Two days' journey north of Wuming Village is Dabei Village, which has a much larger area and population than Wuming Village. It is surrounded by mountains and is considered a large village in the surrounding area. A muddy river flows around the village, bringing more vitality to the place.
Now we finally understand that the enemy's battle goal is to launch a multi-pronged suppression campaign, but there are large gaps. The various units of the Eighth Route Army interrupted the implementation of the mission orders and switched to maneuvering in secret. The Independent Regiment is now temporarily stationed in Dabeizhuang.
The independent regiment was lucky because they accidentally avoided the main force of the Japanese invaders, but they were also unfortunate in that the fate of the second company that stayed in the nameless village was uncertain.
The current independent regiment is seriously understaffed and has a serious shortage of soldiers. Although it is a regiment, it only has more than 400 people. As a last resort, the battalion-level organization was abolished and the three companies were combined. Now the second company is estimated to be in danger, which is even worse. The first priority is to recuperate. Dabeizhuang is a very suitable place. The regiment commander and the political commissar have both taken a fancy to it and are determined to start a new business here and settle down again.
It was a new beginning again. Recruiting, construction, training and so on kept the entire independent regiment busy, making Dabei Village bustling and lively.
An old Eighth Route Army soldier sat by the muddy river near the village, puffing on his pipe and coughing from time to time. His face was full of wrinkles, and he was nearly fifty years old. He was originally an honest farmer. When he joined the Red Army in 1917, he was already in his thirties. He was wounded in many battles and was old. His superiors wanted to promote him to be a cadre or political worker, but he knew that his honest character and ability were not suitable for that, so he decisively refused and was willing to be a soldier. In order to take care of his health, he was arranged to be the squad leader of the kitchen squad. Until now, he is Uncle Niu.
Uncle Niu was alone and had no relatives. After Xiao Hongying's parents passed away, she was almost raised by Uncle Niu alone. Since he got the news that Wuming Village was attacked by the Japanese, his wrinkles became more and deeper, as deep as if they were carved by a knife, and he looked even older. He sat by the muddy river and smoked desperately, squinting his eyes and looking at the distant mountains in the south.
As he got older and had seen more life and death, it shouldn't be like this, but Uncle Niu still didn't give up his fantasy. He imagined that the pair of pigtails would suddenly appear in the distance at some point, in the wind, swaying all the time, swaying down the mountain, across the river, and swaying to his side, saying that she was hungry. The river flowed quietly, without a sound, and it seemed that it could also feel the sadness of the old soldier by the river and hear his murmured voice. Alas - poor girl, uncle is clumsy and can only teach you to tie two pigtails. Although they are ugly, in uncle's eyes, they look best on your head, more beautiful than the flag of our regiment. Uncle knows that you will not die, and the King of Hell is reluctant to look for you. You are just used to being wild. You will come back when you are crazy enough, right? Uncle secretly saved some noodles for you, and when you come back, uncle will make noodles for you...
A soldier from the kitchen squad ran to the riverside, shouting, "Uncle Niu, Uncle Niu, go check it out! The Second Company is back! The Second Company is back!"
Uncle Niu stood up suddenly, without even bothering to put out the sparks in his pipe, and ran towards the village with big strides.
The regiment commander and the political commissar learned about the news of the Second Company and hurried to the edge of the village, just in time for the Second Company to enter the village. Seventeen or eighteen soldiers came with wounds all over their bodies, carrying a stretcher in the middle, with Gao Yidao unconscious on the stretcher. When they broke out of Wuming Village, the Second Company still had thirty or forty people. In order to buy as much time as possible for the villagers in the west, the Second Company did not rush to leave after breaking out, but led the Japanese to chase them, which brought greater casualties to the Second Company and almost got surrounded again. Gao Yidao was also seriously injured in the pursuit and was snatched out by the soldiers, who fled to the north and have been carried until now.
The regiment commander deliberately forced a smile to break the gloomy atmosphere: "Good. Good. You all do a great job! Don't just stand there, help quickly!" After that, he directed everyone to quickly settle the second company.
Political Commissar Ding Deyi went to the soldiers of the Second Company to learn more about the situation in Wuming Village. He found Liu Jianqiang standing at the end of the Second Company, so he walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Where is the little girl?"
After Liu Jianqiang was beaten by Hu Yi in Wuming Village, he went to find Gao Yidao to support him. As a result, he happened to catch up with the battle, so he followed the second company to participate in the battle, broke through the siege, and survived all the way. He and the dozen surviving soldiers of the second company ran for two days and two nights without eating a single grain of rice. His uniform was tattered and he was on the verge of collapse. Finally, he encountered the secret sentry deployed by the independent regiment on the periphery and came to Dabei Village.
When the political commissar put his hand on his shoulder, Liu Jianqiang couldn't help crying.
Although he was mentally prepared, the cry made Ding Deyi's heart sink suddenly. War is so realistic and cruel. It will not favor anyone because of age, gender or other factors. You have to accept it even if you don't want to. He said in a deep voice: "How did she die?"
Liu Jianqiang wiped his nose and said, "I, I don't know."
I don't know? This answer made Ding Deyi a little dissatisfied. Looking at the crying Liu Jianqiang, he frowned and said, "Alright, alright, can you stop crying for now? You are the squad leader and the little girl is your soldier. Tell me what happened?"
Liu Jianqiang barely stopped crying and said bitterly: "It was all that Kuomintang deserter's fault! He exceeded his authority, acted on his own, disobeyed orders, beat up cadres, and deserted in the face of battle!"
Ding Deyi couldn't understand what was going on, so he quickly reminded Liu Jianqiang: "First explain the whole thing clearly, and be careful with your words."
"He, Hu Yi, instructed Ma Liang to pass on information to the people in the name of the regiment without the permission of the second company commander. I said he was violating discipline and wanted to stop him, but he beat me and kicked me into a pit. When I got up, he had already run away, so I went to find the second company to join the battle."
When Liu Jianqiang said this, Uncle Niu also arrived at the scene. After hearing these words, he ignored the regiment commander and the political commissar and walked over to Liu Jianqiang and asked him face to face: "Don't say anything useless. Where is the little girl? How is she? Where is she?"
"I'm going to join the battle, why would I care about so much? She follows that deserter all day long. Either they deserted together, or they ran away with the common people! Or..."
Uncle Niu was a man of honest character and good temper, who never got angry with anyone. At this moment, seeing Liu Jianqiang speaking so confidently and lightly, the sorrow and worry of the past few days finally burst out. He forgot for a moment that the regiment commander and the political commissar were beside him, and grabbed Liu Jianqiang by the collar, swung his big hand, and slapped him so hard that Liu Jianqiang fell to the ground, with stars in his eyes and blood at the corner of his mouth.
"You, you are the squad leader of the girl! She is your soldier! How can you abandon her! How can you bear to do that! Do you know why we are willing to let her become a soldier? I will beat you to death right now, you careless thing!" Uncle Niu became more and more angry and excited as he spoke, and once again pounced on Liu Jianqiang, who had not yet gotten up.