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The sun is in the west. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info shines on the eastern camp of Xiangyang City. The summer cicadas on the trees kept hissing, and the small "Yunyu caused the surface to be dry and the temperature was hot, and almost half of the thousands of prisoners of war were sweating. The officers and men who received the food first happily gathered under the eaves of the barracks or under the big trees, and talked in groups of three or five.

A scruffy bearded veteran in his thirties who was so thin that he showed a crack of ribs sighed:

"Since I joined the army at the age of sixteen, it has been the first time I have seen meaty food in the camp every day, and if I can work hard in the Anjia army from now on, this soldier will be worth it."

The brothers around him echoed one after another, this one said that the An Jiajun was a famous iron army and would not take in our miscellaneous rice buckets, and the other said that the battle between the two armies was like life and death, and it would be good to leave a life, waiting to be dismissed!

Everyone's expressions were dark, and a man with a long scar on the left side of his face finished picking up the rice in the bowl in two bites, stretched out his tongue to lick a grain of meat and oil stains on the side of the bowl, and clicked his mouth a few times. Squatting and moving a few steps towards the veteran: "Uncle Man." What do you think An Jiajun will do with us?

The veteran put his well-fed rice bowl to his feet, took off his rubber-soled insoles and sat under his buttocks. Lovingly patted the dust on the trouser leg of his new pants, took out a short cigarette pouch and comfortably filled a pot of tobacco. Lighting the match, Meimei took a few puffs, and then looked at the seven or eight brothers who were staring at her with satisfaction: "After a few days of secret observation, plus last night I quietly asked a fellow townsman who gave up the towels

"Wait! Uncle Man, you said that the big man in the towel last night was our fellow countryman? Lu Zhang, a tall and thin private in the middle, asked in surprise.

"There are also us in the An Family Army?" The other brother forgot to eat and asked with wide eyes and surprise.

The veteran coughed, took another puff of his cigarette, slowly exhaled the smoke, and nodded emphatically: "That's right." It's our fellow townsman, and he was once a herald in the handsome team, and his family lives in the south of the county. In May last year, when he learned the news that General An had come to western Hubei for disaster relief, he quietly fled from the 21 st Division of the commander and ran home, and overnight took a family of 100 people and more than 300 villagers from his village to the south. When he arrived at Lijiagang in the north of Yucheng, he was finally rescued by his brothers under General An, and the whole village was immediately sent to the outskirts of Qiancheng in Xiangxi to settle in a new village. All of them lived in newly built wooden houses, were allocated land reclaimed by the brothers of the local garrison and engineers, and all families received a month's worth of food, farm tools, and seeds, and more than 70 young men and women in the village also went to work in the factory opened by Zhang Junzuo of the 44th Army. I can receive a salary of ten oceans a month, and my life is steady, and I am richer than in my hometown.

Later, our fellow countryman responded to Zhang Junzuo's call to join the army again, because he was literate and familiar with military affairs, he was selected to be accepted by the military teaching team, and three months later he was promoted to non-commissioned officer and assigned to the quartermaster's office. In this war, he and more than a dozen brothers were ordered to reinforce General An's Fifth Army, and when they arrived here, they were assigned to the quartermaster department of the General Headquarters, responsible for the quartermaster of the Xiangyang military station. I asked anxiously before he answered, saying that it was likely to give each of us two oceans severance pay to go to the ball, alas, these two oceans are interesting enough. But how are we going to live in the future? The disaster in my hometown is getting worse and worse, there are rotting corpses everywhere, I heard that the plague has spread to several counties in northwest Henan, isn't it inevitable to die when I go back? We're really miserable! ”

The brothers lamented, hung their heads weakly, and the old soldier tapped his pipe and raised his head. Suddenly, I saw a young man with a heroic face smiling in front of him holding half a bowl of rice, everyone only cared about talking, and there was not a pound. People notice when he came.

The veteran saw the young man in a camouflage summer dress. On his feet were the same green high-waisted canvas rubber-soled military shoes as all the officers and men of the Fifth Army, and his eyes were bright. He looked calm and extraordinary, and his clean clothes did not have any signs indicating his rank. There was no name tag but a fountain pen stuck in the top of his left pocket, and he was clearly a man of culture, or at least a clerk.

The well-informed veteran did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly stood up and greeted respectfully.

