I used the Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to fight the Japanese.

"Butcher Zhang, your hatred is pitiful, and we hate this damned traitor even more! The hatred of your family is also the hatred of all the villagers he killed! We have a common enemy! Now we will hold him on a public trial to settle all the crimes he committed! Today, everyone's hatred will be avenged!"

"You just said you're willing to join the Mo Dao Group. Now, let me ask you, which village are you from?" Manxiang stood up and asked on behalf of the Mo Dao Group.

“Reporting to the commander, I am from Zhang Village!” Butcher Zhang said.

"Good! I hereby appoint you as the company commander of the Zhangzhuang Village Militia Company. When the time is busy, you farm; when the time is free, you train soldiers. When the Japanese come, you will protect the safety of the villagers. Are you willing?" Manxiang continued to ask earnestly.

"I...I'm willing! My life belongs to the Mo Dao Regiment now that I've avenged my great enemy. If you need me to do anything, just give me a shout. I'll go through fire and water without hesitation!" Butcher Zhang said excitedly.

"Good! As long as you're determined to fight the Japanese, our Mo Dao Regiment welcomes you! Work hard with the Mo Dao Regiment from now on; we need tough guys like you to fight the Japanese!" Manxiang encouraged.

"Good! I will definitely follow the Mo Dao Regiment to fight the Japanese devils and protect the villagers!" Zhang the butcher said, about to kowtow again, but was stopped by Manxiang, who told him to step back and continue the trial.

Then, more than a dozen people took turns going on stage to tell their stories of hatred. This Cao Jiagui was truly wicked from head to toe! He forced people to sell their children for a little rent, beat people to a pulp for talking badly behind their backs, and even beat people to apologize if someone accidentally set fire to dry grass at their grave while visiting a cemetery!

There are countless examples of people shouting for violence over such trivial matters! They all wish they could tear the perpetrators apart alive!

Next came his henchmen and relatives. Following the example set by their superiors, none of these people were good! They were all ruthless and took pleasure in bullying ordinary people. It can be said that their crimes were heinous and too numerous to count!

It took over two hours of everyone's pleas to bring the first group to justice! The heinous Cao Jiagui was sentenced to have his property confiscated and to be executed by firing squad with seventeen bullets! Because he had seventeen crimes! During the execution, the first sixteen bullets wounded and maimed him, and the last bullet struck a vital point, killing him instantly! The old man was tormented to the point of near death, and in the end, he even begged for his life! The last bullet even revealed an expression of relief!

Afterwards, Cao Jiagui's son, butler, and henchmen were all put on trial. Each of these men had more than one life on their hands and was shot several times before being killed.

Next came the puppet troops and those wicked landlords and rich peasants. These people were so terrified that they urinated and defecated, and their evil lives ended amidst people's accusations and curses!

During this period, a total of 27 able-bodied men volunteered to join the Mo Dao Regiment, and they were all assigned to various village militia companies, laying a solid foundation for the next stage of work!

The trial did not end until after noon. In the afternoon, Manxiang, along with two reporters and a group of brothers, went to Qili Township to continue the public trial, while Mancang and Zhang Youcai stayed behind to continue the land-for-shop exchange.

After lunch, the landlords and wealthy men were summoned back to the large office, where dozens of unopened boxes were placed on the table.

These people were noticeably more polite than yesterday, greeting us warmly.

"Everyone, I'm sure you've all submitted your bids, right? Please rest assured that no one has opened the boxes during the entire process, ensuring fairness and impartiality, and there will be absolutely no underhanded dealings! If you have no objections, we'll open the boxes and verify them now!" Zhang Youcai greeted everyone and then got straight to the point.

"No objections! It's entirely up to the chairman!"

"Yes, yes, we all admire the Mo Dao Group for their fair and just handling of affairs!"

"It's fine as long as the president makes the decision!"

"Let's open the box!"

After the grand public trial that morning, these people finally realized that while the Mo Dao Gang did serve the villagers, they were by no means benevolent men and women! It took so many people and gunshots to kill them; it was practically comparable to being slowly sliced ​​to death!

The key point is that many of those executed were landlords like them! Fortunately, they hadn't done anything too outrageous, otherwise they might have become one of them!

So what if the land is gone? At least there are still shops. If you manage them diligently in the future, you might even be able to establish an extraordinary relationship with the Mo Dao Group, and it's not impossible for you to rise to prominence in the future! If all else fails, you still have the shops. If you don't do business yourself, you can sell them after the situation stabilizes and maybe even make a fortune!

"Alright! Let's not delay any longer and open them one by one according to the number. Shop number one... Liu Cheng's 140 mu of irrigated land has the highest price! Congratulations, Mr. Liu! Winning this shop will make you rich every day!"

The contract signed by both parties immediately took effect after the bidding was opened, and the landlords congratulated each other in a very harmonious atmosphere!

Soon, dozens of shops were auctioned off one by one. The landlords exchanged all the land except for a portion to support their families. The first step of the land reform was achieved.

Zhang Youcai patted Mancang on the shoulder with great satisfaction. This secret bidding was incredibly clever! They managed to exchange dozens of shops for all the land held by these landlords! This made his future father-in-law extremely happy!

With land, things became much easier! Building militia companies, distributing land to households, collecting grain taxes, and so on were all easily accomplished!

"Commander, there are two men outside who claim to be from the mine looking for you. They say they know you!" Just as the father and son were chatting happily, a soldier from the Modao Regiment came in to report.

"From the mine? Let them in!" Mancang thought of Luo Xiang and another KMT prisoner. Those two were still pissing by the bridge when we ambushed the Japanese a while ago!

Sure enough, a moment later Luo Xiang and Wu Zi walked in looking quite respectable, and burst into hearty laughter as soon as they entered the room.

"Haha, it really is you! I've been hearing so much about the Mo Dao Gang these past few days since I got back. I felt their style of doing things was somewhat similar to what happened at the mine. I immediately thought of you, my little brother!" Luo Xiang said excitedly, grabbing Zhao Mancang's hand.

“Luo Xiang, this brother’s name is…” Man Cang responded enthusiastically, then looked at the other man and asked for his name.

"Wu Zi, we came from the same unit!" Wu Zi quickly introduced.

We'd met before at the mine, but I just didn't know their names!

"Alright! Please have a seat! It seems you two have made something of yourself while you were away! You even have a car now!" Mancang said with a smile.

"Huh?... They only get a little advantage from the Japanese devils and traitors. They can't compare to your prestigious Mo Dao Regiment!" Wu Zi was a little puzzled. Did this guy not see him driving?

Of course, neither of them would have imagined that their scene at the Three Mile Bridge was witnessed by all their brothers, and of course, Mancang would not say a word!