The Mysterious Soldier of the Anti-Japanese War

An hour after Lei Tao and his men successfully destroyed the Japanese chemical weapons production and experimental base and escaped unscathed, the Japanese artillery regiment in Teng County launched a fierce artillery attack on the city walls and the city itself. The artillery roared, and the entire county was instantly shrouded in smoke, the acrid smell of gunpowder permeating every inch of the air.

After two hours of bombardment, Japanese bombers from the Nanyuan Airfield in Beijing descended, raining down aerial bombs. Each bomb landed with a deafening explosion, ripping the ground into tatters and sending earth and rocks flying. Under the relentless bombardment of Japanese artillery and aircraft, the walls of Tengxian City collapsed in several places, leaving several gaping holes. Lacking effective anti-aircraft weapons, the Sichuan Army suffered heavy casualties under this ferocious barrage, losing over half its troops.

Fang Tianyi, commander of the 1st Special Battalion, gazed upon the devastating scene, his heart pounding with grief, yet his gaze remained resolute. He quickly directed the remaining soldiers to evacuate their wounded comrades to relatively safe temporary basements, such as the basements and cellars of sturdy buildings within the city. During the evacuation, the soldiers supported and encouraged one another, even as they themselves bore wounds, racing against time to secure the wounded.

After arranging the wounded, Fang Tianyi began organizing his troops for street fighting with the Japanese. He carefully divided his soldiers into teams, assigning each team specific tasks and defensive areas. Some teams headed to key intersections, quickly constructing makeshift fortifications using sandbags, rocks, and abandoned vehicles. Other teams dispersed into buildings, taking up advantageous firing positions and closely monitoring the Japanese troops' every move from hidden locations like windows and rooftops.

Fang Tianyi strategically set up an observation post in a high, hidden building within the city. Using signal flags, he maintained close communication with the various combat teams and directed the battle. When the battle began, Fang Tianyi acted decisively, guided by the signals from his observation post. He led a small team, quietly concealed within the houses lining a main street. When a Japanese squadron brazenly entered the street, Fang Tianyi promptly received signals from the observation post through signal flags, accurately grasping the Japanese troop deployment. He instructed his men to maintain absolute silence and patiently wait for the majority of the Japanese to enter the ambush. Once the vanguard had passed, exposing the main central force to the enemy's fire, Fang Tianyi gave the order, and his men simultaneously opened fire from windows and doorways. Thrown into disarray by the sudden attack, the Japanese troops panicked and sought cover, returning fire. Fang Tianyi maneuvered swiftly throughout the house, nimbly ducking behind a wall to carefully observe the Japanese firing point, then swiftly rolling to a window on the other side to fire decisively. He found that a Japanese machine gunner had extremely fierce firepower and was suppressing his own team members, so he crouched down and moved quickly in the house like a cheetah, cleverly using furniture to hide his body. Then, seizing the fleeting opportunity, he stretched out his gun from a side angle like lightning, shot accurately, and killed the Japanese machine gunner with one shot.

Amidst fierce firefights, Fang Tianyi's squad, leveraging their familiarity with the terrain, engaged in thrilling street fighting with the Japanese. Working in small groups, they coordinated closely, with some providing frontal fire and others flanking. Fang Tianyi personally led a small group, stealthily advancing through the alleyways, intent on getting behind the Japanese. In the alleys, they encountered sporadic resistance from the Japanese. Advancing quickly and low, hugging the walls and taking every step with care, Fang Tianyi heard subtle movement ahead and cautiously peered over. Upon spotting the Japanese, he quickly raised his hand and fired, continuing his advance toward his designated position without stopping. Through exceptional command and fearless fighting, they successfully gained control of the Japanese rear, creating a pincer attack. After a fierce battle, they annihilated nearly half the squadron's forces.

At the Sichuan Army Division Headquarters in Teng County, the division commander looked out with a serious expression at the severely damaged Teng County. He knew that Teng County would be difficult to defend. He was unwilling to give up. Even if the entire army was sacrificed, he would make sure that the Japanese 10th Regiment suffered heavy losses.

The division commander summoned the guard company and issued orders. The soldiers immediately took action. Some soldiers carried bombs to various major traffic arteries in Teng County, carefully placing explosives at street intersections and on bridges, meticulously checking the connection points and detonation lines. Other soldiers climbed to the heights of buildings, installing bombs and setting detonation devices on rooftops, stairwells, and hidden corners of rooms, carefully testing them to ensure they were reliable.

At the same time, the division commander arranged for the evacuation of civilians. He dispatched several small teams to search for those who had not yet evacuated the city during breaks in the fighting, gathering them in safer areas. He then organized forces to escort the civilians out of the city through secret passages to safer areas in the rear. Despite the tight deadlines and numerous dangers, the soldiers worked tirelessly, determined to find a way out for the people of Teng County, to prevent them from being harmed by the war, and to preserve hope for the county.

