Chapter 21: Urgency, Danger, and Danger, Leaving the Team Alone

In the morning, the sun was shining. In the dense woods of the Wanjiaquaner cemetery, Franciscan and the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, the lightly wounded, the militia; Fang Lusheng and several of his brothers; Zhou Qiwei and Kuomintang soldiers; Nanjing's secret envoy Liu Guangxiong and dozens of others sat in the woods resting with filth, exhaustion and thirst. They met in the fierce melee of the breakthrough and transfer at night, because they did not know that the assembly place after the breakthrough was Shuihe Village, and they lost contact with the large army, so they did not know where to go at this time. So I had to go back to the cemetery and wait in the woods for the time being. From time to time, heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard in the distance, and there was still fighting going on.

Fang Jiren leaned back against the trunk of the tree, thinking wistfully. Zhou Qiwei came over and said:

"Company Commander Fang, we are not out of danger now, this is not a place to stay for a long time, the little devil may come to encircle and suppress at any time. I think you better come with me, I will definitely protect you in front of the peak, and it should be no problem for you to be the battalion commander. ”

Fang Jiren glared at Zhou Qiwei and said, "Go, go, stay over there." ”

A soldier came over and asked, "Company Commander Fang, what should we do now?" ”

"I'm not the company commander now, the regiment commander has already withdrawn me, I don't know what to do, I'm worried here." Fang Jiren said helplessly.

Fang Lusheng, who was sitting next to him, said loudly: "This is not easy to do, uncle, don't worry, take your people, follow me back to Feiyun Village, and I will let you be the owner of the village." ”

Francis angrily rebuked: "Fuck your shit! Let me go with you as a bandit? I don't care about you! ”

Fang Lusheng said unconvinced: "Hey! Uncle, you really don't know how to do it, what's wrong with being a bandit? Riding a horse with a gun on his shoulder, there is wine, meat and women, living like a fairy, what's wrong? If someone else wants to go, I won't let him go. Hum! ”

Covered in mud, hungry and thirsty, Liu Guangxiong staggered over and said:

"Everyone, everyone, don't quarrel anymore, listen to me. We can't wait to die here. You all listen to me, as long as you protect me and return to Nanjing safely, I guarantee that all of you can be promoted and make a fortune, settle down and start a business, okay? ”

Fang Lusheng widened his eyes and scolded loudly: "Fuck you!" Let's go with you to Nanjing to be a traitor, Lao Tzu will kill you now! Eat your traitor's dog under the skin. ”

Liu Guangxiong: "I, I'm not doing it for your good?" Why can't you understand my kindness? Company Commander Fang, what do you think of my suggestion? ”

Fang Jiren glared at Liu Guangxiong in disgust and scolded angrily: "Get out! Shut your foul mouth, there's no place for you to talk here. Give me a side and stay honest! ”

Zhou Qiwei said angrily: "Be honest! You bastard traitor, if you dare to fucking talk nonsense again, I'll shoot you right now! ”

A soldier ran over and said with a nervous expression: "Company Commander Fang, it's not good, it seems that a team of men and horses are coming towards the woods, and it is about two or three miles away from here." ”

When they heard this, they immediately got up and scattered, and ran to the edge of the woods, each looking for a vantage point to lie down and hide, pulling the bolt of his gun, pulling out a grenade, and staring ahead. Fang Jiren said sternly: "Listen to my orders and prepare for battle!" ”

In the morning, on the small square in front of the land temple in Shengcang Village. The Japanese army murderously surrounded more than 100 people, including the captured masses, the wounded, Wang Fujiang, secretary of the county party committee, President Zhu Shiyao, and Kuomintang soldiers, under a high wall on three sides, and aimed a circle of rifles and several machine guns at the crowd. More than 100 people sat crowded on the ground, although they were scarred and exhausted, they still couldn't hide their angry faces and unconvinced but helpless eyes.

