Songhu: Never Give Up

Chapter 38 Training (2) (Please read, collect, vote, and recommend)
The afternoon training was earthwork. The battalion headquarters issued a standard that the entire company had to dig three horizontal and four vertical standard fortifications in one afternoon.

There should be an anti-artillery hole on both sides of the longitudinal communication trench, covered with three layers of wet wood and soil, one layer of wood and one layer of soil, with some branches between the soil and wood as a buffer.

Every officer and soldier in the company is equipped with an engineering shovel. These are special engineering shovels that Yue Qianli brought back from the Americans. They are usually used to dig fortifications, and can also be used to fight the Japanese with bayonets during war. One shovel can shovel off half of the enemy's head. They are made of fine steel and are much more convenient to use than the standard iron shovels of the Kuomintang army.

Liao Jianping was very satisfied with the engineer shovel that the battalion commander brought back. He tried it out himself and saw that the effect was good. Then he shouted:
"Be quicker, did you guys eat the braised pork for nothing?"

"Captain, two pieces per person, they can't even fill the gaps between my teeth. My stomach is growling again now."

Liao Jianping saw that it was the troublemaker Yang Shiyuan again, and he laughed and scolded:

"You're the only one who can eat. Don't think I didn't see that you ate all the leftover soup at the bottom of the bucket with your rice.

It's only this hour and you're already crying for food, you must be a starving ghost reincarnated!"

Yang Shiyuan's face was already oily, and he didn't take it seriously at all. He smiled and said:
"I eat a lot and work a lot, I can do the work of two people!"

"Yang Shiyuan, you are a machine gunner. Digging a few more shooting positions can save your life. Hurry up and dig them for me. If you delay, I will not give you dinner tonight."

When Yang Shiyuan heard that he was not going to give him food, he immediately shut up in fear and threw his arms around to act like a groundhog. As expected, like a bull, he dug out a standard embedded shooting position in a short while;

This shooting position is embedded in the trench half a meter deep and eighty centimeters wide. There are steps below to store magazines and grenades. When the shells fall on both sides of the trench, it can effectively prevent shrapnel injuries.

Liao Jianping was a man who knew what was good. He knew that the circular civil engineering works that Yue Qianli had them dig could greatly reduce the casualties of his brothers when facing the enemy's artillery fire. For this reason alone, he had to strictly set the standards.

Although he was very dissatisfied with Yue Qianli taking his position, he had to admit that this well-educated battalion commander had some skills.

"Li Jiaxun, what the hell are you digging? This communication trench is only two fists wide. People with bigger frames have to get in place. Dig it again for me!"

"Second row, you guys are slacking off again. You deserve to be punished, right?"

"Three rows..."

Liao Jianping scolded almost everyone he caught. For a while, there was chaos and dust on the battlefield, and the efficiency was obviously improved a lot.

Finally, it was dark. Yang Shiyuan was soaked and starving. He felt like he was seeing his father when he saw the food.

Although there was no meat in the evening, the vegetarian dishes cooked with heavy oil and salt were just as delicious. In this era, a unit that could eat enough food was a good unit.

It's not that Yue Qianli can't afford meat for them, but the country's overall productivity is low. A small county simply doesn't have that much meat for them to eat. The standard of two taels of meat and one egg per person a day is already rare. The prices in any county would be driven up by them.

They cannot be left idle after dinner either. They have to train in night combat, including night marching, night attacks, defense and other tactics, so that the soldiers can gradually adapt to night combat.

After tossing and turning from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Yang Shiyuan could finally have a good sleep. He could not forget the braised pork he had today, so in his dream the battalion commander was still treating him to meat. The meat was so big that it could fill his entire mouth... "Qu-Quququ!"

A shrill whistle sounded, one long and three short, an emergency assembly, and Yang Shiyuan was kicked awake by the squad leader in his sleep;
Just when he was about to start scolding, he saw that it was the ferocious squad leader, so he wisely shut his mouth and quickly packed up his equipment. If he exceeded the time limit, he would be given an extra snack.

He was quick in eating and even though he was the last one to get up in the class, he was the third one to rush out of the dormitory and quickly rushed to the assembly point where the platoon leader on duty was waiting for them.

After everyone had gathered, the captain looked at his pocket watch and was obviously not very satisfied. He shouted coldly:

"Twenty kilometers of rapid march, target Huaishu Village, pay attention to marching discipline, arrive within three hours."

Everyone's faces turned bitter. After a 20-kilometer forced march in the dark, there was no way they could sleep that night.

Following the order from the duty platoon leader, the troops headed straight for Huaishu Village. Along the way were country roads. The fully armed forced march was a great test of the willpower of a troop.
Yang Shiyuan was running in the front carrying a machine gun, and behind him were two ammunition handlers, each carrying a box of bullets, which was heavier than him. Such fully armed night forced march training was rarely conducted even in the most elite German-equipped divisions, so many people fell and got bruised and battered while running.

The biggest test for them was the cold weather. It was winter now, and the cold wind blew on their faces like a knife. Even when they were marching at high speed, they were still shivering from the cold. If they fell to the ground, they would definitely get a big bump.
Such a nighttime forced march made them miserable, but the strict military discipline of the German-equipped division forced everyone to endure it silently. Only those who were particularly brave dared to silently greet their superiors in their hearts. Don't expect these rough guys to say anything nice.

After the troops stumbled and ran for ten kilometers, many people's physical strength reached the limit, and some began to fall behind. The team became longer and longer, and Liao Jianping's face became longer and longer. The battalion commander said that the old Western soldiers could do it, so he naturally would not admit defeat and shouted:

"Run the fuck away, how can we fight the Japanese in this state?
The Japs are burning, killing and looting in Huaishu Village. Come with me and destroy them!"

When everyone heard about fighting the Japanese, they instantly became energized and gritted their teeth to continue persevering. The bloody battle with the Japanese in Shanghai a few years ago had made every member of the 88th Division put all their efforts into avenging the previous defeat, and their steps became lighter.

The squad leader kept encouraging them and shouting at them like a death-destroying ghost, and the marching speed increased again.

Since everyone had leggings tied to facilitate running, although running was very strenuous, no one fainted. They were much better at running than later troops.

Yang Shiyuan's legs had lost all feeling. He just gritted his teeth and ran forward mechanically. His chest felt like it was about to explode, and his face was red from holding it in.

During this period, he wanted to give up more than once, but when he thought of his old squad leader who died tragically at the hands of the Japanese, he had no reason to give up.

"Brothers, Huaishu Village is just ahead. Charge and kill the devils!"

When Yang Shiyuan heard the charge horn, he instantly became excited about killing the devils. He roared, blew out the anger in his chest, and rushed towards the finish line with his big feet...

When they arrived at Huaishu Village, it was already daybreak. There were naturally no Japs there, only the company commander's hateful face. Unfortunately, Yang Shiyuan no longer had the energy to scold him.

"Very good, we have arrived within the stipulated time. I will give you ten minutes to eat some dry food and replenish your energy. Then, you can build fortifications on the spot. You must complete the work before noon, otherwise you will not have lunch!"

As soon as the company commander finished speaking, Yang Shiyuan cursed in a low voice:
"day!"

(End of this chapter)