Although Guo Bing and the others had arranged everything properly without any danger, new problems were placed in front of them.
The fuses and explosives they carried were in the mezzanine of the cart and could not be retrieved. Now the Japanese military detonator fuses were too short, so they had to have one person stay to detonate them.
Several yards around here store the enemy's ammunition and supplies, and not far away there is an oil depot for the enemy. Once it explodes, it will cause a series of explosions in a short period of time.
This also means that those who stay behind to detonate will not have time to escape and will be blown into ashes along with them. Whoever stays behind now means death. It is a difficult choice for the brothers.
"You all know the retreat route, so I won't say much more. Baoshan will meet you outside. You go, I'll stay." After a long silence, deputy platoon leader Guo Bing spoke first.
"Platoon deputy, you are the commander. You can go and I will stay." The other brother shook his head and wanted to take over this mission.
"I told you all to stop robbing. I don't have many people in my family anymore, and I have killed a lot of Japs, so I have nothing to worry about. I have no regrets about being able to drag so many Japs to die together. You guys should go quickly.
Come on, I’ll stay.”
"I'm the oldest. I'll stay. You can get out alive and kill a few more Japanese for me."
...
These brothers all share the same pot and fight the Japanese in the trenches. Although they are not real brothers, they have long been better than real brothers after fighting side by side for so long. At this moment, they are all vying to stay, refusing to give in to each other.
.
"The old rule is to draw lots to decide."
Seeing everyone struggling to make a decision, deputy platoon leader Guo Bing had to pick up a branch and break it into four pieces.
"Whoever draws the shortest one will keep it." Guo Bing held the branch and said to his brothers in a low voice.
Every time the army selects death squads, the brothers use this method to select people, and now it's time to decide life and death again.
"Smoke it, whoever comes first." Looking at the silent brothers, deputy platoon leader Guo Bing urged the brothers.
Although the brothers really don't want to draw lots, because it will remind them of those brothers who went to be death squads because of drawing lots and never came back. It is a painful memory, but sometimes they have to make a choice.
After hesitating for a few seconds, the other three brothers all took a broken branch from the hand of deputy platoon leader Guo Bing.
They took it in their hands and compared it, and found that they were all the same length, and there was one left in Guo Bing's hand. They knew without looking that the shortest one was the one in the hand of deputy platoon leader Guo Bing.
"This is God's decision. You leave quickly and take the civilians with you. I will detonate it in half an hour." Guo Bing looked at the branches of the same length in the hands of his brothers and forced a smile on his face.
.
"Platoon deputy, let's catch it again." Seeing deputy platoon leader Guo Bing grab the shortest one, another brother felt uncomfortable and suggested.
"You kid, don't try to take advantage of me. Take your brothers back alive and burn some paper money for me to buy wine at this time of year." Deputy platoon leader Guo Bing urged: "Go quickly, if the Japanese find out, they will be in trouble."
"
"Platoon deputy..." The brothers looked at Guo Bing indifferently, their noses felt a little sore.
"You are all old men, don't be nagging. We Chinese men are not afraid of death. You will have many opportunities to draw lots in the future. You also have plenty of opportunities." Looking at the brothers, deputy platoon leader Guo Bing was also very reluctant to give up.
"salute!"
Looking at Guo Bing who was talking, a veteran raised his hand to salute Guo Bing, and the other two brothers also saluted one after another.
"Remember, fight the Japanese properly." Guo Bing also raised his hand in return and urged the brothers to leave.
Under the repeated urging of deputy platoon leader Guo Bing, the three brothers reluctantly hugged Guo Bing goodbye, then walked out of the door, sneaked into the darkness and headed towards Guan Minfu's yard.
The civilian husbands in the yard had already woken up, but were comforted by intelligence personnel.
"Where is Deputy Platoon Leader Guo?" Seeing that only three brothers came back, the intelligence officer asked doubtfully.
"Our platoon deputy stayed here to detonate the explosion." A brother said in a low voice, "Everyone, please leave quickly. It will not be good if the Japanese find out over time."
The intelligence officer was stunned when he heard this, but now there is no other way, someone must stay and sacrifice.
Under the leadership of three brothers and an intelligence officer, the civilians took advantage of the cover of night and houses and quietly headed towards a smelly ditch.
This smelly ditch was originally a ditch for discharging sewage in the village. It led all the way to the outside of the village, and the stench was so bad.
However, in order to survive, everyone endured the cold and stench, entered the smelly ditch one after another, and quietly moved out of the village along this way.
Although the Japs also arranged patrols near the smelly ditch, it was pitch black and the Japs did not expect anyone to pass by, so the frequency of patrols was very low.
Everyone left the village without any danger. When counting the number of people, they suddenly found that one brother was missing. The brother who was walking at the end did not follow.
"Where's Old Tietou?"
The brothers all became anxious when they saw that one brother did not come out.
"He just gave me his things and asked me to hold them for him. Could it be..." A brother hurriedly took out a sewing kit from his arms.
They opened the sewing kit and found three oceans and a folded note inside.
While the brothers were busy opening the note, a brother named Lao Tietou once again sneaked back to the yard where deputy platoon leader Guo Bing was waiting to detonate.
Deputy platoon leader Guo Bing was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette he took out from a Japanese soldier. The fuse was at his feet. Hearing the noise outside, he hurriedly grabbed the fuse and prepared to point.
"Platoon deputy, it's me."
The veteran Lao Tietou emerged from the wall quietly, and then climbed into the yard lightly.
"Why are you back? Did something happen?" Seeing this brother coming back, Guo Bing's expression became serious.
"It went well, everyone got out safely." Lao Tietou also sat down along the wall.
"Didn't I ask you to leave too? Why are you coming back?" Deputy platoon leader Guo Bing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that everyone had gone out safely, and asked immediately.
"Platoon deputy, we have been together since we joined the army. We have fought so many battles. When have you ever seen me become a deserter?" Lao Tietou said with a smile.
"But I'm willing to accept defeat in the lottery. You should leave quickly. I'll detonate it later." Deputy platoon leader Guo Bing urged.
Old Tietou smiled and took out the branch from his pocket and said, "Platoon officer, ours are the same length, right?"
Looking at Lao Tietou, deputy platoon leader Guo Bing smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It seems I can't hide anything from you."
When drawing lots, deputy platoon leader Guo Bing broke four branches of the same length, so no matter how the other three brothers drew, the result would be the same.
"We brothers have been together through fire and bullets for so many years. Leaving you here alone makes me feel empty, so I came back." Old Tietou said with a smile.
"Oh, you, you, you," deputy platoon leader Guo Bing didn't know what to say, and finally stretched out his hand and said: "In that case, we brothers will fight side by side again and blast the Japanese to our heart's content."
"Let's have fun together!"
The two held hands tightly together, with smiles on each other's faces.