The young man stood up, stretched out his hand and grabbed the veteran to squat down again, finished the rice in the bowl three times and two times in the surprised eyes of the surroundings, put the rough sea bowl at his feet, and took out the "military merit card" produced by the old Nanchang Tobacco Factory. Divide the cigarettes into a circle, and invite everyone to smoke in a nice official dialect. After finishing himself, he lit and took two puffs, and looked at the veteran with a smile:

"Uncle Man, you are squatting and squatting this year! There is no need to be so polite, the little nephew came here on a business trip, and when it was time for dinner, he tasted the food cooked by the brothers of the garrison to see how it was doing

"Yes, very! Yesterday I ate white meat. There's a spoonful of broth for tonight's meal, and it's oily. The veteran replied hurriedly.

The young man smiled and said, "Don't hide it from my uncle." The food you have eaten these days is the same as that of the fighting units, and you will eat whatever they eat. There is no difference, I don't believe you ask the fireheads who cook, they are all selected from among you to cook, and they know what the brothers in the garrison eat. I tried a big bowl today, and the taste was okay, but I didn't have any meat in my stomach. ”

Everyone laughed when they heard this, and the veteran saw that the young man was so easy to talk to, and he was no longer so polite. Look at the cigarettes that taste good at your fingers. Oh, oh, he said enviously: "Sir, I heard that you Anjia army can smoke this kind of good cigarette for the army, right?" ”

"That's right, from ordinary soldiers to senior officers, everyone can get a certain amount of supply every month, which can be regarded as a basic benefit!" When the young man said this, he smiled brightly at the envious crowd on his face, and turned to the half-soldier: "Uncle Man, you haven't told your little nephew how old you are this year?" ”

The veteran was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed at himself: "Thirty-five, it's not a weapon, I've been a soldier for almost twenty years, and I'm still a first-class soldier, it's a shame to think about it!" Little brother, it looks like you're from Nanjing, right? How long has it been in Anjia Army? What rank are you mixed in? ”

": My nephew's hometown is in Chengdu, but now Nanjing and old Nanchang have a foothold. Uncle Man: "My nephew listened to the brothers in the garrison; Most of you thousands of people don't want to go home, what's going on? Don't all the brothers here want to go back? If you don't go back to the house, how can your father, elders, wives and children be able to do so?" the young man asked.

"Alas, it's been a long time since there has been a shortage of food in my hometown. It is estimated that the family is almost starving to death at this time. It's a death to go back, why go back? ”

Machine Heavy Lu

The brothers all said the same thing

"It's useless for me to go back, my hometown is in the mine north of Baoling, and the butterfly picking has lost the land in recent years, and I drink the northwest wind after I go back. The scar-faced man replied angrily.

The young man asked, "This old man, what are you talking about?" ”

"When I was thirteen years old, I went down the well with my father to carry butterflies, and the two gas explosions did not want me, leaving me a small life, but my father, my uncle and more than 50 uncles in the village were all gone. The four former Feng Marshal were in charge of opening the butterfly mine again, and I left a special tunnel with a little blasting technology, and I didn't make any money for more than three years. All of them are dedicated to the construction of new Henan according to the Butterfly Charcoal Bureau.

At the end of last year, I happened to be sick at home, and on the day the sick net was cured, there was a sudden gas explosion, and the whole catty. The tunnels in the mining area collapsed, more than 300 people died at once, and hundreds of women in our village became widows. There was no land, no work, and another catastrophe. How can you live if the bark is gnawed away? I don't go back for a few catties, I'm afraid that all the people in the village will starve to death, even if they don't starve to death, they won't live long, and the thin skin and tender meat are estimated to be able to act as a vegetable man, and sell a few dollars to let the family continue their lives

The man with the scar on the left side of his face finished speaking in a heavy tone, sighed and shook his head, and then showed a nonchalant expression. When everyone heard this, they all sighed. Everyone knows what a vegetable person is, compared to a person who eats with a child, being a vegetable person can be exchanged for a family member to live for a while, and the originally extremely bloody and tragic thing can no longer arouse any sympathy and compassion, and everyone seems to be numb.

The young officer's eyes were sad and silent. Secretly sighed, turned to the scar-faced man and asked, "What's the name of the old man?" How old is it? How did you become a soldier? ”

"My name is Chen Shishi, my ancestral home is Shanxi, more than 20 years ago, my father fled to settle in western Henan, and I had it in the third year, I am born this year, the net is twenty-four years old, at the end of last year, the butterfly mine is gone, the marshal said to play the revolution, to fight the criminal and corrupt new warlord leader Jiang Zhongzheng, to build New China, I have a few tricks of blasting and being transferred to the engineer company, and a few days later was assigned to the temporary eighth division of the commander of Pang, I have not seen explosives for a few months, and I was captured in a blink of an eye. When I was young, my mother said that my life was cheap, and it seemed that this was the case. If I am kicked out of this barracks this time, I don't know what will happen in the future," Chen Shishi replied dejectedly.

