Chapter 1 Oath (One)

"I volunteer to join the Communist Party of China, adhere to the party's discipline, not afraid of difficulties, not afraid of sacrifice, and strive for the cause of communism to the end." Three months later, in a temporary camp in the oasis, Zhang Songling and Zhao Tianlong clenched their right fists, raised their own shoulders, and solemnly issued a lifelong oath to the same flag, (Note 1)

The night wind in the desert was very cold, blowing through the thin tent, blowing the torches on the shelves to the point where the warm atmosphere in the tent was not allowed. As soon as the oath of joining the party ended, the squadron leader Lao Zheng, the cooking squad leader Feng Tianhua, the guard Xiao Zhou and other old party members immediately stood up from the charcoal fire and welcomed the new members of the organization with warm applause.

"Comrade Zhang Songling and Zhao Tianlong, your application for joining the party has been approved by the organization department of the Chabei Military Sub-district. According to Comrade Zhao Xiaoshuan's will, he and I will be the introduction persons for joining the party. From today on the replacement period, you have been honored to become a member of the Communist Party of China. On behalf of the Party Committee of the Military Sub-district, I would like to express my welcome and congratulations to you two for joining the party organization." First, I waved my hand to everyone to sit down, and then, the captain of the guerrilla brigade who led Zhang Songling and Zhao Tianlong to swore, Wang Hong, who extended his powerful hands to the two of them as if he welcomed them to the guerrillas for the first time.

Zhang Songling and Zhao Tianlong quickly reached out and held the old man one by one. They were thinner and could already touch the bones on the back of their hands. Compared to when they were in the organization of retreat three months ago, the old man's body became weaker and weaker. However, the temperature in his palm still had an irresistible magic, which made people feel comfortable and peaceful.

He gently held the hands of the two and shook them a few times in turn. The old captain continued in a tone of educating his juniors: "You two are the two most special party members who have joined the party through my introduction. One has already made a name for themselves on the grassland before joining the guerrillas; the other one is already a rank of lieutenant colonel, which is considered a young success. I can guess what prompted you to make up your mind to submit an application for joining the party, and you can understand the confusion in your heart when I asked me to go further in my mind. So now I want to ask at the last question, joining this party, ready to sacrifice everything for her, or even your own life. Are you really ready?"

"A gentleman's words are as good as a horse. In the past, the captain, we, Lao Zhao, never frowned once. If you see that Lao Zhao is a coward, or have a bad reputation for this party, you will take out the box and shoot here." Zhao Tianlong still had an unwashable habit of the world. He pointed at his forehead and sweared loudly, "If I, Lao Zhao, dare to flash to both sides, let the sky strike five lightning."

"I can't see you for the rest of your life." Red Beard pulled Zhao Tianlong's finger away from his forehead and shook his head with a smile, "Any comrades here may sacrifice for the country at any time, and no one can supervise you for the rest of your life. What you have to do in the future is to supervise yourself. No matter when, don't forget the oath you made today, Comrade Zhao Tianlong, can you do it?"

"Yes." Zhao Tianlong put his legs together and straightened his waist again. "The heaven and earth testify that I, Zhao Tianlong, will always listen to the party in this life, and will never do anything that will damage her honor, and will never discredit her image. Even if the life I sacrificed for it, I will never regret it."

"I believe in you, and the organization also believes in you, Comrade Zhao Tianlong, I hope you will always be a qualified Communist Party member." Because of excitement, Red Beard breathed heavily again. While gasping, he patted Zhao Tianlong on the shoulder with both hands.

Turning his head, he looked at Zhang Songling, who had been waiting aside for a long time, smiled and continued, "Comrade Zhang Songling, you have studied the most and thought about the most questions. Therefore, in addition to the requests from Comrade Zhao Tianlong just now, I would like to ask you one more question, Comrade Zhang Songling, do you fully understand the Communist Manifesto? Please answer me truthfully."

This question was a bit beyond Zhang Songling's pre-preparation scope, which made him slightly stunned, but familiar faces soon flashed in front of him, Lao Lu, Da Zhou, Xiao Wu, and the five Communist soldiers who took the initiative to stay by the stone bridge three months ago to block the Japanese army and finally sacrificed their lives for their country.

"We are all party members." In the past three months, almost every time Zhang Songling woke up from his sleep in the middle of the night, he would remember the proud expression on his face when the five people showed their red notebooks. The pride shone into his heart like sunshine, and never let go of every inch of the shadow inside.

