20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 613 Howling North Wind
Putting on a bayonet does not necessarily mean fighting with a bayonet.

It's just that the two armies were too close to each other, and after five rifle shots, when the battle really came to a life-and-death situation, there was no time to reload ammunition.

Otherwise, if you are determined to engage in hand-to-hand combat, the bayonet is probably far less useful than a spear.

In an instant, all gunfire on the position stopped except for the machine gun fire.

Soon, various lighting equipment such as lanterns, kerosene lamps, flashlights, and even torches were lit up one after another in the trenches.

If you look down from the sky, it looks like lava flowing.

The soldiers looked ahead, holding their breath.

After a while, dozens of vanguard suicide squads suddenly jumped out of the gray-white smoke and rushed over.

"Da da da--"

The machine gun swept over, and the Fengtian Army positions immediately opened fire to fight back.

The Zhi army's suicide squad ran sideways and then suddenly stopped, swinging their arms as if setting fire to the sky.

Some died halfway, while others escaped by chance.

At the same time, a cry suddenly came from the trench of the position.

"Fuck, grenade!"

"where?"

"boom--"

The trenches were extremely crowded and grenades were dropped in. The soldiers had no way to escape and could only rely on the flesh and blood of their comrades as cover.

The grenade exploded with a loud bang, the lights flickered, and fragments flew everywhere. Immediately, several brothers fell to the ground and died.

Everyone felt the ground tremble.

Looking up, I saw dozens of grenades falling rapidly above the position.

Some fell in front of the position, some fell inside the trenches. The explosions sounded one after another, and the wailing sounds continued.

However, if we rush out now and fight a decisive battle with the enemy, it would mean giving up our defensive advantage.

It would be fine if we win, but if we lose, the entire line of defense may be lost.

The so-called trench warfare was an utter torture.

The winner has no pleasure, and the loser has almost no chance of survival.

This is probably one of the most boring, monotonous and cruel tactics in history.

Amid the panic, one suddenly heard the roar of the supervisory team in the rear.

"Hold your ground and don't retreat!"

Countless gun muzzles were aimed at the back of the friendly troops' heads, forcing them to grit their teeth and endure.

As a result, wounded soldiers were constantly carried away from the trenches, and reserve troops were constantly replenished in.

The battle situation of the Zhi army was even more tragic.

There were more than a hundred members of the Vanguard Suicide Squad, but in the blink of an eye, only seven or eight figures were left, still jumping on the horizon.

"Hold your ground and don't retreat!"

The orders from the Overseer's squad seemed to never stop.

Commanders of all ranks in the regiment headquarters held binoculars and observed the enemy's movements at all times, and estimated the distance of the charge based on hidden landmarks.

However, several hours of fierce fighting had already brought many soldiers to the brink of collapse in the confined trenches.

They would rather risk their lives and fight the enemy to the death in the vast open space than be blown to death by a fist-sized grenade in this narrow trench.

The tense situation spread so quickly that the messengers had to run around to tell the news.

"Attention, commanders of all battalions and companies. Follow orders and act accordingly!"

"Damn it, what are you waiting for? Just rush out and fight them!"

There were constant shouting in the trenches, and Bei Feng also repeatedly emphasized to his brothers not to act too hastily and to enforce discipline.

"Sir—Sir—"

A familiar voice came from behind.

Zhao Zhengbei looked back in the direction of the sound, and saw Fu Chengyu trying to squeeze through the crowd under the dim light of a lantern. He tripped over someone's corpse and nearly fell to the ground.

"Has the news been reported?" asked Beifeng.

Fu Chengyu nodded and said anxiously, "Sir, according to the regiment headquarters, the enemy's main attack direction is on our side. The regiment commander asked us to be prepared. There is a machine gun company on the left front to provide cover. Reinforcements will be here soon--"

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly stopped and his head tilted as if he was hit by something.

The two of them looked down and were stunned for a moment.

A wooden-handled grenade landed in the corner of the trench, emitting a cloud of white smoke.

Fu Chengyu was the first to react. He immediately squatted down, picked up the grenade, pushed the ground with his feet, and almost jumped to throw it out of the trench.

Unfortunately, even though he tried his best, his speed was still too slow.

The grenade was raised above his head and exploded in mid-air just as it left his hand, only a few feet away.

"Bam—"

The powerful shock wave immediately knocked several people around to the ground.

Zhao Zhengbei fell on his back, and felt a cloud of dust rising in front of his eyes, and his arms were covered with multiple scratches.

Then he quickly turned over and got up, went to Fu Chengyu and shouted.

"Hey, speak, speak!"

Fu Chengyu's face was embedded with several pieces of shrapnel, but fortunately he threw it forward, and the angle of the horizon blocked most of the shrapnel.

After shouting for a long while, he shook his head as if in another world, as if to comfort himself:

"It's okay, I'm fine..."

As he was about to put out his hand to touch his face, he suddenly saw a bloody broken arm. He then realized what was happening and burst into tears.

"Ah--hand--hand, my hand!"

