Chapter 520: First Class Collective Merit, Home of Heroes
"Oh, you are looking for Mr. Miao!" The man who spoke was the old man who usually guarded the door of the ancestral hall.
After hearing this, the old man opened all the doors and signaled Zhang Guowen and the others to welcome them into the concierge and wait.
"Since ancient times, no one has died, and his loyalty will be remembered by history!" Zhang Guowen stuck his head out and listened carefully to the sound of energetic reading coming from a room in the ancestral hall.
"That's great!" Zhang Guowen turned to the accompanying soldiers and smiled.
"Yes, Staff Officer Zhang, it's really good to have books to read. I didn't have the opportunity when I was a child, and I didn't know how to read until I joined the army. What's the name of this poem?" The soldier's face was full of desire for knowledge.
"It's Crossing the Lingding Ocean written by Mr. Wen Tianxiang during the Southern Song Dynasty!" Before Zhang Guowen could answer, a steady and powerful voice came.
I saw a middle-aged man in a long robe, about forty years old, standing outside the concierge: "Two Eighth Route Army comrades, what do you want from me today?"
"Are you Comrade Miao Guolu's father, Mr. Miao?"
"Hey, Miao Guolu is a dog, but I can't bear the name of sir. Please sit down, you two!" Mr. Miao said with a wave of his hand.
The two horses and their belongings were outside the ancestral hall. Zhang Guowen glanced at the accompanying soldiers. The soldiers immediately understood and got up and left the ancestral hall.
Zhang Guowen hesitated and didn't know how to continue the topic, but Mr. Miao asked: "How is this kid Guolu doing in the army? Did he not cause any trouble to the army?"
"Mr. Miao, Comrade Miao Guolu has performed well in the army. He is educated, young and energetic. He is exactly what the army urgently needs. He was still studying in the cadre school of the military region a few years ago. After he came out, he served as a company clerk...
..." Zhang Guowen talked about Miao Guolu's performance in the army one by one.
"This kid doesn't even write a letter to my family, that's good, that's good!" Mr. Miao usually acted like a strict father and strict teacher in front of Miao Guolu, but at this time, the old father couldn't help but babble a few more words.
The soldier who went out to get something stood outside the concierge, listening to the conversation between the two people inside.
"Then what's the purpose of your visit this time?"
"Mr. Miao, Comrade Guolu died in the previous battle with the Japs in order to cover the retreat of the large troops!" Zhang Guowen finished in one breath.
After hearing this, Mr. Miao seemed to have not heard anything, but said: "Very good, very good. As soon as you came, I understood in my heart that sometimes no news is good news!"
"I support Guolu's participation in the Eighth Route Army. I am old. Children like Guolu are still young. Now is the time when the country is in danger of life and death. When the nation is being exterminated, young people like them can contribute to the country and the nation.
You should do your part!”
Mr. Miao's words left Zhang Guowen in awe. Even though similar scenes had happened more than a dozen times before coming to Shang'an Village, Zhang Guowen still had tears in his eyes.
"Okay, why are you crying? Where did Guo Lu die? Where is he buried?" Mr. Miao asked word by word.
“Hua County in the Hebei, Shandong and Yu regions!”
After hearing this, the soldier outside the door came in holding the urn, and then said: "Mr. Miao, these are the ashes of Comrade Miao Guolu!"
"Sir, there was a battle going on at the time, and the situation did not allow us to send Comrade Miao Guolu's body back. We could only..." Zhang Guowen explained.
"I understand, I understand!" Mr. Miao took the urn and held it in his arms, then solemnly placed it on the concierge's table.
Zhang Guowen then took out a certificate of meritorious service and a wooden sign from the package and handed them to Mr. Miao.
The certificate of meritorious service read: Political Department of the Eighth Route Army Hebei, Shandong and Henan Military Region.
Comrade Miao Guolu and all the soldiers of the 3rd Company and 2nd Platoon of the 4th Regiment, 1st Battalion, successfully blocked the Japanese tank troops with their lives during the counter-mopping up in Zhinan, gaining opportunities for the main force, and demonstrated the spirit of the Eighth Route Army soldiers who are not afraid of sacrifice and dare to be the first.
In accordance with the Meritorious Service Regulations of the Hebei-Shandong-Henan Military Region, the soldiers of the Third Company and the Second Platoon were recorded as having received first-class merit as a collective, and this meritorious service certificate was issued as proof.
Tan Lin, political commissar of the Eighth Route Army Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region
Li Fengnian, Director of the Political Department
April 27, 1941
Another wooden sign is about the size of a palm and has a very simple shape. It says: Home of Heroes and Martyrs, and Miao Guolu's name is written in the lower right corner.
A thin certificate of meritorious service and a brand of the Home of Heroes seemed to weigh a thousand pounds in Mr. Miao's hand, and then he said tremblingly: "Okay, okay, this child Guolu will be given to the Miao family."
It brings glory to the entire Shang'an Village. He is more qualified to enter the Miao family ancestral hall than me!"
"Sir, this is Comrade Guolu's pension and food. Please accept it!" Zhang Guowen said and took out another envelope from his pocket, which contained six yuan.
Dayang has more purchasing power, so Zhou Weihan specifically ordered that pensions be paid out in Dayang.
"I don't want the stuff anymore. I'm just a bad old man. The village takes care of my food and housing. Every family's children also have their education when they go to school. So I don't lack food or clothing. I don't need the pension. I don't need the pension."
No need!"
"It's more difficult for the troops to fight against the little devils. Take it away!" Mr. Miao spat out a few words with difficulty. He was wearing a patched robe and the color was washed a little white.
Zhang Guowen didn't say anything when he saw this. The two of them solemnly saluted with a military salute, turned and walked out of the concierge, but left the pension and pension inside the concierge.
Mr. Miao was holding the crumbling wall of the concierge with one hand, and looked at the two people leaving with a look of sadness on his face.
Then he hunched over and walked step by step towards the classroom where the students were.
Suddenly, I heard the energetic sound of reading again, and my hunched body straightened up again.
Not long after Zhang Guowen and Zhang Guowen led the horse out of the ancestral hall, they ran into the militia captain of Shang'an Village who came after hearing the news.
After the two parties briefly introduced their identities, Zhang Guowen said: "Captain Miao, I was planning to go find you. Are there any other relatives in Mr. Miao's family?"
"No, my cousin's wife died young and she never married again. Miao Guolu is the only one!"
"Ah? This!" Zhang Guowen exclaimed: "The head of the army at the Wuyi County Committee has already said hello, but Mr. Miao still needs Captain Miao to take care of you!"
"This is what it should be. From now on, I will support my cousin until he retires!"
After leaving Shang'an Village, Zhang Guowen and the two headed towards their next destination.
According to Zhou Weihan's instructions, representatives of each regiment must personally go to the homes of each fallen soldier to understand the situation of each family and make every effort to solve the difficulties they may face in the future.
Each representative also resolutely implemented the three musts mentioned by Zhou Weihan and contacted the local government, local garrison, and villagers and soldiers to actively solve the problem.
