13: Chapter 13 The First Provocation by the Japanese Kingdom

1

Peaceful days didn't last long before Japan arrived.

It was the tenth day after the re-equipment was completed. Li Ling was training with the soldiers in the barracks when Wang Hu ran over in a hurry.

"Young Master, this is bad! The Japan devils are harassing the border and have killed three of our civilians!"

Li Ling's face darkened: "What's the situation?"

"A squad of Japan soldiers, about fifty of them, crossed the border, looted two villages, killed three civilians, and burned down over a dozen houses." Wang Hu gritted his teeth. "The local militia couldn't stop them and sent someone to ask for reinforcements."

Li Ling took a deep breath, suppressing his anger: "Where are they located?"

"Fifty miles to the southeast, at Li Family Village near the border."

Li Ling quickly visualized the map. He knew Li Family Village; it was a small village with only a few dozen households. It was remote but very close to the border, often harassed by stragglers from Japan.

"System." Li Ling muttered to himself.

"Hmm?"

"Is Japan testing me?"

"Most likely," the system analyzed. "You've been in the spotlight too much lately. Japan has definitely noticed and sent a small unit to test your reaction."

Li Ling sneered: "Since they want to test me, I'll give them a satisfactory answer."

He immediately gave the order: The Third Battalion to assemble, 1,500 men, fully armed, departing in half an hour.

Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan received the order and, without a word, took his men and ran to the assembly point. The Third Battalion was the first unit in the entire Army to complete night combat training. It was also the most elite unit under Li Ling's command, with the best equipment, the toughest training, and the highest morale.

Half an hour later, 1,500 men were assembled at the barracks gate.

Li Ling stood on horseback in front of the formation, his gaze sweeping over every face.

"Brothers, the Japan devils have killed three civilians on our land and burned down over a dozen houses." Li Ling's voice wasn't loud, but every word felt like a knife stabbing into the soldiers' hearts. "What do you say we do?"

"Kill!"

1,500 men roared in unison, the sound shaking the heavens.

"Good." Li Ling nodded. "Let's move out!"

2

Fifty miles, a forced march of three hours.

When Li Ling arrived at Li Family Village with the Third Battalion, it was already 4:00 PM. The village was a mess. Over a dozen houses had been burned down, leaving only charred frames, and there were still bloodstains on the ground. The villagers had been hiding on the hillside outside the village and only dared to return when they saw the Army arrive.

An old man walked tremblingly up to Li Ling and fell to his knees with a thud: "Sir, you must seek justice for us! Those Japan devils are worse than beasts!"

Li Ling hurriedly helped the old man up: "Don't worry, old man. Now that I am here, I will never let them hurt you again."

He had Wang Hu take men to comfort the villagers while he took Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan to inspect the scene.

"Young Master, looking at the tracks, the Japan devils retreated to the southeast." Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan squatted on the ground, pointing at the footprints. "About fifty men, lightly equipped, with horses."

"Pursue." Li Ling did not hesitate. "Catch up to them before dark, and leave no one alive."

"Yes!"

The Third Battalion continued to advance, tracking the trail left by the Japan soldiers.

An hour later, the scouts reported: Five miles ahead, they had discovered Japan soldiers resting in a village, appearing to be preparing to spend the night.

Li Ling sneered: "Want to rest? Did you ask me first?"

He ordered: The entire battalion to split into three teams. The first team to attack from the front, the second team to flank from the left, and the third team to flank from the right. Launch the attack simultaneously after dark.

"Remember, leave no survivors." Li Ling's tone was terrifyingly calm. "Don't let a single one of them run back."

Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan paused for a moment but quickly reacted, nodding forcefully: "Understood!"

3

Night fell, and the moon was obscured by clouds; the earth was pitch black.

Fifty Japan soldiers were sitting around a campfire in the center of the village, roasting stolen chickens and ducks, drinking, and playing finger-guessing games, completely unaware of the approaching danger.

They were indeed there to test the waters.

