On April 6, 1942, various units of the Eighth Route Army returned to their respective bases one after another after taking a temporary rest in the southern Hebei base area.
The division headquarters and the 385th Brigade and the New 10th Brigade of the Taibei Military Region passed through the Zhengtai Line from the north of Xingtai. The troops of the Tainan Military Region and the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region went south from southern Hebei and arrived at the Zhangbei Military Region.
The regiment and the American mountain artillery battalion returned to the Hebei, Shandong and Yu Military Region, while Zhou Weihan led the supplementary regiment to return to Tainan.
In this battle with the 110th Division, in addition to the weapons and ammunition captured by the Eighth Route Army, the most important gains were more than 30 artillery pieces from the Japanese artillery regiment and a fully staffed field hospital.
Before the war, the division chief emphasized the need to protect the medical staff of the 110th Division during combat.
Outside Pingshun City, it is still as prosperous as in the past. It seems that the continuous battles between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese Army have not affected the prosperity of the trading market.
"Commander, isn't this the way to the headquarters?" the monk reminded.
"Nonsense!" Zhou Weihan rolled his eyes at the monk and said, "When I get home, I must see my wife and children first!"
"That's right, that's right, sister-in-law and Tainan must miss you!" The monk smiled coquettishly.
The reconnaissance company went to the garrison in the city, and Zhou Weihan and three others rushed to the division headquarters compound. They heard a burst of noise from children in the courtyard where Zhou Weihan lived. Just as the monk was about to step forward and push them away, a seven or eight-year-old boy
The little boy rushed out and the two of them bumped into each other, followed by a group of children of about the same age.
"Ouch!" The five or six-year-old boy bumped into the tall Monk Wei, and the consequences were obvious.
"Hey, where is the child? Are you okay?" Upon seeing this, the monk quickly stepped forward and helped the little boy up.
"Simi Masai!" The little boy took the initiative to bow to the monk.
"Little devil?" The monk subconsciously took out the short gun from his waist, while Wan Jingang stood in front of Zhou Weihan.
Young children are the most sensitive to changes in their environment. When the little boy saw the adult in front of him even pulling out a gun, he was so frightened that he burst into tears. One of the little girls ran away when he saw this.
Run to the house where Wen Qiang is.
"Smimasai, Smimasai!"
"Okay, monk, put the gun away!" Zhou Weihan was also wondering in his heart, when a group of Japanese children appeared in his residence.
Before Zhou Weihan could think too much, he saw Wen Qiang holding the hand of the little girl who went to report the news and walking over: "When did you come back?"
"We just arrived, who are these children?" Zhou Weihan asked.
"They said they were brought back from Jingxing Coal Mine. I don't know the details. The nursery is short of manpower. I also know Japanese, so I brought back a few!" Wen Qiang explained, and then smiled at the group of children in front of her.
Said: "This is your Uncle Zhou, my name is Uncle Zhou!"
Since Wen Qiang arrived, a group of children seemed to have found the person who was in charge. One by one, they timidly hid behind Wen Qiang.
"Uncle Zhou!"
"Okay, let's go play, remember, don't run out of the yard!" Wen Qiang warned.
"Where's my son?"
"I'm sleeping in the house. During this period, I've been eating and sleeping all day long, and eating after sleeping. I'm very well-behaved!"
Zhou Weihan looked back and saw Monk and Wan Jingang standing at the entrance of the courtyard like two door gods. He immediately said: "Why are you still standing there? You two are scaring a child. Monk, arrange a place for Wan Jingang to live!"
"
After Zhou Weihan finished speaking, he pulled Wen Qiang into the house. Zhou Tainan was lying quietly on the bed, and there was another child of about the same age beside him.
"What is this?" Zhou Weihan said with a look of astonishment.
"The little one's name is Shimokawa Yumiko. I heard from comrades that both her parents died in the war. I thought I would take care of one child and two children, so I asked the comrades from the nursery to send them over!"
"What do you think, let her be Zhou Tainan's sister?" Wen Qiang said and touched Yumiko's little face.
"I personally have no objection, but these children have special status. We need to hold a meeting to study how to deal with them specifically!" Zhou Weihan said.
The two of them sat in the room for a while. Zhou Weihan was still thinking about these Japanese children, and then he directly found Xing Zhiguo.
"Hey, Chief of Staff Xing's face is glowing. It seems that his life is good recently!" Zhou Weihan joked.
"How can I compare with you, Mr. Zhou? I heard that the troops almost broke into Shimen, but your prestige is ruined!" Xing Zhiguo said.
Ever since Xing Zhiguo asked for a wife, his whole personality has gradually changed. He is no longer as boring as before, and he is becoming more and more energetic. Zhou Weihan and Zhao Gang whispered in private that Xing Zhiguo was the right wife.
