The Japanese and puppet troops in another county also opened the north gate of the county and fled north under the cover of darkness. At this point, the Songshan guerrilla column took full control of the Andong Public Security District.
After clearing out the Japanese and puppet troops in the Andong area, Gao Zhiyong led his cadres to start the work of establishing a base area.
As a large number of people were liberated, young and middle-aged people enthusiastically signed up to join the army. In just three days, more than 6,000 new fighters joined the guerrillas.
After a short rest, Xu Dalong left a second detachment in the Andong Public Security District to cooperate with Gao Zhiyong and others. He led the main force through Songshan and entered the Yuanping area.
The commander of the Japanese Second Division had already been frightened by the Songshan guerrilla column. When he learned that Xu Dalong had led the main force of the guerrilla column into the Yuanping area, he led his troops to flee towards Jinzhou.
Two security areas of the Kwantung Army were captured by the Songshan guerrillas. The 22nd Division and the 2nd Division suffered heavy losses. This was a great shame and humiliation for the Kwantung Army. Even Senji, who was on duty, felt that he had no way to explain to the base camp.
Nowadays, whether in the Guannei battlefield or the Pacific battlefield, the Japanese army has begun to decline. The nine provinces outside the Kwantung Army controlled by the Kwantung Army were already the most stable strategic areas for the Japanese army, but now there is turmoil. This is definitely not what the Japanese base camp wants to see.
The Japanese base camp ordered Shida Qianji to fly back to Tokyo immediately and report the situation outside the customs to the base camp.
This time the Songshan guerrillas went out to fight and captured more than 400 Japanese soldiers. According to the underground party's policy, the prisoners were not allowed to be killed, but they could not be raised in vain. In the end, they could only be released after education.
Xu Dalong knew very well that these beasts who had been brainwashed by militarism would not receive education. If they were sent back, it would not be long before they were sent back to the battlefield to deal with the underground party guerrillas.
Xu Dalong thought twice and decided that he could not take advantage of them in vain, so he proposed to exchange prisoners of war with the Japanese army. When the Songshan guerrillas fought against the Japanese and puppet troops, more than a hundred people were captured. The highest-ranking one was only a deputy squadron leader. It was not cost-effective to just exchange them with the Japanese and puppet troops. However, Xu Dalong valued the lives of the guerrillas a hundred or a thousand times more than those of the Japanese. He was willing to exchange more than 400 Japanese for more than 100 guerrillas.
Xu Dalong handed over all this matter to the underground party outside the customs and asked them to send people to contact the Japanese Kwantung Army headquarters.
However, the Japanese army was very immoral. They knew that the underground party's policy did not allow the killing of prisoners. Even if they did not use prisoners in exchange, it would not take long for the underground party to release them. Therefore, they categorically refused to exchange prisoners of war, and also killed the liaison officers sent by the underground party.
This incident caused an uproar, and there were different voices within the underground party on how to handle the matter.
Some people think that the Japanese aggressors should retaliate in kind. They treated the prisoners of war of the underground party in this way, and the underground party can also use the same means to deal with the prisoners of war of the Japanese army. This opinion obviously does not prevail.
There is another opinion that since the Japanese and puppets do not release our prisoners of war, we should also not release the Japanese prisoners of war.
Others believe that even if the Japanese and puppets are unwilling to release our prisoners of war, in order to show the aboveboardness of the underground party, they still have to adhere to the consistent prisoner policy and release these prisoners of war. This opinion prevailed, and even the superiors hoped that Xu Dalong would do this to maintain the underground party's consistent prisoner policy.
When the news reached the Songshan guerrilla column, the commanders and soldiers were unwilling to do so. Especially the guerrillas who enlisted outside the customs were deeply bullied by the Japanese and puppet troops and hated these devils. They insisted on killing these devils to avenge the deaths of their compatriots.
If this matter is not handled well, it will definitely severely dampen the enthusiasm of the guerrillas in resisting the war, thus seriously affecting the morale of the troops.
Regarding how to deal with this matter, Commander Si Ling also sent a telegram to Xu Dalong, asking him to deal with it on camera. No matter what method Xu Dalong finally adopted, Commander Si Ling would also support Xu Dalong.
Xu Dalong is very grateful for this. To be honest, the reason why he has achieved so many achievements over the years is inseparable from the support behind him. He sent a telegram back to Officer Sling, saying that he would handle the matter properly.
