Chapter 9: The Loss of Treasure Mountain (Part 2)

  Nanjing, the Presidential Palace.

  Chiang Kai-shek was writing in his study, with bold and unrestrained brushstrokes. However, Chiang's interest in calligraphy and poetry was actually not that great. If it weren't for the fact that his arch-nemesis in Yan'an had exceptional skills in this area, Chiang would never have wasted a single moment on it.

  Chiang Kai-shek dabbled in calligraphy, but it wasn't so much out of interest as to better understand his counterpart in Yan'an.

  Because the Shanghai battlefield killed the Japanese army's lieutenant general and division commander, so Principal Chiang is in a very good mood today. In order not to ruin Principal Chiang's rare good mood, Madame Chiang has continuously suppressed two telegrams from the Shanghai war zone. However, when the Shanghai war zone sent its third telegram, Madame Chiang dared not continue to suppress it.

  Madam Chiang walked lightly to the back of Principal Chiang and said in a low voice: "Dalang, Gu Zhu has sent a telegram."

  "Oh?" Principal Jiang asked with a smile, "Was Yao Changqing and his troops rescued so quickly?"

  "General, I'm afraid we have some disappointing news," said Madame Chiang with a soft sigh. "We just received a telegram from General Koo saying that Bao Shan has fallen and Colonel Yao and his men... all sacrificed themselves for the country."

  "Slap." Principal Jiang's brush fell, and a large ink stain instantly appeared on the pure white rice paper.

  "Incompetent!" After a moment of distraction, Principal Jiang suddenly burst into rage, "Gu Zhu Tong is incompetent! Five group armies and forty-odd elite divisions can't even rescue a single remnant battalion from Baoshan? How did he become the deputy commander-in-chief of this war zone? Unbelievable, I'll have him removed from his post and sent to a military tribunal!"

  "Darling, don't be angry," Mrs. Jiang softly advised, "If they could have saved him, how would they just sit and watch?"

  It wasn't until quite some time later that Principal Jiang's expression finally eased, and he let out a long sigh before walking back to his desk.

  Madam Chiang nodded in agreement, hastily rolled up the rice paper soaked with ink, and spread out a new piece of rice paper on the desk. Principal Chiang immediately picked up his brush and began to move swiftly across the paper. Madam Chiang helped hold down the paper while softly reciting: "The Battle of Bao Mountain, Yao Changqing's troops defended the isolated city, though in a desperate situation they still thought of counterattacking, and heavily defeated the Japanese devils. Their heroic spirit and unyielding determination are enough to shock heaven and earth and move ghosts and gods to tears!"

  With a flourish of his brush, Principal Chiang let out a long sigh and said: "The Military Commission will posthumously promote Yao Changqing to Lieutenant General, and erect a bronze statue of him outside Guanghua Gate in Nanjing, to inspire the nation's fighting spirit!"

  …………

  Baoshan County Town

  The eight search parties of the Japanese 68th Brigade repeatedly searched Baoshan City, but still had nothing to show for it. The officer in charge of the search, Nishiojiro, came before the brigade commander, Takaeda Kōda, and reported: "Commander, each search party has repeatedly searched Baoshan City, with no discoveries whatsoever."

  "Takahashi-kun, have you searched everywhere?"

  "General, as you ordered, every nook and cranny, every inch of land has been searched."

  Eagle Forest was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh and said, "Alas, it seems we've been fooled by that cunning fox again."

  Nishio Jiro was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized: "Governor, are you saying that Takakura was originally an empty city?"

  "It's definitely like that!" Takashi Taka said gritting his teeth, "Last night, after the Chinese army's small unit attacked the Imperial Army's garrison, the Chinese army in Baoshan City must have taken advantage of the chaos to scatter and break through!"

  Nishio Jiro said calmly, "So to speak, that fox is really cunning, and has already escaped, yet still lured the Imperial Army into wasting so many artillery shells and aerial bombs! Colonel, the existence of such a cunning person in the Chinese army is not good news for the Imperial Japanese Army. Shouldn't we report this to the General Staff Headquarters immediately and have the Tokko Department take care of him?"

  Takaaki thought so and said: "What Nishio-san said is absolutely right, we should report our inference to the General Headquarters of the Imperial Army immediately."

  Nishio Jiro said again: "Taisha, are we going to continue searching this treasure mountain castle?"

  "It's not necessary to continue searching, but it is essential to leave a few hidden sentries within the castle and station a small squad outside to prevent any escapees. Eagle Moriya looked up at the sky and then said to Nishiojiro, "Nishio, it's getting late, we should also head to the Shudanbu Mountain Kaku now."

  …………

  Deep underground in Baoshan, tunnels.

  It was pitch black in the tunnel, and although you could clearly hear others' breathing, you couldn't see anyone else at all!

  In an instant, a flashlight lit up in the darkness, and in a flash, it illuminated the underground space. There were more than 40 people sitting on the ground with wooden expressions, each with a shiny dagger held in their mouths. This was done by Yue Weihan to prevent some unconscious guys from shouting loudly.

  Yue Weihan looked at his watch under the faint light of the flashlight and said, "Alright, everyone can relax a bit now, put down the bayonets in your mouths too. But listen up, you can talk in low voices, but strictly no loud noises!"

  Chi Chengfeng first took out the dagger from his mouth, then spat out a thick phlegm, and whispered: "Damn it, this place is so small, dark and suffocating, one fart can knock out a whole group of people, really not a place for humans to stay."

  Yue Weihan suddenly turned his head and said coldly: "Chi Chengfeng, what are you muttering about?"

  "Ah, nothing, didn't say anything." Chi Chengfeng hastily replied in a low voice, "We were just saying that we will resolutely obey the superior's orders."

  Yue Weihan hummed, and then said to Cao Xinglong: "Big Dragon, distribute dry rations to the brothers. Also, listen up everyone, conserve water in your canteens, although our tunnel is connected to a well, it's best not to use the well water if possible. If those little devils hear any noise, we're all done for."

  As soon as Yue Weihan said this, the expressions of the remaining forty or so defeated soldiers suddenly became extremely solemn. After receiving their dry rations, most of them only dared to gnaw on them and could only swallow with great difficulty, taking a small sip of water only when they really couldn't choke it down. Only Chi Chengfeng, that old soldier, didn't think much of it and tilted his head back, drinking the entire canteen of water in one gulp.

  …………

  Yue Weihan and others hid underground, waiting for an opportunity to escape. The Battle of Shanghai was still raging on the ground. On September 6th, the day after Baoshan fell and Yue Weihan's group entered the tunnel, the Japanese 3rd Division, led by its new commander, Yamagata Masamichi, launched a fierce attack on the defensive line of the Chinese 15th Army Group.

  The fierce battle lasted until September 10th, when the defense line of the 15th Army Group was finally breached by the Japanese army!

  By September 12, the vanguard of the Japanese 3rd Division, led by Colonel Shōsuke Ishii, had advanced three kilometers to the south bank of the Fen River, like a nail deeply embedded in the defensive depth of the left-wing troops. The 15th and 19th Army Corps under the Left Wing Troops were about to be split apart by the Japanese army.

  The situation was critical, and the Shanghai-Hangzhou War Zone Headquarters immediately ordered Xia Zhongyu to lead the 98th Division in a counterattack!

  The fierce battle lasted until September 14, and after the 98th Division paid a heavy price of more than half of its casualties, it finally compressed the remnants of the Japanese 18th Brigade with over a thousand people on a small protruding land on the south bank of Biyu Lake. Subsequently, the 98th Division launched several desperate attacks, but they were all repelled by the Japanese army's superior artillery and air forces.