Zhou Cheng is the captain of the village protection team and the captain of the guerrilla team to be formed. He is the only veteran in the entire team, the old Red Army.

Xiang Feng and Li Yifang were both recruits who joined the army after the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army. They had no experience in ideological mobilization and listened to Zhou Cheng. They did whatever he asked him to do.

That night, everyone, including the prisoners, had a full meal.

More than 60 prisoners were sitting scattered on the ground. Some were whispering something, some were full of concern for their future, and some were immersed in the dinner just now, savoring the fragrance of white flour steamed buns and pork stewed cabbage...

Zhou Cheng stood in front of them, took all the captives' expressions before speaking: "Brothers, is the white flour steamed bun and pork stewed cabbage delicious?"

Everyone looked at Zhou Cheng who was suddenly talking and looked at each other, not daring to speak rashly.

This result was as expected by Zhou Cheng. He continued to ask in front of everyone's eyes: "Have you ever eaten such a good meal when you were a traitor? Let me tell me!"

The captive named by Zhou Cheng replied with a panic look on his face: "Report... Sir! When the puppet army was able to eat white flour steamed buns except for war... other than other wars... they all ate coarse grain cakes, and meat can only be eaten during wars!"

Zhou Cheng nodded and continued to ask: "Then tell me, are the Japanese who improved the food for you by those white flour steamed buns?"

The prisoner did not respond, and this question was too difficult for a soldier to answer.

Zhou Cheng did not make things difficult for him and continued, "In my opinion, the Japanese gave you white flour steamed buns and meat, which had nothing to do with improving food, because this was a slaughtered meal."

"You usually want to eat mixed grains, pancakes, vegetable soup, and not starve to death. You must use them during wars before giving you a good meal and go to the battlefield to serve them as cannon fodder."

"Let's think about this if I'm talking about it. Every time I encounter a tough problem in a war, do the Japanese let you rush forward as cannon fodder, and they will go up and pick up the bargain when you consume your opponents almost the same!"

Seeing that everyone was so thoughtful that he was talking about, Zhou Cheng continued: "More importantly, you did not receive their respect after being cannon fodder for the Japanese. You continued to work hard as the following persons, not only would you be labeled as a traitor, but if you die as cannon fodder, you would also find a place to bury things. No one would remember you and worship you."

"As for your family, not only do not know your life or death, but also have to put a hat on the local traitor's family and never be able to lift their heads."

Life is the least valuable in troubled times, but it does not mean that everyone is not afraid of death.

Everyone here doesn’t want to die, and they don’t want to have no one to collect the body after death, and no one pays tribute to them...

So Zhou Cheng's words just reached their hearts.

It can be seen that when many people heard this, their hands were already clenched into fists, their eyes were red, and their stomachs were full of grievances and reluctance.

Most of them did not volunteer to work hard for the Japanese.

As an ordinary soldier, when he is a soldier, he does whatever his commander asks him to do, and he has no choice at all.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Zhou Cheng continued to speak: "Now our Eighth Route Army will give you an opportunity to reform."

"I announce that from now on, you are no longer traitors, no longer prisoners of our Eighth Route Army. You are free!"

"Tomorrow morning, everyone can freely choose to leave here, go home to reunite with their families, or join the anti-Japanese army to continue fighting the Japanese, and wash away the shame of being a traitor?"

Zhou Cheng's move came too suddenly. Everyone thought he would take the opportunity to recruit soldiers, but unexpectedly, the result was to give everyone freedom.

One of the captives mustered up the courage to ask, "Sir, you really let us go!"

"Our Eighth Route Army keeps our word!" Zhou Cheng replied.

"Thank you, sir!" The captain was excited and looked at Zhou Cheng with a firm answer.

"Don't worry, sir, I won't be a traitor from now on when I'm beaten to death. I decided to go to the old army to continue fighting the Japanese and avenge the brothers who died unjustly at the hands of the Japanese."

"I will go back to the old army and continue to kill the Japanese..." another prisoner shouted.

"I used to be the Jinsui Army, and the commander forced us to surrender to the Japanese. Now I have been rescued by the Eighth Route Army. I want to go home to reunite with my family, and I don't want to join the army anymore!" said a thin soldier.

After a round, only five people hoped to stay and join the guerrillas.

They all have one thing in common: either homeless or the troops are wiped out, and there is no place for straits to go.

Xiang Feng stood next to him very anxiously.

Zhou Cheng had told him before that at least half of the prisoners should be mobilized to join the guerrillas, but the result was very different, with more than 90% of the prisoners clamoring to leave.

This is obviously not the result that the guerrillas want. They keep winking at the captain, hoping that he can change his strategy and continue to persuade them to join the guerrillas.

Zhou Cheng ignored Xiang Feng at all and kept looking at everyone with a smile.

Because my goal has reached halfway, my words just now have inspired their passion and fighting spirit to fight the Japanese again.

After everyone was quiet, Zhou Chengcai continued to speak: "I just heard that about fifteen people wanted to leave the army and go home, more than forty people wanted to return to the old army, and a few people wanted to stay and join our guerrillas."

"No matter what everyone's choice is, our Eighth Route Army will not stop you."

"But we rescued you from the Japanese after all. In order to prevent everyone from falling into the Japanese again as traitors, or being sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder, I must remind everyone if there are a few things to pay attention."

"First, the entire Shanxi area was occupied by the Japanese, and their strongholds and blockade lines were everywhere. If you want to return to the old army, you must pass through the Japanese and puppet troops to blockade them layer by layer."

"You have been soldiers and have thick calluses on your hands, which are easy to find."

"If it is exposed, everyone has only two choices: either fight with the Japanese, kill one to protect their capital, kill two to earn one, or continue to be a puppet army."

"The second note is that until now, whether the Jinsui Army or the Central Army, they have all retreated step by step, losing troops and losing generals, and many troops are gone, and the construction and system are in chaos. Even if they successfully cross the blockade line of the Japanese and puppet troops, it is still unknown whether they can find the old troops."

"The third question is, in your old army, there must be records about you, either being killed in battle or being captured by the Japanese. A few months have passed, and when you suddenly return, can you still gain the trust of the old army?"

"If not, even if the old troops take you down, they will be excluded. They will probably be a cannon fodder when they go to the battlefield."

"Although the points I mentioned will make everyone unhappy, they are all facts, and you must not ignore them."

"Let me talk about our guerrillas: I belong to the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army and was ordered to come to Donghui Town to form a guerrilla. After more than a month of development, I successfully captured the Japanese and puppet army stronghold in Donghui Town."

"Our Eighth Route Army is poor, and the soldiers are all from poor backgrounds. The purpose of joining the army is not to get promoted and make money, but to protect our family from being bullied. Therefore, there is no military pay for joining our Eighth Route Army. When the troops are in good condition, each person will give a few ocean allowances. When the conditions are not good, there is no one to be close to."

"But our Eighth Route Army has one thing! That is, officers and soldiers are equal, and never give up every soldier on the battlefield."

"In the guerrillas, I will eat whatever the soldiers eat except the wounded, without exception."

"The soldiers are holding three dollars tightly, and I will also take three dollars, and I won't get one more dollar."

"If our Eighth Route Army dies, comrades will collect your body, erect monuments, and come to worship every year."

"You will also find your relatives to pay a certain amount of pension. If your family is in our Eighth Route Army base, the local government will also exempt some grain tax as compensation, so that one of your children can study for free, and divide the family into two or three acres of land."

"In order to better combat the invaders, our guerrillas have decided to recruit new recruits to expand their strength. Everyone is welcome to join!"
Chapter completed!