Xu Dalong thought twice and sent a clear telegram. The telegram was specifically targeted at Japanese officers and soldiers. It said:
"Officers and soldiers of the Japanese army, you were deceived by the militarism of the island country. You left your hometown and came to China to participate in this senseless war. Countless officers and soldiers were killed or disabled in battle, which brought serious disasters to your respective families. Maybe you think that your bloodshed and sacrifices are all for the so-called island country and your Tianhuang, but your efforts are worthless in their eyes. They just treat you as cannon fodder.
In the Songshan War that just happened, our underground party guerrillas captured more than 430 Japanese soldiers. In the spirit of humanitarianism, the underground party is willing to exchange these prisoners of war for more than 100 guerrilla prisoners of war captured by the Japanese army. From then on In terms of numbers, this is completely unequal, which also shows the sincerity of our underground party.
These more than 400 Japanese prisoners of war all have parents, wives and children. Their relatives are looking forward to their return home. However, the officers of the Kwantung Army, under the guise of being loyal to Tian Huang, want to destroy the lives of these officers and soldiers. They would rather they be killed. They were not willing to be executed in exchange for more than 100 guerrilla prisoners of war. Doesn’t this kind of behavior chill you?
Officers and soldiers of the Japanese army, you should reflect on this. Is it worth it to shed blood and sacrifice for militarism that does not care about your life or death and has caused serious harm to your family? "
There was only so much content in the telegram. Xu Dalong did not carry out too much anti-Japanese propaganda, which could easily arouse the resentment of Japanese officers and soldiers. He just played the family card to arouse the resentment of the Japanese officers and soldiers towards their superiors.
Considering that the Japanese army will implement a strict confidentiality system, ordinary officers and soldiers are likely not to receive the clear telegram sent by Xu Dalong. Xu Dalong not only sent it three times in a row, but also contacted underground party organizations outside the customs and asked them to print leaflets with the same content and distribute them near the barracks of the Japanese and puppet troops.
After the underground party read the clear telegram sent by Xu Dalong, they also attached great importance to the matter and used a large number of radio stations to forward it.
The Japanese officers and soldiers are still very concerned about their own fate, and they also want to know what will happen to the captured Japanese officers and soldiers, because they are likely to be captured in future battles. Therefore, despite the officers and soldiers' deliberate inquiring, the news spread like wildfire. In the end, most of the Japanese officers and soldiers of the Kwantung Army also knew the contents of Xu Dalong's telegram. The officers and soldiers of the Japanese army put themselves in their shoes and of course hoped that those officers and soldiers of the Japanese army could be released back.
Although they did not dare to discuss the matter publicly, they did discuss it behind their backs, causing considerable turmoil among the Japanese army.
Xu Dalong posed a big problem to the Japanese Kwantung Army this time. If they did not comply, the Japanese officers and soldiers would inevitably feel sad, which would seriously affect their morale and morale. However, if they complied with the request, they would feel that they would lose face, especially since Xu Dalong took the initiative, so they had to comply with Xu Dalong's request. This made them feel even more shameless, and they couldn't make up their minds for a while.
The contents of the clear telegram sent by Xu Dalong were spread to the island country through various channels. If it were at the beginning of the war, the people in the island country would be very fanatical. They would rather have their family members killed or commit suicide after being captured than to be released and bring shame to the family. However, as the war progressed for a long time, the island country fell into an economic crisis, and millions of Japanese officers and soldiers were killed or disabled, which caused deep harm to the people of the island country. Many people have begun to reflect. They now hope that their family members can return safely. Therefore, the families of these captives have asked for the exchange of prisoners of war so that their relatives can survive.
Faced with pressure from the domestic public and ordinary Japanese officers and soldiers, after repeated considerations, the Kwantung Army decided to agree to Xu Dalong's request and implemented a prisoner exchange.
When the prisoner-of-war exchange negotiations began and the prisoner-of-war exchange list began, Yuichi Asada, the commander of the Japanese 44th Brigade, did not appear. After all, his status was very high. It would be uneconomical to use it for ordinary prisoner-of-war exchanges. .
Of course Xu Dalong didn't want to keep this old devil in vain, he definitely wanted to use him in exchange for what he wanted most.
After the prisoner exchange was completed, on this day, a beggar appeared at the entrance of the division department of the Japanese 22nd Division.
The Japanese sentry saw him approaching and waved him away with disgust.
A smile appeared on the beggar's dirty face, and he held an envelope in his equally dirty hand, waving it towards the Japanese sentry, and saying something.
