Traveling through 1942 with space

In this fight against the bandits, no one in the Nanjiagou fleeing team died. Only five people were injured, including one of the clan elder Wuye. It can be said that this was a great victory.

After the villagers distributed the spoils of war, every adult man in Nanjiagou had a weapon in his hand. Together with the existing muskets, the number of muskets in Nanjia Village suddenly reached twelve.

Such combat effectiveness is comparable to that of the militia teams in ordinary villages in the 1950s.

As the elder of the clan and the leader of several fights in the village, the uncle was naturally assigned a Zhongzheng rifle. Holding the almost new rifle with a bayonet, Hou Yangmin was even closer to him than his own wife.

Just as the villagers were preparing to set up camp and eat, they saw refugees fleeing not far away. It seemed that the defeated soldiers were looting everywhere. The elders were so scared that they quickly asked people to pack up and run away.

Because they robbed the fleeing soldiers and killed people, the fleeing team from Nanjiagou did not dare to stay on the main road. Instead, they avoided the main road and fled quickly towards a small road on the side.

After all, no one knows whether the fleeing soldiers will find reinforcements. If not, it would be fine. But if so, the Nanjiagou escape team will be in trouble.

After running for five or six miles in twists and turns, the team could no longer run and found a ravine to hide temporarily.

This ravine is hidden enough, and the village elders think of hiding here for a few days and then leaving after this matter is completely over.

The villagers naturally agreed. Although the people who robbed the refugees today were defeated soldiers, they were officials and ordinary people could not afford to offend them, so it was better to stay away from them.

It was already dark by this time, and everyone was hungry and tired. They didn't want to do anything and just wanted to fall asleep.

The villagers arranged several people to take turns to keep watch, but most of them fell asleep due to exhaustion.

Fortunately, the night passed peacefully and no soldiers came to take revenge until dawn, which made everyone feel relieved.

……

They hid in the ravine for five days. During that time, the village sent people to gather information nearby. Only after they were sure that everything was fine did they breathe a sigh of relief and continue on their journey.

As for the military uniforms that were stripped off earlier, the villagers dared to keep them. After a group of women were reluctant to part with them, the elders of the tribe burned them all.

Along the way, the Nanjiagou refugee team was very vigilant and kept asking about the situation of the refugees around them.

It turned out that this group of defeated soldiers had fled from the north, burning, killing and looting everywhere along the way, and were worse than bandits. They only stopped two days ago after they were captured and driven away by the Northeastern garrison in Shanzhou.

After learning that the authorities did not recognize these deserters, the villagers finally felt relieved and the depressing atmosphere in the team suddenly dissipated.

After another two days, the fleeing team finally arrived at Guanyintang Town, an important industrial and commercial town in Shanzhou.

Before coming to Guanyin Temple in Shanzhou, Hou Xiaoge had already learned about this place from various channels.

During the late Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty built the Longhai Railway, but due to various reasons, the construction was intermittent and stopped temporarily at the Guanyintang area.

Guanyintang Town has been an important route on the Silk Road since ancient times, taking over the commercial trade between Guanzhong area and Luoyang. In the late Qing Dynasty, the Longhai Railway was built to Guanyintang Town, and Guanyintang Town suddenly prospered.

Guanyintang Town also has coal, iron, aluminum and various mines. With trains, mineral deposits and close proximity to Guanzhong, it is hard not to be prosperous.

Thousands of workers live here all year round, and it is also a cargo distribution center. Its prosperity is well-known throughout the western part of the Central Plains.

After the fleeing team arrived at Guanyintang Town, Hou Xiaoge looked at the bluestone paved ground, blue brick walls, rows of shops on both sides, and even bunkers and artillery towers. He had a clear understanding of Guanyintang Town. This place was indeed wealthy.

However, as he walked along, Hou Xiaoge discovered that most of the shops along the way were closed, there was basically no cargo, and only countless refugees camped along the road.

