Chapter 14 12. No man's land of bones

\n On both sides of the road in this area, two rows of green weeping willows are neatly planted.Thick black smoke rose from several tall chimneys. The 3 winches are running non-stop.Not far from here, there are two or three pyramid-shaped coal mountains emitting black smoke due to spontaneous combustion. Below the mountain is a fairly large dense forest. The mansion of the owner of the Kailuan coal mine located in the forest is extraordinarily luxurious. . This is the center of Kailuan Coal Mine - Tangshan.Standing at the gate of the company is a neatly dressed police officer wearing a pistol and the armband of "Kailuan Coal Mine Special Police Team".

According to the order of the Japanese Infantry Regiment Headquarters, the company should produce 110,000 tons of coal per day.The company requires workers to work in three shifts, nominally an 8-hour workday, but in fact they are forced to work underground for more than 10 hours.The miners were drained of their bone marrow just to get a morsel of flour.Their clothes were shiny with soot, and only the original blue was visible in the creases under the armpits and below the knees.The hips and knees of the clothes were patched piece by piece, but the flesh still had to be exposed.It is rare for them to go into the bath once a year to take a bath. Their faces and hands are pitch black, and only their teeth are white. The miners whispered, "I heard that this year they won't even be able to rest for the Mid-Autumn Festival." Follow the coal mine police officer, come in and out through the gate.

Standing in front of the window of the second-floor lobby of the infantry regiment headquarters, you can see all this clearly.But today, under the strict martial law that prohibits all people from passing, Okamura, the commander of the front army, came here and was sitting on the sofa opposite me, smoking a cigarette leisurely.Around the headquarters of the infantry regiment, unlike usual, many soldiers with live ammunition and bayonets were sent to take on the task of guarding. Okamura, who is known for his good leadership, good knowledge of people, and good manners, seems to think that the achievements of the troops are all the work of the head of the army. He praised me and said: "In the crusade in April this year, you were in the Lu family. Yu completely shattered the Eighth Route Army's secret position and achieved extraordinary results. Hasn't the law and order in this area improved greatly? You have worked hard! In the future, please continue to work hard!"

"Where, this is completely accidental." Although I said so verbally, I couldn't mention how happy I was. "If you do this, the law and order in this area is indeed much better." "However, this is also on the surface, and in fact it is far from it!" "So, what is the situation? Lujiayu is an important base of the Eighth Route Army in the eastern Hebei region. Isn't the failure here a serious blow to the Eighth Route Army?" "The fall of Lujiayu was indeed a big blow to the Eighth Route Army. However, the strength of the Eighth Route Army has not been weakened by the loss of one or two such positions. It should be admitted that after they failed in that position, they reorganized On the other hand, due to the strengthening of underground work, their strength is stronger than before. A few days ago, on the important highway from Fengrun to Tangshan, one of our liaison vehicles was attacked in broad daylight. When the attack happened, the liaison soldiers were killed and all the documents were taken away. Similar things happened between Yutian and Fengrun. Many landmines were also planted on other roads where cars ran. This area is not like it used to be. Such a large-scale operation by the Eighth Route Army seems to have become a 'white zone' on the surface, but it is still a 'red zone' when the surface is removed! So, where is their base? If you ask me, All I can say is 'in the mountains.' I think it's my job to deal a complete blow to the mountains." I'm telling the truth.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" "I plan to make full preparations under the cover of the existing troops, and conduct a raid to ruthlessly deal with anyone who maintains any contact with the Eighth Route Army. The first goal is to destroy its underground organization. Then , distribute some supplies and relief items to the residents in the security areas, and draw a clear line between them and the Eighth Route Army. I think it is absolutely necessary to separate the Eighth Route Army from the residents in the security areas.” Okamura said: "That is also a plan. From the perspective of the front army, this has yet to be studied."

It seems that he doesn't quite agree.He went on to say: "In any case, this region is very important to Japan's mainland policy. Therefore, in terms of security, we must work harder on the existing basis." "It is helpless that there are still quite a few residents in the mountainous area around the Great Wall. Although it cannot be said that it is the base of the Eighth Route Army, it is indeed a place where they can hide. I think that in this area, we must take measures. measure." After talking for about an hour, Okamura went back to the dormitory.That night, guard posts of armed soldiers were set up at every crossroads and small alleys.After a while, a car protected by two trucks with machine guns mounted one behind the other drove over and stopped at the entrance of K Hotel.The commander of the front army, Okamura, got out of the car slowly, and his adjutant immediately followed up and handed him the saber and hat.Several women surrounded him and walked him into a large room.Here, the senior military officers who came at the invitation of Okamura were chatting.