Although the Japanese sentry couldn't understand what he said, when he saw the envelope in his hand, he knew it was to deliver a letter. He stepped forward and snatched the envelope from the beggar's hand, telling the beggar to get out of his way.
The envelope was written in Japanese and was addressed to the commander of the Japanese 22nd Division. The sentry sent the letter to the combat duty room at the division headquarters and handed it to the combat staff officer on duty.
The combat staff did not dare to open the letter addressed to the division commander without permission, so he came to the division commander's adjutant and handed the letter to him.
The adjutant was shocked after reading the letter and hurried to see the division commander.
This letter was written by Xu Dalong. The letter stated that they had captured Yuichi Asada, the commander of the Japanese 44th Brigade, and could release him as long as the 22nd Division was willing to pay NT$200,000. There is Yuichi Asada's signature at the end of the letter.
He knew the head of the calligraphy division, and it was certain that Yuichi Asada was still alive and had become a prisoner of Xu Dalong. Under the letter, a radio station contact information was also written, stipulating the frequency band for communication, and the 1930 edition of the Kangxi Dictionary was used as a temporary code book.
The commander of the 22nd Division originally thought that Asada Yuichi had been killed in the battle, and had already reported the matter to the Kwantung Army. Now he suddenly learned that Asada Yuichi was still alive, which made him very embarrassed. He decided to contact Xu Dalong first to see what his intentions were.
The commander of the 22nd Division designated his adjutant to be responsible for this matter. According to the division commander's intention, the adjutant sent a telegram to Xu Dalong asking for details about Yuichi Asada.
Xu Dalong called back and said that he had no other requirements and only hoped to exchange Yuichi Asada for 200,000 yuan. As long as the 22nd Division is willing to pay the money, he can keep the secret for the 22nd Division, saying that Yuichi Asada was not captured, but was injured, hid in a place to recuperate, and returned to the 22nd Division on his own.
If a brigade commander of the 22nd Division is captured, the impact will be too great, and it can even affect the future of the division commander. If Yuichi Asada can return on his own, the result will be ideal.
As for 200,000 oceans, it is not a small amount for the 22nd Division, but the division commander is still very willing to make this deal.
But he was worried that Xu Dalong was playing some tricks, so he called the chief of staff to discuss the matter.
Since Xu Dalong appeared outside the customs, the Japanese army has strengthened their understanding of him. The division commander and chief of staff have also read a lot of information about Xu Dalong and done a lot of research on him. They believed that Xu Dalong was trustworthy. After all, he was a world-famous military general and it was impossible for him to destroy his credibility just because of one incident.
Besides, as long as Asada Yuichi can return safely, even if Xu Dalong is playing tricks, as long as Asada Yuichi does not admit that he has been captured. Anyway, this kind of thing is just a matter of public opinion and mother-in-law's opinion. There won't be any big problems and no one will seriously pursue it.
Therefore, after discussion, the two decided to agree to use money to redeem Yuichi Asada.
Soon after, the adjutant of the commander of the 22nd Division redeemed Asada Yuichi with money at the location agreed with Xu Dalong.
Xu Dalong got the money and gave it to Gao Zhiyong.
Since a large number of people had been rescued, there was a huge shortage of food. Gao Zhiyong was worried about money. After getting the 200,000 yuan, he was very happy and said: "If we catch more high-ranking Japanese officials in the future, our life will be much better."
Shida Qianji returned to Fengtian City from Tokyo and conveyed the order from the base camp, requiring the Kwantung Army to restore public order and curb the development of the underground party's anti-Japanese armed forces outside the Kwantung.
Shida Qianji summoned the main generals of the Kwantung Army to discuss how to deal with the Songshan guerrillas.
These people have different opinions. Some people think that heavy troops should be sent to encircle and suppress the Songshan guerrillas and drive them out of the pass. Others think that the situation in the two major security areas of Andong and Yuanping is very complicated. The guerrillas have already established bases there. The Japanese army wants to It is very difficult to fight in this area. It is better to abandon these two security areas altogether and deploy heavy troops around these two security areas to prevent the Songshan guerrillas from continuing to penetrate into the hinterland outside the pass.
After a thorough discussion, the Kwantung Army decided to make two preparations. First of all, heavy troops must be concentrated to attack the base areas just established by the guerrillas, and try to drive them out of the pass as much as possible. If this is not possible, the next best thing is to station troops in the northeast of the Andong and Yuanping security areas to prevent them from continuing to develop outside the customs.
(End of chapter)
