The War of Resistance Against Japan: Special Operations Battalion Traverses Shanghai and Slaughters

As soon as the broadcast ended, before Katayama Riichiro could even react, a battalion commander rushed over to report.

"Report to the regimental commander, go and check quickly, there's movement from the Chinese army outside the city."

"Nani, take me there quickly."

Riichiro Katayama arrived at the castle wall, raised his binoculars, and observed.

The Dragon Flame Army was escorting a densely packed crowd forward.

All of these people had their hands tied behind their backs, and the vast majority were wearing Japanese military uniforms, while a few were in civilian clothes.

Moreover, many of them were women, and they were wearing standard Japanese kimonos.

"Baka! What's going on? How come the Chinese army has so many of our Japanese hostages?"

Before long, the hostages were taken by the Dragon Flame troops and stopped about a hundred meters away from the city wall.

Then the announcement came on again: "One hour countdown, forty minutes left."

Katayama Riichiro was in a panic. His mind was a mess, and he didn't know how to deal with it.

It should be noted that there are only a little over 10,000 ordinary citizens of China in Taiyuan City, which is far too little compared to the 100,000 hostages held by the other side.

Of course, Riichiro Katayama also understood that if one was prepared to die, the number of hostages was meaningless.

However, when he saw his subordinates today, the murderous intent in his eyes and expression had long since vanished.

Instead, they all looked dejected and seemed to have no fighting spirit.

At the same time, Katayama Riichiro had a vague feeling that something was very wrong.

With so many prisoners of war in the hands of the Dragon Flame Army, could it be that Commander Yoshio Shinotsuka's army has been annihilated by the enemy?

Although Katayama Riichiro was unwilling to believe it, after all, those were 300,000 elite troops of the Empire, how could they be annihilated so easily?

However, various signs repeatedly eroded his confidence, forcing him to consider the worst-case scenario.

Time ticked by, and just as Katayama Riichiro was hesitating, the broadcast from outside the city began to remind him again.

"Half an hour left in the one-hour countdown."

The sound was like a death knell, making every Japanese soldier tense.

Many soldiers mustered their courage and voiced their true feelings to Riichiro Katayama.

"Commander, the Chinese army said they would let us leave if we surrendered and released the hostages. We don't want to die here, so why don't we surrender?"

Many Japanese soldiers echoed this sentiment.

"Baka, do you know what you're saying? As soldiers of the Empire, how can you surrender? We swore an oath to fight for the Empire and to shed our last drop of blood for the Sky Locusts."

"Stop talking, or you'll be treated as deserters and shot. Now listen to my orders, take your positions. At worst, we'll take these hostages down with us."

Faced with Katayama Riichiro's tough stance, his subordinates dared not say anything more and could only reluctantly return to their respective fighting positions.

However, these Japanese soldiers have lost their fighting spirit and are even prepared to surrender at any time.

As soon as the Dragon Flame troops enter the city, they will surrender without hesitation.

Zhu Youcai was well aware of the situation. He knew that if the Japanese surrendered, he would definitely not be able to keep his advice to the Japanese a secret.

He would be executed without a doubt, so he certainly didn't want the Japanese to surrender. Instead, he hoped that the Japanese would fight to the bitter end with the hostages in his hands, so that there might still be a glimmer of hope.

"Sir, you have great courage and backbone. We must not surrender; we must fight to the death."

"Moreover, we still have more than 10,000 hostages in our hands, so the other side will definitely be hesitant to act rashly."

Zhu Youcai's words further strengthened Katayama Riichiro's determination to resist.

“Very good, Zhu Sang. Here’s the arrangement: if the other side dares to harm our Japanese hostages, then you will be responsible for executing your Chinese hostages.”

"what……"

"What? You dare disobey my orders?"

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare, sir, I will obey."

Katayama Riichiro's move was ruthless. At this critical moment of life and death, if the puppet army defected, it would definitely cause him a lot of trouble.

By forcing Zhu Youcai to commit murder, they could bind him tightly and prevent him from having any disloyal thoughts.

Soon, an hour was about to pass when the broadcast from outside the city sounded again.

