Rise from eight hundred.

The return of the Sihang Regiment to North China can be regarded as the largest long-distance troop transfer in Chinese military history.

The transportation plan was personally formulated and implemented by General Stilwell, Chief of the General Staff of the China Theater.

The four-line group will fly directly to Yuncheng on 9 large transport aircraft from the 1th Bomber Group and the 2st and 90nd Transport Groups of the United States stationed in China.

中方出动第4飞行大队3个飞行中队36架战机护航，飞虎队出动2个飞行中队22架战机护航，米方出动一个飞行中队10架战机护航。

  The number of various types of fighter jets escorting this huge transport aircraft formation will reach an astonishing 68!

The escort fighter formations took off from airports in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces respectively, and then arrived at Guilin Airport where the transport planes were most concentrated, hovering and waiting, and then flew to the mountain city after the transport planes took off.

It was not because the Sihang Regiment was going to reach the mountain city, but because some of the wounded soldiers who had retired due to disability had to return to their hometowns in Sichuan Province, and the escort fighters had to refuel with aviation fuel after a long-distance flight of 700 kilometers. After all, there was still more than a thousand kilometers of long-distance travel ahead.

Ye Chenghuan and Leng Feng have both fully consulted the soldiers who retired due to disability on whether they should go home.

Those who don't want to go home can follow the main force back to the base in Dakouzidong Town. More than a dozen factories have been built there and they also need manpower. Even if they don't want to work, a veterans' home has been built in Taihang Mountains. All funding sources of the veterans' home are guaranteed, so there will be no problem in maintaining their lives without worries for the rest of their lives.

For those who want to go home, the Sichuan branch managed by Miss Laura will pay full bonuses, war allowances, and disability allowances, at least 500 oceans per person, which is enough for them to live in their hometown. If they encounter any other problems in life, the Tang family is in Sichuan Province, where there are many disabled veterans who can be sought for help.

Sichuan people are homesick, and of course they don't want to add burden to the regiment. Seventy percent of the disabled retired soldiers chose to go home. Tang Dao, who was still on his sickbed, found General Stilwell. The largest flight team in Chinese military history chose to land and transfer at the airport closest to Tang Dao's hometown for this group of less than 300 wounded soldiers.

When did the Americans become so easy to talk to? The Chinese commander at the airport that received the transfer mission was confused. At the peak, their airport only handled 10 large aircraft. Now there were 90 aircraft, which really made them very busy.

"These Chinese people deserve this. They are probably the most admirable soldiers I have ever transported in my life. I believe my brother will bless them and me."

This is a sentence written by Lieutenant Robert Shawn, a pilot of the 9th Bomber Group of the United States stationed in China, in a letter to his family. His brother was Robert Short, the first foreign pilot in China who died in the sky over Shanghai during the Battle of Shanghai in 1932.

Twelve years ago, Robert Short, then an instructor at the Chinese Aviation School, was unfortunately killed in battle over Shanghai while outnumbered. Twelve years later, his youngest brother also came to China to fight the Japanese army, and expressed his respect for his Chinese allied soldiers in a letter home.

It was on that day that he suddenly understood why his brother chose to sacrifice his life for this ancient Eastern country that had nothing to do with them.

Because here are his comrades.

Those Chinese comrades with black hair, black eyes and yellow skin are the most admirable soldiers in the world.

Lieutenant Robert did not describe in detail in his letter home the shocking scene he saw when he entered the airport and opened the tail door of the plane, but this scene remained in his mind forever.

  So much so that seven years later, when he had been promoted to lieutenant commander in the navy and heard that he was about to be drafted to the ice battlefield to carry out ground bombing missions, the major refused his superior without hesitation. His reason was simple: I refuse to shoot at a comrade whom I respect, even if he was once one!

Of course, Major Robert had a more important reason that he did not mention. He believed that the arrogant five-star general commander could not lead him to defeat that seemingly poorly equipped army, and he heard that the infantry regiment that had shocked him so much was on the ice field.

It was mid-November 1944, already late autumn!

The soldiers of the Four-Line Regiment had already arrived at the airport and were lined up 150 meters outside the runway waiting to board the plane.

The huge bomber slowly moved along the runway, and Lieutenant Robert, who was sitting in the cockpit, instinctively looked at the passengers waiting to board.

