Globe Trekker

Chapter 2

The gunshots stopped, panic shouts rang out in the cell, and the smoke billowed and couldn't disperse. The pungent gunpowder smoke mixed with thick blood was suffocating.The handcuffs and shackles that locked the criminals were hastily removed, and nearly a hundred criminals escaped in a hurry under the command of Mr. Zhang and the red guards.

Wu Ming was the last to leave with the support of two fellow inmates. He walked out of the hellish cell with great difficulty stepping on pools of blood. The glare of the sun blinded his eyes.

Strange corpses were scattered on the red soil in the courtyard. Some had their heads blown off by guns, some had their chests and abdomen pierced by a machete and their internal organs were left to flow, and there was a hideous head cut off by a machete, whose head was turned upside down. Wu was still in shock. Ming couldn't take a few more breaths, and there were cries and billowing smoke in the city again.

With the rapid arrival of several men with knives, the small courtyard was in chaos. Amidst the shouts, Wu Ming, who was in a daze, was surrounded by the crowd and ran westward. He escaped from the west gate and continued to run along the pond until It was only in front of the ancestral hall at the foot of Wangjiashan that he stopped to breathe.

Wu Ming panted for a while, and stood up from the cluttered crowd with difficulty. Only then did he realize that the cloth towel that fixed the broken arm had been torn off at some point, and the wound on his head had been split open. I was so angry that I couldn't make a sound even if I wanted to scream.

Gunshots rang out in the city, and the people who were lying on the ground got up and watched in horror. They saw a young man with an old rifle rushing from outside the west gate to the anxious Mr. Zhang and another middle-aged man. Hurry up in front of people.

Wu Ming on the side listened for a long time before he realized that the enemy troops in Shangrao, led by the Yiyang County Red Guard Brigade led by Mao Zedong, had started to counterattack. , then joined the Lingxi town militia that came to the east for reinforcements, and the two sides immediately gathered their troops and merged into one place, gathered more than [-] men and guns to offer a heavy reward, and now they turned around and went back to the county to attack the east gate.

Mr. Zhang discussed with the Red Guard liaison person next to him, and immediately ordered the wounded to gather and prepare for retreat.A dilapidated long gown soon appeared on Wu Ming's body. With the help of a fellow prisoner, he hurriedly rewrapped his broken arm with cloth strips and hung it on his chest.

Wu Ming stood up slowly with his hunched body in pain, staring at the county town that was already on fire, in a daze.The people on the sidelines chatted happily. Some said that the county government was on fire, and some said that the fire was like the mansion of the county magistrate Wang Donghan and several rich gentry. As for whether the fire would affect the surrounding houses, no one went Wu Ming, who was too busy to take care of himself, didn't have the energy to think about it, and Mr. Zhang, who was running around after leaving the cell, probably couldn't take care of it either.

Suddenly, nearly a hundred celebrity prisoners who escaped from the prison escaped with a burst of screams. The two fellow prisoners who carried Wu Ming along the way to escape just now disappeared. Yes! I recognized the bearded man who was leading the run as the King of the Mountain, nicknamed 'Creep Tiger'."

"You...why don't you run?" Wu Ming asked with concern.

"I want a family, no family, no money, no money, a dead life, where do I go? Follow the Communist Party, at least they have a lot of people and have knives and guns. If you are lucky, you can survive this test, maybe you can eat A few meals will fill you up." After the exhausted fellow sufferer finished speaking, he turned and left after seeing that Wu Ming had nothing to do.

Wu Ming looked at the county town where the smoke was billowing and rising, and felt that the series of encounters in the past two days seemed like a dream. If it wasn't for the stinging pain from the swollen head and the randomly attached severed arm, he couldn't believe that he was still alive anyway. And still live in this unbelievable chaotic world.

The gunfire in the distance is still going on, and the smoky old city in the field of vision is extremely real, as real as the pain that is constantly hitting his body that hurts his bone marrow, like his strange calloused hands and cracked bare feet.

