Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

"Is this true?"

Before Wu Zhe could even open his mouth, the man behind him couldn't wait to ask, "Is that what Platoon Leader Lin said at the end true?"

"of course it's true!"

Lin Qiang said firmly: "It's more real than an embroidery needle!"

As expected of Qian Bojun's subordinate, he is very sensible!

The other party’s attitude gave Lin Qiang a new plan. Didn’t he release Zheng Qian before?

Lin Qiang's goal was to make the Japanese suspicious of him. His masters were either dead or escaped, but Zheng Qian, who was abandoned by Xiao Ye, was able to return to the county town intact. It was impossible to say that the Japanese would not be suspicious.

If he took the opportunity to add more firewood and make the flames of suspicion burn even more fiercely, Zheng Qian would be as good as dead.

I was just worrying that I wouldn’t have the chance to implement this plan, but now the opportunity has come to me!

As long as he makes good use of this opportunity, it is possible that not only Zheng Qian will be brought down, but even Qian Bojun's plan to surrender to the enemy will be aborted.

The outcome would depend on whether this knowledgeable soldier would believe what Lin Qiang was going to say next.

The conversation between the two made Wu Zhe a little surprised. He thought in his heart that Lin Qiang was joking, but when he looked carefully at Lin Qiang's expression, he felt that he was not lying.

If Wu Zhe had not seen the calm expressions on the faces of the people around Lin Qiang, he would have almost believed that what Lin Qiang said was true and that he really wanted to join Qian Bojun.

"I am the commander of the third company, Zhao Shan."

Zhao Shan extended his hand in welcome. "If what Platoon Leader Lin said is true, on behalf of the entire First Battalion, I welcome you to join us. With your abilities, Platoon Leader Lin, you will surely rise above the ranks of platoon leader."

Lin Qiang smiled. He hadn't even started to make big promises for himself yet. He was indeed Qian Bojun's right-hand man!

The original plan was to make the other party believe it, so Lin Qiang followed his words and said, "I, Lin, always keep my word. As long as your army is willing to accept me, the entire platoon of 400 people will be able to understand Captain Qian's orders at any time."

"To be honest, I'm a greedy person. As long as they can give me enough benefits, it doesn't matter who I work for. Let me ask you, who wouldn't want to follow a promising leader who can help them get promoted and make money?"

If you want to win people's hearts, you are not afraid of their greed, but you are afraid that they want nothing.

Lin Qiang took advantage of this to package himself as someone who would do anything as long as there was enough profit.

The more Zhao Shan looked at Lin Qiang, the more satisfied he became, not for anything else, but for the team of more than 400 people he mentioned.

Moreover, he could feel that every word Lin Qiang said was not a lie. Eyes never lie. He could see that Lin Qiang's eyes were filled with strong desire.

"Okay! Since Platoon Leader Lin has said so much, I should also express my gratitude."

Zhao Shan was a die-hard fan of Qian Bojun, so naturally he had to consider his interests. He thought that if he could take the opportunity to recruit Lin Qiang's team, he could gain more benefits when negotiating with the Japanese.

The superiors get more benefits, so naturally, their loyal subordinates will not be treated unfairly.

Even before this matter was finalized, Zhao Shan had already envisioned himself being praised by his superiors, getting promoted, and becoming rich. So he eagerly expressed his respect for Lin Qiang: "My abilities are limited, but if Platoon Leader Lin really joins our team, then this position of deputy company commander beside me will definitely be yours!"

In his opinion, if Lin Qiang wanted to be promoted from platoon leader to company commander, it would take an unknown amount of time. After all, he had to escape death several times to climb to the position of company commander.

The position of a deputy company commander, even with the word "deputy" added to it, has much greater power than that of a platoon leader.

When he gets promoted in the future, won’t the position of company commander belong to him, Lin Qiang, firmly?

I believe that someone as smart as Lin Qiang would know this simple truth.

