Zhu Tian: Beginning to Cross the Changjin Lake

At this time, the people on the opposite side actually made several huge slingshots by the river, and used them to shoot some small items into the warehouse.

Objects were constantly being shot in and flew out of the window into the warehouse.

The warehouse suddenly became lively, and the soldiers began to pick up the supplies that were shot over, mostly food.

A soldier took a pack of biscuits and handed it to Li Guotao.

Li Guotao took it with a smile, sat down under a cement pillar nearby and started eating.

In this day and age, cookies like this are considered a rare good thing.

However, for Li Guotao, it was a little difficult to swallow, but even so, he had to eat it.

Only by eating and drinking enough can you maintain sufficient physical strength.

The next two days may not be easy to endure. Only by conserving your energy can you deal with all the unexpected events that may happen next.

After Li Guotao had eaten and drunk his fill, he went to find a place to sleep.

Because according to what Li Guotao learned, the Japanese probably wouldn't make any moves tonight.

Late that night, sudden gunshots woke Li Guotao up again.

Li Guotao looked outside and heard sirens coming from the concession opposite and someone shouting.

Li Guotao immediately realized what had happened. It must be the girl’s children who came to present the flag.

Li Guotao didn't hesitate at all, picked up his gun and rushed towards the west wall.

Because it was too dark and the distance was far, and the girl scout chose a very good position, the Japanese fired several shots but failed to hit the target.

Li Guotao came to a shooting hole, secretly observed the situation, and took decisive action when a Japanese soldier fired a shot and exposed his position.

“Snap~!”

A crisp gunshot was heard, and the bullet instantly pierced the Japanese soldier's head. Blood mixed with brain matter gushed out, and the Japanese soldier died instantly.

This shot also had a deterrent effect, and the Japanese knew that the terrible sniper appeared again.

The other Japanese soldiers were so scared that they dared not shoot and hid in safe places one by one.

The girl was a good swimmer and she swam quickly to the other side and climbed up quietly under the cover of night.

She secretly observed the situation, then quickly rushed to the bottom of the warehouse. Here, the Japanese could not hit her.

The girl couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but the doors and windows on the first floor were blocked by sandbags, making it impossible to climb in.

However, when the girl came ashore, Duanwu had already noticed her and saw that she had successfully run under the wall.

Duanwu immediately found a rope and threw it down.

The girl saw a rope hanging from above, so she grabbed the rope and climbed up to the warehouse.

Seeing that there was no movement on the opposite side, Li Guotao left the west wall.

As Li Guotao walked, he cursed, "Humph, these damn Japanese devils are so timid."

"I wanted to kill a few more devils but I wasn't even given the chance."

The weather was already very cold at this time of year. The girl swam across the river, got soaked all over, and shivered with cold.

But as soon as he entered the warehouse, he said impatiently: "I want to see your leader."

After Captain Xie learned about the situation, he was also a little surprised after meeting the girl.

Only then did I realize that this girl risked her life just to bring them the flag.

After learning about this situation, Captain Xie couldn't help but frown, feeling a little embarrassed.

Seeing the girl shivering from the cold, Captain Xie ordered, "Take her downstairs to change clothes."

"Yes!"

Duanwu stared at the girl's back, and Qi Jiaming next to him slapped him on the back of the head.

"See? A little girl risked her life to swim here."

"You were thinking about running away before, aren't you ashamed?"

Duanwu said somewhat awkwardly: "Didn't I run away?"

Qi Jiaming said: "It's not okay to have this idea."

"And you, a coward."

Qi Jiaming kicked his friend next to him and said, "You are from the Northeast, right? The Northeast has been occupied by the Japanese, and you have fled to the interior."

"Now North China has been occupied by the devils, and Songhu will also be occupied by the devils."

"You run? Where else can you run to?"

"If we all run away, the whole of China will be occupied by the devils. Where can we run to?"

