Chapter Sixteen: Ye Zhi's Cunning Scheme on Tai Da Island

  On the morning of September 6, at around 5:30, the reconnaissance team led by Lieutenant Colonel Saito Hidesuke of the 11th Brigade was the first to enter the ambush area. The team leader, Jin Shiwo, looked at the mountains on both sides and smiled at his soldiers, saying: "The Koreans call this place Baekryong Valley, where an ancient white dragon is said to have fallen. This place is treacherous and a good spot for an ambush. If I were a Qing general, I would definitely set up an ambush here. Unfortunately, the Qing people are foolish and timid, hiding in Pyongyang and not daring to attack. We scouted this area yesterday evening and found nothing unusual. Even if the Chinese marched a thousand miles a day, they couldn't possibly arrive here by this morning."

  The soldiers under my command all shouted "Yes", and to be on the safe side, I ordered them to fire a few shots to both sides. There was no response, so we walked past with ease. At that time, I didn't know that it was because of his momentary carelessness that the 9th Brigade was destroyed here.

  Takeda Hideshō led a large army in pursuit, followed closely by Nishijima Yoriyoshi's Twenty-first Corps, marching in step and shouting loud slogans as they strode into the White Dragon Valley.

  Ye Zhi Kui crouched on the mountain rock, his palms sweating profusely, extremely tense. Just now, a Japanese reconnaissance squad had fired upwards and hit one soldier. Fortunately, this soldier was biting onto a tree root in his mouth and didn't make a sound. Ye Zhi Kui thought they had been discovered by the devils, but then he saw that the devils didn't react again, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, secretly calling out "Steady, steady".

  As he saw ōshima Yoshimasa about to enter the encirclement, he raised his voice again. ōshima Yoshimasa rode his horse slowly while wiping his command sword, but what he was thinking about in his heart was actually Kodama Kun, who had just been transferred from the General Staff Office. He thought of his white buttocks and felt a sudden heat in his chest.

  Seeing ōshima Yoshimasa and the Japanese artillery battalion entering the ambush circle, Ye Zhiqi gave an order to the surrounding officers who were staring at him, pulled out his pistol and fired a shot. The officers received the command and opened fire on the enemy, and for a time, gunfire and cannon fire erupted on both sides of Báilóng Gǔ, and the battle began.

  Zhao Ergou had been promoted to be the sentinel officer of the artillery outpost by Ye Zhiwei. Since he had tasted the sweetness last time, Zhao Ergou remembered the uniforms of the Japanese generals clearly. At this moment, seeing a lieutenant colonel within his shooting range, he repeatedly urged his subordinates, pointing at Takeda Hidesuke and shouting: "Quick! Quick, give me a shot!" His subordinates were also very powerful, firing five shots in a row, blowing up Takeda Hidesuke before he could even react.

  The Eleventh Imperial Japanese Army lieutenant hastily took over the command, ordering his soldiers to charge forward and prepare to break through the encirclement. The First Battalion of the Fengtian Army was waiting for them ahead! Lieutenant Yang was watching his comrades eat meat, feeling anxious in his heart. Seeing the Eleventh Imperial Japanese Army charging over, he immediately smiled and ordered his men to fight to the death. The Eleventh Imperial Japanese Army was blocked and unable to advance or retreat, so they had no choice but to lie down on the ground and defend their position while contacting their rear lines for support.

  On the 21st, Lieutenant Colonel Nishijima Kiyoshi of the 21st Brigade quickly grasped the situation and upon hearing the gunfire, he dismounted his horse and took cover behind a boulder. While coordinating with ōshima Yoshimasa, he ordered his troops to launch a pincer movement on both sides of the road, attempting to seize the high ground.

  The Qing army was in a superior position, firing down at the enemy with reckless abandon, and it was a joy to behold, a true pleasure. The Japanese army suffered heavy casualties, which pained Ye Zhi-kui greatly, and he shouted: "You bunch of rabbits, take aim and fire at me! Every shot you fire is worth money!"

