Chapter Fifty: Pointed Words

  At daggers drawn

  The person who came in from outside was Yezi Spring. Seeing everyone laughing and happy, he furrowed his brow, hung his head and said dejectedly: "What's going on? You're all so happy. Do you know that the National Army has already started to withdraw, and the little devils will soon arrive at Lingfeng City?"

  Everyone felt a shock in their hearts, the wolf has finally arrived! Yun Xiang Tian rubbed his chin and said: "When did this happen? Where's Brother Huang?"

  Ye Zi Chun said dejectedly: "This morning, I received an order from the battalion headquarters that after the 1st and 3rd battalions withdrew from Nan Shan Wa, the 2nd battalion would quickly assemble in the direction of Wu Song Ridge. Huang Min is busy with the preparations for the withdrawal, and he asked me to come and give you a call, saying that if you have time, go over there once, gather together, afraid it will be difficult to meet again in the future, making it like a farewell."

  Huang Min looked at Pingjing Yunxiangtian and asked: "I'm about to leave soon, what else do you need? Just say it."

  Yun Xiang Tian stroked his chin and smiled: "You need to stay alive, come back to avenge your brother. Avenge the people of Lingfeng City. Alright?"

  Huang Min smiled faintly and said: "Why don't you withdraw with us first and then cooperate with the National Army to fight back in the future?"

  "Follow you to withdraw? I'd like to, but if we all withdraw, who will guard Lingfeng City? Who will guard Fengling Mountain? The Northeast Army didn't fire a single shot, and let the Little Devils occupy the three eastern provinces. As a result, they laughed at China for being helpless, shouting that they would destroy China in three months. Such a large country, half of it has already fallen, where can we withdraw to?"

  Huang Min shook his head and said, "Let's take it one step at a time. It's better than staying here alone. If we don't retreat, the little devils will be at our doorstep, with no reinforcements outside and no food or grass inside. At that time, even if we want to retreat, we won't be able to."

  Yun Xiang let out a sigh and said, "Yes, many of our military leaders have this mindset, abandoning cities and allowing the little devils to win without a fight, doing as they please, and causing our great rivers and mountains to fall into the hands of the Japanese bandits. They don't know that constant retreat will only make others hit us even harder."

  Huang Min lowered his head, rubbing his forehead and said: "Aren't you afraid of death? Just relying on the few broken guns on Qilin Mountain and Fengling Mountain to stop the little devils?"

  Yun Xiang Tian turned his head to look out the window at the sky and said, "Afraid? Who isn't afraid of death? If we're afraid of death, then we shouldn't be killing people. The Eighth Route Army has been fighting behind enemy lines for a long time, with soldiers coming and going, staining the battlefield with their blood. Are they not afraid of death? There are also many Nationalist Army brothers who have died in battle defending their homes, are they not afraid of death? If we're all afraid of death and stop resisting, then our future generations will only be able to speak Japanese with the little devils."

  Huang Min asked again: "Aren't you leaving?"

  Yun Xiang Tian firmly said: "I'm not leaving!"

  Huang Min slapped his thigh and said: "Alright, Huang has indeed not misjudged the person. You rabbits come out! Let's discuss what we should do!"

  The door of the inner house was suddenly kicked open, and several people rushed out to surround Yun Xiangtian. The leader, Qi Guo, punched Yun Xiangtian in the face and said: "Brother, are you from the Eighth Route Army? Be honest and confess, if there's even half a lie, I'll make sure you don't get to eat the big meal prepared for you. Tell me, how many doors do you open in the Eighth Route Army? How many sticks of incense do you burn? How many heads do you kowtow?"

  Yun Xiangtian smiled, he knew he was being played by Huang Min, but his heart was exceptionally happy, he saw the dawn of victory.

  Geng Xiwang had a bandage wrapped around his arm, and more than a month had passed since he was injured. His wound had almost healed. He smiled and said: "Young Master Yun, how about we brothers take over the mountain together?"

  Yun Xiang Tian was joking with them, but his eyes were on someone else. That person looked gentle and elegant, with a scholarly air about him, sitting alone at the side, watching the commotion over here.

  Huang Min stood up, beckoned to the man and said: "Third Company Commander, come over, I'll introduce you. This is my sworn brother Yun Xiang Tian. Brother Yun, this is our 2nd Battalion's 3rd Company Commander Tian Ye, a top student from Yanjing University, and the little Zhuge of the 2nd Battalion. In the battle at Baozi Gou, he single-handedly fought bravely, was shot four times but still wielded his big knife to fight the devils. He just returned from the rear hospital yesterday. Come meet him."

  Yun Xiang Tian hastily stood up and clasped his fists, saying: "I've seen Commander Tian Lian."

