Industry began in 1937

Just as the entire village of Gouzi was making final preparations for the upcoming battle, and Han Shitou was desperately running towards hope on the mountain road, another thread concerning the future fate of this mountainous area was extending and intertwining at a higher level and with greater urgency.

This narrative is closely connected to the aspirations of millions of people in western Xingtai who yearn for survival and to defend their homes. Its origin lies in the "Three Invitations to the Eighth Route Army," a story filled with twists and turns and unwavering determination.

Rewind a month or so to October 1937, Xingtai fell to the Japanese, the Japanese invaders ran rampant, the defeated soldiers wreaked havoc, and the country was shattered.

In Jiangshui Town, a mountainous area in western China, patriots and ordinary people, represented by Li Mengping, Wu Guangyu, and Feng Wenshao, saw a glimmer of hope amidst their suffering, thanks to news of the Pingxingguan victory.

When they asked the Eighth Route Army for help, they sent people to Heshun, Shanxi. Although they did not find the main force, they were fortunate enough to make contact with Liu Zhenhe, an underground party member, and establish contact with the party organization.

After a second request to the Eighth Route Army, at the end of October, Guo Junshi and others from Qiannanyu finally found the 129th Division troops that had moved to eastern Shanxi after going through many hardships.

A battalion commander surnamed He led a battalion to scout the Jiangshui area with them.

Their strict discipline and impeccable conduct, in stark contrast to the rampant and domineering routs of the defeated soldiers, greatly calmed the fearful hearts of the people.

However, due to changes in the battle situation in Xiyang, this unit was ordered to be transferred elsewhere.

Hope seems to have faded once again.

But the people's desire has not been extinguished.

After three invitations to the Eighth Route Army, in early November, Li Mengping personally led more than ten people to Shanxi for the third time. They finally found the office of the 129th Division in Hangouqiao Village, Heshun County, and were warmly received by Guo Feng, the director of the office.

This time, the earnest request received a clear and solemn response.

The gears of history are turning perfectly at this moment.

In order to implement the Party Central Committee's strategic decision to establish the Taihang Mountain Anti-Japanese Base Area and consolidate western Hebei, the 129th Division, while dispatching Zhang Xianyue's advance detachment to conduct large-scale strategic reconnaissance and initial mobilization, decided to send an additional elite force to consolidate the base and build up political power in response to the strong requests from the people in Jiangshui and other places and the important strategic position of the area.

On the morning of November 20, 1937, amidst the tense preparations for battle in Gouzi Village, more than forty cadres, soldiers, and students, led by comrades Zhou Huan and Gao Yang and operating under the name of the "First Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Team of the Eighteenth Group Army in Northeast China," arrived on time at Qiannanyu in western Xingtai County after a long journey.

This is a team with a special mission.

Although small in number, they brought together key figures from political work, military affairs, and the people's movement. Their core mission was not large-scale field battles, but to go deep into the masses, help establish a consolidated anti-Japanese regime and local armed forces, and transform the people's anti-Japanese enthusiasm into a solid fighting force under the leadership of the Party.

Their arrival marked the beginning of a substantial phase in the construction of the Xingtai Anti-Japanese Base Area.

It was in Qiannanyu that the two messengers sent by Zhang Xianyue successfully made contact with Zhou Huan and Gao Yangbu.

An urgent military situation was presented to the two leaders in an instant—Gouzi Village was besieged by the Red Spear Society and was in imminent danger. The villagers had spontaneously armed themselves to resist and urgently needed support!

"The Red Spear Society? Zhang Juejiu?" Zhou Huan frowned as he looked at the location of Gouzi Village marked on the simple map. "This feudal secret society, under the guise of resisting Japan, has been running rampant in the countryside, oppressing the masses and undermining unity. They are an obstacle we must remove to establish our base! It is commendable that the people of Gouzi Village have risen up in resistance; we must support them!"

Gao Yang adjusted his glasses, his tone firm: "The people are crying for help, we can't waste a minute! Comrade Zhang Xianyue's advance detachment is out there, we are the closest force! Immediately assemble the troops, lightly equipped, and march at forced march speed straight to Gouzi Village!"

