The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

"Comrades, no road can be straight; there will always be twists and turns."

Our revolution is indeed at a low ebb and has encountered many difficulties.

However, it is precisely at times like these that people's fighting spirit is truly tested.

We must firmly remember that the road of revolution is tortuous, but the future is bright!

As soon as he finished speaking, the comrades, their morale boosted, burst into applause. Xu Wenqing waved his hands and continued:

"Fighting behind enemy lines is a very dangerous situation. At this time, we must be more vigilant at all times. We must be prepared for any eventuality and never be careless."

Li Youcai stood up and made his demands:

"Commander, our Huangshan Guerrilla Force wishes to join the main force!"

"Welcome, welcome!"

Regiment Commander Xu Wenqing answered loudly:

"With you all, our 55th Regiment is truly like a tiger with wings."

After some discussion, everyone came up with several plans:

1. Li Youcai continued to contact the people in the Huangshan area and tried to disperse and hide the wounded in the homes of people living deep in the mountains to recuperate.

2. Except for a small number of people left behind, the rest of the men from Wangjiaping advanced to the vicinity of Tankou Village, where they split into small teams to pick up the stragglers. Each team was assigned one or two local guerrilla fighters.

3. Block the news, temporarily use the Yan family compound as a first aid station, and hide comrades who need surgery here.

4. Transport the grain, cattle, and sheep from the courtyard to the Fairy Cave for storage, which will serve as the final gathering place.

After the meeting, Xu Wenqing hurriedly returned to Wanjunping to prepare for his departure. Unexpectedly, guided by someone, Li Youcai's sister, Lanhua, followed him relentlessly, insisting on joining the Red Army, claiming she too could contribute. Finally, after some haggling, Xu Wenqing agreed to give her a pistol if he ever captured anything, and only then would he relent.

The next day, Xu Wenqing personally led several soldiers from the communications platoon, dressed in the uniforms of the security regiment, to form a small detachment to meet up with the scattered Red Army soldiers.

On a road near the mountains, Xu Wenqing, who had volunteered to act as a sentry, was surprised to find eight militia soldiers sitting and resting on either side of the road. What was even more unbelievable to Xu Wenqing was that these eight soldiers were escorting six prisoners who appeared to be Red Army soldiers.

Thinking back on the journey, the 10th Red Army Corps had been rushing through each battle to speed up their advance, resulting in many Red Army soldiers being scattered. Even a slight misstep could lead to them getting separated from the main force due to unfamiliarity with the terrain. But it shouldn't have been this many who were scattered.

Having encountered them, Xu Wenqing and his men couldn't pretend they hadn't seen them. Therefore, Xu Wenqing quickly gestured for Jin Fujiang and the others to stop, instructing Jin Fujiang to impersonate the platoon leader of the security regiment. The rest of them, each carrying a rifle, prepared to go and rescue the six Red Army prisoners.

Xu Wenqing led the way, with Jin Fujiang following behind. The rest of the men, as Xu Wenqing had instructed, carried guns and stood in pairs beside Zhang Cheng. The group of about ten men swaggered towards the eight resting militia soldiers.

Just as the other party saw Xu Wenqing and his group appear and got up from the ground, Xu Wenqing, who had already walked up to them, said in fluent Huizhou dialect:

"Brother, what's your luck? Our platoon leader and I have been working hard all day and haven't seen a single Red Army soldier. How did you manage to capture so many? Looks like you'll get a good reward when you get back."

Hearing the familiar local dialect, and knowing that Jin Fujiang was a platoon leader, the pistol at his waist undoubtedly confirmed his officer status. One of the men, who appeared to be the leader of the group, quickly told his subordinate to lower his gun, and smiled warily.

“We are from the Yansi Town Security Office. We just received orders from our superiors to hunt down these Red bandits.”

"Brother, you were lucky. You caught these guys roasting sweet potatoes in that mountain hollow. You took them all down when they weren't looking. I haven't yet asked which unit this officer and these guys belong to."

Jin Fujiang glanced at Xu Wenqing with a hint of arrogance without saying a word. Xu Wenqing then pretended to be a sycophant and said:

“Our platoon leader is from the county security regiment. Like you, he was ordered to come out and try his luck. But he worked hard all day yesterday and didn’t even see a ghost. This is our platoon leader, Li Tao. Platoon Leader Li is our regimental commander’s brother-in-law.”

The last sentence was spoken by Xu Wenqing to the older veteran who appeared to be the squad leader.

Upon hearing that the platoon leader had such powerful backing, the leading veteran quickly pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and said with a fawning expression:

"Oh, I never expected to meet such a benefactor today. My apologies, Commander Li. Have a cigarette from me. It's not the best, but I hope you won't mind. Please do me the honor."

Seeing that even the squad leader was so enthusiastic, the other seven soldiers naturally relaxed their guard quickly. Just as the squad leader was handing out cigarettes to Xu Wenqing and the others, Xu Wenqing, who was unknowingly standing in front of the six Red Army prisoners, gave Jin Fujiang, who was smoking with the squad leader, a signal to make a move.

Quickly, Jin Fujiang drew a pistol from his waist, pulled the trigger, and shouted:

"Don't move! We are the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Lay down your weapons if you don't want to die!"

The security regiment squad leader, who had hoped to climb up to this influential platoon leader and get a slight promotion, looked at the pistol in front of his head and smiled bitterly:

"Sir, if you want these Red Army soldiers, just tell me."

We brothers would gladly offer it up; there's no need for us to impersonate Red bandits and kill to cover it up. We're all in the same boat, is it really necessary?

This guy thought Jin Fujiang was doing this to seize prisoners, while Xu Wenqing, under the dumbfounded gazes of the other security regiment soldiers, swiftly used his bayonet to cut the ropes binding the six Red Army soldiers.

And he smiled warmly:

"Comrades, greetings! We are the rearguard, all Red Army soldiers from the same corps. Now you are saved!"

If the security regiment soldiers still refused to believe Jin Fujiang's words, Xu Wenqing's untying of the Red Army prisoners' ropes undoubtedly made it clear to them. These guys in security regiment uniforms really were imposters posing as Red Army soldiers.

Just as a militia soldier was about to raise his gun in resistance, Xu Wenqing, who had been watching them closely, fired a shot that struck the soldier directly between the eyebrows.

Watching the security soldier slowly fall, shot between the eyebrows, Xu Wenqing's expression turned cold and ruthless as he shouted:

"Put down your weapons and surrender. If you still dare to make any trouble, he is your security force."

Seeing Xu Wenqing shoot and kill a member of the security regiment without saying a word, the other soldiers, fearing the same fate, quickly threw aside their rifles, which felt like burning hot weapons. Hu Zi and the others, seeing this, quickly picked up their guns and urged the now-mournful soldiers to obediently line up and squat on the ground.