cicada

Chapter 1327 Letter of Appointment

A "绺子" refers specifically to bandits in the Northeast region who gather together to plunder people's property. They are also called "Hu bandits" or "Hu Zi".

After the Japanese occupied Northeast China, some of these gangs assisted the Japanese and became traitors, while others participated in anti-Japanese activities. The gang in front of Gui Youguang was one of them.

The two sides chatted for a while in the snow. The gang leader waved his cloak and invited Gui Youguang to join him. The others followed closely behind him, and they walked along a path towards the depths of the forest.

On the way, Gui Youguang noticed that there were many people hiding in the woods. He pretended that he hadn't noticed anything and walked side by side with the shopkeeper, talking and laughing.

But a closer look revealed that he used the chief shopkeeper to block the key position, and the other Military Control Commission agents did the same, each of them finding a gang leader to block the shooting angle.

At the end of the team, the sixth in command, Ma Ruilin, and Wu Jingzhong were talking as they walked, and both of them smelled a familiar scent on each other.

This is normal. Wu Jingzhong once studied at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow and joined the underground party. To some extent, he is indeed the same type as Ma Ruilin.

The two gangs circled around in the woods and came to a secluded valley where several "horse racks" were located and there were many people moving around. This was the gang's stronghold.

The horse rack, as the name suggests, is shaped like a saddle. It has no walls or windows, and only a door on the front for entry and exit.

Although this type of building has relatively poor thermal insulation, it is made of simple materials and is easy to build. It is a common shelter for lumberjacks, bandits, and hunters in the wild.

Looking down from the sky, the cedar and birch trees covered with snow covered the horse racks so well that it was no wonder they could escape Japanese aerial reconnaissance.

In addition to the punitive forces, the air force was an important means for the Japanese to deal with the Anti-Japanese United Army and the anti-Japanese guerrillas. As long as flames and smoke columns were found in the air, Japanese troops within hundreds of miles would receive the news and surround and intercept them.

"Commanders, please~"

Inside the mountain stronghold, the chief shopkeeper raised his hand and shouted, then walked towards the largest horse rack. Gui Youguang and others quickly followed.

Entering the house, without the biting cold wind, the agents breathed a sigh of relief and took off their hats.

As there was no way to get fire or light a lamp, the stable was quite dark. The head shopkeeper sat down on a chair covered with tiger skin and started chatting with the general.

"Please take a seat. This place is a bit shabby, so please forgive me. What are you doing here?"

As he was talking, the gangsters and secret agents sat or stood on the left and right. Wu Jingzhong, who was in the second position on the left, bowed and exchanged a few polite words with them.

"I have heard of your great reputation. In the past few years, you and your brothers have killed many devils and traitors, which has frightened the Japanese and the puppet Manchukuo. Your patriotism is known to the world."

The chief shopkeeper waved his hand when he heard this and said impatiently, "Don't talk about that useless stuff. Just tell us what you want us to do. As long as it's to deal with the devils, we brothers will not say a word."

Wu Jingzhong was not embarrassed by being interrupted. He took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Ma Ruilin opposite him, who passed it to the chief shopkeeper, while explaining his purpose.

"We are assigned by Director Dai of the Military Control Commission to come to Harbin to carry out a mission. We hope to get help from the chief treasurer. This is the letter of appointment from Shancheng. The government has appointed you as the major general guerrilla commander."

The gangs started to make a fuss. As the saying goes, those who commit murder and arson will be recruited, and most of the bandits wanted to retire and even "turn from black to white."

Not to mention the distant past, let’s just talk about the King of Northeast. He was just one of the leaders of many gangs back then. After being summoned by the previous dynasty, he transformed himself into a cavalry commander and eventually established his own regime.

Why can't they do what the other side can do? By then, they will no longer be gang leaders, but regiment commanders or brigade commanders.

An anxious little leader immediately knelt on one knee and said, "Congratulations, big boss. Congratulations, big boss. The brothers are willing to continue to follow you. If anyone dares to rebel, I will burn his sky lantern."

"Yes, Commander."

"Boss, if you give an order, we will not hesitate."

Suddenly, everyone knelt down in the horse rack. People go to high places and water flows to low places. Who would want to be a bandit when they can be an official?

The chief shopkeeper burst out laughing upon seeing this, took the letter of appointment, looked at it left and right, couldn't stop looking at it, his face was full of joy.

Ma Ruilin was the only one who remained calm among the gang. He whispered something in the ear of the chief shopkeeper, who frowned, stopped smiling and asked Wu Jingzhong a few questions.

"Sir, for the sake of my brothers' lives, there are some things I have to ask clearly, what is your mission, and what kind of help do you need from us.

Besides this letter of appointment, are there any other benefits? Otherwise, I can't let my brothers risk their lives for nothing."

After listening to this, Wu Jingzhong didn't say anything, but just clapped his hands. The two little agents took off the backpacks behind them, took out stacks of Japanese yen and puppet Manchukuo ration tickets and threw them on the ground.

Gollum~

Looking at the increasingly high piles of banknotes and coupons, the gang members kept swallowing their saliva, their eyes like hooks, staring at the thin pieces of paper. Needless to say, the Japanese yen was an absolute hard currency in Manchukuo, and the key point was the ration coupons, which were good things that could not be bought with money.

