The War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression has entered the stage of stalemate, and at this time, the areas of northern Jiangxi and southern Hubei have become the first line of defense and resistance in the south of the Yangtze River. Because it faces the Yangtze River, it guards the two lakes of Dongting and Poyang from east to west, forming a natural barrier of half of the country. Therefore, the devils are like a fish in the throat of Luo Zhuoying's troops in the [***] Ninth War Zone, which is guarding this place, and wants to get rid of it as soon as possible, or to deal a heavy blow to weaken the resistance force in the war zone, so as to ensure the stable rule of the occupied areas along the Hunan and Jiangxi Railway and the Nanxun Railway. That's why they hurriedly brought in a large number of living forces from other theaters to carry out a large-scale sweeping operation in this area.

At the beginning of 1941, the "Poyang Lake Sweeping Battle" was in full swing.

Most of the troops and strategic materials continuously transferred from other theaters by the headquarters of the 11 th Army of the Devils were transported to Nanchang through Jiujiang. As a result, the busy port of Jiujiang is filled with a large fleet of ships and trucks waiting to be unloaded or loaded almost every day. Most of them arrived in Nanchang by water, through the Yangtze River, Poyang Lake, Ganjiang River, etc. The trucks mainly transported the devil troops directly to the Jiujiang Railway Station, and then took the train to Nanchang. There are also some devils who go to Wuning, Yongxiu, Jing'an, Xiushui, Anyi and other war zones by car through Jiuwu and other highways.

The northern and central Jiangxi regions were suddenly covered with battle clouds, and the enemy and us were working hard to prepare for a big battle, and everyone seemed to have smelled the thick smell of gunpowder on the battlefield.

Almost every day, the headquarters of the commander of the Ninth Theater sent telegrams to Jiujiang to inquire about the special operations of the anti-enemy special forces in northern Jiangxi and the Kuomintang Central and Military Commands in Jiujiang, so as to learn about the enemy's combat readiness and mobilization at the first time, especially the movements of the enemy's poison gas bombs and other dangerous materials, so as to make good preparations for battle.

Xiao Xiong and his Einsatzgruppen were almost on the move, surveying all the enemy's movements, and reporting to the commander's headquarters at least once a day on the enemy's material movements, the number and number of troops, and the delivery routes. In accordance with the orders of the Commander's Department of the War Zone, coupled with the fact that their own personnel have suffered heavy losses in recent times and their strength is not sufficient, they have temporarily given up attacking the Devil's communication line. Instead, he will detect the enemy's intelligence, and at the same time expand his accumulated strength, preparing to deal a heavy blow to the devil at a critical moment.

February 1, 1941 said that this day is the 24th day of the lunar month, and it is also the small year of Jiujiang people.

Early in the morning, the sound of firecrackers rang out in the streets and alleys. When the devil came, six or seven of the ten citizens in Jiujiang City fled, and with the continuous expansion of the occupied area of the Yukou, many of those who fled came back one after another, plus the peasants who fled to Jiujiang from the nearby countryside, the residents of Jiujiang City exceeded the number of people before the war, and it seemed to be more lively, and there seemed to be more people on the street than before.

Although Jiujiang is still under the occupation of the Kou, but in the ancient Xunyang city with a history of more than 2,000 years, every household is still the same as before the war, and begins to clean the courtyard, put up lanterns, paste couplets, blessing words, and happy words on each door, and then hang a pair of red lanterns in front of the door. They prayed in their hearts, hoping that they would soon defeat these beast-like devils and live a happy and peaceful life.

Every boat on the Yangtze River is hoisted with colorful flags, and red talismans praying for peace are pasted everywhere on the boats. Whether it is on the oars or rudders, or on the penny and mast, they are all pasted red. The boatmen scrubbed their boats clean, especially the smaller ones such as wooden sailboats and fishing boats, which were replaced with brand new canopies that had been prepared for a long time. I don't know how many coats of tung oil were applied to the new canopies, and they sparkled in the sun. The river was full of festive scenes, and there was no pre-war tension at all. Although the war brought endless pain and suffering to the people of Jiujiang, they still endured humiliation and burden, were strong and unyielding, and the fighting spirit of victory was all manifested through these arrangements.

On the bustling Jiujiang Sanma Road, those courtyards, smoke houses, casinos, teahouses, etc., are even more prosperous, with lanterns hanging all over the eaves of each house, and peace charms and auspicious charms are pasted everywhere.

In front of the gate of the Ji Yuan, the old bustards with bright red lips and red clothes all over their bodies, and groups of girls dressed up in flowers, all looked excitedly at the men shuttling back and forth on the street in front of the door, constantly throwing flattering eyes, snorting, scratching their heads and posing, and soliciting customers in a flirtatious manner.

The front of the gambling hall is even more lively, the lantern in front of the door is pasted with the words "Fortune and Treasure", the people inside are shouting five and drinking, the collision sound of rubbing mahjong, the call to play pai gow and so on are non-stop. The joy of winning was colorful, counting the banknotes as he walked, and walked out excitedly. And more of them are losers with sad faces, walking out and heavy feet. Most of these gamblers are dockers, rickshaw pullers, petty traders, etc. They dream of making a small fortune so that they can return home for a prosperous year.

