Cicada Moving

Chapter 1143 Air Raid (Happy New Year’s Day)

In another cave in the guest house, Mr. Chen and two members of the condolence group were chatting. The door was suddenly knocked open. Several spies entered the house without saying anything, and dragged a few people and ran out the door.

 “What are you doing? What are you going to do?”

 Mr. Chen, who was confused, kept asking, but the little agent said nothing and just guided him toward the guest house door. Their mission was to protect each other, not to explain.

At this time, the yard has become a mess. Some people are shouting loudly. The roar in the sky is deafening. The mules and horses by the wall seem to be aware of the approaching danger and neigh irritably.

Zuo Zhong and Gui Youguang joined the crowd and explained to the members of the consolation group as they walked: "Everyone, the Japanese are coming for an air raid. Please evacuate with us immediately."

 Air raid?

The overseas Chinese in Nanyang who experienced this military term for the first time did not take it seriously. In their mind, air strikes were nothing more than planes dropping a few bombs.

 The terrain of the border area is complex, there are few buildings, and there are more hills than people. The Japanese can't blow up anything, so there is no need to be so nervous.

 Aware of the sympathy group's thoughts, Zuo Zhong was a little helpless. People living in the Heping period could never understand the cruelty of war, nor the cunning of the enemy.

With the Japanese's stinginess, it is impossible to waste ammunition in vain. Since the other side dared to send planes late at night, they must be fully prepared and confident enough to do so.

But now was not the time for idle chatter. Zuo Zhong escorted Mr. Chen and others out of the courtyard and started running wildly in the dark night.

In order to make this trip smooth, the military commander made a number of plans, including anti-air raids. As early as when he checked into the guest house, the special agents found a hiding place nearby in advance.

“Team Leader Xu, are you okay?”

After running less than a few hundred meters, everyone ran into the Shannan guerrillas who came after hearing the news. Cui Hong asked anxiously and then joined the evacuation team.

Zuo Zhong looked at the panting guerrillas and shook his head: "It's okay. Thank you, instructor Cui. Let's go quickly. Listen to the sound. The Japanese plane has entered the dive stage and may be about to drop a bomb."

Just as he was talking, there was a loud noise from behind the team. Everyone turned around and saw that the red flames instantly engulfed the location of the guest house, and the originally blinding night became like day.

MD, the Japs really spent a lot of money, even using incendiary bombs on them. Zuo Zhong took a breath and ordered the team to disperse immediately.

Different from ordinary aerial bombs, the burning range of incendiary bombs after explosion is very large. Once it is stained, it will be troublesome. Even if they are not burned to death, the sequelae of burns will accompany the injured for life.

Suddenly, several burning mules and horses rushed out of the fire and jumped off the cliff with a shrill scream and fell to death on the spot. A strange smell mixed with the aroma of meat and burning protein floated in the wind. Disgusting.

Such a tragic scene frightened the members of the condolences group into speechlessness. Only then did they understand why "Team Leader Xu", who was calm and calm along the way, reacted like this after encountering an air raid.

It’s no wonder that Western European countries were vulnerable to German air raids. The mules and horses that were burned to death today were mules and horses, but what if they were living people? Thinking that some people in the condolence group couldn’t hold back, they started to vomit.

The little spies didn't care what they were thinking. They took the members of the condolence group away from the road in groups, escorted the protected persons to a hidden place under the cover of darkness, and pushed them in.

 This is an abandoned cave dwelling located on the middle of a hillside. There are no residents around and it is overgrown with grass. Even if the Japanese are crazy, they will not bomb such a target with no tactical value.

Zuo Zhong sat down on the ground in embarrassment, panting heavily and looking at the guest house that had become a sea of ​​​​fire. The wavering firelight shone on his face, which looked a bit eerie.

“Team leader, we’ve finished counting the people, the brothers and the condolences group have all come out.”

Wu Chunyang was meticulous in his work. The first thing he did after arriving at the hiding place was to count the number of people. Before, the troops were in a panic and it was easy to leave people behind.

 Fortunately, everything was going according to plan. Not only were there many people, but the two radio stations were also brought out completely by the operators.

“Okay, let’s have someone check to see if Mr. Chen and the others are injured.”

 Hearing the news, Zuo Zhong's face finally looked better. After saying that, he stood up and stared at the Japanese planes that were constantly circling over the flames. Although he was angry, he always felt that he had forgotten something.

　What did you forget?

He thought hard for a long time, but so many things happened in just a few days, and he couldn't determine what went wrong for a while, so he simply stopped thinking about it and ordered the little agent to contact the border area.

They retreated too quickly just now and did not have time to notify the staff at the guest house. They must let the other party know that the condolences group is safe as soon as possible, otherwise the news will spread to the mountain city and who knows how much trouble will be caused.

Several spies received the order and ran out quickly. Cui Hongyong also sent his men to follow to avoid unpleasant things happening. After all, this is a border area station.

More than ten minutes later, the Japanese plane, which had repeatedly confirmed that its target had been completely destroyed, swung its wings and flew eastward in a mighty manner, and the roar gradually disappeared.

  They didn’t run away. These planes must have come from the flying team affiliated with the Japanese 1st Army stationed in Jin Province.

