Chapter 41

"Big Brother, how could it be you?"

Colonel Ma, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, stared at the fatty with wide eyes, the term "big brother" expressing his boundless fondness for the fatty.

Seeing that the fatty still had one foot on Boss Huang's wrist, Colonel Ma's face immediately showed a mix of amusement and exasperation. It turned out that the fat collaborator the waiter had mentioned, who had drawn his gun and confronted Boss Huang, was this guy.

"It's Brother Liu!" Guard Xiao Li, also in civilian clothes, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the fatty. He quickly put away his gun. What was there to fight? Even if the other side had a whole company of Eighth Route Army soldiers, they wouldn't be enough for this kid to deal with.

The fatty wasn't stupid. The appearance of Colonel Ma and Xiao Li immediately made him realize whether Boss Huang was a Communist or a Nationalist. It was clear that Boss Huang and Colonel Ma were on the same side. So, he lifted his foot from Boss Huang's wrist, tucked the Browning under his armpit, and extended a hand, laughing at Boss Huang, "Sorry, sorry, you should have said so earlier. If Boss Huang had said he was a Communist, I would have followed you right away. This way, drawing guns and fighting, isn't fun at all. It's easy to get killed."

Boss Huang was at a loss, hearing the fatty's words, did he deserve to be beaten? This fatty was really slippery.

Boss Huang had almost lost his manhood when he was hit in the crotch, and the blow to his nose was even worse, causing excruciating pain. Seeing that Colonel Ma and Xiao Li both knew this fatty, he suddenly remembered the brave and righteous Brother Liu that Colonel Ma had mentioned earlier.

"I've seen it all, Brother Liu, you're quite a character." Boss Huang knew his own pain. If it weren't for Colonel Ma's urgency to capture a collaborator who knew about the Japanese warehouse, this wouldn't have happened. It was also his fault for knowing the fatty had once been a Japanese interpreter and trying to take action, only to find that the fatty didn't take him seriously. This was truly frustrating.

"Where, where." The fatty, who rarely used polite language, now did so, but with an air of self-righteousness. Seeing Colonel Ma and Boss Huang's bitter smiles, he decided it was best to avoid this fatty in the future.

Boss Huang, who had some medical knowledge, was fortunate that the fatty had held back. It was just a superficial injury. After bandaging and applying some medicine, it would gradually heal.

After Colonel Ma and the fatty reminisced in the private room, Boss Huang, with his wound treated, led the two to the inner courtyard. The waiter continued his business, while Xiao Li stood guard outside the door. The three entered the room.

"I told you, our brother can single-handedly wreak havoc on half a Japanese battalion and lead us out of a minefield. Old Huang, you didn't believe me, now you know, right? Haha!" Colonel Ma laughed heartily, seeing Boss Huang's nose bandaged in an odd way.

"I've been undercover in Qingzhou for ten years, I've seen all kinds of people. Today, I've truly opened my eyes. I'm convinced, and I don't feel wronged." Boss Huang smiled, but the pain from his nose made his smile even more awkward.

"Right, why are you in the county town, Big Brother?" Colonel Ma asked curiously. His way of addressing the fatty had changed from "kid" to "brother" and now to "big brother," becoming increasingly affectionate. He wished he could be as close as brothers with the fatty, fighting the Japanese together every day. The problem was that the fatty wasn't interested.

Colonel Ma was secretly thinking of ways to recruit the fatty into the Eighth Route Army while talking to him.

"For food." The fatty knew that Colonel Ma and his men had no ill intentions, so he recounted his experiences over the past few days, making Colonel Ma alternately surprised and impressed. He regretted not having the courage to defy the rules and give Wang Yi to this lecherous fatty. If he had, the fatty might have become a fierce general under his command. Now, it was a bunch of bandits who benefited.

Since staying at Tiger Mouth Mountain, the fatty had not only helped the bandits get food but also taught them to defuse and set up mines. In the future, the bandits might use minefields to block the Japanese.

"Why are you in the county town?" After the fatty finished his story, he asked.

"Ah, the same as you, to get food." Colonel Ma sighed, determined to find a way to recruit the fatty. It seemed that the only one who could persuade the fatty to join was Wang Yi. He decided to report to his superiors after getting the food, praising the fatty's abilities to the division commander and political commissar, and then request that Wang Yi be sent to do the fatty's ideological work.

