The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 646 The Water Is Too Cold (Combined Chapter)

Time: 7:02 AM.

Location: In the forests on the edge of the Lesser Khingan Mountains, north of Jiamusi City.

As if some mysterious button had been pressed, the blizzard that had lasted all night suddenly stopped completely.

Then, a sun, so precious in the winter, slowly rose in the east.

To be honest, the rising sun couldn't immediately dispel the biting cold in the mountains and forests.

However, after being bathed in the golden morning sun, Hu Biao and the others breathed a sigh of relief, and their tense nerves relaxed.

Under these circumstances, Hu Biao, who had been fleeing in the snowstorm for three hours, slowly stopped.

Looking back and seeing that the Japanese soldiers weren't chasing him, he shouted:
"Everyone, stop and rest for a while, start a fire to warm yourselves up, treat your wounds, boil some water and eat some dry rations to replenish your strength."

Everyone was naturally pleased with this order and immediately began to get to work.

As his nearly frozen body gradually warmed up in front of the fire, he ate some steamed buns and dried meat that he had casually snatched from the city, along with some hot water.

The group, who were initially exhausted, hungry, and sleepy, immediately began to see their condition improve at a visible speed.

However, the expressions on everyone's faces were not exactly pleasant.

The reason is simple: aside from the fact that everyone present had some injuries, and also aside from the seven members of the special team, the team is now missing six people: Xu Feng, Tony, Taro, Thug, Old Car, and Zhou Er Gou.

The first three died tragically one by one before their very eyes.

The three men behind them, though they did not witness their deaths, could not have escaped successfully, surrounded by tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and regular troops.

They would not allow themselves to be captured by the Japanese, nor would they surrender to them, so they must have been sacrificed now.

Thinking back to this time yesterday, when everyone was still chatting and joking together, the veteran survivors, who have seen life and death before, are in relatively good spirits.

But now only four newbies remain: Han Shuang, A Wei, Xiao Bai, and Dong Zi. They all look dazed and seem to be in low spirits and low morale.

Seeing this, Hu Biao led the group aside and whispered:
"Try to think positively! People always die in wars. The key question is whether these deaths were worthwhile."

Last night's battle not only successfully diverted and drew the Japanese attention, allowing the special squad to operate more easily.

In Jiamusi, they also killed many Japanese soldiers, puppet troops, and traitors, so their six deaths were entirely worthwhile.

Oh, right! I know you're still doubting and can't believe it, but if you die in battle and return to the modern world, you really can be perfectly resurrected.

It can take anywhere from one or two months to as little as ten days.

When we returned to the modern world, they had been resurrected.

Hearing the above, and especially after witnessing the fearless fighting of the veterans last night, the four newcomers basically believed the claim that they could be resurrected after dying in battle, as long as they returned to the modern world.

What else? If you didn't have nine lives, what good person would be so fearless in battle?

Immediately, their mood improved, and some even showed a hint of eagerness on their faces: since dying in battle could lead to resurrection, it seemed that they could try some things they wouldn't normally dare to do.

Seeing that the four novices had also calmed down, Hu Biao issued new orders to the others:
"Let's go! Remember to clean up the fire. The Japanese suffered such a huge loss last night, they'll probably hunt us down like madmen."

We must escape further away, deeper into the old forest, to be safe enough.

Luckily, our comrades in KL have a backup secret camp. Let's all work hard and try to get there before dark, then patiently wait for news from the special team.

A ready-made campsite is naturally better for keeping warm and resting than a hastily built shack.

Hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted even higher, and they continued their journey through the thick snow in the mountains...

At the same time, however, the location has changed to the area right next to the northern part of Jiamusi City, which is now frozen to the incredibly solid ice surface of the Songhua River.

Kuwata Teizo, the major general and brigade commander of the Japanese Third Cavalry Brigade, stood here, looking utterly dejected.

Looking at the hole in front of me, which is about fifty or sixty square meters in size, and is now covered with a thin layer of ice, it will soon freeze over again.

About thirty or forty meters behind him.

Some of the Japanese officers from the 3rd Cavalry Brigade felt a pang of pity as they looked at the disheveled figure, who resembled a stray dog.

I opened my mouth to say a few words of advice, but found that I had no idea what to say, so I could only shut up again.

Yes! At this point, could they possibly comfort this major general and tell him that it's not a big deal and he won't be severely punished afterward?
Impossible, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Last night, the casualties and losses suffered by the Japanese side have been basically tallied; when they saw that terrifying number, they felt like the sky was falling.

He felt intense unease and worry, fearing the severe punishment he would face from the Kwantung Army headquarters afterward.

Even these small fry are so worried now.

Moreover, there's Teizo Kuwata, the person in charge of the 'Tiger Hunt' project.

In summary, the "tiger hunt" operation that began last night was a complete joke. Preliminary statistics on casualties and losses are as follows:

Of the regular Japanese troops, 531 were killed in action and 2316 suffered combat injuries and frostbite.

