Chapter 381: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 391 Prisoners

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Sun Liren led the armored troops as the First Echelon, opening the way ahead.

Having learned from previous experience, Sun Liren had already understood that the Japanese Army's will to fight was no longer what it once was; they could be completely intimidated by force to avoid unnecessary combat.

Thus, the Armored Pursuit Force, using the loudspeakers installed on their vehicles, repeatedly demanded that the Japanese Army kneel and surrender.

When they encountered Japanese soldiers who surrendered, they did exactly as before, copying the tactic exactly.

They ordered the Japanese troops to leave the road and line up kneeling by the roadside.

When they encountered Japanese routed troops stubbornly resisting, they used tank treads, machine guns, and tank cannons to clear the way, chasing eastward all the way.

Sun Liren's approach left a trail of prisoners for Zhou Weiguo, who served as the Second Echelon.

Zhou Weiguo had no choice but to lead his Xian Bing, cleaning up the Japanese prisoners who had laid down their weapons along the way.

Although Zhou Weiguo did not state it explicitly, regarding his attitude toward these Japanese prisoners, he also knew that according to convention, the Japanese could not survive in the hands of the Youth Army.

Therefore, he tacitly allowed those surrendering devils to be shot dead by his own subordinates in the end.

However, after a while, a telegram was sent from within Lanfeng City and delivered to Zhou Weiguo's command vehicle.

"Report! Urgent telegram from Lanfeng City!"

This urgent telegram was sent by Liao Yaoxiang from within Lanfeng City.

Zhou Weiguo and Sun Liren advanced to strike, pursuing the Japanese routed troops along the Longhai Railway Line.

As for Liao Yaoxiang himself, he held the recently recovered Lanfeng City.

Zhou Weiguo looked at the telegram paper, good grief, this was not common in the Youth Army!

"Immediately transmit the order down, strictly ordering all units, forbid shooting Japanese prisoners!"

A staff officer beside him was also stunned.

"Don't just stand there, this is Lu Commander's highest order, concentrate and detain the captive devils!"

On the Longhai Railway Line, a unit of the Youth Army captured more than two hundred Japanese soldiers.

A Youth Army Company Commander was about to deal with these Japanese soldiers: "Machine guns ready!"

"Report! Battalion headquarters urgent telegram! Ordering us to forbid shooting prisoners!" The signalman carrying the radio shouted as he ran over, afraid the Company Commander would make a mistake.

The Company Commander also looked puzzled and asked: "What's going on?"

"The Battalion Commander ordered us to escort these devils to the Labor Camp, and said nothing else!"

Although feeling indignant, this Youth Army Company Commander did not dare disobey his superior's order.

"Let them tie each other up, anyone who moves will be shot immediately~!"

Several Youth Army soldiers threw a bundle of rope to the devils, letting them tie their own hands.

The devils, seeing they had finally escaped disaster, picked up the ropes before them, tied their own hands one by one, were linked into a string, and were escorted by the Youth Army soldiers.

Leaving these surrendering Japanese soldiers a way to live was not Lv Muzhi's true intention.

Lv Muzhi's true intention was to have these Japanese serve as free labor.

Any captive devil was all sent to work, doing water conservancy, farming, digging trenches... all hard labor was left to the devils.

It could be said that these devils counted as quality labor.

No wages paid, working at least twelve hours a day, and eating little.

Alive, they were given a bowl of congee to get by; dead, they were burned with fire to fertilize the fields.

Thus, along the Longhai Railway Line, loudspeakers everywhere were publicizing the Youth Army's policy of treating prisoners well and absolutely not massacring them.

Sun Liren's armored troops advanced all the way; Japanese troops along the route were fine as long as they did not block the road or shoot.

This made the fleeing Japanese begin to believe that the Youth Army's policy of treating prisoners well might be true!

At this moment, the 21st Division Commander, Lieutenant General Sakai Matsudaira, riding a train speeding along the railway line, was praying.

"May Amaterasu bless us, successfully reach Dangshan Fortress, and escape the clutches of the Youth Army..."

Squeak squeak squeak squeak!!!

