Chapter 45: Xiao Dao's Bloody Battle in Three Suites

  Lin Gong was filled with emotions, a former rustic and simple village girl had now become as elegant as her mother used to be, and was quickly growing into a young woman. In fact, during the New Year's celebration, he had already noticed that his daughter had undergone tremendous changes - she had become more mature, optimistic, confident, and independent, with even more youthful vitality. Now he understood, it was all because of this handsome, calm, and majestic young man in front of him that his daughter had changed so much.

  After a exceptionally rich lunch, Huang Shifu and Lin Xue were going to work, Yu Songyuan put a whole pig's hind leg and four or five dried fish into a bag, and insisted that Huang Shifu take it back home.

  Yu Songyuan sat with Lin Gong in the kitchen before going to school and had a conversation. Lin Gong coughed and asked, "Who's at your home?" Yu Songyuan told him about his family situation truthfully.

  "Are you Yu Xinhe, and your younger brother is Yu Xinmin? Are you from the Yu family village?"

  "Yes. Did Uncle Lin know them?"

  "No wonder you have a heroic air about you, good kid. Your uncle Yu Xinhe was a big name in the Guan River area back then, and although I was young at the time, I later came to know about it. You might not even know that Bansha Village is right next to our farm. After your grandparents were killed by the Japanese devils, your father Yu Xinhe took your mother and younger uncle and aunt and escaped to Zhang Wenbo's house in Bansha Village. Not long after, he had a bloody battle with the Japanese there and personally shot dead the commander of the Japanese army, Ke Mu."

  "But they never told us about these things."

  "That's because they have pain in their hearts. Your uncle and aunt, due to their dissatisfaction with the land reform policy, passively resisted and were criticized, ultimately passing away prematurely at a young age. This result was difficult for your grandfather and father to accept. Moreover, back then they eliminated so many traitors, but the descendants of these traitors are still alive. Your grandfather and father also didn't want to talk about their own affairs in order to ensure peace for your generation."

  Lin Gong let out a soft sigh, "In those years, the Japanese invaders created countless tragic cases, and countless civilians were slaughtered. On both banks of the Guan River, people are descendants of pioneers who have never surrendered. Xiaoxue's grandfather and grandmother, like your father and uncle, are national heroes, they just sacrificed their lives on the battlefield."

  Yu Songyuan was extremely shocked, "Why have I never heard Lin Xue mention it before?"

  Lin Gong said dejectedly, "This is a pain that will forever be in my heart. I've never told the kids about it. Go to school first, we'll talk tonight."

  At night, Lin Gong called Yu Songyuan and Lin Xue together, took out a small package wrapped in a blue floral cloth from his pocket, and handed it to her, saying, "This package has been stored in the school's warehouse all along. When I heard that Little Yu was the son of old hero Yu Xinhe, I decided to tell you about our family too. Take a look."

  The package looked old at first glance. Lin Xue carefully opened the package layer by layer, only to find that inside was a layer of light blue velvet wrapping something. She opened the velvet and found a green jade carving the size of a teacup mouth lying quietly on a stack of women's shirts that were exquisite and elegant despite being old. Under the lamp, it emitted a soft and gentle glow.

  She carefully picked up the jade carving, and saw that it was a dragon and a phoenix, each occupying half of the carving. The dragon was an ascending dragon, with its mouth open and body twisted, looking back at the phoenix; the phoenix was a soaring phoenix, with its wings spread and tail raised, gazing at the dragon. Surrounding them were auspicious clouds, filling the air with a harmonious atmosphere. The entire jade carving had an ancient charm, delicate and translucent. Lin Xue asked excitedly, "Is this a jade pendant? Big brother, our family is so poor, how did you get such a valuable treasure?"

  Lin Gong said, "This is the Tang Dynasty 'Dragon and Phoenix Bring Good Fortune - Dragon and Phoenix Pendants', which was passed down from the palace after the An Shi Rebellion. It originally had two pieces, which were the tokens of affection between your grandfather and grandmother. Your grandfather's piece has long been lost. This one belonged to your grandmother, who entrusted me and this jade pendant to someone else before she was killed by the enemy, thus preserving it..."

