Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 84 Start taking action

As night fell, thick clouds obscured the moonlight, shrouding the entire county in darkness. Only the Japanese troops' encampment was illuminated by lights, which stood out starkly in the darkness.

Seeing that the time had come, Li Qukou and Niu Dali each led their men to begin their operation.

"be careful."

"The operation went smoothly."

After bidding farewell to Niu Dali, Li Qukou and Niu Dali began their respective missions according to the plan. To ensure the smooth progress of the operation, Li Qukou specifically ordered all the personnel to change into Japanese soldiers' clothes to confuse the Japanese.

The streets of the county town were deserted late at night, with only the occasional patrol of Japanese soldiers moving about. Li Qukou led the intelligence unit's action team, following a route that had been scouted beforehand, and stealthily made their way to the Japanese hospital.

"Chief, we've spotted a Japanese checkpoint ahead."

"Hmm? The reconnaissance didn't find any Japanese strongholds. It seems the Japanese are quite cautious, setting up temporary strongholds. But no problem, proceed with the backup route." Li Qukou calmly issued the order.

"Yes." The team members immediately changed direction, with the rear team becoming the front team, and took another route. They made their way through without any obstacles and did not find any trace of the Japanese soldiers. The group of more than 30 people easily made their way to the corner of the Japanese hospital, waiting for Niu Dali to send him a message.

On the other side, Niu Dali led them to a two-story building near the Japanese hospital. Through binoculars, Niu Dali saw that the Japanese had deployed seven soldiers there: two upstairs, three on duty downstairs, and two resting in a room on the first floor.

"The situation has changed. The Japanese have temporarily increased their defenses. There are two more Japanese soldiers downstairs than before," Niu Dali said.

"Battalion Commander, having two more Japanese soldiers is no problem for us," Qin Yang said.

"It's not that I care about these two extra Japanese soldiers, it's just that the Japanese have temporarily increased their defenses. I wonder what they're up to," Niu Dali said curiously.

"Tell everyone to be careful and prevent any accidents from happening," Niu Dali instructed.

"Wang Fugui."

"Battalion Commander, please speak."

"Make sure you take care of those two little Japanese devils upstairs."

"Battalion Commander, no problem. I've been hunting in the mountains since I was a child. I'll show you what a master archer is." Wang Fugui said confidently.

"I've only ever heard you brag about how amazing your archery is; now it's time to see how you actually do it."

"Qin Yang, according to the previous plan, you lead your men to sneak over. Once Wang Fugui succeeds, immediately kill the Japanese soldier at the door, and then rush in and kill the two Japanese soldiers inside."

"No problem, Battalion Commander."

"Go and prepare."

"Yes, battalion commander."

Then Wang Fugui took out the old bow passed down from his grandfather's generation from his back, and carefully took out two freshly polished arrowheads from the quiver. To ensure the effect, Wang Fugui specially applied some arsenic to the arrowheads.

Hidden in the darkness, Wang Fugui drew his bow and aimed at the two Japanese soldiers on duty on the second floor. When he saw Niu Dali signal him that he could attack, he held his breath and looked at the two Japanese soldiers illuminated by the lights on the upper floor.

Wang Fugui released his hands, and with a "whoosh," two arrows gleaming coldly flew towards the Japanese soldiers, accurately hitting their chests.

Seeing that his first shot had hit its mark, Wang Fugui, to ensure there would be no further mishaps, swiftly drew two more arrows from his quiver and fired them in one fluid motion. The two arrows struck two more Japanese soldiers before they fell.

"Battalion Commander, it's all settled. Those two Japanese devils are definitely dead." Wang Fugui gave Niu Dali a successful gesture.

The instant Wang Fugui shot the arrow, Qin Yang, along with two other soldiers, sneaked in from the left and right. Taking advantage of the Japanese soldiers' momentary lapse in attention, they easily eliminated the three Japanese soldiers downstairs. He then rushed into the room on the first floor and smoothly took care of the two Japanese soldiers inside.

Niu Dali, who was outside, led his men to quickly carry the fallen Japanese soldier into the room and hide him. He also ordered three soldiers to disguise themselves as Japanese soldiers and stand guard outside.

He then went up to the second floor, took out the flashlight from his pocket, and flashed it three times toward the designated location. He saw that the other side also flashed three times, and he knew that Li Qukou had received their mission to occupy the high ground.

"Qin Yang, leave 30 men here to guard the area. They will be responsible for helping Director Li move the medicine and monitoring the movements of the Japanese nearby. If something happens to Director Li and the Japanese discover him, you will cover his retreat from here."

"The Japanese grenade launcher operators are formidable. We should abandon the machine gun position on the second floor if necessary," Niu Dali reminded him again, still worried.

"Be careful, Battalion Commander, I'll take care of things here."

"Alright, I'll take the rest of the men to the east gate of the county town. I don't know how the other team is doing. I'll make sure the operation at the east gate goes smoothly and that our men can evacuate in time." After saying that, Niu Dali led the remaining soldiers away from the scene and headed towards the east gate of the county town under the cover of night.

"Chief, we've received a signal from Battalion Commander Niu," Sun Qiang said.

"Alright, immediately send the signal back to Battalion Commander Niu," Li Qukou ordered.

"Yes, Commander." Sun Qiang also took out a flashlight from his pocket and flashed it three times towards the two-story building.

"Sun Qiang, according to the plan, you and the rest of the men stay here and guard the area. I'll lead the assault team in," Li Qukou said.

"Yes, Director."

"Okay." So Li Qukou led the assault team to easily climb over the hospital's outer wall by forming a human wall and enter the hospital.

At this time, most of the lights in the hospital were off, except for a few rooms where the lights were still on, presumably the rooms of the doctors on duty. Li Qukou led his men into the hospital pharmacy, following the terrain they had scouted. Li Qukou and his men easily bypassed the Japanese guards and arrived outside the hospital pharmacy.

“Cao Cao kept it a secret until you made your move,” Li Qukou said.

"Alright, Director, just watch my cooking."

Before joining the militia, Cao Man worked as a thief under his master. They would steal money from landlords to make a living and take care of poor people who were bullied by landlords.

Later, in an accident, his master was shot and killed at a landlord's house. Cao Man stopped doing that kind of work, but he retained his skills in picking locks and burglaries. To Cao Man's surprise, these skills would eventually be used in the war against Japan.

Later, when Li Qukou came to their camp to select talents, Cao Man's skills caught Li Qukou's eye, and he was specially recruited into the intelligence department.

As Cao Man spoke, he took out tools from his bag, climbed onto the window, and easily opened the locked window from the inside. Cao Man then easily climbed through the window into the Japanese pharmacy.

Li Qukou followed behind and easily scaled the wall, followed by several more soldiers from the operations unit. Li Qukou carefully examined the Japanese pharmacy with a flashlight; the shelves were filled with medicine.