Suzhou.

This historic city, before it fell, was almost destroyed due to the "scorched earth policy".

After the Songhu Anti-Japanese War, the military headquarters of the 71st Army retreated to Suzhou. One afternoon, Shangguan Yunxiang, deputy commander of the theater of operations, sent someone from Wuxi to deliver an official letter to the military headquarters of the 71st Army.

At that time, the army commander Wang Jingjiu was absent, and the chief of staff, Xia Sheng, was afraid that he would miss his official business, so he immediately dismantled it. The official letter was to the effect that: In order to implement the decision of the long-term War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, when our army finally retreats from Suzhou, it should first send personnel to receive 20 boxes of fire oil and 100 catties of sulfur from the headquarters of the military station, place 50 fireheads inside and outside the city of Suzhou, and set fire to Suzhou to scorched earth.

Xia Sheng was stunned after reading the official letter, and said to his subordinates: "According to the order of the Shangguan, won't Suzhou City be reduced to ashes?" ”

He then said to the people next to him: "On the night we came to Suzhou, the local people were hospitable and welcoming, cooking soup and noodles late on a cold night, and the enthusiasm was touchable, but we had to give 50 fires before leaving, which was unbearable and unreasonable!" ”

He thought twice about it and decided to wait for Wang Jingjiu to come back before discussing.

Wang Jingjiu came back and saw the letter and asked Xia Sheng's opinion.

Xia Sheng didn't want to carry out the order, so he said that this was just a note, which was not an official document and was not stamped. It is better for the army commander to go to the commander in person and ask for a formal military order, and then return to the Soviet Union to carry it out.

Wang Jingjiu felt that Xia Sheng was right, so he immediately set off for Wuxi. At the time of departure, Shangguan Yunxiang was staying at the Wuxi Taihu Hotel, but by the time Wang Jingjiu arrived at the Wuxi Taihu Hotel, Shangguan Yunxiang had already led his troops to retreat to Zhenjiang. So Wang Jingjiu rushed to Zhenjiang again.

On the night of the same day, the Japanese army approached Suzhou, and the ** team was defeated on all fronts. Seeing that Suzhou is unable to hold on.

Xia Sheng did not see Wang Jingjiu returning, so he took matters into his own assertion, believing that since he had not received a formal military order, there was no need to burn the city, so he ordered the army to withdraw from Suzhou.

It was also this Xia Shengxia Chief of Staff who almost single-handedly protected this beautiful city.

When Meng Shaoyuan entered Suzhou, he only brought three people: Gan Ning, Xu Zhu, and Yu Yanchu.

He dressed himself up as a broad young master, but today he didn't wear the suit he was used to wearing, but wore a lake-blue robe with a standard black horse coat on the outside.

This is the standard dress preparation in the early years of the Republic of China.

If you change to a different color, you will inevitably be laughed at as a nouveau riche bun.

The hair was as usual, combed to a shiny and shiny finish.

Gan Ning and Xu Zhu pretended to be subordinates as usual.

Yu Yanchu dressed up as an old mother waiting for people.

This is also what Meng Shaoyuan carefully helped her with makeup.

The hair was unkempt, and the clothes, although clean, were noticeably ill-fitting.

What dissatisfied Yu Yanchu the most was that his face was turned sallow and painted with a spot.

At first glance, I am afraid that I look like I am in my forties.

How can this be endured by a young girl who loves beauty?

But Meng Shaoyuan had his own ideas.

In the three places of Suzhou, Xichang and Changsan, for ruling and practical reasons, the control of the Japanese was relatively lax because of their weak strength, but after all, they were still a group of beast soldiers, what if they saw Yu Yanchu's beast heart moved?

She must be protected!

At the city gate, two Japanese soldiers with a few policemen were boredly smoking and chatting.

Unlike those strategically important cities and large cities, there is no need to go through complicated procedures such as body searches and document checks to enter and exit such cities.

To put it bluntly, these people are just messing around.

The nearby anti-Japanese guerrillas also seem to have a tacit understanding that they want to fight, fight outside the city, and maintain relative peace in the city.

So Suzhou City, except for a nightmare when it fell, recovered a little bit after that.

Operating near Suzhou was a guerrilla detachment commanded by Yue Zhenchuan.

It is said that Yue Zhenchuan came to Suzhou every once in a while to live happily for a few days.

"Stop!"

Before entering the city gate, a Japanese soldier suddenly shouted loudly.

Damn it!

In general, it will not be checked, but it does not mean that no one will check.

Maybe this Japanese soldier was too boring, or maybe Meng Shaoyuan's dress was too ostentatious, and he actually attracted the attention of the other party.

A policeman hurriedly stood up, listened to the Japanese soldiers' chatter, nodded again and again, and looked at Meng Shaoyuan's appearance, he must be a rich master, maybe there is some backstage, and he doesn't dare to offend, with a flattering tone:

"Taijun asked you, do you have a certificate of good citizenship, and what are you doing in Suzhou?"

Meng Shaoyuan smiled, opened his mouth, and was actually fluent in Japanese: "This is my certificate of good citizenship, I am Zhu Yanfan, and the Japanese name is Nohara Shinnosuke!" ”

The Japanese soldier was immediately curious: "Your Japanese is very good. ”

"Yes, I graduated from Kyoto University in Japan, and my teacher is Professor Hanaka, a famous biologist, I believe you have also heard of him, and now he is serving His Majesty the Emperor in the 10th Division, fighting on the front line in Xuzhou."

