Chapter 69: Heinous Crimes

  This fierce man merely called out "Commander..." and then choked up and couldn't say anything more.

  About three or four miles away from the mountain slope, there was a village with fifty or sixty households. The thatched cottages were scattered in a small valley, not very neat. The village was quiet and still, and you could see the dozen or so houses at one end of the village, emitting a faint misty smoke. Tang Qiu's heart sank, and a bad premonition crept over her mind.

  When he walked into the village, he was stunned by what he saw before his eyes.

  Along the winding road, blood-soaked corpses can be seen everywhere. Most of them are elderly people with white hair and children, either shot dead or hacked to death by knives. Continuing to move forward, every household along the way has no intact doors and windows.

  In the courtyard of the village, more than 200 bodies of dead fellow villagers were scattered on the snowy ground. The fresh blood that flowed out stained the white snow red and congealed into a dark red color that shocked the eyes. On the side, several bodies hung from the poplar trees, their bellies cut open with sharp blades, their internal organs hanging with blood clots, frozen into a lump. Several headless corpses were lying on the ground, bound back, clearly beheaded by knives.

  Next to the stone roller, there were patches of congealed blood, and several infants with their heads crushed by the stone roller lay on the ground.

  Witnessing this tragic scene, Tang Qiuli was overwhelmed with immense grief and could hardly breathe. What have those beasts done?

  A warrior pushed open the door of a fairly large house next to the courtyard, and immediately retreated with a shout, "Commander, come quick!" Tang Qiuli walked into the house, and a tragic scene struck him so hard that his body swayed, and stars danced before his eyes.

  Dozens of naked young women's corpses were lying horizontally and vertically in the house, with wounds all over their bodies. The lower body was a mess, dark red blood mixed with filth flowing down from the root of the thigh, wetting the ground. Some had wooden sticks inserted into their lower body, some had their breasts cut off, and some had their abdomen cut open. It was clear that they were gang-raped and then killed. The youngest was only 14 or 15 years old, with eyes that were originally innocent and pure now frozen in a moment of humiliation.

  Tang Qiu left the house dejectedly, but outside, the sunlight was still shining brightly, and the snow on the distant mountains was still pristine white. However, hundreds of lives had been taken away by evil, and under the vast sky, it was those beasts who committed such heinous crimes that were inhumane and shocking to the world.

  The warriors following behind were apparently shocked by the tragic scene, more than 2,000 people stood silently, only the howling wind, in a mournful and depressing atmosphere!

  Tang Qiuli waved his hand and called out to the several battalion commanders: "All soldiers in the troops, immediately bury the dead fellow villagers, take out some clothes and put them on the dead sisters in the house. The special battalion will search separately to see if there are any fellow villagers who have escaped the disaster. I want to know which beasts did this?"

  It was unclear which warrior suddenly burst into tears, but soon a chorus of crying erupted, and the warriors buried their fellow villagers with tears streaming down their faces.

  Qiuquan came to Tang Qiu's side and said in a low voice, "Commander, we found one who is still alive. The whole village is left with only him." A man over 50 years old was supported by two soldiers as he arrived before him.

  It was clear that the old man's spirit had reached a breaking point. Tang Qiuli took off his coat and put it on the old man, then asked the communication officer to bring over a jug of white wine, which he forced the old man to drink a mouthful of. Under the stimulation of the white wine, the old man somewhat recovered, staring blankly at Tang Qiuli with empty eyes, then looking around at the busy soldiers before suddenly bursting into tears. "Officer, it's so miserable!"

  Tang Qiuli hastily supported the old man to a tree trunk and inquired about the situation in detail.

  From the old man's intermittent account, Tang Qiuli learned about the whole tragic case.

  The village is called Wei Family Wopu, with more than 60 households and over 300 people. Last night, just after midnight, over 1,600 Japanese devils and more than 2,000 national soldiers suddenly broke into the village, saying they were searching for anti-Japanese elements. They went door-to-door, smashing doors and grabbing people. Most of the villagers were caught off guard while sleeping, except for about 30 young and strong men who managed to escape into the mountains. An old man's son and daughter-in-law, as well as two unmarried daughters, were trapped in their house by over a dozen Japanese devils and national soldiers. The old man was hidden by his son in a vegetable cellar and escaped this disaster.

  Before long, he heard his son's angry curses and the miserable cries of his daughter-in-law and daughter, as well as the loud laughter of these beasts. He wanted to rush out of the kitchen and fight them to the death, but the door was blocked by his son. For a long time, there was no movement inside the house, only the weak moans of his daughter-in-law and daughter could be heard. He heard the Japanese soldiers talking about the Gakuzuka Punitive Force, the Old Seventh Regiment, the Anti-Communist League, the Red Stone Crackers, and so on. They also said that this time the Imperial Army had a great time, and they would follow suit to take advantage of it. It's just that there were fewer women, not even 1,600 or 1,700 Japanese soldiers were enough to go around.

