131 Collapse (19)

The "Mantetsu" that the 18th Corps of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army wanted to destroy was fully named the South Manchuria Railway Company. It was a special Japanese company that existed in Northeast China from 1906 to 1945. It was the core of Japan's management of Manchuria. At its peak, it held equity in more than 80 affiliated enterprises. The South Manchuria Railway Company was once called "Japan's East India Company in China," meaning it carried out colonial aggression in the name of a company. Therefore, Mantetsu was also called a "Colonial Company."

At its inception in 1906, it seized about 1,100 kilometers of railway. Starting in June 1907, it changed all the seized trunk and branch lines to standard gauge. First was the gauge change and realignment of the Anfeng Railway, and while changing the gauge, the Yalu River Railway Bridge on the China-Korea border was built. Starting in 1908, the second-track projects for sections like Dalian to Changchun and Sujiatun to Fushun were built respectively; at the same time, Dalian Port was expanded on a large scale. Besides owning the railway, it also owned "Mantetsu Attached Lands" ranging from 16.7 meters to 3,000 meters on both sides of the railway, with a total area of 482.9 square kilometers. Since Japan obtained the right to station 15 soldiers per 10 kilometers, the South Manchuria Railway became the stronghold of Japan's continental policy, successively responsible to the Governor-General of Kwantung, the Governor of Kwantung, and the Ambassador to Manchukuo, specifically the Manchurian Affairs Bureau.

To plunder the resources of the Northeast, Mantetsu members exhausted their minds and used vicious means. After having the surrendered Fengtian Army, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army quickly obtained a large amount of intelligence regarding Mantetsu. "This Mantetsu really knows how to bully people!" This was the phrase the Fengtian Army loved to say the most.

"Then let's bully them a bit too," a comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Committee said to the former Fengtian Army officers and soldiers as if joking.

"How so?" The Northeast men expressed incomprehension at these somewhat strange words.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could not mistreat captives; this was discipline and also a principle. No precedent could be set for such things. But some things had to be done, so the existence of Fengtian Army defectors appeared very valuable.

"We want to sack Mantetsu now, and some matters need help from friends in the underworld," the comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Committee said quite clearly.

"Yes! Yes!" The former Fengtian Army officers and soldiers nodded repeatedly in understanding during their separate talks. "Actually, there's no need to find any greenwoods bandits. Now that Fengtian is lost, many Fengtian Army brothers have no food to eat; finding them will do!"

After making preparations, the comrades of the People's Internal Affairs Committee also held a meeting. The responsible comrade looked grim. "There are some things we must do now. If it comes to being held accountable, we have to bear the responsibility. Should we discuss this matter in the Army Party Committee?"

The comrades hesitated somewhat. Chen Ke's attitude towards completely destroying Mantetsu was very clear, but this didn't mean Chen Ke publicly supported carrying out a comprehensive massacre of Mantetsu members. For the People's Internal Affairs Committee, to obtain confidential intelligence, they had to "torment Mantetsu members to death." This was the literal meaning. A section of Mantetsu strongholds around Panjin had already been raided. The Japanese kept their mouths very tight, and these people really looked down on Chinese people.

After ordinary torture, they still shouted about how the Great Japanese Empire would not let the People's Party off. Later, there was really no other way but to skin a few stubborn Japanese devils alive in front of the Mantetsu members, then scald them to death with boiling water. Those Mantetsu members who were full of nonsense finally realized that the People's Internal Affairs Committee was not joking. As a result, this bunch of scum was scared into incontinence. They became willing to say everything they knew.

But it was already too late. Since these people had already seen things they shouldn't have seen, after verifying that what they said was correct, each guy was given a shot in the back of the head, and then a fire sent them back to Japan.

