Chapter 58

  It's raining heavily and then snowing, the folk saying has always been reasonable. As expected, the rain stopped, but it started snowing instead, and in a short while, a thick layer of snow had fallen on the ground.

  Proverbs also say that this winter, wheat covers three layers of quilts, and next year sleeps with a steamed bun. Although it's a bit exaggerated, there is some truth to it. As long as the rainwater is sufficient this year, then next year will definitely be a bumper harvest. This year, according to the land where many small grains were planted, looking at this year's rainfall, next year has a good chance of solving certain difficulties.

  Northwest wind blows strongly, heavy snow falls thick and fast.

  The world is vague and indistinct.

  Heaven and earth are covered with white snow, whether it is sin or virtue.

  A corpse was hanging under the eaves of the Longmen Inn in Yicheng.

  The corpse had a straight cut on its throat, apparently killed by a sharp blade.

  One end of the iron hook was inserted into the throat, and the other end was fixed under the eaves.

  The entire body was dark all over, as if it had died of poisoning. The abdomen was cut open and the internal organs were dug out, with a very cruel death.

  There were very few people in the inn, and a dark-faced man sat upright by the window.

  Although thin, very spirited.

  "Boss, stew a small chicken." The man shouted while slapping the table.

  Boss: "It's here! Xiao Er, quickly take down that black-boned chicken hanging at the door and cook it!"

  The little servant responded with a sound, took down the corpse under the eaves, and did it in the back.

  The dish was done and brought up, a fragrance that directly attacked the black-faced man's heart and lungs. "Boss, bring out the old wine in the thermos." The man shouted again.

  "Here it is!" The boss quickly brought up a pot of hot wine.

  At this moment, a figure flashed at the door, and another person came into the inn in the heavy snow.

  He was dressed in a full set of devil's attire, with a military cap, military uniform, long leather boots, and an external holster. He also wore a military overcoat. A standard devil officer's outfit.

  Lai Ren is a deputy stationmaster of Guizi Station and a notorious drunkard.

  Generally, a drunkard is a lecher and a money-grubber. But this drunkard was not lustful or greedy for wealth; he only loved the liquor in his cup. However, he had one rule: each time he drank, he never exceeded half a catty, which was just enough to fill a small wine jug at an inn. With his capacity, it was just right, and he wouldn't get drunk.

  This devil comes once a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, at least three hundred days to come to the inn to drink half a catty.

  Seeing the devil come in, the black-faced man sitting by the window stood up and greeted the devil:

  "Come on, sir, sit down over here, I'll get you a drink."

  "What's with you and that chick?" The ghost was not tempted by the black man's chicken, although he craved that chicken.

  "General, my work serving the imperial army, Captain Li of the special forces is the brother-in-law of my wife's cousin's older brother's neighbor. Our relationship is very close. My work as a good citizen, is also very good." The dark-faced man said with a sincere expression.

  "Yo Xi." It seemed that the ghost was indeed intimidated by the black-faced man's words, and then he really sat down in front of the black-faced man.

  "Boss, bring another jug of wine." The dark-faced man shouted at the shop owner while pouring a cup of wine for the ghost.

  The devil picked up a chicken leg and started gnawing on it, finishing it in just a few bites. Then he raised his wine cup and downed it in one gulp.

  "Good capacity!" The dark-faced man smiled and flattered the ghost while pouring another cup of wine for him.

  "En, your, very good." At this time, the shopkeeper brought another pot of wine.

  Then the two of them drank and talked, one deliberately flattering, one drinking with gusto. The two "talked" very well together, and before long, the two jugs of wine were empty, and a plate of chicken was almost finished.

  "Boss, bring another pot of good wine over."

  "No, no, no, I can't drink anymore today, I'm still on duty. There's a train passing by here today and I need to go take a look."

  "What's so important that you have to go see it yourself? Can't the station master just take a look and be done with it, why bother Your Excellency?" The dark-faced man continued to flatter the devil.

  "No, this train is carrying supplies for the Imperial Army, it's very important, I need to go and check myself." The devil had already been stunned by the black-faced man's flattery, and didn't think that he was just a deputy station master, whose rank was lower than his.

