The Third Set: Encounter Seven, Chivalrous Heart and Rural Friendship

  Along the mountain road a little further ahead was Zhang Jie's tomb. The round concrete top of the tomb, surrounded by a circle of white marble balustrades.

  Zhan Biao stood facing Zhang Jie's tombstone, bowed deeply three times, poured the wine he brought in front of the grave, and then closed his eyes and stood silently for a while. County Magistrate Zhi, following local custom, lit a cigarette to be placed in front of the tombstone, but before he could do so, Zhan Biao said without opening his eyes, "He didn't smoke." County Magistrate Zhi hastily put the cigarette away.

  A soldier's tears are not easily shed, and Zhang Fei did not cry in front of Changbanpo's tomb, despite his emotional state. He walked around the tomb and asked Daqiao: "In what year was this tomb rebuilt?"

  Zhu Xianchang answered the phone: "It has been repaired twice. The first time was when it was just liberated, and San De Deputy Commander led people to repair it. The second time was last year when the county government repaired it. Both times I repaired the tomb, my grandfather and father were present."

  Zhan Biao sighed: "I still remember that it was Yuan Bo who sent us the longevity materials that night..."

  As soon as Tan Yingchang and the others heard that Zhan Biao had arrived, everyone in the house stood up to welcome him. Zhan Biao and Yuan Bo walked in from outside the courtyard, followed by Qiangzi, who was carrying two cameras on his back, slowly driving a motorcycle that looked very heavy.

  Zhan Biao saluted the approaching Tan Yingchang and his men, and Tan Yingchang stepped forward to hug Zhan Biao: "Brother, you fought too beautifully! Quickly tell us, what tactics did you use?"

  Zhan Biao was a bit unaccustomed to this enthusiastic hug, and he broke free with a casual tone: "Nothing much, just took out their heavy machine guns first, didn't let them open fire. By the way, Captain, to thank the guerrilla team and the New Fourth Army again for their hospitality, we brought 50 pistols for the guerrilla team members, it will be more convenient for them to fight."

  After finishing, he glanced at Qiangzi, and Qiangzi lifted the military blanket covering the motorcycle's saddle bag, revealing a pile of handguns with holsters and belts, and under the guns, a corner of a handgun cartridge box was exposed.

  The squad leader and Secretary Gui looked at each other, then walked over to Zhang Duo, each grasping one of his hands. Secretary Gui nodded and said, "I still say the same thing: if all Chinese were like this, China would be saved!" The squad leader shook Zhang Duo's hand vigorously and pursed his lips, saying, "No need to say anything else, brother - from now on, we'll have a great time playing with the devils!" The squad leader's men cheered and began unloading the handguns and bullets from the motorcycle.

  The team leader looked at the motorcycle and asked, "You guys are really suitable for guerrilla warfare. Just now at the foot of the mountain, I noticed that this motorcycle and that flying car were nowhere to be found. Where did you hide such a big thing?"

  Qiangzi chuckled and looked at Zhan Biao, seeing that he had no objections, so he said: "Actually, it's very simple. In our hometown, in the winter, when we dig sweet potato cellars for easy transportation by cart, we dig them at an angle along the ground. The cellar cover has no entrance, and is covered with bamboo mats and straw, and people enter from the slope. Just hang a curtain and that's it. We just moved that cellar here and turned it into a garage, right under the mountain wall where people can see but rarely go. Usually, we cover up the cellar and the ramp, only the cover is more solid, and people walking on top won't notice anything. When needed, just move the cover on the ramp to one side and the car will come out. Now we've dug five 'garage entrances'. Biao wants us to mechanize, saying that when we return to the team, he doesn't want to carry heavy machine guns anymore. Originally, today we wanted to capture a few more trucks but didn't have time."

  Tan Yingchang gave a thumbs up to Zhan Biao with admiration and pointed at the pistols, saying: "Since brother is so righteous, I, as an elder brother, am also willing to get along with you. Let me put it bluntly, can those heavy machine guns of yours support our two planes?" The New Fourth Army cadres in the house all looked at Zhan Biao with eager eyes.

  Zhan Biao nodded immediately: "We thought of this, it's to give you two, but each pair is equipped with two! However, the 92-style weighs as much as 63 kilograms, will it affect the mobility of your troops?"

  Tan Yingchang excitedly raised his fist and struck Zhang Biao's shoulder: "Good kid, you're really generous, really righteous, didn't let me waste my breath. Ha! 6 brand new machine guns! The Fourth Army's foundation is now the most solid. I'll just have to learn from you how to dig a gun depot. Alright, so here's what we'll do: little brother, you can be kind and leave one platoon behind for me to train, and take them away with their guns in a month. How about that?"