The train made an emergency stop, and inertia caused Lieutenant General Sakai Matsudaira to pitch forward, falling flat on his face.

"Eight Gua! What's going on! Who ordered the driver to stop!"

After a while, a staff officer came in to report: "The railway line ahead has been bombed by enemy fighters; the train cannot be used temporarily!"

Sakai Matsudaira was greatly alarmed: "How far is it to Dangshan? Prepare the vehicle quickly!"

The staff officer got off the train with Sakai Matsudaira, walking and saying: "There are still forty kilometers; the road ahead can only be traveled by vehicle or horse."

Sakai Matsudaira stood by the track, hands on his waist, watching the Japanese troops being transported on the train get off one by one and start marching on foot.

On the roads on both sides, there were Japanese vehicles and horses, as well as Xian Bing on foot, all hurrying toward Dangshan.

"How is the Lanzhou direction? With the Independent Mixed 13th Brigade covering the rear, Lv Muzhi's troops shouldn't be able to catch up so quickly, right?"

The staff officer replied: "The Independent Mixed 13th Brigade has completely lost contact; as for the Youth Army's pursuers, fighters are everywhere in the sky, and where the ground forces have pursued is still unknown;

We'd better hurry!"

A Japanese guard casually stopped an automobile on the road and then greeted Lieutenant General Sakai Matsudaira to get in the car and hurry.

Boom boom boom~

The roar of fighters came from the sky.

"Airstrike~! Disperse immediately!"

Cries rose and fell among the crowd of devils, signaling that danger was approaching.

Seeing this, Lieutenant General Sakai Matsudaira dared not sit in his car; he got out and lay flat on the ground in the distance.

The Youth Army's fighter planes arrived above Sakai Matsudaira.

They launched attacks on the automobiles and trains on the railway and road.

Boom boom boom~

One after another, trucks, automobiles, and horse-drawn carts were overturned by the Youth Army's fighter planes, destroyed in flames and smoke.

Sakai Matsudaira lay on the ground, watching a car in the distance turn directly into a fireball; unable to help himself, he tightened his fist and struck the earth resentfully.

"Why isn't the Army Group's Fleet Air Group coming to support us?! Just letting us be bombed like this!"

The Staff Officer reported: "It should be that they've already experienced air combat; clearly, our air superiority has been lost again!"

"The Navy Fools clearly equipped a batch of advanced fighter planes in advance; why not lend some fighter planes to the Army Air Force!"

This question was not something a Staff Officer could answer; all he could do was obediently take the bombing.

After a round of heavy bombardment, almost all means of transportation nearby were destroyed.

The Staff Officer carefully stood up, watching the departing Youth Army fighter planes, and said: "Your Excellency, it seems there are still horses to ride; you'll have to wrong yourself by riding a horse to Dangshan Fortress!"

"Have the cavalry bring over the horses; the Division Commander wants to ride a horse!"

But before the horses were brought over, another batch of fighter planes flew in from the sky, bombing and strafing the top of Sakai Matsudaira's division again.

"Division Commander! An enemy armored unit has appeared on the Western Front!"

"The Youth Army has caught up!"

Sakai Matsudaira tightened his fist: "Deploy on the spot, blocking defense! How many enemies are there?!"

The Japanese Army Reconnaissance Soldier reported: "Not many people."

Sakai Matsudaira flew into a rage and slapped the Reconnaissance Soldier's face: "Not many people means how many people?!"

The Japanese Army Reconnaissance Soldier covered his face and said wrongfully: "Indeed, I didn't see many people; the pursuing Youth Army has over a hundred tanks!"

Sakai Matsudaira stared wide-eyed in fright: "What are the troops behind our backs doing, letting them catch up just like that?"

"This... this subordinate doesn't know..."

The Staff Officer asked: "Division Commander, should we continue retreating or conduct blocking defense?"

A Communications Soldier carrying a radio stepped forward to report: "The 27th Division Cavalry Regiment is on the way to rendezvous, still 10 kilometers from our army!"

Sakai Matsudaira thought for a moment: "Leave one regiment to conduct blocking defense on the spot; the remaining people continue to withdraw and rendezvous with the 27th Division Cavalry Regiment's rendezvous troops!"