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

The courtyard fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on Zhou Jindong.

Zhou Jindong took a step forward, his voice loud and clear, without uttering a single wasted word: "We have just learned more accurate information about the enemy from the prisoners."

There was another large battalion of Japanese soldiers in the county town, led by Okada Tomohisa, who was the uncle of Okada Yuta, the Japanese leader we had eliminated during the day.

The county seat is only thirty li (about 15 kilometers) from here, which takes three or four hours to get there.

With a loud "boom," the crowd erupted.

"A large brigade? That must be several thousand people, right?"

"Our town only has a little over two hundred people; they could drown us with just a spit from each of them!"

"Dr. Zhou, has your son Dongzi misheard? This is no joke!"

Zhou Yannian calmly took a drag of his cigarette, stared at his son, and said, "Dongzi, is this...is this true?"

Zhou Jindong nodded and said, "It couldn't be more true. That's what the puppet army company commander Gao Linyuan said himself before he died."

Moreover, even without this large battalion, we just wiped out a Japanese squad and a company of puppet troops. This feud is now established, and the Japanese will definitely not let it go.

"What should we do? Run!" a young man shouted.

"Run? Where to run?" Grandpa Wang gently patted the table. "With the old and the young in tow, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow. We'll be caught by the Japanese before we've even run twenty miles. On this plain, our two legs can't outrun four wheels."

Zhou Jindong chimed in, "Uncle Wang is right. So I don't plan to run away; I plan to 'hide'."

He walked to the gate of the courtyard, pointed to the mountains outside the town and said, "There is a valley deep in the old forest behind the mountain, which I discovered when I went up the mountain to collect herbs before."

The entrance is very narrow, just a crack, with stone walls on both sides. If you set up two machine guns on top, even a company couldn't get through.

The place is very large, with water, land, and natural stone caves, suitable for living and storing grain.

"You mean, move the entire town in?" Zhou Yannian frowned. "I know that place; the roads are terrible. What about the elderly and children? Besides, can we even move all our food and belongings in?"

"Move what you can, and hide what you can't move," Zhou Jindong replied. "I've already decided. We'll use those dozens of puppet soldiers we just captured. Make them carry stretchers and rations. Anyone who doesn't work, just kill them. As for the road, once we're in the mountains, I have a way to lead everyone there."

Grandpa Wang squinted and didn't say anything.

The people below began to whisper among themselves, some nodding and some shaking their heads, clearly unsure about this place they had never seen before.

"Dongzi," Old Wang said again when no one responded, "It's not that I don't believe you. We've never even seen that valley before. What if it's a dead end, or we run out of water and food? If hundreds of us go in and the Japanese block the entrance, it'll be like catching turtles in a jar—not a single one of us will escape. That's hundreds of lives at stake!"

"Uncle Wang is right!" An old scholar standing nearby nodded in agreement. "Dongzi, you need to give us some peace of mind."

Zhou Jindong had anticipated this move, and he said without hesitation, "Okay! Seeing is believing. I won't just talk the talk. Tomorrow at daybreak, I'll take a few elders to see it."

Grandpa Wang, and Second Uncle, please nominate a few representatives to come with me. If we don't think that place is suitable, we'll think of another option. If it is suitable, we'll organize a relocation immediately upon our return, without wasting a single moment.

Zhou Yannian and Grandpa Wang exchanged a glance, then looked at the expectant eyes around them, and finally nodded heavily: "Okay! That's settled! As long as the location is acceptable, we'll do as you say!"

"Alright! It's settled then!" Zhou Jindong slammed his hand on the table. "Now we can go back and pack up. Pack the valuables into boxes and bag the grain."

After all, regardless of whether the valley I mentioned works or not, we can't stay in the town anytime soon! We need to be prepared to evacuate at any time; the sooner we prepare, the more peace of mind we'll have!

Everyone stood up. Although they were still uneasy, Zhou Jindong's assurance and concrete plan gave them a sense of security.

As Zhou Yannian walked past Zhou Jindong, he stopped, patted his son on the shoulder, and said only one sentence: "Dongzi, Dad believes in you. But don't take too big a step."

"Don't worry, Dad, I know what I'm doing." Zhou Jindong helped his father up.

After the crowd dispersed, the courtyard became empty.

Wang Yuan stretched and leaned closer to Zhou Jindong: "Dongzi, are you really confident? You know the situation in town; there are over a hundred villagers. We can't afford to be careless!"

"I understand the logic," Zhou Jindong said calmly. "As long as we can survive, it's better than waiting to die here. Brother Yuan, go and call Shuisheng, and pick a few more quick-witted team members to come with us to scout ahead tomorrow."

Also, select a few more puppet soldiers from the labor camps and bring them along to lead the way.

Wang Yuan chuckled: "You little rascal, you're really ruthless. Alright, I'll go arrange it right away."

As the two walked out of the town hall, a cold wind blew against their faces.

Zhou Jindong looked up at the sky; it was pitch black, without a single star in sight.

"Brother Yuan, why don't you go and rest first? I still need to go to Su Laoquan's house," Zhou Jindong said.

"What are we going there for? Didn't that old guy run away?" Wang Yuan was taken aback.

"Su Laoquan's house is big and the yard is deep. I asked Brother Zhang and the others to set up our wartime command post there," Zhou Jindong explained. "I have a preliminary idea, but it still needs to be improved."

So, I had Zhu Zi and the others select a few people from the prisoners to interrogate again. We wanted to see if we could get more information from them to make arrangements for what to do next.

Wang Yuan scratched the back of his head: "Interrogate prisoners? Take me with you! I want to hear what else those Japanese devils can come up with!"

Zhou Jindong smiled and said, "Alright, come on over. It'll be a good opportunity for you to watch a show."

The two of them walked, stumbling and sinking, to Su Laoquan's house at the west end of the town.

This old fellow is a wealthy man in town; he has a large yard and high walls.

The courtyard was now brightly lit, and two sentries with Type 38 rifles stood at the gate. Upon seeing Zhou Jindong and Wang Yuan, they immediately saluted and let them pass.

Inside the main room, Su Zhan was huddled in a chair in the corner.

Upon seeing Zhou Jindong enter, he abruptly stood up, bent over at a ninety-degree angle, and said tremblingly, "Captain Zhou... Captain Zhou, you've arrived."

Zhou Jindong ignored him, walked straight to the head seat and sat down, pointing to the chair opposite him: "Brother Yuan, sit down."

Wang Yuan sat down with an air of authority, and couldn't help but laugh at Su Zhan's cowardly appearance: "Su Zhan, don't be too afraid. As long as you work honestly, Dongzi will keep his word and definitely spare your life."

"Yes, yes, I will definitely follow the guerrillas wholeheartedly!" Su Zhan quickly declared.

"Did you bring the person?" Zhou Jindong asked the guerrilla fighter at the door.

"It's been brought, and it's being held captive in a side room."

"Bring it in."