Chapter 67: The Dusk Bell

  At this time, the Zhejiang army prisoners who were crowded together ate lunch and also lay down or sat in a daze, being baked by the afternoon sun to the point of drowsiness.

  The new recruit who wanted to eat luncheon meat couldn't sleep due to the heat, and the cool river breeze couldn't dispel the afternoon sweltering heat. He sat up to look for some water to drink, but saw his squad leader sitting quietly beside him, with the back of his shirt already drenched in sweat, yet his eyes were fixed intently on the road ahead.

  The new recruit approached him and asked strangely, "Sergeant, why aren't you sleeping? What are you looking at?" The sergeant turned his head to look at him and said indifferently, "I've told you before, but you wouldn't understand."

  "What? Sergeant, how can you look down on people like that? I also listened outside the private school for two years when I was a kid. What don't I understand?" The new recruit felt disrespected and shouted out in anger. He thought that since they were all captives now, there's no need to be afraid of the sergeant anymore.

  The class leader smiled and said, "I've been watching since I finished eating. During this time, all the troops from the Sixth Division who came and went were in open trucks! I didn't see a single infantryman on foot! Can you understand what that means?"

  "Ah?" The new recruit was stunned, what does this mean? "Hehehe." A regimental commander who was lying nearby laughed and said, "I also watched for a while earlier. We lost because of the high-ranking military officer's allocation of these trucks to the Sixth Division! Not to mention those heavy artillery, planes flying in the sky, and warships running on the river." After finishing speaking, he stood up, patted the sergeant's shoulder, and laughed, saying "I didn't notice you before. What a pity, you're a talented person!"

  The new recruit is still in a daze and can't figure out what's going on. He muttered to himself, "That guy has..."

  The speech had just begun when it was interrupted by a melodious military bugle call, and several people looked up in surprise to find that on the highway, every few dozen meters, there stood a bugler holding a bugle.

  One after another, trucks slowly came from the direction of Jiangyin Fortress and headed towards Nanjing. On the trucks stood stern-faced military police wearing white gloves, next to them were the bodies of the deceased officers and soldiers of the 6th Division covered with white cloth. Every time a truck passed by, the bugler would blow a long and melodious military horn!

  Gradually, the officers and soldiers of the Sixth Division who were resting behind various materials under the trees, under the cars, slowly gathered on both sides of the highway, quietly watching as truck after truck carrying their former comrades slowly passed by.

  The soothing and lingering sound of the military horn resounded in their ears, shaking their souls, making the officers and soldiers bite their lips and hold back tears. At this moment, a loud shout came out "Salute!!!" With a rustling sound, everyone raised their arms to salute their former comrades-in-arms, farewell!

  The Zhejiang soldiers were also shocked by the scene in front of them, filled with deep sorrow. No one slept anymore, and they all quietly stood up to gaze at everything before their eyes.

  The new recruit muttered, "What's this blowing about? It makes me feel like crying." The company commander said calmly, "I went to Nanjing recently. I heard that General Gao built a military cemetery at the foot of Purple Mountain in Nanjing. They might be going there for burial. This bugle call is only used by the 6th and 19th Divisions, it's called 'Lights Out'!"

  "Taps? A military cemetery?" The squad leader muttered to himself, "If I can have this kind of sendoff when I die, then it would be a truly worthwhile death."

  "With a stern expression and a low voice, he said: 'If General Gao can't conquer the world, then heaven is truly blind! Just look, even the prisoners of war are willing to die for him now!'"

  The long military horn sound drifted with the wind, spreading farther and farther until it reached Haorong's ears. Gaoyang gently closed the file, extinguished the cigarette in his hand, and stood up.

  Leaving the bridge, he walked to the side of the ship and looked at the distant shore. Wekes walked up to him and whispered, "This is sending off the fallen officers and soldiers back home." Gao Yang bit his lip and didn't speak, half a beat later turned his head to look at Ouyang You and whispered, "Captain, please have the navy see off our warriors!" Captain Ouyang raised his hand in salute and turned to leave.

  A moment later, all the warships on the river blew their whistles, and a dull cannon sound echoed across the river, "Boom! Boom! Boom!" Round after round of cannon fire shook the sky! Weixi took a step forward and shouted "Attention, salute!" Everyone raised their hands to bid farewell to the fallen officers and soldiers!

  "Need to end this war as soon as possible."

  The whole team left, and the officers and men of the Sixth Division also dispersed one after another. The Zhejiang Army prisoners were still savoring the scene just now, and many people whispered to each other about what they would do if they were in the Sixth Division. A new recruit wiped his eyes and said to the company commander beside him, "Company Commander, I also want to go to the Sixth Division, even if I die, I can have a glorious time."

  Lian Zhang smiled and patted his shoulder, saying "Don't worry, there will be opportunities." At this time, the surrounding captives started making noise again. Lian Zhang followed the crowd's gaze and saw that another string of officers and soldiers from the Sixth Division had arrived on the highway. However, those walking on both sides were military police, while in the middle were dozens of soldiers tied up with ropes!

  The new recruit asked in surprise, "Platoon leader, what's going on?" The platoon leader twitched the corner of his mouth and said softly, "Deserter!"

