Chapter 11: The Inauguration of Emperor Taizong

  The first to take the stage was a high-ranking devil officer with a full face of whiskers, an eight-character beard, and a ferocious appearance, with yellow stars on his shoulders. Judging from his military uniform, he should be a lieutenant general in the army. The devil officer held a command knife, and although he tried to squeeze out a smile, hoping to show some friendliness to the anxious residents of Leijiang below, his big yellow teeth under his round beard protruded outward like a grasshopper's mandibles, with an insincere smile that made people feel even more ominous and terrifying. Next to him was a devil interpreter who kept nodding and bowing, wearing a combat helmet.

  The Japanese officer, showing his big yellow teeth, said a lot of things, and the interpreter also followed with a lot of words. Nothing but grandiose phrases like "Great East Asia Co-prosperity", "Sino-Japanese friendship", using Japan's advanced civilization to transform China's backward appearance.

  Whenever the Japanese army arrived at a place, they would propagate in this way, and Leijiang was no exception. The people of Leijiang only had to listen to the garrulous words of the devils under the scorching sun on summer days with a nervous heart. But as long as there were slightly sensible people among the people of Leijiang, they all knew that under the bayonet and gunpoint, how could there be "friendship"? How could armed wolves and unarmed sheep talk about "common prosperity" together? And how could the use of artillery fire and bombs, this "advanced civilization", break through peaceful life and transform a "backward appearance"?

  Suddenly, the translator raised his voice: "General Yamada Kō said that in order to strengthen the security of Lei Jiang, it was decided to establish the Lei Jiang Garrison Unit and the Proclamation Class, with Inukawa Jirō as the captain of the Lei Jiang Garrison Unit and the head of the Lei Jiang Proclamation Class. Everyone welcome!"

  The translator applauded desperately. However, there was no response from the crowd below.

  A young devil with a full set of armor, striding onto the scene with a nimble gait. As he faced the residents of Lei Jiang, his face was pale and round, looking no more than 30 years old. On the surface, he appeared slightly shy, without the characteristic large yellow teeth of the Japanese, making him look somewhat handsome, forming a stark contrast to the ferocious and sinister old devil from earlier.

  Rui Hua saw it and involuntarily covered her mouth: "Good heavens, it's actually Xiao Quanzi!"

  In the 27th year of the Republic, in the twelfth month, amidst heavy snowfall, a young beggar wandered into town. He claimed to be from Nanjing and was named Quanquan, nicknamed "Xiaoquanzi". His entire family had been killed by devils, and he had been wandering along the river, begging for food, until he ended up here. Seeing this young man shivering with hunger and cold, Ruihui took pity on him and took him in as a shop assistant at her fabric store. "Xiaoquanzi" was literate and numerate, and his demeanor was humble and polite, quickly making him stand out among the other assistants. Ruihui saw that he was clever and resourceful, so she intentionally nurtured him, having him follow the head clerk to collect debts, purchase goods, and do other tasks. This "Xiaoquanzi" performed extremely diligently, handling matters with great care, earning the head clerk's praise. Even when Madame Fang sent letters or packages to her husband, Commander Fang, at the front lines, sometimes she would have "Xiaoquanzi" take care of it for her. Just as everyone at Quanbu Zhuang was looking favorably upon this "Xiaoquanzi", something unexpected happened. One day in July, Ruihui's only daughter, Meixia, suddenly burst into Ruihui's room, tearfully telling her mother that "Xiaoquanzi" had tried to take liberties with her. In Ruihui's heart, Meixia was everything to her, and upon hearing this news, she became enraged, and in a fit of anger, she chased "Xiaoquanzi" out of the fabric store.

  When Rui Hui's mood calmed down, her kind heart began to worry about this homeless "Little Quan Zi" again, fearing that he might have an accident during these turbulent times. She secretly instructed the shopkeeper who went out to pay attention and bring him back if they saw him again, giving him a chance to reform, but his whereabouts remained unknown.

  However, Rui never dreamed that she and "Koizumi" would meet in this way.

  The old devil officer on stage said a lot of nonsense again, and the translator followed:

  "It is our honor to introduce to everyone the newly appointed highest military and political officer of Lei Jiang - Inukawa Jirō!"

