kingnovel Chapter 1129 Anger
Chapter 1129 Anger
After more than ten days of hardship, Li Shaoyi finally arrived in the Nationalist-controlled area. Although there were refugees everywhere, it was still quite good compared to the Japanese-occupied areas. At least the surrounding villages had smoke rising from their chimneys, and it wasn't a deserted village.
"With such defensive measures, how could he possibly withstand the Japanese army?"
Passing by a Nationalist army position, Li Shaoyi could no longer contain his anger. This position wasn't set up to resist the Japanese; it was specifically for checking refugees fleeing from the east. What was supposed to be a simple registration had turned into extortion. At first, they were at least somewhat civilized, but now they were even resorting to robbery.
"What the hell are you talking about? Do you think you can just say whatever you want about what we do? Get out of here! Do you still want to go back to the Japanese? Otherwise, go back to the Japanese side and see how they treat you."
Upon hearing Li Shaoyi's words, a soldier who was conducting the search immediately came over with his gun. Looking at the guy's nonchalant attitude, Li Shaoyi also showed disdain.
This guy even dared to speak rudely. Before Li Shaoyi could say anything, the guard next to him kicked him into the trench. Luckily, the trench was only a few dozen centimeters deep; if it had been a real trench, he would have been seriously injured.
"Who goes there? How dare you cause such a disturbance here? Arrest them!"
The infantry platoon leader, who was drinking in a nearby pavilion, heard the shouts and immediately waved his hand. A dozen or so soldiers under his command came running over with their guns. Seeing this, the civilians nearby quickly scattered; they couldn't afford to offend these soldiers.
I initially thought it was just a few isolated troublemakers; I've encountered quite a few these past few days, and tying them to trees usually tempers their tempers. But as these people approached, dozens of armed men suddenly appeared nearby, and these men even had submachine guns.
The Nationalist troops responsible for the defense immediately thought that a small Japanese detachment had infiltrated the area. In their view, only the Japanese had such an elite army, while the Nationalist army did not.
"Open your dog eyes and look!"
Li Shaoyi's guards took out their identification cards, but the other party couldn't see the name clearly. However, the people from the war zone command saw it clearly. They quickly put down their guns and stood at attention. However, their military posture was unbelievable. How was this any different from that of ordinary civilians?
"Did the Party and the State bring you here just so you could bully the common people? Look at this lousy fortifications you've dug! Do you know how ruthless the Japanese were when they fought? You bastards, do your superiors know about this? Get the men here right now!"
Li Shaoyi had been holding his anger in all the way, not letting it out. Now that he saw these guys bullying ordinary people like this, he was determined to make them pay.
Before long, a dozen or so Nationalist Army officers in uniform arrived. Some had just woken up, and seeing their appearance only fueled Li Shaoyi's anger. "The Japanese are only 50 li away, and you still have these defensive measures? No wonder you couldn't stop them when they launched their westward advance."
"Commander Li..."
Most of the people who came did not recognize Li Shaoyi, but one of them, whose arm was in a sling, quickly raised his right hand and saluted Li Shaoyi.
"Unit designation".
Some had initially questioned Li Shaoyi's identity, but the fact that one of their deputy regimental commanders recognized him meant that his identity was legitimate; the only question was which unit he belonged to. While they were speculating, Li Shaoyi instead asked them to state their unit number.
"Reporting to Commander Li, Guo Maojie, former battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion of the 212th Regiment of the 12th Division of the Central Army, and now deputy commander of the 366th Regiment of the 35th Division..."
Upon hearing the unit's designation, Li Shaoyi's anger subsided slightly. After all, this was an army that had fought on the Pujiang battlefield and had fought the Japanese to the death. When the 12th Division retreated, half of its officers were killed in action, and most of the soldiers came down wounded.
“You’re a veteran who’s been through the battlefield yourself. The 12th Division fought alongside me. You should know better than they do what the Japanese are really like on the battlefield. Look at this piece of crap we built. Do you think this thing can hold off the Japanese attack?”
Although Li Shaoyi's tone had softened considerably, it still carried a hint of accusation. Those around him finally understood who this Commander Li was. At such a young age, being able to subdue a deputy regimental commander like a grandson meant he was none other than the recently dismissed commander of the Pujiang War Zone. Even though he was no longer the commander of the Pujiang War Zone, his rank of general remained; killing them would be as easy as eating a meal for him.
The other officers also looked helpless, and at the same time signaled to Deputy Regiment Commander Guo with their eyes to hurry up and explain the situation here. This is not what we wanted, but the situation is simply beyond our control.
"Reporting to Commander Li, after the brothers withdrew from Pujiang, a large number of wounded and sick soldiers had no medical treatment and could only helplessly pass away. We recruited another batch of troops locally, which is the current batch. But the problem is, we have no weapons, no pay, and not even enough money for daily meals. We can only set up this checkpoint. Our management has indeed been negligent. We apologize to Commander Li."
As Deputy Regiment Commander Guo spoke, the others around him nodded in agreement. It wasn't that they wanted it that way; it was simply that the number of veteran soldiers under their command had been too high. Take Deputy Regiment Commander Guo's regiment, for example: the majority of the entire regiment were new recruits, and on average, only three men could share one rifle.
The soldiers at this checkpoint have guns when they go on duty, but they don't have guns when they leave. Each soldier has less than 25 bullets.
Li Shaoyi had initially blamed the Central Army for their retreat, but after hearing their explanation, he realized that the Central Army was indeed facing immense difficulties. If they had remained on the front lines, a similar scenario would likely have unfolded on the Pujiang battlefield. The current retreat, which hadn't yet resulted in a large-scale rout, was theoretically the least damaging option.
"You must overcome any difficulties. I'll find someone to provide you with a batch of weapons and equipment. Begin training them today. You are the first line of defense against the Japanese invaders, and this kind of fortification is absolutely inadequate..."
Seeing that many of his fellow Nationalist soldiers were wounded, Li Shaoyi couldn't bring himself to say anything to blame them.