Chapter 5: Comrades-in-arms are deeply together

Early the next morning, Xiao Xiong and Zhang Shan led the three captains of the First Brigade, Ren Jie, Ouyang Cunfeng, and Wang Xiaofei, to leave Baiyu and set off.

Xiao Xiong and his entourage first took the train to Nanchang from Jiujiang, got off at Tujiabu, and then took a boat against the current, and came to Ai Town, the county seat of Yongxiu County, at noon that day.

This place has long been occupied by devils, and the enemy's security at various ferries on the Xiuhe River and the Wu (Ning) Yong (Xiu) Highway is very tight, and it is necessary to have a "security certificate" issued by the local puppet regime to pass. Xiao Xiong and the others had already prepared the "Anmin Certificate" and a special pass issued by the Jiujiang Yueben Security Command, which took two gold bars to get, so they passed all the way unimpeded.

Their luck was so good, they found the county magistrate who was a pseudo-county magistrate, gave them two gold bars, and got into a car that was about to drive to Zhelin in Aicheng. As soon as they got into the car, they gave the driver a stack of banknotes and a few boxes of cigarettes. Xiao Xiong and Zhang Shan sat in the cab, and the others sat in the compartment. The driver quickly found them two long wooden benches and told them that the road was dusty, and that the felt canopy on the car should be put down to keep out the dust.

The car drove west along the Wuyong Highway. This road is a sand road, and as soon as the car starts, it brings up billowing smoke and dust, but because it is a traffic artery leading to Wuning, Xiushui and Eastern Hubei regions, the devils have built many pillboxes and turrets along the way, and road signs have been set up at major intersections, and they carefully check the vehicles and pedestrians. When the car arrived in Qiujin, their car was also asked to stop for inspection. However, because the driver had a pass, Xiao Xiong and the others also had all the documents, and after a while, their car was back on the road.

"Why did I check so strictly?" Xiao Xiong said to the driver.

"Well, don't say it. Last summer, in Wanjialing, De'an, [***] had a big fight with devils, and it is said that tens of thousands of devils were killed. Since then, the devils have been very strict in controlling the common people in our area, and now they have implemented joint protection. Perhaps Xiao Xiong's Jiujiang dialect has won the driver's trust. He was about forty years old, glanced at Xiao Xiong, and continued mysteriously: "A few days ago, Zhang Gongdu, not far ahead, had an accident on our road. A devil's car was attacked, and several devils died. ”

"Really?" Xiao Xiong couldn't help but show a look of surprise, but it was fleeting.

"Also, the people here have a private legend. Before the Chinese New Year, a cargo ship of devils who sent military supplies to Wuning was robbed near Zhelin, and it is said that even a few devils who were escorted by the ship were missing. What the hell, don't you say it's weird? ”

The more they listened, the more excited Xiao Xiong and Zhang Shan looked at each other, and Zhang Shan asked, "What are they going to do with the devils?" It's impossible to ignore it. ”

"The devils arrested a lot of people in Zhelin, and it is said that they killed a lot of people in Sima Village."

Xiao Xiong knew that the devils would have to take revenge after suffering losses, and they couldn't catch the anti-Japanese elements, so they had to find the people to vent their anger. Alas, it's just that the local people are suffering. Only by killing more devils and avenging them in this sea of blood can they be worthy of them.

"And who did that?"

The driver slowed down the car, lowered his voice and said, "It must have been the guerrillas on the tip of the peach blossom who did it." ”

"Peach Blossom Tip?" Xiao Xiong asked suspiciously.