The Japanese minefields not only restricted the Tiger Mouth bandits but also left the Eighth Route Army in dire straits. Faced with the temptation of Japanese grain convoys, Colonel Ma had led his men in an ambush, but it was a failure, and they almost got caught. If it weren't for Colonel Ma's quick thinking, they would have suffered heavy casualties.

After much thought, Colonel Ma decided to take a risk and come to the city to get food. He thought the same as the fatty: if the Japanese were using grain convoys as bait, and they didn't know if it was real or fake, it was better to go directly to the county town. The Japanese warehouses in the county town must have food, right?

Colonel Ma hadn't thought as far ahead as the fatty, who, as a time traveler, knew that the Japanese were preparing for a larger-scale invasion of China and needed to stockpile war supplies to be ready to transport them to the front lines.

"Recently, the Japanese and their collaborators have gathered a large number of laborers to help move grain and weapons for the Japanese military trucks. The amount of grain and weapons in the city has increased several times over..." Boss Huang explained. He was an underground party member who had been in the county town since the warlord era, mainly to gather intelligence. Qingzhou, with its excellent transportation and waterways, was a key location for the Japanese to transport supplies to the front lines.

The fatty took out a pack of Hardmen cigarettes, gave one to each of them, and then listened to the intelligence Boss Huang had gathered over the past few days. It was clear that the Japanese were stockpiling a large amount of war supplies in Qingzhou. The question was how they would use them.

"The Japanese are storing their grain and weapons in Warehouse No. 1 between the railway station and the Qingjiang port, for easy transportation. To get the food, we have to target this warehouse. However, the Japanese can quickly mobilize a battalion around this warehouse, and there's a company of Japanese soldiers guarding it, with dozens of light and heavy machine guns, hidden sentries, and patrol teams..." Boss Huang began to detail the intelligence he had gathered.

"Damn, so many Japanese!" Colonel Ma frowned. Honestly, he only had about two hundred soldiers, all armed with old rifles and a couple of light machine guns. Their firepower wasn't enough to take on even a Japanese platoon. Attacking Warehouse No. 1 would be like hitting a rock with an egg, and even with the fatty, it would be like lambs entering a wolf's den.

The fatty had been able to defeat a Japanese battalion with the help of the doctor because he had altered the minefield, making it difficult for the Japanese to move, and then used a clever and ruthless shot. If the Japanese hadn't suffered heavy casualties, it would have been unjust.

"Right, or I could have the comrades in the city join the fight and transport the food via the waterways." Boss Huang said, looking earnestly at the fatty. The meaning was clear: you should help us, given that we're all risking our lives for food.

"Fat Lord, I've just realized something." The fatty squinted his eyes and said in a deep voice.

"What?" Colonel Ma and Boss Huang exchanged glances and asked in unison.

"Why do you all love to use human lives to achieve your goals?" The fatty said calmly, then glanced at the blushing Colonel Ma and Boss Huang, "With just over two hundred of you, you're not even enough to fill the Japanese's teeth. What's the point of fighting?"

"I don't want to fight either, but what choice do we have?" Colonel Ma was almost in tears. The fatty was talking from a position of comfort, but it was summer, and the people's grain hadn't been harvested yet. It was a time of scarcity, and there was no way to get food. The Eighth Route Army soldiers were starving, eating only wild vegetables, and they were all thin and weak. Even if they were willing to fight the Japanese to the death, it would take several of them to take down one Japanese soldier.

This was the reality, and it was harsh.

"Damn it, fight! We have to fight. Why not? We have to attack tonight, and it can't be a small-scale attack. You have to go all out, using all your light and heavy weapons to attack the city!" The fatty suddenly said.

"What? Attack the city!" Colonel Ma and Boss Huang were immediately stunned. They had planned to infiltrate the city in batches, then suddenly attack Warehouse No. 1, seize the food, and quickly evacuate via the waterways. With careful planning, they could capture enough food for two months with about half their men. This would also boost the morale of the demoralized and suppressed anti-Japanese base.

This plan would result in heavy casualties, but it was better than being confined to the mountains by the Japanese minefields, eating tree bark and wild vegetables.

The fatty's suggestion to attack the city was like hitting a rock with an egg. With just over two hundred men attacking a city with over three thousand Japanese and four thousand collaborators, it was a suicide mission. The fatty, who had just criticized them for using human lives to get food, was now proposing something even more reckless. The difference was too great.