Chapter 7: The Warrior Jumps Over the River

  １

  Nishijima handed over the written battle plan to Yokoyama Isamu and stood beside him.

  "Good!" Yokoyama Yu looked at the plan content and patted the table. He weighed the plan book in his hand and said, "This is a good suggestion, I think the headquarters will definitely support it. The capture of the ship can provide us with strong conditions for fighting in the lake area."

  "Then let's wait for the general's order."

  "Alright, you go back, I'll discuss it with the island later."

  Xi Island gave a military salute, turned around and walked out of the house. Hengshan Yong looked at his departing back, with a smile of appreciation on his face, and a hint of joy in his heart, as if the troubles of the past few days no longer existed.

  He picked up the phone on the table: "Island Lord? Please come here immediately." Hanging up the phone, he carefully examined the military map hanging on the wall.

  They soon arrived on the island and began to deliberate, unanimously agreeing that Xi Island's plan was good. They gathered the staff members, revised and improved it, and then secretly sent someone to report the plan to the Huazhong Dispatched Troops Headquarters again, waiting for instructions before implementing it immediately. Yokoyama Isamu instructed Shima to take a special plane to Nanjing.

  ２

  Xī dǎo wú shì, chuān le yī shēn zhōng guó zhuāng dú zì lái dào le yīng zǐ shàng kè de dì fāng.

  Translation:

  The western island was calm and peaceful, wearing a set of Chinese clothes, he came alone to the place where Sakura had class.

  Outside the gate, children's voices could be heard reciting in unison. Nishijima was about to enter when he was stopped by the gatekeeper, who smiled kindly and nodded understandingly. Seeing Sakurako teaching a lesson inside the classroom, he didn't say much and turned around to leave the gate.

  Isn't this Xi Daojun? Wearing Chinese clothes, almost can't recognize you. A woman's voice came over.

  Xishan heard the sound and looked over, it was Shunzi. When they were in Japan, Shunzi and Sakura were in the same school, he had pursued Shunzi before, but Shunzi didn't like him, instead she liked a Chinese boy, Yang Binglian, who was 7 or 8 years older than Shunzi. Although Xishan was unhappy about it, there was nothing he could do. Later on, he got along well with Sakura. This time, Sakura and Shunzi came to Wuhan together. They were both here to teach. Xishan smiled as he walked up to them and asked if she had come to find Sakura. Shunzi replied yes. Xishan said: "Please tell Sakura that I might be late coming home tonight, don't wait for me for dinner." After finishing speaking, Xishan smiled at Shunzi and then left.

  Shunzi didn't go to the classroom to find Sakura. She was puzzled why Nishijima wore a Chinese tunic today to see Sakura, as Sakura had said he never wore Chinese clothes before. She couldn't understand it. At this time, class was over, and Sakura walked out of the classroom, saw Shunzi, and was very happy. Shunzi told Sakura that Nishijima had come. Sakura heard that Nishijima had just left, feeling disappointed, looked far away, didn't see Nishijima's shadow, and the two went to a nearby restaurant.

  As they munched on snacks, the two of them opened up a conversation.

  "Shunzi, what have you been busy with these past few days?"

  "Not busy, just enjoying the view, huh? Are you deeply in love and can't extricate yourself?"

  "Go away. Look, I'm in class now, these Chinese kids are so cute and lively."

  "Missing the child, missing the child, just tell Xidao Jun, have one."

  "He didn't want to, he said wait until the war is over, then get married and have children, oh, whether it's a boy or girl, he said he wants a boy, I want a girl."

  Shunzi laughed and said, "Ask me? I can make the decision, but you're not getting any younger, it's better to have one soon. What has your husband been up to lately? I ran into him earlier and he didn't look too good, you should remind him to take care of his health, otherwise the baby might not be very healthy when it's born."

  This brought up Sakura's topic again, she said that Nishijima was very busy these days and didn't know what he was doing. One time he went out, while cleaning, she found a draft on the table. She took a look, it was some kind of battle plan. As a woman, she didn't pay much attention to this, it was men's business, and she didn't ask much, it seemed like they were going to war.

