studiobondurri Chapter 625: 584 songs
Chapter 625: 584 songs
Chapter 625: 584 songs
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The Tang Army’s 1st Armored Division finally came to a halt, just as they were about to catch a glimpse of the Endless Sea.
Along the way, they had captured almost 20,000 prisoners, fully demonstrating the Armored Corps’ characteristic of striking as swiftly as the wind and as fast as lightning.
There were even times when their opponents didn’t know the enemy had arrived, and the guns of the Tang Army’s armored vehicles were already pointed at their heads.
However, such relentless rushing came at a cost, and now they were left with little more than 130 tanks. The rest were either paralyzed on the way or had been destroyed and abandoned.
Liu Guozhu lay next to a tank, washing up. He had been pushing forward day and night for over twenty-four hours, and although it was now noon, he still brushed his teeth and washed his face before settling down for a good sleep.
...
Compared to the infantry who marched on foot, he was quite fortunate. At least his tank didn’t mind carrying his daily necessities and tent, nor did it mind carrying his food and drink.
After all, to keep up with the pace of the tank units, the infantry reportedly threw away anything they could on the way.
It is unclear from which war the Tang infantry learned this special skill to trouble the logistics department by discarding items.
Once they started moving, they would toss things about; upon encountering refugees, they’d give away what they couldn’t carry; when in high spirits, they’d even throw away the money in their pockets...
Therefore, for the logistics department of the Tang Army, the war was also a desperate and chaotic tragedy.
Troops marching forward scattered their belongings, while those returning started collecting refuse: The roads were full of Qi Country soldiers captured by the armored corps, so hands inevitably had to be assigned to escort these soldiers to prisoner-of-war camps or holding areas.
Thus, the units left behind to guard the prisoners on their journey back began to pick up all sorts of junk en route.
At the beginning, the soldiers’ intentions were quite humble: they just wanted to retrieve their own discarded items.
For example, they might have thrown away raincoats and spare clothing and socks in the rush of an attack, and they hoped to find these belongings on their way back.
Although soldiers wouldn’t be fined for discarding some of their gear, they would still face criticism and education, and they might encounter difficulties when retrieving new supplies.
So, getting some items back meant they’d face two fewer reprimands when criticized. But over time, this scavenging behavior gradually changed its nature.
Because you could never guarantee that what you picked up was your own, the practice subtly transformed.
If you lost a raincoat while rushing, but found two pairs of socks and underwear instead, what then?
So, just pick up a bit more. After all, you’d take it back, maybe trade it with the guy in the next unit who found a lunchbox, or haggle with the logistics manager...
“Ha, ptui!” Spitting water onto the tank tracks, Liu Guozhu felt a sense of accomplishment as he flicked off a clump of mud that stuck there.
His tank was almost unrecognizable from its original paint color, especially the front armor, which was full of mottled bullet marks and a corner already showing rust from a shell hit.@@@@
One of the headlights was knocked off, whereabouts unknown, so last night they could only travel with one headlight, struggling to keep up with the main force.
“Hey! Brothers! Shouldn’t we also sing a song for our infantry comrades?” The company commander came over and hollered at the scattered soldiers nearby the camp.
He clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention: “Let’s have one! Who will start?”
“I’ll do it!” The platoon commander from the 1st platoon leaned against a tank, fixing his cap on his head, and said, “I’ll start us off, and everyone can follow along!”
“Oh!” All the tank soldiers hooted and hollered, their monotonous military lives and the oppressive atmosphere of the battlefield making these young men immerse themselves entirely in whatever little amusement came their way.
Those who had been kicking the can stopped, and everyone looked at the platoon commander from the 1st platoon, waiting for him to start.
Amid the rising and falling chorus of “Ma Cuihua” in the distance, the 1st platoon commander softly began to sing a song all the tank soldiers knew: “My dear, if one day, I can’t return...”
“My dear, if one day I can’t return, please don’t grieve for me!” Everyone joined in the singing, their voices were not loud as there weren’t as many of them as there were infantry, but the novelty quieted the infantry, who all stopped to listen to the tank soldiers’ song.
“My dear, if one day I can’t return, please don’t grieve for me. Even if my soul is consumed by flames no longer here, at least I will have a coffin of steel.” Tang Mo wrote these lyrics, and a composer from this world wrote the melody.
The tune wasn’t as catchy as Katyusha and was somewhat awkward, but it was still their own song, and the one they loved the most!
“My dear, if one day I can’t return, please don’t grieve for me. By then my beloved tank would have turned into wreckage, but luckily I will be buried with it.” Liu Guozhu sang loudly and cheerfully as he remembered the tanks hit by shells and the blazing fires.
“I’ve touched scorching gravel and seen the whiteness of snowflakes, Great Tang’s boundary markers are my tracks. I’ve fired deadly shells and sung the most beautiful beats, not even a cheetah is as fast as me!” he sang with gusto, especially that line about the boundary markers being his tracks.
He loved that line; beyond his tank lay the frontiers of the Great Tang! Wherever his tank rolled over, that land was Great Tang’s territory!
One day, his tank would roll into the Dahua Empire’s Imperial Capital, crushing those who had once scorned him, those who had tried to conquer him.
“If one day, I return in my tank, as soon as I’ve stopped the tank, I’ll go hug you tight, my love,” the 1st platoon commander finished the last line, his expression soft, with a faint smile on his face.
Along this journey, his tank, his troops, had proved to him and to the whole world just how strong they really were!
“Well sung! Another one!” On the road, the soldiers with rifles laughed out loud and shouted.
“Scram! Move out! I reckon after another three to five kilometers, you’ll be seeing Qi Country’s bayonets!” A tank soldier yelled back.
“Hahahaha!” All the infantry laughed.
“They have bayonets, we have fabric rippers!” A burly man carrying an MG-42 machine gun tapped his weapon and shouted. Instantly, there was even more laughter.
“Let’s go! We’re off to catch Qi Country prisoners!” An infantryman called back, “Hanging with you guys, we won’t catch any prisoners!”
Another infantryman, moving forward, added in self-mockery, “Following the armored troops, we starve for three out of nine meals! Hahahaha!”
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