Chapter 37: The Fall of Nanjing

  Early in the morning, the warriors who got up from the dew did not rush to eat something and started dressing themselves.

  You Fei had to play an old man, wearing a tattered suit and with his face covered in wrinkles. He hunched over and coughed, and even Lin Yuru almost didn't recognize him.

  Lin Yuru was going to play the role of an old woman, so she put on a tattered suit and didn't paint her face as heavily. She took out a small mirror from her bag, stuck out her tongue and said: "Too ugly!"

  "It's not good-looking! I'll draw it again, or else those little devils will get a glimpse of it, and that won't be good!"

  "Oh!" Lin Yurui could only draw again.

  To mention the attention of the old couple, it was still brought out by You Fei. What private purpose You Fei had, I don't know, anyway everyone went into the city in groups of two or three, except Lin Yu Rui was too beautiful, it was a difficult problem, You Fei managed to solve this difficult problem.

  As the sky brightened, several villagers really walked into the city. The scouts who returned reported that there were a few devils at the city gate, and more than a dozen Han traitors of the Yellow Cooperative Army, they checked people entering the city one by one, it's estimated that it would be difficult to bring guns in.

  "What's the point of bringing them in? Bury them all! We can come back for them later. We're just passing through, not here to fight. Besides, we can figure out a way to get them later." With Wang Lie's order, all the guns, cannons, and bullets were buried.

  Three warriors went ahead and the fake soldiers searched them for a while before letting them go.

  After waiting for a long time, another villager came, and two soldiers followed him in.

  There are also villagers coming out of the city, and the station of the fierce wind team is where we continue to mix inside.

  More and more warriors who stayed outside the city were getting fewer. The old couple, You Fei and Lin Yuru, took action.

  At the city gate, a group of fake soldiers blocked the way of two old men: "Old guys, what are you doing coming into the city?"

  "Go see my son!" You Fei's intentionally hoarse and aged voice was slow and drawn out, with a hint of tremolo.

  "Go! Go!" The fake soldier waved his hand impatiently. For such an old man, he still had some respect. The Chinese habit of respecting the elderly and loving the young had not changed yet.

  "Halt!" A Japanese soldier, bayonet at the ready, jumped out and blocked Yongfei's path. "You haven't been searched. Lazy work will get you killed."

  The fake soldiers hastily searched up and down, left and right on You Fei's body. After finishing, one of them stood upright: "Report to the Master. The search is complete. There's nothing."

  "Yo!" The ghost nodded and went back to standing still beside him.

  You Fei pulled Lin Yurui forward, just about to move on, but the fake soldiers blocked Lin Yurui and searched him. After a quick search, they let him go.

  Suddenly, the ghost jumped out again and blocked Lin Yurui, staring at her intensely.

  Lin Yuru had long been tempered by the trials of this journey and was no longer afraid of anything, she stood quietly with her head bowed, silent.

  You Fei thought for a moment, this rural old lady's outfit should not be so calm. Now it's too late to remind Lin Yu Rui, he can only squeeze Lin Yu Rui aside and attract the ghost's gaze over here.

  The ghost turned up his white eyes and looked at You Fei, then went to look at Lin Yu Rui beside him. His nose was still sniffing the air like a wolf dog.

  Is it possible that the devils have taken a liking to this old lady Lin Yurui, after all her figure is still quite enticing, and the devils have a perverted aesthetic view, perhaps men, women, young and old are all irrelevant. Or maybe the faint scent on Lin Yurui's body exposed her?

  You Fei was getting more and more anxious, but there was nothing he could do. Just as he was about to make a desperate move to grab the gun and kill someone, he saw Zhang Mingshan hurrying over.

  Zhang Mingshan walked over, his voice loud and clear: "Ah, my lord! I want to join the Huang Association Army! Can you take me in? I'm not done with those damned bandits yet!"

  Several fake soldiers blocked Zhang Mingshan, and asked in a deceitful tone: "What are you doing? You came here to cry and mourn. First, get out of the way and stand aside."

  Who knows Zhang Ming suddenly straightened his neck and shouted loudly: "I want to join Huang's army!"

  Compared to the generally thin and weak physique of ordinary people, Zhang Mingshan's tall and sturdy build still stood out in the crowd. With a loud shout, he attracted the attention of the devils. The puppet soldiers hastily gave the devil an explanation. After listening, the devil patted Zhang Mingshan's belly and said: "You are a good citizen, you can understand the great significance of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Joining Huang Jun's side, your future will be bright!"

  Zhang Mingshan smiled obsequiously, bowed his head and said: "Your Excellency is indeed mighty and powerful. I will now listen to your words and go establish that win-win circle. Serving as a soldier under you and eating your food, I won't be afraid of those damn bandits again."

