Insufficient balance

  Zhang Xihang and a few others took the opportunity of Bao Yulin and Wang Xiaodong's return to the prisoner-of-war camp to quietly inform their comrades, asking everyone to be prepared for tonight and to take unified action when the time comes. They didn't dare mention escaping in advance, after all, they still had to be careful. According to the camp's mutual guarantee regulations, if someone escaped, others would suffer. No one could say for sure whether the Vietnamese would really execute others according to their regulations. After all, everyone was unsure of the current situation. In case the Vietnamese were ruthless and executed people according to regulations, it was better for everyone to escape together when they had the chance.

  In fact, there is no need to be overly cautious with this notice. If they are sneaky and secretive, it will only arouse the suspicion of the Vietnamese guards. Fortunately, the two countries do not share a common language, so no matter what they say or how loudly they speak, the Vietnamese people have no idea what they are talking about. In Zhang Xihang's view, when discussing these matters, the person they need to be most careful about is Bao Yulin.

  As agreed, Zhang Xihang and the others only asked everyone to obey orders and take unified action when the time came. They were worried that if they said it in advance, it would leak out that they were going to escape from prison. Fortunately, there had been several such arrangements before (all of which were beating Bao Yulian), so everyone still thought tonight was the same, so no one asked much. However, someone did ask if they could participate in the action themselves tonight, rather than just pretending to sleep on the side. To these requests, Lu Kai responded firmly: Shut up, just listen to the arrangement when the time comes.

  To the surprise of the prisoners of war, the meals that were usually delivered to the sugarcane fields did not arrive today. Just as everyone was puzzled, Nguyen Ngoc brought a few soldiers to where the prisoners of war were working and, without saying much, ordered them to stop work and return to the prisoner-of-war camp first.

  Zhang Xihang and Lu Kai found that Ruan Yuanjia's face seemed to be in a bad mood today, had something happened? If the Vietnamese discovered the tunnel, it would be troublesome. They had discussed this possibility before and had already thought of a way to deal with it. Anyway, they just said they didn't know. If all else failed, Zhang Xihang and Lu Kai would take responsibility for it. Of course, they also had to implicate Bao Yulin, saying that he was the one who told them to dig the drainage ditch, but it wasn't finished yet. Fortunately, they hadn't opened up the entrance of the tunnel, only extending it a lot. As for what the Vietnamese would do, it was up to them.

  On the way back to the prisoner-of-war camp, when passing by the Vietnamese guard house, unexpectedly, the usually bustling guard house was deserted, as if all the guards had withdrawn. This situation made Zhang Xihang and several others feel even more surprised.

  After arriving at the prisoner-of-war camp, unexpectedly, Ruan Yuanjia ordered the prisoners to assemble. Zhang Xihang and Lu Kai, who knew the secret of the latrine pit, were very nervous, thinking that something was wrong. Who would have thought that Ruan Yuanjia stood in front of the formation with a very happy expression, announcing: Due to Bao Yulin's good performance, just now, the prisoner-of-war camp received a notice from Hanoi, and Bao Yulin will be sent to Hanoi for commendation. In order to encourage everyone to learn from Bao Yulin, the management of the prisoner-of-war camp decided that this afternoon would be a holiday! Today's food ration will be doubled!

  Ruan Yuanjia had no choice. Among all the prisoners of war, Bao Yulin was a special one, as he had made an "anti-war declaration" at the United Nations, which meant that he was different from ordinary prisoners of war and his situation was closely followed by the media. It would be a big trouble if such a person escaped so easily under his jurisdiction. Now, he must control the situation in his own hands, fortunately, it was discovered early, according to the time calculation, Bao had not yet escaped from the prisoner-of-war camp's control range. If he could catch him back by his own efforts, that would be the best. If not, he had to think of a way to deal with his superiors, otherwise, he himself would be in trouble.

  Ruan Yuanjia now truly regretted listening to Wu Hongying's arrangement and being so careless in managing Bao Yulin. Now that something had happened during Wu Hongying's leave, he would have to take all the responsibility himself. All he hoped for was that the incident with Bao Yulin wouldn't cause panic among the people in the prisoner-of-war camp, or else things would get even more troublesome.

