Chapter 1 Oath (Nine)

"Ah, then, then you" Although he had heard similar words from Red Beard once, Zhang Songling was still caught off guard by the old man's frankness, widened his eyes and stammered, "You, you said, it doesn't matter if you can't understand the Communist Manifesto. Just look at the Communist Party members around you, and you will know what this party looks like."

"Yes, I told you." Red Beard smiled and slowly turned his gaze to the grave behind him. Among the rows of simple graves, his former comrades were buried in the long lines. Their heroic souls were watching him in the sky and what he did. They would not make any comments, but just watched, watched, and then silently shared all his sufferings and glory.

The winter sun shines through the clouds and shines from the sky, and there is already a faint warmth. The thick snow on the tomb reflects the sunlight back to the sky from various angles, and is refracted and stacked by the water vapor in the sky. In an instant, the colorful red and colorful tassels actually make the entire cemetery like a solemn temple.

Red beard was covered in tassels and moved slowly in the temple. Every step left a solid footprint on the snow behind him. "I was driven away by Zhang Haipeng's cavalry brigade. I couldn't beat him and ran away. I was about to return to my position. Glasses suddenly opened my throat and shouted, "Communist, follow me, then turned around and rushed towards the puppet army's cavalry."

His thinking once again traveled through time and space, and came to the tragic battlefield several years ago. "Five people, the five people who carried me together for a while, all of them rushed out with their glasses. At that moment, I understood what the Communist Party is."

Zhang Songling had the same experience. It was almost this time last year that Da Zhou, Lao Lu and others died in a slight manner in order to cover his illness. From then on, he completely integrated into the Black Stone Guerrillas and truly felt the uniqueness of this team.

Silently stretched out his hand, he was about to wipe off the snow on the tombstone of Dazhou, but unexpectedly, Red Beard suddenly turned his body over, grabbed his hand, and said hurriedly and solemnly: "I decided to join this party when I saw the Communists around me. Although I couldn't understand the Communist Manifesto, I asked myself that I had never slandered this party. Fatty, in the future, what the Communists look like in others' eyes will depend on you."

"Ah,." Without any mental preparation in advance, Zhang Songling felt that a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders, which made him unable to stand firm. The heavy part was far beyond the moment when he was elected as the deputy captain of the Black Stone Guerrillas. However, he could not refuse the Red Beard's eyes full of expectations, and he could not bear to refuse. The old man was not only his savior, his superior, but also his teacher, his elder, and his close friend. He could not disappoint the old man.

He gritted his teeth hard and was about to say a few bold words to relieve the old man. Suddenly, Hongbei let go of his hand and smiled like a child, "You don't need to say anything. What you said on your mouth is probably fake, especially when someone is forced to swear, there is no truth."

The solemn atmosphere in the "Red Team" cemetery was instantly destroyed by the red beard's divine actions. Zhang Songling couldn't help but grin and laugh and cry, "You are today."

"Shh,." Hongbei put her finger on her lips and signaled Zhang Songling to be calm. "Don't talk, listen to me after I finish it. Fatty, you don't need to express your opinion. I also believe that you will be like me and will never defile this flag. I believe in my own eyes and your character. A guy who is not in tune with his heart and full of colorful intestines will not have eyes like you."

Zhang Songling had to obediently shut up his mouth and continued to listen carefully. Red Beard looked at him up and down several times, with a proud look on his face, "I believe that no matter how good the scriptures are, you cannot be read by the crooked monk. Otherwise, no matter how scattered the sky is, it will inevitably bring disaster. The reason why I insist on giving the team to you is not just because you can fight, but because you believe that you are a good person. If there are too many good people in a team, the road you will walk upright. If a team is full of crooked melons and cracked dates, and the magic snails on your mouth are blown loudly, it will sooner or later go into the gutter."

Before Zhang Songling's thoughts could follow, he jumped for the second time, "But when a tree grows up, it is inevitable that a few leaves will be bitten by insects. The same is true when a family grows up. A mother has a child, and there are also fools and virtuous people. If you encounter unsuccessful people in the future, remember to open your eyes wider and don't be disappointed in the entire organization because of the behavior of individuals."

"Yes." Zhang Songling responded quietly, regardless of who the Red Beard was referring to.

"We must learn to tolerate people, and we cannot be demanding perfection. We have shortcomings and strengths. We use people's strengths. Ignore people's weaknesses. Whether they are talented depends largely on how you use them." Red Beard thought about it, and the topic changed for the third time. "As the captain, there were countless pairs of eyes staring at every move. When doing things, we must consider the long-term consequences. If Young Marshal Zhang had not been impulsive and killed Yang Yuting and Lao Chang, the Northeast Army would not have become a mess."