When they were ordered to set out to pick them up, they knew that this trip was likely to be in a future without returning. However, they still stepped on the war horse without hesitation and walked towards the end of their lives with chatter and laughter like a banquet. Any of them casually pulled out one of them, and their military service was longer than Zhang Songling and their qualifications were older than Zhang Songling. Some of them even got married and had wives and children at home. However, they left the opportunity to survive to others without hesitation, and exchanged their deaths for the safe evacuation of their robes.

This is not the first time someone has sacrificed for him. When he fell ill and fell into a coma last winter, Lao Lu, Da Zhou and others were also determined without hesitation. Zhang Songling didn't know why he was so important in the eyes of his teammates, but he clearly knew that he would never repay this affection and righteousness in his life. If he wanted to be qualified to repay, he had to become Lao Lu, Da Zhou and Zhao Xiaoshuan, and chose the same faith as them. Otherwise, next time at the critical moment, it would not be his turn to stay for everyone to leave behind.

When charging, the Communist Party members first went up, and when retreating, the Communist Party members finally left. This was the Black Stone Guerrillas and the rule of the entire Eighth Route Army. Zhang Songling did not understand it at first, but now he knew clearly that if he did not join the organization, he would not even be qualified to stop the rear for everyone to stay.

Therefore, in order to achieve the qualification to be cut off, he must also join the Communist Party of China. He knew that Zhao Tianlong was actually trying to win the same qualification for sacrifice these days, even if he was always confused about the Communist Manifesto.

"I don't understand." After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Songling admitted calmly in front of all the party members in the guerrillas, "I can recognize every word and even recite most of the paragraphs in it, but there are some places that I still cannot fully understand, but,."

He quickly turned his body to everyone, fearless and honestly added, "I can see clearly what a Communist Party member looks like, so I am willing to be a Communist Party member and sacrifice everything and even life for this organization anytime and anywhere. This is a vow and I will never regret it for my life."

I'm afraid everyone heard this. The statement made by the new party member who had the most personality after joining the party made all the old comrades look a little surprised. Immediately, this surprise was replaced by understanding and touching. Everyone stood up again and extended sincere and warm applause to Zhang Songling and Zhao Tianlong.

Indeed, what Zhang Songling said has more or less a shadow on each of them, especially for those old soldiers who have basically never read books and have the opportunity to read literacy after joining the guerrillas. It is very difficult to understand what feudal society, capitalism, and large-scale industry. They don’t even have a specific concept of Europe and Africa in their minds, and they cannot understand the vivid metaphor about ghosts at the beginning. However, they know from the Communist Party members around them what the Communist Party looks like. Then, as a role model, the former grew step by step into a firm communist, who would rather sacrifice for this ideal and remain unswerving in their lives.

"Okay, you are an honest person. Because of your honesty, I believe more that you can be a qualified party member. A Communist Party member should first be an upright person, an honest person, not a gangster or a gangster. Our team does not need those messy things." The captain Wang Hong once again took Zhang Songling's hand and shook it gently in his palm.

It seemed as if he saw the resolute choice of himself again. The red beard felt a little excited. A touch of blood quickly poured from his neck to his face, dyeing his haggard and old face red. In an instant, the luster of youth burst out again on his face, filling all the wrinkles on his face, illuminating the eyes of everyone present.

In everyone's surprise and worried eyes, the captain of the Black Stone Guerrillas, Wang Hong, nicknamed Red Beard, stood up straight, Lang Sheng said, "Now, I announce that the oath ceremony of the two comrades Zhang Songling and Zhao Tianlong has officially ended. Next, we will hold the sixth plenary meeting of the Black Stone Party Group this year, electing a deputy captain. During my illness, I will assist and perform part of the responsibilities of the captain on my behalf. Everyone is welcome to actively propose the candidate list, and then everyone will vote."

"Ah,." Zhang Songling and Zhao Tianlong were stunned again. Unexpectedly, as soon as they joined the organization, they encountered such an important issue. Logically, isn't it just a matter of the first words of who is the deputy captain? Why did they change another rule when they got to the guerrillas?

While he was confused, a hoarse and firm voice suddenly came from his ears, "It's not easy to choose, right? Then I'll take the lead first, and everyone will add that based on the contribution to our guerrillas over the past year and their personal abilities, I recommend Comrade Zhang Songling to be a candidate for the deputy captain of the Black Stone guerrillas. Anyone with different opinions, please raise your hand to object and explain the reasons for the objection."
Chapter completed!