Guerrilla Corps in the Rear -- A Contemporary Chinese Novel Collection

Author: Feng Zhi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The period from the founding of the People's Republic of China to 1966 was a high tide in the creation and publication of Chinese long novels. Over a decade, a large number of works were produced, among which dozens had a wide impact and reached the peak of their time. These works adhered to the principles of socialist realism, using enthusiastic passion and simple expressions to praise the arduous struggles and vibrant spirit of the Chinese people during different historical periods, including the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the construction of socialism. They represented the highest achievements of Chinese long novel creation during that period and occupied an extremely important position in the history of contemporary Chinese literature. With their unique charm, they influenced generations of readers and have endured the test of time to this day. To present a more complete picture of the development of contemporary long novels and the state of long novel creation during that period, we have specially compiled and published the series "Collected Classics of Contemporary Chinese Long Novels."
I. The series is based on the "Selected Long Novels" published by our press in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the "Red Classics" series published in the 1990s, and strives to include as many outstanding works as possible.
II. The publication dates of the works in the series are mostly between 1949 and 1965, with some multi-volume works whose publication processes extended beyond this period.
III. Due to various reasons, some works had multiple revised versions. For this publication, we selected the best versions and conducted proofreading based on other editions.
Enemy Guerrillas tells the story of the anti-Japanese struggle between the people and the army in northern Hebei. In 1942, under the command of the brutal Okamura Yasuji, Japanese troops numbering tens of thousands launched a ruthless "May First" sweep against the Hebei Resistance Base Area, causing significant losses to the local people and forcing activities underground. However, following the instructions of the Central Committee, the Hebei Military Region's Ninth District dispatched Wei Qiang and Jia Zheng to join the Enemy Guerrillas, fight back into Hebei, infiltrate the enemy's heartland, and carry out rear operations.
Wei Qiang and Jia Zheng found the team leader and political commissar Yang Zixiang in Nanyu. Wei Qiang was appointed team leader, Liu Wenbin as the guidance officer, and Jiang Tianxiang as the leader of the second team. After analyzing the enemy situation, they concluded that the three traitors—Haba Gou, Hou Bapi, and Liu Kuisheng—in the San Guang region were the trusted henchmen of the Hebei Garrison Commander Matsuda. In Dong Wangzhuang alone, they had killed over 170 villagers, committing countless crimes that must be dealt with first. They decided to launch a political offensive to mobilize the people to actively resist Japan.
Thus, over 40 elite Enemy Guerrillas first stormed the middle town guarded by Hou Bapi, shelling the fortifications and severely damaging his morale, causing panic among the enemy while boosting the spirits of the people. At this time, Wei Qiang's team separated from Yang Zixiang and Jiang Tianxiang and settled in West Wangzhuang, known as the "Little Yan'an," where they were well-hidden by the fortified households of Zhao Hetao and the local people. For more than three months, they repeatedly struck the enemy, keeping them restless day and night, while Matsuda and Liu Kuisheng's "Joint Suppression Team" failed to find any trace of the Enemy Guerrillas.
One day, Enemy Guerrilla member Liu Dashi went out to gather intelligence and, after contacting the liaison officer, met He Dianfu from Huang Village on the way back. He learned that his brother was also an Eighth Route Army soldier. As they walked, they were spotted by two members of the suppression team. Liu Dashi skillfully killed one and captured the other, seizing a favorable position at the well and fighting bravely against the encircling enemies, killing many before descending into the well and returning through the underground passage to the village. At this moment, Matsuda personally led Japanese and puppet troops to heavily shell the well platform, setting the surrounding area on fire. When they reached the edge of the well, they found nothing and, failing to retrieve any bodies, Matsuda had to return in frustration, still uncertain about Liu Dashi's fate.
Liu Dashi safely returned to Wei Qiang's residence and, seeing the presence of the district Women's Liberation League leader Wang Xia and others, reported the situation and handed over the letter he had retrieved. The next day, Wei Qiang and Liu Dashi disguised themselves as merchants and, following the letter's instructions, went to meet Yang Zixiang. On the way, the front merchant (Wei Qiang) was detained by around twenty garrison guards. Seizing the opportunity, he drew a hidden pistol, killed the enemy team leader and several guards, and, taking advantage of the chaos, rolled into the nearby communication trench. Behind him, Liu Dashi immediately opened fire on the pursuing enemies, sandwiching them with Wei Qiang and forcing the surviving puppet soldiers to flee in panic.
