Episode 43
A telegram sent by area command.
Martial law has been proclaimed across Suzhou.
Around No.1 residence,
many unidentified people appeared.
Mishima, Chief of Military Police,
has entered No.1 residence with his men.
Wen.
Wen. Wen.
Mishima, it is not military police station, is it?
Are you kidding me, President Zhou?
You are a friend of IJA,
how can I let you stay in military police station?
You will have a good rest here tonight,
and I﹑ll arrange for your trip tomorrow morning.
Within a few days,
you will meet your son.
The two of you must take good care of
President Zhou. If you﹑d be careless,
you will be decapitated. -Yes.
President Zhou,
since I will be busy tonight
for some important issues,
I have to go now.
The sentries will be at your command.
Mishima.
Is everything ready?
Yes. The notice is written out.
Good. Action. Put up the notice across the town.
Yes.
Jixian Zhou. Jiexian Zhou.
I will check out
what is your real identity.
Stop.
According to the investigation,
former President of Maintenance Council
in Suzhou, Jixian Zhou,
failed to serve the Great Empire of Japan,
but colluded with KMT spies and Communists,
causing immeasurable losses to the IJA.
He will be locked up in military police station
before being sentenced to death,
as a warning to others.
-Go to HSH Cheongsam Store -OK.
Watch your step.
Mademoiselle, welcome.
This way, please.
Hello.
Here are the new arrivals.
Cheongsams with golden embroiders of pansies,
with green Jacquard of lotus pond by moonlight,
or with the design of peonies in pink.
Is there anyone you like?
What I want is
a sleeveless, round-collared Cheongsam
with white brocade and black patterns.
Is it like the one worn by a movie star Yanyan?
No.
Hers has patterns of magpies, plum blossoms.
I want the pattern of cranes and clouds.
OK. Please go upstairs.
Come on. This way, please.
Mr. Zhou was arrested.
I already know it.
Telegraph was sent from Chongqing,
asking us to rescue him.
Get in touch with our men. Rescue him tonight.
OK. I﹑ll make arrangements now.
Weiguo.
You are supposed to be taking a rest.
It is not the right time for taking a rest.
Do you have any news about father?
This is a copy of the notice of military police
from Suzhou Anti-Japan Committee.
Weiguo, rest assured.
Father will be fine.
The authorities are trying to rescue him.
They cannot rescue him.
The notice is probably a trap.
A trap?
It only says generally
that father is connected to both parties
with stating any evidence.
Thus,
they are probably suspicious of father
because of me
and use this notice as a bait.
It sounds reasonable.
Mishima is using this notice
to test on father.
If he has collusion with the Chinese,
the rescue plan
must be carried out tonight.
I am sure
father is not in the military police station.
If there is a rescue,
not only will the action end in failure,
but his identity will be revealed.
Jie Zhao, telegraph the authorities,
asking comrades in Suzhou
to postpone the rescue.
OK.
Oh, no. Although we can inform our people,
I am afraid
we won﹑t be able inform the BIS in time.
That is to say,
father is really connected to both parties.
Yes.
He tells our comrades
he serves neither the Communist Party
nor the Nationalist Party,
but he serves the country.
And that is what he has done.
After the New Forth Army Incident,
when National Gov﹑t declared NFA as traitors,
many democrats eluded us,
but he still backed us.
Even Army Commander Chen said
NFA owed Mr. Zhou a great deal.
I cannot rival him in the breadth of vision.
I wish it would turn out like what you've said.
God blesses the good man.
A calm man will not turn a hair in a landslide.
I appreciate your composure.
Mishima, please be straightforward.
Mishima,
are you kidding me?
Mr. Zhou, don﹑t you fool me with your pretense.
I wish it were just a joke.
This woman
should be familiar to you.
I know she is a reporter for Suzhou Post,
and she interviewed me.
It is not as simple as an interview.
Mishima, how complicated do you think it is?
If I tell you this girl named Jing Tian
is an agent of BIS,
will you be surprised?
If you think she is an agent of BIS,
then she must be
for you have evidence.
You﹑re actually telling me that without evidence
I can do nothing to you,
President of the Suzhou Council, right?
There are always excuses for a forced
conviction. Do you need any proof to arrest me?
You son of a bitch. Traitor.
Taitor. Fuck traitor.
Brilliant. It is really brilliant.