1763 civilians were killed and 7832 were injured.

A total of 723 people, including puppet troops, black-skinned dogs, staff members of the puppet Manchukuo provincial government, and their families, died, and 2155 people suffered combat injuries and frostbite.

In addition, a large number of buildings in the city, including the Air Force Headquarters, the Military Police Headquarters, the puppet provincial government, hospitals, schools, factories, and trading companies, were burned down.

Or perhaps it collapsed after being hit by a tank or shelled.

The city they once took pride in, located at the easternmost tip of Northeast China and resembling a pearl of the north, almost became a wasteland.

To put it mildly, the areas in the city inhabited by ordinary people from the Northeast, which resembled slums, suffered almost no damage.

The reason for this was that they had previously worried that if a fire broke out in the slums, it would spread to their area.

A wide dirt road was deliberately left between the two as a firebreak.

As a result, by sheer luck last night, the massive fire in the Japanese-occupied and commercial area was prevented from spreading with the strong winds, thus saving the townspeople from a major catastrophe.

Because the fire was so intense last night, the death toll doesn't seem that high at first glance.

However, the tens of thousands of wounded not only face the lack of warm shelter, but also the severe shortage of medicine and medical personnel.

So even with the most optimistic estimate, two or three thousand more people will die.

There are also thousands more who appear to need amputation and will become disabled afterward.

The surviving Japanese civilians in the city were completely terrified by what they had witnessed the previous night.

Anyone with even the slightest connection boarded the train as soon as it was light, attempting to escape to Changchun, a safer city.

After seeing the preliminary statistics, Kuwata Teizo staggered and fell to the ground.

After being helped up by the crowd, he was hunched over and his spirit and energy seemed to have vanished, making him look ten years older in an instant.

Kuwata Teizo knew he was doomed, faced with the staggering losses mentioned above; if he had captured or killed Hu Biao last night...

If the Kwantung Army headquarters and Commander Umezu are pleased, their punishment of him may not be too severe.

Unfortunately, after suffering heavy losses last night, only a handful of people remained on Hu Biao's side, and among them, only one body was intact.

After careful examination, it was discovered that the unfamiliar face was not one of Hu Biao's senior associates as reported in the intelligence; it was merely a minor figure.

Therefore, Kuwata Teizo knew he was doomed and would become the biggest scapegoat for last night's major losses.

With this understanding, he came to this patch of ice on the Songhua River like a stray dog ​​with its spine broken, and stood silently in front of this ice hole.

Around 4:20 a.m., presumably because Hu Biao and the others had successfully escaped.

The stolen Type 97 medium tank, with all other routes completely blocked, risked breaking out from this direction. After escaping to this point, a 105mm howitzer shell hit the ice next to the tank.

The ice surface shattered instantly, causing the tank to sink to the bottom of the river.

This location wasn't exactly in the middle of the river; the water was only a dozen meters deep. Logically, the crew members inside the tank should have had a chance to escape.

However, when the pursuers stopped at the edge of the ice hole, they found that the people inside had no intention of escaping or becoming their prisoners. They were swallowed up by the river along with the tanks.

This effectively ended Kuwata Teizo's last chance of survival.

As for how many people were in the tank, and specifically which of Hu Biao's comrades they were, the Japanese soldiers currently had no idea.

The main problem was that, in such cold weather, no one could dive down and open the tank's hatch, which was closed from the inside, to retrieve the bodies from inside.

"If Hu Biao were in the tank, that would be great. I could at least have my head covered in advance."

Looking up at the rising golden sun, Kuwata Teizo muttered something to himself in a voice only he could hear.

Then, he picked up a block of ice weighing forty or fifty kilograms that had been blown out by the previous artillery bombardment and jumped into the ice hole in front of him.

Amidst the splashing water, the officers of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade behind them were all deeply moved.

With red eyes and voices trembling with tears, they cried out, "Lord Sangtian~"

Despite their shouts, none of these people intended to rush forward and rescue the suicide victim, Teizo Kuwata, from the ice hole.

In their view, it would be better for their major general brigade commander to die quickly than to be tried and executed with a humiliating charge.

Overwhelmed with grief, I was also filled with admiration for Teizo Kuwata.

To commit suicide so readily—Lord Kuangtian is indeed a decisive and courageous man.

Then, just as these officers of the Third Brigade were beginning to admire the courage of their former brigade commander...

Suddenly, another 'plop' sound of water rang out.

When they looked into the ice hole, they saw their Major General Brigade Commander's wet head emerge from the water again.

He thrashed about in the water, shouting loudly:
"Help! Help! Please save me, the water is too cold."

Good heavens! If it weren't for the fact that Kuwata Teizo had been their brigade commander for quite some time and still held some lingering influence over them...

These Japanese officers probably wished they could give this cowardly coward a good shove and kick him back into the water.