  Shunzi was shocked by Sakura's words, wondering if it was really true. After parting ways with Sakura at the dock that day, she contacted an underground trafficker. Judging from the frequent comings and goings of people in front of the command department these days, something might be up. They assigned her a task to figure out the enemy's intentions. Unexpectedly, there had been no progress for a long time, but here she got some information. Her excitement didn't show on her face, she still wanted to verify it, and absolutely couldn't give up this opportunity. She smiled and said: "Do you want me to accompany you for a night? It's been a long time since we've had a good chat together, are you welcome or not?" Sakura was delighted, who wouldn't be welcome? Alright, come to my place tonight. Or I'll cook Japanese food for you to eat.

  While they were talking, Nishima came in unnoticed. Sakiko asked him curiously, "Nishima-kun, didn't you say you had something to do? Why are you here?" Nishima said he was done with his business and came back to pick her up, and the old man at the gate told him they were eating here, so he came in. In fact, he was sitting in a coffee shop across from the restaurant, drinking coffee, and saw them enter the restaurant, then ordered another cup of coffee, finished it, paid the bill, and came to their table. Nishima asked Sakiko if she wasn't welcome, and Sakurako hurriedly moved her body and laughed, saying how could that be? Nishima stared at Sakurako's face, making her feel a bit embarrassed. Sakiko saw Nishima's expression and lightly kicked him under the table, pretending nothing was wrong as she drank her soup. Nishima finally came to his senses.

  "Has your Chinese boyfriend been found?" Nishijima asked Shunzi casually. Shunzi didn't notice that he would ask this question, and her heart was slightly shaken. Soon, she calmly smiled and replied: "We broke up long ago, you shouldn't know, didn't Sakura tell you? He left me without saying goodbye, I heard he betrayed us and joined the New Fourth Army, is an enemy of our Great Japanese Empire, what reason do I have to look for him, Nishijima-san, don't you think?"

  "Miss Junko, when you were in Japan, you weren't like this. You used to oppose us and didn't advocate for the Emperor's holy war, did you? How come your attitude changed so quickly after coming to China?" Nishima pressed on, questioning Junko tightly.

  "Does this still need to be explained? I was young and naive back then. Don't forget that I, like you, am also a descendant of the Yamato people, and serving the Emperor is everyone's responsibility. You men go out to fight in the south and north, shedding blood and sacrificing yourselves. What can we women say? Although war is a man's affair, as women, we should support your endeavors. So..." Before Shun-chan could finish speaking, Sakura-chan picked up where she left off: "So, you've changed your attitude and are supporting the Emperor's holy war now, right?" Shun-chan smiled wryly and didn't respond.

  "Your ex-boyfriend was a bad guy, he dumped you, that's a great betrayal to our Japanese Empire, daring to go against us. If he were still alive, I wouldn't let him off easily. I'd personally bring him before you and have you deal with him." Nishijima said half-jokingly, half-seriously to Junko. Junko smiled and took over the conversation: "Then I'll leave it to Mr. Nishijima if he can meet him, but please don't bring him here, I don't want to see him again. If you really catch him, then please, use your own judgment, do whatever you like with him."

  Their words made Sakura feel a bit uneasy, so she quickly changed the subject and told Nishijima to invite Jun next time to have Japanese cuisine at their place. Nishijima agreed, settled the bill, and left with Sakura. After seeing them off, Jun went to a newsstand, bought a magazine, and headed towards the riverbank pier.

  Yang Biao Lian has been in Wuhan for many days, but still hasn't found the person he's supposed to meet. He was supposed to meet with a comrade from an anti-war alliance dispatched by Japan and also take over the handover of a local guerrilla unit along the Yangtze River together with the other person.

