Chapter 50: Premonitions
According to Tang Cheng's arrangement, he got up early and continued to go north, and at first it was very smooth, and there were no accidents when he encountered the Japanese army. However, the weather was very bad today, and it suddenly began to rain non-stop at noon, and the rain was getting heavier and heavier. The rainwater collected from the jungle flowed into the low-lying areas, forming small pools and mud puddles, which also caused a lot of trouble for Tang Cheng and their journey.
They and the more than 100 veterans in Tangcheng were all people who had crossed the jungle, and when they fled from northern Burma to Shanglido, they could not remember how many times they had experienced such weather. Everyone just wrapped up their raincoats tightly and continued to march silently, as long as they were left alone in the jungle of Savage Mountain, it meant death. Compared to the indifference between them and the veterans in Tang City, those guys who have replenished in Ledo are not so optimistic, and if you are not careful, the rain that runs down the branches and leaves of the trees will flow in through the gaps in your raincoat until it wets every inch of your body. The body was wet and greasy, there was no dry place on the body, and they had to march with heavy backpacks on their backs, and many of the reinforcements couldn't stand it, and they saw that they were already walking slower and slower.
The dice were carrying the rifle backwards, looking at these guys with low eyes and low hands with disdain, when they were in Lieduo, they all hated to strangle the little devil with their bare hands, why did they just go into the jungle and be a chicken, and they were not as good as Liu Shi's endurance. "Sir, these reinforcements are no longer working, what should we do? Do you want to stop and take shelter from the rain? The dice were disdainful, but they still found Tang Cheng. If these people all fall ill, it will not only drag everyone down, but also affect their combat effectiveness.
"No, this rain is estimated to be unstoppable today, keep walking. It's good weather if you don't meet the ghost soldiers, but now you don't walk a little more, what should you do if you meet the ghost soldiers? Hou San knew that stopping to rest in this kind of rain was simply committing suicide. But the jungle was wet everywhere, and there was not even firewood to light it, so it was better to continue walking. In such weather, the Japanese army would also take shelter from the rain, and if they did not take the opportunity to continue northward, wouldn't it be a waste of a good opportunity.
Tang Cheng didn't speak, just stopped and looked back at the team behind him, the veterans didn't say anything, just struggled to continue walking in the muddy water. But the reinforcements that the dice said are almost scattered, and it seems that if they continue to advance, these reinforcements will not be able to hold on. "Forget it, let's find a place to stop and let everyone rest first, if we really get sick in the rain, we will still suffer." Seeing this, Tang Cheng could only order to stop and rest for a while before returning to the road.
It seems that Tang Cheng's helplessness touched God, and the original pouring like rain gradually became smaller, from a scoop to just dripping and pulling. The rain had almost stopped, but Tang Cheng had encountered new troubles, and fog began to rise in the jungle. Without waiting for Tang Cheng to issue an order to gather the team, Wu Shan, who was in charge of the leading search, and Tan Fei, who was in charge of the rear team, rushed over early. The fog in the jungle can be big or small, sometimes people who are 2 or 3 meters away from each other can't see each other clearly, and the only way in Tang City is to gather the soldiers together, otherwise there will be a possibility of people getting lost.
"Camp in place and rest" Hou San finally gave the order to camp according to Tang Cheng's order, and the veterans began to get busy. Dice and rock dragons are leading people to cut tree trunks, and they have to dig out the dry cores of the trees to prepare for the bonfire. Wu Shan, who is familiar with the mountains and forests, led people to find a few towering ancient trees, and picked up the thick fallen leaves under the trees with sapper shovels. The military doctor took two military doctors, holding homemade herbs scattered in and around the camp, this is the herb that can ward off poisonous insects, in the jungle, poisonous insects will attack you at any time, if you are not careful, your life will be confessed here.
In the dense forests of Savage Mountain, there are countless poisonous snakes and beasts, but compared with those snakes, insects, and locusts, the threat of jackals, tigers and leopards to humans can be said to be small. The powder prepared by the military doctor is an improved medicine after Wu Shan's guidance, and as long as this powder is sprinkled around the camp, it can emit a smell that is very annoying to snakes, insects and locusts, and then protect the safety of the people in the camp.
The woods were wet from the rain and thick fog, and the dead branches they picked up were all wet, and the smoke from the wet branches was very large, but in the fog, it was not very conspicuous, and they didn't have to worry about being discovered by the Japanese troops who might be there. The bonfire has been lit, and the chopped wet branches are set up above the fire to roast, and as long as the water vapor is dry, these are the dry firewood that can be added. Take a break for a while. The well-fed guys wrapped up their military uniforms and sat around the campfire dozing. Since entering the forest, everyone has not had a good rest, the jungle where the Japanese army is hiding is full of dangers, no one wants to lose their lives in a daze, and they even sleep in shifts.
