The next morning, Bao Yulian rode a bicycle to Quanquanling.
After agreement with Shanzi, Bao Yulian got in touch with Cheng Xiaoying. Three days later, Xiao Lin was arranged to rush to Linshui City to reunite mother and son.
Accompanying Xiao Lin to Linshui City were Yumei and Xiaoru. Of course, Bao Yulian was also indispensable.
Linshui and his party. Cheng Xiaoying revealed two pieces of news to Yumei...
After the additional Japanese troops in Qiaonan were completely annihilated by the Eighth Route Army in Zhucheng, they decided to dispatch troops from three garrisons in Yantai, Weihaiwei and Qingdao. They met in Qingdao and set off together.
Second, the Japanese army captured more than 200 women from the Lingjun Mountain area. They set off on the 25th of this month. They were escorted to Qingdao Port at the Lingjun Mountain Brigade Headquarters and sent to Shanghai by boat to serve as comfort women.
The escorted convoy entered Qingdao Port via Mengcheng, Yixian, Zhucheng, and Jiaozhou.
In order to ensure the safety of the convoy, the headquarters of the 109th Division in Zhouzhuang sent a telegram to Tian Yuan, requesting the troops stationed along the route in the jurisdiction to strengthen patrols on dangerous sections to prevent accidents.
After listening to Yumei's report, Shanzi paid close attention and said to himself: "I have work to do again."
Yumei said: "Zikai, Xiaoru and I have discussed it. The Japanese army was ambushed a few days ago. We must take more precautions along the way. We must not fight back this time. In that case, the risk is greater than the success."
Shanzi originally had no intention of ambushing additional Japanese troops, so he took advantage of the situation and decided to rescue the comfort women.
Based on the route taken to escort the comfort women, Shanzi and Zhao Danian agreed that the terrain and terrain would be the most favorable to launch the rescue fifty kilometers from Mengcheng to Yixian.
The independent regiment is less than 300 miles away from the rescue area. It is located at the junction of Yi County and Mengcheng County. The terrain here is gentle and open. The Japanese troops stationed in Mengcheng will not set up a warning in this generation.
As early as when he was serving in the detachment's reconnaissance battalion, Shanzi often appeared in this area and knew the geography and terrain of this area well.
In order to ensure the success of the rescue operation, Shanzi made a comprehensive analysis and made the following conclusions...
Because of the long-distance escort, more than 200 comfort women would need at least 15 trucks. The Japanese army responsible for escorting should be at least two teams, about 100 people, divided into five to six trucks.
The escort convoy set off from Lingjun Mountain on the 25th. It had to pass through Si County and Pingyi County. It is less than 400 miles to Mengcheng. Based on the road conditions, it will take about 8 to 10 hours to reach Mengcheng.
Regardless of the speed of the Japanese army, Shanzi decided to rush to the scheduled location two days in advance so that he could choose the terrain, become familiar with the terrain, and be fully prepared.
It is still Shanzi and Yumei who direct this rescue operation.
Today is January 20, 1939. The troops set off at six o'clock in the evening.
2
Late at night on the 22nd, Shanzi led the third battalion to cross the highway from Mengcheng to Yi County and camped in the open air in a mountain depression three miles north of Heiyu Village.
Also accompanying the troops on the expedition were a transportation team and a medical team. The transportation team dispatched eight carriages to carry out various transportation tasks. The medical team sent two health workers to be responsible for battlefield rescue.
In terms of weapon configuration, this time in addition to conventional equipment, a machine gun squad was also transferred from other companies.
The highway from Mengcheng to Yi County runs east-west. It connects to Yi County in the east and Mengcheng in the west. Heiyu Village is located to the north of the highway. The distance is about three miles.
After breakfast, Shanzi, Yumei and Xiaoru each changed into plain clothes. They rode on horseback and stepped onto the road. They looked around at the terrain and road conditions and then ran eastward along the road.
After traveling about a thousand meters, there are flat and open wheat fields on both sides of the road. In the fields, large and small weirs and ditches are crisscrossed, dividing the large wheat field into pieces.
Shanzi suddenly stiffened his horse and stopped. After dismounting, he handed the reins to Xiaoru and walked alone toward the wheat field north of the road.
Because it is winter, the wheat seedlings in the wheat field are more than an inch tall and the leaves are withered and yellow.
I originally thought that Shanzi went to the wheat field to deal with private matters. Yumei and Xiaoru coincidentally turned around and faced Lu Nan.
