"The devils are coming?" Hao Ping looked at the militiamen who came to report in surprise, unable to believe it was true: "How many are there? Where are they?"
"I don't know. Someone from your independent regiment said so. He said his name was Hu Yi and he was in the back."
Only the regiment commander and political commissar who approved the construction of the 9th squad in Xinghua Village knew about it. Hao Ping didn't know. He heard from the militia that this person was Hu Yi from the independent regiment, which made Hao Ping confused. There was only one person named Hu Yi, the squad leader of the 9th squad. He should be in Dabei Village. Why did he run here? When Hao Ping was confused, another militia ran over.
"Captain Hao, the devils, the devils are coming!"
"Where is Hu Yi? Where is he?" Hao Ping asked directly.
"He, he went to Shuxia Village. He told me to tell you that a battalion of the Japanese, nearly a thousand people, and a battalion of puppet troops with hundreds of people, are coming from the southern valley towards Xinghua Village. Two hours ago, they were thirty miles away from here. You, you should make a decision quickly!"
The militiaman who came later was the one who talked to Hu Yi outside the village. When Hu Yi heard him say that Su Qing went to Shuxia Village in the southwest, he was frightened and quickly told the militiaman about the situation and asked him to come back and tell Hao Ping. Then he asked him about the distance and direction of Shuxia Village and turned around and ran directly to Shuxia Village.
This news made Hao Ping's hair stand on end. He no longer cared why Hu Yi fell from the sky out of thin air, and began to think quickly about his current situation.
There are too many enemies. It is nonsense to try to stop them. They were thirty miles away from here two hours ago. It is estimated that there is still about an hour of reaction time. The people must be evacuated. This battle must be fought because Xinghua Village is too close to Dabei Village. Even if the enemy does not know that the independent regiment is in Dabei Village, when they find that the people in Xinghua Village have left, they are very likely to go to Dabei Village. If you want to avoid this situation, you have to fight to lure the enemy away.
Hao Ping raised his head again and began to issue orders: "Communicator, you must return to the regiment headquarters immediately to report the situation. The third company must contact the enemy and then lead them westward. In order to increase the attraction, the militia team is now under the command of the third company and will participate in the battle. All villagers must bring food and move to Dabei Village. Time is running out, so hurry up!"
The signalman of the third company set out immediately, running towards Dabei Village; a dozen militiamen gathered urgently, then joined the third company of more than a hundred people, followed Hao Ping out of the village, and headed south to meet the Japanese; the people hurriedly packed up, took food, and then ran eastward to Dabei Village with the elderly and children. Xinghua Village was empty.
The last bit of afterglow in the sky finally faded away, and the light in the valley completely dimmed. The team was still moving forward. The major stopped at a fork in the valley, took out the map and unfolded it. The guards around him immediately turned on their flashlights to illuminate the map.
We have been in the mountains for more than a month, and the results are not ideal. But we can't come out in vain. If we can't find the Eighth Route Army, then I will steal food and sweep all over the mountains, so that your place will never develop again. This is what the major is thinking now.
After carefully observing the map for a while, he found that there was a village under the tree not far to the west of the valley. The mark was very small, indicating that the village was not big. Since they had passed by, there was no reason to let it go. The major gave instructions to his subordinates, and a moment later a search team left the marching team and walked into the fork in the valley.
Shuxia Village is very small, with dozens of shabby low houses clustered together on the hillside. Su Qing and the guard behind him stopped at a shabby gate, wiped the sweat from his forehead, smoothed his hair, and knocked on the door.
A woman poked her head out of the darkness, looked carefully, and then opened the door: "Secretary Su, why are you here so late? Come in, come in."
Su Qing walked in and answered as he walked: "I went to Xinghua Village for a meeting this afternoon. I came here to see if you have any difficulties."
In fact, Su Qing's words were half true and half false. The mass work in Dabei Village and Xinghua Village had been completed, so confidentiality was guaranteed. The mass work in Shuxia Village had just begun. For the safety of the independent group, it was better to keep a low profile, so Su Qing chose to come after dark.
The rammed earth wall is as high as a person. The yard is not big. The low adobe house is divided into two rooms. There is a dark and broken kitchen at the entrance, and the inner room has only one south-facing window.
The woman let Su Qing and the guard into the inner room, went to the kitchen to find two bowls, brought them in and placed them on the table, and poured hot water into the bowls while saying to Su Qing: "Our village is small, with few people, and we are all honest people for many generations. It is not complicated and it is not difficult to develop. The only difficulty is that my ability is limited, and I really don't know how to start this."
Su Qing carefully took the bowl of water, placed it on the table in front of him, and began to teach the woman about work experience. However, before he could speak for long, he heard bursts of noise coming from outside, which immediately alerted the three people in the room.
The woman got up quickly and left the house. She went to the yard and listened carefully to the commotion around her. Then she hurried back to the house, blew out the oil lamp, and said with a trembling voice, "The devils are coming!"
The guard immediately pulled out his gun and shouted to Su Qing: "Hurry up and leave!"
How could the devils appear here? Puzzled, Su Qing followed the guard and the woman into the yard in a panic, and heard the gate swaying and shaking as it was hit by a gun butt.
"Bang, bang, bang—everyone in the house, hurry up and come out, gather in the middle of the village! If you don't come out, I'll shoot you!" The puppet army's shouts echoed outside the gate. Footsteps and shouts echoed around in a chaotic manner, and torches were lit. The irregularly swaying dim light and shadows made the originally dark top of the courtyard wall reveal its outline, which gradually became clearer.
There was no time to run away. The panicked woman saw the pile of firewood at the foot of the wall. She quickly pushed the guard beside her and pointed.
Su Qing and the guards came to their senses from the panic and immediately ran over and got in. The woman covered the firewood and arranged it a few times, then covered her chest to calm her breathing, and slowly moved towards the gate, while deliberately saying, "I'm coming, I'm coming. Boss, we country people have never seen the world, what are you doing?"
"Stop talking nonsense! If you don't open the door, I'll tear it down!"
Just as the bolt was pulled open, the door was suddenly pushed open with a clang. The woman staggered and two puppet soldiers rushed in from outside the door: "Is there anyone else in the house?"
"No, no more."
After hearing the answer, a puppet soldier pushed the woman out of the gate and said, "Hurry up and go out with the people outside to gather." Another puppet soldier glanced into the dim courtyard, raised his gun and walked towards the door...