mesbooks Chapter 586 Zhang Chi: Revenge!
Chapter 586 Zhang Chi: Revenge!
Since the Japanese adopted the southward strategy, they captured at least 10 white prisoners of war in Southeast Asia, including civilians and colonial troops.
The prisoners of war and civilians around Zhang Chi, who came from John, White Eagle, the Netherlands, Kangaroo Country and other places, also experienced inhuman torture in the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp on Sumatra Island.
At this moment, having regained their freedom, their faces were filled with confusion, deep pain, and heartfelt gratitude to the man who saved them from hell.
A simple platform was temporarily built on the open space cleared in the center of the camp.
A giant flag of the United States of Southeast Asia and a military flag hung in the background of the platform. Dozens of domestic and foreign reporters set up cameras and recording equipment, their flashbulbs flashing intermittently, emitting a dazzling glare and a soft "puff" sound.
Most of the prisoners of war were wearing tattered prison uniforms whose original colors were unrecognizable, and some could only wrap themselves in rough blankets temporarily distributed by the Nanyang side.
Long-term malnutrition and cruel torture left deep marks on them. They were pale and thin, with high cheekbones, sunken eye sockets, and their exposed skin was covered with whip marks, burns and unhealed ulcers.
Many people were hunched over with dull eyes, as if they had not yet fully woken up from a nightmare.
"General Zhang Chi!" A sergeant of the White Eagle Army, trembling with excitement, spoke in a hoarse voice. Regardless of his weak body, he rushed out of the crowd, opened his arms, and hugged Zhang Chi tightly, almost stumbling.
The spotlights flashed wildly and the shutter sounds became continuous.
Reporters keenly captured this highly symbolic scene - a powerful and young Nanyang leader embracing the weak victim he rescued.
This photo is destined to be the front page headline of major newspapers around the world tomorrow.
Zhang Chi showed no discomfort or arrogance. He hugged the excited soldier back forcefully, patted him on the back gently, and said in a gentle voice in fluent Ansa language:
"Welcome home, soldiers. You have suffered, but now, you are free."
His voice was clearly transmitted throughout the venue through the makeshift loudspeaker and also reached every reporter's recording device.
These words were like opening the floodgates of emotion.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang Chi, God bless Nanyang." A former Dutch colonial official with gray hair and broken gold-rimmed glasses burst into tears. He tried to straighten his hunched back, bowed deeply to Zhang Chi, his voice choked with sobs.
"Freedom, we are finally free. Thank you Nanyang, thank you Nanyang Defense Force." Several young Kangaroo Country soldiers supported each other, waving their fists excitedly, with tears of rebirth on their faces.
A Dutch woman, so thin that she was just a bag of bones, hugged an equally thin child tightly, knelt on the ground, kissed the land under her feet that was no longer a cage, and murmured "thank you" repeatedly in Dutch.
The scene was a little out of control at one point, filled with excitement, crying and shouts of gratitude.
The reporters' cameras greedily recorded all of this. The prisoners shook hands, hugged, and talked to Zhang Chi, while Zhang Chi listened patiently, nodded from time to time, his expression solemn and full of sympathy.
After the crowd calmed down a little, Zhang Chi, under the guidance of his adjutant, slowly walked to the microphone in the center of the platform.
He looked around at the flashing cameras below. Wasn't this a good opportunity to build momentum?
So he took a deep breath and deliberately made his voice suddenly become high-pitched and powerful:
"Ladies and gentlemen, friends from the Allied nations, compatriots from the United States of Southeast Asia."
His opening remarks immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"Standing here today, my heart is filled with immense heaviness and indignation," he said, pointing to the eerie building behind him. "In this hell on earth built by the fascist demons, tens of thousands of our compatriots from allied countries—brave soldiers, innocent civilians, kind doctors and teachers—have suffered unimaginable and inhumane torture. Hunger, disease, torture, endless hard labor... Their dignity has been trampled upon, and their lives have been treated like worthless grass."
The prisoners of war in the audience recalled those dark days, their bodies trembled involuntarily, tears filled their eyes again, and some could not help but let out suppressed sobs.
The reporters recorded it with bated breath. This was the most powerful accusation against the Japanese atrocities.
"This is the essence of the Japanese militarist fascist beast." Whether it was a show or a heartfelt statement, Zhang Chi had only one goal: to make the Japanese become the beasts that everyone condemned in the eyes of world public opinion. "They are completely devoid of humanity and trample upon all the norms of human civilization. Their crimes are too numerous to list."
He paused, steeling his gaze to ensure he was in top form for the reporters.
"However, justice will ultimately triumph over evil, and light will surely dispel darkness. The brave warriors of the Nanyang Defense Force, with their blood and courage, smashed the shackles of this prison. This is not the end, but only the beginning. We solemnly promise to all the people of the Allied nations who have suffered under the Japanese invaders: blood debts must be repaid with blood."
"The time of reckoning will surely come. We must not only completely defeat the Neon fascists and expel them from all occupied territories. We must also hunt them down to the bitter end, plucking from their filthy dens the warmongers who issued these evil orders and the executioners whose hands are stained with the blood of innocents. They will have nowhere to escape; they must stand before the tribunal of justice and pay the heaviest price for their heinous crimes."
"Trial! Trial! Trial!" In the audience, a captured White Eagle Marine excitedly waved his fists and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Send them to the gallows."
"A tooth for a tooth! Blood for blood!"
More anger was ignited by the prisoners of war. They forgot their weakness and pain, and only deep hatred remained.
The slogans were sporadic at first, but quickly gathered into a deafening torrent.
The crowd was outraged and the scene reached a climax.
The reporters' spotlights flashed into a curtain of light, frantically recording this powerful scene.
At this time, a prisoner of war representative, a former Royal Navy Major John, was helped by his companions to walk onto the stage and came to the microphone.
One of his arms hung limply, obviously having been tortured.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Lieutenant Commander Roger Evans, a survivor of HMS Prince of Wales." His words were filled with sorrow. "After we were captured, we suffered...unspeakable torture. Starvation was only the beginning. Endless beatings, waterboarding, forced watching the execution of our companions... They tried to break our will and turn us into animals."
He trembled as he unbuttoned the collar of his tattered prison uniform, revealing a hideous, not yet fully healed branding mark below his collarbone.
"This is the 'mark' left by those beasts. They didn't treat us as human beings. It was the Nanyang National Defense Force and Mr. Zhang Chi who gave us a second chance at life. I swear on my own honor and the name of all my compatriots who suffered here that we fully support Mr. Zhang Chi's call. Blood debt must be paid with blood, and those culprits must be brought to justice.
Long live the friendship of the Allies! Long live Nanyang! "
"Long live friendship! Long live Nanyang!"
The cheers from the audience became even more enthusiastic. The prisoners of war of different nationalities reached an unprecedented consensus at this moment under the redemption given by Nanyang.