Although the outside of the smoke hall is dressed up in a festive manner, the inside is still smoky and hazy. I could hear only the sound of a ziz and the coughing of some big smokers, and I could see the fireworks on the heads of the rows of light and dark cigarette guns.

Wang Yantai dressed himself like a boat owner, wearing a brand new cotton robe, a pair of thick and large cotton shoes on his feet that could kick a dead cow, and a cotton hat with ear protection on his head. At this time, he was putting a pair of tripods on the charcoal basin shelf, leaning against the mattress, and was smoking a big cigarette. And next to him, lies a pseudo-policeman in a black police uniform.

It turned out that this person was a pseudo-sheriff who was in charge of the first, second, and third roads, and his name was Ma Changyong. He is a native of Weihai, Shandong, and originally worked as a policeman in Weihai, Shandong, but later owed a lot of debts because of his heavy smoking. The wife ran away with the child, and the home was gone. In desperation, he had to follow his fellow villagers from Shandong to Jiangnan to do business. In the end, when the devil came here, the business couldn't be done, so he had to stay in Jiujiang to do his old job and become a policeman. Because he has been a police officer for many years, he is experienced, shrewd and capable, and has won the trust of Peng Fugui. Not long ago, he was promoted to sergeant, specializing in law and order in the area of No. 123 Road.

The members of the Einsatzgruppen operating in this area reported the news to the chief of staff Xiong Qiang in a timely manner. Xiong Qiang felt that this was an excellent opportunity to obtain information and clues about the enemy, so he sent Wang Yantai to look for an opportunity to get close to Ma Changyong.

One evening about half a month ago, Wang Yantai saw that Ma Changyong was eating at a tavern on the road, and he also walked into this tavern soon after.

As soon as he entered the tavern, he shouted loudly: "Boss, come to a plate of braised pig's head meat, a plate of peanuts, and half a catty of Shaoxing Huadiao." Then he sat down opposite Ma Changyong's seat.

I saw Ma Changyong open his eyes wide and look at the big man speaking Shandong dialect in front of him, and he stopped talking.

Wang Yantai, who sat down, nodded to Ma Changyong and said hello: "Hello, boss!" ”

"You're from Shandong?" Ma Changyong couldn't help but ask.

"Shandong's Yantai. Boss, you are also from Shandong? Is it from Weihai, Shandong? Wang Yantai pretended to be surprised and asked.

"Yes, I'm from Weihai, and you seem to be from Yantai?"

"yes, yes. Oops, I didn't expect to meet a fellow here, fate, fate. Wang Yantai hurriedly stretched out his thick hands and held one of Ma Changyong's hands tightly, shaking it.

Ma Changyong was also very happy, patted Wang Yantai's shoulder with his other hand, and said:

"I didn't expect to meet my fellow countrymen here, it's really fate."

It happened that the shopkeeper brought some wine and food to Wang Yantai, and he hurriedly shouted:

"Little Er, stir-fry a few more dishes. Ask for a chicken stewed with mushrooms, a wild duck, a plate of steamed duck tongue, and a plate of braised wild boar. Change to a better pot of soju and serve it quickly. ”

"Okay, a chicken stewed with mushrooms, a wild duck, a plate of steamed duck tongue, and a plate of braised wild boar. Hurry up and serve! ”

The shopkeeper shouted happily all the way, and hurriedly brought a pot of sorghum wine. I trotted all the way to the kitchen to serve food.

Ma Changyong's wine glass on the opposite side was empty, and the plate of braised pork in front of him was almost eaten. Wang Yantai hurriedly poured a glass of wine for Ma Changyong, stood up, raised the wine glass with both hands and said to Ma Changyong boldly:

"You should be my eldest brother in terms of age, and I will call you a big brother. Big brother, we are fortunate to meet here today, it's a rare opportunity, little brother, I'll have a drink first, and I will give my eldest brother a drink. After speaking, he raised his neck and drank it all.

Ma Changyong also stood up and drank it all. After the two sat down, they each introduced themselves.

They toasted each other with glasses and glasses. His face was red and his eyes were shining.

After getting drunk and eating, the two held each other's arms again, staggered to the smoke house on Sanma Road and smoked a few big cigarettes beautifully. They chatted while smoking, and it was not until late at night that Wang Yantai hired a car to send Ma Changyong back to his residence.

The next day, Ma Changyong came to Wang Yantai's boat, and he saw that the guys on the boat were all from Shandong, and two were from Weihai. He was so excited that he kept asking long and short questions in his hometown. Because they had been prepared for a long time, the two Weihai team members talked very speculatively with Ma Changyong.

In this way, Ma Changyong was very close to Wang Yantai, and he ran to the boat when he had nothing to do, not only the fellow villagers attracted him, but also the authentic Shandong dishes they made.

Today, Wang Yantai invited Ma Changyong to come to the Yanguan, just to probe Ma Changyong's tone, and if possible, follow Xiong Qiang's instructions to strive for Ma Changyong to join the special team.