After Yuichi Nagano retreated, the 129th Division came to resign. They are shouldering the heavy task of opening up the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan base area, and it is impossible for them to stay in the small Ping'an County for a long time. When the Nagano Wing re-attacked the prefecture, the three regiments of the 129th Division were scattered to the districts. It took time to regroup, so the troops rested for a day at Qiliba before leaving. In addition, most of the wounded remained in Ping'an County for recuperation due to unchanged movements.

During the period when the 129th Division was resting in Ping'an County, the two sides also carried out some military exchanges and cooperation. For example, Zheng Weiguo used a flat-fire infantry sniper to exchange an 82mm mortar with the 129th Division. Although the regiment now has three Type 92 infantry guns (one of which is damaged and needs to be repaired), it does not even have a single mortar. The light weight, large caliber and long firing range of mortars can compensate for the shortcomings of infantry guns. And on the 129 side, there was just a lack of flat-firing guns, so the two sides hit it off.

In addition, the 129th Division sent a telecommunications soldier to work in the security regiment to help them train telecommunications personnel. The security regiment had annihilated the Yamamoto Brigade before and later sent troops to Shanxi, and had obtained a lot of telephones and switches, as well as three radio stations, but it lacked technical personnel.

Before leaving, Master Liu had a long talk with Zheng Weiguo for one night. The two started from the current situation of the Anti-Japanese War and talked about the construction of base areas and other topics. In general, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, but there were also things that made both sides feel embarrassed, such as the cruel treatment of Japanese prisoners of war by the soldiers and civilians of the Fourth District a few days ago.

After a bloody battle in Weijiabao, the soldiers and civilians of the four districts were killed up and down, and they were executed on the spot when they caught the devil, and even the wounded soldiers who were incapacitated did not let go. What's worse is that the captives captured by friendly forces are also "handily" dealt with by them. The Eighth Route Army and its predecessor, the Red Army, always adhered to the policy of "preferential treatment of prisoners," and this kind of massacre and even torture of prisoners was naturally intolerable.

Division Commander Liu said euphemistically: "Brigade Commander Zheng, although the Japanese invaders are hateful, after they lay down their arms, they should not hurt them again. Even if they commit war crimes, they should be tried, not lynched. It is somewhat inappropriate for your army and people to do this, and it will not only affect future battles with the enemy, but also greatly affect the image of your army to the outside world. ”

Zheng Weiguo also did not want the people to use this method to treat Japanese prisoners of war, which had nothing to do with repaying grievances with virtue, humanitarianism, or the Geneva Convention. It's just that when the enemy is strong and we are weak, using horrific means to treat the captured Japanese soldiers, such as burying them alive, dismembering, skinning, lighting sky lanterns, etc., will only attract more cruel retaliation from the devils, and in the end it will be the common people who will suffer, and it will also force the Japanese army to fight desperately and bring greater casualties to our army. In general, the gains outweigh the losses.

Of course, you say that the devil is hateful, so you can not take it prisoner at all! Although they are all killed, they can be killed directly on the battlefield, and they can be killed after being caught. There is no need to engrave the killing of prisoners in the head because of hatred, that is the practice of fools.

Therefore, as soon as Division Commander Liu said that, Zheng Weiguo immediately stated that he would educate the army and the people not to kill prisoners again, and hoped that the Eighth Route Army would support more cadres in order to do a good job in mass work. When it came to this, Division Commander Liu naturally did not refuse, and said that after going back, he would transfer another group of cadres from the division headquarters to assist in the work of Ping'an County.

The next day, all units of the 129th Division assembled early in the morning and prepared to start. The nearby villagers were reluctant, and they cried to see them off, just like the treatment of the security regiment when they came back from a victory. Don't look at the short time that the Eighth Route Army has been stationed, but the military-civilian relationship is handled really well. In this regard, the security corps is far from comparable. Although the villagers also respect and love them, they are not close, and there is always a layer in between.

Zheng Weiguo saw it in his eyes and was very envious in his heart. He said to Zhang Haiyan: "Chief of Staff, look at other people's troops!" When will our army be able to mingle with the villagers? ”

Zhang Haiyan said with a wry smile: "The local troops may be able to do it, but the main force will not think about it in the short term." ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Why is this? ”

Zhang Haiyan spread his hands and said, "Isn't this simple? The main force is a fully trained army, how can the brothers have time to carry water and chop wood for the villagers? There is no communication between the military and the people on weekdays, and now even the training has been changed to a closed type, so it would be good if the villagers were not afraid of us. ”

Zheng Weiguo thought about it for a while, and this is really the truth. It's just that there are so many items that the troops need to train now, so they can't stop halfway! Such a complicated problem could not be solved for a while, so he simply put it aside and didn't think about it.