In a trance, Wu Ming rubbed his swollen eyes subconsciously, blinked and looked around in a daze. He could vaguely see the decayed remnants of the old city wall in front of him, the messy low tile-roofed houses around him, the uneven and winding narrow roads, and the endless roads in the distance. mountains.

Thick smoke billowed and ashes flew over Shangrao County, flocks of frightened wild birds wailed and flew to the north. It was rare to see even human figures among the dirty intersections and ruined walls, only a few dogs wailing and fleeing with their tails between their legs.

The gunshots were getting closer and closer. Thirty or so men with long guns or large knives rushed towards the intersection in the distance, bypassed the pond in front of them, and soon arrived at the front yard where Wu Ming was standing. Gunpowder smoke, panting and sweating profusely, some of them put down the bloody wounded on their backs, sat down on the ground panting rapidly, others hurriedly surrounded the wounded and yelled.

The sound of chaotic footsteps could be heard in the ancestral hall, and the red guards in messy clothes quickly surrounded them. The only middle-aged man in the front who was wearing a gray patched military uniform jumped onto the stone table and announced to everyone with a loud voice: "Comrades, The enemy has received reinforcements from the Lingxi militia in the east, and now the enemy is outnumbered. In order to preserve strength, the party committee decided at an emergency meeting: temporarily abandon the occupation of Shangrao City, and withdraw to the Yiyang base area to continue the revolution. Comrades, prepare to retreat immediately!"

The middle-aged man jumped off the stone table, and the inside and outside of the ancestral hall were suddenly green.

After discussing with the middle-aged man who issued the order, Mr. Zhang hurried to Wu Ming's side. After checking the newly wrapped cloth strips on Wu Ming's arms and head, he straightened up and adjusted his glasses: "Brother Wu, I wanted to take you with me." Let’s go, but the enemy is coming too fast and too many, we might have to fight on the way to retreat, so we can only stay here.”

Seeing that Wu Ming's face was swollen and unresponsive, Mr. Zhang shook his head and said worriedly: "The bullies and evil gentry in Huanggu Town framed you for colluding with the Communist Party. In addition, our team attacked the city and robbed the prison this time, killing many enemy officers, soldiers and The evil gentry stole the property of the Kuomintang county magistrate and several bullies and evil gentry. They will definitely take revenge when they are angry. Therefore, you must not go home in the near future. Follow our comrades and wounded people to hide in the mountains for a while. As for the future What to do, let’s talk about it after you recover from your injury, our Communist Party’s team is the team of the hardworking people in the world, after you recover from your injury, we welcome young people like you who suffer and hate deeply to join in.”

Wu Ming's mood was extremely complicated, he moved his mouth but couldn't make a sound.

Mr. Zhang laughed: "Don't worry, just get through this hurdle. I believe we will meet again. There are not many strong young people like you, haha! By the way, are you literate?"

Wu Ming's mind was so confused that he didn't know how to answer.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhang laughed softly and said, "It doesn't matter. Many comrades in our team are illiterate, but it doesn't prevent us from making a revolution to turn around. However, you are still young. If you have the opportunity, you might as well learn culture. It will be good for your future life. "

Wu Ming nodded blankly, and Mr. Zhang helped him to a row of stretchers, and told the short, middle-aged man who ran over: "Old Song, this brother Wu is a local, and he was accused of complicity by the evil gentry in Huanggu town." Framed, he was tortured in the prison and did not fall down. He is a man. Today I entrust him to your comrades in Shangrao to transfer him into the mountain with the wounded. Time is urgent. I will talk about other things later. Hurry up and leave !"

"Don't worry, special commissioner, we will take good care of him." Lao Song replied loudly, beckoning his staff to pick up the wounded and set off immediately, and finally helped Wu Ming to leave in a hurry.

Following the stretcher for more than ten steps to the north, Wu Ming, who was in a trance, suddenly turned around, gently pushed away the supporting Lao Song, turned around and stared at Mr. Zhang who watched him off, gritted his teeth, endured the pain and bent deeply, Thank you Mr. Zhang.

Mr. Zhang smiled and waved goodbye: "Let's go, the future will be long, take care!"

