For the first time in his life, Ma Liang regretted holding this democratic class meeting. The monitor was not here now, and he had originally wanted to become the backbone of Class Nine, gather the rotten garlics in Class Nine together, so as to better perform the task and avoid mistakes. But the result was completely beyond Ma Liang's expectations. The wicked girl who was always causing trouble was elected as the monitor! This was a huge blow to Ma Liang. This result was worse for Class Nine than a mess without a monitor. Ma Liang deeply blamed himself and felt that he was sorry for the monitor Hu Yi and the independent regiment, so Ma Liang could not admit this election in his heart.
Liu Jianqiang was furious. Is this still the Eighth Route Army? Is this democracy? The sacred position of squad leader was completely tarnished by the wicked girl. In front of everyone, she blatantly bribed the selfish bastard Luo Fugui. This was a ruthless trampling on democracy. It was a great shame and absurd. If it got out, people would laugh their heads off! His face was red with anger, but Liu Jianqiang did not lose his temper, because he knew that if the little girl in front of him started to make trouble, no one could beat her, so he endured it. But, you want me to recognize you, Xiao Hongying, as a bullshit squad leader? It's impossible!
Xiao Hongying was a child at heart and had no interest in the title of monitor. She just wanted to piss off Liu Jianqiang and disgust Ma Liang, so she became the monitor out of a desire to win. She knew very well that Ma Liang and Liu Jianqiang would never recognize her, but it didn't matter. She had achieved her goal anyway. Now that she was the monitor of Class 9, she would have to satisfy her desire to be an official.
Ma Liang patted his butt and climbed up to the top of the hill again to check the road, as if nothing had happened; Liu Jianqiang's face was flushed with embarrassment, and he leaned against a rock to bask in the morning glow, oblivious to the people around him; Luo Fugui smacked his big lips and swallowed the candy before he could even chew three or five bites, looking smug and satisfied; it seemed that if he wanted to live out his desire to be an official, he could only rely on Wu Shitou.
The little girl pulled open the military blanket and threw it to Luo Fugui. She stood up with her pigtails dangling and coughed twice deliberately in her tender voice: "Ahem, from now on, I'm the squad leader of Class Nine! Did you hear me?"
No one responded, and the little girl didn't care. She just called out to the stupidly standing Wu Shitou, "Fool, follow me!" Then she took small, crooked steps and climbed to the top of the slope.
Wu Shitou didn't have so many thoughts, he just followed without saying a word.
The surveillance position chosen by Ma Liang was very good. It was a small hill facing south and north, which was right in the direction of the path, making the path form a semicircle and go around the foot of the mountain on three sides. The mountain was not too high, and the slope was not too steep. There were relatively many wild grasses and shrubs, and the top of the mountain was only three or four hundred meters away from the road at the foot of the mountain below.
"Dig here!" the little girl gave an order to Wu Shitou.
"There's no water from this mountain!" Wu Shitou thought the new squad leader wanted him to dig a well.
The little girl kicked her head impatiently: "What nonsense! Just dig if I tell you to. As for how to dig, you just follow my instructions."
Wu Shitou immediately stopped talking, pulled out the military pickaxe and shovel from his back, spat into his palm twice, and then swung the pickaxe like flying.
Ma Liang, who was hiding near the top of the mountain, was speechless when he saw this. The wicked girl had started to act up! He couldn't help but speak up: "Little girl, I'm hiding here and keeping watch. Can you go to the back and do it?"
"You are the squad leader and I am the squad leader? Go away and cool off!" Ma Liang's advice was directly ignored by the little girl.
Wu Shitou's digging ability is unmatched by ordinary people. Under the guidance of the little girl, he stopped in a moment and completed an exquisite small shooting shelter.
Xiao Hongying walked around with her hands behind her back, then crawled into the shooting pit and looked around. Ma Liang finally couldn't help but leave his hiding place, walked over here, looked at Xiao Hongying who was still squatting in the pit pretending, and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Machine gun bunker! Didn't Fox teach you that? Hey, come down and feel it?"
Ma Liang immediately frowned: "We are an observation post, not a sniper. You are just bored!"
When Xiao Hongying heard what Ma Liang said, she immediately became unhappy. She was about to put on the airs of a new squad leader and give Ma Liang a good beating, but unexpectedly Ma Liang grabbed Wu Shitou next to him and jumped directly into the pit. Then he leaned his head against the parapet made of earth and stones and stared at the distance of the path.
