flstandardbreds Chapter 1392 The Great Earthquake in the Upper Level
Chapter 1392 The Great Earthquake in the Upper Level
Zhang Xinghui's voice became extremely heavy, almost uttering each word slowly and deliberately:
"The Zhou Bang Military Commission, the Central Plains War Zone Command, and Commander Gu Chengyuan, on behalf of all the soldiers and civilians of Zhou Bang, express our deepest condolences to all the officers and soldiers who bravely sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Gucheng Lake! We also extend our sincerest sympathies to the families of the martyrs!"
Their achievements will endure as long as the mountains and rivers! Their spirit will shine as brightly as the sun and moon!
"Their sacrifice was not in vain! It is because of them, and countless heroes like them, who paved the way with their lives, that the flame of civilization has been able to continue, and the hope of mankind has never been extinguished!"
"After deliberation and approval by the Standing Committee of Zhoubang, it has been decided to posthumously award the honorary title of 'Civilized Guardian' to all officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Gucheng Lake! Their deeds will be permanently recorded in the annals of Zhoubang and the list of heroes!"
"From this day forward, flags shall be flown at half-mast for three days throughout the entire territory of Zhou Bang, and all entertainment activities shall be suspended in order to express our condolences."
"Now, all compatriots, please observe a moment of silence."
The volume of the funeral music was slightly increased, and its heavy and mournful melody completely enveloped the entire Beibei settlement and all Zhou Bang's controlled areas that could receive the broadcast signal.
At this very moment, in Chongqing and throughout the province, in every gathering place and shelter where the broadcast could be received, countless survivors followed the broadcast and entered a moment of silence.
The men took off their hats and bowed their heads; the women silently shed tears; the elderly stood up shakily; even the bewildered children quieted down, influenced by the solemn expressions of the adults.
Time seemed to freeze amidst the mournful music.
Only that melody, symbolizing endless sorrow, echoed in the valleys, above the gathering place, and in the hearts of every survivor—
The moment of silence seemed both very long and very short.
As the last note of the funeral music slowly dissipated into the morning mist, Liao Xiaoyu and Zhang Xinghui's voices came over the loudspeaker again, their voices even hoarser than before, yet strangely imbued with a powerful energy:
"Mourning is for the sake of remembering."
"Remembering is for moving forward."
"The heroes have passed away, but their spirit lives on. We, the younger generation, must carry on their legacy, overcome difficulties, and rebuild our homes to live up to the blood of the martyrs and this hard-won hope of survival!"
"Zhou Bang Wartime Broadcasting Station, Chongqing Branch. This broadcast has now concluded."
The broadcast abruptly stopped.
But the heavy silence in the settlement lasted for a long time.
No one moved immediately, no one spoke. People were still immersed in immense grief and shock.
Finally, the sunlight struggled to pierce through the perennial thin fog over Chongqing, casting a faint halo of light on the damp rooftops and silent crowds of the gathering place.
A new day has begun.
But this day is destined to be tinged with a somber yet sublime tone.
Those unfamiliar unit numbers, those heroes never met, and the place name "Gucheng Lake" were deeply engraved in the memory of every survivor.
They may not know the specific details of the battle, but they know that there was a group of people who, so that they could have a bowl of porridge here and welcome another morning, were left forever in the distance.
Tears still lingered on many people's faces.
But in the eyes of some, besides sorrow, something else began to ignite—a glimmer of light called "responsibility" and "moving forward," ignited by the blood and fire of heroes.
After a long silence, the Beibei settlement slowly resumed its flow. But the footsteps seemed heavier and more steady than ever before.
...
Outside the joint operations command center in Beibei, Lu Chong, commander of the Chongqing Military Region, was squatting on the edge of the steps like an old man.
He was wearing a faded military green t-shirt with rolled-up hems, a pair of t-shirts, and old-fashioned plastic slippers with worn-out heels.
He held an enamel mug in his left hand, while his right hand still had a toothbrush in his mouth, with white foam covering the corners of his mouth.
From the moment the broadcast started, he remained in that position without changing, as if petrified, his eyes fixed on the banyan tree in front of him that had sprouted new branches from the ruins, but his focus was off.
Time seemed to collapse around him.
Behind me, the heavy blast-proof door of the command center was tightly closed, but the lights inside were still on, and the encrypted channels were filled with reports of the battle situation from various war zones in Chongqing.
Lu Chong couldn't hear any of that.
He could only hear his heart pounding heavily in his chest, one beat after another, making his temples throb.
1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou.
All were killed in action.
These ten words were like ten red-hot steel rods, driving each one into his skull, through his eardrums, through his brain, and into the deepest part of his spine.
The sheer amount of information in this news was incredibly impactful for him...
He knew perfectly well that the 1st Infantry Brigade of Yezhou carried far too much, especially for its commanders...
As one of the commander's original units, it contains his classmates, teachers, memories... and even his only younger brother—Gu Chengyun!
So, the leader's only younger brother is gone just like that?
The young man he thought had a bright future was caught in the footnotes of the Battle of Gucheng Lake and quietly perished, without even being listed separately.
Thinking about all this, Lu Chong couldn't help but feel a complex mix of absurdity and disbelief...
"Old Zhao!! Old Zhao!! Something terrible has happened!!"
After a brief moment of shock, Lu Chong jumped to his feet, ignoring the foam on his lips, and with his long legs sprinting in his slippers, rushed towards the joint operations center behind him.
...
While the Chongqing Military Region Command was in chaos because of this broadcast, not far away in the Chongqing Management Committee building, Cai Anxin, the chairman of the Chongqing Management Committee, was also caught in an unprecedentedly complex emotional state because of the news...
Or rather, it wasn't just him; almost all the high-ranking veterans of the Central Plains War Zone in various regions were shaken to an unprecedented degree by this news!
In an instant, urgent requests to return to the Central Plains Theater Command flooded in like snowflakes...