CHAPTER 12: FIRESTORM AT PENGZE (Part One)​

　　Madang Fortress anchored Pengtse County, Jiangxi—30 li from county seat, 80 li from Jiujiang. Strategic choke point where:

　　Main Yangtze channels choked by sandbars (north route silt-blocked; south route <500m wide, rapids boiling)

　　Cliffs pinching Hsiao-ku Hill (Anhui) formed natural artillery perches

　　China’s first Yangtze defense line:

　　River blockade: 39 scuttled ships + reefs → one-ship-wide gap (emergency sealable)

　　1,500+ mines sown along southern channel

　　Coastal batteries embedded in bedrock

　　Defensive hierarchy:

　　Lt. Gen. Liu Xing—Yangtze River Defense Commander

　　Vice Adm. Zeng Yiding—Deputy Commander

　　Lt. Gen. Li Yun-heng—Matihu Fortress Commander (16th Army)

　　Direct control: 53rd Division + 167th Division

　　Naval patrol: Ning/Sheng gunboats

　　Li Yun-heng’s headquarters: Pengtse County town. On June 10, he launched Resist-Japan Military-Political Academy—training militia chiefs and junior officers.

　　June 24—Graduation banquet planned.

　　Traitor alert:

　　The date reached Lt. Gen. Matsuura Junkichiro. He ordered 111th Brigade Col. Yamachi: "Scout validity."

　　113th Regiment Col. Tanaka—having spotted the Dong trio during Zhou Zhidao’s annihilation—dispatched five Chinese-speaking soldiers tailing them into Pengtse.

　　Zhang Facai—that grizzled hound of war—had scented the tail within ten minutes of leaving the river. Japs? Traitors? His jaw clamped shut. Move too soon—gravedigger's delight. Pengtse’s walls first. Trap later.

　　Now, watching sentries shrug off his warning, Zhang’s voice tore from his throat: "JAPS IN TOWN! Blind motherfuckers! 74TH ARMY, 51ST DIVISION HERE! GENERAL WANG YAOWU COMMANDS! BRIGADIER ZHANG LINGFU LEADS OUR BRIGADE! DRAG YOUR FUCKING CO OUT HERE!"

　　His uniform hung like a scarecrow’s rags. The sentries’ eyes skidded over him like oil on water.

　　Zhang spat at their boots: "FOUGHT WITH THE 74TH AT MADANG RIVERBANK! JAP BLOOD STILL ON MY BLADE! URGENT—INTELLIGENCE!"

　　Yaoting’s hope shriveled. Should’ve brought San-Shao—that boy’s roar cracks stone...

　　A major’s insignia flashed at the doorway. Yaoting lunged like an arrow released.

　　As the girl finished collecting coppers, her grandfather’s mallet struck the cracked gong—BRONG!— drawing fresh onlookers. San-Shao’s gaze slid sideways. Five Japs in peasant garb huddled with a mole-faced man. Traitor’s meeting! Breath seized in his throat. His eyes etched every crevice of the traitor’s face—sallow skin, greased hair, rat-like eyes.

　　Two Japs stared back from 300 paces. Their eyes—black gun muzzles boring into his soul. His palms slicked with cold sweat.

　　Ten minutes. The Japs marched toward him. Hands dove for waistbands—steel hissed from cloth. Weaponless, San-Shao bucked through the crowd like a spooked ox. He tore the heavy broadsword from the girl’s grasp.

　　“THIEF! BANDIT!” Her scream tore the air.

　　The crowd roared.

　　He leaned in, breath ragged: “JAPS! Lending your steel to fight!”

　　The girl’s fingers sprang open. The crowd melted like winter frost.

　　Twin bayonets gleamed in the noon glare. San-Shao’s heart hammered:

　　“Sweet saints—bayonets, not guns. Luck’s still rolling!”  The two Japs sneered coldly. One shouted in Chinese: "Where can you flee?! Repay my debt now—or be chopped to mincemeat!"

　　San-Shao stared in shock: "Bullshit! I’ve never gambled—owed what?!"

　　The advancing Jap kept cursing: "Debt repayment—heaven’s command! Denial proves guilt!"

　　San-Shao finally understood: Japs framing debt to disguise themselves! He bellowed: "THESE AREN’T HAN MEN—THEY’RE FUCKING JAP DEVILS!"

　　The watching crowd only laughed harder—just street theater!

　　San-Shao gripped the broadsword, swinging wildly: "DON’T STEP CLOSER! STEP FORWARD—THIS BLADE EATS FLESH!"

　　One Jap kicked hard against the earth—body launching like an arrow! Bayonet thrust straight at San-Shao’s face!

　　San-Shao screeched, stumbling backward—

　　SWISH! An obsidian shadow intercepted—the old martial artist materialized between them!

　　He spoke facing the Jap: "Warriors! Take your fight elsewhere. This ground feeds my granddaughter and me!"

　　The Jap—deceptively boyish face, pure Chinese features—assessed the old man’s lightning interception, qi-balanced stillness. He clasped hands respectfully.

　　The second Jap’s glare locked on San-Shao—dagger pupils reflecting the bayonet’s glacial glare—blinding steel-blue under the sun.

　　San-Shao’s heart surged—Yaoting and Zhang Facai came charging down the street at the head of a rifle squad! The two Japs scattered like rats. Three more shadows slid into a coffin-narrow alley.

　　HEAVE! San-Shao’s broadsword sliced air where a Jap’s neck had been. Steel flashed toward his own ribs—

　　WHOOSH-CRACK! Leathery palms jerked him backward. Behind him, a low thud shook the cobblestones as the old man’s strike splintered the Jap’s breastbone. The soldier flew backwards, blood fountaining from his mouth, legs drumming against the paving stones.

　　The second Jap charged screaming. The old man stood rooted like an ancient pine. At the bayonet’s final centimeter, his foot snapped like a bamboo whip—ribs cracked like dry kindling. A THUD echoed as the body went limp.

　　“WOUNDED?!” Yaoting skidded to his knees beside San-Shao.

　　The major’s voice cracked the square: “IRON CUFFS! SEAL EVERY GATE!”

　　Soldiers boiled forward. Two booted the gasping Jap’s ribs—forcing cuffs. Whistle shrieks pierced the air as gates slammed shut.

　　Thick pink foam bubbled on the prisoners’ lips. Their skin grayed like rotted fish.

　　The major pressed fingers to cold flesh: “FUCKING JAP DOG POISON!”

　　Yaoting bent into a rust-corroded courtyard bow: “Elder—your hands shield us like mountains.”

　　The girl clutched her grandfather’s sleeve: “Your breath—does it still flow, Grandfather?”The old man shook his head: "These two... true Japs?"

　　Yaoting nodded. Silent. He yanked down one corpse's trousers—white fundoshi biting into the groin.

　　"BEASTS! FILTH!" The old man's hands trembled.

　　The girl's eyes sparked volcanic fury. She snatched the discarded broadsword, strode to the corpses, and HACKED!

　　CHOP! THUD! SCHLICK!

　　Flesh split. Blood geysered. She chopped through sobs: "BEASTS! DEATH-DESERVING BEASTS!"