As soon as the old man said this, Liu Jianhua, Zhou Dasheng and Zhao Youde looked at each other and said in confusion: "Old man, why can't you move away?" Is there something unspeakable? Even if you say it, if there are difficulties, we will do our best to solve them for you. ”

The old man said with some sadness: "Sir, you probably don't know yet, there are many coal mines in our Pingshan County, and those coal mines recruited workers in the past, and within a radius of 100 miles from Pingshan County, almost every village has young and middle-aged people who go to the coal mines to work as coolies and miners.

After all, in these years, we are tenants for landlords and bullies, and even food and clothing are a problem. In the past, the coal mines were also mined by the Japanese, but they were paid as usual, and the workers had the opportunity to go home and visit.

However, when the Japanese devils called, those coal mines were occupied by the devils, not only did the wages not only have not been paid, but they could not even come back home, not long ago, some traitors also came to our village with devils, and took away some strong laborers, to give them free miners.

It is estimated that this is also the case in other surrounding villages, and now that we all move away with the Eighth Route Army, those relatives who are still enslaved by devils and traitors will definitely suffer.

My three sons are all working as coolies in the coal mines! So, we can't go! As he spoke, the old man couldn't help but cry out loud, and his grief was beyond words.

The other people around were also full of sadness, and some women couldn't help but cry bitterly, and the scene was full of sorrow.

Only then did Liu Jianhua notice that among the thousands of villagers, the elderly, weak, women and children accounted for the vast majority, and those over the age of 18 to 27 or 8 had few strong laborers.

It stands to reason that in such a large village, even if the number of strong laborers is less than half, there should be one-third, after all, every family will have at least one or two children in this year.

Before the arrival of the Eighth Route Army, there were bullies and landlords in the village, and there were devils and traitors outside.

Liu Jianhua and others can deeply understand that the life of these people is not easy, Zhou Dasheng gritted his teeth and said to Liu Jianhua: "Company Commander Liu, let's help the villagers rescue the miners!" ”

Although Liu Jianhua was also indignant, he was not overwhelmed by impulse, he said: "Save must be saved, but we must report this matter to the regiment headquarters and ask the regiment commander to decide." ”

After a pause, Liu Jianhua looked around at the people present, and said sincerely and loudly: "Fellow villagers, please rest assured, our Eighth Route Army will not sit idly by, and will definitely help everyone rescue all your relatives!" ”

…………

At that moment, Liu Jianhua immediately sent someone back to Luquan County to report the situation to Qiao Youhua.

Luquan County, in the war room of the regimental headquarters of the Dragon's Tooth Task Force.

After listening to the report of the reconnaissance company, Qiao Youhua lit a cigarette and smoked it, and asked Zheng Yunshan and Chen Bing, who were standing on his left and right, and Sun Dahai said, "What do you think about this?" ”

Zheng Yunshan was the first to speak: "Tuanzuo, I think we should go to the rescue, not only to help the people reunite their relatives, but those miners who are engaged in heavy work such as coal digging are themselves qualified soldiers, they are strong and strong, and their physical strength is better than ordinary people, and it is easier to train into combatable soldiers than other soldiers." ”

Chen Bing also nodded and said: "What the company commander said is reasonable, I also think that we should rescue those miners, which can not only reunite the relatives of the people, but also increase the prestige of our Eighth Route Army in the hearts of the people, and solve the problem of recruitment, killing two birds with one stone." ”

Sun Dahai said: "In fact, one of the best benefits is that the soldiers from the miners are more able to bear hardships and stand hard work, and when they dig and build fortifications, they are definitely much more powerful than other soldiers from farmers!" Sun Dahai is deeply aware of this.

Because there are also many coal mines in Shimen, when he was engaged in guerrillas in Shimen, he rescued many miners, but because of his own weak strength, he attacked some small coal mines, and the number of miners rescued was also very limited.

Sun Dahai's words made Qiao Youhua's eyes light up, because he remembered some battles in the counterattack in western Yunnan in the original anti-Japanese history.

For example, the more famous Battle of Songshan and the Battle of Tengchong Recovery, in which the 3,000 Japanese garrisons stationed in Tengchong were miners from Kyushu Island, and these miners gave full play to their own advantages.

The 54th and 53rd armies of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, six divisions and tens of thousands of troops, under the favorable condition that the US Flying Tigers had absolute air supremacy, stormed Tengchong and other places for more than four months, paying more than 17,000 casualties, before finally conquering this county town in western Yunnan.

It can be seen that miners-turned-soldiers can play a huge advantage especially in defensive warfare.

Thinking of this, Qiao Youhua Huo Ran got up, snuffed out the cigarette butt and said solemnly: "Zheng Yunshan, Chen Bing!" ”

"Lead the guard company to garrison Luquan County!" Qiao Youhua said.

"Yes!" Zheng Yunshan and Chen Bing suddenly stepped forward.

"Sun Dahai, follow me to lead the main force of the three battalions to set off quickly, rendezvous with the reconnaissance company, and set off to rescue the miners in Pingshan County!" Qiao Youhua picked up his steel helmet and buckled it on his head.

"Yes!" Sun Dahai hurriedly responded excitedly, and followed Qiao Youhua and walked out.

…………

In a coal quarry in the southwest of Pingshan County, near the mountains, about hundreds of miners in unclothed clothes and covered in dirt are busy carrying them under the supervision of dozens of Japanese puppet soldiers.

"Brother Erniu, be a cow and a horse for a little devil like this, when will we be the head of the day? I don't even want to live. A young man of about eighteen or nineteen years old said while loading coal.

The man named Er Niu next to him was obviously a few years older than him, and he cautiously looked at the ghost soldiers not far away, and shouted in a low voice: "Don't talk nonsense, if you can live, don't die, your father and sister are still waiting for you to go back alive." ”

"But will we make it back alive?" There was some despair among the youth.

"Yes, as long as you live, there is hope!" Erniu patted him on the shoulder, spat and continued to work.

"If I have the chance, I will definitely slaughter these traitors and little devils raised by bitches!" The young man glanced fiercely at the devils and several traitors not far away, gritting his teeth and saying.

"Be quiet, everyone here is just like you, and if you have a chance, you're going to kill them bastards." Erniu said: "So you have to live tenaciously, only if you live can you have a chance to kill them!" Settle an old score! ”

"Hmm." The young man nodded heavily, the anger that had accumulated in his chest deepening.