Fifteen

  Looking at the dozen or so people retreating in disarray under the peak, Yan Wei understood that this Japanese pursuit unit had completely lost its combat effectiveness and was basically solved.

  "Take the team to wipe out the remaining Japanese troops!" When Yan Wei gave the combat order to Lan Gang, he saw Li Shan pulling his sleeve and said: "Commander, it's not necessarily necessary to fight again." He pointed to the mountain behind him and said: "There is also a road to the west that can be walked, and it's actually a shortcut to catch up with my father. I just made it clear to you, you decide what to do."

  Who would want to risk their lives in battle if they didn't have to! Yan Wei was not a commander who prioritized personal gain over the lives of his soldiers. After listening, he smiled at Li Shan and said: "In the future, report such situations early, do you understand? This will allow me to make a comprehensive judgment about the overall situation from the beginning of the battle, which is beneficial for my command and control of the entire battlefield."

  He said, looking at Li Shan who was nodding slowly and carefully understanding his words: "What are you waiting for? Lead the way, our guiding light."

  At the foot of the peak, Higashino Minamoto was secretly calculating that if the enemy were to rush down now, what should he do? Looking at the remaining twenty or so people under his command, it was clear that there wasn't a single regular combatant left! This was still because they were executing this special mission, and had received direct orders from Okamura Ningji himself to minimize the number of non-combat personnel in the squadron, strengthening the infantry numbers to form a special operations battalion. But what remained now were just some of the most streamlined squadron officers, medical soldiers, logistics soldiers, signal corpsmen, and four communications soldiers!

  It can be said that with the current troops, fighting is no longer possible. The regular army is not a bandit, and it is impossible for an entire unit to consist only of combat personnel, not everyone with a gun can fight. It has come to this point, let alone fighting against the excellent elite soldiers in front of us, even if we were to go on an expedition to suppress bandits with such a troop composition now, it would be impossible! But the Ministry of War's telegram was slow to arrive, and Shimizu Hiroto didn't know what orders he should give if the enemy came rushing down. Should the whole army fight to the death for the Emperor? Or turn around and run back to report?

  Fortunately, we never saw the enemy coming down from the peak, but we received a telegram from Okamura Yasuji himself.

  "Captain Hamasaki, the situation of your unit has already been reported to the military department. The military department will dispatch troops from various branches in this area to set up a tight defense in your unit's area to achieve the effect of intercepting the target. Now order your unit to quickly gather the remaining personnel and move rapidly towards Tianmen County, the 38th Division's Sakakawa Detachment is currently garrisoned in Tianmen County, after your unit arrives in Tianmen County, immediately send a telegram to the military department from the Sakakawa Detachment command post to receive the latest instructions."

  The 11th Army Headquarters Okamura Neji

  After reading Okamura's telegram, Hamazaki was puzzled as to why Okamura did not allow him to shoot himself immediately. He even thought that Okamura was insulting the honor of an Imperial Army officer like himself.

  Although they had only been apart for two hours, when they reunited everyone felt a sense of reunion after a long separation. Everyone understood that this was war, and every time they parted on the battlefield might be their last goodbye.

  "Are the kids all right? Is everything okay on your end?" Wu Han Hua immediately went forward, excitedly stretching out his right hand to grasp Yan Wei's arm, sizing him up from head to toe.

  "What can happen to the kids following you? But mine is not good! Two brothers have already been folded in! And one of yours." Yan Wei said with a hint of sadness.

  Actually, among the two soldiers who died in the ambush near Lao Li's house, one of them, Yan Wei, didn't even know his surname. Over the years, Yan Wei had been to many battles, and he had seen many of his subordinates die in action, not just ten or eight. But now that they were a small team of only thirty people who shared the same fate, after a day together, they could be considered familiar faces. At this moment, being separated by life and death was quite sad.

  "What's the situation with the Japanese army now?" Wu Hanhuai was worried if they needed to make another transfer immediately.

  "We've finished off that Japanese army unit, and they no longer pose any threat to us. But having done so, I'm afraid we'll be in for a tough time from now on."

