Before sunset, the troops finally wiped out the remaining enemies and completely occupied this heavily defended town.

Although the enemy suffered heavy losses, the imperial army also paid a corresponding price. Nine people in Kang Mingwei's company were killed and 22 were injured.

Following convention, the troops held a grand cremation for their fallen brothers that night. According to the imperial military tradition, the empire would bring the fallen soldiers home even if they were thousands of miles away, but the bodies would rot, so they could only be cremated on the battlefield, and then the ashes would be transported back to their hometowns or the Martyrs' Shrine for burial.

The imperial military had special regulations for the funerals of soldiers. Even cremations on the battlefield had corresponding regulations to follow. In order to hold cremations, the soldiers dug a large pit in the ground and placed the soldiers in the pit with their heads facing west - their heads facing Tangshan and their souls returning to China. This was the tradition of the Ming Dynasty, and it was also the same on the battlefield. After all, China was the root of the Ming Dynasty, and the roots would never be forgotten.

After the soldiers piled firewood on the bodies of their comrades, all the soldiers in the company stood there, just like they did in the past. They lined up in a row, standing solemnly and respectfully in good luck.

"salute!"

Following the company commander's shout, Kang Mingwei and his comrades saluted with their guns at the same time.

When all the personnel saluted with guns, the firewood pile was lit. The soldiers standing in front of the fire watched the fire silently. Next to the fire was the Taoist priests accompanying the army. This was a feature of the imperial army. No matter whether the soldiers believed in Buddhism or Christianity before joining the army, there were only monks accompanying the army in the army. This was to follow the principle of the majority. After all, the Chinese people were still mainly Taoists. Of course, whether they were mainly Taoists or not was entirely the official tendency. The official promoted Lamaism in Africa while suppressing Buddhism in the local area. One of the fundamental reasons for suppressing Buddhism was that monks did not have children when they got married. From this point of view, it was not in line with the national policy of the Ming Dynasty. After all, the national policy of the Ming Dynasty was to encourage childbirth. As for Catholicism, although it had many believers in South America, those believers... were not of our race, so naturally they could not be respected by the official. In this case, Taoism became the only choice.

The Taoist priest who accompanied the army had changed into a Taoist robe, holding a Taoist whisk in his hand and chanting scriptures for the salvation of the souls of the dead soldiers. There were many souls of the dead soldiers there.

That night, in order to guard against enemy sneak attacks, the soldiers kept their saddles on their horses and their guns on their shoulders, and spent the night on the roadside covered with blankets.

While his comrades were resting, Kang Mingwei and another soldier from Central Africa sat around the fire, smoking cigarettes and occasionally throwing a piece of firewood into the fire. They had to guard the fire all night until the bodies were completely burned.

It was a dark night, with no lights on the street. Several fires burning corpses were spitting red flames. Although the flames were very strong and a little scorching, they made people feel a little eerie and cold...

Tang Mingze sat on the ground, his arms on his knees, his cheeks supported by his hands, staring at the fire with a dull expression, his sensitive nerves beginning to get confused again.

He realized that something bad was going to happen, and he felt so upset that he was about to go crazy. He knew that if his nerves were damaged, he would inevitably become mentally ill, and if he became mentally disturbed on the battlefield, there would definitely be deaths.

Taking a deep breath, he said.

"I was the first one in our platoon to jump into the trench..."

He suddenly said loudly, who are you talking to?

God knows, that dazed look was more likely directed at his comrades who were burned in the pit than at the soldiers sitting around the fire. Kang Mingwei knew in his heart that he could no longer control himself and could not stop his heroic words.

"The enemy, damn, threw grenades randomly... I saw an opportunity and jumped into the narrow trench... Several guys came running towards me, getting closer and closer, almost touching the muzzle of my gun... I pulled the trigger and shot three enemies... The one in the front fell down with blood on his face... In fact, Fu Zhongming was the first to charge, he rushed to the front, but unfortunately he was shot dead..."

"That kid, he rushed to me from the wheat field and asked me for a cigarette. I gave it to him. Do you know what the kid said?"

"What did Fu Yibing say?"

