Have you ever seen a war? If not, you are not qualified to read the history of war with a relaxed look.
Except for the survivors who survived the battlefield.
Watching a shell explode from a distance of only 300 meters is like watching the sun explode in front of you. In an instant, there is a sudden flash of light and a loud bang, shrapnel shatters into pieces, thousands of them hit your body, and invisible dark waves rush towards your body like a tsunami.
Death is really near.
Duan Yelin leaned against the wall of the trench, his ears were deafened by the shock, and sticky hot blood flowed down his forehead into his eyes and mouth. He had no time to wipe it off because he was carrying the shell on his shoulder.
At his feet, there were corpses that had been dead for a long time, broken limbs, and even some parts such as ears, noses, broken teeth, and scalps.
The battlefield is so cruel because it makes hell the norm in broad daylight.
Duan Zhanzhou crawled over and shouted in Duan Yelin’s ear, “Ge! We can’t hold on any longer! Retreat!”
At this time, the battlefield quieted down. Both sides were a little tired of fighting and paused.
Duan Yelin understood that after this wave of bombardment, the Japanese army would advance. They had retreated three times in a row. This time, they would be only ten miles away from Hezhou City. Ten miles meant that the next step was to lose the city. The number of Japanese troops was much greater than he had imagined. It was said that even Japanese troops in other battlefields had abandoned their own positions and gathered outside Hezhou City.
The soldiers around him all had solemn expressions. So many days had passed, and no reinforcements had arrived. They understood what was going on.
The brave Duan Yelin was a well-known figure in the minds of the Japanese. They concentrated their firepower on this god of war, thus tying up too many troops, allowing other places to catch their breath. Reinforcements would not come. They were an abandoned battlefield, and their only role was to delay as long as possible.
Looking at Duan Zhanzhou’s gaze, Duan Yelin pushed the cannon on his shoulder and said, “Retreat—!”
On the way back, they saw a Japanese criminal who had broken free from his shackles and was choking a soldier’s neck. The soldier rolled his eyes, and his face turned pale. Duan Yelin picked up a grenade and smashed it on his head!
After hitting it once, the Japanese man didn’t let go, so he kept hitting it, again and again, until something like tofu pudding gushed out and the brutal body became a corpse.
Duan Yelin was neither happy nor sad. Life and death on the battlefield could not give people much excitement.
He lowered his head and saw weakness and helplessness in the eyes of the soldier who had escaped death. He seemed to see the end of many people at once.
“Qiao Song! Qiao Song!” He suddenly roared. After a while, a dirty and bloody man appeared from somewhere and limped towards him.
“Commander?”
Duan Yelin shot and killed a Japanese soldier who stood up tremblingly in the distance and quickly said, “Ride my horse, go back to the city, and see if the people from Jinyan Tang have left.”
“This… everyone in the city has left. There’s a war going on. How could Young Master Xu still be here?”
“I’ll feel relieved only if you go and take a look. If they haven’t left, tell them to leave quickly! The farther, the better!” Duan Yelin never rested his gun.
Qiao Song was stunned, but soon he rubbed his eyes, nodded firmly, and limped away again.
Duan Yelin licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and threw himself into the fierce battle again.
————
In Jinyan Tang, Chan Yi was sorting out some sundries and common items, and the little monk was copying Buddhist scriptures in the yard.
The years were peaceful, and there seemed to be no tension at all.
Xu Hang came out, glanced at them, and suddenly asked, “This war has been going on for almost a month already, right?”
Chan Yi paused while drying clothes and counted with her fingers: “It’s been a month and a half, and the sound of shooting is getting closer and closer. It sounds like they are outside the door. There is no one in the city, so it is even clearer. That shooting last night scared me to death!”
As she spoke, she shook the clothes, and tiny fibers fell out in the sunlight and fluttered in the air.
Chan Yi originally thought that Xu Hang would order her to take the little monk to seek refuge. She had made up her mind that if Xu Hang asked, she would kneel and die in Jinyan Tang and would never abandon Xu Hang. But she did not expect that Xu Hang never mentioned it from beginning to end.
Thinking about it later, Xu Hang probably understood that, given Chan Yi’s loyalty, she would not leave even with a knife at her neck, so it was better not to waste time talking to her.
It was time to cook. The little monk went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, Chan Yi went to make a fire, and Xu Hang heard a hurried knock on the door, so he had to go and open it himself.
When the door opened, there was a soldier covered in mud and dust. Xu Hang looked at him several times, if he hadn’t spoken, Xu Hang would not have recognized that this was Qiao Song.
“Young Master Xu, I didn’t expect you to still be here?!”
“…Qiao Song?” Xu Hang looked behind him and saw no one. “Why are you back? Is the battle… over?”
“I don’t have time to tell you in detail. Leave quickly. The Japanese army is only ten miles away from the city. It’s very dangerous!”
Qiao Song didn’t waste a word and immediately stated his purpose.
After hearing this, Xu Hang’s hand on the doorframe froze there. Although his expression did not change, the joints on his fingertips turned slightly white. He first took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, and asked in a low voice, “…Will the Japanese attack Hezhou?”