  "Yes..." Hearing Yan Wei say that, Wu Hanhui let out a sigh, handed him a cigarette to smoke, and gazed into the distance in the night, lamenting: "Hiding from foreign pursuit on one's own soil! What a misfortune for our country, what shame for us soldiers!"

  Yan Wei lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, saying: "What's the point of talking about our own territory? The land under our feet is now called an occupied zone! We still have over 400 miles to go before we reach Jingzhou, I'm really worried that we won't make it there with the kids."

  "What is Jingzhou? Whose orders are you following to take the children to Jingzhou?" Wu Huanhuan was clearly taken aback by Yan Wei's words and immediately asked him in pursuit.

  Seeing Wu Han's nervousness, Yan Wei smiled and said: "Right, Brother Yong Xi, I haven't asked you yet, what good strategy do you have to ensure the safe withdrawal of these children back to Sichuan?"

  When Yan Wei said this, Wu Hanhua lowered his head and did not speak, his expression seemingly rather embarrassed.

  Yan smiled and said, "Alright, it's not difficult for me to help you, Xun Xi brother. I also understand your intelligence work, and in some ways our ideas have similarities. If you weren't an outsider, I would tell you straight out, brother. Since I'm doing this job as the commander of the guard battalion, then in my eyes, even if the entire Wuhan campaign fails, it's no big deal! But the safety of our 32nd Army Headquarters cannot be compromised in any way! I will only put the safety of the headquarters and the commander himself first! Everything else is insignificant and can be sacrificed!"

  He said with a relieved expression, looking at Wu Hanhuai: "Brother Yongxi is the same. If you tell me now that you want to take your people and secretly withdraw with the target, that's no problem! At that time, even if I bring my men to make a big noise and attract the Japanese army's forces to cover your withdrawal, what's difficult about it? After all, my orders are to escort the Wuhan Garrison Brigade brothers safely to Chongqing. And your orders are to escort the target safely to Chongqing alone. Although our nature is different, we are still both military officers of our country. What we do and think for is this nation in turmoil! This damn struggle for human desire!"

  He said, looking at Wu Huanhua: "Speak up, Yongxi brother, when are you planning to set off? Do you need me to do something for you?"

  Wu Han stared at Yan Wei for a long time, smiling silently as he chain-smoked. Only after finishing the cigarette did he flick it away and snuff it out with his foot, then looked up at Yan Wei and said: "Yan Wei, I feel like talking to you is both extremely painful and extremely relaxing!"

  Yan smiled and said: "There are many people who feel the same way as you! Those without insight, mediocre people, will find it difficult to talk to me because I despise the hypocrisy and boredom of the world. This makes too many hypocritical and boring mediocre people feel uncomfortable. But an excellent and outstanding person with insight will feel at ease when interacting with me, like a clear breeze on a moonlit night or a wild sandstorm on a sunny day! It's refreshing and liberating, without any constraints. However, since we are Chinese, and since we hold official positions in China, I can also adapt to the Chinese way of being, speaking, and doing things. But I don't know which type of person you are, Swimming Creek brother, or which style you prefer." After finishing his words, he looked at Wu Hanhuai, took a puff of smoke, smiled, and extinguished the cigarette butt on the ground.

  Wu Hanhua looked at Yan with a smile and said: "I think I was born to be the second kind of person in Shunquan Xian's mouth, but over the years, I should have become the first kind of person now! However, after getting to know you, I feel that being the second kind of person is more like myself! It's just not very much like us Chinese people anymore! But looking at the current situation, it seems that we Chinese people are not necessarily the most excellent nation either! Otherwise, the two of us wouldn't have to be driven out of our own country by those Japanese barbarians! Alright, it seems that being with you is a must for being a superior person! Otherwise, always listening to your sharp and unreserved words would make me feel like I'm dealing with those Americans I've met before - they don't have any artistic sense in their speech at all! Where does that resemble a Chinese person who has read the classics?"

