sbdcsierra Chapter 102 Trip to Pingshan County
Chapter 102 Trip to Pingshan County
On the other side, Tang Xiaohu and his group finally broke through the Japanese blockade and arrived in Pingshan County.
"Damn it, have those Japanese devils gone mad? They've built one pillbox after another, making us go around in circles. If it weren't for the regimental commander's repeated orders not to expose us, I would have already taken them down. These pillboxes of the Japanese devils can be taken down in just a few shots," Niu Dali complained to Tang Xiaohu.
"I also want to mess with those Japanese devils, but our mission this time is to safely transport the weapons back to Wolong Mountain. Don't worry about anything else. We'll take care of those Japanese devils sooner or later," Tang Xiaohu said.
"How far is it to the county seat?" Bi Shoucai asked, exhausted from the journey these past few days.
"According to the map, we'll arrive after we cross the mountain ahead; it'll take about half a day's journey," Tang Xiaohu said.
"We've reached the Nationalist government's controlled area. Should we display our militia's number?" Niu Dali asked.
"No, the regimental commander instructed us not to reveal our unit number. Dali, you take your men and lie in ambush outside the county town. I'll take Bi Shoucai to the county town to meet with Chief of Staff Wang of the 68th Brigade," Tang Xiaohu instructed.
“Alright, I’m good at fighting, you handle this kind of thing,” Niu Dali said.
"Alright, let's keep going." Tang Xiaohu led the group on their way. They carefully bypassed the county's defenses and lay in ambush on the outskirts of the town.
"Dali, I'm leaving this to you. Bi Shoucai and I are going now."
“Okay, no problem,” Niu Dali replied.
"Bi Shoucai, let's go."
Tang Xiaohu, accompanied by two guards, changed into civilian clothes and followed Bi Shoucai toward the county town, while Bi Shoucai disguised himself as a businessman.
"Halt! Where did you come from?" Bi Shoucai and his group were stopped by soldiers at the county gate as soon as they reached it.
"Gentlemen, we're a few men from the south, looking to do some business in the county town." As he spoke, Bi Shoucai secretly slipped two silver dollars into the hand of the soldier who was questioning him.
"Since you're here to do business, then go in." Out of respect for Da Yang, the soldier who asked the question let Bi Shoucai and his men in.
"I said, Lao Bi is really something. I thought we'd be questioned. It would be troublesome if they found the gun," Tang Xiaohu said.
“We didn’t get in for free. I just paid two silver dollars for the passage. As the saying goes, money makes the world go round. Anything that can be solved with money is not a problem,” Bi Shoucai said in a businessman’s manner.
"What the hell? It costs two silver dollars just to get in the door!" Tang Xiaohu said angrily.
“Battalion Commander Tang, even if you don’t deal with them, you’ll still be in the right place at the right time,” Bi Shoucai said.
"What a hassle. It's much more comfortable to fight the Japanese on the battlefield." Tang Weiguo said and then stopped talking, following behind Bi Shoucai like a bodyguard.
Pingshan County is very small, and Bi Shoucai quickly found out the location of the 68th Brigade headquarters after making a few inquiries. Bi Shoucai and his party soon arrived at the 68th Brigade headquarters.
"Who goes there?" Bi Shoucai was stopped by the sentry on duty as soon as he arrived at the brigade headquarters.
"Sir, it was Director Tang of the 30th Army who asked me to come and see Chief of Staff Wang. Please inform him of this."
"You say you're from the 30th Army, so you're from the 30th Army? Show me your proof." The sentry at the gate completely ignored Bi Shoucai and the others.
Bi Shoucai had anticipated this situation, and casually took out a small cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to the guard.
"Sir, here's the evidence you requested," Bi Shoucai said with a smile.
"Oh, let me see."
The sentry took the bag, weighed it in his hand, and said with satisfaction:
“Yes, that’s exactly the evidence I need.”
"Wait a moment, you guys, I'll go and inform them." After saying that, the sentry didn't leave the group and turned to walk towards the brigade headquarters.
After quite a while, Bi Shoucai and the others finally saw the sentry return.
"Distinguished guests, please come in. Chief of Staff Wang is waiting for you in his office."
"it is good."