Unfortunately, the performance is in vain.
Do you know why?
It is because the notice is forged.
However,
the fake notice drew the real rescuer.
Mr. Zhou,
do you have any question?
No. You﹑ve explained it clear enough.
Mr. Zhou, I still appreciate you a lot
because you﹑ve concealed your identity
under my nose
for five years.
-You flattered me. -Rest assured.
I will keep my promise.
I said I will let you meet your son,
and I guarantee I﹑ll make it happen.
I will still let you
go to the north tomorrow morning,
but
you'll no longer be guest,
but a prisoner.
Fuck.
I﹑m sorry.
Who told you to do so?
Do you know you destroyed
an important source of intelligence?
Reporting to duty.
Before dawn, an unknown troop
attacked Suzhou Military Police.
Afterwards, the Japanese Army
tracked down spies across Suzhou.
The Suzhou Branch of BIS was destroyed.
Commander, please be careful,
for the prisoner has a very special ideantity.
On our way here,
we were attacked by the Central Army,
local Suzhou troops,
the commando of NFA, and Eighth Route Army.
Had it not been for massive escorting forces,
we wouldn﹑t have sent him here safely.
Thanks.
Please convey my gratitude to Mishima.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Zhou, you must be exhausted after the trip.
-Guard. -Yes.
-Take him away to have a rest. -Yes.
Please.
Everyone, get in the car.
Regt Commander, a telegraph from Laiyang.
Read it.
At 11:00 today,
Mr. Zhou was sent to Laiyang
under escort
and put in the prison of military police.
Because the prison was cleared in advance,
we know nothing about the situation inside.
It is estimated that the manpower
of military police exceeds that of Japanese
by three squads.
Finally.
Commander, please.
Mr. Zhou.
This is Laiyang.
You will see your son soon.
Mr. Zhou,
I know you are smart at the first glance.
There is an old saying in China,
a wise man submits to fate.
Mr. Zhou,
if you can persuade your son
to join Imperial Japanese Army,
I can guarantee
the wealth and fame of you and your son.
If you don﹑t wanna
meet him in person,
you may write a letter to your son.
OK. Mr. Zhou.
You are tired for the long journey,
I will leave now to let you have a rest.
Are you Jixian Zhou?
I﹑ve heard a lot about you from Weiguo.
He says
he sees you as the most admirable man.
He always bears your words in mind.
May I know who you are?
Nice to meet you. I﹑m Takeshita.
Mr. Zhou, rest assured.
I﹑m here
neither for interrogation
nor for cajoling.
I come here to visit you
because of a simple reason.
You﹑re father of my good friend.
Mr. Zhou, I﹑m not lying.
Your son, Weiguo, and I
are indeed the best friends.
The two of us
were classmates in Berlin Military School.
It is a pity
that destiny should fool us
by bring us together as friends
and making us soldiers
serving two different countries at war.
Mr. Zhou,
Weiguo is just like you.
You should be proud of him.
I﹑ll go now.
-Reporting to duty. -Come in.
Sir, according to intelligence from Laiyang,
Jixian Zhou,
father of Weiguo,
Regt Commander in Hill Hutou,
was arrested and sent to Laiyang.
What?
Mr. Zhou was arrested.
Is it a false information?
Regt Commander.
It is sure enough.
How did it happen?
The details are unclear.
Then check it out.
Yes.
Brigadier,
please allow me to rescue my father.
Zhihui, calm down.
I am as worried as you about Mr. Zhou.
Brigadier, please allow me to rescue my father.
Zhihui, get up.
I won﹑t get up before you agree to my request.
Fine. Go to find Weiguo
and see what he will do. Be quick.
Thanks.
Please allow me to leave the army.
Why would you leave the army?
I want to save my father and Yi.
You don﹑t have to leave the army to save them.
I cannot let our troops...
OK. Say no more.
I understand what you mean,
but Mr. Zhou is a hero of the country,
so it is the duty of Eighth Route Army
to save him.
Chief of Staff Qiu,
I can﹑t act at my free will in the army.
Grand Master, please.
Master Zhu.
Come on. Have a seat, please.
Grand Master, why are you here?
Oh,
I asked Grand Master
to go to Laiyang with me.
How is the situation?
Renjie's locked up in military police station,
but we didn﹑t get any info about Yi Chen.
Fuck Renjie Zhang.
