In front of him, Xi Ping'an was gently lifting a piece of red cloth...
Those below fell silent, holding their breath and staring intently, as if something important was about to emerge from beneath the red cloth.
Xi Pingan gently tugged at the red cloth, which fell down, revealing a smooth marble slab underneath and a dense pattern of...
"That's... a name? Isn't it? Isn't it?"
"Let me see, let me see!"
"They're names! They're names! Look, the one at the very bottom is Lin Dayong! Sun An! Li, Li Dazhu! Yang, Yang Jinjiang!"
A voice suddenly rang out from not far away, disregarding the need for solemnity at that moment.
"Huh? Hey buddy, say it again, Yang something?"
Then came a cacophony of excited voices responding in unison.
"Yang Jinjiang!"
"It's Yang Jinjiang! Is he someone you know?"
After a few seconds of silence, the person behind suddenly burst into tears.
"Yang Jinjiang, Yang Jinjiang, Yang Jinjiang from the cavalry battalion of the garrison twenty years ago! Waaah!"
"That's my older brother, that's my older brother!"
Within moments, she was sobbing uncontrollably. Then, she staggered forward and stared straight at Xi Ping'an, who had just spoken.
"The secretary, the Party secretary, they are all martyrs, right? Is that right? Was Yang Jinjiang also a martyr?"
Xi Pingan looked serious.
"The 353 soldiers of the cavalry battalion stationed twenty years ago are all martyrs. The list of martyrs and their basic information have been archived. If there is definite identity information, their parents and relatives can come to confirm and verify it. Of course, the premise is that the peace of the martyrs should not be disturbed."
In this situation, Xi Ping'an put it more tactfully: those who genuinely want to acknowledge the martyr are welcome, but those who want to use their connection to the martyr or his name to gain some benefit or curry favor should not come.
"Oh, oh, I know, I know, I'll go back right now. My grandma has been thinking about this for twenty years, I have to go back and tell her this good news!"
After saying that, he staggered out.
As each name was read out, several more bursts of crying erupted from below.
Back then, recruitment was largely based on proximity, and many of the cavalrymen were locals or from neighboring provinces and cities. They all had relatives or friends in the county town. Regardless of distance, it was no secret that someone in the family was in the army and then suddenly disappeared. Before the search for relatives even began, there were already several leads.
Beside Jian Dan was an elderly man in his sixties who had come all the way from the county town with the group. He was dressed in neat peasant clothes, with patches on his knees, and stood ramrod straight. One of his trouser legs was empty.
The cane seems to be just an ornament.
Her eyes were wet at this moment, and she kept wiping them with her hands.
"Great, great, we finally found it! We're home! We're home!"
"Grandpa, do you know these martyrs too?"
The old man grimaced, but didn't manage a laugh. Finally, a lump formed in his throat, and the tears he'd been holding back for so long burst forth.
"Of course I know him, how could I not?"
The solemn atmosphere made the children feel somewhat restrained and nervous. Upon hearing the voices, they unconsciously turned their attention to him and stared intently at him.
Seeing how attentively they were listening, the old man probably wanted to confide in them as well.
"Back then, we were all just kids."
Back then, the cavalry battalion had just been formed, and they were all just young kids in their early twenties. They would play around and joke around, but when it came to riding horses and fighting enemies on horseback, they would all be more eager to sign up than anyone else. They were also very enthusiastic and dedicated to training, working hard every day. After training, they would cut grass, feed the horses, and even wash and clean them from time to time.
At that time, they had two treasures: a gun and a horse.
That's rare.
They were all young then, and few of them were married, but they took better care of horses than they did of their wives or parents.
When I returned from fighting, the first thing I did was check the horses, making sure they were thoroughly cleaned.
They carefully selected the best hay and feed for the animals.
The stables were all kept very clean.
If a horse gets injured, it's more painful for them than if they themselves get injured. If it weren't for the curfew, they would stay in the stable day and night with the horse, wishing the injury could be transferred to them.
Back then, Commander Lin, who was in charge of training them, would criticize them to their faces, but behind their backs he would often boast to others that they were the best soldiers and that as long as they didn't go astray, they would all have a bright future.
The county town was already unstable at the time of its liberation, and there were many forces eyeing it covetously, wanting to cause trouble. Fearing something might happen, the garrison's first priority, besides guarding against the enemy, was to cooperate with the local armed forces to maintain order and not disturb us ordinary people, all so that the day of liberation could go smoothly.
During those days, their cavalry training was also suspended. During the day, they went out to patrol the entire county, checking for dangerous spots and whether any enemies had infiltrated, and to find out any suspicious persons.
As a result, on the day before liberation, they patrolled outside all day and never returned at night.
and,"
He seemed to have just recalled some scene, and his cheerful expression immediately turned somber again.
"Moreover, they simply vanished without a trace, except for a bloody scene outside the county town the next morning."
353 people, and not a trace of them. The garrison sent out a lot of elite troops to investigate, but they found nothing except this pool of blood. The replacement said they left after patrolling, but no one was found in the county town. In other words, they didn't even step into the county town.
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