"He said that after taking that puff of cigarette, it would be worth it even if he died!"

"Then he rushed out... Without any orders, he rushed out and threw a grenade. The guy was too crazy. As soon as he ran out, he threw a grenade directly into the American trench. With a loud bang, at least four or five Americans were killed."

Recalling the scene he saw on the battlefield, Kang Mingwei said with emotion.

"I have never seen such a brave man... I was in the crater, sticking wheat ears on my helmet, trying to disguise myself, but this guy was so carefree, aiming and shooting... He is really worthy of being a warrior of the empire."

After a pause, Kang Mingwei continued.

"If this guy were alive, he would definitely get a medal!"

"You can get a medal even if you die!"

A comrade beside him said.

"Soldier Kang, when we went out to fight, we never thought about returning home alive."

The comrade with a cigarette in his mouth spoke as he watched and smoked.

"My father was born in Tango. He was not a samurai, but a landless tenant farmer. He had never had enough to eat since he was a child. People say that Japanese people eat exquisitely, but with such small portions, they are actually not full. Because of malnutrition, they are generally short. When my father was in Tango, he cultivated the land of the landlord and lived in a thatched house. In order to pay taxes, my grandfather sold his two aunts one after another. But what about my father? When he grew up, he couldn't find a wife because his family was very poor. When my father was 19 years old, he heard from the people in the town hall that he could go to Africa to work as a laborer, so he went."

The soldier, holding a cigarette, looked at the fire and seemed to be recalling something.

"What was Africa like? Father didn't know, but he went to Africa and worked as a laborer in Master Li's house. He thought it would be very hard, but Master Li was a very kind person and let father manage the contract laborers on the farm. It was the first time that father had a full meal, the first time he wore clothes without patches, and the first time he knew what it felt like to be respected. On the farm, everyone called him "farm owner". Master Li betrothed mother to father. She was a maid in Master Li's house. Father had his own house. Two years later, father even took a concubine..."

Listening to his comrades talking about his father, Kang Mingwei looked at his slightly dark face. Unlike Fu Zhongming, the ghostly features in his facial features were slightly more obvious.

Kang Mingwei once heard a teacher who had traveled to Africa say that the local indigenous people in the empire's African colonies would most likely disappear completely in the end, because the fertility rate of the vast majority of indigenous peoples had dropped sharply due to the marriage of indigenous women to Japanese immigrants. Some villages had not had any children for several years in a row, and many villages no longer had any young women.

Of course, according to official rhetoric, this is a kind of ethnic integration that promotes the progress of human civilization. This is also the reason why there are so many mixed-race children among African soldiers, because most of their mothers are local indigenous people.

"…After the war broke out, my father immediately asked me to join the army after he found out that we could join the army like samurai. But my father didn't tell me that. From the day I became a soldier of the Empire, my father told me that I would rather die than dishonor the military flag. I must be loyal to the Empire! I must bring glory to the military flag…"

Looking at his comrade standing by the fire, the primitive features in his facial features have faded. He is his comrade!

At this moment, Kang Mingwei even felt ashamed of his previous arrogant mentality.

He and Fu Zhongming are both his comrades-in-arms!

Just at this moment, a song was faintly heard in the night sky, "Recalling the past, I was full of lofty sentiments, leaving my hometown to embark on a journey, and I would not return until I had made military achievements. The military bugle was loud, and it seemed that I could see the battle flags rolling like waves..."

The singing came intermittently from a distance. Listening to the singing, Kang Mingwei couldn't help but humming softly.

"The grass and trees on the ground are all burnt to ashes, the wilderness beneath my feet is boundless, the sun and moon flags lead the army in uniform. I sigh while leaning on my horse, who can predict life and death tomorrow..."

When he sang this, he stood up, left the fire, and disappeared into the darkness on the roadside. The stars were shining, and the night sky was as bright as day. He spread his legs and urinated while crying. As the tears fell, he gradually felt better.

There was also a song coming from the night sky: "As soldiers of the empire, we must wake up early, don't cry like autumn insects, for the glory of the empire, we can throw away our lives..."