The headquarters of the 129th Division and the organs directly under it were also leaving, and Zheng Weiguo hurriedly rushed to see off Division Commander Liu and them.

Brigade Commander Chen pushed aside the captured infantry cannon and said, "Forget it, this cannon still belongs to you, we don't want it, it's useless without shells." ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "Brigade Commander Chen, are you squeezing me?" Fortunately, I was prepared in advance, otherwise you might have scolded me behind my back. So saying, he asked the brothers to bring two boxes of artillery shells, one for high-explosive shells and one for shrapnel.

When Brigade Commander Chen saw it, he was overjoyed, smashed his fist on Zheng Weiguo's chest, and said with a smile: "Okay, you Zheng Weiguo, I finally didn't misunderstand you!" But, uh, aren't these two boxes a little less? It's not enough for me to train the gunners! ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "There are only four boxes of shells left, and I will send you more in the future." It's a problem to the gunner, or I'll lend you an artilleryman! But remember to pay it back. ”

Chen Geng blinked and said, "Then you have to choose a good one for me." He thought to himself that he must not attack the two in the county seat, the work is too rough.

Zheng Weiguo called the only four soldiers who could fire cannons and asked Chen Geng to pick one of them. In fact, the skills of these four people are almost the same, and I don't know what criteria Brigade Commander Chen chose according to.

Master Liu was very happy and said, "Brigade Commander Zheng, thank you so much!" Your help to the Eighth Route Army will not be forgotten. ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Master Liu is too polite! Your army came to reinforce this time to save the soldiers and civilians of Ping'an County from fire and water. There is also a batch of military funds here, although it is not much, but it is a little bit of our military and civilian care in Ping'an County. ”

In addition to those two boxes of artillery shells, Zheng Weiguo also prepared a lot of military resources for the 129th Division. There are medicines, guns and ammunition, and some money, and there are several big cars in total, but compared to last time, there are many less. Because of this war, the people in several districts were killed, the independent battalions also suffered heavy losses, and the supplies of the security regiment were also in short supply. Just these few cars were still raised in four directions, and they finally caught up with the 129th Division to see them off.

Seeing that there were a lot of supplies sent, Division Commander Liu hurriedly said, "Brigade Commander Zheng is too polite!" We are allies, and it is only right to help each other. This time, Ping'an County was severely affected by the army, so let's stay this batch of materials, you also need it! ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "We have a base, and it is relatively easy to replenish. Your army is fighting everywhere, and you need these supplies even more, so please accept them! ”

Master Liu couldn't resign, so he had to accept them all.

Zheng Weiguo brought two more pistols and said: "The ancients are cloudy, the sword is given to the hero, and these two pistols are also given to the two generals, I wish the two of them another meritorious service for the country and the people!" ”

Division Commander Liu was about to refuse, but Brigade Commander Chen reached out and grabbed one and played with it, which made Division Commander Liu cry and laugh, so he had to accept it as well. Master Liu's marksmanship is very good, and it is said that he can beat eggs that are thrown away. But there is no need for a gun for an identity like his.

Brigade Commander Chen often goes into battle with a gun, and a dignified brigade commander has been wounded many times, and he has been repeatedly criticized for this, but he can't change it. It can be seen that this gun is very pleasing to his liking, and he said happily: "Brigade Commander Zheng, you are really powerful, and you actually got two guns and cards at once!" ”

In fact, the performance of the gun brand is not as good as that of the horse brand and the Huakou gun, but during the Republic of China, people respected this kind of pistol. On weekdays, comrades-in-arms get together and take out their pistols, and it is a very face-saving thing to have a gun and a brand, just like having a good watch in peacetime.

Chen Geng felt that he had taken advantage of Zheng Weiguo's "big advantage", so he asked the guard to untie a rifle on his body and handed it over, saying: "Brigade Commander Zheng, brother, I don't have any short guns that I can handle, only this Czech automatic gun is not bad, even if it is a gift in return." ”

Zheng Weiguo took it and saw that the so-called "Czech automatic gun" was the ZH-29 semi-automatic rifle (see the middle of the cover). He also saw it when he was in the Northeast Army, and it was this kind of gun used by Major Marshal Zhang's guards. This rifle can be said to be the earliest semi-automatic rifle equipped by the Chinese army, with good accuracy and reliable performance, but it has high requirements for the quality of the personnel.

