Chapter 89: Escaping the Predicament

  When the gunfire was loud in the Japanese concession, the special task force of the 38th Division led by Huang Weikang and most of the police officers from the Tianjin Garrison Command under the leadership of Regimental Commander Huang Jian Guo sealed off all the roads leading to the outside world and set up mortars and heavy machine guns on He Ping Road.

  When Daqiao Zhengjie led his men to follow Ou Yangyun's group to get here, seeing such an array, he just knew that he had fallen into the other party's plan. He was first shocked and thought, "Is China and Japan going to war?" After thinking about it, he felt that the Chinese didn't have the guts to attack the concession equivalent to Japanese territory, and he couldn't bear to let Ou Yangyun and others get away with it. He ordered his men to line up in opposition, seeing that Huang Jian's military rank was the highest among the soldiers opposite him, and asked loudly: "Whose subordinates are you? What do you want to do?"

  Huang Jian Guo had already received Huang Wei Gang's instructions, and he ordered his subordinates to protect Ouyang Yun and the others. He retorted: "What are you doing? This question should be asked by me instead, why did you kidnap our country's citizens? What? Do you think this is also the three eastern provinces?"

  He said that for a reason, from the personal will and unique training methods of their superiors Zhang Zizhong. Zhang Zizhong had a very high sense of national dignity, after the September 18th Incident, he deeply realized that only by unifying the gun barrels outward could they protect their homes and defend their country, so every day during morning exercises, he would educate his subordinates on "national humiliation" - whose land is Northeast?

  We are Chinese.

  But now it's been taken over by Japanese people, are you resentful?

  Extremely resentful!

  Our country is on the verge of collapse, at this extraordinary moment, what should we do?

  We must unite as one, work hard and train diligently, and recover our lost territories as soon as possible.

  ……

  It is precisely because of the "national shame" education that has been insisted on for many years, so the officers and soldiers of the 38th Division have a special hatred for the Japanese people, and their determination to resist Japan is second to none in the 29th Army.

  Ouyang Yun led his men into the Japanese concession to rescue people, and this matter could be big or small. If their true identities were exposed, or even captured alive, then anything could happen next. After sending off Ouyang Yun, Zhang Zizhong thought about it more and felt that this was no trivial matter, so he immediately called Song Zheyuan to ask for instructions on the next course of action.

  The Japanese have been arrogant in China for a long time, and currently, the relationship with the 29th Army is a bit delicate. What Zhang Zizhong worries about most is that the Japanese will take this opportunity to come up with another agreement, forcing the 29th Army to withdraw from Tianjin or even Hebei province. After the signing of the "Chahar Agreement", the 29th Army was forced to withdraw from the Chahar and Zhangbei regions, including the 38th Division. When they retreated, many local people followed the troops with their families to escape. Those who couldn't escape stood by the road, crying and kneeling down, asking them not to leave. Because once the Chinese army left, the Japanese-controlled bandits and puppet troops would move in, and the people would be subjected to a life of slavery under Japanese rule. Zhang Zizhong had experienced this before and shed many tears, really not wanting to go through such a painful experience again.

  Song Zheyuan was furious when he learned that Ouyang Yun had once again entered the Japanese concession with only five men, and slammed down his teacup on the spot. He yelled over the phone: "What nonsense! Does this little brat Ouyang Yun think our 29th Army is a joke? Doesn't he know he's a soldier?! As the commander of the Learning Troop and the father figure of Renqiu, can't he just stay put and handle his official duties properly?! Instead, he goes to rescue some little girl by poking his head into the tiger's den! Does he think the Japanese are made of paper?!"

  It's no wonder Song Zheyuan was so angry, the prospect described in the plan drafted by Ouyang Yun was really too enticing. But if he suddenly died inexplicably in the concession area, wouldn't all this become a mere illusion? Song Zheyuan is now genuinely anxious about it, so after venting his anger, he gritted his teeth and ordered Zhang Zizhong to definitely bring Ouyang Yun out, and if anything happened, he would take responsibility.