"You don't know? Ahem, that's a famous place. Since the end of the Ming Dynasty, there have been bandits there. It is said that it was King Li Chuang's subordinates, who were killed in Jiugong Mountain that year. His subordinates fled from Jiugong Mountain to occupy the throne there. But recently this has become the territory of the guerrillas, and the devils have also heard that many devils came to search the mountains a few years ago, but they didn't find anything, but the local people suffered. ”

Xiao Xiong lit a cigarette and handed it to the driver, who continued: "That peach blossom tip is a very mysterious place here, and only local hunters know about that place. That place, covered by clouds and fog all the year round, some people often hear tigers roaring, and wolf howling, it is a very terrible place, ordinary people even know that they dare not go. ”

Peach Blossom Tip?! It's there, it must be our people there! Xiao Xiong and Zhang Shan secretly shook hands and smiled understandingly. Xiao Xiong said to the driver: "Master, can you take us to Yijiahe?" ”

"Are you going to Yijiahe? It's not safe there, and a lot of people died there not long ago. Aren't you afraid? The driver asked strangely and timidly.

"We were sent by the Jiujiang General Chamber of Commerce to buy camphor wood in the mountains, and everyone knows that the camphor wood in Zhelin is good. No, the devils in Lushan want to build a house and force us to get camphor wood for them, and the ready-made wood is only available here. You take us and we'll give you more money, okay? It's a mess, there's no way, and we can't wait to make a deal as soon as possible. ”

"Okay. Anyway, I also spent a few days in Zhelin. I'm going to take you there. ”

In the evening, the car arrived at Zhelin. The driver got out of the car and went to the town office, walked to the roadcard with a note in his hand, and said a few words to the guard's sentry, who showed the note to the devil standing guard, and the sentry removed the wooden barricade.

The car turned onto a narrow dirt road that barely passed a car.

Along the way, I couldn't see a single family, not even a single person. The road became more and more difficult to walk, and it was completely dark. Both sides of the road are densely packed with tall trees, not to mention at night, even during the day, which is also gloomy. After walking for more than ten miles, suddenly the car seemed to be out of the woods, and under the light, I saw a river in front of me, and I heard not only the sound of rushing water, but also the barking of dogs.

"Arrived?"

"No," replied the driver, "there are still many miles to go, and here is the wooden raft wharf by the river." The wharf and riverside are inhabited by rowers and fishermen. ”

Xiao Xiong asked again: "If we buy wood, will we go down from here?" ”

"Yes. The wood from the mountains all comes from here to Xiajiang (the locals call the places below the Jiujiang River Xiajiang). ”

After listening to the driver's words, Xiao Xiong had already thought of a careful plan in his heart.

"Di Di Di-" With the sound of the car's horn, a dog barking sounded not far ahead. Finally arrived at Yijiahe. The car stopped at the entrance of the village.

Immediately after that, a few people with pine torches and shotguns in their hands walked out of the village, followed by many villagers, led by an old man in his sixties.

"Ma Jiaxiao, why are you here at such a late hour? Which did you bring with you? They saw Xiao Xiong and Zhang Shan and asked vigilantly.

"They're good people. Let's go into the village and rest, and let you know while we drink, village chief. ”

The leader is the village chief Ma of Yijiahe Village. He beckoned to everyone and turned to walk towards the village, the group following behind him.

Xiao Xiong looked at the village: in the center of the village was a small stone road, and the houses on both sides were wooden houses built against the mountain. The mountain is very tall and has many tall trees. Because of their arrival, the elderly, women and children stood in front of the villagers' homes, looking at them. Torches were lit at the entrance of each house, and the whole village was illuminated.

Xiao Xiong followed the village chief to an ancestral hall with the words "Yi Family Ancestral Hall" written on the plaque. When they entered the ancestral hall, there was a large table of eight immortals in front of the hall, and a few torches were lit around it, and the room was particularly bright.

The village chief asked someone to bring tea and pour everyone a cup of your fragrant green tea. Xiao Xiong tasted it, and the fragrance was fragrant.

"Good tea! It must be a freshly picked Ming Qian tea. ”

"It's a connoisseur! It's the Mingqian tea that has just been picked. The village chief praised with pride, "This is the cloud tea I picked from the tip of the peach blossom." ”

"Peach Blossom Tip?" Xiao Xiong couldn't help but blurt out in surprise and joy.