After a while, the banquet, accompanied by many geisha, began.After drinking for three rounds, the atmosphere at the banquet became lively.The officers stood up in turn to toast Okamura.Okamura praised the achievements of the officers one by one.The flattered officers tried their best to please and flatter them.Okamura flirted with geishas and drank happily while saying, "Man, no matter how you play, it's not too much." My subordinates reported that I had a phone call, so I left the table to answer it.After a while, I came back and reported to Okamura: "I just called from Fengrun to say that a platoon going to XX Village was attacked by the Eighth Route Army. The enemy retreated under our strong counterattack. Our losses are, One dead and one wounded. No big deal."

Okamura just snorted: "Huh? Really!" Then he ignored it.Then, after clinking glasses with two or three officers, he came up to me and sat down cross-legged in a serious manner. "Come on, let's have a drink!" After finishing speaking, he reminded me in a low voice: "Recently, how about the security forces (the Chinese army serving as minions for the Japanese army)? Anyway, they are also Chinese, and their psychology towards Chinese people It is very important to make good use of their habits. Whether we can do this will determine whether we will get twice the result with half the effort or achieve nothing. There is a trick here, which must be mastered!" After finishing speaking, he continued Go find the women and flirt.At this time, it was late at night, and outside the hotel, heavily armed soldiers were patrolling non-stop, imposing strict martial law.

This is the "Japanese Concession" in Tianjin.At the door of a two-story building, two soldiers stood guard motionless.There used to be three families living in the building. There are both Western-style rooms and Japanese-style rooms here. Now only the teacher's family lives.There is a large room on the second floor. Large oil paintings of Western-style landscapes and flowers are hung on the walls here. Three large chandeliers hang from the ceiling, which are truly brilliant. The teacher, pretending to be smoking a pipe, sat his fat body on the sofa while calling the servants to bring coffee, and then said to me: "Today, I came to you to listen to your opinion and discuss with you. One thing. Yesterday, Commander Okamura called me to Beijing for a talk. The commander instructed that although the forces of the Eighth Route Army in your area seem to be calm on the surface, they are still red under the skin. Your opinion also says that you can’t let it go like this. So, what do you plan to do in the future?” “First, we must fundamentally destroy the underground organization of the Eighth Route Army. For this reason, we must comprehensively, especially in mountainous areas, A thorough search and arrest. Those who are related to the Eighth Route Army will be killed mercilessly."

"Well, this can't be done rashly! Therefore, the plan of the front army is to turn the area within two to four kilometers on both sides of the Great Wall into a 'no man's land' in order to smash the base areas of the Eighth Route Army. It is forbidden to live and engage in activities there. Agricultural production requires strict restrictions on traffic. The division headquarters also agree to do so. What's your opinion?" "Since the front army and the division headquarters have made this decision, I must try my best to implement the intention of the superior. However, if the range is set at two kilometers, I think it is too incomplete. The reason for saying this is because within two kilometers There are not many residents. Where there are no residents, it is of little value for the Eighth Route Army to build a base area. If it is set within four kilometers, there will be quite large villages there, and a fairly strong base area can be built.” I replied this way.

