Sacrifice and Betrayal

Volume 3, Chapter 12

Inside Onizuka Ichiro's command post, the air seemed to freeze. The huge military map on the wall, with its compressed red arrows representing the Anti-Japanese Alliance's activities, still clung to every corner like a persistent leech. Takeshita Hiroki's death and the annihilation of the transport convoy were not merely military defeats, but also a humiliation of his personal abilities.

With his back to the intelligence officer who stood with his hands at his sides, his voice was as cold as ice: "Activate 'The Mole.' Tell him I want Gu Tieshan's head. If we fail again, he'll know the consequences."

...

Deep in the mountains, at the Anti-Japanese Allied Army's temporary camp, the soldiers' faces were adorned with smiles after a series of victories, but their vigilance remained high. Zhao Xiaoshuan, now a capable guard sergeant for Gu Tieshan, was as sharp as ever, but with an added air of composure.

That evening, he went to the stream to fetch water and inadvertently caught a glimpse of Old Ma, the logistics section chief—a usually taciturn and meticulous veteran—squatting under an old pine tree in the distance, seemingly burying something. Xiao Shuan didn't pay much attention and was about to leave when he saw Old Ma looking around furtively. After burying the object, he carefully tamped down the new soil with his feet and covered it with fallen leaves.

A strange sense of unease crept into Xiao Shuan's heart. He remained calm, and after Lao Ma left, he quietly crept to the tree and dug open the shallow pit with his bare hands. Inside was a small iron box wrapped in oilcloth. Opening it, Xiao Shuan's heart sank to the bottom—inside were several lit matches, broken at a specific angle, and a small tuft of distinctive yellow tobacco. This was a simple signal commonly used by Japanese spies, indicating "Safe, contactable!"

Old Ma is the traitor? The "mole" is actually him?! The Brother Ma who usually mends clothes for everyone and always saves his rations for the wounded?

Zhao Xiaoshuan felt a chill run through him. He suppressed the urge to report immediately, knowing he needed more concrete evidence. He reburied the iron box, restoring it to its original state, and decided to keep a close eye on Lao Ma in secret.

For the next two days, Xiao Shuan followed Lao Ma like a shadow. He noticed that Lao Ma would always go to the outskirts of the camp at a fixed time to "check the traps." During this time, he would stop at a rocky cliff with a wide view, seemingly looking out, but actually tapping his fingers rhythmically on the rocks. Xiao Shuan didn't understand the code, but he was certain that Lao Ma was sending a message.

They couldn't wait any longer. Late on the third night, Xiao Shuan saw Lao Ma slip out of the camp again. He decided to risk following him and try to catch him in the act, at least to find out the specific methods and locations by which he contacted the outside world.

The moonlight was obscured by thick clouds, and the forest was pitch black. Xiao Shuan, familiar with the terrain, silently followed behind. Old Ma was clearly alert as well, walking and stopping intermittently. At a narrow forest path, Old Ma suddenly stopped, turned sharply, and hissed, "Who's there?!"

Xiao Shuan held his breath and lay prone behind the bushes.

Old Ma sneered, "Come out, Little Shuanzi, I know it's you."

Knowing he'd been exposed, Xiao Shuan stood up, gripping his rifle tightly. "Chief Ma, where are you going so late?"

In the darkness, Old Ma's face was indistinct, only his voice carried an unfamiliar chill: "You little brat, you've been watching me for two days, haven't you? Too much curiosity can kill you."

Before he finished speaking, Old Ma suddenly sprang to his feet, not charging at Xiao Shuan, but lunging to the side. At the same time, a flash of cold light appeared in his hand, and a shuriken (ninja star) was aimed straight at Xiao Shuan's face! Caught off guard, Xiao Shuan dodged the attack in a sorry state, but Old Ma had already closed in like a ghost, his dagger aimed straight at his heart!

"You're Japanese?!" Xiao Shuan exclaimed, his voice filled with shock and anger as he parried the attack.

"To serve the Great Japanese Empire!" Old Ma (or rather, the Japanese spy using the alias Ma Gui) was ruthless, employing the tactics of a professional assassin.

Xiao Shuan was young and strong, but his close-combat experience was far inferior to his opponent's. After several rounds, he had already sustained multiple wounds. He knew he couldn't fight for long and had to make a commotion to alert the camp. He endured a knife wound to the shoulder and forcefully pulled the trigger of his rifle!

"Bang!"

The gunshots were particularly jarring in the silent mountain forest.

Old Ma's eyes flashed with a fierce light, knowing his whereabouts were completely exposed. He stopped fighting, feinted an attack, and turned to flee. How could Xiao Shuan let him go? He roared and pounced on him, grabbing his waist tightly. Old Ma swung his knife back and plunged it deep into Xiao Shuan's back.

A sharp pain shot through Xiao Shuan, and he felt all the strength drain from his body in an instant. But his arms, gripping the fabric, remained as firm as iron clamps. He opened his mouth to scream, but only scalding blood gushed out. With his last ounce of strength, he ripped off the second button from Lao Ma's uniform—the one he had discovered during the struggle, its stitching a different color from the others.