"You also know Peach Blossom Tip?" The village chief asked vigilantly.

"Don't doubt him, he's here for the guerrillas." The driver said with a smile.

"How do you know we're here for the guerrillas?" Xiao Xiong said in surprise.

"I'll know when you find me and get into my car." The driver said proudly, "You see, now the war is in chaos, no one has come to buy wood for a long time, you come all the way from Jiujiang, I have seen many bosses from Jiujiang, and I have never seen you." I was suspicious of you from the beginning. Along the way, I deliberately told you about the guerrillas, and you were very happy to hear it, but it didn't look like Han Jian, which means that you may also be resistant. The main thing is that when crossing the road, your people secretly open the suitcase they brought and put their hands inside, nervous and not flustered. I have long seen that you were soldiers, and when you handed me a cigarette, I could tell from your fingers that you were the one who always carried a gun. Am I right? ”

Xiao Xiong admired the driver Ma Jiacub's words very much, and said: "Master Ma is really 'real people don't show up'."

"Don't listen to him bragging." The village chief said with a smile: "He is also from the village, and he is my nephew. I used to drive in the team. After the start of the war, he was wounded in Shanghai and went home. I asked him to get him a job at the county car dealership and drive for him. First, we can mix bowls of rice to eat, secondly, it is more convenient for us mountain people, and secondly, we can hear some useful news for us. Not long ago, if he hadn't reported the news, our village would have been miserable, and dozens of people were killed in Sima Village next door. ”

"Village chief, we are [***], we are here to find our brothers who stayed here in the mountains, and we are here to trouble you." Xiao Xiong stood up and shook his fist at the village chief.

"Hehehe," the village chief smiled, "You've found the right person." Your brothers are now on the tip of the peach blossoms, and you can rest assured that you have food and drink. I'll tell them to come down right away. ”

The village chief shouted outside, "Black boy! Black Box! Come here. ”

With the shout, a hound with shiny black hair rushed in, and with joy, it threw itself into the arms of the village chief, and threw the village chief to his feet.

"Go! Stop it. Take my bracelet and bring them quickly. The village chief took the silver bracelet from his hand and handed it to the hound, named Black Dog. Black Boy immediately grabbed the bracelet and rushed out of the house, and soon disappeared into the night on the opposite hill.

"Let's not sit idle, drink and chat. Wait for the brothers on the mountain to come. Ma Jiacub, let's drink together. The hall immediately became lively.

The village chief already knew about the battle in Wanjialing from the mouths of the soldiers who stayed behind, and when he heard that these people in front of him were the heroes of the death squad who were fighting bloody battles in combat effectiveness and dying, he was excited and didn't know what to say. He just kept pouring wine and food for the heroes, as if this was how he could show his respect for the heroes.

After about an hour, there was a sound of neat and powerful footsteps outside the house.

"Who's coming? Who's coming? With a loud shout, a burly figure jumped into the room, followed by more than a dozen people.

"Chief of Staff! It's you! But I miss my old king, I thought I would never see you again. The bearded Shandong man who came in was the original Xiao Xiong's subordinate, Wang Yantai of their brigade reconnaissance company, because he was a native of Yantai, Shandong, and over time, everyone didn't call him by his original name but only "Wang Yantai". As soon as he came in, he hugged Xiao Xiong tightly and smiled excitedly with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, Wang Yantai, are you cursing me, or are you cursing yourself?"

"Phew, I don't know what to say when I'm happy." Lao Wang smiled excitedly at Xiao Xiong and said, "I curse the devils to die early, so it's okay." Well, I'll fine myself with three glasses of wine. He picked up the wine glass and drank three glasses in a row, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and looked at Xiao Xiong and they smirked "hehehe". Everyone hugged one after another, some knew and some didn't, all hugging each other. Lao Wang introduced them to everyone one by one.

