I Won't Take the Blame

Before departing, Song Zheyuan left behind orders for his deputies: foreign affairs were entrusted to Deputy Army Commander Qin Dechun to oversee, while military matters were placed in the hands of Tong Linge and Feng Zhian. Afterward, under the pretext of sweeping ancestral graves, Song Zheyuan slipped back to his hometown in Shandong to escape the turmoil and lie low. This maneuver thoroughly dumbfounded both the Chinese and Japanese sides. The General Staff in Nanjing sensed that a major war was brewing in North China; if the North China Five Provinces Autonomy Movement orchestrated by the Japanese military collapsed, war was bound to erupt. And at a critical moment like this, the region's top military and civil authority had actually run off? The Japanese were no less astonished than Nanjing. The Beiping Special Service Agency had negotiated with Song Zheyuan for years, handling numerous matters directly with him. Now, out of nowhere, the chief in command had bolted, leaving behind only the word that whatever arose should be taken up with his deputy, Qin Dechun... The actual core leadership of the 29th Army consisted of only four men: Song Zheyuan, Zhang Zizhong, Qin Dechun, and Feng Zhian. Among them, Qin Dechun and Feng Zhian were diehard anti-Japanese hardliners, and now they had thrown in Tong Linge—outside the inner core, yet fiercely anti-Japanese as well... *** Zhaojiazhuang, 219th Regiment headquarters. Night fell, and only then did the officers and men of Sun's regiment slowly make their way back to their post after half a day of fierce fighting. Their rations had run out long ago, and starving, the men trudged along on exhausted legs. Burdened with the wounded, their march was agonizingly slow, which drained their remaining stamina all the more. Sun Yi was bone-tired himself. The moment he stepped into regimental headquarters, he collapsed into a seat, hastily poured himself a cup of water, and gulped it down. Zhu Shiqing, Fang Wenjian, Xiang Chengyu, and the others filed in after him, each collapsing into whatever seat they could find. Ordinarily, the immediate order of business after a battle was to hold a brief meeting—first to review the engagement, and second to coordinate upcoming actions. As everyone sank into place, Sun Yi slowly reached into his left breast pocket for his crushed tin of loose tobacco, but this time he tossed it straight onto the table and waved a hand. "Share it among yourselves. I'm done smoking." Yet at that moment, no one reached for it. Suddenly, the rumble of an approaching car broke the silence outside. Bright headlights threw elongated beams of shadow across the square in front of the headquarters entrance. "Greetings, Division Commander!" The sentry's call drifted inside. Sun Yi jolted upright, thinking to himself that the division commander really had come. Grabbing his cap, he jumped up to receive him, gesturing with a wave of his hand for every officer in the room, high and low, to snap to their feet. Feng Zhian had already reached the doorway. Seeing the crowded room, he chuckled. "What's this? Celebrating your victory? Did I come at a bad time?" "Not at all, not at all, Division Commander!" Sun Yi put on a theatrical act, wearing a flattering smile as he ushered Feng Zhian into the inner room. "Please take the seat of honor, Commander." Feng Zhian was not one to dawdle and promptly sat down right where Sun Yi had just been sitting. Sun Yi scurried over beside Zhu Shiqing, grabbed a stool, and set it down. "Sit down, all of you, sit down." Feng Zhian waved his hand, and only then did the men take their seats. "Let me ask you: is there something about the Battle of Lijiatun that you've been keeping from me?" "How could that be? Nothing of the sort, Division Commander! We took a brutal beating out there. If the division could spare us some resupplies, that would be wonderful." Sun Yi continued playing dumb. "What, the Devils weren't killed by your regiment?" "Devils?" Sun Yi looked around, exchanging glances with his battalion and company commanders, then turned back to Feng Zhian with wide, astonished eyes. "What Devils? At Lijiatun?" *Bang!