Inside Beiping, those watching the frontline battle included not only the Beiping Security Headquarters, but also the Japanese barracks in Dongjiaominxiang and the various foreign legations.
Amid streets and alleys where doors were bolted and lights extinguished, this was one of the few places brightly illuminated.
The Japanese civilian personnel, secret service operatives, and even temporary Japanese expatriates inside the barracks all seemed eager to step out in this chaos and claim a share of the fruits of victory.
In the adjacent British and French legations, ministers and diplomats worked typewriters to communicate with their home countries, analyzing the current situation in China.
A private hospital funded by German capital was bustling with tense activity. Before nightfall, they had contacted the Security Regiment headquarters, stating that the Germans were willing to treat Chinese soldiers wounded in the battle to defend the city free of charge.
The citizens in the city fell roughly into three camps:
The refugees had long packed their bags and spent the entire day pacing around the various gate towers, having even fallen for the ruse pulled by Zhu Shiqing and his men at Deshengmen. At this moment, they remained jammed before several northern gateways, praying that the officers and men of the 29th Army would show some basic humanity and let them flee.
The compliers, resigned to muddling through, represented the vast majority of the citizenry. Most lived in households of three or even four generations that had settled in Beiping for centuries without ever venturing far. With large extended families, they lacked the means for long-distance flight. They could only huddle at home, waiting quietly for shifts in the situation, prepared to some degree to scrape by under Japanese rule.
The capitulationists had already stocked welcoming flags in their homes for when the Japanese entered the city. These were often civil servants from the previous administration, hoping to land a post in whatever peace preservation association or "autonomous" puppet government might be established later on.
Meanwhile, Wang Bing received a piece of news that drove him further into despair.
Division Commander Zhao Dengyu, who had rushed to reinforce Nanyuan, had fallen in battle against the Japanese. This fiery young division commander, who had started out as one of Feng Yuxiang's bodyguards, had laid down his life on this beloved soil. In his final moments, he still clutched his steel blade, gazing up at the firmament, as if returning once more to that night at Xifengkou.
There was no choice now but to retreat.
Once Wang Bing and Zhang Boting made their decision at Shizi Hutong, how to execute the retreat became a vexing problem. At present, Zuo'anmen was mired in bitter fighting. Wang Bing had just dispatched two guard units to reinforce it, meaning no fewer than a thousand men were now committed to the battle.
As chief of staff, Zhang Boting calculated cold and clear in his mind: bringing everyone along was simply unrealistic.
Furthermore, to pull off an orderly withdrawal, they could not let the Japanese flood unchecked into the city; otherwise, if the enemy swept north, no one would escape.
"Our only move now is to immediately notify the garrisons at Deshengmen and Xizhimen. Order the civilians to assemble at Deshengmen and the troops at Xizhimen. The gates will open promptly at the third watch." With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhang Boting stood at the entrance of the command post. Whether consulting Wang Bing or demanding his compliance, he delivered the words bluntly.
Wang Bing yanked Zhang Boting around. "Brother Boting, over a thousand of our boys are locked in bloody combat with the Japanese in the south! If we pull out, how are they supposed to withdraw?"
"How can there be a retreat without a rearguard?" A ruthless edge flared in Zhang Boting's eyes, his tone even more unyielding. "Not only can they not pull back, we cannot even let them know about the retreat for now."
"You're driving them to certain death!" Wang Bing stood despondently beneath the massive map hanging in the central hall of the command post. "I will never agree to this! You can assign them rearguard duty, but you cannot leave them all here to die! Officer Tong has already given his life for the country—these boys are his bloodline!"
At the mention of Tong Linge, Zhang Boting was visibly moved at last. He slowly turned back and made a reluctant compromise: "Still, we cannot tell them now. At the very least, we must wait until our preparations are complete."
...
Sanyimiao, southwest slope.
The attacking Japanese company had launched three charges, all stubbornly repulsed by Fang Wenjian. Blessed with favorable timing and terrain, the defenders had broken the assault so thoroughly that by the end of this third wave, the company no longer had the strength to rush the main slope of Sanyimiao.
"Staff Officer Zhu's orders! Entire company in attack formation—charge down and seize Zuo'anmen!"
