Chapter 130: Obeying Orders
Military orders are like mountains and cannot be refuted.
The major general turned his back to the heavy-looking officers of the 524th Regiment, letting them make their own choices. However, the four guard soldiers who followed him into the headquarters involuntarily tightened their muscles, and their palms holding the handles of submachine guns were sweating.
The four soldiers were all elites drawn from the security regiment of the theater headquarters. Rather than being personal guards for the major general's chief of staff, they were more like law enforcement teams assigned by the theater headquarters.
Before leaving, the theater headquarters issued a death order to the 88th Division. If anyone refused to accept the order, they would be dealt with according to battlefield military law.
It just means, anyone who disobeys the order will die!
However, this is not the theater headquarters, but the Sixing Warehouse!
Hundreds of people killed thousands of Japanese invaders, so how could they be afraid of just four of them?
Even if we don’t count the hundreds of troops in the warehouse, the officers in this headquarters alone are all an iron-blooded army that was killed in a hail of bullets. Even if they were not equipped with guns when they came, there was no secret about them. The strong smell of blood?
Especially the two people sitting directly opposite them, one is the famous Captain Lei Xiong of the 88th Division, and the other is an army lieutenant who looks quite ordinary and has an easy-going face, but the four are drawn from the theater guard regiment and claim to be able to block ten with one. Elite but instinctively put all their attention on him.
It's not because from the moment he walked in here, he unscrupulously reminded them with his eyes, you four scumbags, get out of here.
Instead, the warrior's instinct told them that this guy who did not hide his aura was the most dangerous to everyone here. It was like an ancient beast staring at them with its eyes open. If it moved, it would be death.
The officers' eyes were all focused on the military orders, but the four fully armed soldiers were focused on Tang Dao, who had a calm expression.
There was an eerie silence inside the headquarters.
Everyone is waiting for the selection of the Army Lieutenant Colonel, including the Major General who has his back turned to them.
"You four, get out first!" The major general turned his head and frowned.
"Yes!" The four soldiers were slightly relieved and accepted the order without hesitation.
They didn't want to lose their lives here for no reason. They had already seen that the lieutenant's hand had dropped.
Seeing the four law enforcement soldiers sent from the war zone just obeying the order and leaving, the major general's eyes flashed with suspicion, and he immediately regained his composure. He looked at the officers who were sitting upright and the army lieutenant colonel with an ugly face, and said seriously:
"Zhongminna! You have also seen the military order from the theater headquarters. Fight or withdraw. This is no longer something that I and the division commander can control.
In fact, this battle has already achieved the goal of the war zone.
On the battlefield, you fought brilliantly in the Four Lines Jedi battle, severely damaging the 36th Infantry Regiment of the Japanese 3rd Division and forcing the Japanese 36th Infantry Regiment to replenish its troops for the second time.
Outside the battlefield, both domestic media and international public opinion are overwhelmingly praising your lone battle this time. The domestic people are passionate and the overseas Chinese are also inspired by it.
We were victorious both politically and militarily.
It is a certainty that you are the heroes of the country. The promotion order for all the garrison troops to be promoted to the first level, which was personally issued by the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs, was conveyed the day before yesterday. The Ministry of Military and Political Affairs also promised to distribute the pensions of brothers who died in battle to their families. .
Retreat! There is no point in persisting any longer. Do you, Xie Zhongmin, have the heart to let all 400 brothers die here just to make yourself famous in history? And take the huge risk of disobeying military orders and becoming a rebel?
I arrived at the concession in the afternoon and found the commander of the coalition forces in the concession, Brigadier General Smartet, to negotiate with him about the withdrawal of our four lines of defenders. He personally replied to me that after our army retreated into the concession, the equipment would be kept by them first, and they would return the original items when we left the concession.
In the future, you and your brothers can continue to fight against the Japanese army, and you are not in a hurry if you want to serve the country.
As for the Japanese army that might intercept our troops on the way, Brigadier General Smart promised that if the Japanese troops dared to shoot, they could defend the concession and fight back against them, ensuring that our troops arrived safely at the concession. "
It is impossible to be the chief of staff of a division without some brains. The well-founded remarks of this army major general are even more effective than the mountain military order.
