Chapter 3173: People Who Are Determined to Surrender

"Ah, how did you survive such a fierce artillery fire? Do you have any survival skills to share with me? To be honest, I still want to go back alive to see my wife and children, and I don't want to die on the battlefield.

""

Ozawa Masao's face was full of surprise when he heard this, and then he looked at the young sergeant who was hiding from the artillery fire with him in the cellar with a look like a monster.

Although Ozawa Masao himself knew that the Kwantung Army was likely to lose and there was no possibility and hope of victory, he was still deeply shocked that the person next to him could say such words.

"Don't you want to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor? What about your oath under the military flag? Do you know that if the squadron leader hears this, he will chop you alive on the spot?"

"Oh, isn't there no squadron leader here? There are only you and me in this cellar now, and even the soldiers are hiding outside in other places, so what is there to worry about? I'm just telling you the truth. I really regard you as a good friend. "

After saying this, the young sergeant sat on the ground and put away the command knife in his arms. Without waiting for Ozawa Masao, who was still stunned, to speak, he changed the subject and continued.

"I was actually a repairman, repairing radios, clocks and other things. I had my own small shop in Harbin. My wife and children were also there. We came here from our hometown in Hokkaido in 1941."

"Everything was going well and smoothly, but I didn't expect the Kwantung Army to mail me a conscription summons. It's really distressing, do you understand? Ozawa-kun.

"I served in the military when I was just an adult. After retiring, I finally got married to Kiyoko and came here to make a living. Why didn't they let me go? I didn't even go to the battlefield. I only saw the warehouse and the gate."

""

Ozawa Masao, who was still speechless, listened to the whistling of shells from above his head and outside the cellar. He continued to listen to the person next to him with a cigarette in his hand, wanting to see what else this guy could say.

The young sergeant next to him didn't hesitate to continue talking like a bamboo tube pouring beans.

"It's just that I'm a guard who has only seen warehouses and gates, but they gave me this command knife after training me and asked me to be a sergeant, just because I'm a veteran who has served twice. Isn't this ridiculous?"

"I was wondering what went wrong. If the Imperial Army was really as invincible as the radio said, how could they pull someone like me to be a sergeant? Why is the Imperial Army so powerful on the radio, but in reality, there are only recruits who are not as good as me? Why is this? Or who is lying?"

The more he listened, the more unbelievable it was. Masao Ozawa blinked his eyes and subconsciously asked a question that even if he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was meaningless.

"Why do you think so? What is your basis?"

"What is the basis? That's not necessary."

The young sergeant who answered the question didn't mind, just smiled and answered immediately.

"Of course it's because your Second Division, a top elite, was defeated so badly. It was defeated in less than a day of fighting with the Russians. The news spread throughout the Kwantung Army, and even the soldiers below knew the news."

"I think since such a powerful army like you can't win, then our army, which has been defeated once and then gathered, must have no hope to fight the Russians again, right? Since this is meaningless, I might as well think more about how to survive. My wife and children are waiting for me to go home."

""

I wanted to refute, but I couldn't find a point to refute.

Thinking about it, Masao Ozawa found that although what the guy next to him said was outrageous, he had said all the treasonous and arrogant words in various senses.

But if you really think about it, you will find that what this guy said is actually all true, without a single lie. What does such an ironic reality show?

It also shows the complexity and speechlessness of Masao Ozawa's expression.

The young sergeant, still smiling, just casually extended his elbow and gently touched Masao Ozawa, who was sitting on the ground beside him, and then spoke.

"Mr. Ozawa must understand, right? I know you can understand what I say, and you can do it."

"I have a good eye for people. I can tell what kind of requests those customers who come to my shop to repair things will make after I take a look at them. I know you must be a sensible person, unlike those crazy people with hot heads."

"Ah? This"

Masao Ozawa, who was still in a state of contemplation, was touched and said like this, and after he came to his senses a little, he sighed more helplessly.

Some words that should be said but don't want to be said were not said in the end, and instead were replaced by a weak sigh.

"You only said these words to me, and don't tell anyone else that you said them to me, otherwise you and I will both be killed, understand?"

"Of course, Ozawa-kun, don't worry! I knew at first glance that you are a trustworthy person, and I said I didn't make a mistake."

Seeing that the young sergeant next to him was not demoralized at all, but became more and more excited and cheerful as he spoke, as if he had finally found someone who shared the same ideals as him.

At this point, Masao Ozawa, who was too lazy to care about how military morale and discipline could be so bad, and wanted more and more to return to his hometown to see his wife, finally noticed that the whistling of artillery shells outside had stopped.

After exchanging glances with the young sergeant beside him, they stood up at the same time and climbed up the ladder to the outside of the cellar one after the other.

Masao Ozawa found out after he went up to the yard outside the cellar.

It turned out that no explosion was heard just now, only the whistling of artillery shells sounded overhead. It's not because the Russian cannonballs hit too far, but because the Russian cannonballs are filled with leaflets that are all over the ground and are still falling in mid-air.

"What is this? Are you trying to persuade me to surrender?"

The young sergeant who was muttering in his mouth had already guessed what the things falling from the sky were. He bent down to pick up a piece, put it in front of him and started looking at it. He found that the content written on it in Japanese was indeed quite surprising.

"Ozawa-kun, Ozawa-kun! Look, look!"

"The Russians said in the leaflets that my family is fine, that all Japanese expatriates are now under their care, and that our families are waiting for us to go home!"

""

Looking at the excitement on the face of the brother next to him, Ozawa Masao, whose family is still in Japan, does not understand his mood, but he still has to say the words that are necessary to remind him.

"The Russians didn't send leaflets just to tell you that they are "taking care" of your family. Look at the second half of the leaflets. Don't you understand what this means?"

The paragraph that Ozawa Masao pointed to clearly stated, "All Japanese expatriates will have the same treatment as civilians in the city, and I hope the Japanese troops in the city will know it."

What this means is clear to Masao Ozawa.

Masao Ozawa even dared to conclude that this was specially meant for them, the lower-level soldiers who were disengaged and with low morale, rather than for the generals who were above them.

"Of course I know what this means. I don't intend to die on the battlefield anyway, so I know what I should do whether I have seen this flyer or not. I believe you are the same as me, right? Ozawa-kun ”

""

Masao Ozawa, holding the flyer in his hand, was speechless.

Although he hesitated, he finally put the leaflet with the words "Please keep it properly and show it when surrendering to ensure the safety of life" into his clothes under the watchful eyes of the young sergeant beside him.

After looking around and finding that no one was watching, he took the young sergeant beside him and pretended that nothing happened, and hurriedly went to direct his soldiers who were still picking up leaflets on the ground.