In the thick darkness of the night, hundreds of brothers from the first guerrilla battalion holding torches trotted along the muddy road and headed straight to Zhangjiaji.
"Quick! Everyone, run!"
Wang Huzi, who wore his official coat open, kept running back and forth in the team, urging the brothers to speed up their pace.
The brothers had been fighting the Japs all day and were already exhausted.
But now that I heard that Zhangjiaji had been attacked, I was immediately filled with rage and tiredness, and headed towards Zhangjiaji in a mighty manner, ready to teach the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade a harsh lesson.
In particular, many of the brothers in the team who came from Zhangjiaji were even more anxious. However, their families were hurt and they wished they could grow wings and fly to Zhangjiaji.
The road was muddy and difficult to navigate. Although it was dark and rumbling from time to time, someone slipped and fell to the ground and made a muffled sound, but the speed of the entire team did not slow down at all.
Yang Ling knew that the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade was adapted from the water bandits. If he really surrendered to the Japs, he would probably do anything. He was worried about the safety of Zhang Liechen and the folks in Zhangjiaji. Although his face was calm as before, his heart was anxious.
extremely.
The brother was sweating profusely from running all the way. When he was several miles away from Zhangjiaji, he saw the huge fire in Zhangjiaji from a distance, illuminating the entire night sky near Zhangjiaji.
Seeing the raging fire in the distance, Yang Ling's heart sank. The brothers who lived in Zhangjiaji had red eyes. They were worried about the safety of their families and ran towards Zhangjiaji without any urging.
"Get ready for battle!"
Yang Ling didn't know whether Zhangjiaji was still under the control of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade, so he issued battle orders while running.
The brothers loaded their bullets one by one, with anger on their faces, and soon arrived at the outskirts of Zhangjiaji.
The blazing flames were burning with thunderbolts, and the scalding heat wave was blowing against his face. Yang Ling did not dare to lead the brothers directly into the village, and stopped and took cover in the wild fields outside the village.
Several brothers from the reconnaissance team, led by a Shandong veteran, used the cover of night to go to the village to inquire about the situation. The brothers were panting and waiting anxiously.
Soon, the Shandong veteran who was responsible for the investigation returned.
"Reporting to the team, the gang of bastards from the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Brigade have escaped, and Deputy Captain Zhang is organizing firefighting in the village."
Yang Ling breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Zhang Liechen and the others were safe and sound. He waved his hand and rushed into the village with hundreds of brothers.
A large number of houses in Zhangjiaji were burning blazingly, with thick smoke billowing. From time to time, charred beams collapsed, and flames flew wildly.
The brothers had been fighting in the swamp for a day, and they were all wet. Facing the hot air, their bodies were steaming white, as if they were in a steamer.
"Quick, pour the water!"
Zhang Liechen, the deputy captain of the Third Guerrilla Detachment, whose face was blackened by the smoke, was loudly shouting and directing the chaotic civilians and militiamen to pour water to put out the fire.
Looking at it from a distance, people were silhouetted against the firelight. People were running and shouting everywhere, putting out fires and wailing. The scene was a mess.
"The first company went to guard outside the village, the second company maintained order, and the third and fourth companies rushed to put out the fire!"
Seeing the fire spreading wantonly and burning people's houses, Yang Ling did not dare to delay. After giving the order, he went straight to Zhang Liechen.
"Vice Captain Zhang, what's going on?" Yang Ling pulled Zhang Liechen aside and asked loudly about the situation.
Zhang Liechen couldn't help but be happy when he saw Yang Ling arriving: "Sir Yang, this was all done by those bastards from the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade. What a crime!"
Yang Ling asked with a dark face: "Where are they now?"
"Run away. I heard that we defeated the Japanese. They were so frightened that they retreated back to Xinzhuang. Otherwise, we might have harmed many other villagers. These gangsters are so damned that they cannot change their nature. We will never let them go this time.
, we have to let the guerrilla columns sue them, it’s time to discipline them!”
The Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Brigade secretly surrendered to the Japanese and attacked Xinzhuang first. They originally wanted to take the opportunity to attack Xiaowangzhuang and outflank Yang Ling's retreat.
But halfway through, they heard that Yang Ling and the others had repelled the Japanese, so they were so frightened that they hurried back to Xinzhuang. After all, they were self-aware and knew that they were no match for the guerrilla detachment.
The guerrilla officers and soldiers went to put out the fire, but it took them two hours to control the fire, but a large area of residential buildings had been burned into ruins.
"My house!"
"Everything is burned down. How will we live our lives from now on?"
"My father, you died unjustly!"