Sure enough, Zhao Shan saw that Lin Qiang was very excited and seemed to want to join the team immediately and take the position of deputy company commander right away.

With such performance, Zhao Shan naturally would not miss the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot, and continued to make promises: "Platoon Leader Lin, I can't promise you anything else, but in the future, you will definitely have a share of wealth and glory."

"Company commander!"

Lin Qiang shouted excitedly, "Now that we've come to this, let's not beat around the bush. As long as you give the order, I will definitely lead the team back with you immediately!"

"But..."

Lin Qiang rubbed his hands and laughed, "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by you, the company commander, for saying this. My troops are really so poor that they can barely make ends meet. We haven't received our salaries for several months. If it weren't for a wealthy businessman who came to the city and gave me a large sum of money to ambush the Japanese, I'm afraid my men would have rebelled long ago!"

Zhao Shan, who was still laughing a second ago, suddenly changed his expression after hearing Lin Qiang's next words: "You just said that a wealthy businessman in the city gave you some money to ambush the Japanese?"

After hearing this, Wu Zhe, who was standing by, finally understood that Lin Qiang was acting. The reason he did this was to arouse the suspicion of the Japanese.

Lin Qiang said frankly, "Since I've decided to join, I have nothing to hide. To be honest, a wealthy businessman came to the city and offered me a large sum of money to help him ambush a group of Japanese soldiers. He said it was to avenge his daughter."

"Captain, I have already paid the soldiers with this money. If I take it back, I am afraid they will be dissatisfied."

Zhao Shan was shocked, but he replied perfunctorily, "It's okay. This money should have been given to the brothers anyway."

Then he asked, "Do you remember what that wealthy businessman looked like? Do you know his last name?"

Although he didn't know who it was, Zhao Shan already had a suspect in his mind.

There are several counties that hate the Japanese and can come up with a large sum of money, but there is only one county that can take the money out of the county.

Lin Qiang shook his head and said, "That's not clear. He didn't show up in person. He asked his men to deliver the money and information."

"But this guy should be very familiar with the Japs' whereabouts, where they're resting, how many people there are, and their weapons. If he didn't have very detailed intelligence, with these few broken guns in my hand, I wouldn't dare to do it no matter how much money I was given. I'm afraid I'll get the money but not the life to spend it."

Seeing Zhao Shan lost in thought, Lin Qiang added, "Oh right, that guy was afraid we wouldn't respond, and he said someone would be inside the enemy lines to support us. But in the end, we didn't even see a single person. If I hadn't been prepared in advance, I'd have been in trouble!"

In his last sentence, Lin Qiang deliberately acted like he was cheated and was very angry.

Zhao Shan originally had some doubts about Lin Qiang's words, but now seeing his expression, his remaining doubts were reduced a little.

The matter was of great importance, and Zhao Shan didn't want to waste any more time here. He said to Lin Qiang, "Platoon Leader Lin, I will tell the battalion commander about this. Don't worry, it won't be long before we become brothers eating from the same pot."

"Then I'll trouble you, Captain!"

Lin Qiang smiled and said, "I will definitely thank you after this is done!"

Zhao Shan turned his horse around and said, "Platoon Leader Lin, I'm going back now. You wait for my good news!"

"Captain, walk slowly!"

Lin Qiang took a few steps forward, deliberately getting closer to Wu Zhe's horse. Seeing that Zhao Shan and the others had already left, he quickly said to Wu Zhe, "Remember, spread this matter when you return, but don't make it too obvious. Try to make more people suspect Zheng Qian."

Without giving Wu Zhe a chance to speak, Lin Qiang raised his hand and slapped him hard, which was really a flattery.

The horse felt pain, neighed, and ran away.

After sending off the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, Lin Qiang turned to Hu Zi and instructed, "Notify Zhang Yuntian and ask him to get help from his fellow villagers. Spread the word in the county that the Japanese were ambushed because the news leaked."

"Remember, don't be too obvious, be subtle."