Chapter 24 Toshiro Diary (22)

My heart was racing with excitement, and I was juggling thirty letters in my hand.I decided to read the letter from my dearest brother first, then a letter from a girl, then Kenichi Sasaki, and Kawamura from Osaka... Every time I finished reading a letter, I recalled everything about the writer. Enjoying a glass of wine. The younger brother sent the letter the day after he was conscripted into the camp. Like me, he was assigned to the third squadron, which seemed to be in the sixth squadron.He said that if he also came to the mainland to fight, he might be incorporated into our squadron.What an honor it is for brothers to be in the same squadron, I'm so happy just thinking about it.

The letter from Inosuke Kawamura in Osaka was sent from his dormitory in Osaka (Doshoden 2-chome 36, Higashi-ku, Osaka City) when he set off from the mainland.The content is roughly, thank you for the letter I sent from Nanjing, and he also took my letter to the women's association and other groups in the city to read it in turn, and kept it as a family heirloom. His use of the word "heirloom" is a bit of an exaggeration, mainly to show how grateful he is for my letter. My cousin Yingliu by the river sent me Turgenev's prose poems.When I was reading thirty letters, time passed me quickly, and it was already midnight. I went to bed after reading the letters, but my mind was excited, thinking of those who wrote to me in my hometown, Haven't been able to sleep.

The next morning when I was on duty at the health center, a soldier from the health team came over, and he told me about their captain (captain): "Our captain must have women and alcohol no matter when and where, otherwise he will Find the soldiers to vent their anger. Even when marching, the on-duty must rush to the camp first, and find women before the captain arrives. When we were in Nanjing, we got about 30 girls from the refugee area. We also got rich, almost every day There are women sleeping with them. The captain looks like this, and the soldiers under him naturally have no scruples. They look for Chinese women every day. It’s better recently, and let them go back as soon as the sun shines.” It is said that their captain He even threatened: "As long as you have the ability, rape is not a big deal, and I will take care of the rest." The whole team has this kind of atmosphere, and about 30 soldiers in the medical team have all been infected. Willow disease.What an absurd thing it was, if he was telling the truth!Their highest pursuits are lust, alcohol and women.

Those soldiers who were sent to the health team for treatment because of their injuries, when they mentioned the health team, almost everyone was furious: "These health team members are all thieves, shameless, no one will forgive them. We We came here to recover from injuries, but they robbed us of our wallets, watches, pens, etc. Those who were seriously ill had to consider themselves unlucky, as if they had lost valuables. I can't figure out who did it, I just know it was done by the health team, but I can't tell whether it is Zhang San or Li Si, so I can only suffer from being dumb."

These shameless bastards!They actually went to steal the belongings of the soldiers who fought bloody battles on the front line. Could there be a more heinous crime than this? This is the shameless act of those who take wine, sex, and lust as their highest pursuits!Their behavior tarnished the image of Japanese soldiers. They are shameless and vile, the most depraved phenomenon on the battlefield. Several kinds of depravity exist on the battlefield, but none more so than this one. After standing the whistle, I went out and found a North Korean prostitute for two yen.I bought her body for two yen, and I got vent myself.She also sang to me in Korean, and her moving voice echoed in my heart and brought me joy.

Recently, the content of our letters has been more and more restricted, and we are not even allowed to write such things as the river is muddy.The boring days continued day by day, and everyone felt that there was nothing to do. At this time, there were rumors of a triumphant return.When I was in Nanjing, as soon as I heard the word of returning home, I immediately opened my eyes and ears to listen. But now when I hear this kind of rumor, my first reaction is: "Why is it spreading again?" It doesn't arouse my interest at all, and I forget it after hearing it. When I'm bored, I just scribble on the wallpaper and draw women's portraits to enjoy myself.

One day, there was information that many spies had appeared recently. We received an order to go out and search for spies immediately. It is said that on the left or right wrist of the spy, there must be a tattoo of five stars, or there will be traces of cupping left to cover this pattern. As soon as we heard that, we immediately thought of the wrists of the girls in the entertainment center. One of them has five stars tattooed on her wrist. The soldiers didn't know why she got the tattoo, they just thought it was strange and would often stare at her wrist.In the end she had to wrap gauze around her wrist.

