The silly boy tilted his head to the side, lying in the mud pit without daring to move. Although the mud on his body was not too thick and there was space near his nostrils and mouth for breathing, he still felt heavy, as if he was pressed at the bottom of a mountain. He could hear footsteps coming, about a dozen of them, getting closer and closer, accompanied by the chirping of birds, which made the silly boy's heart rise involuntarily, as if it had risen to his throat, and even breathing became more difficult, forgetting the disgusting smell of mud.
Bang! The sound of firing from the Zhongzheng rifle came from the river.
There was a muffled groan, followed by the sound of a body rolling down from above.
Then came the sound of a Type 38 rifle firing back and the sound of scattered footsteps getting closer and closer. The silly boy felt that a pair of boots seemed to be standing next to him, less than a foot away, maybe half a foot, maybe... Guanyin Bodhisattva who saves the suffering, I am just a little beggar, I have never fired a gun, let alone killed anyone...
Nothing could be seen on the dark river surface. Someone fired a shot in the river and disappeared. Maybe he was shot and died in the river, or maybe he drifted downstream. A dozen Japanese soldiers stood by the muddy river, hesitated for a while, and finally moved their feet, walked along the river bank toward the downstream dock, joined the attack, and disappeared into the night.
The sound of gunfire from Desheng Port continued, and the sound of footsteps around him had disappeared for a long time. Zhao Yong finally couldn't stand the stench in his nose anymore, so he struggled to raise his head, looked around in the darkness, and whispered, "The devils are gone." Then he shook off the dirt on his body and climbed out of the pit.
The big guy and the stupid boy also squirmed and moved out of the mud pit, gasping for breath. Zhao Yong, who came out first, suddenly grabbed the rifle in panic and aimed at the river.
"Don't panic, it's me!"
First, a low voice came from the water, and then a dark shadow slowly waded out of the water. It was Hu Yi.
Zhao Yong put down his gun and said, "Captain Hu, you scared me to death. I thought you had already... It's a good thing you're back. Let's go."
Hu Yi shivered as he got ashore. The water was so cold that his face turned blue, but it was not noticeable in the darkness. "First, go upstream along the river bank, bypass the Japanese, and then turn north. Hmm, where's the platoon leader?"
Zhao Yong turned his head and said, "Platoon leader, platoon leader, hurry up and get out. Let's go."
After shouting a few times, there was no movement in the pit. Was he asleep? The big guy returned to the pit with doubts, touched the platoon leader's arm, pulled it, but there was no response. He was stunned on the spot: "Platoon leader! What's wrong with you?"
Hu Yi came down immediately and pulled Wang Laokou out of the mud, but Wang Laokou had already become a cold corpse.
Hu Yi's heart sank. Could it be that he had buried the body too thickly? He pulled Wang Lao's body out of the pit with all his strength and laid it on the ground. In the stunned expressions of the three people, he reached out his hand and searched the body carefully. Finally, when he touched the back, Hu Yi's fingers touched a clear bullet hole, and no more blood was flowing out.
Wang Laokou was dead. When he ran from the bunker to the river, a stray bullet hit his back. He knew it. But he was afraid that if he stopped, he would really die. He hoped that he could continue to live. Maybe it was just a scratch, maybe not a vital part. He continued to run, running with all his strength until he fell into the mud pit, and then he found that he seemed to have no strength at all. Maybe he was just sleepy, and he took a rest in this pit. When he woke up, maybe the **** devils would be gone, and maybe he could evacuate with the 107th Division and leave this hellhole.
Hu Yi, Zhao Yong, the big guy and the silly boy numbly put Wang Laokou back into the mud pit and buried him hastily in the dark. Contrary to their wishes, Wang Laokou did not get a good feng shui, nor was he buried on a sunny hill. He could only lie on the dark, cold, wet, muddy bank of the Huangpu River, listening to the foreign river water slowly flowing, flowing to the crying Shanghai, flowing to the vast...
Dew condensed into drops, and the day was about to dawn. The gunfire from Desheng Port had long ceased, and now the Japanese had probably begun unloading their baggage at the dock.
Hu Yi lay down behind a pile of weeds under the earthen ridge, holding the gun in his arms, wiped his dirty and wet palms on his clothes, then took out his pocket watch from his pocket, pressed the button, and the watch case bounced lightly with a crisp sound. The light was still dim, and the dial could not be seen clearly. He could only feel the precise rhythm of ticking in his palm. The regular and rhythmic slight vibration made Hu Yi feel very comfortable, like a kind of magic that could calm the waves in his heart and return to tranquility.
A dark shadow quietly crawled out of the dark weeds. It was the big guy.
"Brother Hu, I've looked carefully at the other two sides. There are more than this side. I definitely can't get through."
Hu Yi closed his pocket watch and held it in his hand. He nodded without saying anything.
Zhao Yong came closer and whispered, "It's almost dawn. It's been such a long time, and we haven't seen the devils move. We can't wait any longer. I suggest we quickly follow the same route back to the river and hide first."
The four men followed the river bank, crossed the Japanese's attack line, approached the Japanese's crossing point on the west side, and then crawled northward under the cover of night. When they were about to get out of the Japanese's control, they encountered a Japanese fixed sentry.
Because the battle of Desheng Port in the east had ended, a Japanese battlefield patrol squad of thirteen people stopped at the escape route of Hu Yi and his men, lit a bonfire, and rested on the spot.
From where Hu Yi and his men stopped, they could enter the woods about 200 meters north. With the cover of the woods, it would not be difficult to slip out of the enemy's control. Now they were blocked by these thirteen enemy soldiers, so they had to stop and wait, hoping that they would leave. Hu Yi asked the big guy to observe on both sides to see if there were any loopholes that could allow the four men to slip through. Now the big guy came back, but the news he brought was disappointing.
"We can't go back to the river. At daybreak, more Japanese soldiers will cross the river. By then, the riverbank might be full of Japanese soldiers. How can we hide in broad daylight? Even if we can hide during the day, at night, the Japanese front line will advance further north. How can we escape?"
After hearing what Hu Yi said, Zhao Yong remained silent.
The big guy took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Brother Hu, we have peed in thousands of pots and buckets, so we don't need to worry about this last shiver. Let's go for it! If we can go for it, it's a blessing, but if we can't go for it, it's what we deserve. Accept it."
Hu Yi looked at the tall and burly figure and said nothing. This was a good soldier, strong, firm, and simple. If he had the opportunity to continue to experience the battlefield, he would eventually stand out and become the best soldier. Better than Wang Laokou and himself. Yes, often in the end, the simplest and most direct way may be the best way. Hu Yi made up his mind before the dark dawn.