Chapter 6

Looking at the courtyard that had fallen silent again after the four people left, He Zhengdao gazed up at the sky and found that the night sky in this era seemed particularly bright and beautiful. Such a moonlit and starry night was already hard to see in his previous era.

Thinking about how he had transformed from a major-level instructor in the guard regiment of his previous life to an 18-year-old company-level Red Army officer now, He Zhengdao still found it hard to understand.

He wondered which god or Buddha had blessed him to be reborn in such an era. Although he had already recognized the reality, every time he thought about the reason for his穿越 (time travel), he still found it hard to comprehend.

When He Zhengdao put aside the reason for his time travel and pondered whether the Red Army should start preparing to cross the Wu River after tonight?

After crossing the Wu River, the great leader who had returned to the highest power center would begin to pull the Red Army, which was on the brink of collapse, back onto the right track. What followed was the classic battle of the Four Crossings of the Chishui River, a brilliant maneuver by the great leader.

If he started his journey tomorrow, he might be able to catch up with the main force near the Chishui River, but he definitely wouldn't be able to participate in the Wu River battle. Moreover, breaking through the encirclement of the pursuing troops and rejoining the main force would be extremely difficult and risky.

Just then, he suddenly heard a faint call from the room where the young soldier was placed. He Zhengdao quickly walked into the room and heard the young soldier, who had been unconscious since he was rescued, now speaking in a low voice: "Water, give me water."

He Zhengdao quickly fetched a bowl of water, gently lifted the young soldier's head, and carefully fed him the water. After drinking the water, the young soldier's eyes moved a bit and soon opened.

Under the light of the oil lamp in the room, the young soldier opened his eyes with some effort and looked around. Seeing He Zhengdao standing beside him, the young soldier managed to say with difficulty: "Thank you."

He Zhengdao said kindly, "You're awake. How do you feel now? Are you hungry? The pot still has some hot rice. If you want to eat, I'll bring it to you now."

Seeing that the young soldier did not object, He Zhengdao quickly served a bowl of rice from the pot and also poured a bowl of warm chicken soup. Supporting the young soldier, who had difficulty getting up, to the table, he watched with a smile as the young soldier slowly sipped the soup and then wolfed down the large bowl of rice.

Seeing that the young soldier still seemed unsatisfied, He Zhengdao didn't say much. He returned to the kitchen, scooped out all the remaining rice, and placed it in front of the young soldier, who was blushing a bit. Only after all the rice was in the young soldier's stomach and he let out a small burp, did it seem he was truly full.

After eating two large bowls of rice, half a chicken, and two bowls of chicken soup, the young soldier, who had looked pale earlier, now looked much better. Seeing that all the food he had saved for him was eaten, He Zhengdao knew he had guessed right; this young man must have been starving for a long time before fainting.

Sure enough, after eating and feeling He Zhengdao's kindness, and upon learning that He Zhengdao was also a Red Army member, the young soldier spoke up: "Thank you, Brother He. If you hadn't saved me today, I might have lost my life. By the way, Brother He, why are you here? Did you also get separated from the main force?"

He Zhengdao repeated what he had told Zhang Cheng and others earlier. When the young soldier heard that He Zhengdao had been left here by a leader a few days ago and now couldn't remember his past, he suddenly asked a question that surprised He Zhengdao: "Brother He, do you know how to throw knives?"

He Zhengdao nodded and said, "Yes! How did you know?"

The young soldier, hearing that He Zhengdao knew how to throw knives, seemed pleased and said, "Brother He, I know who you are. You must be the guard of Comrade Mao. The leader who left you here to recover must be Comrade Mao. I was an orphan and was taken in by the Red Army while begging. I joined the 8th Red Army just before they left.

"In the past, I lived in the orphanage at the headquarters and often heard people talk about a person who was very skilled at throwing knives. I have always liked martial arts and once asked about you. People told me that the person who throws knives is surnamed He.

"So, if you can throw knives, you must be the guard surnamed He who is with Comrade Mao. As far as I know, besides you, no one else in the security detachment can throw knives."

Seeing the young soldier's excitement, He Zhengdao was once again shocked. He never imagined that the original owner of this body was actually the guard of Chairman Mao.

