The War of Resistance Against Japan: Starting with a Calm View of Life and Death

Dongzhai Town is in complete chaos.

The tan-colored Japanese soldiers swarmed through the streets in groups of three or five, like a swarm of locusts.

The bayonets gleamed coldly in the dim light of the day.

The sounds of banging on doors, shouting, crying of women and children, and sporadic gunshots, mixed with the frantic barking of stray dogs, drifted intermittently up on the cold wind, sending chills down one's spine.

Several houses were billowing black smoke, clearly having been recently set on fire.

Some people could be seen lying motionless on the street.

Some Japanese soldiers were roughly driving away villagers who hadn't had time to escape, gathering them in an open space in the center of town.

"You damned Japanese devils! You're worse than animals!" Wang Yuan gritted his teeth, slamming his fist into the ground, his eyes red with rage.

Zhou Jindong quickly scanned the distribution of Japanese troops throughout the town.

He counted the earthen-yellow figures and estimated their number.

He saw a light machine gun set up at the street corner, and soldiers carrying grenade launchers standing by several officers.

Information I had seen in my past life instantly surfaced in my mind.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, a standard Japanese infantry squad consisted of three infantry platoons, one grenade launcher platoon, and a squad headquarters.

The three infantry detachments totaled 39 men.

The grenade launcher squad consists of three groups, totaling 12 people, with each group equipped with one Type 89 grenade launcher and four members.

小队部有6人，包括1名小队长、1名曹长、3名传令兵和1名医疗兵。

There were approximately 57 people in total.

There were indeed more than fifty people in front of us.

He quickly categorized the Japanese soldiers he saw: infantry squads searching house to house with rifles at the ready, grenade launcher squads waiting at street corners, and the few in the platoon headquarters clearly surrounding the officers… the numbers matched up perfectly, except…

Zhou Jindong's gaze suddenly fixed on a person near the edge of the town center.

This person is clearly Chinese.

Standing in front of a group of Japanese soldiers, he looked somewhat out of place.

The man was wearing a thick cotton overcoat, underneath which was a suit. He was speaking to a Japanese lieutenant carrying a sword, pretending to be serious.

Although they were quite a distance apart, Zhou Jindong vaguely felt that the person looked somewhat familiar when he turned his head to the side.

Zhou Jindong's heart sank.

This discovery instantly connected with his previous doubts, confirming a certain suspicion in his mind.

"Brother Yuan," Zhou Jindong whispered to Wang Yuan, "There are too many Japanese soldiers, a full squad, and they're even carrying grenade launchers. A head-on confrontation is definitely not going to work."

We'll split into two groups, going in two directions, and sneak in to see if we can catch any lone individuals, or figure out what they're actually searching for.

Prioritize reconnaissance; unless in an emergency, never engage in a direct confrontation.

He pointed to the northwest and northeast corners of the town.

"Erniu, come with me to the northwest. The houses there are dense, making it easy to hide. Quanzi and Haozi, you two go with Brother Yuan to the northeast. That's near the town entrance. Check out the Japanese outposts and their retreat routes."

Half an hour later, regardless of whether you've found anything or not, gather behind the dilapidated earth god temple at the east end of town. Remember, whatever you do, don't give yourself away!

Wang Yuan also saw the horrific scene below. Suppressing his anger, he nodded and said, "Fine! I'll listen to you! Quanzi, Haozi, come with me! Keep your eyes open!"

He crouched low, leading Wang Quan and Su Hao, and moved quickly northeastward, hugging the earthen embankment.

Before leaving, Su Hao glanced quickly in the direction of the town center one last time before catching up with Wang Yuan.

Zhou Jindong watched them disappear behind the snow slope, then waved to Sun Erniu: "Erniu, let's go!"

Using the houses, stacks of firewood, and snow piles as cover, the two silently slid down to the northwest corner of the town.

Upon entering the town, the atmosphere of chaos intensified.

The sounds of banging on doors, ransacking drawers, and the crude curses of the Japanese soldiers echoed in my ears.

Zhou Jindong pressed himself against the earthen wall, listening intently to the sounds coming from the neighboring courtyard.

Several Japanese soldiers were shouting inside, accompanied by the sound of shattering porcelain and the suppressed sobs of an old man.

He gestured for Sun Erniu to stay still.

He held his breath and, like a gecko, clung to the base of the wall, inching his way to the gap in the collapsed courtyard wall of that house, peeking inside with extreme caution.