  Men always have a temper, it seems that Old Song is ready to go all out. He thinks: if all else fails, he'll just beat the crap out of him. The old man has had enough of being bullied by those little brats in recent years.

  Zhang Zizhong gained confidence and ordered Huang Weikang to send people to surround the Japanese concession, waiting for an opportunity to respond to Ouyang Yun's party. He was not in close contact with Ouyang Yun and did not know his value, but he admired him for daring to take risks personally as a traveling officer.

  Ouyang Yun originally sought an audience with Zhang Zizhong purely out of official courtesy to give him some face, but unexpectedly it had a remarkable effect.

  The Black Dragon Society's branch was about 1,500 meters away from the entrance of the Anding Street concession. He pushed the Japanese woman behind him and almost walked backwards for the entire distance. The woman apparently wanted to die actively, struggling desperately along the way, several times almost causing him to pull the pin on a hand grenade. Among the five people, although the other four were all injured, he was the most exhausted. As he backed away, he didn't notice the formation set up by Huang Jian's troops. When they exited the concession, he heard the sound of footsteps and guns being cocked behind him. He turned his head to look back, overjoyed and relieved - knowing that he had once again been lucky, it seemed he had escaped disaster.

  Huang Jian Guo also felt a mix of relief and regret - deep down, he had hoped the incident would escalate further. What's the big deal about the little devils? If they want to fight, then let them! This was probably what most lower-ranking officers in the 29th Army were thinking. At this time, Ou Yang Yun and others were still wearing Japanese military uniforms, but the standoff between the two sides was clear, with Chu Tian Ge and others carrying wounded people. Huang Jian Guo immediately ordered his men to be on guard, then took over the bodies of Gu Xiang Yun and others from Chu Tian Ge and others. The three of them had walked a long way, each one exhausted, but Zhang Hua Ming refused to hand over Cheng Gang's body to anyone else. He held onto the corpse of his fellow villager, looking at that face which seemed to be sleeping peacefully in the dim light, then glared at the Japanese with sparks flying from his eyes.

  Ouyang Yun glanced at him and knew something was off, hastily telling Chu Tiange and Xiong Dacheng to keep an eye on him, fearing he might make some untoward move. Then, he pulled back his belt, lifted one foot and kicked it into the buttocks of Sakuya, the owner of the wine house, saying to the pale-faced Ohashi Masao: "A woman's duty is to be a wife and have children, are you Japanese men extinct? You actually let women go to war! It's really inhumane."

  He's a standard profiteer, taking advantage of the situation and selling his wares at an outrageous price; Ohashi Junko is so angry that she's stuttering and almost incoherent. She trips and falls to the ground, spitting out blood - because of her background, even though Tsuchiya was her superior, he always spoke to her with courtesy and respect. What kind of humiliation had she ever suffered before? "Chinaman! Tell me your name!" She quickly scrambles to her feet, glaring at Ouyang Yun with eyes that seem to be spitting fire.

  Ouyang Yun twisted her neck and snorted: "Chinese men!"

  "I challenge you to a duel!"

  "No, I don't like bullying women! Bullying women, especially the weak and the innocent, is something only you Japanese beasts can do!" Ouyang Yun said, glancing at Gu Xiangyun who had already been thrown to the ground. A flame of anger ignited in his eyes. In his heart, he secretly vowed: a debt of blood must be repaid with blood, this account will be settled one day.

  "Coward!"

  Huang Jian received the order to seal off the exit of the concession first, and then try to find out the life or death of the brave men who went in to rescue (Ouyang Yun specially requested Zhang Zizhong not to mention his name when they met). If someone is still alive, he will enter with a flag to rescue the hostages. If everyone is dead, he will return their bodies. He was somewhat impatient with Ouyang Yun and the Japanese, asking: "Have all the people come out?" After getting an affirmative answer, he said: "Then you can leave quickly, we'll take care of the rest."

  "Thank you!"

  "Hurry up and go, lest you have many dreams in a long night."