Why did the Eighth Route Army have this gun? This is thanks to Marshal Chang Kaishen, the first minister of general armament in the history of our army. At that time, some units of the Central Army adopted this rifle and was used as the standard weapon of squad and platoon commanders. The predecessor of the 129th Division was the Red Fourth Front Army, and these guns were probably handed over to the Fourth Front Army when Wei Lihuang led the Central Army to attack Dabie Mountain.

Division Commander Liu saw that Zheng Weiguo was interested in this kind of gun, so he asked the people in the division headquarters to go down to look for it, and found a total of five and gave them to Zheng Weiguo. A soldier mistakenly took a Cheerari machine gun. Zheng Weiguo's eyes lit up and said, "Hey, this is an imported product!" ”

Chen Geng smiled: "Do you want this gun too?" Let's swap, a crooked handle for a Qirali! "The Eighth Route Army has a lot of seven- and nine-caliber machine guns, but there are not many six- or five-caliber machine guns. Looking at the brand-new shiny crooked handles of the security regiment, Brigade Commander Chen was already a little greedy.

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "Okay! But I only need to import. ”

The Cheerali machine gun is a very important light machine gun in the history of the Anti-Japanese War, and the Kuomintang Central Army and various local armies are equipped with a lot, and the Red Army has also obtained a lot. For example, on May 25, 1935, when the Red Army soldiers approached the Dadu River and 22 warriors bravely captured the Luding Bridge, the Red Army used to cover for a Qilali light machine gun. That machine gun is still preserved in the Chinese Military Museum.

Why does Zheng Weiguo particularly favor this kind of machine gun? Because this machine gun was the lightest machine gun of its time, it was close to an automatic rifle in appearance, and with a slight modification, it was a proper assault rifle (see the first right on the cover).

After exchanging guns, Zheng Weiguo gave another ride. Master Liu said: "Send you a thousand miles, and there will be a farewell." Captain Zheng will be sent here! The war is difficult, please take care, I hope that the next time we meet again, the Japanese have been expelled from China! ”

Brigadier Chen also said: "That is, I am not a beauty, so Brigadier Zheng does not have to follow the example of the ancients to bid farewell!" ”

Everyone listened to Ha Lu Ha Da Lu laughing, and when they were laughing happily, there was really a beautiful woman. A handsome village girl ran over and threw herself into Zheng Weiguo's arms, sobbing and saying, "Captain Zheng, I'm finally waiting for you to come back!" ”

How this trick changed, no one understands. Not to mention the onlookers, even Zheng Weiguo himself was stunned. It's good for this beauty to throw herself into her arms, but when will it be scored! Yes, in the future, I will have to mix with Master Liu's subordinates, and now I am afraid that I will have to bear the black cauldron of style problems first.

Looking at the dramatic scene, Senior Commander Liu and Brigade Commander Chen looked at each other, and their faces became a little strange.

Zheng Weiguo felt that his head was extremely big, but he didn't know how to explain it for a while. He gently pushed away the girl in his arms and said, "Miss Manxia, who are you?" ”

This girl is Yu Manxia who was rescued from Weijiabao at the beginning. This girl didn't know who was bewitched at the beginning, and she was ready to make a promise. Zheng Weiguo asked Yu Laogen to send someone to send her home, but somehow ran back again. In fact, it's nothing to come back, it's just that the timing is wrong, which makes Zheng Weiguo sweat.

Yu Manxia didn't care about this, she grabbed Zheng Weiguo's arm shyly and said, "After that night, you didn't invite anyone to talk to the matchmaker. Zhangcun's matchmaker Liu accepted the benefits of other people's families, and desperately persuaded my father to marry me off......"

Zheng Weiguo has never done anything bad since he crossed over, and he is innocent with Yu Manxia, but somehow, the more he listens, the more he feels wrong? Seeing that everyone was watching with a smile, he hurriedly stopped and said, "Uh, Manxia, I'm very busy now, I'll talk about this later." Captain Chen, you take Miss Manxia to rest first. ”

Manxia said, "Good! Captain Zheng, I'll be waiting for you! "I obediently left with Chen Wanchun and them.

Brigadier Chen smiled: "Okay, you Zheng Weiguo!" It's even a trick! ”

Zheng Weiguo was not embarrassed and explained: "Actually, I really have nothing to do with that girl!" ”

Senior Commander Liu was a little unhappy and said, "Brigade Commander Zheng, this is your mistake, how can it be a gentleman's doing?" I think that Manxia girl is very good, don't let people down! Alright, here you go! After speaking, he turned around and left with the commanders and fighters of the 129th Division.

After Brigade Commander Chen walked away, he also made a gesture at Zheng Weiguo, which made Zheng Weiguo cry and laugh.