Time passed little by little, and the sky grew brighter.

The mountains are already foggy, especially in this late spring and early summer, when the red sun that has jumped over the top of the mountain is blocked by a faint mist, emitting a faint light, which is not dazzling at all.

Whether it was the soldiers standing straight or the people waiting quietly on the side of the road, they all stood quietly, looking at the other side of the mountain road, looking forward to the return of the soldiers who went out on the expedition.

"It's coming, it's coming." The people standing at the corner of the mountain road shouted loudly.

The family members couldn't help but get agitated.

A few moments later, a group of soldiers slowly approached from the other side of the mountain in a neat queue along the mountain road.

The line was very long, lined up for hundreds of meters, and two people walked over slowly.

But the people who were standing on the side of the road and were about to beat the gongs and drums to welcome the return of the soldiers were stunned, what kind of soldiers was that!

Some of them were on crutches, some had empty sleeves, some were bandaged in their eyes, their hands were tightly held by the soldiers around them, and a few were even carried on stretchers by two soldiers. But whoever they were, they all had the same feature, and on their chests, a box wrapped in white linen was hung, clinging to their chests, and they were holding them with one hand.

They were wounded soldiers of the Independent Regiment, and they could have returned to the Independent Regiment in the carriage, but they collectively got off the carriage five miles away and stood in silent formation, just because they wanted to take their brothers home with the dignity of soldiers. Those brothers who were lying in the small box had marched out of the garrison and into the battlefield in this way a few months ago, so to send them back, they should also walk back with their heads held high.

And the reason why they want to be at the top is because all the officers and soldiers of the independent regiment unanimously believe that they are the ones who most deserve the glory of being ranked first. No matter what kind of unit it is, the one that ranks first is the most heroic one.

The audience was silent, just like that, watching more than a thousand wounded soldiers slowly walking towards the gate of the base with more than a thousand coffins in their hands. Everyone's hearts suddenly tightened at that moment.

Although it was already known that the Independent Regiment had suffered heavy casualties, with 1,300 killed and hundreds seriously wounded, when they saw the scene in front of them, the hard faces of the 500 officers and soldiers standing on both sides were all covered with tears, their comrades-in-arms! It's back.

"Everyone, salute." Liang Wenzhong, who was standing beside Liu Lang, was heartbroken and ordered with a heavy cry.

The soldiers on both sides of the road raised their right arms in unison.

The family members, who were already restless in the back, could no longer control their excitement and ran over one after another, trying to find their relatives in the queue, although they already knew that the independent regiment had suffered heavy casualties, and the casualty rate of the recruits who joined the army last year was as high as 70 percent, but after all, they still had a trace of luck.

But most of them were disappointed after all, and most of the wounded soldiers who walked slowly did not know them, except for less than a hundred wounded soldiers who were recognized, the rest did not find their relatives.

Listening to their relatives calling their names, many wounded soldiers also began to cry, but they did not move, did not even glance in the direction of their relatives, and still lined up in a neat queue, following the large army, slowly walking towards the base.

They were still on duty until the order to escort their brother home was handed over.

A hundred meters behind the ranks of wounded soldiers was the infantry battalion of the Independent Regiment, from the first battalion to the third battalion, and then the artillery company, the engineer platoon, the field hospital, the baggage company, and the regimental guard platoon escorted hundreds of carts to the end.

Like the wounded soldiers, all the soldiers marched towards the base in a neat formation with firm steps, and they were still on their way to their mission without the orders of the regimental commander.

The people, who had not found any trace of their relatives and had already learned of the sacrifice of their relatives, finally despaired, took out the fire paper and incense candles they carried with them, and wept silently on the side of the road to pay tribute.

The sparkling fires illuminate the way home for the heroes.

Yes, the people who came from all over to celebrate the return of the army did not know, but the people at the base of the independent regiment knew that the regiment commander Liu Lang had already issued a military order, and the return of the army from this trip would first be a public sacrifice for the heroes, and then celebrate the victory.