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  Zhang Xihang and Lu Kai were surprised to find that Ruan Yuanjia had gathered the prisoners of war, not for the septic tank, but because Bao Yulin had been transferred to Hanoi. This also meant that the tunnel in the septic tank should be fine. With Bao Yulin gone, everyone could now speak freely in the latrine without worrying. However, Zhang Xihang still wanted to ask Wang Xiaodong about it after the dispersal, to see what was going on. After all, Wang Xiaodong had returned with Bao Yulin.

  Ruan Yuanjia had just announced the disbandment, and Wang Xiaodong, who was standing behind Zhang Xiahang, pulled him: "Deputy Commander Zhang, today is a holiday, shall we go play chess?" Apparently, Wang Xiaodong had something to say to him.

  Zhang Xihang greeted Lu Kai and followed Wang Xiaodong back to their dormitory, with one of them leading the way.

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  Ruan Yuanjia also asked the little guard why Wang Xiaodong didn't follow them to deliver food, and the little guard told Ruan about how Wang was scalded. Ruan felt a lot more at ease after hearing this, it seemed that Bao Yulin might have been unable to bear staying in the POW camp, so he deliberately scalded Wang Xiaodong and escaped on his own, apparently, he didn't trust the other Chinese prisoners of war. This was roughly in line with Wu Hongying's original idea.

  When Wu Hongying received Ruan Yuanjia's phone call, it was already afternoon. Upon learning that Bao Yulian had escaped, she became anxious too. Since General Wu's death, Wu Hongying knew she no longer had anyone to rely on. Bao Yulian's escape was like adding insult to injury for her. She must return quickly and discuss with Ruan Yuanjia what to do next.

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  In the dormitory, Wang Xiaodong told Zhang Xihang about today's events, especially Bao Yulin's last few inexplicable words. Then he asked: "Deputy Commander Zhang, I think Bao Yulin doesn't seem to have been transferred to Hanoi. This is too sudden. Besides, why did he say those things to me? And why must I tell you? Do you think he might be running away?"

  Zhang Xihang was also confused, Bao Yulin's words were indeed puzzling, but thinking about it carefully, it seemed possible that they had escaped, otherwise, why did the guards at the prisoner-of-war camp disappear?

  "Lao Zhang, I think this thing is really possible, otherwise why would he be taken away by the Vietnamese guards? Especially since he pretended to scald Wang Xiaodong and said those inexplicable words. But that guy is also strange, the Vietnamese people are good to him, what's he running for?" Lu Kai analyzed and said.

  "This is hard to say, I think he might have run away. Come to think of it, he might be helping us create an opportunity. You guys think about it carefully, in the prisoner-of-war camp for so long, he really hasn't done anything bad, and besides, you don't know if you've discovered that these past few days he's actually been helping us keep watch, he must know about the tunnel. I think he's afraid that when we run away, we'll take action to get rid of him, so he ran first. And then, when he runs, the guards in the prisoner-of-war camp will go chase after him, and as a result, the number of people guarding the camp will decrease, and our chances of running out will increase. I think his anti-war declaration was also forced." Zhang Xihang said thoughtfully.

  Just as they were discussing, Li Yifei walked in: "Old Zhang, I just went to the toilet and checked the mark. The septic tank hasn't been touched. It seems the enemy hasn't discovered it."

  Upon hearing this news, Zhang Xihang felt much more at ease. Initially, in order to prevent Bao Yulian from plotting something, Zhang Xihang and the others would make a small mark every time they finished their work, all of which were done behind Bao Yulian's back, just in case. Now that these marks are intact, it means no one has been to the latrine. It seems there won't be any problem with the escape.

  "So, everyone has seen the situation with the guards today. We analyzed that Bao Yulin might have escaped, and the guards are all chasing after him. This is an opportunity for us. Tonight, we will proceed according to our original plan.

  Zhang Xihang made a decisive decision and continued to arrange for Lu Kai and Li Yifei: "You two go to the toilet immediately and continue digging the tunnel. Now you can dig upwards, but don't open it all the way, just about halfway is fine. Also, expand the squatting position. Wang Xiaodong will come over later and be responsible for keeping watch at the squatting position, so no one discovers the problem with the squatting position.

  Wait a minute, I'll arrange for someone to switch with you few, and also bring you clothes." Zhang Xihang said, stretching out his hand to tightly grasp Lu Kai's and Li Yifei's hands: "Everyone must be careful, absolutely do not have any problems at this time!"