"Then, let's decide within four kilometers!" "Then when should I finish it?" "At the latest, it will be finished in the middle of next month. The fighting in the south is quite fierce, and maybe one day, it will be completed." Our division is transferred to the south. Therefore, it must be completed quickly!" In a large room at Infantry Headquarters.The floor is covered with thick carpets, and high-end cigarettes, snacks, fruits, and coffee are placed on the table.After I listened to the report of my subordinates—battalion commanders Tian Pu and Ono, I said to them: "After listening to your report, I know that you have started a comprehensive search and arrest, and every day you can capture a number of people who work for the Eighth Route Army. Several organizations of the Eighth Route Army turned several villages into law and order areas. However, the villages that you raided became more effective contact stations with communication equipment and landmines within a few days. Isn’t this true? "So, in my opinion, it's better to say that the law and order are worse. Let's take a look at the actual situation in the jurisdiction! Let's talk about the first battalion first. A few days ago, in Fengrun, which you call the best law and order, a bus was openly passing by. The streets were attacked. And, on the northwestern side of the forest, near the railway, trucks were attacked, so to speak, right under the noses of the guards. Also, Yutian Street was beaten to pieces overnight. In the mountainous area of ​​Zunhua, where landmine incidents frequently occur, not to mention the platoon's garrison, even the company's garrison is often attacked. Let alone the 3rd Battalion. South of Funing, the 3rd Company was ambushed, and the 3rd Company was ambushed in the Jianchang Battalion. To the east, a platoon was ambushed, and the losses suffered in these two ambushes were considerable. Don’t such accidents happen frequently? Also, during the crusade against the Fengrun area in late April, we were indeed at Wangguanying and Lujiayu achieved rare results. However, only two months later, in July, not only did a larger Eighth Route Army unit appear in the Fengrun area than before, but this unit ambushed us in the mountains north of Yutian Army, did our army suffer extremely serious losses? "It is true that since July, no large troops of the Eighth Route Army have been seen. For this reason, you say that the law and order in the jurisdiction has improved. This view is wrong. Recently, because the large troops of the Eighth Route Army have not been seen, the troops They are all numb and careless. Besides, isn't the search and arrest by the various troops almost a mere formality? "Also, on the other hand, you let your subordinates do what they want without strict supervision, and you don't strictly supervise the front-line raids. Leaving aside the accidents that happened in this area, from a positive point of view, it hasn't always been Haven't there been any decent results! In this state, I often say: We are shouldering the heavy responsibility of 'Japan's mainland policy', can we take it up! I think it is impossible to do it like this in the past From now on, a new method must be used to completely annihilate the Eighth Route Army. However, the current situation is that although there are no Eighth Route Army bases everywhere, in any case, in the mountainous areas around the Great Wall, if there are residents, It is tantamount to providing them with a base. Therefore, the residents of Zunhua and Qian'an counties within four kilometers from the Great Wall must be completely expelled! This has been decided! Go back quickly and order the county advisers to immediately Implement it, and never be negligent!" After speaking, I sent them the order of the infantry regiment headquarters.This order stipulated that starting from September X, within 20 days, all houses in this area should be burned down and all residents should be driven out. After 20 days, no matter what the reason is, they are strictly prohibited from farming here or entering or leaving the area.Those who pass here temporarily must hold a military permit.Anyone who does not obey this order and rebels will be severely punished.The two battalion commanders hurried back after listening to my lecture.When they returned to the station, they immediately conveyed the order of the infantry regiment to the Japanese advisers in various counties, and solemnly asked them to "must actually carry out this order." A few days later, I called the two battalion commanders Taura and Ono to listen to their work report on the establishment of "no man's land". They said: "In the mountainous area, there are more residents than we estimated. The work has been largely completed." Ono reported one thing: "In the area under my jurisdiction, there is a 'Niangniang Temple' that is full of pilgrims. The temple owner said, 'There is absolutely no Eighth Route Army in this temple'. I didn't care about it." I immediately reprimanded Xiao Ye: "The Eighth Route Army wants to use this kind of place! You burn this temple immediately!" I asked them again: "After the search and arrest, have you checked?" The two battalion commanders said: "Haven't checked yet." I said: "If you relax for a while, the order will not be carried out, and there will be a lot of incomplete work. Incomplete work is equivalent to not doing work. Sometimes, it is 'not beneficial, but harmful'. You should check quickly! Moreover, you can’t be satisfied with just one inspection. In the future, further inspections will be required. To be honest, one day, I inspected the situation on the front line. No matter which road, there are people with big luggage, There are people everywhere. I didn't expect that there would be so many people living in the mountains. There must be a thorough search in that area. The Eighth Route Army must not be allowed to establish a base