It was okay to do this kind of thing once or twice occasionally, but it couldn't always be done like this. When it came to doing it on a large scale, there had to be someone to do the dirty work, so the Internal Affairs Committee could only look for other "partners." But bringing this matter up at the Party Committee meeting would be extremely troublesome. Party Committee meetings had to be recorded. The records couldn't possibly state that everyone enthusiastically discussed whether to use torture on Mantetsu members, the degree of torture, and how to deal with the dead personnel who couldn't withstand the torture. With the army's temper, if you asked them to publicly shoot a million Japanese for the reason of infringing on the people, the army wouldn't even blink an eye, but the army definitely wouldn't intervene in such secret activities. If the Party Committee publicly vetoed it, that would be trouble.

The People's Internal Affairs Committee must obey the Party's leadership. The Party Committee couldn't intervene in the People's Internal Affairs Committee's investigation and arrest matters, but that didn't mean the Party Committee couldn't negate actions of a non-disciplinary and security nature. Moreover, without the support of the Party Committee and the troops, the People's Internal Affairs Committee had absolutely no way to take measures against Mantetsu alone.

After discussion, the comrades of the People's Internal Affairs Committee decided to make this request at the Standing Committee meeting of the Party Committee.

The number of people on the Standing Committee was much smaller, actually just four or five people like the Corps Commander and Political Commissar. Decision-making efficiency was high.

"We hope the troops won't interfere with how those Mantetsu members die," the comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Committee made the request very straightforwardly.

The Political Commissar wanted to say something after hearing it, but couldn't say anything. After a good while, he said, "After all, we must leave some for public trial and execution; we also need to give the bullied masses a public explanation."

Other comrades from the Logistics Department and Staff Department were very smart. Even if they didn't fully understand at the beginning, they all understood after hearing the Political Commissar's words. The Chief of Staff smiled bitterly and said, "I think it's inappropriate. There is no wall in the world that doesn't leak wind."

Seeing that opinions were already so opposed, Mu Husan, who hadn't made a sound, finally spoke up: "Is the intelligence held by those Japanese that important?"

"Many pieces of intelligence regarding Japan's domestic situation won't be easily confessed by the Japanese. Anyway, the troops will shoot them too, so we might as well extract more intelligence. Intelligence sources are scarce after all," said the comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Committee.

"Don't think so much. As long as we solve the domestic problems, whatever Japan does is nothing to be afraid of." Mu Husan was quite confident. Or rather, he himself completely disapproved of torture to death.

The comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Committee smiled bitterly. "Many Mantetsu members have stayed in Korea. This time we have already collected some things about Japan implementing land reform in Korea. This intelligence involves many details."

The People's Party implemented land reform domestically, and Japan also implemented "land reform" after annexing and occupying Korea. Of course, Japan's land reform and the People's Party's land reform could be said to run in completely opposite directions. The People's Party eliminated landlords and implemented public ownership of land as a means of production. Japan eliminated Korea's local forces and used the seized land to create pro-Japanese landlords. Especially in the southern plains of Korea, where there were originally many landlords from prominent Korean families; some of these people supported the Japanese, and some didn't. Japan eliminated a large number of landlords who refused to let Korea perish and distributed these lands to those Koreans who defected to Japan. They further supported the pro-Japanese faction in encroaching on land in Korea and striking at dissidents.

"This policy is naturally extremely beneficial to Japan. Land can't run away. Without Japanese support, these landlords can't sustain themselves at all. After creating this kind of political inequality, a large number of Korean landlords, in order to survive, and some speculators, in order to prosper, could only jump onto Japan's boat. After they owed blood debts to the local Korean people, they had to support Japan with all their might and frantically suppress the Korean people's resistance struggle." The comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Committee explained this. Of course, these explanations were also intended to show that the People's Internal Affairs Committee definitely didn't like indiscriminate killing and torture, but had unavoidable difficulties in their work.

Hearing this, those comrades who originally didn't support this approach also fell silent. The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army would definitely fight into Korea. Collecting more intelligence on Korea, especially intelligence on such interest groups within Korea, was particularly valuable. However, everyone also knew clearly that the Japanese devils wouldn't confess easily. Moreover, mistreating captives wasn't even a principled issue of "can do but can't say." It was simply something that couldn't be done.

