Chapter 36 The Moon of Yesteryear
Aunt Liu listened to the whole thing from the corner. Remembering Xie Ning's previous instructions, she turned and left the villa to find Zhao Le. She said seriously, "Dr. Zhao, please lead those students to the rescue. The shelling is mainly concentrated in areas outside the concession. The army has medics, but many more civilians cannot receive immediate assistance. The Red Cross's resources are insufficient..."
Zhao Le listened attentively and nodded to indicate that he understood. Simply mobilizing people would probably not attract many, but with financial subsidies and compensation, even those who originally intended to repay a debt of gratitude or keep a promise would be more obedient.
Aunt Liu continued, "The medicine and money are kept in a small building in the French Concession. You and your men come with me to get them."
Just as the two of them were leading those who had learned some medical skills to the villa, Xie Ning had already arrived near the position.
The sound of shells exploded right next to their ears. Xie Ning was momentarily disoriented, but quickly regained his composure and threw himself into the rescue efforts, while Cai Huai and Xiao Yang assisted him from the side.
Xie Ning didn't learn much, but besides some simple hemostasis and bandaging, she could also do some simple surgeries, such as digging out shallow shrapnel and then stopping the bleeding and suturing.
As for those bullets located in vital areas, Xie Ning didn't dare to take them on. She knew her own abilities and didn't blindly grab anyone to perform surgery to remove the bullets. There were many medical personnel here, and Xie Ning only helped treat the wounded while learning through practice.
In the afternoon, Zhao Le arrived with a group of people. Even though only Zhao Le among them was capable of treating serious injuries on his own, the others could still provide basic first aid, greatly reducing the burden on the paramedics.
At that moment, no one cared about identities; everyone was focused on saving lives. Batch after batch of soldiers bandaged people up and returned to the battlefield, while batch after batch of people stopped breathing forever.
Xie Ning followed Zhao Le and learned from her. Her hemostasis and bandaging skills became more and more proficient, and her suturing skills improved. She could saw off arms and legs without batting an eye. When intestines came out, she would clean them and put them back in. Even Xiao Yang couldn't help but run to the side to vomit at first.
Of course, Xie Ning wasn't completely oblivious, but she didn't show it clearly. Initially, the soldiers who died under her command during the surgery left her stunned, but as one soldier after another died, she became numb, because her busy schedule left her with no time to grieve.
All she knew was that the man was dead. She had done her best and should spend the rest of her time treating the other soldiers, not grieving for the one who had died.
During the break, Aunt Liu brought over some steaming hot food. Xie Ning didn't care about the dirt on her hands; she simply wiped the blood off her hands and started eating the steamed bun.
Both cloth bags were filled with steamed buns, and there were also two jars of pickled vegetables, which were enough to fill one's stomach.
"Miss Xie, Principal An, Ms. Lin Qin, and Young Master Zhang are all working hard to gather supplies and medicines, which should be delivered tomorrow or the day after."
The medicine Xie Ning had bought before was only a drop in the bucket, so after the incident, she had someone contact others to start purchasing medicine in large quantities.
"Yes, tell them not to go through so many intermediaries, and to send it directly to the position if possible."
If it's resold, who knows how much will be taken away? Ten boxes of medicine probably won't even amount to half a box.
After saying that, Xie Ning started to feel sleepy. She hadn't slept for a day and two nights. She knew she needed to rest, but being near the front lines with constant artillery fire, her heart was constantly on edge, and she couldn't fall asleep at all.
This was the first time she had faced war in this era, no, it should be the first time in her life she had faced a real war. Only then did Xie Ning clearly understand that every line or number in the history books was bloody.
In the end, Zhao Le couldn't stand it anymore and gave Xie Ning half a sleeping pill.
"Doctor Xie." Cai Huai gently shook Xie Ning's body to wake her up. Here, neither he nor Xiao Yang called Xie Ning by her name or Miss, but rather Doctor.
Pointing to his wristwatch, Cai Huai said, "Three hours have passed."
Xie Ning nodded. Because he had just woken up, his vision was still a little blurry, but he could see a military truck parked not far away. After seeing the markings on the truck, Xie Ning's eyes lit up and he relaxed a lot.
He immediately regained his energy and continued to devote himself to the rescue work.
At that moment, in the Japanese war zone opposite, Murai Tadashi was looking down at the map when suddenly a loud rumble came. It was not surprising that he heard the sound of artillery fire since he was close to the position, but what shocked him was the shockwave caused by the sound.
"What happened?"
A gray-faced adjutant rushed in. "Commander Murai, the Nationalist army on the other side has used some kind of artillery, which is far beyond the firing range we calculated. Our soldiers are suffering heavy casualties."
Then another officer rushed in with a report: "Sir, the number of soldiers who are receiving treatment in the rear and have died from blood loss has suddenly increased, and the cause has not yet been determined."
"Baka!"
The war lasted for more than half a month, and the two sides are now in negotiations. Other countries have also intervened, and finally a ceasefire agreement was signed.
After Cai Huai returned with the news, his face never brightened. "The garrisons in and around Shanghai have been withdrawn, leaving only two regiments to defend the city. The troop strength is thinner than paper."
The Japanese army will station a large number of troops in the Hongkou and Yangpu areas of Shanghai, establish a special headquarters for the Japanese Marine Corps in Shanghai, and send Japanese warships to patrol the Yangtze River and Huangpu River year-round.
What's this?
The battle is clearly still undecided. If we send reinforcements, coupled with our newly manufactured weaponry, we could absolutely drive those bastards back to their island.
Xiao Yang was also very angry, and kept cursing.
Xie Ning remained silent, because this was the result she had already guessed. Even though she wasn't very familiar with this period of history, it wasn't difficult for her to guess this outcome based on the current international and domestic situation.
There will be no reinforcements. The National Revolutionary Army does not want to fight the Japanese army at the moment, and the Japanese army does not really want to take over Shanghai now. The Japanese side is just trying to divert international attention.
"Didn't the higher-ups inquire about that batch of special weapons?"
Cai Huai took a sip of water to calm his frustration before saying, "I did inquire, but the army commander managed to fool me. However, the other party will definitely not let it go and will probably send people down to investigate. We should be careful in our actions recently. Miss Xie should stay in the concession for now and not go to the factory."
He winked at Xiao Yang, signaling him to go out and keep watch. Cai Huai said, "Miss Xie, with the weapons you designed as reinforcements this time, according to reliable sources, the Japanese army has suffered more than 20,000 casualties. You are the hero behind the scenes."
That's why they were so angry about this regressive ceasefire agreement. Speaking of weapons, Cai Huai thought of what the Japanese had said, that the National Army lacked humanitarian spirit and violated international humanitarian law. He just wanted to laugh.
There's no such thing as humanity in war. It's just that one side's weapons are superior to the other's, so the other side is unwilling to accept this and wants to take this opportunity to investigate the origin of the weapons.
"The commander's wish is to take you to Fuzhou, where he will arrange a new identity for you to evade the Blue Shirts Society's investigation. I wonder if you..."
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