"Medic! Medic!" Zhao Zhengbei turned his head and roared, "There are wounded here, there are wounded here!"

As soon as he shouted, someone really came over, but it was not a medic, but a reserve team coming from the third trench to reinforce.

"Carry the people back first, carry the people back first!"

The north wind was screaming at the top of its lungs, and every word had to be repeated many times before people could hear it clearly.

However, no one paid attention to him.

The reserve troops were busy reinforcing the guards. The already crowded trenches became airtight in the blink of an eye, and even breathing felt suffocating.

It was not until the reinforcements had nowhere to go that two soldiers carried the wounded away.

Fu Chengyu had already stopped crying and became very quiet, as quiet as a corpse.

Bei Feng had no time to grieve. When he saw Fu Chengyu being carried away by the soldiers, he immediately picked up his rifle and returned to his post.

At this time, the smoke in front of the position turned from thick to thin.

The enemy's vanguard suicide squad had already "got what they wanted" and were lying on the battlefield without any escape.

Just at this moment, behind the smoke, there suddenly appeared a surge of people, and a roar like a tsunami swept over.

Breaking through the smoke, we suddenly saw thousands of enemy vanguards rushing towards us.

"Da da da--"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The machine gun company in front of the left wing of the position swept across the battlefield, desperately trying to maintain the density of firepower.

"Hold on! Brothers, hold on!"

At some point, Staff Officer Li came to the position in person to supervise the battle.

The Zhi army charged very quickly, much faster than expected. Despite the continuous fire of machine guns, many fish still escaped.

Immediately afterwards, there was a loud explosion in front of the position.

The enemy broke into the minefield, and if one person stepped on it, three or five people would be harmed, but the enemy continued to charge and shoot at the same time.

From the time the vanguard suicide squad dropped bombs to the present moment, only a dozen seconds had passed.

Who doesn’t know that there may be a minefield in front of the position?

Who doesn't know that charging forward will make you a sitting duck for heavy machine guns?

But if you want to take the position, you have to charge at all costs, just like in a siege. Even if you know there are rolling stones and arrows from the city walls, you still have to face the challenge.

After passing through the minefield, the Zhi army's vanguard had already lost more than half of its troops, but at this point, there was no way to retreat. If they retreated, not only would their efforts be in vain, but their morale would also be greatly damaged.

If we attack a position again in the future, we will still follow the same process and we will not give it up until we have given it a try.

In the blink of an eye, the enemy had rushed to within 50 meters of the position, and the general attack was only a matter of time.

At this moment, the regiment commander-in-chief immediately ordered -

"All troops attack!"

"All-out attack—"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The cannon fire had long ceased, but the sound of rifle fire began again.

Since the Fengtian Army had a brief ceasefire, when they opened fire again, the entire line of defense pulled the trigger almost at the same time.

With plenty of ammunition, they connected the dots into a line and knocked down the enemy's front row almost instantly.

Zhao Zhengbei hid among the sandbags and did not shoot very quickly, but he spent a lot of time looking for the target.

When he saw ordinary soldiers, he did not shoot, but instead targeted the suicide squads carrying explosives, killing them one by one.

Every failure makes you wiser. If those explosive packs had fallen into the trenches, everyone would have been killed.

"Dududu-"

When the charge sounded, the soldiers felt relieved and, swearing, they either climbed up the ladders or simply crawled out of the trenches and charged towards the few remaining vanguards of the Zhi army.

The enemy soldiers also continued to advance.

Suddenly, someone took advantage of the gap when the Fengtian Army climbed out of the trench, holding a submachine gun, and under the cover of friendly forces, rushed to the front of the trench, fired a volley of bullets, and then he was shot and died, falling headfirst.

On Beifeng's side, when everyone was about to fight back, they also saw an enemy rushing towards them.

Zhao Zhengbei shot him down with one shot.

The man fell into the trench, but was not completely dead. He was stabbed to death by the Fengtian Army who swarmed over him.

"Brothers, charge—"

The shouts and cries of killing shook the sky, and the ground in the valley of Shimen Village shook.

The Zhi and Feng armies fought hand to hand in front of the position. At first, a few gunshots could be heard. As everyone became mixed together, it gradually turned into the most primitive fight.

Although they had never met each other before, they seemed to have a deep hatred for each other and were determined to kill each other.

Almost in an instant, everyone became bloodthirsty.

"Hold!"

"Hold!"

"Fuck you!"

Apart from the simplest and most straightforward swear words, all that could be heard were bursts of wailing.

Zhao Zhengbei led the charge, fighting left and right, and even when he ran out of bullets, he showed no fear in hand-to-hand combat.

…………

Looking from afar, what a strong north wind!

He just threw life and death aside and put honor and disgrace aside for the time being.

The knife shines coldly, and the enemy's blood splashes in the air; wherever his eyes go, there are more wronged souls under His Majesty Yama.

The wind is whistling, like a beast in the mountains that is neither human nor human; miserable, encountering an evil star without any hatred or resentment.

