Chapter 22

Seeing He Zhengdao leading a company of soldiers, they had already begun to inspect the cars according to the prearranged plan. Wang Tianlin, responsible for the ambush on both sides, felt a bit of sweat on his palms. After all, in such a chaotic situation where the two armies were mixed together, it was easy to accidentally harm one's own people.

Compared to He Zhengdao, who was following behind Zhang Cheng, he seemed very pleased as he inspected the military vehicles crowded with Nationalist Army soldiers. At the same time, he occasionally left a few soldiers to loiter around the cars. When they finally reached the last car, this Nationalist Army battalion commander was unwilling to let Zhang Cheng and his men inspect it.

Seeing that the car was equipped with two light machine guns and a pile of boxes, He Zhengdao guessed that the boxes must contain silver dollars. These silver dollars were used to pay the rewards to the Guangxi Army officers. Looking at the full load of the car, it was indeed a substantial amount.

He pretended to be very angry and said, "Battalion Commander, I think there's something wrong with this car. Why did you let us inspect all the other cars but not this one? If they have nothing to hide, why don't they let us inspect it?"

In response to He Zhengdao's seemingly angry report, Liu Zhendong, who accompanied him, also said angrily, "Battalion Commander Zhang, it seems you need to discipline your men. How dare they speak to me like this? I told you, the items on this car are military supplies and cannot be inspected casually.

Moreover, you can see that there are only a few guards and a pile of boxes on the car. There's no way to hide anyone. Why are your men still insisting on inspecting it? You should know that if anything happens to the items on this car, I won't be able to explain it, and neither will you!"

Faced with Liu Zhendong's superior attitude, He Zhengdao deliberately whispered, "Battalion Commander, I think the car is loaded with silver dollars, the ones being sent to the city. We set up checkpoints every day and work so hard, but they get to enjoy the good life in the city. Why can't we make a little money? Even bandits would demand a toll when they pass by.

Besides, they are all from the Nationalist Army, living in luxury. Why should we, the Guangxi Army, have to eat poor food? If they don't give us some benefits today, we won't let them pass. We have all the time in the world to wait them out!"

Although He Zhengdao was speaking to Zhang Cheng, his voice wasn't completely suppressed, and Liu Zhendong overheard everything. Realizing that these guys were trying to extort money from him, Liu Zhendong laughed in anger, "Battalion Commander Zhang, you need to think carefully. The items on this car have been approved by your Commander Li. If anything goes wrong, you might get the money, but you won't live to spend it!"

Zhang Cheng didn't respond, but He Zhengdao grinned evilly, "As long as we have the money, what else do we need? Battalion Commander, don't worry! We have so many brothers here today. If they don't give us money, we won't let them pass. Let's see what they can do!

If they dare to fight, we'll go back and say that the Nationalist Army looked down on us and bullied us. The brothers in the city have long been unhappy with these arrogant guys. We are all part of the Nationalist Army. Why should they enjoy the good life while we, the Guangxi Army, have to beg for food? No way, they won't pass without giving us money today."

Faced with He Zhengdao's deliberate mischief, Liu Zhendong was furious but still stared at Zhang Cheng. He hoped that Zhang Cheng, the Guangxi Army battalion commander, would understand how serious the issue of robbing the reward money was!

Zhang Cheng's response surprised him; he seemed like someone who would risk his life for money!

He pulled Liu Zhendong aside and said, "Colonel Liu, it's not easy for our brothers to come out here. I know the car is carrying the reward money for the city's officers. But our brothers work hard every day, facing the sun and the earth. It's not easy. How about you give us a little benefit? I need to explain to my men."

Liu Zhendong coldly laughed, "Battalion Commander Zhang, aren't you afraid of being punished by the higher-ups? Besides, do you really think you can rob the money from me with just your men?"

Before he could finish, He Zhengdao signaled, drew his pistol, and pointed it at Liu Zhendong's head, "Don't worry, as long as you don't want to die, you'll hand over the money. Brothers, there are at least several hundred thousand silver dollars on this car. With the money, we can do anything.