Meeting Yang Zixiang, Wei Qiang learned that, to support the anti-sweeping efforts of the Eighth Route Army in the mountains, the county committee had ordered the Enemy Guerrillas to eliminate Hou Bapi and Haba Gou's reinforcement troops. On the way back, Wei Qiang and Liu Dashi skillfully rescued a group of laborers captured by the puppet army. At dawn on the sixth day, Wei Qiang's team laid an ambush in a graveyard, evading an armed reconnaissance by Japanese and puppet troops in two police cars, andd the leading group of over ten Japanese soldiers, killing the Sergeant "One-Hair" and nearly capturing Haba Gou. By the time Matsuda and the Tsujiyama Company Commander arrived with over four hundred Japanese reinforcements, the team had vanished without a trace.
Tsujiyama, seeing a Japanese soldier who had been treated by the team, furiously stabbed him to death and ordered the clearing of all trees, wheat, and mounds within 200 meters of both sides of the Gaobao Highway. However, Wei Qiang sent the、 Li Luoyu to incite the garrison team leader Wang Yin in Da Ran Village to resist Tsujiyama's orders. Soon after, the enemy imposed a new grain tax on the people, imposing a heavy burden on them. Wei Qiang first led the people to cleverly seize the grain cart and then went to the newly arrived middle town of Haba Gou, using connections to secretly transport back the newly seized grain and return it to the people, preserving the fruits of their labor. At this time, Haba Gou and Hou Bapi were transferred to Huang Village, where they continued to extort the people. Wei Qiang and Jia Zheng, among others, killed Hou Bapi, who was oppressing the people, in the market and issued a serious warning to Haba Gou to cancel the collection of red pine timber, boosting the morale of the bullied puppet guards and the people.
The Japanese and puppet troops continued to suffer setbacks. Matsuda appointed Liu Kuisheng as the team leader and formed a night raid team to search for the Enemy Guerrillas and harass the people at night. Due to the temporary inability to understand the night raid team's activities, the Enemy Guerrillas suffered losses in several encounters and had to temporarily withdraw from the San Guang region. Soon after, they successfully struck the night raid team near Ma Chi Village south of Baoding but, in the process, Liu Dashi, facing danger without fear, blew himself up with a hand grenade, killing three enemies and dying with them.
Liu Kuisheng hid in the home of our underground liaison officer Guo Luogeng but failed to capture any Enemy Guerrillas. He then went to the prostitute "Fei Ji" in Pingkangli, where he clashed with the deputy station commander of the southern Baoding station, Wan Shishun, who harbored resentment and incited a conflict between Liu Kuisheng and the station commander, Xiao Daisuke. Taking advantage of Liu Kuisheng's visit to "Fei Ji" again, Xiao Daisuke and Wan Shishun severely beat him. Wei Qiang and Liu Wenbin seized this opportunity, with Wei Qiang leading eight Enemy Guerrillas—Jia Zheng, Li Dongshan, Zhao Qingtian, and others—to impersonate the night raid team and avenge Liu Kuisheng by raiding the station, killing the deputy station commander Wan Shishun and another Japanese deputy station commander, along with several Japanese soldiers. They then disciplined the captured prisoners, instructing them to tell Xiao Daisuke that he would find Liu Kuisheng upon his return from the meeting.
Acting on Xiao Daisuke's report, the acting garrison commander Sakamoto immediately led his troops to massacre the night raid team's headquarters. When he learned that he had fallen for the Enemy Guerrillas's trick, he was filled with regret and was later transferred out of Baoding by Matsuda. The people of Hebei were joyful, celebrating the success of the Enemy Guerrillas.
Soon after, Wei Qiang and others assisted Wei Xia and other district and county cadres in carrying out the movement to reduce rent and interest. In Fan Village, they subdued the unscrupulous landlord Zhou Jingzhi, who pretended to comply but acted treacherously, striking down his reactionary arrogance and boosting the people's courage in their struggle, consolidating the movement's achievements. Soon after, the night raid team was reorganized, but they suffered a heavy blow at the Huang Village ferry crossing from Wei Qiang and others. Matsuda cursed Liu Kuisheng and personally led hundreds of Japanese soldiers to suppress the Enemy Guerrillas. However, at this time, the Enemy Guerrillas had already infiltrated Baoding and were staying in the home of the railway worker Jin Hansheng, next to the garrison.
