Chinese New Year is just two days away.
The biting wind was howling, and even though the sun was shining, the sky was still gray.
Su Qing led Wang Xiaosan and his party, all dressed in security army uniforms, and the team trotted all the way into Xujiagou.
The public security soldier leading the way raised his hand and pointed: "Not far ahead is Zhencun, the village where the accident happened."
Su Qing looked up and saw black smoke still floating over the village in the distance.
After a while, the group came to the deserted grain drying ground outside the village.
There were forty or fifty corpses at the entrance. Without exception, they were all old, weak, women and children.
The soldiers were still carrying the bodies out from the village.
"Captain Su, we only found one surviving little girl." Director Zhang, who arrived first, had red eyes and a heavy heart.
Su Qing felt extremely sad: "What on earth is going on?"
Director Zhang has been busy since midnight: "According to the child, after dark yesterday, a group of bandits suddenly surrounded this place and killed everyone they saw."
"Approximately, how many villagers died?"
"Almost all of the people who died were ordinary people who had fled here, about eighty or more. The specific data are still being compiled."
"Are there any survivors?"
"Only the child, who knew nothing and hid in the cellar, escaped disaster. We found her not long after we came here. She was frightened. If we hadn't discovered it early, she would have been killed. I'm also freezing to death, and now I'm arranging to sleep in the village." Director Zhang shook his head.
Su Qing thought carefully and was silent for a while: "Even drinking water here is a problem. People can't survive at all. We have sent most people across the blockade. Why are there so many fellow villagers here?"
"Earlier, the enemy deliberately released the blockade in order to drive the old, weak, women and children into the mountains in an attempt to let the common people bring down our team in the mountains. Therefore, many common people who could not survive got the news and ran to this area, planning to start from here. Cross the blockade to our base.
But a month ago, the Japanese suddenly tightened the blockade. Many villagers who did not know the situation continued to come here. The county government had not had time to organize them to cross the blockade, so they were stranded here. "
"Are you sure it was the Japanese who did it?"
"Probably not!" Director Zhang shook his head: "Most of the people guarding the blockade ditch in this area are puppet troops. Our public security team has developed some insiders in the middle. According to insiders, the Japs did not come out at all at night during this period. According to them Judging from the information provided, it is very likely that bandits did it.”
"Bandits? Bandits are unable to afford early benefits. There is no need for them to attack these extremely poor people, right?"
"I can't say, but the cause is still under investigation, but it hasn't been found out yet."
"What kind of bandits are around here?"
Zhang Yi analyzed the possibilities: "There are quite a few small groups of bandits. If they want to massacre the village, they probably won't be able to do it. Moreover, this Xujiagou is the hometown of the traitor Xu Jinsheng. Based on his friendship with those bandits, what happened?" The possibility of such a thing is unlikely, unless it is seeking revenge."
Su Qing reminded: "Don't forget, the biggest bandit leader in the area, Ma Da Gangzi's group."
"Ma Da Gangzi? It's not very likely. He came out of the mountains and defected to the enemy. We arranged for someone to contact him some time ago. This guy is not the kind of stubborn person who is determined to be a traitor. We have talked with him. Several times, this guy was a bachelor and said that he couldn't bear the hardship of being a member of the Eighth Route Army. After arriving in Pingyuan, he joined Wang Ziquan under the guidance of Xu Jinsheng, became a member of the security force, and became the township head to maintain the government. "
Su Qing has a good memory: "I have seen from the information we investigated on the enemy that it is not impossible that Ma Da Bangzi is still doing evil after he became the mayor."
"After all, this is the hometown of Xu Jinsheng, a big traitor. Since he has a relationship with Xu Jinsheng, logically speaking, it shouldn't be him. Moreover, we warned him when we contacted him, and he also promised not to bully the villagers, and later he restrained himself a lot. Occasionally he sells some in-demand supplies to the guerrillas, I don’t think it’s him!”
Su Qing suddenly thought of something: "Whether it's him or not, check his activities that night. He is a bandit who came out of the mountains. His temper will never change. If such a big thing happens, we can't let go of any clues." .”
"People have been arranged to inquire about the news. All the old, weak, women and children were killed without exception. I always feel that this matter is a bit like a vendetta, and it is impossible not to have any clues." When Director Zhang said this, he suddenly remembered What: "It's strange. The person we arranged to find out the news hasn't come back yet."
"I remember that Xujiagou was the ancestral home of the traitor Xu Jinsheng. Such a big thing happened. Why didn't I see anyone from the Xu family?"
"Well, I didn't pay attention to this. If you say that, will someone seek revenge on him named Xu? And then kill all the people in the Xu family?"
Su Qing gritted his teeth and said: "To vent your anger on the fleeing people, no matter who it is, we must find him out and make him pay the price with blood."
Director Zhang nodded: "If we want to kill so many villagers, there will definitely be a lot of people coming. I have arranged to mobilize the people in nearby villages to find out if any large groups of people have been here in the past two days. As long as we can figure out who is here, If you come here, you can definitely find out this matter."
Su Qing looked at the corpses on the ground and turned pale: "Okay, you arrange for someone to bury the corpses of these villagers first, and I will go to the village for a walk."
Under a hill in the south, a group of soldiers were working hard to dig a hole. Director Zhang took a pen and paper and counted the corpses with several soldiers.
Wang Xiaosan followed Su Qing into the village: "Sister Su, Director Zhang is very experienced. He must have seen the situation in the village. What can we see when we enter the village?"
Director Zhang was not in a good mood, maybe he had overlooked something.
"Hey, the ancestral hall of this traitor's family is not bad at all." Wang Xiaosan muttered, looking up at the stone archway in front of him.
"Ancestral hall?" Su Qing was stunned for a moment, her pretty face turned white and she looked up nervously for a while: "Wang Xiaosan, let's go in and take a look!"
Wang Xiaosan waved his hand, and a soldier behind him rushed into the Xu family ancestral hall.
Su Qing looked at the empty and dilapidated scene in the room and was speechless in the cold wind.
There are no doors or windows. Needless to say, they were burned down by the refugees, and there are no tablets on the stone shrines.
Nothing at all.
The Xu family owns property in the county. Perhaps the Xu family arranged for people to package and transport all the ancestral tablets to the city.
No, although the ancestral hall is dilapidated, the walls of the house are all made of stone and bricks. Compared with the houses in the village that I saw along the way, they are much better. If everyone in the Xu family has left, there will be no reason for those who fled. Do not enter the Xu family ancestral hall.
However, there was not even a trace of blood inside the ancestral hall.
This is unreasonable. If the enemies of the Xu family killed so many people in pursuit of revenge, there must be a deep bloodshed. Logically speaking, the Xu family's ancestral hall should not be spared.
Thinking of this, he turned around and said, "Wang Xiaosan, do you know where the Xu family's ancestral tomb is?"
Wang Xiaosan was confused: "How do I know this? I'll ask Director Zhang. They have someone who has been operating in this area for a long time and should know."
"Come on, let's go take a look."
Wang Xiaosan asked subconsciously: "What are you looking at?"
"Go and see if the Xu family's ancestral graves have been dug up." After Su Qing finished speaking, he turned around and walked out.
"Ah? Why are you going to see that thing? You don't want to bury these fellow villagers in the Xu family's ancestral graves, do you?"
(End of chapter)
