The War of Resistance Against Japan: Starting with a Calm View of Life and Death

The messenger, sweating profusely, reported: "Reporting to Lieutenant Okada! Sergeant Kimura led his men towards the Wang Family Compound in the west of the town, and then... then we lost contact!"

And...and Corporal Yamada, Sergeant Sato...no one has returned from their assigned areas!"

"Baka!" Okada stomped his foot angrily, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.

He drew his military knife abruptly and shouted, "Immediately issue the order: emergency assembly! Everyone! Cease the search! Assemble at the town hall immediately! And hurry!"

Soon, a sharp whistle rang out urgently over the town.

The scattered, tan-colored figures began to rapidly converge on the town center.

......

At the east end of the town, behind the broken wall of the threshing ground.

Just as Zhou Jindong and his brother Sun Erniu returned, Wang Yuan and Wang Quan also rushed back with their respective teams at almost the same time.

The team members' faces still showed signs of excitement, and many of them had specks of blood on their bodies.

The captured weapons and ammunition were quickly piled up on the ground.

"Dong-ge! Yuan-ge! The Japanese have blown their whistle! Assemble!"

The guerrillas on the high ground spotted the commotion in the town.

Zhou Jindong immediately climbed up the broken wall and squinted at the town center.

Sure enough, Japanese soldiers could be seen running rapidly toward the town hall, and the previously scattered search had completely ceased.

"Damn it, the Japanese have found us!" Wang Yuan saw it too, spat, and looked at it with a mixture of regret and smugness. "But it's still worth it! Come on, everyone, give us a count! Let's see how many we've taken down!"

Each group quickly took inventory.

There are four of us in our group!

"There are three of us too!"

"We have fewer... only five!"

Including the seven Japanese soldiers that Zhou Jindong and his team killed at the beginning, as well as the twelve that each group had just taken down, the total number of Japanese soldiers killed reached nineteen!

This means that one-third of Okada's squad, which occupied the town, was wiped out!

"Nineteen Japanese devils! My God, am I dreaming?!" Wang Quan shouted excitedly, his voice filled with disbelief.

The team members were so excited that they patted each other on the shoulder; if it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, they would have cheered.

This is an absolutely phenomenal victory!

The captured rifles and bullets greatly boosted the guerrillas' strength!

In the past six months, they have at most killed a few puppet soldiers.

As for fighting the Japanese devils, that's something only regular troops can do!

Zhou Jindong showed little joy, mainly because he had already anticipated the outcome.

What pleased him most was that no guerrillas were lost.

After all, every death on their side is one less person to lose.

As for the Japanese, even if they lost a third of their forces, it was still far beyond what the guerrillas could handle with open robbery and open warfare!

To be honest, putting aside weaponry and equipment, just in terms of combat skills, the difference between the two is probably at least ten thousand times greater!

Thinking of this, Zhou Jindong quickly scanned the area and found that he did not see Su Zhan.

"Where is Su Zhan?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Su Zhan scrambled out from behind a haystack, shouting, "Brother Zhou... I'm here! The Japanese... the Japanese are assembling! They... they must have noticed we're missing! Should we...?"

"What's the panic!" Zhou Jindong shouted, interrupting him.

His mind raced, his gaze fixed on Su Zhan. Seeing no change in the other's expression, he ordered, "Listen, you're going back to the Japanese right now!"

"Ah?" Su Zhan's legs went weak, and he almost knelt down to kowtow to Zhou Jindong. He said hurriedly, "Brother Zhou, spare my life! Going back... going back means certain death!"

"They won't die!" Zhou Jindong said decisively. "The Japanese have only discovered that someone is missing, they don't know it was you who did it!"

When you go back, pretend you just escaped from outside the town and report back in a panic!

I told you... I told you that you saw a suspicious figure over there in the back hills, and you also heard gunshots!

It's suspected that the guerrillas led that "Minister Li" into the deep mountains!

"Then you can lead them to Calabash Valley!"

Su Zhan was stunned, then he understood Zhou Jindong's intention. The other side hadn't given up yet and was still eyeing the remaining Japanese soldiers!

Instead of being alarmed, he was delighted. Things had come to this point; if even one Japanese soldier returned to the county town alive, Su Zhan's life would be in danger!

Only when all the Japanese devils are dead can he live a good life.

