cicada

Chapter 1447 Two Places
Inside the Funiu Mountain base area, Wu Jingzhong took a bite of cornbread, his eyes secretly glancing at the guerrilla fighters beside him.

This scene was witnessed by the guerrilla captain who had been watching him closely, and he immediately reprimanded him sternly.

"What are you looking at? Behave yourself, you reactionary!"

Wu Jingzhong shuddered and quickly lowered his head to continue eating, but his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

These past few days, the guerrillas had been eating wild vegetables and coarse grain cakes, yet they gave him their only cornbread, which he couldn't quite understand.

At first, Wu Jingzhong even suspected that there was poison in the cornbread, so he took the initiative to ask to eat coarse grain cakes with him. As a result, he almost choked to death when he took a bite.

It turns out that the so-called pancakes were made from grass roots, tree bark, and a small amount of cornmeal, and tasted astringent and were difficult to swallow.

Although Wu Jingzhong came from the underground party, that was many years ago. Now that he has personally experienced the underground party's policy of treating "prisoners of war" well, it is normal that he cannot understand it.

After pondering for a long time, Wu Jingzhong finally couldn't hold back and asked the instructor the question that had been on his mind.

"It's hard to maintain combat effectiveness by eating only this kind of food. Hasn't your party allocated any military rations to you?"

The instructor, wearing a pair of glasses that made a limp, reached out to stop the guerrilla captain who was about to start cursing, and then gave Wu Jingzhong a deep look.

“Deputy Director Wu, the higher authorities did indeed allocate some supplies to us before, but after the disaster in Henan Province, all the base areas allocated the available grain to the disaster victims.”

"Not to mention Funiu Mountain, even the front-line combat troops fighting the Japanese are living frugally. Many comrades haven't eaten rice or noodles for more than a year."

"If you don't like the food here, I can send someone to your army's rear. Don't worry, the X Division's reach isn't that far, and your safety is absolutely no problem."

Wu Jingzhong fell silent. The underground party members themselves were starving, yet they still provided relief to the disaster victims. In contrast, the Kuomintang was better left unsaid.

At the beginning of the disaster, the leaders of Henan Province initially concealed the extent of the disaster. Later, when they could no longer hide it, they described the major disaster as a minor one. The internal intelligence reports sent by the Military Intelligence Bureau went unanswered.

Commander He even stated that disaster reports cannot be made casually, and since no local government report had been received from Henan Province, how could there be a disaster?
It wasn't until major newspapers reported on it and it spread overseas that the Nationalist government ordered disaster relief. However, with more than 300,000 troops stationed in Henan Province, military supplies could only be requisitioned locally.

Under these circumstances, the military, under the pretext of "preventing food from falling into enemy hands," engaged in a buying spree, but in reality, it only seized without actually purchasing.

Many farmers, after handing over their life-saving grain, had no means of livelihood and were forced to commit suicide by jumping into the river with their entire families.

As for why they didn't take poison—buying medicine costs money, and farmers can't even afford to eat, so where would they get the money to buy poison?

Those who did not commit suicide either fled to distant lands with their elderly relatives and friends, or waited to die.

The local self-defense corps would go door-to-door to collect grain payments, which meant living in the homes of farmers who were short of grain, eating and drinking their food.

Even if the farmers have no food to eat themselves, they must first send away the people who are pressing for grain, otherwise they will be tormented to the point of wishing they were dead.

In their haste to die, farmers sold their clothes, cattle, horses, farming tools, and everything else they could to buy grain and pay their taxes. Driven to desperation, many of these disaster victims took their own lives.

However, a reporter from the Central News Agency claimed that "the people of Henan Province are deeply righteous and have given everything they have to contribute to the country," which is utterly ridiculous, no, absurd!

The image of those blood-stained words flashed through Wu Jingzhong's mind, and he felt extremely guilty. He lowered his head and chewed his cornbread, no longer daring to look at the guerrillas.

He understood that the guerrillas were mostly from impoverished backgrounds, and if they were provoked, they might really kill people.

At this moment, the instructor looked at Wu Jingzhong and asked with some curiosity, "Deputy Director Wu, from what I've heard you say these past few days, you seem to know a lot about our internal situation."

Oh no! Wu Jingzhong wanted to slap himself a few times. Why did he have to get close to those red-headed people? Now his secret of being a member of the underground party was going to be exposed. The Northwest doesn't show any mercy to traitors.

After agonizing for a long time, he decided to tell the truth, because if the other party found out he was lying, the result would probably be even worse.

Wu Jingzhong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and, while observing the guerrillas' reactions, explained in a low voice, "I joined your party during the Great Revolution."

Bang! The guerrilla captain kicked a rock in front of him, which grazed Wu Jingzhong's forehead and smashed into pieces against the cave wall.

That wasn't all. The captain drew his pistol from his waist, cocked it, and aimed it at Wu Jingzhong: "You traitorous dog, I'll kill you on behalf of the organization and the people!"

Wu Jingzhong was terrified and hurriedly defended himself, saying, "I went astray back then and deserved to die, but I never betrayed my comrades."

"Besides, I have arrested many Japanese spies over the years and made some contributions to the country and the nation. Could you give Mr. Wu a chance to repent?"

