activa-t Chapter 60 I am the Mountain King
Chapter 60 I am the Mountain King
The next morning.
Huting Outpost.
The commander of the 4th Brigade, Iguchida, issued an order for the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment under the brigade to requisition grain immediately.
The officer in charge of the First Battalion was naturally Fujita Jiro.
Captain Fujita Jiro knew this time was different from the past.
The younger brother of the division chief of staff, Sakurai Yu, died in battle. Sakurai Yu's current demand for grain is nothing more than an opportunity to vent his anger.
When they went to the countryside to collect grain, they burned, killed, and looted everything in their path.
The Japanese army's so-called grain requisition was nothing more than a cover-up for their crimes and the implementation of their brutal "Three Alls" policy.
In the command room, Fujita Jiro summoned the two company commanders under his command to receive their orders.
First Company Commander Yamaguchi Dozo went to three villages in the enemy-occupied area south of the stronghold to collect grain: Shincho Village, Sanxing Village, and Mimi Village.
The second squadron leader, Inaba Ittetsu, also served in three villages: Shidong Village, Daming Village, and Taiyan Village.
Fujita Jiro himself left a company behind to hold the Huting stronghold.
A squadron consists of three platoons, each platoon is assigned to a village, and the mission has only three days.
At the same time, Fujita Jiro ordered a puppet army company to cooperate with the local intelligence team. Several hundred men marched out of the stronghold and headed in six directions.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to vent their anger, the 1st Battalion of the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army also engaged in some questionable actions.
Since Sun Liancheng's troops' supplies were seized by the Eighth Route Army, Qian Bojun has been unable to eat or drink for the past two days.
With the due date for repaying the gambling debts drawing ever closer, even if Qian Bojun were to cut back on the soldiers' rations, he wouldn't be able to save much.
pat.
The door to the command room was pushed open, and Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang Fugui walked in.
Qian Bojun pressed further, "Is everything ready?"
Zhang Fugui nodded and said, "Battalion Commander, everything is ready, exactly 20,000 jin."
"Why!"
Qian Bojun sighed. The 20,000 jin of grain was obtained by deducting the military rations of more than 1,000 people in the entire battalion.
I thought I had the supplies to pay off my debts, but I never expected to end up like this!
Zhang Fugui quickly replied, "Battalion Commander, don't worry. We've already contacted all the grain merchants in Baishi Village and made arrangements along the way."
Qian Bojun nodded and said, "Yes, remember, be careful and don't let the news leak out."
"yes!"
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On the other side, there's Daxia Village.
Early in the morning, Zhou Huaiqi sent his servants to invite Ma to report on the matter of the maintenance committee.
Seeing that Zhou Huaiqi's intimacy with him had not decreased, Wang Yousheng understood that this plan would definitely succeed!
That very day, he ordered the district squad members to lie in wait at the Zhou family's house, ready to wait for Zhou Huaiqi, this big fat sheep, to come to his door.
Soon, Ma reported back with two servants.
As soon as Ma reported in, he saw Zhou Huaiqi standing at the door of the living room. He grunted, clearly not very friendly to Zhou Huaiqi.
Ma Huibao had been vying with Zhou Huaiqi for the position of head of the Wanjia Town Maintenance Association. After Zhou Huaiqi was elected, Ma Huibao was very unhappy, so the two had quite a conflict.
Ma hadn't originally planned to come, but considering that Zhou Huaiqi was already the chairman, he was afraid that Zhou Huaiqi would use underhanded tactics against him, so he had no choice but to come anyway.
Just as Zhou Huaiqi was leading his men forward, several of Zhou family servants suddenly pounced on them and seized two of his men.
Ma Huibao looked completely bewildered, his gaze fixed on Zhou Huaiqi standing at the entrance of the hall. He angrily shouted, "Zhou Huaiqi, what do you mean by this?!"
Zhou Huaiqi chuckled and then gave up his seat. Immediately afterward, a man walked in from around the corner of the hall. It was Wang Yousheng!
