On the night of February 21, 1948, the moonlight shone on the large courtyard of the Cheng family in Xingzhuang (now part of Shuyang County, Suqian City). The Cheng family's house is spacious, with more than a dozen rooms, and is located in the heart of the village. And Cheng Tang, the mistress of the Cheng family, is lying on the bed in the side room at the moment, and her husband is sleeping next to her.
Suddenly, a noisy sound broke the silence of the night, and Cheng Tang was woken up. She gently poked her husband beside her and motioned for him to go out and see what was going on.
Since the beginning of February, when a company of Kuomintang troops moved into Xingzhuang, the otherwise peaceful village has become restless. The arrival of the Kuomintang army also had a big impact on the Cheng family, a wealthy landlord. The originally spacious house is now used as a company headquarters by the Kuomintang army, and the life of the Cheng family has changed dramatically.
Cheng and her husband were forced to move from their spacious backyard to a side house, while Kuomintang officers took over their rooms in a grand manner. These officers went in and out of the Cheng family's compound all day long, lived in the Cheng family's house, ate the Cheng family's food, and lived very comfortably. They seem to have completely forgotten that they are guests, and instead have a bit of a noisy meaning.
This made Cheng Tang and his wife feel very dissatisfied, but they didn't dare to show it openly. In that turbulent era, although the landlord family was wealthy, it had to always be protected against oppression and exploitation from all sides. Cheng Tang and her husband could only keep their voices down on weekdays, and carefully dealt with these Kuomintang officers, not daring to have the slightest disobedience.
Cheng Yuanzhi cautiously lay by the window, his heart beating as if it was about to jump out of his chest. He quietly opened a crack in the window and peeked out. In the darkness of the night, he saw two PLA soldiers in army green uniforms, being rudely pushed into the courtyard by a group of Kuomintang soldiers.
The two warriors faltered, as if they were suffering great pain with each step. Their hands were tightly tied together by wire, and they were dragged forward like cattle by the enemy. Their footsteps had left a mottled trail of blood on the ground, and they had apparently suffered considerable injuries.
Cheng Yuanzhi looked at all this, and his heart was mixed. He closed the window, slowly climbed back into bed, and said to his wife Cheng Tangshi with a solemn face: "There are people arresting outside, and two PLA soldiers have been arrested." ”
When Cheng Tangshi heard this, his heart tightened suddenly. She had long heard that the People's Liberation Army was the New Fourth Army that used to fight devils, and it was the army of the common people. Now, two PLA soldiers have fallen into the hands of the enemy, and listening to her husband's description of the scene is so tragic that she is not calm.
That night, Cheng Tang lay in bed, his heart full of worry and anxiety. She kept rolling over, trying to find a position where she could sleep peacefully, but she couldn't calm down anyway.
She thought of those brave PLA fighters and their sacrifice for the benefit of the country and the people. And she, as an ordinary person, couldn't do something for them, which made her feel extremely painful and helpless.
The next morning, before the first rays of sunlight on the horizon completely dispelled the silence of the night, Cheng Tang had already gotten up early. She picked up her broom and began to clean her yard. At the moment when she lowered her head and swept the floor, the corner of her eye inadvertently caught a glimpse of the two locked PLA soldiers in the east suite in the front yard. They were covered in blood, their faces were pale, and there was a look of despair in their eyes. This scene deeply touched Cheng Tang's heart.
She put down her broom and walked to the window, her eyes fixed on the two warriors. The blood on their bodies was glaring in the sunlight, and the desperate expressions pierced her heart like needles. Cheng Tang gritted his teeth and made a decision in his heart: "No matter what, I have to find a way to rescue them." ”
Just then, she heard a noise coming from outside. It turned out that the Kuomintang troops had gathered on the square outside the Dongwei Gate in Xinzhuang. Cheng Tang's heart moved, and she realized that this was the perfect opportunity to rescue the two fighters. She quickly ran back to her side room, took out a shovel from the corner, cautiously poked her head out, looked left and right, and after making sure that there were no enemies nearby, she ran like an agile cat to the door of the suite in the front yard.
She looked around again, and after making sure there was no movement, she took a deep breath, raised the shovel, and slammed the lock with all her strength. Each impact was accompanied by a dull thud, as if even the air was trembling. Cheng Tang's heart beat faster, and she knew that she was in a race against time and that she had to rescue these two fighters as soon as possible.
At the moment when the door lock was about to be smashed open, suddenly, a rush of footsteps came, and Cheng Tang's heart tightened suddenly. She quickly ducked to the side, staring nervously out the door. Luckily, the footsteps faded away, and she didn't seem to be spotted. Cheng Tang breathed a sigh of relief, raised the shovel again, and smashed the door lock with all his strength.
The two PLA officers heard a noise coming from outside. The two of them immediately straightened up alertly, and cautiously peered out through the crack in the door. I saw a sturdy village woman, holding a heavy shovel, smashing the door lock with all her might. The village woman's name was Cheng Tangshi, and her eyes were firm and her face was full of determination.
The two PLA fighters were already in despair and felt that they might not be able to escape. But seeing Cheng Tang's appearance, the light of hope was rekindled in their eyes. They looked at Cheng Tang with blank eyes, silently praying in their hearts that she could smash the door lock as soon as possible and rescue them.
