Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

Chapter 2992 A Serendipitous Accident: Liu Jinbiao Stumbles into Da'an Mine!

Liu Jinbiao was roughly pushed onto the truck by several Japanese soldiers. The truck lurched violently, and he staggered a few steps before regaining his balance.

The truck was already packed with people who had been arrested, all of them looking terrified and bewildered.

Liu Jinbiao found a relatively spacious corner to stand in, and was thinking about how to escape.

However, just then, a thin man dressed in tattered clothes approached.

This man was Suzuki from the Chuncheng Station of the Special Higher Police. Although he had successfully boarded a truck bound for the Da'an Mine, he did not have any familiar witnesses.

Most of the people he arrested with him were dressed in rags, and he found it hard to believe them.

After all, in his eyes, the resistance fighters were only rebelling against the Imperial Japanese Army because they were poor.

And it was at this moment that Liu Jinbiao appeared.

Liu Jinbiao was dressed as a businessman, wearing silk, and was somewhat overweight, looking every bit the wealthy man.

So Suzuki immediately took a liking to Liu Jinbiao, believing that he was the one he was looking for who could prove his identity.

So he put on a warm smile and asked with concern, "Brother, judging from your clothes, you don't look like someone who does hard labor. How did you end up here?"

Liu Jinbiao glanced at him irritably, feeling annoyed, and casually replied, "Bad luck, I went to the cloth shop to discuss some business and this happened."

Suzuki's eyes lit up, seeing this as a good opportunity to build rapport, and he quickly continued, "Hey, brother, that's just how the world is, bad luck can strike at any time. My name is Li Er, what's your surname, brother?"

Seeing the man's enthusiasm, Liu Jinbiao assumed he had met a local bully and casually replied, "My name is Liu Jinbiao."

Suzuki hurriedly nodded and bowed, saying, "Oh, it's Brother Liu. From now on, we're all in the same boat. Let's look out for each other."

Liu Jinbiao didn't take it seriously, assuming that the man just wanted to talk to someone to relieve his boredom at a time like this, so he replied perfunctorily, "Sure, let's look out for each other."

Seeing that Liu Jinbiao's response was relatively amicable, Suzuki continued the conversation: "Brother Liu, what kind of business do you run? How did you get involved with these Japanese devils?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jinbiao was immediately filled with rage and said through gritted teeth, "I'm in the cloth and cotton business. I originally wanted to go to the cloth shop to buy some goods to sell as winter clothes. The cloth shop owner is a heartless devil who wanted to rip me off. When I refused, he falsely accused me of being a swindler and even called his brother-in-law, who is a big traitor who colluded with the Japanese and had me arrested."

Suzuki was secretly delighted, thinking: This is really an unlucky guy, I can make use of him.

So he pretended to be indignant and said, "Oh dear, Brother Liu, you've been wronged! These traitors and Japanese devils are inhuman!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jinbiao's impression of Suzuki improved slightly, and he said, "Of course, these traitorous dogs only bully honest people like us."

Suzuki pressed his advantage, saying, "Brother Liu, you're a true friend! I, Li Er, may not be very capable, but I admire people like you. Once we get to the mine, I'll follow you. I'll do whatever you ask."

Liu Jinbiao asked in surprise, "The mine? This truck is going to the mine?"

Suzuki Michi feigned surprise and said, "Brother Liu, you didn't know?"

Liu Jinbiao said, "How would I know? I was just arrested. What should I do?"

Liu Jinbiao feigned shock, but secretly he was delighted. Chen Yushan had gone to great lengths to find a way to be captured by the Japanese. Liu Jinbiao, on the other hand, had simply strolled through a market and been imprisoned. At the same time, he was puzzled by the expressions of shock on the faces of the people in the vehicle, who seemed to be heading to the mine.

In other words, no one on the vehicle knew they were being taken to the mine, so how did Li Er find out?
At the same time, he thought of something else: Captain Ma Hu had told them that the Japanese would definitely plant people in the mine, intending to infiltrate the anti-Japanese brigade.

Liu Jinbiao immediately understood.

However, he could not confirm whether the other party was a Japanese spy and needed to make further contact.

So Liu Jinbiao chuckled and said, "Alright, since you think so highly of me, let's work together. We'll find a chance to escape, and I'll take you into business. I can't say I'll make you rich, but making a living will definitely be no problem."

Suzuki was secretly delighted when he heard that Liu Jinbiao had agreed. As for escaping and doing business, he felt that Liu Jinbiao probably wouldn't have the chance.

He will bring Liu Jinbiao into the Anti-Japanese United Army together. Otherwise, if Liu Jinbiao doesn't go, who will be his witness?

So he quickly nodded and said, "Brother Liu, you're right, we must find a way to escape. But I've heard that the Da'an Mine is heavily guarded, so we need to think about it carefully."

Liu Jinbiao nodded and said, "That's right, let's observe the situation at the mine first."

As the two were talking, the truck suddenly stopped.

The Japanese soldiers shouted loudly and forced the people off the vehicle, because they had arrived at the Da'an Mine.

Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki got off the truck with the crowd. Looking up, the scene of Da'an Mine unfolded before everyone's eyes like a magnificent scroll.

The mine is built against the mountain, and there are at least dozens of mine shafts of various sizes scattered haphazardly across the huge mountain.

At the entrance to the mine, two towering watchtowers stood like giants, with Japanese soldiers holding machine guns on top, watching the group of newly captured miners slowly walking down below.

Moving forward along the main road of the mine, there is a wide but rugged dirt road, covered with deep ruts and messy footprints.

Along both sides of the road, there were piles of coal ore, like small mountains, black, gray, and white.

Further ahead lies the core area of ​​the mine—the mining zone.

The machines roared deafeningly as massive winches slowly pulled coal-laden mine cars up from hundreds of meters underground.

Wearing safety helmets woven from rattan and dressed in tattered clothes, the workers bustled between the mine carts and the machines, dumping the coal from the carts into designated locations and then hauling it away with handcarts. They were busy working until eight o'clock at night.

Liu Jinbiao looked slightly troubled; he had never experienced such hardship before. Seeing the miners so exhausted they couldn't even straighten their backs, he found it hard to imagine himself digging coal hundreds of meters underground like them.

However, at this time, driven by the Japanese soldiers, Liu Jinbiao and Suzuki and others had walked along the main road for a while and arrived at the mine's workers' shed area.

Rows of dilapidated sheds came into view. These sheds were mostly built with wooden boards and rags and were very simple.

Just then, a platoon leader of the puppet army, surrounded by several of his men, came to Liu Jinbiao and his group.

He cleared his throat, adopting an arrogant demeanor, and said, "Listen up, all of you! From today onwards, you unlucky bunch are miners at the Da'an Mine. Once you're here, don't even think about trying anything funny. Just get to work!"

At this point, he swept his fierce gaze across the crowd and continued, "This mine is not a place for you to run wild. If anyone dares to have any wicked thoughts, try to escape or cause trouble, humph! They will only have one way out: death! Don't blame me for not warning you then!"