Rise from eight hundred.

Chapter 1473 Martyrs' Shrine!

Both of them had seen the handsome old man Tan Tai, but Fang Xianjue was seeing him for the first time. However, he had heard of Tan Tai's name.

As for Tan Tai Yunshu, who was standing under the tree and watching the three people with a smile, he obviously guessed that the one in the middle was Fang Xianjue.

In the whole Hengyang area, there is probably no one else except the former commander of the 10th Army who can have the Chief of Staff of the First Army and the Mayor of HY by his side.

Since leaving Taihang Mountain, Tan Tai Yun Shu no longer had a military position, and his identity was still a professor at Jinling University. When he met these three people, he naturally did not need to follow military etiquette and greeted each other with a handshake.

"Today I came to Fuyan Temple for a visit. Master Zhiyuan asked me to tell the young masters about the history of China. On a whim, I talked about the current Chinese war. I was showing off my skills in front of General Fang. I would like to ask General Fang to tell everyone about it so that I don't mislead you." said Tan Tai Yunshu.

Even for a general like Fang Xianjue who once commanded a large army, there are very few people who can make someone as arrogant as the handsome old man Tan Tai become so humble.

That's not to say that his son-in-law is in Hengyang and is under the jurisdiction of this person, but that Fang Xianjue is really a fierce general.

During the Third Battle of Tanzhou, Anami Korechika, then commander of the Japanese 11th Army, knew that the 9th Reserve Division of the 10th War Zone was guarding the south gate of Tanzhou. When the Japanese Army Lieutenant General saw the word "reserve" in front of the unit's number, he judged that it was a second-rate unit, and thus decided on the battle plan to "focus on attacking the south gate of Tanzhou."

Anan Weiji's judgment was correct. The 10th Reserve Division had more new recruits than veteran soldiers, and it had just participated in the Second Battle of Tanzhou. The troops had not yet been fully replenished, and the entire division had only 7000 people.

But Anan underestimated Fang Xianjue, the commander of the 10th Reserve Division at that time!

When he received the task of guarding the south gate of Tanzhou, Fang Xianjue made a will and asked his adjutant to hand the task over to his wife.

On the fourth day of the Battle of Nanmen, as the Japanese army gathered heavy troops and launched continuous fierce attacks on Nanmen, positions were lost one after another. Fang Xianjue, as the supreme commander of the 4th Reserve Division, personally went to the front line to supervise the battle with a pistol. His trusted regiment commander was inspired by this and personally carried a machine gun and led his guard company to counterattack the Japanese army, repelling 10 rounds of Japanese attacks on that day alone.

The division commander and regiment commander both fought in the front line, which greatly boosted morale. In the end, only 10 people from the 30th Regiment, the main force of the 58th Reserve Division, were able to walk out of the position on their own.

Not only were the Japanese troops eventually forced to retreat, but they also left more than 3000 corpses in front of the Tanzhou South Gate position, making this the battlefield where the 11th Army suffered the heaviest losses in the Third Tanzhou Campaign.

After the war, the 10th Army, which was under the command of the 10th Reserve Division, was awarded the highest honor in the army, the "Flying Tiger Flag", and was named the "Taishan Army". Fang Xianjue was also promoted to commander of the 10th Army because of this battle.

"Please tell us something, Commander Fang!" A young monk, no more than 18 years old, stood up and clasped his hands together towards Fang Xianjue.

He made a Buddhist gesture with his hands, but his eyes were flashing with anger, probably because of what the handsome old man Tan Tai had said before.

"Okay! Then I'll tell everyone about it!" Although Fang Xianjue was in a slightly depressed mood, seeing that this young monk was so concerned about the war, he couldn't help but think of the young officers and soldiers of his 10th Army who died on the battlefield.

They were also so young, and after hearing about the atrocities committed by the Japanese, they rushed to the battlefield in anger and then gave their young lives.

  The world really cannot do without these young people!

"I also heard what Professor Tan Tai said just now from outside the wall. There are many reasons for the defeat in the Central Plains War, but as Chinese soldiers, we cannot escape blame!

