Chapter 45 Company Commander Hu

...Sichuan province was the primary base in the rear during the largest-scale national war in history, and it made tremendous sacrifices and contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation...

This passage was taken from an editorial published by the New China Daily after the victory of the War of Resistance, titled "Expressing Gratitude to the People of Sichuan Province."

It was filled with glowing praises, yet only those who had fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the veterans of the Sichuan Army knew that the above description fell short of capturing even a ten-thousandth of what they truly endured...

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's diary collection, "Hu's Nonsense"...

Since one cannot twist an arm with a thigh, no matter how reluctant he felt in his heart, facing the reality of joining the Sichuan Army, Hu Biao ultimately had to accept it.

Perhaps Commander Huang had already contacted the senior leadership of the Sichuan Army beforehand and finalized this matter long ago.

Or perhaps the transfer of a second lieutenant platoon leader along with a few common soldiers was simply not a matter of any consequence to such big shots anyway.

In any case, Staff Officer Liu quickly completed the paperwork and handover for the few of them.

Finally rid of these fellows who dared to say anything and might bring trouble upon his own head at any moment, Staff Officer Liu finally felt a sense of relief.

A smile appeared on his face, and he even casually accepted a roll-up cigarette offered by Hu Biao.

With this, Hu Biao and his men officially became members of the 20th Group Army of the Sichuan Army, specifically assigned to the 134th Division, the 402nd Brigade, and the 804th Regiment. The regimental commander was reportedly a man named Xiang Wenbin.

Upon the Sichuan Army's initial arrival in Shanghai, they were faced with a myriad of tangled affairs.

Shortly afterward, Hu Biao and his group were led to an open area beside the railway station to find the assembly zone of the 804th Regiment, though for the time being, there was no way to see Regimental Commander Xiang and the other officers.

It was said that all officers at the battalion level and above had currently gone to attend a meeting.

In the absence of these middle and high-ranking officers, Hu Biao and his men naturally could not be assigned to any specific posts just yet.

They could only imitate the other Sichuan Army soldiers in the regiment, sitting lazily on the ground amidst the somewhat chilly night breeze while waiting for new orders to arrive.

Once seated, Hu Biao began to ponder.

Truth be told! According to the history he understood.

After marching thousands of li and arriving in Shanghai, the Sichuan Army had been given merely two or three days to rest—not even enough to fully adjust their condition—before being thrown directly into the Yunzaobang defense line.

Even with their shabby equipment and outdated tactics, they had relied solely on a burning sense of loyalty and courage to defend their homeland, engaging in a bloody, six-day battle with the Japanese devils.

By the time their casualties exceeded half, they were finally pulled back. The fifth and sixth generals of our forces to fall in the Songhu battlefield had both originated from the Sichuan Army.

Then came the question: placed in such an environment and such a unit, what should these few individuals do next?

They were powerless to change the grand historical trends, but could they perhaps help the Sichuan brothers die in lesser numbers, or make their deaths less stifling, allowing them to take down a few more Japanese devils before perishing?

Regarding these doubts, Hu Biao quickly formed a preliminary plan:

That was to first remain at the headquarters of the 804th Regiment, ideally finding a way to infiltrate the logistics department.

Entertaining such a thought was not because this fellow Hu Biao was afraid of death and attached to life; rather, only by relying on the convenience of the logistics department could he find a channel to sell off his pearls and penicillin.

Procuring more supplies, weapons, and ammunition would bolster the combat effectiveness of their small group.

Otherwise, given the pitiful equipment of the Sichuan Army, when the newly arrived time-travelers attempted to hastily brush up on their training, they probably wouldn't even be able to get their hands on a few rounds of bullets.

As for how to get into the logistics department, under pressing circumstances, he might once again have no choice but to give away that Longines watch...

******

Because the procurement process before time-traveling had been utterly exhausting.

And after crossing over, they had encountered a series of aggravating events, leaving Hu Biao quite drowsy; once he figured out his preliminary plan for the immediate future, a wave of sleepiness washed over him.

After instructing Zhu Cong, "Remember to wake me up if anything happens," he used his flat backpack as a pillow and fell into a deep sleep in the blink of an eye.

It was the kind of sleep where, short of someone physically shoving you, even a battle drum beating right beside your ear wouldn't wake you up.

However, shortly thereafter, he learned what it meant when plans could not keep up with changes, and his little scheme came to an end before it even truly began.

Specifically, just as Hu Biao had fallen asleep, a Sichuan Army soldier sitting right next to them used the stem of his leaf-tobacco pipe to gesture toward Hu Biao.

With a look of curiosity, he spoke in a Sichuan accent to Zhu Cong:

"Little brother, let me ask ya, which unit are you from? Is that fellow your commander? How come he's so lazy?"

Hearing this, Zhu Cong immediately grew quite displeased.