  "Huh? Aren't my grandfather and grandmother still alive?" Lin Xue asked in confusion.

  "Children, they are not your real grandfather and grandmother. Your real grandfather and grandmother had sacrificed themselves during the war of resistance. Your grandfather was a regimental commander of the New Fourth Army, who died in battle against the Japanese invaders. And your grandmother, she was captured and killed by the devils right here on this riverbank where you are standing." Lin Gong said with extreme pain.

  Lin Xue clutched the jade pendant tightly to her chest, "You're saying... you're saying... this was originally an execution ground, and my grandmother was killed here?! I've been living on the execution ground where my dear grandmother died all along?!"

  Lin Gong's face turned pale, and he slumped into the chair, nodding painfully. After taking a deep breath, he said, "The undershirt under the jade pendant was your grandmother's keepsake, it was what she wore before she was captured..."

  In early 1939, the Japanese invaders landed at Guanhe and Sheyang River mouths, quickly occupying the vast areas of Huaibei, Lianyungang and Fengxian in northern Jiangsu. The people of Northern Jiangsu were unwilling to become slaves of a defeated nation, so they spontaneously organized themselves and rose up in resistance, but suffered ruthless massacres at the hands of the Japanese invaders. Within less than a year, dozens of horrific massacres took place one after another on this vast plain.

  One of these tragic events occurred in Liuzu Township, located on the banks of the Yellow River about 10 kilometers from Yujiacun Village.

  On February 6, 1939, the Japanese army set out from the county town and launched a surprise attack on Liuzu Town before dawn, killing 108 innocent civilians in what became known as the "February 6 Massacre".

  The atrocities of the Japanese army aroused even stronger resistance from the people of Northern Jiangsu, and only one month after the "February 26" massacre, the famous Xiaodaohui Anti-Japanese Bloody Battle broke out in Northern Jiangsu.

  After the Japanese army launched a full-scale invasion of China in July 1937, from the spring of 1938, all parts of Northern Jiangsu were organized into village-based armed self-defense organizations. By summer, on the basis of these organizations, a civilian self-defense organization called the "Small Dagger Society" was spontaneously formed with the main purpose of preventing banditry and robbery.

  The Small Sword Society was a folk armed organization with strong national consciousness and feudal superstition. It set up meeting halls in various villages, burned incense and paper money, cursed and vowed, burned incense and kowtowed, praying for the gods to bless the village peace.

  In the early morning of March 6, 1939, at 2 o'clock, Qi Shi Ding, the leader of the Xiaodao Hui, led more than 700 members of the Xiaodao Hui to launch a surprise attack on the Japanese army's three strongholds under the cover of light rain. After surrounding the Japanese stronghold, they quickly launched a charge. The sudden raid by the Xiaodao Hui caught the Japanese off guard, and the outer perimeter was quickly occupied by the Xiaodao Hui, forcing them to retreat back into the town of Sansuitou.

  Fierce street fighting unfolded rapidly, with the Small Knife Society fighting house by house, annihilating dozens of Japanese soldiers in a bloody battle. Only a dozen or so Japanese soldiers retreated into a civilian courtyard to wait for reinforcements. Just as the Small Knife Society was about to launch its final attack to wipe out the remaining Japanese forces, a group of puppet troops and local pirates suddenly launched a surprise attack from behind the Small Knife Society, forcing them to fight on two fronts and lose their last opportunity to annihilate the Japanese forces, and were forced to withdraw from combat.

  This bloody battle shocked the whole of Northern Jiangsu, dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese army, and made the puppet troops tremble with fear. It also inspired the people of Northern Jiangsu to fight against the Japanese invaders. After this battle, the devils and puppet troops stationed at Dongkan, Sanshao and other strongholds immediately retreated in disarray, withdrawing back to the county seat and several main strongholds nearby.