  According to the superior's instructions, he soon found the underground party's traffic officer 56, who was anxiously waiting for news from the car owner at his home. However, the car owner did not know who the person from Japan was either? Without getting in touch, following Old Yang's instructions, he waited by the dock, receiving guests and waiting for someone to contact him, but there was no movement for several days. Old Yang couldn't sit still, so he decided to try himself, and walked onto the street.

  The 56th car husband was still waiting for the Japanese to arrive at the dock. When he lit a cigarette and looked around, he suddenly saw a woman holding a magazine walking back and forth on the dock, and his heart secretly rejoiced. Old Yang had said that if someone was holding a magazine, they could try to approach them next. Could it be that she was the one he was supposed to pick up? A woman? Never mind, without hesitation, he quickly went up to ask her if she wanted a ride. The woman said no. The car husband looked at her and asked, "How many worries do you have?" The woman scolded him as soon as she heard this: "You're crazy!" After saying that, she gave him a sideways glance and walked away. It wasn't until she saw a young man holding a bouquet of flowers running towards her that the car husband realized she was on a date with the young man.

  The rickshaw driver was disappointed and laughed at himself. It turned out to be a couple having a secret meeting. Someone came over to take the rickshaw, but he shook his head repeatedly and said in a bad mood: "No way, no way, can't you see I haven't finished my cigarette yet?" The person had to stand there disappointedly waiting for another rickshaw.

  With her hands holding the magazine close to her body, Shunzi walked leisurely, her black short hair and elegant face exuding a dignified and refined demeanor. The rickshaw driver noticed that she was holding a magazine and muttered to himself: "Women in this world are all cultured people, always carrying a book to show off." He didn't want to bother her, but after finishing his cigarette, he thought again and decided not to let her go. He pulled the rickshaw towards her. The man who had been waiting for the ride glared at the driver with hatred and cursed: "Damn it, you're a pervert!"

  The coachman gazed at Shunzi and softly recited: "How many worries can you have?"

  At first, Shunzi was stunned, then a burst of joy, looking at the car driver in front of her, she didn't answer immediately, got on the car by herself, rolled up the magazine into a tube, patted it a few times in the palm of her hand, and said: "Just like a river flowing eastward."

  The carman was secretly delighted and pulled out the cart and left.

  Just as the rickshaw driver was pulling Shunzi towards an alley, Yang Binglian had already arrived at the dock. He looked around but didn't see the rickshaw driver, and the dock was bustling with people coming and going. He carefully scanned the crowd around him, paying attention to anyone holding a magazine. Several times he spotted someone holding a magazine, but as soon as he approached them, they quickly walked away. He decided not to bother with those who were holding magazines and instead looked for the rickshaw driver's figure everywhere. Just then, several motorcycles carrying devils passed in front of him, and he carefully dodged them without noticing Xishan on the motorcycle. This kind of situation often occurred in Wuhan, either catching anti-Japanese activists or arresting students who posted slogans somewhere. When he looked again in the direction where the devils had gone, his heart tightened involuntarily - could it be that something had happened to the rickshaw driver? He hadn't seen him at the dock; was he in trouble? His years of underground experience told him that he couldn't afford to relax or be careless for a moment. He decided to return to the rickshaw driver's home to investigate.

  Just as he was walking in the alley back to Chez Wang, suddenly, the rickshaw boy grabbed him and said, "Quick, get on."

  "Tell me what happened, quickly." Yang Biao asked eagerly.

  "Something's happened, my house is surrounded by devils!" The driver exclaimed while pulling Yang Biao along as they ran.

  Yang Biao hastily asked what was going on. The driver rushed all the way and stopped the carriage at another deserted alley entrance, wiped his sweat, and carefully recounted what had just happened.

  He was pulling Shunzi towards his home when suddenly, a motorcycle sound came from behind him. He glanced sideways at the Xishan car team passing by and continued to pull the cart forward slowly. Just as he turned around a corner near his home, he abruptly stopped the cart. He saw several devils standing in front of his door with guns.

