Chapter 1 The Japanese Cavalry

　　Fujita Hideki, the Third Battalion Commander of the 20th Cavalry Regiment, closely followed Regiment Commander Fujita Toshimatsu.

　　They had already spurred their warhorses into a rapid charge for half an hour.

　　The horses were sweating profusely,

　　and froth was already forming at their mouths.

　　The planes were still pursuing them from behind, just as before,

　　and intercepting them from the front.

　　They simply weren't leaving the 20th Cavalry Regiment any chance of survival.

　　Regiment Commander Fujita Toshimatsu had no choice but to rein in his horse.

　　It was giving up.

　　He loosened the bit and the saddle,

　　to make things easier for the horse.

　　Then he began to walk, leading the horse.

　　It wasn't that he didn't want to ride the horse and escape the battlefield sooner,

　　but the planes overhead

　　made that idea impossible.

　　No matter how good a warhorse was,

　　it couldn't outrun a plane.

　　Regiment Commander Fujita Toshimatsu dismounted and walked,

　　and Battalion Commander Fujita Hideki also dismounted and walked.

　　Many of the Japanese soldiers in the 20th Cavalry Regiment,

　　seeing the regiment commander walking,

　　avoided him from afar.

　　They galloped past from a distance.

　　These Japanese soldiers were afraid that the regiment commander would want their horses.

　　In fact, as an old cavalryman,

　　Regiment Commander Fujita Toshimatsu knew

　　that among the entire cavalry regiment,

　　the horses that had made it to this position

　　wouldn't be able to run for long, even if he took them.

　　His own prized horse was already exhausted,

　　so how could the ordinary soldiers' horses

　　be any better off?

　　But those soldiers were still desperately squeezing the last bit of energy out of their horses.

　　They were using their horses to death! If the horses died,

　　how would those Japanese soldiers get back to Huoshan?

　　It would be difficult!

　　As Regiment Commander Fujita Toshimatsu thought this,

　　he saw those Japanese soldiers avoiding him as if he were a venomous snake.

　　Regiment Commander Fujita Toshimatsu couldn't guide them.

　　In fact,

　　he didn't even think about guiding or ordering those Japanese soldiers.

　　The Special Forces Brigade's planes were still strafing back and forth.

　　Those Japanese soldiers who ran fast

　　were the most likely to attract the planes' attention.

　　Now was not the time to preserve the strength of the entire 20th Cavalry Regiment,

　　but to preserve one's own useful body.

　　Regiment Commander Fujita Toshimatsu was now single-mindedly focused on how to keep himself safe.

　　Li Xingyu was an ordinary villager from Lizhuang.

　　At noon today,

　　his family was still sitting in their house, eating a meal.

　　Now he watched as his house burned down,

　　until everything that could burn was completely consumed.

　　Only ashes remained, still smoldering.

　　Standing in front of the house,

　　his wife, Zhou Wan'er, wiped away her tears,

　　and cried out:

　　"How are we going to live?"

　　Yes!

　　How would they live from now on?

　　The Japanese soldiers came quickly,

　　without saying anything,

　　without asking anything,

　　killing and setting fires directly.

　　At the time, Li Xingyu only cared about picking up his son,

　　and leading his wife to escape.

　　They couldn't salvage anything from the house.

　　After the fire started,

　　the pig in the pen ran out on its own.

　　It was now grunting by his side,

　　but what would they do next?

　　The crops in the fields wouldn't be ripe for another twenty days.

　　It wasn't just Li Xingyu's family who was worried.

　　Everyone in Lizhuang was worried.

　　Their situations were all the same.

　　No one in any household had been able to salvage anything.

　　Everything had been burned by the Japanese soldiers.

　　Some families even had people killed by the Japanese soldiers.

　　Just when everyone was at a loss,

　　a group of people came running from afar.

　　The people of Lizhuang were initially startled,

　　thinking that the Japanese soldiers had returned.

　　But as those people ran closer,

　　they could see clearly:

　　It was the National Revolutionary Army!

　　The NRA had come to their village before.

　　Although those soldiers had also taken some grain from the village,

　　and taken two pigs away,

　　compared to the Japanese soldiers,

　　those NRA soldiers were practically paragons of virtue.

　　Na Wenxuan and Gu Xiangdi led the First and Second Companies on a rapid march towards the rising smoke.

　　When they actually reached the location of the smoke,

　　they saw that the houses of hundreds of families had been completely burned down.