Oooh!
It turns out that swords have no eyes, and life and death are truly unpredictable.

Wherever the north wind blows—

On this side, people chant Amitabha Buddha but regret that the Bodhisattva has closed his eyes; on the other side, they praise the Infinite Buddha but sigh that the heaven and earth are unkind!
…………

On the battlefield, everyone is used to staying close to the strong.

Zhao Zhengbei was filled with murderous intent. He swung his sword up and down, killing people so violently that the sky was dark and the world was turned upside down.

The braver he is, the more friendly troops he will have around him; the more friendly troops he has, the more scattered the enemy will be.

It is true that if one soldier is cowardly, the whole general will be cowardly.

The courage of one man can inspire the entire army.

What's more, the Zhi army had traveled a long distance, while the Feng army was well-rested and ready to take advantage of the situation. After a short while, Beifeng and his men had gained the upper hand and successfully drove away the enemy.

Afterwards, the regiment headquarters ordered the cavalry company to outflank the enemy and pursue them from the flank, trying their best to break up the enemy's formation - of course, it was just a show.

A small victory in a blocking battle could not change the overall situation of the Zhi-Feng War.

The Fengtian Army’s purpose was also very clear - to preserve its strength and withdraw safely to the outside of the Great Wall, and that was all.

Gradually, cheers began to erupt on the battlefield.

Someone got excited, took a few steps forward and fired a few shots, which made the Zhi army even more panicked.

Zhao Zhengbei stood at the front of the formation, leaning on his rifle, breathing heavily, and walked towards the trench surrounded by the crowd and amid cheers.

Suddenly, he felt that it wasn't so dark around him anymore.

Looking up into the distance, I saw that it was already dawn.

The pass is long and arduous, and on the other side of the mountains and seas, the wind is still rising slowly, just like the prestige of the north wind in the hearts of the soldiers.

When he approached the trench, he discovered that his arms were already covered with scars.

There were scrapes from shrapnel, wounds from bayonets, and bruises from hand-to-hand combat—real medals one by one!
Although we won this blocking battle, it was still not glorious.

The Fengtian Army had made sufficient preparations, but still had to fight hand-to-hand combat to repel the pursuing Zhili Army.

Although the overall defense line did not suffer too much damage, the positions on the flank of the First Regiment of Beifeng's troops were almost devastated.

Moreover, this is only the vanguard of the Zhi Army. The real ace Third Division Corps is rapidly coming behind it.

The fortifications must be repaired as soon as possible!
But this is no longer a problem that Bei Feng needs to consider.

Staff Officer Li was also injured and was standing in front of the trench. When he saw Beifeng coming, he suddenly saluted.

"Major, I take back what I said!"

Zhao Zhengbei stopped and looked sideways at Staff Officer Li. He was silent for a moment, panting heavily, and suddenly grinned and said:
"Sir, my brain isn't working well. I've forgotten what you said before."

Staff Officer Li was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily.

The soldiers who accompanied them were sandwiched between the two men, looked around, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hey, look at this, Staff Officer Li just loves to stir up trouble. We are all brothers, why would he do that?"

"Call me commander!" Staff Officer Li suddenly became serious.

"Call the commander!" Everyone laughed, "Commander, go back quickly, your arm is still bleeding!"

Staff Officer Li covered his arm and snorted, "That's not a problem, Major. Go to the reserve and rest for a while!"

"It's OK. I'm not that tired." Zhao Zhengbei walked into the trench and rubbed his stomach. "I'm just a little hungry."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately helped to pass on the message.

"Cooking crew, hurry up and start the stove. We're still waiting for supplies!"

There was no applause in the trenches. After all, the soldiers on the flanks had suffered heavy casualties. Some were busy putting away their ammunition boxes, some were covering their wounds and crying out for help, and some were smoking cigarettes with their heads bowed...

However, when the north wind passed by, everyone tacitly stopped what they were doing, looked at him, and nodded without saying anything.

Zhao Zhengbei stumbled through the trench passage.

When he passed the position command post, he ran into several regimental officers. They patted him on the shoulder without any words of praise, but said earnestly: "Go and have a good rest first."

Zhao Zhengbei responded and then came to the third trench.

Many of the reserve troops here are new recruits, and the way they looked at him was somewhat timid and admiring.

As soon as the north wind came, everyone immediately made room for him to sit down in the hole in the wall.

Zhao Zhengbei suddenly remembered something, and asked around, "By the way, brothers, can you help me find out about someone? How are Lin Zhidong and Fu Chengyu?"

Several recruits nodded and then dispersed.

Zhao Zhengbei sat on the ground. When he put down his rifle, he suddenly felt a dull pain in his knuckles, and even some redness and swelling.

I snapped my fingers twice and my stomach started to growl.

He sat there waiting for news from his two comrades.

I thought I was not tired, but as soon as I relaxed, a strong sense of sleepiness came over me.

Suddenly, everything went dark before my eyes, and I almost fainted and fell down...

(End of this chapter)