Human figures in the distance began to appear blurry, and gradually they could be distinguished as more than 20 people, who seemed to be walking very slowly and approaching.
"It's the Japs!" Those dark half-shadows were definitely helmets, which confirmed Ma Liang's target. "Fool, go and call up those two guys at the back of the slope!"
Three Japanese soldiers walked in front with guns in hand, followed by eight Japanese soldiers carrying four stretchers, on which lay four wounded soldiers who could not walk. Following them came several wounded soldiers wrapped in bandages and several patients with haggard faces. A medic followed at the end of the team.
These were the wounded and sick Japanese soldiers left in Xinghua Village by the brigade last night. In order not to delay the pursuit, they could not move with the team. So at daybreak, they set off eastward, taking a shortcut to leave the mountainous area and return to Meixian County outside the mountain.
"Damn it, didn't they say that the regiment commander was leading a company to lead the Japanese away? Then what is this?" Luo Fugui, who had just squeezed into the bunker, stared blankly at the figure in the distance, muttering in surprise.
Ma Liang stared at the target intently and said to those around him, "More than 20 people carrying stretchers and walking so slowly, they must be wounded. It seems that the regiment commander really led the devils away!"
"Don't talk about those useless things. Now we should go back and report!" Luo Fugui said as he prepared to climb out of the pit from the back.
"Stop! Let's see who dares to leave!" Xiao Hongying's childish voice came suddenly.
This sound not only scared Luo Fugui, but also scared everyone else in the pit.
"Don't forget, I am the squad leader of squad nine now! I have to give the order whether you want to leave or stay. It doesn't matter whether you obey or not. This is a battlefield. Who dares not to obey? Stand out and let me see!" Xiao Hongying is a child, but she has been in the army since she was in her mother's womb. She has been exposed to the seriousness of orders and disciplines, and she understands it better than any adult present. As soon as these words came out, everyone present was stunned.
Luo Fugui stared blankly, smacking his lips: "I say, girl, we can't play like this, the Japanese are coming, don't make trouble, I really don't have time to talk nonsense with you now!"
Liu Jianqiang also spoke up: "You stupid girl, don't say you are still a little kid, even if you are an adult, your votes were bought, how dare you think you are the monitor?"
Ma Liang saw the situation and realized that this girl was just someone who dared to take advantage of others. If she didn't cause trouble, she would not be like her. So he said to Xiao Hongying, "Girl, stop messing around! Now is not the right time." Then he said to Luo Fugui, "Mule, don't just think about yourself. Carry the girl on your back and we will leave."
Luo Fugui nodded quickly and stretched out his big hand to pull Xiao Hongying.
Even though she said such a serious thing, they still regarded it as nonsense. In the final analysis, they were just bullying her because she was young. Xiao Hongying finally got angry, her pigtails stood up in anger, and she suddenly pulled out the big-eyed pistol, pulled the bolt with a snap, and scared Luo Fugui who was about to reach out, and he fell straight into the pit.
"A bunch of new recruits, you dare to treat orders as a joke! Do you know what will happen if you disobey orders on the battlefield?" Xiao Hongying's voice was childish, but her tone was particularly sonorous. She raised her little hand and pointed at Ma Liang: "Let me ask you, how many guns do we still have in our village? Even if we go back to report, how many people can be used? Are we going to let these sick devils force the regiment headquarters and the villagers to flee famine, and let them find that there is a playground in Dabei Village? What's the point of the regiment commander and the first company going to lure the devils?"
These words should not be spoken by a child, but they came out of her mouth. Because the little girl played with the independent regiment all day, she had a clear grasp of the independent regiment's background at all times; because the little girl followed the Red Army to fight against encirclement and suppression all day, was chased all day, and was forced to go on the Long March, so she had a vigilant understanding of the word "retreat" that exceeded her age.
Ma Liang felt ashamed, and was sweating coldly, not because of the little girl's threatening words with a gun, but because of her last words. It is a soldier's duty to follow orders, and his head was full of orders given by the political commissar, so he ignored the simplest facts. If the ninth squad followed the order and went back to report directly, then the next thing to do would be to be forced to evacuate, and Dabei Village would have to be abandoned. In addition to the ninth squad, there were only a few guards from the regiment headquarters. Even if they had to fight a battle in the village, they had to wipe out the devils completely, leaving no one behind, otherwise Dabei Village would be exposed.
"I am willing to obey the orders of the acting squad leader!" Ma Liang frowned and finally said the words he didn't want to say...