The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 628 The True Hero (Two Chapters Combined)

"Damn! You really need proper clothes to keep warm, this coat is so comfortable~"

After putting on a Japanese army overcoat with a bullet hole in the chest and a smear of blood, Hu Biao felt a precious warmth and couldn't help but mutter something under his breath.

Even without realizing it, her eyes became slightly red.

What a disaster! Even now, Hu Biao, the owner of a very famous restaurant in the modern-day capital city, never imagined that a mere piece of warm clothing could excite him like this.

Despite his emotional outburst, he didn't slow down his movements at all as he rummaged through the corpse of a Japanese sergeant in front of him.

Soon after, they stripped the Japanese soldier down to just his loincloth.

Indeed, every Japanese soldier was a walking, human treasure trove to the Chinese soldiers and civilians fighting against the Japanese in those years.

After stripping the Japanese sergeant naked, besides obtaining a complete set of warm clothing that they coveted most, they also acquired the following spoils of war, which, when added together, amounted to a considerable amount:

One Type 4 rifle with bayonets, three leather ammunition boxes filled with bullets, and four small melon grenades.

In addition, there are some water bottles, lunch boxes, backpacks, Seiko watches, wallets, etc.

The backpack, model Zhaowu, was bulging, and Hu Biao was even more invigorated when he opened it.

Inside, there were more than five pounds of rice, about one and a half pounds of barley, about one pound of biscuits, four 150-gram cans of food, as well as tea, salt, and a bunch of odds and ends for making miso soup.

Based on Hu Biao's understanding of the Japanese, this should be their field rations for four or five days.

However, now they've all benefited, which has just replenished Hu Biao's depleted food reserves.

If it weren't for the many things he still needed to do, Hu Biao would have loved to start a fire and cook a proper meal right away; after all, he hadn't eaten a proper staple food since he transmigrated here.

In contrast, Hu Biao scavenged a large amount of spoils from the Japanese soldiers' corpses.

Other traitors and police officers were of lower quality in terms of clothing, weapons and equipment, and food.

However, the thick cotton-padded coats, cotton-padded trousers, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables they carried were still excellent items for the group of transmigrators.

But what satisfied them the most was some liquor, presumably for keeping warm; good heavens! In this kind of weather, a couple of sips would be absolutely wonderful.

In short, Hu Biao was very satisfied with the spoils of the expedition.

If there was anything that Hu Biao was dissatisfied with, it was that, much like the thug, he hadn't found a pair of shoes that fit.

Although that Japanese sergeant was 168 centimeters tall, which was unusually tall for a Japanese soldier, his feet were also relatively large for a Japanese soldier.

But the big shoes on her feet were only size 41.

If Hu Biao's size 43 feet were forced into the shoe, he would likely suffer greatly during future marches and battles.

Fortunately, when Hu Biao inadvertently saw Annie, who was scrambling at a traitorous police officer a few meters away, he immediately felt satisfied.

Hey! Doesn't he know what shoe size his girlfriend wears?

Size 41 shoes are torture for me, but they fit Annie's feet perfectly.

He quickly tied a slipknot in the shoelaces of a pair of oversized shoes, threw the shoes at Annie, and shouted:
"Boss lady, I'd like to bring you a gift~"

The next second, the big shoe was thrown back even faster, accompanied by a disdainful remark:
"No! It stinks! Do you want me to catch this stinky foot disease? Get me a clean pair."

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao was completely stunned.

To be honest, if Annie also got those smelly feet, he would be the one who suffers in the end. He would naturally be willing to get a clean pair of shoes if he could.

The key question is, in this kind of weather, how could shoes worn by men not smell bad?
"Why don't I take advantage of this rest time in the village to clean these shoes, then put them by the stove and dry them with the fire?" Hu Biao thought to himself.

Having made this decision, he glanced at the Seiko watch again, checked the time on it, and then yelled out:

"Check your watch! It's 2:13 PM now."

Amidst such a shout, the seasoned veterans all adjusted the time on their watches.

It's been almost a week since they time-traveled, and these time travelers have finally mastered the precise timekeeping of hours and minutes.

As for the exact date, you'd have to ask the villagers.

There's no need to worry about that at all, because the group of five, accompanied by Chaozi and the others who stayed behind, strode towards this side.

The rifles they had been holding were now slung over their backs, and their faces no longer showed the fierceness and wariness they had before, but instead were filled with extraordinary joy and excitement.

Without a doubt! Just now, Hu Biao and his men almost instantly wiped out more than thirty members of the punitive expedition team.

This not only perfectly proves their friendship rather than hostility, but also demonstrates their outrageously powerful fighting ability.

After all, not counting the traitors and police officers in the punitive expedition, the seventeen or eighteen Japanese soldiers alone were a tough nut to crack for these civilian armed forces.