However, I still want to say that history will not repeat itself, and China will not perish! The Chinese nation has been indomitable and everlasting for 5,000 years, and it has its own hidden great power.

We have to thank our ancestors first. It is their continuous expansion of territory that has given China the three major advantages of vast land, abundant resources and large population, which happens to be the shortcoming of the Japanese island nation.

In addition, over the past 5,000 years, the Chinese nation has experienced countless wars, but it still exists on this land. That’s because we are the most hardworking nation in the world, able to survive in an environment where others cannot, and continue to thrive. That’s why China will never perish! "

Fang Xianjue paused and continued, "We are in Hengyang, so let's talk about the Hengyang War. One of my most admired men, General Baili, once made this prediction 20 years ago: "China and Japan will inevitably have a war in the future. Compared with the current national strength of China and Japan, China will inevitably be at a complete disadvantage in the early stage. After the war breaks out, if the Jinpu and Pinghan lines are occupied by the Japanese army, China's lifeline for the war of resistance will shift to the Luoyang-Xiangyang-Hengyang line, which is called the Three Yangs!"

Mr. Wang also said that from the perspective of geography and ethnic characteristics, Hunan Province is the heart of China. Once a war breaks out, the coastal industrial and commercial areas will be the first to be ravaged by war, and all industries will be transferred to the mountains. Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou are the most suitable places. Why is Hunan Province mentioned in particular? It is because Hunan Province has been on the edge of the regime for a long time in the long river of history, and the folk customs are strong. The manpower and military resources here are equivalent to China's Prussia. It is the best base for China to fight for a long time. He also asserted that the final outcome of the Sino-Japanese War, Sanxiang and Qize, will be the largest cemetery for the Japanese army! "

At this time, the sun was gradually setting in the west. The warm golden sunlight passed through the pine forest, slanting across half of the courtyard, casting the tall figure of the former commander of the 10th Army on the white gable.

The young monk who stood up, folded his hands and invited Fang Xianjue to speak and then sat down again had tears in his eyes when he heard this.

The old monk standing not far away sighed silently.

Buddhism is peaceful and tranquil, but it still cannot wash away the resentment in the disciple's heart!

"Everyone, we are so unfortunate. The Japanese invaders have been there for many years, and today we have come to such a critical moment. But we are also so lucky that we have such a quiet place to discuss scriptures and philosophy in the midst of war. Although Luoyang has been lost and Xiangyang has fallen several times, Hengyang is still there, and we still have a glimmer of hope! As long as we hold on to this lifeline, exchange time for space, and turn passivity into initiative, China will not perish!" Fang Xianjue's emotions were obviously agitated at this time.

"If every Chinese, from the national commander-in-chief to the generals of the army, who cares about the people, to the common people, monks and Taoists, all have the ambition to 'kill the enemy on horseback and learn Buddhism on foot', then China will never perish!"

Then the young monk, with tears in his eyes, could no longer hold back his tears, and stood up with tears streaming down his face, raised his right arm and shouted loudly: "Mount the horse to kill the bandits, dismount to learn Buddhism!"

A group of monks also stood up and cheered!

The monks’ majestic slogans resounded throughout the mountains and forests, and the rumble echoed in the mountains!

The quiet thousand-year-old temple is destined to no longer be quiet at this moment.

Even the old monk who had always been calm and composed no longer had the same still look in his eyes as before.

He is a practitioner, but his body and mind are still Chinese.

Only Zhao Junmai frowned slightly as he looked at his colleagues surrounded by monks.

Fang Xianjue and he have worked together in Hengyang for nearly a year, and both sides admire each other's character and abilities, otherwise they would not have come to Fuyan Temple together today.

However, Fang Xianjue has never been in tune with Commander Xue, who promoted him to be the army commander and now forced him out of the 10th Army.

Just like what he just said, he has actually expressed his thoughts very clearly. There will be a battle between Tanzhou and Hengyang in the near future, but this is obviously contrary to Commander Xue's point of view.

Although I have just reminded him very clearly, he still couldn't help but say it out loud. Perhaps it won't be long before his views are conveyed to Commander Xue. It seems that he will never come back to the 10th Army.

