Chapter 1434: A Distant Greeting

Leading this band of routed soldiers, Wang Yan fought just one battle, and they were completely convinced; if not utterly devoted, they were close enough.

Among these people, a significant portion were new recruits who had rarely seen combat, unlike the men under Wang Yan's command, who had spent over a month maneuvering through the jungles and mountains of Myanmar, fighting dozens of battles large and small; in their rush to march and achieve combat objectives, every one of the more than four hundred survivors besides Wang Yan had ruined soles on their feet, everyone bearing wounds and injuries.

When fighting began, they no longer needed direct command; simply telling them where to go and when to launch an attack was enough for them to complete their missions excellently. The moment engagement started, each man became slippery and elusive, constantly moving, constantly seeking cover, their marksmanship was quite accurate, and the web of interwoven firepower naturally formed with perfect logic.

Wherever the Japanese devils' firepower was strong or their assault fierce, these men would naturally concentrate their fire, instantly suppressing the Japanese troops with overwhelming volume; furthermore, mortar after mortar fired with precise explosions—bang, bang, bang—truly fierce and formidable.

Where had these routed soldiers ever seen such a courageous unit? After fighting alongside them in just one battle, they felt themselves invincible under heaven, believing that the Japanese devils who had been chasing them everywhere were nothing special, even to the point of being unable to withstand a single blow.

This was, of course, a false illusion of theirs, but as long as they followed Wang Mou's footsteps and obeyed orders and commands, being unable to withstand a single blow was not impossible to realize.

This result came from a combination of two factors: first, Wang Yan's own top-tier command ability, and second, the fact that the little Japanese had opened the Pacific theater, marking the beginning of their dwindling momentum.

The routed soldiers knew none of these complexities; they only knew that following Wang Yan meant they could fight and win battles, so they willingly and respectfully began calling him "Public Wang"...

Yet this group was only the beginning; after Wang Yan led his team to break out of the encirclement, encountering scattered retreating units along the way, he resumed his previous strategy of grand deception, continuously gathering up routed soldiers.

Not only did he gather those on this route, but he also mobilized his troops, sending scouts horizontally to find other units; some were persuaded by the scouts to join, while others required him to personally run several kilometers to catch up with them, using his deception to pull them over.

Afterwards, he stopped lecturing on grand principles and instead directly reorganized the troops, mixing the newly arrived routed soldiers into the existing units, while his original brothers served as junior officers.

He gave those previously demoted officers no chance to react; immediately after reorganization, he led them out to intercept the pursuing Japanese army, and after one battle, everyone behaved obediently.

Retreating all along this path, when there were less than twenty kilometers left to reach the riverside, Wang Yan had already gathered over three thousand routed soldiers, bringing his total force to more than thirty-five hundred men, truly the strength of a full regiment.

In this entire expedition to Myanmar, the total troop commitment was around one hundred thousand; Wang Yan's three thousand men had now become a formidable force, and moreover, all of them had fought victorious battles alongside him, obeying his command and following his orders...

The troop retreated amidst laughter and chatter, when suddenly, on the hillside ahead, a woman carrying a child appeared.

"Honorable passersby, could someone help me bury my father-in-law?"

Three thousand men made for a very long column; she kept her head down, mechanically repeating the phrase over and over again.

A short while later, Wang Yan, walking in the center of the column, passed by this spot.

"Honorable passersby, could someone help me bury my father-in-law?"

Wang Yan heard her words, and of course, Bula and the others walking beside him heard them too.

Yao Ma, who hadn't been shot dead, started teasing: "Public Wang, a wife picked up for free!"

"Looks like she's from a wealthy family too; war has ruined everything," Bula added.

Wang Yan smiled: "Pass the order, rest for a while."

"Yes!" The messenger under his command received the order and scampered off, notifying the front and rear.

Long Wenzhang was no longer a messenger now; he commanded a battalion himself.

Wang Yan smiled as he approached, patting the child's head: "What's the matter?"

"Sir Soldier, my father-in-law died on the road; before he died, my father-in-law made a coffin, only three inches thick, and burned it together with the house. Could you please make a coffin for my father-in-law and bury him properly?"

"What can you do?" Wang Yan asked in return.

"I can do anything," the woman said. "I heard you talking; as long as you can take us back to our country, and as long as you treat my son well, I am willing to be your wife."

"Hahaha..." Bula, hearing the commotion from not far away, burst into loud laughter, "Picking up a wife!"

Wang Yan laughed too, then reached out to lift her chin, but she slapped his hand away; so Wang Yan directly used his dirty hands to cup her face, parting her messy hair to both sides.

"Beautiful!" Wang Yan said, then suddenly stepped back, picking up the little cub who was trying to protect his mother, restraining the little creature's hands and feet.