Chen Shishi's words resonated with everyone. Seeing An Yi's face full of sorrow and sympathy, the veteran thought for a moment, and asked courageously: Little brother. Can An Jiajun accept us? We really want to be soldiers of the An Jia Army, and eat the food of the An Jia Army! ”

"Why do you have to stay in Anjiajun? If you join other armies after you go back, won't you be able to eat as well? An Yi lowered his head and smoked and replied indiscriminately.

"It's different, it's different! An Jiajun is benevolent and righteous. The commander of the An Jiajun does not beat or scold us. Clothes and shoes were also returned, and all the wounded brothers An Jiajun were brought back for treatment, unlike my original team, which not only had arrears of pay for many years. It's a pitiful salary several times a year, and half of it is deducted by the chief, and the injury is even worse. Look at the seriously injured ones who slaughtered them with a knife and buried them hastily, saving them from carrying them back without medical treatment and wasting food in vain, compared with the benevolent An Jiajun, it is the difference between heaven and earth! If An Jiajun can really take us in, we just want to eat and be full. Don't pay money, but also fight desperately, no matter who he fights. It's just that I'm not afraid to fight the king of heaven, anyway, I'll die sooner or later! The veteran finally spoke his mind, and all the brothers around him echoed it.

An Yi let out a long sigh: "Uncle Man." What you said made the little nephew feel uncomfortable when he heard it! Let's think about it, when we are talking about this, how many people die of starvation and disease every day in western Henan, northern Henan and the entire northwest? And you, when you are a soldier, where is there still a little bit of dignity as a soldier? It's all about trying to keep yourself alive for food, and you have to endure endless humiliation and torture, "This soldier is not worth it!" ”

It was at this time that the rallying horn sounded. A loud voice came from behind everyone: "Report to the commander, the whole camp will assemble after dinner." Please go to the north playground to review the Taiwan talk."

The people present suddenly looked up and saw seven or eight generals standing in front of them, saluting the young men, and dozens of well-armed and fierce guards around them had their eyes shining and full of fear, and a group of captives all got up in fright and stood up tremblingly.

The young man stood up, nodded to the generals and guards behind him, stepped forward to hold the old soldier's shaking hand, and said with a kind face:

"Uncle Man, and fellow brothers, my name is An Yi, the commander of the Fifth Legion. I'm going to say a few heartfelt words to you later, thank you for telling me so much truth, Chen Shishi, someone from the headquarters secret service group will come to you after the disbandment. I hope you arrive in the new unit and show your real skills! Also, if you are willing to be my An Yi's soldier, from today onwards, I will stand up your waist, follow my An Yi to do it, and from now on be an upright and mighty and unyielding person! Good bye! ”

An Yi put on a soft hat, saluted Uncle Man and all the brothers in a dignified manner, turned around and strode towards the playground in the north surrounded by dozens of generals.

Uncle Man, Chen Shidi and the others stared blankly at An Yi's tall back and disappeared in the middle of a group of generals. One by one, he opened his big mouth and couldn't close it, Uncle Man was trembling, his old eyes were confused, and his legs and feet were weak. Fell to the ground with a thud,

On the playground, more than 8,000 captives all wore gray cloth uniforms and stood under the slanting sun, anxiously waiting for fate.

From the solemn bodies of all the officers and men of the garrison in the barracks, from the groups of elites of the Fifth Regiment wearing new-style camouflage uniforms, wearing steel helmets, and holding machine guns that suddenly appeared around the playground, and from the solemn expressions of nearly 100 generals and colonels on the high platform, they realized that the moment to decide their fate was approaching.

An Yi ascended to the high platform, and An stood out from the ranks of generals. Coming to the stage, he slowly glanced at the captured officers and soldiers in the gray girl under the stage, and after a long time, he swallowed his throat hard, raised his head slightly and said loudly: "My name is An Yi, the commander of the Fifth Army Corps, and today is the first time I have come to see the brothers. ”

There was a commotion in the audience, and the "buzzing" sound was incessant, and the gendarmes scattered around the playground whistled and shouted silence everywhere, and it took a while to calm down.