  "It's alright, it's still early, have another drink." The dark-faced man had a hospitable expression.

  "No, the train will arrive at 9 o'clock, although it's still early now, I have to go and take a look. For the sake of building the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Imperial Army needs these supplies, I can't be late." Then, the devil patted his butt and left, just as he came lightly, taking away half a basin of black-boned chicken and a jug of fine wine, leaving behind only a pile of chicken bones.

  The man with a dark face watched as the ghost disappeared step by step in the heavy snow, then he too paid and left the inn, disappearing into the outskirts of the city.

  The Western Mountain outside the city, the Western Mountain in the heavy snow, can't see the foot of the mountain from the top.

  The dark-faced man climbed up the mountain with a deep and shallow foot, and the footprints behind him were soon covered by the heavy snow, and it was impossible to see that someone had passed by.

  The dark-faced man climbed up to the top of the mountain, looked back at what was behind him, revealed a hint of a smile, and slipped into a thicket.

  Li Tie and the fox team stayed in the mountain forest, to avoid the snow and also for warmth, they set up a few simple grass sheds. Now the grass shed is already covered with snow, from a distance it can't be seen as a grass shed, even if you walk close, if you don't pay special attention, it's hard to find them.

  The soldiers of Lian sat on the ground, which was covered with thick dry grass. Some were wiping their guns, some were wiping bullets, some were sharpening their daggers, and others were checking their crossbows and blowpipes. Only Li Tie was sleeping!

  The little guy is lying on a thick layer of dry grass, sleeping soundly and occasionally making happy snorts.

  They have been waiting here for two days already, this is the third day.

  As soon as they arrived here, they contacted the local guerrilla and got their assistance. The enemy's whereabouts were provided by the local railway guerrilla to Li Tie, so after studying, they let Li Yan pretend to be a traitor to get close to the enemy and then extract some intelligence from the enemy's mouth.

  Li Tie waited at the inn for two days and finally met with the deputy station master of the devils on the third day, successfully extracting intelligence. It can be said that Li Tie's two meals were well worth the money, at least they were value for money.

  The dark-faced man entered the thatched hut and saw Li Tie sleeping. He hastily approached where Li Tie was lying, then gently shook him awake.

  Li Tie opened his eyes and saw that Li Qian had returned, immediately becoming wide awake.

  "How's it going? How's the situation?"

  "Commander Lian, you're really a lucky god. As soon as you take action, there's something to gain. That devil said that tonight at 9 o'clock, there will be a train carrying supplies passing by."

  "Really? He's got everything, haha." Li Tie let out a sly laugh.

  Listening to Li Tie's laughter, the warriors in this thatched hut couldn't help but shiver simultaneously.

  I'm not afraid of Little Li's shouting, but I'm afraid of his sly smile.

  Li Qian has extracted intelligence from the devils, Li Tie is overjoyed and calls everyone to come together to discuss how to get the devils' train.

  Everyone contributed their ideas and soon reached a consensus. With the cooperation of the guerrilla team, they tried to find out the specific time when the train would pass through. The members of the Fox Team ambushed by the roadside, waiting for the train to arrive, then rushed onto the train, first dealing with the devils on the train, and then stopping the train. The guerrilla team mobilized the masses, trying to get as many people as possible to come together to transport the grain, striving to take away all the grain on the train.

  Of course, a prerequisite for this is that the Fox Team must successfully sneak onto the railway without being discovered by the enemy patrol.

  All the members of the Vixen Team have raincoats and blankets, which ordinary soldiers do not have. Of course, this is also one of the combat weapons. All the equipment on the Vixen Team's body is a combat weapon, even a shoelace can take away the devils' lives.

  In winter, the sky darkens quickly, and before you know it, it's almost dark.

  The guerrilla team finally brought the intelligence about the train. According to the train schedule at the station, if everything goes as planned, the train will pass through the station at 9:06 and stop for 15 minutes at Yicheng Station.

  It was around 9:40 when I passed by the ambush site! Now it's 7:03 pm.

  Ten minutes for dinner, thirty minutes to arrive at the ambush point and lay in wait, this was Li Tie's order.

