Devil's Army

After dinner, Gray Wolf sent a telegram to Wang Zhuangfei, asking him to arrange for someone to investigate the owner, clerks, and porters who often helped them load goods at Zhangji Grain Store in Xingcheng County. Among them was a spy for the bandits in the mountains outside Xingcheng. After catching them, he could follow the clues and surrender the bandits.

Gray Wolf emphasized to Wang Zhuangfei that these bandits were originally lumberjacks from Suizhong County, and that they should avoid killing anyone if possible. After capturing them, those who were willing to serve as soldiers would be allowed to join the First Anti-Japanese Army. Those who were unwilling to serve as soldiers would be given travel expenses and allowed to go back and make a living on their own.

During this period, the First Army and the Japanese Army were basically in a stage of confrontation. There were no major battles, but small battles continued.

The main task of the First Anti-Japanese Army was to eliminate bandits and bullies and maintain the security of the base areas.

When Wang Zhuangfei heard what Gray Wolf said, he immediately sent scouts to investigate. He also arranged for a direct battalion to be responsible for eliminating this group of bandits.

Four scouts were responsible for scouting the Yangji Grain Store. The scout platoon leader dressed up as a boss and went to the Yangji Grain Store to buy two truckloads of grain.

A scout dressed up as a waiter and urged the porters to load the truck quickly so that they could rush to Jixian County early the next morning.

Another scout was keeping watch outside.

Soon, the scout in charge of surveillance discovered that a clerk from Yang Ji Grain Store hurriedly left the store and came to a grocery store.

He followed in and bought a pack of cigarettes.

The waiter bought a bottle of wine, then turned around and left in a hurry. The two did not have much conversation.

If there was no conversation, then the information must have been passed on notes.

The scout immediately stepped forward and asked the boss to show him the money that the waiter had just handed him.

The boss thought he was being robbed, and he was nervous, so he asked:

"What are you going to do? There are patrols everywhere on this street. You can't run away even if I shout."

The scout smiled and said, it seems that your patrol is quite effective.

He showed his ID to his boss and said:

"I'm investigating another case, please cooperate with me."

"So you are a soldier from the First Army. I misunderstood you. Here you are." The boss handed the money that the waiter had just given him to the scout.

The scout carefully checked the money and found nothing wrong with it, so he returned it to the boss and hurried out to chase the clerk.

Another scout who was watching at the door soon saw two porters loading the goods coming out.

The two of them walked towards the west, talking and laughing.

The scout quickly followed.

The two porters did not seem like the bandits' spies and were not at all vigilant.

The scout followed behind, and the two of them kept talking and laughing as they walked, unaware that someone was following them.

The two people entered a small house.

The scout was just about to move forward to check what was going on inside.

A man came out and walked westward in a hurry.

The scout followed behind as if nothing had happened.

The man was seen walking straight out of the city and heading towards the west of Xingcheng County.

The scout followed the man to the city gate and asked a soldier to report to the platoon leader, who continued to follow the man.

After a while, the man came to a hillside and climbed up the mountain without hesitation.

For fear of being exposed, the scouts followed at a distance.

After walking for a while, three bandits with machetes jumped down from the hillside.

They whispered to the man for a while, then turned and left, and the man also turned back to the city.

The scout had been hiding behind a tree, watching the man pass by not far from him and then head straight back to the city.

The man was humming a little tune and walking slowly in front.

The scout followed behind at a moderate pace.

Without entering the city gate, the platoon leader of the scouts came over with three men.

The scout told his platoon leader what he had seen.

The platoon leader immediately restrained the man in front, and then led them to surround the house, restrained the two porters and a sleeping man inside, and brought them back to the barracks.

After interrogation, the four men quickly confessed that the house was the contact point of the mountain bandits in the city, and the two porters were their spies.

They have already passed the news to their boss that two trucks of grain will be sent to Ji County tomorrow morning, and the boss will send someone to intercept the trucks of grain tomorrow morning.

Things went extremely smoothly, and the platoon leader immediately reported the intelligence to Captain Wang of the direct battalion.

The platoon leader revealed to the bandit's spy at Yangji Grain Store that they would leave the city early tomorrow morning.

At 2:30 in the morning, Captain Wang led the soldiers of his direct battalion to set up an ambush on both sides of the path where bandits often robbed.