  Zhan Biao looked at Qiangzi and hesitated for a moment before nodding. Dan, the team leader, said hastily: "Bring some of my men along too."

  Zhan Biao said to Single Captain: "Your guerrilla team is not very convenient with heavy machine guns, I have prepared 6 light machine guns for you, and you can send someone to pick them up at any time." Single Captain was a little skeptical of his ears and looked down at Gui Secretary. Gui Secretary smiled and nodded, and praised with emotion: "Chinese children, heroic and righteous!" Tan Camp Commander rubbed his hands excitedly and turned to ask Yuan Bo: "Yuan Bo, do you have wine? It's too exciting, let's celebrate."

  Zhan Biao waved at Qiangzi again, and Qiangzi pulled out two bottles of foreign wine like a magic trick. Zhan Biao took them over but didn't give them to Tan Yingzhang; instead, he handed them to Yuan Bo. Zhan Biao solemnly bowed to Yuan Bo and said: "Yuan Bo, giving you these two bottles of cheap wine isn't enough to show respect, I also have something else to ask for your help with."

  Yuan Bo took the wine and said with a smile: "Zhan, since you stayed on the mountain last year, we knew you weren't bad people. You didn't disturb us in the village all winter, and several times helped us fight against the devils and saved our villagers. This time, you also persuaded us to evacuate the civilians and took my two daughters to the mountain for protection. What else can't we help with? It's a matter of rural friendship! Speak up, what's going on?" The people in the room all fell silent, looking at Zhan Biao.

  Zhang Biao's eyes turned red, and after a moment of silence, he said in a low voice: "Brother Yuan, can you help us find a coffin? My eighth brother Zhang Jie...". Everyone listened and stood up straight. Brother Yuan solemnly said: "Brother Zhang, you should hold back your grief, this is war, how can there be no casualties? Your brother was martyred for the country, he died a hero. Don't worry, I really have a ready-made cypress coffin, I'll send it over with a carriage later."

  That night, all the soldiers of the anti-Japanese guerrilla squad held a funeral for Chang Jie at the foot of the mountain. The eight brothers of the Zhan Biao squad bid farewell to Old Eight Chang Jie, with Xiao Bao serving as the master of ceremonies in front. In the moonlight, the mournful wind blew, and the stars in the sky seemed especially bright as they saw off the hero.

  Zhan Biao and his brothers rarely gathered after joining the army, but now they stood in front of Zhang Jie's grave according to their ranking. The eldest, Zhan Biao, stood at the very front, followed by the second brother Xiao Feng and the third brother Cheng Yi. In the third row were the fourth brother Liu Yang, the fifth brother Qiang Zi, the sixth brother Zheng Wen, the seventh brother Er Zhuizi, and the ninth brother San De - five people in total. Eight 92-style heavy machine guns were arranged on either side of them in two rows.

  Behind them, Tan Yingchang, Gui Shuji, Shan Duijang, Chi Xi and Yuan Bo stood together in silence. They had just buried the martyrs of the New Fourth Army and the guerrilla troops in Kao-shan town, and built tombs for the martyrs.

  Da Yu led the 24 new recruits who had been in the army for a month to stand in formation behind him. Today, after this fierce battle, not one of the 24 new recruits was injured, which is also a miracle created by Zhu Biao. After fighting this battle today, they are no longer new recruits, and they have also undergone a transformation. They all fired guns, threw grenades, smelled gunpowder, and saw blood... Each of them had personally killed Japanese soldiers. Xiao Yu was also standing in this team, tightly clinging to Da Yu's side.

  At the back, three rows of new Fourth Army soldiers stood neatly in a row to learn their skills. The thin man standing in front was the squad leader named Peng Xuefei, who had just formally met with Zhan Biao and his brothers.

  As Xiaobao softly said, "Farewell to Zhang Jie with a gun salute——", the eight men walked slowly to the heavy machine guns, each standing in front of one, with 30 rounds of ammunition loaded. The muzzles were tilted towards the sky. After the eight men crouched down, Zhangbiao shouted, "Zhang Jie——have a good journey——" and then grasped the handle of the Type 92 heavy machine gun and pulled the trigger. The other seven men simultaneously shouted "Zhang Jie, have a good journey" and also pulled the triggers. Eight flames shot towards the sky, each person firing 30 rounds in succession.

  The gunshot in the night sky was exceptionally loud and heavy, carrying a sense of accusation and anger, spreading across tens of miles, startling Matsuyama and Yoshino, who were preparing to collect bodies the next day, their faces even more somber.