Yuzhuang, a small village with a population of less than 400 people on the outskirts of Baoying County, where the temporary headquarters of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps has quietly moved.
In the fields outside the small village, officers and soldiers of the guard company were hastily building hidden fortifications under the command of the company platoon leader.
"Put a light machine gun on the slope over there."
"Third Platoon sent a squad to guard along the stream."
"Four platoons guard each exit of the village, strictly prohibiting any unauthorized persons from entering or exiting."
...
The guard company commander was running back and forth, arranging the brothers in the company to various fighting positions.
The commander-in-chief of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps came together with the attacking troops who quietly went north to Baoying. In order to ensure the suddenness of this attack, the troops marched in concealment.
The villagers in Yuzhuang went to bed after dark as usual, but suddenly in the middle of the night, dogs barked one after another in the village. In less than ten minutes, all the dogs in the village stopped barking.
.
When these frightened villagers hurriedly put on their clothes and got up to check the situation, they found that a group of soldiers had already arrived in the village.
The villagers, who had little information, did not know which army these soldiers belonged to, but they still became worried.
Because once a large number of soldiers appear, it means there is going to be a war. Who is fighting whom? Who is fighting whom? They have no idea.
But they know that once a fight breaks out, the whole village will probably be turned into ruins in the flames of war.
Although they were very reluctant to leave, they secretly packed their things overnight and prepared to go out to avoid the limelight.
"Go back, now you can only enter but not exit."
The village was surrounded by officers and soldiers of the security company directly under the command of the Northern Jiangsu Province. The villagers who secretly wanted to sneak out of the village were quickly intercepted by the officers and soldiers of the security company who were armed with live ammunition.
"Boss...Boss, let's go out to visit relatives...be accommodating..."
Although the faces of these officers and soldiers could not be clearly seen in the darkness, the villagers still wanted to be accommodating. While talking, they felt distressed and put the remaining one or two pieces of ocean into the hands of the vigilant officers and soldiers.
Feeling the cold stuff in their hands, the officers and soldiers of the guard company knew what it was without having to guess, but they retreated without the slightest hesitation.
"We have discipline and cannot ask for it. You should go home and stay. If you are visiting relatives in the middle of the night, go back."
To the villagers' surprise, their tried-and-tested accommodation methods in the past actually failed, which made them even more panic-stricken.
In these turbulent years, many murderous bandits and devils would surround the village when they wanted to kill people and rob things, and then slowly clean up the village.
Once such a situation occurs, the entire village is almost deserted. After hearing such things so many times, the villagers did not expect that they would encounter such a thing today, and their faces turned pale.
"Boss, boss, we kneel down for you. Just let us go once. We haven't done anything harmful." The villagers who were about to leave the village suddenly knelt down in large numbers.
Seeing a large group of villagers suddenly kneeling down, the officers and soldiers of the guard company who intercepted them didn't know how to deal with it for a while, but the villagers were already begging for mercy.
"what happened?"
Seeing the movement here, the guard company commander who had just inspected here walked over quickly.
The squad leader of the security company hurriedly walked forward and reported: "Company commander, we didn't let them leave the village. For some reason, they suddenly knelt down."
Seeing these villagers kneeling on the ground and kowtowing continuously, the guard company commander immediately understood their worries and felt as if he and others had become rogue soldiers surrounding the village and robbing them.
"Fathers and fellow villagers, please get up quickly. We are not letting you out of the village to kill people, but we are going to use your village to live in for two days. We are worried that someone will inform the puppet troops and the Japanese, so we are not letting you out.
People from the village, don’t misunderstand me.” The guard company commander stepped forward and explained.
"Just staying for two days?"
After hearing the explanation from the guard company commander, the villagers who were kowtowing to beg for mercy all raised their heads one after another.
"There is no need to worry about safety. We are from the Northern Jiangsu Corps and are our own soldiers. We will never do anything wrong to our fellow villagers. Please go back to your house. It's cold outside, so don't freeze."
"Are you from the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps?"
The villagers were so frightened that they did not take a close look at the uniforms of these soldiers. Now after being reminded, they found with the faint light that these people wearing gray cotton uniforms had "Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla First Corps" stitched on their chests.
number.
"They are our guerrillas in northern Jiangsu. Everyone, please get up." An old man stood up tremblingly on crutches.
The villagers' worries were dispelled. These were not some broken soldiers who wanted to grab food and money, nor were they puppet soldiers who committed evil deeds. These were their young soldiers, the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps.
Although this area is under the control of the Japanese and puppet troops, small groups of guerrilla troops under the Jiangsu North Corps often come here to detect the enemy's situation and sneak attacks on Japanese strongholds, so the villagers still know about the Jiangsu North Corps and know that they have strict military discipline.
"Boss, are you going to make a fortune?"
Seeing a large number of troops gathering in the darkness in the distance, some villagers couldn't help but ask excitedly. They had been badly harmed by the Japanese and puppet troops, and they had long been looking forward to the arrival of the Chinese army.
"This is a military secret. We cannot tell you." The guard company commander did not answer the villagers' questions.
"Yes, yes, this is a secret, don't ask anyone." Although the guard company commander didn't say anything, the villagers also guessed that it was the same.
"Do you need help setting the fire and cooking? There are women in our village who cook delicious food."
"I have the strength to help you carry the stretcher."
...
The guard company commander smiled bitterly when he saw these overly enthusiastic villagers, because they already subconsciously thought that the Jiangsu North Corps was here to fight Baoying.
"We will inform you if necessary. You can go back to your houses first." The guard company commander persuaded the villagers to go home.
"Okay, okay, we won't disturb the bosses from carrying out their military duties. Let's go back."
The respected father-in-law responded and called everyone back.
Seeing that these common people no longer feared and worried, but showed unusual enthusiasm, the brothers in the guard company also felt better.
After the villagers returned to their houses, they did not fall asleep again, but thought about doing something.
Soon the villagers came back again carrying pots of steaming multigrain porridge, cooked sweet potatoes, and some tea.
"Thank you, bosses, we have nothing to entertain you..." The villagers put down their food and drinks and left again with a smile.
In this era, the gentry and landlords, Japanese and puppet troops, bandits and bandits, regular troops, and guerrilla troops all had to collect food for their meals. If the levies continued one after another, it would be difficult for the people to have enough food to last until the next harvest season.
On weekdays, when they were not doing farm work, they only had one meal, which was porridge. But when they heard that the Northern Jiangsu Corps was coming, they took out all the food they had saved for the food shortage.
"These folks are just like neighbors in our village, and they are so warm and hospitable."
The brothers were moved to tears when they saw these villagers preparing food for them that they would not normally eat.
"We are all soldiers, and our fellow villagers have done this to us, and we have nothing to repay. We can only go to the battlefield and kill a few more little devils!"
The brothers marched here overnight and were hungry, so they did not refuse the kindness of the villagers. While eating voraciously, they vowed to repay this kindness with their lives.