Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 198 Shield

Inside Heze City.

On the street, every household had their doors and windows tightly shut. The once bustling market was now unusually deserted. There were only a few pedestrians on the street, all with their heads down, close to the walls, walking hurriedly, and looking nervous.

Inside a residential house.

The man paused at the door, secretly glancing around to make sure it was safe before gently pushing open the door and slipping inside.

The woman was waiting in the yard. When she saw her husband return, she immediately came up to him and asked in a low voice, "How did it go?"

"I heard the Nationalist army is going to attack?"

The man made a "shh" gesture and grabbed the woman's arm: "Let's talk inside!"

The two walked quickly into the house.

After closing the door, the woman was still a little anxious: "Husband, how did it go outside?"

The man walked to the water vat, scooped up a large ladle of water, and gulped it down: "I went to Manager Li's place, and his daughter was also taken away."

"He told me that the Nationalist army was indeed going to attack!"

"A message sent back by a grain transport team."

After receiving an affirmative answer, the woman breathed a sigh of relief: "Good! Good! Good! They're finally calling!"

Is there any hope for our eldest son?

The man frowned, stammering for a long time before finally replying, "I guess so."

The woman's heart leaped again: "What? She's only 17! Still a virgin. And she's been taken advantage of by the Japanese like this?"

Since her eldest son was arrested, she has spent almost every day in tears, and now she can't cry anymore.

The man felt uneasy: "We need to prepare in advance. I heard that the Japanese devils on the east side of the city have started arresting people in the streets!"

Woman: "Arrest someone?"

Just as the man was about to reply, there was a series of urgent knocks on the door.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately realized something was wrong.

After the Japanese soldiers entered the city, there were almost no people on the streets, and no one dared to bang on the door so loudly, for fear of attracting the attention of the patrol soldiers.

The man had sharp ears and even faintly heard a few words of Japanese.

"Quick, take the second brother and hide!"

The man waved behind him, swallowed hard, and then walked shakily into the yard: "Who is it?"

"boom!"

Instead of a response, he received a heavy thud as the door was kicked open.

The already somewhat rotten wooden door collapsed instantly after being kicked, and a squad of heavily armed Japanese soldiers rushed in.

The man was so frightened that his legs trembled.

Without saying much, the leading Japanese soldier waved to the man, and two soldiers came up and grabbed his arms.

"Madam!"

"I am a law-abiding citizen! A truly law-abiding citizen!"

The man tried his best to explain, but the Japanese soldiers wouldn't listen to him or understand what he was saying.

The leading Japanese soldier glanced at the tightly closed doors in the courtyard and waved his hand: "Search!"

Seeing the Japanese soldiers swarming into the house, the man couldn't take it anymore. He broke free from the soldiers' grasp, grabbed a large broom leaning against the wall, and yelled, "Damn you little devils, I'll fight you to the death!"

The Japanese soldiers immediately raised their guns and pulled the triggers.

At this distance, you don't even need to aim.

"boom--!"

Several gunshots rang out, and bullets from Type 38 rifles pierced the man's chest.

"thump!"

The broom fell from the man's hand to the ground, and he collapsed to the ground.

The leading Japanese soldier glanced at it, but remained completely unmoved.

A Chinese person, once dead, is simply dead.

"Don't touch me! What are you trying to do!"

The woman and a child were pulled out.

"idiot!"

"Don't move! Move again and I'll kill you!"

The Japanese soldiers kept shouting at them.

The woman couldn't understand Japanese, but when she saw the body lying in a pool of blood in the yard, she immediately froze on the spot.

"what!"

The woman, as if possessed, desperately tried to break free from the Japanese soldiers' grasp.

But the difference in strength was still too great, and no matter how hard she tried, it was to no avail.

The leading Japanese soldier was somewhat displeased: "Knock him out and take him away! Don't dawdle!"

"Hai!"

Two more Japanese soldiers went up, raised their rifle butts, and smashed them heavily on the back of the woman and child's heads.

"Let's go! To the next place!"

--------

In the marching column.

Wang Feng frowned. The straight-line distance from Lanfeng to Heze was no more than 80 kilometers. He could see everything that was happening in the city from his vantage point.

"Damn those Japanese devils!"

He rarely swore, but after witnessing everything that happened, he couldn't hold back any longer.

Less than half an hour after the army set off from Lanfeng, it was discovered by Japanese reconnaissance planes. Such a large-scale operation could not be concealed.

In addition, his own troops were "key targets" of the Japanese army. When they were stationed in Lanfeng a few days ago, a large number of reconnaissance planes patrolled the airspace over them every day. It was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

But what Wang Feng didn't expect was...

Having received advance warning, the Japanese troops in Heze did not rush to build fortifications, but instead began arresting civilians throughout the city.

Why is this?

To be a hostage?

An idea flashed through Wang Feng's mind.

He immediately became restless.

"Using ordinary people as hostages," Wang Feng muttered, his brows furrowing even more.

No matter how many troops are stationed in Heze City, even if it's just a brigade, as long as they find a weakness, they are fully confident of defeating the Japanese army.

This is the confidence that comes from an overhead view.

But now that he's faced this situation, even he's in a bit of a predicament.

Wang Feng: "Where is the vanguard?"

When will we arrive in Heze?

Zhao Fangyuan glanced at the time: "About three hours later."

Wang Feng frowned: "Send a telegram to Zhang Hu, urging him to arrive in Heze within two hours!"

Zhao Fangyuan asked in confusion, "Sir, has the situation changed?"

Wang Feng shook his head: "Notify the troops to speed up their march."

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "Yes!" ——————

5 month 30 day.

One p.m.

Inside a temporary camp in Heze City.

