Eighteen

  Lao Li walked straight into the depths of the forest, and Yan Wei stepped forward two steps and said: "Old Li, isn't this Northern Angelica hard to find?"

  Old Li said, "This thing is very common in your northern region, but it's not too common in our southern region. However, it's not hard to find either. It likes sunshine and drought, so it usually grows on sunny mountain slopes. If you walk out of this forest and onto the south-facing slope, you should be able to find some without much difficulty."

  Old Li's voice had just fallen when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and stood still, with his ears perked up as if listening to something.

  Yan Wei asked behind him: "Old Li, can't this northern chrysanthemum be heard with the ears?"

  But Lao Li didn't respond, instead he slowly pressed down with both hands and whispered: "There's movement in the north."

  As soon as Old Li said that, Yan Wei immediately bowed his head and turned around, looking at Jiang Chen's right arm waving towards the north. Jiang Chen then ran out to the north like a hunting dog on command.

  In less than half the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, Jiang Chen flew back and bowed beside Yan Wei: "Reported to the captain that there is no situation, on the south slope of the mountain, there are local villagers also picking herbs, dressed in rural attire with a bamboo basket on their back, holding a short-handled hoe in their hand, searching for things on the mountain slope, it must be local villagers picking herbs."

  Yan Wei turned back and asked Old Li: "Is there a village here?"

  Old Li saw that he was a local villager picking herbs, and immediately relaxed and said: "Do you think I'm the landlord? This is already nearly 100 miles away from my home! In my daily hunting on this mountain, how could I have walked so far? I am not familiar with this place either, but it seems that there is no village in this big forest.

  Yan Wei thought that even if the Japanese army's scouts came up the mountain to search for people, they wouldn't disguise themselves as local villagers. He thought there shouldn't be any problems and was about to order everyone to get up and continue on their way, but then he turned to Jiang Chen and said: "Go keep an eye on that villager who's picking herbs and see where he goes after he's done. If there really is a village hidden in these mountains, follow him in and take a look around. On the way, be sure to pay close attention to the path and figure it out clearly, then come back to camp immediately."

  He then turned his head to Yu Tian and said, "You go together too. Remember, don't expose your tracks, if you really are a local villager, even if you're exposed, don't let conflicts happen with the villagers! Pay attention to safety and hurry back." After that, he made his habitual action again - his right arm swung straight towards the target.

  After the two men left, Yan Wei said to Old Li: "Old Li, let's go somewhere else. Let's not meet anyone unless absolutely necessary."

  Old Li stood up and walked in another direction while saying inexplicably: "Since you don't want to meet with the locals, why do you let your hands go and pry into people's homes?"

  "Older brother, you don't understand because you've never led troops. As the highest commander of a unit, any slight mistake can result in loss of lives!"

  Old Li nodded in understanding, and Yan Wei continued: "Also, if there really is a local village here, I'd like to visit them too."

  Old Li asked in puzzlement: "Why?"

  "The kids are about to collapse! We have no choice but to find a place for them to take a break."

  Old Li nodded and said, "Not bad, at first I really didn't take these city kids seriously. Although they are all wearing the biggest city clothes, they are only eleven or twelve years old, but they can really bear hardships! The mountain road we've walked for two days is really not easy!"

  "What city kids, huh? Even if they were, they're just a bunch of kids from the lowest rungs of society. Think about it, Old Li, in this Wuhan city, any family that's slightly better off, any parents who actually care about their kids, would they ever lose their child and not be able to find them? Aren't they all just poor kids, suffering kids? Do you see any rich kids from the mayor's family here? It's all thanks to these kids who have been suffering since they were young! If they were all little princes and princesses, they would've given up long ago! They can't even last a day!"

  Old Li also nodded in agreement, "Yes, the kids are really good! For several days, they've been following us, rushing to reveal their wild camping on the mountain ridge. The mountain is humid and cool at night, and since yesterday noon, they haven't had a proper meal. They're just making do with the wild animals we've caught along the way. If this continues, many will fall ill!"

  Yan smiled and said, "These little rascals can really eat! No wonder people say that half-grown kids will eat their parents out of house and home! Each of these little girls can eat as much as I can! When I set out, I instructed the soldiers to prepare two days' worth of dry rations for each person, which were just plain flour cakes. I thought that sharing with these children would be enough for two days, but who would have thought that they were all gone by yesterday noon?! And this was still after Old Wu had almost completely used up his own dry rations! They're all like little pigs! It's clear that they've been hungry for years and their bellies are always empty! How can you raise children like this? In my peaceful days, I've never seen any city kids who can eat as much as these ones!"

  "You're not only bringing too little, but also blaming others' kids for eating! These kids are all growing up, if they don't eat well, they'll all become weaklings in the future! Look at my son Xiaoshan's physique, isn't it sturdy? He can even wrestle with a wild boar without losing out!" Old Li always spoke of his son with pride.

  Yan Weidao said, "Although we have plenty of food in our hands, and he won't starve to death in these mountains, it's not a big deal for a group of children to eat those wild game meats every day! Can their small stomachs digest them? So, I think maybe we should find a place for the kids to rest and settle down, after all, they are still just a bunch of little kids."

  "So you saw the villagers nearby just now and thought of this idea?" A good hunter who can spend all day with wild beasts must not be slow-witted.

  Yan smiled and said, "That's right, if there really is a village here, the country is in trouble, it can't be helped that the villagers also have to contribute their share of strength to the war effort! I'll have to requisition their village for these children to take a break. They can also provide some food to help the country and help the future generation of the party, which is also reasonable. At worst, I'll pay them in silver coins, it's not like I'm a mercenary disturbing the people."

