Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 7 Handling Prisoners
After resolving the issues with the two villagers, Chen Ming continued the public trial of the remaining eleven notorious puppet soldiers.

Without exception, their hands were stained with the blood of their compatriots. To deal with these beasts who were not worthy of being human, Chen Ming chose to send them to where they deserved to go with bullets.

After that, Chen Ming began to oversee the villagers' burial arrangements.

Those puppet army prisoners who were not tried could still be saved. Chen Ming had them do things like collecting corpses and digging pits to atone for their sins.

The bodies of the soldiers who had been killed earlier were also recovered by soldiers from other squads, but these bodies had many more bayonet holes left by the Japanese soldiers.

With a heavy heart, Chen Ming presided over the burial of all the bodies.

He only erected a monument to the villagers who died in Lijia Village, which was carved from a wooden board.

Given the limited resources, this is the best we can do.

As for the fallen soldiers, Chen Ming left only a wooden plaque engraved with their names, without any other information.

Now that the Japanese are powerful, he worries that if they come to the village again one day, they might destroy the tombstones.

Carving only their names is a way to protect the fallen soldiers.

They were all heroes, even though this battle against the Japanese will not leave a single word in history.

But Chen Ming will not forget these fallen soldiers, the Party will not forget these fallen soldiers, and the country will not forget these fallen soldiers.

"Comrades, compatriots, may you rest in peace. We have avenged you."

Chen Ming shouted.

"Comrades, may you rest in peace."

The soldiers from the other squads also shouted.

"My dear husband, please watch over me from heaven. I will definitely raise the dog to adulthood and ensure that the Li family line continues."

The dog's mother hugged the tombstone, holding her son's hand with one hand, and called out in a hoarse voice.

"After we drive the Japanese devils out of our homes, we will come back to pay tribute to your spirits in heaven and tell you that we have won."

Chen Ming made a promise, and then led the way by bowing three times.

The other soldiers, along with the mother dog and her puppies, bowed to Chen Ming as well.

The puppet army prisoners not far away, seeing this scene, also showed expressions of self-reproach and regret on their faces.

Chen Ming had observed their performance.

After the funeral, Chen Ming began to make arrangements for the group of puppet army prisoners.

Those who committed heinous crimes have already been publicly tried and executed; the rest are just ordinary soldiers who were coerced.

According to the policy principles of our Party on the treatment of prisoners of war, the primary approach to ordinary soldiers who have not harmed their compatriots should be education and transformation.

Based on his experience, Chen Ming organized a rally for prisoners of war to vent their grievances against the atrocities committed by the Japanese army and the oppression of the puppet regime.

Through class analysis, the true nature of the Japanese puppet regime's collusion and exploitation of compatriots was exposed, thus awakening their national consciousness.

(I won't go into details, as that would be padding the word count.)
After it was over, Chen Ming looked at the various expressions on the faces of the puppet army prisoners and said:

"You were once either coerced or forced to become puppet soldiers for a living."

"However, you are different from the puppet troops who were tried before; you don't have the blood of your compatriots on your hands."

"We are willing to give people like this a chance to correct their mistakes."

Chen Ming paused, then glanced at the group of puppet army prisoners.

The prisoners were all staring intently at Chen Ming, knowing that what he was about to say would determine their fate.

Chen Ming continued:

"Now, according to the policy, I will give you two choices. First, if you voluntarily return home, we will provide you with travel expenses. However, you will need to sign a 'no longer aiding the enemy' pledge. As long as you do not help the Japanese invaders harm your compatriots in the future, our Party promises not to hold you accountable for your past actions." "Second, if you still want to continue serving in the army and fighting, you are also welcome. As long as you pass the review, you can join us to fight against the Japanese invaders and protect our homeland."

"Now, I'll give you fifteen minutes to think it over. Make your decision when the time is up."

After Chen Ming finished speaking, he remained silent.

"Sir, are you really going to let us go home and even give us travel expenses?" a puppet army prisoner asked nervously.

"What's your name?" Chen Ming asked.

“My name is Li Erniu,” Li Erniu replied.

"What made you join the puppet army?" Chen Ming then asked.

"I was perfectly fine at home when I was suddenly conscripted and sent to the battlefield. Later, my superiors led me to defect to the Japanese."

Li Erniu spoke with his head down, awaiting his fate, not daring to look Chen Ming in the eye.

Chen Ming looked at Li Erniu and nodded: "They were all honest and law-abiding people before. Don't worry, since I made a promise, I will definitely keep it."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir. I really want to go back and see if my mother is still alive."

Li Erniu was so excited that he burst into tears, thanking them repeatedly.

"Dafei, give Li Erniu three silver dollars and untie the ropes binding his feet so he can go home," Chen Ming said to Dafei beside him.

"Eh."

Dafei stepped out from the group of soldiers learning from his experience, took the bundle from his waist, took out three silver dollars, and handed them to Chen Ming with a pained expression.

Although their district squad had very little funding and was almost starving, they didn't get much loot from this battle.

However, Dafei trusts Captain Chen Ming and executes all his requests without fail.

Chen Ming took the silver dollar, grasped Li Erniu's hand, and placed the silver dollar in the other's hand.

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."

When Li Erniu saw that Chen Ming had actually given him travel expenses and three silver dollars, he was so excited that he almost knelt down to express his gratitude.

Chen Ming helped the other person up, "Alright, we don't do this. Take the money and go home to see your mother."

Li Erniu looked at Chen Ming, hesitated for a moment, then bowed deeply to him, signed the commitment letter, and turned to leave eagerly.

Just then, the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and the rising sun draped the clouds in a colorful robe, adding a touch of red to the black sky.

The other prisoners, seeing that Li Erniu had indeed taken the travel expenses and left unharmed, were tempted.

"Alright, you have fifteen minutes left. Think it over before you decide. I won't stop anyone who wants to leave."

After Chen Ming finished speaking, he led a group of soldiers out of the courtyard, leaving the area to the prisoners so they could think things through.

After everyone left, a group of puppet army prisoners began to whisper and discuss their future.

Fifteen minutes later, Chen Ming led his soldiers back into the courtyard, and the prisoners had made their decision.

Ultimately, of the remaining twenty-one prisoners, eight chose to return home.

Specific reasons include post-traumatic stress disorder from war, attachment to one's homeland, and family ties.

Furthermore, the rupture of identity, the dual identity of the puppet army—namely, "Chinese identity" and the label of "imperial collaborator"—led to psychological conflict, causing them to fall into identity disorientation after being captured.

They were unwilling to serve the Japanese army, and also had doubts about joining our army.

Chen Ming respected their choice. After they signed a pledge not to aid the enemy again, he provided them with travel expenses to go home.

(End of this chapter)