The dense mist didn't seem to be causing any trouble for everyone, as everyone was already stuffed around the campfire, already stuffed with a belly full of canned meat and biscuits. Except for a few guard posts, all of them were napping with their guns, and the old cannon was even snoring and sleeping soundly.
Tang Cheng did not rest, after changing the military uniform that Liu Shishi had led people to bake over a bonfire, Tang Cheng personally followed the dice and a group of scouts to continue to search forward. All of them, including Tang Cheng himself, had been tortured enough by the vast jungle, and they all wanted to get out of the jungle as soon as possible, and Tang Cheng was ready to take advantage of the opportunity for the troops to stop and rest, and search the front first, so as to avoid possible Japanese troops.
After flowing through two streams formed by the convergence of rain, Tang Cheng and his party touched a sparsely wooded slope, lying on the damp rotten leaves, Tang Cheng raised his hand and gestured to the dice on his right. The dice knowingly led the scouts to disperse and approach, and the sound of rope was already heard in the grass on the opposite hollow, Tang Cheng quietly leveled the carbine, and held his breath to look at the place where the grass on the opposite side was ringing, waiting for the appearance of the Japanese army.
The scouts, who had fanned out, walked forward until they had faintly surrounded the hollow, and the dice that had been staying in front of them got up and moved forward quickly. Perhaps sensing the threat posed by the dice, the grass that Tang Cheng pointed at with a gun finally moved, but it was not the Japanese army that appeared in Tang Cheng's sight, but two wild boars that didn't look very big. Tang Cheng, who was a little crying and laughing, gave up his plan to capture the two wild boars, and then ordered to continue the search, but the dice always adhered to the principle that the thief did not go empty, and directly asked the two natives under Wu Shan to shoot the wild boar with arrows, saying that they were waiting to bring it back and bake it into jerky when they returned.
After searching 2 open areas and 1 hill in a row, they never found the Japanese army hiding in Tangcheng, which made Tangcheng, who had been cautious, very excited, if the Japanese army was not seen on the road ahead, then they might have returned to Ledo alive. By the time they had returned, the pace of their march had increased significantly, and the two wild boars that had been shot by the dice had become the center of the conversation, and the exhausted scouts were now just thinking about waiting for their return to be able to report a meal of roast pork, and then sit around the campfire and take a good nap.
"Rabbits, there are rabbits." A scout, who had walked crookedly, suddenly shouted in a low voice, and the group looked in the direction of his finger, two gray-backed hares gnawing on the young leaves of the bushes not far from them. There is not too much meat, there will be people there who will eat too much meat in their stomachs, especially the dice that have been lacking fresh meat for a long time, and they are even more staring at the two hares who do not know the danger after all. I don't know who took the first step, the scouts huraled and pounced towards the hare, Tang Cheng didn't stop it, anyway, there were no Japanese troops around here.
Where can the hare in the jungle be so easy to catch, the scouts are tired and out of breath, but they haven't even touched the rabbit fur, Wu Shan's natives want to shoot arrows, but they have to be careful not to shoot their own people around the rabbits. The people chased the rabbit and fled, chased and caught, and the two scouts who still had bodies chased the rabbit up a slope. Turning over the slope, the two scouts suddenly lost sight of the two hares, and a large open field with half-human tall weeds appeared in front of them.
Where they stood was a slope, and on the other side of the slope was an open field full of weeds, and some wild flowers grew in the green grass. The two scouts, who were wet with fog, were already exhausted, and they still had the leisure to look at the wild flowers, and now they only had the two hares trying to escape. "Stop chasing, I don't think something is right." The scout who was slightly in front suddenly stretched out his hand to grab his companion, and slowly squatted down, seeing that the two scouts who were originally chasing rabbits suddenly squatted down on the slope, Tang Cheng, who knew that something was wrong, waved his hand, and the dice that also changed their faces quickly scattered and ran towards the slope with their scouts. The scout, who had already squatted down the slope, suddenly stopped and raised one hand in the air, his eyes fixed on the bush at the bottom of the slope, which he seemed to have seen move. The dice and the others immediately lay down according to the scout's gestures, and slowly crawled up the slope, the half-human-high grass on the slope provided a good hiding for everyone, and they couldn't find the dice without careful observation.
"Something is wrong, why do I smell the little devils." The scout who was the first to crouch pointed out the bush he suspected of to the dice, but the dice looked at it with a telescope for a long time, but they never found anything unusual. When Tang Cheng also touched the slope, the dice pointed out the bush to Tang Cheng again, and the latter didn't notice anything unusual with the telescope.