However, at this moment, what Hu Biao and the others were more concerned about was not the emotions of these people, but their appearance and condition.

You should know! After struggling in the old forest for five or six days, Hu Biao and his men believed that their current appearance and condition were extremely bad and wretched.

However, compared to the five people in front of him, they were actually much better.

The five people were wearing dirty dog-skin hats, their cotton-padded coats were full of holes, revealing dark cotton underneath, and they wore Ula shoes made of animal hides, which were shaped like tall boots.

The outfit above is the only thing that's better than Hu Biao's group's; in other aspects, it's far inferior.

They were all unshaven, looked quite listless, and had sunken eyes indicating severe malnutrition; they were almost emaciated.

To make matters worse, three of them walked awkwardly, clearly indicating they were injured.

So the question is, who are these people, and what happened to make them look so disheveled?

While Hu Biao and the others were quite puzzled about the true identity of the newcomers, the five men had already walked up to them, but did not say anything immediately.

Instead, it was one of the men, a man in his thirties, who took the initiative to step forward.

He looked down at the corpses on the ground, some with only bitter tea seeds left, others with loincloths, and examined them one by one.

When they saw that there were many corpses on the ground, the big toes and the other four toes on the feet were separated very clearly, and some were even deformed.

Overjoyed, the last trace of doubt vanished from his mind.

It's very simple. Only Japanese soldiers who liked wearing wooden clogs from a young age would have their toes deformed into this shape. Therefore, these are all real Japanese soldiers, not some conspiracy devised by the Japanese to gain their trust.

Overjoyed, the man nodded to the leading old man.

The old man and the others, having understood the man's meaning, were immediately overjoyed; however, the old man still suppressed his excitement, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Hu Biao, and said:

"Sir, may I see your identification?"

Identification! After Hu Biao transmigrated this time, he actually found a lieutenant colonel regimental commander officer's certificate issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs in his jacket pocket.

Other transmigrators, and even a few newcomers, have this thing, they just have lower ranks.

Faced with the old man's request, Hu Biao did not hesitate at all and simply took out his military officer's ID and handed it over.

The old man was so excited by the badge on the cover of the officer's certificate that he trembled slightly; he wiped his hands on his cotton-padded coat several times before carefully taking the officer's certificate.

When he opened it, tears streamed down his face.

Tears streaming down his face, he muttered to himself, “Eleven years, a full eleven years. We’ve been waiting day and night, and finally we see reinforcements coming from inside the Great Wall. We’re not some lost souls; there are still people who remember us.”

Upon hearing this, the others around the old man were stunned for a moment before bursting into tears.

Hu Biao and the others were completely bewildered by what they saw. It took them a while to realize that they should go forward and say a few words of comfort. Otherwise, seeing a group of men crying like this was not a good look.

But just as they were about to speak, the five people in front of them all stopped crying.

Then, led by the old man, they gave them a standard military salute and said in unison:

"The 3rd Detachment of the Northeast KL3 Route Army, Xie Laoyan, Li Tongfu, Fang Ming, Zhou Ergou, and Ma Qianli greet Commander Hu and all the officers and brothers of the Nationalist Army~"

During this process, the five of them looked extremely disheveled, and calling them "beggars" wouldn't be an exaggeration.

But when they stood up straight, they seemed as imposing as mountains to Hu Biao and the others…

******
Having learned about these five people, it turns out they were ancestors of KL in Northeast China.

Instantly, most of the doubts in Hu Biao and the others' minds were answered.

Back in the modern world, they had heard about the ancestors of KL in Northeast China. In order to avoid the encirclement and suppression of the Japanese punitive expedition, they had to move around and hide in the old forest all year round, and their living conditions were very harsh.

Over time, she became noticeably thinner.

Back then, Principal Bald personally issued an order to the Northeast Army not to resist, and in recent years, there have been no reinforcements sent out to support them.

Historically, the ancestors of Northeast KL fought for 14 years in a state of near isolation and helplessness.

Therefore, it is understandable that the five men were so excited that they cried after their identities as members of the National Revolutionary Army were confirmed; after all, the National Revolutionary Army was now considered their friendly force in China, fighting alongside them.

Even their initial wariness is understandable.

If they hadn't been so vigilant, even sleeping with one eye open, they probably wouldn't even have bones left in such terrible conditions.

Even so, there were still some questions they didn't understand or couldn't guess.

Specifically, Hu Biao and the others all solemnly returned a military salute to Xie Laoyan and the others.

He said with a sigh, "Brothers from Northeast KL, you have suffered all these years. You are all heroes of China."

When we defeat the Japanese invaders, you will surely be among the most meritorious contributors to this great war.

Please believe that our compatriots inside the Great Wall have never forgotten you, their compatriots outside the Great Wall, and have always cared about you.

Hearing Hu Biao's heartfelt words, Xie Laoyan and the others cried even harder.

