Finally, under the recommendation of the area army commander, Yano Otozaburo, the headquarters withdrew most of their troops. The intensity of the Pacific War was growing, and the Japanese forces were nearing exhaustion; they simply could not afford the attrition. The remaining Japanese soldiers huddled in their barracks at night and only dared to come out to patrol during the day. As they walked down the street, they kept their eyes straight ahead; no matter how beautiful the local women were or how wealthy the merchants, they saw nothing.
At the same time, Japanese chambers of commerce and expatriates in Beiping City were doing everything in their power to flee. Qin Shuli intensified his focus on these individuals, going out every night to deal with Japanese merchants. They had seized resources in China through all sorts of shameless methods, and now that things looked bleak, they wanted to head home with their ill-gotten gains. Did they really think it would be that easy? They wouldn’t be taking their wealth with them, and they wouldn't be leaving either.
Qin Shuli acted quickly, attacking countless Japanese merchant associations, but the Japanese were even faster. Major companies, including the Yokohama Specie Bank, were under military protection; they used military trucks to flee to Tianjin in broad daylight. Qin Shuli watched them leave helplessly, but whenever the army helped them escape, he would haul out his infantry guns and bombard their barracks. After some time…
Chapter 48