December 13, 1937, 4:13 PM:

Near Gulou in Nanjing, which had just been captured by the Japanese devils, the 16th Brigade of the 6th Division:

Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma and Sergeant Masanaka, along with their two fellow townsmen, Sergeant Tsukagawa Eita and Sergeant Idesawa Ren, were searching for hidden Nationalist soldiers in an alley.

As the three Japanese soldiers walked along, the doors of every house in the alley were tightly closed, clearly unwelcoming them.

Or perhaps the people in these houses had already fled.

Suddenly, Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma saw that one house ahead had its door open: this was a rare sight.

The three of them quickened their pace and saw that it was a barbershop.

A middle-aged man was bending over sweeping the floor, and a woman was sitting inside sewing an apron.

Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma stepped forward and loudly questioned the family, asking if they had seen any soldiers running past.

Mao Chenghong was just an ordinary local, honestly running his barbershop.

He had spent six years learning the barbering trade from his master.

Mao Chenghong had been running his barbershop here for thirteen years, and the business was neither good nor bad, just enough to support his family of three.

Today, there was gunfire everywhere in the city, and he had considered closing up shop.

But then he thought that if his old customers came to the door and found him closed, they might go to another barbershop.

He couldn't allow that to happen, of course.

That's why Mao Chenghong was open for business as usual on this chaotic day.

Today, a total of three customers had come.

All of them were regulars, which made Boss Mao Chenghong feel it was worth it.

The only downside was that it was getting dark, and he had already started cleaning up, preparing to close.

Three Japanese soldiers rushed in, shouting something at him.

Completely unable to understand what they were saying, Mao Chenghong looked at them with an innocent expression.

He thought they were there for a haircut, so he smiled and gestured towards the barber's chair, inviting them to sit down.

Looking at this cunning man, smiling and pointing at the barber's chair, saying something in his mouth.

Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma felt insulted: this was clearly a chair, how could it be a Nationalist soldier?

Was this an insult to his intelligence?

Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma thrust the bayonet on his rifle forward, directly stabbing into Mao Chenghong's chest, who had no defense whatsoever.

Yun Yaqin, who had stopped sewing the apron, saw her husband stabbed by the Japanese soldier and screamed, jumping up in fright.

Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma cursed and pulled the bayonet out of Mao Chenghong's body.

Ignoring Mao Chenghong's painful groans, he stabbed the bayonet in again.

He did this three or four times until the man was completely lifeless before stopping.

The two fellow townsmen who had come in with him, Sergeant Tsukagawa Eita and Sergeant Idesawa Ren, had grabbed Yun Yaqin, who was struggling to rush towards her husband.

Regardless of the woman's crying and screaming resistance, they lewdly spread the apron she had been sewing on the ground.

The three soldiers began their bestial acts there.

Sergeant Tsukagawa Eita saw that the other two were still busy with the woman.

He began to rush into the inner room, rummaging through boxes and cabinets in search of valuables.

When he got upstairs, Sergeant Tsukagawa Eita discovered that the family also had a daughter.

He became excited again, dragged Mao Qiuying outside, and said to his two fellow townsmen with a smile, "This family also has a pretty girl."

After the three Japanese soldiers finished looting the place, they didn't forget to set the Mao's Barbershop on fire.

Just as they lit the fire, they heard the sound of a whistle calling them to assemble.

Sergeant Tsukagawa Eita, Sergeant Idesawa Ren, and Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma quickly ran towards the assembly point.

Only then did they learn that they were to follow Brigade Commander Ushijima Mitsuru to Jurong to rescue Commander-in-Chief Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

These soldiers had just tasted the sweetness of rampaging in Nanjing, and they didn't pay much attention to it.

But these soldiers had no choice but to obey orders.

Brigade Commander Ushijima Mitsuru wanted to gather two battalions of soldiers, but less than five hundred men had arrived at the scene.

The soldiers gathered together, exchanging stories of their gains in Nanjing that day.

Sergeant Tsukagawa Eita, Sergeant Idesawa Ren, and Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma had killed three ordinary civilians and only found two pairs of gold earrings and a jade bracelet in the Mao's house.

When they revealed their meager gains, they were ridiculed by their comrades.

Sergeant Yutani Shota smiled and showed off his loot, wearing five watches on his wrist.

He also had two pocket watches hanging on his chest.

Yutani Shota said smugly, "I just opened the door of a department store. Unfortunately, too many soldiers went in with me.

I only managed to grab these few trinkets."

Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma felt insulted again, but of course, he didn't dare to draw his sword directly now.

But he had his own thing to brag about: "We just found a mother and daughter, and the daughter was very young.

We've already enjoyed them."

Originally, Sergeant Chiyosaki Kazuma thought that saying this would earn him envious and jealous gazes from these soldiers.

Unexpectedly, Sergeant Yutani Shota laughed loudly, and the surrounding laughter became even more intense: "Sure enough, you're just country bumpkins! One sentence reveals your true nature.

You three have been in the city for so long, and this is only the first time you've enjoyed yourselves, right?

It tasted good, didn't it!

We were in the department store, with a dozen soldiers and dozens of beautiful girls, all incredibly beautiful.

A dozen of us were even competing against each other, and I was the strongest!"

Another soldier also said, "I am Sergeant Gu Yushu, and I refuse to accept that!

Today, I've already enjoyed at least five young girls, and I'm too tired to walk now." These words resonated with many soldiers: "Me too! There are too many gold, silver, and women in this Nanjing.

We can't keep up, and now we have to go out of the city.

This is too hard for us!"

Brigade Commander Ushijima Mitsuru was also very helpless: after the soldiers entered Nanjing, they completely let loose.

Now it was very difficult to gather them together. Half an hour had passed, and only one battalion had arrived out of the promised two.

He had to continue waiting.

Brigade Commander Toyoda Shimayama of the 25th Brigade of the 13th Division was now facing the same problem.

The soldiers were slow to gather!

Their excuse was that they were chasing down Nationalist soldiers hiding in the city.

In reality, Brigade Commander Toyoda Shimayama knew that these soldiers were busy getting rich.

He himself had just come out of a factory called Yumin Machinery Factory: the seventeen machines in this factory.

From the moment Brigade Commander Toyoda Shimayama saw them, they belonged to the Toyoda family.

He wrote the words "Toyoda Machinery Factory" at the entrance of the factory, with a note below: "25th Brigade Commander Toyoda Shimayama."

Later, he still felt it wasn't safe enough, as too many Japanese devils had rushed into the city.

There were also many who could compete with him for things, so he sent ten soldiers to protect his property.

At the same time, he tacitly allowed these soldiers to patronize all the nearby residents.

With these arrangements, he could confidently lead the soldiers to Jurong to rescue Commander-in-Chief Prince Asaka Yasuhiko.

Brigade Commander Toyoda Shimayama was, of course, a very disciplined and self-aware soldier, and he immediately began to assemble his soldiers upon receiving the order.

But not every soldier under his command had the same awareness and self-discipline as he did.

So, an hour passed, and less than half of the planned four battalions had arrived.