Chapter 58: Lieutenant

...According to a pension standard formulated by the National Government in the 27th year of the Republic, pensions for the dead and wounded were distributed in two categories.

The first category was the lump-sum pension. The highest amount for a general was 3,000 legal tender notes, while the lowest for a private second class was 80 legal tender notes.

The second category was the annual survivor pension, a long-term stipend received starting the following year, with a maximum of 800 legal tender notes and a minimum of 40 legal tender notes annually.

Due to the depreciation of the legal tender, the pension standards were raised three times in the 31st, 33rd, and 34th years of the Republic.

At a glance, it would seem that the lives of the families of those brothers who died in battle would not be too wretched.

What was the reality? Setting aside the later worthless state of the legal tender, they were essentially nothing more than scrap paper.

According to the National Government's own statistics, a mere 9.2% of the casualties actually received pensions. Considering the ways those bigwigs padded their pockets with graft, the number of people who genuinely got the money was even smaller...

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's diary collection "Talking Nonsense"...

Living up to someone who had already time-traveled for the second time, Hu Biao managed to compose himself rather quickly.

After sorting out his emotions, he wiped his inexplicably reddened eyes, raised his voice, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Stop mourning and wailing!

In war, who doesn't die? Dying in the battle to defend our homes and country means our brothers have died a worthy death.

Instead of wasting your breath crying, you'd better look around and check if any of the brothers on the ground are still breathing! We might just be able to save a few.

By the way, clean up the battlefield as well, and collect the Japs' weapons and ammunition. We'll be counting on those to avenge our fallen brothers."

Spurred by Hu Biao's scolding, the men began to act, forcibly suppressing their grief and physical pain.

However, what Hu Biao and the other six time-travelers did not know was that the current outcome was already vastly better than the original Battle of Dunwu Temple in history.

In the original history, the 804th Regiment had been ordered by the regimental commander to recapture the Dunwu Temple position.

After a day of bloody combat, they did successfully retake the place, but out of a regiment of about a thousand men, only 120 survivors remained.

Among them, only a single battalion commander survived, every single company commander died in action, and merely four platoon leaders were left.

Because reckless fellows like Hu Biao had employed such a crazy tactic, it meant that at least 300 more men from the 804th Regiment had survived.

Meanwhile, an entire battalion from the Jap 9th Division suffered about two hundred more casualties than originally recorded.

If the fallen Sichuan army brothers of the 3rd Company could know this in spirit, they would surely feel immensely comforted...

Twenty minutes after the Dunwu Temple position was captured, Hu Biao was busy bandaging a wounded soldier's thigh, which had been pierced through by a bayonet.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from afar: "Lieutenant Hu, come over here for a moment."

"Stop talking nonsense, damn it, I'm only a second lieutenant! Calling me a lieutenant—are you trying to imply I don't have enough troubles on my plate already?"

Turning his head without yet seeing who was shouting, the irritated Hu Biao muttered this curse under his breath.

Yet a second later, this fellow—who was as fickle as a dog's face, changing expressions on a whim—instantly broke into a flattering, ingratiating smile.

Why? He had cursed the wrong person.

Once he turned completely, he realized the shouting had actually come from Commander Xiang, who was walking toward him with one arm in a sling.

How could Hu Biao not know that his foul mouth had caused trouble again?

Fortunately, Commander Xiang's mood at the moment seemed exceedingly good. He didn't mind Hu Biao's cursing at all, merely tossing back a lighthearted retort:

"You turtle's son of a Hu Biao, you've still got quite a stubborn temper~"

Without dwelling on the matter further, he instead delivered some good news to Hu Biao: "You weren't a lieutenant before, but now you are. You're also the official commander of the 3rd Company.

Because of our achievement in recapturing Dunwu Temple, Senior Official Chen just telegraphed to promote me by one rank to Colonel Regimental Commander, alongside a reward of 6,000 silver dollars.

I am also fulfilling my original promise to promote you, you turtle's son, to a lieutenant company commander, dropping that acting title.

Furthermore, out of these 6,000 silver dollars, I plan to take 4,000 and distribute them among the brothers. The brothers of your 3rd Company fought the hardest, so I'm giving your kid 1,000 to distribute freely."

Being promoted by a rank and receiving a reward of a thousand silver dollars were naturally wonderful things.

