Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 91 Heroic Martyrdom
On the morning of March 17, 1938, the sky was just beginning to lighten, and a thin mist still shrouded the sleeping town.

The once dusty dirt road was still covered with night dew. After several days of fighting, this once peaceful and tranquil county town had become scarred and desolate. In addition, most of the people had fled to the outskirts of the city.

Suddenly, a muffled thunderous roar came from the sky, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

The northern sky had been dyed orange-red, and dozens of streaks of fire tore through the morning mist, lunging towards the county town like venomous snakes.

As the first shell fell, the sound of tiles shattering and screams erupted simultaneously.

"boom……"

当第一枚由九六式十五糎榴弾砲（注：日军火炮命名中“糎”为日本旧制长度单位（1糎=1厘米），因此“十五糎”即150毫米（实际为149.1mm）。）的150毫米炮弹落在县城时，巨大的爆炸声响彻整个县城。

The brick walls twisted like paper in the shockwave, and the crisp sound of breaking beams was drowned out by the subsequent explosions.

Immediately afterwards, more than twenty Japanese Type 96 attack aircraft swooped down from the clouds, casting long shadows as their wings swept across the sky, followed by bombs falling on the county town.

After several days of fierce fighting, all the outer positions of Tengxian County had fallen, and most of the more than 3,000 officers and soldiers of the 122nd Division had been killed in action. Division Commander Wang Mingzhang personally led the division staff and the division guard company to form a mobile force to go to the rescue wherever there was danger.

But as the number of troops in the city dwindled, the defending forces struggled to fight, and even Division Commander Wang Mingzhang was wounded.

As the Japanese began shelling, smoke filled the city, walls collapsed and houses crumbled, and the streets were piled high with rubble. The original stone-paved streets were blasted into deep craters, and the whole city was engulfed in flames, with scorched earth everywhere.

"Cough cough cough..." Wang Mingzhang had just stood up from a broken wall when he heard someone shouting next to him.

"The Japanese are coming up!"

Accompanied by the sound, a group of khaki military uniforms could be seen swaying in the dust more than 60 meters away, the sunlight reflected off their bayonets stinging the eyes.

The position remained silent until the Japanese soldiers came within thirty meters. Suddenly, an old soldier sprang to his feet and shouted, "Throw it!"

In an instant, more than seventy arms swung out in an arc at the same time, and one after another, Gongxian-made grenades swept past the gap. Seeing a group of black dots flying in, the Japanese soldiers in the front row were so shocked that their mouths were wide open.

"Boom boom boom..."

The blast wave knocked more than a dozen Japanese soldiers in the front row to the ground, and hot metal fragments traced scarlet trails in the air.

A Japanese soldier whose leg had been blown off screamed and ran back, but in his terror, he didn't realize that his stomach had also been torn open by shrapnel, and his bluish-gray intestines were spilling out. As he screamed, he dragged his intestines along, leaving a winding trail of blood on the ground.

Seeing that their attack had failed, the Japanese troops became anxious and launched a fierce artillery barrage against the stockade walls.

In an instant, smoke and rubble rolled down, and the breach in the southeast corner of the stockade wall grew larger and larger.

To prevent the defenders from blocking the breach, several Type 92 heavy machine guns also fired at the breach, the machine gun bullets creating dense dents in the blue bricks, and sparks flew everywhere.

Watching the soldiers around him fall one after another, Wang Mingzhang felt heartbroken but powerless. All he could do now was to go to the front line to fight the enemy and make his last effort for the country.

At the same time, at the headquarters of the 20th Army Corps in Lincheng.

Tang Enbo, the commander of the 20th Army Corps, was discussing matters with several senior generals of the corps.

Wang Zhonglian, commander of the 85th Army, said to Tang Enbo, the corps commander, with concern: "Corps commander, we just received a telegram that the Japanese army is advancing towards Lincheng in two routes and has encountered Guan Linzheng's troops. Our army has suffered heavy casualties."

Tang Enbo remained silent, his face ashen, and paced back and forth.

Wang Zhonglian said worriedly, "The 122nd Division of the Sichuan Army in Teng County is now in imminent danger."

Tang Enbo sighed deeply: "How could I not be anxious? The Battle of Shanghai was precisely because we used our forces one after another, wasting division after division, and the result was that it was like a drop in the ocean and did nothing to help."

Wang Zhonglian said helplessly, "But others may not understand our difficulties." Tang Enbo took off his white gloves and snorted, "Enough said, prepare reinforcements."

"But... what if our reinforcements are blocked? There won't be enough time."

Tang Enbo said coldly, "Let's do our best... that's all we can do."

Almost simultaneously, Division Commander Wang Mingzhang, covered in blood, sat on the city wall amidst corpses, counting the grenades around him.

Lieutenant Luo Jiaxin staggered up the city wall and said urgently, "Reporting to the division commander, the Japanese army has occupied the positions on the south, east, and north sides of the city."

Wang Mingzhang paused for a moment as he held the grenade, then asked, "How is Staff Officer Zhao doing?"

With red eyes, Luo Jiaxin said, "Staff Officer Zhao and Wang Lin, the commander of the 740th Regiment, fought to the death and have heroically sacrificed their lives along with their brothers on the front lines!"

Wang Mingzhang looked around and asked, "Where are our reinforcements now?"

"We can't get in touch with them, there's no news at all."

Wang Mingzhang paused for a moment, then said, "In that case, send a telegram for me immediately."

Luo Jiaxin quickly took out paper and pen from his briefcase at his waist.

Wang Mingzhang whispered, "It's extremely urgent... Xuzhou... Commander Li, please forward to Chairman Chiang."

Currently, the Japanese army has breached the defenses of Tengxian County, and there has been no news of our reinforcements. Wang Mingzhang and all officers and soldiers of the division are determined to serve the country with their lives and fulfill their mission of martyrdom. This is an urgent telegram.

March 17th, 1938 (afternoon).

At this point, Wang Mingzhang took out a pocket watch from his pocket, glanced at it, and added, "Three o'clock in the afternoon!"

After speaking, Wang Mingzhang glanced at his adjutant, who was writing a telegram with his head down, and then stroked the rather old pocket watch, saying with emotion, "This pocket watch has been with me for many years. I'll leave it to you as a memento."

"Commander..." The adjutant couldn't help but shed tears.

Wang Mingzhang ignored him and turned back to continue organizing the grenades.

The adjutant solemnly saluted his division commander one last time before descending the city wall.

After another fierce battle, the strong smell of blood filled the city walls. Wang Mingzhang leaned against the broken battlements and slowly slid down.

His uniform was torn in several places by shrapnel, and dark red bloodstains seeped into the khaki fabric, forming a grotesque swamp.

His right index finger trembled slightly on the trigger, and his palm was sticky with sweat mixed with the smell of rust—the warmth of the bayonet splattering from the enemy's abdomen during the hand-to-hand combat.

"Master's seat!"

A soldier's hoarse shout in the distance was shattered by the sound of heavy machine gun fire.

Wang Mingzhang wiped away the bloodstains that obscured his vision and discovered that a dandelion had sprouted from a crack in the bluestone slab, its fluffy seeds trembling in the blast wave.

He grinned, revealing his chapped lips, drew the pistol from his waist, pressed it against his chin, and shouted.

"Fight to the bitter end, we swear never to surrender!"

The earth-shattering shout startled the gray pigeons that had taken refuge under the eaves, and with a muffled thud, the sound of a bullet piercing a skull fell into a deep pool like a ripe wild date.

(End of this chapter)