Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven "The evil spirits are red-eyed!"

On February 20, 1928, more than a dozen people including He Long, Zhou Yiqun, He Jinzhai, Lu Dongsheng, Li Liangyao, and Huang Ao set off from Jiaoshanhe and embarked on a journey to Xiangxi.Along the way, Xiaoxing stayed overnight, thirsty and hungry.On this day, I arrived in Linli County and walked to a place called Maobi Street. I looked at the sky. After noon, several people felt hungry. After entering the town, they saw a small restaurant on the side of the road with a streamer hanging from a bamboo pole. The word "restaurant" is written on it. He Jinzhai said, "Let's go in and have some food."

Everyone agreed that a dozen people opened the curtain and entered the tavern. The tavern was small but very clean. There was a pot of charcoal fire in the middle of the shop, and the room was very hot.The shopkeeper saw that this person was well dressed, so he stepped forward and asked with a smile, "What would you like to eat?" He Jinzhai said: "Just bring what you have ready-made. We still have to hurry." The shopkeeper hurriedly said: "Gentlemen, please wait. The food will be ready when there is less food. Do you want some wine warmed?" Huang Ao said, "What good wine do you have?"

The shopkeeper said: "There is a top-notch alcoholic. This wine has been aged for many years, and it has a good taste." Huang Ao said, "Come here for a catty." The shopkeeper replied and ordered the guys to serve.After a short time, the food was served, four big plates, one plate of sauced beef, one plate of sauced pork liver, one plate of braised carp, and one plate of stir-fried vegetables.There is also a large pot of white rice and a catty of drunkards. He Long said to the shopkeeper, "Do you have pig ears?" The shopkeeper replied: "Yes." He Long said, "Just bring it."

It turned out that He Long liked to eat pig ears very much. Later, when he was persecuted by the "Gang of Four", he didn't even want to eat pig ears. The miserable feeling is really deplorable.When a few people were eating, they heard the sound of chaotic footsteps from the street outside. He Long was startled immediately, and his hand was also holding the gun. At this moment, the door curtain was raised, and a dozen soldiers came in, one All of them are armed with live ammunition, and the leader is in his early 30s.He Long was about to make a move when he saw the leading officer salute He Long respectfully. When He Long saw that he didn't recognize this person, he asked, "Why did you salute me?" The officer said respectfully: "Report to the commander-in-chief. My name is Feng Zimo. When the commander-in-chief was the guard envoy in Lizhou, I was a squad leader under the commander-in-chief. Now, I am the captain of the Linli County Regimental Defense Brigade."

He Long smiled faintly and said, "It seems that you are here to arrest me?" Feng Zimo said: "The young one dare not. The young one is very happy to see the commander-in-chief today. The little one came here to protect the commander-in-chief." Seeing his honesty, He Long knew that he was sincere.Then he said: "You haven't eaten yet, let's eat together." As he spoke, he ordered the shopkeeper to add more meals for more than a dozen people.At that moment, Feng Zimo sat beside He Long and said to He Long: "Commander, I came here today to visit the commander in chief and to report a letter to the commander in chief. The commander in chief is going to Xiangxi. An emergency order was issued in Wuhan, ordering all troops along the route to conduct strict investigations, saying that if the commander-in-chief was caught, the reward would be 100,000 yuan, and many evil spirits were jealous."

He Long said with a smile: "From this point of view, my head is made of gold." Feng Zimo said: "It's better for the commander-in-chief to be careful." After a while, everyone finished their meal, and He Long and the others wanted to move on. Feng Zimo said, "Commander, do you want to rest overnight and leave tomorrow?" He Long said: "No need, we have to go a few more steps today." Seeing that He Long would not stay, Feng Zimo kept sending He Long and others away. When they parted, Feng Zimo said: "If the commander-in-chief needs me, I will definitely go."

He Long shook hands with him and said goodbye. When He Long and his party continued to move forward, they found that the places where there were no enemy soldiers were also full of enemy soldiers. It turned out that when the news of He Long's arrival at Honghu came out, and the banner of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was raised again, the Nanjing Nationalist Government immediately issued an order ordering the military and police everywhere to strictly arrest the "bandit leader" He Long.Therefore, the enemy troops set up checkpoints everywhere along the way.In order to avoid these military police, He Long had to take a detour.And some of He Long's old ministries heard that He Long went to Xiangxi, and also wanted to see He Long.And He Long had difficulty distinguishing the authenticity of these people, which also brought him a lot of trouble.

He Long and his entourage bid farewell to Feng Zimo, left Linli County Maobi Street, and took Shimen, the journey was hasty.When I went to Dongshan, I arrived at Mengquan Township in Shimen County. Why did He Long and others want to go to Mengquan Township? It turned out that Zhang Haiqing's brother Zhang Haitao was a revolutionary force in this area.Zhang Haiqing's public position is the regiment president, but secretly he is a member of the Communist Party.After Zhang Haitao followed He Long from Shanghai to Wuhan, He Long asked Zhang Haitao to go to Shimen first to contact his brother and develop the team.

