Chapter 4

As the main force of the Red Army moved into the territory controlled by the Guangxi warlords, these Guangxi troops, who were part of the Nationalist Party but wary of the Nationalist forces, engaged in a series of encirclements and pursuits. Some of the Guangxi city defense troops, who could not join the main combat forces, became executioners tasked with clearing out the remaining Red Army soldiers.

These troops, mostly lacking the discipline of regular soldiers, not only looted the wealth of the people under the pretext of capturing Red Army soldiers but also treated each captured Red Army soldier with utter cruelty, showing no mercy despite being of the same nationality and race.

Search teams at the platoon level could be seen everywhere in Gongcheng. Any village the Red Army passed through was sure to suffer from their ravages.

For these "White Dogs" hated by the local people, capturing a wounded Red Army soldier was a cause for celebration. If they failed to capture a Red Army soldier, they would still rob the locals of their hard-earned wealth during their so-called military duties.

Some of these inhumane soldiers even committed acts of rape, similar to what happened to the family where He Zhengdao was recuperating. Describing their actions as those of bandits was undoubtedly the most fitting.

Watching his subordinates beat the almost completely injured Red Army soldier with whips, the Guangxi platoon leader, sitting on a tree stump, laughed and scolded, "That's enough, just get your fix. If you beat them to death or make them unable to walk, will you pay me the reward money or carry them? Send two men to the village to see why those bastards are taking so long to find food."

As two of the six soldiers standing in the courtyard, looking unwilling, opened the gate, they unexpectedly saw a young man, seemingly injured in the leg, desperately limping towards the village entrance.

Realizing that the man might be an injured Red Army soldier, the two soldiers, as if injected with adrenaline, shouted, "Red bandits! Just ran past here! Two brothers, help us block him from both sides. He's injured, he won't run fast."

Upon hearing about the Red bandits, even the platoon leader couldn't sit still. He left one unwilling soldier to guard the area, drew his pistol, and led the other three soldiers to quickly pursue the direction in which the injured Red Army soldier had fled.

A reward of five silver dollars was offered for each Red Army soldier, and capturing more could lead to a promotion. For each search team, capturing more Red Army soldiers meant more rewards and a better chance of promotion.

However, to the platoon leader's surprise, when he and two soldiers turned into the alley, they found no trace of the injured Red Army soldier. When he called out to his subordinates for information, he received no response.

What made him even more afraid was that he had over ten subordinates in the village. Why hadn't he heard any response after shouting several times?

Not good! It's a feint to lure the tiger away from the mountain!

Realizing that the yard where the five captives were held might be in trouble, he quickly led his subordinates back to the yard. As he turned the corner into the yard where the captives were held, the platoon leader saw a figure appear before him.

Before he could react, he felt a pain in his wrist, and the pistol fell to the ground. When he realized he had been attacked, he saw the blood gushing from the throats of two of his subordinates.

As he realized he had been ambushed, the young man in civilian clothes, with a cold and ruthless expression, said, "You all deserve to die!"

Seeing the murderous intent in He Zhengdao's eyes, the Guangxi platoon leader immediately knelt down, covering the wound on his wrist and pleading, "Red Army grandpa, spare my life!"

For these people, who all called for mercy with the same title, He Zhengdao showed no interest. "If I were your grandpa, I'd lose sleep and shorten my life. Now stand up and go with me to the yard where my brothers are held. Whether you live or die depends on whether my brothers are willing to spare your life."

Picking up the pistol that the platoon leader had dropped, He Zhengdao felt lucky. Given the poor standardization of the rifles used by the Guangxi troops, this platoon leader had a Mauser pistol, commonly known as a "box gun." Kicking the platoon leader, who had a mournful expression, He Zhengdao saw the two soldiers on guard at the village entrance finally rush over.

Seeing the platoon leader with a gun to his head, the two guards were at a loss. As they hesitated, He Zhengdao coldly ordered the platoon leader, "Tell your men to drop their weapons, or I'll shoot you."

The platoon leader, with his arm still bleeding, shouted, "Are you waiting to die? Didn't you hear the Red Army grandpa say to drop your weapons and surrender? Are you deaf?"

Facing the strong, they were submissive, but facing the weak and their subordinates, they were extremely arrogant—this was a common relationship in the military.

The two Guangxi soldiers, after being scolded, faced He Zhengdao's cold stare and the platoon leader's shouting, and obediently dropped their guns, put their hands on their heads, and squatted down, allowing He Zhengdao to pick up the rifles and force them into the yard where the Red Army captives were held.

Seeing the guard with a gun in his hand, who was trembling, the platoon leader, without needing He Zhengdao to urge him, scolded the guard again. Seeing the weapon in He Zhengdao's hand and the obedient platoon leader and two guards, the soldier, unusually firm, said, "No, unless he promises not to kill me, I won't surrender my gun."

For this clearly terrified but still putting up a front soldier, He Zhengdao raised his hand and fired a shot, making the platoon leader's ears ring. He Zhengdao didn't give any warning before shooting. The soldier had just refused to surrender, and He Zhengdao didn't even try to persuade him before firing.

Such a ruthless and iron-fisted approach made the other two surrendered soldiers quickly kneel and beg for mercy. He Zhengdao, showing no interest in these weaklings, immediately ordered the three survivors to lie flat on the ground, warning that anyone who dared to raise their head or stand up would be shot without hesitation.

The soldier who had been shot in the forehead clearly told the three survivors that He Zhengdao's shooting skills were not to be underestimated!

Since losing contact with the main force, these Red Army soldiers, hiding and seeking refuge, knew that their fate would not be good if they were captured by these "White Dogs." However, they always believed that their party would send someone to rescue them.

They could have chosen to die rather than be captured, but death was easier said than done. They gritted their teeth and held on until now.

When they saw He Zhengdao, who had a pistol, force the Guangxi officer who had been whipping them for fun into the yard, they finally knew that heaven had shown mercy, and they had finally been rescued.

Seeing He Zhengdao, who, upon hearing the guard refuse to surrender, immediately shot him without a word, the Red Army soldiers, who had suffered at the hands of these people, felt a sense of relief.

When He Zhengdao, with a slightly sad and sincere expression, untied their ropes and said, "Brothers, I'm late, and I've let you suffer,"

The oldest of the five captives, a veteran Red Army soldier, said with some excitement, "Comrade, which unit are you from? Has our main force returned?"

In response to the veteran Red Army soldier's urgent question, He Zhengdao said with a bitter smile, "I was also left here to recuperate. I just woke up today and ran into the 'White Dogs' capturing people. I killed them and found out you were captured. If everything goes well, our main force should be engaged in the river crossing campaign right now.

We are at least a hundred kilometers away from the main force. It will take some time to catch up. Let's not talk about it now. I'll untie you first, and once we deal with these 'White Dogs,' we'll discuss our next move!"

Hearing that He Zhengdao was also a wounded soldier left behind to recuperate, the Red Army soldiers felt a bit disheartened. However, they were still happy to hear news of the main force. As long as they could survive, they would eventually catch up with the main force.

After using a throwing knife to cut the ropes binding the Red Army soldiers, He Zhengdao looked with concern at a young soldier who, upon being untied, collapsed in exhaustion. From the young soldier's innocent face, He Zhengdao knew that this young soldier was definitely not yet an adult.

If in the 21st century, someone of their age would still be in school, enjoying the innocence of campus life and the care of their family. But in this time and place, such a young age had to endure such hardships, which was truly heart-wrenching.

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