It was as if they wanted to vent all the grievances they had endured over the years at once.

Compared to the pitiful sight of a girl sobbing, the scene of a man crying, who would rather bleed than shed a tear, is truly heartwarming.

They cried for several minutes before the five people from KL finally stopped.

At this point, Hu Biao finally had the opportunity to ask Xie Laoyan, the leader, a question that had been nagging at him for a long time:
"Grandpa Xie, you really haven't heard of me, Hu Biao, Commander Hu, before?"

Before the words had even finished, AT chimed in, "And me too. My name is AT, but I'm a lieutenant colonel in the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment. Never heard of me?"

The moment the two questions were uttered, the other seasoned time travelers felt an urge to cover their faces.

Annie, speaking in a voice barely audible to those around her, remarked with unusual complexity, "Men's competitiveness is frighteningly strong!"

Faced with the question posed by the two, and the toothache expressions on Annie and the others' faces, Xie Laoyan and the others were all utterly dumbfounded.

After hesitating for a moment, he explained with a hint of apology:
"Just by looking at Commander Hu and his deputy, with their extraordinary and heroic demeanor, one can tell that they must be very famous figures. I wonder how much they have made on the battlefield against Japan."

However, over the years, apart from not receiving any reinforcements from inside the Great Wall, which prevented us from learning about news from within the Great Wall, we have been unable to do so.

The Japanese were still in Northeast China, blocking all news from outside the Great Wall and constantly spreading various rumors.

Claims like "After the Battle of Yamen, there was no more China" are false; in reality, China had already perished long ago. The Japanese were our saviors, and the establishment of that so-called Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was actually for our own good.

In Northeast China, KL is actually inhabited by bandits who commit murder and arson.

Therefore, we received no news from the outside world, and naturally had no way of knowing about the renowned names of our two superiors.

After explaining the above, Xie Laoyan, seemingly lost in thought, asked Hu Biao with a worried expression:
"Commander Hu, the Japanese say that Shuangqing City is about to fall to them, and that China is about to be completely destroyed. Is this true?"

Facing Xie Laoyan and the others who were looking at them cautiously, afraid of giving a 'yes' answer.

The transmigrators were immediately filled with shock. They knew that KL's ancestors had had a hard time over the years, but they never imagined that it would be to this extent.

Because in addition to the harsh living environment, there is also the pressure of survival that one must face.

Faced with the Japanese's information blockade and the rumors they spread, they could see no hope of defeating the Japanese; this kind of mental pressure was far more difficult and torturous than the pressure of survival.

After taking a deep breath, Hu Biao said:

"Don't believe the Japanese devils' nonsense. Even if they have another hundred years, they won't be able to reach Shuangqing City. It would be more likely that we would be able to take over their Dongjing City."

China will never perish; on the contrary, it is those little devils who like to court death, and one day they will be wiped out by us.

Forget about these trivial matters for now. You guys don't look like you've eaten either; we've been starving for days.

We just happened to get some rice, flour, canned goods, and liquor from the Japanese punitive expedition team. Why don't we hurry up and cook some rice, stew some vegetables with the canned meat, and have a good meal?

As for the fact that I've never heard of AT, that's fine too.

These are just minor matters; who among you would dare claim to be an anti-Japanese war hero?

Under this argument, AT nodded his head repeatedly; indeed! Compared to these KL pioneers, their little bit of empty fame is nothing at all...

******
An hour later, in the only three habitable mud houses in the small village.

Hu Biao sat cross-legged on a large kang (heated brick bed), the one representing the most prestigious status.

Feeling the warm kang bed beneath me, and looking at the several bottles of liquor, a large bowl of stewed cabbage and radishes, and a big bowl of rice on the kang table in front of me, I felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

The same things were also placed on the large pits in the other two rooms.

The group of time travelers and Xie Laoyan and six others filled the three small mud houses to the brim, but everyone's face was full of satisfaction.

By the way, the rice, liquor, and canned goods mentioned above were naturally seized from the Japanese punitive expedition.

Radishes and cabbages were supplies that the villagers secretly hid in the village and provided to KL.

In order to sever the connection between Northeast China and the local people and to organize anti-Japanese armed forces to obtain support, the Japanese had implemented the "group tribe" tactic more than two years ago.

Specifically, they gathered the villagers scattered across various places together to live, stationed some traitors and puppet troops, and guarded them by Japanese soldiers.

This is precisely why this small village became an abandoned village.

Even so, the villagers still tried their best to help KL, and whenever they found an opportunity, they would hide some food that they had managed to squeeze out from between their teeth in some secluded places.

Hu Biao didn't use some of the cornmeal and other grains in this meal, but he did add some canned meat to the radishes and cabbage, making a big pot of stew.

After traveling for so many days, the first proper meal is finally about to begin...

(End of this chapter)