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

"I hadn't thought that far ahead. Now that the Japanese are moving south, does that mean we'll be safe from their bullying here and can live in peace?" Qingquan asked.

"That's hard to say. The Japanese are currently aiming to conquer more territory and resources by advancing south. We're located in the Funiu Mountains, and to the west lies the Qinling Mountains. Crossing the Qinling Mountains leads directly to the Northwest. If the Japanese want to occupy the Northwest, they can take the Henan-Shaanxi Highway north of the town and drive straight to Chang'an! We have to be on guard!"

“Developing our military strength is essential. As a great man once said, ‘Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.’ Only when we are strong can we avoid being bullied!” Mancang continued.

These words were not just empty talk. In the final stages of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Japanese attempted to seize Northwest China via the Henan-Shaanxi Highway, hoping to continue enslaving us. It was Division Commander Liao Yunzhou who led his soldiers in a fierce counterattack, repelling the Japanese attacks and stopping them outside the Qinling Mountains! Otherwise, the outcome of the War of Resistance might have been different!

"Don't bother going that far yet. Let's drive away the Japanese devils in front of us first. If we lose this time, everything will be for nothing!" Mancang continued.

"Right, right, right! Let's get to the task at hand! The intelligence says the Japanese brought over a thousand men, ten tanks, and several artillery pieces. Today, we destroyed seven tanks at Mafang Village and two at Wangyue Mountain, which means the Japanese only have one tank available right now!"

"In terms of troop strength, including the results of this battle, the Japanese have no more than seven hundred men left. If we launch a major offensive, I believe we can definitely take down these little devils!" Kiyosumi analyzed.

"Haha, that makes sense, but don't forget the Japanese are quite strong, and they even have a tank to help them! If we charge in and fight head-on, even if we take down the Japanese, our losses will be significant! The Japanese are a large and powerful nation, so losing a few hundred or a thousand men is nothing to them, but we can't afford to lose any more! The lesson from Wangyue Mountain was already heavy enough!"

Recalling the scene at Wangyue Mountain, everyone felt heartbroken. Less than two hundred militiamen and miners with no fighting ability managed to hold off an equal number of Japanese soldiers and even destroyed two tanks!

A magnificent feat! An absolutely astonishing feat!

With such a hardworking masses, how could we not defeat the Japanese devils?

It was already past midnight when the group crossed half the county town and arrived behind the Japanese lines. They rested in a grove of trees until dawn, then silently approached the enemy's position!

"Hmm? Something's not right! Why are there only a few Japanese soldiers here?" Kiyosumi asked, looking at the sparse Japanese soldiers on the position through his binoculars.

"What?...The Japanese are gone?" Man Cang was just about to give the order to sneak towards the Japanese position when he heard Qing Quan's mutterings, and quickly raised his binoculars to observe.

There were only about twenty Japanese soldiers moving about in the makeshift trenches on the Japanese position. The doors of several tents behind them were tightly shut, making it impossible to see if anyone was inside. Two tanks had their guns pointed directly towards Mafang Village. Other than that, there was nothing else to report!

It's a disguise! The Japanese are faking it! The main force has already withdrawn; these people are deliberately leaving these men to fool the Mo Dao Regiment brothers on the other side!

"Never mind that for now! Let's take this position first and then talk about other things!" Man Cang couldn't figure out the Japanese's intentions for the time being, so he decided to deal with the situation here first. He couldn't just leave after running all night and getting here in the dark!

If we take down these Japanese devils, we won't have to worry about not being able to find them!

So the group immediately launched a charge, and once they reached the position, each of them shot the twenty-odd Japanese soldiers into pincushions with an arrow, leaving only two alive to be questioned!

"Tell me, where did the rest of them go? Don't make me do all that work. The pepper spray and tiger bench torture look pretty bloody, that's not good!" Qingquan asked, looking at the bound Japanese soldiers.

"You wrathful black dog, bark!"

"You wrathful black dog, bark!"

……

The two Japanese soldiers completely ignored him and kept muttering. Enraged, Qingquan went up and slapped each of them hard across the face!

"Hi!"

"..."

Perhaps it was a habit of the Japanese soldiers, but after one of them slapped them, he quickly stood up straight in response, while the other, realizing this wasn't their superior, immediately shut up. This left Qingquan completely bewildered!

"Speak like a human being! Don't spout your Japanese gibberish, I can't understand it!" Qingquan raised his hand and slapped him twice more, speaking fiercely.

“…You, just kill us! We won’t say anything! How many Imperial soldiers have you seen surrender since the start of the war? We are all warriors of the Empire, and we would rather die in battle than reveal any secrets!” one of the Japanese soldiers said viciously.

"Oh ho! You can speak Chinese! That makes things easier! I have plenty of ways to make you talk on your own. Chili water and the tiger bench are things we've already done. They're not even worth mentioning!" Qingquan said, taking out ten crossbow bolts from his quiver and placing them in front of the Japanese soldier. He then grabbed one of the soldier's bound hands and revealed an evil smile!

"This game is called 'Ten Fingers Connected to the Heart,' which involves driving bamboo skewers into the gaps between your fingernails and slowly squeezing out the nail plates! Tsk tsk, the feeling must be wonderful! In this chaotic situation, we can't find bamboo skewers for the time being, so we'll just use these crossbow bolts. Please forgive any shortcomings! Let's see if your Bushido is more powerful or if our ancestors are superior!"

With that, he plunged a crossbow bolt into the man's index fingernail, and immediately a pig-like scream echoed across the battlefield! Many men couldn't bear the bloody scene and turned to leave!

Mancang led his men to inspect each of the Japanese tents left behind. Apart from three tents containing dozens of seriously wounded Japanese soldiers, the rest were piled high with Japanese corpses! Without a doubt, these were all casualties from yesterday's battle, roughly numbering over two hundred!

"Uncle Cang! Uncle Cang! It's you guys! How did you get here from behind the Japanese?" Tiger and his brothers rushed over and said.

"Where did the Japanese soldiers go?" Mancang asked instead of answering.

"This... I don't know! The brothers on duty last night didn't notice anything from the Japanese either!" Tiger said, puzzled.

"Could they have gone to kill the devils? After destroying the tank, Man Gui and a squad of brothers stayed in the tunnel to wait, saying they would do a big heist after the Japanese repaired it! Now Man Gui is nowhere to be seen, and Tie Wangba is gone too. Did the Japanese chase after Man Gui to steal the tank?" Da Zhao analyzed after checking the surroundings.

"Hmm? Continue!" Mancang asked anxiously, startled.

"At the time, Man Gui said that we would take the tanks and launch a surprise attack on the Japanese from behind. I thought that Man Gui and his men couldn't possibly go to the county town in the tanks. The most likely place they would go was Dayanshan. Our brothers are there. Maybe they can come back and help us once they've mastered the tanks..." Da Zhao explained his speculation.