~.-~ Chapter 63: Going to the expedition

"Long live, long live!"

The road from the Expeditionary Army camp to the dock was crowded with patriotic and enthusiastic people, who shouted "Long live!" over and over again, shouting over and over again.

The masses were crowded and sent these soldiers to the expedition amid cheers.

Today, on December 24, 2018, the fourth year of the Republic of China, on Christmas Eve of the Westerners, the first batch of troops of the Expeditionary Force finally set off. As many as 70,000 officers and soldiers will take 104 Chinese, Japanese, French, American, and British merchant ships to France and France at Dagu Port in Tianjin.

"Bang, bang..."

The soldiers carried rifles on their shoulders and marched forward in uniform steps. When the dark green cloth helmet was buckled under the carrying bag and collided with the bullet box, the sound made. Snowflakes fell from the air. Under the military cap, there were firm faces just looking ahead.

"Hold the battle flag high! The team has set out side by side! The fearless army is advancing, and the comrades have died on the battlefield, but they have never left us, and our will is more unified..."

Amid the soldiers' military singing, soldiers who found acquaintances in the masses from time to time, took the initiative to leave the team and bid farewell to everyone one by one. However, more soldiers were immersed in their heavy loyalty to the country, and gritted their teeth and marched forward. For many soldiers, they had already understood all this, and they had no other choice except without hesitation.

Many of them can calmly take on such crowd gatherings, cheering and boiling enthusiasm, watch calmly and calmly, and report only

With a gentle smile, the heads and hands stretched out from both sides of the street, like dense heads, chests, and arms, as dense as forests, are undulating like waves. Their hands are constantly waving up and down like wind, drawing circles. They are like butterflies, some dance fast, some dance slowly, and some stop there. Their mouths spit out the intense love and enthusiasm like raging waves.

At this time, the shouts of the people resounded even further throughout the night sky.

"Long live! Long live!"

There is only one sentence.

Just like a great symphony, a score of emotional excitement. In the interweaving of many emotions such as love, parting, motivation, and love, as the troops get closer and closer to the port, the people's passionate "Long Live" cheers become louder.

In addition to rifles, each soldier also carried various equipment including spare military uniforms, spare military boots, blankets, condolence bags, etc. The standard backpack with a capacity of 80 liters was already full. On the way, the condolence groups kept pushing the condolence bags of cigarettes and eggs into the arms of the soldiers, so soon these soldiers who had already suffered more than 50 kilograms were tired during the march.

The pain in the spine penetrated into the shoulders one by one. While resting on the road, the female students recruited from various schools brought tea and meals to the soldiers. Looking at the female students, almost every soldier felt a little more comfortable, and his originally tight expression also relaxed.

A few hours later, the troops arrived at Dagu Port.

The breakwater of Dagu Port is full of military horses, soldiers and shovels. Initially, military horses were lifted from the air by large cranes on the ship. When military horses were lifted, they would always make neighing sounds. Those military horses were not qualified military horses to some extent, but for China, they were already the best.

At the dock, there are many foreigners, many foreigners. They are all troops stationed in Beijing and Tianjin. According to the dispatch agreement, in return, they will withdraw their troops from Beijing and Tianjin. They will go to the European battlefield with the Chinese team. At this time, these foreign soldiers looked at their Chinese counterparts curiously, but many of them had a hint of sarcasm on their faces. It seemed that in their opinion, it would be difficult for these Chinese teams to play any "important role" in Europe.

The ship that Wen Depeng and his comrades were on the 6,500-ton ship newly built by Jiangnan Shipyard - the "Taikang". This is the largest merchant ship built by Jiangnan Shipyard. The crew on the ship told the soldiers that this ship went to sea this time was his first voyage, and it was even the first voyage of the first Chinese captain of the China Merchants and Shipyard. After the loading mission of military horses and luggage, the first battalion of the 6th Regiment of the Wendepeng Institute began to get on the ship from the ladder on the side of the ship.