  "Let me stress one thing in particular: I don't get up, and no one else gets up either. Only when I stand up to greet everyone can anyone take action. If I don't get up, no one is allowed to reveal their target, got it?"

  "I understand!"

  "Ten minutes ready!"

  "Yes!"

  Everyone can't have a fire, so they can only eat cold food. Li Tie made sure that even though it was cold food, the main course would still be meat to ensure everyone had enough calories. To prepare for emergencies, as soon as they set off, Li Tie got Lü Liang to cook a piece of meat for everyone and wrap it in their bags, not to be eaten normally but saved for special situations. Everyone ate something simple before setting off.

  In order to increase the speed of marching and also to conceal their tracks, team members always followed in the footprints of the person in front of them, making it seem as if only one person had passed through.

  Soon everyone arrived at the edge of the railroad, and the last team member used branches to sweep away footprints in the snow. After a while, the heavy snow would cover everything up.

  Everyone cleared the snow, then spread the withered grass brought from the mountain on the ground, and covered themselves with rain cloaks. Then cover a layer of snow on top, and quietly wait for the arrival of the train.

  An hour has passed, and the heavy snow has again covered the ground with a thick layer. The appearance of the soldiers' initial ambush on the side of the railroad is no longer visible, and it has returned to its original state, with only small holes in the snow that, if not noticed, would be thought to have been formed naturally. However, due to the darkness, they cannot be seen even when walking close by.

  In this one hour, the devils' patrol team didn't come out even once.

  It's almost eight o'clock now.

  The devils have acted.

  At the head was a road-clearing vehicle, followed by a Japanese armored patrol car, with a machine gun mounted on each of the clearing vehicle and the armored vehicle.

  Two beams of snow-white light shone on the snowy ground, illuminating it as bright as daytime.

  The snowplow roared past, clearing the snow on the tracks and sending it flying to both sides. The armored patrol car followed behind, its machine gun rotating continuously with the beam of light.

  Not long after the Qingdao car and Tiejia car left, a group of devils came out, with about a dozen devils and several dozen puppet soldiers, along the railway line, forming a long row, carrying fifteen or sixteen flashlights, constantly shining on both sides of the road where they suspected.

  The little devil's leather boots trampled on the snow, making a crunching sound.

  Not long after this patrol had passed, another patrol came along, only fifteen minutes later!

  It seems that the devils attach great importance to this train. Under normal circumstances, the devil's pedestrian patrol team would not be dispatched, and only armored patrol cars would be dispatched.

  The team members crawling under the snow were silent, quietly waiting for the arrival of the train.

  The clock hand had already pointed to 9:30 in the evening, and the snow was gradually stopping. There was no sign of any train movement yet.

  At this time, another team of devils patrol team came out, this team has more people than the previous ones, and there are also more flashlights. They walked along the railway to check the rails, using their flashlights to illuminate both sides of the railway, carefully observing any suspicious places in the snowy ground to prevent the Eighth Route Army from ambushing their train.

  The devils' boots passed in front of the warriors' heads, the flashlight beams swept over the warriors' hiding heads, and everyone remained motionless. The devils patrolled forward with ease.

  It was nine forty. A snow-bright beam of light came from afar along the railway. The warriors, who were already lying on the ground, felt the vibration of the train.

  Through a small observation hole, Li Tie carefully observed the train, but it was too far away to see very clearly.

  The sound of the train's whistle was already very clear.

  The train finally arrived.

  Li Tieguang was about to get up when his eyelids suddenly twitched violently. This train wasn't a supply train!

  For some reason, Li Tie felt that this train did not seem to be a supply train. Long-term battles had given him an instinct for danger.

  Continued to lurk on the ground, carefully observing this foreign train.

  The train was not long, with only about ten cars, except for the locomotive, all the others were tankers.

  Finally, Li Tie found a problem: all the car doors seemed to have no lead seals! That is to say, none of the car doors were sealed properly, or there were devils inside or nothing was given. Because as long as there are people inside, the door cannot be closed too tightly, otherwise it will easily suffocate people. Also, empty cars do not need to be sealed, what's the point of sealing an empty car?

  As the train passed by, the soldiers were all puzzled. What's the company commander doing with this plane? The train has already passed, what are we still rushing for? But the company commander didn't say a word, and everyone continued to lie in ambush, no one moving.

