The meaning of victory is very simple, it is to achieve the goal. In order to achieve the goal, you must use any means; because you use any means, you must pay a price; because you pay a price, victory is actually just like everything else. Think about it carefully, victory is actually buying something you need with money, and whether you are excited or sad depends on how much money you spend.
It was dawn, the sun was shining brightly, the mountains were stacked, and ten grain carts were moving hard on the mountain road. They had left the enemy-occupied area and were not far from Dabei Village.
In the frontmost cart, the animal pulling the cart was breathing heavily, the slowly rolling wheels were making strange squeaking noises, and on a high pile of grain, Hu Yi was lying quietly.
Click—
With a crisp sound, the silver and smooth watch case jumped up lightly. The dial was crystal clear, reflecting a bronze, resolute face and a pair of narrow and deep eyes, which looked a little dazed and confused.
This is what Wang Laokou left behind. This is all the memory of the 67th Army. It ticks and beats precisely in the palm of his hand, round and round, calm and yet magnificent...
"fox."
"… "
"Why haven't you spoken
"… "
"What are you thinking about?"
"… "
"Hey, are you possessed again?"
"Girl, have you ever been very tired? So tired that you don't want to do anything anymore."
"Eh?" The pigtails froze. "Yes! I was so tired when I was beating the idiots yesterday afternoon that I couldn't even hold the gun. Otherwise, I could have killed a few more devils."
"… "
"That idiot is so annoying, he deserves a beating. Do you know that he... Oh, by the way, how many bullets did you shoot yesterday?"
"… "
"Speak?"
"One hundred and seventy-seven rounds. Why are you asking that?"
Xiao Hongying took out a dirty piece of paper and a pencil from her bag, and wrote down some crooked numbers on it carefully. Without even looking up, she answered, "We're almost home. I have to settle accounts with Gao Yidao."
After noting down the number, Xiao Hongying, who was sitting high on the grain stack, turned to the bottom of the cart and asked, "Mule, how many rounds did you shoot?"
The mountain road was difficult to navigate. The mules and horses in front of the cart were already exhausted. Luo Fugui, sweating profusely, was pushing the cart hard on the side. When he heard Xiao Hongying asking this, he thought about it and thought that he had fired two and a half bullets with the Type 99 light machine gun, and then the shells got stuck. So he replied: "That's a lot. Didn't you hear the sound of the Type 99 light machine gun from beginning to end? How could it be vague? The shells around me are piled up like a mountain!"
Chuckling… A bell-like laughter sounded in the car: “How am I supposed to remember this? Just draw a mountain. Hehehehe…”
Then Liu Jianqiang's voice came from the back of the car: "From the beginning to the end? Those are the devils. Shameless!"
"Hey, who are you calling shameless?"
"Whoever made the noise from the beginning to the end, that's who I'm talking about!"
"My grandma..."
"Shut up!" Hu Yi's voice came from the roof of the car, ending the nonsense of Luo Fugui and Liu Jianqiang.
…
On the tenth and last grain cart, Gao Yidao was lying with his leg bandaged. Gao Yidao was in a similar state to Hu Yi, and he did not feel any joy after the victory, not because he was injured, but simply because war was never something that could make people feel happy!
At this moment, Gao Yidao was chatting with the fast-tracker who was following his car.
"Just now, two more seriously injured soldiers died in the car ahead. Company commander, how about I take the others to carry the remaining seriously injured soldiers back first? The convoy is too slow, and I'm afraid..."
Gao Yidao sighed: "What if I carry it back? There is nothing else in the medical team except bandages."
Kuaitui'er smacked his lips, speechless.
After a moment of silence, Gao Yidao asked, "Are you all right, old buddy?"
"Four were injured, but they are all fine and will be fine after a few days of recuperation. Most of them were new recruits. They were slow to move during the charge and didn't follow closely. When the smoke cleared, more than a dozen were knocked down."
Gao Yidao nodded. There was nothing he could do about it. The new soldiers were timid and naively thought it would be safer to move back. They didn't know that the veterans were also timid. They rushed forward desperately just to take advantage of the smoke from the explosions. They would have a better chance of survival if they rushed into the battlefield before the smoke cleared.
Another reason is that the recruits are kindhearted. They are all honest peasants who have never experienced bloodshed. Yesterday afternoon, right beside Gao Yidao, a recruit who was good at bayonet training had already rushed to the enemy, but he couldn't bear to stab his bayonet into the enemy's chest. His honest and kind heart made his bayonet stop for some reason, and he was shot in the chest by the enemy and never got up again.
"I hope they will learn their lesson this time." After Gao Yidao said this, his brows suddenly frowned and he looked fixedly at the roadside ahead.
The fast-footed man walking beside the car didn't say anything else, and looked towards the roadside ahead with Gao Yidao.
A little girl with pigtails sticking up in the air, taking small steps and twisting her body, came towards me. Who else could it be but a wicked girl!
"Hey, hey! Why are you still standing there? Can you give me a hand? You have no eyesight." Xiao Hongying tried hard to climb onto Gao Yidao's car. She was too short and could not climb up in one go. She could not help but complain to the fast-footed man who was standing next to her.
