrying, someone will come to get it," Commander Zhang shouted to two soldiers who were moving the spoils of war to the rear. The two soldiers came over, helped Commander Zhang into the car, and Hu Hao drove off towards the hospital.

The political commissar watched the car drive away and said, "Commander Zhang, you have good luck!"

He then went to the command post, where the communications officer approached.

"Commissar, the division headquarters has sent a telegram, asking about the current situation of our regiment."

"Oh, right," the political commissar slapped his head. He had been so busy taking care of Commander Zhang that he hadn't reported the situation.

"Send a telegram to the division commander. Our regiment defeated the Japanese 14th Division last night, killing about 18,000 enemies. The regiment commander is injured and is being taken to the hospital. We hope the division commander will inform the hospital to treat him as soon as possible. Additionally, our regiment is currently cleaning up the battlefield, and we will report the detailed results later. Please give instructions!"

"Old Chen, I don't know how Commander Zhang is doing. Should we organize a second defensive line? Our operations against the 20th Division are not going well, and our troops have suffered heavy casualties. According to the headquarters, we have already lost nearly 10,000 men. The Japanese still have such combat strength under these conditions, we cannot underestimate them," the political commissar of the division, Liu, said.

"How can we organize a defensive line? What do we have left? The entire division, except for Zhang's 3rd Regiment, has been taken by headquarters. The only guard company I have, I've already assigned to him. Sigh, I can only hope that Zhang can hold out until tonight. When they reported their casualties last night, they had already lost over 1,200 men, and now they have less than 700 left, including our guard company, they have less than 800 men," Division Commander Chen said.

"Commander, a telegram from the 3rd Regiment," the communications officer said.

"Give it to me," Division Commander Chen said, extending his hand. The communications officer handed the telegram to him, and after reading it, he rubbed his eyes and read it again.

"What's wrong?" Political Commissar Liu asked, seeing Division Commander Chen's reaction.

"Look, am I seeing things?" Division Commander Chen handed the telegram to Political Commissar Liu. Liu took it, glanced over it, and then read it carefully.

"Commander, this, this, how is this possible?" Political Commissar Liu said.

"If he, if Old Wang reports false information, I'll shoot him," Division Commander Chen said.

"No, wait, no, do you remember they asked us last night if any of our troops had launched a night attack on the Japanese 14th Division? It seems something happened that we don't know about. No, the telegram says Commander Zhang is injured and is being taken to the hospital. I'll go to the hospital first, and you go to the 3rd Regiment to check on the situation," Political Commissar Liu said.

When Reckless one's car arrived at the hospital, he got out, carried Commander Zhang, and rushed into the hospital.

"Doctor! Doctor, where are you? Come and save my brother!" Hu Hao shouted as soon as he entered the hospital.

"What are you shouting about, so early in the morning?" a nurse, a girl, said, seeing Hu Hao shouting.

"Don't talk nonsense, find a doctor to save my brother. If anything happens to my brother, I'll kill you," Hu Hao shouted at the nurse while continuing to rush towards the hospital. The two soldiers followed closely behind.

"What's going on, what's wrong with you, soldier?" the hospital director came over, and Hu Hao recognized him.

"Director, Director, find a doctor, find a doctor to save my brother. My brother is injured and has a high fever that won't go down," Hu Hao shouted at the director.

"Who is this?" the director asked, seeing Hu Hao carrying someone wrapped in a blanket, unable to see who it was.

"My brother, Commander Zhang of the 3rd Regiment!" Hu Hao shouted, "Hurry up, why so much talk?"

"What? Quickly, everyone, quickly!" the director shouted to those behind him.

Soon, Commander Zhang was taken to the operating room, and Hu Hao waited outside.

"Hey, isn't this Reckless one? Handsome guy?" Nurse Xiaoxin passed by and saw Hu Hao and the two soldiers squatting on the ground.

"Little girl, I'm not in the mood to play with you today. If you have something to do, go do it. If not, find something to do!" Reckless one looked up and saw it was the girl from last time.

"Who's like you, just sitting here idly? The hospital is busy now. This big battle has brought many wounded soldiers. Why are you here? You have a lot of nerve, don't you forget what I said last time?" Xiaoxin leaned in and said to Hu Hao.

"My brother is inside, don't provoke me!" Hu Hao said irritably.

"Ah! Who is your brother?" Xiaoxin asked.

"Commander Zhang of the 3rd Regiment," Hu Hao said.

"Oh," Xiaoxin thought for a moment and said, "I'll let you off today, we'll talk about it tomorrow. How is Commander Zhang?"

"I don't know, he was hit by shrapnel in the abdomen and has a high fever," Hu Hao said.

"Oh, then you keep squatting here, I'll go inside and check," Xiaoxin said, then lifted the curtain of the operating room and went in. Hu Hao stood up and tried to look inside but couldn't see anything.

"Reckless one, don't worry, the commander will be fine," a soldier beside him said.

"Okay," Hu Hao squatted down again, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and gave a few to the soldiers beside him, lighting one for himself.

At this moment, someone came, accompanied by the director.

"How is Commander Zhang now?" the person asked the director at the operating room door.

"Commissar Liu, we don't know yet, but it shouldn't be too serious. The shrapnel entered his abdomen, and it seems to be inflamed," the director said.

"Um," Commissar Liu turned and saw the three soldiers squatting and smoking. He shouted, "What are you three soldiers doing? This is a hospital, and you're squatting and smoking here. Stand up!"

The other two soldiers immediately stood up, but Hu Hao continued to squat. The two soldiers quickly patted Hu Hao's shoulder, signaling him to stand up. Hu Hao looked up at the person and continued.

Page AD starts

Page AD ends