  He shouted, "Not good!" to Shunzi, saying, "Quickly get down, the devils are in my home." Shunzi also saw them and hastily got off the cart, asking, "Will the comrades who came from the base be caught? It's really infuriating." The carter said, "At this time, that comrade should be fine, he's not at home. If he were, the devils would have already caught him." Shunzi listened and also thought it was right, and his hanging heart finally put down.

  "What should we do now?" asked Shunzi.

  "I'm going to find him, if he comes back there will be big trouble, you can't meet today, ah, you go back first." The driver became worried, worrying that Mr. Yang would unknowingly rush into the enemy's gunfire.

  Shunzi thought for a moment and said, "No way, I want to go see what's going on?"

  "It's getting late, let's hurry up and leave this place." The driver urged.

  Shunzi said: "Wait a minute, I always feel that something is strange, could it be that someone has betrayed us and there's a traitor?" The charioteer listened and thought it wasn't impossible.

  "So, I'll go take a look. You go find that comrade, and I'll go check out the situation over there. Don't worry, nothing will happen." Shunzi stopped the driver from blocking her movement: "That's it, you can go now." After saying that, she handed a note to the driver and said: "Let him come find me."

  The cart driver had no choice but to do so, quickly pulling the empty cart back and forth. Unexpectedly, he really ran into Yang Biao in this alley.

  After Yang Biao Lian finished listening to the carriage driver's story, his first sentence was to ask if he had connected with the head, and the carriage driver nodded and said: "The situation is not good, something has happened." He told the carriage driver: "You can't go back, you'd better think of a way to cross the river and hide for a while, I'll take care of things here. Oh, by the way, who else knows about my business here?"

  The driver said he told the traffic officer who was in contact with him. When he mentioned this, he asked Old Yang: "Could it be that he leaked the secret?" He didn't believe it would be him, and Yang Biao said it wasn't certain yet whether there was a problem on his end, but they had to be careful. After hearing this, the driver took out the note the woman gave him and handed it to Yang Biao, saying "take care" before he was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and returned to tell Yang Biao: "I know what I should do now, Mr. Yang, hurry up and leave here, you can't stay for long, you'd better find that lady according to the address on the note, or else it will be too late." Yang Biao instructed him to act according to the situation and left in a hurry.

  The cart driver arrived at the street corner, took off his numbered jacket and went to the traffic officer's residence. When he looked around, he saw a familiar person coming out of that door. This man was from the city's plainclothes police team, often taking his rickshaw to visit his lover. Looking around, he also saw several strangers sitting at the nearby tea stall. Based on experience, he suspected that the traffic officer had defected and was being controlled by them. He made up his mind to cross the river first, then come back at night to eliminate him. Time was of the essence, so he turned around and left for the dock, bought a ticket and boarded the ferry.

  Just as the ferry was approaching the middle of the river, it encountered a patrol boat of the devils. Things were really coincidental, when the cart driver looked up at the boat, he saw that the traffic officer was on the devils' speedboat, and upon seeing this, he knew that he had become a traitor, gritting his teeth so hard they chattered: "Damn traitor!"

  The devils on the motorboat were shouting loudly at the ferry, meaning to stop it for inspection. The ferry stopped, and the devils and traitors boarded it, questioning and identifying people one by one. In a state of urgency, the cart driver slowly turned his body towards the side of the boat, intending to jump into the river to escape. Just as the traitor was approaching him with the devil, he patted the driver's back. At that moment, the driver changed his mind about jumping into the river and suddenly turned around, shouting: "You traitor, go die!" He hugged the traitor tightly and jumped into the river. The sudden change of events stunned everyone on the boat. By the time the devils reacted, a huge wave had appeared on the surface of the river. In their panic, the devils fired their guns at the surrounding waves, and after a burst of gunfire, blood stained the water red. Soon, two corpses floated to the surface. The devil squad leader, out of breath, waved his gun and shouted: "Send all these Chinese pigs back, no one is allowed to cross the river!"