To be honest, before arriving at the airport, Robert Sean had complained in his heart about General Stilwell who had issued the transport order: Damn it, mobilizing 90 large military aircraft just to transport the Chinese, how much benefit did they get from the Chinese?

Outside the porthole, the Chinese soldiers were still wearing their summer uniforms, which looked a little thin. Fortunately, Guangxi Province is located in the subtropical zone, so it was not cold, but it looked a little shabby.

The uniforms of many soldiers were washed so much that they looked bleached, showing that these were the only uniforms they could wear outside, but they were very clean.

  Is this what they call the ace infantry regiment? China is really too poor, the US Air Force lieutenant sighed in his heart!

But soon, Lieutenant Robert discovered what was different about this army.

Every soldier carried a rifle or submachine gun on his back, and some soldiers even carried machine guns or mortar barrels on their backs. There were no other heavy equipment, which was completely the standard of a light infantry regiment.

This is not the focus of the US Air Force second lieutenant's observation. The Chinese army's lack of heavy equipment has long been a consensus between the enemy and us. The light infantry regiment has become an ace infantry regiment perhaps because of its super high mobility.

  But what does it mean that every soldier has a big wooden box hanging on his chest?

Lieutenant Robert's eyes swept over every officer and soldier of the Fourth Regiment he passed by, and he was surprised to find that no matter whether they were the army colonel with three triangular stars on his collar badge, or the severely disabled soldiers with only one arm or even one empty trouser leg, leaning on crutches and originally in need of special care, they all had a large wooden box hanging on their chests that looked like it weighed at least 30 kilograms.

Could it be that this big wooden box contained their equipment? Lieutenant Robert was very puzzled. According to his knowledge of various types of firearms, no firearms needed to be stored in a wooden box.

Of course, there was no need to wrap the wooden box with red cloth. The Chinese were really weird. Could it be that there was some magic weapon inside? The second lieutenant of the US Air Force thought of some ancient European magic legends that he had heard from his grandmother.

After the plane stabilized, an army colonel with a large wooden box hanging around his neck strode out of the formation, looked at the soldiers standing in line in front of him, and shouted loudly: "Aboard!"

The front row of soldiers, carrying boxes, formed six squares, each with 6 people, and walked to the six planes that were ready.

"Let's go and help those poor guys. I think some of them have even lost their legs." Lieutenant Robert felt a strong emotion in his heart when he saw a soldier on crutches walking forward with difficulty but determination.

The Battle of Hengyang is famous throughout the world. These soldiers who were able to survive that hellish battlefield are warriors in themselves.

No one dares to look down on brave people, even if their clothes and equipment seem extremely shabby.

Standing at the slowly opening tail door of the cabin, watching the Chinese officers and soldiers file in, a U.S. Air Force second lieutenant took the initiative to extend his hand to the severely disabled soldier who was slowly walking along the ramp with the help of his comrades, and expressed his greetings in somewhat broken Chinese: "Young men, welcome aboard this flight. I am the captain of this flight, Second Lieutenant Robert Sean."

The soldier shook his head and rejected Lieutenant Robert's kindness, but it was obvious that he was not being pretentious. Instead, he held the wooden box in front of him with one hand and was leaning on a crutch with the other hand. He did not have a third hand to accept the kindness of the US Air Force lieutenant.

Lieutenant Robert did not give up. Instead, he held the wounded soldier's arm and brought him to the front of the cabin. "There will be air currents in the air, and the turbulence at the tail will be greater. You sit here to be more stable."

"Thank you!" The soldier, who should be close to 30 years old and had three gold beans and a blue bar on his collar badge with three more >>> lines on the side, glanced at the enthusiastic US Air Force second lieutenant and thanked him politely but with a sense of distance.

"What's your rank? I've never seen it in your army." The U.S. Air Force second lieutenant, who wanted to know the secret in the box, wanted to open a breakthrough in the conversation.

According to Lieutenant Robert's knowledge, in the Chinese army, a blue bar plus three gold beans means a sergeant, which is considered the most senior soldier in the infantry squad. He is only one level lower than him as a second lieutenant, which means that this veteran has been on the battlefield for some years. However, judging from his current condition, it should be difficult for him to stay in the army.

"Major Sergeant 3!" The disabled soldier lowered his eyelids and responded to the enthusiastic U.S. Air Force second lieutenant.

Obviously, if Lieutenant Robert had not been the pilot of the plane, this wounded soldier with a stern and slightly weathered face would not have paid much attention to him.

