Chapter Forty-six

  "Just kidding, don't take it seriously!" Xiao Ming turned back and said with a smile. In fact, he didn't dare to provoke Mura either. If the Japanese army really got angry, the planes and artillery would cause a big stir, and the mountain stronghold's losses wouldn't be small. It was better to retreat a step, end the battle between both sides, which was not a bad choice.

  "Alright, Xiaodangjia, to be honest with you, this might be our last meeting! " Mukimura looked like he wasn't in a good mood. "I've already reported the situation to the commander and taken full responsibility. I think I'll be able to go home soon! From now on, the Imperial Army and Feihu Fort will probably have a hard time getting along!" The other party was an understanding person, it wasn't difficult to infer the meaning behind his words.

  Xiao Ming was taken aback, and seeing that Mù Cūn didn't seem to be lying, his heart was filled with mixed emotions. Mù Cūn had strict control over his subordinates and didn't easily disturb the civilians. Although they were enemies facing each other, Xiao Ming couldn't help but admire Mù Cūn's character. If it were some brutal guy instead, the people in this area would have suffered!

  He immediately put away his smile and said seriously: "I apologize for my rudeness, please forgive me! However, one code at a time, I'm only interested in the exchange of prisoners you mentioned, what about our people?"

  "Your people? Are you referring to Er Long Ling?" Seeing Xiao Ming nodding, Mugen shook his head and said: "No captives!"

  "What? You......" Xiao Ming's face changed color, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

  "Mr. Xiao, don't misunderstand!" Mukai's face was stern, "The defenders of the noble village, except for one unit that retreated to the deep mountains, the rest of the wounded and others set off explosives and hand grenades, even the corpses..."

  "Alright, have the person who summoned you collect the body. You may withdraw your troops! I hope we don't meet again on the battlefield!"

  "Alright, I hope we can meet again after the war is over!" He said, bowing slightly before turning and walking away.

  Xiao Ming looked at the dejected figure of Mù Cūn, and couldn't help but sigh. He returned to the mountain stronghold and after discussing with Wáng Jīn Lóng, he made a phone call to notify each unit: Let the Japanese army collect their dead, but be on high alert!

  After a long time, the Japanese army sent out cars to pull back the captives and corpses. The special agent company sent out the bodies of that unlucky Kōki squadron, this time without stripping their clothes, only taking away their equipment.

  Kimura kept his promise and withdrew his troops after verifying everything was correct!

  Xiao Ming sent out a reconnaissance company to search for the garrison of Er Long Ridge, ordered each department to clean up the battlefield, rescue and treat the wounded, bury the dead, and recall the logistics company and villagers. They were busy until noon, and finally cleaned up more or less. Gao Mingqing came to the mountain stronghold to bid farewell.

  Wang Jinlong heard Xiao Ming mention Gao Qing's affairs, and upon hearing that they were about to leave, he hastily persuaded them to stay: "Commander Gao, since you've come, why not have a meal before leaving? After all, we're allies in the fight against the enemy!"

  "Thanks to the hospitality of your esteemed household, our troops were able to escape unscathed. I must express my gratitude in advance! Now that the crisis has passed, it's not suitable for us to linger. Moreover, we still need to search for our comrades, and cannot afford to delay. Please forgive me, sir!" Gao Mingqing was a sensible person.

  Wang Jinlong thought it was reasonable, so he sent someone to fetch 5,000 yuan and presented it: "Commander Gao, a small token of our sincerity, not enough to show our respect. Since your unit is in urgent need of it now, please accept it!"

  Gao Mingqing resolutely declined, but Wang Jindong and Xiao Mingsheng's sentiments were hard to refuse. He had no choice but to accept, and with a fist bump, he said to the two: "The green hills will remain unchanged, the clear waters will flow forever. You two masters, if there's ever a need for Gao in the future, I won't decline. For now, I bid you farewell!"

