The next morning, Dongfangba, accompanied by U.S. Marine Corps Commander Geiger and the Chief of Staff of the 16th Division, went to the field hospital where the 16th Division was stationed to visit the injured. After fierce battles during the day and night yesterday, the 16th Division successfully captured the front slope position and the top of Zuoqian Mountain, and fended off several Japanese counterattacks last night. In addition, transport planes kept airdropping ammunition and supplies to the troops on the top of the mountain. The Japanese also knew that It was almost impossible to recapture the 105mm howitzer position on the reverse slope. Therefore, the tunnel connected to the howitzer position was blown up inside the mountain. The tunnel was blocked by rocks. The Huatai Army had to spend a lot of money to enter the mountain from the howitzer position tunnel. A lot of time was spent digging out the rock and soil, but no one wanted to do that. By morning, the Japanese army had launched a total of four counterattacks last night, all of which were unsuccessful. However, they caused more than 40 casualties to Captain Fan's company defending the howitzer position, including 12 killed and 29 injured. The convoy arrived at the field hospital at the division headquarters. As they had been notified in advance, all the doctors, nurses and patients who were able to walk were waiting in two lines in the field hospital compound. Dongfang Ba received a warm welcome when he got out of the car. Although he is really disgusted with showing off, as the head of state that attracts everyone's attention, Dongfang Ba also knows that sometimes showing off is necessary, at least to let the people feel that the king is not aloof and does not care about anything, but is always in contact with the people and knows the bottom. the living conditions of the people. Dongfang Ba smiled and walked over to shake hands with the director, deputy director and some major doctors and nurses of the division field hospital, and kept saying: "Thank you for your hard work!" After the welcome ceremony, Dongfang Ba Led by the dean and some medical staff, the others went to the ward area to express condolences and see the injured soldiers and officers. This was not a show, it was very necessary. Officers and soldiers were on the front line going through life and death. An official came down to pay a visit. . It can also make these injured soldiers feel that the country has not forgotten them. If it is just for money, where can't they make money? Why go to the army and put your head in your belt to get military pay? This era is a war era, and you may die at any time on the battlefield. I stayed in the field hospital for two hours, chatting with the wounded, and then visited the military camp at ten o'clock, which took another hour. He briefly inspected the troops staying at the military camp and took photos with the soldiers and officers. At ten o'clock in the morning, Dongfang Ba insisted on going to the front line to inspect the frontline positions. Neither the Chief of Staff of the 16th Division nor Geiger could stop him, so he could only accompany him to prevent any accidents. Several high-ranking officers had changed into the uniforms of lower-ranking officers. Dongfang Ba had the rank of second lieutenant, while Geiger and the others had the rank of sergeant and sergeant respectively. When they arrived at the front line, Dongfang Ba and the others put on steel helmets. To be honest, these helmets could only protect against shrapnel to a limited extent. If the bullets shot past them, they would still be able to defend themselves without being injured. But if he is hit from the front, the helmet cannot stop the bullet, and his head will still be penetrated. The trenches in the frontline positions are crooked. Although the Allies control the air, the trenches should be dug crookedly. This is a military regulation. It is not like in movies and TV series where directors and screenwriters who have no military knowledge make the trenches dug straight. Fly over and fly along the straight trench, shooting down a bunch of bullets. Everyone in the trench was dead. Moreover, the trenches here are not only curved, but also very deep, at least two meters deep. It is not like in movies and TV shows where soldiers walk in trenches with half of their bodies exposed. The trenches here are made of wooden boards and other building materials. It was reinforced to prevent the Japanese army from bombarding it. The trenches were filled. Moreover, there is a reserved fighting position on the edge of the trench. When a soldier stands on it, his head is just level with the top of the trench wall, and he can see the enemy attacking. This type of trench is the most formal. It is also the trench that is best able to defend against shelling, bombing, and bullet fire. There were soldiers sitting scattered everywhere in the trench. Some soldiers were chatting, and some were wiping and checking their firearms. Two soldiers were holding rifles to clear the way in front. Dongfang Ba and others followed behind. Basically no one in the trench noticed them. people. Along the way, Dongfang Ba found that the soldiers were in good spirits and basically relaxed, without the tension and fear of war. Because this place is close to the sea and there is a freshwater lake nearby, the trenches were dug deep and water seeped in. When walking, there was mud under our feet. As we were inspecting, we heard exclamations and noises from ahead. "What's going on? Come on, let's go over and have a look!" Dongfang Ba was tall. He looked up and saw many people gathered together, not knowing what they were doing. When I walked in, I heard the soldiers gathered together exclaiming: "I wipe it, is it so thick?" "It's so long!" These words can easily cause misunderstanding to human ears. The two soldiers in front separated the crowd. Make way for Dongfang Ba and others, and wait until they enter the circleLook, I