"Have you remembered everything I told you before?" Brother Zhang spoke haltingly, spitting out another mouthful of blood. "Take me... take me back and bury me under the tree at the entrance of our village... "
"I remember, I remember!" Su Congwen nodded desperately, tears and blood on his face flowing down together, blurring his eyes.
"And..." Brother Zhang reached into his clothes, slowly pulled out a photo, and handed it to Su Congwen with trembling hands, "Xiao Su, you... you help me tell my wife and daughter... say I'm sorry."
The last word was so unclear that Su Congwen could no longer hear it. He watched Brother Zhang's hands drop weakly, his breathing gradually stopped, his pupils dilated, and he died silently in his arms.
"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang!" Su Congwen shouted frantically, but Brother Zhang would never respond to him again.
No one will ever watch the fireworks in his hometown with him on New Year's Eve again, no one will ever leave their food rations for him again, and no one will ever risk their life to save him again.
He was the one who let Brother Zhang down.
Su Congwen held Brother Zhang's body and cried bitterly. There were burnt trees, flying dust, broken limbs and debris everywhere, and he was the only one left.
"Su Congwen, Su Congwen!"
The deputy company commander's anxious voice came, and he quickly found Su Congwen.
"Are you okay?" The deputy company commander hurried over, holding his injured hand, but he was only worried about Su Congwen.
"I'm fine." Su Congwen's eyes were a little dull. "Deputy Company Commander, Ah Xing is gone, and Brother Zhang also died."
The deputy company commander looked at Zhang Qingshan in his arms and Ah Xing's mutilated body beside him. His eyes instantly turned red and tears rolled down. He took off his hat and cursed harshly.
"Deputy Company Commander, Brother Zhang sacrificed his life to save me." Su Congwen said vaguely, "I am the one who let him down."
"What are you talking about?" The deputy company commander wiped his face fiercely. "What's there to be sorry about? From the moment we stepped onto the battlefield, we owed our all to everyone in the world, besides our families."
"Zhang Qingshan sacrificed his life to protect his comrades and to defend the country. This is glorious and worthy of our pride!"
He has been a soldier for more than 20 years and has witnessed countless casualties, big and small. But every time, facing the sacrifice of his comrades, he still feels heartbroken. But in front of other soldiers, he needs to cheer up so that everyone can cheer up.
Now is not the time to feel sad, but rather to cheer up.
"Collect Lao Zhang's body," the deputy company commander said, suppressing his grief. "This battle isn't over yet. Keep your spirits up! Kill all the enemies and use their blood as a sacrifice to Lao Zhang's spirit in heaven!"
"I know." Su Congwen closed his eyes and opened them again, his eyes firm again.
The deputy company commander was right. The best way to comfort Brother Zhang was to avenge him with the enemy's blood.
He stretched out his trembling hand, slowly closed Brother Zhang's eyes, and said softly: "Brother Zhang, don't worry, I will definitely do what you tell me to do."
Su Congwen carefully put away the yellowed photo. He didn't dare to look at the smiling faces of the family of three on it.
After collecting Brother Zhang's corpse, Su Congwen had regained his expressionless face, but the evil and murderous intent in his eyes were astonishingly strong. He was at a critical point of depression and would explode with just a little more stimulation.
It is like a sharp sword ready to be unsheathed, which can kill countless enemies with just a flash of cold light.
"Company commander, is Su Congwen's current condition not very good?" The deputy company commander looked at Su Congwen from a distance, feeling a little worried.
"It's okay, let him calm down." The company commander sighed and said, "Life is always full of separations. When we were his age, we couldn't do what he did."
"It's good to hold onto that energy, but it's even better to use it on the battlefield." The company commander looked into the distance. "I think there's only one last battle left, and then we can go back."
"Yeah," the deputy company commander replied, his face showing deep fatigue. "We still have 23 soldiers available, 40 serviceable guns, three machine guns, some bullets, two cannons, a bazooka, 48 grenades, 10 explosive packs, and food and medicine... all gone."
He reported on the current personnel and equipment situation in the company.
"Yeah." The company commander felt a sinking feeling in his heart. This last battle would be difficult to fight.
but……
He only said two words lightly, but they carried the weight of thunder.
"Hold on to the end."
"yes!"
As night fell, the forest became even quieter, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind. The only 23 people left in the company lay down more than 20 meters away from the bridge, their eyes as bright as hawks in the dark.
The company commander put down the binoculars and spoke softly.
"Everyone, please be careful. The enemy may launch a second air raid at any time, but their goal is to blow up this bridge."
"This bridge is made of stone and is very solid. Normal bombers are too far away for their bombs to bring it down, so we suspect they'll likely resort to intensive bombardment. Our artillery must be on standby at all times. If there's any movement from the other side, bomb it!"
"Bazookas, planes, cannons, whatever you can get your hands on!"
"Our mission is to defend this bridge! This is a decisive battle. As long as we hold out until dawn, our reinforcements will arrive. So, not a single person can retreat! We cannot let a single enemy get through. Do you understand?"
"clear."
"clear."
"clear."
The voices were small but firm.
Su Congwen was surrounded by leaves, and he didn't move at all, as if he had turned into a rock in the forest. His eyes were sharp, and his hand holding the gun didn't tremble at all.
The night is eerie and terrifying, like a monster that can eat away at people.
It was already past three in the morning, the time when people were most tired and sleepy. Before this, they had not rested for a long time. All the soldiers were trying to hold on with their last bit of strength.
Just hold on a little longer, everything will be fine as long as the day breaks.
"Bang!"
The first cannon shot pierced the silence of the night, and everyone started moving.
"There are enemies, fight!"
"The enemy is bombarding, lock on to their exact location immediately!"
"Bazooka, find your target and hit it!"
"yes!"
"clear!"
Everyone started to move. Even though there were only twenty or so people left, they were still well-trained and fearless in the face of danger. At this time, everyone had put life and death aside. This was their last battle.
I will definitely stick to it!
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