…
Although the fire in Zhangjiaji was under control, the blackened villagers could not restrain their tears and burst into tears when they saw their homes burned into ruins.
The Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade struggled in Zhangjiaji for several hours. Not only did they kill many family members of the guerrilla officers and soldiers and anti-Japanese activists, they also killed many villagers who wanted to escape from Zhangjiaji and set their houses on fire.
, as a warning.
At this moment, on these ruins that were burned to rubble, there are many villagers with sad faces and red and swollen eyes. They are searching their ruined homes, trying to find some things that have not been burned, but all that is left to them is
Endless disappointment, most things turned to ashes.
The family members of those who died were lying on the corpses and crying hard. There were also guerrilla officers and soldiers who found their murdered relatives and rushed towards them one by one, crying.
Zhangjiaji had formed a militia team to protect the village a few days ago. However, in the face of the increased firepower of the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade, the entire militia team was sacrificed. The corpses were placed in front of Zhangjiaji's ancestral hall, surrounded by people.
Sad people.
"Sir Yang, you have to make the decision for us!" Seeing Yang Ling coming, the people gathered around, and many even knelt down in front of Yang Ling.
"Get up, everyone, get up quickly!" Yang Ling hurriedly asked someone to help them up.
Yang Ling stood on the steps of the ancestral hall and looked down at the dark crowd, feeling quite uncomfortable.
"Dear fellow villagers, this time Zhangjiaji was attacked, people died, and many people's houses were burned. It was all my fault, Yang Ling. It was my lack of defense and failure to protect everyone. I would like to say sorry to everyone.
I can't stand it any longer -" Yang Ling said and bowed deeply to the villagers.
"Sir Yang, please stop saying that. It's Han Feihu who was killed by God..."
When these kind-hearted villagers saw Yang Ling bowing, they all spoke one after another. After all, they all knew that this had nothing to do with Yang Ling.
"Of course, every injustice has its own debtor. The Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Brigade did not want to fight against Japan and save the country. Instead, they massacred and killed the anti-Japanese soldiers' relatives and attacked their hometown relatives. This is intolerable. I, Yang Ling, will definitely seek justice for you and save the dead folks.
Revenge!" Yang Ling was filled with indignation and made a promise to the villagers.
"Okay! Thank you, Chief Yang!"
"Sir Yang, I kowtow to you..."
…
When the people heard Yang Ling's words, they all shouted in support of Yang Ling.
"I will take people to the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade to seek justice. Later I will let Vice Captain Zhang be responsible for settling the homeless folks, and send people to help you repair your houses and bury the dead. I also hope that everyone will listen to Vice Captain Zhang.
Order, can everyone agree?"
"We listen to Chief Yang!"
"Sir Yang, you must avenge this child's father!"
…
Yang Ling's words quickly calmed the hearts of these injured villagers.
"Have the casualties been counted?" Yang Ling asked when he saw Zhang Liechen approaching.
Zhang Liechen replied: "More than a hundred guerrilla soldiers were killed by the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade, and more than thirty militia members were killed..."
"Damn it, Tuanzuo, how can you bear this breath if you don't destroy this bunch of bastards! How can you be worthy of the fellow villagers who died!"
Upon hearing such huge casualties, the battalion commander Wang Huzhu angrily punched the pillar next to him, causing dust to fall.
"Vice Captain Zhang, I'll leave this place to you. You must settle the villagers well." Although Yang Ling was angry in his heart, he didn't show it and ordered Zhang Liechen.
"Don't worry, Chief Yang, I will do my best to settle the folks."
Yang Ling nodded and turned around to order: "Huzi, let the brothers assemble."
Wang Beard was so angry that he gritted his teeth. After hearing the order, he turned around and shouted loudly: "Brothers, assemble!"
The guerrilla officers and soldiers whose families were killed were extremely angry at this moment. They all ran over quickly with red and swollen eyes. They wanted revenge! Revenge for their dead relatives!
"Sir, the brothers have been fighting with the Japs for a whole day, and now they are too tired to walk. Why don't you take a break and then go to the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade to ask for an explanation."
Zhang Liechen saw that Yang Ling was really going to find the Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Brigade, but seeing that the brothers were exhausted and worried that they would suffer a loss, he hurriedly stopped and spoke up.
"Besides, I heard that the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade purchased some weapons and equipment from unknown sources. It is no longer the same as before. We can't be impulsive. Besides, they are also friendly forces. If this attack on Zhangjiaji is a misunderstanding..."
"What a bullshit misunderstanding. I suspect they have secretly defected to the Japs. If we endure it this time, we may suffer greater losses in the future. No matter what, this Anti-Japanese National Salvation Brigade must be eliminated!" Yang Ling's tone