Chapter 7

Gao Yang leaned on the sofa, blew a smoke ring, and looked at Lugé, saying, "What are you worried about? Afraid I don't have the money to pay the final installment?"

Lugé muttered to himself, "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I got so excited about the deal that I only remembered you had paid a quarter of the money. How can you still be so impulsive at your age?" But he said aloud, "No such thing, Mr. Gao. I have great trust in your capabilities."

Gao Yang laughed and said to Lugé, "You're really amusing. We've only met once. How do you know what my capabilities are? Are you really German?" Lugé immediately broke into a cold sweat. Although he had received a large sum of money, the cost of gathering the arms in Shanghai was substantial. More importantly, this deal had already attracted the attention of the headquarters. If Gao Yang stopped paying now, although the Lihe Trading Company would make a small profit, he would have to pack up and leave after using many connections to secretly smuggle the arms to Shanghai.

Seeing Lugé's panic, Gao Yang was very pleased. Finally, before Lugé could speak, Gao Yang placed a check in front of him.

Seeing the amount on the check, Lugé immediately calmed down. He picked up the teapot and refilled Gao Yang's cup.

Gao Yang took a sip of tea and said to Lugé, "I'll pay the final installment after all the arms have arrived and the mercenaries have disembarked. As for the ones that arrive first, they'll be stored in your warehouse. I won't pay for storage, though."

Lugé muttered to himself, "As long as you pay, no problem is a problem." But he said aloud, "Such a small matter, how could I charge you?"

"Hmph." Gao Yang stood up and said, "Have your German headquarters start recruiting mercenaries and preparing the remaining arms." How could Gao Yang not see through Lugé's bluff? He left the Lihe Trading Company after saying this.

It took Gao Yang three days to return to Feng County, where his subordinates rushed to report. Li Zhengcheng reported that he had found Liu Sandao's hideout, a small fishing village less than 50 kilometers from Feng County along the Huai River.

Gao Yang thought for a moment and said to Li Zhengcheng, "Choose a good location and have the owner of Jinbaozhai lure Liu Sandao into it, and eliminate them all." Gao Yang didn't want to waste energy on a group of bandits. How to lure the bandits was Li Zhengcheng's job.

Next, Yang Dong came in, having been recruiting soldiers non-stop. According to Gao Yang's standards, the recruits should be healthy, under 25 years old, and have families. The height requirement was 1.65 meters. Most people at this time were living in poverty, and with Gao Yang's generous pay, Yang Dong's recruitment went smoothly.

"Sir, as of yesterday, the recruitment office has recruited 1,197 new soldiers. The resettlement fees and three months' advance pay totaled 95,760 yuan." Yang Dong closed the file and finished his report.

Gao Yang took a cigarette, and Yang Dong immediately took out a match to light it for him. After blowing a smoke ring, Gao Yang said to Yang Dong, "Give all the soldiers a 10-yuan New Year's bonus. Select a batch of the best-trained new recruits, a few from each village, and give them a three-day leave. Announce that the recruitment for the security team will end in five days, and no one will be accepted after that."

"Sir, you are wise. I will take care of it immediately." Yang Dong saluted and turned to leave.

"Sir, Wang Dafu reports." The thin Wang Dafu walked in. He opened the file and began his report, "A total of 62 family members of our colleagues have been moved to the new barracks, with resettlement fees totaling 7,759 yuan. The construction costs of the barracks, the purchase of daily necessities, and food expenses totaled 14,118 yuan." He closed the file and looked at Gao Yang.

After stubbing out his cigarette, Gao Yang said to Wang Dafu, "Has anyone been embezzling?"

"Sir, absolutely not," Wang Dafu said loudly.

"Hmm, you may go." Gao Yang neither confirmed nor denied Wang Dafu's assurance.

Gao Youcai walked in and said to Gao Yang, "Sir, the new recruits' training isn't complete. It's dangerous to send them into battle now."

"They're just a bunch of bandits with a few old guns and machetes. If we can't solve this problem, what's the point of spending so much money on them?" Gao Yang said, clapping his hands. Twelve soldiers in military uniforms walked out from the inner room.

Gao Youcai immediately recognized them as soldiers, having the experience to do so. "Assign them as cultural instructors in the battalions," Gao Yang said.

"Yes, sir." Gao Youcai replied. He paused and then added, "The provincial government has issued a notice requiring each household to pay 1.3 yuan as a special military tax."

"Announce that households with members in the security team are exempt from this tax. Those without will have to pay. In the future, all taxes will be waived for households with members in the security team." Gao Yang instructed.

"They are all sent by my family from France to assist me. Take them and arrange their duties." Gao Yang finished and gestured for Gao Youcai to leave.

After completing the task of the Van Gogh painting, Gao Yang eagerly spent 2,000 energy points. He used 800 points to learn standard German and 1,200 points to create twelve bio-soldiers. The Origin's description was, "The lowest rank of cannon fodder in interstellar wars, intelligent but soulless, with complete obedience to orders."