The Kwantung Army headquarters stationed in Northeast Asia by Japan had recently received intelligence that the son of a high-ranking official in Qingxia Kingdom was building a New Army, with excellent equipment and well-trained troops, and was suspected of having support from the Great Powers. The commander of the Kwantung Army thought this was an exaggeration but didn't dare to ignore it completely, so he sent a small unit to test it out.

The officer leading the team was Major Yamamoto Ichiro. He had participated in the First Sino-Japanese War and scoffed at the combat effectiveness of the Qingxia Kingdom Army. In his view, the Qingxia Kingdom Army was just a mob, holding outdated rifles, and would collapse at the first touch.

"Major, when are we going back?" a soldier asked.

"Tomorrow." Major Yamamoto Ichiro took a sip of wine. "Burn a few more villages and see if that so-called Young Hero Li dares to come."

As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp whistle pierced the night sky.

"Enemy attack!"

Major Yamamoto Ichiro stood up abruptly. Before he could draw his sword, a bullet pierced his chest.

A sniper.

Li Ling had handpicked the ten soldiers with the best marksmanship from the Third Battalion and equipped them with sniper rifles specially made by the Production Base, specifically for decapitation operations. Ten people fired at the same time, and ten bullets accurately hit ten targets, killing ten officers, including Major Yamamoto Ichiro, on the spot.

The remaining forty Japan soldiers fell into chaos. Some picked up their guns and fired wildly, some hid everywhere, and some were even so scared they knelt and begged for mercy.

But Li Ling did not give them any chance.

"Fire!"

Fire was opened from three sides simultaneously. Over a thousand rifles fired in unison, and dense bullets poured onto the Japan soldiers like a rainstorm. Of the forty people, thirty fell in the first round of shooting. The remaining ten tried to break out but were tightly trapped by the Third Battalion's encirclement.

Three minutes later, the battle ended.

Fifty Japan soldiers, all killed, none escaped.

Li Ling walked into the village, looking at the corpses all over the ground, his expression emotionless.

"Count the bodies and confirm they are all killed." He ordered.

"Yes!" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan took men to count and soon reported, "Young Master, fifty men, all killed. The leading officer has operational maps and documents on him."

Li Ling took the map and documents, glanced at them, and sneered.

It was indeed a test.

The map marked the Li Family Army's station, troop deployment, and re-equipment progress. Although the information was rough, it showed that Japan had already set its sights on him.

"Burn it." Li Ling handed the map and documents to Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan. "Don't leave any traces."

"Yes!"

4

Back at the barracks, Li Ling reported to his father immediately.

Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan's face turned livid after listening: "Is Japan trying to tear off the mask?"

"Just a test." Li Ling sat down and took a sip of water. "They aren't sure of my strength yet and sent a small unit to test the waters. Now that I've wiped out their fifty men, they will be confused about my true capabilities."

"Then what's the next step?" Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan asked.

"Strengthen border security to prevent them from retaliating." Li Ling said. "Also, accelerate the re-equipment progress and get all 30,000 New Army troops armed as soon as possible."

Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan nodded: "Good, do as you say."

Walking out of his father's study, Li Ling's mood was not light.

Wiping out fifty Japan soldiers was just a small victory for him, but this incident exposed a serious problem—Japan had already set up eyes near the border and knew his movements like the back of their hand. And he knew very little about Japan's deployment.

"System." Li Ling muttered to himself.

"Hmm?"

"Is there any way to scout Japan's movements?"

"Yes," the system said. "You can use resource points to redeem a Reconnaissance Balloon, plus a camera, to conduct aerial reconnaissance of the enemy's positions."

"Reconnaissance Balloon..." Li Ling thought for a moment. "Is it reliable?"

"In this era, absolutely reliable." The system said. "A Reconnaissance Balloon can rise to 1,000 meters, allowing the naked eye to see targets twenty kilometers away. With a camera, you can photograph enemy deployments clearly."

"How much?"

"100 resource points each, with a matching camera for 50 resource points."

Li Ling calculated his remaining resource points and gritted his teeth: "Exchange for two Reconnaissance Balloons and two cameras."

"Generous." The system rarely gave a compliment.

