Nearly a thousand absentees were locked up in ten houses of various sizes. Of course, it might be more appropriate to say that these houses are warehouses!
I could smell a stinking smell from a long way away!
Each house has two large bunks, and people sleep next to each other!
The old and lice-infested military uniforms are still on their bodies. As expected, these clothes will accompany them for the rest of their lives. Unless they have a chance to escape from the coal mine, they will definitely die of exhaustion here!
In the year since the Japanese took over the coal mine, more than 100 captives were absent from work due to exhaustion and starvation, and a corpse would be carried out of the mine almost every two days!
So everyone here lives in fear and is prepared to be exhausted in the coal mine!
The sudden sound of gunshots outside the barracks woke them up!
As former soldiers, they are naturally sensitive to the sound of gunfire!
Immediately, someone shouted with excitement: "This is not a sneak attack by bandits on the coal mine, but an army attack on the coal mine. Someone must have come to rescue us!"
Another prisoner who looked like an officer confirmed: "The army is attacking the coal mine. The bandits cannot be equipped with so many machine guns and artillery. I heard the explosion of mortars!"
"It must be the Jinsui Army. There are regular Jinsui Army troops in western Shanxi. They must be coming to save us!" shouted an officer of the Jinsui Army!
"I think it's the Central Army. The Jinsui Army definitely doesn't have the guts to take the initiative to attack the Japanese. Only the Central Army has such good equipment. It must be the Central Army that fought back!" An officer from the Central Army exclaimed in dissatisfaction!
"It could also be the Eighth Route Army!" said an inconspicuous middle-aged man in the crowd!
"The nearest Jinsui Army is nearly 200 kilometers away from here, and the Central Army is even further away. It is definitely impossible to travel hundreds of kilometers to rescue us! But there are Eighth Route Army troops operating nearby, and they must be here to rescue us!
"
"impossible!"
The officers of the Jinsui Army and the Central Army retorted at the same time!
"The tattered equipment you have in the hands of the Eighth Route Army can be used to fight guerrilla warfare against the Japs, but taking the initiative to attack the Japs is no different from committing suicide!"
The middle-aged man did not argue, but the firm expression on his face was the best counterattack!
He turned to a prisoner beside him and ordered: "Xiao Liu, let our people get ready!"
"If our team really attacks the coal mine, we will definitely cooperate with them at all costs!"
"boom!"
The locked iron door of the house from the outside was suddenly knocked open, and then several people poured in. Some were holding guns and light machine guns in their hands, and some were holding torches, which suddenly illuminated the dark house.
Bright!
"Everyone, come out and gather at the central turret. Everyone should know where the central turret is! Hurry up!" the leading Eighth Route Army shouted at the top of his lungs!
"We are the Eighth Route Army. Those who want to leave the coal mine alive must obey our command and go to the central gun tower. Go now!"
The faces of the officers of the Jinsui Army and the Central Army immediately turned red!
Just now I swore that the Eighth Route Army was like beggars and could not possibly attack the coal mines!
In the blink of an eye, the Eighth Route Army was standing in front of him.
This is definitely a slap in the face for them!
But they are officers after all, and they know the priorities. After hearing the words "You can leave the coal mine alive," the two men immediately shouted: "Listen to the command of the Eighth Route Army and gather at the central tower immediately!"
In less than ten minutes, the prisoners who were absent from work gathered in front of Li Hao, forming a large area of darkness.
A platoon of guard companies held torches and held guns, surrounding them!
After all the absentees had arrived, Li Hao spoke at the top of his lungs!
"Hello everyone, we are the Eighth Route Army. The purpose of attacking here today is to rescue everyone!"
"Now I declare that the guards in the coal mine have been killed by our Eighth Route Army. From now on, you are free!"
"However, don't be too happy because our crisis has not been resolved yet. Everyone, including our Eighth Route Army, is still in danger!"
"Everyone must have heard the faint sound of gunfire coming from a few kilometers away! Let me tell you the truth, those were reinforcements sent by the Japanese!"
"I have sent troops to stop them, but because there are too few troops, we will definitely not be able to hold on for too long. Therefore, we must evacuate here as soon as possible, and then find a way to get rid of the Japanese pursuit!"
"Originally, my idea was to bring everyone back to our Eighth Route Army base, but then I rejected this idea!"
"Many of you are former members of the Jinsui Army and the Central Army, and many of you are officers. You must have your own ideas and don't want to go to our Eighth Route Army base!"
"If I force you to go there, it will be threatening friendly forces, suspected of annexing friendly forces and undermining the united front!"
"In addition, the Japanese and puppet reinforcements are close at hand. If we all march together in a group, the target will be too big. Once they catch up, the entire army will be destroyed and we will be defeated by them!"
"So, I give you two choices, either retreat with our Eighth Route Army and go to our Eighth Route Army base area, or retreat by yourself. Decide where you want to go and which direction to retreat from!"
"At the same time, we also seized a lot of food, weapons and ammunition when we attacked the coal mine. If you choose to break out and retreat by yourself, I will give you some weapons and ammunition and ten days of rations!"
Nearly a thousand people who were absent from work immediately started shouting. Some were clamoring to follow the Eighth Route Army to go to safety, while others were clamoring to go to safety on their own. No one could convince anyone!
At this time, an officer of the Central Army who was absent from work suddenly shouted at the top of his voice: "You Eighth Route Army really let us leave, choose the direction of retreat by ourselves, and also gave us food, weapons and ammunition!"
"The Eighth Route Army keeps its word!" Li Hao affirmed!
"Those who are willing to follow our Eighth Route Army stand on my left, and those who are willing to retreat on their own stand on my right!"
"Because the weapons and ammunition we seized are limited, we will definitely not be able to have one rifle per person, but we will definitely not let everyone leave empty-handed, so everyone must think carefully and start making decisions now!"
The middle-aged man hiding among the absentees had already determined that Li Hao was the Eighth Route Army. He could no longer hold back his inner excitement and immediately stood up: "Report to the leader, I am Liu Senyun, deputy commander of the first company of the third regiment of the Eighth Route Army's Northwest Shanxi Base. I was injured six months ago.
I was captured in a coma, please return to the team now!"
There was also the Eighth Route Army among the absentees. This was something Li Hao didn't expect!
I originally felt that I had too few troops on hand. If they joined, it would definitely help me a lot!
He quickly stared at Liu Senyun and asked: "Liu Company Commander, how many Eighth Route Army troops are there among all the absentees? Come forward!"
"Including me, there are 29 people in total, two platoon leaders, three squad leaders, the others are all soldiers, and there are seven old Red Army soldiers among them!"
"good!"
Li Hao shouted excitedly!
The seven old Red Army soldiers could definitely form an infantry company if they were put to good use. They immediately ordered: "Liu Company Commander, I will now appoint you as the captain of the escort team. The twenty-eight soldiers will be members of the escort team. They will be divided into two squads and come out now."
Return to the team!"
"Now go to Captain Sun to get weapons and ammunition. Each team will be equipped with a machine gun, and the others will be equipped with a rifle. I will give you half an hour to familiarize yourself with the weapons and then carry out the mission. Are there any questions?"
Finally being able to touch the long-lost weapons, Liu Senyun was overjoyed and immediately replied: "Don't worry, chief, we are all veterans and we promise to complete the mission!"
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