However, things didn't go so well. Because the door lock was very strong, Cheng Tang smashed it for a long time, but still couldn't open it. Beads of sweat began to ooze from her forehead, not from her slamming on the door, but because she was anxious and worried about not having enough time.
As time passed, the anxiety in Cheng Tang's heart became more and more intense. She knew that if the two fighters were not rescued as soon as possible, everything would be over when the Kuomintang troops returned. At the thought that these two young lives might be killed because of this, Cheng Tang's heart felt like a knife, and she thought anxiously, what should she do?
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration flashed in Cheng Tang's mind, and a brilliant idea popped up. She stopped, took a deep breath, and decided that she would no longer rely on the simple and crude method of slamming the door with a shovel. She thought of a more ingenious and labor-saving way to use her body to hit the door.
Cheng Tang adjusted his breathing, gathered enough strength, and rushed towards the closed door. Her shoulder slammed against the door with a dull thud. She felt as if her bones were about to shatter, but she didn't stop. She gritted her teeth and slammed the door again. One, two, three...... Each impact made her feel a pang of pain, but she didn't flinch.
Just when she felt her strength almost run out, a miracle happened. The originally impregnable door began to loosen under her constant impact. With the last of her strength, she pushed it violently, and the door slowly opened a gap under the action of her strength. Although the door was not opened, the crack in the door was large enough for one person to squeeze out.
Cheng Tang didn't dare to hesitate, she knew in her heart that time waits for no one, and every second may be related to life. Therefore, without the slightest hesitation, she quickly squeezed through the narrow crack of the door and squeezed into the dimly lit room. Her fingers expertly untied the wire wrapped around the wrists of the PLA soldiers.
"Get up quickly and come with me. Cheng Tang's voice was low and firm, like a clear spring flowing in the dry desert, giving the two warriors hope for life. When they heard this, the despair in their hearts was instantly replaced by joy, and tears welled up in their eyes and slid down their dusty cheeks.
They wiped each other's tears away, their eyes full of anticipation for the future. Under the leadership of Cheng Tang, they cautiously walked out of the door, as if they had returned to the world from the edge of hell. At this moment, they felt extremely fortunate and grateful.
Cheng Tang led the two warriors, like ghosts in the night, quietly leaving the gate of the front yard. At night, the lights in the Zhuangzi are dim, and it seems extraordinarily quiet. She glanced back at the heavy door, and thought to herself, "I hope they haven't come back yet." Then, with two warriors, she walked cautiously along the shadows of the West Polder.
The moonlight was like water, sprinkled on the quiet country road, and the footsteps of Cheng Tang's echoed on the empty field. She didn't walk fast, but every step seemed firm and powerful. She knew that the responsibility on her shoulders was too great to be negligent. She constantly reminds the warriors around her to be vigilant and ready to deal with possible dangers.
Finally, Cheng Tang sent the two to the periphery of Zhuangzi, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she watched them disappear into the darkness in the distance. Then, she turned around and went back into the courtyard and hid in her house. Her heartbeat gradually calmed down, but she knew that the days ahead would be even more difficult.
It didn't take long for the sound of the Kuomintang troops gathering to break the silence of the night. Someone shouted, "Oh no, the two people who were arrested are gone!" The voice echoed in the night sky, and it was particularly harsh. The people in the Zhuangzi were awakened and poked their heads out to see what was happening.
The Kuomintang troops began to search anxiously everywhere, not sparing every corner. They shouted in frustration as if the whole world had collapsed. Cheng Tang was also arrested, and in the face of the group of soldiers in front of her, she did not have the slightest fear in her heart.
One of the officers stepped forward and asked her in a tough tone: "Cheng Tang, did you let those two PLA soldiers go?"
At this time, although Cheng Tang was panicked in his heart, he tried to remain calm on the surface. She raised her head and replied without hesitation, "No, how could I let them go? ”
At this moment, Cheng Yuanzhi hurried back from outside. As soon as he saw this situation, he knew that something was wrong. He hurriedly stepped forward and explained to the officers with a smiling face: "Ladies and gentlemen, my wife is a woman with small feet, and it is difficult to walk, how can she have the strength and courage to let go of those two PLA soldiers? ”
The officers looked at each other, a hint of doubt flashing in their eyes. Cheng Yuanzhi took the opportunity to say some good things, saying that he would fully cooperate with their work and hoped that they could let go of their wives. Under his soft grinding and hard bubbles, the officers finally lifted the doubts in their hearts. After all, they also thought that how could a woman with small feet dare to let go of the PLA soldiers without permission? In the end, the Kuomintang officers decided to release Cheng Tang for the time being.
So, a group of soldiers began to search carefully in the front and back yards of Cheng's house. They rummaged through every nook and cranny, not even a single straw was spared. But they didn't find any clues. In the end, the Kuomintang officers could only leave the Cheng family with the team in a huff.
On that day, the Cheng family experienced a thrilling test. But fortunately, with Cheng Tang's resourceful response, he successfully survived this crisis. And that night, Cheng Tang and her husband slept very soundly, with a happy smile on their faces.