Yoshio Shinozuka is such a bastard!

Zuo Zhong stood on the hillside with his hands on his hips, keeping this in mind, the 1st Army, right? I will definitely give you some clues when you look back.        Shanxia.

Seeing the Japanese planes leaving, many Eighth Route Army soldiers rushed over, braving the scorching flames and using various tools to pour water on the fire. However, the burning caused by incendiary bombs was difficult to extinguish with water, and the fire was still raging.

There were smart people among the Eighth Route Army. When they saw this, they immediately changed the method of extinguishing the fire. Since water was not suitable, they used earth. So under the cover of a **** of loess, the flames that were cut off from the air were quickly extinguished.

At the same time, several cadres from the border area communication office followed the little spy back. Seeing that Mr. Chen and others were safe and sound, the other party was relieved.

 Then, one of them counted the number of visitors against the list of visitors. They believed their own eyes more than the Fruit Party's rhetoric.

The station is no different than other places, with many important agencies. If spies get in, big problems will arise.

 As a result of this inventory, a problem was indeed discovered. Several Eighth Route cadres took a few steps back vigilantly, and the leader even asked seriously.

“Team Leader Xu, may I ask where Deputy Director Xu of the Central Unification Committee is?”

 Xu Enzeng is not here?

Belatedly, Zuo Zhong slapped his thigh, and he said that he had forgotten something. It turned out to be Xu Enzeng. This guy had not appeared since the air raid. Could it be that he was buried in the flames?

Similarly, during the retreat, everyone’s attention is on the members of the condolences group and their own people, who will care about each other.

Maybe the person named Xu fell asleep and did not hear the warning and failed to evacuate in time. The dignified deputy director of the Central Military Commission might have been burned to ashes like those mules and horses.

 When he thought that his old enemy would end up dead without a burial place, Zuo Zhong's sadness was beyond words, and he said to the cadres of the Communication Department with a heavy expression.

"Alas, we left in a hurry and didn't call Deputy Director Xu. I'm afraid he would have laughed."

　　In the end, Zuo Zhong couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing. If it weren't for the wrong occasion, he would have wanted to set up a few tables to celebrate the ascension of Xu.

The cadres of the communication office opposite were confused. Team leader Xu knew that Xu Enzeng was killed. Why did he react like this? Was he too sad to control himself, or did the two have a deep hatred?

Finding that the other people's eyes were a little strange, Zuo Zhong quickly shook hands with his hands, looked at Wu Chunyang with a straight face, and issued an order.

“Immediately send a report to the mountain city, saying that Deputy Director Xu Enzeng died a heroic death for his country and sacrificed his life to be a benevolent person. He is indeed a role model for us. We will definitely inherit his legacy and never forget the late President.”

Zuo Zhong was remembering Deputy Director Xu’s great but short life when another group of people came from the bottom of the mountain, and a familiar voice called out.

"Slander! You are slandering me. Xu just went out for a walk, not a meeting. I don't know this person at all."

“Zuo...Xu, please say something quickly. If Minister Chen knows that you refuse to save him, he will definitely hold you accountable!”

"Mr. Chen, please be kind and let the Eighth Route Army release Xu. I promise not to interfere with the condolence team's inspection. If there is any violation, I will be struck by lightning."

“Brother Li, for the sake of working together, I beg you to be noble. I will release the rebel bandits immediately when we get back. No, they are your captured comrades!”

As the sound approached, a tied-up Xu Enzeng appeared in front of everyone, shouting non-stop. Next to him was a middle-aged man who was also tied up. He looked like he was a small vendor.

Deputy Minister Li from the Ministry of Social Affairs followed the two of them. His expression was not very good, perhaps because of the misunderstanding in Xu Enzeng's mouth, or perhaps because of the air raid.

Seeing the members of the condolences group, Vice Minister Li first looked at the status of Mr. Chen and others. After confirming that no one was injured, he solemnly expressed his apology to the other party.

“Mr. Chen, just be fine. It’s because we didn’t take good care of you this time and you were frightened. Please don’t be offended.”

Mr. Chen understood that the underground party was not to blame for this incident. There were neither planes nor anti-aircraft guns in the border area. He knew that air strikes would be useless. He couldn't let people use their bodies to block bombs. He immediately waved his hands to indicate that it was okay.

Vice Minister Li nodded in response, then took out two small notebooks and handed them to Zuo Zhong, pointing at Xu Enzeng and the middle-aged man dressed as a vendor and questioning them.

“Team Leader Xu, I need an explanation as to why your Deputy Director Xu left the guest house privately to contact this person without notifying us.

This is the cipher document and code book we found from Xu Enzeng. After deciphering, the document involves the head of the border region. Is this the sincerity of the government? "

Zuo Zhong looked at the document and everyone felt numb. Was Xu Enzeng no longer satisfied with sending his men to death, and wanted to go into battle himself and kill them?

They knew that the border area would monitor them, yet they still communicated so hastily. The most bizarre thing was to bring the code book with them. This was because they were afraid of making the work of the Ministry of Social Affairs more difficult. He was a very nice person.

 Niangxi┴pi! You and I are doing door-to-door delivery!

 (End of this chapter)