The quick-legged man reached out and lifted up the little girl who was climbing onto the car.
"Hey, snowy mountains and grasslands are no problem for you old man, so do you still need help getting into the car?" Gao Yidao tilted his head and looked at the two little braids. He didn't even offer a hand to help, but instead deliberately mocked them.
Xiao Hongying ignored the ridicule and like a little toad, she slowly climbed up the grain stack, holding on to the edge of the grain bag until she was in front of Gao Yidao, and put on an extremely hypocritical smile: "I heard that you were injured, so I came to see you!"
"Tsk!" Gao Yidao curled his lips and said, "You wicked fellow, can you be more hypocritical? I think you are thinking about sharing the spoils, right?"
Seeing Gao Yidao speak so directly, Xiao Hongying's hypocritical smile disappeared instantly, as if the smile had never appeared. She said to Gao Yidao with her braids raised and a blank expression: "Gao Yiqu, let's get down to business!"
"What did you say? You stupid girl, believe it or not, I will beat you up?" At this moment, Gao Yidao couldn't stand the word "lame" the most.
Facing the ferocious-looking Gao Yidao, Xiao Hongying deliberately raised her eyebrows and said word by word: "Gao, Yi, Lame." After she finished speaking, she began to deliberately blink her two innocent big eyes at Gao Yidao.
One was glaring at him angrily, the other responded innocently, and their eyes met with sparks, which made the fast runner beside the car feel a chill in his heart.
Suddenly, a voice came from far away on the road behind: "Captain Gao... Captain Gao..."
The eye contact was finally interrupted. Gao Yidao and Xiao Hongying in the car, as well as the fast-footed man following the car, all looked in the direction they came from.
Two figures are running towards us. A few miles behind us, Gao Yidao has arranged a platoon to cover their retreat. Since these two figures can catch up with us, they must be our people. They are getting closer and closer, and they seem to be... soldiers from the third company
The two men panted and caught up with Gao Yidao's last grain truck: "Hoo—Captain Gao, I didn't expect to see you, hoo... you guys."
The person who spoke was the communications officer of the third company. Gao Yidao stuck his head out of the car and asked, "What's going on?"
The signalman of the third company took a deep breath and answered as he followed the car: "The company commander sent us back to the regiment to report the situation. We didn't expect to run into you. It's just right, Captain Gao, can you send some people to support us?"
Gao Yidao was stunned when he heard this: "Support? How many Japanese soldiers are there? Is the Third Company surrounded? Where? How far away is it?"
The signalman of the third company waved his hands quickly: "No, no, it's not that, it's the food. There is too much food, and our third company is short of manpower, so the company commander sent us back to the regiment to find people to help."
Oh, so that's how it is. Gao Yidao patted the sacks under him and said, "Did you see that?" He raised his hand and pointed to the grain carts ahead, "Did you see that? This is 20,000 kilograms of grain. What do you mean by a lot? This is a lot! This is a big deal. How can our Second Company afford it?"
The signalman of the third company looked ahead at the grain cart and scratched his head: "At least you have animals pulling it. This is not far from the regiment. Can you send people to help us? We can only push and carry it by ourselves. We are so tired that we can hardly stand it."
Gao Yidao thought this made sense, so he asked, "Well, how much food did you get? Where is it?"
The signalman of the third company proudly held up two fingers: "Twenty thousand pounds! In Liushugou."
"Oh, there are also 20,000 kilograms? Good fellow, you guys actually... Wait, where are you talking about?" Gao Yidao suddenly widened his eyes. The little girl next to him also stretched out her little head in surprise and pricked up her ears.
"Liushugou. A wealthy gentry was touched by my company commander and bought some grain through special channels. He said he would donate it to us to fight the Japanese. The grain arrived last night and the place to pick it up is Liushugou."
Gao Yidao was very upset. Liushugou was the place where 20,000 kilograms of food were unloaded last night. It was Li Youde's share. The Third Company... Is there any need to think about it? It was also obtained by the bloodshed of the Second Company and the Ninth Squad!
Gao Yidao was completely speechless. After a while of silence, he turned his head to look at Xiao Hongying, who was also frowning, and asked her, "What do you think of this wicked thing?"
The two soldiers in the third company were a little confused. They thought, "Gao Yidao, you are the captain of the second company. Why are you still hesitating about such a major military matter? You even asked the little girl? What's wrong? I feel something is wrong? It seems that... even the fast-legged guy next to me is wrong? What's wrong? Did I say anything wrong?"
Xiao Hongying, with a frown on her face, stared at Gao Yidao for a while, then lowered her head and blinked her beautiful big eyes at the signalman of the third company under the car: "You deserve it! You're working yourself to death!"
This is what Gao Yidao wanted to say, but as a company commander, he could not say this in front of the soldiers of the third company, so he put the blame on Xiao Hongying.
The two soldiers of the third company were completely confused by what the little girl said. They were stunned on the spot, and then they heard Gao Yidao in the car say: "The second company must ensure the safety of these vehicles now. We are short of manpower. You two should find someone else."
The convoy of the second company continued to move forward slowly, while the soldiers of the two third companies were stupidly lying on the roadside, feeling: the world is fickle and people's hearts are no longer the same...