  Yang Biao Lian rushed to the riverbank upon hearing the gunshot. At this time, many people were already standing on the riverbank, and the Japanese motorboat and the ferry that was being escorted by the Japanese were heading towards the dock. After docking, two corpses were lying straight on the motorboat. He saw clearly that one of them was the rickshaw driver. Yang Biao Lian was shocked, things happened so fast it wasn't what he had expected. He pulled over an old man who had just been searched by the Japanese and put ashore from the boat and asked him about the situation. The old man said a few times "A hero, a traitor" before leaving the dock. Looking at the rickshaw driver's body which was still bleeding, Yang Biao Lian bowed his head in silence, paying respects to the heroic sacrifice of the rickshaw driver in his heart, then disappeared into the crowd on the streets.

  Old Yang clearly knew that he couldn't stay here for long, but the death of the traitor seemed to have given Yang Biao a shot of reassurance, and he was no longer in such a hurry. No one else knew he was here now, so security-wise, he had temporary guarantees. However, deep down, he knew that "the night is long and dreams are many", and he must immediately contact the Japanese visitor to complete his superior's assigned task. He went into the bathroom where the driver had taken off his numbered uniform, pretending to look for toilet paper while urinating, and found the yellow numbered uniform left behind by the driver, his throat choking once again. After a long time, he took out the folded piece of paper from his pocket, glanced at it quickly, then threw it into the toilet bowl and flushed it away with the water tap.

  After Shunzi and the rickshaw driver left, she calmed down her emotions, sorted out her thoughts, and pretended to stroll leisurely in the direction of the rickshaw driver's home.

  She walked along, casually glancing at the goods on display in front of each gate, but her eyes kept darting back to the commotion in front of the carman's house. As she slowly approached the entrance near the carman's house, she stopped and pretended to select items from a nearby store, all the while thinking anxiously about how to investigate the situation before her. What had really happened here? Had there truly been a traitor? Or had they discovered that someone sent by the higher-ups was living in the carman's house? Was it really just a coincidence? Shunzi didn't dare to be certain, and as she was thinking about how to come up with an excuse to go to the carman's house, she saw Xidao emerge from inside. She pretended not to have seen him and busied herself selecting jewelry and other items from the store display.

  "Miss Shunzi, what brings you here to look at accessories?" Xishan, who was about to get on his motorcycle, saw her and got off again to ask from behind.

  Shunzi pretended to be surprised and turned around: "Xidao Jun, how did you end up here?"

  "No choice, I'll just have to eat this bitter meal. Now that I'm in China, they're making me do this and not letting me go to the battlefield to kill those Vietnamese people, it's really not satisfying." Xi Dao said helplessly: "I don't know when I can truly go into battle, completely annihilate the Vietnamese army, avenge my parents, and offer sacrifices to their spirits in heaven." A sigh.

  "Hey, Nishima-kun, what brings you here today? Are you catching people again? I heard from Sakura that you're specifically targeting Chinese people." Shun-chan looked up at Nishima with a nonchalant expression, changing the subject. She had heard this kind of talk from Nishima before when they were in their home country, and it made her feel sick to her stomach whenever she thought about Nishima wanting to kill someone.

  "Smart, I'm here to catch people today, unfortunately not around. It's said that a figure from the New Fourth Army has arrived. To be honest with you, there was a liaison officer who got drunk today and accidentally mentioned it in a tavern, our people heard it and brought him to the constabulary, he confessed immediately, saying that the person sent over is staying here, didn't expect to catch nothing. The New Fourth Army's intuition is really amazing, truly a lucky Chinese pig."

  "How come that traffic police didn't get up to check?" Shunzi asked casually.

  Xī Dǎo said, "I didn't let him come. I was worried that the person would be on the ferry or still on the boat coming to Wuhan, so I had him get on a motorboat and go to the river to identify people. Once identified, we caught him. I want to interrogate him severely and make him reveal his accomplices. Then, with one knife, we'll chop them up and throw them into the river to feed the fish." Shùn Zǐ silently cursed Xī Dǎo in her heart for being so ruthless. Seeing this, Shùn Zǐ could only remain silent and say, "Xī Dǎo jun, I'm tired today. Can you send me back?"