Wang Yousheng glanced at Ma Huibao.
This man, Ma, was in his fifties or sixties. He was thin, with a wrinkled, sallow face and a pair of triangular eyes that gleamed with a faint fierce light. In particular, the large black teeth he revealed when he spoke clearly showed that he had smoked too much opium.
Wang Yousheng said, "Hello, Village Chief Ma!"
"Who are you?"
Ma reported, raising an eyebrow.
Wang Yousheng wasn't stupid; he wouldn't actually reveal his identity.
So he stepped forward and then flashed the Mauser pistol tucked into his waistband.
Ma reported in shock: "Huh? You're a member of the Eighth Route Army?"
"Hey, Village Chief Ma, you're overthinking it. I'm the local tyrant!"
"Your Majesty?"
Ma Hui was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to his senses. These were damn bandits.
Zhou Huaiqi is the head of the puppet regime, how did he get involved with the bandits? Did he recruit them into his gang?
While he was still in a daze, Wang Yousheng had already pressed the muzzle of his gun against his head.
Wang Yousheng sneered, "I heard you work for the Japanese?"
Ma Huibao was startled by the sight of the gun barrel and instantly lost his composure.
He had heard that the Eighth Route Army wouldn't easily open fire and kill people, but this mountain bandit was a different story. He was a man who lived by the sword, and judging from his tone, he didn't seem to have any good intentions.
It seems he doesn't get along with the Japanese? His mind was a mess. What was going on? Did this mountain bandit hate the Japanese, or was Zhou Huaiqi messing with him?
Ma reported through gritted teeth, "That's right, I work for the Japanese. From what you're saying, you want to get rid of me?"
"Oh?"
Wang Yousheng didn't expect this old guy to be so arrogant, using the Japanese to bully others.
Wang Yousheng shouted, "Men, tie him up!"
The two men stepped forward and gently pinned him down.
Ma reported back, cursing, "You bastard, Zhou Huaiqi, what exactly do you want to do? What do you want to do?!"
Zhou Huaiqi grinned mischievously, thinking to himself, "I don't care about you. I'll just watch you go bankrupt because of the Eighth Route Army."
In the living room.
Ma Huibao looked haggard and slumped to the ground.
He realized that the man in front of him was trying to rob him.
Moreover, he immediately asked for 20,000 catties of grain.
Twenty thousand catties of grain, even if each person carries one hundred catties, it would still require two hundred people. This mountain bandit looks very young, yet he has so many men.
Wang Yousheng sat in his chair, glanced at him, and said, "Village Chief Ma, obediently hand over the grain, or my bullets won't have eyes!"
Ma Huibao was so frightened that he trembled. Faced with the gun, he had no choice but to obey.
Zhou Huaiqi rolled his eyes at him, thinking to himself, "You little brat, you've finally met your match."
He glared at Zhou Huaiqi, thinking that Zhou Huaiqi must have conspired with the bandits to extort money from him.
Twenty thousand catties of grain was nothing to Ma Bao, after all, he was a well-known grain merchant in several towns nearby, and his family's granaries held 120,000 catties of grain.
After cooperating with the Japanese, he didn't dare tell them, fearing that he would be robbed.
Now that he's being blackmailed, what can he do? He should report it to the Japanese military police. If the Japanese knew he had stockpiled so much grain, wouldn't they empty his granary?
What's more, in the morning, a Japanese company outside Wanjia Town was sent out to requisition grain!
Everything was such a coincidence. It was better to pay 20,000 catties of grain to redeem oneself than to have the Japanese seize the granary.
Having made up his mind, Ma reported, "It seems I want to leave safely. Is this 20,000 jin of grain my ransom?"
Wang Yousheng said, "That's right. Send your men back to deliver the message that the grain must be transported here before evening, or I'll cut off your head and feed it to the dogs."
Ma reported through gritted teeth: "Fine, I admit defeat today!"
Wang Yousheng glanced at him, and wow, the intimacy level had dropped to -100...
However, this is the only way to deal with such traitors.