Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

At this moment, for Xie Baoqing, the entire village was so quiet that it was a little scary.

He was only wearing a tiger-skin cloak and was escorted barefoot to the center of the hall.

Looking up, he saw a young man in a grey Eighth Route Army uniform sitting on the throne that he had sat on for who knows how many years.

"You...you are...the Eighth Route Army?"

Xie Baoqing recognized the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army. He had made a living by robbing people over the years and knew who to offend and who not to offend.

The Eighth Route Army was an existence he would not provoke.

It's not out of fear, but out of respect for the Eighth Route Army.

He had never had any conflicts with the Eighth Route Army in all these years, so he was no longer so panicked. He stammered, "Eighth Route Army comrades, I wonder… what brings you… come… come… come… visit in the middle of the night? What brings you… come ...

"Thank you, Boss. It seems you still recognize this outfit!"

Lin Qiang's words reassured Xie Baoqing. He said, "How could I not... not know him? I... I... Xie Baoqing, I've robbed... the Japanese and puppet troops, but I've never robbed... the Eighth Route Army."

Lin Qiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Xie, we are not here to cause you any trouble."

"Then please… may I ask what the… number of people mean?"

Talking to a stutterer was a test. Lin Qiang really didn't want to waste time, so he said, "Master Xie, listen to me from now on. Nod if you agree, and shake your head if you disagree."

"do you understand?"

“It’s clear…clear…”

Then, Lin Qiang explained the purpose of his late-night visit: "I also know that Xie Dangjia has never made things difficult for our Eighth Route Army, so I won't make things difficult for you. This time, I mainly want to talk to Xie Dangjia about the matter of incorporation."

"Of course, the main reason is that I want to borrow this Feng Shui treasure land for a period of time. I can't say exactly how long."

This is true. Who knows, one day Li Yunlong might give the order to return to the regiment headquarters. By then, we won’t know which gang of bandits’ lair this Heiyun Village will become.

A look of astonishment appeared on Xie Baoqing's bearded face. He wanted to speak, but when he opened his mouth no sound came out.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as your consent!"

Lin Qiang didn't give Xie Baoqing a chance to speak. He said to Hu Zi, "Go, signal Zhang Yuntian to let the team enter the village."

"Yes!"

Hu Zi turned around and ran out immediately after receiving the order. Although Lin Qiang had a gun in his hand, he was still a little worried that something unexpected might happen.

Xie Baoqing held it in for a long time before finally saying, "Comrade Eighth Route Army, this world is so… big, and everywhere is… the base of our comrades. How could my little Black… Black Cloud Village… enter your… your… law… your eyes!"

"Whatever it is, we...we have to...talk about the truth!"

"Thank you, Boss. I think I have made my words very clear."

Lin Qiang aimed his gun with one hand, ready to pull the trigger without hesitation if Xie Baoqing dared to make even the slightest movement. He said coldly, "You're a bandit, and I'm a soldier. Soldiers have always been right, especially now that I'm pointing a gun at your head, so my words are the truth."

"Heiyun Village is a dangerous place. Not only is it easy to defend but difficult to attack, the terrain is also wide open. Counting the surrounding hills, it's more than enough to accommodate an entire regiment. It's such a great place, but it's not used to fight the Japanese. Don't you think it's a shame?"

"Eighth Route Army..."

"Don't talk, just listen to me."

Lin Qiang genuinely didn't want to listen to Xie Baoqing anymore; it was too much work. He reached out to interrupt him and continued, "I said I wouldn't make things difficult for you. When my team arrives, you have to wake up everyone in the village. I promise I won't force them to stay or leave."

"Of course, Mr. Xie, if you want to stay here, I'd definitely welcome you."

Outside the door, several leaders of Heiyun Village were tied together, with their own clothes stuffed in their mouths. They could not speak and could only make grunting sounds.

The door was open, so they could hear what Lin Qiang said to Xie Baoqing.

Regarding the matter of recruiting, the other leaders did not react very strongly, but the man with shifty eyes and a mustache reacted most strongly.

This person is none other than the second in command of Black Cloud Village, Shanmao.

