Chapter 48

Sai Diaochan, Monkey, Bear, Boss Huang, and the underground party comrades from Qingzhou were completing a task given to them by the Fat Man. As the Fat Man put it, it was "glorious and arduous" — each of them had a bucket of red paint and a brush, and they were to paint four large characters on prominent walls around the city, avoiding the Japanese soldiers.

They received the same order as Commander Ma: when the No. 1 warehouse exploded, it would be time for them to evacuate, and then Boss Huang would send them out of the city by water.

The Fat Man was leading two squads of Japanese soldiers in a desperate retreat. The Japanese, unaware of the situation, thought they were reinforcements for the Sakata Battalion in the neighboring county, and they were all eager to fight.

Three battalions of the Eighth Route Army were evacuating the battlefield, and the bandits led by Sai Tiger scattered in a panic. This feigned attack and ambush, provoked by a single word from the Fat Man, did not end there. No one expected that the situation would escalate further.

To understand the situation, we need to go back to the beginning. When the first cannon shot hit the west gate of Qingzhou, the officers of the Shallow Field Brigade were frightened. The reason was simple: in the pitch-black night, the city gate suddenly came under artillery fire. The Japanese thought, how could a battalion-level Chinese army unit possibly have artillery? At most, they would have mortars. In the dark, it was hard to identify the targets. The cunning Chinese soldiers fired one shot and immediately changed positions, leaving the Japanese artillery no chance to aim.

Now, the situation was that the city gate had lights, while outside the west gate, it was pitch black. One side could aim accurately, while the other fired blindly. The Shallow Field Brigade believed that the city was under attack by a division-level unit. The Eighth Route Army's artillery fired one shot and then changed positions, and the machine guns did the same, avoiding the Japanese long-range artillery. This made the Japanese think that the attacking army had many artillery and machine gun positions. The commanders calculated and estimated that there were six, five, or four divisions, but no one could confirm the exact number of Chinese soldiers attacking the city.

Shallow Field was relatively calm, but unfortunately, his subordinates were not. Because of his royal status, he almost triggered a major battle.

His subordinates wanted to leave the city to test the strength of the attacking Chinese soldiers, but the usually steady Shallow Field refused. They wanted to send a telegram to the division headquarters to request support, as Qingzhou was a strategic transportation hub with a large stockpile of food and weapons, which could not be lost. Shallow Field refused again because of his royal status. As a member of the royal family, he could not let the empire lose face, nor could he let the royal family lose face.

Most importantly, there were minefields outside the city, and at night, no one could see clearly. Going out would mean blowing themselves up, and Shallow Field would not take such a risk.

Shallow Field's refusal to allow this and that was because he had already seen through the Eighth Route Army's bluff. However, his subordinates could not afford to take the risk. Who was Shallow Field? A member of the imperial family. If he were captured on the Chinese battlefield, it would be a disgrace to all imperial soldiers and a devastating blow to their morale.

Shallow Field's adjutant, taking advantage of his inattention, secretly called the division commander, and thus the situation began to develop in a direction that the Fat Man could never have imagined.

Near Qingzhou, the entire division, which was scattered in garrisons, quickly gathered towards Qingzhou. Bombers were preparing to take off and drop bombs. What did it matter if it was dark? As long as there was a battle, there would be firelight, and they could drop bombs by following the firelight.

The entire Japanese division was mobilized, and this kept the intelligence personnel of the underground party, the Central Intelligence Bureau, and the Military Intelligence Bureau busy. Radio waves crisscrossed the night sky, and the Nationalist Army stationed along the Qingzhou line finally moved.

Dozens of divisions were fighting desperately in the Battle of Shanghai. One division would be decimated, and another would replace it. Although the intensity of the battle was not felt in Qingzhou, the Nationalist Army stationed there had been on high alert. Upon receiving intelligence about the Japanese division's movements, even the officers who were sleeping with women rushed back to their positions in their shorts. Not to mention the officers and soldiers in the command posts and trenches, who feared that they might never wake up if they fell asleep.

War is that cruel. It can take your life at any moment, even while you are asleep.

The Fat Man had no idea that his actions to secure a truckload of food had mobilized tens of thousands of Japanese, Nationalist, and Eighth Route Army soldiers for the entire night.

Old Li looked at the Fat Man in the military truck and was taken aback. Wasn't this Liu the interpreter?

The Fat Man was also taken aback. Wasn't this Old Li, the commander of the puppet army's second company?

When the convoy arrived, the north gate was open. The Fat Man had no intention of making the Japanese stop, and he ordered the convoy to speed through the city gate without slowing down.

"What's going on?" Old Li scratched the back of his head and smiled bitterly, watching the convoy disappear into the dust. He was puzzled. Wasn't it supposed to be one military truck? Why were there four? And the Japanese were escorting it. How did the fat interpreter end up on it? Wasn't he captured by the Nationalist Army a few days ago? What about the son-in-law? Did he come or not? The No. 1 warehouse was already blown up, but where were the people?

Old Li's head was a mess. Nothing went according to plan.

Just ten minutes after the Fat Man left the west gate, the gate had just closed when two Japanese motorcycles and a military truck, loaded with soldiers, also rushed to the west gate. Old Li naturally did not dare to stop them. He deliberately slowed down the actions of his men who were opening the gate, delaying them a bit before opening the gate to let the Japanese pursuit force out of the city.

At this speed, the Fat Man would reach the Japanese checkpoint in twenty minutes. There, a squad of Japanese soldiers and a company of puppet army were stationed, and they had a telephone line to the brigade headquarters in the city. Whether he could get through would depend on the "loyalty" of the Japanese soldiers he had deceived.

"Did you hear the gunfire outside the city just now?" The Fat Man opened the rear window and formally addressed the two sergeants.

"Sir, we have heard it. We are confined to our own tasks, otherwise we would have joined the battle and killed all the Chinese soldiers outside the city!" one of the sergeants said.

"Sir, we are honored to be able to come out with you this time. Please lead us to eliminate the Chinese soldiers!" The other sergeant, more perceptive, bowed and was good at flattering.

"Please!" The first sergeant also bowed, expressing his loyalty.

"Um, you are excellent soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire. As long as you complete this mission to escort the food and weapons, I will definitely recommend you for promotion to Brigade Commander Shallow Field!" The Fat Man continued to deceive them in formal Japanese, but in his heart, he was cursing. "Damn, you two deserve to be shot. How dare you talk big? I'll take care of you in a bit."

"Sir, we will do our best to serve you." The two sergeants straightened up and saluted the Fat Man.

"Good, the Sakata Battalion urgently needs the weapons and food on the truck. If you are obstructed, shoot to kill. The Chinese soldiers might pretend to be us!" The Fat Man continued to lie, without a hint of hesitation, and his performance was so convincing that it seemed genuine.

"Sir!" The two sergeants were completely on his hook. The "kind" Japanese sergeants, encountering the cunning Fat Man, were destined for tragedy.

The headlights of the four Japanese military trucks shone far into the night, and not far away, a checkpoint and fortifications filled with Japanese soldiers appeared.

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