  Xī dǎo shuō dāng rán kě yǐ. zhè shí, yī gè guǐ zǐ pǎo le guò lái.

  Translation:

  Xi Island said of course. At this time, a devil ran over.

  "Report, we have shot dead an anti-Japanese activist." Shunzi's heart skipped a beat.

  "What's going on? Is it that New Fourth Army?" asked Xi Dao, sitting in the cart and gripping his sword.

  "I don't know. The liaison officer we caught today is also dead." Guizi replied. Shunzi's heart tightened upon hearing this, who were the two people? Was it the driver or someone from above? She felt sad for her comrades' sacrifice.

  "What's going on here?" asked Nishijima in annoyance.

  The devil continued to report: "When the traffic officer who had been reformed took us on the ferry, there was a person who hugged him and jumped into the river together. Both of them were shot dead by our gunfire."

  "Damn it." Xī Dǎo cursed. Shùnzi saw this and said to Xī Dǎo, "No need to see me off, since you have official business to attend to, I won't disturb you." Xī Dǎo heard this and said, "Sorry, goodbye." He left in a very bad mood towards the dock.

  Shunzi hastily made her way back to her residence. Along the way, she thought about what had happened today and sorted out her thoughts. The devil's mention of a traitor confirmed her suspicions - the traitor was dead, good riddance! The brave martyrs were magnificent! However, she was worried that if the cart driver had been killed without meeting anyone from the New Fourth Army, the note she had given him would still be on his body. What if it fell into the devils' hands? If it was someone from the New Fourth Army who had been killed, would the cart driver have given the note to that person, and would it fall into the devils' hands? As soon as she thought of this, Shunzi felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn't delay any longer - she had to go to the dock to check out the situation.

  She quickened her pace, changed direction and ran towards the dock. By the time she arrived there, the Xidao had already set sail, and only some plainclothesmen were patrolling around the riverside, questioning people on passing boats.

  Shunzi left the dock and walked slowly on the street. The wind blew her face, blowing her hair. At this time, she seemed to wake up a bit. She thought that if the note was found on the deceased by Xidao, Xidao would definitely go find it according to the content of the note, but Xidao drove in a direction that was not towards her address, indicating that worrying was unnecessary. She calmed down and called a rickshaw, urging the driver to speed up along the way.

  Just a short distance from her residence, she saw someone knocking on the door. There were not many pedestrians in the alley. She signaled the driver to slow down and looked at the figure in the car, hardly believing her eyes, feeling a bit unbelievable, and after looking back, she felt very close. What a familiar figure it was! In Japan, this figure had been remembered by her for a long time, even melted into her bones. No matter where, as long as she closed her eyes, it was this figure, and she couldn't shake it off. Wasn't this the Ah-Bing she thought about day and night? Was he the person sent by the New Fourth Army to contact her? If so, then the driver's note must have been handed over to him, otherwise, her Ah-Bing wouldn't have found his way here.

  She suppressed the tears that were about to burst out, asked the driver to stop the car, paid the fare and then quickly ran towards the person she had been longing for.

  Yang Biao seemed to have found someone walking towards him, he realized that he had stayed here for too long, there was no movement inside for half a day. To be on the safe side, he adjusted his collar and pulled down his hat, leaving the door and heading in another direction to leave.

  "Ah Bing?!" Shunzi quickly ran a few steps and softly called out towards the back of Yang Binglian.

  Yang Biao stopped in his tracks, how familiar this voice was. His heart skipped a beat, as if the sound had traversed time and space from the sky. Was it Shunzi? Could it really be her? His blood vessels began to expand, and he turned around, staring at the woman just five meters away, his small eyes narrowing into a straight line as he exclaimed in surprise: "Shunzi?!"