"Come on, brothers, help your brother cut down trees to make a coffin as a betrothal gift, to marry a wife!"

The brothers nearby started moving with laughter and chatter; without a second word, they cut down five trees, and with seven or eight self-nominated carpenters from artisan families and more than ten others skilled in woodworking, assisted by everyone else, the work proceeded very quickly.

"My name is Wang Yan; wife, what is your name?" Wang Yan asked lazily, leaning half-reclined against a tree, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

The woman stood aside, watching the brothers working over there: "Shangguan Jieci."

"Good name; at a time like this, one must 'restrain mercy' (Jieci); with foreign pirates outside and traitors within, one cannot be soft-hearted; anyone who dares to jump up and cause trouble must be shot dead by a bullet."

Even though Shangguan Jieci was educated, reasonable, soft on the outside but strong within, hearing Wang Yan's words left her somewhat speechless and choked up.

"You speak too broadly."

"Not broad, not broad at all." Wang Yan patted the ground beside him, "Come, sit down and talk; like this, I can't see you."

After a brief pause, Shangguan Jieci still sat down beside Wang Yan.

Wang Yan reached out to put his arm around her shoulder, easily suppressing with one hand the little cub who jumped over to hit him, while feeling Shangguan Jieci's tension.

"Our happy event together may not necessarily come to pass."

"As long as we return to our country!" Shangguan Jieci emphasized once more.

Wang Yan shook his head: "By now, the bridge has probably been blown up; the Nu River's current is swift, and crossing it won't be easy. We are people who were abandoned long ago; most likely we cannot return. As for you and the child... meeting is fate; I will do my best to send you back."

"Why were we abandoned?" It was the little cub who asked.

Wang Yan smiled, rubbed his little head, and roughly recounted their experiences from the plane crash at departure up to the present moment.

"When we were at the foreign devils' airfield, we were already abandoned. Later, I took the weapons and ammunition provided by the foreign devils but didn't carry out the mission; now I've gathered a regiment's worth of troops—truly, twelve scrolls of military dispatches, and my name appears in every scroll; even if I return by luck, I'll most likely be executed by firing squad upon arrival."

Shangguan Jieci widened her eyes: "You're still just a platoon leader?"

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Now I am the acting regimental commander of the Sichuan Regiment; I appointed myself, and the brothers acknowledge me."

"You are truly amazing."

"Thank you."

The two chatted intermittently like this, while the brothers nearby watched Public Wang embracing his new wife, laughing and enjoying the spectacle...

In less than two hours, a decent-looking coffin was made.

Of course, it was only decent-looking; after all, there weren't enough tools, the coffin lid had no curve, only angular cuts, light shone through the joints of the wooden boards, and there was no paint applied for color or preservation, but at least it resembled a coffin.

They dug a pit and buried Shangguan Jieci's father-in-law; there were no tears, no farewells; Shangguan Jieci led her child in kowtowing three times, then departed with Wang Yan's troop, heading toward the Nu River.

The troop continued marching, not slowly; the soldiers, eager to return home, walked as if wind sprang from beneath their feet, and amidst conversation and laughter, they covered the less-than-twenty-kilometer distance, arriving at the riverside by afternoon.

But the troop fell silent.

"Damn it, which bastard blew up the bridge!" Yao Ma jumped up and cursed loudly.

Fan La and Si La both looked at Wang Yan; Shangguan Jieci and the little cub also looked at Wang Yan; the other soldiers made a noisy commotion for a while, until finally, all eyes settled on Wang Yan.

Not a single person rushed down the mountain in panic to struggle in the river, which filled Wang Yan with gratification.

He shouted loudly: "Brothers! You've all seen it; we've been abandoned! There's no going back! And I must tell you brothers a truth—no, tell those of you who followed me from the early days! We were abandoned back at the airport! At that time, that bastard Yu Xiaoqing ordered us to hold the airport to the death and protect the foreign devils' evacuation! That was when I first defied orders!

The little Japanese devils over there were enraged by us; I estimate the foreign devils at the airport are now all captives of the little Japanese devils. Why did I still lead you brothers fighting all the way back here? Because I could see that all you brothers wanted to return, including those who joined later!

Now the facts are plain before our eyes: the bridge is blown, the current is swift, pursuers are behind us, and on our way back we even encountered spies of the little Japanese devils, proving their main force is not far from us! Forcing a crossing of the Salween River, it's impossible for our three thousand brothers to make it across. Who knows which motherless officer on the opposite bank might even open fire on us, ordering us back to intercept the little Japanese devils, demanding we die for our country!"

Wang Yan moved through the crowd, navigating the ranks that had already fallen into disarray.

