Chapter 206: Harbin Fireworks, Zhongma Fort Destroyed
The fourth day of the Northeast operation.
It was 8:30 PM.
Sitting at the desk in his bedroom, Fang Wen opened the telegraph machine and put the earpiece to his ear.
As the radio waves sounded, he transcribed them into plain text.
The Anti-Japanese Allied Army was growing in numbers. This had ignited everyone’s anger, and they wanted to do something big to completely destroy Zhongma Fort.
We tried to stop them, but it didn’t work. We are reporting this and requesting guidance.
It was normal that they couldn’t stop the Anti-Japanese Allied Army’s actions. Fang Wen thought for a moment and sent a reply telegram.
Wait and see. Cooperate if possible, but first ensure your own safety.
After this order was issued, the Special Action Team had a direction.
In the following days, the action team members integrated into local life through their respective means of livelihood.
Lurking among the populace.
At the same time, the actions of the Anti-Japanese Allied Army organization also began.
On the ninth day of the Northeast operation, heroes from all walks of life gathered in Lalin Town.
Southeast of this small town, following the railroad would lead to Zhongma Fort.
They agreed to attack together tonight.
Wu Yingzong and Zhao Wanping were among them. Their current leader, Li Shanhe, instructed them: “When we act, follow me. After the power plant is blown up, we’ll charge over and kill all the little Japanese.”
The two nodded in silence, agreeing.
After midnight, everyone set out from Lalin Town and followed the railroad to Beiyinhe Station. On the other side of the railroad was Zhongma Fort, with searchlights constantly sweeping across the nearby open ground.
The Anti-Japanese Allied Army members tiptoed closer, waiting.
They were waiting for the power plant to explode, for the moment the enemy lost their lighting and fell into chaos.
The person responsible for blowing up the power plant was a short man. Carrying a sack of homemade explosives, he agilely dodged the searchlights and rushed into the power plant.
After a while, a chain reaction of explosions occurred at the power plant, and all the lights in Zhongma Fort went out.
“Brothers, charge!”
People from all paths emerged from the darkness, charging towards Zhongma Fort.
Zhao Wanping moved to charge, but Wu Yingzong pulled her back. “Don’t do anything rash. Don’t you think this was too easy?”
“Easy?” Zhao Wanping squatted down.
Suddenly, the extinguished searchlights illuminated the charging figures on the flat ground, followed by machine-gun fire.
Damn it, the Japanese were prepared. The heroes, having suffered minor losses, immediately retreated.
The attack failed, only causing some damage to the power plant in Zhongma Fort.
The attack on Zhongma Fort was not successful. The heroes temporarily withdrew, and everything returned to peace.
People were still frequently arrested on the streets, and black smoke billowed from the large chimney of Zhongma Fort every day.
The Japanese army thought they had won.
Little did they know, another group was quietly preparing in the shadows.
These eleven people quietly gathered and also moved to live in Lalin Town.
During the day, they each went out to make a living.
At night, these people quietly approached Zhongma Fort.
They had their own methods.
The Peng brothers dug a tunnel beneath the railroad, and everyone helped.
This tunnel passed under the railroad and extended underground all the way to the bottom of Zhongma Fort.
Their grave-robbing tunnel skills finally came to great use.
The exit of the underground tunnel was located behind the incineration room of Zhongma Fort.
Few people went there. According to the Japanese, it was a place where vengeful spirits gathered.
However, these vengeful spirits did not affect the action team, and they successfully cleared the exit.
The four who exited the tunnel were the lock pickers: Chen Suoxin, Liu Ying Shou, Qian Yinxing, and Zhou Pomen.
The four were fellow disciples and cooperated skillfully, applying their learned house-breaking techniques to infiltrate the Japanese biological laboratory.
Qian Yinxing scouted, Chen Suoxin picked the locks, Liu Ying Shou kept watch, and Zhou Pomen searched for items.
They infiltrated with great caution, gradually understanding the situation.
There were four buildings here, each two stories high, forming a prison-like camp.
The building where the tunnel exited had a dedicated incineration room for burning corpses, as well as various human experimentation laboratories resembling torture chambers.
The other three buildings were dormitories, offices, and a prison.
The truly valuable items were in the office area, which was guarded by soldiers 24 hours a day. It was clear that there were many important documents and unspeakable secrets there.
And yet, it was the farthest building from the tunnel exit, and the most difficult to reach.
The eleven people discussed a plan in the tunnel.
“Why don’t we dig another tunnel over there?”
“No, the soil here is not suitable for digging. If the excavation collapses, we’ll be discovered.”
“Digging a tunnel now is too slow. I don’t want to wait. Why don’t we just fight our way in?”
“If we’re exposed, who can deal with hundreds of Japanese soldiers?”
“Then what should we do?”
They all fell into deep thought, unable to find a solution.
Liu Ying Shou, who was observing from outside, climbed down and offered a suggestion.
