Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

As night fell as black as ink, the city gates of Chuncheng slowly opened under the dim yellow lights. Kujo Miyamoto, Onizuka Yūmei, and General Maruyama led their troops out of the city in batches, leaving silently.

Even trucks slow down and only make a slight rumble.

Even with their utmost caution, the Japanese soldiers could not escape the eyes of those in the black market.

The black market has informants all over the city, and there are people watching even at night.

So the people in the black market quickly discovered the Japanese soldiers' strange behavior and immediately reported it to Widow.

Widow believed that the Japanese army's large-scale mobilization must mean they were about to take action, so she immediately went to see the head of the black market—the old man.

As always, the old man stayed at the bottom of the air-raid shelter, drinking tea and managing everything from behind the scenes.

Just then, the stone door slowly opened, and Black Widow walked in.

The old man slightly raised his eyelids and asked, "What's the matter so late?"

The woman quickly replied, "Reporting to the old man, the Japanese troops in Chuncheng have made a move; they have almost all come out."

After a moment's thought, the old man knew what was going on; it must be aimed at the anti-Japanese brigade. Because at this point, no anti-Japanese armed force was worth the Japanese mobilizing so heavily.

Without a moment's hesitation, the old man said, "Sister-in-law, go to the telegraph office immediately and send a telegram to Phoenix Mountain, telling them that the Japanese troops in Chuncheng are making unusual movements, and on a large scale, to warn them to be careful."

"Yes, sir!"

The woman accepted the order and then went to send a telegram to the anti-Japanese brigade.

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Meanwhile, at the Anti-Japanese Brigade's base on Phoenix Mountain, Ma Ping'an was looking at a topographical map of the area, pondering how he could quickly relocate the base's hospital and other vital supplies if the Japanese really attacked.

However, at that very moment, the radio on the table next to them suddenly started beeping urgently.

Ma Ping'an quickly got up, picked up the headset, and transcribed it down.

"Japanese troops in Kunming are making unusual movements; all troops are mobilized..."

Upon reading this, Ma Ping'an felt that the battalion commander had indeed gone too far this time. All the Japanese soldiers had actually come out in full force. Was this an early start to the winter offensive?
Ma Ping'an was secretly alarmed and was about to send a telegram to Duanwu to report the matter when he heard a familiar footstep outside the door—it was Li Xiaolian returning.

Ma Ping'an found it strange. Wasn't Li Xiaolian supposed to be delivering intelligence? Why was she back so soon, and why was she looking for him again?
But by then, it was too late to hide the information, because Li Xiaolian had already entered.

"Captain Pan, what are you busy with?"

Li Xiaolian pushed the door open with a smile, without even knocking.

Ma Ping'an was somewhat dissatisfied; Li Xiaolian was becoming increasingly unruly. He felt he should have a guard, at least to prevent just anyone from entering his room.

On the surface, Ma Ping'an remained calm and said, "Oh, it's nothing, just some routine telegram exchanges. By the way, Xiao Lian, you're back just in time. I'm thirsty, could you get me a glass of water?"

Li Xiaolian, unsuspecting, turned to pour water. Taking advantage of the moment, Ma Ping'an quickly crumpled the telegram he had just received into a ball, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it whole. When Li Xiaolian returned with the water, Ma Ping'an took the glass, smoothed the paper ball out of his throat, and then asked, "Xiaolian, didn't you go to rest? Why are you back?"

Li Xiaolian smiled sweetly and said, "I feel much better after resting for a while. That's why I came to see if there's anything else Captain Pan can help with."

But Ma Pingan shook his head and said, "There's nothing more I can help with. It's getting late, and I need to rest too."

Li Xiaolian nodded, but then immediately asked, "Captain Pan, aren't you worried about the main force being away?"

Ma Ping'an said casually, "What are you worried about? The Japanese don't know that our main force has already gone to Da'an Coal Mine. Do you think the Japanese can predict the future? You're overestimating the Japanese, young comrade."

Li Xiaolian chuckled inwardly: "Hmph, it seems the Anti-Japanese Brigade is so confident that there are no Imperial Army spies in their ranks, which is why they are so arrogant."

Thinking of this, Li Xiaolian felt relieved and said, "Since there's nothing else, Captain Pan, I'll go back and rest."

Ma Ping'an gestured for her to go ahead and said, "Then Comrade Xiao Lian should go back and rest. We'll be busy again tomorrow."

Li Xiaolian knew that Ma Ping'an got up very early every day, which prevented her from even sleeping in.

So, since Ma Ping'an had nothing else to do, she went back to rest. Besides, she had run ten kilometers of mountain road round trip and was exhausted. And if she hadn't come to inquire about the anti-Japanese brigade, she wouldn't have bothered to come back at all.

Just as Li Xiaolian reached the door, she suddenly remembered the purpose of her return and pretended to subconsciously turn around to ask, "By the way, Captain Pan, are the captain and the others doing well?"

Ma Ping'an said naturally, "It went very smoothly. We should arrive at Da'an Coal Mine by tomorrow evening. Don't worry, Xiao Lian. The Japanese forces are weak, and we've mobilized so many people. There shouldn't be any problems."

"Uh-huh!"

Li Xiaolian nodded hurriedly, but thought to herself, "Hmph, you bunch of idiots, do you think the Imperial Army doesn't know? The reason they didn't set up an ambush at the Da'an mine was to infiltrate the Imperial Army."

So Li Xiaolian's lips curled up slightly, with a hint of barely perceptible smugness, and she turned and walked briskly back to her dormitory.

Ma Ping'an stood by the window, watching Li Xiaolian's figure disappear into the night through the crack. After waiting for a while to make sure she wouldn't come back, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He quickly turned around, strode to the radio, put on the headset, and skillfully tapped the transmitter with his fingers, sending the crucial intelligence—that the Japanese troops in Chuncheng were making unusual movements and coming out in full force—to Duanwu in encrypted form.

Meanwhile, Duanwu was resting with his soldiers in the woods when a messenger rushed in, reporting to Duanwu: "Reporting to the battalion commander, Captain Pan has called. According to reliable intelligence, the Japanese in Chuncheng have already made their move, almost all of them have come out."

Upon hearing the report, a playful smile gradually appeared on Duanwu's lips: "I didn't expect there to be an unexpected gain. We actually managed to mobilize these little devils."

At this point, Duanwu immediately gave the order: "Pass on my command, we're not going to Da'an Coal Mine for now, let's go play with the Japanese instead!"

Upon hearing the order, the surrounding soldiers were initially taken aback, but then their faces lit up with excitement.

Because they knew that this was their battalion commander, who was tactically flexible and never fought in a rigid manner. He was very likely to change targets on the spot, making it impossible for the Japanese to defend against him!
So, facing such an opponent, they really wanted to feel sorry for the Japanese for three seconds! (End of Chapter)