Episode Summary
Zhuang Qifeng implements a risky plan to use soldiers and warhorses for spring planting, anticipating that the food-starved Japanese army will let them grow the crops before seizing them. As a famine worsens and political tensions with the Nationalists rise, the unit successfully ambushes a grain transport, but at a tragic cost. The episode ends with the death of the gravely ill Zhou Mi, whose final thoughts are of finding food for his people.
Spoiler Alert
The Farming Gambit
A Controversial Plan
Zhuang Qifeng is now running the county committee, and his first big move is a wild one. He wants to get the spring planting done. To do this, he plans to scatter his soldiers across the villages to help farm. He also wants to form a cavalry unit, not for fighting, but to use the warhorses to plow fields. The goal is to cultivate the abandoned land so displaced people can come home and start producing food again.
It’s a solid plan on paper. The problem is the soldiers.
Horses Are Comrades, Not Tools
Zhuang Qifeng calls a meeting to discuss the spring planting. When he brings up using warhorses for farm work, the soldiers are not having it. These aren't just animals to them. They are partners who have faced life and death with them on the battlefield.
Zhuang Qifeng gets it. He doesn't dismiss their feelings. Instead, he tells them about He Dashan's family. He reminds them how civilians sacrificed everything to support the Eighth Route Army, giving up their food and even their lives. The speech hits home. The soldiers realize what's at stake for the people they are fighting for. They lead their horses to the fields.
The Enemy Is Watching
Over at the Ludian stronghold, the Japanese officer Kobayashi sees the fields being planted. He’s practically rubbing his hands together. He figures he can just wait until the wheat is ripe and seize it for his own troops, who are running low on supplies.
Qiu Jiasheng is there, undercover, and he's impressed with Zhuang Qifeng’s foresight. Zhuang Qifeng later explains this was no gamble. He knew the Japanese and their puppet army were desperate for food. They would never refuse a harvest that fell into their laps. Then, as if on cue, it rains. The timing is perfect for the crops and for the plan.
A World at War and a People Starving
Shifting Tides
The date is now December 1941. Japan has just attacked Pearl Harbor, and the Pacific War has started. This changes things. The Nationalist party, led by Chiang Kai-shek, completely misreads the situation. Chen Shouzheng tells Sun Yulin that their leadership thinks the war is as good as won. They believe the Americans will crush Japan, so it's time to shift focus and deal with the Communists.
Famine Sets In
While the politicians are making new plans, the people are starving. The wheat isn't ready yet. The famine is so bad that villagers are eating tree bark and grass roots to survive. Morale among the soldiers is tanking. Even some of Zhuang Qifeng’s own officers are starting to doubt his strategy.
Liu Zhumei comes to visit Zhuang Qifeng and sees elm leaves on his desk. She immediately understands how dire the food crisis is and gives him the cornbread she brought. But Zhuang Qifeng is worried about Zhou Mi, who is sick in bed. He takes Liu Zhumei to see him. At first, Zhou Mi refuses the food, but he is finally convinced to eat a small piece.
Blood for Grain
The Ambush
Just then, a scout brings urgent news. A puppet army transport is moving eight carts of grain to the Ludian stronghold. Zhuang Qifeng immediately orders an ambush.
During the fight, he gives a strict order not to fire near the grain carts. But a stray bullet rips through one of the sacks. Golden wheat spills onto the road. Without hesitating, a soldier throws himself onto the sack to plug the hole with his body. He is hit by another bullet. His blood soaks into the grain he died to protect.
A Leader's Last Words
After the battle, Zhuang Qifeng tries to comfort his shaken soldiers. He takes some of the captured rice to make porridge for Zhou Mi.
He is too late. Zhou Mi is on his deathbed. As he fades, he looks out the window at the blooming locust flowers. With his last breath, he tells his guard to have the villagers pick the flowers to eat. Then he closes his eyes.
