Mr. Zhu and his entourage of eight rested in an inn in Wuli Town, and the old gentlemen were exhausted after a long journey, and fell asleep as soon as they collapsed. In the middle of the night, there was an urgent knock on the door, which startled the old gentlemen's clothes and trousers in panic. Mr. Zhu pulled the latch of the door, and Battalion Commander Ma and two attendants stood at the door and said, "Please come with me, Sir." "The gentlemen packed their backpacks. Battalion Commander Ma said: "You guys go to sleep, and only Mr. Zhu is invited." ”

Mr. Zhu followed Camp Chief Ma into the village behind the town, then into a courtyard house, and into the living room of the upper room, where a middle-aged man in casual clothes came out and bowed. Battalion Commander Ma introduced: "Mr. Zhu, this is our Commander Ru. Mr. Zhu was stunned for a moment, and after returning the salute: "It's really a general." The two entered into an argument without a few pleasantries:

"Sir, I welcome you to join the 17th Division, but you can't go to the battlefield. You stayed at the division headquarters to be a gentleman for me and my officers. ”

"I smashed the inkstone, burned the brush, and now there is only one target - Nakajo Mountain."

"You can't go to that place."

"I've thought about any hardship, but it's a big deal to die. I'm just going to Nakajo Mountain to die!"

"Ho Ah Mr. Zhu! You can't help me on the battlefield, but you're a burden to me. I can't open my eyes to your burden. ”

"I'm not a burden. I killed a Japanese robber, I am enough, I can't kill a Japanese robber, but I am willing to be killed by a Japanese robber. Taking a step back, if you can't go to the battlefield, you can still wash rice and cook pots for the gangsters, and you can also sharpen knives for the soldiers and feed the horses...... I will not burden you when I am tired, sick and dead, and I will not burden you, and my corpse will not have to be carried back to me!"

"Sir, good my Mr. Zhu......"

"Now I'm not a gentleman, I'm your partner......"

"I can't even go to Zhongtiao Mountain, how can you go?"

"You're defeated?"

"I won, and I'm withdrawing!"

"Why do you want to withdraw if you win?"

"I didn't withdraw because I won the battle."

"Who told you to withdraw your troops?"

"Who else? There is only one person in China who can order me to withdraw my troops!"

Mr. Zhu silently closed his mouth, no longer arguing about whether he wanted to be a gang or a horseman.

"I, Ru, am ashamed of my father in Guanzhong......"

This is a real Guanzhong army. From the previous founder to Master Ru, they are all from Guanzhong, one is from Xifu, and the other is a native of Dongfu. From the division headquarters to the platoon commander, they were all from Guanzhong, and the soldiers were almost all the children of the Sanqin Dynasty, and only a few officers and a few soldiers belonged to Guanzhong people of Henan nationality, and they were the descendants of Henan people who fled to Guanzhong. The local proverb says "Guanzhong Leng Wa", and the poet Du Fu once had the praise of "the Qin soldiers who are in the situation endure hard fighting". Master Ru led the children of the Sanqin of the 17th Division out of Tongguan and entered Zhongtiao Mountain, which then became the most well-known mountain range in the minds of the fathers and elders of Guanzhong. As soon as the battle was fought, he beat the jade photo of Division Commander Ru to the table of the Japanese Invasion Commander of China; This army, which is very colorful in the local area, but can only be regarded as a miscellaneous brand in the Chinese armed forces, actually made the Great Japanese Ace Division ordered to enter Tongguan not dare to take a step beyond the Lei Chi; The photographs of Master Ru and the information of his ancestors for three generations were also collected and studied, and the results were not very clear. No matter whether the Japanese despised it at first, or paid more attention to it after suffering a defeat, this local miscellaneous army, which was indeed not a number in China's armed forces in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, suffered a lot in the nearly two-year battle against the Nakajo Mountain, which prevented the little Japanese devils from moving forward. The Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain was one of the most powerful resistance the Japanese invading army encountered on Chinese soil, and finally kept the loess in northwest China from being trampled by iron hooves.

