Chapter 84
The sun is high in the sky, shining brightly.
This was Xiang Anfu's fifth day in the desert. During this time, the robbers only gave these revolutionary fighters a little water to drink, and not even anything to eat. They just let them lie in the desert in the wind and sun.
Think of how glorious it was for Xiang Anfu, Nie Minghong and others to carry out the revolution in the capital. They carried the slogans of the Capital General Revolutionary Committee and in the name of □□, and enjoyed the best food and drink in every city. They were rampant and fought whoever they wanted and never failed.
Who would have thought that once they arrived at the border, their revolutionary work was initially blocked by various obstacles. Later, when they finally got their work going in full swing and before they could whip that gang of old men enough, they were kidnapped by robbers and taken to an unknown desert.
They wanted to run, but they couldn't. If they tried to run, the robbers would shoot them to death without hesitation. They wanted to ask for help, but there was endless desert for hundreds of miles. Where could they go for help?
Several days of high temperatures and scorching sun, as well as lack of food and water, made Xiang Anfu dizzy, hungry and thirsty, with his lips dry and cracked. He could only curl up helplessly in a sand nest slightly sheltered from the wind.
He stared with hatred at the masked robbers who were sitting in front of the tent with guns in their arms, only their mouths showing, eating and drinking canned food, and said weakly: "What do you want? You didn't give us food and water for so many days. Do you want to starve us to death? You are so brave. Do you know who you kidnapped? We are a revolutionary group from the capital. You dare to touch us and treat us like this. Aren't you afraid that we can call the army to kill you all?"
The robbers burst into laughter as if they had heard something funny. One of the men said, "Don't think we don't know what your so-called revolutionary group is. Aren't they just a bunch of scumbags who can't stand seeing other people doing well? Under the guise of revolution, they go around destroying people's houses, cultural relics, and family members. Do you really think you are so powerful that you think we are afraid of you? Don't even mention that you are from the capital. Even if the idiots above you dare to show up in our territory, we will kill them if we want!"
Another robber dug into their hearts: "As far as I know, your superiors have always been at odds with the military. They suppress us and clamor to seize power from the military every day. Unfortunately, the military would rather die than hand over the military power to them. The military hates you guys to death. Do you think the military will pay attention to you, such a low-class person? They hope that you will all die. Will they kill us for you? Don't dream!"
A robber with a hoarse voice and a minority accent said, "You should also thank the border guards and the Corps Armed Forces for protecting the farm and the border and chasing us from time to time. If it weren't for them, the entire border would be ruled by us robbers, and you wouldn't have the chance to shout in the farm."
As the man spoke, he walked over and slapped Xiang Anfu several times in the face with the butt of his gun, causing his mouth to bleed. He then spat on his face and said, "Behave yourself. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll send you straight to see Changshengtian."
Xiang Anfu's head was buzzing with pain. It has been said since ancient times that border areas are dangerous places. The soldiers from the inland areas who come here to suppress the situation are risking their own lives. He didn't believe it before. He thought that a border area was just a place with more people from ethnic minorities. What was there to be afraid of?
Now facing these robbers who regarded human life as nothing, he was filled with regret. If he had known earlier, he should not have volunteered to come to the border to start a revolution, hoping to take the opportunity to move up to a higher level. He should not have taken the initiative to ask those armed forces to stop working, giving these robbers an opportunity to take advantage.
His current situation is that no one can help him, what can he do?
He did not want to sit and wait for death. At night, when the robbers were drowsy, he approached the tied revolutionaries and whispered: "Comrades, we can't just wait to die like this. We have to take the initiative and find a way to escape and seek help."
"What good ideas do you have?" others asked.
Xiang Anfu thought for a moment, "We have to unite and get some food and drink from them, preferably some weapons, and then find a way to seize their car and escape to a place with green plants."
"But our hands and feet were tied up, and we hadn't eaten or drunk anything for several days. I was so hungry that I felt dizzy and had difficulty speaking. How could I have the energy to fight against those strong robbers?"
"Yes, in the first two days after we arrived, didn't you plan to escape collectively at night? In the end, everyone who escaped was beaten to death. There were more than 70 of us, but now there are only more than 50 left. The bodies of those who died are still lying near us. The stench is so bad that I can't sleep. How dare you run?"
"I'm not going to run away. I'm hungry and thirsty now. I don't have the energy to run away. Let them do whatever they want."
A group of people were chattering and talking in frustration. They had all given up the desire to live. It was really because the robber who was guarding them was too cruel.
