Songhu: Never Give Up

In Songling Village, life gradually returned to normal. With the assistance of the militia company, all the houses burned down by the Japanese were rebuilt, and the villagers moved into their new houses. They no longer had to worry about having to stay in other people's homes during this cold winter.

The wounds caused by the Japanese raids have been healed. The Chinese people are the most able to endure suffering. They are like weeds, which cannot be burned by wildfires but will grow again in the spring breeze.

The same thing happened to Liu Li. After returning from Tianjia Town, she also hid the pain in her heart, joined the militia company, and became a member of the female militia platoon;
After learning about the tragedy at home, her second brother sold all his belongings in Tianjia Town and went to the south alone. He wanted to join the National Army to demand blood debts from the Japanese and obviously looked down on the guerrillas.

When he left, he agreed to her sister's proposal and donated all the Liu family's land to the anti-Japanese government. Liu Li also decided on her own how to deal with the Liu family compound.

Liu Xiaoyi also persuaded Liu Li to go with them to Chongqing, but Liu Li refused. She wanted to stay in Linyi to fight the Japanese.

Liu Xiaoyi is already married and has a son. He wants to settle his wife and child before he can join the army. He is determined to avenge the old Liu family.

After the brother and sister went their separate ways, Liu Li returned to the Liu family compound which had been burned beyond recognition, and donated all the gold, silver and jewelry hidden in the secret room to the Anti-Japanese Democratic Government, as well as the fields. This matter alarmed the captain Zhao Kun and the military sub-district commander Liao Jianping.

After learning about Liu Li's selfless act, Liao Jianping made a special trip to Songling Village, on the one hand to accept Liu Li's donation, and on the other hand to express his condolences to Liu Li on behalf of the military sub-district.

"Liu Li, on behalf of the military sub-district, I would like to thank you for your contribution to the anti-Japanese cause. If you have any difficulties, please feel free to ask."

Liao Jianping heard that Liu Li was an intellectual and thought it would be a pity to keep her in the militia company, as the military sub-district lacked intellectuals the most.

After Liu Li joined the militia company, she also had some understanding of the guerrilla column. She knew that Liao Jianping was the highest commander of the main force. She also wanted to join the main force, but she did not want to be taken care of because of the donation, so she said with a firm look:
"Commander, there is no difficulty. I will train hard and strive to join the main force as soon as possible!

If you really want to take care of me, could you give me a few more bullets?"

Liao Jianping was stunned at first, then turned to ask Lin Tianqi:

"How many rounds of ammunition does each of you militiamen have?"

Lin Tianqi answered truthfully:
"15 rounds is a lot. Other village militiamen only have 10 rounds."

Liao Jianping then said:
"Militia soldier Liu Li donated her family property to fight against the Japanese, and she has made great contributions. She will be rewarded with 15 more bullets."

Then he turned to Liu Li and said:
"These 15 bullets are a reward for you. You can use them to practice your marksmanship. If you need bullets in the future, you have to seize them from the Japanese."

Based on Liu Li's contribution, it would not be excessive for Liao Jianping to approve her 150 rounds of bullets, but the army has its own rules and the rules cannot be broken too much. Once the rules are broken, it will be difficult to establish them again.

Liu Li seemed to understand the reason. She couldn't get any special treatment, but she wanted more bullets so much that she asked for it. Now Liao Jianping could no longer thank her for her donation. This was an exchange.

Liu Li was very happy to get 15 more bullets. She wanted to avenge her family, so she had to practice her skills well.

When she was in college, she was a Boy Scout and learned shooting. She was quite talented, but she only had three live rounds of ammunition.

Liu Li gave Liao Jianping a not-so-standard military salute and said:
"I will definitely use the devil's head in exchange. I will avenge the Liu family with my own hands."

Liao Jianping said solemnly:
"Liu Li, the feud between us and the devils is not just a family feud, but also a national hatred!

The ultimate goal of the guerrilla column is to drive all the devils out of China, then fight to their hometowns, eradicate the roots of Japanese militarism, and let tens of millions of Chinese people no longer be bullied by imperialism. "

Liu Li nodded heavily, but she also wanted to avenge her family's hatred, as well as the national hatred and family feuds.

Seeing that Liu Li chose to stay in the militia company, Liao Jianping did not force her any more. He encouraged her a few words and then left.
After witnessing the brutality of the Japanese invaders, the enthusiasm of Songyuan Village to join the militia surged, especially the women. They did not want to be humiliated by the Japanese invaders, so they strongly demanded the addition of a female militia platoon, and that women also have the right to fight the Japanese invaders.

After consulting the captain, Lin Tianqi began to recruit female militia members and formed a female militia platoon. At Liu Li's suggestion, it was renamed the Mulan Platoon.

Lin Tianqi selected several key members from the male militia platoon to train them. Under the instructions of their superiors, they trained during the day and dug tunnels and made gunpowder mines at night, preparing for war with all their strength.

"Liu Li, the company commander is really biased. He gave you more than a dozen bullets. Can you give me some?"

During a break in training, Li Ping leaned over and said to her, it seemed that she was thinking about her bullets.