After walking through more than a dozen wheat fields in one breath, the mountain finally stopped at a ditch. The ditch ran east to west and was about 200 meters long. It was divided into four parts by three north and south ditches.
For Shanzi, the depth and width of the weir ditch are crucial. According to visual inspection, the width of the weir ditch is about two meters and the depth is more than one meter.
After visual inspection, Shanzi nodded involuntarily.
Turning around, Shanzi used his steps to measure the distance between the ditch and the kilometer.
On the highway, Yumei and Xiaoru were already waiting impatiently. Xiaoru said, "Yumei, it's been a few minutes. It's time to finish."
Yumei said, "Look back and see if he's back."
Xiaoru's cheeks turned red: "Nonsense. He is yours. It will happen sooner or later. Look."
Yumei also blushed. She simply took the horse's reins and sat down from the road.
At this moment, Xiaoru suddenly exclaimed: "Sister Mei, look, what is the leader doing?"
Yumei stood up in a hurry and turned around to take a look. She saw Shanzi walking rhythmically towards this place with square steps.
With a wry smile, Yumei said: "This Wang Zikai didn't say a word about anything. It seems that the rescue location is here."
Xiaoru suddenly realized it. She couldn't help covering her mouth and snickering at her misjudgment just now.
After measurement, there are 271 steps from the ditch to the road, which is about 236 meters.
As he stepped onto the roadside, Shanzi couldn't stand firmly, so he was questioned by Yumei.
Yumei said that based on her feeling, the ambush location was about 300 meters away from the road. Within this distance, the rifle firepower completely lost its accuracy and the shell gun had almost no lethality.
Shanzi said that this operation was to save people, not a positional battle. The soldiers had to charge on two legs to rescue the captured women.
Shanzi went on to say that the road here is narrow. Japanese military vehicles can only advance but not retreat. Entering is like entering a dead end. The only way to escape is to leave the vehicle behind.
Having said this, Shanzi grabbed the reins of the horse and continued walking forward.
After walking for more than a mile, there was a small hill on the north side of the road. Shanzi was overjoyed and quickly reined in his horse.
After a while, they walked down the hill. Shanzi asked Yumei to turn around and return.
3
Back at the camp, Shanzi instructed Xiaoru to call the first company commander and two squad leaders to the front.
After drawing the schematic diagram from underground, Shanzi first assigned tasks to the two squad leaders.
Considering that the Japanese might ride in the same car with the captured women, which could easily lead to manslaughter, these two squads were equipped with two light machine guns and laid ambush on the hills east of the rescue site.
When the escort convoy entered the rescue area, the hillock position first fired the grenade buried on the road. This killed two birds with one stone. The first was to explode the pit and cut off the road. The second was to lure the convoy to stop moving forward and send troops to investigate.
When the reconnaissance Japanese troops arrived, they immediately launched an attack on the Qiugang position. In this case, the Japanese army would definitely send out a large number of troops to attack.
When the Japanese army attacked Qiugang, they retreated while fighting, taking the opportunity to contain the enemy. At the same time, our main force quickly rushed to the convoy and launched a rescue operation for the captured women.
Shanzi specially ordered the first company commander to lead four light machine guns and ambush at the eastern end of the main force. When the Japanese who attacked the hillocks returned, immediately block the road and prevent them from approaching the convoy.
Shanzi finally said: These are all plans. To put it bluntly, they are just wishful thinking. Whether the little devil will obey or not depends on actual actions. If there is an accident, adapt to the situation.
Finally, Shanzi ordered the first company commander to lead the two squad leaders to the rescue location to further familiarize themselves with the terrain.
Just after nine o'clock, Shanzi, Yumei and Xiaoru walked to Heiyu Village.
After asking the old village chief, I found that this area is far away from Mengcheng due to its geographical remoteness. Except for the summer and autumn when the Japanese come to collect food, there are few Japanese intruders on weekdays. The life is relatively quiet.
Shanzi asked the village chief again if anyone in the village was helping the Japanese.
The old village chief said that there was a family like Cai, one of the most respected landlords in the area. The fourth son of his family worked as an errand for the Japanese and as a platoon leader in the Japanese gun towers.
Speaking of this, the old village chief looked angry...
Landlord Cai also relied on his four sons to run rampant in the countryside. It was common for them to oppress the villagers.