"Stop talking nonsense and give them to me quickly." Li Ling said irritably. "Once my intelligence system is built, let's see how Japan can still jump around."

5

Three days later, the Reconnaissance Balloons arrived.

Li Ling took Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan and a few soldiers to test them in the open space behind the barracks. After the balloon was inflated, it slowly rose into the sky, with a bamboo basket hanging underneath that could hold two people.

"Young Master, can this thing fly?" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan's eyes widened.

"Yes." Li Ling jumped into the bamboo basket first. "Come up, I'll take you up to see."

Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan hesitated for a moment but followed and jumped in. The balloon rose slowly, the ground getting further and further away. The barracks, towns, mountains, and rivers were all in view.

"My god..." Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan lay on the edge of the bamboo basket, looking at the scenery below, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

Li Ling took out the camera and took a few photos in the direction of Japan in the distance. Although the distance was too far to be clear, the camera provided by the system had a telephoto lens that could zoom in ten times, with extremely high clarity.

"Young Master, what is this thing?" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan pointed to the camera.

"A divine artifact." Li Ling smiled. "With it, every move of the enemy is under my eyelids."

The balloon stayed in the air for half an hour. Li Ling took dozens of photos covering the entire area within a fifty-mile radius. After returning to the ground, he handed the photos to the system for analysis. The system quickly provided detailed annotations: Japan had two outposts and one barracks near the border, housing about 300 people, as well as several supply lines.

"300 people..." Li Ling looked at the map, pondering for a moment. "Not enough. What I want is to drive them all out."

"Then wait a bit longer." The system said. "Once your 30,000 troops are all re-equipped, let alone 300 people, you can fight 3,000."

"Can't wait too long." Li Ling shook his head. "Japan won't give me that much time. They will soon send more troops. I must take the initiative to disrupt their deployment."

He drew a few circles on the map: "Here, here, and here. Three outposts, pull them out first. Then besiege the spot to attack reinforcements, draw out their main force, and wipe them out in one go."

"You're playing a big game." The system said.

"Of course." Li Ling smiled. "Since I'm playing, I'll play big."

6

In the following days, Li Ling strengthened training while sending out Reconnaissance Balloons and scouts to fully understand Japan's border deployment.

Intelligence showed that Japan had stationed about two battalions, around 2,000 people, near the border. They were well-equipped and well-trained. The commander was a Colonel who had participated in the First Sino-Japanese War and the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion of China, with rich combat experience.

2,000 versus 3,000—Li Ling had the advantage in numbers, but the combat effectiveness of the Japan Army could not be underestimated. Li Ling had studied the Russo-Japanese War in his previous life and knew that the Japan Army of this era had basically completed modernization reforms, with extremely high individual quality and flexible tactical application, not comparable to the corrupt old armies of the Qingxia Kingdom.

"However, I have a system." Li Ling said to himself.

"Good to know." The system interjected.

"Can you stop stealing my lines?"

"I enjoy it."

Li Ling couldn't be bothered to argue with the system and continued to study the battle plan.

He decided to adopt the "feint in the east, attack in the west" tactic: first send a unit to feint an attack on the front to attract the attention of the Japan main force, then send the main force to outflank from the flank, raid the Japan headquarters and supply lines, and finally encircle and annihilate them.

This tactic required precise coordination and high discipline, placing high demands on the troops. But Li Ling believed that after more than a month of training, his New Army was already capable of executing such tactics.

"Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan." Li Ling called Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan over.

"Here!"

"Your Third Battalion will be the main attack."

Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan's eyes lit up: "Thank you, Young Master!"

"Don't thank me too early." Li Ling looked at him seriously. "The main attack mission is the heaviest, and the casualties will be the greatest. You need to be mentally prepared."

Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan was silent for a moment, then nodded forcefully: "For the Young Master, for the Li family, why fear death?"

Li Ling patted his shoulder: "Well done."

Outside the window, the sky grew dark, and the moon revealed half its face from the clouds.

Li Ling stood in front of the window, looking at the vaguely visible border in the distance, his eyes firm.

Japan's first provocation, he had won.

But this was just the beginning.

A bigger storm was brewing.