Just as Yang Dezhi was about to end his speech and the playground had fallen completely silent, a clear voice rang out from the audience: "I disagree."
This sentence was like a thrown brick, suddenly shattering a piece of square glass. Except for Hu Yi who still had no reaction, countless surprised eyes instantly turned to the place where the voice came from.
An old Eighth Route Army soldier, while wrapping the pipe in his hand around the pipe, walked steadily to the wooden platform, raised his wrinkled face and looked at Yang Dezhi on the platform.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Niu showed up halfway. In Yang Dezhi's eyes, he was just a senior quartermaster who took advantage of his age. Now this was a good thing to kill two birds with one stone. It was a great opportunity to get revenge and establish prestige. It couldn't be messed up anyway, so Yang Dezhi didn't bother to say more and replied without hesitation: "It's a matter of discipline. You have no right to get involved."
"This is a big deal. I think we should wait for the political commissar to come back and make the decision."
"The facts are clear, the evidence is conclusive, there is no need"
"I don't agree with you."
"I ask you to reserve your opinion." Yang Dezhi's words seemed polite, but his tone was cold and his meaning was obvious, which was to end the conversation.
Uncle Niu was silent for a moment, then spoke again: "Now, in the name of the quartermaster, I request that an emergency meeting of the department be held to discuss and decide."
"He admitted it himself, so there is nothing to discuss. I am the highest-ranking official now, and I do not agree with your request."
"Then, as a party member, I request that an interim party committee meeting be convened to make a decision."
Yang Dezhi could not refuse this request. He frowned and looked at Uncle Niu for a while, then nodded helplessly.
In addition to Political Commissar Ding Deyi, the Independent Regiment currently has five members of the Party Committee, Uncle Niu, Su Qing, Li Suanpan, Hao Ping, and Yang Dezhi. There were not many people at the meeting, and the content of the meeting was not complicated. It was enough to vote on the opinions raised by Uncle Niu. Therefore, the team on the playground did not withdraw, but still waited on the playground, and Hu Yi on the wooden platform still stood like a sculpture. The five people left the crowd for a distance and stood in a circle in a corner of the playground to hold a meeting.
Although the decision had to be made in a meeting, Yang Dezhi had a plan in his mind. Hao Ping's vote would definitely be his, and Su Qing's vote should also be his. He didn't know much about Li Suanpan, but if he was not stupid, he would at least abstain from voting. There would be no suspense in this meeting.
Although he requested a meeting, Uncle Niu was unsure. He just felt that he had to do this, not only for the little girl, but also because in Uncle Niu's eyes, Hu Yi was a person without desires. Although he had many problems, he was definitely not a coward. Uncle Niu did this for his conscience.
Hao Ping looked back at the playground from time to time, showing that he didn't care. Uncle Niu knew that he didn't have much of a vote to count on. Li Suanpan hung an empty sleeve, lowered his head, and kept stepping on a small stone on the ground. Uncle Niu felt that he had hope for a vote, at least he was a sensible person.
Su Qing didn't look at anyone. Her phoenix eyes stared blankly into the distance. Her face looked very bad, a little pale, cold, as if she was sick. Uncle Niu knew that she was the most critical vote, but he didn't know much about her. He only knew that she had a good relationship with Yang Dezhi, and heard that her opinion of Hu Yi was... not very good. Thinking of this, Uncle Niu finally sighed deeply.
Yang Dezhi, who had his hands behind his back, raised his head and said, "Well, all right, the soldiers are waiting, let's make it short. Anyone who agrees with Uncle Niu, please express your opinion now, the minority shall obey the majority."
"I agree with Uncle Niu's opinion." Before Yang Dezhi finished speaking, a crisp voice answered.
No one expected that the first person to express his opinion was Su Qing. The other four were stunned. This vote came too quickly and unexpectedly. Yang Dezhi looked at Su Qing in surprise and speechless, and Uncle Niu looked at Su Qing in confusion and speechless. Su Qing didn't care about the gazes of the two people. He retracted his gaze from the distance and looked directly at Li Suanpan.
He had originally decided not to offend anyone and to abstain from voting and leave the meeting quickly, but he did not expect that things would take an unexpected turn, leaving Li Suanpan speechless. He became the key vote, and if he abstained from voting again, it would be obvious that he was playing the game of compromise, which would prevent the meeting from ending and extend into a discussion meeting, which would make it difficult for both sides to please.
A sentence means a life. Li Suanpan finally gave an answer: "I agree with Uncle Niu's opinion."
The excitement in his heart was gone, and a basin of water was poured over his head. Yang Dezhi's heart was crackling and breaking into pieces. The prisoners were all on the stage. He had said so much and acted so tired, but in the end, he had to leave without any result and wait for the political commissar to come back and make a decision? This time, he was in front of the whole regiment. His prestige was going to be shattered again? Why did Su Qing do this? Was she doing this on purpose? Yang Dezhi was confused. He realized that he had not seen through this woman at all. He could not understand her at all. Women's hearts are like needles in the sea. Now he believed it.