"I don't want to die for my country! It's not that I, Wang Yan, am cowardly and afraid of death; in every battle, I, Wang Yan, have charged to the front, as all you brothers have witnessed! I have told everyone: we must live, and live long; apart from necessary assault battles, only by preserving our own lives can we kill more enemies to serve our nation! To avenge the blood-soaked hatred between us and the little Japanese!

On this point, having walked this path with me, you should all understand! I, Wang Yan, possess this capability! Since arriving in Burma, I have never led you brothers to a single defeat; through over a hundred battles, large and small, we have won every single one! We killed so many little Japanese devils they cried out for their mothers!

Since things have come to this, brothers, do not grieve! Do not be sorrowful! And certainly do not act as if your parents have died! Of our more than three thousand brothers, only a little over a hundred are locals! Even if we returned, we would simply be reorganized into new units, still unable to return to your homes! Half of you brothers' homes lie in occupied territories, in the hands of the Japanese; unless we drive the Japanese away, we cannot go back.

And after being reorganized, you brothers would still be sent back here to fight the Japanese devils! Therefore, whether we return or not, the result is the same! Nothing will change!

So now, perfectly well, let's simply not return! Let's stay right here and fight the Japanese devils! Currently, according to the inaccurate statistics of our most educated Battalion Commander Lin, we have already eliminated over five thousand little Japanese devils; the actual number we've truly killed will absolutely not be less than this figure, only more!

Now, brothers, tell me: shall we run, or... kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The brothers raised their rifles in tacit understanding, shouting 'Kill the enemy' like a mountain wind! The rage of three thousand men converged into one place, shaking the wilderness, while the surging Salween River seemed to cheer for them! In that fleeting moment, the rushing currents grew three parts more fierce.

Wang Yan smiled and waved his hand, calming the emotions he had stirred up in everyone, and said in a light-hearted tone: "Brothers, be content; I, your regiment commander, am the one suffering the real loss. I just found a new wife, with ready-made children, and now I won't be able to keep them."

"Hahaha, Lord Wang, I think you share our fate; you're destined to remain a bachelor."

"Hahaha..."

The brothers all laughed at Wang Yan's misfortune.

"Being a lone man isn't so bad; no attachments!" Wang Yan waved his hand indifferently. "Enough idle talk; get my unconsummated wife and children across, along with those commoners down below. We cannot stand by and watch the little Japanese devils rush over to ravage people. Brother, go, take men and drag those routed soldiers back for me. Look at them, each one lacking ambition, lacking backbone—pah!"

Thus, Mi Long received the order, took over a hundred men, ran down, plunged into the panicked crowd, and without a second word beat those routed soldiers before dragging them all out.

"Ah Yi! Si La! Fan La!"

"Present!" The three responded in unison.

"When we came through earlier, we surveyed all the advantageous terrain. Take your brothers back and intercept the Japanese army. I will stay here to send the wives and children across, then shortly go launch a surprise attack on the little Japanese; we'll give them a severe blow. If we get scattered, run east! Go."

The three loudly answered 'Yes,' each leading about seven hundred men away without looking back.

The remaining brothers followed Wang Yan down the mountain to the riverside.

Shangguan Jieci held the child's hand, her eyes unblinking as she watched Wang Yan.

"We share a bit of fate, though our affection is shallow."

Wang Yan walked over with a smile; amidst the clamor of the crowd, he cupped Shangguan Jieci's face and planted a kiss on her lips, delighting the brothers, who doubled over laughing and shouting vulgar jokes.

"I will wait for you!" Shangguan Jieci spoke with certainty. "You will definitely bring the brothers back!"

Wang Yan took a watch from his wrist and slapped it into Shangguan Jieci's hand: "This is a watch captured from a Japanese major; it can be exchanged for quite a lot of money. After crossing the river, go to Chanda, find Old Deng at the refugee reception station there; if Old Deng isn't there... never mind, just go directly to Yu Xiaoqing, tell him you are my wife, and let him arrange something for you; he certainly won't let you lack food or clothing.

There is also another matter, and this one is quite important. When you see Yu Xiaoqing, tell him to change the unit designation immediately; inform him that the commander of the Sichuan Regiment is I, Wang Yan. Another even more important point: remember to send him my regards; tell him I fuck his ancestors for eighteen generations."

"I've noted it! Anything else?"

Wang Yan stroked her face, then requested a captured Japanese major's sidearm from his orderly below and slapped it into Shangguan Jieci's hand.

"Can you shoot?"

"I can shoot."

"Among these commoners, there may not be many good people, and the road ahead may not be peaceful; if anyone harbors ill intentions, shoot them dead. Live well; if fate allows, we'll meet again; if not, so be it."

"I will wait for you!" Shangguan Jieci said it once more...

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(End of Chapter)