Therefore, her figure immediately appeared in everyone's mind, and she was reported immediately. I went to a house to check. In the dark, small and dirty room, I saw a middle-aged man and woman lying on the bed, and another boy.I couldn't help but dragged the man out to check, then let him stand outside the door, and started to check on the woman. The man was worried that I would do something wrong to his woman, so he stood outside the door worriedly.Private First Class Omori ordered him not to move with a bayonet, and two soldiers twisted his arms tightly behind his back. When my fingers touched the woman's soft, full breasts, I felt hot all over, as if I had been electrocuted.I asked her to unbutton her blouse and put my hands on her waist, ready to examine her lower body.She immediately tensed up, staring at me with her eyes, and resisted strongly.I was originally driven by curiosity and mischief, but I couldn't stand her fierce resistance, so I had to let go of her.

Neither the man nor the woman had five stars, but there was a military kettle hanging on the wall of their house, and the man's tall physique and appearance made people suspect that he belonged to the plainclothes team.So we took him. When we were about to leave with more than a dozen Chinese people, the pacification team rushed over and argued: "Those with tattoos are not necessarily spies. Chinese people are used to leaving marks on children, just to avoid getting lost." So we Let go of all those dozen people.At this time, the middle-aged woman I checked ran over desperately, and went back happily holding her husband's hand.Apparently she was the one who begged the pacification team to release him.Had they been an hour late, these men would have been killed.

Just where the pacification party stopped us, there was a coffin shop.For the coffins of the Chinese people, one side of the log was planed flat and made into a rectangle, and the word "Fu" was engraved on the narrow side, which made us feel unbelievable. It is said that Chinese people make coffins before they die.These heavy coffins were placed in various fields.After a few years, it is covered with soil to form a bun.In ancient Japan, there was no fixed cemetery, and everyone placed coffins on the edge of their own fields or in open spaces.There are no public cemeteries in China.It is often seen in various places in North China that Mingchao is marked with "Namo Amitabha".There are also words such as "five yuan", "ten yuan" and other currency values. The behavior of the Japanese putting three pennies in the coffin village of the deceased during the funeral may be based on the same Buddhist belief!