"It's a pity. At that time, the troops spent all their time building fortifications. If only they had one more day, Shimen would have been captured!" Zhou Weihan said with regret.
"Hey, that's enough. The results achieved so far are unprecedented. The main force of the 110th Division was wiped out in one battle. Don't you know it? During the two days you were away, the headquarters took the initiative to expose its position and lured the Japanese troops stationed in the city out of the city. In one fell swoop,
Annihilate these little devils!"
"There were many conflicts between Chu Yunfei's sole brigade and Kong Jie's independent regiment in Tunliu. Even Fan Hanjie's 24th Group Army was dispatched. Later, Xu learned that our army had completely wiped out the 110th Division on the Shide Line.
After hearing the news about the regiment, the national army took the initiative to withdraw!"
"Fan Hanjie also sent a report asking you to mediate in the middle on the issue of the division of territory between the Taiyue Military Region and the national army's settlement!" Xing Zhiguo said one after another.
When Zhou Weihan heard this, his eyes widened: "Wait a minute, can you still spit out what you have eaten?"
Then the conversation changed and Zhou Weihan asked about these Japanese military children.
"Most of these children are orphans of Japanese expatriates. After the Ci County Basic Corps returned to the base area, they left these children in Pingshun. I asked someone to make statistics!" Xing Zhiguo said and took out a pamphlet from the drawer.
Due to the increasing demand for coal, in addition to meeting their own needs, coal mines in the Hebei, Shandong and Yu regions need to go north to supply the southern Hebei base area, and they also need to be transported by land to the Taihang base area, which is too time-consuming and laborious.
Therefore, the Tainan Military Region sold a coal mine from the Japanese in the Fengfeng Mining Area, which was normally run by the Ci County Basic Corps. All the mining equipment and Chinese workers seized in the Jingxing Mining Area came to Ci County together.
The booklet Xing Zhiguo handed to Zhou Weihan clearly recorded: There are 256 adult Japanese expatriates, 55 children over six years old, and 40 children under six years old.
Behind each person's name is clearly marked the person's family relationship and social background.
"After these people were sent to Pingshun, I conducted a special investigation. They were all from a Japanese company called Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. When our army attacked the Jingxing mining area, the Japanese army armed all adult expatriates over the age of 15 in the mining area.
Get up, most of these adult expats have been killed or injured!"
"Many of the surviving children became orphans. Their parents died in the war. Those over the age of six were sent to the Anti-War Alliance, and those under the age of six were sent to nurseries. Of course, there were also some like Comrade Wen Qiang, who shared a lot of pressure.
!" Xing Zhiguo said.
"After discussion with Lao Zhao and Comrade Yunshan, I will wait for you to come back to make specific arrangements!"
Zhou Weihan heard this and said, "What do you think?"
"It has become a normal phenomenon for our army to fight and capture Japanese soldiers. Under the influence, most of them joined the anti-war alliance and worked within our army. The same can naturally be done for adult Japanese expatriates like these!"
"The trouble is that these children, those whose parents are still alive can stay with their father or mother in the base area, and those who have become orphans can also stay, but there are 18 children among them whose relatives are in Shimen. How should these people be dealt with?" Xing Zhiguo said
.
"Send it back to Shimen, but you need to ask the Japanese expatriate to write a letter of certification to prove the identity of these children!" Zhou Weihan said.
"Okay, let's do it!"
In fact, it would be easier to send these Japanese children to Handan, but Zhou Weihan considered that Shimen was currently in a period of turmoil, so if the Eighth Route Army directly sent the Japanese children to Shimen, it would be a better propaganda offensive.
Thinking of this, Zhou Weihan wrote a letter himself:
The Japanese invaded China violently, and the war lasted for four years. Innumerable numbers of people in China and Japan were killed, wounded and maimed, and countless people were displaced.
The Japanese government should be solely responsible for such a tragic incident.
This time our army attacked the Zhengtai Line, recaptured the Jingxing Mining Area in one fell swoop, and captured several overseas Chinese. After investigation, it was found that there were still 18 family members of children staying at Shimen, some of whom were babbling, and some of whom were five or six years old.
Our army is unwilling to take the initiative to provoke a war, but this is a national war between China and Japan. We should fight back vigorously. It is a pity that ordinary people should not suffer the pain of war and cannot bear to be separated from their flesh and blood.
After careful consideration by our army, we have decided to send him back and hand him over to his relatives to raise him. Fortunately, the innocent children of that generation will not end up in a foreign land and be buried in a ravine.
The people of China and Japan have no grudges at all, and they do not seek the dictatorship of the Japanese tyrants to show off their viciousness. They impose exorbitant taxes and expropriations internally, and create wars externally.
