bookcurios Chapter 157 Huangpu Alumni
Chapter 157 Huangpu Alumni
At three o'clock in the morning in Shanghai, only the dim street lights illuminate the empty streets.
After Jiang Shijia woke up, he quietly slipped away from the Sacred Heart Hospital, and, suppressing his physical discomfort, walked step by step towards the Sihang Warehouse two blocks away.
His face was pale, his steps were staggering, and beads of sweat the size of beans kept rolling down his forehead.
"Cough-cough-"
With every step he took, he felt a tearing pain in his chest, but Jiang Shijia gritted his teeth and refused to stop.
He knew that he didn't have much time.
He had to return to his comrades and the final battlefield before the Japanese pirates launched a fierce attack.
At the new garbage bridge, Jiang Shijia held onto the bridge railing, breathing heavily.
After crossing this bridge, you will reach the Sihang Warehouse.
He looked up at the other end of the bridge and saw a six-story reinforced concrete building standing before him.
In a trance, Jiang Shijia seemed to see a red flag with a blue sky, a white sun and a red earth fluttering in the wind, and heard the deafening sound of gunfire and the heroic shouts of the soldiers.
"Comrades from the 524th Regiment, here I come!"
Jiang Shijia took a deep breath, forced himself to step onto the new garbage bridge despite his weak body.
This wide stone bridge will soon become the only passage between heaven and hell.
Outside the Sihang Warehouse, soldiers of the 524th Regiment were building defensive fortifications in a tense and orderly manner.
"Quick! Everyone, pile the sandbags higher!"
"Yes, bury the mines deeper! Don't let the Japanese find them easily!"
"Brothers, work harder! We must finish the work before dawn!"
The night was dark, and the figures of the soldiers looked particularly tall under the dim light.
"Hey! The guy in the military uniform over there, what do you do?!"
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out.
Jiang Shijia looked in the direction of the voice and saw a burly soldier holding a rifle walking towards him.
"Brother, I'm here to join the battle!" Jiang Shijia cheered himself up and answered loudly.
"Join the battle? You look so weak, can you even hold a gun?" The soldier looked Jiang Shijia up and down, his eyes full of suspicion.
"I..." Jiang Shijia was about to explain, but suddenly he had a violent cough and almost fell down.
"Platoon Leader Yang! Something's happening here!" Seeing this, the soldier quickly turned around and shouted behind him.
A young officer wearing a ragged Nationalist uniform and a pistol on his waist walked over quickly and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
"Report to the platoon leader! This person said he wanted to join the battle, but..." The soldier pointed at Jiang Shijia, and hesitated to speak.
"Brother, what's your name? Which unit are you from?" Yang Yangzheng looked Jiang Shijia up and down and asked in a serious tone.
"My name is Jiang Shijia, and I'm the commander of the 51th Regiment of the 305st Division!" Jiang Shijia said, taking out his officer ID from his pocket and handing it over.
Yang Yangzheng took the officer's ID, examined it carefully under the dim light, and his expression suddenly became serious.
"305th Regiment... Are you from the Luodian battlefield?"
"Yes!" Jiang Shijia nodded.
"Salute!" Yang Yangzheng suddenly stood at attention and saluted Jiang Shijia with a standard military salute.
"We have all heard about the deeds of the 305th Regiment. You are all heroes!"
Jiang Shijia returned the salute, his eyes slightly moist.
"Platoon Leader Yang, I don't want to retreat westward with the main force. I want to stay here and fight to the end with my brothers!"
"Okay! I'll take you to meet our battalion commander right now!" Yang Yangzheng patted Jiang Shijia's shoulder vigorously, his eyes full of admiration.
He knew that the soldier in front of him, who was seriously injured but still insisted on going to the battlefield, was a true hero.
Platoon Leader Yang led Jiang Shijia through a series of fortifications made of sandbags and entered the Sihang Warehouse.
The interior of the warehouse was brightly lit, and the soldiers were moving ammunition and supplies and building fortifications in an orderly manner, without any panic or fear on their faces.
"Captain Jiang, look, our brothers in the 524th Regiment are desperately preparing for battle!"
Platoon Leader Yang pointed at the busy soldiers, his tone full of pride.
Jiang Shijia looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help but recall the time when he and his brothers from the 305th Regiment were preparing for battle.
He calmed himself down, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "Come on, take me to see your superior first!"
"Yes!"
Platoon Leader Yang took Jiang Shijia through a long and narrow corridor and came to the door of an office on the second floor.
"Report!" Platoon Leader Yang raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
Platoon Leader Yang pushed open the door and walked in with Jiang Shijia.
"Captain Yang, this is..."
"I am Jiang Shijia, commander of the 51th Regiment of the 305st Division!" Without waiting for Platoon Leader Yang to finish his introduction, Jiang Shijia stepped forward and saluted with a standard military salute.
"305th Regiment?" Yang Ruifu, who was sitting at his desk and studying a map, suddenly raised his head with surprise in his eyes.
"Are you Jiang Shijia, the one who fought bloody battles for seven days and seven nights in Luodian and repelled the enemy's attacks more than a dozen times?"
"It's me!" Jiang Shijia saluted again.
"Good! Good job!" Yang Ruifu stood up excitedly, walked quickly to Jiang Shijia and held his hand tightly.
"Captain Jiang, your 305th Regiment is a role model for the entire army to learn from!"
"Captain Yang, you're too kind. We were just doing what soldiers should do!" Jiang Shijia said modestly.
"How seriously are you injured? Do you want to get a bandage first?" Yang Ruifu asked with concern when he saw the glaring bloodstain on his chest.
"It's just a minor injury, it's nothing serious!" Jiang Shijia shook his head and said with a firm look: "I came here this time to fight side by side with you to defend the Sihang Warehouse!"
"Okay! I feel relieved when you say that!" Yang Ruifu patted Jiang Shijia's shoulder hard, his eyes full of admiration.
"Come on, I'll take you to see Deputy Captain Xie!"
As Yang Ruifu spoke, he took Jiang Shijia out of the office and took the elevator to the top floor.
On the sixth floor, inside Xie Jinyuan’s temporary command center.
Xie Jinyuan was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the neon night scene on the other side of the Suzhou River with a frown on his face.
"Report!" Yang Ruifu's voice sounded outside the door.
"Come in!"
Xie Jinyuan turned around and saw Jiang Shijia behind Yang Ruifu. He was stunned at first, and then an expression of surprise appeared on his face.
"Brother Shi Jia! It's really you!"
"Brother Jinyuan!" Jiang Shijia also shouted excitedly.
Xie Jinyuan walked quickly to Jiang Shijia and held his hand tightly.
"When did you arrive? Why didn't you notify me in advance?"
"I just arrived not long ago too." Jiang Shijia smiled and said, "I heard that Senior Brother was here, so I rushed over without stopping."
"Great! Great! I'm so happy that you can come. We now have more strength to guard the Sihang Warehouse!" Xie Jinyuan said excitedly.
Xie Jinyuan was a graduate of the fourth class of the Whampoa Military Academy, and Jiang Shijia was a graduate of the ninth class. In terms of seniority, Xie Jinyuan was Jiang Shijia's senior.
Although the two had never met each other, they had heard of each other's heroic deeds on the battlefield and had long admired each other.
"Brother Shi Jia, you came at the right time. I heard that you are the little Zhuge Liang in the army. I was worried that no one would discuss defense strategies with me!"