Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

Just as dawn broke, I carried Takeuchi Jiro and swaggered to a spot a hundred meters away from the gate of Yangchang County.

The sentries on the city wall spotted us first, their gun bolts clanging as twenty or thirty guns were all aimed at me.

"Listen up, you Japanese devils in the city! Your highest commander is in my hands. If you don't want him to suffer, open the gates and surrender!" I shouted at the city gate in fluent Japanese.

Takeuchi writhed violently, making muffled noises. A bespectacled staff officer peered out from the castle tower: "Why should we believe you?"

I sneered, threw away the shovel and smelly socks that were gagging me, and slashed Takeuchi's ear hard with the dagger. Blood spurted out, and the old Japanese devil Takeuchi screamed in pain.

"If you don't open the door soon, I don't know if he'll be able to have any offspring after the next cut," I shouted towards the city wall.

The Japanese soldiers on the city wall stirred, and several officers huddled together, arguing heatedly. An older soldier shouted the loudest, "Don't open it! It's a trap!"

He is Murakami Kai, and he should have been the highest-ranking official in Yocho County. However, Takeuchi, relying on his family connections, was parachuted in and took his position. Now that there is an opportunity to kill Takeuchi, Murakami Kai naturally cannot let it go.

Seeing that there hadn't been any movement for a while, I didn't say a word and cut off Takeuchi's other ear. This time I went a bit harder, and some flesh was scraped off his face.

Takeuchi roared at the castle tower, "Baka! Open the gate! Are you trying to kill me?"

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from the city wall.

With Takeuchi in front of me as cover, I wasn't afraid at all, and I wouldn't die. But Takeuchi was in a terrible situation; a bullet hit his shoulder, and his pig-like screams echoed through the sky.

"Baka! Stop firing! You idiots!" Takeuchi, his face contorted in pain, cursed at the castle tower.

The gunfire from the city wall immediately stopped.

Murakami poked his head out and said, "For His Majesty the Emperor's sake, Takeuchi-kun, you should just die! We absolutely cannot open the door!"

I whispered in Takeuchi's ear, "Looks like your men aren't very obedient." As I spoke, I sliced ​​off a piece of flesh from his cheek.

Trembling with pain, Takeuchi roared towards the castle tower, "Open the gate! I order you to open the gate! I order you as the regimental commander!"

The argument on the city wall intensified.

Murakami yanked out his pistol and yelled at the soldiers trying to open the door, "Anyone who dares to open the door will be court-martialed!"

I continued slicing away at Takeuchi's flesh, piece by piece. The old Japanese soldier finally broke down, crying out hoarsely, "Please, open the door! Let me in! I don't want to die!"

However, there was no further response from the city wall.

I sighed and said to Takeuchi, whose body was already covered in blood, "You've really failed as a commander. I knew they wouldn't open the door; they just wanted to torture you. You love playing dirty tricks, and so do I, but it seems our schemes have both failed this time."

Takeuchi closed his eyes in despair, trembling all over. I continued with the slow, agonizing knife technique. The Japanese were slicing fish, and I was slicing the Japanese.

Takeuchi was already dead—he died from pain, fright, or bleeding, no one knew who it was. They threw the body on the ground and shouted towards the city gate, "If you don't open the gate, this is what will happen to you!"

With their superiors dead, they were no longer afraid and fired at me wildly, but not a single shot hit me or even if it did, I didn't feel it; my immortal body automatically repaired itself.

Two hours later, the political commissar arrived with the main force and brought news that Japanese reinforcements had been spotted from the east and west, but their progress was slowed down by the minefields set up by Qian Lai and his men.

"The brigade commander has approved our operational plan," the political commissar said, getting straight to the point. "Other units will cooperate in intercepting reinforcements."

I immediately deployed: "The First and Second Battalions will respectively block the reinforcements from the east and west. Have Qian Lai and his buddy return to cooperate with the Third Battalion in continuing the siege. Those two mountain guns are his responsibility!"

