Unique to early winter, there are grey, dark clouds that move from north to south driven by the wind. The sun is dim and the weather is cold, giving people a feeling of desolation. In the yellow woods, birds are frightened.

They screamed and flew around in panic, flying in groups from one village or forest to another village or forest, and then from that village or forest to a distant place.

Go to the village and the woods.

This is the time of late autumn and early winter. The harvest of sorghum, corn, and soybeans has been completed. The blackened red taro vines are trailing in the fields, like long braids. Piles of sorghum stalks and bean straws, large and small, are lonely on the farm.

Crouching there, no chickens could be heard, no cattle could be seen, and the melodious and loud grins of farmers driving cattle to the fields or doing winter plowing could not be heard for some time.

War changed places.

Corpses were scattered in the fields and woods. Most of these corpses in khaki military uniforms fell forward or backward. Black crows danced among the corpses.

tree, dozens of crows stared at the land full of corpses with their black eyes

A sudden burst of rapid shelling scared away the crows dancing among the corpses!

At the junction of the two provinces of Lu and Su, the largest battle since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had begun. After a day and night of fighting, the second attack started again when the sun rose.

This second attack was more violent than yesterday's attack. This time, the First Army exerted their full strength. The Army Fleet and Air Force that covered the First Army's attack also devoted all their strength to cover the First Army.

In the attack, groups of ten, twenty, and even thirty planes kept circling and roaring over the Japanese positions from dawn to dusk.

Aerial bombs and napalm bombs were continuously thrown into the fields, where the trenches were concentrated, and into the woods. One smoke column after another rose from the ground, carrying the soil and rising into the air. The flames of hell continued.

Zheng rose around the Japanese positions, devouring everything within its reach.

The artillery bombardment was even more violent than the bombing by planes. Sometimes the shells poured down like a thunderstorm. Houses, trees, flowers, grass, and everything on the earth were trembling.

In the tactics of the forward position, Yan Huacai and his squad of soldiers have been guarding the shelter of the trench for half a day. They replaced the 16th Mixed Brigade that was crippled in the night attack in the early morning.

During the attack, the Sixteenth Mixed Brigade suffered tens of thousands of casualties. One of the two regimental commanders was shot and killed in action, in exchange for this Japanese trench.

Yan Huacai glanced at the brothers around him. Like him, they all came from Xiangtan. After the attack started, they had not fired a single grenade, and not a single shot of their rifles. In tonight's attack, everyone's rifles

The ammunition supply for each person was one hundred and twenty rounds.

Despite the roar of artillery, there was silence in the entire trench at this time. Although these soldiers had experienced the fire of war, they could not help but feel a little fear at this time, or in other words, they instinctively felt fear due to their desire for life.

of fear.

"Clean the bayonet well. The bayonet is better than the gun!"

While wiping his bayonet, Yan Huacai said to his brothers that the Fifth Brigade may be the unit with the most combat experience in the First Army. Compared with other armies, they have something to be proud of. They once wiped out all the troops in the field.

The Japanese army was almost a brigade, and they once captured a Japanese defense line at the cost of hundreds of casualties.

And today they will jump out of the trenches and fight the Japanese again.

Li Wuben, who was wiping his submachine gun, blinked his red eyes, looked at the squad leader, and sighed. When he came in the morning, he was frightened by the corpses in front and behind the position. He didn't expect so many people to die in the war.

There was no place to set foot, and even now, the trench still smelled of blood.

Realizing that the brothers seemed to be in a low mood, Yan Huacai stabbed the bayonet in his hand on the earthen wall of the shelter and said:

"Brothers, we are the Central Army of the Republic of China. The reason why we came out of Hunan is to fight the Japanese. Our bayonets and bullets are all prepared for the Japanese! Pick up the bayonet and poke his grandmother, scoop up

Bullets hit his mother! What are we afraid of? What are we afraid of? What are we afraid of? Her head fell off and she has a scar as big as a bowl. Hit her! Let us hit her and create a strong country. By then, the foreigners will not be able to defeat us!"

As they were talking, a heavy bomb dropped by an airplane exploded a hundred meters away from them, and the soil on top of the shelter where they were squatting began to fall with a "swishing" earthquake.

Another batch of planes left, and the positions of the Japanese No. 1 Regiment were bombed into pieces of scorched earth.

After the plane left, the Japanese officers and soldiers who were hiding from the bombing in the trenches finally breathed a sigh of relief. There were no legendary "Hell Flames", they were all heavy bombs. Fortunately, not bad...

When the officers and soldiers were rejoicing, in the shelter, the telescope scooped up in Yoshikawa's hand was obviously a monocular telescope taken apart from the binoculars. He was observing the position in the distance that was taken away by the Chinese army in the early morning. His face was filled with tears.

With a solemn look, the attack of the Chinese Army last night made him see what real madness is. The Chinese Army was like a piece of wood that was not afraid of death, constantly charging. Through the gunfire, he could clearly see

, in order to drive the troops to attack, the Chinese Army even set up machine guns in their positions to shoot those who tried to withdraw.

"Crazy! The China Army is really crazy!"

In the shelter, the leader of the 2nd Squadron, Ichikawa, seemed to have not recovered from the shock of the early morning.

"Your Excellency, Captain, the three of us only have one rifle, and almost no cannons. If we continue to fight like this, we will have no chance to stop them. Even if we use this force, they can kill us."

Yoshikawa put down the telescope, turned around, glanced at his subordinate Ichikawa, shook his head and said:

"For the honor of the Japanese Imperial Army, we must continue to fight and must not take a step back!"

"That……"

Ichikawa suddenly raised his head and stared at the captain with feverish eyes.

