Crimson Dawn

Chapter 100

There is no dry place in the swamp, and sitting on the ground is asking for trouble.The third company, as a supply unit, carried more than a dozen ship-reformed mud skids.After receiving the order to rest, the soldiers sat on the mud sled one after another.The squad leaders counted their teams, and then reported to the platoon leader, who then reported the number to the company commander.During the whole process, while counting the number of people, the squad leaders repeatedly told the soldiers not to talk and to rest at ease.

It is the minimum rule of the army to keep quiet when marching and resting.A noisy army is only exposing itself. This operation is obviously a sneak attack, and there is no need for any fanfare at all.According to Chai Qingguo's information, all 240 people from the second company have arrived, and all 240 people from the third company have also arrived.During the march, two soldiers from the third company sprained their feet and were unable to charge, while the other soldiers could participate in the battle normally.

More than a dozen refitted boats were lined up, and the soldiers sat neatly on the boats, crowded with people.The soldiers either drank water or gnawed dry food silently, and some very tired comrades leaned against them and dozed off with their heads down.The monitors quickly woke them up and told them to doze off after eating.Chai Qingguo was very satisfied with this. 480 soldiers who have received a minimum of two months of training, this is already a remarkable armed force.Chai Qingguo also participated in a large march of tens of thousands of people, a big battle.After having that experience, he completely lost interest in the so-called crowd of tens of thousands.Nothing beats a well-trained elite unit.If the tens of thousands of people experienced today's march, the ducks would have been released by now.These 480 people just haven't seen blood. As long as they can fight a few battles, this group of people can become excellent soldiers.Chai Qingguo believes that these soldiers are at least no worse than the Beiyang Army.

The reconnaissance team had already dispersed far away, and these people didn't have any signs of marching.Chen Ke's special investigative brigade now only has two platoons, but they are all selected personnel.All of them are between 18 and 22 years old, so they are truly elite.The scouts operating in a small team of eight carried out search work at a distance of two to three kilometers around the main force, and now they rolled back to the main force one by one like mud monkeys.Seeing these comrades who had suffered a lot, there were good-natured laughter among the soldiers marching with the brigade.Although the march of a large army is already very hard, but human nature is always like this. Someone has worked harder than oneself, and the mood will always be a little happy.At this time, the supplies carried by the large troops were sufficient, and everyone handed water to others, and dry food to others.The camaraderie between comrades is very strong at this time.

Six of the ten reconnaissance teams came back first, and all the other four reconnaissance teams sent their messengers back. The news they reported was really unexpected. "You found people, they are not Zhang Youliang's spies, but the people who came back to live?" Gao Yujie, the commander of the third company, was very surprised by the news.

Gao Yujie came from Beijing with Shang Yuan and the others. His ancestors were from Anhui, and he followed Li Hongzhang's Huai army to conquer everywhere, and then settled in Tianjin.The family hoped that Gao Yujie could get a good reputation in the examination.It turns out that Gao Yujie just likes machines.Finally, he worked from a mechanic to a foreman in the Tianjin Machinery Bureau.Gao's family is still a "loyal and good family". In the Sino-Japanese War, Gao Yujie's two uncles were all killed in battle. In the Gengzi Incident, Gao Yujie's father and uncle also died in battle.Gao Yujie himself and Qin Tongren guarded the factory together, but also narrowly escaped death.From then on, he hated foreigners and was extremely dissatisfied with the reconciliation between Yuan Shikai, the new Beiyang minister, and foreigners.After the Gengzi Incident, Gao Yujie joined the police force.Because a foreigner was beaten during law enforcement, he had to run away.The past few years were also very unfortunate, and then he met Qin Tongren by chance, and when he heard that Qin Tongren was going to come to Anhui, he simply went south with Shang Yuan.After all, he was also from a military family, so he knew a little about military affairs. Although he had no enthusiasm for overthrowing the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he had no intention of defending the Manchu Qing Dynasty at all.Accumulated achievements in the insurance regiment, and became the commander of the third company during the expansion of the army.

Gao Yujie was really surprised when he heard the report from the reconnaissance team that people had begun to live in the swamp.He didn't believe in such a thing at all.But the scouts who came back to report invariably assured him that these people were all locals.Two of the scout units even reported that someone in their unit knew the farming people.Those who came to cultivate were some people who did not hide in the county during the flood.When the water receded, they rushed back to their homes from other places.Just live in this swamp.The correspondents of the two teams also informed that some of these people had already fallen ill.

"In this way, send a reconnaissance team in each direction, and bring all the people here first. If the patient is sick, use our stretcher to carry it back first." He Zudao is not only the political commissar of the second company in this battle, but also temporarily Lead the scouting team.After getting the order, the investigation team set off one after another.

"Political commissar, why do you have to go to such great lengths?" Chai Qingguo was a little surprised.Since they are locals, it is a bit of a big deal to go to such great lengths to get them here.Moreover, if these people were suddenly pulled over, they would definitely cry. If the soldiers saw this, the blow to morale would be too severe.