Especially those silver dollars; Hu Biao planned to have someone send them back to Sichuan Province as a pension for the brothers of the 3rd Company who had died in battle.

Giving each family a dozen or so silver dollars, though not a large sum, was still a token of regard from him, Commander Hu.

In short, after listening to Commander Xiang, Hu Biao's initially terrible mood improved significantly. It wasn't that he valued the rewards so much, but rather that the brothers of the 3rd Company deserved them.

However, in the moments that followed, Commander Xiang dropped some bad news:

"I reckon those little Japanese won't swallow such a heavy defeat lying down, and they'll likely launch a fierce counterattack early tomorrow morning.

If we want to hold the Dunwu Temple position, the central line position in front of the temple is probably the most crucial spot. I wouldn't feel at ease leaving it to anyone else, so how about your 3rd Company takes the frontline?"

After hesitating for about ten seconds, Hu Biao spoke up. Instead of refusing, he offered a bitter smile and stated the practical difficulties:

"Commander! It's not that I, Hu Biao, am afraid of death.

It's just that including myself, the 3rd Company only has 42 men who can still move. This few people won't be enough, whether it's for reinforcing fortifications or defending."

"It's fine. I'll transfer a full-strength platoon from my guard company to you, directly incorporated into the 3rd Company.

Additionally, I'll temporarily transfer two more platoons tonight to help you reinforce the fortifications," Commander Xiang replied.

A full-strength platoon was only thirty-something men. While small in number, they were relatively elite fighters within the regiment, which somewhat solved the problem of insufficient manpower during battle.

Yet Hu Biao immediately followed up with another request:

"The Japs retreated in a rush and left behind quite a few weapons. Therefore, I want to pick two heavy machine guns, four light machine guns, thirty Type 38 rifles, and some ammunition from them to strengthen our firepower and prepare a surprise for the Japs."

Commander Xiang: "Very well. Any other issues?"

"Reporting to the Commander, no other issues. The 3rd Company guarantees the completion of the mission." Knowing that given the 804th Regiment's limited resources, he couldn't squeeze out any more help, Hu Biao loudly accepted the order.

Thus, he took on the defense mission of the most arduous sector of the Dunwu Temple battlefield...

******

Commander Xiang had a thousand tangled matters to attend to and departed immediately after finalizing the 3rd Company's new assignment.

Drawing upon his understanding of the other time-travelers, Hu Biao issued a string of commands: "Everyone, eat some canned beef first to recover your strength, and then all of you get to work immediately.

Huang Adi, didn't you used to work as a construction supervisor on building sites and know everything?

Take some men later to reinforce the defenses overnight. Whether we can survive the Japs' carpet bombing early tomorrow morning and hold the line depends entirely on your skills.

Chaozi, get all your anti-tank preparations ready.

Tomorrow, even if you have to shove your skull under a tank track, you cannot let the little Japanese tanks break through.

AT, I'm talking to you, white-collar—stop putting on that mourning face. I don't care how you arrange it, just get the 'heartless cannons' ready. That gadget will likely be the key to holding the position when the time comes.

Uncle Bo, you're still in charge of the sniper squad.

You don't need to pitch in when we're building fortifications later; take a few men and pot-shot the Japs. We probably won't get any sleep tonight, but those little Japanese shouldn't expect any peace either.

Remember to change your spot immediately after firing a shot; don't get yourselves killed by the Japs.

Heixing, go through the captured weapons and pick out two heavy machine guns, four light machine guns, and some matching ammunition.

Make sure you pick the Type 96 for the light machine guns; nobody even wants those 'nambu' pieces of junk.

Right! Go consult with Huang Adi on how to set up the sniper nests and machine gun fire points.

Hammer, use the radio to telegraph my big brother—you idiot, I mean Bureau Chief Sun of the division headquarters logistics, of course.

Tell him to find a way to deliver a slab of pork, along with Pixian bean paste, chili peppers, and other ingredients to the front line before dawn tomorrow. I'm going to treat the brothers to twice-cooked pork.

As for how much it costs, put it on my tab and deduct it during our next transaction."

Driven by this barrage of orders, the men sprang into action.

As they moved, perhaps imagining the taste of twice-cooked pork, they repeatedly swallowed their saliva. As for how that fellow Hu Biao would bamboozle Bureau Chief Sun, they couldn't care less.

As long as there was meat to eat, it would definitely shut their mouths...