The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 241 That Year, I Fight the Japanese with Commander Hu (Part )

In the early hours of the morning, in the exceptionally quiet ward.

The voice of the centenarian continued to ring out, and it echoed far across the entire floor, striking the hearts of everyone who was awakened and listened carefully:

After leaving the city, I walked seven or eight miles in one breath.

Just by the roadside, I saw five people dressed in clothes that should be students from the best school in Xuzhou City, namely Xuzhou Normal University, resting there.

I hadn't attended any literacy classes at that time, so I couldn't even read.

However, I heard from the old people in the village that if these college students were placed in the Daqing Dynasty, every one of them would be considered a scholar or a juren.

I have great admiration for such people.

He then reminded them, "Students, have you taken the wrong road? If you continue this road for another eighty or ninety miles, you will reach Taierzhuang.

Right now, Commander Hu and his Subei Independent Regiment are fighting the Japanese over there, firing guns and cannons. It's extremely dangerous, so don't go any further."

Unexpectedly, the head of the group, a thin but tall student, smiled and replied:

"We are on the right track. We just heard that Commander Hu was recruiting soldiers, so we are going to Taierzhuang to join the army.

If I could see Commander Hu, I would beg him to give me a Zhongzheng rifle. This is the best rifle in our country, and I would definitely use it to fight the Japanese well."

Just as the words fell, another student who was fair-skinned and delicate like a young lady followed up and said:

"Brother, are you also planning to go to Taierzhuang to join the army? Why don't we go together? It will be more lively on the road."

Although I didn't know what the Zhongzheng rifle was at the time, I felt it would be a pity if these scholars and candidates died while carrying guns to fight the Japanese.

But thinking that it would be more lively if everyone went together, I immediately agreed.

This was exactly the situation along the way. Although the students looked weak, they were full of energy.

They kept talking, but never stopped.

Sometimes they talked about how many Japanese soldiers Hu Tuanzuo killed in Luodian, Dunwu Temple, Sihang Warehouse, and even in Teng County; sometimes they talked about the love story between Hu Tuanzuo and a girl named Annie.

Or maybe a tall student suddenly said, "Students, stand up and take responsibility for the fate of the world! Ready, sing~"

After starting like this, the five students started singing as they walked.

Apart from some roles, I really can't sing this kind of novel songs. The stories about Hu Tuanzuo that I heard from the public are also different from what these students said.

But it doesn’t matter. I didn’t say anything. I just found it interesting to listen to them talking and singing along the way.

Unfortunately, after our group of six had walked another five or six miles, we saw seven or eight people riding big horses galloping towards us from a small side road.

They were all wearing short black cloth jackets, with a palm-wide leather belt around their waists, and two Mauser pistols pinned to the belts; a saber was inserted in the most convenient position on the side of the saddle.

Coupled with the ferocious aura on their bodies, they looked like a group of horse bandits.

During the Republic of China period, the number of horse bandits and local bandits in Xuzhou was quite frightening; even outside the city of Xuzhou, it was not very safe.

They usually kidnap people, rob money and food everywhere, so we ordinary people naturally know how powerful they are.

Seeing that things were not going well, I shouted "Run!" and dragged a student who was so scared that his legs were weak, and ran towards the wheat field on the road.

But how can two legs outrun a horse's four legs?

In just the blink of an eye, those big horses caught up with us.

Seeing that I couldn't escape, I was terrified. My mind went blank, my legs went weak, and I fell to the ground, shouting:
“Please spare my life, dear gentlemen.

I'm just a laborer working at the railway station. My parents died a long time ago. Even if you kidnap me, my family has no one and no money to redeem me."

After he finished speaking, I saw that those students were so scared that their faces turned pale and their legs were shaking violently.

Feeling a little reluctant, he began to beg for mercy again: "My dear grandfathers, these kids are students from Xuzhou Normal University. They are going to Taierzhuang just like me, planning to surrender to Commander Hu and fight the Japanese with him.