  The conscripts were lined up one by one in front of the prisoners on the empty ground by the river. At this time, some of the deserters who felt that disaster was approaching begged bitterly, some cursed loudly, some cried with snot and tears flowing together, and there were also those who were so scared that they urinated in their pants and wailed for their fathers and mothers.

  The stern-faced military police simply gazed at them indifferently, and a colonel of the military police walked to the front of the deserters and shouted loudly: "You deserters will be stripped of your military status, and your families will not enjoy the treatment of military dependents! The bodies will be returned to their families for burial! This is the military rule of our Sixth Division!"

  After the reading of the judgment was finished, the execution squad stepped forward, raised their guns, took aim and fired. The execution ground fell silent. The gendarmes came forward to remove the name tags and military IDs from the executed soldiers, threw the bodies onto a truck piled on top of each other, without even a white cloth covering them.

  After dealing with the deserters, the military police stood on the vehicle and went to the surrounding areas where the captives were, holding tin buckets and shouting "All those who smoke come out! All those who smoke come out!"

  Some of the captives got up, not understanding what the military police wanted to do. However, more than 100 prisoners eventually walked out and gathered on the highway. Smoking was very common in the army at that time, and the 10th Division and the 6th Mixed Brigade were considered to be among the better-disciplined units.

  The constables lifted several large boxes from the car, opened them, and inside were stacks of silver dollars. The colonel held a metal bucket and shouted loudly, "All those who smoke opium come to receive 30 taels of travel expenses, we'll let you go home, hurry up!"

  The captives were confused, not only released but also given money? When the first captive came forward to receive the ocean, the constable signaled him to leave. The captives became excited, and many captives came forward to receive money, some of whom really smoked, while others came forward just to get the money. The constables didn't care who it was, they gave it to whoever came forward.

  The new recruit's heart was racing, 30 bucks is a lot of money! As he watched more and more prisoners receive their money and leave, the new recruit thought about stepping forward, but was pulled back by his company commander. The new recruit looked at his commander in confusion, and the commander smiled and shook his head.

  The monitor beside him smiled and said, "Foolish egg, do you still want to eat iron plate boxes? This is the Sixth Division clearing out the dregs. Those who smoke opium or are weak-willed have all left on their own accord. The Sixth Division is still somewhat righteous, at least they gave 30 taels of silver. The company commander did this for your own good."

  Lian Chang said in a low voice, "I inquired about it when I was in Nanjing recently. In the Sixth Division, each new recruit gets 10 big yuan per month! It's all real pay! Do you want those 30 big yuan or do you want to go to the Sixth Division?"

  The new recruit stopped talking and looked at his company commander with gratitude. The prisoners of war who were listening also quieted down, their restless thoughts disappeared, and they all watched the scene in front of them with a mocking attitude.

  There were also many clever people, and many prisoners soon understood. It didn't take long for the people who came forward to receive the ocean to disappear. Several former Zhejiang soldiers who had received the ocean and were preparing to leave played with the ocean in their hands while ridiculing their former colleagues as fools. They wouldn't even go home with money! Insisting on staying here as prisoners, how stupid is that?

  That Kempeitai lieutenant colonel, seeing no one come forward to take the ocean, stood on the truck holding an iron bucket and shouted loudly: "You are all veterans who have been baptized in battle! Our Sixth Army hopes to get your join to serve Generalissimo together!"

  "Of course, our General will not treat you unfairly! As long as you join our Sixth Division, each month you'll get at least ten taels of silver as your salary! It's all real pay! Those who want to drink the blood of soldiers have all been executed by the firing squad! If you're willing to join our Sixth Division, come and sign up first, then we'll arrange for you to take a physical exam, after that you'll go to the new recruit camp for training. Your salary will start from the moment you enter the new recruit camp! Those who pass the training will all be assigned to a company, and those who are exceptionally outstanding will be sent to military school for further study! Don't worry if you don't meet the standards, you can go to the construction corps, your salary won't change! Sign up now! Pay attention to the order! Don't push!"

  The middle schooler hadn't even finished speaking when the captives rushed over, 10 big ocean dollars a month! "I, I, I, I want to sign up!!!" The many captives shouted in unison, the scene was chaotic. After the military police beat them into shape, order was restored and the crowd formed multiple long lines.

  The Zhejiang soldiers who were just mocking the crowd were stunned, looking at the dense registration lineup, and then looking at the 30 yuan in their hands, they felt like swallowing a big pill! How could they be so blinded by just 30 yuan?

  There were a few who wanted to sneak back, mix in with the registration team, and they were all caught by the constabulary. "You all admit that you are opium smokers, your names and hometowns have already been registered, even if you go home and sign up for military service later, it's impossible to pass the new recruit inspection! Save yourselves the trouble, just go back home and farm."

  Some discontented former Zhejiang soldiers were still begging, but the military police completely ignored them. The company commander said softly in the long queue, "The road is walked out by oneself."

  When it was his turn, the military policeman in charge of registration asked, "What's your name?" The company commander replied softly, "My name is Huang Baotao."