"Tieshan... Brother... Be careful... Inside..." His last thoughts dissipated into the endless darkness, and his arm finally fell limply to the ground.

When Gu Tieshan and his soldiers arrived, drawn by the gunfire, they only saw Zhao Xiaoshuan lying in a pool of blood, and a drag mark on the ground leading into the dense forest (left by Lao Ma when he broke free). Gu Tieshan knelt down, picked up Xiaoshuan's still-warm body, and tears finally streamed down the face of this man who had never retreated even in the midst of gunfire. He pried open Xiaoshuan's tightly clenched hand and saw the blood-stained, slightly different button.

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Even if you have to turn the whole team upside down, dig this ghost out!" Gu Tieshan's voice, like that of a wounded lone wolf, was filled with grief and boundless rage. Xiao Shuan's sacrifice was like a poisonous thorn, piercing into everyone's heart.

(two)

Xiao Shuan's blood was not shed in vain. The button and the subsequent thorough investigation quickly identified the "missing" logistics section chief, Old Ma. Shen Lanjun's underground network also sent back information confirming "Ma Gui's" identity as a Japanese spy.

The traitor was eliminated, but the morale of the troops was affected, and an undercurrent of mutual suspicion was brewing.

Gu Tieshan stood before the makeshift sand table, having spent the entire night without sleep. His eyes were bloodshot, but his gaze was unusually sharp. He knew that at this moment, any words of comfort would be futile; only victory, a clean and decisive victory, could reunite the people and console the spirits of the fallen heroes.

“Onizuka thought that by removing our ‘eyes’ and planting ‘spies,’ we would become blind and deaf, only able to passively take a beating.” Gu Tieshan said to Political Commissar Yang and several key personnel, pointing to a winding mountain road on the sand table. “He was wrong. What Xiaoshuan gained with his life was not only to expose the traitor, but also to let us see clearly Onizuka’s mentality—he was eager for quick success and underestimated us.”

He elaborated on his plan: "The Onizuka transport team was terrified of us before, so they will definitely be more cautious in their operations and their security will be strengthened. But precisely because of this, they will rely more on so-called 'safe routes' and timetables. We will catch them off guard at what they consider the safest time and in the safest place!"

He chose the "One Line Sky" as his location. The terrain here was treacherous, with steep cliffs on both sides and a narrow passage, making it difficult for the Japanese to deploy their forces, but it was the only route to their front-line strongholds. Based on the deciphered telegrams and the information Old Ma had previously attempted to transmit, an important ammunition supply convoy would pass through here before dawn, hoping to use the cover of night.

"That's exactly what we're going to exploit. They think the time before dawn is the safest, so we'll strike at dawn!"

The troops marched through the night, silently advancing into their pre-arranged positions on either side of the narrow pass. Filled with grief and indignation, the soldiers silently checked their weapons, preparing to roll logs and stones. Gu Tieshan's order was singular: "Leave no survivors! Use the blood of the Japanese devils to pay tribute to our fallen brothers!"

In the darkest hour before dawn, the sound of horses' hooves and Japanese soldiers' boots pounding on the stones echoed through the valley. The long transport convoy, like a venomous snake, slipped into the narrow passage.

Gu Tieshan calmly calculated the distance. Just as the vanguard of the Japanese army was about to leave the pass and the rearguard was fully inside the ambush zone, he suddenly waved his hand and ordered: "Fire!"

Boom! Huge rocks and logs rained down from the sky, instantly destroying the vehicles at the front and rear of the column and blocking the Japanese troops in the narrow valley. At the same time, gunfire erupted from the cliffs on both sides, and bullets poured down like a torrential rain.

The Japanese troops were thrown into chaos, trampling each other and suffering heavy casualties. The escorting Japanese squads attempted to organize a counterattack, but the terrain limited their firepower advantage. The Anti-Japanese Allied Army soldiers, like vengeful mountain gods, poured all their grief and anger from the past few days into bullets and bayonets.

The battle ended quickly. The rising sun finally broke through the clouds, casting golden rays into the valley, illuminating the Japanese corpses scattered everywhere, the strewn ammunition boxes, and the burning wreckage of vehicles.

The soldiers silently cleaned up the battlefield, carrying away the captured weapons, ammunition, canned goods, and precious medicines. No one cheered, but everyone's eyes regained their firmness and sharpness. This clean and efficient ambush not only yielded a rich harvest, but more importantly, it acted like a shot in the arm, dispelling the gloom within and rekindling the spirit of the troops.

Gu Tieshan stood atop the highest rock, bathed in the blood-red dawn. Gazing into the distance, he knew that this victory marked the complete failure of the Japanese army's months-long, costly "iron wall encirclement" strategy. But this dawn was stained red with the blood of Geng Dashan, Zhao Xiaoshuan, and countless comrades.