This greenhorn logistician, whom Hu Biao had led at Position Number 7 to kill so many Japanese devils, had long since regarded Commander Hu as his idol; calling him a die-hard fan would not be an exaggeration at all.

He immediately retorted: "We used to belong to the 67th Division, but we just got transferred to your Sichuan Army's 804th Regiment.

This is our Platoon Leader Hu, and he isn't lazy at all. He just discharged from the hospital after recovering from severe injuries, and his body probably hasn't fully bounced back yet."

Faced with Zhu Cong's explanation, the Sichuan Army soldier wore a rather noncommittal expression.

Seeing the other man wear such a look, Zhu Cong instantly became thoroughly anxious, taking it far more seriously than if he himself had been misunderstood.

He immediately began recounting Commander Hu's glorious achievements, namely the battle fought a little over a month ago at Position Number 7 on the left flank of Luodian.

And you know what? Zhu Cong had a nimble tongue and possessed a certain talent for storytelling.

The defense of Position Number 7 itself—where barely twenty-some remnant soldiers in a rainy night had held off half a battalion of Japanese devils—was already extraordinarily thrilling.

With some artistic embellishment added by Zhu Cong, it became indescribably magnificent.

For a moment, not only did Uncle Bo, Huang Ahdi, and the other time-travelers listen with rapt fascination, but the crowd of Sichuan Army soldiers who had traveled from afar to fight the Japanese devils in Shanghai were also drawn in, listening with rapt attention.

Before long, layers upon layers of Sichuan Army soldiers had gathered around Zhu Cong and the others, all engrossed in the tale of that fierce battle.

Seeing this, Zhu Cong, who possessed a somewhat show-off personality, grew even more spirited, narrating with increasing flair.

Because of this, they failed to notice Regimental Commander Xiang of the 804th Regiment and several battalion-level officers returning from their meeting with the division command.

Witnessing this scene, the expressions on their faces were somewhat annoyed.

Yet as they walked closer, intending to step in and reprimand them, upon hearing the actual content of the voices coming from the crowd, they halted their scolding and began to listen intently.

The main reason was that all the way to Shanghai, these men had already prepared themselves to give their lives to the country.

However, that did not mean they harbored no anxieties—they worried whether they could fight such a battle well.

For this Battle of Songhu had been raging for nearly two months; the Tutorial Brigade, the German-equipped divisions, the Central Army, and the Tax Police Corps—units whose equipment and training vastly surpassed their own—had been fed into the battlefield one after another, only to be swiftly battered to pieces.

To say their hearts harbored no panic whatsoever would be utter nonsense.

Now, upon hearing Zhu Cong's account, although they couldn't figure out why the 67th Division would be willing to send over such a combat-capable second lieutenant along with a few wounded veterans, after exchanging glances, Regimental Commander Xiang and the others felt a surge of pleasant surprise and reached a shared consensus: Never mind the reasons, as long as they could fight.

Regimental Commander Xiang coughed a few times, and finally someone noticed their arrival, causing the crowd to scatter in a hurry, breaking the circle.

With just a glance, Regimental Commander Xiang felt certain that the fellow who was still sound asleep at this late hour must be the so-called Commander Hu.

Stepping forward, he nudged Hu Biao several times with his foot before the fellow was jolted awake.

The moment he opened his eyes, aided by the lights emanating from the railway station, he immediately saw a lieutenant colonel, alongside numerous majors and captains, standing right before him.

Seized by a sudden jolt of panic, he scrambled up from the ground, stood at attention, saluted, and shouted:

"Former Acting Company Commander Hu Biao of the Directly Subordinated Special Service Company, 798th Regiment, 67th Division, reporting to all commanders."

At that moment, Hu Biao's heart was in a state of absolute panic; having just arrived at a new unit only to be caught sleeping on the job by his superiors, this life was truly impossible to go on with.

Unexpectedly, the lieutenant colonel didn't seem to mind in the least.

Patting Hu Biao on the shoulder, he said with a genial smile: "From now on, we are brothers eating out of the same pot, so Second Lieutenant Hu doesn't need to be so formal.

Besides, upon our initial arrival in Shanghai, out of the entire regiment, only you few have engaged in a real, steel-on-steel fight with the Japanese devils. In the future, we will have to trouble you to brief our brothers on the tricks of the Japanese devils.

How about this? The company commander of the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion—that lad couldn't acclimatize to the local environment and died halfway here, leaving a vacancy for a company commander.

Second Lieutenant Hu, you will temporarily act as the company commander. Perform well, and after a while, I'll find a way to drop that 'acting' title and bump your rank up by one grade as well.

The men you brought along can also be brought over to the 3rd Company; arrange their positions yourself and report back to me."

Although being assigned directly to a field company differed slightly from Hu Biao's original plan to enter logistics, upon a moment's reflection, it was actually a good thing.

"Understood." Hu Biao raised his hand and saluted once more...