  These bastards finished their evil deeds, saying they were going to gather, and several gunshots rang out in the house. He was so anxious that he fainted, and it's unknown when he came to. He was awakened by a burst of gunfire. After the shots stopped, he desperately crawled out of the cellar. In the house, his son was covered in blood, with six or seven holes stabbed by bayonets. The blood on the ground had congealed. His daughter-in-law and two daughters were found dead on the kang, their bodies riddled with four or five bullets. The younger daughter's breasts had been cut off. When the old man saw this tragic scene, he was stunned, and later he was found by Qiuchuan.

  The old man spoke and spoke, and again burst into mournful wailing. In the cold wind, his sparse white hair fluttered about in disorder.

  Everything is clear, Tang Qiuli's face turned iron blue, his teeth clenched with a "click" sound, he shouted loudly "Map!" The communication officer saw the commander's face was not right, and was so scared that he quickly spread out the map on the snowy ground. Tang Qiuli's eyes were fixed on the Red Stone Village, and he fiercely punched the map.

  At the foot of the mountain by Tunzi Border, a tall tomb mound stood, where all the fellow villagers who died in the Wei family's massacre were buried. The soldiers stood silently in front of the tomb, while Tang Qiuli sat on the snowy ground, expressionless, using force to carve words onto a piece of birch wood board. His whole person was unusually quiet, and a group of high-ranking officers stood silently behind him. Shan Hu tried several times to take over the wooden board from his hand, but was deterred by Tang Qiuli's calm and terrifying gaze each time.

  A tombstone stands in front of the grave, inscribed with: "Tomb of Wei family's martyrdom, erected by Blood Hand Autumn Departed, Commander of Anti-Japanese Blood Hand Brigade, Winter 7th Day, Year 13 of the Republic of China".

  Tang Qiu's mind went blank after all this, the inhuman massacre, more than 300 innocent civilians' lives were lost at the hands of those damned devils and a group of Chinese beasts. He would never let them off, only by killing these beasts could he avenge his dead fellow villagers!

  At this time, Su Jingfeng led more than 30 young people to come over. The leader, a sturdy and big-eyed young man, suddenly knelt on one knee and said to Tang Qiuli: "Commander, accept us and let's fight the devils and traitors together!" These were the surviving villagers from last night, and the leader was called Wei Dayong, a good hunter.

  He saw the old man sitting on the edge and exclaimed with surprise: "Third Uncle, you're still alive!"

  The old man's tears flowed freely, holding onto Wei Da Yong's hand and pointing to the new grave. The thirty or so young people knelt down in front of it, inside were buried their loved ones, flesh and blood relatives who just a day ago had been watching over them, now separated by life and death. They wailed loudly, tears and blood dripping onto the soil beneath their feet, their cries echoing through their hometown.

  The surrounding warriors also fell to their knees, although the people buried here were not their relatives, but their fellow countrymen they had protected. Many of these warriors had never experienced such a brutal scene, especially the over 300 newly recruited peasant soldiers mobilized by Zhou Yushan, who had no direct experience of the cruelty of the Japanese devils and may still have held a thread of kindness in their hearts. Now, the bloody facts were laid before them, and the dead were all kind and gentle poor people just like them. A burst of suppressed sobs turned into towering hatred, shooting straight up to the sky, and the warriors' will to fight was fiercely ignited by the immense hatred.

  More than two thousand cries of the Kanto Hans, the murderous aura and intense hatred in those cries, are enough to make one's heart tremble with fear.

  Tang Qiuliu wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes, helped Wei Dàyǒng up, "Dàyǒng, I'm taking you all in, these 38 fellow villagers will be formed into one squad, and I appoint you as the squad leader. I'll also give your squad a name - 'Wei Family Squad', to make you remember this deep-seated hatred forever!"

  "Wei Dajun shouted loudly: 'Remember the deep hatred of the bloody sea forever!' The warriors beside him also shouted in unison, and the shouting echoed through the mountains and forests."

  From then on, in the sequence of the Blood Hand Gang, there was an additional rank that made the Japanese devils and traitors tremble with fear. The warriors of this rank were unmatched in bravery on the battlefield, and their treatment of the Japanese devils was ruthless. It's strange to say, but the soldiers who later joined this rank, no matter how weak or timid they were, after staying in this rank for a period of time, became like different people, with fiery tempers and bodies full of murderous energy. The soldiers of other troops said that this rank had a killer spirit attached to it. Even the great name of Wei's Rank was heard by the highest commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army, Honjō Fumimaro.

