The courier is about to pass through Meixian County with a batch of important goods to be delivered to the division. The division has already sent out a receptionist. The reception location is at a three-way intersection 20 miles outside the north gate of Meixian County. The reception time is the day after tomorrow evening. The territory of Meixian County belongs to the activity range of the independent regiment, so the division reminds the independent regiment to cooperate so that the goods can arrive at the division headquarters safely.
This order came at a very bad time, just when the independent regiment was short of soldiers and generals. Ding Deyi only had two cards to play, the bottom card was the second company, and the idle card was the ninth squad. After all, the independent regiment was not completely out of danger. After careful consideration, he still did not dare to send out the second company. He was poor but not afraid of losing face. It was a bit shabby to send out the ninth squad, so he just wanted to show his kindness.
Although the rendezvous point was in the enemy-occupied area, this operation was carried out covertly. As long as there were no mistakes, Team 9 would complete the mission as long as they accompanied them out of the enemy-occupied area. It was not complicated.
Squad 9 immediately received the order and set off. They traveled all night and arrived at the pass where the mountains and the plains meet the next day, which was the place where they had cooperated with the Second Company to capture the artillery tower. Further ahead was the enemy-occupied area, and it was difficult to walk in broad daylight. So Squad 9 rested in the valley where they had been with the Second Company. Only after it was completely dark did they enter the plain and rush to the rendezvous point as ordered.
At midnight, in the dark and silent woods, a three-way intersection appeared in the moonlight.
"Brother, this should be it. There is only one three-way intersection nearby." Ma Liang whispered to Hu Yi while looking around carefully under the moonlight.
Hu Yi waved his hand and led a few people off the path and into the woods beside the road. He pointed to a hidden position where they could observe the intersection and ordered, "Runny Nose, you stay here and report if there is any situation. Do not expose yourself and do not shoot."
Then he led the rest of the group deeper into the woods and stopped only when they found a secluded spot suitable for rest.
"Ma Liang, use this resting place as the center and quietly explore the surrounding area, then find a direction suitable for a covert retreat."
"Yes." Ma Liang raised his gun and disappeared into the darkness.
Luo Fugui sat down against a tree trunk and complained to Hu Yi in a low voice: "Didn't they say we would meet him tomorrow night? Why did we rush here today? Oh, I'm so tired."
Hu Yi ignored him, but Xiao Hongying was happy to argue with him: "No one said they were tired, except you, who is the oldest. How dare you say that?"
Luo Fugui pulled off the rolled-up marching blanket on his back and threw it at Xiao Hongying: "You stupid girl, I have been digging for several days, and then I have to travel such a long distance. Look at how much stuff I have to carry. Not to mention the machine gun, I have to carry you for a while when I have nothing to do. Don't you think you have no conscience?"
Xiao Hongying pulled the blanket away, wrapped it around herself, and curled up in a comfortable position: "It's what you deserve! You're a mule after all."
Luo Fugui ignored Xiao Hongying's sarcasm and continued to complain: "Also, I don't understand, hasn't the division already sent people? Why do we have to get involved and suffer this?"
"Stop talking nonsense and take a rest." Hu Yi finally made a summary speech...
As the sun rose and was about to set, a gray team of more than thirty people hurried into the plain.
The leader was a thin soldier, with a pair of striking black-framed glasses on his handsome face, which made his handsome face look more refined. At the moment, his handsome face did not look very good. He urged the team to speed up and asked the burly man beside him: "Platoon Leader Liu, do you know how far we are?"
"It shouldn't be far. I estimate it's only about thirty miles." The platoon leader Liu who answered the question also looked unhappy. He then said, "Officer Yang, I think we should wait until it gets dark before we go. After all, this is an enemy-occupied area and there are Japanese spies."
Officer Yang's expression became serious. "What are we doing here? If we miss the pick-up time, who will be able to take the responsibility? Do you know what is most important now? Time is the most important! Let the team go faster."
Platoon Leader Liu frowned and said nothing. He turned around and urged the hurried team of more than 30 people: "Hurry up, hurry up!" But he was muttering in his heart: You insisted on leading the team yourself, and ended up taking the wrong path, taking a long detour, and wasting time. Now you are showing off to me. Why are you doing this
It was completely dark, and more than 30 sweaty soldiers finally stopped, panting heavily, and sat sparsely on both sides of the path. Platoon Leader Liu unbuttoned his shirt and looked back at the dark road. He bypassed the villages and avoided the people he met, so he should not be exposed, and he finally felt relieved.
Secretary Yang took off his hat and fanned himself with it. He looked at the three-way intersection under the moonlight and took a deep breath. Fortunately, he finally arrived...
Liu Jianqiang was lying behind a bush rubbing his sleepy eyes. He had just woken up and came over to exchange sentry duties with Ma Liang. Just a few minutes later, he saw a shadowy figure appearing on the north side of the intersection. He was startled and his eyes widened. He held his breath and slowly crawled backwards for a distance. He took out a small stone from his pocket, and threw it hard into the deep woods behind him.