　　A raging fire ignited in the hearts of the soldiers of both companies.

　　It was hatred for the Japanese soldiers.

　　Na Wenxuan rushed up to Li Xingyu and asked:

　　"Fellow villager! Which direction did the Japanese soldiers run?"

　　Li Xingyu looked at these infantrymen,

　　and asked uncertainly:

　　"Are you going to fight the Japanese soldiers?"

　　"Yes! Our troops have already stopped the Japanese soldiers.

　　Now the Japanese soldiers are running away,

　　coming in your direction.

　　Which road did they take when they left?"

　　Li Xingyu's eyes lit up.

　　When Na Wenxuan and the others ran into the village,

　　the people of Lizhuang saw them asking questions,

　　and thought that these NRA soldiers had come to extort them again.

　　They all angrily surrounded them,

　　preparing to give them a piece of their minds.

　　But what they heard was that they were asking which direction the Japanese soldiers had run,

　　and that they wanted to stop the Japanese soldiers.

　　Immediately, someone pointed to a road:

　　"The Japanese soldiers went west along this road."

　　More people started to cry:

　　"Officer! You must stand up for us!

　　The Japanese soldiers entered the village!

　　Without saying a word,

　　they killed anyone they saw,

　　and burned every house they found.

　　They're nothing but animals!"

　　Lizhuang was in a good location.

　　It wasn't that they hadn't suffered from war before.

　　Those soldiers would only ask for some grain,

　　chickens, ducks,

　　or at most, some pigs and sheep.

　　Even bandits who entered the village

　　would only want these things.

　　Only the Japanese soldiers,

　　when they entered the village,

　　didn't want anything.

　　They were simply there to vent and destroy.

　　"Don't worry, we're here

　　to annihilate the Japanese soldiers here."

　　Li Xingyu suddenly said:

　　"Are you really going to fight the Japanese soldiers?"

　　"Yes! Otherwise,

　　would we be running around covered in sweat like this?

　t's all for fun!" Gu Xiangdi said with a smile.

　　"I'll lead the way for you.

　　If you go west for half a kilometer,

　　there are ponds on both sides of the road.

　　You can only pass through the middle.

　　That's the best place to fight the Japanese soldiers."

　　Gu Xiangdi's eyes lit up:

　　"Young man! I didn't realize

　　you were a strategist!"

　　Someone in Lizhuang picked up a wooden stick:

　　"I'll go with you.

　　I'm going to beat them to death."

　　With one person taking the lead,

　　many of the young and middle-aged people of Lizhuang

　　shouted excitedly:

　　"Officer! We'll go together.

　　The Japanese soldiers burned all our possessions.

　　We have no way to survive.

　　We'll fight the Japanese soldiers to the death!"

　　Na Wenxuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry:

　　"Fellow villagers! The Japanese soldiers are armed to the teeth,

　　how can you defeat them with wooden sticks?

　　Leave the fighting to us.

　　If you really hate the Japanese soldiers,

　　you can bring hoes and shovels,

　　and drag carts behind us.

　　After we kill the Japanese soldiers,

　　help us bury them,

　　and help us transport the spoils of war."

　　When they heard that they were going to bury the Japanese soldiers,

　　the people of Lizhuang refused:

　　"Officer! The Japanese soldiers are so bad.

　　After we kill them,

　　let the wolves eat their corpses,

　　and let the wild dogs gnaw on them.

　　Wouldn't that be more satisfying?

　　That's what they deserve.

　　Burying them would be too good for them."

　　Gu Xiangdi said with a bitter smile:

　　"That's what we thought too.

　　As for the Japanese soldiers,

　　the best thing to do after killing them

　　would be to hang them at the entrance of the village as a warning.

　　But there are too many corpses.

　　If we don't bury them,

　　it will easily cause a plague.

　　So we not only have to bury them,

　　but we also have to bury them deep,

　　so that they can never turn over for all eternity."

　　Li Tianshi stroked his white beard and said:

　　"What this officer says makes sense!

　　We must bury them!"

　　Na Wenxuan said:

　　"Brother, lead the way first.

　　We'll go set up our defenses.

　　The Japanese soldiers will be here soon.

　　If we let even one of them escape,

　　we'll be letting down the fellow villagers here!"

　　These words immediately resonated with everyone in Lizhuang.

　　Li Xingyu quickly said:

　　"Wan'er! You stay home with Gou Dan.

　　I'll be right back."