  "Ah Bing, it's really you!" Shunzi was overjoyed and ran forward. Her former lover was right in front of her, how could she not be moved to tears? The Ah Bing she had been longing for day and night was finally before her eyes, and she wished he would come forward and hug her. However, Yang Bing only said indifferently: "How many worries do you have?" Shunzi smiled through her tears: "Just like the spring water flowing eastward in a river." Ah Bing, let's go inside."

  As soon as they entered the house and closed the door, Shunzi eagerly hugged Yang Biao and kissed him.

  Holding Yang Biao Lian, happy tears kept swirling in her eyes.

  Shunzi mentioned something to Yang Binglian, which was about the conversation with Sakura last time, and it seemed that the devils had a big battle plan. Yang Binglian said that the New Fourth Army also knew about this, and the National Army also knew, but they didn't know the specific time. Even if the New Fourth Army knew, it would be difficult to provide assistance, as distant water cannot put out a fire nearby. They could only wait for the development of the situation, hoping that the National Army could withstand the impact of the little Japan.

  Yang Biao said that the purpose of his visit this time is to take her to take over a local guerrilla team, and they must leave immediately. But he worries that today's events will definitely make the devils strengthen their vigilance, strictly prevent and inspect, making it extremely difficult to get out. Shunzi said that the matter of going out to Jiang is arranged by her, she goes to find Yanzhi to try and see. Shunzi tells Teacher Yang not to go anywhere, just stay here.

  After dinner, she went to Sakura's residence. Nishijima was not there, and Sakura said he had gone to the Kempeitai (Japanese military police). Junko said that she had met Yang Binglian. Sakura was overjoyed and asked why she didn't bring him along. Junko said that Yang Binglian wanted to cross the river with her and return to his hometown to see his mother. She also said that the docks were being tightly monitored, and they might encounter obstacles. Sakura readily agreed, saying it would be fine as long as Nishijima was found. As soon as she heard this, Junko hastily said no, telling Sakura not to mention Yang Binglian's name at all. Nishijima disliked Yang Binglian and always looked for fault in him; they couldn't find him, or else Yang Binglian would be doomed. That wouldn't do. Sakura then suggested thinking of another way.

  The next day, Sakura went to the office of Seiichi Nishijima in the Kempeitai, and while he was out at a meeting, she quietly took two passes and handed them over to Jun. Jun and Yang Bing boarded a ferry that night and crossed the river.

  The atmosphere in the 11th Army Headquarters was particularly tense and solemn. Yokoyama Isamu looked at the officers from various divisions with a serious expression, cleared his throat, and began to speak: "Everyone." Yokoyama Isamu indicated that the battle deployment plan on the island had begun.

  The man on the island handed the baton in his hand to the side of Nishijima-kun with a triumphant arc in the air: "This is Nishijima-kun. I believe you all have an impression of him, and most of this battle plan was his suggestion, which was well done and got the approval of the General Headquarters. The Empire of Japan needs such warriors, and this action, Lieutenant General Yokoyama specially pulled him out from the military police corps to let him hone in battle and become a truly invincible general of the Empire of Japan. Today's battle plan and intention, I won't say it myself, let Nishijima-kun explain the detailed implementation plan of this battle."

  Xī Dǎo jiē guò dǎo shàng de bàng, yī gěi gǔ, shuō: "Héng Shān Yǒng Jiāng Jūn Gè Xià, gè wèi Jiāng Jūn Gè Xià, zài xià jiù bù kè qì lǎ." Shuō wán lái dào yī zhāng jù dà de guà zài qiáng shàng de yī zhāng Jiāng Nán zuò zhàn dì tú qián.