"Your Excellency, Captain, please give us permission to launch a counterattack against the China Army tonight and die fighting like a soldier!"

But Yoshikawa lowered his head and spoke after a long while.

"The soldiers haven't eaten anything all day!"

"You can let them cut the flesh from the corpse and eat it, and then die like a soldier!"

As the sun sets, everyone who looks at the sky dyed red by the setting sun knows that the attack is about to begin. After the bombing and artillery fire during the day, what is left is the attack at night. In this regard, whether it is the soldiers of the fifth brigade or the

It was clear to everyone that they were Japanese soldiers.

Wu Peifu looked at the brothers in the battalion in front of him. Each of them had a grenade bag tied to his chest, with four grenades showing the matchlock. They were either carrying rifles or wearing submachine guns.

This is the brave team of the fifth brigade. Their mission is to tear a hole in the Japanese defense line and create conditions for the entire brigade to break through the Japanese positions.

As the commander of the first brigade, he would never be like Qu Fengtong, who took the lives of his brothers to fight hard. During the day, he withstood the pressure from the command, and even quarreled with the commander on the phone. The Japanese army

The tenacity of the Japanese army was far beyond their imagination. Although the machine guns of the Japanese troops facing the group charge were limited, the lethality of the volley guns was no less than that of the machine guns. The 16th Brigade laid a trench but even the entire brigade was disabled.

It would be unwise to rush forward if you want to kill an enemy.

The surest way is to organize the Fengyong Team, attack the enemy a little bit, and tear apart the defense line. The Fengyong Team recruits volunteers from all over the brigade. Although the recruitment is a scramble, volunteers are better than forced selection. At least they all have the consciousness of death.

, there is no need for the officers to hold guns behind their backs. What appears on each of their faces is not the fear of death, but the calmness of dying generously.

"Brothers, I won't talk nonsense. The commander ordered us to seize the Japanese second line of defense before twelve o'clock tonight. If we can't do it before twelve o'clock, I will have my head! Now you will form a brave team to tear open the Japanese defense line.

, create opportunities for the entire brigade to attack, brothers take the first step."

Finally, Wu Peifu looked at the members of the Fengyong Team in front of him.

"As for the posthumous affairs of our brothers, please rest assured. Jiangsu has already promised a 20-yuan pension for those killed in action. I would like to toast my brothers with this bowl of wine! Do it!"

After saying that, Wu Peifu drank a bowl of wine. The 563 officers and soldiers of the Fengyang Corps standing in the open space raised their bowls and drank the wine at the same time, then slammed the porcelain bowl.

Wiping the drink from his mouth, Sun Mingxiang, with red eyes, gave a military salute to the brigade commander. He was the commander of the third battalion.

"Brigadier, don't worry, if we can't scoop out the Japanese positions, Ming Xiang will come to see you with his head raised!"

"I don't want your head, I just want the Japanese army's position!"

"yes!"

In return of the military salute, Sun Mingxiang turned around and looked at the members of the Fengyong Team. Although the weather was very cold, everyone was only wearing dyed black shirts and had their heads bare. He held the steel gun tightly in his right hand, and the bullets had already been loaded into the chamber.

Their heads were shining with bayonets. Even though the night was chilly, the team members' eyes were red, their foreheads were stained with sweat, their heads were steaming, and their teeth were clenching. A life-and-death struggle was about to begin.

Looking at the brigade commander with his peripheral vision, Sun Mingxiang gave an order.

"Brothers, the goal is to seize the Japanese position, charge!"

Under the cover of the curtain, the members of the Endeavor quickly jumped out of the trench, looking at the four grenades tied to the sides of their chests, with their safety caps open, ready to throw them at the heads of Japanese soldiers or die with them.

The atmosphere inside was extremely tense. All the officers and soldiers who had been sitting in the trenches stood up. The machine gunners operated the machine guns and aimed at the Japanese positions, while more soldiers inserted bayonets into the heads of their guns, preparing for the last moment.

charge.

"Two dogs!"

Song Yubo grabbed the youngest soldier beside him and put the pistol into his hand.

"Scoop up, and when we charge, whoever doesn't charge will be killed!"

"Yes, sir!"

This is the rule of the army and there is no room for negotiation. Everyone glanced at Ergouzi, and then looked towards the battlefield shrouded in night. In the background, black figures were stooping and heading towards the Japanese position.

He held a rifle and a submachine gun in his left hand, and a grenade in his right hand. The grenade was pulled by the fire ring under the matchlock and clasped on his little thumb. While running, no one made a sound, but kept their heads down and approached the Japanese position.

"It smells so good..."

The aroma of the broth in the marching lunch box made Xiaotian close his eyes and savor the aroma. Although the air was filled with a strange fragrance, few people dared to move the lunch box while they were carrying it. Even the officers found it difficult to give orders.

The soldiers ate meat and drank soup, and even more of them turned pale. Although the cook did not tell them what kind of meat it was, everyone knew that it was human flesh!

It's the flesh cut from the bodies of those comrades who died in battle!

Finally, tempted by the aroma of meat, Oda used chopsticks to poke a piece of steaming human flesh into the lunch box, blew the hot air with his mouth, and greedily took a bite to chew.

"It's so delicious. Come and try it. It's delicious! It's delicious!"

Xiaotian said while chewing human flesh.

At first, the hungry soldiers were hesitant, but when they smelled the aroma in the trench and saw Oda eating with such relish, they could no longer refuse. Several soldiers immediately picked up the meat in the lunch box with chopsticks and ate it.

Got up.

For a time, the whole trench was filled with the sound of greedy chewing. Their eyes were shining when they were eating meat. At this time, they completely forgot that the meat they were eating might be the meat of their classmates and fellow villagers.
To be continued...