After pondering for a moment, Mu Husan said, "Let's do it this way. You can pick 200 people to take away. We will shoot the others on the spot. And these 200 people can't be too famous; the famous ones must be shot publicly."

"This... no problem." The comrade from the People's Internal Affairs Committee didn't have any objection. After all, those capable of engaging in such relatively secret work were mostly office sitters within Mantetsu.

After the decision was set, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army began to act comprehensively. First was sweeping all Japanese garrison strongholds along the railway and various railway stations along the South Manchuria Railway. These railway personnel were all Mantetsu technical personnel, and they had to be cleared as much as possible. Without them, the railway couldn't operate at all. Of course, this group of people could also provide important technical data for the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to master the railway in the future.

Two divisions that had participated in annihilating the 20th Division set up defenses in Panjin while seizing time to rest and reorganize. The other two divisions threw themselves into this battle.

First to come under attack was the Mantetsu station of the Yalu River Railway. The cavalry unit of the 18th Corps, with an attitude of ignoring the enemy behind them, wore Japanese military uniforms and thrust straight towards the railway bridge. During the march, the Cavalry Regiment Commander was somewhat worried about this. He asked the Political Commissar, "I say, if we blow up the bridge, will the Japanese rebuild the railway bridge at any cost?"

The Political Commissar smiled. "If someone blew up the Yellow River Railway Bridge, would we repair it at any cost?"

This analogy was quite apt, and the Cavalry Regiment Commander immediately understood completely.

"Advance at full speed!" the Commander ordered.

The Yalu River Bridge in Dandong was an important Japanese transportation hub. Construction started in 1909 and finished in 1911. It was a twelve-span bridge. Japan had troops stationed there year-round to guard it. The number of these garrison troops was less than 300. Although they had already learned via telegram that the Japanese army and the Chinese army were at war, they didn't have enough vigilance.

The news that the Fengtian Army was completely vulnerable and that Fengtian had already been captured had long spread everywhere. However, the battle between the Japanese army and the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army wasn't mentioned. Let alone the matter of Japan suffering heavy damage. Since there were no enemies in front of them, the Japanese garrison relaxed completely. Seeing a large group of "Japanese cavalry" coming on horseback, they didn't have the slightest vigilance.

It wasn't until the horse team got close that the bridge-guarding troops felt things were a bit serious. This bunch of "cavalry" wore army uniforms, but looking at their horsemanship, they didn't look like army soldiers temporarily mounted on horses. This nondescript attire made these bridge-guarding Japanese soldiers feel very strange. When the cavalry got close, the bridge-guarding troops stepped forward to block these "Japanese cavalry."

When they struck up a conversation, the bridge-guarding troops felt even stranger. Leaving aside that the various equipment on the horses was obviously not the appearance of Japanese cavalry, the bearing and demeanor of these people were also vastly different from that strict hierarchical feeling of the Japanese army. Although the customs and characteristics of each country might be different, the expressions revealed by humans when surprised are shared.

Before the Japanese army began a comprehensive interrogation, they felt that the man leading the "Japanese cavalry" suddenly became murderous. That man suddenly drew his saber and chopped down at the Japanese in front of him.

An army is an army after all, and the basic training of the Japanese army wasn't bad. Even though they were raided and some people died quickly, the Japanese soldiers inside the sentry post still urgently sounded the alarm. Soon, ear-piercing alarms rang out on both banks of the Yalu River.

After the Cavalry Regiment Commander ordered the comrades to annihilate the enemy in front of them, he saw the bridge deck in the middle of the bridge actually start to rotate slowly. It turned out that the Japanese on the opposite bank discovered that the number of attacking enemies was huge and feared they couldn't withstand them, so they simply moved the opening bridge deck in the middle, originally used to facilitate the passage of ships, to prevent the enemy from rushing over along the bridge.

He spat fiercely! The Commander cursed, "These sons of bitches are quite clever!" Smooth sailing all the way, and they even used disguise; God knows how the Japanese saw through it. The Commander naturally wouldn't be happy in his heart.