Qiao Song took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his chin: “The reinforcements will not come! The Hezhou war zone has restrained too many enemy troops, and other war zones are also very tense. We… have been abandoned.”
In short, this is actually very scary news.
Xu Hang raised his chin slightly and looked at the sky in the distance: “No wonder he fought for so long…”
Seeing him so calm, Qiao Song was really anxious: “Don’t pack anything, just take away the valuables and leave quickly! I can’t stay any longer, the situation on the battlefield is very urgent!”
“Why do I have to leave?”
“Young Master Xu, please leave! I beg you! How can the Commander fight the war with peace of mind if you are here?!”
Hearing this, Xu Hang’s eyes suddenly sharpened, staring straight at Qiao Song, and he spoke word by word: “I won’t leave. My hometown has been destroyed. There is no reason for me to leave Hezhou again. Go back and tell Duan Yelin that I will never leave Hezhou. From birth to death, I am the master of my own life. Ask him to take care of himself.”
“Young Master Xu!” Qiao Song put his hand on the door to stop Xu Hang from closing it. “I’m here on the Commander’s orders. If you don’t leave, I’ll knock you out and carry you on my back!”
Unexpectedly, as soon as this threat came out, Xu Hang took three or two steps forward, pulled the gun from Qiao Song’s waist, pressed the safety bolt, stuffed it into Qiao Song’s hand, and put it against his own forehead: “Then you can kill me and take my body away.”
“This… calm down… calm down…” Qiao Song was so frightened that he repeatedly pulled his hands out.
Xu Hang simply let go and pushed Qiao Song out of the door, quickly closing and locking it, not giving Qiao Song any chance to react. He walked straight into the depths of the garden, ignoring Qiao Song’s shouting outside.
“Young Master Xu! Young Master Xu! Listen to me! This is not a joke… Young Master Xu!”
Qiao Song knocked on the door hard and yelled for half a cup of tea, but in the end he was helpless, and there was no sound anymore.
At night, the sound of shooting became more arrogant than before and endless. It really makes people wonder whether those who make bombs don’t need money or something, is that why they can spend money so recklessly?
Although it was pitch dark, the sky in the distance seemed to be coated with a layer of red, with flames shooting up into the sky, making people’s heartbeats tremble.
That night, no one had any appetite for the meal, and no one could sleep in the second half of the night. The little monk moved a bench and sat in the yard to look at the stars. Xu Hang took a piece of clothing and put it on him, then sat next to him.
“Brother Xu, I’m so scared… This sound sounds like thunder.” The little monk retracted his head into Xu Hang’s arms, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Xu Hang touched his bald head. This child was still so young, but he was very sensible for trying not to cry. Xu Hang had never taken care of a child before, so he thought for a moment and asked him, “Do you like setting off fireworks?”
“Yes.”
“Then just think of this as a lot of people setting off fireworks in the distance, and it won’t be scary that way.”
The little monk also thought about it and found that it was indeed much better. He pulled his head out and asked with his big eyes, “Brother Xu, everyone in the city has left, why don’t you leave? I want to stay because my master’s tomb is here and so does the temple. I don’t want to go anywhere. What about you? Is it because you have parents?”
Xu Hang looked sad. “No.”
“What about brothers and sisters?”
“No.”
“Then what about friends?”
“I don’t have either.”
“Then… then…” The little monk really didn’t know who else to say, and finally slapped his head, “Then who else do you like? Just like… just like I like you, I also like Sister Chan Yi.”
Xu Hang did not answer this question immediately, so the little monk looked at him curiously.
Xu Hang looked at the twinkling stars in the sky, which seemed like millions of eyes staring at him. He did not allow himself to lie under their scrutiny.
Xu Hang reached out his hand, hugged the little monk in his arms, and patted his back: “Do you know why so many strong men are willing to fight in the front, even if they die on the battlefield? For some people, it is to defend their country, but that is only the idea of a very small number of people with great ambitions. For tens of thousands of soldiers, their purpose is as small as it can be, just to protect the people they cherish.”
The young monk felt very comfortable being patted by Xu Hang, and gradually he felt that the noise was no longer necessary. He became sleepy, and Xu Hang’s words kept lingering in his ears, but he could not understand them at all.
“When they are fighting bloody battles, they can look back and see the direction of home. The lives of their loved ones are tied to their flesh and blood walls, so they will grit their teeth and fight to the death. However, if they were only defending an empty city, with no worries at all, they would burn their boats… and die together, becoming a pile of the sand on the battlefield.”
Someone sighed in the night wind.
“People must have something to worry about and something to look forward to before they will fight to come back alive.”
As he spoke of this, the little monk had already started snoring. The stars in the sky were all silent but twinkling more intoxicatingly.
Xu Hang smiled gently, holding the sleeping child in his arms, and patiently sat in the yard. He was guarding this long, desolate night, this deserted garden, and this abandoned ancient city.
Fight a war with an unknown outcome.
