No matter how the officers and soldiers of the 9th Army cursed in their hearts, the order for a truce was officially issued. On the morning of the 16th, the Japanese concession in Shanghai was completely silent. The Japanese warships anchored on the Huangpu River did not continue to shell Zhabei, and the artillery of the Kuomintang did not continue to shell the various Japanese strongholds. Only the outpost positions of both sides occasionally exchanged sporadic fire.

Taking advantage of the truce between the two sides, the last group of Chinese people stranded in the Japanese concession began to flee one after another.

The various divisions of the National Army also took advantage of this slight to start cleaning up the bodies of the fallen soldiers. Before the war was fierce, the bodies of the fallen soldiers were scattered on the front line. Before they could clean up, they finally had time.

The Japanese army also sent people to negotiate with the National Army to redeem the bodies of the fallen officers and soldiers.

Xu Shijiu led a team of soldiers and rented several trucks through personal connections, and also came to the Honghe Road Bridge position to clean up the bodies of the dead brothers.

On Broadway Road, Xihuade Road was silent, with only collapsed houses and rubble everywhere still indicating the tragic tragedy of yesterday's war. Xu Shijiu lit a cigarette, smoked silently, while watching his brothers carry the incomplete bodies onto the truck. As he looked, two lines of clear tears came down.

In the battle yesterday, the 19th Brigade killed nearly 500 people at the Honghe Road and Bridge position. You should know that the entire 19th Brigade had only more than 600 people, but 500 people were killed here at once. Since the war began, Xu Shijiu became a ruthless war machine in front of the people, but no one knew that it was just his appearance.

War and killing do distort human nature, but no matter how twisted the scriptures, they are still human nature.

According to Western standards, if more than one-third of the casualties are damaged, they should retreat to the rear for rest. If more than two-thirds of the casualties are completely lost, and they should consider revoking the number or reorganization. However, this standard is obviously not suitable for the East. In the East, there has never been a saying that they have been damaged or lost their combat effectiveness.

In the East, whether it is the Japanese army, the National Army, the Communist army, or later the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the People's Volunteer Army, another standard applies. This standard is that people are in positions. As long as there is still one soldier left in a unit, as long as there is still one breath left, the battle will never stop!

On the battlefield of Shanghai, the divisions of the National Army often had a few soldiers fighting left in the entire battalion and regiment, but were still fighting on the front line. The Japanese divisions, especially the first 3rd Division and the 11th Division, which landed in Shanghai, often had almost all casualties but still did not withdraw from the battle.

This is the difference in standards caused by cultural differences. It can be put aside which one is better or worse. However, when it comes to the question of human nature, the Eastern standard is obviously much crueler than the Western standard. Especially the head of the Eastern army, who still gritted his teeth and held on to death in the face of the casualties of the entire battalion and regiment. The torture he suffered in his heart is by no means something that can be described by writing.

Xu Shijiu is now suffering from such a spiritual torture. Nearly five hundred brothers and nearly five hundred live young lives, Xu Shijiu can even recall their appearance. Now, they have turned into cold corpses and even broken limbs, lying on the same cold truck.

What made Xu Shijiu suffer was that he personally sent these brothers to the battlefield.

Tang Ying, a Shanghai celebrity who is known as the Southern Tang and Northern Lu, once said to Xu Shijiu resentfully after getting drunk that his heart is made of iron, and no matter how tender he is, it is difficult to melt it no matter how hot the fire of love is. In fact, she doesn't understand at all. A real soldier is just the appearance, but their hearts are actually equally soft.

Under the ruins, a young and handsome Kuomintang officer was crying silently at the body of his comrades all over the ground. This scene was undoubtedly quite touching, especially the gun on the officer's body formed a sharp contrast with the tears on his face. The two completely conflicting emotions, iron blood and tenderness, were perfectly integrated at this moment.

Ye Ruxue, who came to the Fire Line for an interview with several colleagues, saw this scene.

Ye Ruxue felt like her heart was pulled hard by something. She couldn't help but have two poems that were circulating wildly in Shanghai recently. Why do I always have tears in my eyes? Because I love this land deeply, is the officer of the Security Corps in front of me crying for the land he guards?

"Click, crack." The sound of the camera shutter suddenly sounded not far away. Xu Shijiu quickly turned around and wiped away the tears from his cheeks without any trace.

Several reporters carrying cameras came up, and one of them asked: "Sir, are you the commander of the Honghe Road and Bridge position?"

"No." Xu Shijiu pointed to Yang Furui's command center diagonally opposite and said, "Where are the people you are looking for."

"Thank you, sir." Several male reporters said thank you and walked along the way with cameras. A beautiful female reporter did not leave, but just stared at the tears remaining on Xu Shijiu's cheeks.

Xu Shijiu pointed to Yang Furui's command again and said, "You should go there."

"No, you can deceive them but you can't deceive me." The female reporter shook her head and whispered, "The people who died here are all soldiers from the Security Corps, not the Central Army."

Xu Shijiu threw down the cigarette butt, turned around and left.

The female reporter followed and asked, "Can I know your name?"

"Soldier." Xu Shijiu stopped and turned around and replied, "My name is Chinese soldier."

