Chapter 386: Execution

The battle of Jingzhou also completely annihilated the Japanese Army 39th Division, and later the Japanese Army headquarters will probably cancel that formation.

The three stood side by side on the high platform of the training ground: Jiang Anguo, Hu Lian, and Xu Guozhang.

Hu Lian grabbed Jiang Anguo's arm and whispered, "Anguo, we can't do this; once we take this step, there will be no chance to regret."

Jiang Anguo was unfazed, "I never thought about regret. When the Japanese Army pushed the civilians onto the city walls, did they ever regret it?"

Hu Lian fell silent.

Jiang Anguo understood what Hu Lian was worrying about; killing prisoners, no matter how great the hatred, is still a very small number.

Especially Japanese prisoners are too important for Chongqing, far more important than killing many Japanese soldiers.

Xu Guozhang said loudly, "Alright! If you ask me, why keep any prisoners? Just kill them and it's easier. We aren't even full, yet we keep prisoners—damn you, you turtle son—just kill them! What are you scared of? Whatever it is, brother will shoulder it with you!"

Xu Guozhang's words completely roused all the officers of the 11th Division present.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The shouts of "Kill!" thundered, and gradually tens of thousands of Jingzhou civilians joined the soldiers' cries, waving their fists and shouting loudly as if to vent their resentment.

Hu Lian, seeing this, also understood that the prisoners were definitely to be killed today.

It was indeed carried out in front of the civilians, and this batch was not small—about six hundred plus, each group consisting of ten people.

The Little Devils to be executed were also screened; first, the Jingzhou civilians identified them, and any Little Devil who had bullied civilians was the first to be selected.

If they had killed anyone, they could not be spared.

"First group," an officer beside them raised a hand.

A line of soldiers, holding Mauser rifles, aimed at the Little Devils.

From behind.

It doesn't exist!

The purpose is to let the Little Devils watch how they die.

The execution soldiers were "hand‑picked", specifically the worst shooters in the unit, with the rule that they could not aim at the head; anyone who did would be punished on return.

The Little Devils were bound to pre‑made pillars, unable to move.

The Little Devils trembled in fear, their eyes full of terror.

"Don't!"

"Save me!"

"Amaterasu!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

The officer commanding the execution lowered his hand and shouted, "Fire."

Bang bang bang!

The smoke cleared, and indeed the shooters were terrible; fortunately the front was open ground, and civilians were not allowed behind the Little Devils, lest the bullets hit their own people.

Two of the Little Devils surprisingly had no gunshots on them.

When the gunfire rang, the Little Devils closed their eyes, fearful and terrified.

"Howl!"

Howls and wails rose, and several Little Devils were not killed.

Nevertheless, they were all hit by 7.92 mm bullets; without prompt medical aid, death was near.

The civilians watching from afar, the timid ones, covered their eyes at the moment of firing, yet couldn't help slipping a glimpse through a small gap.

When they saw the Little Devils hit and hear the cries, the surrounding civilians cheered.

"Good, let the Little Devil die."

"That's how we do it, pain‑kill the Little Devil."

"You turtle son, they really got cheap with them."

"Don't know if we'll have a chance to beat the Little Devils a few times."

Soon, Jiang Anguo fulfilled the civilians' wish by taking the still‑alive, weak Little Devils down from the pillars.

He "sent" them into the crowd of civilians.

Good fellow, it took less than a second to send them in.

From afar, Jiang Anguo could see the Little Devil's ear being the first to be torn off.

At first the older civilians hesitated, but once they saw someone act, the speed was swift; everyone's target was clear—the Little Devil's ear, an easy mark.

It came off with a single pull.

If that failed, they'd pull the Little Devil's hair.

As for fists, footprints, just look at the lifeless Little Devils on the ground—you'll know how great the civilians' resentment is.

Especially the relatives and friends of those civilians who were driven by the Little Devils to jump off the city walls yesterday; they dealt harshly with the Little Devils.

"Father, did you see? I avenged you," a man knelt, his face streaked with tears, crying.

The civilians' anger was vented, and the wronged souls of Jingzhou were appeased with the Little Devils' blood.

"Anguo, aren't you being too ruthless!" Hu Lian could no longer stand it.

Jiang Anguo shook his head, "Ruthless—against the Little Devils we must be even harsher. Haven't you encountered the enemy using Poison Gas Shells on the battlefield? Even the Little Devils can use that; these beasts are not human."

"Alright! Little brother, I like your temperament, Sergeant Hu, you are at least Jiang's brother‑in‑law; you're efficient in battle, why dawdle over killing a few Little Devils?" Xu Guozhang really didn't like Hu Lian's character.

Hu Lian was also conflicted; he wanted to advise Jiang Anguo not to use such cruel methods, to give the Little Devils a swift end.

Of course, he felt satisfied; the 11th Division's soldiers had received solid training.

However, the executions had already begun, so Hu Lian stopped trying to persuade anyone.

At the execution ground.

The two Little Devils still alive were nothing but a handful of shit and a handful of urine.

The onlookers among the common folk grew even more excited, realizing that even Little Devils could be scared.

"Baka!"

The Little Devil began swearing and muttering.

But it was of no use at all.

The soldiers carrying out the execution already raised their guns, bang bang.

The gunfire sounded again; this time their luck wasn't as good, and the bullets struck their bodies and thighs directly.

Fresh blood spurted out.

Seeing they could no longer survive, they were taken down from the pillar; these two Little Devils were lucky, in the end they only coughed up some fresh blood and never even endured the fists and kicks of the Jingzhou townsfolk.

Jiang Anguo thought he couldn't be lenient with Sasaki Toichi, so he gathered all the Japanese Army officers and had them stand in neat rows.

The Guard Company soldiers pressed down on this group of Japanese Army officers; the once proud and flamboyant Japanese Army officers had now become prisoners of the Huaxia army.

Sasaki Toichi watched the soldiers of Imperial Japan being slaughtered under the muzzles of the China army's guns.

"Baka, your conscience is terribly bad, you're not a soldier." Sasaki Toichi shouted angrily.

"Sasaki Toichi, look, this is the fate of you invaders." Jiang Anguo thought it still wasn't enough; it was insufficient to avenge the Jingzhou townsfolk's hatred, insufficient to repay the sins the Japanese Army committed on Huaxia's land.

He wanted even more Little Devils to die.

This execution, from morning till night, turned the blood into a river; beside it was the Jingxiang River. Perhaps Heaven also did not wish the Little Devils' blood to flow into Jingzhou's land, and indeed it did not enter the Jingxiang River.

The dead bodies of the Little Devils were tossed aside, drenched with gasoline, and the flames shot up into the sky.