Although the traitor Li Youde and the Independent Group only had an intersection because of interests, Ding Deyi still regarded him as a hidden chess piece that was worth keeping, and who knows what will happen one day. Therefore, in addition to the ninth squad, only Ding Deyi and Gao Yidao knew the details about Li Youde. Because this action would affect the Li family in Luoye Village, the political commissar Ding Deyi asked the ninth squad to set off early to give Li Youde a reassurance, and the harassment battle in Luoye Village was also specially assigned to the second company to carry out alone.
After much deliberation, Ding Deyi did not personally lead the operation this time. Although the three companies' operations were all in the area north of Meixian County, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Companies and the 9th Squad still operated separately most of the time, and there might be opportunities to coordinate with each other, so the three companies established a method of contact, and would leave secret signs during the operations. They designated the 1st Company Commander Wu Yan as the commander-in-chief during such coordination, responsible for connecting the various teams.
The hazy yellow setting sun hung on the side of the mountain, halfway hidden, casting a brilliant afterglow.
Ding Deyi found Su Qing and said to her with a smile, "Now you are the counselor of Class 9. How about coming with me to see Class 9 off?"
Su Qing could feel that the political commissar had always shown some special care for Class 9, even doting on them. She thought it was because the little girl was in Class 9, so she didn't say anything and followed the political commissar and the guard to the east intersection outside the village, occasionally chatting about work and waiting leisurely.
In the dazzling splendor, six figures walked out from afar, backlit by the afterglow of the setting sun, forming six dazzling black outlines. The first one swung his long legs and took brisk steps; the second one, carrying a gun, walked very steadily and upright, and behind him, a little kid followed closely, occasionally jumping playfully, and even his pigtails also jumped lively, like a pair of small wings in the sunset; the fourth one was a tall and broad figure, swaying lazily, and behind him was a short man, who walked as if he was holding a bowl of water, straight as a pole without shaking; the last one walked while swinging his arms and shoulders, and the posture of walking in a queue was completely accustomed to him.
Ding Deyi took the lead in extending a hand and shook hands with Hu Yi. He didn't say any words of encouragement, but only said three words: "Be careful." Seeing Hu Yi nodded seriously, Ding Deyi smiled deeply at the two pigtails and said: "Comrade Hongying, shouldn't you salute me, the political commissar?"
From the beginning to the end, Su Qing had been deliberately avoiding looking at someone, until they set out on the road again, and then he began to look at the receding figure in the sunset, gradually becoming a little distracted.
Ding Deyi was also looking at the backs of Class 9, as if talking to himself or to Su Qing beside him: "I don't know why, every time I see them... I feel better."
At midnight, Class 9 arrived at Qingshan Village. Hu Yixian found Shi Cheng and told him that the Independent Regiment was about to take action. The area north of Meixian might be in chaos for a while, and Qingshan Village might also become a battlefield. He asked them to be vigilant, watch out for the enemy, and be prepared to avoid it.
Unexpectedly, after hearing Hu Yi's warning, Shi Cheng resolutely asked to follow the 9th squad to participate in the action. After his uncle Lao Luo died, Shi Cheng became the captain of this downtrodden guerrilla team. This was not because of Lao Luo's face, but because Shi Cheng killed the most devils when he robbed food with the 9th squad last time, so he naturally became the captain.
At first, there were only three people left in this small guerrilla team. Although it has not been long since then, Shi Cheng has recruited several more people. The biggest reason is that they have food and three guns given by Ma Liang. With food and guns, it is easy to find people. The current Qingshan Village guerrilla team has a total of seven people, three Type 79 rifles, more than 20 rounds of bullets, and a Mauser pistol left by Lao Luo, which is now in Shi Cheng's hands.
Hu Yi thought about it and thought it would be a good thing to let them gain some experience. This mission was guerrilla-style, and maybe they could gain some small material gains. So Hu Yi agreed to Shi Cheng's request and asked Luo Fugui to allocate another row of bullets from the machine gun bullets to each of Shi Cheng's rifles. He also added a magazine of bullets to Shi Cheng's Mauser pistol from his pocket and asked them to bring a few days' rations and temporarily join the ninth squad. They set off with the ninth squad and continued their journey eastward. The number of people in the ninth squad temporarily increased to thirteen, becoming a full squad for the first time.
In the early morning, the 9th squad arrived at Luoye Village. Hu Yi found the old mute alone and asked him to pass a note to Li Youde, which only had six words on it: "There is thunder but no rain, don't be alarmed." With Li Youde's intelligence, Hu Yi knew that there was no need to meet with him for a detailed discussion. As long as he knew the news, no one else would have to worry about the rest. This was the biggest advantage of working with smart people, saving worry.
At dawn, in Lushuipu, someone knocked on the back window of Sister Qin's house rhythmically, three long and two short knocks.
Not long after, Li Youcai, still sleepy, rushed to the river outside the village.
"Hey, Commander Hu, you know I'm not a hard-working person. Can we..."
"Stop talking nonsense. We called you here for your own good, so that we won't kill you like a chicken."
Li Youcai was stunned when he heard this, and immediately lost all his sleepiness: "What?"
"Our main force will be here soon. We will sweep the area. How important do you think you are as a traitorous captain?"
"Don't just stand there, pack up quickly and find a place to hide, then go to the county to report to the Japanese that the main force of the Eighth Route Army is invading. At least three companies have been found near Lushuipu alone, and there are also other places. Their movements are unknown. You decide the time to report, don't report too early, just get the reward before others do."
After thinking calmly with his head down, Li Youcai finally raised his head and said, "Captain Hu, can you wait for me here for a while?"