Master Ru said, "Sir! The seventeenth division is not a biological baby, it is a baby brought by the stepmother! I was transferred out of Tongguan to Zhongtiao Mountain to fight Japan, and I took 'Made in Hanyang'; I transferred my own baby to Xi'an to garrison, and I carried all foreign guys with American-style equipment! Transferring me to Zhongtiao Mountain, nominally he could get praise for resisting Japan, but in fact he borrowed the hands of the Japanese to kill the 'baby brought by the stepmother' for him! Sensei said that the Japanese did not expect the 17th Division to stand at Zhongtiao Mountain, and even when he sent me out of the customs, he did not expect that I would block the Japanese...... I didn't take a step back in Zhongtiao Mountain, I didn't get a reward, and even my military pay was broken; forced me to withdraw the army, and said in a high-sounding manner that it was for me to go back to the customs to rest and recuperate......"

Mr. Zhu asked, "Are you...... So you really withdrew your troops? Where did you evacuate?"

Division Commander Ru said: "Withdraw to Beishan." When the 17th Division withdrew to Tongguan, he forgot what he had told me to 'rest and recuperate', and immediately ordered me to enter Beishan to encircle and suppress the Red Army. This time it was still a trick: Wow, you can beat the Japanese, you go to fight the Red Army again, I am happy that you defeated the Red Army, and you are equally happy that you were wiped out by the Red Army......"

Mr. Zhu said sadly: "It's over, it's over, China is over." Lu Zhaopeng told me that I didn't believe it, and I disciplined him, but I didn't expect it to be true! Master Ru...... Was Zhaohai killed by the Japanese or by the Red Army?"

Master Ru suddenly lowered his head: "Sir, don't ask, sir......"

Mr. Zhu looked up sadly: "Oh my God! Oh, my God...... I won't ask you anything more...... I've heard enough! I'll get up early tomorrow and go back to my White Deer Plain, and I'll wait for the Woko to come and kill me......"

Master Ru said: "Sir, don't you be so sad! Do you know where I'm going?"

Mr. Zhu said: "I just said that I don't want to ask anything. ”

Division Commander Ru said: "I just came back from the north, and Battalion Commander Ma was guarding the river and was afraid that people would plot against me, and I happened to meet Mr. I have seen it through now, especially after the sacrifice of Captain Lu Zhaohai, I made up my mind to take this step. Okay, I've negotiated with the north, and no one will fight anyone......"

Mr. Zhu said, "You finally don't bite in this nest...... I want to go back to the store and sleep. ”

Mr. Zhu returned to Bailu Academy and set up a rule for the doorman Zhang Xiucai, except for the relatives of the gentlemen who compiled the county chronicles, no one else was allowed to enter the door, and from now on, the door would be closed. He himself no longer reads, nor does he write calligraphy and paintings for anyone, so he gets up late in the morning, and after hastily washing up, he walks up the original slope behind the academy, and still spends the evening on the hillside. The only thing I did was to review and revise the manuscripts of the various parts of the county chronicles compiled by eight colleagues, and hardly say a word all day. He decided not to ask the county government for funds anymore, and to use the rented grain from the official land of the academy to maintain the final compilation of the county chronicle. The first ten volumes are ready, and they will be sent to the Lithograph Museum for printing, and the last twelve volumes will soon be completed. He relied on Mr. Xu to handle many foreign-related matters; The general revision of the last twelve volumes was also done by Mr. Xu, and he finally went through it again.

