Wang Chengzhu recovered his thoughts and asked: "Where do these refugees come from?"

Langya team member: "They seem to have escaped from Xing County. They are just 3 kilometers ahead. There are about a thousand people."

Refugees usually flee in groups, just like ants moving. Firstly, they have someone to look after them on the way, and secondly, they don't get lost.

During the Anti-Japanese War, unlike modern times, there were maps and navigation.

Although there were maps at that time, how could ordinary people have such a strategic thing like a map?

Many people have never left their hometown for more than 50 miles in their entire lives. It is normal for them to get lost after walking so far that they don’t know the way.

Knowing that these refugees had fled from Xingxian County, Wang Chengzhu probably guessed the reason and said, "Come on, take me there and have a look!"

Immediately, Wang Chengzhu, Wang Shugen and Wei Monk left the large army and rushed forward quickly.

Wang Chengzhu quickly caught up with the refugee group because he had a war horse to travel with him.

These refugees continued along the road for a kilometer or two, with no end in sight.

There are elderly people, women and children, and children, basically covering every age group, but there are relatively few young adults.

Some of them were carrying luggage, some were pushing wheelbarrows, and some were holding babies in their arms...

The reason why there were so many refugees during the Anti-Japanese War was all thanks to the little devils. It was also because China at that time was too weak and could not defend powerful enemies from outside the country.

Seeing such a scene, Wang Chengzhu, as a time traveler, felt deeply in his heart, and his hatred for the little devil also increased a bit.

"Hush!"

Soon, Wang Chengzhu rode his war horse across the group of refugees and stopped at the front.

Seeing soldiers blocking their way, these refugees suddenly panicked.

However, when they saw that Wang Chengzhu was wearing the uniform of the Eighth Route Army, all the refugees breathed a sigh of relief, and the hearts hanging in their throats were relieved.

Wang Chengzhu turned over and dismounted, looked at the frightened refugees and said: "Fellow folks, don't be afraid. I am Wang Chengzhu, the battalion commander of the Independent Battalion of the New Regiment of the Eighth Route Army."

"I would like to ask, why did you escape from Xing County?"

An old man separated the crowd, came to the front, and sighed: "Hey! It's not like the little devil didn't give us a way to survive.

A few days ago, little devils suddenly went to the countryside to catch strong men, and those who didn't want to were kidnapped directly.

They claim to be good at recruiting workers and paying them back, but anyone with a discerning eye knows that these are just lies made by little devils to deceive people, and no one believes them at all.

But if you don’t believe it, there is nothing you can do. Otherwise, you will get beaten up by the little devils, and your family will suffer together.”

After a pause, the old man continued: "Before this, the Japanese also went to the countryside to recruit workers. However, those who were recruited seemed to have disappeared. Not only did they not send any wages home, they never came back.

Pass."

"This time, the little devils went even further. They not only arrested the elderly, but even women. As long as they could work and move, they would all be arrested. We really couldn't survive anymore, so we had to leave our homes and flee..."

Yes, if it’s not that they can’t survive, who would be willing to leave their hometown?

Hearing what the old man said, Wang Chengzhu confirmed his guess that the Dashawan Mine must have started working again.

If this mine is not resolved, similar problems will inevitably continue to occur, but the problem is that the Dashawan Mine is an open pit, not a mine, and it cannot be destroyed at all.

The independent battalion has the ability to capture it, but it has no ability to defend it.

Moreover, the Japanese who have suffered a loss will definitely strengthen their defenses, and it will only be more difficult to capture the mine again.

After retracting his thoughts, Wang Chengzhu said: "I'm sorry, it's all because of our military dereliction of duty and our failure to keep the enemy invaders away from the country that you suffered so much."

The old man said: "Captain Wang, don't say that. We all see the efforts and sacrifices made by your Eighth Route Army.

The only blame is that the little devil is too powerful and cruel."

"Yes, yes, we all see the efforts and sacrifices made by your Eighth Route Army."

The rest of the people followed suit.

Thanks to our party's propaganda and the party members' ability to combine words and deeds, the Eighth Route Army's mass influence in the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei region is still very good, so the common people have a good impression of the Eighth Route Army.

Wang Chengzhu was greatly moved when he heard this, and asked again: "By the way, folks, do you have a purpose?"

The old man said: "We don't have any destination, we just want to find a place without war and live a stable life.

If there is one, it is the border base area where your Eighth Route Army is located.

From what they said, although the conditions there are a bit harsh, at least they won’t suffer the bullying and oppression of the Japanese.”

"But we can't find the specific location of the border area at all. Commander Wang, can you take us there?"

"Yes, Battalion Commander Wang, can you take us in?"

The old man's words immediately resonated with the refugees, and they all asked Wang Chengzhu to lead the way and take them in.

Looking at their expectant eyes, Wang Chengzhu said smoothly: "If you want to go to the border area, I can send someone to guide you, but the journey is too far and the conditions there are also very difficult.

Looking at your situation, I'm afraid that many of you will have difficulty persisting there.

Of course, if you are willing, I can also take you back to the base of my independent camp, divide the land for you, and protect you against the Japanese raids.

But I need you to work together to create your own home, I wonder if you are willing?"

The independent base area needs to develop, which naturally cannot be separated from the population and labor force, and the people in Wangjia Village and several nearby villages are obviously not enough.

The refugees' thoughts are very simple. They just want to have food to eat and a stable place to live.

Since ancient times, land has basically been in the hands of landlords and gentry. Common people rarely have land, and even if they do, it is thin soil with poor crop yields.

Now when Wang Chengzhu said that he would not only give them land and help them build homes, but also provide them with protection, the fleeing people were overjoyed.

"Captain Wang, we are willing to go back to the base with you!"

"Yes, Battalion Commander Wang, we are willing to go back to the base with you!"

The eyes of the refugees were full of hope, and some emotional people even shed tears of emotion.

For no other reason than refugees are unwelcome in any era, even in the 21st century.

Because there are too many refugees, it will bring a lot of unpredictable troubles.

For example, issues such as the resettlement of refugees and issues such as eating, drinking, and drinking, may even increase the crime rate.

If you don’t have food to eat and you don’t rob or steal, are you waiting to starve to death?

Therefore, many Central Army and Shanxi-Sui Army defense areas are unwilling to accept refugees.

In their view, refugees are a burden and have no value at all. They only see the powerful and noble class.

This is a top-down issue of the National Government.

But in Wang Chengzhu's view, these refugees are treasures.

Wangjia Village is backed by Luliang Mountain and has a large area, but its population is very sparse.

With this group of refugees settling in, the labor problem has been solved.

As for the food problem, because of the existence of super sweet potato seeds, the food problem is not a problem for Wang Chengzhu.

There will even be an increase in sweet potato production due to the increase in labor force, thus providing more military rations to the independent battalion.

In addition, after the independent battalion opened a military uniform factory, it also needed workers.

In short, if the independent camp wants to develop and grow, it cannot do without the population in every aspect.
Chapter completed!