The beauty of April in the human world is gone, and the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are beginning to bloom.
That afternoon, Xu Dalong, Sun Desheng, Wang Chengzhu and others left the village and walked towards the hillside behind.
There is a peach forest outside Qiligou Village. Due to the low temperature all year round, all peach trees grow here. The peach fruits are only 1 cm in size and cannot be eaten.
The time has entered April, and the peach trees are in their flowering period. The fragrance is overflowing, attracting bees to come to collect nectar one after another, creating a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the peace and tranquility was ruined by the sound of clanking stones.
Just in the peach forest, there was a group of people knocking stones. The leader was an old man who was about 50 years old. His hair was black, but much of the beard on his lower jaw was already gray. The old man was called Li Shijiang.
It's Li Jinzhu, Li Yinzhu's father.
He put down the hammer and chisel in his hand, took off the towel wrapped around his head to wipe the sweat, and put it on his neck. Then he picked up a round stone the size of a basketball in both hands and handed it to the man who came over.
Xu Dalong.
Xu Dalong squatted on the ground, held the stone and looked at it, then placed it on the ground, reached into the hole drilled above the stone, took a dig inside, and praised: "Uncle, your craftsmanship is really good.
This is what I want."
Sun Desheng asked with some confusion: "Can we just rely on this to make landmines?"
Xu Dalong smiled and said: "Remove the word "?" and you will understand in a moment."
Li Jinzhu and Li Yinzhu brought a clay pot, which contained black powder that they prepared themselves. They put the black powder into the stone and lightly tamped it with a wooden stick.
Xu Dalong took out a detonating device from the leather bag he carried with him. This detonating device was taken out of a grenade. After modification, the delayed detonation time was shortened.
Xu Dalong first put the explosive he took out of the grenade into the stone, then carefully put the detonating device in and stuffed it tightly with torn cotton wool.
He smiled and said, "Whether it works or not, you will know after you give it a try."
After saying that, he walked about 50 meters with the mine in his arms, placed the mine on the ground, and then tied the rope to the ring on the mine.
Xu Dalong ran back quickly and said to Monk Wei who was already eager to try: "Pull it."
As soon as Monk Wei pulled the rope, he heard a "boom" sound, and the stone mine exploded violently, with countless rubbles flying everywhere. It was obvious that the power of the explosion far exceeded that of ordinary grenades.
When everyone saw this, they cheered.
Wang Chengzhu said: "I think it will work. It can withstand a mortar bomb."
Sun Desheng said: "When we seize the high explosives and put them inside, the power will be even greater. Now I am looking forward to letting the little devils taste the power of this land mine."
Xu Dalong took out several pieces of paper, each with a method of detonation drawn on it.
A man in his forties next to Li Shijiang, his surname was Yang, was a carpenter in the village. After reading it, he said: "This is very simple, I can do it."
Xu Dalong said: "This is the only condition we have at present. When conditions improve in the future, we will make iron mines again and leave the stone mines to you."
Li Shijiang said: "Since the captain trusts us, we will do this."
At this moment, a cavalryman galloped over and arrived in front of Xu Dalong. He dismounted and said eagerly: "Captain, the Japs in the county are out. There are half a team of more than 30 people and more than 50 puppets."
Army, they are heading towards Dahuaishu Village."
Hearing this, Xu Dalong's expression immediately became serious.
He said: "Wang Xiaohu and Su Xiaoyan are going to Dahuaishu Village today, and they are very likely to run into this Japanese and puppet army. We must go to the rescue immediately."
Everyone immediately ran back to the village, mounted their horses and galloped towards Dahuaishu Village.
Su Xiaoyan and Huang Wanqiu have been going from village to village with the guerrillas every day these days to carry out anti-Japanese propaganda.
The two of them have beautiful looks and are warm to others. In addition, wherever the guerrillas go, they bring some benefits to the local people, so they are very popular among the people. Although it is very hard, they feel that their lives are very fulfilling.
At this moment, the two of them were sitting in a large cart, humming anti-Japanese songs as they walked.
The guerrillas liked these two beautiful and lovely female team members very much. They rushed to ask to escort them. Those who could grab this job were very happy.
Therefore, Xu Dalong sent soldiers from several squads to escort them in turns. Today it was the turn of the soldiers from Wang Xiaohu's squad.
The reason why Xu Dalong was anxious and angry was because Wang Xiaohu's unit was a logistics unit and the weakest combat unit among the guerrillas. He was worried that they had encountered Japanese and puppet troops, so he hurried to rescue them.
Since the District Chief's Department withdrew from Qiulin Town during World War II, the 68th Army and the 69th Army of the Shanxi-Sui Army also evacuated this area one after another, and the vast area around Mawu Mountain fell to the enemy.
The Japanese 216th Brigade occupied Qiulin Town and divided its forces to occupy five counties around Mawu Mountain.
The Japanese army was divided into field troops and local garrison troops. The field troops were responsible for capturing cities and territories, and the local troops were responsible for taking over local areas and governing them.
After the 216th Brigade of the Japanese Army took control of the original territory of the Jinsui Army, the 68th Regiment of the 32nd Garrison Division of the Japanese Army moved into an area of more than a dozen counties centered on Qiulin Town, Guancheng County, which is closest to Qilin Peak.
A reinforced squadron of the Japanese army, a gendarmerie and a regiment of the puppet army were also stationed. They often went to the countryside to carry out raids and promote the rule of the Communist Party in towns and rural areas.
Due to the lack of information, Xu Dalong and others were not very clear about this situation, so they sent Wang Xiaohu and other small forces to carry out anti-Japanese propaganda activities.
The group of Japanese and puppet troops who came out of the county today went to the countryside to establish grassroots organizations.
After Wang Xiaohu and others completed anti-Japanese propaganda in Dahuaishu Village, they were preparing to go to the next village.
Shortly after they left the village, they saw a large group of Japanese and puppet troops appearing in front of them. At this time, the Japanese and puppet troops also discovered them and rushed towards them.
Wang Xiaohu and others immediately covered Su Xiaoyan and Huang Wanqiu's retreat. In order not to injure the people of Dahuaishu Village, they did not stop in the village, but passed through the village and continued to retreat to the hillside behind them.
After they ran out of the village, they found that the road ahead was very narrow, making it impossible for a large car to move, and even riding a horse was very difficult.
They had no choice but to abandon the cart and lead the horses up the mountain.
The Japanese and puppet troops came very quickly. When they saw the guerrillas on the mountain, they chased after them while shooting.
Wang Xiaohu came out with a total of 12 soldiers this time. He asked two soldiers to escort Su Xiaoyan and Huang Wanqiu to continue running up the mountain. He led others to stay behind to stop them.