Chapter Sixty-Two: Commander of the Journey, Give the Order!

“After the fall of Nanjing, the Japanese 6th, 16th, and 114th Divisions occupied the city. Under the orders of Commander Matsui Iwane of the Japanese Central China Area Army, they plundered and destroyed the Nanjing region, committing arson, murder, and looting on a massive scale!”

“Starting the second day after our garrison units withdrew—that is, the second day after the Japanese entered Nanjing—they shifted from chaotic violence to organized, systematic mass executions!”

“On December 15, 1937, more than 20,000 soldiers from the Republic who had surrendered and laid down their arms were forcibly taken outside Hanzhong Gate by the Japanese, where they were machine-gunned en masse. To cover up the crime, the Japanese set fire to the corpses after the shooting, burning them to ashes!”

“That same night, over 9,000 civilians and soldiers were marched to the Navy Torpedo Camp. Except for a handful who miraculously survived, all were slaughtered!”

“The following day, more than 5,000 Republican soldiers and ordinary civilians, their hands bound behind them, were marched to the area near Zhongshan Wharf, mowed down by machine guns, and their bodies thrown into the Yangtze River. The river ran red with blood!”

“On the 17th, over 3,000 military and civilian captives, including workers from the Nanjing Power Plant, were rounded up by the Japanese and shot with machine guns along the riverbank from Coal Wharf to Shangyuan Gate, with some burned alive on pyres!”

“On the 18th, more than 57,000 refugees and captured soldiers who had fled Nanjing but were detained at the foot of Mufu Mountain were bound with lead wire, driven to Caoxiexia at Xiaguan, machine-gunned, stabbed at random with bayonets, doused in kerosene, and burned alive. The charred remains were dumped into the Yangtze River! The bodies were so numerous, they clogged the river itself!”

“Corpses burned everywhere. The entire sky above Nanjing was shrouded in black smoke, thick and choking. The fires consuming the bodies of the people burned for seven days and seven nights, yet would not die!”

Crack!

With a sharp sound, the teacup in Chen Qingzhi’s hand shattered into dust, crushed by his grip. His knuckles turned white with strain, shards of porcelain stabbing into his palm, drawing bright red blood. Yet Chen Qingzhi seemed not to notice at all.

His face twisted with pain and hatred, mingled with an irrepressible murderous intent, though his eyes were clouded with despair.

“So, at last... it was unavoidable after all!”

“I am too weak! I still cannot protect them!”

“Why!”

“Why must the Japanese commit such inhuman atrocities!”

Chen Qingzhi roared inwardly, consumed by fury.

Ever since he had come to this tragic era, to the Republic, he had done all he could to strengthen himself and to change the nation’s fate. But ultimately, he was still too weak!

He still could not change a thing!

Crash!

Huzi flung his teacup to the floor, shattering it to pieces.

“Stop! Stop saying it!” Huzi howled, eyes bloodshot with pain. “Those beasts! Those damned animals! They’re nothing but animals!”

Wang Yachuan sat frozen in his chair, his face deathly pale. He tried to lift his teacup for a sip to steady himself, but his arm shook uncontrollably.

Zhu Xiaocheng’s expression was wooden, but his knees trembled, betraying the turmoil within.

Each wore a different expression, but their thoughts and feelings were the same!

The Japanese were nothing but beasts!

Their faces were etched with hatred, their reddened eyes burning with vengeful fire!

Fang Xiaodong was unmoved, continuing his recitation, his voice growing louder and louder, until at last he nearly shouted the words.

His voice carried out of the room, across the parade ground, throughout the entire camp...

Before anyone realized, almost every soldier had gathered silently at the entrance to Chen Qingzhi’s office, standing quietly and listening to Fang Xiaodong’s hoarse litany.

“On December 21st, more than 28,000 compatriots in the Shangxin district were gunned down by the Japanese!”

“On December 26th, more than 3,200 compatriots in the Sanchahe district were massacred!”

One after another, Fang Xiaodong recounted these unspeakable atrocities.

So unthinkable, so shocking, it was hard to believe such acts could be committed by human beings!

No, no! These Japanese devils could not be called human! They were not worthy of being called human!

They were beasts!

“Since our withdrawal, in less than half a month, the entire Nanjing area has become a hell on earth. The streets and houses of the city are littered with corpses, and trucks filled with Japanese soldiers drive over bodies as if they were nothing. Countless civilians have been killed!”

“In vast Nanjing, not a living person can be found among the endless dead. Blood flows in rivers. Smoke and fire rise everywhere. The bodies of the slaughtered civilians and surrendered soldiers are buried alive or dumped in pits by the Japanese!”

“The corpses thrown into the Yangtze stained the entire river red, blocked its surface, even halting the flow of water!”

“In Nanjing, over three hundred thousand of our compatriots perished in agony! Survivors are but a handful!” At these words, Fang Xiaodong, who had been reading the report, broke down in tears, collapsing to the floor, all dignity lost, his face streaming with tears and mucus as he looked at Chen Qingzhi and cried out in anguish, “Commander!”

“It’s too much! Too much to bear…”

Wang Yachuan too could only mutter in a broken voice, sobbing until he was drenched in tears.

Several regiment commanders wept openly. On any other day, they might have been mocked for such tears, but now, nearly every man wept.

Stalwart men who never flinched in battle against the enemy, who never blinked an eye on the frontlines, now found themselves shedding hot, bitter tears.

“Commander!” After finishing, Fang Xiaodong placed the report on the desk, looking up at Chen Qingzhi with a somber voice. “Commander, if we do not avenge this blood debt, we are unworthy to be called soldiers!”

“For the Japanese to commit such deeds in Nanjing, if we, as soldiers, do not stand up, do not seek vengeance against them...” He tore at his uniform, his voice rising, “Then this uniform burns against my very skin with shame!”

“If at this moment we still do not fight, still do not take revenge for our countrymen, what right do we have to call ourselves soldiers? What right to claim we protect our homeland?!”

“Commander, give the order!”

“Fang Xiaodong, Commander of the First Regiment of the Independent Brigade, requests to fight! I beg the commander to give the order!”

“Zhang Hu, Commander of the Second Regiment of the Independent Brigade, requests to fight! I beg the commander to give the order!”

“Wang Yachuan, Commander of the Third Regiment of the Independent Brigade, requests to fight! I beg the commander to give the order!”

“Zhu Xiaocheng, Commander of the Artillery Regiment of the Independent Brigade, requests to fight! I beg the commander to give the order!”

The four regimental commanders stood, saluted, tears streaming down their faces as they spoke with unwavering determination.

Witnessing their resolve, Chen Qingzhi’s lips trembled. He was about to speak, when suddenly a thunderous cry erupted from outside:

“All officers and men of the Independent Brigade request to fight! We beg the commander to give the order!”

“All officers and men of the Independent Brigade request to fight! We beg the commander to give the order!”

...