"Battal commander, regimental commander, they won't have any problems, right?" Also worried was First Company Commander Xiong Changhe.
"It must be fine! The regiment leader has been the captain of the headquarters' special operations brigade, and he was the regiment leader a long time ago, so there must be no problem!" Zhong Chenggong comforted himself.
Although he said this, Zhong Chenggong's worry did not decrease much, and he still looked back from time to time to look at the direction where the gunfire came from.
Soon, the gunfire ended.
When he was hesitating whether to send someone to inquire about the news, the sound of horse hooves came from far and near.
The war horses just captured from the Japanese stronghold were directly used by Wang Ping, who was given to the first platoon leader of the second company of the new regiment, the only one who had ever been a cavalry, to temporarily serve as a temporary cavalry correspondent.
Seeing the familiar figure of the other party, Zhong Chenggong's nervous heart suddenly rose to his throat. He was both nervous and looking forward to the next report of the other party.
"Good news, battalion commander, the regiment commander asked me to report: The Japanese reinforcements were captured by us, and 18 puppet prisoners were captured. The seizure was huge. He is leading the troops to chase this way. The regiment commander asked you to lead the team as soon as possible.
Go to the nearest fortress village and lurk." The cavalryman reported excitedly as soon as he rushed over.
"We won!" Zhong Chenggong and Xiong Changhe breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. After looking at each other, they both saw genuine smiles on each other's faces.
Then Zhong Chenggong gave the order to the cavalry platoon leader in front.
"Go back and tell the regiment leader to catch up as soon as possible and pay attention to safety. In two hours, one of our fortress villages will arrive!"
Zhong Chenggong didn't know that as they got closer to the village, a bigger crisis was getting closer and closer to them.
After Wang Ping led the team and followed Zhong Chenggong into the village, more than a hundred people, including seriously injured people, were blocked at the entrance of the village.
Although the coldest period has passed, it is night now, and Wang Ping can still see many soldiers shivering in the cold wind.
"What's going on? Why don't you go into the village? It's so cold outside that ordinary soldiers can't hold on, let alone the wounded!" Wang Ping asked with his face covered as soon as he saw Zhong Chenggong, very dissatisfied with what he saw in front of him.
Zhong Chenggong also looked aggrieved: "Captain, it's not that we won't go in, it's that the people won't let us in!"
"As soon as we came here, a dozen traitors from the Maintenance Association ran away with guns. I thought the people here would welcome us back, but I didn't expect that they stayed behind closed doors. Not only did they not talk to us, they also asked us to leave quickly.
Village, don’t harm them!”
"What on earth is going on? Didn't you say that this village is our fortress village?" Wang Ping asked, frowning in confusion.
"It is indeed a fortress village. Three or four months ago, a dozen young men in the village joined our new regiment, but they all died in the subsequent anti-encirclement and suppression campaign. But we gave them pensions, and when we left the village, many of them
The people all came out to see us off and gave us eggs and steamed buns. But we didn’t expect that we would be like this less than a month after we left the village!" Zhong Chenggong explained immediately.
Then what suddenly occurred to him? He frowned and shouted, "It must have been the Japanese army. They must have been afraid of the enemy's revenge, and that's why they didn't dare to approach us!"
"Then why are you still stunned? Find someone to ask immediately! Remember to hide it, don't let others see it, or cause trouble for the villagers!" Wang Ping immediately ordered.
Ten minutes later, an underground party member hiding in the village was brought to Wang Ping.
Zhong Chenggong obviously knew the other person. When he saw him, he frowned and asked: "Old Zhang, what happened in the village? Why don't the people want to see us!"
"Hello, Chief!" Lao Zhang quickly received a gift from Wang Ping and Zhong Chenggong.
Then he replied with a look of helplessness: "I don't blame everyone for this situation. When the troops passed by, the Japanese set up a maintenance committee in the village, and also set up a guard team to report each other's people who were connected to the Eighth Route Army. If they reported correctly, they would be given two pieces of ocean on the spot.
.”
"You don't know that on that day, six people in the village were killed by these stupid traitors."
"Then the Japanese set up a company system. If someone in the village is found to have collaborated with the Eighth Route Army, and no one can be found, the whole village will be punished. Each family will be fined fifty kilograms of grain. If there are no traitors, they will rob them. Unless the traitor is found, the whole village will be punished."
Find it out!"
Now the whole village is being stared at by those traitors and is in panic, and they are deeply afraid that they will be reported, how could anyone dare to come out and contact you!"
"Didn't we drive away all the traitors who maintained the association?" Zhong Chenggong asked with a frown on his face, an expression of dissatisfaction.
Lao Zhang was not polite because Zhong Chenggong was the battalion commander. He retorted directly: "They are gone now, but they will come back."
"After they come back, they will come to liquidate the people who contacted you. By then, what awaits them will definitely be family ruins."
"Unless Battalion Commander Zhong assures everyone that the troops will not leave in the future, everyone will believe it!"
"No!" At this point, Lao Zhang suddenly thought of something and continued: "Even if you, Battalion Commander Zhong, promise you, no one will believe it!"
"The traitors in the maintenance committee have been telling everyone every day during this period that the new regiment has been defeated. The regiment leader and political commissar are all dead. The remaining two to three hundred remnants have been driven to the mountains and will not be able to achieve anything. Many people believe it.
I think it is impossible for you to develop and grow again under the noses of the Japanese."
"If I come into contact with you at this time, once you leave, you will definitely be punished by the Japanese and you will be destroyed!"
Seeing the frown on Zhong Chenggong's face getting deeper and deeper, and when he subconsciously wanted to curse, Wang Ping spoke decisively.
"I understand: "Now that the Japanese are powerful, we may be wiped out at any time, and the people don't think highly of us, so they won't offend the Japanese and lose their lives and the lives of their families for us!"
Seeing Lao Zhang lowering his head and saying nothing, Wang Ping knew that Lao Zhang was also in great pain.
As a secret party member, it is impossible for me to feel happy as I watch my troops being squeezed out by the common people.
Thinking of this, Wang Ping directly comforted him: "Comrade Lao Zhang, it's not everyone's fault. If we are to blame, it's our failure to win the war and fail to give the people confidence!"
"Although the people's support is temporarily gone, I believe that as long as we win more battles, develop and strengthen the army again, and make the devils in the county feel scrupulous about us, the people will definitely stand up and support us again!"
"After all, the common people were forced into this situation by the Japanese soldiers. No one would not support his own soldiers!"
"Captain Zhong, send Lao Zhang back, remember to keep it secret and not let other people in the village find out. We still need Comrade Lao Zhang to continue to lurk and provide us with information!"
After seeing Lao Zhang off, Wang Ping sat down on the ground.
The brows that were relaxed just now suddenly wrinkled into a big "Sichuan" sign.
Several battalion company commanders, including Zhong Chenggong, also frowned, either sitting on the ground or leaning against the earthen wall at the entrance of the village, thinking about solutions.
"Captain, would you like us to go to another fortress village and have a look!" Zhong Chenggong, who had no idea of a way, suggested helplessly.
"No need!" Wang Ping refused.
"I have heard about the establishment of the Japanese maintenance committee and the implementation of the continuous sitting system. It just happened that our new regiment was defeated again. It is normal for the people to be frightened. We have nothing to blame everyone!"
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