After all, this guy was controlling the lives of dozens of his comrades in the cabin, so the old soldier, who was taking a plane for the first time, still gave him some face.

"Oh! My goodness! So you are the king among soldiers." Lieutenant Robert's blue eyes were full of surprise. The sergeant major occupies a very important position in the US military rank at that time. There are five levels in total, from the highest level of the Army Sergeant Major to the lowest level of the third-level sergeant major. Not to mention the highest level of the Army Sergeant Major, which is only appointed by the President, even the third-level sergeant major is already considered the top among soldiers.

The Chinese veteran who had lost a leg had three >>> patterns, which meant that level three was higher than level one and was definitely the top among the infantry.

"What king of soldiers? He just lived longer!" The Chinese soldier did not look happy at all despite being praised by an officer from the United States. Instead, his eyes showed a sense of vicissitudes.

"Can I ask one more thing? You all carry a wooden box like this. What's inside is your special equipment?" Lieutenant Robert finally turned on his curious baby mode.

This ancient oriental country is indeed too mysterious. The Japanese defeated the British Empire and the Gallic Rooster in Southeast Asia and made them flee in fear. Their strength is unquestionable, but no one would have thought that this poor and almost primitive country actually fought with them for seven years and won the final victory in the Battle of Hengyang where they were completely at a disadvantage. It is simply incredible.

"Inside here." The old soldier gently stroked the wooden box wrapped with a military flag on one knee, his eyes full of sadness.

  The Chinese soldiers who had already entered the plane and were seated suddenly became silent!

"Sorry, everyone. Don't blame me for being too curious. It's for the sake of flight safety. Explosive materials are prohibited from being brought into the cabin. After all, this is a long-distance flight of 1400 kilometers. I don't want us to turn into a fireball in the air." Lieutenant Robert, who sensed something strange in the air, explained quickly.

"Mr. Lieutenant, I can assure you that we did not carry any explosives on board. We have carefully checked every bullet and inserted them into the belts and secured them." A lieutenant stood up and said solemnly to Lieutenant Robert.

For reasons of flight safety and the fact that the Sihang Regiment was returning to base for rest and recuperation and had no combat mission, the regiment issued an order three days ago that each person only needed to carry guns, sabers and a certain amount of bullets, and the rest of the dangerous explosives such as grenades, dynamite packs, artillery shells, etc. were to be left to friendly forces.

However, the ones who benefited this time were not the 10th Army Group, but the 43th Division of the 26rd Army Group, which had specially rushed to Hengyang and escorted them to Guilin. After all, the Four-Line Regiment originally belonged to the 43rd Army Headquarters, so there was nothing wrong with them coming to escort their old comrades!

The 82th Regiment not only left behind all its ammunition reserves except bullets, but also gave away its few 12.7mm mortars and 60mm heavy machine guns, and only carried mm mortars and the "Storm" rocket launcher that had been unwrapped in rainproof cloth.

Today, 26 people from the 8908th Division also came together to see off the Four-Line Regiment.

The cabin fell into silence, but a thunderous roar was heard outside the porthole: "Send my comrades, stand at attention, and salute!"

"Send my comrades off, stand at attention, and salute!" Waves of voices rose one after another.

  Looking through the porthole, Lieutenant Robert's eyes suddenly widened, and he saw about 400 meters away from the airport runway, a formation of soldiers in dark blue uniforms stood at attention, raising their right hands to salute. From a distance, it looked like waves surging, spectacular!

That's far more than just one infantry division, at least thirty or forty thousand people!

Could it be that all the Chinese defenders in Guilin have arrived? Damn it, what if the Japanese intelligence agencies find out about this big scene? Robert broke out in a cold sweat.

Little did they know that this possibility had already been predicted by the Chinese theater staff. They were only afraid that the Japanese would not come. As long as the Japanese dared to come, the largest air battle in the Chinese theater would be born.

除去要为这支庞大机群护航的6个中队68架战机，中方第3航空大队、第2航空大队共派出48架战机分别在湘省和川省交界处百里空域游弋，飞虎队将出动3个中队36架战机在机群前方30公里处开路直至抵达山城空域，米国驻中国的空军编队亦会派出两个中队24架战机尾随编队之后20公里直至抵达华北。

The movement of these 108 fighter jets was kept absolutely confidential. Even among the top brass of the Chinese Air Force and the U.S. Air Force, no more than five people knew about it.