  The casualties were quickly counted, and Lin Xiuzhi said: "In this battle, the Sichuan Army lost 92 people, 24 injured, a reinforced company of 200 people was left with only half, other companies are fine, just some minor injuries. Currently, we don't know the casualties in Er Long Ling. I think should we let the third company garrison Hu Lu Valley first and reorganize the Sichuan Army?"

  Xiao Ming thought for a moment and said: "Alright! However, take the old Sichuan soldiers from the logistics department out, incorporate them into their company, and comfort them. Also, have the cavalry company split into two routes, one to patrol and the other to search for people, and camp at Er Long Ridge tonight!" Lin Xiuling made the arrangements.

  Xin Chengshan asked Xiao Ming: "Commander, is that anti-tank stake in Heifengxia still being worked on?"

  "Of course, we have to do it, but next time we might not be so lucky!" The anti-tank barriers in Heifengxia were only a few real ones on the periphery, and the rest were just piles of stones or wooden stakes. Since they had to drive through themselves, and besides, there wasn't that much steel and cement. This time, the defense was done well, the tactics were applied properly, and Xiao Ming's mood improved a bit.

  After being busy for several days, they finally recovered. The people of Er Long Ling also returned, leaving only 17 people behind. Xiao Ming incorporated them into the third company and abandoned Er Long Ling.

  Xiao Ming and others convened a meeting of all company commanders to summarize this battle, formally appointing Zhang Xiaoshan as the commander of the Sichuan Army, while comforting them not to have any ideological burdens, to intensify training, and strive for an early recovery of combat effectiveness.

  The best news from Flying Tiger Fort recently is: Sun Erdou's wife is pregnant after his tireless efforts!

  Flying Tiger Fort actually withstood the attack of three Japanese army brigades, greatly shocking the surrounding forces. Lü Jizong made a report to his superiors, and the headquarters also sent a bland and uninformative commendation letter. The only gain was that Xiao Ming finally figured out the route taken by the Japanese army.

  The Nationalist and Communist armies were originally like fire and water, but after the Japanese came, they joined hands to resist Japan together. As time went on, the Japanese couldn't take it anymore, and their attitude became a bit **. These two brothers took advantage of the chaos to steal a leisurely fight, for three leeks and two scallions, they fought fiercely, to the point where even the Japanese army was stunned, and indeed watched a good show.

  The cultural differences between China and Japan are not significant, the Japanese army is well aware of the reason why it's hard for a clean official to handle family affairs, so they are happy to watch from the sidelines. Under the circumstance of having nothing better to do, they mobilized three large troops, preparing to take down Flying Tiger Fort in one go and pull out this thorn in their side. Who would have thought that those two brothers felt it was laughable to let the Japanese see them like that, so they turned around and dealt a ruthless blow to the Japanese army: The 18th Army Group carried out large-scale destruction of the railways, highways, bridges, and strongholds occupied by the Japanese army. Only then did the Japanese realize they had been too hasty in their joy, and quickly withdrew their troops, after all Flying Tiger Fort was just a group of bandits!

  Of course, there was also disturbing news: Wang Jingwei, a key member of the National Government, had completely defected to the Japanese and set up his own government.

  The people on the Flying Tiger Fort reacted differently: Wang Jinlong slammed his fist and scolded, Lü Jizong's eyes were red with anger as he cursed traitors and Han traitors, Lin Xiucheng didn't say a word but just smiled bitterly. It was still Xiao Ming who, as expected of someone who had studied in Germany, had a rigorous attitude: the mountain stronghold had several radios, but the signal wasn't very good and it was hard to hear clearly, so they let Night Cat go down the mountain to find some newspapers, which they slowly studied, and unexpectedly learned many fashionable phrases. Whenever he had time, he would pull Lü Jizong and Lin Xiucheng aside to discuss "peace movements" or "curve-line salvation of the country", or study where Lü Jizong should report his work to the government to get some money... which made the two men as nervous as startled birds, and they would run away from Xiao Ming faster than rabbits whenever they saw him.

