Chapter Thirty-One: The Japanese Army Trembles!

Having killed the commander of the Japanese Sixth Division along with more than half of their senior officers was indeed a great achievement, but it was clear that the enemy would soon be frantically searching for them. Their current situation remained perilous. The most pressing matter was to evacuate the area immediately, for they were only two kilometers from where Kosaku Taniguchi had fallen. If the Japanese main force received news and began searching the surroundings, there would be no way for them to escape.

Should they be discovered by the Japanese, their battered unit—still carrying several wounded—would stand no chance against the enemy’s vengeful fury.

Under these circumstances, Chen Qingzhi silenced his men’s excited chatter, his face turning solemn as he declared, “Brothers, the enemy may pursue us at any moment. We must withdraw at once!”

“The commander is right. We need to leave as quickly as possible!” Fang Xiaodong’s expression changed as he hastened to agree.

The men swiftly gathered their belongings and crossed the river, making their way toward Xuzhou.

They were heading straight for the epicenter of the next campaign, determined to fight on at the very front of the anti-Japanese battlefield.

But before that, Chen Qingzhi and his men had one more thing to do.

“Fang Xiaodong, send a clear, open transmission! Broadcast the news of our killing the commander of the Japanese Sixth Division, Kosaku Taniguchi, and the other high-ranking officers!” Chen Qingzhi ordered, his expression resolute.

“What?” Fang Xiaodong was taken aback, but quickly understood and replied with a wry smile, “Commander, if we do this, the Japanese will see us as a thorn in their side. They won’t rest until we’re annihilated.”

His surprise was understandable. By sending an open transmission about killing Taniguchi, Chen Qingzhi was essentially slapping the Japanese in the face.

Given their vengeful nature, they would consider Chen and his men sworn enemies. They would never rest until they had destroyed them.

“What’s there to fear? We’re determined to fight the Japanese to the end anyway! After taking Taniguchi’s life, there’s no chance they’ll let us go. Since that’s the case, we might as well give them a little more trouble!” Chen Qingzhi replied.

Hearing this, Fang Xiaodong nodded, “That’s true!” He then went off, grinning, to find the radio operator.

Originally, Chen Qingzhi’s battalion had no radio equipment. But after their complete victory over the Japanese 115th Regiment at Zhonghua Gate, they had captured two sets, making their communications unusually well-equipped.

Fang Xiaodong sent the message in clear code, broadcasting it across the nation, then immediately shut down the radio.

Chen Qingzhi took a sweeping look at everyone present, then waved his arm: “Brothers, let’s go!”

“Our destination—Xuzhou!”

…

Less than half an hour after Chen Qingzhi led his men away, countless frenzied Japanese troops scoured the area near where Taniguchi had fallen, but found not a trace of the assailants.

Meanwhile, Chen Qingzhi’s open transmission caused a nationwide sensation.

On December 13, 1937—the very day Nanjing fell to the Japanese—radio stations across the country received the following message:

“Fellow compatriots of the Republic of China, brothers and sisters, I am Chen Qingzhi, battalion commander of the 527th Regiment, 246th Brigade, 88th Division, 71st Army of the National Revolutionary Army! On this day, as Nanjing fell, I led my battered unit in retreat and encountered one of the main culprits of the Japanese invasion, Kosaku Taniguchi, commander of the Japanese Sixth Division, along with several other high-ranking officers!”

“I personally led sixteen men in a surprise attack on Taniguchi, killing the Sixth Division’s Lieutenant General Commander, Kosaku Taniguchi, Major General Chief of Staff Ichiho Shimono, Brigadier General Commander of the Eleventh Brigade Tokutaro Kikai, and most of the Sixth Division’s regimental commanders. The majority of the Japanese Sixth Division’s senior leadership has been wiped out by my hand!”

“Here, I warn the Japanese: the Chinese nation is not one to be trampled upon at will. If you dare to invade, though we do not seek war, we shall rise in resistance, blade against gun!”

“Finally, on my own behalf, I advise the Japanese: surrender your arms now, for when our nation mounts a full-scale counterattack, your destruction will be at hand!”

“My words end here. Let the Japanese not say they were not forewarned!”

“December 13, Year 26 of the Republic, written by Chen Qingzhi, Major and Battalion Commander of the 527th Regiment, during retreat.”

…

Japanese Shanghai Expeditionary Army Headquarters

Bang!

“Baka! Such audacity, this Chen Qingzhi must die!”

General Iwane Matsui, commander of the Japanese Shanghai Expeditionary Army, tore the message to shreds in a fit of rage, bellowing furiously.

His face twisted with fury, he smashed his favorite Qing dynasty vase, then struck the officer before him—a colonel—across the face, not once but a dozen times, until welts and finger marks stood out upon his swelling cheeks, making him look pig-headed.

Yet the colonel stood at rigid attention, not daring to show the least dissatisfaction.

“Baka! Useless fools! Absolute idiots!” Matsui roared like an enraged lion, his bloodshot eyes blazing. “An Imperial Army lieutenant general, a division commander, killed in a sneak attack by the Chinese! This is a humiliation to the Empire!”

“From the division commander to brigade and regimental officers, all dead at Chen Qingzhi’s hand. The Sixth Division is in chaos, leaderless! This is a disgrace the Empire can never erase!”

“And what’s even more shameful is that you still haven’t caught the culprit! Useless, the lot of you!”

He glared murderously at the colonel, shouting, “Since our Imperial Army landed in China, we have never suffered such a loss!”

As he spoke, his rage flared again and he slapped the colonel several more times. “What are you waiting for? Find Chen Qingzhi at once! If you fail, don’t come back—commit seppuku!”

“Hai!” The colonel’s heart filled with bitterness.

How could finding that Chinese officer be anything but difficult? China was vast, and unless the man surfaced, he could search heaven and earth in vain.

He wanted to plead for more time, but seeing Matsui’s wrath, he wisely kept silent.

Inwardly, though, he cursed Chen Qingzhi fiercely. If not for him, he would never have found himself in such a predicament.

You hateful Chinese! When you encountered our division commander, why didn’t you simply await slaughter? Why resist and cause trouble for the Empire?

Leaving aside the colonel’s childish thoughts, Matsui himself was still in a towering rage.

“Damn Chinese! I’ll see him dead! I’ll cut off his head myself and show the world!” he snarled, eyes icy, teeth clenched. “The Chinese will learn that to anger the Empire is to pay in blood!”