  "Ah? Oh! Yo Xi. Take him to the reporting place to work!" The devil ordered a thin pseudo-army.

  Zhang Mingshan smiled obsequiously and backed away four or five steps, only then turning around to follow the puppet army.

  The devil was very satisfied. Looking at Zhang Mingshan who was leaving in the distance, he seemed to feel that he had forgotten something, but couldn't quite remember what it was.

  You Fei and Lin Yu Rui took advantage of Zhang Ming Shan's fight for the traitor position to sneak into the city.

  The layout of this county town is almost the same as that occupied by You Fei. The only difference is that there are many fewer pedestrians on the streets. Although it's daytime, it still looks very deserted. The owners of several shops sit listlessly in the hall, staring blankly at the door.

  There are devils here, it's already quite good that they dare to open for business, what good harvest can be expected from there? A few Japanese calico advertisement paintings were pasted on the wall at an angle, and when the wind blew, one corner was lifted, making a "pa-la-la" sound.

  You Fei seemed to be familiar with the place, and led Lin Yu Rui into a small alley. At the end of the alley was an empty courtyard with no one in sight. You Fei walked in, seemingly making a mark on the door as he passed by. Before Lin Yu Rui could see clearly, she was pulled inside.

  Before long, Wang Lie brought two people with him. You Fei said: "There are many empty houses here, I think we can't leave the city today. Let everyone gather a few rooms nearby and live in them first. Wait until tomorrow to get Zhang Ming Shan out before leaving the city."

  Wang Lie said: "That little brat is too much like a traitor. I think we should let him find his own way out. Let's leave the city first. At least, you and Miss Lin can go out first."

  "Damn it! You really think a chicken feather can be used as an imperial edict? My official rank is higher, listen to me. The disguise as an old lady won't work now, didn't you see that devil staring at her without blinking? That beast has already become suspicious. We need to ensure Miss Lin's safety and come up with another plan."

  Wang Lie didn't say much, he just smiled and said: "It's a bit dangerous to leave today, let's set off tomorrow instead. But as for the specific command, that still belongs to me. Hehehe!"

  "Alright, alright! I'll continue to be your soldier. Technically, I'm not as good as you, damn it! To vent our anger, let's work with Zhang Ming-shan tomorrow to set up some explosives for those devils. We're leaving, but also leave something for that son of a bitch to remember."

  "Hmm!" He responded with a grunt and King Lie left.

  Everyone has arrived, only Wang Lie and Zhang Mingshan have not come. Lin Yuru is a bit worried about them, but You Fei seems to be fine. The fierce winds are lying down and sleeping, except for a few soldiers who returned to change shifts, everyone else is snoring loudly and sleeping soundly.

  Lin Yuru didn't know what to do, got up and was about to go out for a look, but was pulled back by You Fei.

  "What?" Lin Yurui asked.

  "It's better to stay still and not move around too much. It's very dangerous outside. Look at our soldiers, they're all resting, that's in case something unexpected happens, if something does happen, who knows when we'll be able to sleep again!"

  "You're quite the seasoned traveler, aren't you? I thought that as a high-ranking officer, you'd only be giving orders from behind the troops!"

  "Cough, cough! Actually, I'm not some big shot either. On the battlefield of Shanghai, our regimental commander and brigade commander were all killed in action. The remaining hundred or so people didn't even have a place to take refuge. I led them on the run from Shanghai all the way here, fighting with real swords and guns along the way. I'm actually just a small soldier too, what's this big shot nonsense? It was also thanks to your help that we were able to annihilate the Mōtō Corps, or else who knows how it would have turned out?"

  Lin Yuru said: "A general who has fought his way up, that's a real general! You don't even follow the usual rules of engagement. The devils are bound to lose. I think you must have been an outstanding student at the Whampoa Military Academy?"

  "Heh heh! Huangpu Military Academy, I've been there." You Fei thought to himself, the place where I live is not far from Huangpu anyway! Of course, I've been there, but they didn't let me in.

  "Oh! Then why did you choose to come here in the first place?" Lin Yurui asked.

  "You Fei said: 'At first, it was just to fight the devils, there were more devils on this side! Didn't expect, all the way here. At first, when crossing the Yangtze River, didn't think could come over, and walk so far...' You Fei talked about those original battles, he was grateful that Lin Yu Rui did not ask about Huangpu Military Academy. A slight inquiry would expose his own rough original appearance. Although he had always been proud of being a standard rogue, in front of the beauty, he still hoped that the other side would see him as a heroic general."

  You Fei told a series of thrilling stories about himself and his comrades, Lin Yurui listened with rapt attention.

  At noon when eating, the members of the stormtrooper didn't know where they bought some buns and steamed sweet potatoes back. Everyone ate some and continued to sleep.

  "How can they sleep so well?"

