The knocking on the wooden door was particularly clear in the silent night. Yang Ling slept lightly. He reached for the shell gun he placed under his pillow with one hand and sat up vigilantly.
"Who?" Yang Ling asked outside the door without lighting the lamp.
"Senate, it's me, Wang Huzi. I have something important to report." Wang Huzi's familiar voice came from outside the door.
Hearing that it was Wang Huzi, Yang Ling got up and opened the door with his shoes on, but the shell gun was still in his hand.
The light from the hanging lanterns in the yard was very dim, but Yang Ling could still clearly see Wang Huzi and the people behind him.
"what happened?"
Yang Ling looked away from the man behind Wang Huzi and asked Wang Huzi.
"Team leader, this is the housekeeper of Qian Fuming's family in Zhangjiaji. The Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade committed a murder at Qian Fuming's house..." Wang Huzi's words were concise, but Yang Ling could clearly hear the cause and effect.
.
After Yang Ling heard Wang Huzi's description, he also frowned. He knew about this Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade. They belonged to the Ninth Guerrilla Column. They were previously a group of water bandits and were responsible for the Yangjiawan Massacre.
"Tour leader, do we have to take care of this matter?" Seeing that Yang Ling didn't speak for a long time, Wang Huzi asked tentatively.
Although those who came from the regular army looked down upon them as water bandits of the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Brigade, they were now standing on a common anti-Japanese front and both belonged to the Ninth Guerrilla Brigade. It would not be good if the relationship became tense.
"Sir Yang, you have to make the decision for us..." Qian Fuming's housekeeper saw that Yang Ling was silent and hurriedly pleaded.
"How many people are there in the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Brigade? Where are they now?" Yang Ling raised his head and asked Qian Fuming's housekeeper.
The housekeeper replied: "There are dozens of people, and they seem to have gone to Zhang's house now."
"Huzi, let your people gather together, let's go to Zhangjiaji."
"yes!"
After Yang Ling gave the order, he turned back to the house and grabbed his military uniform and belt.
Yang Ling had just promised Qian Fuming and other squires a few hours ago that if anything happened, he could come to him, but who knew this would happen.
If he doesn't stand up for justice for these squires this time, then it will be difficult to carry out future work, and there will be no chance of letting the squires provide food and intelligence to the guerrillas, so this time he has to step in and take charge.
Now the wounded, guard platoon and logistics platoon of the Third Guerrilla Brigade to which Yang Ling belongs are staying in the hidden camp in Yangjiawan.
Wu Changqing's Second Company has already dispersed, and is guerrilla-fighting in the form of a combat group near various artillery strongholds on the outskirts of Qinghe Town. Therefore, there are only more than 400 newly recruited recruits left in Xiaowangzhuang and 150 people under Wang Huzhu's command.
Combat company.
Most of the 150 brothers under Wang Huzi are elite veterans and have undergone intensive training. Although they gathered late at night, they were fully armed and ready in just a few minutes.
"Brothers, people from the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade stationed in Xinzhuang went to Zhangjiaji and committed a murder. Shopkeeper Qian Fuming asked us to seek justice. Although the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade is also one of our own people in the ninth column, the security guard
There may be enemy agents inside, you must be ready to fight at any time!"
"Yes!" The brothers all responded neatly with excitement.
"Let's go to Zhangjiaji!"
Yang Ling was relatively confident in his brothers, so with a wave of his hand, he led a fighting company out of Xiaowangzhuang and into the dark night.
Xiaowangzhuang was only an hour away from Zhangjiaji, but it was dark and the roads were slippery, so Yang Ling and the others hurried and hurriedly arrived before dawn.
The people of the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Brigade led by Hu Biao spent the night in Zhangjiaji, and finally camped at Zhangjia, the easternmost part of Zhangjiaji.
Yang Ling and the others quietly entered Zhangjiaji from the west and went straight to Qian Fuming's home first.
"Another team is coming..."
There was a team in Zhangjiaji. Although they were targeting large households, ordinary people could not sleep well. They felt uneasy when they saw another team entering the village.
"Should we go out and hide?" A low voice came from under a window facing the street.
"Let's take a look first. This group of people doesn't seem to be from Xinzhuang."
...
In these turbulent years, officers and soldiers were inferior to bandits, and refugees were thieves. Ordinary people were very afraid of these teams with guns and men.
Although the Qian family's courtyard was built in a luxurious style, Qian Fuming's concubine was bullied by Hu Biao's men and ran into a wall and died, which undoubtedly cast a shadow on the Qian family.
When Yang Ling and the others arrived at Qian's house, the brightly lit Qian's courtyard was filled with a low atmosphere of grief, and sobbing could be heard coming from inside the house.
In the main room with white lanterns, Qian Fuming, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, heard that Yang Ling was coming, and was helped out to welcome him.
"Sir Yang, you are finally here... Wuwu... You have to make decisions for the people. My concubine Liu'er died unjustly..."
When Qian Fuming saw Yang Ling rushing over overnight, he threw himself in front of Yang Ling like an aggrieved child.
"Shopkeeper Qian, get up and talk."
Yang Ling hurriedly helped Qian Fuming up. Qian Fuming, who was still chatting and laughing during the dinner, seemed to have suddenly aged ten years. He looked weak and old. This incident seemed to have hit him hard.
big.
"Shopkeeper Qian, since I'm here, I will naturally make the decision for you. People can't be resurrected after death, so please show your condolences." Yang Ling gave Qian Fuming, whose eyes were red and swollen, another kind consolation.
"Thank you for your concern, Chief Yang, but I feel really uncomfortable thinking about my Liu'er gone like this..."
Seeing such a thing happen, Yang Ling was quite helpless.
Now that the Japs have invaded China, order has collapsed in many areas of China. Bandits, Japanese and puppet troops, bandits, regular troops, and guerrillas are all active. Naturally, the situation is complex. Take the guerrillas, for example, they are mixed internally.
It would be fine if they were local guerrillas, who would only go to each village to collect some food to maintain their livelihood, but guerrillas transferred from other places were more unscrupulous in their actions, taking the opportunity to extort money and often kill some "traitors".
"Please tell me the cause and effect of the matter in detail. Zhangjiaji is the guerrilla zone of my third guerrilla detachment, so I will naturally support you." After Yang Ling comforted him with kind words, he wanted to know the specific situation of the matter.
When Qian Fuming saw that Yang Ling really came to support him, he was deeply moved and told all the causes and consequences in detail.
"Damn these scum, I'll go and kill them all!"
Hearing Qian Fuming's story, Wang Huzi immediately became angry. Although they had collected some money and food from big families, they were really fighting against Japan after all.
But these people who use the banner of anti-Japanese know how to deceive the people and hurt people's lives. They have become cowards in fighting the Japanese. How can they not make people angry?
After Yang Ling heard the story, he felt angry in his heart. It was precisely because of the existence of these people that their actions not only ruined the reputation of the army, but also pushed the people to the side of the Japanese.
As a result, the guerrillas sent behind enemy lines became rootless duckweeds. Facing the enemy's encirclement and suppression and the hatred of the people, how could they be invincible?