After finishing their conversation, Shou Cai and his group of four followed the sentry to Chief of Staff Wang's office.
Chief of Staff Wang greeted Bi Shoucai warmly:
"I am Wang, and I apologize for not being able to greet you properly, distinguished guests introduced by Director Tang."
"Chief of Staff Wang, you're too kind," Bi Shoucai replied.
"Everyone, please take a seat."
Bi Shoucai sat down with a flourish, and Tang Xiaohu and the other men playing the role of bodyguards stood behind him.
Chief of Staff Wang glanced at the document and immediately understood who was in charge.
"Chief of Staff Wang, let me introduce myself. My name is Bi Shoucai from the Logistics Department of the Anti-Japanese Independent Militia."
"Welcome, Director Bi. You've become one of Commander Yan's favorites lately," Chief of Staff Wang joked.
"We were just lucky to be recruited by Commander Yan. In terms of reputation, your 68th Brigade is the best."
"During the Battle of Taiyuan, a regiment of the Ghost Army fought a bloody battle against the Japanese, which earned the admiration of us local troops," Bi Shoucai said casually to Chief of Staff Wang.
"It was all for the War of Resistance, all for fighting the Japanese devils, so sacrifice was inevitable."
"Sigh, the war situation is so dire right now, the Nationalist government's military budget is tight, and the pensions for the fallen soldiers haven't even been paid out yet. It's really disheartening for the soldiers," Chief of Staff Wang said, feigning helplessness.
Standing behind Bi Shoucai, Tang Xiaohu sneered inwardly. If he didn't know that it was you who had taken the militia's military merits for your own use, he would have been easily fooled by your sincere expression.
"Therefore, regarding the issue of compensation for the fallen soldiers, I have no choice but to risk going to a military court and do some business with you to resolve it," Chief of Staff Wang said with an upright expression.
"Chief of Staff Wang is a righteous man," Bi Shoucai said cooperatively.
“Chief of Staff Wang, since we’ve come this far, I won’t hold back anymore. Xiao Hu, bring the box up so Chief of Staff Wang can take a look,” Bi Shoucai said.
"Yes."
Tang Xiaohu then placed a box he was holding on the table.
Bi Shoucai opened it in front of Chief of Staff Wang and said:
"Chief of Staff Wang, this is half the deposit, 250 goldfish. The remaining half will be paid upon delivery. Please take stock of these goldfish, Chief of Staff Wang."
Looking at the gleaming gold bars, Chief of Staff Wang's eyes widened, and he quickly said:
"No need to count, I trust you." He casually closed the box and put it away.
"I wonder how your side plans to accept this batch of weapons?" Chief of Staff Wang asked somewhat anxiously.
“Anytime is fine, but I don’t know if Chief of Staff Wang knows what other business opportunities are available this time?” Bi Shoucai asked.
"Oh, what would you like to buy?" Chief of Staff Wang asked.
“Whatever Chief of Staff Wang dares to sell, I dare to buy,” Bi Shoucai said to him with a smile.
Upon hearing Bi Shoucai's words, Chief of Staff Wang was somewhat shocked by the other party's substantial financial resources.
Chief of Staff Wang frantically calculated what he absolutely couldn't sell.
"I wonder if your students will withdraw their troops?" Chief of Staff Wang asked tentatively.
Recently, the higher-ups assigned 30 student soldiers to our brigade. They keep clamoring to go to the front lines, which is giving the brigade commander a real headache. They really need to figure out how to get rid of these students.
I never expected this opportunity would come.
"Student soldiers, let me think about it." Bi Shoucai pretended to think for a moment, but inwardly he was overjoyed. If he could bring these 30 student soldiers back, he would really make a name for himself in front of the regimental commander.
"How about exchanging one goldfish for five student soldiers?" Bi Shoucai suggested.
"Deal." Chief of Staff Wang agreed immediately, fearing that Bi Shoucai might change his mind.
When Bi Shoucai heard Chief of Staff Wang say this, his first reaction was, "Oh no, the price was quoted too high."
Over the next period of time, Bi Shoucai purchased nearly 100 more yellow croakers from Chief of Staff Wang. Both parties were very satisfied with the transaction and agreed to deliver the goods outside the county town the following morning.