As long as you, the good men, can show mercy and let us go, I will definitely give it to you in the future…” Before I could finish the good words about ‘offering a tablet for longevity’, the leading bandit cursed, “You are so blind, which eye of yours could see that we are going to kidnap you today.

After Commander Hu made the announcement, even cowards like you and these students knew to go and help out.

We, the heroes of the Xuzhou area, will naturally not fall behind.

We caught up with you, but we haven't been around this area before and aren't familiar with the roads. We just wanted to ask you which way Taierzhuang leads to."

I felt relieved after hearing this, after being told that as long as we keep going along the main road, we can reach Taierzhuang directly.

The bandits bowed and said "thank you", then continued to ride forward and disappeared from sight in a moment.

After encountering such a situation, those students lost interest in talking, and even I didn't want to say anything.

I wasn't scared, but I had two things in mind.

First, we are still a long way from Taierzhuang. If we rely on our own two legs, it will take at least until midnight to get there.

Second, even the horse bandits in Xuzhou went to help Hu Tuanzuo.

After the National Army was defeated by the Japanese in Shanghai, Nanjing and other places one after another, some people now exaggerate the strength of the Japanese!

This time in our Xuzhou, we should be able to win once, right?
With the above thoughts in mind, the six of us walked silently for another two or three miles.

Suddenly I heard a beeping horn behind me. I turned around and saw a large truck built by foreigners driving towards me.

At first we thought we were blocking its way, but after we moved to the side of the road, the truck actually stopped. A man who looked like a worker stuck his head out of the truck and shouted:
"Are you guys planning to go to Taierzhuang and fight the Japanese with Commander Hu?"

"Yeah, we all are." I replied after thinking of something.

The situation was exactly as I expected. The man smiled and said, "Then get in the car and go together. We are also going to look for Commander Hu."

If we take a truck, the journey would be much faster.

Naturally, we wouldn't refuse such a good opportunity, so we quickly climbed onto the truck.

It was only after we got on the car that we found out that it belonged to the famous Baoxing Flour Mill in Xuzhou City, and the three people including the driver were also flour mill workers.

It turned out that he was the owner of the flour mill. After hearing that Commander Hu was in Taierzhuang, he immediately sent two thousand kilograms of high-quality white flour to reward the troops.

In the following time, after we sat on the flour bags in the carriage, we felt much more relaxed; but the speed of travel was not as fast as we had imagined.

But if you think about it seriously, it's also a good thing.

Because after that, the truck kept stopping and starting, loading some good men who had rushed to Taierzhuang alone or in groups to seek refuge with Hu Tuanzuo.

After driving for twenty or thirty miles, there were many people hanging in the truck's compartment, on the roof of the cab, and even on the railings of the compartment.

If you count them all, there are as many as fifty or sixty people.

The truck was already loaded with 2,000 kilograms of flour, and after adding so many people, the speed suddenly slowed down, but it was still much faster than walking.

More importantly, it will be more lively with so many people together.

After everyone introduced themselves, I realized that there were people from all walks of life in the car, including students, workers, shoemakers, blacksmiths, porters, farmers, and gangsters.

That’s why a thought came to my mind:
My parents died early, and I don’t have a wife or children to worry about, but there are so many people on the bus, they can’t all be alone like me, right?

Don’t they know how fierce the Japanese are? If Zhuang goes to Taier with a gun, he might not be able to come back alive?
I had this question on my lips, but I held it back because I could see from their eyes that they all knew this, but still chose to fight the Japanese...

After saying this, the old man didn't know what he was thinking about, and suddenly fell into a long silence, his face full of pain.

However, Xiao Wang, the intern who had been listening silently, couldn't help but recall some words that he had forgotten where he had seen, but which fit the old man's story perfectly:

Many people know that coming here means they will die, but they still come in an endless stream.

In fact, the dead are happy, and the survivors are miserable...

(The last sentence is from the book review by Huang Yizhi, the fat guy)
(End of this chapter)