"Better to die for my fellow Daoist than for myself"—this is an easy choice!

"Understood! I get it! I'll go right now!" Su Zhan immediately perked up and quickly ran towards the town hall.

Watching him run off into the distance, Zhou Jindong immediately turned to all his team members and ordered, "Everyone! Retreat immediately! Up the mountain! To Hulu Valley below Baicao Cliff! Quickly!"

"Hulu Valley?" Wang Yuan was a little slow to react, but he quickly realized, "What a great place! Blocked at both ends, it's like catching a turtle in a jar!"

"Yes! Su Zhan will lure the Japanese over there!" Zhou Jindong nodded and continued to instruct the others, "Yuan Ge, you lead the way! Quanzi, you take a few men to cover the rear, and make sure to leave only a few footprints! The rest of you, take all the spoils! Hurry up!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the guerrillas sprang into action.

With ammunition pouches on their backs and captured guns on their shoulders, they quickly retreated towards the mountains behind the town, led by Wang Yuan.

Wang Quan, along with Er Niu, Shi Tou, and several other veteran team members, carefully cleaned up the footprints left by the team using tree branches.

.....

Okada Yudai stood in the open space in front of the town hall, his face ashen.

The sparse, earthen-yellow figures gathered in front of him, completely devoid of the arrogance they had displayed when they first entered the town.

"Report the numbers!" Okada's voice seemed to be squeezed out one word at a time from between his teeth.

The captain of the first squad stepped forward and shouted in a trembling voice, "Reporting, Second Lieutenant! The first squad... was supposed to have thirteen men, but... only three are present!"

"Baka!" Okada was immediately furious.

Although it was expected that the situation would be somewhat serious.

But I never expected the situation to become this serious!

He strode up to the sergeant and slapped him hard across the face twice, sending the sergeant stumbling and falling to the ground in the snow, his hat flying off.

"Useless! Idiot! Where are your men? Were they eaten by the dogs?!"

The second platoon leader, his face ashen, quickly stood at attention before Okada even reached him and cautiously reported, "Reporting, Lieutenant! The second platoon was supposed to have thirteen men, but only ten are present! Three are missing!"

"Slap!" Okada slapped the second squad leader hard across the face again, drawing blood from the corner of his mouth.

"And you!"

Okada's bloodshot eyes glared at the captain of the third squad.

In fact, the number of people present was obvious at a glance.

But for some reason, Okada wanted this result to be announced by these useless people themselves!

"Reporting, Second Lieutenant! Third Platoon... thirteen men were expected, seven are present!"

The captain of the third squad almost cried. He closed his eyes and got ready.

As expected, Okada did not disappoint him; in fact, he exceeded his expectations.

Although, he would rather not have it.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Okada went berserk and slapped him three times, causing his nose to bleed profusely and his cheeks to swell instantly.

To be honest, the third squad leader felt a bit wronged. His team hadn't lost the most men, but he had been slapped the most!

"You bastards! You bunch of useless trash! You good-for-nothings! The mighty Imperial Japanese Army has been half-eaten up by a bunch of rats in this backwater of China! You've utterly disgraced the Imperial Army!"

His heart was filled with anger and confusion. What about all my warriors of the Great Japanese Empire?

Unable to find a solution, Okada suddenly drew his command sword from his waist. The blade gleamed coldly in the dim light of the day, and the tip of the sword trembled as it pointed at the three disheveled squad leaders. His chest heaved violently, clearly struggling to suppress the urge to kill them on the spot.

The messengers, medics, and grenade launcher squad members behind him were all silent, not daring to utter a sound.

They were even somewhat relieved that they hadn't been involved in the search mission.

Okada's gaze swept across the other side of the open space like a venomous snake, where it was crowded with civilians who had been driven there by the Japanese soldiers.

Men, women, and children huddled together, shivering in the cold wind, staring in panic at the group of fierce-looking Japanese soldiers.

"Those damned Chinese bastards! They must know something! They must be harboring guerrillas!"

Okada's anger finally found an outlet.

He grinned maliciously, carrying his knife, and walked step by step toward the group of people, the tip of the knife dragging on the snow, drawing a distinct arc.

Then, he said the words he regretted most in his life.

"Make them tell us the guerrillas' whereabouts! If they don't, kill all these scum! Use their blood to commemorate the fallen heroes!"