Chapter 28: Sortie, Sortie!

Chapter 28: Attack! Attack!

"Commander, the coffin has been dug up. Should we open it?" Xiao Wuzi asked Li Yunlong.

"Don't talk nonsense, open it," Li Yunlong ordered.

Soon, the coffin was hoisted out of the ground.

Qiu Daba’s eyes remained shut, but Qiu Yaozu’s were wide open. He said to his father, "Dad, they’ve dug up Grandfather’s coffin."

Qiu Daba could not bear to open his eyes, but his body trembled violently. As a son, failing to protect the remains of his ancestors was the ultimate act of unfilial conduct.

At that moment, Li Yunlong shouted at him again, "Qiu Daba, do you see the scorching sun above? Once the coffin is opened and the remains are exposed to the sunlight, it will bring great misfortune to your descendants. You..."

Before Li Yunlong could finish, Qiu Daba’s eyes snapped open. "What exactly do you want?"

"I don't want anything. I’ve been fooled by you enough over these years. Today, I just want to make you taste what it’s like to be unfilial." Having said that, Li Yunlong turned to Xiao Wuzi and ordered, "Open the coffin!"

"You cannot open it! You mustn't open it!" Qiu Daba was on the verge of a breakdown. He roared at Li Yunlong, "I beg you, don't open it. Tell me what your demands are, just tell me!"

"Xiao Wuzi, open it!" Li Yunlong remained unmoved.

"Yes!" Xiao Wuzi replied, immediately grabbing his tools to pry out the coffin nails.

Watching the scene, Qiu Daba felt as if he were about to faint.

Qiu Yaozu clutched his father’s arm. "Dad, we must sally out! If we don't attack now, it will be too late."

Qiu Daba closed his eyes in agony once more. "We cannot go out. Those Eighth Route Army devils have an ambush waiting. We cannot go out."

"Dad, even if their entire regiment is out there, they are no match for us. We have eight hundred men!" Qiu Yaozu argued.

"Don't forget, the New First Regiment obtained the weapons from Xiaowang Village and Xiaoli Village. They are no longer the force they used to be," Qiu Daba shook his head.

In the past, Qiu Daba might have risked it. But now, he dared not.

"Are we just going to watch Grandfather’s remains be exposed to the sun?" Qiu Yaozu felt his strength draining away. The pain of watching his own kin being desecrated while unable to intervene was becoming unbearable.

"Child, close your eyes. What the eye does not see, the heart does not grieve over," Qiu Daba said.

"But my ears can still hear, and my heart will still dwell on it."

*Slap!*

Qiu Daba struck Qiu Yaozu. "You are forbidden from thinking about it!"

Stunned by the blow, Qiu Yaozu stopped speaking and slowly retreated from the city wall. Qiu Daba kept his eyes closed, failing to notice his son’s departure.

The coffin lid was pried open, revealing several well-wrapped paper boxes inside.

Xiao Wuzi shouted to Li Yunlong, "Commander! There’s something inside the coffin!"

"What is it?" Li Yunlong asked.

"Let me see." Xiao Wuzi feigned an inspection before shouting back, "Commander, it’s medicine! Three boxes in total, and they are all penicillin!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong burst into laughter. "Hahaha! Excellent, truly excellent! This is exactly the life-saving medicine our wounded soldiers desperately need. Qiu Daba, I thank you!"

Penicillin in the coffin?

Qiu Daba opened his eyes in suspicion. This was contraband; the Imperial Army forbade anyone from possessing it. Anyone caught with it would be treated as a smuggler. He didn't dare touch such things, and he certainly hadn't placed any penicillin in his father's coffin.

Why would it be there? Qiu Daba realized in an instant: the Eighth Route Army was framing him.

He roared at Li Yunlong, "Shut your damn mouth! There is no penicillin in that coffin!"

The puppet soldiers of Qiuzhuang Village had just witnessed the shocking spectacle of a grave being dug up. Through the confrontation between Qiu Daba and Li Yunlong, they realized that the grave they had been guarding was actually that of Qiu Daba’s father. Now, they were met with a second shock: the discovery of penicillin in the coffin.

The soldiers began whispering among themselves:

"Penicillin is a top-tier prohibited drug. How could it be in a coffin?"

"Could the Eighth Route Army be framing us?"

"Are you joking? Do you know how rare penicillin is? Even if the Eighth Route Army had one or two vials, it would be a miracle. How could they have three whole boxes?"

"True, that makes sense. Even if they wanted to frame our commander, they couldn't possibly possess that much penicillin."

"I never thought our commander was hiding a stash of penicillin in a coffin."

"If General Ichiro Hirata finds out, our commander is going to be in deep trouble."

...

"Qiu Daba, thank you for the penicillin! Hahaha, thank you so much!" Li Yunlong laughed, not bothering to argue. He jumped up in delight and told Xiao Wuzi, "Take the medicine back immediately."

"It’s not penicillin! That’s not penicillin, you Eighth Route bastards are lying!" Qiu Daba looked ready to leap off the wall and fight to the death.

"Qiu Daba, stay inside your turtle shell and keep acting like a coward. Thanks for the penicillin!" Li Yunlong called out. "When I get back, I’ll be sure to tell Ichiro Hirata that you supported our Eighth Route Army with three boxes of penicillin. You’re a good man; we clearly misunderstood you before!"

"No! No, that’s not my penicillin! It isn't!" Qiu Daba’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.

The treachery! This move by the Eighth Route Army was truly sinister. So many puppet soldiers had seen the three boxes of penicillin in the coffin. He couldn't seal everyone's lips. Once the Eighth Route Army spread the word and it reached Ichiro Hirata’s ears, the Imperial Army wouldn't need proof to execute someone—suspicion was more than enough.

Unless he marched out immediately to intercept those boxes and expose them as fakes in front of everyone, he would be doomed by Hirata’s suspicion. This was the trap Wu Ze had set for him: stay in Qiuzhuang and die, or sally out and fight for a slim chance of survival.

"Xiao Wuzi, don't bother the body anymore." Seeing that Qiu Daba was on the verge of a total collapse, Wu Ze decided to add one last spark. He told Xiao Wuzi, "Strap some explosives to the coffin and send them off properly."

"You got it!" Xiao Wuzi replied, immediately beginning to attach explosives to the coffin.

Seeing his father’s remains about to be blown to bits, Qiu Daba’s fury finally consumed his reason. Like a madman, he roared, "Attack! Attack! Everyone, attack! Wipe out those Eighth Route bastards, take back the medicine, and recover my father’s body!"

Inside the village, Qiu Yaozu had already mobilized the majority of the troops. As soon as his father’s order came, he led the army out of the village.