An elderly man with graying temples sat on the ground, his brows furrowed with worry. His hands were tightly bound behind his back, and his entire upper body was wrapped in ropes, rendering him unable to move.

Beside the old man sat a young man, bound in the same position.

"Uncle, you know, the Japanese devils locked us up here, they won't let us work or give us food, are they trying to starve us to death here?"

Old man: No.

The man asked curiously, "No?"

"Could it be that the Japanese devils are planning to kill us?"

"No way, if they wanted to kill us, why would they have kept us alive until now?"

The old man shook his head: "Young man, what's your name?"

"Li Dezhu!"

The old man continued, "Do you know that the Nationalist army is about to fight its way back?"

Li Dezhu instinctively replied, "Of course I know!"

"Uncle, I'm not lying to you. My family runs a grain shop on the west side of the city. This news was brought back by our grain team!"

The old man turned his head: "The Li family in the west of the city?"

Li Dezhu nodded.

The old man chuckled: "Manager Li only has one son, which is good. If the grain shop were to be passed down to you, it probably wouldn't be able to stay in business."

Upon hearing this, Li Dezhu immediately became displeased: "Hey! Who are you insulting?"

Old man: "Let me tell you what this little Japanese devil is up to!"

Li Dezhu suppressed his anger and, seeing that the other party was also somewhat old, decided not to pursue the matter any further: "Go on, tell me!"

Old man: "If you ask me, these Japanese devils want to use us as shields!"

Li Dezhu was startled: "A shield!"

Old man: "Do you know which Nationalist army unit attacked?"

Li Dezhu scratched his head: "I heard from them that the unit was carrying a red flag, but I don't know... I don't know."

The old man smiled and said, "I'll tell you, it's Wang Feng, Lord Wang's troops!"

Li Dezhu hurriedly said, "Wang Feng?"

"Is it Wang Feng from Shanxi, General Wang?"

The old man glanced at him and asked, "What? You two know each other?"

Li Dezhu: "I don't know him. My dad had already agreed to send me to Changzhi next month to attend that Changzhi Military Academy!"

"After graduation, I can serve under Commander Wang!"

The old man sighed, "Then you probably don't have a chance."

Li Dezhu curled his lip: "Can't you say something nice?"

"Seriously, do these Japanese devils really want to use us as shields?"

Old man: "Otherwise what?"

"They won't kill us, they won't let us do any work, they just tie us up and lock us up together, what else could they be trying to do?"

As the two were talking, a Japanese soldier looked in their direction and started babbling in a foreign language:

"do not speak!"

"Shut up, everyone!"

Li Dezhu and the old man couldn't understand Japanese, but they could roughly grasp the meaning, so they immediately shut their mouths, lowered their heads, and remained silent.

The old man's eyes were lowered; having lived to his age, he seemed to have resigned himself to his fate in the face of this situation.

A short while later, a burst of intense gunfire erupted, causing chaos among the crowd.

A group of Japanese soldiers strode in.

"Walk!

"Come on!"

After receiving orders, the soldiers stationed at the camp began to drive away the crowd that was squatting on the ground.

The old man opened his eyes: "The Nationalist army has attacked."

Li Dezhu looked somewhat flustered: "What should we do?"

Seeing a Japanese soldier walking towards him, the old man stood up: "Even if I die, I'll die with dignity!"

Li Dezhu didn't understand what he was saying. By the time he tried to ask again, the Japanese soldiers were already right in front of him.

"stand up!"

The Japanese soldiers shouted, but Li Dezhu didn't understand. However, seeing that everyone around him was standing properly, he also stood up.

"Madam"

Li Dezhu asked tentatively, and seeing that the Japanese soldier opposite him did not react, he turned to the next person and breathed a sigh of relief.

My private tutor once said, "Only those who can bend and stretch can be considered true men!"
Damn those Japanese devils!

Don't give me a chance, I'll kill you all!
Li Dezhu tiptoed, trying to find the old man in the crowd, but he didn't know where the Japanese had taken him in the blink of an eye. He looked for a long time but couldn't find a trace of him.

“It’s so weird”

Li Dezhu had a bad feeling.

--------

outside the city.

Zhang Hu was observing the battlefield situation through binoculars.

Wu Guangsheng: "The Japanese soldiers gathered on the city wall, mobilized all their artillery, and bombarded it all at once. In less than half an hour, they could blast a breach in the wall!"

Zhang Hu nodded: "That's how we fight!"

"Damn it! There are only five or six hundred Japanese soldiers, yet they dare to use the city walls as an advantage to block us. Let's teach these beasts a lesson!"

Wu Guangsheng turned around, and just as he was about to grab the phone, Zhang Hu stopped him.

"Old Wu, the situation has changed!"

Zhang Hu, with a solemn expression, pointed towards the city wall and handed the binoculars to Wu Guangsheng.

"What's wrong?" Wu Guangsheng muttered softly, took the binoculars, and looked up.

Inside the telescope, a line of people stood on the city wall; as far as the eye could see, they were mostly the elderly, women, and children.

The soldiers on the front line had stopped firing, each one staring intently at the Japanese soldiers and civilians on the city wall, gritting their teeth. Just by looking at their mouths, Wu Guangsheng knew what they were cursing.

Wu Guangsheng put down his binoculars: "Damn those Japanese devils, they're trying to use the city's civilians as shields!"

"Should we still fire the cannon?"

Zhang Hu frowned, feeling troubled.

To fight or not to fight?
He wasn't sure either.

"Send a telegram to your superior, requesting clear instructions from above."

After thinking for a while, Zhang Hu sighed and gave the order to temporarily abandon the attack.

(End of this chapter)