Chapter 162 Future generations will know that they are heroes! (The third update!)
"Damn it, Kawabe Masamitsu is a loser. He couldn't even defeat a local ragtag army and actually lost an entire division. He is so incompetent." Hideki Tojo shouted angrily as he watched the telegram sent by Army Vice Minister Lieutenant General Kimura Heitaro.

"Still want reinforcements? No, not even a single regiment." Hideki Tojo became more and more angry as he looked at the situation and shouted loudly.

Reinforcements?

Where to draw from?

China’s elite divisions have almost been mobilized.

The remaining second-line divisions can only barely maintain the existing defense line. If they want to launch a new attack, they have to accumulate supplies for a long time before they can continue the attack.

The Kwantung Army does have quite a few troops, but they only follow orders and not announcements.

It is too difficult to withdraw troops from there.

As for the newly formed troops?

Even the veteran 56th Division was severely damaged. What can the newly formed troops do?
Giving away heads?
What's more, they occupied Myanmar for its resources, not to waste them in such a meaningless confrontation.

For a moment, Hideki Tojo was extremely disappointed with Kawabe Masamitsu, and then looked at this confidant whom he had promoted.

"Kimura-kun, I plan to let you serve as the commander-in-chief of the 15th Army. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Kimura Heitaro was stunned. Are they asking him to go to Myanmar to fill the gap?
One division was gone, and the remaining three divisions had to attack India and destroy the expeditionary force.

He couldn't figure out the account and couldn't settle it.

Even if he takes office, at least two divisions will be allocated to him, and he can only hold the current defense line.

It is impossible to achieve greater results.

Seeing Kimura Heitaro's silence, Hideki Tojo knew what he was thinking and then sighed.

"It is impossible to send reinforcements. Let him figure it out on his own. He can recruit more vassal troops when necessary. Right now our main focus is on the Pacific battlefield. Only by completely defeating the Americans can we win this war."

In fact, at this moment Hideki Tojo already regretted going south to expand the war, otherwise he would not be so passive.

Even if he didn't start a war, America would force him to move south.

So going south is inevitable.

"Yes." Kimura Heitaro responded quickly.

As long as he is not asked to take over that mess, he has no interest in it at all.

After receiving the call back from the base camp, Kawabe Masamitsu was silent for a long time and guessed what the base camp meant.

You created the mess, so find a way to clean it up.

But now troops are needed everywhere, and without reinforcements, it is too difficult to maintain the current defense line.

"Commander, I think the best way at the moment is to withdraw Thai troops. It would be best to fully introduce Thai troops to drag Siam into the water completely. We must never let them remain neutral." Yahara Hiromichi made another suggestion.

Hearing this, Kawabe Masazo looked at the other person and motioned for him to continue.

"Thailand and Myanmar are sworn enemies. We will bring in the Thai army and let them solve these problems for us. Anyway, our purpose is not for land, but resources. As long as the Thai army can get enough supplies for us, the land can be given to them." Yahara Hiromichi said sinisterly.

I have to say, this move is indeed very vicious.

The Thai and Burmese sides have indeed been enemies for a century. If they were to make a fuss about land, I believe the Thai army would not be able to bear it.

Hearing this, Hebian Zhengsan's eyes lit up. This was a good plan.

If this works, it will relieve a lot of stress.

For example, the task of clearing out the guerrillas can be completely handed over to the Thai army.

At the same time, there will be countless troubles.

That is to push the natives to the British side.

So this is a double-edged sword, and it depends on what choice Hebian Zhengsan makes.

However, judging from the attitude of the base camp, it is obvious that they don’t care about the consequences at all.

Of course, Kawabe Masazo was not a fool. He could naturally see the intention of the headquarters. After thinking for a while about Yahara Hiromichi's suggestion, he nodded in agreement.

Not to mention how excited Siam was to hear the news.

.........

On the other side in Lashio, Cun Yunsheng looked at the telegram in his hand and curled his lips.

"Shancheng is really stingy. They only gave me a fourth-class Cloud Banner Medal."

Meng Fanle and others nearby nodded in agreement, only Zhu Maoqin and other officers felt a little embarrassed.

Because they also think that it is indeed too stingy.

However, considering that the Sichuan Army was a ragtag army, it seemed quite normal.

After all, the guy in Shancheng has always been stingy with the ragtag troops.

"Ahem..." Meng coughed angrily, indicating that there were other people nearby and asked him to pay attention to the impact.

You definitely can't say this kind of thing in front of outsiders.

