Suzhou.
This historic city was almost destroyed due to the "scorched earth policy" before its fall.
After the Songhu Anti-Japanese War, the 71st Army retreated to Suzhou. One afternoon, Shangguan Yunxiang, deputy commander of the theater, sent someone from Wuxi to deliver an official letter to the 71st Army Headquarters.
At that time, Army Commander Wang Jing was away for a long time, and Chief of Staff Xia Sheng was afraid of missing official business, so he immediately went to see it. The official letter basically said: According to the commission, in order to implement the long-term anti-war decision, our army should first send personnel to receive 20 boxes of kerosene and 100 kilograms of sulfur from the military station general department when it finally retreats from Suzhou, and place 50 fire heads inside and outside the Suzhou city. He set fire to Suzhou and turned it into scorched earth. He immediately followed the instructions.
After reading the official letter, Xia Sheng was stunned and said to his subordinates: "If we follow the superior's order, won't Suzhou City be reduced to ashes?"
He then said to the people next to him: "The night we arrived in Suzhou, the local people entertained us attentively. They cooked soup and noodles late at night in the cold night. The enthusiasm was palpable, but we had to report 50 fire heads before leaving. , I can’t help but feel unbearable and unreasonable!”
He thought twice and decided to wait until Wang Jingjiu came back to discuss it.
Wang Jingjiu came back and saw the letter and asked Xia Sheng for his opinion.
Xia Sheng didn't want to execute the order, so he said that this was just a note. It was neither an official document nor a seal. If this was followed, who would be held accountable in the future? It would be better for the military commander to ask the superior officer in person, ask for a formal military order, and then return to the Soviet Union to execute it.
Wang Jingjiu felt that Xia Sheng was right, so he immediately left for Wuxi. At the time of departure, Shangguan Yunxiang was staying at Wuxi Taihu Hotel, but by the time Wang Jingjiu arrived at Wuxi Taihu Hotel, Shangguan Yunxiang had already led his troops to withdraw to Zhenjiang. So Wang Jingjiu rushed to Zhenjiang again.
That night, the Japanese army approached Suzhou and the Japanese army was completely defeated. It seemed that Suzhou could no longer hold on.
Xia Sheng did not see Wang Jing come back for a long time, so he took it upon himself to believe that since he had not received a formal military order, there was no need to burn the city, so he ordered the army to withdraw from Suzhou.
It was this Chief of Staff Xia Shengxia who almost single-handedly protected this beautiful city.
When Meng Shaoyuan entered Suzhou, he only brought three people with him: Gan Ning, Xu Zhu, and Yu Yanchu.
He dressed himself up like a rich young man, but today he didn't wear his usual suit, but instead wore a lake blue robe with a standard black mandarin jacket.
This was the standard dress preparation in the early years of the Republic of China.
If it had been a different color, he would have been laughed at as a nouveau riche bumpkin.
Her hair was combed as usual, shiny and not messy at all.
Gan Ning and Xu Zhu pretended to be servants as usual.
Yu Yanchu dressed up as an old lady waiting on others.
This was also the makeup done by Meng Shaoyuan carefully for her.
Her hair was disheveled, and although her clothes were clean, they obviously didn't fit her.
What dissatisfied Yu Yanchu the most was the sallow color on his face, and a spot on it.
At first glance, he looks like he is in his forties.
How can a young girl who loves beauty endure this?
But Meng Shaoyuan had his own ideas.
In the three places of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, due to governance and practical reasons, the Japanese control was relatively lax due to their weak strength. But after all, they were still a group of beast soldiers. What should I do if I see Yu Yanchu and become a beast?
She must be protected!
At the city gate, two Japanese soldiers and a few policemen were smoking and chatting out of boredom.
Unlike those strategically important places and big cities, there is no need to go through complicated procedures such as body searches and ID checks when entering and leaving such cities.
To put it bluntly, these people are just messing around.
The nearby anti-Japanese guerrillas also seemed to have a tacit understanding that they would fight outside the city and maintain relative peace in the city.
Therefore, Suzhou City, apart from encountering a nightmare when it fell, has regained some of its vitality since then.
Operating near Suzhou was the guerrilla detachment commanded by Yue Zhenchuan.
It is said that Yue Zhenchuan comes to Suzhou city every now and then to have a good time for a few days.
"stop!"
Before entering the city gate, a Japanese soldier suddenly shouted loudly.
Damn it!
Generally speaking, we won’t check, but that doesn’t mean that no one will check.
Maybe the Japanese soldier was too boring, or maybe Meng Shaoyuan's dress was too ostentatious, which actually attracted the other party's attention.
A policeman quickly stood up and listened to the Japanese soldiers chattering. He nodded and bowed repeatedly. Looking at Meng Shaoyuan's appearance, he must be a rich man. He might have some backing. He did not dare to offend him and said in a flattering tone:
"Taijun asked you, do you have a good citizen certificate? What are you doing in Suzhou?"
Meng Shaoyuan smiled, opened his mouth, and spoke fluent Japanese: "This is my certificate of good citizenship. I am Zhu Yanfan, and my Japanese name is Nohara Shinnosuke!"
The Japanese soldier was immediately curious: "Your Japanese is very good."