"I know you are a soldier." The female reporter stamped her feet and said coquettishly, "What I want to ask is your honorary name."

"My surname is China, my name is Guo, my name is Junren, and my name is Junren." Xu Shijiu replied very seriously, and then left without looking back.

This time the female reporter did not follow again because she had already seen that Xu Shijiu was unwilling to accept the interview at all. She shouted at Xu Shijiu's back: "My name is Ye Ruxue, and I am a war correspondent of the Mile Review. We will meet again in the future. Please accept my exclusive interview at that time, okay?"

Xu Shijiu did not look back and said calmly: "I don't think we will meet again in the future."

"Why?" Ye Ruxue was stunned when she heard this, and suddenly couldn't understand what Xu Shijiu meant.

"Because I had already died in battle by then, and the soldiers in the troubled times... have no future." Xu Shijiu turned around and smiled faintly at the female reporter, then bent down and got into the co-pilot of the truck.

The car door was closed, the engine started, and it quickly drove away amid the low roar, leaving only the female reporter named Ye Ruxue standing in dismay.

#############

Xu Shijiu pulled more than 500 brothers who died in battle to the western suburbs of Shanghai. Due to the tight time, it was too late to repair the tombs for each brother. Moreover, the bodies of many officers and soldiers were incomplete. It was impossible to sort them out one by one. As a last resort, Xu Shijiu had to order a big hole to bury all the bodies together.

It was already evening when I returned to the station after burying the body.

It was almost dark, but the playground at the resident was filled with people. Dozens of young students were gathering under the flag-raising platform, listening to a young student standing on the flag-raising platform giving a passionate speech. This young student was nothing but the student soldier who crawled out of the dead people in Nanyuan - Shu Tongwen.

Xu Shijiu's brows frowned in an instant. Why hasn't this kid left yet?

Shu Tongwen on the flag-raising platform did not notice Xu Shijiu's arrival, and his fists were clenched and still shouting at the top of his lungs: "A chief once told me that our students are the future of the country, the nation is the hope. Our task is to study hard, and to build the country well when the War of Resistance Against Japan is victorious in the future and build China into a strong country.

The chief also said that it is the responsibility of their soldiers to fight and defend their country.

But what I want to say is that soldiers are not born as soldiers. They are also evolved from students, workers, and peasant brothers. The students of the Central Military Academy are also students. Why can we not join the army? Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world, and we also have the right to defend our country!"

Dozens of students under the flag-raising stage shouted, and their childish faces were full of passionate expressions of sharing the country's worries and dying for thirst. Most of the young people are like this. Their worldview is simple and pure, they are optimistic and radical, they despise all sufferings and difficulties, and they believe that they can overcome everything!

Xu Shijiu firmly opposed sending students to the battlefield, and he believed that this was a crime.

"Scar!" Xu Shijiu shouted with a blue face, "Get out of here!"

The students' shouts stopped abruptly, and everyone turned their heads and looked over. Shu Tongwen also jumped off the flag-raising platform and greeted Xu Shijiu fearlessly. However, Scar's figure had already rolled in front of him and rushed to Xu Shijiu, and then held the German steel helmet on his head, responding loudly: "Yes!"

Xu Shijiu pointed at Shu Tongwen and the group of students and shouted, "Who asked you to put them in?"

"This..." Scar's face collapsed, and he wanted to explain but didn't know where to start.

Xu Shijiu groaned and was about to order the students to be bombarded out of the base, a gentle voice suddenly sounded behind him: "Ajiu, I left them to help."

"Jiaxi?" Xu Shijiu turned around in shock, and Yu Jiaxi was already standing behind him.

Yu Jiaxi was wearing a white uniform, a mask on her face, and rubber gloves on her hands. The gloves were even stained with blood. It seemed that she had just come out of the operating room. Xu Shijiu realized that the row of bungalows on the west side of the playground, which was originally used as classrooms had been converted into a battlefield hospital, and the red cross mark attached to the door was particularly eye-catching.

Scar then interjected: "Captain, this is a battlefield ambulance station just established by Zhongshan Hospital."

Yu Jiaxi said softly: "Ajiu, our hospital is short of staff, and these students volunteer to help, so I took the initiative to keep them. This will not cause trouble for you, right?"

Xu Shijiu frowned and said, "How did your hospital set up an ambulance station here? It's too dangerous."

Yu Jiaxi said softly: "When it comes to danger, isn't it even more dangerous for you to stick to the front line?"

"This is different." Xu Shijiu said anxiously, "As soldiers, we should stick to the front line."

"Actually the same." Yu Jiaxi replied, "Ajiu, we should all do our part for our country."

Shu Tongwen also clenched his fists and took the opportunity to intervene: "Captain, the country, the country, and then the country has a family. If even the country is destroyed, where can we still have a family? What books do we still study and what home to build? Should we learn from Baoyi Aha of the Qing Dynasty and be slaves to the Japanese who invade our home?"

Before he finished speaking, the dozens of students also started to yell.

"I don't care about Han Xingquan, I recommend Xuanyuan with my blood!"

"I dare not forget my country's worries when I am low, but I still want to repay my country with a low family and a country!"

"Mr. Gu Yanwu said that every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world!"
Chapter completed!