mesbooks Chapter 1163 War
Chapter 1163 War
Gui'er quickly invited, "Everyone, please have some too."
However, Wu Mingqiang, Acheng, and Dingxiang all laughed and said, "We don't like eating these things."
Gui'er then said to Zhu Zhiming, "Brother Zhu, you are weak. You should eat some canned food and vegetables to supplement your nutrition."
Zhu Zhiming swallowed hard and said with a smile, "I don't like eating these things either, Miss, you eat, you eat."
Gui'er understood that they were letting her have more time to eat, so she could eat a little bit each time, leaving most of it uneaten. Then she would say, "I don't really like this food, it's such a waste to leave it uneaten. You should eat some too, otherwise it would be a shame to throw it away."
They would then use their chopsticks to scoop a little bit into their steamed buns or pancakes and eat it.
On the 20th, the gunfire in the street fighting suddenly grew closer. At first, there were sporadic "bang bang" sounds, like someone setting off firecrackers in the distance, but soon it turned into a dense "rat-a-tat" sound.
They could hear machine gun bullets sweeping across the rooftops, tiles crashing down with a clattering sound as they hit the ground, which terrified Dingxiang, who gripped Gui'er's hand tightly. Wu Mingqiang pressed his ear to the ground and said in a deep voice, "It's the British Lewis machine guns, engaged in street fighting with the Japanese."
Sure enough, soon after, shouts from Japanese soldiers came from outside, mixed with curses in English, and the loud crash of collapsing buildings. Gui'er and the others squatted in the basement, feeling the whole building shaking. Dust fell from the cracks in the walls, landing on their hair and shoulders, but no one dared to brush it off. Zhu Zhiming took out a match and lit the half-burnt candle on the table. In the dim light, everyone's face was covered with a layer of dust, and their eyes were full of tension.
Half a day later, the fighting intensified. The floor above trembled from the sound of heavy weapons, as if countless elephants were stampeding across it. Suddenly, a deafening roar extinguished a candle, and Gui'er bumped into a wooden crate, raising a bump on her forehead. "It's a grenade launcher!" Wu Mingqiang whispered. "The Japanese are using grenade launchers to bombard the barricades."
A heart-wrenching cry came from outside; it was Mrs. Zhang from next door calling "My child!" The sound abruptly stopped, followed by the maniacal laughter of the Japanese soldiers and the sound of gunfire. Gui'er covered her mouth. She could roughly guess what was happening. When she read about it in history books, she always felt a surge of patriotic fervor, wishing she could pick up a gun and step into the history books to fight the Japanese to the death. But when she actually encountered it, she found herself completely powerless, and even had to try her best to control herself and not make a sound, lest she be discovered by the Japanese soldiers walking on the ground.
On the night of the 22nd, the gunfire subsided slightly, but then they heard someone banging on the door overhead.
Immediately following was a series of gibberish shouts that sounded like Japanese, like the roars of Japanese soldiers, mixed with the loud thud of a door being kicked open.
Everyone held their breath. Wu Mingqiang even blew out the candles. Gui'er and Dingxiang groped for each other in the dark and held hands tightly.
After a while, the banging on the door was followed by the sound of footsteps.
"The Japanese devils have entered the house." Everyone realized with fear.
All that could be heard upstairs was the sound of rummaging through drawers and cabinets, the sound of porcelain breaking, and the ripping sound of Japanese soldiers tearing through bedding with bayonets. After more than half an hour of this commotion, the sound of footsteps leaving while speaking incomprehensible Japanese and cursing was heard.
Once there was no more noise outside, Wu Mingqiang quietly went up the stairs. He probed for a long time, and everyone listened carefully to confirm that there was indeed no one in the house.
Under the cover of Acheng and Zhu Zhiming, Wu Mingqiang and the other two, each holding a loaded pistol, carefully pushed aside the disguised cover and climbed up to take a look.
They went up and closed the gate, then came back. Wu Mingqiang said, "We didn't dare linger, but the Japanese must have entered our house. They saw nothing of value, smashed and looted a few things, and then left. They did damage some furniture, but luckily they didn't set it on fire."
Ah Cheng clutched a blood-stained piece of cloth in his hand: "The owner of the grocery store across the street resisted and was stabbed to death at the door. At first, I thought he wasn't dead, so I went over to help bandage him, but he just died with his eyes open." He closed his eyes in pain as he spoke.
The days were spent in darkness and fear. Now the fighting had escalated to street battles. In addition to the sounds of gunfire, there were also the screams of nearby residents being dragged into the streets and killed by the Japanese soldiers. This happened several times a day.
At first, Wu Mingqiang and his comrades dared to observe their surroundings and, when there was no sound, open the basement cover to check the situation. Later, one time when they went up to the second floor to organize their belongings, they witnessed a family several houses away from them being dragged out of their cellar by Japanese soldiers and killed in the street. They were so frightened that they never dared to go up during the day again.
Their neighborhood is now completely occupied. The only ones who can walk around freely on the street are Japanese troops. However, it seems that some civilian forces are also quietly resisting. They usually take advantage of the curfew at night to run out and fight lone Japanese soldiers.
However, once the bodies of Japanese soldiers were discovered, a large-scale search would be conducted within a radius of several kilometers. Ordinary people hiding in residential buildings would suffer. Gui'er and the others sometimes heard those shrill screams in the basement, which made them both angry and terrified.
As time went by, food became increasingly scarce. The steamed buns and pancakes were all gone, and Dingxiang could only cook some porridge on a kerosene stove. However, she couldn't cook it for too long, for fear of wasting kerosene. So, they could only drink rice soup that was so thin that you could see your reflection in it every day.
Wu Mingqiang had been trying to find out what was happening outside for the past few days, but apart from the sounds of gunfire and killing, there was nothing else.
"The British can't win, they should surrender soon, so why are they so tough and planning to resist to the end?"
"Brother Wu, didn't we bring the radio down here? Why don't we turn it on and listen to see if there's any new news?"
"Miss, this is too dangerous. If someone hears us turning on the radio, we're all doomed," Dingxiang said fearfully.
"It's okay, just turn it down a bit."
So several people gathered around the radio and turned the volume down to the minimum.
But when they tried to use their usual channel, all they heard was a hissing sound.
"It must have been shut down because of the ongoing war," Wu Mingqiang said, turning a button to adjust other channels.
Suddenly, a voice blared from the loudspeaker: "Hong Kong Broadcasting Station, this is an announcement: The Imperial Japanese Army has successfully landed on Hong Kong Island. The British forces have suffered a complete rout, with only remnants putting up a last stand. The Imperial Army maintains strict discipline and is dedicated to protecting the lives and property of citizens. Please do not believe rumors. Anyone found hiding weapons or disturbing public order will be severely punished. Citizens are urged to stay home, obey military orders, and refrain from going out. Food and supplies will be distributed by the authorities; please do not hoard or panic buy. British rule has come to an end, and a new order in East Asia will surely be realized. The Imperial Army will prevail, and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere will be achieved. Citizens, please remain calm, cooperate with the Imperial Army, and work together to protect the peace and tranquility of Hong Kong. This announcement concludes here. Music and public notices will be broadcast shortly."