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers, who had just taken off their backpacks, immediately regrouped.

Without mobilization or hesitation, the team of more than forty people, like a gray arrow, rushed out of Qiannanyu under the guidance of the guide and headed northeast towards Gouzi Village, beginning a life-or-death race against time.

Almost simultaneously, at the Xiaonanshan Pass in Gouzi Village, the first gunshot shattered the cold silence of the winter morning.

Zhang Juejiu's "punitive expedition" lingered in Hekouji until the sun was high in the sky before finally setting off in a chaotic manner.

Upon reaching the foot of Xiaonanshan Mountain, the sight of the strategically important terrain and the faint silhouettes and flags behind the pass immediately stirred up a commotion within the group.

Zhang Juejiu, riding on a mule, looked grim. He forced himself to order his core armed force—thirty or so soldiers and bandits armed with rifles—to form a loose skirmish line. They fired wildly at the pass above to bolster their courage, while shouting to drive the members of the council armed with red-tasseled spears and broadswords forward.

"Bang bang bang!" "Bang—!"

Gunfire erupted immediately, but it was completely inaccurate.

Most of the bullets hit the rocks and slopes, kicking up plumes of dust.

Behind the pass, the musketeers and riflemen of Gouzi Village crouched low, listening to the bullets whizzing overhead or thudding against their cover. Some were pale, but their grip on the butts of their rifles tightened.

"Hold on! Wait for them to get closer! Listen to my command!" Zhao Dachui's roar came through the gunfire, suppressing the initial panic.

Seeing that the other side didn't retaliate much, the Red Spear Society members gradually grew bolder. Under the whipping and cursing of their leaders, they howled and began to charge towards the pass, their formation crowded on the narrow road.

"Attack!" Zhao Dachui gave the order, seizing the opportunity.

"Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom!"

On both sides of the pass, muskets and rifles opened fire almost simultaneously!

Despite insufficient training and poor marksmanship, at such close range and from a superior position, he immediately knocked down the seven or eight enemies charging in front of him, and screams rang out.

The momentum of the charge stalled.

"They have fast guns! And lots of muskets!" The Red Spear Society was thrown into chaos, and many people turned to run away.

"No retreat! Anyone who dares to retreat, I'll kill him!" Lu Jiwu brandished his pistol and fired two shots, killing a fleeing member, barely managing to regain his footing.

Zhang Juejiu and An Qingshan also directed the core gunmen to hide behind the crowd and desperately fire at the top of the pass, the bullets sending sparks flying from the rocks.

In the midst of the melee, a musketeer from Gouzi Village, who was peering out to observe, was grazed on the forehead by a stray bullet, instantly bleeding profusely. The people next to him were so frightened that they quickly dragged him down to bandage his wound.

This is the first and only person in Gouzi Village to be injured.

"Damn it, get around to the slopes on both sides!" Zhang Juejiu ordered angrily, seeing that a frontal assault was going to be disadvantageous.

A few dozen of the more valiant members, or those who had been fooled by the "invulnerability" talisman, shouted and climbed up the gentle slopes on both sides of the pass, attempting to bypass it.

Just then, a chilling "crack!" sound, followed by a piercing scream, came from the grass on the hillside!

"Ah—! My leg! My leg is broken!"

"There are clamps! There are metal clamps on the ground!"

The carefully laid animal trap worked, instantly causing three enemies who were trying to maneuver to fall to the ground, clutching their deformed legs and screaming for their mothers.

The others were terrified and dared not leave the main road again.

On the front, under pressure from the supervising team, the Red Spear Society organized a second charge, this time with even more people, packed tightly together.

"Pull!" Chen Yuan shouted in a low voice to the team member in charge of the mine fuse.

Two team members pulled hard on the oil-soaked rope in their hands!

"BOOM—!!!" "BOOM! BOOM!"

Several muffled thunderous explosions rang out in the densest part of the crowded Red Spear Society crowd!

