The sky was getting brighter, the gunfire had stopped, black smoke was billowing from Hutou Village, and there were ruins and broken walls everywhere. The officers and soldiers of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps, covered in gunpowder smoke, were searching for the remaining bandits everywhere.
A battalion of officers and soldiers led by the blacksmith arrived at Hutou Village silently and launched an attack. The entire attack was devastating, leaving Hutou Village with almost no chance to fight back before the trenches and fortifications they had worked so hard to build were breached.
After Wang Laohu, the leader of Hutou Village, was killed, the bandits who resisted immediately collapsed and dispersed, and the family members of the bandits who were stranded in the village all became prisoners.
"Damn, I finally got my revenge."
The body of Wang Laohu, the head of Hutou Village, was found and beaten into a sieve. The blacksmiths and the others finally felt more comfortable.
A month ago, Wang Laohu gathered many mountain bandits to besiege the North Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps camp in Xiaoqingshan, and almost allowed them to succeed.
Although Yang Ling and his troops defeated these bandits with timely reinforcements, many officers and soldiers of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps still died in battle.
Now that the culprit was killed, the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps finally settled a matter on its mind, allowing Wang Laohu to pay his blood debt.
"Let the troops disperse in squads and platoons to search for the remnants of the bandits. This time they must be hunted down. We cannot let the tigers return to the mountains and let them harm the local people." The blacksmith gave the order to the troops to expand the scope of the search.
Although they occupied Hutou Village in the dark at night, the blacksmiths and others were not familiar with the local terrain, so there were still many people who slipped through the trap.
Now that it was daybreak, they could search for those who had slipped through the net, and try to catch the hiding bandits as much as possible to prevent them from gathering again and becoming a local scourge.
When the blacksmith directed his brothers to search for the remnants of the enemy near Hutou Village, he also sent people to report the victory to the camp in Xiaoqingshan. After all, they also had a small victory.
A battalion of troops captured the easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack Hutou Village overnight, which also made the blacksmith look embarrassed.
After such an actual battle, the trained recruits became a little more murderous and appeared much more mature and steady.
Hutou Village was captured, but cleaning the battlefield, searching for remnant enemies, screening and counting prisoners, property, etc. were all complicated and complicated and could not be completed in a short time.
Therefore, the blacksmith did not rush to lead the team back to the camp in Xiaoqingshan, but ordered the troops to camp on the spot, preparing to return after the matter was settled.
The brothers of the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps, who had won the battle, had victory smiles on their faces. They carried out their tasks under the leadership of their respective commanders, and the atmosphere seemed particularly festive.
The bandits and their families who were taken prisoner were like eggplants beaten by frost, with their heads hanging down, looking terrified and uneasy.
"Batalion Commander, what should we do with these prisoners?"
There were more than a thousand prisoners this time. Faced with such a large number of prisoners, the first company commander was in trouble.
"Screen carefully and let those women and children go."
The blacksmith also knows that these women are also poor people. They were snatched up the mountain by bandits and now they have become their captives. The blacksmith does not want to embarrass them.
Soon the brothers followed the blacksmith's order and released these women and children after screening.
However, these women and their children gathered together and did not leave. Looking at the village that was almost in ruins, they all had tears in their eyes.
"You are free, you can go home now." Seeing that the woman and the child were not leaving, a brother smiled and explained with difficulty, declaring their freedom.
But no matter what the brothers said, these women and children would not leave and stayed where they were.
After the blacksmith received the news, he was also puzzled. He thought that the brothers from the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps had bullied them, so he went over to inquire about the situation in person.
"My home has been burned down by bandits, the man is dead, and the bandits who robbed me have been killed by you. I have nowhere to go..."
"My innocence is gone and I have no face to go back."
...
When the blacksmith asked about these women and children of different sizes, he also frowned. Who knew that beating a bandit would lead to so many troubles.
"Sir, please take us in."
"Sir, we have nowhere to go. Let us follow you."
"We can cook food and make clothes..."
As these women spoke, they began to wipe away their tears, and some began to cry with tears in their eyes. Many children born to bandits also stood there in panic, which was heartbreaking to see.
"Otherwise, let's take them in." Looking at these helpless and pitiful women, some brothers couldn't bear to say.
The blacksmith never wanted to take in all these women and children, but now what the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps lacks are soldiers who can fight, not women and children.
If we take them back now, it can be said that we have gained so many more mouths to eat in vain.
But the blacksmith was still soft-hearted. After struggling for a long time, he finally decided to take them back to Xiaoqingshan when the time came, whether to let them leave or stay, and wait for Yang Ling to deal with it.
"Okay, come back to Xiaoqingshan with us when the time comes." The blacksmith couldn't see anyone crying, and waved his hand to agree to take him in temporarily.
"Thank you, sir, for taking me in."
"Thank you, sir."
When these women faced the blacksmith for taking them in, they were all grateful and kept saying thank you.
"First company commander!"
"have!"
"Send a platoon to assist them and give them some food," the blacksmith ordered.
"yes!"
When the blacksmith was stuck in Hutou Village dealing with some difficult matters and felt overwhelmed, someone more than ten miles away from Hutou Village was in an even worse mood.
Several bloodstained and ragged bandits were walking weakly on the mountain road with guns on their backs. They were the bandits who escaped from Hutou Village in the chaos.
A night of fighting and escaping had exhausted their strength, making it difficult for them to walk and their stomachs were growling.
Compared with physical fatigue, they were more confused about the future. Hutou Village was destroyed by the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps. Although they escaped by chance, they didn't even have a place to stay and didn't know.
What to do next.
When these bandits were walking listlessly on the mountain road, suddenly a figure appeared from behind the big tree in front of them. The bandits were startled and they hurriedly took off the guns from their shoulders.
But when they saw this person clearly, they all breathed a sigh of relief. This person who suddenly appeared was none other than Jiao Chong, the former head of Black Wolf Village.
"Boss Jiao!"
Jiao Chong's luck was really bad. His Black Wolf Village was first destroyed by the Northern Jiangsu Guerrilla Corps, and he had to join Hutou Village to take revenge.
Who knew that revenge would fail, and now Hutou Village has been destroyed again, and he has to become a bereaved dog and run for his life in embarrassment.
"How's the situation in the village?" Jiao Chong asked with a stern face when he saw the embarrassed bandits.
"Boss Jiao, the village was attacked by those soldiers. The boss, the boss is also dead." As he said this, the bandit's face was full of grief and anger.
Hearing that the big bosses of Hutou Village had been killed, Jiao Chong also knew that Hutou Village had no hope of making a comeback.
"How many brothers escaped?" Jiao Chong asked.
The bandit replied calmly: "Most of the brothers were blocked in the stockade, but we escaped by luck."