Chapter 17 Chapter Sixteen

The siege ended as abruptly as it began.The cavalry crossed the mountains and came to the rescue from the Amandala Ridge to the south of the river.Captain Ba had vowed before that the rescuers would come, and now his promise was finally fulfilled. Seeing the cavalry, the Pashtuns immediately understood that the comrades attacking Malakan had failed.The rebels who persisted in the fierce attack for so long were defeated in an instant.As soon as the cavalry came over, they were immediately defeated. Some fled into the mountains, and some surrendered on the spot. Captain Ba rode out to meet the reinforcements, while the others continued to hold the ramparts.Although the enemy retreated and surrendered one after another, the soldiers still did not dare to leave their posts without authorization. The logs, sandbags, stones, and soil boxes piled up on the wall reminded all the time that there were still many snipers on the cliff.

At last they realized that their mission had been accomplished, and they stuck to a bunker in a poorly strategic position, resisting the besieged enemy for seven long days and seven nights. Leo was hugged by Mr. Li, the political officer's face was severely sunburned, and the left lens of his glasses was missing.He shook hands warmly with many Indian soldiers, whose names he did not know, but who he had fought with these days, to whom he had put his life and Bernie's life, trusting in their skill and courage.He threw down his crutches, walked around the barrier at a leisurely pace, and finally saw the whole picture of the battlefield clearly.Before, because he was afraid of being shot by a sniper, he only dared to lower his head and nestled against the wall, peeping through the small gun holes and narrow battlements.

In ancient times, there was a powerful Buddhist kingdom in the heart of the Swat Valley.In the 15th century, the Chinese monk Fa Xian passed through the country and was amazed by the forests and gardens here.The forests and gardens on the hills on both sides of the valley are gone now, only rocks and weeds.But the river valley itself is still lush and green, stretching as far as the eye can see along the upper and lower reaches of the river, with dense rice fields on both sides, and snow-white and pink begonias blooming by the water's edge. It's a pity that the war has completely destroyed the beautiful scenery.The dead bodies fell on the ground densely, too many to be removed when the comrades left.The defeated Jiangjun nestled together dejectedly.In the hot climate, the corpses had begun to stink.Leo was not in the habit of praying, but at this moment he bowed his head and prayed for all the victims. This battle was extremely tragic, but also extremely futile.

Camels pulled dozens of field artillery from afar.Officers who had just arrived inspected the field and estimated losses.Soldiers under their command organized surrenders and dug graves to bury the dead.The machinery of the empire, once started, does not stop easily.The bunker will be rebuilt, strengthened and fortified fortifications. The officers will formulate a strategy to send troops to sweep the upper Swat valley and the Bajo region as a punishment. Still, his part is over. He will live on, to spend the rest of his life in the tranquility of Cambridge.One day he would show Benny around the house with the cherry trees near the river.

Mr. Mo! He looked down, it was Mr. Li, the political officer.The general wants to see you.He wanted to know about Dill's situation. Leo sighed.It appears that his part of the war isn't quite over yet. Benny's last wounded patient was none other than Captain Ba himself, who was shot in the stomach while leading his troops to recapture the civilian hospital outside the fort.While operating on Captain Ba, she was vaguely aware that another officer came in to watch her operate, but she concentrated on her work and did not look back. After the operation was completed and Captain Ba was sent to the ward, she remembered that someone else was there.

Ma'am, I'm Dr. Qi, the medical captain. The man introduced himself. For Bernie, the war was truly over at this moment.She excitedly shook hands with Doctor Qi, she would never be so happy when facing strangers, and then she couldn't wait to hand him a large plate of injury records and death certificates. The serious medical officer went to inspect the ward, and after the end, he solemnly said thank you, Mrs. Mo.I will ask my superiors to report and award you medals in recognition of your contribution. Thank you, but please don't be so troublesome, said Bernie sincerely.That would lower the standard for honors.I was just doing my job as a doctor.

They shook hands again.She is free at last.She walked out into the bright August sun feeling like a dandelion seed, and for the first time in a week she dared to linger in the open, feeling as if she had been hiding her whole life. She had planned to enjoy the openness to the fullest, but unfortunately the bunker was full of people.Supplies and armaments kept coming in through the gate.The cooks ran around like headless chickens, providing hot tea and meals for everyone.All the men, Indian or English, looked at her curiously, which made her feel so uncomfortable that she gave up her wanderings and went back to her room.

Leo was in the room, trying awkwardly to put on his coat.She hurried over to help.Be careful with your arms! My arm is fine.Look, I can still do this.He hugged her hard, crushing her breasts so tightly that she couldn't breathe.She wanted to go on like this forever. But he had to let her go eventually.I must go to the General, and I hear he wants to ask me how Dir is doing.If it were someone else, I would have told him to get the hell out of here, for he dared to deprive me of the time I spend with you.However, since he led the army to save us, I had no choice but to ask him to finish the question quickly.