  Old Li laughed and said, "Yan brothers, being a soldier who can treat the people well is not easy since ancient times! Your younger brother has high status and great power but still does everything according to etiquette without relying on his authority to bully the common people. I, Old Li, have not made friends with you in vain! In the future, I and Xiao Shan will be at ease when we mix into your troops!"

  "Hey, Old Li, it's not my team at all. I'm not a bandit who rebels and occupies the mountain as king. Where did this team come from? It's the team of our Governor Commander. No! It's the party state's team, it's our country's team!" Yan Wei corrected Old Li.

  "Alright, the national team has more people, I'm not even sure if I dare to vote! It's your younger brother leading the troops, and only then can I feel at ease!" Old Li had just finished speaking when he pointed to a plant in front of him and said: "Look! That is the Northern Schisandra we've been searching for!"

  The herbal medicine didn't seem to be as effective as Western medicine, and after two medical soldiers had the children drink the decocted Bupleurum falcatum, they didn't appear to see any therapeutic effect. By noon, only a few of the stronger boys with milder symptoms showed some improvement, but especially the two boys with high fevers seemed to be getting even more severe!

  Yan Wei turned to Tan Guang and asked, "What should we do now?"

  Tan Guang also looked at these high-burning children and worried: "Tuan Zuo, for the time being, we can only suspend the march, find a place to rest and recover the children, and...".

  Yan Wei looked at Tan Guang silently, waiting for him to continue.

  "Also, we need to find a way to get them Western medicine, such as aspirin." Tan Guang understood that due to his own dereliction of duty, he was now making things difficult for his superior.

  Yan Wei couldn't help but look at Wu Hanhuai after hearing this, and now he needed to reach an agreement with Wu Hanhuai in his thoughts.

  Wu Han Hua naturally understood Yan Wei's meaning and got up, took out a cigarette and walked away to a distant place.

  After seeing Yan Wei follow him, he handed Yan Wei a cigarette and lit it for him. Looking at Yan Wei, he said: "Shenquan, although I'm a special agent, people's hearts are made of flesh and blood, and I don't have the heart to watch these strong and lovely kids die!" After that, he lit his own cigarette with a match, also waiting for Yan Wei's response.

  Yan Wei naturally understood Wu Han's intention, but he also knew that if Wu Han spoke to him in a straightforward and reasonable manner now, as a soldier of the party-state under special circumstances, then he would have no reason to argue.

  Under such circumstances, the interests of the nation and state are paramount! Personal obedience to the overall situation. In other words, for this damn war, China has already lost too many people, including a large number of women and children! To lose a few dozen or a few hundred more is just a drop in the ocean! The most important thing is how to end this war as soon as possible, this damn war!

  It is clear that the lives and deaths of a few children will not change the overall direction of the war, nor will they change the fate of this multi-disaster nation. But the target person, Hua Yuan, has this effect! His role seems to be no less than that of an army corps at present! And it is clear that if we look at the negotiation conditions between the party and the Americans, as long as we can ensure Hua Yuan's safety and hand him over to the US military, the benefits obtained will far exceed the effect of equipping an army corps! In other words, when necessary, for the sake of the nation and the party, anyone can be sacrificed! Of course, this includes these so-called future generations who are not worth mentioning.

  A nation, a country, cannot be settled by just a few, dozens, hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of people! But the target character Huayuan seems to have such an effect at this time.

  Consider the overall situation and sacrifice personal interests, or ensure the safety of these poor children who have long been disillusioned with the world. This made Yan Wei, a seasoned general who had fought in countless battles for ten years and was known for his ruthlessness on the battlefield, feel a huge inner conflict!

  A soldier's duty tells him that he must calmly face reality, the interests of the party and country are supreme! And at the same time, human nature is also telling him that if he abandons these poor sick children now and doesn't care about them, then he will no longer be a decent person. It would be no different from taking the lives of these children with his own hands!

  On the battlefield, even if he killed millions of people! Later, when Yan Wang Ye wants to put him in an oil pot and fry himself in hell, he can still argue with Yan Wang Ye for a few sentences. But if he really did this today, he wouldn't have to wait until he goes to hell. The nightmare that wakes him up every midnight would be enough to tear his heart apart!

  Yan Wei looked at Wu Huanhui and said, "Brother Yongxi, in my heart, apart from our General Guan and that Yang Jue, the official of Taiyuan City, I don't admire anyone else! The reason why Yan Huan wants to be friends with you is not for anything else, but because he thinks we are a kind of person, and this kind of person's name is just one word - 'human'! Brother Yongxi, forgive me for being impolite, my mind is made up!"

  Seeing this, Wu Hanhui lowered his head and took a deep breath of smoke, feeling that he could no longer influence Yan Wei's decision at this moment! The key problem was that he couldn't find any suitable reason to influence him either.

  What Yan Wei said is not bad, he himself and the party country's good talent in front of him are generally the same, he has not been changed by many years of professional characteristics into a 100% rational machine! He is still a person! As a human being, he cannot do those stupid things that are not done by humans! Moreover, those children are still so strong and lovely!

  "Is it necessary to make such a big deal out of this? Look at you, frowning and scowling, making a huge fuss! What did I say? What am I going to do? Ah? Let's find a place to settle the kids down first, and then we'll personally go to the nearest county town. Aspirin or something? This is nothing! Even if it's from the Japanese military hospital, we can still figure out a way to get a few bottles!" Wu Hanhuai proved to Yan Wei with his character that Yan Wei's association with him was absolutely worthwhile!

  Jiang Chen and Yu Tian, who had just rushed back, were already standing in the distance waiting to report to him. Yan Wei looked at Wu Huanhui with a smile and said: "Brother Wu, I think it's almost time to settle down!"

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