You are ordered to support the War of Resistance against Japan; China enters Level 1 combat readines

"When they can't win a fight, they resort to such underhanded tactics! The plague! They dare to use the plague!"

"You beast! You beast!"

After their initial shock, the bosses erupted in angry curses.

The chief of staff put down the teacup, his fingers gripping the rim until his knuckles turned white.

He didn't speak, but his chest heaved violently, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, as if he were desperately trying to swallow something.

He recalled the reports he had read before: in Central China, the Japanese had poisoned villages and released bacteria, causing deaths in village after village until no one knew they were all dead.

At that time, he was reading reports in the rear and was so angry that he couldn't eat for several days.

"This isn't the first time."

He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "They used it back in Central China. Unit 731 in Northeast China specialized in this."

"Bacteria, viruses, rats, fleas... use whatever is dirty, whatever is poisonous."

Another boss stood up and paced back and forth in the room, his boots clattering on the floor.

He walked back and forth a few times, then suddenly stopped and punched the wall, causing plaster to fall down in a shower.

"Damn it! I'm fighting them hand-to-hand on the front lines, and they're poisoning me from behind! If you're so capable, fight them with real swords and spears! What kind of soldier are you, resorting to these underhanded tactics!"

"They are not soldiers."

The vice president's voice turned cold, as cold as well water in winter: "They are butchers! They have been since Nanjing."

The room fell silent again.

Several people stood there, but no one spoke.

The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered again; the wick was burnt, and the flame grew even smaller.

Someone reached out and twisted the wick, and the flame leaped up, illuminating the faces of the group clearly. They were all ashen-faced, with sunken eyes and downturned lips, like taut bowstrings.

The deputy commander sat back down in his chair, pulled the map over, and looked at the densely packed red dots on it.

Zhicheng, Quancheng, Hexian, Huxian, Licheng, Pingshun...

He looked for a long time, then raised his head: "Seal off! Immediately seal off the epidemic area, no one is allowed to enter or leave! Move the troops there, and block off all the roads."

"It's already under lockdown."

The chief of staff said, "The telegram from Zhicheng says they started sealing it off this afternoon, but it was too late. They discovered it too late; the people had already dispersed."

"Then we'll seal off an even larger area. If one county can't be sealed off, we'll seal off an entire region; if one region can't be sealed off, we'll seal off half of southeastern Shanxi. It's better to seal off the wrong area than to miss one."

"If there aren't enough people, mobilize local armed forces, militia, youth rescue associations, women's rescue associations, mobilize everyone who can be mobilized."

Another executive chimed in, "What about the medicine? Plague isn't an ordinary disease; we need medicine. Sulfonamides? Streptomycin? How much do we have on hand?"

No one answered.

The logistics manager, head bowed, traced circles on the table with his finger for a long time before finally speaking: "Sulfanilamide... Mr. Shen did send quite a bit, but streptomycin... we don't have any at all!"

"So what can we do? Let the people just bear it all?"

"You can't just tough it out. The plague is contagious and deadly. Without medicine, a whole village can be wiped out in half a month."

The room fell silent again.

The kerosene lamp crackled, another layer of black scab formed on the wick, and the flame began to shrink again.

Several people sat there, like clay sculptures.

Let them fight; they are not afraid.

They fought against the Japanese invaders, the puppet troops, strongholds, and bunkers. Even if a Japanese division came, they would grit their teeth and fight back, finding a way to take them down.

But the plague is different.

Bullets can't hit it, bayonets can't stab it, and tanks can't run it over.

It cannot be seen, touched, or smelled; it is unknown where it comes from or where it is going.

If one person gets it, the whole family can't escape; if the whole family gets it, the whole street can't escape; if the whole street gets it, the whole city can't escape.

The deputy commander stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. A cold night wind rushed in, making the map on the table rustle.

It was pitch black outside, and I couldn't see anything.

But he knew that in this dark, remote mountain valley, those villages, those people, those who had just enjoyed a few days of peace, were falling one by one.

"Lockdown, quarantine, find medicine."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice deep and heavy, as if pressed from the bottom of his chest: "Do everything you can, save as many as you can."

"yes!"

"This is the only way!"

"Damn those Japanese devils!"

……

For the next few days, the entire southeastern Shanxi province was busy with this matter.

Some troops withdrew from the front lines and set up roadblocks at various intersections, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

The militia, armed with guns, surrounded the villages like an iron barrel, not even letting a dog out.

Local officials went door-to-door, checking on patients and those who had been in contact with them, and isolating those found.

The propaganda team was also mobilized.

A loudspeaker was set up at the village entrance, repeatedly shouting: Do not drink raw water, do not eat raw food, do not touch dead rats, and do not go to crowded places.

Some had fevers, some vomited, some had diarrhea—report it immediately and isolate them. Their voices were hoarse from shouting; then someone else took over.

However, the number of cases is still increasing.

On the first day, there were a dozen or so.

The next day, there were dozens.

On the third day, there were hundreds.

The arsenal in Zhicheng stopped production, and the workers went home to quarantine; the grain station in Quancheng closed its doors, and the grain was piled up in the warehouse and no one dared to touch it; the market in Hexian also closed, and the streets were deserted, with not even a dog in sight.

News came from Huxian County that in a village of more than 20 households, someone in every family had a fever. One family of five had all fallen ill, the youngest being just over one year old.

The bosses haven't slept a wink these past few days.

Several people took turns working shifts. When they got sleepy, they would take a nap in their chairs, and when they woke up, they would continue the meeting, look at the map, and think of solutions.

The deputy commander's eyes were sunken, his cheekbones were prominent, his chin was covered in stubble, and he looked much thinner.

He smoked heavily, one cigarette after another, and the ashtray on the table was filled and emptied repeatedly.

The chief of staff was no better off; his eyes were bloodshot, his lips were chapped, and his voice was as hoarse as sandpaper grinding iron.

"Four more counties were reported."

The chief of staff placed the telegram he had just received on the table, his voice soft, but each word sounded as heavy as a stone.

"They're in Wu County, Qin County, Xiang County, and Lu County!"

"The situation is not good at all!"

The deputy commander-in-chief didn't say anything, he just smoked.

The cigarette ash burned a long piece, fell onto the table, and crumbled into powder.

Another boss leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling. After a long while, he suddenly cursed, "Damn it, I've fought half my life and never felt so humiliated."

"In the past, we fought the Japanese with bayonets, and whether we won or lost, it was exhilarating. But now? We don't even know where the enemy is, and we can only watch helplessly as our people fall one after another."

"What's the use of scolding?" The logistics manager asked, his head bowed, his voice muffled. "Will scolding bring the medicine?"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"I don't know. If I knew what to do, I would have done it already."

Neither of them spoke.

That's a plague!

Throughout history, this has always been a major event that has destroyed dynasties and brought about the downfall of dynasties!