Chapter 62

After the Lunar New Year, it was the thirtieth year of the Republic of China, and Luo Jiang was another year older. According to Northern customs, one gains a year once the New Year passes; he was now fifteen years old by traditional count. Over the past few years, Luo Jiang had wiped out over a hundred thousand Japanese soldiers, severely straining their military strength. In particular, the instability in the Japanese rear—frequent, major incidents—had forced them to halt their planned southern offensive. Meanwhile, the Kuomintang Army and the Red Party forces took the opportunity to reinforce their defense lines. Various guerrilla forces struck the Japanese from all sides like ghosts, and these cumulative attacks claimed many lives, leaving the Japanese military overwhelmed and unable to attend to both fronts at once. The Japanese rarely ventured out on sweeps anymore; the moment they did, they encountered landmines everywhere. Their railways were frequently sabotaged by guerrilla forces, and they were struggling to even maintain key supply lines, primarily due to a shortage of manpower. Furthermore, the puppet troops seized the chance to revolt, often slaughtering their Japanese overseers by night before switching sides.