　　Zhou Wan'er cried and said:

　　"Home? Do we even have a home anymore?

　　I'll go with you."

　　Li Xingyu looked at Na Wenxuan, who was stamping his feet anxiously,

　　and said, "Let's go!"

　　Then he set off with the First and Second Companies.

　　He walked very fast,

　　and Zhou Wan'er couldn't keep up.

　　But she wasn't worried,

　　because she knew that place.

　　All the people of Lizhuang knew it.

　　They supported the old and carried the young,

　　and all followed behind the two companies.

　　As he walked, Li Tianshi said to Na Wenxuan:

　　"Officer! It's not that the villagers don't want to pull carts,

　　but the Japanese soldiers burned the village,

　　and there are no carts left.

　　Even for the hoes and shovels, we can only quickly find a wooden handle and attach it

　　before we can use them."

　　Na Wenxuan saw that most of the middle-aged people were carrying a machete in one hand,

　　and a hoe or shovel in the other.

　　Seeing this situation,

　　he couldn't help but frown:

　　"Fellow villagers! Didn't you manage to salvage anything?"

　　"No!

　　The Japanese soldiers came too quickly.

　　They started killing and setting fires as soon as they entered the village.

　　Everyone was only concerned with escaping.

　　Who would dare to stop and salvage anything?"

　　Na Wenxuan nodded:

　　"It's good that people are still alive.

　　As long as people are alive,

　　everything will be alright."

　　"Now we don't even know what we're going to eat tonight,"

　　Li Tianshi said with a bitter face.

　　Na Wenxuan thought for a moment:

　　"The Japanese soldiers are cavalry.

　　They have warhorses!

　　Tonight, we'll eat horse meat!"

　　His words were heard by the children of Lizhuang who were following beside him.

　　The children heard that there would be meat to eat tonight,

　　and immediately shouted:

　　"We're eating horse meat tonight!

　　We're having meat!"

　　For these children,

　　they didn't yet know the consequences of their homes being burned down.

　　They only thought about eating meat!

　　Soon, they arrived at the location that Li Xingyu had mentioned.

　　Na Wenxuan saw that it was indeed a good place for an ambush.

　　There was a pond of about five or six acres on each side of the road,

　　with only a six- or seven-meter-wide road in the middle.

　　On the other side of the ponds was a small hill,

　　covered in dense杂树乱木，

　　clearly unsuitable for cavalry to pass through.

　　Na Wenxuan and Gu Xiangdi discussed it,

　　and decided to first bury directional mines in the middle of the road.

　　The Second Company would ambush in the small hill.

　　After the battle in front started,

　　they would be responsible for cutting off the Japanese soldiers' retreat.

　　The First Company would set up an ambush on both sides of the road a little further ahead.

　　When the Japanese soldiers entered the ambush zone,

　　they would first detonate the mines and then attack!

　　Na Wenxuan persuaded the fellow villagers of Lizhuang

　　to retreat a little further away.

　　He told them to hide well,

　　and not to reveal themselves,

　　lest they be discovered by the Japanese soldiers.

　　They prepared themselves,

　　and waited for the Japanese soldiers to come.

　　Mao Wenxing, who was patrolling in the air,

　　was over this battlefield,

　　watching the Japanese 20th Cavalry Regiment.

　　The largest branch of the cavalry had been attacked by attack planes,

　　and they had actually escaped this far.

　　Fortunately, the road ahead of the Japanese soldiers had been blocked.

　　Mao Wenxing informed Na Wenxuan and Gu Xiangdi:

　　"A group of about two hundred Japanese cavalrymen are rushing towards you."

　　The Second Battalion Commander of the 20th Cavalry Regiment, Inoue Naoki, was leading his battalion of Japanese soldiers the furthest away.

　　He had been suppressing the speed of the Japanese soldiers in his entire battalion,

　　not allowing their horses to run too fast,

　　so that they could run for so long.

　　While on horseback,

　　he felt somewhat regretful about burning the third village at noon:

　　If he hadn't burned the third village,

　　they could have retreated back there now,

　　and rested there for a while.

　　No matter what the planes in the air did,

　　they wouldn't strafe their own people, would they?

　　But:

　　the village had been burned by him and his men,

　　and those villagers were probably long gone. He thought this in his heart,

　　his body moving smoothly with the horse's movements.

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki knew

　　that there was a village ahead,

　　but even if they reached that village,

　　it would be of no use to those Japanese soldiers.

