Chapter 7

After inquiring from the local villagers, He Zhengdao learned that he was in Gongcheng, which is in the western part of Guangxi in later times, and that the place where he was recuperating was Longhu Township, through which the Red Army had passed during the Long March.

From his current location, it was nearly 200 kilometers to the main force of the Red Army that was breaking through the encirclement. Even if they marched non-stop, it would take at least three to five days to catch up.

Moreover, behind the main force of the Red Army, there were layers of blockades by the Hunan and Guangxi armies. Therefore, after a comprehensive consideration and discussion with Zhang Cheng and others, they reached a consensus: instead of rushing to catch up with the main force, they would try to gather as many Red Army soldiers who had been left behind or scattered as possible.

Considering that the second-line troops of the Guangxi army were searching for wounded and scattered Red Army soldiers in each town and village, to avoid exposing their whereabouts, He Zhengdao and his companions all changed into Guangxi army uniforms. When they left the village, they interrogated the platoon leader to find out his unit's designation and took away the identification documents from the Guangxi soldiers.

However, a careful observer would notice that their six-person team was somewhat out of place, as they carried nearly thirty rifles. Originally, He Zhengdao suggested that each person pick a good rifle to carry, making them look more like a small search team of the Guangxi army.

But Zhang Cheng and the others strongly disagreed, insisting on taking all the guns. To them, any gun was precious. After such a hard-fought battle to capture so many guns, how could they just discard them?

Therefore, among the six, except for He Shan, who carried only two rifles due to his physical condition and age, the other five each carried no less than five rifles, looking like gun dealers. If they encountered a large Guangxi army search team, they would have to find a place to hide and wait for them to leave before continuing their journey.

They thought they would not encounter a Guangxi army search team until the next town, but to He Zhengdao's surprise, not long after they left the village and moved cautiously and quickly along the path indicated by the locals, they found themselves in a situation.

On a road near the mountains, He Zhengdao, who was serving as the forward scout, was surprised to see eight Guangxi army soldiers sitting by the roadside, resting. What was even more surprising was that these eight soldiers were guarding six captives who appeared to be Red Army soldiers.

Thinking about how the Red Army had been rushing to catch up, each battle had been particularly hurried, and many scattered Red Army soldiers had become separated from the main force due to unfamiliarity with the terrain. But it was hard to believe that so many had been scattered!

Since they had encountered them, He Zhengdao and his companions could not pretend they hadn't seen them. Therefore, He Zhengdao quickly signaled for Zhang Cheng and the others to stop advancing and for Zhang Cheng to pretend to be the platoon leader. The rest of He Zhengdao's group each carried a rifle, preparing to rescue the six Red Army captives.

They hid the extra rifles in the rice fields by the roadside and covered them. He Zhengdao led the way, with Zhang Cheng following, and the other four stood in pairs beside Zhang Cheng, as He Zhengdao had instructed. The six-person team marched confidently toward the eight resting Guangxi army soldiers.

As the Guangxi soldiers saw He Zhengdao and his group appear and got up from the ground, He Zhengdao, who had already reached them, said in fluent western Guangxi dialect, "Brothers, which unit are you from? Your luck is really good. My platoon leader and I worked hard for half a day and didn't even see a ghost. How did you manage to capture so many Red Bandits? Looks like you'll get a good reward when you return?"

Hearing the familiar local dialect and seeing the pistol on Zhang Cheng's waist, which undoubtedly confirmed his status as an officer, the leader of the soldiers, who seemed to be in charge, quickly ordered his subordinates to lower their guns and said with a slightly cautious smile, "We are from the Guanyin Town Security Office. We received orders to search for these Red Bandits. Our luck was good, and we caught these guys roasting sweet potatoes in a mountain hollow. They weren't paying attention, so we captured them all. May I ask which unit this officer and these brothers are from?"

Zhang Cheng didn't speak, looking somewhat proud and glancing at He Zhengdao. He Zhengdao, acting as a toady, said, "Our platoon leader is from the Gongcheng Security Regiment, just like you, we received orders to come out and try our luck. But we worked hard all day yesterday and didn't see a single ghost. This is our platoon leader, Li Tao, who is the brother-in-law of our regiment commander."

He Zhengdao whispered this last part to the veteran who seemed to be a squad leader.

Hearing that the platoon leader had such a powerful backer, the squad leader quickly took out a cigarette and said with a fawning smile, "Oh, I didn't expect to meet such a distinguished person today. I apologize for not recognizing you! Come, Commander Li, have a cigarette. The cigarettes aren't the best, but I hope Commander Li doesn't mind."

