Chapter 141: They’re Machinists?
Su Yaoyang continued, “Any country is like this, with heroes who die for the nation and cowards who fear death. Our Chinese nation is the same.
It’s just that in wartime, such behavior gets infinitely amplified, just like in your America, where the issue of emancipating slaves led to the Civil War, right?”
“Yeah, that’s the damn human nature!” John sighed helplessly.
After speaking, Su Yaoyang was about to walk away when Pi Ruoyu asked softly from the side, “Commander… how should we handle these captured puppet troops?”
Su Yaoyang pondered for a moment. “Alright… have someone screen them. Execute on the spot those puppet troops with innocent civilians’ blood on their hands who have done utterly evil deeds. For those who haven’t done evil, give them a verbal education, hand each two silver dollars, and send them away.”
“That’s all we can do.” Pi Ruoyu thought about it and had no better idea.
Although they had just cleanly and efficiently captured this bunker complex, everyone knew this was just the beginning. Next, the Japanese would surely surge toward them endlessly like tides.
So their top priority was to seize Wuta County town before the Japanese reinforcements arrived, as their first foothold in Shanxi.
Thinking of this, Pi Ruoyu said in English to John not far away, “Hey… John… is your tank company ready?”
“All ready.” Hearing that familiar Virginia accent, John knew who it was without turning around.
Ever since Pi Ruoyu joined the militia, John discovered that this new chief of staff could actually speak fluent English with a Virginia accent and was even an alumnus of the Virginia Military Institute with him. Their relationship quickly became close.
Su Yaoyang saw this but didn’t react much. After all, sharing a classroom, sharing a gun, and sharing a whore… those are the three iron bonds of life. They already had two, so it was normal for their relationship to be good.
Pi Ruoyu said to John, “Since you’re already ready, I won’t say anything more.
In ten minutes, you lead the tank company and first battalion toward Wuta County. I’ll have fourth and sixth battalions go around from the left and right flanks respectively. Second, third, and fifth as reserves, ready at any time to block reinforcing Japanese.”
“What about the artillery battalion?” John asked again. “If the Japanese resist stubbornly, I need the artillery battalion to blast open our attack path.”
“Can’t use the artillery battalion.” Pi Ruoyu shook his head. “There are over 100,000 residents in Wuta County. If we use heavy artillery, you know how many people would die or get injured?”
“Alright.”
John thought about it and agreed. He knew full well the power of the M2A1 howitzer. If they really used that 105mm gun, the sin would be great, and he’d inevitably face a military tribunal.
Accompanied by rumbling roars, nine Renault tanks and over thirty Dodge trucks sped along the highway toward Wuta County.
While Su Yaoyang was deploying troops to prepare to attack Wuta County town, he didn’t know that in the rugged mountains several li away, a unit of the Eighth Route Army in gray uniforms and simple equipment was resting midway up the slope.
Leading them was a man with a pistol at his waist. His square face bore two rough knife scars, half his left eyebrow missing as if gnawed off by shrapnel. His skin, tanned bronze from years of wind and sun, still had yellow sand from northwest Shanxi in the wrinkles.
The collar of his gray uniform was always open, but his eyes were the most striking.
The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, the pupils black and shiny. When staring at someone, they were like two freshly fired bullet heads. His hair stuck up stiffly, with a few tufts scorched and curled by fire, like unexploded dry grass on the battlefield.
This man was none other than Li Yunlong, who had just taken command of the new first regiment of the Eighth Route Army’s 386th Division.
At this moment, Li Yunlong was leaning against a dirt slope, staring at the distant mountain hollow, lost in thought.
Suddenly, footsteps came from the hillside. A soldier in straw sandals ran over hurriedly and anxiously reached the man’s side, saying urgently, “Commander… Commander… something big happened…”
Li Yunlong turned his head and said nonchalantly, “Huzi… we’re already this poor, what big thing could happen?”
“No… Commander, something big really happened.” The soldier panted. “Guess what I saw while scouting earlier? The Shizui Village stronghold… the Shizui Village stronghold has been taken down!”
“What… impossible?” Li Yunlong jumped to his feet, his eyes full of disbelief. “Huzi… you know lying about military intelligence is punishable by death!”
Others might not know, but he did: the Shizui Village stronghold was a notorious major stronghold in the area, consisting of one large and six small bunker complexes.
To take it down, they couldn’t even think about it without mobilizing two or more regiments, and they’d have to prepare for heavy casualties.
Who could blame the Eighth Route Army for being too poor?
“I wouldn’t dare, Commander!” Huzi said anxiously. “If I’m lying, you can shoot me right now!
I saw it with my own eyes. All the bunkers at the Shizui Village stronghold were blown to bits. Around those strongholds were parked a bunch of iron turtles and a large force. Just that their uniforms I’ve never seen before, different from the Nationalists or the Jin-Sui Army.”
“Let’s go… take a look.”
Li Yunlong spat out the grass stem in his mouth and strode forward, with Huzi following closely behind.
The dirt road behind the mountain hollow raised a trail of fine dust. Li Yunlong’s cloth shoes crunched over a few pebbles.
Led by Huzi, Li Yunlong and the others rounded a mountain hollow. Huzi pointed to the distance and said,
“Commander, look… that’s the unit.”
Li Yunlong pulled out binoculars and looked where Huzi pointed, unable to help drawing in a cold breath.
In the distance, the ruined bunkers looked like bones gnawed by a giant beast, with charred, exposed concrete and stones everywhere.
Several gray-iron monsters were crushing over rubble piles along the highway. The tracks made a teeth-grinding screech as they pulverized bricks and stones, and black smoke from the exhaust pipes stood out clearly in the sunlight.
Li Yunlong couldn’t help muttering, “My goodness… which rich local landlord came to our backwater? Look at this setup—even Old Jiang’s Nationalist Army isn’t this lavish.”
Huzi couldn’t help asking, “Commander… I’ve never seen the uniforms they’re wearing.”
“This…” Li Yunlong said uncertainly, “If I’m not mistaken, they’re wearing German-style uniforms.
Logically, anyone with gear like this… could it be Old Jiang’s German-equipped divisions?
But no… didn’t they say Old Jiang’s German-equipped divisions were all used up in the Shanghai and Nanjing battles? How did they end up here?”