Then, several figures from Class 9 quietly walked out of the woods.
"There seem to be twenty or thirty of them, parked on the north side of the intersection. We can't tell clearly whether they are our people or not." Liu Jianqiang lowered his voice and told Hu Yi about the situation.
Hu Yi quietly climbed to the observation position in front and looked carefully at the intersection under the moonlight. There were indeed twenty or thirty shadowy figures resting on both sides of the road, but due to limited light, he could not see any details. So he retreated and gave orders in a very low voice.
"Ma Liang, runny nose. You two go back to the surveillance position in front and prepare grenades. If the situation is not right, send out all the grenades and then retreat directly to the west. Be careful and don't start fighting if you are not sure of the situation. Mule, you set up the machine gun in the woods fifty meters behind Ma Liang and the others. When they run to you, you open fire and fire a burst of bullets directly at the intersection, then retreat to the west. Fool and girl, wait fifty meters west of Mule's position. If a fight starts, you two run first, to the west."
After a slight rustling sound, the ninth squad took their positions according to Hu Yi's order. Hu Yi held his rifle, crouched down, and quietly went around to the north side of the intersection from the side. He had to get close to the target to confirm his identity.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Officer Yang pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, looked carefully at the intersection under the moonlight, and asked Platoon Leader Liu beside him.
"I've been to the county and walked this road, so I'm sure this is correct."
Officer Yang nodded, finally feeling relieved. Suddenly, he thought of something and blurted out, "It's already this late. Why haven't the people from the independent regiment arrived yet? Could it be that they didn't receive the news?"
Platoon Leader Liu thought to himself, "I'm not from the independent regiment, how would I know? Since you are in charge of this mission, you can figure it out yourself. I don't care about this." He deliberately didn't say anything, turned around, looked at his men who were still leaning on the side of the road, and said unhappily, "What are you still doing here? Hide immediately!"
This forced march before dark almost cost the soldiers half their lives. When they suddenly stopped, they immediately lost their energy and could no longer care about so many things. Now, after hearing the platoon leader's order, they stood up in a staggered manner, left the roadside, and dispersed tiredly, heading towards the darkness on both sides of the road.
After a moment, someone suddenly asked in panic, "Don't move! Who is it?"
"One of us! From the Independent Regiment." A man slowly walked out of the darkness on the side of the road, holding the gun high in his hand.
These two conversations frightened Officer Yang. He hurriedly pulled out the gun from his waist and asked, "What's going on?" while looking towards the place where the conversation was taking place.
It was not until the man came closer that I could finally see an Eighth Route Army uniform and a pair of narrow eyes in the moonlight.
"Hu Yi, squad leader of the ninth squad of the independent regiment."
Officer Yang then put away his gun and asked: "Where are your people?"
"I'll be here in a minute."
After a while, there was a noise from the roadside on the south side, and two figures were walking out of the bushes by the roadside, loading grenades on their bodies; after a while, a burly man came out with a machine gun; after a while, two figures, one big and one small, appeared, and they gathered together with the three people who came out in front, standing at the intersection and looking at this side.
"Is that all?" Officer Yang looked at the nine shifts of people of different sizes and asked Hu Yi in surprise.
Hu Yi just nodded and said nothing.
Officer Yang's face immediately turned ugly. He thought that your independent regiment didn't take the division's mission seriously. There were six people, including a child. What's the difference between this and no one coming? It's nonsense. But since they were here, it's not good to talk about this here, so he pushed his glasses, put his hands behind his back, looked at Hu Yi seriously and asked: "Why are you late? Hmm? Looking at your procrastination style, let me ask you, do you know the seriousness of time? Can you afford to take responsibility if something goes wrong?"
Hu Yi looked at the embroidered pillow in front of him expressionlessly, not even bothering to say anything. He threw the rifle over his shoulder and walked straight to the position of Class 9.
When Officer Yang saw that Hu Yi actually treated him like air, he immediately got angry: "You, what's with your attitude? Stop right there! Do you know that I am..."
Platoon Leader Liu grabbed Officer Yang's arm and said, "Officer Yang, Officer Yang, this is not the place or the time. The mission is more important." He persuaded Officer Yang, but he felt helpless. The five or six people came out at intervals and packed their equipment while walking, which meant that they arrived first and must have prepared for a firefight. He should be ashamed of himself, but Officer Yang regarded it as a reason for being late.
After being reminded by Platoon Leader Liu, Officer Yang also remembered that the timing and the occasion were not right. He had taken the initiative to fight for this mission in order to add more glory to his resume and prove his ability to be both civil and military. He could only throw his hands in anger and turn around to order: "What are you still standing there for? Wait in hiding and prepare to receive the goods!"