If someone asks me which is scarier, bullets or ghosts, I don't think bullets are a terrible thing compared to ghosts. March 15th. About three miles away from the station, there are some scattered villages. We went to sweep them once today.But no matter when, no matter how we sweep up, we will never be able to catch the enemy's remnants.The so-called mopping up means catching some chickens or pigs back, or looking for girls for fun.Today, I caught three chickens and made them into plain roast chicken. Everyone was in high spirits, drinking and talking. While we were singing around the fire, from the dark distance came the muffled sound of cannon.Then came the second, third, and fourth cannon shots. "There is an enemy situation!" In an instant, this thought flashed through our minds like lightning. Outdoors, the herald runs on the winding path sprinkled with clear light.He urged loudly: "Team Moriyama gather at the headquarters of the regiment immediately!" Then he quickly disappeared into the night, leaving only the sound of "da da" of military boots. We were fully armed and ran towards the headquarters. When we arrived at the headquarters, we received orders to guard the north city gate.When we rushed to the North City Gate to strengthen our security, we met a group of bastard soldiers from the health team, carrying their own supplies, not even weapons, running from outside the city in a panic, without the slightest military style.This is a group of drunken, hopeless fellows. They must be dreaming of having a woman in their arms as before!A lot of people are barefoot, idiots who forgot to put on their shoes. Not long after, sad news came, followed by an order from the superior: "The second team of the Moriyama team was surrounded by the enemy and was fighting bloody battles. The Moriyama team rushed to the rescue immediately." When the squadron leader and his party heard the news, they were very shocked and indignant, and immediately took action, wishing they could spread their wings and rush to the rescue.The clear light sprinkled on us, and the earth disappeared into the vast darkness.The city walls are left behind by us, and only the road continues to stretch in front of us.I tried my best to suppress my desire to rush to the rescue earlier, without saying a word, I tried to keep pace with the troops, and ran forward with a "howling".With a sad mood, we walked on the vast land reflected by a clear moon.We are armed to the death with our loathsome foes.Three trucks caught up with us at full speed and drove us wildly.I don't know what the driver was thinking, but he stopped on the way and began to chatter. At this moment, someone urged: "When you say a word, you will lose a precious life. Stop chattering and drive quickly." Bar!" The car continued to gallop at full speed, setting off a burst of dust.After driving for about 20 or 30 minutes, a village appeared on the left.The squadron leader said, "It would be bad if there were enemies in the village. Let's shoot first." We stopped the car, set up a light machine gun in the car and swept the village for a while.Only the heart-piercing screams of women and children were heard in the village, and there was no gunfire from the enemy's return.Judging from this that there were no enemy troops in the village, we started the truck again.About ten minutes later, we arrived at the destination Luwang Tomb Station, ready to attack. Considering that leaving only the driver is prone to accidents, the squadron leader asked the three drivers to park the car aside and move forward with the troops.But the driver insisted, "Our weapon is the car. Soldiers cannot leave their weapons and leave. The three of us must stay here with the car." We only dispatched a heavy machine gun detachment and more than 30 infantry soldiers this time. We didn't expect to disperse our forces. In desperation, in order to protect them, we had to leave four soldiers while the others began to attack.The trumpeter who came together this time usually speaks wild words, loves to fight with others, and looks very reckless on the outside.The squadron leader was going to let him stay to protect the driver, but the trumpeter, considering that the seven of them were weak, became timid and refused to stay even if he died.Although the driver is not a combatant, he is high-spirited; as an infantryman, he is greedy for life and afraid of death, and everyone laughs at him as a ghost who is afraid of death. There were not many people dispatched this time. In order to appear stronger, we deliberately opened the distance between the skirmishers and swept across the undulating ground.The squadron leader said that if you keep going like this, you will be able to reach the inner side of the station. Although the spring breeze is blowing during the day, the night in Northern China is extremely cold.After advancing for ten to fifteen minutes, the squadron leader yelled, "Trumpeter, blow your horn! Let the rescue team know. How happy they must be! Blow it!" The trumpeter replied: "I didn't bring the trumpet." "You bastard! The trumpeter didn't bring a trumpet, so what kind of trumpeter are you!" The trumpeter replied: "Yes!" But there seemed to be a hint of justification in his tone ——— "So flustered, who would have imagined it! Usually, I've never been asked to play the trumpet!" We reach a small hill.It has been advancing for dozens of minutes, but neither saw the shadow of the enemy nor heard a single gunshot. "Could the whole team be killed?" Our hearts were occupied by this painful thought. Finally arrived at the post of the defense team.The team leader, Second Lieutenant Arai, and other eight people were slightly injured and seriously injured, and one soldier died in battle, while the enemy retreated early singing triumphant songs. Another precious life was lost tonight.The clear brilliance of the moon sprinkled coldly on the earth, and the vast land was frozen under the icy moonlight. In order to prevent the enemy from attacking, we dug foxholes and squatted in the trenches to guard. The night was getting darker, I didn't know when I got up, I felt hungry.Wild dogs barked in the dark distance.We listened to the wind and dogs barking, and waited for the enemy.But they didn't show up until the east turned white.What a long night!The stone in my heart finally fell to the ground, and I sighed deeply. The breath I exhaled seemed to be frozen into ice. March sixteenth. The sun shines from the horizon to the sky, and the villagers are still sleeping soundly.At this time, we lined up again to sweep the village.Our team headed for the village.There is a forest in the village.Woods, houses, and people seemed to be in a deep sleep.After blocking the escape route with heavy machine guns, we entered the village.The villagers panicked and fled left and right. The squadron leader issued an order: "Those who escape will be shot and killed, and those who do not escape will be taken away for interrogation!" At dawn, gunshots rang out suddenly, and the night seemed to be awakened, and the woods and villages fell into panic.We went door to door, smashing everything we saw.In the ditch on the edge of the village, a dozen or thirteen women and children were shaking like chaff with fright.They all put their faces on the ground, trembling for the disaster