I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

County head Nagano Yokoo locked himself in his office for three whole days. This defeat had nearly broken his iron will; he had been dismissed from his post, and a young major was about to take over the administration of Guya County.

For the past three days, he had been pondering where he had gone wrong. The Imperial Army held an absolute advantage in every aspect—weapons, numbers, fighting spirit, individual combat skills, and so on. Yet, defeat after defeat made him doubt his own ability to lead an army!

"Reporting, Lieutenant Colonel! Major Kobayashi has arrived!" Just as he was lost in thought, a soldier reported from outside the door.

"Understood!" he said, straightening his clothes and opening the door, solemnly greeting the other party. Even a defeated general must maintain proper etiquette!

Soon, the few soldiers of the military police lined up neatly at the gate. A moment later, a jeep and four trucks slowly drove up to the gate of the compound. The soldiers got out of the vehicles, and a young officer got out of the jeep and led the soldiers to stand in front of Nagano Yokoo. The two bowed and saluted at the same time.

"Senior Nagano, it's great to finally meet you! I read your paper back in school! Your idea about field warfare resonated with many students!" Kobayashi said enthusiastically, shaking his senior's hand.

"You're too kind, junior! It was all just theoretical talk. We're already defeated, so let's not dwell on the past. Please, let's talk inside." Nagano Yokosuke sighed. This junior had only recently graduated but had already distinguished himself on the battlefield, and now he had even taken over his position. He could only hope that he could complete his mission and eliminate the Mo Dao Regiment!

The two arrived at the office, and Kobayashi Kazuhito was immediately drawn to the arrows on the desk, picking one up to examine it.

"This is the weapon used by the Mo Dao Regiment. It can shoot down a large area at once, making it impossible to defend against!" Nagano Yokosuke explained.

"Is this paper tube for holding gunpowder? How does such a rudimentary weapon fire?" Kobayashi asked curiously.

"When the Chinese celebrate festivals, they set off a kind of firework called 'skyrocket'..." Nagano Yokosuke recounted his battle with the Mo Dao Gang in great detail. He only hoped that after he left, this junior could avoid some detours and quickly defeat the Mo Dao Gang, which would also be a form of revenge for him!

After carefully handing over all the matters, Nagano Yokoki left dejectedly. That evening, the head of the prefectural maintenance association organized a grand welcome banquet for Kobayashi Kazuhito, with local celebrities and wealthy businessmen providing him with constant flattery and praise, which Kobayashi Kazuhito thoroughly enjoyed.

……

At the Shaojialing Iron Mine, Tiger dragged his weary body back to the familiar thatched hut. Since the accident, the Japanese had tightened their guard here even more! Multiple layers of barbed wire had been added, two more tall watchtowers had been erected, and four searchlights illuminated the entire mining area as bright as day. Patrols constantly circled the thatched hut, keeping a close watch on the laborers!

"Tiger! Why are you back again? I heard the Japanese haven't been arresting anyone lately!" A familiar laborer named Shuanwa asked as he approached.

Many of these laborers were people who had escaped from the previous batch but were caught again, and they knew each other very well!

"Don't even mention it! After I left last time, I was thinking of taking my family to live a good life, farming, hunting, having a wife and kids, and a warm bed—how comfortable that would be! But the Japanese devils and traitors wouldn't allow it!"

"That village headman in our village is a scoundrel. When he saw my wife and me come back, he brought some Japanese soldiers to our house to try and harass my wife. Could we let that happen? We grabbed a kitchen knife and took down those two Japanese soldiers!"

"What good could come of killing the Japanese? We had to escape with our families! We hid in the mountain stronghold for almost half a year, and then we were discovered by a traitor and brought back! I wonder how my family is doing?" Tiger briefly recounted his story, half true and half false. He didn't dare reveal anything about the Mo Dao Regiment, as it would be very risky to spread the word.

"Well done! Killing two Japanese devils in one go, that's satisfying!" Shuanwa said, waving his fist.

"Good for them! Those Japanese devils are no good! When I get out, I'll kill them all to avenge them!" Zhang Guangxin added.

“They deserve to die! What have they suffered these past few months? Even livestock need a rest, we’re not even as good as livestock!” Xizi added.

"If someone starts a rebellion, I'll take the opportunity to escape like last time!"

"That's true! But even if someone starts an uprising, it won't be easy to escape! The Japanese have set up fences and electrified the railway; you might not be able to escape and could even get electrocuted!"

"There will be a way! I heard that there's a Mo Dao Regiment that's really good at fighting the Japanese. They've won several battles in a row, killing the Japanese in droves. The Japanese can't do anything about them!" Hu Zi slowly steered the conversation toward the Mo Dao Regiment.

"I've heard about it too! Last time, the Japanese soldiers at the mine had a big battle with the people outside the iron mine! More than a dozen Japanese soldiers died! Later, I heard the Japanese soldiers talking about the Mo Dao Regiment or something, so they probably fought with that Mo Dao Regiment!"

"It's true! The last fight was fierce! It's a pity they left in the end. If we could have wiped out the Japanese in the mine, we could have all escaped!"

Sure enough, the moment the topic of fighting the Japanese came up, everyone became enthusiastic, each one rattling off snippets of information they had heard from the Japanese. They described everything from raiding Japanese rations to attacking Japanese pillboxes, as if they had witnessed it firsthand, their descriptions vivid and realistic!

These were people who had been bullied to the point of death by the Japanese devils. As soon as they heard that the Japanese devils were in trouble, they got excited. Even though it was all just hearsay, they talked about it enthusiastically! It was much better than the lifeless atmosphere before!

……

In the village, Zaohua leaned against the headboard watching Mancang bustling about. The young men were pouring water and using two bowls to cool the medicine, their clumsy movements quite endearing!

"Look at you, you can make the Japanese soldiers look like they're on the verge of collapse, how come you're so clumsy at such a small task?" Zaohua said with a smile.

"That's different! Fighting the Japanese requires a lot of effort, and the more effort you put in, the more confident you'll be! This job is similar to embroidery, how can you dare to put in so much effort!" Mancang was also at a loss. He had never done any work of serving others in his two lives, and now serving this young lady was really a chaotic mess!

"Haha, I told you you're stupid, but you still won't admit it! I told you to recruit more soldiers and expand your army a long time ago, but you wouldn't listen. This time you hurt me, so what if I ask you to serve me for a couple of days?" Zao Hua felt a sweet warmth in her heart. It's nice to have someone who cares about you and can be bullied!

"Recruit! We must recruit this time! The Japanese are taking advantage of our small numbers. We'll wipe out their military police compound with a whole regiment! They dare to hurt my wife, we've gone too far!" Mancang said fiercely.