Qian Wanlin, who was arrogant and pretending to be a tiger, howled in the face of the silent crowd:

"Say, speak! Who of you is the Communist Party? Who is the leader? If there is a kind of stand up for me, the imperial army will give you great preferential treatment, and you can also let you go home, if you don't say it, you will all die. ”

One of the Japanese officers, who had lost patience, drew his saber and shouted violently:

"Say! Don't say it again?! I'm going to send you all back to your hometown! Get ready to shoot! ”

The sound of Japanese soldiers pulling the bolts of their guns suddenly sounded in the small square, causing a panicked commotion among the people who had been arrested.

Morning. On the edge of the dense woods of the Wanjiaquaner cemetery, Fang Jiren and the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, the militia, Fang Lusheng and several of his brothers, and more than a dozen Kuomintang soldiers of Zhou Qiwei took advantage of the terrain to disperse and hide, lie down, load bullets, open the lid with grenades, and closely watch the path outside the woods, ready for battle.

Not far away, Staff Officer Wu of the Eighth Route Army Supplementary Regiment led a platoon of soldiers, more than a dozen militiamen, and dozens of men and women to hurriedly walk towards the cemetery woods from north to south. Many people in the crowd suffered minor injuries.

"Comrades, it's our team and Staff Officer Wu who are here." Francis stood up and said happily. With a big knife on his back, a crooked machine gun captured from the devil on his left shoulder, and a 38 rifle in his right hand, he led the soldiers and militiamen out of the woods and walked towards Staff Officer Wu. Others followed behind Francis.

On the small square in front of the land temple in Shengcang Village, the Japanese machine gunners pulled the bolts of their guns and prepared to shoot, and the other Japanese soldiers also raised their rifles and aimed at the frightened and restless crowd.

"Don't shoot!" With a roar, Wang Fujiang walked out of the crowd with a righteous and awe-inspiring face, standing in front of Zhongchuan and Qian Wanlin with a fearless face.

"Who are you? What do you do?! Qian Wanlin asked with a fake tiger.

"I am Wang Fujiang, secretary of the Lin'an County Party Committee of the Communist Party, what do you have to tell me! What kind of prestige do you play against the unarmed civilians, women and children?! ”

Nakagawa smirked: "Okay, good." You were brave enough to say everything I had to know. ”

A Japanese officer walked over with a telegram and handed it to Nakagawa, whispering a few more words.

After reading the telegram, Nakagawa ordered loudly: "Order all units of the brigade to assemble their troops, set off immediately, withdraw to the county seat, and escort them all back to the county seat." ”

The Japanese army gathered the team to prepare to evacuate, and Hegu Shaozo walked to Nakagawa in a panic to stop it: "Captain, you can't go, the troops can't withdraw to the county seat now." ”

Nakagawa asked suspiciously, "Huh?" Why? ”

Kawaya looked nervous and said, "Sakamoto Shaoza has not returned to the team, and his whereabouts are unknown. We can't leave him alone, we must find him. ”

"Sakamoto? Who is Sakamoto? Why do you have to find him? Just now I received an order that the troops must immediately withdraw to Ping'an County to accept a new mission. ”

Hegu continued to insist: "No, the troops cannot withdraw to the county seat. Captain, Sakamoto is a member of the royal family, and we must find him. ”

"Huh?!" Nakagawa was taken aback, turned around and whispered to the two Japanese second lieutenant officers beside him: "You each bring a radio station, and each bring a team to sweep and search the Eighth Route Army in this area, you go to the southwest, you go to the northwest, continue to look for the lost soldiers of our army, and you must find Sakamoto Shaoza." Feel free to report to me and act immediately.