"Do we have any way out now? We can only survive if we fight them to the end and kill these unscrupulous beasts."

"Understand?"

Lao Tie's face turned red for a rare moment. He lowered his head and said nothing. No one knew what he was thinking.

Captain Xie then gathered all the soldiers who could be mustered in the warehouse.

"The group is here!"

"stand at attention!"

The soldiers stood at attention in neat rows.

Captain Xie looked at the soldiers in front of him and said loudly: "Brothers."

"I just received an order from my superiors that the Brussels meeting will be held as scheduled."

"The authorities must let the world know that the Chinese army has not withdrawn! We have not failed."

"The High Command has ordered us to hold on to the Sihang Warehouse for at least two more days at all costs."

“The longer we persist, the more support we can gain from the international community at the conference.”

"Understand?"

"Understood!" the brothers responded in unison.

Li Guotao somewhat disagreed with this.

The bald man wanted to take this opportunity to gain more support and win sympathy from the international community.

But if he puts all his hopes on the support of the international community, it will be impossible for him to win.

But to be honest, there is nothing we can do about it.

At that time, the country was weak and the gap between us and the Japanese was huge.

After the fighting broke out, the country's weak industrial base alone could not sustain such a large-scale war.

Especially in the early stages of the war, a large amount of territory fell to the enemy, including a large number of relatively economically developed regions. This undoubtedly widened the gap between the two sides.

The bald guy also knows that it is impossible to defeat the Japanese with the current strength, so he places his hopes on the support of the international community.

Captain Xie and others walked into the team. At this time, the girl who delivered the flag had already changed her clothes.

Captain Xie waved at the girl, and the girl walked over quickly.

Captain Xie said: "First of all, thank this girl for her bravery."

Then Captain Xie raised his hand and pointed, and the soldiers looked in that direction.

The huge banner that the girl had brought had now been hung on the wall over there.

Everyone looked at the flag over there and stood at attention.

Captain Xie went on to say: “But raising this flag would be a great insult to the Japanese.”

"At that time, they may launch an attack at all costs. If the Japanese are completely enraged, they may even use heavy artillery."

"If the Japanese really use heavy artillery, we won't be able to hold out for two days."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out for even a few hours."

At this point, Captain Xie was silent for a moment, and then continued, "Brothers, do you think we should be promoted?"

At this time, Captain Yang walked over and said, "Commander, the higher-ups only ordered us to hold out for two days. There's no need to anger the Japanese at this time. Should we postpone the flag-raising?"

At this time, Shangguan Zhibiao also said: "Commander, if we hold on for two days, we can still fight."

"But if the flag is raised tomorrow, it will be impossible to hold out for two days."

Captain Xie pondered for a moment, then said: "Xie believes that raising this flag can better show the international community our attitude and the will of the Chinese people to persist in the war of resistance than holding on for two days."

Head of the delegation Xie paused for a moment, turned around and pointed in the direction of the concession, and then said, "As you can all see, there are many reporters over there, including many foreign reporters."

"As long as we raise this flag tomorrow morning, photos of us raising the flag will soon appear in newspapers around the world."

"Then the whole world will know that our flag is still flying over Songhu, that Songhu has not been occupied by the Japanese, and that we have been persisting in the resistance."

“Raise the flag!”

Zhu Shengzhong suddenly said, "I think the commander is right. Let's raise this flag tomorrow and let those bastards see that we are always here."

"If the Japs dare to attack, we'll beat the sons of bitches. I think I haven't killed enough Japs, so I'll take a few more of them with me before I die."

"Yes! It's our own territory, why don't we upgrade it? Let's upgrade it!" Someone immediately echoed.

"Let's get promoted! We can't let the Japanese look down on us."

……

Captain Xie saw that the brothers' emotions were aroused and no one spoke out against it.

Captain Xie turned around and looked at the flag, and said seriously, "Let's raise the flag tomorrow morning."