-Brother. -Zhihui.
Our father...
I know.
Brother, what﹑s the matter?
My father is locked up in Laiyang.
Brother.
Figure out how to save him.
Grand Master, calm down.
Sit down.
Sit down. Sit down now.
Jie Zhao.
Here.
Telegraph the area command in my name,
asking for approval
on rescuing Mr. Zhou.
Yes.
Chief of Command, area command transmitted
a telegraph from Commander Chen,
asking us to go all out
to rescue Mr. Zhou.
And the telegraph from area command
orders us to accomplish the mission.
Brother Qiu,
please allow me to join your actions.
The highest military commander
in Hutoushan Independent Regt
is Weiguo Zhou.
Weiguo, please pass the order.
Weiguo may engage massive troops in rescue.
Telegraph squads of commando near Hill Hutou
to enter the hill secretly before further notice.
Don﹑t attack troops coming out of the hill.
Yes.
Master, how would you
deal with that girl?
Will you let her go?
Not now.
Yet, I can't let her get hurt
for she is the woman of my friend.
That﹑s all I can do for my friend.
A woman shouldn﹑t be involved in the war.
I﹑m worried that Commander Jin
will make a fuss about it.
As you know, there are agents
in the military police.
Our commando is guarding a captive.
What's wrong with it?
I﹑m worried about you, Master.
Thank you.
I don't know
if I can meet Weiguo again,
and I don't know
how the war
will be put to an end.
I just know I﹑m doing what I should do.
Commission
from North China HQ of the Great Japan.
Takeshita and Miyamoto are granted
promotions because of their assistance
in destroying the intelligence network
of BIS and CPC in South Jaingsu.
Takeshita is promoted to Colonel.
Miyamoto is promoted to Lt. Colonnel.
Commander of Front Army,
Senior General Neji Okamura.
Congratulations on your promotions.
-Thanks. -Thanks.
With the support of the two elites of you,
it won﹑t be long before the destruction
of Hutoushan Regt.
Please be assured.
I will try my best.
Good. Mr. Takeshita,
with my respect for you,
I﹑ve prepared some wine. Please.
Commander,
we﹑re at the daggers drawn.
We may have the drink later.
Then, please excuse me.
See you.
Master, you don﹑t look happy
about the promotion.
A soldier should not be called a soldier
if he cannot defeat his enemies
in the battlefield.
Regt Commander, give us the orders.
Yeah, please give us the order.
Brother, why don﹑t you speak?
-Shuisheng. -Here.
Take 2nd and 3rd Section of task force
to guard all strongholds around the hill.
The 1st Section will be at my command.
Regt Commander, let me go with you.
Obey the orders.
Yes.
Reporting to duty.
-Sir. -Why are you here?
Here is an urgent telegraph from BIS.
Qingyuan Garrison must go all out
to save Mr. Zhou.
Commander Zhou, Brigadier Tang has
a message for you that 1st Regt of the Garrison
is under the command of Zhihui Liu
to make every effort to rescue Mr. Zhou.
Brother, we﹑ll meet in Laiyang.
Jie Zhao.
Here.
Lead 1st Bn and County Detachment
to guard Hill Hutou.
No. I must go with you.
Jie Zhao.
You will be responsible for ensuring the safety
of Hill Hutou and all the villagers.
Clear?
Clear.
Chief of Staff Qiu.
Weiguo, I have to go with you.
-Dali Yang. -Here.
-Bound him up. -Yes.
Weiguo,
do you wanna arrest me?
Sir, it is not that I wanna arrest you,
but that I cannot let you go with me,
because Hill Hutou may be attacked at any time.
Once anything happens here,
all military actions in Hill Hutou
will be under your command.
OK. I see.
I﹑ll stay here.
Brother, I﹑ll do whatever you want me to do.
We﹑ll both be in the action.
Grand Master,
when the fighting begins,
get into Laiyang
with our comrades and 1st Section.
I count on you for the rescue.
Rest assured, brother.
Third Brother.
-The 1st Section is under you command. -OK.
I, Weiguo Zhou, and I, Yuan Liu,
thank you guys.
Set out.
When attacking Laiyang,
Weiguo will send his commando
to get in the town to rescue his father.
The rescue will be in vain,
and it is a great opportunity
to annihilate Weiguo﹑s troops.
Annihilate Weiguo﹑s troops.