Going further, there are stalls selling human beings everywhere on both sides of the road, which has become a huge "human trading market".

Hou Xiaoge originally thought that since there was a train station here, it must be very prosperous, and he could take the opportunity to do some trading to accumulate some supplies. However, he did not expect that there was trading, but the supplies turned into people, which disappointed Hou Xiaoge greatly.

There were too many refugee groups in Guanyin Hall, and human traffickers were everywhere. After the group set up camp, Hou Xiaoge didn't dare to run around alone. It was better to keep a low profile in public.

After the village team set up camp and rested, Hou Xiaoge learned from the nearby refugees that since the construction of Shanzhou Railway Station, Guanyintang Railway Station has fallen into decline, and now the commercial areas are all in Shanzhou Railway Station.

The city of Shanzhou is fifty or sixty kilometers away from Guanyin Temple, which takes half a month to walk. Hou Xiaoge quickly gave up the idea of going to Shanzhou Railway Station.

After the investigation was almost complete, Hou Xiaoge asked his uncle and himself to go to Guanyintang Railway Station to inquire about train tickets.

After walking two miles, the two arrived at the entrance of the railway station. The Guanyintang Railway Station was indeed magnificent, like a castle, which showed how prosperous it was before it declined.

The military police stopped them from entering because they didn't have tickets, so the father and son could only ask at the ticket window outside how much the train ticket to Tongguan or Chang'an in Qin Province cost.

"Boss, do you have train tickets to Qin Province? I want to buy one." Hou Yangmin asked with a smile as he looked at the ticket seller who was wearing a Zhongshan suit and had shiny hair.

“No, there are so many people now, where can we take the train?

Besides, can you afford to buy a train ticket for people like you? You'd better squeeze into the carriage!" The conductor said impatiently, looking at the tattered clothes of the father and son.

"This~"

Hou Yangmin came over excitedly, but was immediately splashed with a basin of cold water.

"Boss, you are very capable and will definitely be able to get the tickets. What we want to know is whether you can buy premium tickets." Hou Xiaoge stood on tiptoe, took out half a pack of Luoyang cigarettes and handed it to the ticket seller, saying in a low voice.

"Wow! The little guy is small, but he's quite capable." The ticket seller became interested when he saw Hou Xiaoge, who was not even as tall as the window and was jumping around.

"Uncle, please help me! It's hard to survive in my hometown, and there are bandits and deserters everywhere.

As long as we can get the train tickets, you name the price and we will never bargain.

Thirteen tickets, as long as they can get to Qin Province, no matter where, we can buy them with yellow ones." Hou Xiaoge whispered.

"You are an interesting bastard. You are so young, but you know a lot about the ways of the world. It's interesting.

OK, I am a kind-hearted boss! I will help you with this.

If you can afford it, please come to the station hall at 5pm. Thirteen tickets will cost at least one hundred and twenty dollars, so please prepare the money in advance.

Here is the note, take it, and the military police outside the station hall won't stop you with it." The greasy-haired ticket seller handed over a note with the station's seal.

When Hou Xiaoge heard the ticket seller say 120 yuan, his heart trembled. This bastard is really evil. He had inquired and found that the third-class train ticket from Guanyintang to Tongguan was 40 cents per ticket in normal years.

This guy is so cruel that his profit increased hundreds of times during the disaster years. He makes more money than drug dealers!

(The four cents mentioned above are the legal tender. In the second half of 1942, the legal tender began to depreciate sharply. The difference in exchanging the dollars for the legal tender was several hundred times.)

Although he felt ashamed in his heart, Hou Xiaoge still took the note with a smile on his face. The word "pass" was written on it.

"Thank you, boss. May good people have a peaceful life." Hou Xiaoge smiled and gave his blessings. As for whether it was good words or bad words, Chinese characters are profound and extensive.

"You're a nice, polite boy. I'll be waiting for you." The ticket seller lit a cigarette and waved happily at Hou Xiaoge.