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

On the 14th Army's position, a regimental commander was slapping his thigh in relief that the Japanese had finally run away. But when he looked up and saw that the group of people had returned, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"No way, I already let you out, what the hell are you doing back here?!"

Some of the Nationalist generals weren't stupid; they realized that the Japanese weren't trying to attack the city, but were desperately trying to escape.

Some units even abandoned their positions, leaving an opening for the Japanese to leave quickly.

But to their utter surprise, the Japanese devils actually came back to fight their way back.

Obviously, the Japanese weren't stupid. They knew that running like this would never end, and seeing how easily the Nationalist army could be defeated, they simply captured a group of prisoners to use as shields.

The Japanese soldiers rushed onto the position, grabbing anyone they saw and dragging them back.

The new recruits couldn't even run properly. They were pinned to the ground, their hands tied behind their backs, bound with shoelaces, and led back like livestock.

An officer tried to resist, but was hit on the head with a rifle butt and fell limply to the ground.

Some raised their hands in surrender, some knelt down and begged for mercy, and some ran a few steps before being caught up and stabbed through the neck.

In a single day, the 14th Army was either killed, captured, or routed.

Those new recruits had never seen anything like this before, and some were taken prisoner before they could even react.

Thus, the remnants of the First Army, along with a large number of prisoners, poured out from the northern foothills of the Zhongtiao Mountains.

Shinotsuka Kazuo even sent someone to deliver a message to the Eighth Route Army.

"Don't bother seeing me off!"

Just send it to Zhongtiao Mountain!

Otherwise, they can't guarantee the lives of those prisoners!

The Eighth Route Army had no choice but to stop on Zhongtiao Mountain.

The news reached the Eighth Route Army headquarters.

One hot-tempered leader slammed his fist on the table in anger: "What is this? Using prisoners as shields? What is the 14th Army doing?!"

"Alright, this was expected anyway."

The vice president waved his hand.

Actually, if it weren't for wanting to vent Mr. Shen's anger and teach the 14th Army a lesson, the deputy commander would have really wanted to wipe out the entire First Army.

But it's good that they ran away.

Now we have control over southeastern and northwestern Shanxi.

Two-thirds of the vast Shanxi province is now in the hands of the Eighth Route Army.

Only Yan Xishan and his Jin-Sui Army remained to guard the Lüliang Mountains.

"Vice President, what's the next step?" the Chief of Staff asked.

The deputy commander smiled and said slowly, "Send a letter to Commander Liu of the 14th Army Group, saying... it's all your army's incompetence that caused the Japanese to escape. Next time you guard the mountain, please hold it tighter!"

When the letter was delivered to Commander Liu, he was sitting in the command post, his face as white as paper.

In a single day, his troops were decimated, tens of thousands were taken away, and Zhongtiao Mountain was lost again.

He clutched the letter, reading it once, then again, his hands trembling like a leaf.

"It's all because your army is incompetent that the Japanese soldiers escaped..."

"Aaaaaah—!"

Commander Liu shouted angrily.

"Shameless...shameless!"

"You...you did it on purpose! You deliberately drove the Japanese soldiers this way! You deliberately wanted to see me make a fool of myself! And now you're making sarcastic remarks!"

"asshole!"

As he cursed, his voice grew softer and weaker, until it finally turned into a long, feeble sigh.

What's the point of scolding?

He lost the battle, lost Zhongtiao Mountain, and was captured. Who could he blame?

Strange Eighth Route Army?

They surrounded and attacked from three sides, beating the Japanese to a pulp. But the side you were defending collapsed with a single charge. Can you blame others for that?

Commander Liu slumped in his chair, closed his eyes, and didn't move for a long time.

"withdraw!"

"Order the remaining troops to withdraw from Zhongtiao Mountain."

The staff officer next to him was stunned for a moment.

"Commander, are we just going to retreat like this? What about the principal...?"

"What are we waiting for if we don't withdraw?"

Commander Liu's voice suddenly rose, filled with the anger that erupted after being suppressed to the extreme.

"Do you intend to hold onto Zhongtiao Mountain? With what are you going to use to occupy it? With your head?"

"Don't you understand yet? The Eighth Route Army did this on purpose! Their target isn't those Japanese soldiers at all; their target is us!"

"Those people talk a good game, but who knows if they'll pull a dirty trick? If they blame it on the Japanese, who can explain themselves?"

"Expecting the Central Army to come and seek justice for me? What a joke! Even the Japanese can't beat the Eighth Route Army now, expecting the Central Army to bring me justice? They'd be more like holding a funeral for me!"

Commander Liu finally understood that the Eighth Route Army just wanted to teach him a lesson.

Teach him a lesson for stealing the fruits of victory!

Recalling his high spirits a few days ago, Commander Liu smiled bitterly, realizing that he himself was the clown!

If we don't realize the times, by this time next year, we'll be old and gray!

The staff officer dared not speak.

Commander Liu waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.

"Give the order to retreat! Retreat now! Take what you can, and abandon what you can't. Lives are more important."

Under cover of darkness, the remnants of the 14th Army quietly withdrew from the southern foothills of the Zhongtiao Mountains.

……

When dawn broke, Zhongtiao Mountain was empty again.

When the Eighth Route Army headquarters received the message, several commanders were having breakfast.

Millet porridge, pickled vegetable dumplings, and mixed grain steamed buns—simple dishes, but they tasted delicious.

These days, the fighting has gone smoothly, and my appetite has returned.

The communications officer walked in, handed over the telegram, and suppressed a smile.

"Report! The 14th Army has withdrawn; Zhongtiao Mountain has been retaken!"

The senior executives took the telegram, passed it around, and read it. No one spoke, but they all had faint smiles on their faces.

"It's good that he, surnamed Liu, knows what's good for him, otherwise... humph!"

The commanders had actually considered that if the 14th Army Group still held onto Zhongtiao Mountain, they could take advantage of the darkness and blame it all on the Japanese!

Anyway, ever since the incident in southern Anhui at the beginning of the year, the two sides have almost completely broken off relations.

"alright!"

The vice president put down his chopsticks, not loudly, but the room immediately fell silent.

"Now that we've recaptured Zhongtiao Mountain, let's proceed with the original plan and send the telegram!"

"Tell us the whole story, from beginning to end!"

"It was Mr. Shen who commanded the bombers to annihilate the 21st and 35th Divisions, which allowed the 14th Army to reap the benefits."

"Now the enemy couldn't even hold out for a day, letting the Japanese escape. They're utterly useless!"

The CEOs all nodded; this was part of the original plan.

We must seek justice for Mr. Shen!

I'll say it again: you can bully us, but you can't bully Mr. Shen!

. . .

The next morning, newsboys' shouts came earlier and were shriller than usual in the streets and alleys of various places.

"Breaking News! Breaking News! The truth about Zhongtiao Mountain has been revealed! The 21st Division was wiped out by the Eighth Route Army!"

"Look at the newspaper! The 14th Army Group has lied about its battle achievements! They lost Zhongtiao Mountain in just one day!"

"Extra number! Extra number..."

Newsboys, carrying bulging bags of newspapers, ran swiftly across the wet stone pavement, holding the newspapers high in their hands.

Someone came out of the alley, took out money, and bought a serving.

He stood by the roadside, unfolded the newspaper, and his eyes fell on the large words on the front page.

Immediately afterwards, his expression changed from nonchalant to confused, from confused to shocked, and from shocked to a burning anger of having been tricked.

"The Truth Behind the Victory at Zhongtiao Mountain..."