In the second half of the sentence, it was a bit too far away from Zhang Songling, which made him feel confused. Maybe he didn't see it, but he didn't want to discuss this topic too much. While continuing to move forward slowly, he allowed his thinking to continue to do irregular jumping movements. "When the Japanese suddenly attacked the Northeast Army camp, tens of thousands of us were driven away by five hundred Japanese. It was embarrassing. It was so embarrassing."

"That's not your fault. Aren't you a little company commander at that time?" Seeing that Hongbeard was a little excited, Zhang Songling quickly spoke to comfort him.

"Why isn't it?" The red beard's forehead was blushing and his teeth were gritting, "If I hadn't been afraid of death, how could I have shot me without a single shot, and I obediently took my brothers away from Chenyang City. There were a whole company of brothers. At that time, the soldiers in Chenyang City had a total of tens of thousands."

"I was really a coward of his grandmother at that time. I remember that when I was a young follower for bandits, I was not afraid of death. Hehe, if I became the company commander, my life would be precious."

Perhaps he could never forgive himself. As he spoke, a few thick blue veins jumped up from his forehead and his teeth clattered. Zhang Songling was sad and worried, but he could not find any appropriate words to comfort him at this moment. He could only repeatedly emphasize that many years have passed since the September 18th Incident. The old man's later actions were enough to wash away his temporary weakness, but the old man's thinking was completely in a state of chaos in time and space, as if he was outside the city of Chenyang. Looking back at the home he handed over, he was heartbroken.

"It's embarrassing, it's a terrible loss. Hundreds of planes, thousands of cannons, and our Northeast Army's own arsenal. As long as the machine is opened, bullets can be pulled out in boxes. It's said that Siberian tigers, Northwest wolfs, and the whole three eastern provinces did not have a handful back then."

"San Yang Sang is busy fighting against the enemy in Beijing, and Commander-in-Chief Jiang is busy extermining the Communist Party. Hehe, the old Sang is holding his head and fighting with others for a lifetime. He has accumulated a little family fortune. In the whole night, he is all Japanese. The consultant is Japanese, the instructor is Japanese, and the bosses in the army are Japanese. The concubines in the family are still Japanese."

"My son is studying in the East, and his daughter and son-in-law are acting as managers in the Easter company. From the inside out, they are already rotten and full of holes. If you fight, it would be strange if you don't lose."

"I've lost all the territory, and I've told everyone not to fight back. I'll believe in the League of Nations, League of Nations, bullshit. If you don't have the strength of your grandmother, you can't save the gods. Why should I ask the League of Nations? They will offend a group of cowards and offend him, who?"

It was not until Zhang Songling hugged her waist tightly that the old man finally regained his rationality. He looked back at Zhang Songling with a worried face and asked in surprise, "What are you doing here? Have you finished your work today?"

"I'm done. I heard that you're always taking a walk outside, so I'll come and take a look." After enduring the grief in my heart, Zhang Songling smiled and comforted her. The old man himself didn't notice the crazy state just now, so he simply stopped mentioning it, so as not to stimulate the other party again and increase the mental burden on the old man.

"Why didn't Zhao Tianlong see him? I seem to have not seen him for some days. Why did you send him down the mountain?" The moment he regained his rationality, the old man's mind suddenly became particularly clear again. He looked at Zhang Songling's red eyes and asked repeatedly.

"You ask Captain Zhao, he, he has gone to Siqin's palace. Is it almost the Chinese New Year? He goes to the palace to contact him and see if there is any news about Siqin." Zhang Songling hesitated for a moment and began to lie nonsense.

In fact, Zhao Tianlong went down the mountain with Zheng Xiaobao the day before yesterday, and took all the savings left by his master to Changchun, controlled by the Japanese, to go to the black market to get century-old ginseng. According to Uncle Scar, it was the only medicine that could save his life. Otherwise, if the current situation continues to burn, the red beard will be exhausted within three months.

Although the lies seem to be seamless, they can't hide them from the old Jianghu's eyes. The red beard frowned and a black cloud quickly surged on his face. "No, when you go to the royal palace, you should go for the New Year. He is considered the prince's son-in-law. According to the rules here, one month before the New Year, the prince's son-in-law is not allowed to enter the woman's house. What did he do? What are you hiding from me?"

"He, he" Zhang Songling did not dare to make the old man angry, so he had to reveal some of the truth, "He and Xiao Zheng went down the mountain to buy medicine, and the royal mansion was one of the stops."

"Who are you buying medicine? Haven't I told you that you are not allowed to waste money on me anymore." Hearing this, Red Beard's face calmed down a little, and continued to frown and questioned in a low voice.