Seeing this scene, Qingsong, not far away, ordered a few words to the staff around him, and quickly came to stand beside Mr. Zhang, watching Wu Ming who was walking away with Lao Song's support, feeling quite emotional: "This kid is very polite, he seems to have a temperament Middleman, it is not in vain to save him."

"That's right! I didn't forget the etiquette after being injured like this. I think he is a good young man with a promising future. If he hadn't been injured too badly and couldn't move, I really want to take him away." Mr. Zhang sighed.

Qingsong wiped off the sweat on his face, and looked at Mr. Zhang suspiciously: "No way? Until now, I haven't heard more than three words from this kid. Is it worth your attention to be silly?"

"He's not stupid. It's probably because he was injured too badly and he didn't recover. Let's go."

Mr. Zhang turned around and walked towards the retreating red guards with Qingsong, and soon mixed with more than a hundred red guards holding rifles, blunderbusses, spears and broadswords, and rushed westward like the wind.

# # # # # #
Sixteen kilometers north of the city, Taiping Ridge.

As night fell, the fire and thick smoke in the southern county could no longer be seen. Under the night, the mountains were like black clouds, and the rustling sound of the wind passing through the bamboo forest filled the mountains.

The fugitives had turned around three river bends, climbed over five small hills, and finally boarded the Taipingling Mountain Col.Out of breath, Lao Song helped Wu Ming to rest under the big tree beside the road, turned around and ran down the mountain depression, helping the exhausted fellows who fell behind carry a stretcher.

Wu Ming's whole body was drenched, he was dazed and short of breath, holding his left arm with a broken bone and shifting, the pain caused him to curl up under the root of the tree and moan uncontrollably.

Lao Song came back quickly, stretched out his big rough hands to support Wu Ming's head, and brought the bamboo tube filled with mountain springs to his mouth: "You have to grit your teeth and hold on, drink some water first, and keep going when you're done. The place is not safe, and we can only rest after walking seven miles to Taijin Mountain, and we can settle down only when we reach the place.”

With the help of Lao Song, Wu Ming drank half of the bamboo tube of water, endured the severe pain and thanked in a low voice: "Thank you! I can stand it."

Lao Song grinned, and the wrinkles on his face were almost twisted together: "You are from Huanggu Town? Why haven't I seen you?"

Wu Ming lowered his head, searching for the vague impressions in his mind: "I am... in Wujia Village..."

Lao Song thought for a while and nodded slightly: "Wujiacun? I remember, walk more than three miles to the west from the town, and it is not far from the Shegong Mountain. Your village is about five miles north of Wujiawu. More than ten years ago, The Wu family moved to the south of the river to build Wujiawu. There are not many families left in your village, right? I went to your village to collect tea oil and mountain products in the 15th year of the Republic of China, haha! Okay, bear with it Stand up slowly, and then sit and wait until you won’t be able to walk anymore, settle down in a safe place in the mountains, and then we can talk, maybe I know your family members.”

Lao Song strode away, walked to the middle of the flat ground ahead, and shouted to tell the guys to light the torches.

A few men quickly got something to light the fire, and they lit a match to light the smoky pine torches, and the dark mountain valley was suddenly lit up.

"Crack - clap clap -"

The sudden sound of gunshots reverberated the mountains and the night birds flew into fright. Old Song, who was standing among the two torches, had a bloody mist on his head, and suddenly fell backwards. Before a group of men could react, they were shot He fell to the ground one after another with the sound, and the heart-piercing scream echoed for a long time.

The pursuers who came quietly succeeded in a sneak attack, and rushed up the col with shouts in unison, the roars and gunshots getting closer and closer.

Seeing the tragedy, Wu Ming, who was extremely frightened, instinctively moved behind the big tree. Unexpectedly, his hands supporting the ground were empty, and his whole body fell into the stone pit behind the big tree. His head hit the stone wall and he passed out immediately.

A few minutes later, dozens of pursuers who succeeded in the attack rushed up the hill and clamored everywhere. The leader of the officers and soldiers gave an order, and the red guards who were killed and injured in the area, as well as the four wounded on stretchers, were beheaded without exception.

(End of this chapter)