The target has entered an ambush circle. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Lateran carefully observed the fleeing party of Japanese and pro-Japanese elements. Nguyen Phuc Tho's information was basically correct, that there were less than 400 people, but he did not mention that perhaps a fifth of them were elderly, women and children. Maybe he didn't care about this detail, and neither did Lin Shaomao and the officers of the Resistance, because they were with the enemy, and there would always be inevitable collateral losses in war, but Lateran had his own moral point of view: opening fire on old people, women, and children was an unacceptable crime.

He began to wonder if he should be part of the fight: emotion prevented him from turning a blind eye to the crime that was about to happen, yet reason told him that stopping it was an impossible task. The soldiers of the Resistance do not abandon the entire combat operation because of a little moral question, it is their duty, and it is their private act of revenge, and any rash objection will provoke their hostilities.

Lateran did not want to see that, he still had work to do, and he had to continue to be among the members of the Resistance and have their cooperation and work.

With no choice, he can only enjoy the psychological torture caused by the fierce conflict between emotion and reason.

As if sensing a change in his thoughts, the Filipino leaned in. "Your mood is suddenly getting a little low, Mr. Lateran, does the atmosphere here make you nervous?"

"No, I just ...... Sorry, I don't know your name yet, sir. ”

"You can call me Marcus."

A pseudonym. Lateran had heard Nguyen Phuc Tho call him "Huang", or "Wang", in short, not Marcus. However, there is nothing surprising about the use of pseudonyms, and the volunteers who support the resistance are almost reluctant to mention their names and identities, with the exception of Nguyen Phuc Tho.

Perhaps the former Vietnamese National Army officer, who was dismissed by the French, thought he had nothing to worry about.

Lateran shrugged. "Yes, Mr. Marcus, I'm not in a good mood."

"It's just Marcus." Marcus then asked, "Can you tell me why?" ”

He hesitated for a moment, but still told the reason. "I didn't expect that there would be old people, women and children in that team."

"So?"

"I think we should try to avoid harm to the elderly, women and children."

"I see, you are a humanitarian with a sense of justice." Marcus smiled.

"That's just a matter of principle." Lateran said seriously, "In this world, morality is at stake. People have to adhere to certain standards. If anyone, for whatever reason, even if it is a noble and just cause, causes them to be harmed, then he relinquishes his power to be called an intelligent being. ”

"I think you're beating around the bush and asking us to give up the fight." Nguyen Phuc Tho interjected and angrily retorted: "That's impossible, we won't give up the plan." ”

"However, we will still try to minimize the collateral losses of the battle." Marcus gave Nguyen Phuc Tho some hints with his eyes - but Lateran did not see it - and solemnly announced: "After all, we are not Japanese. ”

He turned and passed the new order to an officer, who in turn passed it on to a sergeant-like soldier, who in turn passed it down the chain of command. When the order finally reached the ears of every Resistance soldier, Nguyen Phuc Tho signaled and the attack began.

And then it ended.

Lateran realized early on that even if the battle did not begin with a surprise attack, a group of fewer than 400 fugitives, half of whom were armed, and who were eager to cross the Resistance's core control area, would still not be a match for the Resistance. Not only in terms of weapons and training, but psychologically, they are also at a disadvantage - no one has the tenacity to fight until the last moment, and if these fugitives find themselves unable to escape the Resistance's death trap, they will collapse immediately rather than fight to the death.

The firefight will not last long. He knows.

However, the actual process was shorter and simpler than he expected: the Resistance placed four machine-gun teams on both sides of the road, eight automatic riflemen, twenty carbines, and nearly thirty submachine gunners, who opened fire at the same time, firing frantically at the target in a manner that was close to venting or just wasting bullets for three minutes, and then the riflemen swarmed up and the battle ended.

It's not like the kind of combat that people are familiar with, and neither the enemy nor their own people have any performance worth mentioning. Lateran regretted that because of the way it was, he had nothing to write about—nothing to report to his readers.

Frustration once again captured his soul.

"Your mood is still low, Mr. Rutland." Marcus leaned over again, "If you're feeling sorry for the collateral losses in battle—"

His words made Lateran feel even more frustrated. Despite Marcus's clear orders, the way the Resistance soldiers fought and the fugitives were in chaos after the attack began, resulting in many injuries and even deaths for the elderly, women and children - countless bullets were flying in the air, and these people were running in all directions, and casualties were unavoidable; And there was a kid who was shot dead by the soldiers for his misbehaviour - a boy who was probably not more than fifteen years old picked up a rifle from the ground and tried to join the fight that did not belong to him, but before he could pull the bolt, he died.