* Feng Zhian slammed his hand against the table in a burst of anger and snarled, "Sun Yi, you bastard, still playing innocent with me! Dammit, those Japanese dogs have blockaded the army commander's front door! What more do you want? The army issued order after order: don't stir up trouble, don't stir up trouble!" Hearing this, Sun Yi could hold back no longer. All the grievance and fury welling in his chest rose straight to his throat. "Division Commander, where's your conscience talking to me like that? I've followed you for all these years—when have I ever wanted to make trouble for you? This assault on Lijiatun—between Lijiatun and Zhangwan, that was two whole battalions, nearly a thousand men! "My 219th Regiment has to defend Fengtai, blow up their granary, and swallow the damn Japanese's insults day in and day out! So a few Devils were killed—they were guarding the place! If we didn't take them down, how were we supposed to burn the granary? And who's going to compensate me for the lives of my brothers?!" Sun Yi grew more worked up as he spoke, nearly springing to his feet. His booming voice shook the room, his eyes brimming with tears, prompting Zhu Shiqing to quickly seize his right hand and pull him firmly back down. Then again, that pack of Devils truly had been unlucky. The five soldiers were not part of Lijiatun's regular garrison; they had only been ordered to inspect the grain stores that day. As fate would have it, the 219th Regiment launched their assault right then, trapping them inside... Seeing Sun Yi's tearful indignation, Feng Zhian felt a pang of discomfort. He had always been renowned for treating his troops like his own children. Taking Lijiatun was undeniably a major victory; in any case, he could hardly punish them instead of rewarding them just over a few dead Japanese. *Ring, ring, ring...* The regimental headquarters telephone rang behind them, and Feng Zhian picked it up. "Sun Yi? Is Division Commander Feng still with you?" It was the voice of the army chief of staff on the line. Feng Zhian replied, "What happened?" Recognizing Feng Zhian's voice, the chief of staff hurried to say, "Old Feng, the army commander went back to his hometown! Before leaving, he specifically ordered foreign affairs turned over to Qin Dechun and military affairs given to you! Hurry on back—if something goes sideways, I'm afraid you won't be able to respond in time!" Feng Zhian felt like cursing out loud. *Why the hell dump military affairs onto me out of nowhere? Afraid we won't have an excuse to fight the Devils or something?* Helpless, Feng Zhian gritted his teeth. Looking at the crowd staring back at him, he couldn't find the heart to lay down the law. He could only soften his tone and console him: "Sun Yi, I know how hard you men fought this battle, and you fought it well. I didn't come here today to hold your feet to the fire. When I get back, I'll still request commendations for you all. There are still a dozen crates of grenades and ammunition over in Wanping. Send some men to haul them over—consider it my compensation to you. "By the way, keep a sharp eye on those Devils at Fengtai Station for me. If anything urgent happens, call division headquarters directly." With that, Feng Zhian stood up to leave. The others stayed silent, merely watching him go. When he reached the door, Feng Zhian turned back and added, "The commander has gone to Shandong on official business. For now, military affairs are my responsibility. Have your regiment rest and refit properly and await orders. Don't go crippling yourselves over one Lijiatun so you can't hold the line when the time comes!" "Absolutely not! Rest assured, Division Commander Feng!" Sun Yi snapped to attention and bellowed with all his might. *** Meanwhile, in the Beiping Municipal Government building, in Qin Dechun's office. Qin Dechun, who concurrently served as Mayor of Beiping, was meeting with the Japanese representative, Oda Toshito. Oda was an 'old China hand.' He had arrived in China as early as the 1911 Revolution and had consistently served as a military advisor to various warlords. Upon arriving at Qin Dechun's office, he immediately brought up the killing of the five Japanese soldiers. The Hebei-Chahar Political Affairs Council was a semi-puppet administrative body established earlier, where Chinese, Japanese, and puppet committee members coexisted. Song Zheyuan had been named chairman, while Qin Dechun and Oda were both standing committee members. Within this council, collaborators and pro-Japanese factions accounted for seventy percent of the seats. "Commissioner Qin is an understanding man. When I consulted with Chairman Song regarding North China affairs, you were present on many occasions. Now that Lijiatun has been attacked and five soldiers of the Great Japanese Empire have perished under this unaccounted gunfire, I would still like to ask Commissioner Qin to give me an explanation." Hands folded, Qin Dechun sat upright in his chair. Listening to Oda's words, he replied coldly, "Your Excellency is an intelligent man as well. How could you ask such a foolish question?"