　　The village had been burned to the ground,

　　and nothing would be left.

　　He was certain of this.

　　Every Japanese soldier was familiar with this narrow road between two ponds.

　　Just then,

　　the familiar "buzzing" sound came from behind again.

　　This sound had already given the Japanese soldiers a psychological shadow.

　　Some Japanese soldiers immediately wanted to whip their horses to go faster,

　　but Inoue Naoki scolded them to stop.

　　They continued to flee forward at a steady pace.

　　Two planes were behind them, one in front of the other,

　　teamed up to strafe them.

　　In front of the two ponds,

　　the Japanese soldiers could still scatter and escape quickly.

　　But when they reached this pond,

　　they could only concentrate on this six- or seven-meter-wide road.

　　Inoue Naoki looked at the planes chasing after them,

　　and finally gave the order:

　　"Charge! Speed up and charge through."

　　He had already decided that after charging through this road,

　　they would rest for half an hour in the still-smoldering village ahead,

　　and see if they could find anything in the ruins of the village.

　　The battalion commander's order

　　was immediately carried out by the Japanese soldiers who were following him.

　　These Japanese soldiers

　　had just run all the way here,

　　seeing warhorses foaming at the mouth and collapsing on the road,

　　and also seeing Japanese soldiers with short legs

　　walking anxiously in this direction.

　　They all knew

　　that if it weren't for the battalion commander's proper command,

　　they would be like those Japanese soldiers.

　　Now that the battalion commander was telling them to charge,

　　of course they had to charge.

　　Na Wenxuan watched as the Japanese cavalry suddenly accelerated

　　and quickly charged into the ambush zone.

　　The villagers of Lizhuang in the distance also saw the Japanese soldiers,

　　and watched as those fierce-looking Japanese soldiers

　　charged over.

　　Although they were so far away,

　　the villagers couldn't help but feel afraid.

　　Just then,

　　it was as if thunder was rumbling:

　　"Boom!"

　　"Boom!"

　　The explosions didn't stop.

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki watched as at least five hundred meters of the road ahead was filled with smoke.

　　"We've been ambushed!"

　　They had been running for so long,

　　and the warhorses were already exhausted.

　　What should they do?

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki asked himself.

　　There were only two paths in front of them:

　　charge straight ahead. If they could charge through, they would escape with their lives.

　　If they couldn't charge through, they would die here.

　　Turn around and run, and take another route.

　　In just one second, Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki made his decision.

　　He drew his command saber,

　　pointed it at Lizhuang, and loudly ordered:

　　"Charge!"

　　"Banzai!"

　　The Japanese soldiers around him shouted loudly

　　and charged forward.

　　Gu Xiangdi watched as the Japanese battalion had already charged past,

　　and only a few scattered Japanese soldiers were riding their warhorses towards them.

　　He loudly ordered:

　　"Fire!"

　　The Second Company, hiding in the two hills, opened fire.

　　"Dududu!"

　　"Dadada!"

　　Machine guns, heavy machine guns, and rifles were all firing.

　　The directional mines had directly cleared the Japanese soldiers from five hundred meters of road.

　　A small number of extremely lucky Japanese soldiers managed to escape with their lives.

　　Some of them were at a loss.

　　It wasn't until Inoue Naoki commanded the Japanese soldiers behind them to charge up

　　that they reacted

　　and joined the ranks of the charge.

　　On the road in front of them,

　　five heavy machine guns suddenly appeared,

　　and the machine guns fired.

　　The directional mines had just exploded,

　　and in the thick smoke,

　　people crawled out of several pits on both sides of the road.

　　They nervously inserted wooden stakes into the ground,

　　and then hammered the wooden stakes in hard,

　　so that they were inserted deeper and more firmly.

　　There were two shiny wire loops on top of the wooden stakes.

　　These were the tripwires that First Company Commander Na Wenxuan had prepared specifically for the 20th Cavalry Regiment.

　　Matsuo Yuki was riding his warhorse in the charge.

　　When he heard Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki's order to charge,

　　he began to accelerate.

　　Now he was charging in the lead.

　　Although he was charging through a battlefield filled with smoke,

　　the road ahead was not very clear.

　　But as long as he grasped the general direction correctly,

　　he wouldn't go wrong.

　　Smoke obscured his vision,

　　and it would also obscure the vision of the NRA.

　　As long as he charged out of the smoke,

　　he would suddenly appear in front of the NRA.

