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

“That makes sense, but what can seventy-odd militiamen from three villages do? Didn’t we already inform the company commander of Mantun? With so few men and so few guns and cannons, you’re not planning to send the brothers to fight the Japanese with crossbows, are you? That’s suicide!” Huang Da Kui asked, puzzled.

“That’s right! The Japanese have four or five hundred men! And two iron turtles with cannons that thick! What can we do with so few men?” Huang Shaozhong chimed in.

"It's right to send a message, but we're dozens of miles from the town! Besides, the main force of the Mo Dao Regiment is still fighting the Japanese to the death in Mafang Village. By the time they withdraw, it will be too late! If the Japanese occupy Xiahou Town and attack from both sides, the Mo Dao Regiment will be in danger!"

"If anything happens to us, our good days will be over! Not only will they take back the land, but we'll probably suffer too! Especially us militiamen, the Japanese will definitely come after us first!"

"What I mean is, let's settle the villagers down and hurry to Wangyue Mountain. There's a gold mine belonging to the Mo Dao Regiment there, and there must be some brothers stationed there. Let's unite with those brothers stationed there to hold off the Japanese. Holding out until the Mo Dao Regiment comes to our aid shouldn't be a problem! As long as the Mo Dao Regiment brothers arrive, this town will be saved. After driving away the Japanese, we can live a peaceful life again!"

"What do you guys think? Let's give it a shot!" Liu Jinchao asked.

"Hmm?...That's worth a try!...But there probably aren't many people stationed at the mine, right? Can they hold them off?" Huang Da Kui was a little tempted, after all, they were trained and much braver than ordinary people.

“That’s a good idea! I heard from the villagers that there are only a dozen or so soldiers stationed at the mine, but they are regular troops and more experienced than us. Why don’t we go over there and let them decide whether to fight or not! It would be best if we could hold off the Japanese, but even if we can’t, we’ve done our best!” Huang Shaozhong added.

"Alright! It's settled then! Quickly gather the brothers and head over there, the Japanese are probably almost at your Huanglong Village!" Liu Jinchao urged.

“Okay! You go ahead first, we’ll come right away after we’ve settled the villagers in,” Huang Shaozhong urged.

With time running out, the three of them immediately set off, hurrying towards the Wangyue Mountain gold mine. About half an hour later, they arrived at the foot of Wangyue Mountain and, upon seeing Manxin who had stayed behind, they all told him what had happened.

"Damn! Those Japanese devils are really cunning! Brothers, grab your weapons! I'll lead you to fight them!" Without saying a word, Man Xin called to the dozen or so brothers who stayed behind and the more than seventy militiamen and headed towards the river.

It was late autumn, and the Baiyue River had receded to a mere few meters wide in the center of its bed. A single wooden plank bridge, barely wide enough for one person to cross, spanned the water. Large and small stones were exposed in the dry riverbed. The view was utterly empty and unobstructed!

This terrain is terrible and not conducive to their defense! Those scattered big rocks certainly can't withstand the Japanese gunfire, not to mention there are tanks. Two shots could turn this place into ruins!

"Three company commanders, you and your militia brothers take cover there. When the Japanese come, a few of us will go and lure them over! Don't hold back, unleash your crossbows and hold them off so they can't cross the river!" Man Xin said, pointing to a stone dam wall at the foot of the mountain.

This section of stone dam wall was built by the mine for diverting water during ore washing, and it's now perfectly suited to be used as a shelter.

"How do we deal with the Japanese's iron tortoise? Our weapons aren't up to par!" Mandou asked, holding a Czech-made rifle.

This is the only Czech-made machine gun in the mine; the rest are crossbows and Type 38 rifles. There isn't even a single one!

"Use grenades! Everyone gather all the grenades together and bury them at the bridgehead. Set up a trap and try to blow the Iron Turtle down!" Man Xin was quite helpless. Not only were there few of them, but they also didn't have enough weapons! They only had about twenty grenades, and he wasn't sure if they would work!

But given the current situation, what else can we do? We can only hope that Mancang and the others can arrive soon!

As he spoke, Manxin led a dozen men to the bridgehead to set up the defenses. After they finished, they quickly hid behind a large rock and waited for the Japanese soldiers to arrive.

Behind them, Liu Jinchao and his militiamen, hiding behind the stone dam, were filled with worry. It was definitely dangerous for a dozen or so men to go and attract the Japanese! But they had no choice. If it were them, the militiamen would be no match for them. They only had broadswords and crossbows. Going up there would just be sending them to their deaths!

"Manxin, you're not being fair! How come you brought your brothers here without even saying hello when the Japanese came? This is not good!" Just then, Luo Xiang and Wu Zi each came up to Manxin carrying a bunch of explosives and complained.

"Well... we still have so many miners to look after on the mountain!" Man Xin was also embarrassed. When he heard that the Japanese were coming, he didn't care about anything else!

“The Japanese are here, what’s the point of looking after them! Just let Professor Song lead the miners to hide, and we’ll fight the Japanese with you!” Wu Zi said, pulling two mirrored cases from his waist.

"Haha, don't forget we were soldiers too! We're just as good with guns as you!" Luo Xiang said, pulling out two mirror-finish guns as well.

They were indeed deserters from the Nationalist army, but things were different now! They had finally managed to stir up some trouble, and hadn't even seen any return on their investment yet, so they weren't willing to let the Japanese take advantage of them! Fighting the Japanese was for real! Besides, they had fought the Japanese quite a bit in the past six months, and their combat experience was in no way inferior to that of the members of the Modao Regiment!

"That's good! That's good! The Japanese have brought two tanks; these explosives might come in handy!" Man Xin said, looking at the bundles of explosives.

There are many explosives used for blasting ore in the mine. They are all packed in cardboard tubes and tied into bundles. Once lit and thrown, they are no less powerful than hand grenades!

This is a riverbank, so burying it here to make a trap is obviously not appropriate!

"Tanks? Two of them! Holy crap!..." Luo Xiang was immediately taken aback. What did two tanks mean? If they were allowed to run rampant, half of this mine could be blown up!

"You're really brave! You dare to bring out tanks to fight them head-on? Aren't you afraid of getting yourself killed too?" Wu Zi was equally surprised. How dare these people intercept tanks with such a small number of men? Aren't they afraid of dying?

"There's nothing we can do! We can't just stand by and watch the Japanese devils go and ravage our brothers, can we? We just hope the reinforcements will arrive soon... and we hope these explosives will be of some use..." Man Xin said with a worried expression.

"Alright! You've got guts, kid! We'll take those two tanks! Now these explosives will finally have a use!" Wu Zi said.

“Right! We’ll take care of those two iron turtles! We’ll give Brother Mancang a big gift! He’ll have to treat us to drinks!” Luo Xiang added.

“No problem! I agree on behalf of my brother! As long as we can get the tank, we’ll do anything, not just drink, but we’ll even empty the wine cellar and bathe in its contents!” Man Xin said, his eyes lighting up.