  Lu Kai, Li Yifei and Wang Xiaodong stood at attention, standing straight, and replied in unison in a low voice: "Don't worry, no problem!"

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  That night, the prisoner-of-war camp indeed doubled the fixed amount of food for the prisoners, and everyone had a full meal. However, Zhang Xihang and others who were careful found that on this day, the chimney of the guard zone's cafeteria did not emit smoke until very late, which means that the guards did not have meals, and the number of shifts was also much less than usual. It seems that the guards really all went out.

  Zhang Xihang's plan went smoothly, and when the sky was about to darken, Lu Kai and several others changed their clothes and came out to tell Zhang Xihang that the tunnel and squatting pit had been taken care of. Now, several soldiers who knew the inside story were taking turns squatting in the pit to avoid being discovered by others.

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  Bao Yulin was lying under the bed of Wu Hongying, resting. He was prepared that if the enemy discovered the escape of the prisoners of war tonight, he would create chaos in the guard area to cover his comrades' escape. If his comrades escaped smoothly, it would be easy next. After the enemy discovered the escape of the prisoners of war, they would definitely search for them everywhere, and he could easily escape from the guard area alone. Relatively speaking, this was safer.

  It was late at night when Bao Yulin was startled awake by the sound of the door opening. He couldn't have imagined that Wu Honglian would return at this time. Although he felt tense, he wasn't afraid, as he had been prepared for this. After all, he had escaped and it wouldn't be strange if Wu Honglian returned. He was certain that even if Wu Honglian came back, she wouldn't stay long and would definitely join the search for him, not staying in the room. He knew that as long as he was careful, no one would think to look for him hiding in Wu Honglian's room.

  Wu Honglian returned to the room not long after, and Ruan Yuanjia followed him in. The two of them chatted for a very long time. Anyway, Bao Yulin was lying under the bed and didn't understand what they were saying, but one thing he did know was that the two of them must have had a fight later on. Bao Yulin only knew that at first, the two people's speech rate was still normal, but later their voices became softer and softer, and their speech rate faster and faster. In the end, Ruan Yuanjia slammed the door and walked out. After a while, Wu Honglian slowly closed the door and sat on the bed crying quietly.

  Ruan Yuanjia had not been gone for long when several signal flares lit up the sky. After a while, Wu Hongying walked out of the room, followed by others, and the Vietnamese guard camp started to bustle. Bao Yulin hid under the bed and didn't dare move, listening to the sounds and the intermittent aroma of food being transmitted, indicating that the guards had returned for dinner.

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  The signal flare in the guard area gave Zhang Xihang and others a fright, everyone didn't know what was going on. Thought the enemy had some movement. Who knew that after being nervous for half a day, they finally discovered that the kitchen in the guard area started to make fire, and everyone understood that the signal flare was to let the guards come back to eat.

  As the whistle blew, the oil lamps lit in the prisoner-of-war camp were extinguished, and Zhang Xihang and others began to take action separately. According to the agreement, the time for action was set at the second shift change, roughly around 1-2 o'clock. Taking advantage of this time, they had to notify all prisoners separately, letting everyone prepare, put on their shoes, and wait for the agreed-upon time to act. Lu Kai and Wang Xiaodong crawled into the septic tank again, they had to take advantage of this time to open the entrance, then go out in advance to observe, and when the time came, guide everyone's escape direction.

  After all the Vietnamese had finished their meal, the lights-out whistle had blown for quite some time. It was strange that the guards did not continue to search for themselves as Bao Yulin expected. Perhaps in their opinion, it was unrealistic to find an escaped prisoner in such a vast area on such a dark night, so none of them went out.

  Perhaps they were tired from running around outside all day, the Vietnamese guards ate and soon after, snoring sounds came from the barracks. But unexpectedly, Wu Hongyuan did not return for a long time. Just as Bao Yulian was thinking of crawling out from under the bed to sneak out while the guards were asleep, the door suddenly creaked open, scaring Bao Yulian back into hiding.

  Wu Hongying sat by the bed for a long time, quietly sobbing. Bao Yulin hid under the bed and didn't dare move at all. After a while, Wu Hongying started to undress, first hanging her gun holster on the chair, then her military uniform.