How shall we annihilate his troops?
Weiguo﹑s troops
are not to be destroyed
in one or two battles.
We have to destroy
his active forces continuously,
before we finally defeat him.
Master, what shall we do?
Attack Hill Hutou.
What?
Being eager to save his father, Weiguo must be
far less clever than he used to be,
so Hill Hutou will be left with little manpower.
Two squads are now lurking in Hill Hutou.
I﹑ll leave a squad to you
to assist in guarding the town;
I﹑ll attack Hill Hutou with rest of the troops.
Yes.
Remember
to ensure the safety of Weiguo﹑s father.
Yes.
And, as your Master,
I order you to ensure the safety of Yi and Keiko.
Yes, Master.
Brother, tell us the combat plan.
First, lay in ambush
to shied Master Zhu and Third Brother.
Take actions on receiving their signals.
Let my arty troops to attack first.
Fire after 10 minutes.
Yes.
Sir, how is everything?
We﹑ve got into conflict with the task force,
causing two deaths and one injury.
Order the commando to march on quickly
to Village Yang. -Yes.
Weiguo﹑s prediction is right.
Japs are taking the chance to attack Hill Hutou.
Come on. I won't let you go back.
Reporting to duty.
Come in.
Reporting to duty.
The Japs are heading for Village Yang.
What is the number of the troops?
It should be Takeshita﹑s main troop.
I﹑ve laid ambush on the way,
but his commandos are highly flexible
and have high combat capacity.
Order the troops to withdraw
to the interior of Hill Hutou.
Jie, are the villagers transferred?
-Everything is ready? -Yes.
Chief of Staff Qiu, what shall we do?
Let the Japs come in.
The most important task for us
is to defend Hill Hutou
in accordance with Weiguo﹑s rescue plan.
The purpose of our defense
is to protect the base area from suffering losses.
We can't directly fight the Japs.
We should withdraw in advance
so that the fists of Japs will punch in vain.
When they get tired, we﹑ll get the chance.
Yes.
Commander, there isn﹑t a single person.
So, I﹑ve underestimated Weiguo.
What shall we do now?
Reconnoiter
the traces of Eighth Route Army, now.
Yes.
Mr. Zhou,
I﹑ll introduce a friend to you.
I don﹑t think
I have any friends here.
Come on.
Let me introduce.
This is
Commissar of Hutoushan Regt,
Renjie Zhang,
the partner of your son.
Commissar, come on.
Meet the traitor,
the father of Regt Commander Zhou.
Commissar,
I have to thank you.
Without your help,
we wouldn﹑t have found out
this spy in collusion with
both Kuomingtang and Communist Party.
What? What are you talking about?
OK. Send back Commissar Zhang.
Mr. Zhou, it is because of him
that you have the honor to be here.
OK.
Now, I﹑ll let you meet your son.
Let's go.
Please.
Grand Master, the prison of military police
is now guarded by the Japs themselves.
All of our men were replaced.
Talk no nonsense.
Find out a solution.
It seems impossible to break into the jail.
Regt Commander Li,
keep a close watch on the military police,
and once Mr. Zhou is taken out of the prison,
make a report.
OK. Please rest assured. I﹑ve arranged it.
Grand Master, we have to wait for a chance.
OK. I﹑ll listen to you.
-Reporting to duty. -What﹑s up?
Mr. Zhou has been taken to the east tower.
Go.
We are late.
Even if we had come here earlier,
we won't get a chance to take actions.
They've taken Mr. Zhou out,
and they will go back.
-We'll wait for them on the way. -OK.
-Then let's make preparations. -Go.
Weiguo Zhou.
Commander Jin wants to speak to you.
Let the hell of him come out.
I'm Weiwen Jin. I've heard of your fame.
I'm honored to meet you today.
Weiwen Jie, talk no nosense.
We are both soldiers.
We should fight with dignity.
How could you take my father as a hostage?
Regt Commander Zhou, you are wrong.
Your father got into our army
as a spy.
We could have hung him for espionage,
but Imperial Japanese Army is gracious.
As long as you lay down your arms,
we will guarantee
the safety of you and your father,
and you'll be offered a high rank.
Regt Commander Zhou,
behave yourself.
See who this man is.
Get away.
Weiguo, look carefully.
Mr. Zhou, please.
-Dad. -Dad. -Dad.