As soon as the success is completed, Liu Lang is to let everyone understand that the deceased heroes will always be on top of the so-called success, they will not be forgotten, they will be remembered forever, and they will do their best to fulfill the glory that a hero deserves.

If a nation chooses to forget, it will eventually be eliminated by this great era in which all ethnic groups are competing for the current, and the Chinese nation will never be that one.

The wounded battalion slowly walked to a distance of ten meters from Liu Lang, who was standing upright, and stopped.

The leader of the wounded barracks was Ji Yanxue, who strode forward two steps, and Ji Yanxue saluted Liu Lang with a standard military salute: "Report to the chief, the wounded barracks escorted the return of the sacrificed comrades, and asked to enter the base." ”

"Exactly." Liu Lang returned the military salute and said in a deep voice.

"Gun fire, salute the brothers who have returned from the expedition." Liang Wenzhong ordered in a loud voice again.

Two columns of soldiers standing on the side of the road raised their guns at the same time and fired into the sky.

The silence of the green mountains was completely broken by the sound of gunshots, but the heavy smell of gunpowder smoke that lingered on everyone's noses made people feel even more tragic. They walked out of the smoke and returned in the smoke.

He kept emptying the five bullets that he had been filled with by Hanyang, and then put the gun back on his back, and then escorted the wounded soldiers who were ordered to enter the base and walked inside.

Subsequently, a group of soldiers stopped in front of Liu Lang, led the captain to come forward to salute and report, Liu Lang returned the salute one by one, and then entered one by one.

The last baggage team stretched for nearly ten miles, not only more than 700 carts before Liu Lang left, but also nearly 200 more cars and more than 2,000 ordinary people.

It turned out that some of these people were the families of the wounded soldiers, and a considerable number of wounded soldiers who were unwilling to go home simply took their parents, wives and children over. There are also some independent regiments when passing through Tongguan, the relatives of the 500 recruits who joined the army in Tongguan have been waiting for the independent regiment for many days under the organization of the Gou family, because they heard that their relatives will be buried in the cemetery of the martyrs of the independent regiment, so the Gou family organized, and the families of the fallen soldiers each sent one or two people to follow the independent regiment back to the base to watch the ceremony, and they also had to watch their relatives fall to the ground.

In addition, the people who came from all directions to welcome the return of the army suddenly increased by tens of thousands, and although Liang Wenzhong, who was in charge of the independent regiment who stayed behind, was prepared, he still made a mess.

Although the people were not allowed to enter the base, the visitors were guests, and of course Liu Lang could not ignore them.

Fortunately, the county magistrate Wang and the garrison commander Zhan Chengfang of the Guangyuan County Government are both clever people, and they had already prepared a large number of labor and military supplies a few days ago, and brought dozens of cooks and a garrison battalion of more than 300 people to help, and they were all used at this time.

Directly outside the base of the Independent Regiment, a mountain col one kilometer away from the martyr's cemetery selected by Liu Lang, pigs and sheep were slaughtered, and flowing water mats were started.

But inside the base of the independent regiment, there was laughter and crying. The family members who finally found their relatives hugged and laughed with the soldiers, laughing and laughing but crying. Because, around them, more people are holding a small urn with their names written on it and crying.

Liu Lang stood with his hands in his hands and silently watched the scene in the square.

Laughter is the right of the victor, but as everyone knows, behind laughter, there is also grief. Without sacrifice, there is no victory, and Liu Lang has never experienced this so deeply.

Laura, raised the camera, pointed the lens at Liu Lang's standing straight back, in the lens, there was also a gray-haired old lady, with her face on an urn, not crying bitterly, only tears rolled down her old cheeks silently, rolling down the cold small box. But through the lens, anyone can feel the grief of the old man deep into the bone marrow, which is from the grief of a mother who lost her son.

This is war, everyone only sees the heroism of the heroes and the celebration after the victory, but few people think that behind every hero, there is a mother whose heart has been crushed.