Chapter 23

Watching the central army inspection team being escorted into the valley by a light machine gun squad, the soldiers of the independent regiment looked at He Zhengdao with a newfound fervent admiration. This kind of psychological warfare was something they had never experienced before.

Just by using his eloquent acting skills, He Zhengdao managed to take over a well-equipped central army inspection team without firing a single shot. This truly opened the eyes of the soldiers in the independent regiment!

Only He Zhengdao remained calm and said, "Now we start changing into their uniforms. All of you put on their military uniforms. We will march into the county in broad daylight to rescue our comrades. Remember, follow orders and do not act rashly. Understand?"

"Understood!"

The soldiers of the independent regiment quickly put on the uniforms stripped from the disgruntled central army soldiers according to the pre-arranged plan. The submachine guns from the leading central army squad were all handed over to the guard company by He Zhengdao.

Although the Thompson submachine guns were not suitable for long-range combat, they were undoubtedly much better than rifles in close combat!

According to the pre-arranged plan, Zhang Cheng would still play the role of the central army regiment commander, while He Zhengdao would still play the role of the guard, leading this grand impersonation.

In He Zhengdao's view, this operation must be swift and efficient. After rescuing the hostages, they would immediately move to another location, leaving the Guangxi army and the central army to deal with the aftermath. He even involved the Hunan army to complicate the situation further.

The ten vehicles of the central army, along with several captured vehicles hidden by He Zhengdao on the roadside, left only one infantry battalion to accompany the artillery company on foot. The rest of the vehicles, operated by the specially trained Red Army drivers, quickly headed towards the county.

When the Guangxi army sentries saw the convoy of central army vehicles approaching, He Zhengdao, sitting in the lead vehicle, did not get out but slowly drove forward with the horn blaring. Seeing the long line of vehicles and the flags on them, the Guangxi army, who knew the central army was powerful, did not dare to inspect and quickly let them pass.

When the infantry battalion and the artillery company passed by, the Guangxi army soldiers commented with envy, "Damn, these central army guys are really showy. A regiment, and they even have an artillery company. Their equipment is as good as our division. No wonder they are the direct subordinates of the bald-headed old man; their treatment is really different!"

In the eyes of the Guangxi army, these central army soldiers, who seemed to look up at the sky while walking, were somewhat annoying. But they knew that the central army was in charge in Nanjing.

The commander of the Guangxi army could only be considered a branch manager of the central army. Therefore, they, as subordinates, had to be careful and serve the trusted subordinates of the central army's big boss!

The security regiment commander of the county, who had been waiting for instructions from above, knew that the inspection team that was supposed to deliver money and carry out the execution had arrived when he saw more than ten vehicles at the city gate. He quickly ordered the soldiers below to remove the barriers and prepare to let the central army, who were all in vehicles, enter the city.

However, when he saw that the central army seemed very cautious and left an infantry battalion and an artillery company outside the city, he knew that these central army soldiers were afraid of dying and were keeping some forces as a deterrent outside the city.

With this speculation, the security regiment commander quickly descended from the city tower and stood on the inner city street, waiting for the arrival of the central army. As the lead vehicle stopped, the guard squad, armed with submachine guns, jumped out of the car and secured the area. He Zhengdao also carefully met the security regiment commander.

After learning that the other party was the security regiment commander responsible for the county's defense, He Zhengdao quickly introduced Zhang Cheng, who was now called 'Liu Zhendong,' to the commander.

Although the security regiment commander was also a colonel, he was very clear that he was just a colonel of a miscellaneous army. Such colonels were numerous in the Guangxi army, far less valuable than the central army colonel impersonated by Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng, maintaining a haughty demeanor, carefully responded to the security regiment commander's invitation to have a meal in the city, "Commander Ma, I'm really sorry, but I am on a mission from the Commander-in-Chief and cannot afford to be slow. Let's first take over the Red Bandits. The reward money ordered by the Commander-in-Chief is all in the vehicles. Let's handle the official business first, and we can talk about personal matters later."

This approach of exchanging money for people undoubtedly pleased Commander Ma. He smiled and led Zhang Cheng and his men to the camp where the Red Army prisoners were waiting for execution, looking at the nearly a thousand captured Red Army soldiers.

