Chapter 8: The Crime of Killing Prisoners (1)

  After the battle, the guerrilla squad asked the regiment headquarters for instructions via radio. The regiment commander was overjoyed when he heard that Chen Zizhong had captured more than a dozen American prisoners of war and ordered him to send the prisoners back to the regiment immediately without any delay.

  Chen Zizhong, wearing a luminous watch on his wrist, immediately led the third guerrilla detachment, escorting the captives into the vast mountains. According to his plan, he dispatched a squad to send the captives back to the main force, while the others continued to carry out guerrilla warfare as originally planned. Pak Tong-ming expressed agreement, but Ding Rujin opposed it, holding up the arm badge of the mounted scouts and saying that this was the insignia of the US airborne troops, and it was unlikely that such an elite unit would suddenly appear so close to the main force; therefore, all the guerrilla fighters should escort them back.

  "What's a oil cavalry?" Chen Zizhong thought that the cavalry was a logistics unit transporting firewood, rice, oil and salt, but he didn't think it was very likely, so he swallowed back the second half of his sentence.

  Park Dong-ming said he knew nothing about it.

  "In short, paratroopers are just airborne troops that can be air-dropped behind our lines to encircle and attack us. If the US military also adopts this tactic of splitting and surrounding, it will pose a huge threat to our main forces."

  "We are the ancestors of guerrilla warfare, what's to fear from American devils?" Chen Zizhong was unimpressed. He had been carrying a gun for nine years and had been surrounded countless times, executing the Central Plains Flower Battle tactic. Big-hearted Chen had never known fear.

  Ding Ruogang insisted: "We must ensure the absolute safety of these prisoners, and the results of their interrogation may play a crucial role in the entire war situation."

  Chen Zizhong agreed: "Alright, let the battalion commander see that our guerrilla team isn't just eating idle rice. In the first battle, we caught over a dozen flying devils."

  The US Air Force was a swarm of mosquitoes that harassed in the daytime, whether it was North Korean refugees or guerrillas who appeared in the war zone, they might be subject to entanglement bombing. To avoid the entanglement of American planes, soldiers rested during the day and only set out on mountain roads filled with dawn light in the evening, driving prisoners along.

  US soldiers were allowed to surrender in the four noes situation of no ammunition, no food, no support, and no hope of breaking through. After surrendering, they rarely resisted, but these cavalrymen also had some bloodiness, at least they dared to fight with bayonets.

  The mountain road was narrow and rugged, with knee-deep snow making it even more difficult to traverse. As they descended, one of the soldiers lost his footing and rolled down the slope. Several soldiers rushed over to rescue him, while two others remained on high alert at the rear. Suddenly, a prisoner nearest to them shouted in English, prompting an immediate response from another prisoner up front. The excited shouting spread throughout the group of prisoners, who began to close in on the two isolated soldiers.

  Chen Zizhong was fiddling with his luminous watch, when he heard the sound of soldiers rolling down the hillside. He hastily turned back and saw that the prisoners were shouting in a hubbub. Not understanding English, Chen drew out his twin guns and shouted: "Ding Rujin, what are these devils yelling about? Hurry up and bring people over!"

  Ding Ruzheng and Park Dong-myeong each led a group of soldiers to the front and rear of the team. Ding Ruzheng walked at the very front of the team, heard the captives discussing taking away guns, preparing to escape when he turned around and ran back, but the mountain road was so narrow that only one person could pass through, and there was no time to support.

  Three or four prisoners rushed at the two soldiers, who were knocked to the ground as they cocked their rifles. One soldier was stabbed in the abdomen with a broken branch and his neck was immediately twisted, while the other soldier fired his rifle as he fell, killing the prisoner rushing at him, but the others broke his fingers as he tried to fire again, removed the magazine, and wrestled with him.