that was about to befall them, as if seeing a horrible hell. Farmers sweat and work day and night, but in the end they are always overwhelmed by excessive taxes and poor wheat harvests. This is how farmers have lived this hopeless life of poverty for generations.And now, the poor ones are going through the bestial war again, and they are frightened by death and hell, panicking and weeping. A young man had already been killed, and an old woman hugged the corpse, leaning her head on the corpse and weeping loudly.The boy's bloodless face was placed on the old lady's lap, hanging down feebly.The old lady's thick-boned, wrinkled hands were stained with blood, and she gently stroked the boy's face with this hand, staring at the expressionless face of the boy absent-mindedly, crying bitterly. Did they stay here since last night, or did they escape here after seeing us enter the village?At such a critical moment, they all hugged the quilt. Could it be that the quilt is really so important to them? Someone pointed a gun at them, I stopped them abruptly and said: "They are all women, they don't want to escape, don't kill them!" Women and children are innocent, there is no reason to shoot these kind people. Six older farmers were brought in.They knelt on the ground begging for mercy.But no one paid any attention to their prayers. They only heard a sound of "Yeah", and the soldier's bayonet stabbed one of them.The man fell to the ground.The other five people were even more panicked, shouting instinctively: "My lord! My lord!" while cupping their fists and kowtowing. The man who was stabbed was struggling in pain, his fingers were scratching all over the ground, and after a while, he was stabbed again, and he died after being stabbed twice.Only the shouts of "Ah! Ah" echoed in the air, and there was a moaning sound suddenly. After that, all six people were killed. They were all old people. The sound of vomiting blood, angry groans, and shouts of killing all disappeared, leaving only Cricket's corpse and blood shining in the morning sun.They are not cruel enemies, but kind old people.Just because they failed to inform us of the approaching remnants of the enemy, or because they might be secretly in collusion with the enemy, or because our comrades had been killed by their own kind and had nowhere to vent, they were doomed. They were a group of innocent and kind farmers who knelt on the ground and begged for their lives.Facing such a group of people, I couldn't raise my bayonet, but some soldiers swung their knives without any scruples. Are they brave soldiers and people like me cowards? If they are not in a life-threatening moment, but a moment facing death, can they be as brave as they are now? Shouldn't we call such people cruel? Cruelty and bravery are very different. Cruel and brave people—there are such people in the West. Cruel and cowardly - like the Chinese. Just and brave people - like the Japanese. Are they strong men and I a coward? The heavy machine guns were aimed at the fleeing peasants, firing "da da da", and many farmers were shot down.We killed peasants who were too old and weak to escape. After a while, a big and red sun rose from the distant horizon.The bright morning sun shines among the tall and straight birch forests.A few wisps of cooking smoke rose from the villages in the distance and the woods nearby.Cooking smoke curls up in the sun, it must be breakfast!The dogs stopped barking, the gunshots stopped, the women's wails stopped, the moans and curses of death stopped, and morning came. On the blood-stained ground, there are only wheat about three inches high, a piece of green and boundless.Who will cultivate such a large wheat field in the future? It turned out that after the second team served as the security force of Luwang Tomb Station, it first set up a security maintenance committee.There used to be a postmaster at Luwangfen Station. As soon as the team arrived at the station, he ran away in fright. After a few days, he found the director and called him back. The Security Council shall be chaired by the Director. The postmaster brought all his family members back to their original house, and began to assume the post of maintenance chairman. The village chiefs brought eggs, chickens, vegetables and other things almost every day. In such a peaceful environment, the enemy's spies, dressed in plain clothes, mixed in and out among the peasants, and got a clear picture of our strength, weapons, and security. One day, the postmaster did not come back after going out, and the village chiefs who came almost every day disappeared.The director did not come back after a day.His wife and old mother also left, leaving only an eighteen or nineteen-year-old son and a ten-year-old son. The guards began to worry about whether something would happen. The enemy is waiting for an opportunity after investigating the attack target and the status of its troops.At about ten o'clock in the evening on the second day after the director suddenly disappeared, there was a sound of a trumpet resembling a suona from the other side of the mountain. The enemy attacked at night!The guards immediately jumped up and gathered in the yard. A grenade fell over the roof where they had assembled.The grenade exploded right under their feet, killing and wounding several soldiers.The guards climbed onto the roof, picked up machine guns and fired. But the confrontation ended in the defeat of the Guards.The enemy came to attack by surprise, and after wanton destruction, they retreated quickly like lightning.The enemy was not injured, but someone on our side was injured. Arai's second team was attacked by the enemy in this way, resulting in injuries and deaths. March seventeenth. A message came from Zhangde: "Our army, with a brigade of the 38th regiment as the main force, launched an attack on the enemy's 15,000 troops. The enemy may escape from the railway, so we must strengthen our vigilance. " In view of the fact that the current station is not conducive to security, we moved from the director's house to the dormitory of the railway staff. I was assigned as a scout to scout the surrounding villages.When I came to the village that was massacred yesterday, I saw five old men over sixty years old, five old ladies, and a child, curled up in the sun, seemingly crushed by grief. Young people were conscripted into the army, and middle-aged men were slaughtered, and these were the only people left.The shock they suffered made them no longer believe in gods and religion, and there was no life in their dull eyes. Because of the defense project, we decided to bring back five wrinkled old men to the army.When we took them away, those old women just bid farewell to the old men with sad faces, without crying or fussing, and did not plead with us to give us a hand, their eyes were full of sadness and despair, because they knew it was something they could not resist of. We went all out to build, to put up barbed wire, to dig trenches, to tear down useless houses.A total of sixteen coolies were found from all over the place. They worked during the day and repaired defense projects, and at night their hands were tied behind their backs and they were locked in the basement of the station.At daybreak, the ropes that bound their hands were untied and replaced by picks and shovels.