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"How could this be?"

After entering the city, Lu Shiyu always showed a sympathetic look, because what she saw and heard was nothing like what a big city should be like.

Everywhere looked desolate, with collapsed houses seen at intervals.

However, there are still quite a few street vendors, and most of the shops are open, but there are relatively few pedestrians on the road!

Xu Le also sighed and said, "In March 38, 3 Japanese soldiers easily occupied Linfen City. However, due to insufficient manpower and the anti-Japanese army and civilians' planned scorching and clearing of the countryside, the Japanese soldiers had no choice but to retreat. In February 500, the Japanese soldiers occupied this place for the second time. Since then, the Japanese soldiers have occupied this place for two and a half years. The people in the city have been oppressed by the Japanese soldiers for a long time."

Because Xiao Cui's identity was quite special, she was wearing a bamboo hat. She also spoke up, "The counties around Fenyang are not as good as this. The devils must have known they were going to retreat not long ago, so they plundered the people in the city, which led to the situation we see now!"

"These damned little Japs will go to hell sooner or later!"

The taciturn Wei Junjun also clenched his fists, trying hard to suppress the anger in his heart. Anyone who is a citizen of the Tang Dynasty would be moved to see a city become like this.

"It's already noon. There's a noodle stand up ahead. Let's go eat something first, and then go to the division headquarters after we're done!"

...

The owner of the noodle stall was an old man about 50 years old. There were three tables on the stall, and several soldiers were sitting at each table.

Judging from the style of the uniforms, they are the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army under Commander Yan.

Although he was curious about why the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army appeared here, Xu Le did not meddle in their affairs. They were all Tang Dynasty soldiers, and as long as they did not cause trouble, there would be no problem in friendly exchanges.

"Young masters and young ladies, what would you like to eat?" The boss looked at the two burly young men beside Xu Le and his companions, and asked tremblingly, as if he was afraid.

Xu Le said with a smile: "Boss, don't be nervous. We are here to eat. First, give each of us a bowl of noodles you made. Then, look over there and make a bowl for my men. I will let them come and get it themselves."

If you want to eat, the guards following you must also eat.

They entered the city in disguise. The guards were all dressed in tight clothes, but Xu Le and his companions were dressed in luxurious attire, and they looked like they were from wealthy families.

As he spoke, Xu Le took out two silver dollars from his pocket and placed them on the table.

The boss immediately said tremblingly, "Master, it won't take that much! One dollar is enough. I still need to pay you back!"

This is the purchasing power of the ocean, hard currency, whose value will hardly be affected by any external factors because it is made of pure silver.

As for change, it must be legal currency.

Xu Le didn't know what the current prices were. In order not to make the boss worry, he took back a dollar and asked, "Boss, how much is a bowl of noodles?"

According to his memories from his previous life, Xu Le remembered that when the legal tender was first issued in 35, the exchange rate with the dollar was one-to-one, that is, one dollar was equal to one dollar of legal tender.

Later, when the full-scale war of resistance broke out, the value of the legal currency shrank dramatically. When the legal currency inflation was at its worst, one dollar was equivalent to 1 million legal currency.

The current monthly salary of a private in the National Guard is 10 yuan in French currency.

The boss answered loudly while cooking noodles, "Sir, a bowl of noodles is only 5 yuan. I see that you have less than 40 people, so 200 yuan is enough. I will have to give you 100 yuan later!"

This means that 300 yuan of legal tender is equivalent to one dollar, which is not a serious depreciation, but it is far beyond the value of the legal tender.

At this time, the boss continued, "Thanks to our powerful Tang army, we recaptured the county and stabilized the market. When the Japanese were here, just half a year ago, you might not be able to buy a bowl of noodles with 100 yuan of French currency!"

Xu Le nodded with relief and did not reply.

The reason why the legal currency has depreciated so much is mainly due to two points.

One reason is that the full-scale war of resistance broke out, and the National Guard recruited a large number of soldiers and purchased supplies. The National Guard government had to increase the printing of legal tender, resulting in a large amount of legal tender being put into the market, which caused the value of legal tender to shrink.

Second, the Japanese printed counterfeit money on a large scale in the occupied areas and supported the puppet government in printing new currency to replace the legal tender, which caused the people to gradually lose trust in the legal tender. This was the most important reason for the depreciation of the legal tender.

Just as they were eating noodles, the discussion of several Shanxi Suiyuan soldiers at the next table reached Xu Le's ears.

"Hey, what do you think this is? They didn't call anyone else, but us!"

"Don't mention it. We are just unlucky! We thought we would get something out of this negotiation with the 88th Army, but we didn't expect Lu Biao to be so stubborn. Not only did we not get anything out of it, but we ended up in trouble!"

"I've heard that everyone in the 88th Army, from the division commander to the regiment commander, is well-off. Even a new soldier gets a solid dollar every month, and that's just the basic pay. I heard that the pay system they implement is a base salary plus commission set by Marshal Xu. As long as you make a contribution, no matter how big or small, you will get a dollar reward. On average, a soldier can get 2 dollars a month!"

"This military pay system is unique in the country!"

"That's right. You said that Lu Biao is not short of money. Now he occupies such a large area of ​​Linfen. What's wrong with giving us some money?"

"Okay, stop complaining. Some things can't be achieved by envy. At least we can get some French currency every month. If you join the guerrillas, you will be miserable. There is no military pay for being a soldier there."

One of them took a mouthful of the noodles that had just been served, and immediately spat it out on the ground, shouting, "Boss, what kind of noodles did you give me? Why are they so disgusting!"

The boss had let down his guard because of Xu Le's friendliness, but when he heard the Jinsui Army's shouts, he was frightened and trembling all over.

"Sir, this is the taste of my noodles. If you are not used to it, I will cook you a new bowl!"

The man who was already resentful pointed at Xu Le and said, "Why are they eating so happily? You old man, tell me, do you look down on me and that's why you don't add any toppings to my noodles?"

"It's unfair, sir. All my noodles are the same!"

However, the soldier did not listen. He stood up and walked to Xu Le. He was far away from her just now, but now that he was closer, he found that the women beside Xu Le were all beautiful. He immediately became lustful.

"Hey, are you girls eating noodles? Are they so delicious? Let me have a bite too!"

The rest of the Shanxi Suiyuan Army also came over and surrounded Xu Le and his companions as if they were there to watch the fun.

The noodle stall owner was so scared that he hid behind.