As a result, the Japanese people were living uneasy and difficult lives. They left their homes and faced war, becoming a widowed wife, an orphaned son, and a single parent.
As for the peaceful residents of China, they burned, killed, raped and looted wantonly, which was inhumane and resulted in death, injury and exile, causing deep pain and suffering.
This is actually an unprecedented catastrophe for the two great nations of China and Japan, as well as the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese clan.
However, the Chinese people never regard Japanese soldiers and people as their enemies, so those who persist in the war of resistance and fight to the death are forced to defend themselves against Japanese aggression.
Invading China was not the will of the Japanese soldiers and people, and was merely a coercion of the Japanese.
For the present plan, the soldiers and people of China and Japan should join hands to immediately oppose and eliminate this evil war, overthrow the Japanese warlords and chaebols, and strive for the true liberation, freedom and happiness of the two nations, otherwise the Chinese people will surely
It will become more difficult, and the future of our generation will be unimaginable.
We, the Eighth Route Army, are based on the spirit of internationalism, benevolence and righteousness, and have a beginning and an end. We must fight to the end for the survival of the Chinese nation and the eternal peace of mankind, and we must fight the barbaric and violent Japanese to the end.
I deeply hope that you will wake up and work together with the Chinese soldiers and people to seek liberation. Japan will be very lucky, and so will China.
At the end of the letter, Zhou Weihan wrote his own name.
On the same day, after Zhou Weihan discussed with Xing Zhiguo, he immediately notified the reconnaissance company that had just returned to the base area to carry out this task.
That night, Zhou Weihan called over the commander of the reconnaissance company, Cao Dabao, and handed the Japanese expatriate and his own handwritten letter to Cao Dabao.
"This mission does not involve combat, but it is very important. These 18 Japanese children must be delivered to Shimen safely. The two letters need to be delivered to the hands of the top Japanese troops in Shimen. Your reconnaissance company also came back from Shimen, and the surrounding environment is also
You are familiar with it, can you complete the task?" Zhou Weihan said.
"Commander, Chief of Staff, our reconnaissance company guarantees to complete the mission!" Cao Dabao responded.
"Okay, let's leave early tomorrow morning!"
At dawn the next day, everyone in the reconnaissance company rode on horseback and separately obtained four carriages, which were covered with quilts to carry these Japanese children.
The propaganda officer of the headquarters specially took a group photo of the group of people when the reconnaissance company set off.
It is a full six hundred miles from Pingshun to Shimen, spanning half of the Taihang Mountains. Due to the inconvenience of traveling with children, it took the group six full days to reach Nanzuo in the southwest area of Shimen.
Nanzuo borders the Taibei Military Region, and to the south is a guerrilla zone. This area was originally occupied by the Eighth Route Army. After the Eighth Route Army retreated, the Japanese army in Shimen once again sent personnel to repair the stronghold.
When the reconnaissance company arrived near Nanzuo, Cao Dabao immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing and find a place to hide. He personally took several soldiers and a teenage Japanese child to Nanzuo.
When soldiers wearing Eighth Route Army uniforms appeared outside the stronghold, the Japanese and puppet troops in the stronghold suddenly felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.
When the two little Japs in the stronghold were about to be shot by the puppet soldiers, they saw a teenage child walking towards the stronghold holding a sun flag.
"You guys, don't shoot yet!" After the kid finished speaking, he hurriedly entered the turret from the top and found another kid who was observing through the shooting hole: "Murayama-kun, you look a bit like one of our own!"
"Notify, don't shoot, I'll go and verify it myself!" Jiro Murayama said.
The two little devils are not even old, at most seventeen or eighteen years old, and the hair on their mouths has not been shaved off.
After some exchanges, the reconnaissance company appeared openly outside the Nanzuo stronghold. Murayama Jiro lowered his proud head and whispered: "Your army is righteous, and our army is ashamed of it!"
"Don't waste time. There are still infant children coming with you. If you can't bear the trouble, you'd better inform your superiors that we will send these children to Shimen in person!" Cao Dabao said in the name of the Japanese army.
"Hi, please wait!" Jiro Murayama replied.
Through the phone, the Eighth Route Army's return of the children of Japanese expatriates soon reached the ears of Shimen's top officer, Yamazaka Chaoichi. Although the little devil couldn't figure out what the Eighth Route Army was doing, he immediately ordered the strongholds along the way to let them go.
Afterwards, the reconnaissance company, under the escort of the Japanese army, went all the way to Shimen. All the Japanese strongholds along the way also learned about the Eighth Route Army's return of the children of the overseas Chinese.
The content of the letter was plagiarized. When I saw it at the time, I really felt that the martyrs had a broad mind, so I still remembered it and wrote it.