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

Upon hearing this name, the crowd below stirred.

Kosuke Ogawa was the squad leader among the eleven Japanese soldiers, but because he was relatively obedient, he was promoted by Zhou Jindong.

Kosuke Ogawa was stunned; he hadn't expected Zhou Jindong to dare appoint him as squad leader.

He hesitated for a moment, stepped out of the line, and said in broken Chinese, "I...I will definitely do my best!"

"The fourth squad consists of four Japanese infantrymen, supplemented by four guerrilla fighters and four puppet army soldiers, with Sun Sanniu as the deputy squad leader!"

Zhou Jindong specifically named Sun Sanniu, Sun Erniu's younger brother. He was loyal and honest, and Zhou made him the deputy squad leader to keep an eye on the Japanese soldiers.

Sun Sanniu, eyes wide, walked over to Ogawa Kosuke and stood like an iron tower, loudly proclaiming, "Brother Yuan, Brother Dongzi, don't worry, I'll definitely keep a close eye on the team!"

Zhou Jindong continued, "The mission of the fourth squad is very special. You are familiar with the tactics and habits of the Japanese army. In the future, when we fight against the Japanese, we will have to rely on you to deal with them. Therefore, the rest of the team must humbly learn Japanese from our Japanese comrades!"

Of course, you Japanese people also need to spend more time learning Chinese!

Your team is a double-edged sword; used well, it can kill the enemy; used poorly, it can hurt yourselves. Kosuke Ogawa, do you understand what I mean?

Kosuke Ogawa sensed the murderous intent in Zhou Jindong's words, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his back. He quickly lowered his head: "Understood! My life is in Captain Zhou's hands; I would never dare to have any disloyal thoughts!"

"Fifth Platoon! Platoon Leader: Jie Chuan! Thirteen men! Deputy Platoon Leader: Sun Erniu!" Zhou Jindong looked at the tall man. "Jie Chuan, you used to be a platoon leader in the puppet army, you've led troops before. Can you manage these thirteen men well?"

Jie Chuan patted his chest, his voice booming: "Captain Zhou, don't worry! If these bastards dare to disobey orders, you won't even need to lift a finger, I'll break their legs first!"

Although we were traitors in the past, we are now proud Chinese, and we will show no mercy in fighting the Japanese devils!

Zhou Zhiyuan nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Your Fifth Platoon's task isn't to fight the Japanese. You need to supervise the labor camp and cooperate with the villagers to renovate the valley base. Only when you secure our retreat can we fight the Japanese without distraction!"

"Huh? Dong... Vice Captain, does this mean we've become the logistics team? I..."

"What, you don't want to do it? If you don't want to do it, then I'll..."

Seeing that Zhou Jindong was about to get angry, Xie Chuan quickly nodded, "Yes, yes! Whatever you tell us to do, we'll do it!"

"Good!" Zhou Jindong pointed to the six men standing at the very back. "Artillery platoon! Platoon leader Wang Lei! Six members! Two former guerrillas and four surrendered Japanese soldiers. Equipped with one grenade launcher and one Type 96 light machine gun!"

Wang Lei was a sharpshooter and a former hunter. He was also the quickest learner of Liu Meng's techniques, second only to Zhou Jindong. Touching the grenade launcher in his hand, his eyes gleamed: "Brother Dongzi, this thing is awesome! As long as we have shells, no matter how many Japanese devils come, they'll die!"

"Weapon distribution!" Zhou Jindong nodded and continued to loudly order, "Infantry squads, all men will be equipped with Type 38 rifles, each with fifty rounds of ammunition! Artillery squads, in addition to machine guns and grenade launchers, will each man be equipped with a pistol for self-defense!"

"Now, go to the warehouse and get your guns! After you get your guns, I'll assign you specific tasks!"

At Zhou Jindong's command, the crowd scattered and surged toward the town government's warehouse.

Soon after, the sound of gun bolts being pulled echoed across the parade ground.

People who were originally farmers, puppet soldiers, and prisoners of war, suddenly changed their demeanor when they held steel guns in their hands.

Especially those puppet troops, holding the Type 38 rifles that only the Japanese used to be able to use, their hands were trembling, not from fear, but from excitement.

They could only look at this gun with envy before, but now it truly belongs to them.

Zhou Jindong did not receive any additional guns. He had a Mauser pistol tucked into his waistband and a command sword he had seized from Inoue Takeshi in his hand.

He walked up to Wang Yuan and said, "Brother Yuan, you're in charge of the team training. I'll take charge of planning the fortification renovation and mine laying in the town. We're going to turn Dongzhai Town into the Japanese devils' graveyard."

Wang Yuan, holding a brand-new Type 38 rifle, skillfully cocked it and said confidently, "Just tell me what to do! I'll do whatever you say!"

"Take out all the landmines and grenades. Also, gather all the scrap metal in town, mix it with saltpeter and iron nails, and make pull-off mines."

Zhou Jindong pointed to the town's streets, "The Japanese will definitely advance along the streets when they attack. We need to prepare some 'gifts' for them at every intersection, behind every door, and even next to every well."

Over the next few hours, the entire Dongzhai Town was transformed into a massive construction site.

Zhou Jindong, along with Wang Lei and several skilled soldiers, were busy on the only road leading to the town entrance.

They found dozens of porcelain jars in the town, which were used by the locals to pickle vegetables.

Zhou Jindong directed everyone to mix saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal powder in a specific ratio; this was black powder.

Without professional detonators, they used electric detonators captured from the Japanese army, or simple pull-activated fuses.

"Remember, don't pull the fuse too straight. Wrap it around a few times so that there is resistance when you pull it, making it less likely to be detected." Zhou Jindong squatted on the ground, holding a thin rope in his hand, and personally demonstrated.

"Bury this pressure device under the stone slab in the middle of the road, cover it with a layer of loose soil, and sprinkle some grass ash on it, so that it looks like it has never been moved."

Wang Lei watched in amazement, exclaiming, "Dongzi, where did you learn this skill? It seems even better than the master craftsmen I've met at the arsenal before."

"I learned it from books, plus some random guessing." Zhou Jindong patted the dirt off his hands, stood up, and said, "This is called a booby trap, specifically designed to deal with engineers and scouts. The Japanese engineers can use mine detectors to probe the ground, but they can't detect this kind of pressure-activated mine. As soon as you step on it, there's a crack, and half your body is gone."

He then walked to a large tree nearby and pointed to a spot two meters above the ground on the trunk: "Tie a grenade here and tie the string to the grass at the base of the tree."

When the Japanese soldiers entered the town and were attacked, they would definitely seek cover, and this tree would be the best cover. As soon as someone leaned against it and made contact, boom!

Wang Yuan, along with soldiers from the first and second platoons, were modifying firing ports in the houses on both sides of the street.

Instead of simply drilling a hole in the wall, they made the firing port in an inward V-shape, smaller on the outside and larger on the inside, so that the gun barrel inside could not be seen from the outside, but the view inside was very open.

"Listen up, all of you!" Wang Yuan stood behind a wall, holding a sledgehammer and smashing it. "The firing ports should be lower, close to the ground, and we should aim for the Japanese soldiers' legs!"

Also, knock down the walls of these houses and connect them into one. After firing a shot, move to another spot so the Japanese can't figure out how many of us there are!