The woods of the cemetery of Wanjiaquaner. Staff Officer Wu pulled Fang Jiren aside to persuade:

"I can understand how you are in a hurry to return to the team, but not now, have you forgotten? You're still in the vetting stage, and you have to trust the organization to figure it out. ”

The red-faced Fang Jiren took Staff Officer Wu's arm and argued aggrievedly:

"What?! If you don't let me go back, what should I do? Where are you going to let me go? Won't the leader be able to review me after I return to the team? It doesn't matter if you don't let me be in the front-line combat unit, I can go to work in the regimental health team, and let me treat the wounded, Staff Officer Wu, I must go back to the army! ”

Staff Officer Wu angrily threw away Fang Jiren's hand and explained seriously and patiently:

"Comrade Fang Jiren, this is an organizational decision, I am now talking to you on behalf of the organization, the regiment commander and the political commissar have already made arrangements for you, they ordered you to lead two squads of soldiers to form a military engineering team behind enemy lines, appoint you as the captain, and you will be fully responsible, continue to search for the troops, wounded and masses who have been scattered in all the battles in the western Hebei region within two months, and then you lead and organize them to hide on the spot and treat their wounds and diseases. In addition, if the remains of their fallen comrades are found, they should be buried on the spot immediately and marked, and we must not let these anti-Japanese heroes abandon their bodies in the wilderness and ignore them. It's also an organizational test for you. When the organization has reviewed all your problems clearly, the regiment will immediately send someone to inform you to return to the team. ”

"I don't do it! I don't accept this task, I want to go back to the army. ”

"Francis! Am I going to disobey military orders?! Can you bear to watch the bodies of your fallen comrades abandoned in the wilderness? If you think about it again, the separated comrades-in-arms may be encircled and attacked by devils at any time, and the wounded comrades-in-arms may die because they cannot be rescued and treated in time. Comrade Fang Jiren is not only our comrades-in-arms who get along day and night, but also our brothers in life and death, and they are also valuable revolutionary wealth. Don't you say? ”

"Staff Officer Wu, I understand what you said. However, the western Hebei region is more than 80 square kilometers in circumference, and there are more than 20 villages and towns scattered in such a large area, and there are devils, puppet soldiers, traitor spies everywhere, and there are Longtan tiger's dens everywhere. Standing and talking without backache, whimsical, I really don't know what the head of the regiment thinks? Have you thought about it for me? ”

Hearing Francis's benevolent defense, Staff Officer Wu immediately felt the seriousness, complexity, and danger of this matter. He looked at Fang Jiren with a heavy expression, thought for a while, and said gently:

"Comrade Fang Jiren, what you said is the truth, I think the regiment leaders must have thought of it, this is indeed an urgent, difficult and dangerous task. It is for this reason that you were sent to carry out this task. We all know that you are a local, you are familiar with everything here, you are witty and flexible, you are strong in martial arts, you know the way of medicine, you can do knife wounds and gunshot surgeries, and your family has a big pharmacy in the county. You say, can our whole group find someone who is as good and convenient as you? Also, I don't say that you also know that our regiment has suffered heavy losses, more than half of the casualties have been reduced, the formation has been disabled, and its vitality has been greatly damaged, and it will take time to fully recover. Comrade Francis, my good comrade-in-arms and brother, on behalf of my comrades-in-arms and wounded and heads of delegations who have not yet returned to the team, I beg you to accept this mission. ”

"Staff Officer Wu, you mean, I have to take this task, and I have to take it if I don't, right? Otherwise, it is to disregard the life and death and safety of comrades-in-arms. Is it? ”

"Even so. I hope you can take into account the overall situation and the life and death of your comrades-in-arms. "Okay. Staff Officer Wu, since everything has been said about this, then I accept it. please

You tell the regimental commander that I promise to complete the mission. But I have one condition, what to do is up to me to see the situation, and I will deal with it on the spot, and the regiment cannot interfere. If I need help or cooperation, I will ask the group in advance. ”

"Okay, no problem, I'll tell the head of the regiment. Thank you, Comrade Francis.