  "Since the outbreak of the Pacific War, the enemy's submarines have severely damaged our ships, and the number of vessels transporting troops and strategic materials has been greatly reduced. The production of military supplies in our country has also been affected due to the weakness of shipping transportation power. Therefore, under the current war situation, we must break through a bloody road and open up this channel." He pointed at the map and continued: "Although we have 11 ships with a total tonnage of over one million tons here, because Sun Zhonglian's defense troops are still stationed on the right bank of the Yangtze River from Yichang to Yueyang, these ships are blocked in inland transportation. In fact, they have not played any role in the development of our Japanese Empire and cannot navigate, which means that these ships are actually a pile of scrap iron. Given this situation, if we want to change the current situation, we must defeat the defending troops on the right bank of the Yangtze River one by one, clear the obstacles, and once successful, we can concentrate our superior forces in Jiangnan to launch a sweep against the New Fourth Army and also directly threaten Chiang Kai-shek's old nest - Chongqing." He handed over the instruction stick to Shima immediately after finishing speaking.

  His explanation earned a round of applause, and Yokoyama Yuu gave him an approving look. In fact, in this situation, Nishijima was not supposed to speak, but Yokoyama Yuu let him do so to train his wit.

  The island took over the baton and began to deploy this battle in detail.

  He said: "This battle, in fact, is a cover for obtaining many ships, and the ultimate goal is to eliminate the enemy's field army. The victory of the Jiangbei annihilation war, we occupied Shashi and Shishou, as well as the Huayong area, the enemy repeatedly counterattacked but were beaten back by us, which shows how important these places are to them. This is our glorious victory, it is the victory of General Hengshan's wise decision, we cannot be limited to this, we must have the determination to pursue and attack with the Japanese Imperial Army, we must maintain the results of the battle, continue to expand the results, and have the determination to fight a decisive battle with the enemy's field army, and advance on Chongqing."

  "On the island, he pointed to the map and said: 'According to our intelligence, the enemy currently has the 73rd Army and the 44th Army exchanging defenses, taking over the front-line defense of Huayang. The 44th Army is gathering troops as a second-line army to make strategic moves towards Changde and Anxiang. Two divisions of the 67th Army are also gathering in Anxiang and Jinshi nearby, one of which is the 161st Division advancing southward from Nanchuan, and on the front line of Ouchikou there are two main forces of the 87th Army, and another main force battalion of the 99th Army is stationed south of Nanchuan.'"

  A report came from outside the door, and a telegram was handed over by the devil's communication soldier. Yokoyama Isamu signed it after reading it and handed it to the communication soldier, saying "Continue reconnaissance". Then he said to the officers: "We have just received intelligence that the 79th Army stationed in Ningxiang is moving north of Changde with unknown purpose. However, this force is less than 100 kilometers away from Changde. This time, the acting commander-in-chief is Sun Zhonglian, our opponent in the Tai'erzhuang Battle. We must show our courage and fight a beautiful annihilation battle, for the Emperor, and win for the Emperor."

  As Yokoyama's slogan "Fight for the Emperor, Win for the Emperor" echoed, some officers couldn't sit still and stood up saying: General, just give the order.

  "General, I wish to lead a troop to fight bravely against the enemy, be loyal to the Emperor and avenge my parents."

  Yokoyama Yu's face was filled with smiles, his subordinates had such a fighting spirit, what did he have to worry about? He gestured for them to sit down and let the island continue speaking.

  Island said: "This time the assembly must be completed in the designated area on May 4th. The formal attack will begin on May 5th. The 3rd Division will attack Anxiang and its western areas; the Independent Mixed Brigade 17 will attack Anxiang and its eastern areas; the Western Island Detachment will cross the Tuojiang River to attack the enemy near Nanyue, then each division will strive to merge and annihilate the National Army's field forces on the shores of Dongting Lake..."

  Each general received orders and returned to their garrison to make pre-war deployments.

  A cruel battle is about to begin, a bloody massacre is approaching, disaster will soon appear in front of the Chinese people like a devil, devouring the flesh and blood of the Chinese, raping the soul of the Chinese, trampling on the home where the Chinese live and breathe, filled with brutal cruelty and violence, the flames of war that destroy humanity are about to spread across this beautiful land.

  Alas! Sorrowful and mournful! Indignant and resentful!