After Zhang Haitao returned to his hometown, his public identity was the shopkeeper of the Shanhuo Store in Mengquan Township.The mountain goods store collects some mountain goods such as tung oil, tea, and animal skins, which are just decorations to deceive people. Shimen County is a relatively remote county in western Hunan. After the "Ma Ri Incident", Shimen, like other counties, suffered great losses to the revolution. In July 1927, the Provincial Party Committee sent Wu Boxian (formerly known as Wu Jingzhong) back to Shimen, established the County Party Committee, and restored the party organization.In addition to Wu Boxian, members of the county party committee include Sheng Lianxiong, Chen Qimo, Zeng Qingxuan, Yuan Renyuan, etc.At that time, Yuan Renyuan was wanted by the Cili County authorities, so he changed his name to Yuan Sixian. In January 1928, Zhang Zhongping, appointed by Changde District of Hunan Province, went to Shimen to convene a meeting to arrange the New Year's Day Riot.The Nianguan riots were first launched in Xinguan District, 15 miles away from the county seat. They burned down the house of the big bully Shangguan Sixi and killed the landlords Xiong and Qing.Then the Zaoshi, Moshi and other places in Shimen Beixiang also launched one after another.Since the peasant armed forces had just been organized and had neither guns nor training, when the reactionary armed forces suppressed them, they were scattered all at once, and Communist Party member Yang Shaoxu and others died.Luo Xiaozhi, the captain of the regiment defense brigade controlled by the Shimen County Party organization, defected to the enemy, and Yuan Weiqing, the director of the county regiment defense bureau, was killed.The riots turned to a low ebb.The peasant armed forces that emerged from the riot had to disperse their activities.Zhang Haiqing's elder brother, Zhang Haitao, was also killed, and Zhang Haiqing was also murdered by the enemy. He Long and others still don't know about it.

By the time He Long arrived in Mengquan Township, it was more than two o'clock, and the weather was cloudy and hazy again, with the nose-shaving and face-shaving northwest wind blowing.Looking at the edge of the village in Mengquan Township, He Jinzhai pointed to the village with hazy shadows and said to everyone: "Zhang Haitao once sent a letter saying that his family lives under the big banyan tree at the east end of the village. You wait outside first. Go see." Huang Ao also said to go.It turned out that both of them had met Zhang Haitao.Immediately, the two came to the village quietly, alas, this village is so quiet, there is no sound at all.He Jinzhai was puzzled, and Huang Ao was also puzzled.But neither of them said anything.The two walked to Zhang Haitaoshan's store, and saw that the door was closed. He Jinzhai stepped forward and patted on the door lightly, but there was no movement.At this time, the two of them didn't say anything, but they both murmured in their hearts.What are you mumbling about?Something must have happened here.At this moment, a sudden "chuckle" was heard, and something came up to the two of them, which startled them. When they looked closely, it turned out to be a big tabby cat.The cat meowed a few times at their feet and ran away. He Jinzhai whispered to Huang Ao, "Something must have happened to Haitao."