"Not only are you the medicine for your elderly to take care of your body, but also some medicines for injury. You also have to go to the black market to do it. Sakai Gaoming doesn't know if he is still alive now. Our contact with him has long been broken. Now, if you buy Western medicine, you have to go to a big city controlled by the Japanese and purchase it through the hands of black market merchants."

"Oh." After hearing the lies carefully organized by Zhang Songling, Hongbei finally nodded with confidence, "Then go, Captain Zhao is experienced in the world. As long as he is not impulsive, he should not encounter danger. Remember not to buy me medicine in the future. It is a waste. If you have that money, you might as well buy a few pigs. The Chinese New Year is coming, so it is also better to improve the food for your brothers."

"Do you always want to eat pork? There are still a few fans in the cellar. Let's stew the kitchen tonight and give everyone a tooth sacrifice." Zhang Songling finally got away with it and quickly took the initiative to change the topic.

"I'm really a little greedy when you talk about it." Red Beard nodded with a smile, "Then let's stew pork with vermicelli. I haven't eaten it for a long time. In this weather, I'll stew pork with vermicelli and drink two sips of wine, and I won't make it."

The next moment, he became an ordinary old man from Northeast China, with a shiny corner of his mouth and a longing for deliciousness on his face.

The meat on the grassland is mainly cattle and sheep, and pork is very uncommon. The wide vermicelli with origin in the northeast is also a rare product. It can only be bought in the warehouse in Heishi Village. However, these two points cannot be difficult for Zhang Songling. Considering the origin and taste of the Red Beard, he had already quietly ordered people to purchase several pigs from the people at the foot of the mountain. They were all slaughtered and frozen in the vegetable cellar. They could be stewed and braised at any time. As for the vermicelli, the starch soaked in potatoes and some alum can be made on site. Although the thickness is not easy to control and the length is a bit pitiful, it is also appropriate to deal with a pot of pork stewed vermicelli to relieve the old man's homesickness.

He did it as he said, and after returning to the camp, Zhang Songling immediately went down the kitchen in person and directed Lao Feng and others to prepare the "big dishes" for the New Year. Red Beard followed him unwillingly, sitting on the futon next to the stove to watch the fun while chatting with Lao Feng and others. A face with wrinkles crisscrossed and crisscrossed with flames in the stove was red, like a candle burning quietly in a winter night.

"I haven't eaten this for many years." Seeing the transparent wide powder being pressed out of the temporary colander and slowly falling into the boiling water in the pot, the red beard said with a smile. At that moment, satisfaction was exuding from head to toe. "Pig stewed with vermicelli, chicken stewed with mushrooms, and pig sausage. When I was the company commander, my favorite thing was these three things. No matter how I ate it, I didn't have enough."

"We have blood sausages, but it's not easy to cook pig slaughter vegetables. When I go down the mountain tomorrow, maybe someone's house will dry in autumn, so I can just add a little bit with him." The chef squad leader Feng turned his back to Red Beard, quietly wiped away his tears, then smiled and replied in a low voice.

"No need to be so troublesome, it's a joke." Red Beard swallowed his saliva and shook his head with a smirk. "When the words are heard, I said that I, a hero with a red beard, have been greedy for a while, but I was greedy for a bite of pig-killing vegetables. I will embarrass our guerrillas. If you can't go, you can't go no matter what."

"It's okay, in fact, many people on our team are good at this. That thing is not worth much. Let's exchange them for dry mushrooms from the mountains." Zhang Songling raised his head from the iron pot and reached out to wipe away the mist on his face. "Today, eat pork stewed vermicelli, tomorrow's chicken stewed mushrooms, the day after tomorrow, the pig-killing vegetables the day after tomorrow, and the New Year will be celebrated soon. I have to give my brothers a tooth sacrifice."

"Yeah." Red Beard nodded, no longer argued, and continued to watch the brothers busy, put the cooked vermicelli out of the pot with chopsticks, and then put them in a large jar full of cold water to cool down and shape. Looking, he suddenly thought of the current economic situation of the team, turned his attention to Zhang Songling again, and said loudly: "Fatty, do you think you can open a workshop for this thing? I remember that there are many people in Shannan who grow potatoes. If we buy some in autumn and make vermicelli, wouldn't our guerrillas have another source of income?"

"Well, it should work." Zhang Songling did not dare to sweep the old man's enthusiasm and nodded with a smile. In fact, except for a few Northeastern people in the guerrillas, the land reclamators in front of and behind the mountains usually come from Shanxi. They have no hobby of eating vermicelli at all, and may not be willing to spend money to buy this "luxury product".