Cun Yunsheng also came to his senses and realized that he had been talking nonsense, so he simply skipped the topic.

"Thank you for the help, brothers from the Fifth Army and Master Yu. I have prepared a generous gift and you can take it back when you return." Cun Yunsheng looked at Zhu Maoqin and He Shuguang.

He Shuguang in particular lowered his head and did not dare to look at the other person.

We could have obtained more valuable information, but it was all burned by his fire.

If this happened to Master Yu, he would definitely be in great trouble.

However, he is now a friendly army, so even if the Sichuan Army is angry, they cannot vent it on him.

But he felt a little guilty, so he didn't dare to look Cun Yunsheng in the eye.

Seeing this scene, Cun Yunsheng laughed in his heart.

If it burns, it burns. It's not a big deal.

Before the Japanese died, they would burn all the confidential documents.

So he didn't expect to find any valuable intelligence. The only pity was that the Watanabe government was burned to ashes.

The dog's head was chopped off and was black and looked disgusting, so he didn't want it.

"Commander, the people from the reconnaissance battalion and the guard battalion are back. Just as you expected, nearly three thousand Japanese troops have retreated ahead of schedule." At this time, a signalman trotted over with a telegram and handed it to Meng Fanle first.

After receiving the telegram, Meng Fan took a look at it and then gave a brief report.

"What are the results of the battle?" Cun Yunsheng asked calmly with his eyes narrowed.

"We annihilated more than 1,500 Japanese soldiers and killed several lieutenants. The rest of the Japanese soldiers scattered and fled into the forest. Dong Daozheng and his men were in pursuit." Meng Fanle said quickly.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Maoqin and others couldn't help but gasp, as this had already taken into account the direction of the Japanese army's retreat.

The 56th Division’s defeat was not unjust.

"Forget it, let Dong Dao bring the men back. There's no point in chasing them with so few people." Cun Yunsheng shook his head and said.

If a large force goes into the forest, the chance of coming out is slightly higher, refer to the 200th Division.

Soldiers like these who had fled in panic walked into the forest without adequate supplies, and only one in ten of them came out alive.

Instead of wasting manpower in pursuit, it is better to retreat and rest first.

"Yes." Meng Fan nodded, then remembered something and said.

"The martyrs' cemetery you requested is almost complete. Kang Ya asked you when the memorial ceremony will be held."

Hearing this, a trace of sadness flashed across Cun Yunsheng's face, and then he sighed and said.

"Three days later, a memorial ceremony will be held and everyone must be present."

"Also, see if we can find someone who can do burial makeup to put on some makeup for the fallen soldiers so they can go on their journey looking pretty. Also, see if we can get someone to make a batch of high-quality coffins."

"Yes, Commander." Meng Fanle looked at Cun Yunsheng and saluted solemnly.

Zhu Maoqin asked at the right time.

"Captain Cun, can we join together? After all, this is also a shame for our Fifth Army."

"I also want to pay tribute to the brothers who sacrificed their lives."

"Okay, anyone who wants to come can come." "Yes." Zhu Maoqin saluted, including He Shuguang and others behind him.

Cun Yunsheng, who was already a colonel, also stood at attention and returned the salute.

……

Three days later, the Martyrs' Cemetery, which had been rushed to completion, had taken shape. Further repairs would be needed, but Cun Yunsheng planned to hand over the repair work to the local Chinese clans.

Fortunately, Kang Ya was very thoughtful and specially transplanted dozens of pine and cypress trees.

‘Wow! ’

Originally, the open spaces on both sides of the cemetery were filled with members of the Chinese clan.

They were all invited by Cun Yunsheng to attend the memorial ceremony at the Martyrs' Cemetery.

At first, they were standing in two rows and murmured, and many people thought it was just a formality.

Who would have the time to build a cemetery for the fallen soldiers?

Who knew that I would be startled by the sound of orderly footsteps.

A group of solemn and dignified Sichuan Army soldiers in military uniforms appeared at the front, led by Cun Yunsheng, who was wearing a colonel's uniform and supporting the coffin.

The officer who sacrificed the most in this battle was a captain company commander named Li Guan. He was originally a lieutenant deputy company commander of the newly formed 29th Division. Later, he joined the Sichuan Army Corps. As the troops expanded, he became a captain company commander.

Who would have thought that during this attack on Lashio, he accidentally stepped on a landmine and was killed on the spot.

In order to show respect for the martyrs, Cun Yunsheng carried the coffin personally.

Many people originally advised him that it was unnecessary.

But Cun Yunsheng insisted on carrying his coffin himself to show his respect for the sacrificed soldiers.

