On the evening of August 4, 1930. It was late at night, and the light rain stopped now and then. From the crisscrossing field ditches and the unpredictable dark sorghum fields, a silent team was advancing rapidly in the muddy and cold wind and rain. There was no torch for illumination, and the road could be seen only by the occasional lightning strikes from the dark clouds overhead.
Raindrops slowly slid down the brim of Zhou Wen's hat, crawled over his thin black eyebrows, and joined the sweat on his delicate and determined cheeks.
This is the fifth day that Zhou Wen has led the transportation team from Liuhe. Since the headquarters agreed to Chief Qian's plan to go south, Chief Gu's Second Division and Chief Zhang's Second Teaching Division were mobilized from the eastern front to form a southbound detachment. Chief Qian personally served as the commander-in-chief of the southbound detachment.
The whole plan was for the southbound detachment to take advantage of the vast battlefield gap between Liuhe and Yanling County, travel day and night, and suddenly capture Yanling County without anyone noticing. Open up the channel to attack Xuchang.
Zhou Wen's transportation team became the vanguard of the southbound detachment. Detect the enemy's situation and survey the terrain along the way, and plan a suitable concealed march route for the subsequent army. Ten miles away from the transport team, a regiment of the Second Division followed closely and was ready to support at any time.
From departure to today, everything went smoothly. On the enemy's defense line of nearly 200 kilometers, there are troops of different affiliations such as the Northwest Army, the Jin Army, Shi Yousan's remaining troops, etc. The defense has quite a lot of loopholes.
In addition, this route happened to be the route that Zhou Wen and the others took when they followed Zhao Changshu's Sixth Traveling Army of the Jin Army. Drawing terrain maps along the way was one of the transportation team training projects formulated by Zhou Wen at that time. Therefore, the transportation team can be said to be familiar with the journey.
If it weren't for the need to take care of the marching speed of the following army, relying on the heavy-loaded marching ability of the transport team, they would have reached Xuchang City long ago.
In the dark night, the rain gradually became heavier. A dark figure trotted over in front, and a flash of lightning in the far sky illuminated his rain-stained face. It was Zhang Xiaoping who was scouting in front of the team.
"Brother, there is the Jialu River ahead. The water is a bit strong. It is dangerous to swim directly across it." Zhang Xiaoping wiped the rain on his face with his hand and said.
Zhou Wen said: "Let's go and have a look first. If it doesn't work, just go north along the river. I remember there is a village near the river. I saw a few small wooden boats on the river when I passed by last time." After that, he went with Zhang Xiaoping. Run to the river.
The Jialu River, also known as the Little Yellow River, flows very fast during the rainy season and even floods from time to time.
When Zhou Wen came to the river, he knew that swimming was impossible. I saw that although the river was not very wide, only about 30 meters, the current was very fast and the yellow sand was rolling. It was hard to say whether people could float if they got in. Moreover, the transport team not only has to cross the river by itself, but also needs to consider the crossing of the river by the large forces behind it.
So Zhou Wen decided to go north along the river to visit the village in his memory...
There are only about twenty households in Dahe Village by the Jialu River, and several of them have fled the war and fled to relatives in other places. Those left behind are poor families who have no place to hide and have no choice but to resign themselves to their fate.
The thunderstorm was particularly heavy tonight, and villager Liu Changgong was awakened by the sound of thunder and the growl of his own stomach. He listened to the pouring rain outside, and at the same time he heard the sound of water dripping and leaking from the corner of his mud house.
He turned over and lifted off the patched quilt that exuded a musty smell, put on his short coat and got off the bed. Feeling in the dark, I put a clay pot in the corner to catch the leaking rain. I thought to myself that when the weather clears up, I will have to get some mud grass to repair the roof.
He went to the water tank and scooped out a bowl of water and drank it, which temporarily stopped his stomach from growling. In the darkness, he looked back at his mother-in-law and six-year-old daughter who were sleeping on the kang, and slowly squatted on the ground along the foot of the bed.
Yesterday, the whole family only had water to boil a few wild vegetables for a meal. The earthen jars used to store grains had been scraped so long that light could shine through in the darkness. How will you spend your days in the future? This man who was less than thirty felt miserable and desperate.
Liu Changgong, who was in a state of sadness and confusion, was awakened by a gentle knock on the door. Who's knocking on the door in the middle of the night when it's pouring rain and thundering? The continuous thumping sound made Liu Changgong's heart beat wildly.
Liu Changgong's mother-in-law also sat up, gently covered her daughter's ears, and looked at Liu Changgong in horror.
Liu Changgong boldly asked outside the door: "Who is it?"
"Fellow, don't be afraid. We are a passing team. We want to ask you something. We won't hurt you, and we won't enter your home. Let your boss come out and ask questions."
"It's broken, it's a soldier." Liu Changgong broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly signaled his mother-in-law to hold her sleeping daughter and hide in the firewood pile in the corner of the house. Then he said to the outside world with a sense of luck: "Master, we are all poor people and we don't know what we are. Please go to other houses and ask."
This is the rhythm of a dead Taoist friend but not a poor Taoist.
"You'd better ask other people to open the door." The voice outside was very young and firm.
Liu Changgong felt a sense of despair. He looked back at his mother-in-law who was frightened and crying in the dark. He gritted his teeth and pulled open the door bolt...
I saw a few figures standing in the heavy rain outside the door, carrying guns and wearing raincoats. Looking at Liu Changgong, who was trembling with nervousness, the one in front of him said softly: "Fellow, don't be nervous. We are just here to inquire about some information. Don't be afraid if we don't enter your home."
At this time, a bolt of lightning illuminated the face of the person in front of him. He looked like a handsome young man with a pair of big bright eyes and a baby face. Liu Changgong's nervousness subsided a little and asked: "Whatever this little brother wants to ask, I will tell you everything I know."
It turns out that the village with boats in Zhou Wen's memory was Dahe Village. However, no boats were seen at the river. Due to time constraints, Zhou Wen did not care about disturbing the people. He led the transportation team directly into the village and went to each house to inquire about the situation.
Those who came to Liu Changgong's house were Zhang Xiaoping and Ti Jing and others. After Zhang Xiaoping inquired about the situation, he did not enter Liu Changgong's home. He thanked him politely and left.
Zhang Changgong turned around and entered the house, leaning against the door and letting out a long sigh of relief.
Zhang Xiaoping and others returned to the village entrance and saw that the team members had set up five tents on a high ground at the entrance of the village. Zhang Xiaoping entered the middle tent and saw that everyone who had inquired about the situation had returned. As soon as everyone summarized the situation, Zhou Wen frowned.
The situation was not optimistic. An unknown number of enemies were deployed across the river. They also dragged several boats from the original village to the other side.
Within dozens of miles around, only Dahe Village has boats, because the river near Dahe Village is wider than other places. The water flow is relatively gentle, making it suitable for ferrying.
In the past, the villagers of Dahe Village relied on a few ferries and a small amount of land to survive. Now that the land is abandoned and the ferry has been taken away, you can imagine how difficult the life of the villagers is.