  "Inugawa Jirō was an elite of the Imperial Japanese Army, graduated from Keijō Imperial University and the Imperial Military Academy in Japan, and trained at Tongwen Shuyuan in Shanghai. He was a senior disciple of Tōyama Mitsuru. This time, the imperial army was able to accurately destroy the enemy's firepower points on the front line and smoothly attack Leiyang from the side and rear via small paths, thanks to Inugawa Jirō's prior intelligence work! This is also the reason why the military department promoted him to lieutenant colonel beyond the normal rank. Now, please listen to Lieutenant Colonel Inugawa Jirō's speech!"

  Rui Hui felt a wave of dizziness and her heart was racing. She had thought that she was kind to take in an orphan, but it turned out that she had raised a Japanese wolf cub! Without asking, Inukawa Jiro must have taken advantage of the opportunity when the boss was away to discover the unguarded small road, making preparations for the devils to launch a surprise attack on Lei Jiang; he took advantage of Mrs. Fang sending a letter to General Fang at the front line to secretly scout out the firepower points of the National Army's defense lines and made records.

  Rui Hui's intestines were all green with regret. She felt that Lei Jiang had fallen, and she was guilty of an unforgivable sin! Thinking of Inukawa Jiro's past molestation of her beloved daughter Mei Xia, as well as how she had driven him out of the Bu Village, she thought of what Mei Xia had told her about the atrocities committed by the devils in Nanjing, a sense of fear firmly grasped Rui Hui's heart.

  Rui Hua was lost in thought when Inukawa Jirō on the stage began to speak. He didn't speak Japanese, but instead spoke fluent Mandarin with a hint of Northeastern accent:

  "Hello, fellow villagers of Leijiang!"

  Thanks to the favor of Commander Yamada Kōsuke, I have been appointed as the commander of the Lei River Security Brigade and the head of the Lei River Pacification Class. Under the direct command of Commander Yamada Kōsuke and with the support of all good citizens in Lei River, I will strengthen law and order, severely punish anti-Japanese elements, and make Lei River a solid base for the advancement of the Imperial Army; I will also intensify education and, using Japan's advanced civilization, change the backward appearance of Lei River, making it a model of Sino-Japanese friendship and a true land of imperial virtue.

  Then he turned to Yamada and spoke a lot in Japanese.

  The interpreter led the applause with great enthusiasm.

  Yamada nodded in satisfaction. Then he patted Inukawa Jiro on the shoulder and chattered away, only to see Inukawa bowing repeatedly, shouting "Hai! Hai!" The people below had no idea what they were performing, and were completely bewildered.

  Yamada Kou turned around to face the crowd below, his smile gone and his fierce expression restored.

  The translator can finally play its role again:

  "Gentlemen, Inukawa is a young and promising elite of the Imperial Youth Military. To fully demonstrate our Sino-Japanese friendship, you can affectionately call him 'Haita-kun'. From now on, the defense and security of Leijiang will be entirely entrusted to 'Haita-kun'. I believe that under 'Haita-kun's' governance, Leijiang will become a truly prosperous land."

  "Now, there are still a small number of Chinese soldiers in the old dragon head area who are making futile resistance. I will lead the brave Japanese warriors to annihilate them. And we will pursue them all the way to Wuhan, Changsha and Chongqing, thoroughly crushing their will and determination to resist the Imperial Japanese Army. When the Rising Sun flag of the Empire of Japan is planted in every corner of China, I will come back to visit you all again!"

  After finishing speaking, Yamada attacked with his command knife, walking down from the platform without looking back. A soldier had already led a tall Oriental horse over, and Yamada attacked with a high and proud spirit, riding the horse away with a cloud of dust. Behind him, row after row of devils' infantrymen trotted along, their bayonets shining brightly, followed by devilish artillerymen being pulled in carts, the smoke and dust rolling towards Lao Longtou.

  In the distance, what seemed like intense gunfire could be heard.

  "Kaito-kun", Inukawa Jiro bowed his head and stood still on the stage, respectfully seeing him off.