diymy Chapter 749 Finding a White Flag
Chapter 749 Finding a White Flag
"surrender?"
The soldier nodded frantically.
Tank pointed east.
"Run east. Run fifty kilometers, there's a prisoner-of-war camp."
The soldier was stunned.
The tank driver yelled, "Run! Don't block the way!"
The soldier got up and ran east. After a few steps, he suddenly turned back, looked at the tank and the tank crewman, as if he wanted to say something.
But the tank had already driven away.
He stood there, stunned for three seconds, and then continued running.
As evening fell, a British major led several dozen soldiers into a depression.
They had been running all day and were completely exhausted. The major decided to rest there for a while and continue until it got dark.
But the pursuers arrived before nightfall.
A Lanfang tank appeared at the edge of the depression. The turret turned and aimed at them.
The major raised his hands and shouted, "Don't shoot! We surrender!"
The tank stopped.
The tank crewman poked his head out of the turret and looked at the dozens of people in the depression with their hands raised.
"Run east. Run fifty kilometers, there's a prisoner-of-war camp."
The major was stunned.
"You...you're just letting us go like that?"
The tank crewman looked at him with an indescribable look in his eyes.
"We don't have time to capture you. Go inside yourselves. Don't let us see you again."
The major remained silent for three seconds.
Then he turned around and said to the soldiers behind him, "Go, head east."
Dozens of people got up and ran eastward.
The tank crewman watched the figures gradually disappear into the distance and shook his head.
Chief of Staff Li Tiejun poked his head out of the tank next to him and asked, "Why don't you arrest them?"
The tank driver scratched his head.
"Arrest them? We don't have that many people to watch over prisoners. Let them run in on their own, it'll save us trouble."
Li Tiejun smiled.
"Okay, that saves trouble."
He patted the tank's turret.
"Let's go, keep chasing."
On the night of February 16, British soldiers were still running.
The moonlight was bright, shining on the desert with a pale, eerie glow. The running figures were exceptionally clear in the moonlight, like a group of ghosts being chased.
Someone was running when he suddenly fell down and couldn't get up. People ran past him, but no one stopped to help him.
Some people couldn't run anymore, so they sat on the ground, staring blankly at those who were still running. A tank drove by in the distance, and he closed his eyes, waiting to die.
The tank drove past him without stopping.
He opened his eyes and stood there, stunned.
The tanks have already driven far away.
He struggled to his feet and kept running.
A young soldier was running when he suddenly remembered something. He took a photo out of his pocket and glanced at it.
The photo shows a blonde girl with a sweet smile.
He pinned the photo to his chest and kept running.
As he was running, a stray bullet struck him in the back.
He fell down, the photo slipped from his hand and landed on the sand.
The moonlight shone on the photograph, illuminating the young face.
The girl was still smiling.
He can no longer see.
At dawn on February 17th, the sky began to lighten.
Zhao Dengyu stood atop a tank, peering through binoculars at the approaching sand dunes. Behind him, the pursuers continued their advance. Two days and one night, they had covered two hundred kilometers. The tank tracks were worn thin, the truck tires had burst, and the soldiers' feet were covered in blisters.
But no one stopped.
Because it's fast, it's almost catching up.
Li Tiejun ran over and handed him the water bottle.
"Commander, have some water. You haven't slept for two days."
Zhao Dengyu took the kettle, took a big gulp, and wiped his mouth.
How much further?
Li Tiejun pointed to the map.
"We are still 30 kilometers from Gennaye. Reconnaissance planes report that approximately 50,000 British troops have escaped."
Zhao Dengyu nodded.
"Fifty thousand people. Four hundred thousand people, only fifty thousand are left."
He lowered his binoculars and looked at the soldiers who were resting.
"Tell the brothers to keep pushing. Once we reach Gennaye, we can rest."
Li Tiejun nodded and turned to relay the order.
Zhao Dengyu continued to look at the increasingly bright sky ahead.
almost.
almost.
At 9:00 AM on February 17th, outside the city of Gennaye.
Liu Zhenjie stood on a high ground, holding up binoculars to watch the surging crowd in the distance.
Fifty thousand British troops are pouring toward Gnaye from the west.
They ran for two days and one night, and everyone was exhausted. Some collapsed while running and never got up again. Some ran until they were foaming at the mouth, but they kept running. Some ran until they were delirious, muttering "water...water..." before collapsing.
Through the telescope, the faces of those people were filled with despair.
Liu Zhenjie put down his binoculars and took a deep breath.
"Order all units to prepare for battle."
Behind him, 18,000 Lanfang soldiers stood ready.
The machine gun was mounted on the sand dune, its muzzle aimed at the surging crowd. The mortar was adjusted to its firing angle, and shells were laid out beside it. The rifleman lay prone in the trench, his finger on the trigger.
No one speaks.
Only the sound of the wind blowing across the sand dunes and the growing clamor in the distance could be heard.
The first wave of British troops reached the outskirts of Gnaye.
They saw the flag on the city wall—the golden dragon flag of Lanfang, fluttering in the morning breeze.
They were stunned.
Then someone knelt down and cried.
More people knelt down and cried.
After running for two days and one night, covering 300 kilometers and killing hundreds of thousands of people, they finally reached Gennaye.
But for Gnaye, it was not hope, but despair.
A British colonel walked to the front of the column, looked at the Lanfang position that was ready for battle, and then looked back at the pursuing troops that were surging behind him.
There is no way forward, and no way back.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then he opened his eyes and said to the soldier beside him:
"Go, find a white flag."
Allenby stood in the middle of the crowd.
His uniform was tattered, his face was covered in dust and sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot. For two days and one night, he hadn't slept, eaten, or drunk anything. He kept running, running alongside his soldiers.
But now, I can't run anymore.
He looked at the Lanfang position in the distance, at the golden dragon flag fluttering in the wind, and at the dark muzzles of guns.
He suddenly remembered what he had said three days ago.
"Four hundred thousand people surged forward, and the people of Lanfang couldn't stop them."
What now?
Of the 400,000 people, only 50,000 remain.
The rest died in that desert.
Chief of Staff Layton walked over, covered in blood with a deep wound on his face.
"General, what... what do we do?"
Allenby looked at him and remained silent for three seconds.
Then he said, "Find a white flag."
Layton was stunned.
"General? You—"
Allen waved his hand.
"Execute the command."
At 10:00 AM on February 17th, outside the city of Gennaye.
Zhao Dengyu's pursuers have arrived.
More than five hundred tanks lined up behind the British troops, their cannons aimed at those who had nowhere to escape. Infantry followed behind the tanks, rifles raised, awaiting the final orders.
Zhao Dengyu stood on a tank, holding up binoculars to look at the besieged British troops ahead.
Fifty thousand people huddled on the sand outside the city of Gennaye, like a flock of sheep waiting to be slaughtered.