Vanguards of the War of Resistance! Let's travel back in time together, classmates!

Chapter 5: Saving an Officer

The three of them stood there stunned for a long time. "What should we do now?" Sister Zhu finally came to her senses. She saw that Brother Ban was still staring wide-eyed with his mouth agape, looking into the distance with an incredulous expression.

"Clean this place up immediately. Cover the ashes left from the fire with soil. This isn't the highest point, so it shouldn't attract the enemy. Then, the three of us should put on some makeup and create camouflage to prevent the Japanese from landing and searching," Shangguan Yun said quickly.

The Boss came to his senses and said, "They probably won't come to search us, right? We've been searching all day and we haven't found anything."

"Hehe, it's not that there's anything wrong with it. This island has a good geographical location. If the enemy establishes an observation post or a temporary transit point here, it will be of great use," Shangguan Yun said.

As they were talking, one of the warships suddenly launched a small boat with a dozen or so people on board, and sailed toward the island. A machine gun was vaguely visible mounted on the bow of the boat.

"Quickly hide!" Shangguan Yun's pupils contracted as he waved his hand.

The group dared not stand too high, so they hid behind a thicket of bushes and watched from a distance.

A dozen or so Japanese soldiers approached by boat, constantly looking around. After landing, they immediately split into two groups to flank and search from both sides.

Because Shangguan Yun and his two companions were well-prepared, the Japanese searched for a long time without finding anything, and then lined up on the beach an hour later.

The three men stood motionless, watching a group of Japanese soldiers several hundred meters away. The gleaming bayonets, adorned with Japanese flags, flashed with a cold light that stung their eyes.

“This should be an army infantry squad, operating alongside the navy. The warships have already left. They'll probably stay here to establish a transit station or outpost…” Shangguan Yun said softly.

"We're doomed. Looks like we'll have to prepare for a protracted war. We won't be able to leave this island anytime soon," the three of them said, sitting down on the ground with gloomy eyes.

Time passed quickly, and the Japanese troops on the island began to set up outposts, as well as some other simple living and defensive facilities, which were already quite basic by the afternoon.

After a long period of contemplation, Shangguan Yun slowly stood up, stared blankly into the distance, and whispered, "Do you want to go home?"

"Of course I want to, but... can we still go home, Shangguan, what do you say..." Li Dechao's eyes dimmed.

Sister Zhu remained silent, bowing her head to tidy her clothes.

"Maybe we won't be able to go home..."

After Shangguan Yun finished speaking, his eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "Are you afraid?"

“I…I’m not afraid…” Brother Ban stood up, flicked the wooden stick in his hand, and said through gritted teeth.

"With you here, I'm not afraid..." Sister Zhu said firmly, looking at Shangguan Yun.

"Alright, since that's the case, are you willing to follow my arrangements? I guarantee I'll get you out of here... I, Shangguan Yun, keep my word. Do you trust me or not...?"

"Yes, we believe you. Let's discuss what to do!" The two nodded in unison.

"Alright, now we need to get to work. Sis, you stay hidden here and don't move. Brother Ban and I will go out and take a look around, observe the terrain and the enemy's situation, and return here before dark. How about that?"

“Okay, no problem,” Zhu Yanping said.

Shangguan Yun and Li Dechao split into two groups and headed down the hillside into the woods, while Sister Zhu stayed behind and used the vegetation and terrain to set up a simple campsite for everyone to rest at night.

Two hours later, it was completely dark. The island was quiet, and in the distance, you could see the campfires burning in the Japanese camp, accompanied by bursts of singing and shouting.

Afterwards, Ban Ge and Shangguan Yun returned to the campsite behind the hillside.

Shockingly, when Shangguan Yun returned, he wasn't alone; he was carrying someone on his back—a guy in military uniform, covered in wounds and bloodstains, barely clinging to life.

With a "thud," Shangguan Yun sat down on the ground, panting heavily.

"Brother Ban, come help. Check if this guy is still breathing. He was yelling just now."

They quickly laid him on the grass, checked his breathing and pulse. "Hmm, he's still breathing. Big sister, please help clean his wounds," Shangguan Yun said.

"Brother Ban, I've gathered some herbs. There's a spring a few hundred meters down the mountain to the right. I just saw some Japanese soldiers fetching water. Could you take their two boots and fetch some clean water? Remember to rinse them..." Brother Ban agreed and ran down the hillside.

Soon, the water was brought. Sister Zhu was so frightened by his injuries that her face turned pale, but she still gritted her teeth and helped clean his wounds. Shangguan Yun then applied the chewed herbs, piece by piece, to the wounds on the man's body.

"Ah...s...uh," the man awoke with a start, his brow furrowed, large beads of sweat rolling down his face. He struggled to sit up and looked at the crowd. "Who...are you people from Xia?"

“Yes…” Shangguan Yun said.

"Great...Quickly...Quickly...Notify the young...Young Marshal, Jinzhou...cannot be held...Quickly...retreat to the interior...Hurry..." The man was excited and shouted a few times before fainting.

Shangguan Yun was speechless. Where did this guy come from? "Let's ask him when he wakes up."

"Who is it?" Brother Ban asked as he approached.

Shangguan Yun shook his head and sighed, "I don't know either. I found him on the beach just now. He was covered in injuries and lying on the ground groaning, so I carried him back."

Judging from their clothes, they should be soldiers from the Xia Kingdom. And what did you think of when you called them "Young Marshal" just now...?" Shangguan Yun looked at the two of them.

"Young Marshal and Miss Zhao, could it be... Young Marshal Zhang?" Sister Zhu opened her mouth wide and then looked at Shangguan Yun.

"That makes sense...hehe," Shangguan Yun secretly praised her older sister's gossip skills.

"Based on this analysis, first it was the enemy's battleships, then the Japanese landed on the island, and just now this person shouted that the Young Marshal Jinzhou couldn't be defended..."

Could it be the September 18 Incident? I remember that when the September 18 Incident broke out in history, Young Marshal Zhang was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to retreat to Jinzhou without a fight. Afterwards, the Kwantung Army reinforced its troops in the Northeast, and Itagaki Shiro sent 12 bombers to Jinzhou. Later, Young Marshal Zhang disregarded Chiang Kai-shek's opposition and resolutely withdrew his troops into the interior.

Within six months, the Japanese occupied more than one million square kilometers of territory in the three northeastern provinces.

The person we rescued should be from the ship that was sunk. Judging from the timeline, we should be in the middle of October, about two weeks after the September 10 Incident, roughly in early October 1931...

Shangguan Yun looked at the two of them with a solemn expression.

"Sigh..." Both of them gasped.

"According to you, our tragedy is truly extraordinary..." Brother Ban stared blankly at the person on the ground.

"Whether it's true or not, we'll know once he wakes up and we ask him."

"Alright, no matter what, let's think about what to do next," Shangguan Yun said, organizing his thoughts.