Li Youcai hurried back to Lushuipu and went to the gambling house first. He didn't explain why and just told Kanjiu to get rid of his blacks. Then he found Wei and the lazy plainclothes team member and ordered them to escort Sister Qin to her relatives' home in the south of the county. Finally, he told Sister Qin that she had offended someone and might be sought for revenge in the next few days, so he asked her to take her belongings and stay at her relatives' home for a few days before coming back.
Li Youcai didn't want to get the reward money by reporting the situation, instead he planned to stay with the 9th squad for a while. When the Japanese invaders were raiding, he could get money by leading them; now the Eighth Route Army was also raiding openly, so what could he get by leading them? Li Youcai couldn't help but think about it, this was a great opportunity to eliminate dissidents and attack enemies.
Class 9 was small, so they were not assigned specific tasks. They were just there to help with the operation. Hu Yi was also thinking about starting something, but Li Youcai took the initiative to ask to hang out with Class 9 and lead them to kill some traitors. Hu Yi had seen through Li Youcai's shameless thoughts, but for Class 9, they didn't have to try their luck everywhere, which saved effort and time.
It was noon, the sun was shining brightly, in a small village south of Lushuipu, a dozen figures were walking briskly towards the entrance of the village.
A villager just stepped out of the gate and suddenly froze in place. His legs began to tremble slightly and he was not very obedient. A soldier from the Eighth Route Army was walking towards him. His hat was rolled down, and his wide eyebrows and narrow eyes were faintly visible. His bronze face had no expression, but it felt like seeing a dense dark cloud, which made people feel depressed and breathless. He held a long rifle horizontally, and the bayonet hanging in front of the muzzle was tilted to the ground, shining coldly in the sun. He led a dozen people behind him and ran straight to the villagers who were stunned at the gate.
In broad daylight, the Eighth Route Army actually entered the village? What kind of place is this? What kind of year is this? Daydream
"Where does Baldy Liu live?" The question was asked in a faint voice, but it made people feel a chill down their spine.
The villager raised his trembling hand, pointed to a gate in the distance, moved his lips but no words came out.
The dozen or so people immediately changed direction and headed straight for the destination without even looking at the villagers who were pointing the way.
"One on the east side of the road and one on the west side to guard, Shi Cheng takes two people to guard the back, Mule knocks on the door, Runny Nose puts on the bayonet and follows me closely, Ma Liang changes to a pistol and enters through the window, and the others enter the yard and wait for orders." The shivering villager stared blankly at the backs of the soldiers who were leaving, and heard these words... He began to hold on to the wall beside him, slowly moved his legs, turned around and ran away...
Bang—crash—Xiong Zhuang's body directly knocked the door vertically to the floor. The huge body rolled to the side of the door due to inertia. The moment the bright light outside the door poured into the house, a pair of cold and narrow eyes with a sharp bayonet rushed into the door. At the same time, the window in the house shattered with a crash, and the muzzle of a Mauser pistol appeared in the window, pointing inside the house.
The woman screamed, the child burst into tears, a man stood in front of the woman and the child with terrified eyes, watching the bayonet pointed at his chest...
At the corner of the intersection outside the village, three people were parked: Xiao Hongying, Wu Shitou, and Li Youcai.
"You traitor dog, why is your gun gone again?" Xiao Hongying asked.
Li Youcai smiled delicately: "Bad luck."
"Originally I wanted to find a chance to give you one, but now I've changed my mind. I'll just let you, the unlucky guy, go empty-handed."
"Hehe, with what Sister Hong said, I'm happy even if I don't give you anything. When there's a chance in the future, I'll give you something. Um... how about a flower headband?"
"Pah, no one wants your things. I like red ones."
"Hey, you traitor, how about you join us?"
"Forget about it. I don't want to be a member of the Eighth Route Army. I can't gamble or steal other people's wives. I might as well die then."
"You spineless traitor, you forced me to treat you as my enemy, don't regret it."
"Calm down, Sister Hong, calm down. Even though I'm a traitor, it doesn't prevent me from being your friend, right?"
"Next time I'll give you a red hairband, how about that?"
"… Oh well."
Li Youcai looked at Xiao Hongying's bright and changeable big eyes and her distinctive pigtails and couldn't help laughing again.
Suddenly, a figure ran around the corner and saw the three people behind the corner. He was stunned with surprise, his eyes wide open and he said hesitantly: "Li... Youcai?"
Li Youcai was also stunned, and couldn't help but blurt out: "Baldy Liu?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a crisp sound beside him. Li Youcai turned his head and found that the pair of beautiful and clever eyes had instantly turned into sharp eyes. In a pair of delicate hands, a big gun was raised in an instant, with the black muzzle pointing directly at Liu Tuzi. The pair of pigtails seemed to be frozen in the air, motionless, making the surroundings a little cold. This... The contrast was too great, and the change was too fast, so that Li Youcai was more surprised by Xiao Hongying than by Liu Tuzi.
Footsteps were heard, and Li Youcai turned around again. Baldy Liu was about to turn around and run.
Bang! The sound of a .45 large-caliber bullet leaving the gun was like a hammer, making Li Youcai's head buzz and his whole body sway. When he opened his eyes again, Baldy Liu had fallen to the ground with a black and red spot in the middle of his back, which made Li Youcai stunned.
Bang! Another gunshot rang out near his ear. This was beyond Li Youcai's expectation. He watched as Liu Tuzi, who was lying motionless on the ground, suddenly had a large piece of his head exposed. The red and white stripes were magnificent. Li Youcai finally staggered and sat on the ground with the second gunshot that was so close.
The sun was so bright and his ears were buzzing. Li Youcai thought... this girl should really wear a red hairband...