In an instant, mud, rubble, severed limbs, and smoke billowed into the sky! The enormous sound and shockwave overturned the surrounding crowd like weeds! At least five or six people were killed instantly, and more than ten were injured and fell to the ground, their painful screams instantly drowning out the shouts of battle.

This terrifying explosion, far exceeding the power of a musket, completely shattered the already fragile morale of the Red Spear Society.

"Sorcery! It's sorcery!"

"Landmines! Landmines!"

"Run! There are gods helping in Gouzi Village!"

It is unclear who shouted first, but the already terrified congregation completely collapsed. They dropped their weapons, turned around and fled. No matter how Zhang Juejiu, Lu Jiwu and others tried to suppress them, cursed them, or even fired their guns, they could not stop the avalanche-like retreat.

The defeat was swift and devastating. The nearly three hundred-strong "punitive expeditionary force," along with their leader, fled in disarray toward the direction they had come from, toward Hekouji, leaving behind only a scene of chaos and dozens of dead and wounded in front of the pass.

Behind the Xiaonanshan Pass, the soldiers from Gouzi Village erupted in a deafening cheer!

The defenders of Gouzi Village could hardly believe that they had actually repelled such a powerful enemy!

Moreover, only one person on our side was slightly injured!

Zhao Dachui excitedly brandished his broadsword, Wen Shizhou breathed a long sigh of relief, while Chen Yuan silently checked the remaining equipment.

He fired three shots, and he still wasn't satisfied!

Chen Yuan realized that these secret societies were truly not good organizations.

Come to think of it, if there's no ambition, no profit, simply organizing a village protection team would suffice; why resort to such mystical and superstitious things to bewitch people?

He felt little joy at the moment, believing that someone like Zhang Juejiu would never give up easily.

Sure enough, after retreating to Hekouji, Zhang Juejiu, still in shock, counted his men and found that more than 30 had been killed or wounded. Among them, five or six had been killed by landmines, and many more had been seriously injured or disabled. Morale plummeted, and many people clamored to go home and never come back.

Looking at the group of defeated soldiers before him, Zhang Juejiu's face turned ashen, his eyes flashing with resentment and unwillingness.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" He kicked over the broken table in front of him. "You can't even take down a small village like Gouzi! Where do you think I, Zhang Juejiu, am? What about the prestige of the 'Jixi Red Spear Society'?"

An Qingshan said with a pained expression, "General, Gouzi Village is too dangerous. They have strange firearms, especially those explosive things. The brothers are really...terrified. Perhaps we should reconsider?"

"Long-term planning my ass!" Lu Jiwu roared, his eyes bloodshot. "So many brothers have died, and we're just going to let it go like this? Who will be afraid of us now? We must fight back! We must crush Gouzi Village into dust!"

Cao Guizhi also exclaimed shrilly, "Teacher Zhang, it must be some demon from Gouzi Village causing trouble and breaking our divine talisman! Once I set up the altar again and summon even more powerful heavenly soldiers and generals with my spells, we will surely be able to subdue it!"

Zhang Juejiu gritted his teeth. He couldn't accept failure, because it would shake the foundation he had painstakingly built.

He glanced at the dejected team outside, then at the location of Gouzi Village on the map, and an even more sinister thought popped into his head.

"If a direct attack doesn't work, we'll resort to underhanded tactics!" He lowered his voice and said to An Qingshan and Lu Jiwu, "Send someone to contact Ma Tabizi in the western mountains. Tell him that Gouzi Village has a large amount of grain and iron, as well as a skilled person who can make bombs. Invite him to partner with us, and we'll split the spoils 50/50 afterwards! Also, spread the word that Gouzi Village is harboring Japanese spies, colluding with the Japanese, and plotting something sinister! Let's see which village dares to openly help them!"

Just as Zhang Juejiu was plotting an even more vicious counterattack, and the villagers of Gouzi were immersed in the joy and exhaustion of their initial victory, the "First Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Team in Northeast China," led by Zhou Huan and Gao Yang, was speeding across the mountain ridges toward Gouzi, where the gunfire had subsided but the crisis was far from over.

The tides of history and the fate of the mountain village are about to converge and collide on this ancient land.