area. This will prevent a repeat of the situation in the northern mountainous area of ​​Yutian in July this year. An ambush occurred." The two battalion commanders went back after listening. A few days later, inspection reports from the battalion headquarters continued to come from the front line. "A farmer came to harvest the millet and sorghum left in the field. We drove him away and burned the millet and sorghum. "Cooking smoke was found in the valley of XX village. We rushed to have a look. It was an old woman who led a family of 5 people. She said that she didn't know about the establishment of 'no man's land'. Her expression was very calm. We burned her house immediately. house, ordered her family to move out, the young man wanted to resist, he was shot, and the other 4 people were driven away." "In the valley to the north of the same village, there were three houses that seemed to be lived in. We searched everywhere, but we burned the house down when we couldn't find anyone." "In the south of Malanyu: a young man came over. He had neither an ID card nor a pass. Ask him, but he didn't know anything. This is very suspicious. We will take him to Qian'an for interrogation." "In ×× village, there were three or four people running into the mountains. We shot and killed one person. After chasing them, there was no one left. Tomorrow, we will search that area." After reading these reports, I am very happy to know that the inspection has achieved results.The next day, many more battalion reports from the front line were sent to the headquarters of the infantry regiment. However, each day's report is similar to the previous day's report.Moreover, one temporary housing after another was found in the mountains, which shows that there are always people active there.These circumstances show that the purpose of setting up "no man's land" has not been achieved. I hung up the phone to the battalion commanders on the front line and ordered all areas to carry out more rigorous searches.Since then, reports on the results of the raids have been sent from the front lines every day.Reports piled up on my desk.I read these reports with great satisfaction, and consider them all to my credit.How could I have imagined that one report after another recorded my crimes.The pile of reports is getting higher and higher, which just shows that my crime is getting more and more serious. On the basis of the battalion commander's report, I reported the implementation of the establishment of "no man's land" to the division commander, and then said: "In this case, in order to completely realize the 'no man's land', we should only inspect the ground from the ground. It is not enough, inspections should also be carried out from the air. This will find out areas that have not been thoroughly investigated. So, please send me an airplane." "Well, that's great! I'm going to inspect it too!" Mr. Harada agreed on the spot.The next day, Harada and I flew from Tianjin to Tangshan by plane.On the way, the nose of the plane turned slightly to the south, looking down from the sky above Tanggu, and saw countless white hills. "That is the salt from Tanggu. About 6 million tons are shipped to Japan every year to become Japanese industrial salt," Harada explained.The plane flew north along the railway, and the train on the ground ran back and forth like a matchbox.The plane turned slightly eastward again, and flew to the coast of the vast Bohai Sea, which is a very vast alkaline land. Harada also explained: "If Japan's mainland policy is successful in such a place, a large number of Japanese immigrants can be moved in." This statement clearly shows Harada's ambition to invade.The nose of the plane turned north again, and the boundless and fertile Jidong Plain appeared on the ground.Large and small villages are dotted all over the plain. In the eastern part of the plain, there is the Luan River, which originates in the Rehe Mountains, is rich in water, and has huge power generation and irrigation capabilities. Its tributaries meander and extend eastward. Viewed from an airplane, it looks like a wide white cloth belt It seems to flow into the Bohai Sea. After the plane flew over Shanhaiguan, it turned around and flew west.This leads into beautiful wooded areas and steep mountainous terrain, with uneven ground.Above the mountains, there is the Great Wall like a flying dragon, leading to the distance.The plane flew west along the Great Wall, then turned south, and came to the northern mountainous area of ​​Qian'an County.Here, in the big green forest, you can see black traces of fire here and there.I thought: "From here, it's 'no man's land'!" While thinking, I spread out the map.The plane has come over Zunhua County. Looking down, the forest is full of dark brown traces of fire.In some places, it seemed that the fire had burned from the village into the forest, leaving patches of rectangular and oval traces, where there were still burnt trees. "There used to be many villages here, but now there are only traces of fire left, and a single house is gone. This is success." As I thought, I observed carefully, and suddenly found that there are still some places in the forest that have risen. Lilac or white smoke.I thought, "There are still people left in the forest, and the search is still not complete!" I checked the map and recorded the places where there was smoke. The plane turned south, passed over the plain, and passed over the Kailuan Coal Mine. "The 'no man's land' is roughly here. In this way, if there are no people living in this mountain area, the Eighth Route Army will not be able to establish a base area." Hearing Harada's satisfactory talk, I felt happy for this success. of.After a while, the plane returned to Tianjin. The next day, I quickly found the two battalion commanders and said to them: "Yesterday, the division commander and I inspected the 'no man's land' by plane. It has