Liu Afu, who had already served as the commander of the third company of the Second Regiment Infantry Battalion, was standing in the middle of the queue. He was watching Commander Zhou in a suit handing over to the people on the dock, but he had mixed feelings in his heart.
Liu Afu is a native of Guangzhou. His mother died young. He has been working as a coolie at Huangpu Pier with his father and elder brother since he was 12 years old. Although his life is poor, under the careful care of his grandfather and elder brother, Liu Afu can not only have enough to eat.
, from time to time, you can also eat dead fish and shrimps that are sold locally by fishermen and are cheaper than cabbage. Although they are not fresh, they still have certain nutrients.
Because he had to do physical work all year round, and his grandfather and elder brother cared about him and would never overwork him, so when he reached the age of 16, Liu Afu was not only much taller than his peers, but also the muscles on his body were beginning to show.
As a result, when the revolutionary army went to Huangpu Pier for recruitment and propaganda, Liu Afu, who was originally there to watch the excitement, was infected by the officers who were also young but exuded passion and fiery contagion. His eyes were full of envy and yearning.
In particular, the officer with a beautiful mustache on his lips, wearing a military uniform that looked majestic and heroic, came to Liu Afu, smiled brightly, stretched out his hand to squeeze Liu Afu's arm that was tanned by the sun, and praised Liu Afu.
He said: "What a good young man, he is strong enough and is a good soldier."
Then he smiled and said to Liu Afu: "How about it, young man, come and join the army. Not only can you have military pay to support your grandpa in his retirement, but most of our army members are from Guangzhou. We are as close as brothers, and we are at home in the army."
It’s no different.”
When Liu Afu asked shyly and hesitantly if he really had military pay, the mustachioed officer chuckled and took out three shining silver coins from the cloth bag carried by his entourage, and handed them over directly.
Liu Afu said in his hand: "There are three yuan every month. When you pass the recruit period and officially become a second-class soldier, you will have five yuan every month."
You should know that during this period, the army's military pay, whether it was the national army or the warlord army, was actually at the same standard. But this included daily food expenses.
In other words, it is claimed that a private has a military pay of 10 oceans, but in fact, food expenses are deducted when disbursing it, and only four or five oceans are actually paid to the soldiers.
Therefore, the so-called "receipt of soldiers' pay" as commonly known in the old army actually refers to the "empty quota". Originally, there were only 100 soldiers, but the quota you reported was the full quota of 120 soldiers. In this way, you have swallowed up the military pay of 20 people.
And what does it mean to drink the blood of soldiers? In fact, it is to start with the food expenses of the soldiers. It is obvious that the food expenses of the soldiers are only 3 oceans a month, but you charge them at 5 oceans, and you have pocketed 2 oceans on each person's head.
, over time, it will be a windfall.
This situation was common in the old army, and it also formed an unspoken rule.
The platoon commander has to hand over part of what he eats to the company commander, and the company commander has to hand it over to the battalion commander, and so on. All the officers make a fortune together and form an interest group. Naturally, the officers protect each other. You, the top soldier, just find something is wrong.
There was no place to complain, and over time, it became an unwritten rule.
However, even three or four oceans is still an income that is beyond the reach of ordinary people. What is rare is that as long as no major changes occur, it can be earned every month.
You should know that before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the common wage level in the Republic of China was that in the countryside, a domestic worker only earned 1 yuan a month; in the city, the monthly salary of a rickshaw puller and a nanny did not exceed 3 yuan.
Liu Afu's family of three are all strong laborers, and they all work as coolies carrying large bags at the dock. Over the course of a year, excluding daily living expenses, if they can save a few oceans, it is considered a good year.
Therefore, serving as a soldier is also a way out for poor people, but it is more dangerous.
At that time, Liu Afu felt hot in his heart when he looked at the three big oceans in his hands that were getting hot.
Three oceans a month, even if it was just the standard for new recruits, would amount to more than thirty oceans a year. My eldest brother already had enough money to marry a wife.
Liu Afu's eldest brother is already in his twenties, but he can't afford a wife because he is poor.
Liu Afu knew that although his grandfather did not say anything on the surface, he looked at his elder brother and his seemingly kind eyes, and there was a look of sadness that he could not hide.
Just like that, Liu Afu handed Dayang into the hands of his elder brother and broke free from his grasp. Then he followed the team without looking back.
He didn't dare to look back, didn't dare to look at the anxiety of his elder brother who was screaming at his lungs, and he didn't dare to look at the face of the grandfather who came over after hearing the news, which had been damaged by time like the bark of a tree.
Later, he learned that the officer with the beautiful mustache was the pride of their Guangzhou people. He was also famous among the people as Tiger Brother, Commander Jiang, and Master Jiang.
Liu Afu followed Tiger Brother and the 10th Division of the Northern Expedition all the way from Guangzhou and fought all over the country. They defeated countless Beiyang warlords in the Northern Expedition, and later defeated the warlords in the Republic of China several times in the Guangdong-Guangxi War.
Gui Jun is famous for his super strength.
During the Battle of the Central Plains, Liu Afu followed Commander Jiang who had been promoted to army commander and defeated the Northwest Army, which was also famous for its strong army.
It can be said that they almost defeated the most famous warlord troops in the Republic of China at that time, but they themselves were undefeated. They gained a great reputation as the Iron Army on the land of the Republic of China.
And Liu Afu has also transformed from a small soldier into a young squad leader with rich battlefield experience.
During this period, he also went back home several times. He was pleased to see that his eldest brother had gotten married and had children, and had also started a small business with the money he had sent back in the past few years. Grandpa no longer had to go to the dock to carry out big work and was happy every day.
Haha, I can live a stable life with my children and grandchildren at home.
At this time, Liu Afu no longer had the ignorance and rashness he had when he joined the army, but had a sense of belonging and pride in the army.
Until... During the Songhu Anti-Japanese War, the Iron Army, which had defeated all the invincible opponents of the Republic of China, met the Japanese army, known as the strongest army in Asia.
Only then did Liu Afu and his brothers in the 19th Route Army realize for the first time what there is outside the sky, and what it means to be even stronger among the stronger.
The little devil is really cruel.
Planes exploded in the sky and artillery bombarded the ground.
Before you even saw the enemy, a large number of your own people fell in the hail of bullets and artillery fire.
Looking at those Japanese soldiers who were precise in their marksmanship, proficient in tactical movements, and coordinated with each other like a killing machine, Liu Afu felt that the usually extremely fast combat movements of himself and his comrades were always half slower than those of the little Japanese soldiers.