Seeing the squad leader's enthusiasm, the other seven soldiers quickly relaxed their guard. As the squad leader handed out cigarettes to He Zhengdao and his group, He Zhengdao, who had already stood in front of the six Red Army captives, gave Zhang Cheng a signal to act.

Zhang Cheng quickly drew his pistol and shouted, "None of you move! We are the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. If you don't want to die, put down your weapons!"

The Guangxi army squad leader, who had hoped to use this influential platoon leader to advance his rank, looked at the pistol in front of his face and said with a bitter smile, "Commander, if you want these Red Bandits, just say the word. We'll hand them over without a fight. There's no need to pretend to be Red Bandits and kill us. We're all in the same boat, right?"

He Zhengdao, secretly amused that the squad leader thought Zhang Cheng was just trying to take the captives, quickly used a throwing knife to cut the ropes binding the six Red Army captives, under the stunned gaze of the other Guangxi soldiers.

He then said warmly, "Comrades, hello! We are all scattered Red Army soldiers. You are saved now!"

If Zhang Cheng's words hadn't convinced the Guangxi soldiers, He Zhengdao's act of freeing the Red Army captives certainly did. The Guangxi soldiers now understood that these men in Guangxi army uniforms were indeed pretending to be Red Army soldiers.

As one of the Guangxi soldiers tried to raise his gun to resist, He Zhengdao, who had been watching them closely, threw a knife with a 'whoosh,' which embedded itself in the soldier's forehead.

Looking at the soldier who fell to the ground with the knife in his forehead, He Zhengdao turned cold and stern, shouting, "Put down your weapons and surrender. If you make any moves, this will be your fate."

Seeing He Zhengdao kill a Guangxi soldier without hesitation, the other Guangxi soldiers, fearing the same fate, quickly dropped their rifles, which felt like hot potatoes. Zhang Xiaoshan and the others, seeing this, quickly picked up the guns and herded the now dejected Guangxi soldiers, making them squat in a line on the ground.

After Zhang Cheng introduced everyone, they learned that these Red Army soldiers all belonged to the same corps and were part of the newly formed 8th Red Army Corps, just like Zhang Xiaoshan. After asking for the names of their direct superiors, Zhang Xiaoshan also mentioned his own unit's designation.

The six Red Army soldiers, who had thought they had no chance of survival, were surprised to learn that the actual leader of the group was not Zhang Cheng but He Zhengdao, who had the highest rank. Each of the six, who were ordinary soldiers, requested to join the group.

Being captured had made them realize how vulnerable they were without the protection of their unit, in a completely unfamiliar place. Who would have thought that roasting sweet potatoes would lead to being captured by the White Dogs?

Learning that the six had not eaten for nearly two days, Zhang Cheng and the others quickly shared the dry rations they had prepared in the morning with their Red Army comrades. As for He Zhengdao, he thoroughly searched the captured Guangxi soldiers, taking everything they had, and then took them to the mountains, tying each to a tree, gagging them, and leaving them to their fate.

Compared to Zhang Cheng and the others, who had been whipped after being captured, these six soldiers from the 8th Red Army Corps had not been tortured. They were just weak from hunger. After eating the rations provided by Zhang Cheng and the others, they quickly changed into the uniforms they had taken from the Guangxi soldiers, and the twelve-person group continued toward Gongcheng.

To He Zhengdao and the others' surprise, what should have been a one-day journey took them two days to reach Gongcheng. However, during these two days, they miraculously rescued 42 Red Army captives from the hands of the Guangxi army search teams without losing a single person.

Including the 12 people with He Zhengdao, their makeshift group now numbered 54. Except for the two Red Army soldiers with gunshot wounds who needed to be carried on stretchers, the other 52 were ready to fight.

On their way to Gongcheng, He Zhengdao learned that the prisoner camp in Gongcheng was holding nearly 200 Red Army captives captured from the surrounding areas. Thinking that the more people they had, the better their chances of success, He Zhengdao decided to investigate Gongcheng and find a way to rescue the captured Red Army soldiers.

Although Zhang Cheng and the others felt the risk was high with He Zhengdao's rescue plan, they agreed to try, as they believed it was worth it to save their comrades who might be killed.

In the end, Zhang Cheng and some others, along with the two wounded soldiers, stayed in a hidden valley outside Gongcheng, ready to move in and rescue the captured comrades at He Zhengdao's signal.

Throughout their journey, they all remembered He Zhengdao's words: "Do not abandon or give up on any comrade. Only by sticking together can we hope to reunite with the main force one day!"