  "Alright, initially I planned to take the target away alone after finding you." Wu Hanhui said this as a Buddha's light gradually appeared on his head! It can be seen that having a broad and upright mind is always the ultimate development trend of human beings. The vulgar way of dealing with the world with hypocrisy and cunning will ultimately lead to destruction! Although countless people have benefited from it, they will eventually escape the fate of destruction! Sooner or later, people will once again bring out the truth, goodness, and beauty that encompass all the meaning of life.

  "How do you plan on me cooperating with you?" Yan Wei's eyes had already shown signs of parting sorrow.

  Wu Hanhuai shook his head and said, "As a military officer who has taken on this mission in times of crisis, what you need to do is to ensure the safe escort of all the children, including the target individual, to Chongqing without failing your duty. And what I need to do now is to fully cooperate with you to complete this task." After speaking, Wu Hanhuai looked at Yan Wei and smiled. This smile contained many things: trust, admiration, deep affection, and everything they would need to face the cruel situation ahead.

  "You are a clever man." Yan Wei reaffirmed his judgment of Wu Hanhui.

  "It's all clear, even a blind man can see it now! With just one small squad of thirty-odd men, you've managed to defeat two standard Japanese army companies in separate battles and emerge unscathed. Looking at the entire National Army's combat sequence, I'm afraid only Yang Hui from Shanxi could match your achievements. Following your troops, I think we have a good chance of completing our mission and returning safely to Chongqing." Wu Hanhuai said with a smile as he extended his right hand towards Yan Wei.

  Yan Wei grasped Wu Han's right hand and said, "In that case, we have to settle the account with you. At first, I was carrying out a mission under the orders of our department head, but now it seems that I'm doing a favor for Director Wu of Military Intelligence. You should record this as a personal favor on my account!"

  Wu Han said with a smile: "If one day you also learn from your original 17th Army commander Yang Ju to betray and surrender to the Communist Party, if the headquarters orders me to assassinate you, I will give you five minutes' notice in advance so that you can escape!"

  "Firstly, our old 17th Army Commander Yang is not a traitor! Secondly, you, Brother Yongxi, gave me only five minutes' notice beforehand, isn't this personal relationship a bit too shallow? Right, your Military Intelligence Bureau has been saying that Yang Jue is a traitor, why haven't you taken any action?" Yan Wei obviously enjoyed the easy-going way of dealing with Wu Hanhui.

  "I've thought about it, and I've also calculated the risks. It's just that no one dares to give the order to take action! No matter how we implement it, I'm afraid that in the end, we'll be the ones who have to die first! Since we can't afford to provoke them, let's just pretend we don't know and cover our faces. Let's not talk about these useless things anymore. In any case, I promise you one thing today: if you ever fall into the hands of the Military Bureau in the future, I'll definitely vouch for you personally with the higher-ups at the Bureau headquarters. As long as I'm around, you don't have to worry about anything within the Military Bureau! Hurry up and tell me your plan - why does he want to go to Jingzhou again? What's he going to do there? How is he planning to do it?"

  "It's simple, the Japanese army must have already obtained and confirmed all intelligence about our target. Now the Japanese high command has assembled all mobilizable troops in the entire Hankou area! Taking the highway is obviously a dead end! Disguising ourselves as civilians and blending into the refugee crowd with our target is uncertain, I can't predict the outcome, and if something happens, I won't be able to control it! Continuing to detour through the mountains isn't a solution either, even if we don't starve, ammunition supply will become a problem. If we're caught by the Japanese army in the mountains again and fight two more battles, our ammunition will run out!"

  He slowly sat down on the ground full of dead leaves and continued: "Besides, even if the Japanese army can't find us in these big mountains, how many generations will it take to get into Sichuan with so many children? So I decided to take the waterway. First, take the road to Jingzhou, then follow the Yangtze River all the way to Wushan, Sichuan. By the way, Brother Yongxi, what's the origin of this child Huayuan? Do I have the right to know?"

  Wu Hanhua sat down on the ground and laughed: "Now if you don't even trust me, who can I still count on? But you need to know that this matter cannot be leaked out for ten years, eight years, or even a lifetime! Just knowing it yourself is enough. Come, let me tell you. It's like this, actually I'm not very clear about these too professional questions either, but the father of this child is in America, and he's not an ordinary person, he's..."