Chapter 17: Ye Zhi's Three Tricks on Da Dao Island (Third Watch, Seeking Recommendations)

  Watching Daishima escape from the encirclement, rushing out of Amazon, Ye Zhikui was very angry, and the cooked duck flew away.

  Ye Zhiqi was enraged, calling on the soldiers to slash their big knives at the devils' heads. Thus, more than 5,000 Qing soldiers launched a new round of attacks against the remaining less-than-3,000 wounded and crippled enemy troops.

  Both sides engaged in a bloody melee on the road less than five miles long, and for a time, blood flowed like rivers, limbs flew horizontally, heads and buttocks flew together, and fresh blood was the same color as the sunset. This great battle lasted from dawn till dusk when the curtain fell.

  After the battle, Ye Zhiwei stepped on the yellow land stained with blood and said to Feng Guozhang beside him: "The Japanese are nothing more than this!" Feng Guozhang could only remain silent.

  Suddenly, a soldier came to report that six Japanese soldiers had been captured and asked to see the general. Ye Zhi-kui was surprised, and it turned out that there were indeed Japanese soldiers who had surrendered. Although he had achieved such a great victory, he still couldn't believe that there would be Japanese soldiers surrendering, and he really wanted to take a look at these Japanese soldiers who had surrendered.

  Before Ye Zhiwei could speak, he saw a group of Japanese people being escorted over by the guards. The Japanese people all looked straight ahead, and surprisingly, not one of them had any injuries. The leader of the group was actually a Japanese sergeant. This Japanese man had a round body, like a short, fat melon, and his chubby face made it impossible to see his eyes. As he walked, he chatted with the soldiers escorting him in Chinese, showing no shame or fear at being captured. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was here on vacation.

  The devil officer walked to the front of Ye Zhi Kui, suddenly let out a sharp cry, "Sir!", the surrounding soldiers immediately stared at him with vigilance, preventing unexpected events. Ye Zhi Kui was also startled by this Pavarotti-like sharp cry, looking at him in confusion.

  The little devil army commander hastily walked to the front of Ye Zhi Kui, knelt down, stared at the tip of Ye Zhi Kui's shoes, and then used his sleeve corner to gently and affectionately wipe it for a moment. He stood up, bowed his waist and said: "Sir, your shoes are stained with blood, I've helped you clean them."

  Ye's words left everyone stunned!

  Looking at the face in front of him smiling fawningly at himself, Ye Zhikui's head couldn't turn around for a moment, so he had to ask: "What's your name?"

  The fatty hastily smiled and replied: "In response to your words, sir, I am but a humble man."

  "You dare to trifle with me? I am General Ye! How bold!" Ye Zhui thundered, his personal guards immediately closing in.

  The fatty said with a wronged expression: "Sir, I really am called Jianren Wuya." Then he hastily explained his name.

  At the time of Jen, I was originally a merchant in Osaka. My parents were killed by samurai testing their swords, and as a child, I wandered the streets, begging for a living. Later, as a sailor on a commercial ship, I traveled back and forth between Japan, China, and Korea, speaking three languages. I started doing small business buying and selling goods. When Japan recruited soldiers, Jen thought it was an opportunity to get rich, so he invested all his family's property, led his partners, and through the relationship of his second uncle's wife's sister, bribed the Japanese army's 9th Brigade 11th Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Takeda Hidemasa, becoming the captain of a small reconnaissance team. At the Battle of Baekryong Valley, he surrendered to Ye Shao, who was then the commander-in-chief of Taiyuan Town. Later, he served as the officer of the First Battalion of Korea, the commander of the First Brigade...

  Ye Zhi's smile was stifled, and he asked: "Jian Ren, just now the soldier came to report that you requested to see me, what is the matter?"

  When I saw the official, I excitedly replied: "Sir, I have something to present to you." This guy poked his nose up and suddenly called himself a subordinate, his face thicker than anyone else. When I saw the official, I dug behind my butt for half a day and pulled out a yellowed military flag.

  "This is... isn't it?" Ye Zhi Kui became excited, disregarding the dirt, and snatched it over in one grasp.

  "Sir, this is the military flag of the 11th United Brigade." At that time, I confirmed Ye Zhi Kui's conjecture.

  Originally, after the death of Lieutenant Colonel Tadashima Shōyama in the 11th Regiment, the regimental flag was passed to the hands of a lieutenant colonel, who also died soon after. Before his death, he handed over the flag to Jin Ren Tiwu, who had just led his group back from their escape, and asked him to burn it at critical moments, but unfortunately, he entrusted the wrong person.

  Ye Zhi's excitement was palpable as he exclaimed: "Jian Ren, well done! You have rendered great service. This general will reward you heavily."

  At that time, I took advantage of the opportunity to flatter him, saying: "All this is due to your great good fortune, sir. As for me, as long as I can serve the general and do my duty, I am content."

  Ye Zhi's anger subsided, and he nodded in approval: "You're good, come on, take this cheap person away, don't be slow, treat them well."

  The Japanese military flag, the commander of the Imperial Guard Division from a later era clearly understood the position of the military flag in the minds of the Japanese people. During the Russo-Japanese War, most of the established regiments of the 23rd and 7th Divisions were completely annihilated, and the Japanese Army suffered its worst defeat since its inception. In this situation, the Japanese army was still brewing a larger-scale death attack, why?