“I see those Japanese soldiers patrolling, and they circle each building. Why don’t we disguise ourselves as patrol soldiers? In the dark, they might not be able to recognize us.”
The action team members were all young and inexperienced, with enough courage to act if they thought it was feasible.
It was finally decided that Li Tie Zhu, Zhao Wanping, and Zhang Yunfei, the three most skilled individuals, would carry out the task, to deal with the three patrol soldiers.
The three crouched in the shadows, waiting for the patrol soldiers to arrive.
When they appeared, the three acted simultaneously.
The three unsuspecting Japanese soldiers were killed on the spot. They were dragged into a room, and after a while, three disguised fake Japanese soldiers emerged and continued along the original patrol route.
After completing their round, the patrol team arrived at the office building.
The two guards yawned and didn’t even greet them.
The patrol team passed by and were about to make their move.
“Hm.”
Li Tie Zhu gave a signal, indicating for his partner not to act rashly.
The patrol team continued, and just as they were about to go upstairs, a soldier emerged from the shadows and asked in Japanese: “Got a light?”
This was a hidden sentry, working in conjunction with the visible sentry.
The action team members had undergone special training in Japanese. Zhang Yunfei took out matches and approached to light it for him, while his left hand swiftly pressed down on the other’s neck, and within seconds, the hidden sentry passed out.
At the same time, his two companions also moved to neutralize the visible sentry.
The sentries on the first floor were dealt with. There were still sentries on the second floor. After repeating the same tactic, the patrol team emerged from the office building again. They had to continue their patrol to ensure no abnormalities were discovered, and also to cover for the lock pickers entering the office building to steal.
With a coordinated effort, the lock pickers opened the doors to several rooms in the office building.
These were no match for the lock pickers. After they opened the cabinets, they saw a scene they would never forget.
Those gruesome photographs and written records detailed every disgusting event that had occurred.
The lock pickers were distressed and could no longer bear to look at the materials.
They simply packed up all the materials from an entire large cabinet and took them away.
With the information in hand, it was time to say goodbye to this place.
The eleven people quietly departed. Ten of them, carrying irrefutable evidence of crimes, headed for Anda County first.
Only Wu Yingzong remained to guide the aircraft bombing.
He hid in a dirt pit east of Zhongma Fort. This pit, large enough for only him, was covered with a roof made of bamboo strips and dry grass, making it impossible to spot unless one looked closely.
Peeking out half of his binoculars, Wu Yingzong could observe the situation in Zhongma Fort from afar.
Now, many Japanese soldiers were entering and exiting. Clearly, last night’s events had been exposed.
But it didn’t matter. His companions had all left, and it was time for him to avenge his parents and siblings.
“Father, Mother, Eldest Sister, Third Brother, I am offering incense to you tonight. A grand offering.”
He whispered, then meticulously checked the radio wave positioning device, waiting for nightfall.
Inside Zhongma Fort, other pictures will not be shown.
The seventeenth day of the Northeast operation.
The bombing operation of the Taishan Volunteer Army began again.
It had been more than half a year since the last Great Wall bombing. To be honest, the members of the Taishan Volunteer Army were eager to continue.
Today, they finally had the opportunity.
Participants in this bombing operation.
Chief Pilot: Fang Wen.
Co-pilot and Bomb Rack Operator: Pan Jiafeng.
Bombardiers: Fang Shouxin, Shao Sishen, Sun Debiao.
Bomb Rack Operators: Shopkeeper Liu, Howard.
Taishan One took off at dusk and landed at Xiangxi Airport.
Shunzi, newly married, was in charge of loading the bombs at Xiangxi Airport.
Bomb racks filled with napalm bombs were loaded into the cabin.
There were also five 70-kilogram copper-shell bombs.
These bombs were an improvement upon the previous tin-shell bombs. The main advantage was that Yangon now had the capability to produce bomb casings, and using copper shells increased their power. The explosive inside was propellant from 7.92mm bullets, which was very potent.
After all the bombs were loaded, Shunzi reported the situation.
“General Manager, 200 bomb racks, totaling 7200 bombs, and 5 high-explosive bombs weighing 70 kilograms each have all been loaded. I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Is it worth it for you to bomb Zhongma Fort with so many bombs?”
“I don’t know if it’s worth it, but I just want to raze that place to the ground,” Fang Wen said coldly. There was a saying: “Regret is hard to dispel.” If Zhongma Fort was leveled, he would feel at ease.
Immediately, the aircraft took off and flew towards Jinan.
After refueling in Jinan, they continued their flight to Harbin.
Four hours later, the aircraft appeared in the skies over Harbin.
Fang Wen, having entered a mechanical perception state, clearly received the radio wave feedback.
He directly adjusted the aircraft’s course and flew towards it with 100% certainty of its location.
As the aircraft approached the airspace above Zhongma Fort, Fang Wen issued the order: “Prepare to drop bombs.”
Pan Jiafeng stood up and ran to his bomb rack. Everyone prepared.