Gao Yang didn't need them as cannon fodder; he couldn't afford such expensive cannon fodder. He needed them for their complete knowledge up to a university degree and their absolute loyalty. He assigned them to guide the soldiers' spirits and teach them reading and writing.

In just two days, the security team's recruitment office was flooded with people crying and shouting to join. Gao Yang even saw an old man with a white beard in the queue.

In a few days, the security team's recruitment had already exceeded 4,000 people. In this era, as long as you had money, you could recruit as many people as you wanted. On the morning of the fifth day, Gao Youcai, Li Guangbiao, and Yang Dong led two classes of Beiyang soldiers and over a hundred new recruits, carrying two Maxim machine guns, to a dilapidated temple by the Huai River. Gao Yang also went along.

In the afternoon, they set up an ambush and waited quietly. Although it was almost spring, the weather was still extremely cold. Gao Yang, dressed in modern clothing, felt the cold despite being wrapped up like a penguin. Looking at the soldiers in thin clothes and straw shoes, he marveled at their endurance.

As evening approached, the weather became even colder, and their stomachs growled. Gao Yang called over Yang Dong and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Liu Sandao will definitely be here by tonight," Yang Dong said confidently.

"Hmm." Gao Yang didn't say anything more.

As the last bit of sunlight disappeared, four fishing boats slowly approached. About a hundred people disembarked and walked towards the temple.

Gao Yang stretched his numb limbs, slowly raised a Hanyang rifle, and aimed at the person in front. Although he had never used a gun, he had the Origin. Spending 70 energy points to activate his shooting ability allowed him to shoot like a sniper with the Hanyang rifle.

The bandits, true to their nature, were loud and boisterous, holding torches and joking. Gao Yang sneered, "Is this worth 3,000 energy points?"

"Bang!" A crisp gunshot rang out, followed half a second later by a burst of gunfire, including the deep thuds of the Maxim. The new recruits, mostly inexperienced, mostly shot into the sky. The main damage was caused by the two classes of Beiyang veterans and the two Maxim machine guns. Gao Yang fired five rounds and stopped, his first time killing. Although he could control his face, his mind was at its limit.

In just a few minutes, the Maxim stopped firing. The officers and veterans then shouted and cursed to stop the new recruits from firing randomly. The bandits, from start to finish, never managed to return fire. Not a single one was left standing. The fishing boats were riddled with bullets.

The new recruits, finally calmed down, began to clean up the battlefield under the guidance of the veterans. Gao Yang leaned against a tree, lighting a cigarette, unable to look at the scene.

After smoking two cigarettes, Gao Yang calmed down and walked to the battlefield. The rekindled torches illuminated the scene. White snow, black silhouettes, and fresh red blood. The various grotesque poses of the dead and the agonizing cries of the wounded deeply affected Gao Yang.

Reading about battlefields in books made them seem thrilling, but experiencing it firsthand revealed the harsh reality. Standing before Liu Sandao's corpse, Gao Yang silently looked at the notorious bandit who had terrorized several counties for nearly a decade. Gao Yang's first shot had been at him, the 7.92mm bullet blowing his head apart.

Liu Sandao, who could stop children's night cries in Feng County, had been lured to his death by a merchant's servant, losing his life and fortune. As Gao Yang reflected, Gao Youcai came over and said, "Sir, the severely wounded should be dealt with on the spot."

Gao Yang turned sharply to look at him, his cold gaze making Gao Youcai uncomfortable. For a modern person, such inhumane words were hard to accept.

Calming down, Gao Yang said to Gao Youcai, "The battle is over. They can be prisoners but are not yet dead! Take them back and provide medical care. Whether they live or die is up to them."

After cleaning up the battlefield, they seized 19 old Hanyang rifles, six shoulder guns, dozens of plows, and dozens of machetes, with less than 200 rounds of ammunition. The money and valuables found on the bandits were divided among the soldiers, and the officers turned a blind eye. Gao Yang even saw soldiers stripping the dead of their clothes!

He sternly stopped this and arranged for the bodies to be buried. Everyone boarded the fishing boats and returned.

The next morning, they returned to the camp, treated the wounded, and gathered everyone to announce the elimination of the notorious bandit Liu Sandao. Amidst the envious gazes, Gao Yang distributed bonuses to all the participants.

"Tell the owner of Jinbaozhai to hand over half of his property and leave Feng County. If he dares to say no, he will be charged with aiding the bandits," Gao Yang said to Yang Dong.

A few days later, the provincial government also sent a commendation, praising the Feng County security team for protecting the people and eliminating the bandits.

Gao Yang threw the commendation into the trash, activated the time travel, and returned to the original timeline in Bern, putting a large box of documents into the storage space. The next day, he went to Berlin, still to the same counterfeit group, but this time ordering not only pounds but also pre-1924 versions of dollars, yen, and new rubles. He then returned to the villa in Bern and activated the time travel to 1924 Shanghai.

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