At this time, Guo Xiaotu, the descendant of a revolutionary family, had infiltrated the of Huang Village as a cleaning worker and gained the trust of Haba Gou, becoming his attendant and providing Wei Qiang with many intelligence reports. Wei Qiang led the Enemy Guerrillas, with Xiaotu as an inside man, skillfully capturing the of Huang Village, capturing Haba Gou and Wang Yin, though Haba Gou escaped during the night.
Wang Xia was injured at the Huang Village ferry crossing and recovered for two months in the home of Liang Yuanyuan. Learning that her mother had been killed by Japanese soldiers and her brother Liang Bang had recently been forced to join the night raid team, she decided, after consulting with Wei Qiang and others, to persuade Liang Bang to switch sides. Liang Yuanyuan and her husband Tian Changxing were delighted and resolved to assist Wei Qiang and Wang Xia in their efforts. When Liang Bang returned to Tian Jiaqiao for a funeral, he was finally convinced and cooperated closely with the Enemy Guerrillas, using the opportunity of the funeral to kill the Japanese Sergeant who had killed his mother, along with many Japanese soldiers, capturing the rest. The Enemy Guerrillas seized the, capturing a large amount of war spoils.
Haba Gou fled back to Baoding and, through his wife and Liu Kuisheng's connections, earned Matsuda's favor and became a member of the night raid team. At this time, the enemy concentrated heavy troops on the Pinghan Railway for suppression. Matsuda ordered Haba Gou to destroy the tunnels he had seen while escaping. Wei Qiang and Liu Wenbin decided to let the Japanese kill Haba Gou. That day, Haba Gou led the Lieutenant Colonel Kameji to the village where he had escaped, but the Enemy Guerrillas, who had made thorough preparations, led the people to safely evacuate and skillfully ambushed enemy soldiers, killing dozens of Japanese soldiers while remaining undetected. Kameji had one arm broken and his hat knocked off. Seeing Haba Gou picking up his hat with a servile expression, remembering the day's defeat and Matsuda's secret suspicion that Haba Gou had surrendered to the Eighth Route Army, he shot the traitor dead. Meanwhile, Wei Qiang's team, disguised as Japanese soldiers, calmly walked through the enemy ranks and set fire to the of Liang Jiaqiao, delivering a heavy blow to the enemy.
Matsuda, furious and humiliated, desperately tried to surround West Wang Village with hundreds of Japanese soldiers, gathering the entire village to demand the surrender of the Enemy Guerrillas. Liu Kuisheng immediately killed an old woman and He Hetao who refused to reveal the Enemy Guerrillas's location. Liu Wenbin, unable to escape in time, stepped forward from the crowd to say he was an Enemy Guerrilla. The people, one after another, claimed to be Enemy Guerrillas to protect Liu Wenbin and Wang Xia, who had not yet fled, making it impossible for the enemy to distinguish between truth and fiction. However, the night raid team suddenly sent the severely beaten and defected Enemy Guerrilla Ma Ming, leading to the arrest of Liu Wenbin and Wang Xia. The enemy used both carrot and stick tactics but failed to make them surrender. They then spread the rumor that Liu Wenbin and Wang Xia had defected from the Enemy Guerrillas. In reality, they had been exposing and denouncing Matsuda and Liu Kuisheng, causing a scene at the "banquet" and severely beating Ma Ming. The enemy had no choice but to transfer them to the South Gate prison.
Wei Qiang was fully aware of their behavior in prison and, under the guidance of superiors and with the assistance of inside contacts, he successfully hijacked the police car transporting Liu Wenbin, Wang Xia, and another comrade, Qiu Dong, who had been arrested due to Ma Ming's betrayal, and freed them. After this, with the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan approaching, Wei Qiang, following superior instructions, decided to operate near the Baoding city area. Through various connections, they seized the 15th and, with the cooperation of the fort commander Tian Guang, captured Matsuda and Liu Kuisheng, who had come to the fort for shelter during their inspection.
Matsuda committed suicide by jumping into a river during his transport. Liu Kuisheng was executed at the public trial held in East and West Wang Villages. At this moment, the news of Japan's surrender arrived, and people were immersed in joy, while Wei Qiang and his team embarked on a new journey to fight against the reactionary forces of the Kuomintang for the fruits of the War of Resistance.