Two Japanese soldiers were using their bayonets to rummage through the bedding and clothes in the room, while another was smashing a cupboard with his rifle butt.

An old man with gray hair was huddled in a corner.

His face was covered in blood, and he was trembling.

Fortunately, it seems there is no danger to his life.

Zhou Jindong analyzed the current situation: there were no lone Japanese soldiers, and they were too close, making it too risky to take action.

Zhou Jindong turned his head back, shook his head at Sun Erniu, and gestured for him to leave first.

The two continued their stealth.

At the end of an alley filled with tattered baskets and broken hampers, they unexpectedly discovered a lone Japanese soldier.

The Japanese soldier had his back to them, unzipped his pants, and was urinating against the corner of the wall, humming an off-key tune. His rifle was leaning against the wall beside him.

Sun Erniu's eyes lit up, and his finger immediately touched the trigger. He looked at Zhou Jindong with a questioning look in his eyes.

This is an opportunity!

Zhou Jindong quickly pressed down on the muzzle of Sun Erniu's raised gun, signaling him with his eyes not to move.

He pointed to the Japanese soldiers' rifles leaning against the wall, then to himself and Sun Erniu, and then made a throat-slitting gesture.

Sun Erniu immediately understood: use bayonets, not guns!

The moment the gun fired, all the Japanese soldiers in the town would be alerted.

Zhou Jindong, like a weightless shadow, slid silently along the wall, his hand already gripping the dagger he had looted from the Japanese soldiers.

Sun Erniu also bent over, gripped the bayonet on his gun, and flanked from the other side, blocking the alley entrance.

Just as the Japanese soldier pulled up his pants and turned to grab his gun, Zhou Jindong made his move.

He stepped out of the shadows where he was hiding, his left hand swiftly covering the Japanese soldier's mouth and nose, while his right hand held a dagger that swiftly stabbed into the soldier's right neck, the tip of the blade instantly piercing through the neck!

The Japanese soldier didn't even utter a sound. His body suddenly straightened up, his eyes widened, and then his strength seemed to be drained away in an instant, and he collapsed limply.

Warm blood gushed out from the dagger's blood groove, splashing onto the cold snow.

Zhou Jindong supported the body and slowly laid it down without making a sound.

The whole process was as fast as a ghost; from the moment the attack was made to the moment the target was killed, it took no more than two seconds.

Sun Erniu's heart pounded as he watched, finding the scene incredibly exciting!

He had hunted and killed wolves before, but this was the first time he had ever seen a killing done so cleanly and efficiently, without any trace of human emotion.

That little Japanese devil was born despicable and died a pathetic death.

That was so satisfying!

Zhou Jindong had no time to pay attention to Sun Erniu's wild thoughts; he quickly searched the Japanese soldier's body.

Apart from three boxes of rifle bullets and a few crumpled Japanese yen notes, nothing of value was found.

He gestured to Sun Erniu to drag the body behind the rotten basket and hide it, and wipe away the bloodstains on the ground.

Without lingering, the two men took the spoils and continued their infiltration into the designated area.

Along the way, they evaded several groups of Japanese soldiers who were searching the area, and even saw a command post that appeared to be a temporary storage site for looted supplies by the Japanese, with two Japanese soldiers standing guard at the entrance.

Zhou Jindong deliberately brought Sun Erniu close to the Japanese command post to observe the exact face of the person he thought was familiar earlier.

Upon comparing it with the original owner's memories, he was shocked – it really was him!

He also confirmed something else: the Japanese were indeed searching for something or someone with a specific purpose!

Half an hour passed quickly.

As planned, the two quietly withdrew from the town and returned to the back of the long-abandoned local temple at the east end.

This place is relatively quiet and has a wide view, with the entrance and exit roads leading into and out of the town visible from here.

Wang Yuan, Wang Quan, and Su Hao arrived earlier.

Wang Yuanzheng leaned against a crooked pillar, his face ashen; clearly, the scene he had just witnessed had enraged him.

Wang Quan watched the town warily.

Su Hao stood a little further away, looking somewhat uneasy.

When Wang Yuan saw that Zhou Jindong was carrying two rifles on his back, he realized that Zhou had clearly made a gain. His eyes lit up and he was about to go up and greet him.

But Zhou Jindong simply stepped over him, taking two steps in one, and instantly appeared in front of Su Hao, delivering a chop to his wrist!