Chapter 67

In the county town, at the headquarters of the puppet army.

"Commander, I risked my life to track this down. The mark on this cannon looks like the one the Imperial Army is offering a reward for, so I made a copy of it. Take a look, if it’s really this cannon, it’s worth 20,000 silver dollars!" Li Liu looked at Commander Wu. Despite his deep disgust for this traitor, his face still showed a fawning expression.

"Hmm..." Commander Wu, who was well-fed and a bit overweight, stared at the copy and made a nonchalant "hmm" sound, but his eyes were filled with greed.

Li Liu knew that everything had its limits. He had been an undercover agent in the army since before Commander Wu was a Nationalist Army brigade commander, so he understood the traitor very well—cautious, greedy for power and profit. If the reward wasn’t substantial enough, he wouldn’t be lured out of the city.

This matter couldn’t be rushed; it had to be handled carefully to avoid raising Commander Wu’s suspicions, which would make things difficult.

The Japanese Imperial Army’s Type 92 infantry gun, bestowed by the emperor, perfectly matched Commander Wu’s greed for power and profit. The next step was to remove his caution.

"Six, 20,000 silver dollars, aren’t you tempted?" Commander Wu put down the paper with the copy of the Japanese imperial mark and the personal signature of Emperor Showa. He was certain that what Li Liu had brought was real.

But why wasn’t Li Liu tempted by the 20,000 silver dollars? Li Liu could have kept it for himself without telling anyone. Commander Wu wouldn’t take the risk unless he understood the reason.

"Commander, to say I’m not tempted would be lying, but I’ve been a soldier for three or four years. The Third Regiment is newly formed, and the position of regiment commander is still vacant. What do you think...?" Li Liu’s face showed a fawning smile, but in his heart, he thought, "Just as my son-in-law predicted, this profit-driven man trusts no one, only power and money."

"Hehe, so that’s what you’re after, huh?" Commander Wu laughed, as if he had seen through Li Liu.

If Li Liu had said he was after the money, why wouldn’t he have taken the 20,000 silver dollars himself? Now that Li Liu said he was after power, everything made sense, and it put Commander Wu’s suspicions to rest.

"You’ve underestimated me, Commander. Without power, how can one get money, right? Hehe." Li Liu laughed in agreement, but in his heart, he cursed, "If I hadn’t known your preferences and character beforehand, and if my son-in-law hadn’t warned me, I wouldn’t know if I could outsmart you, you old fox."

"Hmm, that’s good, that’s good." Commander Wu nodded, looking at Li Liu approvingly. If Li Liu wasn’t after power and money, he wouldn’t have believed him. Now, he was completely at ease. "Six, how long have you been a company commander?"

"I’ve been with you for almost four years, and I’ve been a company commander for about a year." Li Liu’s face was full of fawning smiles as he said this.

"Alright, you’re an old hand. How about becoming the commander of my guard battalion?" Commander Wu said, his eyes fixed on Li Liu, as if he had some ulterior motive.

"Thank you, Commander, but I’m not worthy of such a heavy responsibility. Just give me a battalion commander position." Li Liu cursed inwardly. If his son-in-law hadn’t predicted that Commander Wu would test him, he would have been in trouble if he had directly accepted the position of guard battalion commander.

The guard battalion was Commander Wu’s elite force. The regiment commander was nothing compared to the guard battalion commander, who was responsible for the safety of this bastard. The position of guard battalion commander was only given to relatives, and if he had accepted it, Commander Wu would have suspected him of having ulterior motives.

"That’s good, that’s good. How about this..." Commander Wu picked up the copy again and said, "If this works out, you can be the battalion commander of the Third Regiment. It’s a bit of a demotion for now, but don’t worry. Follow me, follow the Imperial Japanese Army, and you could become a regiment commander, a division commander, or even a corps commander."

"Thank you, Commander!" Li Liu saluted.

Commander Wu waved his hand, signaling Li Liu to stand at ease. Now he was completely convinced that Li Liu was after power and had no other ill intentions.

At this moment, Li Liu was drenched in sweat, scared. This old fox wasn’t easy to deceive, and he usually avoided direct contact with Commander Wu because it was too dangerous.

"Six, how do you think I should capture this Imperial Army cannon?" Commander Wu, now at ease, asked. Since Li Liu had discovered the cannon and brought it to him for a promotion instead of turning it over to the Japanese for the reward, it showed that he had a plan.

"Commander, the Eighth Route Army is tough. There are only about twenty of them, but what if we take two regiments out of the city..." Li Liu stopped, looking at Commander Wu, waiting for his response.

Although his son-in-law had told him that if Commander Wu asked for a plan, he should suggest sending as many troops as possible, was this really a good idea? The mountain stronghold only had about a hundred fighting men. How could they face several times their number of puppet troops?

"Haha." Commander Wu laughed, very pleased. He liked having subordinates who were fools, as it made him seem smart, non-threatening, and easy to control.

"If I take so many people, and the Imperial Japanese Army finds out, will the credit for recovering the cannon still be mine?" Commander Wu asked after laughing, looking at Li Liu.

"Commander, forgive my stupidity, but what do you mean?" Li Liu played the fool, looking at Commander Wu with a silly expression.

"Don’t forget I have an elite company and Zhou Xiong from Black Wind Mountain. Do you think twenty Eighth Route Army soldiers can escape from my hand?" Commander Wu snorted. With the combined forces of the elite company and Zhou Xiong, they had a battalion’s strength. How could they fail against just twenty Eighth Route Army soldiers?

"Brilliant, truly brilliant!" Li Liu raised his thumb, his face full of fawning admiration, even though he felt like vomiting.

His praise wasn’t for Commander Wu but for the fat man. These tactics were all taught by the fat man. At first, he had been resistant, but now, forced to use them, they worked exactly as the fat man had predicted, and Commander Wu’s plan was completely under his control.

In the county town of Qingzhou, there was a well-equipped puppet army battalion, the elite of the guard battalion. It had 120 men, divided into ten combat squads, each with a Czech light machine gun, a flower machine gun, and eight Type 38 rifles. There was also a mortar platoon with five Type 10 mortars.

In terms of firepower, it was better equipped than a typical Japanese squad. The company commanders, platoon leaders, and squad leaders all used flower machine guns and German pistols.

Li Liu walked out of the headquarters, his back drenched in cold sweat. He didn’t dare delay; this intelligence had to be sent to the mountain stronghold today.

Because early the next morning, Commander Wu would lead his elite company out, meet up with the bandits from Black Wind Mountain, and head straight for Xiawan Village.

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