Fang Wenjian had barely caught his breath and was about to pull Liang Xiyun over for a chat when a runner sent by Zhu Shiqing arrived with fresh orders.
"Charge down?" Fang Wenjian hesitated slightly, glancing toward where Zhu Shiqing stood. The kid was still peering through his binoculars. "Understood!"
Beside him, Liang Xiyun looked puzzled and leaned in close. "Brother Fang, isn't holding here working well? Low casualties, and the Japanese can't break through!"
"Looks like the devils are doubling back," Fang Wenjian explained as he rose and patted the dust off himself. "If the Japanese battalion turns back to reinforce them, we have to cut them off at the gateway. If they secure that passage, follow-on Japanese troops will pour endlessly into the city!"
"The problem is, we can't see anything."
"Who cares about seeing when charging at night?" Fang Wenjian slapped the red-tasseled dadao slung across Liang Xiyun's back. "Show them what the 29th Army is made of—cut them down with cold steel!"
"Understood."
"Stay right behind me in a bit, got it? Don't go charging off blindly on your own!"
"Got it! Stick with Brother Fang and eat meat!" Liang Xiyun's eyes shone. In his heart, Fang Wenjian cut a truly heroic figure at this moment.
Fang Wenjian's style was action first, no hesitation—when it came to chopping devils, he never minced around. Cold, chilling dadao blades were now gripped in the hands of these youngsters, gleaming with deadly intent against the flicker of flames. Over the hundred-odd meters leading down to Zuo'anmen, far too much blood had already been spilled.
"Charge down! Aim for their heads and hack them down!"
Fang Wenjian bounded down the gentle slope in a single stride, raising his arm with a shout that rallied over a hundred young fighters into a roaring charge!
The earth-shaking racket made the entire hill feel as if it were trembling. Trampling over the still-warm corpses of the Japanese soldiers and heading toward the distant Zuo'an gate where light faintly filtered through, the relentless battle cries threw the Japanese troops in the gateway into panic.
Having rested in the gateway for less than ten minutes, the Japanese company commander felt a wave of shock and frantic agitation upon hearing the commotion echoing across the hill. He hurried out of the tunnel, gesturing wildly for his men to set up machine gun positions on either flank while summoning two soldiers with military flashlights to see what was happening.
Yet the roar of battle closed in far too fast. Drawing his sword, the Japanese company commander bellowed, "Engage!"
Under the cover of night, this battered company staked its very last breath, choosing to launch a countercharge against the aggressive Chinese assault!
Blades clashed in a jarring din of shrieking steel. Fang Wenjian slashed his way through the melee, where only the wet tearing of flesh could be heard. The Japanese soldiers had also gone mad with bloodlust; as the battle reached a fever pitch, distinction between friend and foe blurred—they stabbed at anyone who moved and threw themselves onto any passing shadow.
Though these student soldiers had received systematic training in blade work and hacking forms, in the heat of the moment instinct took over: everyone turned into a cook chopping vegetables. Their heavy dadao broadswords were wielded like cleavers. There was no other tactic—speed alone reigned supreme!
Leading the fray was Liang Xiyun. He had only a single move: every slash went straight from before his own forehead down toward his opponent's! A direct hit split a skull open; if he missed or was parried, he swung again immediately. If nothing else, he had brute strength to spare!
"Good boy! Fine kill!"
Seeing the lad's inexhaustible bull-like vigor—the exact sort of spirit Fang Wenjian favored—he grabbed the blood-crazed Liang Xiyun and roared, "Come on! I'll take you to hack down their company commander!"
"All right!"
Had it been daylight, Liang Xiyun might have been frightened by his own bloodshot eyes and blood-spattered face. But in that moment, he had forgotten fear, forgotten he was once a student; in their place was a beast born for vengeance!
As the two forces tangled, corpses carpeted the ground before the city gate. A single company of Japanese soldiers was ultimately unable to stem this ferocious charge. His sword raised, the Japanese commander trembled with utter exhaustion. Into his field of view charged two dark silhouettes.
"Aaaah!" he roared, swinging his blade as he met them head-on.
Clang!
The sword was knocked from his hand by a tremendous force! His half-numbed palm stung with throbbing pain. As his terrified gaze snapped forward, a broadsword came crashing straight down toward his brow.
In the next second, all went dark red before his eyes.
Chapter 81