Then go and come back quickly. He hugged her again, spreading kisses all over her face.Although it is noisy, you should still get as much rest as possible.I'll go and make arrangements to see if I can leave today. She tried, but she couldn't rest peacefully.She was startled every time someone spoke loudly, and there was so much noise in the bunker that everyone had to raise their volume to be heard by the other.Twice she even ran to the door, holding the doorknob, before remembering that the war was over and she no longer had to tend to the wounded. So she started packing her luggage, and even if Dan Ao couldn't get the workers to get transportation, the room still had to be returned to Doctor Qi.In fact, there is nothing to pack, they have almost nothing with them except the clothes on their bodies.Still, she found one of her socks under the bed, and a pen with Leo's name engraved on the desk.

When she put the pen in the saddle bag, she realized for the first time that one side was pierced.She shivered, recalling the fear of running away that night.Pulling herself together, she tucked the pen into the inner saddlebag pocket, among the others. The saddlebag was almost empty except for a few notebooks, one of which was torn in half.She picked up the book and flipped through it, and a few torn pages fell out. This must be the letter he had mentioned earlier.The first to his godfather: Sir Robb: I am writing this letter to tell you that I am married again.Despite the special circumstances, please recognize and take care of Mrs. Mo, that is, Miss Ebene, and give her care and respect.

Because of you, my life is wonderful.Sorry to have to say goodbye in such a hasty manner.When I left, I was heartless and took only the most sincere memories with me. your friends and godchildren Sincerely, Leo The second letter was addressed to his four older brothers, and the content was similar, except that there were words of farewell to his nieces and two notes. Side note: Don't be surprised when my will is read.I didn't change it after the annulment. Also note: Will, Matthew, please allow me to apologize again that it took me so long to figure this out.I blindly support his decision out of filial piety to my father.Thank you for not blaming me for this, I cannot express my gratitude. There is also a letter.Bernie hesitated.He had already told her the content of the first two letters, so he shouldn't mind her reading it.But he didn't say there was a third letter.She was about to put it back and don't read it, but found out that the recipient was her. dear benny, There are so many things I want to tell you, but it's too late, so I can only say: These few days have been the best days of my life.Because you are by my side. I sincerely hope that all is well as you read this letter.I hope you have the happiness that I wanted to share with you but couldn't.I hope that in your heart, I am not a failed husband, but a husband who is still working hard at the last moment of his life. always be yours rio Leo's voice came from the slightly open door.Mrs. Mo thank you as soon as possible. She quickly put away the letters, stood up and wiped away the tears from her eyes. Leo came to the door, she asked you and the general have finished talking? No, I haven't seen him yet.But I just got a telegram from Carrie. Carrie?sent here? I think you better take a look. His solemn expression made her heart sink.She took the telegram. Dear Bernie and Leo: I pray that you are safe and well.If something bad happens to one of you, I will never be able to forgive myself because I lied to you that your father is sick. But the lie came true.He suffered a severe stroke last night.The doctor said that he may have another stroke at any time, and there may be no way to recover. If you are in good health when you receive the telegram, please return home far away.Please let me know your status as soon as possible. Carrie I seem to have said that if something happens to you, I will kill her with my bare hands?Now she's dead anyway, Bernie said through gritted teeth. No, I don't want to see you hanged for killing her.I'll find a way to put her in a madhouse, because she's a madman, Leo shook his head angrily.She fooled me.I once sent a telegram to a friend in London to confirm your father's health status. The friend said that he was indeed at home due to illness and did not go out. So you confirmed it.I'm still wondering how you became so gullible. I don't believe a word Carrie says as long as it's about you.When you were in Germany, she told me that you took cocaine injections for depression and depression and became so addicted that you needed at least three injections a day. What? When you were in the United States, she told you that you fell in love with your colleague's husband, and that you were heartbroken because of your unlucky love and even tried to find fault. She is crazy! She did everything she could to get us together. Well, should we trust her this time? The telegram was from the Governor's Office, which indicated that Charles had been of assistance.Since Charlie was involved, that meant she had gone to Jerry or Will.I tend to believe her. She looks up at him.It seemed I must be on my way at once. ah.The road to Nowshera is busy, and the horses that pull the carts are all overworked.It is said that it takes twenty hours to go there now.They promised to send you an escort.Do you need my help to prepare? I'm ready, she said slowly.I just packed my luggage before you came back. He pulled her up from the seat and hugged her into his arms.I will miss you very much. On the premise of not hurting the wound, she also hugged him hard.Promise me you won't be a hero. I would definitely be the most, most cowardly coward.I shall return to London as soon as things are arranged here.Hopefully you won't be off to San Francisco or New Zealand when I arrive in the UK. she kisses him.No, I'll be in London.You're right, I shouldn't be running away anymore.