Plain Shooting

Author: Li Xiaoming
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: From the founding of the People's Republic of China to 1966, it was a peak period for the creation and publication of long novels in China. Over a decade, a large number of works were produced, among which dozens had a wide impact and reached the height of their time. These works adhered to the principles of socialist realism, using heartfelt enthusiasm and simple expressions to celebrate the arduous struggles and vibrant spirit of the Chinese people during different historical periods such as the War of Liberation, the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the construction of socialism. They represented the highest achievements of long novel creation during that period and held 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 "Collected Works of Contemporary Chinese Long Novels" series.
I. The series is based on the "Selected Works of 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 works in the series were published roughly between 1949 and 1965, though some multi-volume works have publication processes that extend beyond this period.
III. Due to various reasons, some works have had multiple revised editions. For this publication, we have selected the superior versions and conducted proofreading by referring to other editions.
The War of Resistance broke out. The Nationalist army was retreating step by step, and on the Jifu Plain, the secret societies formed by landlords and wealthy families were engaging in armed conflicts with each other. Deserter soldiers organized civilian militias, and local warlords declared themselves commanders, while the common people lived in fear. Comrade Ma Ying returned to his hometown, Xiaojiatang. As soon as he entered the town, he saw a man hanging from a tree—the man was Chen Baoyi of the Baiji Society, captured by Wang Erhu of the Red Gun Society. At that moment, Wang Erhu wanted to kill Chen Baoyi.
Ma Ying immediately stepped forward to stop him, asking the crowd to listen to the thunderous artillery fire coming from the north. "The flames of war have reached our doorstep. What are we doing? Fighting among ourselves, killing our own compatriots—is this not helping the Japanese invaders?" Taking the opportunity, Ma Ying spread the (anti-Japanese) principles of the Communist Party, refuting the slander against the Party by the rascal Yang Baishun. The onlookers were convinced.
However, releasing the man required the approval of the society head, Su Jinrong. Ma Ying went to seek out Su Jinrong. The Ma and Su families were once enemies—Su Jinrong had raped Ma Ying's sister and killed his father. For the greater cause of resisting Japan, Ma Ying engaged with Su Jinrong and forced him to release Chen Baoyi.
The society head, Wang Jinlan, wanted to make peace with Su Jinrong and met him at the head of the civilian militia, Liu Zhongzheng. Wang Jinlan expressed her intention to eliminate Ma Ying, and only then did Su Jinrong turn his anger into joy. That night, a girl rushed to Ma's house with news—she was Su Jianmei, Su Jinrong's niece. Thanks to Jianmei's timely warning, Ma Ying narrowly escaped Wang Jinlan's murderous plot.
The Japanese were getting closer and closer. Ma Ying stepped up the formation of anti-Japanese forces, and both Lao Meng and Jianmei joined the anti-Japanese efforts, spreading the ideals of resisting Japan and saving the country to the masses. Jianmei's brother Jiancai also wanted to join the anti-Japanese cause. He first joined Liu Zhongzheng's civilian militia but left in disappointment. The militia roamed the countryside, looting the people's property, and the soldiers were all opium addicts, no better than bandits. Su Jiancai, persuaded by his sister, found Ma Ying and joined the guerrilla forces.