  "That's because, after fighting, maybe for several days, they wouldn't be able to sleep. The members of Lie Feng and Qing Yun's teams all had the skill of sleeping ahead of time or putting it off. Now they would accumulate it first, and when the time came, no matter how long it took, there wouldn't be a single thread of sleepiness."

  "Oh!" Lin Yurui thought, this was indeed a group of very mysterious people.

  Time passed quickly in their whispered conversation.

  It wasn't until evening that Wang Lie returned. As soon as he entered the door, he said, "Something's come up."

  Several team leaders automatically gathered around Wang Lie and You Fei, while Lin Yuru retreated to the back.

  Wang Lie said: "Today is December 13th."

  "What's wrong?"

  "I heard that Nanjing City has fallen today."

  "Huh?"

  "The devils are in Nanjing, and they're massacring the city!"

  "Ah!"

  "The devils are always killing people, I heard they kill anyone, military or civilian, no matter who."

  ……

  Everyone was silent and speechless.

  Lin Yuru quietly walked up and said: "The capital has been occupied! Are we going to give up?"

  "Damn it! Aren't I in enemy-occupied territory? My team is surrounded by enemy-occupied areas on all sides, and aren't we still alive?" Yu Fei couldn't help but shout out.

  The crowd shouted in unison, "China is too big! The little devils think they can occupy the whole of China. It's not that easy." "We four hundred million compatriots will never agree to it. We must make the devils pay for their crimes with blood." Some also said, "The little devils are too bullying. I'll go and fight them to the death." "I won't back down either. Tomorrow, let's first wipe out this whole nest of dogs."

  "China will not perish! Everyone believes in this, no mistake. But relying on our solo efforts won't work either. This time we go out, after sending Miss Lin away, we also need to contact other national army departments and coordinate with our 259th Brigade to fight out. The original plan remains unchanged. Does anyone have any questions?"

  Wang Lie said: "Zhang Mingshan performed too well. Tomorrow the devils will let him lead the common people to parade and celebrate, but he won't be able to come back today."

  "What's the celebration for?"

  "Celebrating the fall of Nanjing."

  ……

  It seemed like a long, long time had passed before You Fei finally spoke: "Let Zhang Mingshan make it even more traitorous than the traitors. First protect the ordinary people from being harmed by the devils. Nanyang was slaughtered, in this small county town, what can't the devils do? Let Zhang Mingshan perform with all his might. We'll find an opportunity to mix out."

  "Alas!" Wang Lie responded with a deep sense of helplessness that was evident in his tone.

  Wang Lie went out to contact Zhang Mingshan. Everyone was extremely quiet and lay down. This time, even You Fei and Lin Yuru didn't whisper to each other.

  ……

  The sky had just brightened, and the sound of banging doors came from the big street outside. Then it was like a chicken flying and a dog jumping, with people's voices boiling over. The fierce warrior who was on guard duty rushed back to report to Wang Lie. Everyone then hid in the courtyard, and several agile ones had already sneaked onto the rooftop. Unexpectedly, these fake soldiers who came to cause trouble only banged on a few doors at the entrance of the alley, looked around cautiously towards the depths of the alley, and then retreated to shout elsewhere.

  Listen carefully, these two dogs are shouting: "The Huang Army has occupied Nanjing! The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is about to be established! Our good days as East Asians have arrived. The masters are happy today, let everyone go out and celebrate the fall of Nanjing. Anyone who goes out to parade will all be considered good citizens. Those who don't, if they provoke the Huang Army, will die. Everyone quickly get up and celebrate!

  "Damn it! It's starting so early." He stretched out his hand from a pile of rotten furniture boards and pulled out a revolver, stuffing it under his clothes. Only Lin Yurui, who was following him closely, saw this scene. Lin Yurui asked him cautiously, "How did you bring this gun in?"

  "Haha! There are many ways to do it. They also smuggled in a few, I know that too."

  The gongs and drums on the street outside began to sound, the tune was completely out of tune, a voice led the crowd that had gathered, shouting slogans, people shouted lazily like a swarm of buzzing bees flying around.

  You Fei and several others found a secluded spot, secretly watching the commotion outside. Upon taking a look, it was indeed Zhang Mingshan walking at the front of the procession. Zhang Mingshan seemed to be in high spirits, loudly shouting: "Celebrate the fall of Nanjing!" "Long live the Great East Asia Holy War!" "Wishing His Majesty the Emperor ten thousand years of longevity without boundaries."

  Shouting and shouting, Zhang Mingshan also had some new words: "Warmly welcome relatives from Japan!" "We and the Yellow Army will be friends for generations to come." "Celebrate the good harvest of the Yellow Army who saved the people of East Asia."

  "Damn it! This Ming Shan is too much!" You Fei reached for the revolver in his waist.