Upon hearing Wu Jingzhong's words, the instructor gave the team leader a wink, signaling him not to act rashly.

The captain's chest heaved, his eyes fixed on the traitor. Finally, reluctantly, he put away his pistol, spat, and stormed out of the cave. "Hehe, Mr. Wu, I'm sorry, our captain's always been like this, please don't take it to heart," the instructor said with a smile.

"No, no." Wu Jingzhong shook his head, his face sincere: "I like dealing with straightforward people like the captain, and I would never hold a grudge."

"Besides, thanks to everyone's help, I was able to escape the pursuit. If I were to repay kindness with enmity, wouldn't I become a beast worse than a pig or a dog?"

The instructor clicked his tongue twice and said quietly, "Mr. Wu's analogy is quite witty. Come, let me explain our Party's policies to you, so Mr. Wu can report back to his superiors."

"this……?"

"Mr. Wu, are you perhaps unwilling?"

"Yes! Yes!"

Wu Jingzhong was initially a little reluctant, but faced with the "enthusiastic" instructor, he had no choice but to force a smile and walk over to listen to the lesson.

“Deputy Director Wu, you are my senior in terms of the time you joined the Party. You are definitely more familiar with our early propositions and theories than I am, so I won’t go into those. Today, let’s talk about how we treated your army’s prisoners of war well.”

The instructor sat cross-legged, his face beaming with a friendly smile, and his clear voice echoed through the cave.

"In 1929, the organization stipulated that prisoners of war should not be forced to hand over personal money, nor should they be discriminated against or insulted. Prisoners should be given full respect..."

He recounted the underground party's policy towards prisoners of war point by point, making Wu Jingzhong blush with embarrassment. The Kuomintang would not be so lenient with underground party members.

Torture, forced confessions, beheading, and execution by firing squad were all common methods. Although the Military Intelligence Bureau mainly dealt with foreign espionage cases, Wu Jingzhong had also witnessed the military and police abusing underground party prisoners.

Thinking of those bloody scenes and comparing them with his own experience, Wu Jingzhong couldn't help but wonder: who exactly was the "bandit"?

No legitimate government in the world would treat its citizens this way, even if those citizens hold different ideas.

“Mr. Wu, do you know why we do this? Because as long as these people are willing to return to the ranks of the people, it is a good thing for the nation and the country, and we are willing to suffer injustice for it.”

The instructor's words were resolute, and Wu Jingzhong felt even more ashamed. In the end, he was a political opportunist. When the cooperation between the two parties broke down, he believed that there was no future in staying in the underground party, so he decisively withdrew from the party.

But several times, when the night was quiet, he would wake up in a fright, and his old classmates from Moscow would appear in his dreams again and again.

They pointed at him, angrily questioning why he had betrayed his life and his ideals. He wanted to explain but couldn't speak, and could only watch them gradually disappear.

These people have been dead for many years. Some died in battles against the Kuomintang, while others died in the Nationalist government's prisons and execution grounds.

Thinking of this, Wu Jingzhong was momentarily dazed. Seeing this, the instructor got up and left, leaving him alone to think. Some things can only be truly understood by experiencing them firsthand; just talking about them is useless.

On the other side, Zheng Tingbing, located in Nanyang, picked up a piece of meat and stared blankly at the food and wine on the table.

After entering the checkpoint, he was placed in the guesthouse to wait for Commander Li to meet him or verify his identity. After all, Nanyang was a strategic location, and suspicious persons could not be allowed to move around in the city.

"Brother Zheng? Brother Zheng?"

A call woke Zheng Tingbing. He looked up and saw that Commander Li of the 36th Army Group had arrived at some point and was looking at him with concern.

Zheng Tingbing put down his chopsticks and forced a smile: "Brother Li, I'm sorry, I was thinking about something and didn't see you. Please forgive me."

Commander Li waved his hand: "It's nothing. I admire Brother Zheng for going deep into the enemy's den to rectify military discipline. Is there anything I can do for you? I will do my best to help."

When the conversation turned to business, Zheng Tingbing's expression became serious again. He took out a piece of paper and handed it to Commander Li, making two requests.

"Brother Li, please report to the Military Intelligence Bureau headquarters as soon as possible that the high-ranking officers of the X Division are colluding with the Japanese invaders to sell weapons and people. This is a record. You must send the message out as quickly as possible."

"Also, your 36th Army Group needs to prepare contingency plans. In case the X Division becomes desperate and acts rashly, your troops must take over in time and control the railway line."

“I’m worried that if things are exposed, Lan Hongchang will let the Japanese troops into our defense zone. If that happens, the defense line of Henan Province will be finished.”

After reading the note, Commander Li was furious but also realized the seriousness of the situation. He immediately ordered the entire army to be on high alert, ready to take over the defense of the X Division at any time, and strictly sealed off any news of Zheng Tingbing's arrival.

Before the Japanese even attacked, the Kuomintang army was already embroiled in internal strife, which can be considered a glorious tradition of the Kuomintang.

Meanwhile, Zuo Zhong sat on the private plane flying to the mountain city, looking down at the earth. The pilot walked from the cockpit to his side and gave a quiet report.

"Co-pilot, the plane will be landing in ten minutes. Please get ready."