  The special forces team built by Butcher - Iron Blood Thirteen Eagles, had been recruiting from the military recently. The first requirement for recruits was accurate marksmanship, not necessarily hitting every shot, but at least hitting 99 out of 100 shots. Butcher thoroughly implemented Ye Zhiwei's precise, accurate and fast special operations combat ideology, requiring personnel to be elite, shooting accurately, and retreating quickly. At this time, under Butcher's call, they specifically targeted the Japanese army's non-commissioned officers and junior officers, instantly disrupting the enemy's command system.

  The big island of Yichang, hiding in the rear, is naturally the best target for the Qing army officers to travel and live at home. Everyone has carried forward the highest spirit without any better, only the best, with the speed of rushing towards the small vendors, they have been sweeping it one after another.

  ōshima Yoshimasa was lucky, withstanding the intense bombardment, and suddenly found a small ditch at Liu Xiang's 100-meter dash speed, hiding in it and refusing to come out. He even taunted the Qing army soldiers, making them feel annoyed and forced to shift their target.

  The artillery horses of the devils' artillery battalion were frightened by the shelling and ran wildly, trampling each other, competing for road priority. The mares became pregnant and gave birth to dozens of foals after the war. The devilish artillerymen also forgot to fire their guns, hiding behind the horses' buttocks, watching the mares become pregnant, and those who couldn't bear it directly mounted their own horses.

  In an instant, the three armies of the devils were in great disorder, children couldn't find their fathers and fathers couldn't find their children.

  After a good while, ōshima Yoshimasa saw that no one was paying attention to him and dared to stick his head out of the water, gather his troops, and order them to retreat.

  On the other side, Saijō no Sukune saw ōshima no ōchimaro about to leave and immediately ran up to him, crying and shouting, hugging ōshima's leg and asking him to take himself with him. ōshima was annoyed and kicked him away, scolding: "You don't even wipe your ass all day, and you think I'll take you with me?" Saijō regretted it and made a poisonous oath that he would wash his buttocks diligently from now on. He looked up to see that ōshima had already disappeared without a trace. Saijō's love turned to hate, and he secretly cursed ōshima that his younger brother would be impotent in the future.

  ōshima Yoshimasa led his personal troops and some artillery to retreat, but encountered the Fengtian Army officers who had been waiting for him for a long time. ōshima Yoshimasa was very frightened, seeing himself trapped in a desperate situation, and immediately made what he thought was a wise and powerful decision, taking off his underwear to indicate surrender. The Fengtian Army officers saw ōshima Yoshimasa waving a yellow rag in his hand, but didn't understand the meaning. Fortunately, the officers were knowledgeable and one of them, who had an uncle who was a Taoist priest on Mount Wudang, saw through ōshima Yoshimasa's trick, and determined that this was the Japanese devil summoning their god Amaterasu. The officers were furious, and even at the point of death, he dared to pretend to be a ghost, so the gunfire grew louder.

  ōshima Yoshimasa saw that it was no good, and hastily retreated to join Nishijima Sukeshige's 21st Brigade. Nishijima Sukeshige was deeply moved when he saw ōshima Yoshimasa running back with his pants down, and immediately performed a melodrama like Ch'ün-yüeh's tragic play, reenacting the Japanese version of "Behind the Mountain". Just as Nishijima Sukeshige was lamenting that ōshima Yoshimasa had run so gallantly, Yeh Chih-kui launched a charge.

  The Qing army soldiers came like a tiger down the mountain, rushing forward. ōshima Yoshimasa knew that this was not the time to perform a death-defying act, and he gathered the remnants of the 21st Brigade and artillery battalion, telling everyone to unite tightly around him, the representative of the Emperor, with the goal of counterattacking the Northern Army once again. Before departing, ōshima Yoshimasa looked at the wounded Japanese soldiers with eyes filled with tears and said: "The Empire cannot do without me, the Empire cannot do without these brave warriors who are going out to seek revenge for you. Now the Empire needs your loyalty, needs you to create good opportunities for us. You are all the most beloved people."

  The wounded warriors were moved to tears, and one after another expressed their desire to die with the enemy, hoping that those who had escaped could take care of their families.

  ōshima Yoshimasa's on-site speech was successful, and the wounded devils barely withstood the attack of the Qing dynasty generals in a short period. ōshima Yoshimasa took advantage of the opportunity to break through the rear route, broke out of the encirclement, and led more than 1,000 devil soldiers to flee wildly.