Chapter 307: Soul of the Cannon

Before his voice had even faded, bombs fell from the sky like raindrops.

He Yuzhu quickly gathered the radar, computer, and the anti-aircraft gun he was using into his space; the other few guns were too far away to be collected.

He rushed into the air-raid shelter at the very last moment before the bombs exploded.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The sound of explosions erupted, nearly shattering his eardrums.

He Yuzhu felt suffocated, experienced ringing in his ears, and had a momentary blackout.

Two minutes later, he emerged from the air-raid shelter and saw a hellish scene outside.

A rough glance by He Yuzhu revealed that at least half of the brothers operating the anti-aircraft guns were gone.

When He Yuzhu saw the other air-raid shelters, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Multiple shelter entrances had been collapsed by the bombing, and several more were completely buried by the churned-up earth.

If the soil wasn't dug away quickly, the people inside would surely suffocate to death.

He Yuzhu acted like a madman, driving a bulldozer and digging desperately at the exits of those air-raid shelters.

One, two... some people still had a pulse when rescued, but many more had long since stopped breathing.

After an hour of emergency excavation, out of a team of four hundred, only two hundred and twenty were left standing before him.

A full one hundred and eighty vibrant lives were frozen forever on this morning.

He Yuzhu stood between the ruins and the remains, tears sliding down mixed with dirt. He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

At this moment, he made up his mind—he could no longer be this Battalion Commander. He would return to Si Jiu Cheng and use every possible means to build anti-aircraft guns that could fire higher, radar that could see further, and computers that could automatically control artillery fire. When that time came, no matter how many enemy planes returned, he would make sure they never went back!

As he thought this, He Yuzhu's vision went black, and he collapsed straight to the ground.

When he opened his eyes again, the first thing that came into view was Secretary Liu sitting beside him.

He hurriedly propped himself up: "Secretary Liu, how long have you been here? Why didn't you wake me?"

Secretary Liu smiled and pressed him down: "Don't rush, the Commander specifically sent me to check on you." As he spoke, he took a cigarette from his pocket and handed him one.

He Yuzhu took the cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and said: "This is all what we should do. It was my failure in work that caused so many brothers to sacrifice themselves in vain!"

"You can't say it like that." Secretary Liu waved his hand, "This time, the enemy mistook your mountain gully for the command headquarters; not a single plane went to Yuquan Cave."

He Yuzhu shook his head with a bitter smile: "It was still my underestimation of the enemy. I originally thought those air-raid shelters were sturdy enough, but I didn't expect the enemy to drop so many bombs... I have failed my brothers."

"You can't put it that way." Secretary Liu's expression turned serious, "Who could have predicted that the enemy would come with over thirty planes at once? And that they would only bomb your location!"

He Yuzhu shook his head.

"The Commander asked me to check with you; since you performed a great service this time, is there anything you need the organization to help you resolve?" Secretary Liu said.

He Yuzhu took a deep breath, his eyes firm: "I would like to request leave to return to the military factory in Si Jiu Cheng to find Comrade Liu Xiaohua and improve the anti-aircraft gun system. The current anti-aircraft guns are too cumbersome to operate; once an enemy fleet arrives, we can shoot down a few at most, and then our own position cannot be held..."

Secretary Liu was startled: "Can you really produce rapid-fire guns?"

He Yuzhu nodded: "Actually, Liu Xiaohua and I had already designed this plan, but we didn't have time to push it forward. Having experienced actual combat this time, I have summarized some experience and can further perfect this system upon returning..."

He Yuzhu detailed his concept, and Secretary Liu listened with increasing fascination.

After he finished speaking, Secretary Liu spoke slowly: "The Soviet Union has promised to provide new types of anti-aircraft guns as soon as possible; it is said that the range has also been improved quite a bit."

"Actually, range alone is not enough. We must build an automated system... by then, even if the enemy sends dozens of planes, we can make sure they never return."

Secretary Liu nodded: "The Ninth Army Group is about to rest and reorganize, so you should go back! Anyway... now that the anti-aircraft guns have all been blown up, there is no talk of air defense for the time being."

A flash of joy crossed He Yuzhu's eyes: "Thank you, Secretary Liu!"

"Don't mention it." Secretary Liu changed the subject, his face showing difficulty, "By the way, the Commander knows about you taking in those five surrendered soldiers; he doesn't want you to continue keeping them on. It's a bit against regulations."

"Then can't I just pay to hire them as bodyguards?" He Yuzhu asked hurriedly.

Secretary Liu shook his head.

"Alright." He Yuzhu sighed, "I will handle it as soon as possible."

He did not care for the rules set by these Westerners.

The rules they established were always meant for others to follow, but when it came to themselves, they could always find a hundred reasons to shirk them.

Two days later, He Yuzhu personally buried the remains of the fallen soldiers and erected a simple stone tablet in front of each grave.

Standing before the graves, He Yuzhu muttered to himself: "Brothers, this time I have failed you. Rest easy on your journey; from now on, as long as I, He Yuzhu, have a bite to eat, I will not let your families go hungry."

It was already dark when He Yuzhu left the mountain cemetery.

Upon returning to the camp, he saw Lao Yang leading his troops back.

"Zhuzi, headquarters has assigned us to be stationed here with you; you must treat us to a good meal!"

"No problem!" When he saw that out of the more than ten thousand men in the New First Division, only seven thousand had returned, and most were wounded, his eyes immediately turned red.

He ordered Ershuan: "Take all the food we captured and cook it all for me today."

Ershuan agreed readily: "Yes, I guarantee the mission will be completed."

When He Yuzhu saw He Daqing, his heart tightened—his eye sockets were sunken, and he was so thin he was barely recognizable.

"Dad, why have you become so thin?"

He Daqing sighed and pulled a potato, frozen rock-hard, from his bosom: "I've been relying on this one potato a day to get by; it's a miracle from heaven that I'm still alive. It's all my fault; the enemy used artillery to blockade the logistics route. We had supplies, but there was no way to transport them up. I have failed in my duty as the logistics minister!"

He Yuzhu lowered his head, his throat choked: "When I came out this time, it was supposed to be to help you, but in the end... it's all my fault for meddling."

Hearing this, Lao Yang walked over and patted his shoulder hard: "Don't bring up the past anymore. I'm just glad you could contribute to the headquarters! I heard you've even become a Battalion Commander? Not bad!"

He Yuzhu shook his head, "Lao Yang, don't praise me. This time, my command had a major problem... the camp was bombed, and nearly two hundred brothers are just gone."

"Who can get fat in one bite? Even a veteran of the battlefield like me has stumbled quite a few times this time," said Lao Yang.

He Yuzhu looked up and asked: "Where is our division going to rest and reorganize? Are we going back to Si Jiu Cheng?"

Lao Yang pondered: "It's hard to say, we might go to Shenyang to rest."

He Yuzhu stepped closer and lowered his voice: "Division Commander, there is something I would like your help with. I captured five black soldiers; they were willing to surrender and have been helping me train tank crews. However, Secretary Liu told me that it is not allowed to let prisoners of war help us fight. But I promised them that after the war, I would send them to Hong Kong. Do you think you could find a way to get them back to the country?"

Lao Yang frowned, and after a long silence, he spoke: "This matter... I have to ask first. It involves the placement of prisoners of war, and the discipline is very strict. I cannot make any promises."