  "Please tell Master Zhang that I owe him a favor."

  "Let's go."

  Gu Xu Dong and Hou De Bang's family had already left Tianjin at this time. After Ou Yang Yun and others left He Ping Road, they first went to the designated location to send Dong Da Cheng's body back.

  Feng Hengcheng and several masters of Tianjin Wulin were there, seeing Dong Dacheng's body, several people couldn't help but shed tears.

  Ouyang Yun felt extremely ashamed, and the surviving members of the Wolf Fang Squad saluted Dong Dacheng's body. He said to Feng Hengcheng: "Sorry, it was us who wronged him. Does he have any family? Parents, children, we will take care of them."

  Feng Hengcheng took out his handkerchief to wipe away tears and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. We will take responsibility for Dong brother's family. You should leave quickly now, and we still need to thank you for this matter."

  "Excuse me, everyone, let's take our leave first," Ouyang Yun saluted the crowd with a military salute, turned around and walked outwards. When he reached the door, he turned back to say: "If there's anything you need help with in the future, just come find me at Renqiu. If I'm not there, look for Xuebing Travel - see you later!"

  Because there was still a class at Yanda University tomorrow, Ouyang Yun originally wanted to return to Beiping, but Gu Xiangyun had died. He felt that he should give an account to Gu Xu Dong, so he went to Renqiu first. On the way, he was worried about Zhang Huaming's condition and specially arranged for him to sit in the front with Cheng Gang. Originally, he wanted to take the opportunity to comfort him, but before he could speak, Zhang Huaming felt it and said hoarsely: "Mr. Lv, don't worry, I'm fine."

  "Hua Ming, with war comes sacrifice. Later on, we will lose even more comrades, and perhaps we will also die. However, we still have to complete the sacred mission of defending our home and country. We who are fortunate enough to be alive should cherish our lives even more, because the unfulfilled wishes of our fallen comrades must be fulfilled by us. From now on, you are not fighting alone, Cheng Gang will be watching over you from beneath."

  Zhang Huaming choked with sobs, then burst into loud wailing, crying and saying: "We agreed to go back together, what if one day I go back alone... how can I face his parents..."

  Ouyang Yun was silent, and the atmosphere in the car suddenly became solemn. However, Zhang Huaming's knot was finally untied, which is a good thing.

  The next morning, more than ten o'clock, Ouyang Yun and his party arrived at Renqiu. Renqiu is a small county town, when Zhao Dengyu's troops were stationed here, they had already pressed down the military camp, and the student army took advantage of it, so they had a place to stay as soon as they came.

  Gu Xudong and others were arranged to stay in the military camp, while Ouyang Yun and his group took Gu Xiangyun's body to see her parents and relatives, feeling extremely guilty in their hearts.

  The Gu family, including Hou Debang and others, were worried about Gu Xiangyun's safety, and one by one, they were all anxious. They saw Ouyang Yun and his group walking over, but there was no sign of Gu Xiangyun among them. Instead, in the crowd, there was a stretcher covered with a sheet, which gave them a bad feeling. Mrs. Gu didn't know where she got the strength from, rushed over, lifted up the corner of the sheet and saw her daughter's pale face and tightly closed eyes, and let out a cry: "My child!" Then she fainted.

  Ouyang Yun hastily supported her, then awkwardly pretended to be calm, but his footsteps and expression were already in disarray. He met Gu Xudong who was approaching him and said: "Mr. Gu, I'm really sorry!"

  Gu Xudong knew the danger of their journey, but he had always held onto a glimmer of hope. Now that he heard this, his hopes were shattered, and tears streamed down his face. He took his wife into his arms and choked back sobs, saying: "No, no, you've suffered so much. Officer Ouyang, are you all right?"

  "We lost two comrades and Dong Ge also met with misfortune."

  "Ah! That really is, really is……” Gu Xudong was obviously trying to express his admiration and gratitude for the martyrs, but the blow of losing his daughter was too great, and he couldn't get the words out.