Chapter 31: Prisoner of War Camp (Part 1)

  Kunshan East Suburbs, Prisoner of War Camp.

  The POW camp was built less than five miles away from Kunshan Railway Station, where there was originally an abandoned warehouse. From the outside, it still looks about the same, except that barbed wire has been added to the surrounding wall, with a watchtower every hundred meters. The watchtowers not only have searchlights scanning back and forth but also have Japanese soldiers guarding day and night. Those who don't know would think this is a field station for the Japanese army, and no one would ever imagine that this is a concentration camp where National Army POWs are being held.

  The concentration camp had only one gate for entry and exit, with extremely strict guard.

  In a ditch several li away from the concentration camp, Yue Weihan was observing the situation through binoculars, and beside him were not only the guard squad leader Hua Hanlin but also a man in his thirties.

  Yue Weihan asked the man, "Big brother, is the iron wire mesh on the wall electrified?"

  "Yes, it was high voltage electricity." The man said, "When the concentration camp was about to be repaired, there were rumors that the devils would kill us all. That night, two brothers tried to escape by climbing over the wall and were electrocuted to death!"

  Yue Weihan's eyebrows suddenly furrowed, if the barbed wire was electrified with high voltage, that would be a problem.

  The man suddenly said: "Officer, I know of a place where we can enter the concentration camp without being discovered by the devils."

  "Oh?" Yu Weihan's spirit lifted instantly, and he turned his head to the man, "Big brother, speak quickly, which place?"

  "Latrine!" the man said, "The latrines in the concentration camp are connected to a small river outside. By entering the latrines from the river, one can sneak into the concentration camp without being detected."

  "That's great." Yue Weihan said to Hua Hanlin again, "Hanlin, go and call Da Long and the others over."

  Soon, Cao Xinglong, Chi Chengfeng and Niu Dagen came to Yue Weihan's side. Yue Weihan immediately assigned them combat tasks. After a while, nearly a hundred officers and soldiers from Baoshan Camp moved stealthily towards the small river behind the concentration camp under the cover of night, then quietly got into the river.

  …………

  Twenty li outside, Yang Village.

  When Bao Shan's troops arrived at Kunshan East Suburbs, Watanabe's special warfare battalion also arrived at Yangcun.

  Watanabe's special warfare battalion marched at a speed that was much faster than the Pao Shan camp, and when the latter had only covered over 20 li, they had already covered over 40 li!

  The two troops did not encounter each other due to their completely different routes and final destinations, so the Bao Shan camp escaped a great disaster. Otherwise, with less than 100 exhausted soldiers left in the Bao Shan camp, they would have been no match for this unit of Japanese special forces equipped with automatic firepower.

  At this time, Watanabe Taiza was observing the movements of Yangcun.

  The village across was pitch black, with only a few guard dogs seemingly having caught wind of the Imperial Army's presence, barking incessantly. Soon, several weak lights flickered on in the village. Lieutenant General Tohei's eyebrows furrowed instantly; something was clearly off. If the Hojo army was indeed garrisoned in this village, how could they not have even posted a single sentry?

  "Alright!" Colonel Watanabe suddenly stood up and ordered several special warfare captains behind him, "Surround the village!"

  The situation is now quite clear, the Chinese fox must have run away, and in this dark and chaotic situation, the special agents of the Tokko department will probably also be caught off guard. However, the Chinese people in this village should know the situation, and to avoid missing the opportunity, Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe must immediately find out from these Chinese people the exact direction of the Chinese army's escape.

  …………

  Kunshan East Suburbs, Prisoner of War Camp.

  Crossing the icy river that chilled to the bone, passing through the foul-smelling dung pits, the officers and men of Bao Shan Camp finally sneaked into the prisoner-of-war camp in silence. When everyone had safely crawled out of the dung pit, Yue Weihan suddenly made a hand gesture, and more than 90 officers and men of Bao Shan Camp quickly divided into four groups according to plan, rushing towards their respective targets.

  Chi Chengfeng led the Second Regiment in a surprise attack on the main gate.

  Cao Xinglong led a company to sweep the sentry post.

  The Ox Big Root Rate machine gun company cleared out the devils' garrison camp.

  Yue Weihan personally led a squad of guards to storm the prison and release the National Army prisoners of war being held inside.

  In an instant, the sound of dense gunfire rang out in the Lujia Bin concentration camp. Following the guidance of the old villagers, Yue Weihan led the guard platoon at high speed to rush towards the prison. The prison holding the National Army prisoners was a row of more than ten fully enclosed cement houses. As long as the iron gate was locked, the devils could basically rest easy, so only two sentry posts were set up outside.

  Yue Weihan and his men had just rushed out of the shadows when two Japanese soldiers rushed out of the sentry post, holding their guns and shouting: "Password!"

  Without any nonsense, Yue Weihan fired two shots in quick succession, and the two Japanese soldiers fell to the ground. At the same time, Guard Platoon Leader Hua Hanlin's rifle also opened fire, and several other little devils were knocked down.

  Upon hearing the gunshot, the dozen or so concrete buildings across from us immediately became a flurry of activity. Many Nationalist soldiers desperately squeezed their heads against the small windows, peering through the thick iron bars to see what was happening outside. Seeing that the Japanese sentry had been knocked down, those Nationalist prisoners of war suddenly forgot themselves and cheered wildly.

  "Brothers, our national army has returned!"

  "Haha, Ge Laozi is here, we're saved..."