One day, Mr. Xu asked questions in the column of "Chronicle of the Republic of China": "Mr. Zhu, is there a clerical error in the word 'army' in the article 'the communist army has passed through Dongshan in Zishui County in the eastern part of Xuhai'?" Mr. Zhu said, "No. Mr. Xu said: "The word 'bandit' is used in the first few articles, can you change it?" Mr. Zhu said: "No. Mr. Xu said: "In the same volume of the 'Chronicle of the Republic of China', the word 'bandit' is used in the front and the word 'army' is used in the back, and the inconsistent use of words will cause loopholes for future generations." Mr. Zhu said: "If you don't reunify, you won't be unified!" It's better to leave a little loophole for future generations to blame......" Mr. Xu was puzzled.

Lu Zhaopeng walked into the mountain again, and when he saw Mang'er, he arched his fist: "I came to thank you for saving your life, but it was too late." Man'er smiled and said, "Do you still persuade me to join your guerrillas?" Lu Zhaopeng also said calmly: "I can't persuade me, just wait." Mang'er said, "You wait for me, you wait for Heiwa." Lu Zhaopeng heard the words and hurriedly asked, "What do you say?" Man'er explained frankly: "I won't change my mind, you can't wait. You wait for Heiwa to change her mind. I told Heiwa a long time ago that if you want to join the guerrillas, you can go to the Shun County Security Team, and anyone who wants to go with him can go. Even if I'm the only commander left, I'll wander around the world with a sack! Swim to the point where you die. Lu Zhaopeng smiled: "I can't wait, you don't want to wait for Heiwa, he is the same as you." Mang'er said more sincerely: "I hope that you can persuade Heiwa to let him take the brothers away, or the security regiment or the **guerrillas, I will not interfere with whichever family you want to vote for." Lu Zhaopeng asked suspiciously: "Mang'er, the more you say this, the more outrageous it becomes!" How can you guess me like that?" Man'er said, "I'm telling the truth. Heiwa doesn't believe it, and you don't believe it either? I'm tired of being a bandit, and I'm tired, and I want to wander all over the world alone. Heiwa rubbed her eyes and walked in, and was stunned when she saw Zhaopeng. Mang Er continued: "If you don't believe it, ask Heiwa, I told him this. Saying that, he walked out: "I'll go and see if I've got the dish ready?" Zhaopeng counts you blessed, just in time to reward wine. ”

Heiwa said a little uncertainly: "Brother Zhaopeng, you don't want to mention the matter of joining the guerrillas again." Lu Zhaopeng said: "I just mentioned it with my thumb. Heiwa said, "It's not good to mention it." You persuaded the guerrillas several times, and Xiaowen also came to persuade the Shun Security Corps. Think about it, how do I work with Thumbs?" Lu Zhaopeng disagreed: "No! I just listened to the tone of the thumb...... There are changes. Heiwa shook her head: "You are fooled!" Lu Zhaopeng spread out his bottom and asked: "Let's not talk about the thumbs first, I just ask you, what is your idea?" Do you want to join the guerrillas or do you want to insure the security regiments? Or do you not vote for any and continue to be bandits? I repeat, you put aside your thumbs and just tell me what you have in mind?" Heiwa glanced at Zhaopeng, lowered her head and fell silent. Lu Zhaopeng glanced at Heiwa's frame and said, "Okay, you answered, I understand." Heiwa raised her head and said, "You don't understand anything! Thumbs don't vote for guerrillas, and I don't vote for guerrillas. Lu Zhaopeng suddenly said: "Then you will go to the Guishun Security Corps." Heiwa grinned and sneered, "You are angry, right?" Lu Zhaopeng nodded and said, "It's true." Return to the Security Corps. Heiwa blinked in confusion: "You came to do the event for Xiaowen?" Lu Zhaopeng smiled and said, "Each for his own master!"