"Brothers, please leave any last words you have and let this girl send them out for us."

"Disband!"

After saying this, Captain Xie turned and left. When he passed by Li Guotao, he winked at him.

Li Guotao immediately followed Commander Xie to the command center. Battalion Commander Yang and several other key officers also came to the command room.

Head Xie glanced at Li Guotao and said, "Why haven't you said anything? Don't you agree to raising the flag?"

Li Guotao said: "What the regiment commander said makes some sense. Raising this flag will still have some effect."

"At least the higher-ups will definitely be happy to see us raise this flag."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I don't think the Japs will use heavy artillery."

"If they are really enraged and launch another attack, then we can take advantage of this opportunity to kill more of them, which is not a bad thing for us."

Captain Xie reached out and patted Li Guotao on the shoulder, smiling and saying, "I'm glad you think so."

Then Captain Xie glanced at the others and asked, "What about you?"

Battalion Commander Yang smiled and said, "We will resolutely obey the orders of the regiment commander."

Captain Xie smiled and said, "I obey orders. I still have some objections to this."

Captain Yang quickly waved his hand and said, "I have no objection. I also think what the regimental commander said is right."

"It's come to this point, and we have nothing to fear."

"We naturally cannot miss this opportunity to insult the devils."

Captain Xie nodded with satisfaction and said, "In that case, then you all should get ready."

"Arrange the defense of each position and leave enough observers to monitor the movements of the Japanese."

"The rest of the personnel, all go to the rooftop and raise the flag."

"Yes!"

Everyone responded quickly and then turned and left.

At this time, only Captain Xie and Li Guotao were left.

Captain Xie glanced at Li Guotao and asked, "Are you so sure that the Japanese won't use heavy artillery?"

Li Guotao said helplessly: "I'm not a Japanese soldier, how can I be sure?"

"I'm just guessing."

"As long as they don't use heavy artillery, we can hold out for ten days or half a month, let alone two days."

Captain Xie smiled and said, "You are quite arrogant, kid."

Li Guotao smiled and said: "Confidence comes from strength. I believe we have this strength."

"However, the situation in Songhu is not good now. If the Battle of Songhu fails completely."

"Even the troops in western Shanghai have withdrawn. Even if we pass through the concession, we won't be able to break out."

"But the Japanese won't let us wait until then."

"If they can't take it by force, they will resort to political means."

"And the concession authorities also see us as a threat, fearing that we might really cause a big mess."

"They should have already taken action. The authorities just hope to gain more international support for this matter at the Brussels meeting. They don't really intend to let us hold on forever."

"If we hold out for another two days, and the foreign powers continue to put pressure on us, our superiors will consider letting us retreat."

"The regimental commander should also make preparations in advance."

Captain Xie nodded and said, "Don't worry, since we have already agreed on it, it will not change. You can rest assured about this."

Li Guotao nodded with satisfaction and said, "That's the best. I also believe that the commander will be able to lead the brothers and leave here safely."

After Li Guotao finished speaking, he was about to leave.

Captain Xie asked, "What are you going to do?"

Li Guotao asked, "Captain, is there anything else you need?"

Captain Xie shook his head slightly and said, "There's nothing urgent."

Li Guotao said: "I am going to go to the rooftop to take a look. The flag will be raised tomorrow morning, and I want to know the situation there in advance."

"I can't sleep now anyway."

Captain Xie smiled slightly, waved his hand and said, "Then go ahead."

Li Guotao turned around and left the command center, went directly to the rooftop and checked the situation there.

The defenders also built fortifications on the rooftop, using sandbags to build fortifications more than one meter high on the edges. They also built some observation posts, machine gun positions, etc.

The Japanese didn't dare to use artillery, so it is relatively safe here.

The rooftop is also very spacious. When hundreds of people gather in the middle to raise the flag, it will be difficult for the Japanese soldiers below to hit the people above, so there is no need to worry about safety issues. (End of this chapter)