Chapter 58 Unwarranted accusations and dissolution of special columns

Morikura Village. Liu's blacksmith shop. Under the grape trellis in the precincts. Fang Jiren, Fang Lusheng, Zhou Qiwei, and Yao Jian sat around the low table, and the four of them were in a heavy mood and the atmosphere was depressed.

Francis said sadly: "This is what I have learned in the past few days. Tell us what you think, and what do we do next? ”

Fang Lusheng said with a sad face: "Commander, our manpower is too small, my team of twenty-eight people, and the three teams are only about eighty people. How are we going to fight with little devils like this? They had tanks, artillery, cars, and cavalry. ”

Zhou Qiwei: "Commander, what Captain Fang said is a very realistic problem, we should come up with a countermeasure in advance and be fully prepared." Otherwise, we will definitely suffer in the event of a war. Think again, commander. ”

Yao Jian: "Yes, what Captain Zhou said is right. Also, Commander, now that we have more than 80 people in our special column, how can we solve the problem of food and ammunition supply in the future? Who will provide us with the communications equipment, medicines, and military salaries? Commander, shouldn't these problems be solved by the supplementary regiment? ”

Fang Jiren: "Captain Yao, you are right, you should be. However, not only is the supplementary mission unable to provide it to us, but we have to solve these problems for the supplementary mission. Now, although the Eighth Route Army belongs to the battle sequence of the National Army, your Chairman Chiang has never given the Eighth Route Army military funds, weapons and ammunition. To put it simply, he only gives the number and does not give money, and often engages in friction behind his back to fight black guns. Unlike the Kuomintang Army, the Eighth Route Army had to rely on itself in everything, and still more on the broad masses of the people, who were the fundamental guarantee for the survival, development, and victory of our party and army. Food and medicine may be easier to manage, but what is more difficult is the handling of weapons and ammunition, communications equipment, and military salaries, all of which have to be solved by us from the enemy. That's the new mission I'm talking to you about, as well as finding the wounded and getting information. ”

Fang Lusheng: "Commander, then we still have to recruit troops and expand the team?" ”

Francis: "Of course, this is necessary and not difficult to do, but what I need most now is a fighter with actual combat experience and experience, because we are going to carry out a very dangerous and difficult mission, but where can I find such a fighter?" ”

Zhou Qiwei: "Commander, how many people do we need in this special column?" ”

Fang Jiren: "The more the merrier, there is no limit to the number of people, as long as they are willing to follow the Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army to fight devils, we want them." ”

Zhou Qiwei: "Oh, that's right. Commander, do you think this will work, I can pull dozens of people from my original regiment, they are the same as Captain Yao, they are all my fellow villagers in the Northeast, and they are all brothers who have changed their lives, their marksmanship and knife skills are good, and they are all men who fight devils and don't want to die. ”

Fang Jiren: "Captain Zhou, you said that you and your soldiers are all men who fight devils and don't want to die, so why are you leading a battalion of troops to be beaten by devils in the southeast of Shengcang Village?" ”

Zhou Qiwei: "Alas! It was all stirred up by that traitor bastard Liu Guangxiong. At that time, my pathfinder spotted the devil and reported me, and I immediately ordered my troops to prepare for battle. However, Liu Guangxiung was resolutely opposed, saying that the devils would never go to war with us. Just when we were arguing, the devils took the opportunity to occupy the favorable terrain and launched a fierce attack on us first, and we were immediately disorganized by the defenseless fight, and it was strange that we were undefeated. Thankfully, you came to the rescue with your team, otherwise we might have been wiped out. ”

Fang Jiren: "Oh, so that's what happened, this Liu Guangxiong really deserves to be killed." Captain Zhou, I don't want to think about the past, just kill more devils in the future to take revenge. ”

Zhou Qiwei: "The commander is right, kill more devils to take revenge." Alas, it is only because they were ignorant and defected to the wrong army, and many brothers had long wanted to leave the national army to join the Eighth Route Army. ”

Francis Francis: "Okay! They are welcome to join the Eighth Route Army, you should send someone to contact them as soon as possible, and it would be better if you could still bring guns and ammunition. ”

Suddenly, the courtyard door was pushed open, and more than a dozen soldiers wearing the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army walked in, some with weapons, some with bandages on their heads and arms, and surrounded Fang Jiren and the other four, looking at them suspiciously. Blacksmith Liu and the two men dissuaded him all the way, but they didn't stop him, so they had to follow him into the courtyard.