Xiang Anfu said: "Comrades, the revolution has not yet succeeded. How can we give up so easily and let those robbers dominate our lives? We have to take action to fight for our chances of survival. Don't you want to go back alive and see your families?"
Hearing the word "family", the others finally had a glimmer of hope in their eyes, "So what do you say we should do?"
"Let's do this..." Xiang Anfu came up to them and muttered.
It was the middle of the night. There was no moon in the desert tonight. In the dark heart of the desert, the robbers were drowsy, but four or five robbers were holding guns, guarding Xiang Anfu and others.
Xiang Anfu suddenly said that he wanted to go to the toilet, and then several other revolutionaries also said they wanted to go to the toilet. The two robbers scolded them for being troublesome, pointed their guns, and took them to a place a little further away from the sand nest to relieve themselves.
They had been walking for less than a minute when gunshots suddenly rang out in the desert. The other sleeping robbers were awakened from their dreams. A leading robber walked out of the tent and shouted, "Who the hell fired the gun? What happened?"
"These bastards are trying to steal a gun!" A robber's voice came from not far away.
The people in the sand house were shocked when they heard what Xiang Anfu had said. They all stood up and ran in all directions without caring about anything else.
"Damn it, don't you want to live anymore?" When the leader saw that the revolutionaries dared to run away without fear of death, he raised his gun and shot in the direction they were running.
The other robbers also opened fire.
Bang, bang, bang, gun bullets exploded everywhere, bringing with them a pungent smell of gunpowder. The instinct for survival made many people lie down in fear, not daring to run anymore.
However, Nie Minghong, who was unafraid of tigers, gritted his teeth and ran towards the vehicle parked behind the robbers' tent based on the location he remembered during the day, with blurred vision.
But the bullets from that gang seemed to have eyes and kept chasing her. As the bullets whizzed by, she felt a burning pain in her cheeks. She touched it and found it was sticky and hot, as if it was dripping with blood.
"Oh my God, I'm shot!" She didn't dare to run anymore and could only lie on the ground and pretend to be dead.
But the gunfire around them did not stop. The sound of bullets was still ringing in his ears. Nie Minghong's mind went blank and he muttered to himself, "It's over. We are going to die here. The people in this border area are too barbaric. No wonder no one is willing to be sent down here to fight for the revolution. The people here are all rebelling!"
There was a crackle, bang, bang, and the sound of bolts of guns being pulled again and again, and it seemed to come from all directions.
Nie Minghong covered his face, curled up on the sand, shivering all over. Gradually he heard something wrong. Why were there some gunshots, as if they were coming from far away?
She tried to raise her head and look around. Other members of the revolutionary group also noticed something was wrong and raised their heads to look.
In the distance, there were many bright flashlights and human figures running towards them.
With the help of the flashlights, they could see that those people were wearing cadre uniforms, liberation uniforms, military uniforms, and even a few ordinary people mixed in. They shouted their names and yelled, "Listen, robbers on the opposite side, please release the hostages immediately, otherwise we, the Tianshan Farm Armed Forces Department and the Tianshan Border Defense Department, will execute you on the spot."
The Tianshan Farm Armed Forces and the Tianshan Border Defense Force came to rescue them? !
When Nie Minghong and his fellow revolutionaries heard what they were shouting, they cried with joy, "We are saved!"
They thought the robbers would put up a fight and fight the Tianshan gang, after all, they hadn't gotten the money yet.
Who knew that when the robbers heard the other side shouting their name, they immediately hurriedly broke camp and packed up their things, then loaded all the things into their truck. They never even looked at the revolutionaries from beginning to end, and just drove away.
Nie Minghong and others were dumbfounded. They had never expected that the vicious gang of bandits who wanted to kill them would run away like a cat seeing a mouse when they saw the Tianshan Farm Armed Forces and Border Defense Department. They never thought of fighting with them.
After the gang of bandits ran away, people from the farm's armed forces and border defense departments came to them. They then discovered that the leader of the farm was actually the old farm secretary whom they had whipped before, and the leader of the border defense department was the husband of the farm director who had refused to cooperate with their work a few days ago.
"Comrade Xiang, Comrade Nie, Comrade Tian...Are you all right?" When Secretary Zhai saw the revolutionaries, he ran to them anxiously, pulled them up one by one, and asked about their recent situation.
He was almost fifty years old and had been tortured by the revolutionary group and the Little Red Soldiers. His hair was half white and his face was full of scars. He was still wearing the gray Zhongshan suit he had worn when he was arrested. His clothes were torn on his chest, back, shoulders, hands and thighs by whips. The blood that seeped from the wounds had dried and solidified on the rips in his clothes, making him look covered with wounds.