China and the United States deployed nearly 200 fighter jets for the largest infantry deployment over thousands of kilometers in China's military history.

To use the original words of Tang Dao, the only person who knew about the Four-Line Regiment, when he was talking to Tang Shanhe and his son on the eve of Tang Shanhe's joining the army, when he talked about his feelings that day, as long as the Japanese China Expeditionary Army Command had the courage to deploy all the army aviation fighters in the Chinese theater, what would it matter if he and the Four-Line Regiment were completely destroyed?

The Chinese Expeditionary Army Headquarters, which had lost hundreds of fighter planes over Hengyang, had in fact already lost this ability. Okamura Koji was also cautious enough, and even though he regarded the Four-Line Regiment as a thorn in his side, he ultimately did not dispatch a single fighter plane to attack this large fleet.

  The newly appointed supreme commander of the Japanese China Expeditionary Army chose to endure in the face of absolute strength!

At this time, Lieutenant Robert, who was still in the cabin, was still in shock.

"Old squad leader, did you hear that? They are all sending you home. I'm taking you home!" The old soldier put his face against the wooden box and whispered softly.

  Lieutenant Robert was stunned!

In this wooden box, could it be...

Looking up, he saw that the soldiers and officers still lined up neatly on one side of the runway had wooden boxes wrapped in red cloth hanging on their chests. The U.S. Air Force second lieutenant felt his scalp tingling. There must be at least thousands of them.

  Is that all?

Yes, he guessed right this time.

Regardless of the rank of the officers and soldiers of the Four Lines Regiment, regardless of gender, except for the several hundred people with severe physical disabilities and the artillerymen responsible for transporting the "Storm" rocket launchers, even the regiment commander Tang Dao, who was on a stretcher, had a wooden box in his arms. The 3587 people who were about to board the plane would carry the coffins of 2609 officers and soldiers who died in the Hengyang battle back to Taihang Mountains, including some of the 809 new recruits selected by the Four Lines Regiment in the Battle of Hengyang to join the Four Lines Regiment's combat sequence.

During this visit to Guilin, the Four-Line Regiment found the families of more than 500 of the new recruits through newspapers and radio. After negotiating with them, most of them requested that their relatives be buried back in Hengyang or Guilin where they currently live. Those whose relatives could not be found or whose families agreed to bury their relatives in the Four-Line Regiment Martyrs Cemetery were all held in the arms of the soldiers and sent onto transport planes.

"They actually carried the skeletons of thousands of soldiers!" Lieutenant Robert sat in the driver's seat with a shocked look on his face and started the plane's engine.

Amidst the huge roar, the plane slowly slid on the runway, but it still failed to wake the U.S. Air Force second lieutenant from his shock.

He still didn't quite understand why these Chinese were carrying with them the soldiers who had died in battle.

"Brothers, we will take you home!" Inside the cabin, the second lieutenant looked at the rows of soldiers standing at attention and saluting outside the porthole, and shouted in the cabin with a Sichuan accent with a sad face.

Come back home!

It turned out that they were going to take them home. The U.S. Air Force second lieutenant was instantly struck by lightning. He stood there in a daze and almost forgot to step on the accelerator.

He thought of his brother who was buried in Hongqiao Cemetery. He died in the war, but no one took him home. However, these Chinese soldiers never forgot him.

No matter where they died in battle, they believed that their comrades would take them home. How could such a group of people be afraid of death?

No wonder they were able to defeat the powerful Japanese 11th Army in the small city of Hengyang. Lieutenant Robert realized it instantly.

  The plane's engine roared heart-wrenchingly and soared into the sky!

But he felt like he was 26 years old at the age of 30. Yang Shoucheng, who had never cried after his left leg was blown off, finally burst into tears.

He always refused to be an officer and just wanted to be a soldier, but he just wanted to protect his squad leader and his brothers in the infantry squad.

But in the battle of Hengyang, the squad leader was gone, and less than half of the brothers in the infantry squad were left.

Fortunately, he was able to take the squad leader home.

There, if he had time, he could roll the dice in front of his grave.

That is, no one opens the market anymore.

. . . . . . . . . . .

  PS: Because it is the final ending, Fengyue is always hesitant to write, and sometimes the update is not timely, please forgive me!

In addition, we also need to consider the extra stories. Readers who want to read the extra stories of the characters in "Eight Hundred" can also leave a message in advance, and Fengyue will think about it in advance. (End of this chapter)