  However, in this bloody battle, the Small Knife Society taught the devils a lesson and avenged the innocent civilians who were slaughtered by the Japanese invaders in the "February 26 Massacre" and the "Yu Family Village Massacre", but they also paid a heavy price. Eleven able-bodied members of the society died in action, including the 64-year-old leader Qi Shi Ding, who died on the battlefield.

  Your grandfather's name is Lin Ziqiao, good at using double guns, both civil and military, he participated in the bloody battle organized by the Small Knife Society. Soon after this battle, the Eighth Route Army marched south from southern Shandong into northern Jiangsu, your grandfather led more than 300 members of the Small Knife Society under his command to collectively join the Eighth Route Army's Lianyungang-Haizhou Southward Advance Column (Jiangsu-Shandong Branch, historically known as "South Advance" or "South Column") Third Regiment. He was brave and good at fighting, soon becoming the regiment commander of the Second Regiment of the Third Regiment of the Jiangsu-Shandong Branch of the Eighth Route Army.

  "After the "Wannan Incident" broke out, the Eighth Route Army's Su-Lu Branch and the northward-bound New Fourth Army triumphantly joined forces in Fulin, forming the Third Division of the New Fourth Army with General Huang Kecheng as division commander. Your grandfather became the regimental commander of the 27th Regiment of the 8th Brigade of the New Fourth Army's Third Division, leading his troops to actively fight in various parts of the Subei coastal area, dealing heavy blows to the Japanese devils and puppet army."

  That year, your grandfather was famous in northern Jiangsu, "Double Gun Linzi Bridge" was notorious, and the devils at each point were not afraid of him. The 27th Regiment, under the direct command of General Zhang Aiping, commander of the 8th Division, fought countless battles on the vast land of Bin Hai, becoming a powerful division of the New Fourth Army.

  Your grandmother's surname is Lin, named Lin Xue'er. She was the only daughter of Lin Daxing, the boss of Dayou Xinglong Salt Industry Company. After graduating from high school, she was sent to Shanghai to study at St. John's University. When the full-scale Anti-Japanese War broke out, in order to arouse the masses, she and her classmates formed a literary performance team, propagating resistance against Japan all the way to Yan'an.

  When the propaganda team arrived in our county, they merged with the local anti-Japanese student organization and jointly organized a cultural performance. Later, she and some members of the team joined the New Fourth Army locally, while another group of students continued to rush to Yan'an.

  It was at this time that your grandmother met your grandfather. At that time, your grandfather was still a battalion commander, and their common aspirations and ideals made them fall in love quickly and become partners, and I was born that year.

  When I was very young, due to the special family background and the need for anti-enemy struggle situation, your grandmother was organized to enter the Enemy Work Department of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army, engaging in unified front work and disintegrating enemy forces.

  Your grandfather, Zheng Keming, is the son of a wealthy family in the county town. He was married to Yao Shi, the daughter of another wealthy family, due to his parents' arrangement and matchmaker's words, but they had no children after many years of marriage. Later, Zheng Keming left home and joined the Eighth Route Army's Lühai Southbound Column, serving as a squad leader under your grandfather's command.

  The county town under your feet was the ruling center of the enemy and puppet in the coastal area at that time. Your grandmother, who worked as an enemy worker, frequently entered and exited the county town, and her foothold was in the Yao family home. Under her influence, Yao also actively engaged in revolutionary work, and she had a deep sisterly affection with Yao.

  In 1944, your grandfather Lin Ziqiao was killed by a stray bullet while commanding a battle that was about to end. At that time, your grandmother was on a mission in the county town and did not know what had happened. I was only four years old then, and since I was often ill, my grandmother took me with her to the county town for medical treatment, where we were accompanied by Mrs. Yao.

  However, during one mission, your grandmother's whereabouts were discovered by Japanese puppet secret agents due to betrayal.

  Later, Yao told me that just as the detectives were about to break in, your grandmother handed the jade pendant over to Yao along with me and pushed us out of the small back door used by the servants, while she herself was calmly arrested.