"Hot air balloon prepare to lift off for observation, demolition team start blowing up the bridge!" The Commander shouted.

The Japanese across the bridge had already set up weapons and sent a telegram to the infantry regiment stationed nearby. If there were no problems, the Japanese infantry regiment could arrive to aid in at most four hours. The garrison commander on the opposite side felt rejoicing on one hand and strange on the other. Where exactly did this enemy pop out from? Although their number wasn't small, it was impossible to occupy this bridge with so few people. Even if they occupied it, they would be besieged by the Japanese army. What exactly did they run here to do?

It wasn't until they saw some people laying explosives on the bridge that the Japanese understood a bit what this troop came to do. Although they knew damage to the bridge was inevitable, the bridge was reinforced concrete. Even with explosive demolition, it wasn't that easy. Seeing a few people tie cables around their waists and hang down from the side of the pier, the Japanese were anxious and angry. Those people were clearly going to blow up the pier. But the bridge-guarding Japanese felt somewhat surprised again. Those people didn't carry any large amount of explosives on their backs. Just those few bulging small packs on them—the explosives carried absolutely couldn't blow down this bridge.

"Go up and shoot!" Even if the Japanese army felt strange about the enemy's surprise attack action, they couldn't ignore it.

But what left them dumbfounded was that before the Japanese army went up to shoot, they saw the enemy opposite had already moved quite a few sandbags over and built protective forts at the already separated bridgehead.

How to blow it up with people on the bridge? Are the enemies opposite all fools? The Japanese thought.

However, since the enemy opposite had already occupied the advantage of fortifications, the Japanese suffered for being a step slow. Those who rushed onto the bridge deck were suppressed by machine guns so they couldn't lift their heads. Moreover, the bridge deck was hardened, and bullets ricocheted severely. The Japanese suffered a lot under the bouncing stray bullets, sustaining considerable casualties.

And just as the battle unfolded, a dozen small-scale explosions occurred one after another on the bridge deck and piers. Because of the fortifications, the combat troops at the bridgehead responsible for suppressing the Japanese army were completely unscathed.

The Cavalry Regiment Commander pinched his watch. The enemy reinforcements on the opposite bank would arrive soon. If they spent so much effort only to blow a few small gaps in the bridge deck, it would be a big joke. Using plastic explosives, this demolition was to blast open a few gaps, then stuff in a large amount of explosives to thoroughly blast down several sections of piers and bridge deck at once. It was fine if Japan repaired it at any cost; it would be even better if they could finish repairing it by next spring, then the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could fight their way to Korea along the Yalu River Bridge.

But this beautiful expectation had to wait until the immediate task was completed first. And the accidental slip-up allowed Japan to still occupy the other half of the bridge. Time was getting shorter and shorter.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army Cavalry Regiment Commander was anxious, and the Japanese opposite were even more anxious. They watched as after several small-scale blasts, a deep cut had been blasted into the pier. If explosives were just tied to the outside of the pier, blasting it many times wouldn't have much effect, but filling a large amount of explosives into such a cut could blow the pier sky-high in one go.

They saw those guys blowing up the pier tie pulleys to the bridge railing. The demolition men were completely risking their lives. After placing the explosives, just as they were pulled up, before even reaching a completely safe area, they started to detonate the explosives. As soon as the explosives rang out, they immediately went back down to continue placing them. "Shoot those people down first!" The Japanese commander jumped and shouted to his subordinates.

"But we can't hit them at all on the bridge deck!" the subordinate explained.

"Then you all go to the river bank to shoot! Ignore the frontal enemy!" The Japanese commander howled.

