Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

After four bowls of wine in a row, even Zhao Shan, who could hold his liquor well, waved his hands repeatedly, refusing to drink any more. He begged for mercy, "Captain, please forgive me! You're such a heavy drinker! I'm humbled!"

"You!"

Qian Bojun was very pleased with the flattery. In his joy, he waved his hand and offered to reward Zhao Shan: "You kid, go get three hundred silver dollars later. Consider it your errand fee!"

"Thank you, Captain!"

Such a generous reward made Zhao Shan, who had been begging for mercy just a second ago, take the initiative to fill his bowl with water. Without saying anything, he drank it in one gulp: "Captain, this bowl is for you!"

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

After eating and drinking, Zhao Shan stood up and said goodbye: "Captain, I will go and get busy. I will try to bring you this great gift tomorrow!"

Qian Bojun felt relieved when he was called "Brigade Commander". However, he had not confirmed the position yet, so as to avoid leaking the news, he instructed Zhao Shan: "It's not even a matter of time, so just call him Battalion Commander!"

Zhao Shan was a smart man, and of course he knew what Qian Bojun was worried about, so he replied, "It's the battalion commander!"

Then he said, "Battalion Commander, just wait for my good news. As long as you bring Lin Qiang's team back, I will really call you the brigade commander!"

After leaving Qian Bojun's room, Zhao Shan collected his reward and the yellow croaker he had used to test Lin Qiang. He then took out a few silver coins from his purse and distributed them to the soldiers nearby: "Here, use them to buy some wine tomorrow!"

"Thank you, company commander!"

"Thank you, company commander!"

Zhao Shan left with satisfaction. His subordinates were happy to receive the money, and he was also very happy.

After storing the remaining silver coins, he went to the barracks, called away Wu Zhe and his other two men, rode his horse, and headed to Heiyun Village again.

……

After completing his mission, Zhang Yuntian returned to the base from the county town and reported the situation to Lin Qiang: "Platoon leader, as you said, I asked my fellow villager to spread the news. Before leaving, I made a special inquiry and even the beggars on the street knew about it."

"well done!"

Lin Qiang asked him to sit down and rest, poured him a glass of water, and then told him his plan.

"Can Qian Bojun be trusted?"

Zhang Yuntian was a little puzzled after hearing this: "Even if we go to Dagu Town, I'm afraid we won't be able to enter the camp. They will definitely place us on the outermost side, unless Qian Bojun really trusts us."

In response, Lin Qiang said confidently: "Qian Bojun wants to surrender to the enemy, and there are not many people willing to follow him, about half. This number of people will definitely not give the Japanese more bargaining chips. We are now expressing our willingness to join and follow him wholeheartedly. Regardless of whether Qian Bojun suspects us or not, he will never dare to show any doubt towards us until we achieve his goal!"

Seeing that Zhang Yuntian still had some doubts, Lin Qiang continued, "Wu Zhe will also support us in Dagu Town. As long as Qian Bojun clashes with the Japanese, it will be time for us to take action and cut off Qian Bojun's support."

"Platoon Leader, I have one last concern."

Zhang Yuntian was like that, always speaking his mind. "I don't doubt your plan, but can you really trust Wu Zhe?"

"Of course!"

Lin Qiang actually wanted to tell him that Wu Zhe's loyalty was even higher than yours, Zhang Yuntian's.

"This Wu Zhe is the company commander of the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army whom we met when we intercepted the Japanese transport convoy last time."

Lin Qiang explained, "We seized their weapons and brought back all their equipment, but Qian Bojun reported it to Chu Yunfei, who subsequently sentenced Wu Zhe to military punishment."

"Then Wu Zhe must hate us to death, right?"

Lin Qiang shook his head and said, "Qian Bojun disobeyed orders and didn't kill him. Instead, he wanted to use this to persuade other men who were unwilling to surrender to the enemy. But Wu Zhe expressed his intention to surrender to me. Taking this opportunity, I found out that about 400 people in Qian Bojun's battalion were willing to join us!"

"How...how much!?"

This number really shocked Zhang Yuntian. Just as Lin Qiang had expected, he thought that it would be good if only about a hundred people were willing to join the Eighth Route Army. After all, the 358th Regiment was an ace unit with very good conditions in all aspects.

“This is not the final number yet.”

Lin Qiang said confidently, "Just wait and see. After this, I might even be the group leader!"

Leader?