Where did this Japanese soldier know any Professor Yuzhong, but as soon as he heard that he was fighting in the 10th Division of the Xuzhou Front, and the other party spoke so fluent Japanese, he immediately briefly checked the certificate of good citizenship and returned it to the other party:

"Ah, I have the opportunity to meet your teacher, please express my respect to him, what are you doing in Suzhou?"

"Although I have the skin of a Shina person, I have the blood of the Great Japanese Empire flowing through my body." Meng Shaoyuan never blushed when he lied: "I came to Suzhou to investigate the customs and customs here and to erect a section for the future rule of the empire in China." ”

"Ah, that's a hard work." When the Japanese soldiers heard this, they were extremely respectful.

"No, you've worked hard." Meng Shaoyuan waved his hand, and Gan Ning immediately handed over two paper packets and two bottles of wine.

"What is this?"

"These are two roast chickens, please laugh anyway."

The two Japanese soldiers immediately smiled.

The Japanese soldiers who invaded China had a mysterious fascination with chickens.

Therefore, as soon as the Japanese army entered the village, they grabbed chickens everywhere, and it was really not nonsense.

"I'm so sorry, Nohara-kun." Saying this, the Japanese soldiers had already reached out to take the roast chicken and wine, and their titles became "Nohara-kun", and then kindly reminded:

"It's not the right time for you to come, Suzhou was originally peaceful, but recently, there was an inexplicable group of robbers, they kidnapped and extorted rich people everywhere, Tan Jinhao, a wealthy businessman in Suzhou City, refused to pay the ransom, and his fourth son was even killed by these people."

"Oh?"

Meng Shaoyuan didn't care much: "Did those guerrillas do it?" ”

"Nope." The Japanese soldier then said: "We have reached an agreement with the guerrillas of the Chinese people, and both sides guarantee peace in Suzhou, and we will not arrest their people in Suzhou, and they will not sabotage in Suzhou." ”

And such an agreement?

Meng Shaoyuan asked: "The people of China are willing to abide by this agreement?" ”

"Yes, the largest guerrilla force of the Shina people near Suzhou is commanded by Yue Zhenchuan, and it seems that there is also a code name, 'Bison Detachment'. I heard that our commander also drank with him. ”

"Okay, I got it." Meng Shaoyuan nodded: "I'll be careful, then I'll go into the city." ”

"Please be careful."

Entering the city of Suzhou, although it is no longer prosperous, the situation here is still much better compared to those cities that have been severely damaged by war.

Most of the long-established shops on the streets have reopened.

The people who came and went had sadness and helplessness on their faces.

Who wants to be a slave?

But life, after all, has to go on.

"Right here, eat."

Meng Shaoyuan took his three subordinates into a restaurant that looked fairly clean.

"Best wishes, boss." Yu Yanchu saw that there was no one on the table on the left and right, and lowered his voice: "How dare Yue Zhenchuan be so bold and reach such an agreement with the Japanese?" And actually drank with the commander of the aggressor? ”

"What do you say, an agent?" Meng Shaoyuan suddenly asked rhetorically.

Seeing that Yu Yanchu was stunned for a moment, Meng Shaoyuan actually didn't need her to answer: "The task of the agent is not to fight bloody battles with the enemy. Recovering the city, that's the army's business, the guerrillas, it's very difficult to do. Of course, Yue Zhenchuan can shed a river of blood and corpses all over the field, but what is the result of doing this?

The Japanese will immediately retaliate frantically and at the same time tighten the guard against these cities, and as a result, our living space will become more and more difficult, the space for movement will become smaller and smaller, and the living conditions of the common people will deteriorate rapidly. The whole city is in the middle of the war, and we are the most disadvantaged.

On the contrary, now that Yue Zhenchuan and the Japanese have quietly reached an agreement, their situation has changed dramatically, and on the basis of not destroying the city, they can establish a large number of secret contact points, frequently develop the population, and at the same time, encroach on the periphery of Suzhou, establish a safe guerrilla zone, and in the long run, isolate Suzhou. ”

Speaking of this, he paused slightly: "The living environment of Chinese in Suzhou has been improved, and the living environment of the surrounding villages outside Suzhou has also been improved. This is one of them.

Second, the preparatory work has been almost done, once Suzhou becomes an isolated city in the actual sense, once it is ready to officially recover the state, do you imagine that it will be very easy with the cooperation of the guerrillas? ”

Yu Yanchu seemed to understand a little: "Won't the Japanese notice this?" ”

"Of course, they're not stupid." Meng Shaoyuan smiled: "But the task of the commander, when cooperating with the looting of the Chinese people, is to ensure the safety of Suzhou, and the latter is what they care about the most." Most of the Japanese troops stationed in Suzhou were some local troops, and life in Suzhou was comfortable, and once people got used to a comfortable life, they were reluctant to move. ”

Meng Shaoyuan was slightly silent: "The War of Resistance is a long-term war, what we have to do is not to achieve one or two big victories, but to weaken the strength of the Japanese little by little, and finally drive all the Japanese out!" ”