The Flames of Resistance Against Japan in Jiangnan

That evening, the various cooks in the regiment did their utmost to prepare a delicious meal for everyone. Xue Geming also ate with great relish. He inspected the troops with He Changgong and several other leaders, and seeing everyone enjoying their meal, he smiled knowingly. Before leaving, Xue Geming had a sudden thought and went to check on the prisoner-of-war position guarded by the Second Battalion. The prisoners were also eating. Xue Geming remained silent, carefully observing their rations under the somewhat surprised gazes of a few prisoners, and sighed inwardly: "It really is like that!" He then turned to He Changgong and discussed:

“They’ve had a hard time too, let’s give them some meat and vegetables as well!” Upon hearing this, He Changgong glanced at the group of prisoners, considered it for a moment, and nodded.

Xue Geming then turned to Li Zhi, the company commander of the guard company beside him, and said:

"Quickly send someone to inform the supply company to have the cooks slaughter a few more pigs so everyone can have some meat!"

Having said that, he patted the prisoners on the shoulders and smiled:

"Don't rush, we'll eat later. I'm going to prepare some meat for you. You'll be able to eat meat soon!"

Having said that, he and He Changgong, under the protection of the guards, were about to leave!

"Sir!"

Shouts came from behind. Upon hearing this, Xue Geming and He Changgong stopped, turned around, and looked at the prisoners with suspicious eyes.

"Sir."

The voice rang out again, and a prisoner stepped forward, indicating that he was the one who had called out. Xue Geming recognized him as one of the prisoners he had inspected earlier and who had patted him on the shoulder later—a young man who appeared to be only in his early twenties.

"what's up?"

Xue Geming glanced at He Changgong and said with some surprise.

"thump"!

The prisoner suddenly knelt down and burst into tears. All the prisoners were shocked. The guards immediately pointed their guns at the prisoner, while others shielded the two officers. The machine guns outside immediately opened fire on the group.

Xue Geming simply waved his hand, indicating that everyone should not be nervous. He and He Changgong took a few steps forward, first helping the young man up and brushing the dust off his clothes. He Changgong kindly inquired:

"Young man, don't cry—what's wrong?"

The prisoner didn't speak, he just cried. After a while, with everyone's encouragement, the young prisoner finally spoke.

His tears had no other reason than that it was the first time he had ever truly eaten meat, the first time he had ever felt like a human being! More importantly, the Red Army officers were so kind and gentle to them!

It turned out that the prisoner was named Luo Hong, a soldier from the 53rd Regiment of the 24th Brigade of the White Army, and a native of Jiangsu. His family had always been poor since he was a child, and he had never had the chance to eat meat. Later, he found an opportunity to join the army, but he never expected that he would not be able to eat meat. Even when he was occasionally given meat, it was usually snatched up by the veterans or forced to be given to the squad leader and platoon leader. He never actually got to eat any of it.

Later, after the new commander arrived, the frequency of eating meat decreased, and eventually it was eliminated altogether. Everyone had to forage for meat outside, even robbing ordinary people. Because he came from a poor family, he refused to do such a thing and thus became abstaining from meat from then on.

He had lost the battle that day and thought all hope of survival was lost. But the officer he had just called a Red Army soldier was so kind, personally checking his bowl and immediately ordering meat to be prepared—a far better meal than what his old unit had provided. He was deeply moved.

When he was a soldier in the regular army, he never had meat to eat; but now that he was a prisoner of war, he had the opportunity to eat meat. The difference in treatment was like heaven and earth! More importantly, in his original White Army unit, he was either scolded or beaten every day, but the Red Army officer in front of him was so kind and approachable. This was something he never dared to dream of in his original unit! Therefore, when he saw the officer about to leave, he was so excited that he shouted out, knelt down instinctively, and then burst into tears.

That's it!

He Changgong and Xue Geming exchanged a smile. He patted Luo Hong on the shoulder again, offering words of comfort, and once he calmed down, he prepared to leave. Luo Hong, however, gritted his teeth and watched the two men. Just as Xue Geming's figure was about to disappear from his sight, he finally couldn't hold back and shouted loudly once more. Xue Geming, He Changgong, and all the guards stopped and turned to look at him again.

"Young man, is there anything else?"

This time, it was He Changgong, who was slightly older, who spoke first.

"Sir, could you accept me? I want to join the Red Army! I can shoot!"

Seeing that several leaders were looking at him again, Luo Hong stepped forward and, without much thought, said urgently.

"You want to join the Red Army?"

Xue Geming countered with a question. He had considered this issue before, but was also somewhat worried. He knew he currently had many new recruits, and with so many prisoners arriving, it seemed he might be struggling to manage. But this particular soldier seemed like a possibility.

Luo Hong nodded firmly. He then said:

"I want to join the Red Army!"

Xue Geming and He Changgong exchanged a glance. Finally, Xue Geming agreed:

"Alright! We'll accept you!"

Having said that, he stepped forward, grasped Luo Hong's hand tightly, and said:

"Welcome! You'll be working in my guard platoon! From now on, we're comrades!"

"Comrades? We're comrades? To the officer's guard platoon?" Upon hearing this, Luo Hong felt a wave of dizziness wash over him! Just then, the cooks came over to serve everyone meat. At this moment, a large group of prisoners protested, refusing to eat the meat, and instead carrying their bowls of rice, they all called out to Xue Geming and He Changgong:

"Sir, we want to join the Red Army too!" "Yes, we want to join the Red Army too!"

"How could this be?" Xue Geming and He Changgong were both stunned! Gazing at the surging emotions of the crowd, they exchanged a glance. Neither of them had expected such a small gesture to ignite such excitement among the prisoners! They had previously been troubled, feeling there were too many prisoners this time, and they were regular soldiers. They wanted to recruit some, but felt they would have to put in considerable effort to persuade them to join their ranks, as they always felt it would be difficult to get these regular soldiers into their guerrilla force. However, these were, after all, prisoners of war from a regular army background; their military skills were definitely superior to ordinary farmers without any training. Giving up on them would be a real waste. But unexpectedly, judging from the current situation, this problem seemed to be solved not as difficult as they had imagined!

Thinking this, Xue Geming and He Changgong exchanged another glance. Finally, He Changgong nodded, signaling Xue Geming to speak. Xue Geming didn't refuse and immediately stepped forward, saying: