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

"It's...it's the main force of the Eighth Route Army! The whole mountain is teeming with people, and they even have cannons! They're surrounding Yijing!"

Chida rushed up the city wall, raised his binoculars and looked outside. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

All that could be seen in the east, west, and north of Yijing Town were Eighth Route Army troops.

Soldiers are digging trenches and building fortifications, with countless red flags waving in the wind.

Even worse, dust was billowing in the distant mountains and forests, making it look like a large army was moving.

"Commander, look over there!" Yoshino Yuto pointed to a grove of trees to the north.

Chida looked in the direction Chida was pointing and saw cavalrymen moving quickly through the woods, and there were also traces of heavy machine guns being dragged along.

"How many people... how many people are there?" Chida's voice trembled slightly.

"Judging by this, there must be at least four or five regiments!" Yoshino Yuto said, his face pale. "Regimental Commander, although the walls of Yoshii Castle are sturdy, we are currently short of food and ammunition, and our camp is full of wounded soldiers. If we are surrounded by four or five regiments of the Eighth Route Army, we won't be able to hold out for two days!"

Chida put down his binoculars and paced back and forth on the city wall.

His mind raced.

"That's not right." Chida suddenly stopped. "If it's the main force, why not just attack the city directly? Why dig fortifications? They're trying to starve us out!"

"What should we do then? Let's break through!" Yoshino Yuto suggested.

"Breakout? The key question is, where to break out?" Chida gritted his teeth. "Pass on my order: all troops, lightly armed, abandon all heavy equipment and wounded soldiers. Tonight at midnight, break out through the west gate and head straight for Shenchi! Once we're inside Shenchi County, relying on the city walls, we can survive!"

"But the wounded soldiers..."

"We can't worry about that now! Taking wounded soldiers with us is just waiting to die!" Chida's eyes were as fierce as a wolf's.

That night, the west gate of Yijing Town was quietly opened.

Chida led the remaining two thousand Japanese soldiers and slipped out of the city like thieves.

To prevent them from making any noise, the horseshoes were covered with cloth.

They cautiously made their way forward in the dark, and after walking for more than ten miles, they did not encounter any resistance.

"Commander, it seems the Eighth Route Army hasn't spotted us!" Yoshino Yuto whispered, his tone tinged with relief.

Chida had a vague feeling that something was wrong; it was too quiet, a quietness that was frightening.

"Speed ​​up! Once we get past Phoenix Mountain, it's all flat land, and we'll reach Shenchi before dawn!" Chida urged.

The troops quickened their pace.

Just as they reached the foot of Phoenix Mountain, a dazzling signal flare suddenly lit up on the mountaintop.

Immediately afterwards, countless mortar shells rained down with a piercing whistle.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Explosions occurred one after another in the marching column.

The flames instantly illuminated the night sky, shrapnel flew everywhere, and smoke filled the air.

"Enemy attack! Take cover!"

The Japanese soldiers were in complete chaos; some lay on the ground, while others rolled into the ditch by the roadside.

Before they could react, machine gun fire erupted from the ridges on both sides like popping beans.

The ambush force of the 358th Brigade had been waiting here for a long time.

This was a meticulously planned ambush.

Phoenix Mountain has a narrow terrain, with high mountains on both sides and only one road in the middle.

The soldiers of the 358th Brigade occupied the high ground, and their light and heavy machine guns formed a tight crossfire network.

Bullets swept across the Japanese troops like sickles cutting wheat.

Chida lay prone under the horse's belly, listening to the whistling of bullets overhead, and closed his eyes in despair.

"It's over...it's all over..."

A shell exploded not far from him, the blast wave knocking him over and leaving his ears ringing.

He struggled to his feet and saw Yoshino Yuto huddled behind a rock, covering his head.

"Yoshino! Organize a counterattack! Charge! If we don't get through, we'll all die!" Chida screamed.

Yoshino Yuto cried out with a long face, "Commander, we can't get through! There are machine guns on both sides, and the road is too narrow; the troops can't deploy at all!"

"Then pile up corpses! Make a path for me!" Chida drew his sword and shouted to the guards beside him, "Follow me! Those who retreat will die!"

Under Chida's pressure, the Japanese army launched a desperate charge.

Ignoring casualties, they trampled over the corpses of their comrades and charged up the mountain, yelling as they went.

On the mountaintop, a battalion commander from the 358th Brigade watched the charging Japanese soldiers and sneered, "Grenade launchers! Bomb that area! Don't let them get any closer!"

More than a dozen grenade launchers fired simultaneously, and the grenades landed in the Japanese charging ranks as if they had eyes.

Every shell that landed could kill a group of Japanese soldiers.

But this time the Japanese army was really fighting desperately. They charged forward like mad dogs, braving the artillery fire. Some even detonated grenades to take down the soldiers on the position.

The battle was exceptionally fierce.

Zhou Jindong and his guerrillas did not directly participate in the ambush, but instead lay in wait at the exit of Phoenix Mountain—the only way to reach Shenchi.

His task was to tie up the bags.

"Dongzi, the fighting inside is really fierce!" Wang Quan said, gripping his gun tightly as he listened to the gunfire from Phoenix Mountain.

"Those are the veterans of the 358th Brigade, the main force, well-equipped and with fierce firepower." Zhou Jindong spat out the grass root in his mouth. "Our mission is to catch the fish that have escaped. Listen up, when the Japanese rush out, let them get close and attack them, especially the officers and machine gunners, and don't let them reorganize their troops."

The battle in Phoenix Mountain lasted for two hours.

Chida's troops were decimated.

Originally there were more than two thousand people, but now less than a thousand can still stand.

Moreover, it was cut into several segments.

With dawn approaching, if we didn't rush out soon, we would be wiped out.

With red eyes, Chida led his elite troops in a final charge.

They concentrated all their firepower, even firing their last few mountain artillery shells, and finally tore a gap in the 358th Brigade's position.

"Charge! For His Majesty the Emperor!"

Chida brandished his command sword and led his remaining troops out of Phoenix Mountain Canyon.

They had just rushed out of the canyon and hadn't even caught their breath when they were suddenly greeted by a bright light.

"Who goes there!" Chida instinctively raised his hand to cover his eyes.

"The ones who sent you on your way!" Zhou Jindong's voice came from the darkness.

"beat!"

Zhou Jindong gave the order.

The Eighth Route Army soldiers, who had been lying in ambush, opened fire with all kinds of weapons at the same time.

Wang Quan's crooked-handle machine gun swept across from the side, bullets hitting the road and kicking up a cloud of gravel.

The first few dozen Japanese soldiers were instantly riddled with bullets.

Chida's horse was startled, its front hooves left the ground, and it almost threw him off.

"Baka! There's an ambush ahead too!" Chida shouted in despair.

At this point, the Japanese army was like a frightened bird, attacked from both sides, and their morale collapsed instantly.

Some Japanese soldiers threw down their guns and ran back, some knelt on the ground and raised their hands to surrender, and others frantically scrambled into the nearby fields.

"Commander! Take the waterway! Run to the river!" Yoshino Yuto pulled on Chida's horse reins and pointed to a small ditch beside them.

Chida had no time to give orders. He whipped his horse hard and followed Yoshino toward the river.

Looking at the routed Japanese troops, Zhou Jindong said to Zhao Laosi beside him, "Laosi, lead some men down and intercept that officer on the white horse! That's Chita!"

"Alright!" Zhao Laosi responded and led the second platoon of soldiers down the slope.