Chapter 68: We Meet Again
On the morning of December 17, 1937, the cross of St. Paul’s Cathedral was slanted and inserted into the charred broken walls, like a sword piercing into hell.
Li Tao curled up in a building that had not been completely destroyed, looking at the gunpowder residue embedded in the palm lines.
The memory of crawling out of the pile of corpses at Xiaguan yesterday was still burning… wooden debris floating on the river surface, soldiers torn apart by naval gunfire, and the last twisted face of the officer who carried a box of silver dollars and forcibly crossed the river when he was blasted into a blood mist by a shell.
“Battalion commander… Battalion commander…”
Someone pushed open the half-collapsed door panel. It turned out to be one of his platoon leaders under his command. This man’s left eye was wrapped in blood-seeping gauze, but his right hand tightly gripped a tin can.
“Battalion commander, come with me quickly. That Officer Su has started distributing things on the street behind the church.”
“Distributing things?” Li Tao asked in a daze.
Li Tao numbly got up, moved his stiff limbs, and followed the platoon leader to a nearby street, where he was surprised to find a long row of large iron pots steaming on the street.
Even more bizarrely, the routed soldiers who were still scavenging corpses like wild dogs yesterday were now queuing up to receive uniforms.
The deep gray of the German-style field uniforms was particularly glaring amid the ruins, reminding him of the shiny leather boots of those German advisors at the Taiyuan Arsenal.
“Battalion commander… come with me quickly!” The second lieutenant pulled Li Tao’s arm and went to the back of the line to queue up.
“Alright, Liang Ping’an, stop calling me battalion commander.”
Li Tao smiled bitterly: “We are now no better than homeless dogs. Calling me battalion commander would only invite ridicule. Don’t forget, this is their turf.”
“Then I’ll call you sir.” The second lieutenant also understood the principle that circumstances force compliance, and quickly changed his address.
“That Officer Su is really generous. Whoever joins him gets a new uniform and full kit on the spot—rifles, grenades, everything, even gas masks.”
“Gas masks?” Li Tao was stunned. As a fourth-term graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, he was naturally familiar with them.
In Europe, they were standard issue for soldiers, but in China, due to the weak military industry, gas masks were an absolute luxury for Chinese soldiers.
“Does that Officer Su have such capability that he can even get gas masks?”
In his contemplation, it was soon their turn.
“Former 51st Division, 172nd Brigade, 128th Regiment, 3rd Battalion commander Li Tao?”
When the captain quartermaster with gold-rimmed glasses checked the roster, his pen tip paused at the “escaped from POW camp” note. Li Tao noticed a small Iron Cross medal pinned under the blue sky white sun badge on his chest.
“Yes.” Li Tao nodded calmly. Perhaps before, he was proud of his identity as a 51st Division battalion commander, but after the incident at the Xiaguan dock, he found his mindset had become much more serene, able to face many things with composure.
The captain carefully scrutinized Li Tao for a while before finally nodding, filling in his name on the blank document, and stamping it.
“Take it… go get your gear!”
Ten minutes later, Li Tao received all his equipment.
He examined it and found the gear to be meticulously crafted to a chilling degree.
The M35 helmet liner was sewn with a German label, the gas mask filter canister marked with an October 1937 production date, and even the canteen hook was the distinctive blue-black of Krupp steel.
When Li Tao touched the walnut stock of the G98 rifle, his fingers trembled. The superb quality of these weapons truly shocked him.
“Battalion commander… everyone got 150 rounds of ammunition.”
The second lieutenant came close and whispered in his ear. The gauze on his left eye had somehow been replaced with a fresh bandage.
Seeing Li Tao looking at him, he grinned, pointed to the right, and said excitedly: “Over there… several pretty girls and doctors, specially bandaging wounds for the wounded soldiers. I went over and had the nurses fix me up.”
He pointed again to the captain with gold-rimmed glasses not far away and said: “See that guy with the round glasses? Former military police regiment, now working for Officer Su too.
I heard the Japanese are pressing hard against us on the front lines, urgently needing reinforcements, so they’re issuing us weapons. Looks like they’re planning to reorganize us.”
“Zhuang Xiaoman… are you scared?” Li Tao glanced at him.
“Scared my ass.” This second lieutenant named Zhuang Xiaoman spat on the ground. “I should have died at the Xiaguan dock with the brothers. This life is just a bonus. Worst case, I give it back to Officer Su.”
“That’s more like it.” Li Tao nodded. “Remember, soldiers of the 51st Division must never disgrace Chinese servicemen, no matter where we go.”
“Officer Su is here!” Suddenly, a loud voice jolted everyone around.
Everyone looked over and saw a young officer wearing colonel insignia arriving on the street, escorted by over ten guards.
Su Yaoyang glanced at the guards beside him, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.
To be honest, in all his life, this was the first time he had been protected by so many people, and he really wasn’t used to it.
But this was probably a aftermath of yesterday. After Huang Guantao learned he had personally led the team to rescue POWs, he demanded the formation of a guard platoon to protect him inseparably every day.
Even Li Gaoyuan raised both hands in approval, leading to today’s spectacle.
“Regiment commander!” The gold-rimmed glasses man stood up and saluted Su Yaoyang.
“Sit down.” Su Yaoyang pressed his hand downward, signaling him to sit, then walked to his side and asked.
“How’s it going? Found any talents?”
“Regiment commander, after screening and registration, we did find some veterans and officers. The highest rank among them is this one.” Gold-rimmed glasses handed the roster to Su Yaoyang.
Su Yaoyang took the roster. Though it was all in traditional characters, he could make out most of it by guessing.
“Li Tao… former 51st Division battalion commander? Why does this name sound familiar?” Su Yaoyang rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Regiment commander, this guy was just here earlier?”
Gold-rimmed glasses turned his head a few times, raised his voice and shouted: “Li Tao… who is the former 51st Division’s Li Tao, Battalion Commander Li!”
“Hey… Battalion commander… they’re calling you!” Zhuang Xiaoman nearby quickly nudged Li Tao, who was inspecting his new gear, with his elbow.
Li Tao, who had long noticed Su Yaoyang’s arrival, hurried over, saluted him, and said loudly: “Report to the regiment commander! Former 51st Division, 172nd Brigade, 128th Regiment, 3rd Battalion commander Li Tao reporting for duty. Awaiting your instructions, sir!”
“So it’s you!” Seeing Li Tao, Su Yaoyang immediately remembered and couldn’t help but say with a smile: “Battalion Commander Li, we meet again.”