"Young Master, may I ask your Dharma name?" Fang Xianjue was just letting out a breath of anger because he had just spoken his mind. He cast his eyes towards the young monk who was in high spirits. "My Dharma name is Huiyuan!" the young monk answered quickly.

"Okay! We will meet again." Fang Xianjue smiled slightly and walked out.

After meeting the abbot and worshipping the Buddha, Fang Xianjue walked straight to the temple gate and looked at the semi-Western-style blue brick buildings rising from the ground in the shade of the forest on the side of the mountain. He turned his head to look at the handsome old man Tan Tai who was seeing him off and said, "Mr. Tan Tai, please stay. May I ask where Captain Tang is? Time flies. It has been nearly half a year since we last met. I am leaving now, why hasn't he come to see me off? What's the matter? Does he think that I, a lieutenant general senator, am not worthy of the position? Then be careful or I will report him to Minister He and make him unhappy in the future!"

Tang Dao led the Four-Line Regiment to garrison the Hengshan area. Although it was directly under the jurisdiction of the theater command and not under his jurisdiction, it would be really impolite if he did not come to see him off on someone else's territory.

Fang Xianjue's words seemed like a joke, but they could become true at any time.

"Tang Dao said yesterday that if Commander Fang really wants to be transferred, he will definitely come to Fuyan Temple, and he, as the commander of the engineering corps, will definitely be waiting for you." Tan Tai Yunshu said calmly.

"Haha! Captain Tang, the self-appointed head of the engineering corps, has a great title. He really wins my heart! As a senator who does not participate in discussions, I must go meet this head of the engineering corps no matter what."

The Sihang Regiment received a transfer order at the end of 1942 and was placed under the jurisdiction of the 9th War Zone. It was originally thought that the 9th War Zone was in urgent need of reinforcements due to two consecutive Tanzhou battles, and Tang Dao thought that he could still participate in the third Tanzhou battle.

As a result, the Four-Line Regiment was directly stationed at Hengshan near Hengyang, and served as engineers on the green mountains of Nanyue, which had nothing to do with fighting.

It turned out that ever since the Provisional Military Commission moved south to Hengshan, the man and his wife who had come here several times had been extremely fond of Nanyue. Commander Xue of the 9th War Zone was particularly concerned about the construction of Nanyue, hoping to use it to reflect his achievements in governing Hunan.

After 1939, northern Hunan was ravaged by war for five consecutive years, but the construction of Nanyue developed by leaps and bounds. In 1943, it reached its peak of construction because a heroic anti-Japanese war group put down their guns and picked up ash buckets.

The Nanyue Martyrs' Shrine, Zhong'ai Society, gymnasium, hospital, sanatorium, swimming pool and other projects, which cost tens of millions of silver dollars, were built one after another. It seemed that the smoke of the War of Resistance had dissipated and a prosperous era was about to arrive.

  The Four-Line Regiment, which arrived at the 1943th War Zone in February 2 and had made great achievements in battle, did not participate in the war for even a single day, but was actually building large-scale projects on Hengshan Mountain. Must the regiment commander Tang Dao be an engineering corps commander?

This is probably what is meant by destroying one's own martial arts.

As for Tang Dao, he seemed to have given up on this. Since he brought his wife and son to Hengshan in early September, he has been traveling with them most of the time, looking like he was enjoying life. Otherwise, Fang Xian would never have said anything to stop Tang Dao from continuing to enjoy himself.

From a soldier's perspective, Fang Xianjue certainly didn't want to see what was once the sharpest knife in the army become blunt, so he wanted to have a good talk with Tang Dao before leaving.

"Since Captain Tang could guess that I would come to Fuyan Temple, then I, the former commander of the 10th Army, must not lose face for the 10th Army. I will go find him myself." Fang Xianjue smiled faintly, looked up at the sky, turned his head and said to the two people beside him.

"I'm going to go see Mingjin! I'll meet up with you guys later."

After saying that, he walked towards Xianglu Peak on his own.

The two generals looked at Fang Xianjue walking in that direction, and their eyes dimmed. They knew that the main reason why this person came to Fuyan Temple was probably to take a look there.

There, there is a large building complex that was recently built, called the Nanyue Martyrs' Shrine!

