Heroic Little Eight Route

Adapted from the play of the same name by Chen Yun. In the 1950s, the Kuomintang army stationed on Kinmen Island frequently carried out military provocations against the mainland, resulting in the destruction of many peaceful villages along the Fujian coast and the deaths of many villagers. To ensure the safety of the masses, the higher authorities decided to transfer the students of the school to the rear. Living on the Fujian front, the young students Guojian, Linyan, Tieniu, Xiaoming, and Xiaohua were brave and strong-willed, deeply hating the atrocities committed by the Kuomintang army since childhood. They insisted on staying to support the front lines and repeatedly begged Secretary Zhao of the commune to let them join, just like Uncle Dong Cunrui when he asked to enlist in the army. However, Secretary Zhao still disagreed with their staying at the front; he advised them to obey orders and arranged for a car to take them to the rear. The clever children pretended to have stomach aches on the way back and cleverly escaped. On the road, they encountered a 'suspicious-looking' person and followed him all the way to the camp; it turned out to be a liberating army commander inspecting the positions. At the camp, they met Secretary Zhao and insisted they must stay, promising to participate in front-line work while continuing their studies. Seeing the children’s strong determination, Secretary Zhao had no choice but to agree to their request. During the execution of tasks, the children inevitably made some mistakes; once, the youngest, Xiaoming, was responsible for guarding the telephone but, due to his playful and timid nature, failed to timely ring the air raid alarm before the enemy shelling, but Secretary Zhao and Teacher Lin did not blame him, instead continuously encouraging and helping him to overcome his shortcomings. The children participated in building fortifications, moving ammunition, helping militia guard supervision posts, ringing alarms, bringing tea and meals to liberating army uncles, and washing clothes and shoes. On stormy nights, they even helped dry the clothes of liberating army uncles. Meanwhile, they also focused on their studies and competed with classmates in the rear. Through practice, the children grew into strong and brave little warriors. The enemy colluded and impersonated Xiaoming's uncle, who had not been seen for many years and had returned from Nanyang. Guojian detected the flaw and sent Xiaoming to report the situation to Secretary Zhao while he took the risk of accompanying the enemy spies to the military strategic position Lion Mountain to secretly monitor their actions. Thanks to the meticulous planning of the commune's party committee and the children's quick wit and bravery, the spies and hidden bad elements were eventually captured alive. The enemy continuously increased military harassment against our coastal areas, and the road bridge was blown up. To ensure transportation, the commune's party committee decided to urgently repair it. Teacher Lin unfortunately sacrificed her life while rushing to repair the bridge under enemy fire. The children were deeply saddened and presented red scarves to the commander to express their determination for revenge. Then, our army launched a fierce artillery attack on the enemy’s position. Suddenly, the telephone line from the regiment's command to the third company was severed, and the telephone operator, Xiao Hu, was seriously injured. In this critical moment, the children held hands to connect the phone line with their bodies. When the third company's artillery fired back at Kinmen Island, excited smiles appeared on the children's faces.