Age of Rebirth

From the direction of Xiduo, the sudden sound of gunfire was like a basin of icy water pouring down head-on, turning Alexander's enthusiasm and hope into a piercing cold, freezing his heart and freezing his thinking!

Sweat dripped from his face, he stared dumbfounded at the staff officer who came to report the situation, and couldn't say a word, how could this be?Xiduo, when did it fall into Tang Qiuli's hands?What about the defenders of a regiment in Brest?Why were they there without any warning?No warning?

Countless questions, and the terrible consequences of these questions, were entangled in Alexander's mind like a mess, and he couldn't figure it out. He only knew that Xiduo had been occupied by Tang Qiuli's troops and blocked him. I continued to retreat westward, and the tens of thousands of troops came to a dead end. What should I do next?

At this time, Alexander was already the Lord of the Six Gods, looking straight at the little staff officer with a terrified face. The sound of gunfire from Xido's direction had fallen silent. The people around Alexander, including more than a dozen staff officers and military doctors, , the soldier carrying the stretcher stood stunned, with a look of despair on his face.

Chief of Staff Adams received the report earlier than Commander Alexander, and, more specifically, when the leading regiment entered Sido, it was suddenly shelled, causing most of the casualties, and the rest were immediately withdrawn. However, was not pursued. [

Adams' heart constricted suddenly, and a burst of despair filled his brain instantly, "It's over, Xiduo has fallen into the hands of the Chinese army, and the retreat of tens of thousands of troops has been completely cut off, how is this possible? "

"Just this morning, before the troops set off, I sent a telegram to Colonel Brest, the garrison commander of Xiduo, and I did receive a telegram. The password and code words were correct. Everything is normal, so for a while Shelling, more than 1000 soldiers lost their lives, what's going on?"

Adams' head.Even more chaotic than Alexander, this matter was handled by himself, and the blow was even greater. He forced himself to calm down, the commander was injured, and tens of thousands of troops.The backbone is himself, the chief of staff. Once he loses his position, the troops will really be on the verge of death.

He took out a cigar and lit it. In the lingering mist, Adams gradually cleared his mind. It was an indisputable reality that Xiduo had fallen into the hands of Tang Qiuli's troops and the way to retreat had been cut off.The only thing that can be done now is to take Sido down.

Adams looked beside him, on the uniform.Covered in mud, with a face full of panic and uneasiness, the colonel and head of the vanguard asked, "Tell me about the battle that happened just now. No leniency or concealment is allowed. You should know that your words will determine the situation." The fate of tens of thousands of soldiers and officers of our troops!"

In fact, the battle happened very suddenly.This regiment commander didn't even see the enemy's face at all, so he was hit hard. He even killed the enemy who killed more than 1000 soldiers. Which side did he belong to?He couldn't figure it out, but the chief of staff took the trouble to ask every detail, so he could only tell the horrible scene just now with a trembling voice.

Listening, listening, there was a thoughtful light in Adams' eyes, and he asked again: "Can you be sure that the shelling is all mortars, and there are no large-caliber heavy artillery?"

The head of the colonel felt uncomfortable for a while, and he was afraid. He was also a senior officer who had served in the Indian Army for more than ten years. He could not hear the sound of mortars and heavy artillery. He should have committed suicide. You're old and white, aren't you?

But looking at the chief of staff's usually amiable and gentle face, his veins were bulging and his eyes were red, like a hungry wolf trying to eat people, the colonel had no choice but to answer honestly: "The staff Commander, I dare to guarantee my life that the bombardment of my regiment was indeed a mortar, and there were a lot of them, at least three or four hundred!" As he said that, he couldn't help shivering.

Adams cast a contemptuous glance at the slightly trembling colonel commander, feeling disgusted in his heart, "Just such an officer, after being shot by the Chinese army, lost all his courage. In the army of the British Empire, how can we Is this the officer?"

However, he didn't say anything, waved his hand, and dismissed the blue-faced and white-lipped colonel away like a fly. Then, he hurried to Alexander with a few guards.

Seeing Adams, Alexander finally had a trace of freshness in his eyes. With the support of the guards, regardless of the injury on his leg, he took Adams' hand and said almost coherently: "Chief of Staff, This is really unbelievably sad news, why did Tang Qiuli's soldiers suddenly appear in Xiduo, could it be that the Chinese fell from the sky?"