"That's right, since we are all locals, we don't need to care so much." Gao Yujie was exhausted directing the transportation of the third company, and it would be even more troublesome to bring a bunch of ordinary people here.He also supports Chai Qingguo's opinion.

"Commander Chai, Commander Gao, I know what you are worried about. But you said there are so many soldiers, why are they fighting?" He Zudao asked.

"To take down Yuezhangji, everyone has land." Gao Yujie repeated the mobilization words before the war, "Isn't this already said many times?"

"You said that if there were no tap water provided by us, tens of thousands of people would farm here, how many people would fall ill? How many people would die of illness?" He Zudao continued to ask.

"This..." Neither Chai Qingguo nor Gao Yujie could answer.Like everyone else, they have never seen such a large flood, and such a natural disaster has completely turned their world upside down.But under the leadership of the People's Party, there is an insurance group working hard.Not many people died.So when comrades discussed the flood issue in private, many people were a little surprised.Although natural disasters are irresistible, it seems that natural disasters are not too terrible.After hearing He Zudao's questioning, everyone had no idea how many people would die.If the people's party continues to rule Fengtai County, not many people will die.But without the People's Party, it would be hard to say.

"This is a good comparison. With or without the leadership of the People's Party and the Insurance Corps, the life of the people is completely different. The soldiers are very sensible, and they will never shake the morale of the army. I believe everyone has seen this with their own eyes. After comparison, you will understand who to follow and who to fight for." He Zudao said with great confidence.

Since He Zudao was so persistent, and the two of them had no objection, they stopped talking.Not long after, the reconnaissance team came back with a group of people from several directions.There are not many of these people.During the time they went back and forth, the soldiers had already finished eating and drinking, and some of them had even taken a nap.The sharp-eyed soldiers saw some ragged people coming here among the comrades from a distance, so they raised their heads and watched.Others noticed this change and looked around one after another.

The swamp is somewhat similar to the mountain. It looks very close in a straight line, but you have to make a lot of detours.When the faces of the ragged civilians could be seen clearly, some soldiers couldn't help shouting.Among the people were people they knew.Hearing the shouts of the soldiers, those who were called responded when they saw their acquaintances.

All the common people have one thing in common, ragged clothes.Moreover, the reconnaissance team carried several people on stretchers.When all the people were brought before the troops, the troops had all disembarked and barely lined up in the swamp.Seeing these hundreds of strong boys densely packed, the common people didn't know what was going on, and their faces changed in fright.The few acquaintances in the army quickly wanted to get closer.He was stopped by scouts.

He Zudao asked an old man kindly, "Master, how did you get here?"

The old man didn't know He Zudao, and being pulled over by the sudden appearance of scouts was enough to scare people.If these people with knives and guns said something wrong, no one would know if they were killed in such a deserted place.But it didn't seem to work to keep silent, He Zudao still asked the same question in a pleasant manner.The old man suddenly pointed to a soldier in the team and shouted, "Liu boy, come here."

The soldier who was called was called Lu Xiuren, who was the sixth child in his family and belonged to the same family as the old farmer.He knew that the insurance group had no malice towards the people, but the training these days had given Lu Xiuren enough discipline.The platoon leader didn't speak, and he didn't dare to stand out by himself.He Zudao waved to Lu Xiuren and let him come over.Then He Zudao said loudly: "Folks, you know the soldiers of our army, so let them go out."

After saying this, all the villagers stretched their necks to look at the soldiers of the insurance regiment.As long as you can find someone you know, the possibility of your own harm is much less.As soon as Lu Xiuren arrived at my grandfather's side, the old man grabbed him and said, "Liu son, you have to tell me that I'm not a bad person. I'm not a bad person." Lu Xiuren comforted him while looking at He Zudao in embarrassment.

About a dozen fighters were recognized and called out.The villagers pulled the soldiers one by one to ask them to ensure their own safety.After the persuasion of these soldiers, the villagers finally realized that these people were not targeting them, and they calmed down a little.

When such a scene broke out, the soldiers thought it was a little funny.But looking at it, the smiles have gradually disappeared from the faces of the soldiers.Everyone has a heart of compassion, and these people all have one thing in common, that is, they are dressed in rags, and each of them is terribly emaciated due to lack of food.And I don't know how long it has been since they took a shower or washed their clothes. The stains that have accumulated for a long time are not only compared with ordinary people. The food is slightly better.In addition to hygiene, training, although tanned, the mental outlook is obviously better than these ordinary people.Looking at these common people, one by one is so thin, it seems that they are almost about to fall when the wind blows.The fighters couldn't help but think of their old days.If they hadn't joined the insurance group, facing such a flood, they would not be much different from these ordinary people.This feeling of sorrow for the death of a rabbit made everyone feel faintly grateful and deeply sympathetic.

