Although the soldiers and officers of the 29th Army rehearsed this war in their minds every day, and could even picture its details in their dreams through every passing day and night, at this moment, even after "preparing themselves fully," everyone—including Sun Yi—was still dazed when the cannon fire first erupted.
"Dammit, it really is the fucking devils opening fire."
Sun Yi stood stunned for a long while before clenching his fists and growling in a muffled voice. The men behind him showed no sign of composure either; their expressions were tense, their faces grim.
The barrage over Wanping showed no sign of stopping. The rumbling grew increasingly urgent, vibrating so hard that soldiers in Zhaojiazhuang who had been turning in for the night rushed into the streets to look.
Zhu Shiqing leaned against the wooden door of regimental headquarters, finding a grim irony in the situation. As one of the top students in the NCO Program, he had finally reached the front lines ahead of everyone else.
And yet?
This was an opening on hell difficulty: friends and foes intertwined, intelligence severed, front lines scattered, troop complements incomplete... Even their battle map had to be cobbled together from several sheets of cardboard.
For the young Zhu Shiqing, this was a trial, but also an essential crucible for transformation. Waging war on paper would never make anyone a general.
"Xia Qidong, assemble the troops at once! Nobody sleeps tonight—stand by at all times!"
"Xiang Chengyu, gather all company commanders and above to headquarters for a meeting immediately!"
"Signalman, keep watch at the south end of the village. If Staff Officer Fang and his men return, bring them straight to headquarters!"
...
Sun Yi had completely regained his senses. With veteran poise, he issued his deployment orders, then darted back inside headquarters and personally cranked the line to Fengtai Station.
"Commander, it's Tan Hai! It's Tan Hai! I hear the shelling at Wanping!"
On the other end of the line, Tan Hai spoke at breakneck speed, shouting at the top of his lungs. Clearly, the artillery fire could be heard with acute clarity from where he was.
Sun Yi leaned heavily against the desk, virtually clutching the telephone to his chest. Though his brow remained deeply furrowed, he took care to steady the man: "Tan Hai! Battalion Commander Tan! I heard the gunfire too. You keep your eyes glued to Fengtai—are the devils on the other side doing anything unusual?"
"No, nothing unusual! The devils across the way are dead quiet!"
Hearing this, Sun Yi barked, "Order all the boys up to the station tonight! Not a single mistake is permitted at Fengtai. If you neglect your post and let the devils flank you, I'll blow your fucking head off!"
Tan Hai knew full well how vital Fengtai was and answered instantly, "Yes, sir!"
"What kind of fucking war is this? Can you fight in one place and not in another?" Sun Yi slammed the receiver onto the table, making the whole desk shudder. "Since the devils have already started shooting, aren't the ones at Fengtai Station afraid we'll wipe them out in one fell swoop?"
This matched Zhu Shiqing's thinking exactly. Since fighting had broken out, everywhere was a battlefield. Communications with Wanping were cut, and rushing over to reinforce them without intelligence was out of the question. Rather than sit here waiting, they might as well take out the devils right in front of them!
"Commander, sitting around waiting for death is out of the question. Striking out now is our only fighting chance!"
Zhu Shiqing stepped quickly over to Sun Yi and said, "Given how the little devils operate, once they bring out artillery, they're ready to go at us in earnest. Wanping covers Beiping's rear. The Japanese are attacking it to cut off the 29th Army's retreat. If Wanping falls, our regiment will be left in extreme danger."
Hearing this, Sun Yi scowled in displeasure. He smacked Zhu Shiqing on the back of the head and cursed ferociously, "The division commander is personally defending Wanping! How the hell could it fall so easily?"
Annoyed by the smack, Zhu Shiqing snapped back, "Wanping's walls aren't high, nor are they thick! At this rate of shelling, it won't take two rounds before a breach is blown right through the east wall!"
"Fine, fine, you're the educated one, we'll do it your way," Sun Yi yielded, giving himself a way out. "I want to fight too. But where do we hit? We can't reach anyone right now."
"We hit Fengtai!"