******
At the same time, the location was more than 30 kilometers north of Jiamusi City, in a row of wooden houses where the "Manchukuo Zhguo Hejiang Province Dapaozi SIR Branch Station" was located.

With a creak, AT opened the door to the room.

Even excluding the time spent on night watch, he had only slept for two hours before.

But after being bathed in the golden morning sun, I still felt that my body, which had almost frozen to the point of collapse yesterday, had now recovered.

Especially after lighting a cigarette after breakfast and taking a satisfying puff, my mood is even better.

The reason is simple: when he first came here to smoke yesterday, only one nostril was smoking, which clearly indicated that he had caught a cold from the cold.

As a result, he ate a whole bowl of hot, spicy bell noodles, and then took some Banlangen powder.

After sleeping for another two hours, the cold was clearly completely gone.

Similar to AT, after two hours of rest, Annie and the other six seemed to have improved a lot in terms of both physical strength and mental state.

Without any unnecessary delay, the group of seven first put on animal skins such as sheepskin and deer skin obtained from the branch office, and then put on white camouflage cloth before setting off on ice skating again.

Because it was broad daylight, the camouflage was significantly less effective than at night, and there were relatively more people moving around along the riverbank.

So, during this advance, they had to pick up their binoculars and constantly scout the riverbank from a distance. If anyone appeared, they would immediately hide or take a detour.

Fortunately, even so, the fact that I don't have to stop and rest from time to time allows my frozen body to warm up a bit.

Annie and the others were traveling even faster than they had the night before.

After Annie and her group came out of the garrison, the Japanese soldiers who had been locked up in the next room and tightly bound, along with several black dogs, immediately began to struggle desperately.

Half an hour later, one of the Japanese soldiers in charge, Mr. Kobayashi, arrived.

After wearing down both hands, he finally managed to break free.

The first thing he did after breaking free was not to help untie the black dog beside him, but to run wildly towards his former residence next door.

Then, he let out a frantic string of curses.

He was horrified to see his wife, Mrs. Kobayashi, wearing only a pair of socks, bound hand and foot and thrown onto the bed.

Two bells still hung on the pair of coins, and their bodies were covered with marks from being whipped; their faces were blank, and their faces were covered with dried tear stains.

So the noise he heard last night was not a hallucination at all.

Overwhelmed with humiliation and anger, he picked up a katana and was about to chase after Annie and the others in the direction they had gone.

Just as he reached the door, the thought of the bearded men's ferocity made his legs tremble violently. He dared not continue chasing them, yet he felt a strong sense of resentment.

After gritting his teeth, he mounted a mule and hurried towards Jiamusi City.

Three hours later, Mr. Kobayashi, whose mule had been exhausted from running, finally arrived in Jiamusi City; but looking at the familiar city that had been almost burned to the ground, he was completely dumbfounded.

However, the hatred in his heart prevailed, suppressing his doubts.

After searching the city for a while, they finally found their superior, Li Xiong, the head of the police station in Hejiang Province of the puppet Manchukuo regime.

She tearfully recounted the tragedy that had befallen her the previous night, and then kept urging him on:

"Commander Li Xiong, quickly send men in cars to chase after them, otherwise those bearded men will escape."

Unexpectedly, Li Xiong said calmly, "I know about this. You can go back now. As for arresting people, we'll talk about it in a few days."

The city is currently short-handed. Not only do we need to hunt down Hu Biao, the "Tiger of Shanghai," and his associates, but we also need to prevent them from launching a surprise attack, and we need to treat the wounded. Where do we find the time to hunt down a mere few bandits?

Upon hearing this, poor Mr. Kobayashi felt like the sky had fallen...

Hu Biao, Annie, and the others were naturally completely unaware of what had happened to Mr. Kobayashi.

Just after four o'clock in the afternoon, when it was about to get dark, Hu Biao and his group of 29 people arrived at a secret camp in KL.

Oh, right! That precious winter sunshine didn't even last a single day.

Around noon, the sky was first covered with dark clouds, and soon after, it started to snow and the wind picked up.

However, this was also a good thing, at least the traces they left behind were quickly and completely covered up, making it impossible for the Japanese soldiers behind them to catch up.

The so-called secret camp was actually just a small cave, but thankfully it was big enough for all 29 of Hu Biao's men to live in.

A cave is a much better place to stay than a drafty shack; after lighting the fire, everyone immediately felt the long-lost warmth.

Even better, it seems that Hu Biao and his group's bad luck, which had lasted for several days, has finally come to an end.

On their way to the secret camp, they encountered five wild boars—one large and four small—on a shady slope.

Hu Biao and his men were immediately excited and unleashed a barrage of weapons, including bows and arrows, crossbows, and rifles equipped with silencers.

They killed all five wild boars.

Under the direction of Hu Biao and Lao San, two professionals, they quickly drained the pig's blood to prevent the pork from having too strong a smell.

So soon after, the cave was filled with the enticing aroma of stewed pork and roasted pork ribs...

(End of this chapter)