Liu Li was willing to negotiate anything except bullets, and said to Li Ping coldly:
"I exchanged these bullets for the Liu family's fields. They are very valuable, one bullet for 100 acres. Do you want them?" Li Ping stuck out her tongue. Her family had only rented a few acres of land from the Liu family, and now it has become the government's. The rent has also been reduced from % to %, so she was still grateful to Liu Li.

Li Ping quickly waved her hands and said:
"It's too expensive. I can't afford it. One bullet costs one hundred acres of land. Is it made of gold?"

Liu Li snorted coldly, ignored Li Ping, and continued to wipe her gun.

This is a Type 38 rifle with less recoil, suitable for women to use. Taking the special circumstances of female militia into consideration, Lin Tianqi allocated all of the company's twenty or so Type 38 rifles to the Mulan platoon, and Liu Li got one.

Li Ping had been doing farm work since she was a child and had a strong body, so she used a Hanyang-made pistol, which had greater recoil but also greater power.

When the whistle sounded, the militiamen began training again. They lay on the cold ground and aimed at the target for half an hour. Not only the female militiamen, but also the male militiamen could not stand it.

Liu Li came from a wealthy family and was deeply loved by Liu Shicai. She had been spoiled since childhood and had never suffered such a hardship.

After just a while, she couldn't stand it anymore. Whenever she thought of the blood feud of the Liu family, her expression became determined.

If you can't even bear this little hardship, how can you talk about revenge?
Hatred can sometimes really make a person become unusually strong, and this is also the belief that supports her to live. She only has endless hatred for the devils, no forgiveness!

Military training was extremely boring, day after day, and live-fire shooting was impossible. The company commander had clearly told them that there would only be one live-fire training session, with three rounds per person;
In order not to waste these three bullets, they have to train more and repeat "aim - fire - pull the bolt" again and again.

The weather was getting colder and colder. Overnight, thousands of miles of ice and snow were frozen. However, the militia training in Songyuan Village did not relax at all. The enthusiasm of the militia to participate in the training was still high.

The last battle with the Japanese made them realize the gap between themselves and them. The more than 30 casualties were all their family members and childhood friends. There is nothing more educational than this, so they have to practice hard to improve their skills in killing the enemy.

Lin Tianqi also increased the intensity of their training, including drill training, 5km cross-country training, various physical training, and tactical training, all in accordance with the standards of the new recruits' unit.

After more than ten days of continuous training, the female militia finally welcomed the day of live-fire shooting, while the male militia continued to hide in the mountains. Bullets were too precious and they would no longer have live ammunition to shoot.

Li Ping was very nervous, but also very excited. She had been waiting for this day for a long time. The Chinese seemed to have a special preference for shooting, as if their blood had been awakened.

Westerners have always had a misconception about the Chinese, believing that the Chinese are docile, kind, and lack a rebellious spirit;

In fact, it is just the opposite. The Chinese are a true fighting nation. They have been fighting most of the time for thousands of years, but their bloodline has been suppressed by the slave education of the previous dynasty.

The brutality of the devils awakened them again, including the Chinese women. The moment Li Ping aimed her gun at the target, her entire temperament changed;
She was no longer a docile and kind farm girl, but a warrior, a real warrior, and the chest ring target in the distance also turned into a ferocious devil...

Liu Li gently pulled the trigger, and the "devil" disappeared before her eyes. The moment she hit the target, she felt her blood burning;

Li Ping did the same. She fired all three bullets in the magazine in one breath, but still felt unsatisfied.

Then it was time to report the target. Liu Li hit three out of three, 28 rings, four more than she did in school. The instructor once praised her for her shooting talent, but she didn't agree.
At school it was national hatred, now it was family hatred plus national hatred. 28 rings were not enough, her goal was full rings, and she wanted to kill one Japanese soldier with one bullet.

What made Liu Li unbalanced was that the silly girl Li Ping scored 29 rings, the highest in the ranking. It was so unfair!

She now finally believed what her school instructor said, that shooting really does require talent, and she could only make up for the gap between her and Li Ping through training.

The reason why she was so impressed with the school instructor was that he had another identity, that of Liu Li's secret crush. Before she could tell him, the instructor went to the battlefield. It was rumored that he died in the Battle of Xuzhou.

Since then she returned to Songyuan Village, far away from the sad place of Jinan. She never expected that the Japanese invaders would come to her hometown again. This feud was irreconcilable!
Although she had 15 rounds of training bullets specially approved by Commander Liao, she was reluctant to use them. She set a goal for herself to fire at most three more rounds, and she would use the rest to fight the Japanese.

Even if one bullet could kill one devil, these bullets would not be enough for her to take revenge...

A few days after the live-fire shooting, the militia company suddenly suspended its training. After a meeting in the town, Lin Tianqi brought back a message that the Japanese were going to raid again!
The militia company's training was all stopped, and the whole village began to prepare for war. The deep holes dug were put to use, minefields were laid, and militia sentries were placed several miles away.

The Women's Rescue Association also received a notice to rush to make 3 kilograms of fried noodles for the main force, and also to prepare dozens of stretchers and 200 pairs of military shoes...

The shadow of war once again loomed over Songyuan Village, but the militiamen and villagers of Songyuan Village were not afraid at all;
If the jackals come, then fight! (End of this chapter)