Maybe it was intended to win people's hearts, but after the soldiers knew about it, they looked at Cun Yunsheng with more respect.

People always put themselves in others' shoes and have a scale in their hearts about how they feel about others.

The orderly steps attracted the attention of the Chinese clans, and following closely behind them, a series of black and red coffins were carried out.

In order to dye the coffins black and red, these Chinese families were exhausted and all their stocks were contributed.

Each coffin was solemnly carried by eight Sichuan Army soldiers who were also wearing military uniforms.

When the long coffin-carrying team arrived at the cemetery, the air became a little depressing, and the bright sunshine disappeared in an instant.

Everyone was silent and no one dared to make a noise.

"Let's go home!" Cun Yunsheng shouted loudly in the unique dialect of Yunnan Province.

The military band, which had been prepared long ago, began to play music, and the sad sound resonated with countless people.

Zhu Maoqin and other military officers also watched solemnly, and many of them even had red eyes and tears instantly fell down their cheeks.

Some people even cried silently.

Because in the coffins were their comrades-in-arms who had lived with them day and night.

Some are even fellow townsmen and friends.

Especially Cun Yunsheng, he felt even more sad and angry.

Even though he tried every possible way to reduce casualties, the number of deaths was still beyond his imagination.

There was another thick list of names of casualties on his list. When he got the list, Cun Yunsheng cried silently for a long time.

"Go to the ground!"

The graves for the coffins had already been dug.

Following the order, everyone gently placed it and began to fill the soil.

Cun Yunsheng even picked up a shovel himself and shoveled the soil at a time to cover the coffin in front of him.

"Goodbye, brother. I will avenge you." When the tombstone was placed, Cun Yunsheng murmured.

"Fire!" Meng Fanle immediately shouted loudly.

"put!"

"boom!"

"put!"

"boom!"

"put!"

"boom!"

After the gunfire stopped, Cun Yunsheng took the lead in singing the military song that everyone knew.

"Don't you see, the Han Dynasty's army, the weak-headed prisoners, please grow their tassels!"

Have you not seen, Ban Dingyuan, the light cavalry in the remote area, urging the battle clouds,
The man should be in serious danger. How can he let the Confucian crown miss this life?
Moreover, the country is in danger, and the imperial edicts are being sent without stopping.
I discard my old pen and put on my wartime collar.
One call for more than one hundred thousand comrades, sang war hymns and joined the army.

Join the army together, clean up the barbarian dust, and swear to wipe out the Japanese slaves at the cost of your own life. "

Everyone used all their strength to sing loudly this song, the first song they sang when they joined the army.

Now, they use this song to bid farewell to these fallen comrades.

The singing echoed throughout the Martyrs' Cemetery, and the sad singing rang in everyone's ears.

It seemed like that was the response from their brothers and comrades.

As one song ends, another one begins.

Everyone seemed to want to bid farewell to their comrades with singing.

Zhu Maoqin and others were already in tears.

Those soldiers cried like tearful people.

No one has ever treated them like this.

For them, death is just a matter of laying a straw mat and digging a hole to bury them.

If you meet a kind-hearted officer, he might even erect a monument for everyone.

This is the first time I have encountered a memorial ceremony like this, especially since everyone has a tombstone with each person's name, date of birth, etc. clearly recorded on it, and some people even have photos on it.

How could they not be moved by such a leader?

Cun Yunsheng's eyes were also red!

No one can understand the pain in his heart!
He clearly remembered the smiles on these people's faces the moment they set out.

Now I can only lie here in the cold.

"Commander, it's over." Meng Fanle reminded in a low voice with red eyes.

"Well, let's go." Cun Yunsheng nodded, and then indicated that the memorial ceremony was over.

In order to maintain the martyrs' cemetery, disabled veterans are allowed to stay here to take care of their comrades who are buried underground.

All food and drink supplies are provided by the Sichuan Army.

After returning to the regiment headquarters, Cun Yunsheng couldn't calm down for a long time.

"Commander, there will always be casualties in a war, so just take it easy." Meng Fanle advised in a low voice.

Hearing this, Cun Yunsheng nodded and sighed lightly.

"I know everything you said, but I feel bad when I think about how young they are and how they have to stay in a foreign country."

"Commander, as you said, history will remember them." Meng Fanle added.

"Well, you are right, but history books are too small to contain their greatness. We just flip through them and that's their whole life. History books are too big and we can't remember their names."

"However, future generations will know that they are called heroes."

　Sorry, I'm late! There's another update in the evening! I need to take my time.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)