under fire

After the revolutionary army overthrew the Qing Dynasty, the newly established Republic of China fell into warlord conflicts.

The foreign powers kept stirring up trouble, plunging the Republic of China into internal strife, and the Japanese army took the opportunity to invade the Northeast and occupy large swathes of land.

Then they invaded North China and East China, and the Chinese people rose up in resistance, and the anti-Japanese struggle surged forth.

Faced with widespread warfare, the Japanese had no choice but to support puppet regimes of Chinese traitors to govern the occupied territories, thereby achieving their goal of military occupation and continuous economic plunder.

In the northeast, there was Puyi's puppet state of Manchukuo; in Beiping, there was Wang Kemin's puppet North China Political Affairs Committee; in Inner Mongolia, there was Prince Mengde's puppet Mengjiang United Autonomous Government; and in Nanjing, there was Wang Jingwei's puppet Nationalist government…

The puppet regime sets up a stage, organizes an army and a police force, and establishes a puppet government.

The Japanese controlled the military and police, generally referred to as puppet troops and police...

In the early days, the puppet army was mainly composed of surrendered Nationalist soldiers. Since the Nationalist army itself was of mixed quality, the puppet army was naturally even worse.

The Japanese did not trust the puppet army controlled by the puppet regime, so the North China Area Army fostered a puppet army force.

This puppet army was called the Imperial Army.

Both were puppet troops, but the "Huang Xie Xie," who recognized the enemy as their father, were slightly more sophisticated... commonly known as "second-rate traitors."

The puppet army had a fixed designation: the North China Political Affairs Committee Security Army, also known as the North China Pacification Army.

They were directly controlled by the Japanese North China Area Army and held a higher status than ordinary security forces, security regiments, and garrison units.

They were called "second-rate traitors" because some of the lower-ranking commanders of the puppet army were misled by the Japanese into promoting the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and even learned real skills from them.

The puppet army, which had forgotten its own lineage and traditions, resolutely implemented the Japanese invaders' policy of enslavement, and turned its guns and swords against the Eighth Route Army and local anti-Japanese armed forces that were determined to resist Japan.

They wantonly arrested anti-Japanese soldiers and civilians, and committed heinous crimes of burning, killing, and looting everywhere.

Hu Yi's personality and behavior are not well-liked.

Secretary Zhao of the district, however, viewed him differently.

Soldiers' mission is to defend their country. There were many capable units in the Eighth Route Army, such as the Guard Battalion, but it was extremely rare for them to annihilate the Japanese army with minimal casualties.

If they could drive out the Japanese invaders, Secretary Zhao believed he would be willing to sacrifice his own life.

The guard battalion was strong and capable of fighting the Japanese, but they had no foothold in western Shandong and could not guarantee that their whereabouts would not be leaked.

Having worked in the plains for many years, Secretary Zhao knew that if these seemingly minor details were leaked, it would bring utter disaster to the guard battalion.

Annihilation does not mean eliminating all of the enemy's troops. After all, no one knows how many puppet troops might escape under the cover of darkness.

So, just last night, the district's massive underground forces began to awaken.

The armed forces members of the district guarded the major and minor roads leading to Liaocheng all night long.

Most of the remaining puppet troops who were trying to escape back to the county town overnight were intercepted.

In Liaocheng County, the underground agents who had been lying in wait were on high alert after receiving orders from their assigned district.

The Japanese military police in Liaocheng have increased their vigilance during this period.

As a result, several people carrying intelligence about the previous night's battle were turned away when they tried to enter the military police headquarters.

He reluctantly went to the Liaocheng detective team to report the news, but unfortunately, he never came out again.

Naturally, no relevant battlefield intelligence was reported.

Several corpses inexplicably appeared in the mass grave outside the city.

Instead of blocking, it's better to guide. The spies from the enemy work department infiltrated into the Liaocheng reconnaissance team, security forces, and night raid teams have been focusing all their energy on keeping a close watch on any news about Donggu Town these past few days.

No matter who it is, if they come to inform on someone, the result will be death!
After wandering around most of the town, Secretary Zhao finally arrived at the warehouses in the backyards of several large households that appeared ordinary but were actually heavily guarded.

Looking at the sacks that were almost piled up to the roof, he instructed the guards disguised as ordinary people on the roof to be careful.

Overnight, the watchtowers in Donggu Town underwent a complete transformation.

The corrupt puppet troops were almost completely wiped out.
Some people drowned while swimming in the canal at night.

Some people, after drinking, accidentally fell off the watchtower and died.

Those with wounds were either killed in a drunken brawl or accidentally pulled out a gun after losing everything gambling.

Without exception, the murderers have been executed on the spot.
With the arrival of autumn winds and winter rains, ordinary people could not see any changes to the watchtowers.

In a courtyard in the west of the city, the doors and windows were tightly shut.

Several middle-aged men in long gowns and a group of men dressed as waiters sat together.

One of the portly middle-aged men, his eyes red, stared through gritted teeth and said, "I'm 100% sure that everyone in the town hall is a member of the Eighth Route Army!"

"You mean, the Eighth Route Army is crying 'stop thief!' and has occupied our Donggu Town?" The speaker was the pawnshop owner, Zhang Jinsheng. "Donggu Town has changed completely!"