  Helpless, Lü Jizong sought help from Wang Jinlong: "Big boss, quickly advise your brother, this matter is not our fault, don't bury us, after all, we still have to share a pot of rice!"

  Wang Jinlong knew that Xiao Ming was burning with anger in his heart, and the punishment he had suffered from the recent Flying Tiger Fort soldiers could be seen. However, he still spoke very seriously to Lü Jizong: "This matter is actually easy to handle. You marry your sister to him, and you will become his brother-in-law. With your sister's face, he will have to listen to you in the future."

  Lin Xiuzhi nodded in agreement, chiming in: "Yes, Old Lü, your younger sister has also reached the age of marriage, and with Old Xiao, they're quite a match made in heaven! This is indeed a heavenly union, enviable to all. Too bad I don't have a younger sister!" She finished speaking, smiling brightly at Lü Jizong.

  Lü Jizong was tongue-tied and his face turned red with ears burning, he stammered for half a day, then stamped his foot, swung his sleeves and left.

  The situation changed afterwards, and the relationship between all parties became subtle. Various forces were on guard against each other and vying for favor, while some people openly defected to the Japanese army with loyalty and dedication. With help from these collaborators, the Japanese army launched the "baojia system", handing over tasks such as grain collection and maintaining law and order to the puppet troops, and themselves began a large-scale attack on the stubborn Chongqing government.

  Now that a separate government has been established, it is only natural for traitors to act as they please, and their behavior far surpasses that of the Japanese military. In the past, the Japanese military, in order to win people's hearts and achieve surrender, could still restrain its subordinates, but now, in order to show loyalty to their masters, these traitors are leading the devils to harm the people, with methods even more ruthless than those of the Japanese.

  From Hulu Valley, heading southeast for about 30 miles, there is a Yanjia Village, which also established a self-defense team of over 100 people. The captain was the son of Yan Wang, the richest man in the town, named Yan Shili. This person was originally idle and did all kinds of evil things. Now that the world has changed, the two of them made a plan and surrendered to the Japanese.

  The town's richest man came to offer his services, and the Japanese naturally sought him out. On a highway not far from Yanjia Village, there was a Japanese military outpost with a platoon of Japanese soldiers and a company of puppet troops stationed inside. The devils in the outpost would often go to help them train their troops, and incidentally discuss matters of grain requisition and supplies, of course, wine and food were indispensable. One day, after several Japanese soldiers had eaten and drunk their fill, they proposed "having some fun with girls". Yan Shili was possessed by a demon, and he took them to a certain household on the street, as a result, someone hanged themselves, and his 12-year-old daughter jumped into a well.

  This matter spread to Feihu Village, Wang Jinlong almost overturned the table and scolded loudly: "Damn it! These guys who have lost all conscience actually don't even spare orphans and widows! Brothers, gather the men, I'm going to personally chop these ** into pieces!"

  Lü Jizong slapped the table with a red face, gritting his teeth and saying: "Damn it! These ungrateful sons have gone mad, not killing them is not enough to calm the people's anger!" He had been suffering from Xiao Ming's temper all this time, Lü Jizong was almost on the verge of collapse, just thinking of finding someone to vent his anger on.

  Lin Xiuzhi had only one opinion: if you want to do something, you must be quick; if the news leaks out, there will probably be trouble!

  Xiao Ming's face was gloomy, he gathered everyone to discuss briefly and then gave the order for battle: The cavalry regiment followed Xiao Ming and Lü Jizong to rush straight to Yanjia Village, to raid Yan Shili's home; Wang Jindong led a battalion of artillery, machine guns and Sichuan troops to surround the stronghold, waiting for Xiao Ming's message to launch an attack. Da Long and Ma Liu covered the logistics regiment to hurry to Yanjia Village, responsible for cutting off the connection between the stronghold and the outside world, and guarding around, not letting anyone pass; Lin Xiuying guarded the mountain fortress.

  Finally, Xiao Ming coldly said a sentence: "Kill them with momentum, let them know the outcome of being a traitor!"