The economy of Manchukuo was highly dependent on Japan, and its resources and production were used first to meet the war needs of the Japanese army. As the Pacific War loomed, the supply of materials in the Manchukuo region was seriously insufficient.

In order to centrally control resources and stabilize social order, the puppet Manchukuo implemented a ration ticket system, which restricted people's access to daily necessities through planned distribution.

There are various types of tickets, covering food, daily necessities, fuel, cloth and other fields. They are issued based on household registration and the number is very small.

Since the ticket system was implemented, it has become increasingly difficult for the gang to obtain supplies from the market. When they suddenly saw so many supply tickets today, they were naturally surprised and happy.

Ma Ruilin was also shocked. He took a few quick steps to the money and banknotes, bent down, picked up a book of special food ration tickets and examined them carefully to prevent the Military Control Commission from using fake tickets to fool them.

But no matter how he looked at it, these supply tickets were exactly the same as the real ones; the paper, printing font, format, and size all matched.

Wu Jingzhong and Gui Youguang smiled faintly. The Military Control Commission could even print Japanese yen, let alone supply tickets. They could print as many as the other party wanted.

The chief manager saw from Ma Ruilin's reaction that there was no problem with the bill, so he patted the armrest of his chair, stood up and saluted Gui Youguang and the other two with an awkward military salute, which was considered as his agreement to recruit them. The other gangs followed suit.

Wu Jingzhong returned the greeting solemnly, invited the chief manager back to his seat, and then began to explain the content of the task, of course only a small part of it.

"We are going to destroy Wanggang Airport outside Harbin. According to the intelligence we have, a brother of yours named Liu Guotai once served at Wanggang Airport. Am I right?"

"That's right." The chief shopkeeper nodded and pointed at one of them and shouted, "He is Liu Guotai. He is well-informed about the commander's news."

Ma Ruilin, who had already returned to the crowd, narrowed his eyes and glanced at the black-faced man not far away. It seemed that he was not wrong. The other party was indeed a member of the National Government.

On the day the new member joined the gang, he chatted with Liu Guotai for a few words. At that time, the black-faced man had been following them, just listening but not saying anything.

For a gang member, this person's curiosity was a little too strong. Based on this, Ma Ruilin judged that the black-faced man was most likely an intelligence officer and a Military Control Commission agent.

Because apart from the underground party, the only intelligence agency of the Kuomintang government that could persist in fighting in Manchukuo was the Military Control Commission. What happened today proved Ma Ruilin's guess.

On the other side, Liu Guotai walked out of the crowd trembling. Wu Jingzhong comforted him with gentle words and then asked.

"Mr. Liu, how many pilots can you convince to join the government? Who among them is the most reliable?"

After careful consideration, Liu Guotai gave an answer and mentioned a name: "Most of the pilots of the Third Flight Team are willing to surrender, and Su Qiwen is the most determined among them."

According to Liu Guotai, Su Qiwen, male, was from Shuangcheng, Heilongjiang Province. He graduated from the Xinjing Air Force School and served as a squad leader. He was very prestigious among the pilots.

His brother served in the Northeast Army. After the incident, he was killed by the Japanese for participating in the Anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. Su Qiwen had a family feud and witnessed the tragic scenes of the Japanese army slaughtering his compatriots. He hated the Japanese very much.

When chatting with friends and fellow villagers, Su Qiwen repeatedly expressed his willingness to find an opportunity to do something big and that he was an excellent target for rebellion.

Wu Jingzhong thought about it, tilted his head and discussed with Colonel Gao for a moment, then Colonel Gao took Liu Guotai out of the horse rack and prepared to find a place to ask the other party some flying knowledge.

The purpose of doing this is, first, to confirm Liu Guotai's identity, and second, to judge the training level of the Third Flight Team.

If this was a trap, it was unlikely that the Japanese would send a real pilot to lurk there. At most, they would send a traitor to carry out the mission, and such a person would certainly not pass Colonel Gao's interrogation.

Even if Liu Guotai did not lie, if the flying skills of the Third Flight Squadron were too poor, they would still be unable to undertake the flying work required for the mission. At that time, Colonel Gao would have to go into battle himself and fly the new aircraft back to the Kuomintang-controlled area.

This is also the reason why Zuo Zhong chose the other party to join the action. You must be prepared for both situations when doing anything. It will be too late to regret when the time comes.

After Colonel Gao and Liu Guotai left, Wu Jingzhong went to the chief manager to discuss the specific steps of the action. Gui Youguang winked at the sixth in command Ruilin, and the two walked out the door one after the other.

Standing under the tree, Gui Youguang handed over an envelope and spoke first: "Sixth Master, right? Someone asked me to bring you a letter."

Ma Ruilin took the envelope with both hands, opened it and read it, and asked only one question: "I will fully cooperate with your actions. What should I do next?"

Gui Youguang looked at the mountains and forests in the distance, turned his head and showed his white teeth: "Are there any other gangs around here, especially those who do evil but have not surrendered to the Japanese?"

Ma Ruilin nodded vigorously: "Yes, the world is in chaos. These people are cruel and ruthless. They dare to kill anyone as long as there is benefit."

"Okay, you go to pay homage to the mountain tomorrow, and leave the rest to us." Gui Youguang replied in a deep voice, his eyes always fixed in the direction of the interior of the pass.

(End of this chapter)