Chapter Sixty Reunion

  Under the tent, Gao Qiao Xin slowly opened his eyes and saw that the chessboard in front of him still had the same layout as it did at night, except for an additional white piece next to the black piece that was pinning down three white pieces.

  "Yè Tú Fēi actually attacked my artillery position?" Takashi Kō couldn't believe the report from his subordinate, but the cruel reality forced him to believe it. "How did he do it? How did he scout out the location of my artillery position?"

  Takashi Kōyama was at his wit's end.

  Yamashita Keigo continued to report on the battle, saying: "The Chinese army was killed and wounded over a thousand people, they fled in disarray, abandoning all their wounded, haha."

  Takaishi Kō stared at the board with his head down and asked Yamashita Keigo, "What are you going to do about those injured pieces?"

  "Of course, put them in a prisoner-of-war camp and make them forced labor for the Empire to compensate for the losses they have caused."

  "Let's just kill them all! The Empire doesn't have that many medical supplies to treat them, and keeping them alive would be nothing but a waste of food."

  Yamashita Keigo was shocked and said: "Kill prisoners of war?"

  Takahashi Makoto finally lifted his head and said: "You say they are prisoners of war, then they are prisoners of war. You say they are not prisoners of war, then they must not be prisoners of war."

  Yamashita Kengo sighed and replied: "Alright then!"

  "General Takahashi asked again: 'What is the situation with our casualties?'"

  Yamashita's expression turned heavy and he said: "Our army has lost 317 men, with 45 seriously injured and 27 lightly wounded."

  Koukyou Shingetsu slammed his hand on the chessboard and roared, "What's going on?! The Empire's army is actually this incompetent?!"

  "Yamashita Kengo pointed out: 'On the artillery position, our 150-man infantry company and a 65-man artillery battalion were all annihilated. In addition, the Kawashima unit responsible for defending the Noul River was also subjected to devastating artillery fire, with 56 soldiers killed in action. These 271 Imperial heroes all died at the hands of Ye Tufei.'"

  Takaeda no Nobukaze flew into a rage and bellowed: "How many troops does that Yatobe no Kurahashi have under his command?"

  Yamashita Keigo replied: "I don't know!"

  Takahashi Shin held back his almost collapsing emotions and softened his tone, asking: "How many bodies of the Leaf Village's shinobi were found?"

  "There isn't a single one! Perhaps they handled the remains of their comrades before withdrawing, and we didn't have time to search."

  Takahashi Shinchiro let out a long sigh and said, "This is a formidable team. In the midst of such intense battles, they still don't forget to take care of their soldiers' bodies. I thought only the Imperial Army could do that! Who would have thought? Yatou Fei, if you can hear me, remember this: Takahashi Shinchiro will definitely defeat you and kill you with my own hands!"

  "Pass on my orders, all troops to immediately launch a pursuit of the Chinese army, while ordering the reserve troops to strengthen their vigilance on the periphery and search for the direction of the Chinese army with all their might."

  After crossing the river, Han Peng's unit took stock of their casualties.

  A troop of over 3,000 people has now been reduced to less than 800, and at least a quarter of them are still wounded. Among the key figures, Peng Youming is safe and sound, Han Hongxun's forehead was grazed by a stray bullet, which doesn't seem serious but won't stop bleeding, so he had to be carried away on a stretcher. Yan Xiwen unfortunately had his right lung pierced by a bullet, although it's not fatal, he's still struggling for life. Wei Xiangdong's body is unscathed, but his heart has been bleeding non-stop until now, almost turning him into a walking corpse.

  All the burdens fell on Peng Youming alone.

  What should we do next? Which direction should we retreat to? Peng Youming was indecisive, and could only seek help from Han Hongxun who was lying on the stretcher.

  Fortunately, Han Hongxun was still somewhat conscious at this time. He pointed in the direction of the artillery position and said: "The Japanese shells hit their own people's heads. I don't think it's a mistake by the Japanese. It should be Ye Tufei and his men helping us. Secretary Peng, I suggest you lead the troops to move closer to Ye Tufei's direction. When we meet Ye Tufei, tell him that I, Han Hongxun, am a rough man, and if I said anything unpleasant, just consider it farting."

  Peng Youming grasped Han Hongxun's hand and said, "General Han, you can rest assured. From my understanding of Ye Tufei, he is not a petty-minded person."

  Han Hongxun forced a smile and said, "I know, I know, Secretary Peng. After meeting with Ye Tufei, hand over the command of the troops to him. Only he can lead us out of this predicament."

  Peng Youming nodded silently.

  Han Hongxun's forehead injury was actually a very troublesome one. The stray bullet had grazed him heavily, damaging a small arterial branch in the bone suture of his forehead. This arterial branch had retracted into the skull fracture caused by the bullet, so even with thick pressure bandages, the bleeding couldn't be stopped.

  Even the strongest man can't withstand the blow of blood loss, and Han Hongxun soon fell into shock.

  Due to the large number of wounded, Peng Youming's command to move the troops was very slow, fortunately Ye Tufei's action was extremely swift.

