Chapter 101 Flag Raising

There was no flagpole, so the soldiers split the wooden boards in the Sihang Warehouse into strips and tied them tightly with wire.

The 10-meter-long patchwork flagpole stood tall on the roof of the Sihang Warehouse.

At the moment when the morning glow illuminated the sky, the lieutenant colonel of the army personally served as the flag bearer. Deng Ying and Shangguan Yun, four company commanders of three infantry companies and one machine gun company, came. In addition, each company sent 25 people, a total of 100 officers and soldiers, to watch the ceremony.

The commander of the first battalion, Yang Furui, led the company commander of the machine gun company, Lei Xiong, and the commander of the third company, Shi Hao, to stay inside the building. Tang Dao, who was ordered by the lieutenant colonel of the army not to go to the roof, simply sat directly on the No. 2 machine gun of Lei Xiong's machine gun company. A captain and a lieutenant placed at least ten bullet plates next to each other.

If the Japanese dared to fire, the two of them would launch the most brutal counterattack since the war began. At worst, they would have to let the Japanese army on the opposite side look good.

This group of Chinese soldiers who were ready to die had actually thought clearly. If they really had to sacrifice, then come! It was just blood for blood.

Perhaps, many people would think that as the highest commander of the Sihang Warehouse, the Army Lieutenant Colonel's actions were not unwise, and could even be called stupid.

Even if he wanted to raise the national flag to boost the morale of the army and civilians across the country, sending two soldiers to raise it in 20 seconds and letting the national flag fly high above the warehouse would have told the people of the country why he should take such a big risk and put himself and the remaining more than 100 officers and soldiers in danger.

That's because they don't understand soldiers.

Who are soldiers? They are the guards who defend the country.

Just as the Army Lieutenant Colonel said in a sonorous voice in the warehouse: This flag representing our China and the Chinese nation is sacred, and it must be raised to the sky in the military salute and respectful eyes of its defenders.

Yes, if you are not a soldier, perhaps you will never understand.

The important thing about the flag is not how its pattern flutters in the wind, but how it takes root in your heart.

On the surface, this is just a piece of silk with a pattern sprayed on it, but in fact, it represents the spiritual flag dissolved in the blood of the soldiers.

If the military flag does not fall, then this position will be fought to the last man.

An army without a flag in its blood cannot be called an army, but a mob with weapons.

If the troops in northern China had not had the red flag in their hearts, how could they have measured a distance of more than ten thousand miles with their legs in just one year? How could they have crossed the snow-capped mountains and walked through the grasslands and other uninhabited areas while experiencing hundreds of battles?

This is the power brought by ideals and beliefs! And the belief of these Chinese officers and soldiers in the warehouse is to fight for the country!

This flag represents their own country and their own home.

In the morning light of Songhu, the national flag rose slowly. All the officers and soldiers who were allowed to watch the ceremony on the rooftop had already washed their faces blackened by gunpowder with the water of Suzhou River, tried their best to make their uniforms neat, and stood at attention and saluted ten meters in front of the military flag, singing military songs in a low voice.

"Rise up! The ravaged Chinese nation!

Rise up! Slaves groaning under the iron hoof!

Having lost the land, we desperately seized it from the enemy!

Having lost our family, we rushed to the enemy's battlefield together;

How much wealth we have was robbed by the enemy;

How many of our brothers died in this great struggle!

One day, we will settle this blood debt with the enemy!

One day, everything on the earth will belong to us!

......."

A "song for war" was sung by more than 100 officers and soldiers while saluting and looking at the national flag, humming softly and blowing with the wind.

It was not just 100 people who were humming in a low voice, but also soldiers standing upright at their positions in the building.

They had tears in their eyes and sang softly.

On the south bank of Suzhou River, the artillery battle between the two sides had already awakened the sleeping people and regrouped thousands of Chinese people.

After the battle yesterday, they had unprecedented expectations for this lone army that had been trying to hold on and beat the Japanese army miserably, just like the last straw in the hands of a drowning man.

In this era of insufficient education, the people's wisdom may not have risen to the level of the nation, but the nostalgia for home is deep in their bones.

Everyone knows that if the Songhu urban area falls completely, they will become homeless.

Their home is not on the streets of the concession, but in the city that trembles and cries in the artillery fire.

Even if it is already broken, even if there is only a piece of tile left, it is still home!

As long as they are given time, they will still build a house on that piece of land to provide a shelter for their elderly parents and young children.

Instead of living in the corner of the concession, enduring the cold eyes of Westerners, relying on the pity of the rich Chinese in the concession to drink a bowl of hot porridge and eat a piece of bread, living a humble life.

Without a home, there is no dignity.

The lone army still fighting in front of them is their last hope.

As long as they are here, their home is still here. If they die, their home is gone, and there will never be a home again.

"They are raising the national flag!"

"They are singing military songs!"

"They will continue to fight!"

The people hiding at the street corners on the shore and silently waiting for the sun to rise looked at the rising national flag, listened to the low and powerful military songs, and jumped up and rushed forward.

Even this time, the Western coalition forces in the concession had been prepared, holding long guns with bayonets to prevent them from getting too close.

It was not that they were worried about the safety of this group of ragged Chinese, but that the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a diplomatic letter to several Western countries last night, protesting fiercely against the noise interference from the concession, saying that the huge noise made by the Chinese seriously interfered with their operations.

Are the psychological qualities of the Japanese so fragile? Even the voices of the Chinese can make your legs weak?

Although the ambassadors of several Western countries wanted to throw this disdain directly on the mustache of the Japanese diplomat who gave a ridiculous reason but still looked serious, they finally gave face to the obviously angry Japanese.

The Chinese people were restricted to the intersections of the streets and were not allowed to go to the streets again. The grand occasion of yesterday was difficult to reproduce.

Facing the bayonets, the people did not move forward, nor did they cheer loudly, but stood quietly and looked up.

It was not that they were afraid of the bayonets of Westerners, but they all knew that at this time, silence was better than words.

The morning glow filled the sky, and the national flag was flying high, above the Sihang Warehouse, above the last position of Chinese soldiers in Songhu.

Countless Chinese people saw it.

Stop! Stare! Tears welled up in their eyes!

The Japanese also saw it.

Amid the roar of the Japanese colonel, the Japanese army fired again.

Unfortunately, from the discovery to the order to the firing, one minute was enough for the Chinese soldiers who had raised the flag to retreat back into the building.

The artillery fire hit the solid walls of the Sihang Warehouse and burst into brilliant flames, but in this extremely brilliant but cruel artillery fire, the flag belonging to China was extremely strong and fluttered in the wind.

The morning sun finally jumped out of the horizon at this time!

The sky was bright, and the ground was also ablaze.

"Fire, counterattack!" The army lieutenant colonel roared.

Two machine guns and four mortars began to counterattack.

Even though their range could not reach the mountain artillery that was 3,000 meters away, the Japanese position was 500 meters away.

You can take my life, but you can't blow up my flag!

You hit me so hard that I'll also hit you so hard that you'll have a mouth full of blood.

This was the answer of the Chinese soldiers when the war began on October 28.

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PS: There was a problem with my computer, and I couldn't open the webpage. It took me an hour to fix it. Sorry for the late update!