The sky was full of dark clouds. Yang Dezhi was now in the same situation as Hu Yi. His head was full of dark clouds, and it was hard to tell whether his face was blue or white. He didn't know which leg to move first when he wanted to walk.
Seeing that the light on Yang Dezhi's glasses had faded, Hao Ping quickly expressed his opinion: "How about this? Since things have come to this point, let's turn it into an education meeting to raise the ideological awareness of the officers and soldiers, and then adjourn it. What do you think?"
This was to give Yang Dezhi a way out and preserve the instructor's face. No one else had anything to say.
Soon, the five people returned to the wooden platform, and the whispering team on the playground immediately became quiet again. Yang Dezhi stepped onto the wooden platform again, and unlike before, his white face had completely turned into a black face, which was stretched out very long.
“… After discussion, it has been decided to postpone the execution… However, comrades, you must take this opportunity to draw attention, engage in self-criticism, and become qualified Eighth Route Army soldiers…” This time Yang Dezhi did not wave his arms, he had no motivation; this time Yang Dezhi did not want to say more, he had no energy.
A soldier came to the stage holding a large wooden sign tied with a rope: "The report is ready."
Yang Dezhi waved his hand and said, "Hang it up for him."
The soldier went on stage, walked in front of Hu Yi, stood on tiptoe, held up the sign and prepared to put it around Hu Yi's neck.
A figure appeared in front of his narrow eyes, blocking his gaze that had been gazing into the distance quietly. Hu Yi finally lowered his eyes and glanced at the wooden sign.
With a dull thud, Hu Yi's head hit the soldier's face hard. The soldier fell backwards with blood spurting from his nostrils, and flew off the wooden platform.
Plop—he rolled on the ground below the stage, covering his face in pain.
Bang! The wooden sign fell to the side, with two big black words written on it: Deserter.
Whoosh—everyone in the audience was startled and stunned by this sudden scene.
Yang Dezhi was not far from Hu Yi. He was frightened and shivered. He looked at the sign that fell on the stage in amazement, then looked at Hu Yi as if nothing had happened. Finally, he showed a barely perceptible smile and said sternly: "Are you going to rebel? What are you still standing there for? Hang him up and see if you dare to do it."
A soldier picked up the wooden sign and ran onto the stage. As soon as he reached Hu Yi, he was kicked hard in the chest. He was kicked backwards by Hu Yi and fell heavily on the stage, groaning in pain and unable to utter a sound.
"Now, on behalf of the Independent Regiment, I will kill you, the rebellious deserter." Yang Dezhi pulled out the Mauser pistol he carried with him, pulled the bolt, and raised it without hesitation.
"Stop!" a clear and sharp shout came from the audience.
His indifferent, narrow eyes finally turned around and saw the beautiful figure standing in the audience with a cold face.
That beautiful face once cried sadly, right in front of me, so close, yet so far away. Those pure tears flowed into my heart, and from then on became a kind of reluctant remembrance.
That beautiful face was once as bright as the moon, illuminating the dark night sky, making me think that I could see a road from now on. It was not until later that I realized that the wasteland is called a wasteland because there is no road at all, nothing is a wasteland; the moon is so cold because it is high and far away; even if there is a moon, the night is still night, not day.
At this moment, that beautiful face was so pale; those cold eyes seemed to be filled with pain. Maybe I was seeing things wrong, it should be hatred, not pain.
She moved, she walked to the edge of the stage, she was walking onto the wooden stage, the curve of her figure always made me recall, always made me look. She bent down, picked up the wooden sign, walked straight over, until she was in front of me, maybe only a foot away, then stopped. She didn't even look up, didn't even look into my eyes, just looked straight at my rough chin, and didn't speak.
It seems that she must do this. This stupid woman, who never knows whether there is a bullet in the gun chamber, is the only one who is qualified to do this. This feeling... makes me very... sad...
"Don't do it. I know I'm a deserter. I'm not afraid of being a deserter. I just... don't want these two words... to be my epitaph... If I can have a tomb, this is not what I want. Don't do it."
The voice was a little hoarse and small, perhaps because she hadn't spoken for a long time. She heard it and seemed to tremble, but she didn't react. She still stood on tiptoe, still didn't look up, hung herself up with the rope, and then walked away without hesitation, never looking back, never stopping, and walked directly out of the playground, directly out of countless surprised eyes.
The wind suddenly died down because the rain began to fall. At first, a few sparse drops hit the yellow soil of the playground, splashing a small wet mark that was particularly conspicuous, and then more and more, becoming more and more dense, gradually coating the wet mark into a piece of mud...