I fought guerrilla warfare in the Yimeng Mountains during the Anti-Japanese War

In early June 1938, all the Japanese field divisions in the Xuzhou battlefield began to move.

A division attacking the Huaihe River front turned from the northwest of the Huaihe River to Bengbu, preparing to cooperate with the two brigades heading north from Nanjing to open up the Jinpu Line.

The remnants of a division and two detachments on the western front entered Henan, ready to attack the temporary defense line of the Fifth War Zone at any time.

The remnants of the Sakagami Division on the eastern front entered Xuzhou, ready to move south at any time to cooperate with the Japanese troops in the east and south to attack Hefei from three sides.

In the whole of Shandong, apart from the garrisons of various cities, the only one left was the half-crippled Washizu Division. As a permanent division of Japan, the Washizu Division did not have any impressive achievements in this battle. Instead, it was put in a passive position at the very beginning because of the bombing of its train and the killing of its wounded.

Although they later learned from their mistakes and gained courage in the Taierzhuang street fighting and achieved considerable results, they also suffered heavy casualties. Only 18,000 of their nearly 30,000 troops were left.

The division entered Lincheng and was responsible for restoring the safety of the Jinpu Lunan Line and railway and highway transportation, while also vigorously clearing out the numerous guerrillas.

However, just when the Washizu Division was showing its prowess, the guerrillas disappeared. The guerrillas who had been causing so much trouble a few days ago had completely lost any trace.

Washizu Shouhei was disappointed but also relieved. It would take time to wipe out these guerrillas, so the priority now was to focus on the Jinpu Line.

However, Washizu Sohei knew how to deal with these Chinese guerrillas. He posted countless bounties and decided to give it a try.

What Washizu Shouhei wants to do most is to seek revenge on the Lone Wolf Commando, but he has no chance recently. I heard that they are very active on the Kaifeng defense line, the team has expanded, and they often target the surrounding Japanese troops for surprise attacks and are very arrogant and domineering.

While recruiting laborers to restore road transportation, the Washizu Division began to build defenses along the railway. The plan was to first establish permanent strongholds at passing nodes, and then connect the strongholds to completely surround the Jinpu Line.

The commando team has returned to Beizhuang, and there are still seven members of the nine-member team. Li Ergou followed the Fifth War Zone to Kaifeng. Lu Feihu was worried about his mother, so he returned to Zouxian alone. Chen Feng collected the dollars and gold bars brought by the team members and forced them on Lu Feihu, telling Lu Feihu not to rush back and to stay with his mother for a few more days.

Wu Tianxiang and Ding San stayed in the Zhang family as guards. Chen Feng had a deep conversation with the old man of the Zhang family and asked the old man to help buy some food secretly. He then took Heiwa and Liu Caiyun back to his hometown behind Gushan.

The three families were very happy that their children returned safe and sound. Liu Minggui held a banquet to celebrate the three men's return as guards and the small fortune they had made.

The villagers then learned that the eldest son of the Chen family, the second-born son of the Tian family, and the eldest daughter of the Liu family, who had suddenly disappeared, had gone to work as guards for wealthy families. They were not envious of the three men for making a small fortune, as they were all ordinary farmers and no one liked to live on the edge of a knife.

In the main hall of the Liu family, eight people from three families put aside their differences and sat together to eat a big meal and chat and laugh:

"Xiaofeng, are you going out again after you come back this time? I heard that there are Japanese everywhere outside. It's okay here. But I heard at the Beizhuang market yesterday that several villages in Mengyin were massacred because the villages refused to hand over grain and secretly hid guerrillas."

Liu Minggui's words were full of worry. If the Japanese came to collect grain, his family would have to pay the most!

"Uncle Liu, we still have to fight the Japanese, but we don't plan to hang around here or go far away. We should find a place surrounded by mountains, build a team, and deal with the Japanese."

Chen Feng had already given up on Baodugou in his heart. There was no strategic depth nearby and it was too close to the Jinpu Line. If the Japanese wanted to launch a surprise attack, they could surround Baodugou in one night.

The ideal location in Chen Feng’s mind is Mengshan, but there is no need to rush. The Japanese army is still busy on the Jinpu Line. It will take time to form a team. You can’t just pull a few hundred people together. The source of the troops must be carefully selected. Taking untrained civilians to fight the Japanese will only increase casualties.

Liu Minggui's expression darkened as he looked at his daughter wolfing down half an elbow. Her delicate face was inconsistent with her eating habits. He felt anxious. "Just wait, boy from the Chen family. Sooner or later, my daughter will fall into your hands."

Heiwa's parents thought it through. No place is safe now. They heard that the Japanese were conscripting men everywhere to build bunkers, railways and roads. They did the hardest and most tiring work, ate the same as pigs, and were whipped every day. They heard that people died every day. They knew their child well. If Heiwa was at home, he would definitely be restless and wander around. If he was conscripted, the couple would really have no hope.

Tian Fuli has great respect for Heiwa's elder brother:

"Xiaofeng, Heiwa has been restless since he was young. As his brother, we have to trouble you to take care of him outside. We don't ask him to become rich and powerful, but just want him to fight the Japanese in peace."

This sentence made the room silent. This was not a high request, but how should I put it? Peaceful and safe is fine for farming, but it is a bit of a stretch to use it in fighting the Japanese.

Liu Caiyun couldn't help but burst out laughing:

"Don't worry, Uncle Tian. Heiwa is very powerful now. Three or five Japanese soldiers are no match for him. With guns in his hands, ten or eight Japanese soldiers are just cabbages and can be killed at will."

Chen Feng looked at Liu Caiyun speechlessly. This is just advice. If you can’t speak, just bite your elbow!

Sure enough, Heiwa's parents were anxious. While Tian Fuli was still thinking about how to organize his words, Heiwa's mother blurted out:

"Heiwa, don't fight so hard. How can you kill so many at once? Kill them one by one. Wait until the enemy is alone and then kill them. After you kill them, run away. Don't let them catch you."

Everyone in the room was laughing so hard that they couldn't stop laughing. Liu Caiyun decided not to talk anymore and dealt with the elbow seriously. Heiwa comforted his mother:

"Mom, don't worry! We are just launching a sneak attack. It's not as mysterious as Sister Caiyun said. A group of people can only fight two or three Japanese at most. They won't even have a chance to take their guns. There is no danger at all."

The three families ate delicious meat and dishes, and talked about interesting things about fighting the Japanese invaders. There was worry, happiness, and a rare warmth.

I stayed at home with my father for five days. This solar term is the wheat harvest season, but Chen Feng's family does not grow wheat. They only weed the ridges in the sweet potato fields. Chen Feng and his father go to the fields every morning and do not come back until it is too dark to see the ridges clearly. In five days, they turned over the ridges of several acres of land with a hoe.

On June 5, news came from Beizhuang that Lu Feihu had returned. On June 6, the commando team gathered at Wang Hanqiang's house and dug out all the buried gold and silver. Some of them were left for the old man of the Zhang family to buy medicine and food, and the rest were prepared to be taken away.

Chen Feng and Lu Feihu learned about his family situation and found that everything was fine. The fact that Lu Feihu had killed Japanese soldiers had not been exposed. As his mother was worried that it would be unsafe in Zou County, she was arranged to live with her uncle in the countryside and enough money was left for them. Lu Feihu put his worries to rest and rode back overnight.

On the night of June 6, after all matters were handled, he rode two horses, a two-wheeled carriage, and, carrying all his equipment, weapons, and money, he left Beizhuang under the cover of night and headed towards Mengshan.