Among the reinforcements, Ning Zhiheng held the highest position. He stepped forward, turned around, looked at the familiar faces before him, and loudly commanded, "Move out!"
All personnel boarded the military vehicle in an orderly fashion. Ning Zhiheng looked up at his office window and saw Zuo Rou's figure. The two looked at each other again, and Ning Zhiheng resolutely turned around and stepped into the military vehicle.
Ning Zhiheng, who had always been confident that he could control the lives and deaths of others and his own destiny, was now completely bewildered about the future. He didn't know what awaited him ahead. Was it a thorny, muddy road, or even a precipice? Or was it a bright and smooth path?
Ye Zhiwu sat with him in a military vehicle and looked at Ning Zhiheng, gently comforting him, "Zhiheng, this is your first time on the battlefield. No one can predict what will happen on the battlefield. Don't think too much. The more you think, the more afraid you will be. It all depends on whether God will grant you this job."
Before joining the Military Intelligence Investigation Department, Ye Zhiwu was a hardened soldier in the army. He only joined the Military Intelligence Department as a special agent after following Zhao Ziliang. He was no stranger to the battlefield and had no fear of it.
He knew that Ning Zhiheng had graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy less than a year ago. Although he knew that Ning Zhiheng was determined and known for his ruthlessness, this was different from being on the real battlefield. When you are actually in that specific environment, surrounded by gunfire, no newcomer can remain calm. It takes an adaptation period. The difference is that everyone's ability to adapt is different.
Ning Zhiheng smiled slightly, but looked out the window without answering. Ye Zhiwu understood that these newcomers to the battlefield were bound to have fluctuating emotions, so he said no more.
The army marched quickly, moving intermittently along the way. They were all on foot, and the soldiers' uniforms were tattered and thin. They were even wearing straw sandals, carrying blankets and straw mats on their backs. Some of them were wearing straw hats, and some didn't even have military caps.
The marching column was no longer in order; there were still many mule carts carrying military supplies, and even large cooking pots with several older soldiers sitting on them, their dark faces covered with thick layers of dust and deep wrinkles.
The entire unit stretched for several kilometers, looking like a group of beggars, with long guns hanging haphazardly on their backs or slung over their shoulders, like beggars' sticks!
"Which unit is this?" The other officers on the military vehicle asked, looking at the soldiers.
"No need to ask, these are Sichuan Army troops, either the 134th or 26th Divisions. This is the vanguard. They marched all the way from Sichuan to here, and I don't know how long it took them. They were scattered by the Japanese as soon as they went up!"
"What kind of equipment is this? There are Chiang Kai-shek rifles, Hanyang rifles, and what kind of guns are these? Why is there such a mix?"
"You look like you've never seen anything like this before! This is called a 7.9mm rifle. They're homemade guns, and they can only fire one shot. They're usually used by bandits. Now, only the Sichuan Army uses them!"
"Do these kinds of armies even fight?"
The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. At that moment, Ning Zhiheng let out a cold snort, and the surrounding officers immediately sat down quietly, not daring to utter another sound.
Ning Zhiheng looked at the officers with a cold gaze and reprimanded them in a low voice: "Going to the battlefield with such crude weapons is like using your own flesh and blood to shield others and risking your own lives. Don't you deserve respect? Shut your mouths. You might not even be able to beat them on the battlefield!"
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, knowing that the future of these Sichuan soldiers would be even more perilous, and they all remained silent.
Ning Zhiheng looked at the Sichuan soldiers traveling on both sides of the military vehicle and couldn't help but feel a deep respect.
Since the start of the War of Resistance against Japan, at a critical moment when the nation was in peril, the Sichuan Army, far from the battlefield, volunteered to go out of Sichuan to fight against the Japanese. These poorly equipped and trained ragtag troops, in the flames of the War of Resistance against Japan, showed the Chinese people the indomitable spirit of the Sichuan people with their loyalty to the nation, their blood and lives, and realized the true value of being soldiers!
Even local armies that suffered defeats and fled throughout the entire War of Resistance Against Japan, but never surrendered, demonstrated remarkable fighting spirit and made a name for themselves in history.
During the subsequent eight-year War of Resistance against Japan, the country had to provide nearly half of the nation's manpower, with a total of over 3.5 million recruits, which was almost the limit for recruiting young and able-bodied men.
By the middle of the War of Resistance Against Japan, almost one in four soldiers was from Sichuan. This led to the saying that "no army can be formed without Sichuan soldiers." Of course, the casualties were also the worst in the country. Knowing all this, Ning Zhiheng naturally felt great respect!
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