saw two tall and strong sergeants bending down to catch a long and thick creature in the mud under their feet with both hands. The thing was covered in mud, and it was hard to see what it was. Dongfang Ba pulled a soldier next to him and asked, "Brother, what is this?" The soldier glanced at Dongfang Ba and said, "Eel, this is the biggest eel I have ever seen. Look at that thing. He probably weighs twenty or thirty kilograms!" "Eel? Hiss¡ª¡ª" After hearing this soldier's words, not only Dongfang Ba, but also the chief of staff of the 16th Division and several of his entourage could not help but gasp. . This eel is indeed quite big, as thick as an adult man's arm and more than two meters long. Due to the mud on its body, it is slippery. Moreover, its open teeth are particularly fierce, and the teeth are two centimeters long. , this eel is really too big. Because eels are slippery and muddy, the two sergeants couldn't catch them for a long time. Dongfang Ba asked: "Is this thing going to become a spirit? Where did it come from?" The soldier explained: "I don't know, but I guess it came out of the ground. There is thin mud here and there is a pond nearby. I guess we dug its nest passage when we were digging trenches!¡± There were soldiers around who kept shouting, telling the two sergeants to be careful, that big eel can bite, it really does, catch it. When it comes, it opens its big mouth and shows its fangs, which is very fierce. After grabbing it for a long time, one of the sergeants got up angrily and said, "Oh no, I won't catch it anymore. This thing is too slippery. Take a gun and shoot it in the head!" A soldier next to him put his rifle on the ground. , the sergeant took the rifle, pulled the bolt, pointed it at the eel's head and was about to shoot. The chief of staff of the 16th Division immediately stopped him: "Stop, who told you to shoot?" Attention to the Japanese troops on the mountain, Dongfangba is here now. It would be terrible if the Japanese fired a few mortar shells here. The chief of staff did not want such an incident to happen, so he immediately came out to stop it. The soldier turned his head and was about to curse. He was startled when he saw that it was the chief of staff of the division. He immediately threw his rifle to the soldiers beside him, stood at attention and saluted loudly: "Take your seat!" None of the surrounding soldiers noticed that he was the chief of staff of the division. Commander, when I heard the sergeant shouting, I was immediately frightened. Everyone stood at attention and saluted. "KingKing? Oh my god, it's the king!" One of the soldiers recognized Dongfang Ba and couldn't help shouting immediately. This was a big deal. The sergeant just now shouted loudly: "Everyone salutes!" "Wha¡ª" Dongfang Ba smiled and returned the salute, and then said: "Okay, okay, everyone put down your hands. If the little Japanese sees it, When you all salute me, you must think that I am some kind of big shot. If a shell hits me, I will be dead, haha! "Originally, according to the regulations, no matter how high the rank is, officers are not allowed to be seen in the frontline trench positions. Salute, but when everyone saw Dongfang Ba actually appearing here, everyone forgot this in the excitement. After seeing everyone put down their hands, Dongfang Ba bent down and looked at the eel in the mud and asked: "How did you discover this thing? This eel is not small, I guess it is a king eel!" The soldier explained: "Your Majesty, we just discovered it. It has been hiding in the mud under the trench wall. A brother accidentally stepped on it while walking. This guy immediately hissed and bit the animal. The brother's calf was bitten through, and the boot was bitten through. It bled a lot. It took a lot of effort to get him to let go. The brother is now sent to the field hospital! " Such a big eel, Dongfang Ba and others! It was really unheard of. Several senior officers accompanying him were very interested in this thing and kept staring at it. However, this guy was swimming around in the mud. It looked so big that it made a lot of noise when its tail swung. . Dongfang Ba asked: "What are you talking about? What are you going to do to it?" Seeing Dongfang Ba being so easy-going, the sergeant let go and said with a smile: "It's almost noon now, we're going to take it to the cooking class to kill it." Let¡¯s make a few hot pots. Let¡¯s have this for lunch. Why don¡¯t Your Majesty come with you?¡± Dongfang Ba shook his head and said: "This thing has grown too big, and the meat is rough and not delicious. It is best to eat eels as thick as a little finger. Otherwise, I will give you two hundred yuan to buy some fish meat for you to come back for lunch." Extra food. I want to take this thing back and keep it, so how about giving it to me? " "Two hundred dragon coins is a lot, equivalent to a month's basic salary of a worker. The sergeant saw that Dongfang Ba liked this monster, and he was very happy. He was so happy that he immediately said: "If your Majesty likes it, just take it away. There is no need to buy any fish!" Dongfang Ba waved his hand and said: "How can there be any reason to take things for nothing? Ah Si, go and make arrangements and buy some fish. ?Come back with some drinks and let the cooking team do the cooking. I'll have a few drinks with my brothers on the front line at noon! " "good! " " Long live! Long live". The surrounding soldiers couldn't help raising their rifles and shouting. Fortunately, the top of Zuoqian Mountain has been occupied by our side, and the Japanese army cannot detect the situation here. "Okay! "Ah Si agreed and took out the money and handed it to one of the guards, asking him to find the officer in charge of logistics here to arrange the matter. Dongfang Ba asked again: "Chief of Staff, does it matter if you have a few drinks at noon? " "This Okay, I'll make arrangements at noon." Seeing Dongfang Ba's high interest, the chief of staff had no choice but to agree.