  At this moment, a loud noise came from where the train had passed, followed by a burst of intense gunfire.

  The gunfire sounded rapid and dense, with a large number of machine gun sounds heard in the noise. The gunfire stopped quickly.

  Before long, the devils' armored vehicles were on the move, followed by a large number of devil infantrymen.

  Li Tie didn't know what had happened, but he figured he'd been frozen out for nothing today.

  Seeing the devils pass by, Li Tie called on everyone to get up and then followed behind the devils to see what was going on.

  Li Tie was deeply impressed by the camouflage uniforms of the small squad in "Lin Hai Xue Yuan" when he was a child. So, every winter, he prepared a set of snow uniforms for everyone. It's actually just one piece - a white cloth with two ropes on the head that are tied around the neck and then draped over the body. This way, they had some camouflage while marching in the snow, at least from a distance.

  Everyone cautiously followed behind the ghost and marched forward.

  These devils charged forward with their guns, never thinking that there were more than twenty tails behind them.

  Not far from here, the train we saw earlier had stopped, with a section of the rail blown away and the locomotive lying on the roadbed. It seemed to have been attacked, but except for the locomotive, all the other cars were still on the rails, even the coal car hadn't overturned. The attacker's bomb didn't seem powerful enough.

  The devils are surrounding the train with three steps a post and five steps a sentry, and some of them are gathering together the corpses of the raiders.

  It seems that these bandits have been eliminated by the devils, alas, they didn't check the almanac before going out, Li Tiezu secretly felt sorry for them.

  From their clothing, these people are dressed in a variety of ways, but many of them wear the eight-route army cap.

  Li Tie had everyone hide on the hillside, took off his snow camouflage uniform, handed the submachine gun to a soldier, and put on a set of Japanese military uniforms from his backpack before disappearing into the snowy terrain.

  In an instant, the devil who was walking behind suddenly disappeared into the snowy ground. Due to the chaotic scene, no one noticed, and even if someone looked this way, they would have thought that the poor guy had slipped and fallen, because he quickly got up again. No one noticed that the devil had been replaced.

  Li Tie killed the devil, picked up the devil's rifle, kicked the devil a few times, covered the devil with a layer of snow, and immediately followed behind the devil to the scene of the crime.

  Soon he entered the enemy group. Since it was a dark night, everyone basically didn't know who anyone else was and could only judge whether they were their own people by the uniforms on their bodies.

  Li Tie swaggered back and forth among the devils, soon approaching the scene.

  At this time, the leading devil officer was saluting and reporting to another officer:

  "Report to Lieutenant Commander, Lieutenant Honda has arrived under orders to provide support, please take care of him."

  The lieutenant colonel returned the salute and said in a contemptuous tone, "Thank you, Lieutenant. These local bandits are no match for our Imperial Army. They have all been eliminated by us now. You can just drag their bodies back."

  "Great Master's clever calculation, a few bandits dared to come and seek death, it's really like eggs hitting a rock. Great Master took care of them with one burst of machine gun fire." A traitor seized the opportunity to flatter him.

  "Hmm, I expected that the logistics would be leaked and the Eighth Route Army would come to rob. As expected, Lieutenant Honda, please order someone to repair the railway quickly, don't miss the supply train passing through at 9 o'clock tomorrow night."

  "Hey! Don't worry, we'll get it done right away." Honda replied, and then began directing the devils and puppet soldiers to start gathering up the rails.

  The devils began to gather, and the devil lieutenant clapped his hands and walked towards the armored vehicle.

  They, the little devils have also learned to be cunning. First, they use a train full of devils disguised as a maintenance train, then lure the Eighth Route Army onto the hook. Just when the Eighth Route Army is about to board the train, each carriage has a machine gun, let alone dozens of people, even hundreds or thousands of people would find it very difficult to get on. It's purely a one-sided massacre.

  It seems that this Eighth Route Army also had the intention of hijacking the supply truck, but things didn't go as planned, and they capsized in a ditch, losing their lives.

  Li Tie silently saluted these comrades in his heart and said, "You go first, I will avenge you."

  Tonight at 9 o'clock, it's really something to look forward to.