  Takahashi asked Yamashita about the casualties of Ye Ting's unit when he was reporting on the battle situation, and at that time they concluded that Ye Ting had retreated only after burying his fallen comrades.

  This conclusion is both right and wrong at the same time.

  When attacking the Japanese artillery position, due to Ye's ferocity, especially his more than 50 bullets that hit the core firepower of the Japanese position. To what extent can this ferocity be described? With one fact: the four light machine guns on the Japanese defensive position did not fire from start to finish.

  Moreover, there was also a Li Zhongyun squad hiding in the dark and firing black guns.

  The Japanese army cannot hold on without the support of artillery and heavy firepower.

  So, taking down the Japanese infantry company responsible for defending the artillery position, Ye Tufei's unit suffered almost no casualties.

  Later, in the bayonet fight with the Japanese artillery battalion, Ye Tufei's troops were also easy and effortless. He had one, Feng Zhongliang had one, Xiao Zhonghe had one, and three people formed a "mountain" shape impact formation with Ye Tufei as the middle and the other two as the wings. Each person had two team members behind them to form a lateral protection wing.

  The Japanese team's fencing skills and level are indeed very high, but compared to Feng Zhongliang, Xiao Zhonghe, they are still a notch lower. As for Ye Tufei, it's not even worth mentioning. With these three people as the vanguard of the formation, and with the protection and assistance of their teammates behind them, after a fierce battle, there were almost no casualties.

  Since it's said to be almost, that means there are still casualties.

  The casualties of Ye's unit were: 2 killed in action, 5 seriously wounded and less than 20 slightly wounded.

  After Ye Tingfei's troops completed their support for Han Peng's troops with the Japanese artillery, Ye Tingfei ordered that more than 20 cannons be blown up. This was one of the tasks that delayed Ye Tingfei's action the most. As for burying the bodies of comrades, since there was only one fallen brother, it didn't take much time either.

  When Peng Youming led his troops slowly towards Ye Tufa's direction for less than three miles, Ye Tufa led his troops to meet them.

  Wei Dong saw Ye Tu Fei and finally couldn't control himself, bursting into loud sobs.

  Peng Youming was furious and scolded Wei Xiangdong loudly, Ye Tufei hurried forward to stop him. He hugged Wei Xiangdong and whispered in his ear: "This can't be blamed on you, Gao Qixian deceived all of us, me, you, Secretary Peng, Commissioner Yan... If we talk about responsibility, mine is the greatest, because I was closest to him during the implementation of his plan and had the most contact with him. Alright, Brother Xiangdong, wipe away your tears! I promise you, I will definitely let you kill that beast with your own hands!"

  Ye Tufei made a promise to Wei Dong with a loud voice. And Wei Dong miraculously pulled himself together from the collapse, he wiped away his tears, gritted his teeth and swore: "If I don't kill this loser with my own hands, I'm not surnamed Wei!"

  Ye Tufei comforted Wei Dong, then turned to ask Peng Youming about the situation of his troops. Peng Youming's eyes were red as he pointed at the scattered and disheveled troops behind him, but he was so choked with emotion that he couldn't speak a word.

  "Do we still have baijiu?" Ye Tuofei asked Guo Zhonglin.

  "There are still some, but not many."

  "Divide it among them!" Ye ordered, "Everyone drink a mouthful or two, then quickly take off the cotton-padded jackets on your body. On such a cold day, wearing wet cotton-padded jackets will only consume more heat."

  Guo Zhonglin received the order and was about to prepare, but Ye Tufei stopped him: "Let our brothers take out all the dry rations on their bodies. Their consumption is too high, and a mouthful of baijiu can't solve the problem."

  Kuo Chung-lin was taken aback for a moment, wanting to say something but ultimately holding back and turning away.

  Next, Ye Tufei ordered Li Zhongyun to say: "Hurry up and take your company back. I estimate that the vanguard of the Japanese pursuing troops should have arrived. If there are not many people, swallow them in one bite, take their supplies and hurry back."

  Li Zhongyun received the order and was about to set off with his troops when Ye Tufei added, "If there are more Japanese soldiers, just wound them without killing them, so as to slow down their pursuit."

  Li Zhongyun asked: "How many people in Japan are considered many and how many are not?"

  Ye Tufei smiled and glanced at Li Zhongyun, saying: "If you can swallow them in one mouthful, then it's not too many; if you can't swallow them in one mouthful, then it's too many. As for whether or not you can swallow them in one mouthful, that's not my concern!"

  Li Zhongyun smiled and replied: "If you want to stay, no matter how much it is, I'll make sure you can finish it all in one bite."

  Ye Tu Fei turned up his nose at Li Zhong Yun and said, "Alright, hurry up and go. After this period of time is over, I'll train you individually, and I guarantee that each and every one of you will be just like me."

  Li Zhongyun was delighted and continued to joke with a smile: "What's the hurry? Are you thinking of that female military doctor?"

  Ye Tufei made a move to hit him, and Li Zhongyun took off running.