Seeing the Japanese riflemen run onto the river bank to shoot at the comrades blowing up the pier, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army on the bridge began to turn their muzzles to fiercely strike the enemy. However, the shooting angle at the bridgehead was limited. When the enemy hid in the dead angles of fire, they couldn't be hit. The cavalry troops on the Yalu River side shot fiercely at the Japanese army, and mortars also immediately joined the shooting ranks. However, the enemy on the opposite bank wasn't intending to shoot at the cavalry troops; their target was the comrades of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army installing explosives on the bridge. Such a goal gave the Japanese enough places to hide. In these years, a rifle range of seven or eight hundred meters was commonplace, and one kilometer was also normal. Several shooters shooting at a person hanging in mid-air had an extremely high hit rate. Three demolition men sacrificed their lives instantly.

The combat engineer comrades of the demolition team saw the pulled-up comrades had already sacrificed their lives, and their eyes instantly turned red. The engineer commander gave a loud shout, "Party members, follow me up!" Seven or eight comrades immediately came out.

The demolition commander turned his head and said loudly to the comrade responsible for pulling the rope: "If we go down and get killed, let the rope go. No need to pull us up again. We don't care about those few ropes!"

The comrade pulling the rope was instantly stunned. If a comrade was injured, even seriously injured, there might still be hope if pulled up. If the rope was released, and the comrade fell into the water while seriously injured, then there would be absolutely no hope.

Seeing the dumbfounded look of the comrade pulling the rope, the demolition commander tied the rope around his waist while shouting angrily: "The Japanese reinforcements are coming immediately. If we don't finish the work quickly, how many of us will die? If we don't blow down the bridge and the Japanese reinforcements come over the bridge, how many more of us will have to die? Cut the crap. You call out numbers in a moment. Starting from one, you call out once, I'll answer with the same number. If I can't answer the number, it means I'm done for. You guys let the rope go, and the next one goes up!"

After speaking, the commander turned over and climbed over the bridge railing, carrying explosives on his back and hanging down.

As soon as he went down, the sound of Japanese rifle fire from the opposite bank rang out. The comrade on the bridge deck hurriedly shouted loudly: "One!"

"One!" The demolition team captain answered.

After a moment, the comrade on the bridge shouted: "Two!"

"Two!" A response came from under the bridge again.

The comrades really wanted to stick their heads out to watch the demolition captain's actions, but the enemies on the river bank were shooting at the bridge desperately. Everyone could only hide behind the railings and behind the sandbags, unable to stick their heads out at all. Listening to the gunshots ringing out all around, the comrades felt as uncomfortable in their hearts as if stabbed by a knife, yet were helpless.

When the count reached twelve, a very unclear voice came from under the bridge, "I've already placed the explosives, loading immediately..." Then there was no sound.

"Company Commander, Company Commander!" The comrade from the demolition team hurriedly shouted loudly. But no matter how he shouted, there was no response.

"Twelve! Twelve!" Even though the comrade responsible for the rope knew the demolition commander was likely doomed, he couldn't help but slap the bridge deck hard and shout with all his might. But there was still no response.

And another cadre from the demolition team had already tied the rope around his waist. He wiped away a tear, turned over just past the railing, "Still count like that!" After speaking, he went down along the rope.

The Japanese seemed to have found the trick to shooting. Three comrades went down in succession, and all sacrificed their lives just as the count reached five. The comrades on the bridge were already burning with anxiety and in pain like being cut by a knife. This time, to ensure the reliability of the explosives, safe explosives were used, which must be detonated using a detonator. Even if the comrades on the bank hit the explosive pack with rifles, it would be useless.

"Give me your cavalry steel armor to wear!" The vice-captain of the demolition team shouted.

"That thing offers limited protection!" The comrade responsible for releasing the rope said anxiously.

"It's fine, as long as it lets me live until I plug in the timing detonator!" The vice-captain didn't consider whether he could come up alive at all.

The comrade responsible for the rope was stunned, but at this time he couldn't think so much anymore. He asked the comrades behind to send cavalry breastplates over. Just as he picked up three breastplates, he heard the comrade responsible for contacting the hot air balloon on the ground shout exasperatedly: "A large group of enemies discovered in the distance opposite! They'll come over in at most half an hour!"

"Motherfucker!" The Commander cursed loudly. "I'm so useless! Even a disguised attack got seen through!"