It had to hit. Fang Wen was completely focused. He even felt the amber cross on his chest increasing its energy output due to his intense desire.
He had a clearer control of the aircraft, even sensing past misjudgments.
This sudden improvement increased Fang Wen’s confidence, and he gave more accurate bombing commands.
“Drop, 5 seconds.”
As he spoke, the three bombardiers began to drop their bombs: pull the lever, drop the bomb, return to position, release the bomb rack, and repeat.
The bomb rack operators cooperated skillfully.
In 5 seconds, each person completed an average of 2 bomb drops.
After these munitions were released, they descended in a straight line.
Explosions erupted, and Zhongma Fort was engulfed in flames.
Strangely, only three houses were hit by the bombs; another house remained unharmed.
That was the prison. The innocent test subjects inside the prison cheered.
The second round of bombing arrived a few minutes later.
Then came the third round, and the fourth.
Afterward, three high-explosive bombs fell, and the place was utterly reduced to ruins. Flames purified all the sins, including those damned executioners.
Pan Jiafeng reported: “Master, a total of 864 bombs were dropped, 24 bomb racks, and 3 high-explosive bombs. There are also 176 bomb racks and 2 high-explosive bombs remaining.”
Zhongma Fort was destroyed, but only a tenth of the bombs were used. The rest could not be brought back and had to be dropped on the Japanese.
Fang Wen had an idea.
“Send a telegram to Wu Yingzong. Tell him that tonight he will lead the way. Within 2 hours, he can bomb wherever he wants, but it must be a Japanese facility.”
Shopkeeper Liu found the spare telegraph machine inside the aircraft and sent Fang Wen’s message.
“No, he hasn’t turned on his radio.”
It didn’t matter if the radio wasn’t on; Fang Wen had another method.
In the dirt pit 1000 meters east of Zhongma Fort, Wu Yingzong’s eyes welled up with tears. He felt it was worth it. He could finally avenge his parents and siblings.
Suddenly, an incendiary bomb exploded in the eastern area of Zhongma Fort.
That’s not right. The prison wasn’t supposed to be bombed here, was it?
Another napalm bomb exploded in the East District. It didn’t seem to be targeting the prison.
The napalm bombs continuously exploding in the open ground seemed to be conveying a special message to Wu Yingzong.
He suddenly understood. Wasn’t this Morse code?!
Translated, it meant “telegram.”
He quickly turned on his telegraph machine and received the telegram sent from the sky.
After translating the telegram, Wu Yingzong’s heart burned with renewed passion. He felt that his parents and eldest sister and third brother would enjoy bigger fireworks.
Without hesitation, Wu Yingzong crawled out of the dirt pit and ran with all his might towards the urban area.
At this moment, he transformed into a fire messenger, bringing fire to the world.
With over ten days of understanding Harbin, he knew many Japanese strongholds.
Following the railroad, let’s just blow up this railroad that the Japanese use to transport supplies.
Further up the railroad, there are garrisons specifically protecting it.
Wu Yingzong aimed the radio wave device and fired.
The massive shadow in the sky arrived as scheduled, pouring down the flames of death.
The barracks were engulfed in flames, making Wu Yingzong completely exhilarated.
He went to the puppet army camp and also to the puppet police bureau.
Everywhere they went was engulfed in flames.
For a moment, the entire city of Harbin was in chaos.
No one knew how the demons from the sky had brought down such accurate disaster, none could escape.
They were bewildered and in fear, yet not a single person noticed a ragged scavenger in the distance holding a piece of scrap copper.
The bombing, lasting 2 hours, finally ended. All 200 bomb racks had dropped their ordnance, with two high-explosive bombs landing inside the Japanese Army barracks.
This night consumed half of the inventory of the Western Hunan bomb factory.
And everyone’s energy.
Even Fang Wen felt fatigued under such an intense mechanical perception state.
It was over. Taishan One climbed in altitude, and after entering an altitude of 7000 meters, it turned its fuselage to return to base.
At this altitude, it was impossible for anyone to know where he came from or where he was going.
Wu Yingzong also returned to his residence with a heart full of joy, ready to sleep soundly before heading to Anda County tomorrow.
The next day, ash still drifted in the skies over Harbin.
However, people inside and outside the city were not angered by last night’s events; they quietly spoke of the myth that had unfolded.
And outside Zhongma Fort, an armored car on rails approached.
The armored car on rails stopped, and the driver reported, “The railroad ahead has been destroyed, we cannot pass.”
The man in military uniform looked at the ruins of Zhongma Fort amidst the gunpowder smoke. Without a word, he jumped out of the armored car and walked over.
He searched among the ruins, still warm to the touch, and found what he was looking for.
Several pieces of bomb shrapnel.
“Another tinplate incendiary bomb. Why do the Russians keep targeting us? Is it because of the conflict from the last war?”
He looked thoughtfully at the deliberately scuffed marks on the shrapnel; traces of Russian text could still be vaguely discerned.
