When Company Commander Hu Biao announced the new mission, everyone listened quietly, but they were still shocked.
Just because their mission this time is to hunt down Zhang Xuecheng.
Of course they already knew who Zhang Xuecheng was; he was the young marshal's uncle.
Since the other party has become a traitor and led an army to attack Jinzhou, he is destined to become the enemy of the Northeast Army.
During the three days that Shang Zhen and his men were resting, the fighting was still going on, and Zhang Xuecheng's puppet army had been severely defeated by the Northeast Army.
Shang Zhen didn't know how powerful the Japanese army was, but he had heard that it was very powerful. However, there was no doubt that the Northeast Army would have no problem defeating the puppet army.
What is an army? An army is a tool.
Since there was an order from above, Shang Zhen and his men set out before dawn on the fourth day after their rest. However, Hu Biao's Second Company had suffered heavy casualties, so the battalion commander Zhang Lianjie directly sent it as a vanguard.
They had to set off at this time because the enemy was still attacking Jinzhou City, but this time the puppet troops had been withdrawn and replaced by the Japanese army.
The order Zhang Lianjie received was to cooperate with other troops to kill Zhang Xuecheng no matter what the cost.
In other words, even if the Japanese army captured Jinzhou City, they had to kill Zhang Xuecheng.
It was a dewy time at that moment, and the dew on the tips of the grass quickly wet the military shoes on Shang Zhen and the others' feet.
However, because the Japanese army was besieging the city, in order to avoid being discovered by the Japanese army, no one spoke and just moved forward in silence.
They kept walking like this, and when the sun rose, the world became bright and colorful, and the air became hot again, they had already left Jinzhou City behind.
After they walked for a while, they saw an open area of about four or five hundred meters in front of them. At the end of the open area was a small forest.
"Run forward!" ordered Hu Biao from the forestry department.
Following the order, everyone started running, and when they ran into the woods, Hu Biao gave the order: "Rest where you are and wait for the people behind to come up."
Being a vanguard requires knowledge.
The scouts can not only explore the way ahead, but also prevent the large troops behind from running into the enemy's ambush.
If they could not pass through the open area quickly, and if there were enemies in the woods, they would be ambushed by the enemy.
But when they rushed over, there was no enemy ambush, so they had to wait for the large force behind them.
The scouts and the main force behind them must always be within each other's sight so that they can serve as a warning.
Otherwise, the scouts would be killed silently because they were too far away, and the large group behind them might not know what was going on and might also run into an ambush and be wiped out.
Everyone was breathing heavily, sweat running down their temples.
Just as his breathing had calmed down a bit, Hou Kanshan ran over to Shang Zhen and looked him up and down. After a moment, he said with a "tsk tsk tsk tsk" sound, "Hey, Ma Gan'er, you're as skinny as a stick, and you're carrying two guns on your back. Aren't you too heavy?"
Hou Kanshan was still obsessed with Shang Zhen's trick, but Shang Zhen, who was more aware of the situation, remembered Ma Erhuzi's famous saying: "A monkey looking at a mountain will treat everything it says as a dog's fart!" So he refused to respond.
Seeing that Shang Zhen ignored him, Hou Kanshan looked at him again and suddenly realized, "I was wondering if you didn't mind the weight. So you didn't bring any grenades!"
Shang Zhen still ignored him.
A submachine gun and a rifle together weigh about fifteen or sixteen pounds.
At the same time, they also have to carry bullets and a water bottle, which together weigh more than 20 kilograms. A grenade weighs about one kilogram, and two grenades weigh two kilograms. If they bring four or five days of rations, it will be close to 30 kilograms.
For long-distance marches, carrying an extra pound is a burden, but you have to carry it.
Shang Zhen brought two guns, so doesn't that mean he has an extra burden?
Of course, compared with ordinary soldiers, Shang Zhen carried fewer things. After all, he now looked like a bamboo pole and his load-bearing capacity was really limited.
He knew that if he fought hand-to-hand combat with the enemy with his current physique, the enemy would probably break him with just a few kicks!
So, he was counting on using this flower machine to protect himself, so how could he possibly let Hou watch the mountain?
"Let me see what this is?" Seeing that Shang Zhen ignored him, Hou Kanshan reached out to poke a bulging bag on Shang Zhen's back.
Shang Zhen finally became unhappy, but before he could say anything, Li Fushun said one more word beside him: "Get lost!"
"Okay, you!" Then Hou Kanshan rolled to the side again.
Now there are only about forty people left in their entire company. Everyone knows what Hou Kanshan is like in normal times, so some look down on him while others smile.
At this moment, one of them sighed deeply and said, "The mountains and rivers remain the same!"
Everyone was slightly stunned when that person spoke.
The person who spoke was Chen Hanwen, the clerk in their company.
In terms of physique, Shang Zhen is definitely the last in Hu Biao's company, and Chen Hanwen is the second to last.
A clerk is the scholar in the company.
Chen Hanwen is only in his early twenties and is still a pretty boy with a fair complexion.
He had only been in the army for two years. He had a relative who was a brigade commander in the Northeast Army. He received two years of training at the Northeast Military Academy and was assigned to Hu Biao's company after he was released.
Chen Hanwen usually helps Captain Hu Biao with some logistical and statistical work in the team, and then helps illiterate soldiers write letters home.
People like him certainly have a very literary temperament, and their speech is naturally elegant.
What does the phrase "mountains and rivers remain the same" mean? Even people who can't read can understand it, but are the mountains and rivers really the same?
Hu Biao and his company arrived in Jinzhou after breaking out of Beidaying. They had only heard about what the Japanese army did but had not seen it with their own eyes.
But even if the grass and trees are still there, and the mountains and rivers are still there, what about the bloody battle they had with the puppet troops in the woods two days ago? So many broken limbs, so many new graves.
"Don't waste your breath!" Company commander Hu Biao, who was leaning against a tree, was unhappy.
Upon hearing what Hu Biao said, Chen Hanwen blushed and shut his mouth. He was just feeling sentimental, and he hadn't said the next sentence yet!
But Sui Zeng thought that he had stretched out the tone too long, and as a result, he didn't have the chance to say the next sentence.
"Company commander, a large force is coming up from behind." At this time, a platoon leader reminded from the side.
Hu Biao stood up, but just as he was about to give the order to move forward, they suddenly heard gunshots.
The gunshots were not far from them, but to their east, and their view was blocked by the woods.
"Where did the gunshot come from?" Hu Biao asked.
"Report to Captain Hu, there should be a small village called Qijiazi over there." A soldier next to Hu Biao replied hurriedly.
The soldier's name was Wu Saner.
Wu Saner was familiar with the terrain around Jinzhou, and was assigned by Battalion Commander Zhang Lianjie to serve as their guide.
Hu Biao said, "A few of you come with me, and the rest of you stay here and wait," and ran to the east.
But just as they started to move, a platoon leader who was watching from the front suddenly whispered, "A large group of Japanese troops are coming!"