Keep a close eye on them. If any officer moves, shoot him. After we get the money, we'll say nothing happened. We'll claim they embezzled the reward money. Let's see if the brothers in the city believe them or us."

Following He Zhengdao's order, the Red Army soldiers, who were already prepared, drew their pistols and rifles and aimed at the officers of the inspection team. Even the Nationalist Army soldiers on the car, seeing the Guangxi Army soldiers holding grenades at the car door, were threatened that if they dared to get out, the grenades would be thrown in.

Faced with the Guangxi Army's bold robbery of the reward money, Liu Zhendong didn't want to lose his life here. He coldly laughed, "Battalion Commander Zhang, do you really think you can rob the reward money by capturing me? You should know that my inspection team is not to be trifled with! Even in a one-on-one fight, you are no match for us!"

Zhang Cheng smiled, "Colonel Liu, I'm really sorry. I'm just following orders. After all, our brothers are afraid of being poor! The Chairman doesn't lack this money. If it's really necessary, you can allocate more reward money.

Also, I want to tell Colonel Liu that if you don't want the Guangxi Army to turn against you, it's best to accept your loss today! After all, we are prepared to rob your reward money!"

With that, Zhang Cheng whistled, and the Red Army soldiers on both sides quickly removed their coverings. The Nationalist Army was stunned to see a large number of Guangxi Army soldiers armed with weapons appear on both hillsides. The number and scale seemed no less than their own.

What surprised them even more was that a very swift force, before their artillery could react, directly rushed into their ranks and controlled the artillery unit with light machine guns and pistols. Any artilleryman who dared to resist was given a beating.

Realizing that these people had carefully planned the robbery, Liu Zhendong didn't dare to order a desperate counterattack. He knew that once a fight broke out, he wouldn't be able to explain the internal conflict between the Nationalist Army and the Guangxi Army, no matter how many mouths he had. Although they were all part of the Nationalist Army, everyone knew that the Guangxi Army only followed the orders of Commander Li and Commander Bai.

The Chairman would need the approval of these two Guangxi leaders to mobilize the Guangxi Army. If a real fight broke out, both sides would suffer losses. Even if they won in the end, they would still be in the wrong, as the robbery of the reward money would be hard to believe.

He said with some reluctance, "You wait and see. Once I return, I will report your banditry to the Chairman. We'll see if you still have the life to spend this money."

Zhang Cheng calmly replied, "Do as you please! I just want the money, Colonel Liu. To avoid casualties, please have your men cooperate.

Otherwise, if we really fight, your Nationalist Army, who came to our territory to bully us, will end up buried here. I'm sure you don't want that, Colonel Liu."

Liu Zhendong seemed to decide that these Guangxi Army men might only be after the money and wouldn't dare to kill an entire battalion. Therefore, he ordered his reluctant men to surrender their weapons and submit to the Guangxi Army.

He thought that as long as they returned to the rear and reported to the military headquarters, it would be the Guangxi Army's turn to cry. After all, they were making a compromise for the greater good, and no one would doubt that they had been robbed.

Seeing the Nationalist Army really surrender their weapons and not provoke a war between the Nationalist Army and the Guangxi Army, Wang Tianlin was almost laughing out loud, but he quickly commanded his independent regiment to tie up the Nationalist Army soldiers with ropes.

Finally, under the escort of a light machine gun platoon, Zhang Cheng led nearly a thousand Nationalist Army soldiers to a hidden valley. He warned them to behave and wait until they were far away before they would be released. However, the light machine gun platoon would still guard them. If they really wanted to die, they could try to escape!

Without weapons and tied up, Liu Zhendong's frustration was evident. However, to protect the lives of his men and to have a chance for justice, he kept telling his men to be patient, stay calm, and not provoke these crazy robbers. Throughout the entire process, they never suspected that these Guangxi Army men were actually disguised Red Army soldiers!