"That's good." Red Beard gave the guerrillas another effort and danced happily. "Feel, soap, skin, vermicelli, plus the fine salt and fragrant salt on Baiyin, we can buy more useful things here than in the Black Stone Village, so we don't have to worry about the market on Crescent Lake that cannot be restored."

"I have sent someone to contact Bai Yin. He promised that he would come forward to organize the transaction next year. In this way, the Japanese would not find an excuse to cause trouble and would not threaten us with the lives of the vendors." Zhang Songling thought for a while and continued to respond in a low voice.

"We are not afraid when we come. I am not here for the last time. Kawada Kyosaki alone can't do anything to us." Hongbei waved her hand vigorously and added in discontently.

"Well, it's true." Everyone followed the old man's tone and agreed in unison. Although everyone knew that the strength of the guerrillas was far from recovering at the moment, it was impossible to confront the Japanese in Heishi Village in a short period of time.

"But there is no need to be too anxious to take revenge, so as not to beat the child, and then attract the child's mother." Hongbei thought about it and rejected her own statement, "Well, just let Bai Yin come forward. It's safer for him to come forward than us. By the way, Fatty, during the Chinese New Year, should we have fun with the show? You seem to have told me before, you have participated in a propaganda team, right? Can you organize a similar one on the mountain?"

"Okay." Zhang Songling pressed the starch ball hard and agreed loudly. The steam rising from the iron pot swallowed his young face and covered all the sadness in his eyes. Red Beard's behavior today was abnormal, which made him feel a little ominous, so he would not refuse any request from the old man, so he would not be a permanent regret.

"Singing for joy, just cry for the sake of crying, don't pretend to be grandchildren." Hongbeard slapped his chin happily and continued to make a loud suggestion.

"Okay, just sing a happy tune, don't be sad." Zhang Songling responded without hesitation, and pointed to another stove with pork stewed, and whispered to Lao Feng, "The vermicelli can be put on now. Remember not to cook for too long. After it is done, we will serve a bowl of each person to taste the taste, and then prepare the pot for everyone to eat in the evening."

"Yes." Old Feng, who was burning fire, jumped up and staggered towards the stove.

Others who were busy in the kitchen also felt something was wrong and secretly observed the red beard with their eyes. The old man's face was very rosy, his eyes were full of life, and he was not like a patient who had been bedridden for a long time. The old man spoke very well, his mind was extremely clear, and good ideas came out of his mouth one by one, as if he had to arrange everything for the next year in one night. If it was too late, it would be too late.

"The propaganda team should become a permanent department, and the personnel inside can work part-time, but the airs should be built as soon as possible. No matter how difficult it is for life, the morale of the brothers cannot be reduced."

"If a captive horse thief performs well in labor, you can consider pardoning them in advance. Their skills are better than ordinary people, and what they lack is discipline and belief."

"Also, after the beginning of spring, the field training will be carried out quickly, and the light cavalry is still the main one. Although there is a saying that the light cavalry is outdated, we don't have cars and cannons in our hands, so we can only have the ingredients and what dishes to cook, so don't follow the trend."

"When dating Bai Yin, remember to be careful. This person is too smart and too ruthless. Zhou Heizi, although he is a bandit, has a conscience. As long as he is careful not to be overshadowed by the people from the south, he will not pose too much threat to us."

"Siqin's side"

"Boriger is one"

Zhang Songling agreed loudly, remembering every advice from Red Beard firmly in his heart. The kitchen squad leader Lao Feng's movements became faster and faster. As soon as possible, he picked up a bowl of steaming pork stewed vermicelli and held it to the hand of Red Beard. However, Red Beard no longer had the strength to move his chopsticks anymore, tilted his body in Lao Zheng's arms, and sniffed the aroma of pork stewed vermicelli with satisfaction, murmured the last request: "Fatty, sing a song, don't, don't cry, big man, there is a little promising, I, I don't want you to cry, I give it to me when I cry."

“My home is on the Songhua River in the northeast.

There are forest coal mines there.

There are also soybeans and sorghum all over the mountains-" Zhang Songling wiped his tears hard, raised his head, and sang loudly.

“My home is on the Songhua River in the northeast.

There are my fellow countrymen there.

And the aging parents.”

Lao Feng, Lao Li, Xiao Xu, Xiao Sun, the soldiers in the kitchen beat the slap with iron spoons and bowls and chopsticks, and they spoke in unison.

“September 18, September 18.

From that miserable time.

Leaving my hometown”

Countless warriors joined in and sang the desolate songs throughout the camp, slowly spreading, spreading them all over the wilderness.

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." On the grassland, a group of tired wild wolves listened with their ears sideways for a moment, suddenly raised their heads and let out a long howl.

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo." The wolf howls endlessly and endlessly.
Chapter completed!