Qian Lai returned quickly and began bombarding the city walls with two mountain cannons, which were the fruits of Langu County's victory.

The cannonballs blasted several holes in the city wall, but the effect was limited.

The political commissar looked at me, his brow furrowed: "Old Li, you only have these two cannons, and not many shells. Can you really manage with just artillery fire?"

I patted him on the shoulder: "Old Dan, you have to trust me this time when it comes to warfare. Do you know why we've been shelling? It's a feint attack. We have people in the city. The more intense the fighting here, the easier it is for them to move around in the city."

The political commissar was skeptical, but he nodded nonetheless and went on to boost the troops' confidence.

There weren't enough shells. If Lu Guang hadn't made a makeshift cannon and used cluster grenades as shells, they would have run out long ago.

When we shelled Yangchang County, the blocking battle outside the city began, and the sniping battle in Shanxi also began. The entire Shanxi region was at war, a replica of Ping'an County.

East of Yangchang County, Battalion Commander Zhao Dahai lay prone in a trench, squinting at the bare dirt road below the mountain. This road was nestled between two small hills, a natural pass, and the only way to Yangchang County.

Zhao Dahai saw the dust rising high, which meant that the main force of the Japanese army was about to arrive.

"Everyone, get yourselves together!" Zhao Dahai lowered his voice, which carried through the trenches.

The soldiers held their breath, gripping their guns tightly. Looking around, the Japanese column stretched out in a long line, at least a regiment.

In front were infantry, and behind them were three-wheeled vehicles, all carrying artillery.

"Those damn Japanese devils, they've even dug out their life savings."

Zhao Dahai spat on the ground. "Messenger, tell each company to wait for my order before opening fire!"

As the vanguard of the Japanese troops stepped into the minefield, Zhao Dahai suddenly waved his hand.

"Pull the pin!" Boom! Boom! Boom! The landmines buried in the middle of the dirt road exploded one after another. Dozens of Japanese soldiers at the front were blown away on the spot, and those behind quickly lay on the ground, too afraid to move.

"Sappers! Clear the mines!" a Japanese officer yelled, brandishing his saber.

Several sappers crawled forward, trembling, and swiped the mine detectors back and forth on the dirt road.

At this moment, Zhao Dahai slowly raised his gun and said, "Take down that Japanese soldier who's clearing mines!"

Several skilled marksmen completed the task. Upon seeing this, the Japanese sent out their suicide squad to clean up the mess.

"Damn it, they're so ruthless to their own people. They let the Japanese get close before firing, first using grenades to mow down the ground before opening fire, inflicting maximum casualties on us."

"Yes"

After suffering heavy losses, the Japanese finally broke through a bloody path. They immediately launched a frontal attack. Light and heavy machine guns and mortars opened fire simultaneously, and bullets rained down on the First Battalion's position.

"Hold on tight, all of you!" Zhao Dahai patrolled the trenches. "We'll engage when the Japanese get close!"

The soldiers lay prone in the trenches, letting bullets whiz overhead. As the Japanese soldiers drew closer, Zhao Dahai gave the order: "Fire!"

In an instant, all the weapons on the position opened fire. The Japanese soldiers at the front fell in droves, but those behind continued to charge forward.

Just then, a scout ran over, crouching low: "Battalion Commander, the Japanese seem to be adjusting their deployment! Their officers have been observing our positions!"

Zhao Dahai's heart sank.

Sure enough, after their frontal assault failed, the Japanese quickly realized the problem: although the gunfire from the First Battalion was intense, it was clear that their forces were insufficient, especially the firepower on the right flank was obviously weak.

"Damn it, he found out." Zhao Dahai spat.

Having identified the weakness, the Japanese changed tactics and began moving their main force to the right flank. They wanted to concentrate their forces and create a breakthrough at the weakest point.

"You little devils, born without a mother and raised without a father, you think you can bully me?!" Second Company Commander Zhou Yong spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, turned to the soldiers in the trenches, and roared, "Second Company! The Japanese are using us as a breakthrough point, what should we do?"

"kill!!!"