The people who were blocked outside the breakwater fence rushed towards the boat as soon as they allowed. The names of their relatives were shouting their relatives. Because many of the expeditionary troops were native to Beijing and Tianjin, there were quite a few people who saw off their relatives off, and they often seemed very excited after seeing off and meeting them on the expedition.

Between those who were seeing off and those who went out to fight, hawkers selling picking belts were drilling around the crowd. The red, blue and white belts were thrown from below to above, and countless colorful ribbons swayed in the wind - connecting soldiers and those who were seeing off. When the wife was holding the ribbons for the head of the family, the parents held the ribbons for the son, and the friends held the ribbons for the friend.

At this time, the people on the dock were emotional and were far from excited, but were more crying. It seemed that for many people, this might be the last time they talked to their relatives. Their relatives would always go from their vision to a distant place, whether they were dead or alive, and that was far away was an unknown.

At the dock, when his comrades began to board the gangway, Fang Fucai, who was worried, was standing by the gangway with a rifle on his back and smoking a big mouthful. At this time, his 40s-year-old face was red with wrinkles. He looked at the dock from time to time, his eyes were full of burnt and his hands were rubbing from time to time.

"Laocai, how about it? Is your son here?"

After the last person in the company got on the boat, the company commander walked to Lao Cai and asked softly.

"No, no..."

He turned around and saw that the brothers of the fifth company had already started to board the ship. Lao Cai, who was flushed, held his gun and acted as he was about to board the ship.

"It's okay, I'll talk to the fifth company commander. You can wait a little longer, wait a little longer..."

Wait a little longer, what can I do if I wait for my son?

Now that my wife is sicker day by day, if I have something to do, how can I explain it to my wife and son now? How can I bear it if I leave them at home?

Fang Fucai, who was rubbing his hands, hesitated and took steps.

The sea breeze blew, with a biting chill. In the cold wind, Fang Fucai, who was hesitating in his heart, kept raising his toes and looking into the distance. Finally, he saw a half-year-old boy running hurriedly towards the dock, and the boy shouted while running.

"Dad, dad..."

"Set this, that..."

When he waved his hand hard, Fang Fucai finally smiled on his face, although the wrinkles on his face made his smile look extremely ugly.

"father,……"

While gasping for breath, Fang Youqian looked at his father. When he was about to speak, he looked at his father and patted his shoulder, and then said loudly.

"Good guy, he is getting stronger and stronger. When your father comes back, I will tell you about a kiss!"

"Dad, my mother, my mother asked me to give it to you..."

Looking at his father, Fang Youqian took a breath, knelt down suddenly, and kowtowed three times in a row.

"Get up, get up..."

He forced his son to pull him up and looked at the marks on his son's head, Fang Fucai cursed in pain.

"Silly, that's so heavy!"

"Dad, don't worry, I have me at home, I'm here, my mother, my brother won't be hungry!"

"Oh, ah, give it, I have money, take this money, I don't need it..."

As if he remembered something, Fang Fucai took out more than ten dollars of banknotes and more than a dozen copper coins from his pocket.

"Dad, I don't want it. My mother said, you want it, you need it, and you need it!"

"Flower Bear, your father is in the army, eats the country, wears the country, and flowers a bear flower!"

Fang Fucai told his son again.

"You remember that on the 27th of each month, you took your notebook to the Bank of Communications on time to receive your father's military salary. Twelve a month, it's enough for your mother to survive..."

As he reminded him, the whistle finally rang.

"Let's go!"

The company commander glanced at Lao Cai and then at his son.

"Kowtow your father three more times!"

"Let's go!" Before he could, the company commander pulled Lao Cai, but Lao Cai had already cried now, with tears on his old face.

"I'm content, my son has seen me off..."

Holding Lao Cai, the group boarded the boat. At the dock, Fang Youqian was still kneeling there and shouting loudly at his father who was on the boat.