  "Turtle son, this time you go out, if you don't kill those little devils until they're flowing like fallen flowers, I'll disown you!"

  "Brother on the opposite side, which department are you from? Are we starting to counterattack? Damn it, it's time for us to counterattack, can't let those little devils keep beating us up!"

  At that time, those National Army prisoners of war were shouting and jumping, crying and wailing, in short, they were making all sorts of noises.

  Yue Weihan ignored the shouting of these National Army prisoners and waved his hand at Hua Hanlin, saying: "Blow up the gate and release them!"

  "Yes!" Huahanlin waved his hand, and the guards immediately came forward, stuffing a domestically-made grenade into the iron door handles of the cells. They pulled the fuse, and white smoke burst out, followed by a deafening roar as the doors to the cells were blown open simultaneously.

  The next moment, more than a thousand National Army prisoners of war poured out like a burst dam!

  Yue Weihan furrowed his brow, raised the rifle case and fired two shots in rapid succession. The intense gunfire suddenly made the surging National Army prisoners calm down a bit. Only then did Yue Weihan coldly shout: "Look at you guys, do you still have any semblance of being soldiers? Everyone line up, with me as the standard, look to the left and right... Attention!"

  As a result, more than 1,000 national army prisoners of war were immediately divided into three distinct parts.

  In the middle, about 500 people wore light yellow coarse linen military uniforms, and their formation was the most neat; On the right side, about 200 people wore black cloth military uniforms, and their military appearance was slightly poor. On the left side, about 400 people wore gray cloth military uniforms, but they were sloppy and looked like scattered soldiers.

  Yue Weihan asked loudly: "Is there any military officer above regimental level present?"

  The entire column of prisoners was silent as a tomb, with no one breaking ranks.

  "What about the company commander?" Yue Weihan shouted again, "Fall in!"

  Four men stepped out in unison, with two wearing light yellow military uniforms in the middle, one wearing gray cloth military uniform on the left and one wearing black cloth military uniform on the right.

  Yue Weihan's cold gaze swept across the four people's faces like a knife, and he immediately shouted: "Report your numbers and duties!"

  "Report to the superior officer, Captain Huang Baocheng of the 521st Regiment, 259th Brigade, 87th Division of the National Revolutionary Army requests your instructions!"

  "Report to the superior officer, National Revolutionary Army 36th Division 108 Brigade 216 Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Liao Yaoting requests your instruction!"

  "Report to the superior officer, Captain Wang Qing of the 3rd company, 1st battalion, 8th national bank tax police brigade, requests your instructions!"

  "Report to the superior officer, Captain Liu Zhijian of the 433rd Regiment of the 145th Division of the National Revolutionary Army requests your instructions!"

  Four officers stood up straight one after another and reported their unit numbers and positions respectively.

  The 87th and 36th Divisions of the National Revolutionary Army were both Central Army, whose predecessor was Chiang's guard troops. The Tax Police Corps of the Eight-Nation Bank was not a regular national army, but their equipment and combat effectiveness were in no way inferior to those of the Central Army. However, Yue Weihan's gaze still fell on the Sichuan Army battalion commander wearing gray uniform: "The 145th Division? General Rao Guohua's troops?"

  A battalion commander of the Sichuan army named Liu Zhijian suddenly said in a thick Sichuan accent: "Does the superior also know that we spared the division commander?"

  "Of course, General Rao is a famous general in Sichuan!" Yue Weihan furrowed his brow and continued, "But isn't your division stationed in Guangde? How..."

  As he spoke, Yue Weihan suddenly paused, and only then did he realize that today was already December 11th, while General Rao Guohua had sacrificed himself at the Crossroads ten days ago.

  As expected, Liu Zhijian sighed and said gloomily: "The superior doesn't know, but Master Rao has already died for the country."

  "Alright, don't be sad," said Yue Weihan, walking forward and patting Liu Zhi-jian's shoulder. "Although General Rao has sacrificed himself for the country, you are still alive, and millions of Sichuan soldiers are also still alive. Didn't General Liu Xiang say that as long as the Sichuan people don't die out, the Republic of China won't perish?"

  "As long as Sichuan men haven't died out, the Republic of China won't perish!"

  Yue Weihan's words immediately stirred the passion of the Sichuan army company commander and the more than 400 Sichuan army prisoners of war behind him, and in an instant, they all stood up straight. To say that although the Sichuan army was poorly trained and equipped, they did not lack the ambition to fight for their country and kill the enemy. However, some high-ranking officials and generals looked at them coldly, which made them somewhat disheartened.

  At this time, Cao Xinglong, Chi Guoxiu and Niu Dagen had all finished their work and rushed to report.

  In fact, the number of Japanese troops left to defend was less than two platoons, only 60 or 70 people, and they were also from Taiwan. The second troop of devils guarding the place had a combat effectiveness and will that could not be compared with the elite devils of several regular divisions of little devils. Moreover, the Bao Shan camp launched a surprise attack from inside, and most of the second devils lost their heads in their sleep.

  Yue Weihan immediately said to Huang Baocheng, Liao Yaoting, Wang Qing and Liu Zhijian: "Time is pressing, let's talk less nonsense. Now I temporarily reorganize you four into four reinforced companies, belonging to the combat sequence of my Baoshan Camp. The company commanders are the four of you, and the deputy platoon leaders will be arranged by yourselves. You have ten minutes, and gather at the main gate in ten minutes!"

  "Yes!" Huang Baocheng and the other three quickly stood up straight and responded, then turned their heads to start adjusting their troops.