Zhu Shiqing jabbed his finger hard onto Fengtai Station on the map. "Fengtai is crucial ground the devils must take. If we don't strike them today, they'll turn around and hit us tomorrow once their hands are free! If we hold this chokepoint, even if we have to fall back, we can retreat toward Wanping along the railway line! But if we're trapped in Zhaojiazhuang, our regiment will truly be wandering ghosts with nowhere to turn!"
"We don't even know how many men are across from us..." Sun Yi hesitated. Deep down, he still shrank from wagering his entire force. After all, the new recruits hadn't even been enlisted yet. If he lost another half of his men, the 219th Regiment might lose its designation entirely one of these days.
Sun Yi pondered for a moment, his jaws chewing silently. He closed his eyes briefly and let out a long, slow breath.
"Fuck it, let's do it!"
Sun Yi slammed his right fist onto the desk. He had made up his mind.
Dammit, any way they fought was fine—they just couldn't sit by and take a beating! The tragedy of Beidaying would never happen on his watch!
By the time Xiang Chengyu arrived with the company commanders for the meeting, Sun Yi and Zhu Shiqing had already privately settled on their "grand scheme." Well, that was that—there was no need for a meeting anymore; all that was left was execution.
Still, none of the men found this surprising. Ever since Lijiatun, anyone could see that Sun Yi and this new staff officer were seeing eye to eye more and more.
Never mind how Sun Yi cursed Zhu Shiqing without filter every day; deep down, the older man truly favored the younger fellow.
Whenever there was a military meeting, it basically amounted to Zhu Shiqing offering a plan and the commander giving the final nod. The matter would be settled right then and there. At most, the subordinates might voice a few thoughts, but their arguments could never outmatch Zhu Shiqing's silver tongue.
For everything Zhu Shiqing did, he could rattle off a pile of justifications, with at least one so airtight that no one could talk back. As the saying went: command had to be seized!
Xia Qidong had gathered the entire battalion of officers and men in an open clearing north of the village. Five or six hundred men stood in formation. Under the misty drizzle, one out of every three or five men held a blazing torch, instantly illuminating the surroundings like daylight.
Raindrops hissed as they struck the burning flames. Every soldier stood silently in his position, without a trace of fatigue.
Most of these men were veterans who had fought all the way from the Great Wall War of Resistance. After the fight at Lijiatun, aside from the two hundred rifles sealed in the warehouse, the only resupply they had received was a newly forged broadsword for every single man.
This was thanks to the many villagers who had recently arrived in Zhaojiazhuang, among whom were some skilled blacksmiths. Finding out that soldiers of the Big Sword Army lacked broadswords simply would not do!
Hammer stroke by hammer stroke, they had forged a fine batch of new blades!
The artillery fire over Wanping gradually subsided. Sun Yi could not picture what maneuvers the Japanese had undertaken or what ground they had gained; perhaps Wanping was locked in a brutal struggle at this very moment. But all he could do now was lead his own men.
Stepping onto the clearing beneath the biting night wind, Sun Yi found a slightly elevated platform. Looking out at the troops arrayed before him, ready for battle, a sudden wave of emotion welled up inside him. The chill in the air seemed to carry him right back to that night at Xifengkou.
Back then, Sun Yi had been merely a company commander. Across his entire person, aside from an empty Broomhandle Mauser, all he had was a gleaming broadsword cold with murderous intent. That was the night he had led forty warriors charging into the enemy camp, reaping the heads of over a hundred devils!
Now, about to march onto the battlefield once more, Sun Yi cast aside his usual rogue demeanor. Scanning the crowd, his eyes burned like torches, and his voice rang out with soaring fighting spirit:
"Brothers! You've all heard the rolling artillery fire from Wanping loud and clear! The last time we staked our lives against the Japanese invaders was four years ago at Xifengkou. Today, they're reaching their hands out toward Beiping and Tianjin again! Will we allow it?!"
"No! Never!"
The soldiers' roars far drowned out the dull rumble of the artillery.
"As soldiers, what should we do?!"
"Kill the devils! Defend our homeland!"
Chapter 48