Zhang Cheng and the guard squad were undoubtedly very excited. But under He Zhengdao's instructions, these soldiers maintained a stern face, trying to avoid any slip-ups.

As Commander Ma counted the Red Army prisoners and the guard squad, a few of the prisoners seemed to recognize the Red Army soldiers impersonating the guard squad, who looked like their former comrades.

But these Red Army prisoners did not understand why their comrades, who were clearly recognizable, were pretending not to know them.

Facing these familiar captured comrades, the Red Army soldiers impersonating the guard squad quickly pretended to be fierce and shouted, "What are you looking at? No talking! Anyone who talks will be shot immediately."

As they said this, the captured Red Army soldiers, who recognized the central army uniforms as their former comrades, saw the signals from the guard squad and understood what was happening. They suppressed their joy and obediently lowered their heads.

This behavior made the security regiment soldiers feel that the central army, as a regular army, was indeed different. A few simple words were enough to subdue these defiant Red Bandits, a level of authority they could not match.

After the count was completed, Zhang Cheng said happily, "Well done, Commander Ma. I will certainly report your contribution to Commanders Li and Bai. Here is the reward money I brought, twenty silver dollars for each person, all in boxes. A total of 100,000 silver dollars, twenty boxes of 5,000 silver dollars each. If Commander Ma is not satisfied, you can have your men count them."

While he was speaking, He Zhengdao had already instructed the guard squad to open two boxes. Seeing the neatly stacked silver dollars, although they were not counted, Commander Ma felt that the central army would not cheat them over such a small amount of money.

He responded readily, "Colonel Liu, you are too polite. We are all part of the National Army, so there's no need to doubt. I just wonder, will you carry out the execution in the city or elsewhere?"

Zhang Cheng seemed to think for a moment and said, "Let's do it outside the city. So many people will require at least a thousand bullets. Besides, it's broad daylight, and it's not good for the civilians to see this. We will take them outside and execute them. I will send someone to inform you when it's done, and I hope you can organize some men to bury the Red Bandits. The extra money from the reward can be used as compensation for the burial, no trouble, right?"

Facing Zhang Cheng's words, Commander Ma responded happily, "No trouble at all. It's our honor to serve the central army. When you're done, just send someone to let us know. We will find some civilians to bury the Red Bandits. It's a small matter."

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "That's great. Since the money and the people are settled, I will take my men to complete the mission. When I have the chance to come to your county again, I hope you will remember me."

Seeing that Zhang Cheng did not even want to eat, Commander Ma seemed somewhat regretful and said, "Colonel Liu, why are you in such a hurry? The Red Bandits won't run away. Why don't we have a meal first and then deal with them?"

Zhang Cheng pretended to be helpless and said, "I would like to, but there are other counties waiting for me to deliver the money and clear out these useless people. You all make money, but I have to do this dirty work. It's a hard life! Let's do it next time. After I finish my tasks, I will come to your county and have a drink with you, Commander Ma. We will get drunk together, how about that?"

Seeing that Zhang Cheng really had no time to eat, Commander Ma did not insist further. He watched the central army soldiers get into the vehicles and push the ragged Red Army prisoners onto the trucks.

When nearly a thousand people were all on the vehicles, Zhang Cheng, who was also in a vehicle, waved to Commander Ma. Under the watchful eyes of the security regiment soldiers, the vehicles slowly drove out of the county.

This swift and efficient operation undoubtedly impressed the security regiment soldiers. These central army soldiers were truly a first-class elite force!

As the dozen vehicles drove out of the city, the central army infantry battalion and artillery company, which were stationed outside the city, immediately set off and quickly followed the vehicles to the desolate suburbs outside the city. Everything seemed normal.

Only a few civilians in the city, who knew what the central army was doing to the Red Army, whispered, "What a pity! Nearly a thousand brave men, just like that. What a pity!"

Unfortunately, not long after, these civilians saw the county security regiment commander, who had just smiled and seen the central army off, ride a high horse and lead a battalion out of the city, seemingly chasing someone. What was happening now?