Chapter Thirty-Eight: Slay the Enemy for the Nation, Restore Our Rivers and Mountains!
Although he was somewhat shocked to be promoted to brigadier general, Chen Qingzhi was no ordinary man; he quickly regained his composure. Calming his excitement, he gazed at Fang Xiaodong, who was still overjoyed, and at the gathered soldiers, smiling as he spoke, “Alright! Everyone quiet down and listen to me for a moment!”
At his words, Fang Xiaodong and the surrounding soldiers fell silent, their eyes fixed intently on Chen Qingzhi.
“This promotion to brigadier general is entirely thanks to the lives of the soldiers, who traded their blood for this achievement! To be honest, I feel unworthy of such an honor. This accomplishment belongs to all of us, yet I alone am credited; truly, my heart feels uneasy about it!”
As Chen Qingzhi spoke, he solemnly saluted every soldier present.
“Commander... Brigade leader, what are you saying? If you hadn’t led us to wipe out an entire enemy regiment, none of us might have survived. Brigade leader, without exaggeration, you saved every one of our lives!”
“That’s right, commander! If not for you, we’d have been dead long ago—how could we have the fortune of earning this merit?”
The soldiers spoke up one after another, disagreeing with Chen Qingzhi’s words. Chen Qingzhi believed his achievements were earned solely by the soldiers risking their lives, while the soldiers felt that if not for him, they wouldn’t have escaped the battlefield at Zhonghua Gate.
One soldier suddenly said, “Commander, for us ordinary grunts, killing invaders, defending our homeland, earning a bit of merit and silver—that’s all we wish for. Anything else is beyond our dreams!”
“But you’re different, commander. I may not be educated, but from the battlefield at Zhonghua Gate, I could see you’re no ordinary man! You have grand ambitions and lofty goals!”
“I believe that under your leadership, our unit will become the enemy’s nightmare!”
“That’s right, commander! Thanks to our achievements, we’ve been rewarded twenty thousand silver dollars. That sum is enough to comfort our families, so they will never want for food or clothing again. With our worries set aside, we can wholeheartedly follow you to fight the enemy!”
The soldiers’ thoughts were simple, and it was this sincerity that moved Chen Qingzhi deeply.
In these turbulent times, a soldier’s life is worth less than wild grass. Each day they gamble with death in battle, never knowing if they will live to see the next sunrise.
In such peril, their monthly pay amounted to a mere three silver dollars; during wartime or shortages, only two. Their lives, valued at just two silver dollars!
They were like wild grass, indeed.
They joined the army, first to defend their homeland, and second because their families were too poor to support them. Becoming a soldier meant food and shelter, and the chance to send money home to help their families. Killing enemies and earning merit brought additional rewards in silver.
Chen Qingzhi led them to victory in the bloody fight at Zhonghua Gate, earning a reward of twenty thousand silver dollars. After compensating the families of the fallen, the remainder was enough for the hundred or so survivors to divide among themselves.
This money ensured their families would be secure for the rest of their lives, leaving them free of worry.
What more could they wish for?
They needed nothing else.
Looking at his soldiers, Chen Qingzhi’s lips trembled. He wanted to speak, but in the end, said nothing. Instead, he straightened his uniform, saluted them solemnly, and declared, “I once heard a saying: ‘If you treat me as a man of honor, I shall repay you as a man of honor.’ Some of you may not understand, but that’s alright.”
“You only need to know that from now on, we are brothers united in life and death.”
“We share wealth and hardship, fight the enemy for our nation, and restore our rivers and mountains!”
The last words Chen Qingzhi shouted, his voice hoarse and desperate.
Hearing him, the soldiers saluted and shouted together, “Share wealth and hardship! Fight for our nation, restore our rivers and mountains!”
“Fight for our nation, restore our rivers and mountains!”
“Fight for our nation, restore our rivers and mountains!”
One cry after another, every soldier shouted with all their strength. Though there were only about a hundred, their voices merged into a single roar that carried far, even causing the trees nearby to sway, as if pressed down by their spirit!
At that moment, every soldier radiated fierce murderous intent, their faces solemn.
They had fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood; countless enemies had fallen at their hands. The palpable aura of death naturally spread among them, enveloping the air in a silent, chilling atmosphere.
If any ordinary person witnessed this scene, they would surely be terrified to the point of losing their courage.
Not far away, several hundred downcast and dispirited soldiers sat lazily on the ground, each one sunk in gloom. But when they heard this earth-shaking roar, their faces changed, and they couldn’t help but look up.
Seeing the scene, each of them paled.
“What... what kind of unit is that?”
Watching Chen Qingzhi and his soldiers in the distance, an officer among the dejected group stammered in astonishment.
He wore a somewhat worn officer’s uniform; judging by his rank, he was a captain and clearly had some experience.
He could distinctly sense from this force of less than two hundred men an abyssal, unyielding spirit, as well as a steadfast and indomitable character!
Watching the murderous aura emanating from that group, even he shivered, his hair standing on end, his scalp tingling.
“This is definitely a battle-hardened force! Absolutely a steel army forged from slaughter!”
His face was pale as he murmured.
His name was Wang Yachuan, a company commander from the 244th Regiment of the 79th Army. His unit had suffered defeat and retreated from the Nanjing battlefield, only to be ambushed by the enemy. He led his men in a fighting withdrawal, eventually becoming separated from the main force.
His company had fewer than a hundred soldiers left. He intended to lead them to Xuzhou to rejoin the main army, but on the way, they were gathered up by Chen Qingzhi’s unit.
Of the soldiers beside him, only a few dozen were his own; the rest were stragglers collected by Chen Qingzhi along the way, remnants scattered from their original units.
Originally, Wang Yachuan thought that Chen Qingzhi’s group was another defeated force. But now, seeing Chen Qingzhi’s unit—though just over a hundred strong—their aura left Wang Yachuan astounded.
“This force must have fought their way out from the Nanjing battlefield, carving a bloody path!”
Suddenly, that thought flashed through Wang Yachuan’s mind.