According to his understanding, the team must have at least one thousand soldiers to be eligible to expand into a regimental-level organization. This means that after this time, the strength of a row of soldiers will exceed a thousand?

"My mother!"

Zhang Yuntian was so shocked that he was speechless. A team of a thousand people, but it was only organized into a platoon. Who would dare to believe it if he told others about it?

"Platoon Leader, you really made a big move!"

But then Zhang Yuntian returned to the previous topic: "But if Qian Bojun really arranges us on the periphery and has people watching us, how can we act?"

In response to Zhang Yuntian's doubts, Lin Qiang had already prepared a solution. He said, "This isn't a problem for us. We can't get close to the camp, but Wu Zhe is inside. We can always cooperate with the outside forces.

Of course, there is another plan, which is to let the soldiers go visit their families. Qian Bojun can't stop this, right? "

"Visiting relatives?"

Zhang Yuntian was confused again. When did the team have relatives in Dagu Town?

After spending some time explaining it clearly, Zhang Yuntian finally understood and said admiringly, "Platoon Leader, I'm really impressed. I didn't expect you had already started planning at that time!"

In fact, at the beginning, Lin Qiang planned to enter Dagu Town under the pretext of visiting relatives on the eve of Qian Bojun's rebellion, and use internal and external forces to block his plan.

However, the development of things gave him a better plan, and the reason of visiting relatives naturally became a backup plan.

Lin Qiang did not respond to Zhang Yuntian's praise. It was not because he was smart, but because he had a God's perspective and could plan anything one step ahead of others.

At this time, Hu Zi came forward to report: "Platoon leader, the sentry at the foot of the mountain said that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army is coming again!"

"Oh?"

Lin Qiang thought quickly and said, "It seems like this is a test for us!"

"What should I do?"

Zhang Yuntian frowned and said, "This can't be real, right?"

"if not?"

Lin Qiang said, "This is a fake show, we must sing it seriously."

"How about this, Yuntian, you and Xu Lang will stay behind at the base and organize the reserve forces to defend it. As long as they agree to our surrender, I will immediately take the people back with them. After we leave, everything at the base will be handed over to you two!"

"Platoon leader, don't worry!"

Zhang Yuntian stood up and said, "As long as I'm alive, there won't be any problems at the base."

"Go get ready!"

"Yes!"

Then he turned to Hu Zi and said, "Are all the soldiers ready?"

"We are all ready and can act at any time."

"it is good!"

Lin Qiang stood up and looked out the dim window. He said coldly, "Let's go and see what test Qian Bojun has prepared for us."

Down the mountain.

The sentry held up a few torches to illuminate the way, but was stopped three times. Zhao Shan was not angry about this. If the plan was ruined because of such a small matter, it would be a waste of time.

After waiting for a while, he saw someone coming down the mountain holding a torch. Zhao Shan also turned over and asked the sentry for a torch, waiting for Lin Qiang's arrival.

This was the third time the two met. There were soldiers holding torches around to illuminate the area, so they could see clearly.

As soon as they met, Zhao Shan smiled and said, "Platoon Leader Lin, you didn't expect me to see you again so soon, did you?"

"Um, ah, yes, I certainly didn't expect that."

Lin Qiang answered nonchalantly, but his eyes were looking around in the light of the fire. After not seeing any extra items, there was an obvious change in expression on his face.

Seeing this scene, Zhao Shan felt even happier. This Lin Qiang was indeed a man who was greedy for money.

"I wonder what brings you here this time, Captain."

As Zhao Shan spoke, he pulled out a piece of butter paper from his pocket and said, "Of course I'm here to bring good news to Platoon Leader Lin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Shan opened the oil paper, and the things wrapped inside were revealed to the people.

"This is……"

Lin Qiang appeared extremely impatient and unconsciously took a few steps forward, reaching out to take the golden yellow croaker from Zhao Shan's hand.

"Platoon Leader Lin, this is just a small gift from our battalion commander."

Zhao Shan directly handed the yellow croaker to Lin Qiang. Seeing his performance, he became more and more happy. "Our battalion commander also said that as long as Platoon Leader Lin brings his men back with me, I will give you as much money as you want, as long as I have it!"

Hearing this, Lin Qiang suddenly looked up and stared at him: "Are you serious!?"

"Pass on my order. Everyone, bring all your supplies and gather at the foot of the mountain! Let's enjoy wealth and glory together with me!"