"Yes, I graduated from Kyoto University in Japan. My teacher is Professor Hanaka, a famous biologist. I believe you have heard of him. Now he is serving His Majesty the Emperor in the 10th Division, fighting on the Xuzhou front line."
This Japanese soldier didn't know Professor Yuzhong, but when he heard that he was fighting in the 10th Division on the Xuzhou front, and that he spoke such fluent Japanese, he immediately checked his good citizen certificate and gave it back:
"Ah, if I have the opportunity to meet your teacher, please express my respect to him. What are you doing in Suzhou?"
"Although I have the skin of a Chinese, the blood of the Japanese Empire flows in my body." Meng Shaoyuan never blushed when he told lies: "I came to Suzhou to investigate the customs and customs here, and to contribute to the empire. Erect a section on the future rule of China."
"Ah, thank you for your hard work." When the Japanese soldiers heard this, they were extremely respectful.
"No, you have worked hard." Meng Shaoyuan waved his hand, and Gan Ning immediately handed over two paper bags and two bottles of wine.
"This is?"
"These are two roast chickens, please accept them anyway."
The two Japanese soldiers suddenly beamed.
A Japanese soldier who invaded China had a mysterious obsession with chickens.
So as soon as the Japanese army entered the village, they grabbed chickens everywhere. It was really not nonsense.
"I'm so sorry, Nohara-kun." As he said this, the Japanese soldier had already reached out to take the roast chicken and wine, and the title became "Nohara-kun", and then he kindly reminded:
"You came at the wrong time. Suzhou was originally peaceful, but recently, a group of bandits appeared inexplicably. They kidnapped and extorted wealthy people everywhere. Tan Jinhao, a wealthy businessman in Suzhou City, refused to pay the ransom. His The fourth son was even killed by these people."
"oh?"
Meng Shaoyuan didn't pay much attention: "Did those Chinese guerrillas do it?"
"No." The Japanese soldier immediately said: "We have reached an agreement with the Chinese guerrillas. Both parties guarantee peace in Suzhou. We will not arrest their people in Suzhou, and they will not cause destruction in Suzhou."
Is there such an agreement?
Meng Shaoyuan asked further: "The Chinese people are willing to abide by this agreement?"
"Yes, the largest Chinese guerrilla force near Suzhou is commanded by Yue Zhenchuan. It seems to have a code name, 'Bison Detachment'. I heard that our commander even drank with him."
"Okay, I understand." Meng Shaoyuan nodded: "I will be careful, then I will go to the city first."
"Please be careful with it."
Entering Suzhou City, although it is no longer as prosperous as before, compared with those cities that have been severely damaged by war, the situation here is still much better.
Most of the time-honored shops on the streets have resumed business.
The people coming and going had sadness and helplessness on their faces.
Who wants to be a slave to the subjugation of the country?
But life, after all, must go on.
"Here, let's eat."
Meng Shaoyuan took three of his subordinates into a restaurant that looked relatively clean.
"Congratulations, boss." Yu Yanchu looked at the tables on the left and right and saw that there was no one around, and lowered his voice: "How dare Yue Zhenchuan be so bold to reach such an agreement with the Japanese? And he actually drank with the commander of the invaders?"
"Tell me, what is an agent?" Meng Shaoyuan suddenly asked.
Seeing Yu Yanchu startled for a moment, Meng Shaoyuan actually didn't need her to answer: "The task of an agent is not to engage in a bloody battle with the enemy. Recovering the city is a matter for the army, and it is difficult for the guerrillas to do it. Of course Yue Zhenchuan can kill Suzhou Rivers of blood flowed and corpses littered the fields, but what was the result?
The Japanese will immediately launch crazy retaliation and at the same time strengthen their alert to these cities. As a result, our living space will become more and more difficult, the space for activities will become smaller and smaller, and the living conditions of the common people will rapidly deteriorate. The whole city is caught in the flames of war, and we are the most disadvantaged.
On the contrary, now that Yue Zhenchuan and the Japanese have quietly reached an agreement, their situation has suddenly improved. Without destroying the city, they can establish a large number of secret contact points, frequently develop the people, and at the same time, encroach on the periphery of Suzhou and establish The safe guerrilla zone will, if things go on like this, isolate Suzhou. "
At this point, he paused briefly: "The living environment of Chinese people in Suzhou has been improved, and the living environment of the surrounding rural areas outside Suzhou has also been improved. This is one of them.
Secondly, the preliminary preparation work has been almost done. Once Suzhou becomes an isolated city in the actual sense, once the Communist Party is ready to officially recover Suzhou, do you imagine how easy it will be with the cooperation of the guerrillas? "
Yu Yanchu seemed to understand: "Wouldn't the Japanese notice this?"
"Of course, they are not fools." Meng Shaoyuan smiled: "But the commander's mission, when cooperating with the search for Chinese people, is to ensure the safety of Suzhou, and the latter is what they care about most. The Japanese troops stationed in Suzhou , most of them are local troops, and life in Suzhou is comfortable. Once people get used to the comfortable life, they are not willing to make big changes."
Meng Shaoyuan was silent for a moment: "The War of Resistance is a long-term war. What we have to do is not to achieve one or two major victories, but to weaken the strength of the Japanese little by little, and finally drive out all the Japanese!"