He saw that the members of the revolutionary group were all dishevelled and looked depressed. He said with great self-blame: "Comrades, it was my fault for not doing my job well, which gave those robbers the opportunity to kidnap and harm you comrades. Since you were kidnapped, our farm cadres, together with the border defense department, have been looking for you and have never stopped to rest. Fortunately, God will not let down those who work hard, and we finally found you!"
When Nie Minghong and his companions saw his wounded clothes and heard what he said, they were overwhelmed with guilt. The joy of surviving the disaster made them burst into tears. They cried uncontrollably and said, "Old Secretary, it's great that you came to save us! We will be grateful to you forever."
After this time, the revolutionary group completely ceased operations, except for Xiang Anfu who was shot in the leg and needed to stay for treatment. In addition, he stayed for treatment because he was suspicious of the robber who suddenly kidnapped them and then inexplicably escaped. After simple repairs and treatment, the others boarded a plane back to the capital three days later.
Without the revolutionary group's obstruction, the little Red Soldiers in the area became bored and dispersed one after another. Liu Dabao's whereabouts were unknown. No one knew whether he was killed by the bandits or escaped.
The farm has resumed production, but the weeds in the fields have grown as tall as thighs. If the weeds are not removed and fertilizer is applied, the farm's harvest this year will be ruined.
After experiencing food shortages and robberies, the farm workers finally realized that without the protection of Secretary Zhai and the farm cadres and the armed forces, they would be like fish on a stick, at the mercy of others.
If they still dare to follow those little Red Soldiers and revolutionaries to rebel against the revolution and drive away the truly good leaders, it will be very difficult for them to live a normal life, let alone a good life.
So at Secretary Zhai's command, all the farm workers, regardless of gender, age or status, were busy in the fields. The whole farm was full of busy people, and everything was developing in the right direction.
However, even in this peaceful environment, there are always people spoiling the fun, such as Xiang Anfu, who did not leave. He always felt that the robbery was too suspicious, and he ignored his own injuries and visited the farm workers everywhere, trying to find clues.
Under his guidance, the farm workers said one after another: "Our Secretary Zhai has always honestly led our entire farm to complete production tasks, and the comrades from the Armed Forces have always been protecting the lives and safety of our workers. How could we know where those robbers came from?"
"Secretary Zhai is protecting the lower-class intellectuals, letting them live a good life, and building experimental fields for experiments? I haven't heard of that. I work hard in the fields every day. I won't ask about the affairs of the officials."
"Comrade Xiang, do you still want to criticize Secretary Zhai and Director Yang of the farm? Hey, let me tell you something unpleasant. You arrested, beat and abused Secretary Zhai indiscriminately before, but he put aside his grudges and searched everywhere with the Border Defense Department to find your traces. That was out of his sincere heart. If he was really a counter-revolutionary, and you were captured by robbers, wouldn't it be better for him to let you die in the hands of the robbers? Why would he bother to save you? And Director Yang, she is a red and professional military wife. The Border Defense officers and soldiers who came to rescue you this time were her husband who came to rescue you. You still want to fight her. Are you crazy?"
"Why did the robbers run away when they saw the people from the farm's armed forces and border defense department? Comrade Xiang, didn't you learn about the history of our border before you came to the border? When our Corps Farm first entered the border, the first thing we did was not to open up wasteland and cultivate the land, but to suppress bandits! At that time, our troops spent so much time and energy, and shed so much blood to strangle most of the bandits and make them afraid of our Corps, so we opened up the wasteland. Now, after so many years, several Corps on our border have become the largest reserve grain storage area in the Republic. First, those idle bandits have been watching us all day. We are close to the border defense department and have our own armed forces. Usually, our farm workers would do military training when they are free. But you came and gave us random orders and messed up things. You ordered our armed forces to stop working. The bandits who were watching us covetously found an opportunity to take advantage of us. They are not stupid. They didn’t get food and money. Our large army went to rescue you. Would they risk their lives for a little money? Of course, they would run away if they could.”
Well, Xiang Anfu ran all over the farm, but didn't get the questions he wanted to ask, so he went to find the children and used candies and snacks as a sugar-coated bullet to get questions.
Children are innocent and say whatever they want. Even though the adults have warned them not to talk nonsense, Xiang Anfu still heard something and rushed to the cowshed on the farm.
He limped to the cowshed and found that the old intellectuals actually had time to rest at noon and ate steamed buns made of three-grain flour.