basically been formed, but your search is still not thorough! There are still residents staying there!" After I finished speaking, I pointed out the place where there was smoke on the map, "Seriously search again, and it must be thorough!" After I gave these instructions, the battalion commanders went back.After they returned, they searched closely day and night, burned all the remaining houses, killed those who resisted a little, and arrested those who did not resist and sent them to "Manchuria" to work as laborers. The beautiful and dense forest in the past has now become an ugly mountain with bald sores on its head.There is nothing to see, only scorched black dead trees standing there in disorder. The countless birds in the past have no idea where they are flying now, and the melodious birdsong has disappeared. Not a single farm house has disappeared, and the former peaceful village has turned into patches of dark brown scorched earth.The scorched dead trees seemed to be standing there with their heads bowed and weeping, and the ruined walls seemed to be full of sorrows and hatreds buried in their hearts. In the past, the rivers in the forest and beside the village were blocked by scorched dead branches and leaves and torn clothes, overflowing from the river bed and flowing in all directions.The original sound of gurgling water, like a couple whispering, has now turned into a cry of resentment against the Japanese devils. Those fruit trees that once bloomed with beautiful flowers and produced abundant fruit burned more miserably.However, these fruit trees have a tenacious instinct to continue life, and green twigs protrude from the scorched dead branches, swaying rustlingly in the autumn wind. The fields were burned everywhere.The sorghum sorghum that was more than ten feet high was broken in the middle, and the purple-red, full-grained tassels were hanging down, standing there no one cared about it.Residents, there is not even a single person, and the village has become a cold wilderness with no sounds of people or birds.There were so many domestic animals in the past that now not even a piglet or lamb can be seen, nor can the melodious crowing of the rooster at dawn be heard.In this way, this vast land has become a land full of anger and resentment that maintains a chilling silence. This is just 20 days after the infantry regiment issued the order to establish "no man's land", what happened in the eastern Jidong area! During this period, we seized about 640 square kilometers of Chinese farmers’ land, burned down more than 10,000 Chinese farmers’ houses, and forced more than 100,000 Chinese farmers to leave their homes, become homeless, and wander around. All that awaits them is hunger and cold.About 200 Chinese people were brutally massacred because they protested against the atrocities committed by the Japanese devils. However, the Chinese people do not have the slightest fear or cowardice towards our day and night, inhumane and brutal suppression.One trafficman was arrested, and two more came out; two soldiers were killed, and four more came out; here was temporarily suppressed, and there ignited a more violent flame of revenge.It was as if there was a strong and powerful bond linking them together in these struggles one after another.Facing the indomitable resistance struggle of the Chinese people, I became angry with embarrassment, and ordered an even crazier and more brutal manhunt. Of course, I only got more powerful resistance. Our sinister purpose of creating "no man's land" here is to eradicate the base areas of the Eighth Route Army and limit its range of activities.Not only did we fail to achieve our goal, but the result was just the opposite. The strength of the Chinese people's anti-Japanese organizations centered on the Eighth Route Army became stronger and stronger, and the scope of their activities became wider and wider. Although I didn't see it with my own eyes, I knew in my heart that their mighty power would never be suppressed, and if I wanted to compete with them, I had to be even more violent. This power itself is invincible and cannot be suppressed by any force.This is the power of the Chinese people to overthrow Japanese imperialism, and it is the great power of the Eighth Route Army of the People's Soldiers. In this way, no matter what means and methods the Japanese imperialist troops use, not only cannot turn the wheel of history back, but it is also impossible for them to stop for a single minute. No matter how much the Japanese imperialist army tried to destroy the anti-Japanese organizations of the Chinese people, they would have no effect in the face of the strength of the Chinese people. On the contrary, the organizations of the Japanese imperialists were smashed to pieces. No matter how much the Japanese imperialist troops tried to eradicate the Eighth Route Army's base areas, the result was not that the Eighth Route Army's base areas were lost, but that the Japanese imperialist troops were driven out from the places they occupied.The Japanese imperialist army's plot to create a "no man's land" for the Chinese people failed. Now, the Chinese people live a more peaceful and happy life, and the paradise they live in has sprung up everywhere. Now, the mountains are as lush as before, and the beautiful rivers are singing peaceful songs again.The Chinese people have permanently buried the imperialist invaders in Chinese territory and turned their own land into a land free of imperialists. Yes, there is no trace of an imperialist there anymore, and a "no man's land" for the imperialists has been built there, and a paradise for the working people - the People's Republic of China has been established. Translator's note: The author of this article, Keihisa Suzuki, is the former Lieutenant General of the 117th Division of the Japanese Army.This article is about his experience when he was the head of the group.