Chapter 169 The Soul of China
"Since the Japanese came, we people have been hiding here and there every day. We don't have enough food or clothing. Look at us, we live like humans and ghosts. Even if we want to conquer the land, they will shoot..."
After some explanations, the people finally let down their guard and learned that the investigation team was going to Heshun Town. The elderly man took the initiative to lead them.
Along the way, the old man kept talking about their experiences. It had been too long...it had been too long since he had seen his own army.
After the Japanese occupied the West Bank, they burned, killed and looted everywhere, bitched prostitutes and did everything worse than animals. The people on the West Bank couldn't live at all.
Look at the Nantian Gate. The Japanese army almost hollowed out the entire mountain, but this "contribution" was based on the flesh and blood of the people on the West Bank.
The Japanese army captured thousands of people from various towns and villages to help them build this fortress. Hundreds of Chinese people died of exhaustion in the choking mouse holes, and very few of them came back alive.
Without the hard work of these ordinary people, how could thousands of them complete such a large project in just a few months?
The tortured people fled into the mountains and lived like savages. But there was an invisible chain tied around their necks, and the other end connected their fields.
You may be able to survive by just eating wild fruits and tree roots on the mountain, but it is not a long-term solution.
It was the sowing season and it was time to plant the fields, otherwise there would be no food. They tossed and turned in the thatched hut on the mountain, crumbling their moldy clothes into pieces.
Finally, I decided to go down the mountain to sow seeds, but in the field... I left several corpses shot by the Japanese out of boredom.
Whether they are digging soil or irrigating, as long as they appear in the fields at the foot of the mountain, the passing Japanese soldiers will shoot them. Those who are lucky enough to escape will have to lie on the cold ground and will never be seen.
The growth of spring buds.
Sometimes the Japanese would even injure one of the villagers but not kill him, waiting for his companions to rescue him and then kill two birds with one stone.
The people are numb. They see no hope and can only hide with the little devils.
They even stay up day and night, rushing to the fields to cultivate at night, just to plant crops in a limited time, but they have to always be wary of bullets shot from behind.
In the end, the little devil seemed to have reached some kind of invisible agreement with the local people. They could go farming, but they would be used as targets for gun practice.
In the eyes of the Japanese army, they were like wild beasts that still retained their farming instincts and became prey for them to kill at will.
Hearing this, Liao Mingyu and others expressed their displeasure. Although only separated by a river, the lives of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were as different as hell and heaven.
"Okay, I will send you here. If you go further, you will reach Heshun. There are no Japanese on this road." The old man pointed to the front and said to Liao Mingyu.
"Old man, is Heshun Town also like you said?" Meng Fanliao asked hurriedly. He was very worried that his parents would end up like this, and he didn't even dare to think about... a more serious situation.
"Heshun Town? They were put in peace by the imperial edict and are living a good life!"
The old man spat disdainfully and continued indignantly: "I won't punish you in Lianhua Town. Even if you beat me with a gun or let a dog bite you, you won't punish me. If you die, I will die in my own field. That's all... that
It’s all our land!”
At this point, the old man had already burst into tears, his face full of tears of pain and unwillingness. Dong Dao couldn't bear to step forward and help him.
This villager with a rumpled face and ragged clothes used his simplest words to express his determination that even if he died, he would never be an obedient citizen of the Japs.
Such simple Chinese people, they may not be honest in their big words, but they live their lives better than anyone else. A country can be restored after it is destroyed, but if the blood of the nation is destroyed, it will not be able to turn over!
Liao Mingyu was deeply shocked. Everyone in the investigation team felt uncomfortable at this moment. As a soldier, he could not resist the enemy from the country and let his compatriots suffer the persecution of the invaders. What a shame it was.
Compared with those clean and respectable upper class people, the country man in front of him understands better what national blood is.
However, some social elites who chanted the slogan of resisting the Japanese invaders loudly chose to be traitors without hesitation in the face of life and death!
It’s true that for every person who slaughters dogs for justice, most of them are scholars who are unfaithful! Ridiculous...sad...
Liao Mingyu felt his heart heavy, and he bowed deeply to the old man: "I'm sorry, old man."
In the past, he believed that the Sichuan Army was not well prepared and had been waiting for the opportunity to avoid excessive casualties among the troops.
But now it seemed that the counterattack on Nantianmen was really imminent, and he could not tolerate these people to continue to be tortured by the Japanese.
"No way, sir!"
The old man quickly helped Liao Mingyu up, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, smiled kindly, and expressed his understanding: "Actually, I understand, I understand everything."
"Sorry, let the brothers share some of the food in the backpack with them." Liao Mingyu ordered with red eyes.
"yes!"
The soldiers evenly distributed some of their cans and biscuits, leaving only the basic ration for each person, and gave the rest to these common people. Although there was not much food, they could still eat as much as they wanted.
Two days.
"Old man, if you hold on a little longer, we will soon cross the river." Liao Mingyu personally handed the two cans of beef to the old man.
"Okay! Okay!" The old man had tears in his eyes. He didn't know what words to use to express his excitement except for nodding his head.
…
Everyone finally arrived at Heshun Town, and just as the old man said, this place was indeed secured. The investigation team entered Heshun Town in groups of three or three, taking turns to cover from multiple positions.
There were no pedestrians on the street, and there were no Japanese patrols. On the walls on both sides were written a few traditional Chinese characters: Work together to build a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
It was already almost 7 o'clock in the morning. Logically speaking, the people should be out for activities at this time, but the whole town was deserted and lifeless.
"Where are the people in this town? Are they all being bullied by the little devils?" Milong put the machine gun on the low wall and looked at the deserted street with doubts.
"You're all afraid of being punished. Don't think that being ordered to peace means the world will be at peace." Meng Fangli complained. He raised his gun and looked around warily, then moved forward and continued to move forward.
The group of people quickly crossed the main road and turned to the entrance of an alley. They kept a distance from each other and used the cover of the wall to quickly search and move forward.
By chance, a villager wearing a bamboo hat walked towards him, but everyone ignored him and continued running forward.
The villager turned his head and looked at them silently. His large bamboo hat covered half of his face, and his specific appearance could not be seen clearly.
When Meng Fanglia passed by him, he seemed to feel a hint of familiarity, which made him stop involuntarily.
Everyone in front noticed that he suddenly stopped leaving, and they all stopped and looked at him in confusion.
The villagers took off their bamboo hats and stared at Meng Fanle's back without blinking, and the latter slowly turned around and looked at him.
This is a middle-aged man with gray hair. He wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses on his thin face and has two gray mustaches on his lips. This face is all too familiar to Meng Fan.
"I'm sorry, your dad has a big tail, can you leave?" the dragon closest to him cursed impatiently.
"Hey, why don't you say hello?"
Chapter completed!