Seeing that Xu Dalong returned safely and reaped so many benefits, Sun Desheng, Wang Chengzhu and the guerrillas were very happy, and naturally there was a lot of excitement.
After dinner that day, Xu Dalong and others said goodbye to Chu Yunfei and others, left the 358th Regiment Headquarters, and embarked on the road back to Mawu Mountain.
When Sun Desheng and others came, a villager from Qiligou Village who collected mountain goods all year round served as their guide. They avoided Japanese and puppet strongholds along the way and did not encounter enemies.
Xu Dalong and others returned the same way, traveling day and night, and the journey went smoothly.
Because they were pulling many large carts loaded with supplies, they moved slowly. After two days of marching, until the early morning of the third day, they entered Guancheng County and were less than 30 kilometers away from Qilin Peak. .
They rested on a hillside and prepared to return to Qiligou Village at night.
At 10 a.m., gunfire suddenly came from the north.
Since everyone was resting at the foot of a hillside, they could not see the direction of the gunfire behind the hillside.
Xu Dalong asked: "Uncle Li, you are familiar with the terrain in this area. What is the direction of the gunshot?"
The man Xu Dalong called Uncle Li was the guide from Qiligou Village. He said: "There is a village over there called Dahuangzhuang, with dozens of families."
Xu Dalong said: "Xizi, please take someone to see it."
Zheng Xirong called a class of soldiers to ride their horses up the hillside, and then disappeared from everyone's sight.
About 40 minutes later, Zheng Xirong and others came back. When they saw Xu Dalong and others, he was full of grief and anger, and said with a choked voice: "Captain, the devils massacred the village. There are more than a hundred people in Dahuang Village, but only one person is still alive." .”
"What?" Xu Dalong stood up suddenly and said in surprise.
Everyone was shocked by the news.
Sun Desheng made a swish sound, drew his saber, and cursed: "I'll blame you, you little devil, for eight generations." After saying that, he ran out.
Monk Wei and others also roared angrily and ran up the hillside.
"Everyone, stop!" Xu Dalong shouted.
Xu Dalong knew that as the top commander of the guerrillas, he must not be carried away by emotions. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
He asked: "What exactly is going on?"
Zheng Xirong said: "Captain, when I went there, the Japs had already left. There was only one villager alive. He was unconscious just now. I don't know the situation yet."
Xu Dalong stopped asking and said: "Leave one class to take care of the supplies, and the rest will all mount up and follow me!"
After saying that, Xu Dalong got on his horse and took the lead in running towards Dahuang Village.
Sun Desheng, Wang Chengzhu and the guerrillas followed closely behind.
Lin Xueying also drew her pistol and followed her on horseback.
Xu Dalong and others and the guerrillas arrived at Dahuang Village and were once again shocked by the horror before them.
Dahuang Village is littered with the corpses of villagers. Some were shot and most were stabbed to death. Some of them still had long wounds caused by Japanese command knives. There was blood everywhere and it looked like hell. generally.
Several guerrillas surrounded one person, who must be the survivor.
Seeing Xu Dalong coming, they shouted: "Captain, he's awake."
Xu Dalong came to the injured person, squatted down, and asked: "What is going on?"
The villager was a young man in his twenties named Wang Shuigen. He was shot twice, but fortunately his vitals were not injured.
His father, mother and sister all died tragically at the hands of the Japs. Before his death, his father threw himself on him, and this was how he escaped.
Seeing Xu Dalong coming over, he cried: "Commander of the Eighth Route Army, you must avenge the villagers!" After saying this, he burst into tears.
Xu Dalong said: "Don't cry first, tell us, what happened?"
Wang Shuigan wiped his tears and told Xu Dalong and others what happened.
Not long ago, a group of Japanese soldiers came, including about a small team and a dozen puppet troops. At the beginning, the villagers were very scared and no one dared to resist.
They watched helplessly as the Japanese and puppet soldiers stole the grain, as well as the village's cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks.
Everyone also endured this sigh. They knew that there was a guerrilla group of the Eighth Route Army in the Qilin Peak area of Mawu Mountain. They wanted to wait for the Japanese to leave and then go to the mountains to report the news.
The Japs loaded the looted items onto the cart and prepared to leave.
At this moment, a burst of crying suddenly came from the village. Two Japanese soldiers grabbed a girl and came to the street. Behind them, an old man and two young people chased them.
They were the girl's father and two brothers. When the Japanese captain saw them holding sticks and hoes in their hands, he immediately became angry.
He raised his hand and shot the old man. The Japanese around him also shot, and the two young men were also knocked to the ground.
Seeing this miserable situation, the girl suddenly broke away from the Japanese and threw herself on the old man, crying loudly.
The Japanese squad leader walked over and picked up the girl.
Seeing the girl's beautiful face, he smiled evilly and said: "The flower girl is very good. I have to enjoy it and enjoy working on the ground."
At this moment, one of the girl's brothers suddenly stood up. It turned out that he was only shot, but not dead.
He stepped forward and hugged the Japanese squad leader. He had no weapon in his hand, so he opened his mouth and bit the Japanese squad leader's ear.
Several Japanese soldiers hurriedly stepped forward and stabbed his body with bayonets, but he still refused to let go of the Japanese squad leader's ears, and actually tore off his ears before dying.
The Japanese squad leader screamed in pain and raised his gun to shoot at the villagers indiscriminately.
The Japanese also shot at the villagers one after another.
When the villagers saw this situation, they knew they would die, so they shouted and rushed towards the Japanese.
The villagers were no match for the Japs who were armed to the teeth. They were shot and stabbed by the Japs and fell to the ground one after another.
The Japanese were so ruthless that they killed all men, women, children, and even infants.
In the end, all the villagers were slaughtered. Only this young man survived. His body was covered by the corpses of other villagers, and he managed to escape with his life.
When the guerrillas heard this, they were all furious, and everyone shouted: "Revenge, revenge."
Xu Dalong was already anxious, and he asked: "Where are those Japs running?"
As the captain of the intelligence team, Zhao Xirong knew his responsibilities. He had already checked clearly. There were scattered grains and chicken and duck feathers on the road leading to the north. It was obvious that they were heading towards the county seat.
After Xu Dalong listened to Zheng Xirong's report, he didn't say a word, got on his horse, and took the lead to catch up to the north.
The guerrillas followed closely behind, beating their horses and running wildly.
Lin Xueying is a specially trained military agent. She does not lag behind the guerrillas whether she is riding a horse or shooting a gun. She works hard and soon catches up with Xu Dalong.
Xu Dalong saw Lin Xueying next to him and felt a little surprised. He asked, "Why are you here too?"
Lin Xueying said: "I am also an anti-Japanese fighter. I want to go with you to avenge the villagers."
Xu Dalong nodded and continued to gallop on his horse.
The Japanese and puppet troops left Dahuang Village not long ago. They walked and drove a carriage loaded with looted supplies, and they did not go far.
Soon after, Xu Dalong took the lead in seeing the Japanese and puppet troops in front.