One night about half a month later, Heiwa was asleep, and was woken up by a woman's scream, and when she opened the door, she saw that the black peony was naked, her hair was scattered, and she stood under the moon trembling, saying that her thumb was dead on her kang. Heiwa pushed away the black peony and ran into her kiln, her thumb Mang'er was lying on the kang, one of her two arms was pressed under her abdomen, and the other was cut into the reed mat; One leg curled up on the kang mat, and the other leg hung under the kang wall, covered with blood. The bandits and brothers all came and wept and screamed. The gentleman walked over, touched the pulse first, and then turned his thumb up to look at it, and said to Heiwa, "Gallnut." ”

Heiwa had a black face, and dragged the black peony who was paralyzed in the yard with fright by the hair to the oil lamp. This is the first murderer that Heiwa first thinks of. Although the black peony was stunned with fright, it still instinctively defended itself. Her words were sticky and stammering, and she didn't follow the words, but she basically recounted the scene of Thumb's death to Heiwa and the bandits: Thumb carried the wine gourd into her cave. Every time Thumb entered her cave, he carried a wine gourd, drank it himself, and poured it for her. Thumb was still drinking as usual, playing with her, and pouring her wine, and he was half drunk, and she was half drunk, and he did it with her when she was half drunk. As soon as he entered her body, he trembled all over, and suddenly leaked, and when he caught the "wow" sound, he spurted out a stream of blood, spraying her face all over her neck. She was so frightened that she got up and saw her thumb twisting and spitting blood on the kang...... Heiwa asked, "Have you poured the gallnut into the wine gourd?" Black Peony retorted: "Then don't you poison me?" He poured me wine too!" Before Heiwa could speak, several bandit brothers had already beaten up, and the black peony was rolling on the ground and screaming, until she didn't roll or scream, and Heiwa stopped the brothers.

The civil strife to clear the murderers lasted almost a month. The first focuses on who went to the thumb kiln on the night of the accident, who poured wine and toasted the thumb during the banquet, and who sat close to the thumb, and so on. Later, he searched for clues in interpersonal relationships, someone had said two things to Thumb, and someone held a grudge against Thumb for punishing him...... And so on, and so on, and another group of brothers suffered from flesh and skin, but still did not catch the real murderer. Heiwa was made suspicious by this assassination incident, doubting both the brothers and the brothers, and he announced openly and clearly: "If you dare to poison your thumb, you will dare to poison my second thumb." Besides, if we can't find out what is clear, some brothers will still suspect that I am the poisoner, saying that I want to be the owner of the village......" Heiwa then decided to reward the person who exposed the poison, until he threw out the motion of "Whoever exposes the traitor, who will be the thumb". Soon there was a situation in the bandits' dens where they were suspicious of each other, informing, kicking and biting indiscriminately. After someone was exposed and reprimanded with a rod, he dragged his legs with blood and crawled to the black baby kiln to expose the brothers next to him, and almost all the brothers had exposed others and been exposed by others, so almost all the brothers without exception were beaten with rods and spanked. Later, such a situation happened, many people turned around and bit the black peony together, and everyone insisted that she was the traitor who poisoned her thumb. The reason is very simple, she is the only one of the more than 100 brothers who was forced to go up the mountain, and only she has a deep hatred for her thumb that she can carry out this kind of poisonous hand. Heiwa can also think of this layer, so she pulled out the black peony and scolded it. The black peony had not yet recovered from the torture pain of the first time, and swallowed his breath after a few sticks. The brothers shouted and threw the black peony to the bottom of the ditch, and shouted to avenge the thumb, saying that it was time to end the incident and go out to "work". Heiwa sneered and said, "Black Peony is not a mole, I can see it from her eyes when she died." The really vicious guy hasn't caught ...... yet" The investigation of the traitor continues, and the crisis in the cottage develops to a fever pitch. One of the brothers who had been exposed to the rod shot and killed the informant, and then shot himself in the head. The brothers cried and persuaded Heiwa to suspend the investigation, or change the way of the investigation. Heiwa refused to ignore them, and said even more firmly: "If we can't catch that traitor, let's break up!" One after another, there were incidents of brothers fleeing, first one, then two, and then two, and they left one after another, and the cottage was in a state of disheartening and disintegration...... Heiwa is powerless to reverse.

Bai Xiaowen came to the cottage at the right time.