Huang Ao didn't answer, but stared straight at the opposite wall.What is he looking at?It turned out that there was a piece of paper pasted there, Huang Ao walked over, looked up and down in the dim moonlight, then hurried to He Jinzhai's side, picked up He Jinzhai and left, making He Jinzhai stare, not knowing what happened, and left the village entrance , Huang Ao said: "Both Zhang Haitao and Zhang Haiqing were killed by the anti-communist squad, and there was a notice posted on the wall saying that they were collaborating with bandits." He Jinzhai said: "It seems that something is wrong here, let's leave quickly." So, the two left Mengquan Township in a hurry, met He Long and others, and explained the situation in detail. He Long said: "It seems that we are going to overwhelm the sky tonight." Huang Ao said, "Let's go further and find a place with a leeward wind to rest for the night." Everyone agreed, so they walked forward under the moonlight. After walking for about an hour, they saw a temple of earth.He Jinzhai saw that the couplet on the pillar reads: There is no monk, the wind sweeps the ground, and the candle moon is the lamp.He said, "This is a temple without monks." There is a pile of reeds in the corner of the temple. He Long said to everyone: "Let's spread out the reeds, and rely on the reeds to sleep warmly all night." Everyone agreed, so they hurriedly built a nest, leaning against the reed, which was quite warm.Everyone ate some food on the road at noon, originally planned to have board and lodging in Mengquan Township, but Zhang Haitao had an accident, and now they have been tossing around for more than half the night, and there is no dinner, everyone is so hungry.He Jinzhai said: "I still have some glutinous rice cakes in my horse bag." Ciba is made of glutinous rice and is about the same size as the pastry in the north. He Long said, "Hurry up and feed some." He Jinzhai brought over the glutinous rice cakes. There were not many glutinous rice cakes, so each person shared a piece. The weather was cold, and the glutinous rice cakes were so cold that no one could take care of them. Huang Ao said while eating, "Mr. Commander, you commanded thousands of troops back then, but today you eat this dried glutinous rice cake and sleep in a bed of reed grass, didn’t you expect that?” He Long said with a smile: "During the Nanchang Uprising, I promised the party that Zhang Fakui was useless. I was afraid of failure. I am not afraid. I am not afraid of taking off my leather boots and wearing straw sandals. If I fail, I will go up the mountain." Huang Ao praised: "Mr. He, you are really good in the Communist Party." After a long day of driving, everyone was very tired. Even though they were in the reed pile, they fell asleep quickly. The golden rooster sang three times, and He Long woke up. He got up and looked around, and saw that the sky was overcast and the north wind was blowing. There were no shadows of passers-by in the wilderness, only withered grass shaking in the cold wind. At this time, He Jinzhai walked up to him. He said: "General Commander, it seems that Mengquan Township can't stay anymore. Let's go to Shimen County to find Luo Xiaozhi. He is obviously the captain of the regiment defense team, but secretly he is the military minister of our party Shimen County." He Long agreed, so everyone got up and went straight to Shimen County.At daybreak, everyone arrived at a small town. After entering the town, they saw a restaurant. Because they were hungry, Li Liangyao suggested something to eat. Everyone agreed, and they opened the curtain and entered the house.Not long after the shopkeeper got up, he was sitting in the cage fire. When he saw several guests coming, he immediately greeted him and said, "What would you like to eat?" Li Liangyao said: "Whatever, we have to go on our way after eating." The shopkeeper said: "It's a small business, and there is nothing delicious, only bean curd and sesame seed cakes." While talking, those small eyes kept scanning several people. He Jinzhai said: "Okay, eat whatever you have." The shopkeeper answered and entered the room, He Long said to He Jinzhai: "The shopkeeper has paid attention to us." Huang Ao said, "I'll go out and have a look." As he said that, he went out, but before he could stand firmly at the door, he saw a person coming towards him. The person met Huang Ao face to face, and couldn't help but stop. He was startled for a moment, and then said: "You are not Huang Ao. Is it?" The man was about to continue, but when he saw someone coming, he swallowed his words back.Huang Ao also recognized this person, and just about to speak, someone shook his head, Huang Ao understood, and after the passer-by left, the man dragged Huang Ao to the corner. Who is this man?What is his relationship with Huang Ao?It turned out that this person was Song Renjie, a teacher at Shimen County Primary School, and a member of the Shimen County Committee of the Communist Party of China.When He Jinzhai and Huang Ao led the guerrillas on both sides of the Jingjiang River, they had contacts with each other. Song Renjie pulled Huang Ao outside, and said in a low voice, "The Shimen County Committee was destroyed by the enemy a few days ago. Military Minister Luo Xiaozhi joined the enemy and wanted to work with the militia to capture He Long and receive a reward for his meritorious service. This was what my cousin told me the night before yesterday. information." Huang Ao said, "What is your cousin doing?" Song Renjie said, "It's a small team leader of the Shimen County House-to-Door Regiment." Huang Ao said: "He Long is eating inside, do you want to see him?" Song Renjie was naturally very happy when he heard that, so Huang Ao brought Song Renjie into the restaurant and introduced Song Renjie to He Long and others in a low voice.Song Renjie held He Long's hand tightly and said in a low voice, "Commander, let me work with you." He Long also whispered: "After half a year, I will bring a team to pick you up." Song Renjie whispered again: "General Commander, you should leave here quickly. The Shimen County Committee has been destroyed by the enemy, the county party secretary has been killed, and the military minister Luo Xiaozhi has rebelled. He is being ordered to go to Buqa to arrest you." At this moment, the shopkeeper came in with the meal, Song Renjie stopped talking, the shopkeeper set the meal, but refused to leave, but walked up to He Long and said to He Long, "If I'm not mistaken, you must be He Zhenshou made it." He Long was startled, and said, "You are..." The shopkeeper said: "My name is Li Benshan. I did business in Lizhou back then, so I know the guardian envoy. The guard envoy should leave here quickly. The Qingxiang regiment is about to arrest you." He Long said: "Thank you very much." Li Benshan took out another ten catties of pancakes, and said to He Long, "Guardian, take this dry food with you on the way." , they want to catch you and make a fortune." He Long laughed and said, "I'm about to become a Tang monk, and they all want to catch me and make a fortune," he said with a snort, "They're not afraid of losing their heads." Zhou Yiqun said with a smile: "Man died for money, and birds died for food. With a bounty of 100,000 oceans, it is natural to die." So, He Long and others bid farewell to the shopkeeper and Song Renjie, walked on the path, walked through the barren beach, and continued on their way.