　　Thinking of this, a cruel smile appeared on Matsuo Yuki's face.

　　But before his smile could fully spread,

　　the warhorse let out a whinny,

　　and suddenly tripped and fell.

　　Completely unprepared,

　　Matsuo Yuki, who was smiling,

　　cried out in alarm,

　　and his body shot out like an arrow.

　　He knew everything,

　　and he knew nothing.

　　He crashed into the tripwire in front of him,

　　and his shoulder was as if it had been cut open with a sharp blade.

　　His entire body was split in two.

　　The Japanese soldiers who were charging with him

　　cried out in alarm. Dafeizw.com

　　On the battlefield filled with smoke,

　　the visibility was indeed not good.

　　They simply hadn't noticed that there were tripwires under their feet!

　　Not only that,

　　but there was also a hail of bullets in front of them,

　　constantly sweeping over.

　　When Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki heard the sound of heavy machine guns firing behind him,

　　he knew that there was no possibility of retreating.

　　He himself spurred his warhorse

　　and launched an attack towards Lizhuang.

　　He started a little later.

　　He had just charged a few steps

　　when he heard continuous screams coming from the front.

　　"This isn't the sound that Japanese soldiers make after being shot."

　　Because the hail of bullets in front of them

　　was expected by all the Japanese soldiers.

　　The current screams

　　indicated that something had appeared that the Japanese soldiers hadn't expected.

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki tightened the reins,

　　and had the warhorse under him slow down from the speed it had just picked up.

　　Despite the fact that Japanese soldiers were constantly being shot and falling beside him,

　　and he could hear the whistling of bullets passing by his ears from time to time,

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki still didn't dare to increase his speed.

　　When he ran to the front,

　　he saw that many warhorses had fallen to the ground.

　　Some Japanese soldiers who had seen the opportunity early had already jumped off their warhorses

　　and were crawling on the ground.

　　Seeing the battalion commander coming,

　　they quickly reported:

　　"There are tripwires on the ground!"

　　"Damn it! These enemies are too cunning!" Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki cursed through gritted teeth.

　　With the Japanese soldiers' reminder,

　　he looked carefully at the ground.

　　Half a foot, a foot, a foot and a half off the ground,

　　there were actually three tripwires stretched across the road.

　　Five meters ahead,

　　there was a faint glimmer.

　　Without looking carefully,

　　he could guess

　　that there were also tripwires there.

　　What should they do?

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki could only dismount

　　and crawl forward on the ground like the other Japanese soldiers.

　　They could crawl on the ground,

　　but the warhorses were kneeling on the ground

　　and couldn't crawl.

　　What else could Inoue Maki do?

　　He could only order:

　　"Go and cut all the tripwires."

　　In fact, these wires were easy to break.

　　The swords in the hands of these cavalrymen could cut them.

　　But riding on horseback, they couldn't stretch their bodies in front of the warhorses to cut them.

　　Therefore, they could only send Japanese soldiers to go.

　　Immediately, two Japanese soldiers crawled forward to complete the task.

　　The hail of bullets coming from the opposite side didn't stop at all.

　　Warhorses kneeling on the ground

　　were constantly being hit by bullets.

　　They lay on their sides on the ground,

　　whining incessantly.

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki thought that this was hell for the Second Cavalry Battalion.

　　But who knew that it wasn't!

　　The planes that had just swept over them flew back in formation again.

　　They aimed at the road and strafed it.

　　The remaining Japanese soldiers in the Second Cavalry Battalion were all crawling on the road,

　　enduring the four machine guns in the air plowing across them like plows,

　　all the way across.

　　And it wasn't just once.

　　After the first plane had plowed across,

　　the plane following closely behind would come and re-plow the field.

　　This time, there were fewer than twenty Japanese soldiers left in the entire Second Cavalry Battalion.

　　Inoue Naoki felt the blood on the ground soaking his clothes.

　　He looked around at the environment.

　　There were ponds on both the left and right sides.

　　There were only two paths, forward and backward.

　　The road behind him had already been cut off,

　　and the road ahead had also been cut off.

　　His own path to survival had also been cut off!

　　The Japanese soldiers who had crawled forward to cut the tripwires hadn't returned for so long.

　　Battalion Commander Inoue Naoki didn't wait any longer.

　　He patted his warhorse

　　and told it to wait for his orders here.

　　He crawled forward,

　　thirty meters.