The comrade responsible for the rope couldn't care about that much either. While having someone help the demolition team vice-group leader put on the breastplate, he also put a set on himself and wrapped armor leaves on other places too.

There were four sets of pulleys placed in total. It wasn't that everyone refused to place more, but there wasn't enough space. Although knowing clearly that the comrades below had sacrificed their lives, the ropes were never let go. Everyone still hoped to pull the comrades up, even if they were remains, to transport them back as much as possible. If the comrades were allowed to fall into the Yalu River like this, no matter how they searched in the future, it would be impossible to find their remains. Not to mention, if these remains were obtained by the Japanese, they would likely be treated cruelly by the Japanese.

But now there was no time to consider this. Gritting his teeth, he cut the rope. A moment later, the sound of a heavy object falling into the water was heard. The comrade responsible for the rope also tied a rope to himself. Facing the surprised demolition team vice-group leader, this comrade said loudly: "We go down together. I'll block for you. If I die, you treat me as a shield. Whatever happens, we must complete the mission. No more comrades can die!"

The demolition team vice-group leader didn't say more either. "Okay! Go down together!"

The two checked the ropes, shouted "One, two, three!" and turned over the railing together, falling downwards.

Above and below the bridge were completely different feelings. On the bridge deck, even knowing the Yalu River was underfoot, seeing the river water, everyone still had the solid bridge deck under their feet after all. When hanging in mid-air, everyone realized this was completely different. The river water below flowed rolling, and the river wind blew forcefully on their faces. Looking down a few more times, one felt as if the river water was about to swallow and take oneself away, followed by a burst of slight dizziness.

Before getting used to this feeling, enemy bullets were already whizzing over. The rope man in front hadn't been hit yet, but the demolition man behind shouted. "How is it!" The rope man hurriedly shouted.

"Can't die! Continue dropping down!" The demolition team vice-group leader shouted through gritted teeth.

After dropping a few more meters, the rope man felt as if his left leg was pierced fiercely by fire tongs, and then the entire left leg lost strength. He shouted subconsciously, then clenched his teeth tightly, unwilling to make any more sound. When deciding to fall down together, the rope man's heart was filled with huge grief due to the sacrifice of his comrades, and he was also moved by the comrade's revolutionary spirit of regarding death as returning home. At that time, life and death didn't scare him at all.

But now for the first time, he knew that he was really doomed! As if to prove this thought, a bullet hit the rope man's left rib. Although padded with steel armor inside, the bullet didn't completely penetrate. However, the huge impact made the rope man couldn't help but spray a mouthful of blood.

Just at this time, the rope man seemed to hear the demolition team vice-group leader behind him shout, "Done!" The rope man felt a burst of relief in his heart. He knew he no longer had the strength to continue controlling the rope.

At this time, the rope man felt he was shot a few more times in the chest, abdomen, and legs. Only with the previous wounds present, the pain this time was not so intense instead. It was just that his chest became more and more uncomfortable, more and more stuffy, and his ears slowly began to buzz. The rope man didn't know what was going on, but what flashed through his mind was another thought, "Since I'm doomed, at least let the demolition team vice-group leader behind not get hurt again." Thinking of this, although the rope man didn't have the strength to turn his head to look back, he used all his strength to spread his limbs wide.

The comrades on the shore saw the rope man's strange posture and didn't understand at first. But a moment later, they saw the rope man's left arm twist strangely, and then half the arm hung down at a ninety-degree angle. The enemy's bullet hit the arm he used to shield the demolition man behind, actually breaking the arm bone completely. Just such a simple shield clearly saved the demolition man behind a life. And just when the comrades' hearts ached like being twisted, they saw the rope man hit by a dozen bullets in succession, and a red and white blood flower bloomed on his head. The Japanese intensive bullets concentrated on him, the rope man.

It seemed the Japanese also knew something was wrong. If it continued like this, the demolition was destined to succeed! They also went crazy and began to shoot fiercely regardless of anything. This actually had an effect by mistake. Some bullets hit the explosive pack already placed in the pier gap, almost knocking the explosive pack out of the gap.

