The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 437 Sailing Away (Bonus Chapter for Mina)

"These guys are just bored and have nothing better to do. Instead of putting on this ceremony to celebrate their entry into the city, they should cook something delicious to celebrate."

My buddy only ate two bowls of sweet potato porridge this morning, he's starving.

Speaking in a voice that only a few people nearby could hear, Hu Biao complained.

Despite the criticism, in the eyes of others, Commander Hu at this moment was upright in military bearing and impeccable in military appearance, worthy of being called the famous Tiger of Shanghai and a top battlefield general of the National Army.

As soon as Hu Biao finished speaking, AT immediately chimed in, "Yeah! I hate this kind of formalism the most."

The other transmigrators, including Annie, didn't speak after hearing this, but the fleeting expressions in their eyes showed that they also disliked this so-called entry ceremony.

It was already 1:30 p.m. that day.

On the city wall, which had been destroyed by the "Heartless Cannon," many building ruins had not been cleared away, and the ground was still covered with bloodstains scattered by soldiers from both sides.

The National Revolutionary Army's celebration of the recapture of Nanning and the ceremony for entering the city were also officially held at the North Gate.

Because the battle had only been over for less than two hours, the hastily held entry ceremony was naturally quite shabby in all aspects, and there wasn't even time to paint some slogans.

The onlookers didn't even have a small flag to wave.

Fortunately, although the conditions were rather meager, the atmosphere at the scene was incredibly positive, thanks to the excitement of today's resounding victory.

The soldiers, still smelling of gunpowder and blood from the recent battle, stood in a line along the roadside, holding rifles with fixed bayonets, maintaining order.

On each of their faces was an indescribable sense of pride.

Many of the city's residents, whose fear of war had not completely subsided, still gathered by the roadside.

The faces of everyone were filled with the joy of victory.

And finally, after driving away the Japanese invaders, they had high hopes for the future.

If there were any people who wouldn't be impressed by such a scene, it would be Hu Biao and his fellow transmigrators from the modern world.

The main reason is that they've encountered this kind of superficial engineering quite often in modern dimensions, and they really find it rather distasteful.

However, all of the above situations soon underwent a fundamental change.

Those were the four big shots, Bai, Chen, Li, and Zhang, each riding a tall horse captured from the Japanese, accompanied by a group of staff officers from the front-line command post.

They appeared, escorted by a group of well-equipped and impeccably dressed guards.

Amid cheers from the city's inhabitants, and with expressions of undisguised triumph, they passed straight through the north gate and officially entered Nanning City.

Then, the four bigwigs suddenly pulled their warhorses back, bringing the procession into the city to a halt.

Then, Commander Bai raised his right hand, which was covered by a snow-white glove, and after a few gestures, the loud cheers gradually subsided.

Then, Commander Bai gestured for Hu Biao and the others standing to one side to be quiet, while simultaneously making a lively announcement:
"Commander Hu, Chief of Staff An, and all the elites of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, come here quickly."

"Today, our army was able to recapture Nanning City, and your Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment deserves the greatest credit; therefore, even if a few of us are missing from this entry ceremony, we absolutely cannot omit you, these great heroes."

As Commander Bai spoke, the guards behind him led up several warhorses, just enough for each of them to have one.

Then, for Hu Biao and his ilk, everything changed.

It turns out that what they disliked wasn't formalism itself, but rather being merely a background figure in such a process.

Wouldn't it be amazing to have them as the main characters?
In the time that followed, they rode on tall horses, slowly making their way along the ancient streets of Nanning.

Along the roadside, soldiers from various units solemnly saluted them, while civilians cheered loudly, and young women and wives pointed and whispered about them with shy expressions.

There were even numerous journalists, seemingly without regard for the cost of film, constantly pressing the shutter button, capturing their heroic figures in action.

At the same time, they couldn't help but recall the arduous battles they had experienced since this transmigration, and how they had finally emerged victorious.

Not to mention anyone else, even Hu Biao, a holdout who participated in every time he traveled through time, was experiencing such treatment and a scene for the first time.

That wonderful feeling made them feel elated for a moment.

Although I didn't drink any alcohol, I felt like my head was spinning.

This continued until they arrived at the Xiyuan Hotel, at which point the entry ceremony officially ended, and they all dismounted.

Suddenly, all the surviving transmigrators felt a sudden realization:
In five more hours, they will be returning to the modern world...

******
Around 6:30 pm, with about 20 minutes left, it will be completely dark in the Guinan area.

A truck sped up and appeared at a small dock on the Yongjiang River in the southern part of Nanning.

After the truck came to a stop, thirteen people entered: Hu Biao, Annie, Hei Xing, Lao Tai, AT, Uncle Bo, Lao Yu, the warehouse manager, Mo Shuiyan, Xiao Cui, the thugs, the guards, and Lao San.

They jumped down one by one from the carriages, which were covered with thick tarpaulins.

At this time, they were not wearing crisp military uniforms, but rather large straw hats on their heads and civilian clothes.

The various long and short firearms that he usually carried, armed to the teeth, were nowhere to be seen. He was just carrying a large box, looking like he was about to go on a long trip.

After all thirteen of them boarded a small wooden boat.

Led by Hu Biao, they all turned around, faced the man dressed as a driver, and, while giving a solemn salute, said:

"Comrade Sickle! Take care, we'll meet again on the day of victory."

With a less-than-perfect but incredibly earnest attitude, he returned Hu Biao and his men's salute, solemnly saying:
"Comrade Hu Biao, and all other comrades, please take care. Let's meet again on the day of victory."

Then, Sickle helped loosen the ropes securing the boat, and Hu Biao pulled a bamboo pole from the bow. After some clumsy rowing, he slowly propelled the small boat away from the dock.

Once in the middle of the Yong River, let the small boat drift downstream with the current.

Throughout the entire process, Sickle stood silently on the dock watching the small boat sail away; outwardly calm, but inwardly his emotions were churning like a raging storm.

That's right! Hu Biao and his group planned to travel back to the modern world by boat.

More accurately, ever since that moment of realization dawned on them, and they knew that they would be returning to the modern world in five hours, they all busied themselves with various tasks.

For example, the arrangement for the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment in Guangxi Province would be made so that it would be disbanded immediately after they left, with the officers and soldiers returning to their respective homes or joining other local garrison forces.

In reality, they will be broken up into smaller units and will follow our Party in the future, becoming a powerful armed force of our Party in Guangxi Province.

Those large boxes, which each of them carried at least, were filled with valuable items such as antiques and gold, which they planned to take back as spoils of war and distribute, provided they could actually bring them back.

Oh, right! In addition to the thirteen people mentioned above, one other time traveler survived, making the number of survivors surprisingly good.

That's Old K, who lost a leg. He and Old Third were known as the "crippled newbies"; because his injury was too severe to be transferred, he is still staying in the field hospital in Dadong Township.

As his return time approached, he excused himself to go to the restroom.

Leaning on a cane, I walked into the woods of the field hospital under the moonlight, found a tree to sit under, and silently waited for the time to return.

Even now, he still feels that this time travel was as magical as a dream...

(End of this chapter)