I had to put away the urge to charge at sunset, because the allied troops were not trustworthy; I had to put aside my personal glory, because the Imperial Knights were priceless. — Excerpted from the thoughts of a captain of a Japanese cavalry.
I am ready to die in the sunset, because this is a decisive battle of fate; there is no distinction between high and low among soldiers. When you feel you are noble, you are no longer a soldier. — Excerpted from the voice of a company commander of an independent regiment.
I am a cavalryman, a raging wind galloping across the plains; my battlefield is as big as my horse can run; the battle of the cavalryman is never over. — Excerpted from the thoughts of a Japanese cavalry captain.
I am a deserter, I am running away from everything; no matter how big the battlefield is, I have never hesitated; but now, I have to consider more; the deserter's road has no end. —Excerpt from the thoughts of a company commander of an independent regiment.
No matter how calm you are, you only have one night; you will not run east, because you will repeat the mistakes of the guerrillas; I guess you will not run south, because the north is a better choice; of course your final direction must be west, because you must be from the independent regiment. Hello, I am a cavalry captain.
I don't believe you left to the south, you probably just wanted to go north to wait for me; yes, going east is not a good choice, I don't want to get stuck deeper; the reasonable retreat plan is to go north first, then turn west, but I don't intend to compete with you in speed, I will go east first, then turn around and head west, you run far away. I am indeed from the independent regiment, even though you have taken off your gloves, I will not shake hands with the devils.
Are you done yet? What's wrong with showing off? Can you understand other people's feelings? The sun has already set, and the bodies of our brothers are still lying on the battlefield. Are you going to run or rob? Although I am exhausted, don't think I don't have the courage to fight you again. I have already mobilized new machine gunners. I still have more soldiers than you, I tell you! — Excerpted from the thoughts of a puppet army battalion commander.
"Very good. We'll see!"
This incoherent remark startled the nearby cavalrymen, and then they heard the cavalry captain say, "Turn north." He then put away the map and turned off the flashlight: "Also, send people west. There should be a Li Youde unit in Luoye Village. I need their cooperation."
Amid the neighing of war horses, four riders broke away from the team and ran westward.
"You really have to wait and see!"
This incoherent remark startled the soldiers nearby, and then they heard the company commander say, "It's almost dark. After withdrawing from the position to the north, go east first, five miles."
"East? Five miles?" Ma Liang was surprised.
"Boss Hu, I'm going to lead some people to explore the south. Can we plunder some before we leave?"
"We can't afford to mess around any longer. I'm counting on these puppet troops to protect us, so we need them to clear their positions as soon as possible. The nearest village is Xiangmo, and they will definitely head west to Xiangmo to rest tonight. We'll follow them and take a rest outside Xiangmo, and spend the day tomorrow under their noses."
The last ray of sunset faded away, and the soldiers' gray and dirty figures climbed out of the bunkers one by one, staring blankly at the endless new night in all directions. This was a withdrawal, a withdrawal that they had longed for eight hundred years. There was no need to even break out, but there was no strong feeling of joy, only a feeling of emptiness and lightness in their hearts; several bunkers had been filled in, those were the graves of the fallen comrades without graves or tombstones, and the entire position belonged to them.
…
At midnight, the moon was still bright, having overshadowed the stars, making the grass leaves appear pale grey and the human figures appear clear but colorless.
A team was swaying tiredly under the moonlight. There were more than 200 shadowy figures, some were groaning on stretchers, some were gasping for breath, and they were trying to speed up their pace because they were about to reach the resting place.
The scout held his rifle horizontally, his hat having been discarded on the battlefield. After entering the village, he walked faster and faster. He had to find a well first, as only the cool well water could temporarily wash away the trauma in his heart.
The village was quiet under the moonlight. Perhaps someone had woken up but was still pretending to sleep. The gray earthen walls and gray roads turned a corner and the scout suddenly stopped, accompanied by the sound of the bolt being pulled: "Who is it?"
Not far ahead, a figure was also holding a rifle under the moonlight, with a faint reflection of the bayonet: "Who are you?"
"I asked you first, eh?"
"Well, I'm from the Second Company. What about you?"
"I'm from the third company."
"Impossible! The Third Company is in the Nameless Village!"
"I told you it's impossible! The people from the Second Company aren't here in Shili, why are you running here?"
Then there was a brief silence, and the two idiots raised their guns and started shooting - bang bang - the sudden gunfire under the moonlight shattered all the silence.
In panic, all their movements were distorted. One bullet flew over the target's head, and the other bullet flew over the target's shoulder. The two panicked guys didn't even consider pulling the bolt a second time. They turned around and ran for their lives.
There was a burst of gunfire in Xiangmo Village. The puppet soldiers who had just entered the village climbed over the wall and kicked the door on the spot, causing chaos.
"There are Eighth Route Army soldiers in the village!"
This panicked shouting made the pseudo-battalion commander stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. He was so angry that his teeth began to chatter. He bumped into me again? The world is so big, you can't run to any place? Why do you have to keep picking on me? Haven't you had enough of picking on the weak? He was so angry that he drew his gun and waved it high: "The third company, hold on! The fourth company is on the left, and the fifth company is on the right! We will defend it too! You are not allowed to leave the village! Avenge me!"
…
Less than two miles east of Xiangmo Village, a team just stopped under the moon. I looked stupidly in the direction of Xiangmo Village, but unfortunately I could see nothing and only heard the sound of gunfire.
“Oh my god… What’s going on? Are we going to be able to survive?” A bear sat down in the grass, panting dejectedly.
A little shadow stamped his feet and kicked up his tail: "I have worked so hard for nothing! We might as well just break into the village! Who cares!"
"Don't talk nonsense! Ahem... I'm asking you, is that chicken hiding here with you?"
"Hey, hey? Lao Qin, it's already this time and you're still not done with Xiao Jiu? Don't you understand our current situation? Do you know what's going on now?" The girl with braids was shaking with anger.
"What's the situation? Don't we still have the rest of the night? Hu Yi, don't you think so?"
Fate, Hu Yi was speechless. All his efforts were in vain. No matter who was exchanging fire with the puppet army in Xiangmo Village, the enemy would hold the Ninth Company responsible. It didn't matter if the Ninth Company was not here, but now the Ninth Company was here! This was no different from the enemy discovering the whereabouts of the Ninth Company!
He looked up at the moon, feeling melancholy, unwilling to take off the rifle from his shoulder. The wound was still aching, and he sighed helplessly: "We don't have enough time for half a night."
In this situation, the Ninth Company could not just turn around and leave, because that would be like pitting the friendly forces in the village, because they certainly didn't know that there was a Japanese cavalry waiting to set up a large net at dawn, and they would become scapegoats for the Ninth Company. But the Ninth Company couldn't fight this battle either, how long would it take to fight in the dark in the village
"Ma Liang, you go into the village. If they are friendly forces, tell them to withdraw immediately and explain the current situation. Be quick, we can't wait any longer."
…