And the demolition team vice-group leader, having already been injured in the leg just now, seeing this situation, simply grabbed the gap in the pier and used his chest to tightly press against the explosive pack with the timing detonator plugged in.

Although the Commander didn't know who this demolition man was right now, he already knew the demolition man's determination. The Commander shouted to the messenger: "Signal to let the bridge deck install explosives quickly, then retreat immediately." After issuing the order, the Commander turned around, wiped his face hard with his sleeve, and then turned his head to roar at the comrades: "Prepare to retreat!"

The Japanese reinforcement regiment couldn't be said to have not arrived in time. After receiving the distress telegram, this regiment moved out immediately. The journey that originally took four hours took them only three hours to arrive. When they rushed to the bridge side and saw the "Japanese army" on the opposite bank retreating rapidly, the bridge body first shook, and following a sound like muffled thunder, the wide bridge deck tilted over like a toy. Then an earth-shattering loud noise erupted from the bridge deck. Several dozen-meter-wide sections of the bridge deck of the solid Yalu River Bridge shattered into several pieces and crashed down, smashing up pillars of water reaching the sky on the river surface. Although still a few hundred meters away from the broken bridge deck, the water mist splashed into the air followed the violent air flow smashed up by the bridge deck falling into the water, scraping their faces like the cold autumn rain of the Northeast.

The Japanese almost unconsciously surged to the bridge side, only to see that a large section of the Yalu River Bridge had collapsed, and a pier in the middle had only half left. It stood lonely in the surging Yalu River water like a broken reef in the sea. That broken huge bridge deck had completely sunk into the river water. Apart from large whirlpools, no trace could be seen on the river surface at all.

After killing all the Japanese troops, the Cavalry Regiment retreated rapidly. This was originally a huge victory, but not a single comrade revealed a smile. The comrades in the enemy's concentrated fire, the comrades who disappeared in the huge smoke and firelight, their figures were deeply etched in everyone's mind. But what this brought was not just sorrow, but more of something else that was unclear but transcended it.

After such a silent march, the troops finally reached a safe area. The Commander ordered the troops to stop. The comrades silently reined in their horses and dismounted in unison. Everyone knew the Commander had something to say. If he didn't say something now, everyone felt they definitely couldn't stand it.

The Commander soon appeared on a small earthen slope in front of the troops. He also dismounted, his face gloomy. Like everyone else, that expression was not just grief. "Comrades, we sacrificed many comrades today! We don't need to say how they sacrificed anymore; we all saw it!" Speaking of this, the muscles on the Commander's face trembled slightly, and for a moment he actually couldn't continue.

Some comrades couldn't help but start sobbing in low voices, and more comrades wiped tears with red eyes.

"Comrades! Don't cry!" Although the Commander said this, his eyes were also red. Wiping his face hard again, the Commander said loudly: "Comrades, why is our military flag red? Because the red flag is dyed red by the blood of martyrs." Seeing that everyone hadn't drummed up morale, the Commander shouted again: "Why is our military flag red?"

"Because the red flag is dyed red by the blood of martyrs!" The comrades shouted in unison.

"We will absolutely not bring shame to this red flag!"

"We will absolutely not bring shame to this red flag!"

Speaking of this, the Commander's chest heaved violently as he fell silent again. However, under the gaze of the whole regiment's comrades, the Commander quickly clenched his fist and raised his arm. He shouted loudly with all his strength: "Eliminate the invaders, liberate all of China!"

"Eliminate the invaders, liberate all of China!" The comrades also roared along. Although the establishment of the Cavalry Regiment wasn't large, this firm roar penetrated the air and echoed clearly on the plain.

"Eliminate the invaders, liberate all of China!"

"Eliminate the invaders, liberate all of China!"

...

After this battle ended, the 18th Corps Cavalry Regiment was awarded the Collective First Class Merit. And the two comrades who sacrificed their lives bravely became the first two Special Class Combat Heroes of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army.