However, the brutality of the battle was beyond imagination. During the battle, when the observation post spotted several Japanese tanks and armored vehicles advancing toward Fang Tianyi from two directions and urgently alerted Fang Tianyi with flag signals, they were unfortunately spotted by a Japanese tank observer. Immediately, the Japanese tank stopped abruptly, quickly turned its guns, and fired a fierce round at the Sichuan Army observation post. With a resounding "boom," the Sichuan Army soldier on the commanding heights was instantly blown away from his post by the powerful impact and died heroically.

At this moment, dozens of wounded soldiers, knowing their chances of survival were slim, showed no fear. They spontaneously formed suicide squads, each armed with a pack of explosives or a few wooden-handled grenades. They hid in various corners of the county town. Some of the wounded crouched quietly behind the rubble. When a large number of Japanese troops passed by, they resolutely pulled the fuse and rushed towards the Japanese troops, instantly perishing with them, leaving behind only a thick cloud of smoke and shattered ruins. Others pulled the fuse of a grenade, delayed it for three seconds, and then threw it with all their might at the Japanese troops. As the explosions echoed around them, several Japanese soldiers fell screaming. And when several Japanese soldiers rushed in front of him, he tightly grasped his last grenade, determined to die, and was blown to pieces along with the enemy.

The same scene happened everywhere in Teng County...

Witnessing the horrific and catastrophic situation on the battlefield, the division commander abandoned his post at division headquarters and resolutely ordered his guard company to join the battle. Leading the charge, rifle in hand, he quickly led his guard company toward the fiercest fighting. They crept stealthily through the ruins along the street. When they encountered a small group of Japanese troops, the division commander commanded the guard company to deploy into battle formation. The well-trained soldiers skillfully took cover and opened fire. During the firefight, the division commander calmly observed the situation. Upon noticing a Japanese heavy machine gun posing a significant threat to his troops, he decisively ordered the guard company's sharpshooter to seek an opening. The sharpshooter quickly took position, under the covering fire of his teammates, patiently biding his time. While the Japanese heavy machine gunner was reloading, he fired a precise shot, killing him instantly and silencing the heavy machine gun's firing point. The division commander led the guard company to reunite with Fang Tianyi's troops. They regrouped their forces and continued their tenacious resistance against the frenzied Japanese attack.

As the battle dragged on and the Japanese continued to reinforce their forces, the Sichuan Army's situation became increasingly difficult. The soldiers, nearly out of ammunition, began collecting weapons and ammunition from the bodies of the Japanese soldiers and continuing the fight. After careful observation and analysis, Fang Tianyi and the division commander decided to break out. After careful observation and analysis, they chose the west side of the city, where the Japanese were relatively weak. Fang Tianyi led a small team in the front, blasting a bloody path with their remaining grenades, while the guard company provided cover on both sides, doing their utmost to protect the wounded and the remaining soldiers. During the breakout, they engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese. Although exhausted, the Sichuan Army soldiers gritted their teeth and fought hard, using bayonets and swords to fight the Japanese in a desperate struggle. The division commander was unfortunately injured in the arm during the battle, but he endured the severe pain and continued to command the battle, constantly boosting morale and shouting, "Brothers, for the people behind us, kill!"

After a day and night of bloody fighting, the Sichuan Army defending the city suffered a devastating defeat, save for the reconnaissance unit dispatched earlier. The division commander was killed heroically by a Japanese sniper in the fierce fighting. The Sichuan Army defenders and the divisional guard company were nearly annihilated. After the Japanese 10th Regiment completely captured Fujin County at a heavy cost, Colonel Yaezō Akashiba and his guards toured the ruined Fujin County with a smug expression, as if bragging about their "achievements."

At that moment, in a corner of the county town, a wounded Fang Tianyi lay buried under a pile of debris. He struggled tenaciously to lift the heavy object pressing down on him, each movement accompanied by piercing pain. He dragged himself with difficulty, grabbed a bomb detonator, and placed it on the table beside him. The voices and smiles of his brothers from the Sichuan Army's First Special Battalion emerged in his mind, and he silently said to himself, "Brothers of the Sichuan Army's First Special Battalion, we are going home..."

Fang Tianyi pressed the detonator, and bombs in key locations across Teng County exploded simultaneously. A huge explosion sounded, and the shock wave swept across the county. The Japanese soldiers fled in panic, engulfed in flames and smoke. Houses collapsed, streets were blown up, and the Japanese army's pride was shattered. Teng County fell into destruction and chaos, and Fang Tianyi's figure was submerged in the flames.