When the shelling began, Liu Zheliang and they also began to retreat. From beginning to end, Liu Zheliang's troops faced the Yamada Division, which had lost face in the attack and defense of Xiaogushan. Yamada Joji was in a hurry to be the first to capture the fortress of Cotton Fune Island on the north coast, so the offensive of the 112th Division was stronger than wave. Under such a strong attack by the Japanese army, Liu Zheliang's troops and the 304th Regiment led by Xu Feng suffered heavy losses. By the time they received He Zheng's order to surrender and began to retreat, the two groups of men and horses together were only about 250 people left.

The battle on Cotton Boat Island has entered the next stage, and in the first stage, the survivors of the four regiments of the Cadet Corps are only about 700 people, less than one regiment.

The losses of the Cadet Army were not heavy, and the shells belonging to their own side rang out, and many Cadets who realized that their battle was finally coming to an end lay on the ground, looking at the land that had begun to burn now, and the sound of guns and fighting not long ago sounded in the ground, and tears were left in their eyes.

Too many comrades-in-arms have fallen, their blood has almost stained the land, and there are many brothers who can wear the same pants themselves, how can it not be sad.

"Traveler!" A student soldier crawled close to Liu Zheliang and handed over the two crumpled cigarettes in his hand.

Until now, cigarettes have become the most scarce item, even rarer than bullets. Liu Zheliang has been on the front line all the time when he has commanded the battle, and on several occasions, he has even ventured to appear in the most critical situation, which naturally won the heartfelt support of his subordinates.

Liu Zheliang didn't know how to say that these two cigarettes were specially left to him by a student soldier he had saved. The cadet eventually went, but the last bullet hit him in the heart, making it impossible for his wounded body, which had been suffering so much, to hold on any longer. Before closing his eyes, he took out the almost flattened cigarette case from his close-fitting shirt pocket, handed it to one of his brothers beside him, and said in a faint voice: "Here, give it to the brigade." ”

"It was left by Zhang Tianfeng," the student soldier said with his eyelashes lowered to Liu Zheliang's gaze.

Liu Zheliang stretched out his hand and trembled: "Zhang Tianfeng, go?" ”

"Yes."

"Mourn, now, if he could hear it, he would smile with relief. Our efforts were not in vain, now, our cannons are roaring, and the period of the destruction of the little devil is not far away," Xu Feng on the side said, patting Liu Zheliang's left shoulder vigorously.

The shells whistled one after another, smashing towards the Japanese positions in the distance, one after another fireballs rose, and at the top of some fireballs, one or two yellow-colored figures would appear dancing. After two hours of arrogance, the Japanese finally got a taste of what they had given the Cadet Army. In the rumbling explosion, many devils clung to the ground, and their faces suddenly became confused - didn't the officer say that our troops were absolutely superior, and the enemy's artillery had been destroyed? So, where does this rumbling cannon come from? Could it be that the people of China came to reinforcements?!

When the sound of shells breaking through the air began to tear people's hearing, Okamura Ninji, who had just crossed the river, was pulled into a makeshift bunker by two adjutants beside him.

Although the battle on Cotton Boat Island was not yet clear, Okamura Ninji resolutely fulfilled his promise and set foot on Cotton Boat Island on time at five o'clock. The first thing that caught his eye was a group of heavy soldiers burning their bodies in front of a large pit. The strong smell of corpses reached the tip of his nose, and his face changed several colors, and finally he walked to the big pit, took off his military hat, bowed solemnly, and then gave a military salute.

Later, accompanied by Munetake Yamamuro and others, he inspected the first line of defense of the Cadet Corps, which was closest to the landing position. On the battlefield, there are not many corpses left of the Japanese soldiers, but the students lying in various postures are all over the ground. Seeing a soldier with half of his ear in his mouth, his face covered in blood, and his abdominal cavity had been punctured, his pink intestines were lying on the ground, his hands and wrists had been cut off, and his left leg was also bloody—he only felt his eyelids jump and his mouth dry. Gangmura had been on the battlefield, and as soon as he saw the posture of this cadet, such a picture immediately appeared in his mind: a figure in camouflage clothing suddenly jumped out from under the ground, and then, an earthy yellow figure was stopped and embraced. The camouflage-colored figure suddenly opened its bloody mouth, and the next moment, the earthy yellow figure let out a miserable scream, and then, he drew his bayonet and stabbed the other party frantically......

This picture is so bloody that even if it is Gangcun, who is as hard as iron, he can't help but be shocked to the point that his whole body trembles, he stumbles under his feet, and almost collapses.

"Your Excellency!" Yamamuro hurriedly stepped forward to support him, "You're okay, are you?" Isn't it too hard? ”

Gangmura Ningji pushed away his support, he pointed with his right hand to the circle of students lying on the ground, and asked astringently, "These are our enemies?!" ”

Yamamuro Sotake didn't know what he wanted to express, his mouth opened, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

"If all the soldiers in China are this kind of soldiers, we can't win this battle!" Gangcun said, his tone was desolate, and he was like two people when he was on the north shore. Suddenly, his tone became fierce again: "This is the best army in China, which means that as long as they are defeated, from now on, there will be no more troops in China that can resist the iron hooves of the imperial army." Yamamuro-kun! ”

"Your Excellency!"

"Do you have any confidence in capturing Cotton Boat Island before two o'clock in the afternoon?"

"Hay!"

Yamamuro's tone was obviously lacking in self-confidence, which made Gangmura very dissatisfied, he turned to look at him, and said solemnly: "Remember, the empire has the best army in the world, and when the empire began to implement the active military system, the people of China were still dragging long braids and fighting with swords and guns, so we have no reason to defeat them!" Do you understand? ”

"Hay!"

"Go, take the warriors of His Majesty the Emperor and create brilliance! We are facing the strongest troops in China, defeat them, and prove to those guys in the West that our army of the Great Japanese Empire is the strongest in East Asia! ”

Yamamuro himself led the men up, and only ten minutes later, the artillery bombardment of the Cadet Army came.

Nearly sixty guns fired in a salvo, and the density of artillery fire was only modest. However, because the Japanese troops were massing on the river beach one after another, this was not a thick artillery fire, but it caused great casualties.

Groups of devils were blown away, and where the fire exploded, flesh and blood flew everywhere - Okamura Ningji stayed in a relatively safe bunker, looking at the tragic scene where the artillery fire was flying, and the little ambition he had just built up was once again dealt a heavy blow.

"This battle, whether it is won or lost, must go down in history, right?" He suddenly had such a thought, and his mouth was full of bitterness.