"Folks, the water hasn't cleared yet, why did you come back?" He Zudao asked again.Both Chai Qingguo and Gao Yujie are short-tempered and have no patience for civil work.Seeing He Zudao being so meticulous, he was unwilling to interrupt.The political commissar of the Sanlian was named Wu Liao, and he was recognized as a "good guy." It was no problem to ask him to obey orders, but it was not okay to ask him to do political work.Chen Ke also didn't make the decision to let Wu Liao serve as the political commissar temporarily.He is now the only way to follow the lead.So all eyes fell on the young He Zudao.

Under He Zudao's repeated inquiries, the villagers finally agreed to answer. Some people said that they wanted to farm quickly.Some people say that when fleeing famine to beg for food, they were blocked by water, so they had to come back.But their answers were flickering and completely miss the point.

He Zudao suddenly asked: "This place is already close to Yuezhangji, is the land you want to plant now your own?"

As soon as these words came out, all the people changed their faces.The old man's dry and yellow face twitched, and suddenly he knelt down for He Zudao.This startled He Zudao, and hurried to help the old man.But the old man hugged He Zudao's calf and knelt on the ground, motionless.He Zudao didn't dare to let the old man who was dozens of years older than him kneel down for him.He went to pull the old man in a hurry, but the clothes on the old man didn't know how long he hadn't changed. In the days of the flood, they were already soaked in sweat and sewage. With a little force, the clothes were torn a big hole immediately.

Not only the old man, but other common people also knelt down. "Get everyone up quickly." He Zudao shouted.The soldiers rushed to help.As a result, no one wanted to get up.The old man saw that he didn't accept his courtesy, so he burst into tears immediately, and said while crying: "Young man, we really have no choice. We can't escape from the famine, and all our belongings are flooded. We only have a few seeds left , everyone discussed, anyway, it’s a death, take advantage of the deserted land and no one to take care of it. Anyway, plant some first, see if you can collect some food, so that you won’t starve to death this year. Young people, we are all from the village. You If we are driven away, or our seeds are taken away, we can only die. If you have knives and guns, if you want us to die, just kill us now. It won't make us suffer alive. God doesn’t allow people to live, you youngsters always want us to live! If you don’t want us to live, you can give us a good time.”

This time the old man said while crying, although the voice was not clear, the content of the answer was clear.Hearing the old man wailing loudly, other common people also started crying.He Zudao's face was gloomy, and so were the soldiers.Although Chai Qingguo didn't quite understand Anhui dialect, he probably understood the meaning.Gao Yujie lowered his head and sighed heavily.

He Zudao gave up trying to pull the old man up. Although the movement was a bit slow, He Zudao bent his knees and knelt down.

"Master, we are not here to collect your land. We are not here to grab your food. We...we are here to save you, we are here to save everyone. You have to trust us on this." After saying this, He Zudao raised his head and shouted: "Hurry up and get water and food for the villagers."

When the soldiers heard this, they almost moved in a swarm.The villagers were really shocked when they heard He Zudao's words.But the young man who was obviously the leader knelt in the muddy water just like them, and the countless young people who surrounded them were holding bamboo tubes and steamed buns in their hands.The smell of food surrounded these hungry people.I don't know who grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth.Others, no matter men, women, young or old, grabbed the steamed buns and started to eat them.After a few mouthfuls, a big steamed bun disappeared.Almost all of them choked because they swallowed so hard.The soldiers quickly opened the stopper of the bamboo tube and let everyone drink water.The clear tap water is mixed with the fragrance of bamboo.Everyone swallowed the steamed buns in their throats, and immediately picked up other steamed buns and started stuffing them into their mouths.But almost every soldier has steamed buns in their hands. Looking at the food that they haven't eaten for a long time, these common people's eyes are shining.He Zudao helped the old man up, took steamed buns and bamboo tubes from the soldier next to him, and gave them to the old man. "Master, let's talk after dinner."

Wu Liao, the commander of the third company, hurriedly shouted: "Don't let them eat so hard, they will support the bad guys." He told the soldiers to leave.When the people heard this, they became anxious.Seeing the steamed buns leaving them one after another, they bit the steamed buns inside and rushed forward to snatch the steamed buns from the soldiers.Stuffed in his own dirty clothes whose original color could not be seen.A steamed bun fell into the water.A skinny woman whose age could no longer be seen hurriedly went to pick it up, but her foot slipped, and she threw herself into the muddy water.The soldiers quickly pulled her up. The woman didn't care that her face was covered with muddy water. She plopped and knelt in the muddy water and fumbled around, trying to find the steamed bun that fell in the muddy water.Her hands splashed Lao Gao's muddy water, and she went crazy.

The old man watched everyone else eat the steamed buns, and took a few bites himself.Suddenly, the old man burst into tears again, "Xiaosheng, you are a good person. You are our savior." After speaking, the old man knelt down again for He Zudao.

Chapter 100

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