"We need to prepare early!"

After a series of hurried footsteps came from the courtyard, a police officer ran in.

The people inside asked anxiously, "What's the situation?"

“All the brothers who went out of town to report the news were arrested and stabbed on the spot. None of the brothers planted in the blockhouse have sent back any news either, and the phone lines to the county town are also down…” The man who came in took off his police hat and wiped the sweat from his brow.

Zhang Jinsheng looked utterly desperate: "Those peasants are really ruthless! We're all finished..."

The portly middle-aged man glared at Zhang Jinsheng: "What are you afraid of? We haven't offended the Eighth Route Army..."

Zhang Jinsheng blinked: "My second son went to inform my uncle, who works in the Liaocheng detective team, last night..."

The middle-aged man's face darkened: "Foolish! In this day and age, the most taboo thing is being two-faced. Your second son is a coward. Even if you successfully deliver the message, do you think your family will end up well? Aren't you afraid that the Eighth Route Army's anti-traitor squad will come knocking on your door?"

“It’s over, it’s all over…” Zhang Jinsheng murmured in despair.

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment, then gave the newly arrived waiter a wink.

The waiter slowly approached Zhang Jinsheng: "Mr. Zhang, please accept my condolences..."

As he spoke, a sinister smile appeared on his face, and suddenly, an iron rod was plunged diagonally into Zhang Jinsheng's heart.

This person's movements were clean and efficient; they must have done this countless times before…

The people inside were terrified; some even wet themselves in fear.
"That Zhang guy is trying to kill us all!" The middle-aged man looked around gravely. "Right now, no matter who it is, don't send anyone out. We have to wait patiently for now..."

The shopkeeper next to him glanced at the portly middle-aged man, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "You're right. I've traveled to the Eighth Route Army's base areas as a merchant. They didn't oppose merchants; in fact, they were very friendly to us, even sending people to help us transport goods..."

"You actually colluded with the Eighth Route Army?" The pawnshop clerk, whose shopkeeper had died, stared wide-eyed.

"Because the Eighth Route Army in the mountains lacked supplies, in those days, as long as you could make money, what wouldn't you do?"

"Have you forgotten how they seized land from the wealthy and distributed it to the poor in earlier years?"

"Kid, I'm not afraid to tell you, the Eighth Route Army is now openly operating under the guise of a puppet army. If anyone dares to make a move, the Eighth Route Army can kill their entire family and pin it on the puppet army!"

The grain shop manager next to him suddenly spoke up: "The chairman is right. To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, everyone should behave themselves these days."

Chairman Ma smiled and suddenly spoke up to comfort them: "The people of the town need a way to survive. I don't believe the Eighth Route Army will blockade Donggu Town indefinitely! Everyone should do what they're supposed to do, and don't do what they're not supposed to do."

The people in the room, pale-faced, looked at the composed middle-aged man and couldn't help but begin to dream of a happy future...

Middle-aged people are now at ease, so it's difficult to completely silence the gossip.

But it seems easier to make them face reality.
As for going to the county town to deliver the message, you'd have to be lucky enough to do that.
Secretary Zhao, accompanied by his guards, quickly arrived at the security forces' camp.

In an office on the first floor was the command post of the canal detachment, where Huo Ran, the president of the chamber of commerce, who had just held a secret meeting with the town's merchants, was located.

The news that the district had secretly taken over the pillbox would leak out sooner or later.

What needs to be done now is to ensure that the news leaks out as late as possible, while simultaneously having the soldiers from the detachment who are rotating into the pillboxes impersonate the puppet troops listed in the pillboxes.
As for whether the soldiers who were transferred here look like the photos in the files of the puppet troops in Liaocheng County, would someone bring the files to verify them?
In just two more days, someone will quietly replace the photos of the "puppet troops" stationed in the county archives with theirs, confirming their status as puppet troops.
In the storeroom in the backyard of the military camp, there were eighteen telephones.

The district telegraph operator worked through the night to receive all the telephones installed by some bandits who had robbed several wealthy households.

Nowadays, these phones can only be used for one-way communication with the corresponding pillbox.

For reasons of secrecy, not many people know about this room.

Even District Chief Wang didn't know.

The head of the enemy work section, surnamed Liu, looked at Secretary Zhao coming from the front yard with a proud expression: "I never imagined that our district could be this wealthy; it's probably almost comparable to headquarters..."

These phone numbers were the spoils of the bandits who robbed Donggu Town.

Secretary Zhao shook his head and sighed upon hearing what Section Chief Liu said.

Suddenly, she spoke earnestly: "Can't you broaden your perspective? Even a random grocery store in Tianjin has a telephone..."

The second floor.

Inside a room, the canal brigade commander, dressed in a yellow puppet army uniform, was arranging security work for the town.

The Japanese soldiers coming from Liaocheng may enter the town, and countermeasures need to be prepared for this situation.

District Chief Wang of the town government was also busy, organizing teachers and students of the town's primary school and major businesses to welcome the approaching "Imperial Army".

The logistics minister is busy organizing all the shops and restaurants in town to prepare food and drinks for the arriving "Imperial Army"...

If they were foreign Japanese soldiers or puppet troops, in their eyes, Donggu Town would definitely be a model town of public security under the rule of the Imperial Army. (End of this chapter)