Bai Xiaowen immediately stopped the civil strife in the bandits' den with one sentence: "Heiwa, if you continue to track down, you will be blackly shot." Heiwa said anxiously, "That's good, I can also be clear to my brothers." Bai Xiaowen did not appreciate this kind of foolish loyalty who was righteous to death, and said in a flirtatious tone: "You have checked." The murderer ran away. Heiwa was suspicious, and the five brothers who fled not only had no personal grudges with him, but also had no gaps with his thumb. Bai Xiaowen said meaningfully: "I heard that Zhaopeng came not long ago?" Heiwa said, "What does this have to do with him?" Bai Xiaowen smiled and said, "Are you sure you don't have any of his people in your nest?" The county government was smashed into a wedge by him. **This set is really non-porous!" Heiwa shook her head and said, "I haven't found a clue yet. Bai Xiaowen showed his hole cards: "My intelligence has learned that two of your brothers here escaped and joined the guerrillas, and these two people are the bottom line of Zhaopeng's placement in the cottage." Heiwa's eyes widened in disbelief: "If this is true, Zhaopeng will be too unrighteous!" Heiwa finally relieved herself in her irritable thoughts: "Okay! I have to see if the brothers will go down the mountain. ”

An important meeting to decide whether to stay or go is held in the cottage hall (cave). Bai Xiaowen had a premonition that the melon was ripe, and he confidently told the bandits about the latest situation in Zishui County: "This is an opportunity. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In light of the national situation, the county government decided to expand the strength of the security regiment and add an artillery battalion. I told Commander Zhang that after the brothers went down the mountain, they would enter the artillery camp without dismantling their companions. Lu Zhaoqian served as the commander of the artillery battalion. "The bandits were discouraged and exhausted by the internal strife, and many of them were quite tempted by the Guishun security group, but no one dared to show their heads. Despite the re-emphasis on "the decision of the brothers," there was still no voice. Bai Xiaowen said very sincerely and freely: "The Japanese can't last a few days in China. After the fight against Japan, the government will clean up **. Tidy up**, that's just a piece of cake and a handful of monkey hair. After cleaning up the **, it is natural to exterminate the bandits. The brethren now do not have to worry about food or clothing, they do not care about the heavens and the earth, and they are free, and when that time comes, they will be in trouble. That's why I said this was an opportunity......" In the silence of the crowd, the gentleman stood up and spoke: "I am old, and I don't want to do anything anymore, but I want to return to my ancestral grave when I die." The bandits then shouted: "Guishun Security Regiment ......" Heiwa clenched her fists and knelt down in front of everyone: "I will go with all the brothers, whether it is a cliff or a well!"

The news that the largest group of bandits in Zishui County had subjugated the security group caused a sensation in the county seat. Lu Heiwa's name, Lu Zhaoqian, flew publicly for the first time in the county. From the bandit leader to the bandits, all of them used strange code names incognito, and no one could figure out their real names. Bai Xiaowen and Lu Heiwa led a hundred and ten bandits into the north and south streets of Zishui County, and the citizens in the shops on both sides set off firecrackers. A surrender ceremony was held at the camp of the security regiment in the south of the county, and Yue Weishan, secretary of the county party department, county magistrate Hou, and head Zhang of the security regiment came to welcome them. Heiwa and Yue Weishan felt extremely uncomfortable when they shook hands. Yue Weishan grabbed Heiwa's hand and said, "We are old friends, I welcome you." Heiwa smiled bitterly with embarrassment.

The doubts that Heiwa and the brothers had hidden in their hearts from the very beginning of their decision to surrender and recruit were quickly resolved, and all the brothers were organized into the newly established artillery battalion, and Heiwa was appointed as the battalion commander. Bai Xiaowen was commended by the county government for his outstanding contributions. Bai Xiaowen finally had the opportunity to put his heart into Heiwa: "Brother Zhaoqian, I owe you ...... No more claims now, right?"