  It turned out that after the 64th Brigade was annihilated, what the Kwantung Army was worried about was whether the military flag had been completely burned or fallen into enemy hands. The Kwantung Army then mobilized the 2nd Division, the 4th Division and other directly affiliated troops to attempt a major counterattack, with the unclear fate of the military flag being one of the main reasons. Because of a military flag, a war was triggered, you can see how important the military flag is in the hearts of the Japanese people.

  Unfortunately, the current Qing government does not understand the importance of this flag. If it is handed over, it will be a loss. After Ye Zhi Kui returned to the camp, he thought for half a day and suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. He immediately sent someone to invite Xian Ren Shi Wu.

  Before long, Jianren hurried over, "Sir, you were looking for me." Jianren asked with a bow.

  Ye Zhi nodded and picked up a letter on the table and handed it to him, saying: "You help me take a look at this, and say your own opinion."

  When I picked it up and took a look, it was a letter of surrender. The general idea is that ōshima Yoshimasa should recognize the situation and surrender to Ye Zikui, and Ye Zikui would guarantee his wealth and honor. However, the signature at the end was also mine. As for the content inside, it wasn't so pleasant to hear. Not only were there words humiliating ōshima Yoshimasa, but also some language insulting the Japanese Emperor and other members of the imperial family, which can be described as arrogant to the extreme.

  When I saw this letter, my eyes narrowed, and without turning back, I bit my teeth and said to Ye Zhongkui: "Sir, I will rewrite it in Japanese." After finishing speaking, I picked up the pen and started writing.

  Ye Zhiwei saw that he was a man of insight and said: "There is a battalion of Korean soldiers in our army, you can go and be their commander."

  When I saw the official, I was overjoyed in my heart and said: "Thank you for your appreciation, sir. I will definitely learn from Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms period and exhaust myself to death for you."

  Ye Zhihuan burst out laughing and said, "I didn't expect that you, a Japanese, would be so learned and talented. Unfortunately, I, the great lord, do not want to become another Liu Bei who was unable to lift himself up."

  When I saw him, I hastily slapped myself a few times and said, "I'm a worthless person, this mouth of mine is really cheap!"

  Ye Zhi's faint smile faded as he said, "You may withdraw first." Jian Ren nodded and backed away slowly, not turning around until he reached the doorway.

  On the other hand, ōshima Yoshimasa led his remaining defeated soldiers to retreat dozens of kilometers until they stopped at a small county town in Korea. After counting the number of people, alas, more than 4,000 people were left with only over 1,000 people, and each was injured. He hastily dispatched his subordinates to contact other routes of the large army.

  "How did the 11th Brigade's flag fall? Have you figured it out yet?" ōshima Yoshimasa, his wound reopening, bellowed at his adjutant. Several adjutants and a general who had run back stood beside him, trembling with fear and not daring to speak up. They had already asked the remaining officers of the 11th Brigade earlier, but no one knew what had happened to it.

  ōshima Yoshimasa swept everything off the table and roared, "Get out! All of you get out! Don't come back to see me until you've found out what happened to the military flag!"

  Everyone walked out with a frightened heart.

  Before long, a soldier came to report that the Qing army had sent over a letter and a box. ōshima Yoshimasa called for them to be brought in.

  ōshima Yoshimasa first picked up the letter, which contained two letters of surrender, one written in Chinese characters and the other in Japanese script. The contents were sarcastic and piercing, every sentence a taunt, every word a stab to the heart. ōshima Yoshimasa looked at the signature: "The Eleventh Regiment's Jinshi". He could no longer bear it, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

  He opened the box again, and inside was a military flag. Daishima took a closer look and found it to be the flag of the 11th Brigade. He couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. Inside, he saw a small piece of paper with writing on it: "In the past, Zhuge Liang gave clothes to Sima Yi's wife; now I, Ye Zhi Kui, return your military flag. However, my camp's soldiers have no toilet paper, so I borrowed your flag for use. Shameful, shameful!"

  ōshima Yoshimasa picked up the military flag and took a look. A patch, a patch of yellow stains were printed on it. A foul smell hit his nose.

  ōshima Yoshimasa's face changed from joy to sorrow, then turned pale, and finally returned to calmness, the speed of his changing expression was unbelievable.

  He arranged things on the desk, Oishin Island took out a handkerchief, held it in his mouth, picked up the samurai sword, poured wine on it, then knelt on the ground, untied his clothes, exposed his abdomen, wiped the samurai sword clean with the handkerchief, covered the blade with both hands, aimed at his own abdomen, and stabbed himself once, turning left and right, committing seppuku.

  After the officers of the 9th Brigade entered the house, they saw this scene. The officers looked at the stinking chess piece and looked at ōishi Yoshio who had fallen to the ground. One by one, they drew their wakizashi and committed seppuku. That night, more than 300 officers and soldiers of the 9th Brigade followed ōishi Yoshio in death, including all remaining officers and soldiers of the 11th Regiment, as well as some officers and a few soldiers from other units.