Adams smiled wryly. He also really wanted to know how Tang Qiuli's troops appeared in Xiduo like magic soldiers from heaven without him noticing, and even gave him a sap in the head, but, These are not important anymore. Opening the Xiduo Passage is the only thing that needs to be done.

Looking at the Commander, who was already the Sixth God Lord, in the blink of an eye, like an old man in his dying years, with slightly trembling hands, Adams felt distressed. He knew that Commander Alexander had finally completely collapsed. India's hope was supporting him. Now, the fact that Tang Qiuli used his affection completely shattered his hope.

The lives of tens of thousands of soldiers are in his own hands, and Commander Alexander can't count on it. Adams tried to relax his tone, as if comforting a wounded child, to comfort His Excellency the Commander, who may be insane at any time.

He said: "Commander, we have not yet reached the end of the mountain. The independent division troops occupying Xiduo should have rushed forward lightly, rushing ahead of us, and occupying Xiduo. I have already understood that for our vanguard, implement The artillery strikes are all light artillery such as mortars, so I ask Your Excellency, Commander, to give me the power to command the troops with full authority to take back Xiduo tonight!"

There are a few more words, Adams did not dare to say in front of Alexander, fearing to frighten the already frightened commander, "If Sidor cannot be taken down tonight, and the retreat channel cannot be opened, we will never have a chance. We have gone to East India, and the troops of the independent division pursuing along the Hukang River Valley will soon appear behind, attacking from front to back, and what fate the tens of thousands of soldiers will face, do you need to elaborate!"

Then, in the afterglow of the setting sun, Alexander trembled and signed an order without hesitation, "Since the commander is seriously injured, it is no longer possible to effectively command the troops. In order to ensure that all soldiers can be safely withdrawn to East India, Transfer force command to Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Adams and assume full responsibility for Commander."

Alexander is not completely confused yet, he knows his own affairs, and his current state is already at a loss, the six gods, I am afraid that he can not even compare with a captain, as long as he can lead the troops out of the desperate situation, he is considered an ordinary soldier, I will sign this order without hesitation, let alone Chief of Staff Adams? [

Seeing Adams leave quickly after saluting, Alexander felt a sense of loss, "I am really old, the war arena in the Indochina Peninsula no longer belongs to me, just like the former glory no longer accompanied the British Empire, quit, It should be a wise choice, may God bless Adams, can kill a bloody way!"

"Perhaps, tomorrow morning, the stretcher will have set foot on the land of East India, and everything will be a thing of the past," Alexander wrapped his army blanket tightly, thinking to himself, but the loneliness and ominous premonition in his heart are like bones attached to him. Like a maggot, lingering in my heart, lingering!

After obtaining the command of the troops, Adams began to implement his plan. Although the time was very tight, he temporarily held an emergency military meeting to bring together those division commanders and brigade commanders who were terrified as if the end of the world was coming. There are some things he has to say.

And Adams himself tore off the veil of a gentleman, his eyes were red, and his face was full of murderous looks. The dozen or so division commanders and brigade commanders who were shy and restless, said straight to the point: "Gentlemen, what happened just now?" A burst of gunfire told us what kind of reality we all know."

"Yes, Xiduo was occupied by Tang Qiuli's troops. This is the only main route for us to withdraw to East India. Of course, there are other routes to go. Then, the person among you is willing to take his own The troops crossed several rivers, climbed several mountains, passed through the dark primeval forest, defeated poisonous insects and miasma, and returned to East India in a few months, half a year or even longer."

"Or, we give up resistance and become captives of the Chinese, waiting for them to show kindness, and we will send tens of thousands of soldiers and officers to prisoner-of-war camps one by one. The custom of prisoners of war, the first Indochina Peninsula War, when fighting the Japanese, the subordinates of Commander Alexander were brutally massacred by the Japanese, do you believe in the Chinese, don’t you raise the butcher’s knife to the soldiers of the British Empire who put down their weapons?”

There was a commotion of whispering below, about the former soldiers of the British and Burmese Army who put down their weapons during the Battle of the Indochina Peninsula and were shot and killed by Japanese soldiers on a large scale. .

However, at that time, it was too far away for them, and it had nothing to do with them. However, such a thing actually fell on their own heads. When they faced the same fate, those terrible things Rumors turned into a kind of fear and instinctive resistance from the heart.

Adams' words of incitement had an effect, and there was a breath of death rising from the bodies of more than a dozen senior officers of the British and Indian Army.

(to be continued) (to be continued...)