Lateran remembers how excited he was to react at that time. As the kid crouched down to pick up his rifle, he was gesturing at him, yelling, "Don't do that," "Don't do that," and almost all tried to rush forward to stop him, but the kid neither saw nor heard.

Maybe he heard it, or saw it, but had no intention of taking the warnings from the beginning.

Too bad. This may be the only episode worth recounting in the entire battle, but Lateran doesn't know if he should tell the reader about it.

It was too difficult for him to record this tragedy truthfully.

He sighed. "I'm really sad. However, this is not entirely your responsibility. ”

"This is war, Mr. Lateran, and it will never adapt to you, only you will adapt to it." Marcus was reassured.

"I'd rather there be no war in this world."

"I have to admit that this wish is wonderful, but it will not come true."

"That's just your opinion, Marcus." Lateran knew quite well that volunteers like Marcus, who had come here to train the soldiers of the Resistance, either loved war and adventure, or made war a profession, and they did not want to see it disappear, because once it did, they would lose the only joy in life or the only job they could do—and the two of them could never agree on a question about war.

He was reluctant to engage in a pointless debate, and, to be sure, Marcus was not willing to debate either. He looked elsewhere. By the time he was frustrated and talking to Marcus, the Resistance soldiers had driven the survivors, whether he was injured or not, and at this moment, several junior officers were asking questions of the captives one by one, and then instructing the soldiers to drive him to the other side based on his answers.

Lateran noted that the captives who answered the question were divided into separate groups. Puzzled, he asked, "What are your people doing?" ”

"We are sorting the captives." Marcus replied, "The Japanese, the pro-Japanese who have committed serious crimes, the pro-Japanese who have committed minor crimes, and people who are not pro-Japanese but have a relationship with the pro-Japanese elements, such as their relatives and servants, we will separate these people and deal with them." ”

"What does it mean to deal with it?"

"Meaning—" Marcus paused, knowing there was no need to explain.

The screening of junior officers was completed, and the soldiers immediately moved on to the next step. They drove several of the apparently Japanese captives to the side of the road, forced them to kneel, and then an officer with a red armband stepped forward and announced something - Lateran did not hear clearly, but certainly not a good one, for several Japanese began to chant slogans - and at last, a junior officer walked up behind the captives, pulled out a pistol, pointed it at the back of their heads, and killed them all, one by one.

"In God's name!" Lateran cried out and protested, "These people have laid down their arms, they are prisoners of war, you cannot execute them!" ”

"They are not prisoners of war, they are war criminals, and they must pay for their aggression." Marcus replied, "At least that's what our laws do. ”

Lateran was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "Even if the law is written like that, you should be judged first!" ”

"Our military judge has pronounced the verdict, the Japanese war criminals, guilty, sentenced to death, immediately executed." Marcus looked very relaxed, "Our enforcement procedures are impeccable, Mr. Rutland. ”

"It's weird." "You haven't even given these people a chance to defend themselves," Lateran said. ”

"This is not the United States. We're not going to waste time and money on an American-style trial that takes years and tens of thousands of dollars to get an uncertain outcome, and we don't hire a lawyer for these war criminals and watch him and our lawyers play word games in the courtroom and wait for the jury to discuss. "By the way, in the United States, the prosecution has to pay for the food and lodging of prisoners, but we don't." ”

"Are you mocking the American justice system?"

"I'm just complaining about the differences between the U.S. and our judicial system."

"I'll write about it in detail in my article and tell my readers the truth." Lateran's body began to tremble.

"You can tell the whole truth, Mr. Rutland." Marcus laughed, "That way the Japanese will know what price they have paid, and then seriously consider their future actions." ”

Not knowing how to respond to his nonchalant attitude, Rutland turned his attention to the remaining POWs. "And what about them, you will also pronounce the sentence here, and then execute them all?"

"Nope. We will take them to the nearest town, hold a public trial that everyone can watch, and sentence the pro-Japanese elements who have committed serious crimes to death, and then carry them out immediately. Marcus replied.

"What about the pro-Japanese who committed minor crimes? You're not going to release them, are you? ”

"After the public trial, they will be sent to a difficult place for labor reform, so that they can deeply reflect on their crimes." After a pause, Marcus continued, "Severe punishment and warnings are necessary in order for our people not to make the same mistakes again." ”

"Do you think these warnings will have an effect?"

Marcus set his sights to the north. "I can tell you for sure, Mr. Rutland, that these warnings are so effective that some of them are already panicking." (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )