Chapter 43: Shocking (Three)

  But the nightmare had just begun, after the first wave of explosions, the surviving Imperial soldiers instinctively gathered towards the direction where the general was, and there were approximately 4,800 Imperial troops who entered this valley, but now less than 1,500 survived.

  "General, we should charge backwards and should be able to break out of the encirclement," Ishii Masami advised.

  "Look," Yano pointed to the mountain head, "there's no chance anymore."

  The crowd looked up at the mountain and saw a person holding a yellow flag waving it around and then heavily swinging it down. There was no longer any suspense, as the explosion started from the foot of the mountain, with splashing rocks flying towards the center of the valley, followed by larger rocks falling down, almost simultaneously on all four sides of the mountain wall. The mountain wall was like being chopped by a raging war god with a sharp blade, finally starting to collapse, and a part of the mountain was cut off, crashing down, with huge rocks colliding with each other from the sky, covering the entire sky, adding a few more oppressive feelings to the already gloomy sky. The splashing rocks also killed or injured many Japanese soldiers who were unable to dodge in time. The rolling stones and falling rocks on the ground created a massive amount of dust that rose up into the air, forming a beautiful mushroom cloud that rose straight up. Under the protection of the crowd, Yano did not suffer any further injuries, but before his eyes, the original valley had turned into a mountain range like a tomb, with an unknown number of Imperial soldiers buried alive or dead under the rocks. Yano's legs went weak and he sat down on the ground. If it were a confrontation between two armies, even if the losses were more severe, he could have endured it. But now, the enemy had used their advanced blasting technology to change the terrain, using the mountain as a weapon, turning what was originally an impossible place for an ambush into a graveyard for the Imperial Army. Looking around at the less than thousand soldiers, seeing the empty and terrified eyes of the soldiers, he knew that he must rally himself, he must lead these surviving Imperial soldiers away.

  He stood on the rock, looked up at the soldiers looking at him, "Everyone, the current situation is very clear, we have no choice, check your weapons, I will lead you to charge out, if I die, then let Ishii-san lead you, if Ishii-san dies, then" He glanced and a lieutenant stood up in the crowd, "Sakaki." said simply and firmly.

  "Zuǒ Mù leads you all. Zuǒ Mù is dead, by..."

  Another lieutenant commander appeared, "Fujino."...

  Yano had lined up a dozen or so team leaders before jumping down from the stone, and to his surprise, his legs didn't hurt at all. He took over a machine gun, and with a familiar motion, Yano pulled back the bolt and loaded the bullet. In the midst of life and death, someone began singing the military song, and the tragic atmosphere instantly filled everyone's chest, changing the momentum. In the face of life and death, what was needed was momentum.

  One man can be destroyed, but not defeated; an army can be annihilated, but its morale cannot be lost, the spirit of a soldier cannot be trampled. An army has its soul, and a nation has its soul! When a nation is in a state of emergency, what supports our hope? Rise up, those who do not want to be slaves, rise up! Our hope lies in battle! Yang Jingyu's iron-blooded ideology has deeply taken root in the hearts of all soldiers. The enemy may be arrogant, but I am even more so; the enemy may be ruthless, but I am even more so! When we meet on a narrow road, the brave will win! The ruthless will win!

  Yano was the first to charge forward with a machine gun, greatly stimulating the soldiers' passion and courage. Some people waved their weapons in their hands, shouting loudly as they rushed past Yano and ran to the front. However, the three brigades of pomegranate flowers that were guarding had surprisingly strong firepower, almost everywhere there were heavy machine guns. Zhou Shi was the one who was most deeply influenced by Yang Jie and others, he always regarded firepower reserve as the first priority, his three brigades not only far exceeded the regular brigade's establishment in terms of personnel, but also had extremely fine weapons. Of course, they were all equipped later on their own, the base's weapons could only be exchanged for bad old ones, otherwise Wang Xuehua would not acknowledge them, and only provide them to special forces. Of course, sometimes the things seized by the special forces would also be secretly intercepted by these brigade commanders, in exchange, they would provide a batch of excellent soldiers to the special forces.

  Witnessing the intense battle scene of the enemy, also stimulated the blood of the guerrilla fighters on this side. Some people frantically pulled the trigger, while others threw hand grenades and shouted: "A narrow road meets, the brave win!"

  At one point, the entire battlefield was filled with a sprawling, thunderous shout that shook the heavens.

  Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!

  So, Yano's dare-to-die corps was simply looking for death. The position built with dense heavy machine guns, crossfire covering every corner, and firepower points set up on the mountain ridge, mortar hands on the mountain ridge, it was simply pointing to that place and hitting that place. Finally, Yano signaled to retreat, looked at the graves behind him, and Yano's tears flowed down, even if he had a heart of stone, he couldn't command soldiers to look for death like this again, so many warriors had died in vain in this unlucky valley, and he couldn't let these soldiers die anymore.

  Yano stepped aside, knelt down towards the east with reverence, and bowed his head several times in a devout manner. Then, with an extremely serious expression, he faced Ishii Masami, "Ishii-kun, I entrust these excellent Imperial soldiers to you. After my death, you can lead them to surrender to those Chinese people." Seeing Ishii about to speak, he stretched out his hand, "This is an order! You must lead these Imperial soldiers to surrender to the enemy, no need to make any more fearless sacrifices. If I'm not mistaken, our entire army has been defeated this time, don't expect any help from the artillery regiment anymore, they're probably..."

  He slowly drew out his combat knife, and with a sweep of his hand, the cold light flashing off the blade seemed to have been through countless battles. Today, he used it to kiss his own blood. He sat down cross-legged, reversed his grip on the knife, and with a sudden burst of strength, stabbed it into his abdomen and slashed sideways. However, the pain made him unable to exert any strength, and beads of sweat rolled down from his pale face. "Ishii!"

  Ishii slowly drew his pistol and aimed at Yano's heart, slowly pulling the trigger.

  The gunshot was not very loud, but to everyone who heard it, it seemed to be ringing in their own heart, causing a wild heartbeat, hot blood boiling, and nerves going crazy.

  "We will never surrender!" someone shouted wildly with their weapon. Some began to take their own lives. Others gazed quietly at Ishii. Others quietly laid down their arms.

  Ishii did not stop the madly shouting people, nor did he stop those who were about to commit suicide. He simply stood there, glanced at Yano lightly, drew out his war sword and put it back in its scabbard. He signaled for the soldiers to come over and lift up Yano. "Everyone, I have no right to interfere with your choices. Those who want to fight, please charge again; those who want to commit suicide, please hurry up; those who want to surrender, put down your weapons." Then he swept his eyes across the crowd. "I do not despise those who surrender. I will praise those who fight, and remember those who die for their country. I must follow the general's orders, and I still have to live to send his body back to Japan. I surrender."

  No one stood up to fight, no one shot themselves again, and they all threw down their weapons.

  With hands raised high in proud defeat, the Japanese soldiers had no choice but to abandon their resistance and send a representative to surrender to the guerrilla forces.