  Tian sat still, only symbolically returning a courtesy and saying: "How dare I? Cloud Gongzi's words just now were sonorous and powerful, loud and clear, worthy of the Eighth Route Army's good eloquence. They took all the credit for resisting Japan and put it in the bosom of the Eighth Route Army, like a bandit or a robber, while ignoring the heroic achievements of the national army officers who stained their clothes with blood and wrapped their corpses in horsehide. Such a 'generous' person, Tian Mou does not dare to aspire to."

  The sarcasm of Tianye made Huang Min, Qi Guo and others very dissatisfied. They had long been prejudiced against Tianye, who was arrogant and self-important, and had some connections with the war zone command, so he never put the officers of the 2nd battalion in his eyes. Sighing that his talents were not being utilized, he was relegated to the ranks of the mediocre and the lazy, unable to make a big show of himself. But when it came to fighting, he was brave and tenacious, with a quick mind, always able to remain calm and come up with a winning strategy in times of crisis. He was deeply admired by his soldiers. For this reason, Huang Min and others did not hold grudges against him either. Unexpectedly, today he was so reckless and rude, disregarding the face of Huang Min and others.

  Yun Xiang Tian was not angry, he calmly said: "Since the war of resistance against Japan, the National Army officers and soldiers have been fighting bravely, repeatedly defeating the strong enemy, and the people will never forget. Especially you, Tian Changguan, during your school days, under the leadership of the Military Bureau's Beijing station, secretly organized the student union, successfully eliminating the big traitor Xu Lao Hu, and then abandoned your studies to join the army. You sighed that as a scholar, you were useless, but what you did was a great deed. This spring, Huang Yingzhang disobeyed military orders and fought against the Japanese army to protect the civilians who were fleeing into the mountains. After receiving the secret order to execute Huang Min on the spot, you took over the 2nd battalion, but not only did you not carry out the order, you also rushed to the front line to fight against the enemy. Afterwards, in order to save this anti-Japanese hero, you used your uncle's influence and spent a lot of money to make Huang Yingzhang avoid military punishment. In the Battle of Baozigou, before the battle, you received news that friendly forces were nearby, but there was no reinforcement. Your uncle ordered you to withdraw on the pretext of illness, but you fought bravely without hesitation, even after being shot four times. I ask you, Tian Changguan, how many anti-Japanese heroes like you are there in the National Army? If everyone was an anti-Japanese hero like you, would the little devils still be able to...? Would the Eighth Route Army still be fighting like bandits behind enemy lines?"

  The fields fell silent, and he didn't know how to answer Yun Xiang Tian's question. In fact, there were many questions that had been on his mind for a long time. The various factions within the National Army were more concerned with preserving their own strength, either watching as friendly forces were bitten by the little devils without lifting a finger, or quickly withdrawing from the battlefield to protect themselves. Each faction was acting in its own interests, falsifying military reports. Although Military Intelligence had sent out large numbers of cadres to supervise and direct the various armies, the effect was minimal. Yun Xiang Tian's words struck at his weak point, and he became disheartened.

  Huang Min and the others were shocked by Yun Xiang Tian's words, they did not know how much effort Yun Xiang Tian had put in to obtain the internal intelligence of the 206th Regiment's 2nd Battalion, and how many relationships he had used, before figuring out all the military officers' backgrounds.

  Huang Min stood up and gazed at the fields. Qi Guo suddenly took in the fields and said, "Good brother, it's a good harvest."

  Tianye laughed, his laughter very sincere and also a bit pitiful. He pushed away Qiguo and said: "Scram, I'm not some big girl, what's with the hugging? Not washing clothes or taking baths, you're filthy to death."

  Geng Xi Wang burst out laughing and said: "Still saying you're not a big girl? Listen, listen to what he's saying." He pinched his throat and continued in a strange voice: "Get out, don't wash clothes or take a bath, dirty to death!" After finishing, like a woman, one hand on her waist, the other pointing at Qi Guo Jiang.

  Laughter melted the misunderstandings between them, making them closer than ever before. This was a group of men who only wanted to shed their hot blood on the battlefield, with no regrets and no complaints. 50

  Huang Min waved his hand to quiet everyone down, and with a solemn expression said: "The 1st and 3rd Battalions have already withdrawn from Nan Shan Wa. I've sent a letter of request for battle to the Regiment Commander, leaving behind a garrison at Ling Feng, vowing to share life and death with Ling Feng. As for me, Huang Min, I'm prepared to leave my life here. Who among you wants to leave? I won't force anyone to stay, immediately lead your troops to assemble quickly in the direction of Wu Song Ridge."

  They have nowhere else to go, this is their territory, it's their home. They will fight for their own home.

  The door was kicked open, and Fang Zhenqiang's deputy commander of the 206th Regiment pulled out his pistol and pulled the trigger. A gunshot rang out, and he shouted loudly: "Huang Min, the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 206th Regiment, disobeyed military orders and has been executed on the spot. The remaining troops have fled. The 206th Regiment no longer has Huang Min or his unit."