  Tang Qiuli asked Wei Dajun again if he knew the terrain of Hongshihezi, and Wei Dajun told him that from here to Hongshihezi in the north was a day and a half's journey away. The terrain was treacherous with high mountains and deep valleys, and there were many gullies, cliffs, and caves. Because the rocks in the area were all red, it was called Hongshihezi. It was said that there were Anti-Japanese League troops active in the area.

  He asked Wei Dajun again if he knew the way to Hongshi Village, because the beasts that killed the villagers went in that direction. As soon as Wei Dajun heard this, he jumped up and said, "Commander, what are we waiting for? Let's chase after them! I know a shortcut that can take us ahead of them! It's just not easy to walk."

  After listening to Wei Dajun, Tang Qiuli thought nervously. The devils had set out for more than half a day and would arrive at Hongshihezi by noon tomorrow according to the normal marching speed. With these equipment, the troops walked on mountain roads again, could they catch up with the devils? Moreover, after arriving there, they still needed to survey the terrain, choose an ambush site, and dig fortifications. It wouldn't work if they didn't delay the devils until tomorrow evening when they arrived at Hongshihezi. A battle plan was taking shape in his mind.

  Then, a meeting was immediately convened, and Tang Qiuli reported on the enemy situation. The Japanese enemy, Ryōzaki Punitive Regiment, had more than 1,700 troops. That old Seventh Regiment also knew the details, it was the starting unit of Shao Benliang, the "Extermination Communist Commander-in-Chief" of the Southern Manchuria Province of the Puppet State of Manchukuo, with more than 2,600 people. The soldiers were all local rascals, landlord villains' sons, and bandits who had been active for many years, composed of bearded men. In short, they were all scoundrels who deserved to die. They had experienced many battles and had strong combat effectiveness. The total enemy force was more than 4,500 people when combined, far exceeding our forces. Their firepower was not weaker than ours, and the Japanese soldiers' combat effectiveness was even stronger. This battle would be tough to fight. Everyone expressed their opinions on whether to fight this battle or not.

  When the commander said that, everyone was a bit unhappy. Why not fight? Are they afraid of them? We occupy the advantageous terrain, take them by surprise, and with so many big guns, one shot can wipe out half of their forces. More importantly, can these beasts let them escape? There's no way to catch them when they're elusive, but now that we've caught up with them, why not fight? Anyway, our hearts will never be at peace, and we won't sleep soundly.

  Tang Qiuli smiled, that's exactly what I want you to be like. "Chief of Staff, record the order: 1. Tang Qiuli Special Warfare Brigade, set off immediately, bring more rifles and grenade launchers, try every means to tail the enemy, harass and slow down their marching speed. Must ensure the devils cannot reach Hongshihezi before 5 pm tomorrow, to buy time for the main force."

  Two hours later, set off in the order of the 1st, 2nd, Artillery, 3rd, Logistics, New Recruit and Medical Battalions.

  Third, each unit will march overnight and must arrive at Hongshihezi before 10:00 tomorrow morning. The command center will follow the First Brigade's march.

  The Fourth, First and Second Battalions as vanguard troops arrived at the destination first. Soldiers who fell behind along the way were taken in by the logistics battalion.

  After the order was given, the troops became busy. At this time, Wei Daxiong's third uncle found Tang Qiuli and insisted on joining the troops. Wei Daxiong hurriedly stopped him, saying that the troops didn't want old people who were too old. The two of them pulled and tugged until they reached Tang Qiuli. Tang Qiuli readily agreed and immediately arranged for him to join the logistics team. Wei Daxiong was somewhat surprised and didn't know what the commander wanted the old man to do. Old Wei looked at his nephew with a triumphant gaze.

  Tang Qiuli had an arrangement in mind, the base had a lot of logistical work to do, which was suitable for people who were older and could still play a role. Moreover, the elderly people's relatives were all gone, lonely and helpless, and by taking them in, they could give them a happy old age.

  An hour later, the sky darkened and the troops gathered in a clearing. Tang Qiuli's face was stern as he looked at the soldiers, "Blood Hand Squad soldiers, the devils and traitors who killed Wei Jia's family are right ahead, will you avenge our fellow villagers?" "Avenge, kill all the devils and traitors!" The soldiers' angry roar startled the birds returning home and shook off the snow on the pine branches.

  "Alright, we need to march overnight and catch up with the devils, eliminate them. We won't rest or sleep along the way, nor will we fear fatigue and hardship. Can you do it?" "We can, we can, we can", the soldiers replied in unison, their three "can"s revealing their determination.

  "Depart!" Tang Qiu gave a concise order and took the lead in setting off.

  In the twilight, a troop with high morale, plunged into the vast forest, like a sharp arrow, carrying anger, shooting towards the heart of the devils and traitors.

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