What's even more disgusting is that when the fifth son, who was only fourteen years old, was critically ill, Landlord Cai believed the witch's lies and forced the Zhou family's thirteen-year-old daughter to marry him.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Cai died a few days after the wedding. His life was short.
After Mr. Cai passed away, the Zhou family wanted to take their daughter home, but they were insulted and beaten by the Cai family.
Since then, the Zhou family's daughter has been occupied by landlord Cai. It has been two years now.
The old village chief went on to say that because another tenant named Han was ten days late in paying the rent, landlord Cai forced the Han tenant to pay ten more pounds of wheat.
The Han tenants were dissatisfied with Landlord Cai's rent increase. Landlord Cai called his three sons in anger. Not only did they take turns to harm the Han family's daughter-in-law, but the head of the household also had his right leg broken and was left disabled for life.
After listening to the village chief's story, Shanzi stood up angrily and cursed him a bastard.
4
The Cai family's house is high and has a large courtyard. The lane in front of the house is flat and wide.
Shanzi was not polite and kicked open the heavy door.
As soon as he saw three strange men and women breaking into the yard, Landlord Cai stood up from his chair. He walked to the door and roared: "Where can the bandits be so wanton? Dare to run wild in the Cai family."
Shanzi didn't say a word. He ran straight to the door. He rushed into the room and saw that a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old was beating the back of a woman in her fifties.
Based on my feeling, this girl is the daughter of the Zhou family who was forced to get married.
There was no need for the host to give up his seat. Shanzi took the initiative to sit at the top of the Eight Immortals table. Yumei and Xiaoru were not polite and sat on the left and right sides of Shanzi respectively.
Landlord Cai felt that the visitor was unkind. He walked into the yard angrily and threatened that bandits were robbing him. He called his boss and his two brothers to come and rescue him.
It turns out that landlord Cai's four sons were all neighbors to the old man. Because the fourth son was working as an errand for the Japanese, he only left his wife and children at home.
In the living room, Shanzi smiled and asked Miss Zhou to make a pot of good tea and serve him.
Miss Zhou didn't know who the visitor was and what he meant. She was timid about making tea and pouring water.
In less than two minutes, Boss Cai led the three and two children into the living room with murderous intent. Some of them were holding wooden sticks, and some were carrying axes and kitchen knives.
The boss glared angrily and yelled at Shanzi: "You little thief, you are so fucking brave. You dare to come to our Cai family to rob. I will smash your skull today."
The second child first looked at Yumei and Xiaoru. Then he turned his attention to Shanzi: "Boy, please let our brothers from the Cai family have good luck. Send me two beauties. Thank you very much."
As soon as he finished speaking, the boss ordered the third and second sons to pull the two beauties aside first. After the male thief is taken care of, take them home and enjoy them.
The third and second brothers had just moved. Shanzi stood up with a smile: "Brothers, wait a minute. Please finish your words. I won't say whether the brothers are robbing you. But looking at your formation, I know it's a fight. But it's really a fight. Get up. It’s a pity to break the tables and chairs in the house. If you don’t mind, my brother is willing to accompany you to the yard to have a good time."
Speaking of this, Shanzi said with a stern voice: "But please listen to me. Whoever dares to touch the clothes of these two sisters, I will chop off his hands immediately."
Faced with Shanzi's Ling Yan's angry look, the Cai brothers were stunned for a while, then came back to their senses immediately.
The boss waved his hand at Shanzi: "Boy, come out with me if you have the guts."
Shanzi just took a step, but was suddenly pulled back by Xiaoru: "Brother Wang, it's not worth your while to deal with these country bumpkins. You can just stretch your muscles as a younger sister."
Shanzi had long wanted to find out Xiaoru's skills, but he never had the chance.
At this time, when he heard that Xiaoru had volunteered, Shanzi said, "Xiaoru, it's time for you to show your skills."
Xiaoru smiled happily. Her eyes quickly turned to the Cai brothers: "Three eldest brothers, please tell me whether it is a civil fight or a physical fight. This requires establishing rules."
Boss Cai flashed his eyelids: "What are the rules?"
Xiaoru said: "If it's a literary fight, let's go into the yard and start fighting. If it's a physical fight, you can do whatever you want. Take action when it's time to take action."
Boss Cai was impatient: "Don't be wordy. Come to the yard quickly."
Xiaoru nodded slightly and followed the Cai brothers out of the living room.