  The chair was just beside the bed, at this time, Bao Yulin only needed to stretch out his hand to get the pistol in the gun holster on his waist belt. Of course, he didn't dare move at this moment. The sniper battle had told him that only careful waiting could better protect himself.

  Wu Honglian blew out the lamp and lay down on the bed. Bao Yulin under the bed kept praying, he was praying for Wu Honglian to fall asleep quickly, otherwise he would have no way to escape. Bao Yulin planned to slip away quickly, to be able to get ahead of Zhang Xihang and the others, so that he could return with them. He believed that by then, they should believe him.

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  Wu Honglian was probably very tired too, and soon the even sound of her breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep. Bao Yulin kept reminding himself under the bed, wait a little longer, wait until Wu Honglian fell asleep a bit more before coming out. However, during this time, he carefully took out Wu Honglian's gun without making a sound. If Wang Xiaodong told Zhang Xihang about his own words, then they would definitely take action tonight, and by now, keeping secrets was no longer necessary, having a gun in hand made him feel more at ease.

  Suddenly, Bao Yulin heard someone quietly pulling the window of Wu Hong's house. Bao Yulin was very nervous, could it be that Zhang Xihang and others had already come out? They wanted to sneak into the entire guard area and get rid of all the guards? This was too risky. The problem was, if they found themselves still in the guard area, they might not be able to explain themselves clearly. Should he take the initiative and coordinate with their actions? Or should he continue hiding for a while and wait until they needed help before coming out?

  Just as Bao Yulin was thinking, a hand had already passed through the window and opened the door. Immediately afterwards, a foot wearing leather shoes stretched in. Leather shoes? Bao Yulin hid under the bed and saw clearly with the help of the courtyard lanterns. The prisoners of war could not wear leather shoes. In the entire prisoner-of-war camp, only one person wore leather shoes - Camp Commander Ruan Yuanjia!

  "Damn it!" Bao Yulin cursed under the bed. "I'm so anxious to death, and you two still have the heart to steal a kiss! Now, I don't know when I can slip away." He muttered to himself, but he didn't dare move. Although he had money in his hand, if those two called out, not only would he be unable to escape, but also his fellow prisoners of war wouldn't be able to either. It seemed that he still had to endure it, and just pretend he was going to "listen to the wall root".

  Bao Yulin was going to listen to a "fairy fight", but things didn't go as he imagined.

  Ruan Yuanjia took off his clothes and quietly approached Wu Hongying's bed, but unexpectedly Wu Hongying suddenly came over. Seeing someone in front of her bed, she instinctively wanted to reach for the gun on the chair, but Ruan Yuanjia pounced on her, pinning her to the bed. Neither of them spoke, Wu Hongying struggled desperately, knowing who it was and what he wanted to do.

  Two people wrestled on the bed for a while, and Bao Yulin under the bed could even hear the sound of clothes being torn. However, he didn't dare to come out and intervene at this time, as it was none of his business anyway.

  Who knew that at this moment, the bed suddenly became quiet. Bao Yulin thought that next he should hear "the fairy fight", but suddenly heard Ruan Yuanjia's painful cry, and then rolled down from the bed, holding his crotch on the ground. At this point, Bao Yulin couldn't hide anymore. Forced to be helpless, Bao Yulin could only take the initiative to attack first, so he flashed out of the bed and turned the gun muzzle downwards, using the handle to heavily hit Ruan Yuanjia's head. This time, Bao Yulin used a lot of force, and the pistol flew out of his hand. Ruan Yuanjia didn't even have time to cry out, and directly became motionless.

  Bao Yulin didn't delay, he had to solve Wu Hongxuan as soon as possible. He believed that his quick movements would catch Wu off guard, and she wouldn't think of looking under the bed. However, he had to come out immediately, or things would get complicated once Wu reacted.

  As expected, Wu Honglian didn't think there was someone under the bed. As for Ruan Yuanjia, she probably still thought she had kicked him unconscious. Without time to think more, Wu Honglian reached out to grab the clothes on the chair. But as soon as she stretched out her hand, Bao Yulin grabbed her wrist and pulled Wu Honglian down from the bed with a strong force. This time, Wu Honglian was frightened. She had never thought that there would be another person under her bed.