"Dad, don't worry, I'll hold on at home..."

Amidst the scenes of separation and death, the Taikang quietly completed the work before the departure.

Just like cherishing the touch and excitement of parting, the ribbon rings held by people extend until the last one is turned.

lock up.

For Wen Depeng, he had no ribbon to hold. He did not know any of them. Now, he had no need to find one of them. His family did not come. In fact, in fact, there was nothing good to come, just looking at the scene quietly.

He was not moved or excited because he had the power to surpass his touch. He had already swore in his heart that he would never lose the people of the Wen family!

Amid the cheers and cries on the shore, the ship slowly left the dock!

It was at 3:25 pm on December 24th.

A few hours after the boat left the pier, the wind and snow began to rage. The Bohai Bay in winter may not be calm, but it does not have the raging waves as imagined. At night, the wind and snow stopped, the breeze was whispering, and it was cool and pleasant.

Like many people, Wen Depeng, who was so seasick and uncomfortable, boarded the deck of the stern, sucked cigarettes, and looked at the disappeared coast. The ship had entered the sea.

The sound of a propeller sounded under his feet, and he felt a violent rotation. The sea breeze wrapped in the wind and snow blows on his cheeks, making people tremble from time to time. At this time, Wen Depeng felt extremely dull and could not even feel homesickness. He did not feel the boat running towards the battlefield, but it was like a pleasant trip on a relaxing night.

Thousands of tons of giant ships were moving forward under the brilliant light, like a city that never sleeps. At this time, a song came from the deck. An officer was singing "Olive Green Constellation". There were always various songs in his belly, and they were all related to soldiers.

Accompanied by the propeller, the songs sung by the officer are sad and sad. On the deck, next to the officer, there were dozens of people sitting, listening quietly, and each of them looked very complicated.

"Xingxing, do you still remember me? That mountain kid in olive green, you always look at me and smile when standing guard. The stars reflect the youth. Stars please take away my thoughts and let the wind bring my words to my mother. The stars contain my affectionate blessings, and the stars reflect the youth..."

“Woo woo…”

After a while, someone used a gentle cry to match the homesick singing.

The officer stopped and asked:

"Who is crying?"

No one answered. The crying continued. Perhaps the chief was unwilling to disturb his own intoxication and started to lead the singing again.

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The crying sounds were even more. The heart far away from my hometown could not withstand the temptation of this song. Wen Depeng, who had originally asked himself, could not resist the tear-jerking formation. Finally, the dam broke and "cried" with his comrades.

"mother……"

I don't know who it was, so I rushed to the side of the port and shouted loudly in the direction of the mainland, then there was another person, and finally a group of people stood on the side of the port and shouted loudly in the distance, crying, their shouts and crying alarmed everyone.

Even the second lieutenant officer had red eyes. At this time, a major walked out. After asking the reason, he looked at the soldiers crying on the side, and there was something in his eyes that was turning. Suddenly, his face turned rough.

"There is no longer lyrical songs!"

On the third day, at five o'clock in the morning, all soldiers began to line up to board the deck. After washing their faces, they were allowed to smoke a cigarette on the deck. Each team had an hour and a half of air time, and hundreds or even thousands of people were squeezed on each ship. Therefore, dining and even convenience required lineups. While they were queuing, soldiers carried the heavy toilet, poured the sewage from the toilet into the sea, and then took water to wash the toilet. Apart from this smell, the morning breeze on the sea was refreshing. At this time, the sun had not yet risen, and the "Taikang" was driving far away in the thin morning light.

As the horizon turned white and dyed red, the horizon began to appear in view. After a while, the ship could see an island on the left, which was more like a large ground plane than an island. After driving for a while, the left could clearly see the land.

The soldiers who were venting the air immediately shouted:

"It's Lianyun! It's Lianyungang!"
To be continued...