Everyone sat around the large table of the Eight Immortals, talking, and drinking happily. After a while, suddenly everyone put down the wine glasses and chopsticks in their hands, calmed down, and looked at Xiao Xiong together.

Xiao Xiong smiled and told everyone the purpose of the trip in detail, and everyone was even happier, raising their wine glasses and drinking the wine in their hands together.

The sky was already dark, Xiao Xiong and the others said goodbye to the village chief and marched towards the tip of the peach blossom together.

Everyone followed Lao Wang along the sheep intestine path to the top of the mountain, walked for a short time, there was no road, everyone saw that there were almost cliffs when there were about a hundred meters from the peak, and the slopes were almost vertical. At this time, everyone was so tired that they were panting and had to stop and rest for a while. At this time, Xiao Xiong and the others noticed that almost all around were dense and inaccessible primeval forests, and it was impossible for anyone to come here if it wasn't for the local hunters, it was really a good place to hide.

"Cuckoo, cuckoo." With the two cuckoo sounds of Lao Wang, a rope ladder was lowered from the top of the cliff, and everyone climbed up to the top of the peach blossom spire one after another along the rope ladder.

Up to the top of the mountain, it is surprising to find: the tip of the peach blossom is nearly a thousand meters high, but it is a relatively flat field of more than one acre, and what is even more surprising is that there is an ancient wall base on it. The foundations of the walls were made of large red sandstone, each weighing about four or five hundred pounds. It is said that there was originally a temple built on the foundation of this wall, and there were monks living here.

Standing on the top of the peach blossom pinnacle and looking into the distance, it is really refreshing: the Xiuhe River under the mountain is like a silver jade belt winding eastward. To the east is the continuous Yunju Mountain Range, and to the north is the Lushan Mountain and Poyang Lake. To the northwest is the county seat of Wuning. The eyes are full of peaks and greenery, strange rocks, and beautiful.

Lao Wang led everyone to the hanging rock cliff north of Taohuajian, held the rope, and followed the stone steps, they went down to a large cave, which could accommodate hundreds of people. The locals call it the Robber Cave, and legend has it that King Chuang's subordinates hid here in order to escape the pursuit of the Qing court.

There are also several seriously wounded people living in the cave who have not recovered from their injuries.

It turned out that after Lao Wang and the others were wounded, because there were too many wounded in the field hospital, they had to be sent to the mountainous areas around Yongxiu and Wuning to recuperate, but the troops quickly retreated south. I had to leave the medicine behind and leave them to the local villagers. Later, in order to avoid the search of the devils, they were forced to move farther and more remote to the depths of the mountains, where they were looked after by local hunters.

A few months later, after Lao Wang and a few slightly injured people recovered, they took the initiative to carry out a series of anti-Japanese activities, seized some materials from the devils, improved the conditions for healing, and made everyone recover faster. Therefore, the movement of the anti-Japanese activities became more and more noisy.

After discussing with everyone, Xiao Xiong decided: leave the wounded who have not yet recovered, quickly contact the people who have been left nearby to recover, and after three days, put wood from the Yijia River and take the waterway back to Jiujiang.

Three days later, at the wooden raft wharf not far from the Yijia River, more than 30 officers and soldiers who had recovered from their injuries had been assembled. The village chief had already organized the staff to set up a few wooden rafts that were enough to go down the river overnight, prepared all the necessary items, and brought a few experienced platoons to help them put the wooden rafts.

With the shout of the village chief, the deafening sound of firecrackers sounded on the bank and on the wooden rafts in the river at the same time, and the villagers of Yijiahe also beat gongs and drums to see them off. In the sound of farewell, Xiao Xiong on the wooden platoon led all the officers and soldiers to solemnly salute the village chief and the villagers.

The river is long to the east, and the kindness of the villagers is longer than this flowing water......

A long string of wooden platoons, under the control of the platoons, carried Xiao Xiong and his brothers, rushing quickly downstream along the turbulent water......