  After pulling down Wu Hong's red tassel, Bao Yulin took advantage of the momentum to rush out. He didn't have time to think much, and with one hand, he grabbed Wu Hong's neck, then raised his elbow with the other hand and struck Wu Hong's head fiercely. With just this one move, Wu Hong fainted on the spot.

  Looking at the two people lying on the ground, Bao Yulin only realized that in just a few short seconds, his body was already covered in sweat. He had thought of giving Wu Hongyuan another couple of blows, but when he lifted his hand, Bao Yulin felt that his arm hurt so much that it was almost impossible to lift. It seemed that the force he used earlier was quite considerable.

  Bao Yulin didn't dare to turn on the light, he could only lie on the ground and use the faint light from the lantern outside the door to search for the pistol that had flown out earlier. He needed something handy, nothing was handier than the grip of a 54 pistol.

  It was also Ruan Yuanjia's bad luck that Bao Yulin had just found his rhythm, and he moved slightly, it was unclear whether it was a dying struggle or something else. Bao Yulin didn't have time to think carefully, and directly struck Ruan Yuanjia's head twice again. Bao Yulin even heard the sound of Ruan Yuanjia's skull shattering.

  Originally, Bao Yulin also wanted to give Wu Hongxuan a couple of blows, but when he saw Ruan Yuanjia bleeding all over the floor, he suddenly had an evil idea. Wu Hongxuan hadn't suffered enough, and if she woke up to find herself sleeping next to a bloody corpse, it would probably scare her for life, even if it didn't kill her. This was his revenge against Wu Hongxuan; wasn't she the one who said she wanted him to suffer for the rest of his life? He'd make sure she had nightmares for the rest of hers.

  Bao Yulin did it, he first stripped Ruan Yuanjia naked and put him on Wu Hongying's bed, then moved Wu Hongying, who was almost naked, up there too. He covered them with a quilt, and everything was fine. Of course, he didn't forget to tie Wu Hongying and Ruan Yuanjia together, and also stuffed something into Wu Hongying's mouth. Who knows when she would wake up? If she woke up early and cried out, it would be troublesome. Bao Yulin put on Ruan Yuanjia's military uniform, although it was a bit short, but he had no choice. He thought this thing might come in handy. Originally, Bao Yulin wanted to find Ruan Yuanjia's pistol, but the guy didn't even bring one, probably for convenience when undressing.

  After all, Bao Yulin had come to the guard camp at night before, and he knew that there were no sentries in the guard camp. However, if they wanted to welcome Zhang Xihang without being discovered, it was necessary to take a big detour. Now the time is already late, and they must act quickly.

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  Zhang Xihang and the others acted smoothly, taking advantage of the shift change time. More than 40 prisoners of war quietly slipped away to the toilet, everyone was very cautious. Everyone knew that if they accidentally startled the enemy, no one would be able to escape.

  By the time the guards finished their shift change, a group of Chinese prisoners of war had already escaped beyond the sight range of the sentry post. To escape, everyone took advantage of the opportunity to run for their lives. Running further would be safer. It's worth mentioning that thanks to Ruan Yuanjia, everyone was full tonight.

  Half an hour later, Zhang Xihang gathered everyone together and found that several comrades were already unable to run.

  Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Xihang and Lu Kai, Li Yifei discussed it briefly, they had to decide where to run in order to escape smoothly.

  "I think like this, if the Vietnamese discover that we've escaped, they'll definitely think we'll head north. For a while, they'll focus on searching the northern part of the POW camp. With so many of us, if we head north, it's easy to get caught by the enemy. So I think, shouldn't we do the opposite? We should first head south, make a detour, and when the enemy relaxes a bit, we can then head back. Another idea is that we can bypass Hanoi and find our tanks. Once we have them, we can figure out how to get a truck, and then we can walk openly on the main road. I believe no one will think that we actually have tanks, which might make it easier for us to blend in!" Li Yifei had always been thinking about their hidden tanks. He knew it was impossible to drive them back home, but at least they could run faster and avoid suspicion.

  Several people heard Li Yifei say this and thought it made sense. The story of "Surprise Attack on the White Tiger Regiment" was well-known, so maybe this method would work.

  The Chinese soldiers who escaped adjusted their direction and headed south.

  Poor Bao Yulin was anxious and flustered, constantly being chased away. He had to rush ahead first to see if he could reunite with his comrades.

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