Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 33 Breaking the Queen
When Yoshio Shinotsuka, the commander of the First Army, who was far away in Taiyuan, heard the air force's report that the two lost artillery pieces had been destroyed and the enemy was left with only a few dozen defeated soldiers, his tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

As long as the artillery doesn't fall into enemy hands and be used to attack our own side, there's room for maneuver.

It's okay to underreport, conceal, or report later.

After a battle, some weapons are lost, which is reasonable, right? Once the fighting stops, we can just let it go, can't we?

The enemy that attacked the train now has only a few dozen men left. With these remnants and no artillery, they are no longer much of a threat.

Therefore, Yoshio Shinotsuka immediately ordered the surrounding Japanese troops, except for those in the first encirclement, to return to their posts in an orderly manner.

With only a few dozen enemies, there's no need for an army of over ten thousand to encircle and annihilate them. Otherwise, if word got out, where would Yoshio Shinotsuka's reputation be?

Moreover, these troops were drawn from other places, and if the enemy seizes the opportunity in the long run, the losses may be even greater.

At noon, after several hours of fighting, relying on the three-dimensional combat map, Chen Ming led the remaining soldiers to break through another Japanese encirclement.

Now, the Japanese are no longer as eager as before to surround Chen Ming and his men at any cost, and their pace of action has slowed down.

This gave Chen Ming the opportunity to lead his troops to break through the encirclement. Before the Japanese could form a new encirclement, they forced their way out.

There weren't many Japanese soldiers left in front of them, but a group of over three hundred Japanese soldiers were still following closely behind, relentlessly pursuing them.

The team could only hide behind a small hill and try to recover their strength.

The most urgent task now is to shake off the pursuers behind us.

Three kilometers ahead, there is a river and a bridge. If we blow up the bridge, the Japanese devils won't be able to catch up with them.

However, the soldiers' strength had been exhausted from the forced march, and facing the well-rested and energetic Japanese pursuers, this three-kilometer stretch of flat land became an insurmountable barrier.

Someone must stay behind to hold off the enemy and buy time for the main force.

"No, if we keep running like this, the Japanese will catch up with us," Chen Ming said, panting heavily.

"Commander, I'll stay behind to hold off the enemy. You take the soldiers and retreat," said Sun Kun, the Second Company Commander, breathless with exhaustion.

"Yes, Commander, we'll stay behind to hold them off. You should retreat first. We've already killed enough Japanese soldiers, that's more than enough," the other soldiers chimed in.

Seeing the soldiers volunteering to stay and fight, hoping to give him, the regimental commander, a chance to survive, Chen Ming was deeply moved. This tough man shed tears.

“No, staying here to fight ambush is dangerous. You only have your old mother left. If you die here, how can I face her?” Chen Ming directly rejected the plan proposed by the Second Company Commander, Sun Kun.

"I can't abandon my brothers and retreat alone," Chen Ming continued.

They are comrades-in-arms in the revolution, and in this big family, we are all brothers.

“Those who are not only children, those with children, stay with me to buy time for the other soldiers. This is an order,” Chen Ming, as the regimental commander, issued the final order.

Having come to this era, as a soldier, he had long been prepared to sacrifice for his country and dedicate his life to that bright future.

From a broader perspective, his survival is more valuable than his sacrifice, given his ability to use cheat codes.

But some things can't be measured by simple values. Soldiers' lives are lives too. Just because Chen Ming has cheat codes and is a regimental commander, does that mean we can exchange soldiers' lives for his? Does that mean we can't sacrifice ourselves?

Upon hearing Chen Ming's order, the soldiers resolutely refused to obey; this was the first time they had disobeyed Chen Ming's command.

"Commander, I'm not retreating. You take the brothers and retreat. My hand has been ruined by Japanese bullets and I won't be able to go to the front line anymore. Let me stay behind to cover them."

"I can no longer pick up a gun," a soldier with bandages said, his eyes red. "But I still have teeth. I can still use my teeth to pull the pin on a grenade and kill Japanese soldiers."

"Yes, Commander, it's because we're the ones who are slowing down the troops and preventing us from escaping the Japanese encirclement. Let us stay behind to cover their retreat."

Other seriously wounded soldiers also spoke up.

Because they were injured, the rest of the team had to help them retreat, which slowed down the team's progress.

Now, they could no longer let their commander risk his life to cover the retreat of the wounded.

“There’s no room for discussion. My Independent Second Regiment has never abandoned a single brother. Even if we’re injured, we can still fight the Japanese after we recover. Didn’t I get injured back then and then lead my brothers to fight the Japanese again?” Chen Ming said, deeply moved.

After Chen Ming finished speaking, the second company commander knew he couldn't persuade Chen Ming, so he gave the soldiers a wink.

As the company commander of the second company of the third battalion, the soldiers understood his meaning better, so twelve soldiers stepped forward from the remaining forty-odd soldiers.

"Wang Eryong, what the hell are you pretending for? You're only seventeen and you already have a child? Get back to the ranks!" Chen Ming cursed, exposing Wang Eryong, who was trying to take advantage of the situation and stay behind to cover the retreat.

"And you, Li Youcai, you're your mother's only son. You can't die here. Get out of here!"

Upon hearing Chen Ming's words, the two soldiers who had been singled out gritted their teeth and clenched their fists, but still left the team that was left to hold off the enemy.

"Alright, that's all for now. Everyone else, leave all the grenades behind, take the remaining explosives and evacuate from the bridge. Blow up the bridge." Chen Ming nodded and gave the order.

However, the other soldiers did not move.

"Does my word no longer carry any weight in the Second Independent Regiment? Am I still the regimental commander?" Chen Ming shouted loudly.

"Sun Kun!"

Sun Kun, the company commander of the Second Company, did not respond to Chen Ming.

Chen Ming was about to turn his head to look when he lost consciousness.

Seeing that his sneak attack had succeeded, Sun Kun quickly helped up the unconscious Chen Ming and handed him over to the retreating team.

"Da Biao, take the regimental commander away. When the regimental commander wakes up, tell him that this time it was I, Sun Kun, who disobeyed orders. If I can still go back alive, even if the regimental commander wants to execute me, I will accept it."

“If I can’t go back, I’ll tell the regimental commander that in my next life I, Sun Kun, will still follow him to fight the Japanese.”

"Also, please take good care of my mother for me, and tell her that I will no longer be able to be filial to her in the future."

Sun Kun took off his hat and threw it on the ground.

The Second Independent Regiment can do without Sun Kun, but it cannot do without Regiment Commander Chen Ming.

The soldiers who planned to stay behind to fight a blocking action followed suit, taking off their hats and throwing them down to show their determination.

In the end, all the soldiers who had stepped forward stayed behind. They were not only children; they had children of their own. Even if they were to sacrifice themselves here, they were not afraid, because when their children grew up, they could continue the family line and fight the Japanese invaders.

The other soldiers, however, still have elderly mothers who haven't had children yet, and their family line cannot be broken here.

At the same time, they also had to bring the regimental commander back to the base alive so that they could continue to lead the soldiers to fight the Japanese and avenge the fallen soldiers.

(End of this chapter)