The combat mission has been accomplished. If you persist, you will risk becoming a rebel. You can also ensure the safety of the entire army and continue to fight against Japan. No one can find any reason to refuse every argument.
Tang Dao knew that withdrawing troops had become the Army Lieutenant Colonel's only option, and he could not be that selfish person.
The reason is simple, everyone here is a hero, but will history remember everyone?
No, from ancient times to the present, history has been habitually forgetful. Only a few people can record their names in the long history.
Everyone else will just become a number, the number named 'eight hundred' after his name Xie Jinyuan. It won’t take long for time to pass by, and no one will remember the blood these little people once left for their country and nation.
To say that he led 400 soldiers to commit suicide in order to be remembered in history is really the straw that broke the camel's back.
"Take a seat, I can withdraw the troops!" The Army Lieutenant Colonel thought for a long time and finally spoke with difficulty.
"Sir!" Lei Xiong, who had not spoken for a long time, looked angrily.
"Shut up!" The lieutenant colonel's face was frosty, and he waved his hand to stop Lei Xiong, who had his eyes widened. "But I don't trust Westerners!"
"I have to leave a part of the army to cover the retreat of my entire army from the Suzhou River Bridge. After my main force crosses the river, I will cover them crossing the bridge." The lieutenant colonel's eyes were rarely fierce. "Xie can obey the military order and die, but he will never send these soldiers to the guns of the Japanese to die in vain."
After last night's trial, the lieutenant colonel of the army knew too well that the Japanese army hated his troops. If it were him, all promises would be bullshit. He would kill the enemy as soon as possible. They would definitely not let the 524th Regiment go.
As Tang Dao said, if the Westerners in the concession could be so tough, would they still be forced by the Japanese?
"Okay, as you say!" The major general agreed.
From his point of view, he also had no good feelings for the Westerners who used diplomatic relations to pressure the top leaders to order his troops to withdraw, and the so-called trust was naturally out of the question.
If this elite army was shot and killed and wounded by the Japanese army during the retreat because of his persuasion, he would also feel guilty.
In this case, it is better to protect yourself.
As long as the main force of the defenders successfully crosses the river, he can be regarded as completing the military order of the theater command, so that those bigwigs will not send six telegrams of retreat orders to the division headquarters in half a day.
"Sir! My 1st Company is willing to take the responsibility of the rear guard!" Tang Dao stood up and asked for battle.
"My machine gun company is willing to assist the first company to cover the entire army!" Lei Xiong also stood up suddenly.
The two smiled at each other, that was the mutual appreciation of heroes, and also the friendship of comrades. Even though both of them knew that the death rate of the rear guard was much higher than that of the company crossing the bridge in front.
"Okay!" The lieutenant colonel of the army stood up. "I order!"
All officers stood up solemnly.
"According to the military order of the war zone headquarters, our army will withdraw to the concession at 3 a.m. You four company commanders should go back to inform each company and prepare for the retreat.
The initial retreat plan is as follows:
Company 2, responsible for carrying all the company's equipment and two heavy machine guns of the machine gun company, will be the first to cross the river; Company 3, responsible for carrying all the company's equipment and two heavy machine guns of the machine gun company in the middle; a part of the machine gun company will carry some heavy equipment in the back; Company 1 will send an infantry platoon to protect the machine gun company to cross the river quickly, leaving two infantry platoons and a part of the machine gun company as the rear guard; if the Japanese army attacks, we will resolutely fight back!"
"Yes!" All officers received the order loudly.
No one saw the deep coldness in Tang Dao's eyes.
Because he was the only one among all the people here who knew that under the stubborn ruts of history, the Westerners would definitely break the contract, and once this iron-blooded army entered the concession, it would become a tragedy.
He, this little butterfly, may not have enough power to reverse the general trend, but he must do his best to kick history hard.
Just like in the past few days, didn’t the Japanese army suffer several times more casualties than before?