This identity, if known in the future, would be incredibly impressive. With this protection, as long as nothing went wrong, becoming a founding general after the founding of the country would be a sure thing.

Deeply shocked by the original owner's identity, He Zhengdao, after a brief emotional fluctuation, said calmly, "Thank you for telling me this. Otherwise, I might have had to wait until I met Comrade Mao to remember my past. By the way, what's your name?"

The young soldier, hearing this, seemed a bit disappointed and said, "I don't have a name. In the orphanage and the 8th Red Army, they all called me Xiaoshanzi."

He Zhengdao, hearing this, was taken aback and asked, "Do you know your parents' surnames?"

The young soldier's mood became even lower and he said, "I don't know. Since I was old enough to understand, I've been begging on the streets. Later, the Red Army saw that I was young and took me to the Soviet area and into the orphanage. When I turned 16, I was assigned to the 8th Red Army and became a new soldier."

Another unfortunate young Red Army soldier!

For some reason, He Zhengdao felt a strong liking for this young soldier and suddenly said, "Xiaoshanzi, if you don't mind, why don't you recognize me as your big brother and take my surname? As long as I have food, you won't go hungry. From now on, you'll follow me, and I'll make sure no one hurts you like they did today."

He Zhengdao's words clearly moved Xiaoshanzi, but he suddenly thought of something and asked cautiously, "Will you teach me how to throw knives in the future?"

Faced with the young man's enthusiasm for knife throwing, He Zhengdao smiled and said, "Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Xiaoshanzi said decisively, "Then I'll follow you, Brother!"

Taking in such a pitiful and unfortunate little brother, He Zhengdao suddenly felt more connected to this world. At least with this recognized younger brother, he wouldn't feel too lonely in this world.

After chatting with the spirited young brother for a while, He Zhengdao saw that it was getting late and urged him to go back to bed and rest. When it was light, the other Red Army soldiers would wake up, and they would need to prepare to leave and catch up with the main force, which was already far away. If he didn't recover his strength quickly, he would slow down the group's progress.

Knowing that He Zhengdao was considering his well-being, the newly named He Xiaoshan lay down on the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep. It was clear that he had been under a lot of stress recently and needed a good rest.

Seeing his new little brother fall asleep, He Zhengdao returned to the courtyard, climbed up the wall, and observed the outside. Finding everything normal and the simple alarm devices undisturbed, he sat back in the courtyard and closed his eyes to meditate.

When he heard the faint sounds of the old Red Army soldiers getting up from their room, He Zhengdao quickly opened his eyes. He saw that the sky was already showing the first light of dawn, and Zhang Cheng, who hadn't taken the night watch, was the first to come out of the room.

Seeing He Zhengdao sitting in the courtyard, Zhang Cheng said a bit embarrassedly, "Commander He, you must have been tired last night. I think it's still a couple of hours before dawn. Why don't you rest a bit while I take over the watch?"

He Zhengdao smiled and said, "It's fine. My meditation is almost like sleeping. Since you're up, let's quickly prepare breakfast and some dry rations. After they wake up and eat, we'll leave and catch up with the main force, okay?"

Seeing that He Zhengdao didn't want to rest, Zhang Cheng didn't say anything more. He glanced at the room where the three captives were kept. They were still sound asleep, so Zhang Cheng quickly joined He Zhengdao in preparing the food and dry rations from the supplies they had received from the locals. They made a hot breakfast and packed the rest into bags as dry rations for the journey.

By the time they finished, Zhao Erzai and the others had also woken up. Seeing the steaming food on the table and the full bags of dry rations, they, being veterans, knew that He Zhengdao and Zhang Cheng had prepared everything while they slept. Therefore, they felt a bit embarrassed when they saw these things.

Fortunately, He Zhengdao understood that they hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time, so it was normal for them to be a bit sleepy. Since they were all up, He Zhengdao also woke up the still sleeping He Xiaoshan, and they all ate the full breakfast together.

After eating, the six of them tied up the three still sleeping Guangxi Army soldiers in the room and gave them a good beating as punishment. They then quickly took the weapons and ammunition they had seized, changed into the uniforms of the Guangxi Army, and quickly disappeared from the village, heading in the direction they had inquired about to catch up with the main force. What awaited them ahead?