A tall soldier looked at the four people in front of him with suspicion, and said inquiringly: "I am Yang Shushan, the platoon commander of the third platoon of the seventh company of the third battalion of the Eighth Route Army Supplementary Regiment. What kind of unit is this special column of yours? Who is your commander? Who appointed you? Do you have any procedures for appointing a regimental headquarters? ”

Fang Lu stood up vigorously and said angrily, "You, what are you going to do?!" ”

Fang Jiren stood up and patted Fang Lusheng on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down, and then said to Yang Shushan in a calm tone: "Platoon Commander Yang, we are a special column of the Eighth Route Army Supplementary Regiment, and I am Commander Wang Xingbang. After the battle for the breakout of Shengcang Village was over, the regimental commander and political commissar Yu Genshan gave me a special task, ordering us to search for the lost troops, the wounded, the militia, and the masses in this area, to hide nearby, to treat the wounded, to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, and to find an opportunity to eliminate traitors and kill the enemy. ”

Poplar Mountain: "Oh? So you are also a member of the supplementary group, your name is Wang Xingbang? Why haven't I seen you? When did you join the army? ”

Fang Jiren: "There are many people you haven't seen, have you seen all the people in the supplementary group?" ”

Yang Shushan: "I have been in the supplementary regiment for more than half a year, and as long as it is a person in the supplementary regiment, I have almost seen it. Comrade Wang Xingbang, let me ask you again, when did you join the army? When did you arrive at the supplementary group? ”

Fang Jiren: "I joined the army to replenish the regiment at the beginning of the May Day Sweep. ”

Yang Shushan said with a disdainful face: "Haha, it turns out that you are a rookie, so what qualifications do you have to be the commander to command us?" Aren't you talking nonsense? ”

Ha, ha, ha. More than a dozen fighters who came with Yang Shushan burst into laughter.

Fang Jiren was not angry, but preferred these straightforward and bold comrades-in-arms:

"Platoon Commander Yang, our mission has nothing to do with you. Tomorrow night, I will send someone to escort you to Shuihe Village to meet the supplementary group. If you have any questions, you will know them when you see the head of the regiment and ask him. We're also moving on to new tasks. It's getting late, so go back and rest. ”

Yang Shushan: "Hmph, on a new mission? Also investigate the enemy's situation, look for opportunities to eliminate rape and kill the enemy? Just you? Just you people? This cowhide is blowing up. You just shoot a cold gun, pass on information, and send the wounded. This is a brutal war, not child's play. ”

Fang Jiren said angrily: "Platoon Commander Yang, I said that this has nothing to do with you, what you have to do now is to recuperate from your injuries." Now I order you to go back and rest at once with your warriors, and we still have work to discuss. ”

Yang Shushan: "Hey, rookie egg, what qualifications do you have to order me?" Joke. Comrade Wang Xingbang, you said that the regiment commander gave you the task of searching for the lost troops and the wounded, and I can still believe it. However, without the approval of your superiors, you have violated the organizational principles, the discipline of the troops, and the procedures for the formation of a special column without the approval of your superiors, and it is wrong. So, now you must disband your special column right away. Right away! Have to! ”

"Humph!" Fang Jiren looked at Yang Shushan and smiled disdainfully, and said unhappily:

"Disbanded? And have to be right away? Platoon Commander Yang, what qualifications do you have to order me? ”

"Hey? Do you dare to ask me if I am qualified? You're not in a position to ask me what qualifications I have. Comrade Wang Xingbang, I joined the revolution much earlier than you, I was a member of the Communist Party of China before joining the Eighth Route Army, and I have been a platoon commander for more than a year. I command you not to be wronged at all. Got it? "Poplar Hill's words are aggressive.

"Platoon Commander Yang is certainly qualified."

"Platoon Commander Yang is an old revolutionary and an old qualification."

The soldiers beside and behind Yang Shushan echoed and expressed their support. Zhou Qiwei and Yao Jian looked at the hard-nosed Yang Shushan and the noisy fighters at a loss, not knowing what to do. Fang Lusheng stared at Yang Shushan, panting but speechless.

A wave of anger rose from the bottom of his heart, but he tried his best to restrain himself and said gently:

"Platoon Commander Yang, do you think I'm willing to accept this task? Do you know how difficult and dangerous it can be to carry out and complete this task? In this two-month sweep of devils, there are hundreds of our lost and wounded soldiers and militiamen. Where are the lost comrades? His whereabouts are unknown; What will happen to the wounded comrades if they do not receive timely rescue and treatment? It is likely that the situation is at stake, and life and death are uncertain. And they may be surrounded and suppressed by devils at any time, and they may be sacrificed at any time. Also, who will bury the remains of the fallen comrades? Can we bear to let these anti-Japanese heroes and martyrs be in the wilderness? Platoon Commander Yang, have you thought about all this? Hmph, in fact, I wish I could stay in the regiment and rest comfortably, recuperate my spirits, and follow the actions of the large army with ease and worry. ”

When the soldiers heard Fang Jiren's words, they all bowed their heads in a heavy mood and were silent.