"One hour countdown, only five minutes left."

Katayama Riichiro then gave the order: "Order, all personnel load their weapons and prepare for battle."

An hour had passed, and the Japanese soldiers showed no sign of surrendering.

Long Fei coldly ordered: "Let the Japanese prisoners act as shields in front, and let the Pershing tanks drive them from behind, approaching the city gate, and see how the Japanese react."

The monk was very unhappy after being left at Maling Pass by Long Fei. When he learned that Long Fei had ordered him to escort the prisoners to Taiyuan.

He certainly wouldn't stay any longer and hurriedly followed along.

When he arrived, he went to Long Fei's side and started complaining.

"Commander, I'm your bodyguard, but you never take me with you on your missions. How am I supposed to protect you?"

Long Fei looked at the monk and said with a wry smile, "Monk, this operation is very special, you really can't be of much help."

"Alright, I promise you, Xie Qiang will train you properly, and I'll take you with me on any missions from now on."

With Long Fei's assurance, the monk finally smiled, but when he saw that the Japanese soldiers in the city were using civilians as hostages, he became so angry that he started cursing.

"Those damn Japanese devils are inhuman; they're so shameless and despicable."

Seeing the monk's angry expression, Long Fei asked.

"Monk, I know you're itching for a fight. Here's what we'll do: you'll come with my brother Yunlong. I'll let you have your fill of killing. But you have to protect my brother's safety when you get there."

Upon hearing that there were Japanese soldiers to kill, the monk rubbed his hands together eagerly and nodded repeatedly.

“No problem, the legion commander’s older brother is my older brother, I will definitely protect him.”

When Katayama Riichiro saw the hostages outside the city being driven forward by tanks, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

In this situation, firing would result in friendly fire, while not firing would allow the enemy to easily breach the defenses.

The 80th Regiment had more than 3,000 troops, and with the puppet troops, it was less than 7,000. How could such a small force defeat the Dragon Flame Army?

In desperation, Katayama Riichiro had no choice but to resort to force.

"Zhu Sang, go over there immediately and shout at the Chinese army to stop their advance. If they don't listen, kill a few hostages for me. Let's see if they dare to continue their attack."

Although Zhu Youcai was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to accept it.

Zhu Youcai first picked up the megaphone and shouted, "Don't come any closer, or we'll kill the hostage... Do you hear me? Don't come any closer... or else..."

He called out several times, but the Dragon Flame troops outside the city ignored him completely.

Seeing that his warnings were ineffective, Zhu Youcai was now pushed to the limit.

He ordered his men to pull two elderly men from among the hostages, and then pulled the triggers on them, one shot each.

After being shot, the two elderly men fell directly from the city wall to the base of the wall.

At the same moment Zhu Youcai fired his gun, a sniper from the Longyan unit also pulled the trigger on him.

The sniper had originally aimed at his head, but unfortunately the distance was too far, and Zhu Youcai was very clever, hiding behind the city wall.

However, the bullet still passed through the firing hole in the city wall and hit Zhu Youcai's left ear.

This shot severed Zhu Youcai's left ear, causing it to fall off.

"Ouch... Ouch..."

Zhu Youcai was in so much pain that he quickly covered his ears with his hands and curled up.

Upon seeing this, the puppet army's medic rushed over to bandage him.

"Commander... your ears... I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of? Stop stammering and just say it."

"Commander, I'm afraid your left ear can't be reattached."

"Oh, you mean I'll be one-eared from now on?"

The medic didn't dare look him in the eye and silently nodded.

Zhu Youcai was so angry that he went into a hysterical frenzy.

"Damn it, bring me two more hostages. I lost an ear, and I have to get revenge."

The two civilians who were dragged over were trembling with fear.

"Sir, if you want revenge for your ear, you shouldn't kill us. We didn't knock your ear off..."

Zhu Youcai was well aware of this principle, but he didn't have the guts to seek revenge against the Longyan Army.

"Stop talking nonsense. If it weren't for you guys, would they have shot me?"

Two gunshots rang out, and two more bodies lay at the foot of the city wall.