Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 15 Public Support

"Sell the newspaper, sell the newspaper! The 19th Route Army's death squad has blown up the Japanese ship Izumo!"

"Sell the news! The Izumo was blown up by the 19th Route Army, which scared the Japanese warships so much that they retreated from the Huangpu River overnight!"

"Sell newspapers, sell newspapers, great news..."

In the concession, groups of citizens who were getting up early to go to work excitedly surrounded the newsboys, and used their breakfast money to buy a newspaper.
He will soon be surrounded by several people who cannot even afford to buy a newspaper. They all look expectantly at the citizens who have newspapers in their hands, and everyone's eyes are eager and hungry.

It was the first time that Zhou Guanglin was surrounded by so many people, which made him feel very accomplished. He felt that his breakfast was not wasted. He unfolded the newspaper in his hand and found the news about the 19th Route Army bombing the Japanese warship on the front page. Then he read the content to everyone in a serious manner.

As a teacher at the Concession Church Girls' Middle School, his recitation was very moving and infectious, and the audience was excited.

More and more people gathered around, and then there was wave after wave of cheers. The National Army had been reporting victories in recent days, and many people donated their Mao Zedong notes to the newspaper, but no one felt sorry. Some people even treated the newspapers as heirlooms. There was no more exciting news than beating the Japanese.

"Down with the Japanese invaders!"

"Stop the civil war and unite to resist Japan!"

"Long live the 19th Route Army!"

……

Various anti-Japanese slogans rang out in the concession, and more and more people gathered together to celebrate the victory of Miaoxing and cheer for the brave warriors of the 19th Route Army.

“My fellow countrymen, the clarion call of the war of resistance has been sounded, and the raging flames of battle have spread across the country;
Between the white mountains and black waters, the indomitable volunteers are fighting a life-and-death battle with the Japanese invaders. As long as they are still fighting, the Northeast will not fall!
In Shanghai, the brave soldiers of the 19th Route Army fought a bloody battle with the devils for three days in Miaoxing, defeated the arrogant 9th Division, and wiped out more than 3,000 enemies..."

Duan Yaqin, dressed in a light blue top, black skirt, white gauze socks, round-toed cloth shoes, and short hair, was giving a passionate speech;

The sufferings of the country and the nation made them feel heartbroken. They wished they could drive a chariot and cross the Helan Mountain Pass for their men, but they could only take to the streets to raise funds for the soldiers.

"Fellow countrymen, brothers and sisters, the brothers of the 19th Route Army have been fighting in Shanghai for more than 20 days. They are short of food, medicine and bullets. We cannot let the soldiers go to fight the devils with empty stomachs, and we cannot let the wounded soldiers go without medicine for treatment, so that the heroes will shed tears after bleeding..."

A white-haired old man took out a few heavy silver coins from his pocket. These were the money he had prepared for his own funeral, and he trembled as he put them into the donation box.
Duan Yaqin bowed deeply to the old man, and when she looked up her eyes were filled with tears, because she knew what the money meant to the old man.

A woman wearing a cheongsam, dressed up gorgeously, and smelling of cheap gouache, shyly walked to the donation box and put a few colorful bills in it. This was the hard-earned money she had earned after working all night.
Her attire easily reminded people of some dishonorable industry, so she was a little afraid that those neatly dressed students would think her money was dirty.

Duan Yaqin smiled at her and said thank you sweetly. The cheongsam woman immediately laughed. At this moment, she no longer felt inferior. It is said that business women do not know the hatred of losing their country, but she supported the war of resistance in her own way. In her heart, the country is no lower than others.

A rickshaw driver also stuffed a few copper coins into the donation box. This was his lunch today...

A retired veteran who was missing a leg handed over a dozen warm silver dollars to Duan Yaqin;

"Brother, you have already given enough to this country. We cannot take this."

"Sister, take it! My brothers all died on the battlefield. I'm lucky to be alive. Leave this money for them to fight the Japanese."

Duan Yaqin's eyes blurred. At this moment, she was extremely determined. China would not perish! Three days later, at Miaohang, the third company's position

Second Platoon Leader Duan Yulin excitedly approached Yue Qianli and said to him mysteriously:

"Old Yue, good news! The People's Consolation Group from the rear will come to the Miaohang front to perform. They specifically want to come to the Third Company. They want to see if the warriors who killed the Seventh Regiment have three heads and six arms as the folk rumors say!"

Yue Qianli didn't seem to be interested in such a consolation performance, as this was the front line.

"Old Duan, ask the deputy battalion commander if he can refuse? Let them go to other companies. The Japanese are mobilizing troops. Do they really believe that the Japanese peace talks are for a truce?

They are trying to buy time to send more troops, but we have to focus on repairing fortifications and have no time to deal with them."

"Old Yue, this opportunity is rare. I'll tell you another one. There are many beautiful girls in it."

Duan Yulin continued to seduce Yue Qianli and had long since thrown his sister's happiness to the winds. His purpose was not simple.

"We are at war, don't you think it's unlucky to have a bunch of girls here?

War tells women to stay away and not come and cause trouble for us!
Hurry up and resign to the deputy battalion commander, and have them go to the second company, or the first company is fine too."

Duan Yulin saw that he didn't seem to be joking, so he left unwillingly. This was the order of the company commander and he didn't dare to disobey. Yue Qianli was a black hearted man and would not recognize anyone once he turned against him, even his brother-in-law.

After Yue Qianli sent Duan Yulin away, he continued to stare blankly by himself. His face was as black as charcoal and he was obviously not in a good mood. He didn't look like a man who had just received the sixth-class Baoding medal.

No one knew why the company commander was so angry, only he knew how difficult the battle would be.

After the Japanese invaders sent in two more divisions, the problem of insufficient manpower for the National Army became apparent.

Since the Japanese headquarters took the initiative to propose peace talks, the National Government fell into their trap again. The Japanese were rushing to mobilize troops, while the National Government was hesitant.

By the time they reacted, it was too late to mobilize troops. It was unknown how long it would take for the National Army to mobilize tens of thousands of troops to the front line. At the end of the battle, the National Army withdrew from Shanghai, and their own city could only be occupied by other people's garrisons.

Yue Qianli felt aggrieved when he thought of this, but he was just a small company commander and could not do anything. He had to be cautious, for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. He did not have the capital to be willful now.

Of course, refusing to visit the performance team was not among them. Others were hoping that such a good thing would happen to them.

Unfortunately, his willfulness was useless. The visiting team insisted on coming to the third company. There was no traffic in other companies. The battalion commander glared at them and said:
"Go back and tell Yue Qianli that this is a military order and must be carried out!

Are you feeling so proud just because you received an award?
You must treat him well, otherwise I will put him in solitary confinement!"

Duan Yulin was so frightened that he immediately straightened his body and said loudly:

"Calm down, Commander. The Third Company promises to complete the mission!"

(End of this chapter)