He immediately found a whip and lashed those low-class intellectuals with it, saying ferociously, "You old idiots, don't you know who you are? With your low-class background, do you deserve to eat or rest? Get up and go to work!"
There were several old intellectuals, including Professor Zheng and Professor Cai, about thirty people in total, all wearing tattered, thin, gray clothes, with half of their hair gray and half wearing glasses. Their bodies were covered with bloody marks from being whipped, but they dared not say a word. They walked out of the cowshed one by one like machines, waiting for his teachings.
Secretary Zhai got the message from somewhere, and rushed over on a tractor. He shook hands with Xiang Anfu and said, "Comrade Xiang, your leg injury has not healed yet. You should rest more in the hospital. You can leave the supervision and supervision of these people to us. You don't have to worry about it."
"Comrade Zhai Hongbo, I have to be careful. Some people on your farm are hypocritical and do things that are not in line with our superiors' policies. They also want to cover up the truth. If I don't pay some attention, won't you be able to get away with it?" Xiang Anfu proudly called out the name of Secretary Zhai, who was more than 20 years older than him, and stretched out his hand to tidy up his greasy hair and said, "Your farm has a big problem."
"Yes, yes, Comrade Xiang is right. But no matter what happens, nothing is more important than your health. Comrade Xiang, I think you should go back to the hospital as soon as possible to treat your leg. Only then will you have the strength to correct the problems on our farm."
Secretary Zhai said humbly, "Our farm has always been a model farm in the border area, and our production tasks have always exceeded the targets. This time, because of the arrival of Comrade Xiang, our farm's production tasks have been delayed a lot. Now the whole farm is working hard to catch up with the production tasks. These low-class intellectuals are also busy from morning to night, and can only take a break at noon. If you can't get used to it, let them work like oxen and horses, from morning to night, and only let them rest when they die."
Xiang Anfu was uncomfortable with these words, which were half flattery and half criticism. He snorted coldly, "I am devoted to the revolution. Everything I do is for our republic. We must be as cruel to these low-class people as we are to our enemies, so that they can realize how wrong their previous thoughts were. Secretary Zhai, because you saved our revolutionary group's life, I will not investigate you any more, nor will I kill you. But you must not stop me from doing things, otherwise I will call the capital and you will forget about keeping your position."
Secretary Zhai was helpless and could only nod and agree, "Comrade Xiang, you must take care of yourself."
Xiang Anfu felt that he had found something to hold against the intellectuals, and he was very proud of it. He directly occupied Secretary Zhai's tractor, and let a tractor operator who could drive a tractor act as his driver. He swung the whip in his hand and whipped the intellectuals hard, urging them to go down to the fields and do the heaviest work of clearing the silt in the ditches.
He sat on a tractor, driven by the tractor operator, and followed behind the intellectuals. If he saw them walking slower, he would whip them. Some of the thin and sick intellectuals could not bear it and fell to the ground. He still kept whipping them, cursing at them and telling them to get up and continue.
Yang Qiujin stood under a blossoming date tree and watched from afar as Professor Cai's frail body fell to the ground. He was unable to get up for a long time, his face covered in blood and looked like he was dying from being beaten by Xiang Anfu.
Several professors nearby wanted to help him, but were beaten by Xiang Anfu's whip and fell to the ground one after another, their faces also covered in blood. Yang Qiujin clenched her hands unconsciously, tears in her eyes, forced herself not to look, and turned away.
She returned home in a horse-drawn cart. Chen Shengqing saw that she looked unhappy and asked her what happened.
She told what she had seen and finally couldn't hold back her tears. She cried and said, "Xiang Anfu, no, those people who helped the revolution, why did they abuse Professor Zheng and others so much? They didn't do anything to hurt anyone, but they were treated like this just because of their class background. Their past contributions were completely ignored. Are all the leaders of our country so indiscriminate?"
Chen Shengqing held her in his arms, took out a clean handkerchief, wiped her tears, and said softly: "Don't cry, and don't fight for justice. This situation is only temporary. Our country's leaders will not let those people keep fighting and make the whole country a wasteland. This situation will pass sooner or later."
Yang Qiujin blinked her red eyes, "You mean, this fight will eventually stop?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, it will stop in a few years." Chen Shengqing reassured her, "Xiang Anfu won't stay in your farm for long and will leave."
"He is now acting like a bully on the farm, extremely rampant, and no one dares to provoke him. Is it possible that he will leave?" Yang Qiujin expressed deep doubt.
"If he doesn't leave, find a way to make him leave."
Yang Qiujin's eyes lit up, "What can you do?"
Chen Shengqing smiled and said, "You will know soon."
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