Now, I will immediately move with the troops, the militia, the masses and the wounded, as well as the envoy of Nanjing. You immediately take off your military uniform and change into this civilian suit, take it, leave me the machine gun and rifle, and I will give you a shell gun and four grenades, and twenty oceans, which you will use when necessary. Two squads of fighters are also left for you. ”

Fang Jiren refused: "I don't want it, I don't want any soldiers that I brought out." ”

"Francis, what is your attitude? Of course, they are not your soldiers, but they are all soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, and they are your comrades-in-arms. ”

Fang Jiren said resolutely: "Then I don't want it either!" ”

"Huh? Why are you? This is the order of the regimental commander, let you lead them on a mission. Francis, do you want to disobey? Don't be discouraged......"

"Staff Officer Wu, I didn't have an angry attitude, let alone disobey orders. Do you know how dangerous and difficult the task given to me by the regimental commander is? It's inconvenient for me to take them with me, and it's easy to expose the target, which will become a burden to me. Besides, the western Hebei region is so big, I have to deal with it according to different situations, and sometimes I need to disperse and act alone, these 20 or so people are simply not enough, and they are all unfamiliar with the place, how to carry out the task? Sometimes I need to concentrate my forces to deal with the devil's search and sweep at any time, and more than 20 people are not enough. I beg you to tell the head of the regiment and the commissar that I have the means to deal with all the different and complicated situations. ”

"Well, you have a point, so do as you say. We know you're familiar with the terrain and people in this area, and we're sure you'll have a way to get the job done. Our supplementary regiment will definitely fight back, and then we will be able to fight together again. Here you go, you have the shell gun, the grenade and the ocean. ”

Fang Jiren put down his machine gun and rifle, took off his military uniform and changed into civilian clothes, and said with tears in his eyes: "No, I don't want it, you can take it all." If I can get the job done, I don't want anything; If I can't complete the task, it's useless for you to give me. After saying that, he lifted the big knife stuck in the ground, turned around, and walked away in frustration.

"Wait!" Staff Officer Wu ran a few steps to catch up with Shang Jiren, took out a letter from his jacket pocket and handed it to Fang Jiren: "I almost forgot, there is one more important thing I haven't told you." This is the letter that the head of the regiment asked me to give you. ”

Fang Jiren took the letter and asked puzzledly, "What's the matter?!" ”

"I don't know the content of the letter, you can see for yourself. The head of the regiment asked me to tell you to keep it strictly confidential! I guess it must be a matter of human life. ”

"Okay." Fang Jiren opened the letter and looked at it carefully and carefully, then raised his head and returned the letter to Staff Officer Wu, and said calmly and calmly:

"Okay, I'll do it. Staff Officer Wu, you go back and tell the regiment commander, and there will be results in a few days. ”

"Huh? Comrade Francis, listening to you say that this matter seems to be very simple and easy, you can't just take it lightly. ”

"Long-winded, nonsense. I'm leaving. ”

Staff Officer Wu was in a complicated mood and reluctantly looked at Fang Jiren, who was gradually walking away with a big knife in his hand.

At noon, the entire Shengcang Village was as silent as death, the walls collapsed, the houses collapsed, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air.

In the kitchen of the Ding family's compound, Ding Ruxuan and Changgui drank water with a bowl of goo dong and goo dong. Ding Ruxuan put down the water bowl, looked at Changgui puzzled, and asked dissatisfiedly:

"Changgui! What kind of chili pepper are you giving me?! It's spicy to death! And let me have to chew the eggplant skin, aren't you kidding me? ”

Changgui smiled smugly and said, "Young Master, if you don't chew the eggplant skin, can your lips be blue and purple?" If you eat less chili peppers and don't sweat, can you fool the little devils? ”

"Okay, okay, don't drink, hurry up and set up a car, let's go, we have to go back to the county seat quickly." Ding Ruxuan commanded.

"Young master, what kind of car are you still on, our horses have been stolen by the little devils, we have to think of another way." Changgui said angrily.