Chapter 29 Burn the city

One year when the author went to the Great Northern Wilderness in the Northeast, it was just the beginning of spring and when the farms were burning down, I witnessed a magnificent and tragic scene with my own eyes.Tens of thousands of hectares of endless wilderness are full of vibrant grasses swaying in the wind and colorful dazixiang flowers. However, a circle of fire is fired from the driest dusk of the flowers and plants to the dawn of the next day. , and they were all scorched and shriveled ashes.Under the sunlight shining through the clouds, I was stunned by this cruel change, and the hint of destruction brought to me by the burning of wasteland shocked me like never before.

Although I have never seen the scene of Changde burning the city, I can imagine that the ancient city might have been engulfed by fire little by little like burning wasteland.If that's the case, then I think the tragedy of its destruction must be even worse than that of burning wasteland.Probably, this is a symbol of the vicissitudes of the Chinese nation for hundreds of years, which can be verified by historians. After breaking through the city, the head of the 116th Division of the Japanese Army, Iwa Yongwang, who served as the general commander of the siege, issued two orders. One was to release the defenders of the 57th Division of the National Army; the other was to burn the city.

Regarding the issuance and implementation of these two orders, the book "Showa 17 and 18 Chinese Expeditionary Army" records: "For the north gate, on November 28, Kurose troops rushed into the city from the north gate, but there were bunkers everywhere in the streets of the city. Avoid the streets and try to destroy the houses one by one to advance. However, this tactic was not effective because the enemy used the houses with gun holes to resist steadily, and continued to attack at night. "The Murakawa detachment (formerly Nakahata's troops) moved to the north gate in order to give way to the enemy. Because the 11th Army judged that the enemy in Changde resisted so tenaciously because they were surrounded on all sides and their retreat routes were cut off. Therefore, they ordered on the 28th. The 116th Division made way for the enemy on one side.

"The 116th Division decided to give way to the enemy in the southeast of Changde (Murakawa Detachment's offensive front), and ordered the Murakawa Detachment at 15:00 on the same day: 'Should use one to secure the vicinity of the East Gate, transfer the main force to the North Gate, and attack the city from the North Gate enemy.' "Therefore, the detachment ordered the 10th Squadron to secure a corner of the southeast city wall. Other troops that were attacking on the north bank of the Yuanjiang River began to move from midnight that night, often to the southeast side of Germany, and rushed into the city from the north gate on the morning of the 29th. The detachment located on the south bank The main force, covering the transfer of the troops on the north bank, crossed the Yuanjiang River near 2 kilometers southeast of Changde by the morning of the 29th, using civilian boats and horses to defeat the enemies encountered, arrived near the north gate in the afternoon, and immediately entered the city to participate in the battle.

"At the east gate, the Tuwu Brigade was attacking the east gate. At dawn on the 29th, under the cover of heavy weapons, they finally broke through the bunker near the city gate, and then rushed into the city. But the defenders in the bunker near the city gate were still struggling to resist. After entering the city, there was also a fierce battle with the North Gate. "Street fighting, after rushing into the city, the Kurose troops headed to the southwest corner, the Murakawa detachment headed south, and the Tsuchiya brigade headed west, each trying to expand the results of the battle.

"On the 29th, when the troops were sweeping the city, the head of Fengyan Yongwang Division ordered 'burn down the city of Changde for a quick decision'. The troops immediately implemented this order, but because most of the houses were made of solid bricks or earthen walls, the fire did not spread. We still have to blast and advance one by one..." Because of this order, Yan Yongwang became an eternal sinner in the famous city of Changde. On Xingjiekou Street, after taking photos of the former central bank site, the author wandered along the street. There was a framed and wooden structure on stilts, which looked very old. Under the eaves, an old man was resting with his eyes closed.I leaned forward and asked, old man, when was your house built?What do you mean?The old man was deaf and couldn't hear what I asked.Let me ask again, was this building built before the Battle of Changde, or after the Battle of Changde?The old man understood. He smiled forgivingly at my ignorance. How could there be a house before the Changde Battle?It's all burned down, this house was built later...

I also saw a very characteristic house. Its overall shape is like a small castle, very wide, tall and strong, with an arched gate in the center.I am thinking about this closed building, I am not too young, I asked an old mother who was sitting at the door in a daze, can you tell me your name?Love China, she replied.I know her name is definitely not Ai Zhonghua, but her answer is indeed pronounced in this way, so I have no choice but to write it down.Love Chinese old mother, how old are you this year?She said she was 65 years old.I nodded and turned the topic back to the house, and asked, when was the building behind you built?this building?After thinking about it, she answered me that it was built in the 34th year of the Republic of China.What about the old house?I got to the bottom of it.It was all burned up. In the 32nd year of the Republic of China, the Japanese burned it when they attacked Changde, and nothing was left!The old mother who loves China said, a few traces of lingering hatred appeared in her cloudy old eyes.Oh - I stood in front of the old mother, silent.This picture must be very meaningful, one old and one young, the old is sitting, the young is standing, relatively silent under the slightly hazy sunset, they are all contemplating the past history.

Li Chenyuan, a former central bank chef who didn't retire until 1990, put it more vividly.He said that before the war, he followed the fugitives and fled to the Yuanling area for refuge. In early December, it was said that the Japanese occupying Changde had run away, so he took a fisherman's boat and floated down the Yuanjiang River from west to east.I got on the boat at noon that day, and it was already late at night when I arrived at Hefu, and I should be in Changde not far away.The night is not particularly dark, there seems to be a little moonlight, but the boat is paddling, and it is estimated that we have arrived in Changde, but we can't find the city.The fisherman thought it was too far, so he turned around and rowed back. No, then turned around and rowed forward. After a long time, there was still nothing.At that time, the people on the boat were in a daze, as if they had fallen into a maze, and the fishermen who rowed the boat were even more terrified, thinking that there was a ghost, so they threw away their oars and oars and wanted to abandon the boat and escape.It wasn't until the sky gradually dawned that they could see clearly that Changde was right in front of them.They passed the edge of the city but could not find the city because the city no longer existed.