The Nanyue Martyrs' Shrine is a tent covering the sky and the ground. The main building is built against the mountain. From south to north, there are memorial archways, the July 7th Memorial, memorial halls, memorial pavilions, and halls for offering sacrifices. It is magnificent and rigorous in layout, resembling the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.

There are 13 large martyrs' mausoleums around the Martyrs' Shrine, with green mountains and cypresses and towering ancient pines on both sides, where the remains of the fallen soldiers of the 9th War Zone are buried.

After the Battle of Jiangxia in 1938, a military meeting was held in Nanyue. At the meeting, many generals said that the troops evacuated in a hurry and many dead soldiers were left exposed on the battlefield. If there were no civilians to collect the bodies, birds and beasts would have fought over the food. The scene would have been horrific. This would not only be disrespectful to the dead soldiers, but would also affect the morale of the living.

On the other hand, the Japanese army tried their best to recover the bodies of the dead soldiers, and either burned them or buried them, so that they would not be left on the battlefield to become food for birds and wild dogs. It was enough to chill everyone's heart that they died for their country but ended up like this.

In his concluding speech, he listed this as the first of the twelve greatest shames in the army, and blamed himself: "The most despised thing about our army in the past by the enemy is that many of the remains of our fallen soldiers could not be brought back for burial, but were abandoned on the battlefield and exposed to the elements. This is truly a shame for our army!"

After the meeting, the person designated General Chen of the 3rd War Zone and General Xue of the 9th War Zone to take the lead in establishing the Nanyue Martyrs' Shrine Construction Committee. It took four years and was finally completed at the end of 4.

The Four-Line Regiment came here to garrison, and building a martyrs' shrine was one of their tasks.

Fang Xianjue's main purpose of coming here was not to find Tang Dao, but to visit his most compatible subordinate, although he knew that if Tang Dao wanted to see him, he would definitely wait for him here.

Since he stepped into the archway and climbed the stairs, the big tomb was not far away. Fang Xianjue's eyes gradually blurred. He seemed to see the sunny afternoon in late spring of 1940 when the young chief of staff Sun Mingjin came to report to him, baring his white teeth and looking gentle and honest.

At that time, Fang Xianjue became the commander of the newly established 10th Reserve Division, and Sun Mingjin was his first chief of staff. Both of them were graduates of Whampoa Military Academy, of similar age, and both had the ideal of killing the enemy and serving the country. They both wanted to train the army into a brave and combat-ready force, and they soon became friends as close as brothers.

Sun Mingjin was both civil and military, good at planning, skilled in training soldiers, brave in combat, and never picky about food and clothing. Even though his major general uniform had several holes in it, he still had it patched up and continued to wear it. When encountering the enemy, he was always at the front line command center. If there was a critical situation, he would lead the troops to kill the enemy.

At the last moment of the Changde Campaign, he, who was already the commander of the 10th Reserve Division, fought hand-to-hand with the Japanese invaders with a rifle, killing six people in a row, but was suddenly strafed by Japanese machine guns and died after being hit by five bullets.

Before he died, he did not forget to instruct his own commander: "Follow the military's orders and accomplish the mission!"

When the major general division commander was buried that day, Fang Xianjue led the officers of the 10th Army Battalion and above, braving the continuous rain and yellow mud, and towed the hearse along the winding mountain road to the Nanyue Martyrs' Shrine.

The rain in December was extremely cold, but what was coldest in Fang Xianjue's heart was not his body.

The death of his best friend was not only due to the ferocity of the Japanese invaders, but also to the mistakes made by some people during the war. However, that person just said lightly, "The reinforcements arrived too late due to the difficult journey!" and shirked all responsibilities.

And now, he has to leave the 10th Army and he doesn't know when he will be able to return to the Martyrs' Shrine to see the tomb of his best friend again.

Thinking of this, even though Fang Xianjue was a man of strong character, he couldn't help but shed tears.

  Through tearful eyes, I saw a small figure kneeling in front of the grave of my best friend, offering him a bunch of bright and colorful rhododendrons!

A young man and woman stood side by side and saluted the tomb!

(End of this chapter)