Chapter 20: The Japs Are Coming
“Old Lu… come here for a moment…”
Su Yaoyang exited the church, looked at the busy crowd, and beckoned to Lu Shaobin.
Seeing this, Lu Shaobin quickly put down his work and ran over excitedly, saluting him, “Officer, you called for me!”
Looking at Lu Shaobin respectfully saluting him, Su Yaoyang remembered what Li Gaoyuan had said. His heart stirred, he put down the box he was holding, took out a pack of good luck cigarettes from his pocket, and offered him one, “Here… have a smoke first.”
“Thank you, Officer!” Seeing Su Yaoyang offering him a cigarette, Lu Shaobin quickly wiped his hands, took the cigarette with both hands, then took out matches and lit one for Su Yaoyang first, before lighting his own.
Su Yaoyang took a deep breath and then asked, “Old Lu, how is our defensive fortification set up?”
“It’s almost done.” Speaking of this, Lu Shaobin pointed to the surrounding walls and said excitedly, “Officer, don’t worry. Of the ten M1917 heavy machine guns you distributed, I have already set up eight around the perimeter, and the remaining two are for backup.
M1917 water-cooled heavy machine gun
The other five Degtyarev anti-tank rifles from the Russians have also been deployed. If the Japanese tanks come, I guarantee they won’t be able to handle it.”
Looking at the confident Lu Shaobin, Su Yaoyang asked, “After the deployment is complete, how large an offensive can our church withstand from the Japanese?”
Lu Shaobin thought for a moment, “An attack on the scale of a company should be fine.”
Su Yaoyang continued to ask, “What about a battalion?”
“That…” Lu Shaobin said with a wry smile, “That’s definitely not possible. The Japanese battalions are usually equipped with field artillery.
We have at most over a hundred people, how can we withstand such a large-scale offensive?”
“Hmm…”
Su Yaoyang threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, “Company Commander Lu, I’ve gotten a batch of landmines. Quickly send a team to lay these mines and also string up the barbed wire. Try to get it done before dawn. Can you do it?”
“Hmm…”
Lu Shaobin was slightly stunned. He looked up and saw Su Yaoyang with a faint smile on his lips, his bright eyes looking at him.
The two looked at each other for more than ten seconds. Su Yaoyang’s original smile slowly faded, and his eyes gradually became sharper.
After a few more seconds, Lu Shaobin slowly straightened his chest and snapped a salute, “Yes… I guarantee the mission will be completed!”
With that, he turned around to leave.
“Wait…”
Su Yaoyang called him to a halt, picked up the box on the ground, and casually threw it at him. Startled, Lu Shaobin quickly caught it with both hands, only to find it surprisingly light.
As soon as he looked up, he saw Su Yaoyang’s faint smile, “I know you’re all heavy smokers. When you get there, distribute the cigarettes inside to the brothers to help them relieve their fatigue.”
Lu Shaobin was slightly stunned, then he smiled so widely his teeth were visible, “Alright… thank you, Officer!”
Watching Lu Shaobin leave excitedly with the box, the smile on Su Yaoyang’s face slowly faded. At this moment, he could even feel a layer of fine sweat on his back.
In fact, when he asked Lu Shaobin to send people to lay mines and set up barbed wire, it was a typical obedience test. The purpose was to see if these scattered soldiers would obey his orders, which was very important.
If Lu Shaobin refused or made excuses, it would prove that Li Gaoyuan’s words to him were wrong.
Conversely, if Lu Shaobin obeyed his orders, it would mean that he could try to gather a team that would obey him, which was crucial for whether he could break out of Nanjing.
It now seemed that the result was good. Since that was the case, the next step could be taken…
On the other side, when Lu Shaobin started distributing a box of cigarettes to all the soldiers, it naturally caused a burst of cheers.
No wonder, all soldiers liked to smoke.
On the battlefield, soldiers need to maintain high vigilance and concentration. The nicotine in cigarettes can stimulate the nervous system, helping soldiers stay awake and alert during long and intense battles. This refreshing effect is especially important on the battlefield.
According to post-war statistics, many new recruits learned to smoke after joining the army, and it stayed with them for the rest of their lives.
On the wall, looking at the two boxes of Camel cigarettes he had just received, Xu Dapeng was as happy as a 150-pound child.
He took a big puff contentedly, feeling the strong tobacco smell, and smiled at Instructor Li, “Instructor Li, this Officer Su is really generous, giving out two boxes of cigarettes at once, and they’re American-made.”
Li Gaoyuan nodded, looking at Su Yaoyang who was squatting on the wall chatting with a few soldiers not far away, a faint smile in his eyes.
The sky had already brightened, and from his high vantage point on the church, he could see the surrounding situation clearly.
The soldiers who had worked hard all night were squatting in their positions, eating sorghum rice with Spam lunch meat delivered by the female students from their mess tins.
This food, which was despised by American soldiers in later generations, was no different from a delicacy to the National Revolutionary Army soldiers at this time. They were wolfing it down, with happy smiles on their faces.
One young private ate too quickly and let out several loud burps, scaring him into quickly gulping down several mouthfuls of water before he could swallow the rice in his throat.
An old soldier next to him, seeing this, angrily kicked him in the backside, “Sixth Child, why are you eating so fast, you silly goose? No one’s snatching it from you.”
The private chuckled, “Uncle Qin, I don’t even know how long it’s been since I last ate meat, that’s why I’m eating so fast.
And I don’t even know if I’ll be able to eat the next meal after this one.”
Hearing this, the eating actions of all the soldiers around them paused in unison, and a complex expression flashed across the old soldier’s face, after which he cursed:
“You silly goose, why are you thinking so much? We soldiers are living a life of picking up money from the blade. We live one day at a time. Even if you die, Officer Su will send your two hundred silver dollars to your mother.”
“That’s true,” the private, known as Sixth Child, chuckled and lowered his head, eating heartily again.
“Brothers, look quickly, it’s the Japanese!” At this moment, a sentry responsible for lookout suddenly shouted loudly.
“Huala…”
With the sound, everyone looked in the direction the sentry was pointing…
At the top of the church, the thick stone walls looked even more desolate under the cold sunlight.
In the distance, on the already ruined street, a large group of Japanese soldiers in uniform were marching rapidly towards the church, their synchronized footsteps echoing in the open space.
A few military vehicles in the center of the formation were particularly eye-catching, their metallic surfaces flashing with a dazzling sheen in the sunlight.