When he was tied up, he was still dreaming sweet dreams in bed. Now he heard that the Eighth Route Army wanted to forcibly requisition the village and wanted to incorporate all his men. A surge of anger rose to his head.

I wish I could break free right now, rush in and shoot that ungrateful guy to death.

After struggling for a few minutes, Bobcat suddenly heard a burst of hurried and orderly footsteps coming from far away, and the little flames in his pupils continued to grow bigger and brighter.

After a rough count, there were about a hundred people, which was twice as many as the brothers in the village!

Now the mountain cat didn't dare to move anymore, even though the sky was as dark as ink, and he was worried that his actions would be seen by others.

Even so, Qiangzi noticed him at first sight, walked up to him and said with a smile: "You better behave yourself, or you might not see the sun tomorrow morning."

After saying that, he led the soldiers to kick the doors one by one and wake up all the sleeping bandits.

Hu Zi walked into the hall, glanced at the honest Xie Baoqing, and said, "Platoon leader, the brothers are all here. Qiang Zi is leading people to wake up the bandits."

"it is good."

Lin Qiang nodded in satisfaction and said, "Gather all the guns and ammunition in the village."

Hu Zi didn't move and responded, "Zhang Yuntian has already taken people to do this."

You are quite good at handling things!

Lin Qiang nodded, then looked at Xie Baoqing: "Master Xie, now that things have come to this, what is your choice?"

Xie Baoqing did not give a choice, and this time he spoke surprisingly smoothly: "Eighth Route Army comrades, can you let me put on my clothes first?"

How could Lin Qiang not know his little trick? He smiled and nodded, "No problem, Mr. Xie, please feel free to do as you please."

If nothing unexpected happens, Baoqing will go ice skating.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Hu Zi went to the room to take a look and said anxiously, "Platoon leader, that old guy ran away!"

At this time, Qiangzi just finished his work and came in. He turned around immediately after hearing this and said, "I'll take people to chase him!"

"and many more!"

Lin Qiang stopped them and said with a smile, "Don't chase him. If he runs away, then he runs away."

Hearing this, Qiangzi turned around and looked at Lin Qiang in a high position with confusion, not quite understanding what this meant.

Hu Zi, who was more quick-witted, had a guess in his mind and asked, "Platoon Leader, did you let him escape on purpose?"

Lin Qiang didn't respond, but nodded with a smile.

"Platoon leader, why let him go?"

Qiangzi also looked at Lin Qiang in confusion, hoping to get an answer.

"Let me ask you, if you were suddenly asked to join the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, would you be willing?"

The two shook their heads and said in unison: "Of course we don't want to!"

"That's it!"

Lin Qiang said carefully: "Think about it, Xie Baoqing has been a bandit for quite some time. His life is not particularly good, but it is quite enjoyable. If we suddenly ask him to join us, he will definitely not want to!"

"Don't worry, although this guy is a bandit, he has never done anything harmful to the world, nor has he ever caused trouble for our Eighth Route Army's transport team. Now that the situation has changed drastically, even if he wants to, he won't be able to cause any trouble."

Although the original novel did not mention what happened after Xie Baoqing left, it seems that he found a place to enjoy his old age.

The worst outcome is to be beaten to death by the Japanese and puppet troops that have been offended over the years.

After listening to Lin Qiang's explanation, the two of them stopped worrying about it.

Lin Qiang gave a wink, and Hu Zi immediately understood and turned around to close the door.

"Come here, you two. I have something to tell you."

When the two men came closer, Lin Qiang lowered his voice and said, "There are a few bosses outside the door. Everyone else can go, except that mountain cat."

Qiangzi asked in confusion: "Who is the mountain cat?"

"The second in command of Black Cloud Village, the one with shifty eyes and a mustache."

Now Qiangzi knew who it was and said, "That guy, I saw he didn't look like a good person when I first arrived. He was even trying to break free from the ropes, but he became quiet after I warned him."

Hu Zi asked, "Platoon Leader, what do you want us to do?"

Having followed Lin Qiang in battles for many years, the two men understood that he would not issue some confusing orders without reason. So they never asked why and just acted according to his orders.

Lin Qiang whispered, "As long as his death is justified, you can do whatever you want."