Courtyard House: A Start with Black Gold Swallowing 100,000 Silver Dollars

"No need for thanks, this is a unified deployment by the military. Besides, now that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party are working together, united in their hatred of the enemy, determined to drive the Japanese devils out of the country, this is simply our duty."

Dou Ding waved his hand, his tone calm and unassuming, showing no intention of taking credit.

"That's true, but without you, we would have lost at least several dozen more brothers!"

Chen Jiang held the other person's hand tightly, his words earnest, seemingly trying to build a closer relationship.

The three tanks under the command of this tiny battalion commander could break down doors as easily as tearing paper, crushing the Japanese iron gate without losing a single soldier. They were truly formidable weapons for breaching fortifications!

"Commander Chen, you flatter me too much. When fighting the Japanese, there's no distinction between us. Alright, it's time to return to our units, let's withdraw."

Dou Ding gave a crisp salute, and then the group turned around and headed back.

"Battalion Commander, look at the troops under Master Li's command—they're well-equipped and have fierce firepower. They can even break into a heavily guarded mine like it's their own backyard!"

The chief of staff watched the tanks disappear into the distance, his eyes filled with envy.

"Absolutely... If only we could have a few of those too!"

Chen Jiang looked up, his gaze intense, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

He then addressed the hundreds of rescued miners, asking who would like to join the Eighth Route Army.

These men were mostly able-bodied men from the village, many of whom had witnessed the massacre of their relatives and the humiliation of their wives and daughters, and were filled with grief and indignation. As a result, more than half of them immediately signed up to join the army.

Those who did not wish to enlist were given dry rations and travel expenses, and escorted back to their hometowns by militiamen.

Before leaving, the mine was completely blown up, with flames shooting into the sky.

"Chief of Staff, we've just added over three hundred new able-bodied men. How are we going to manage the rations, clothing, and ammunition?"

Chen Jiang's face showed a mixture of joy and worry: he was happy that the number of soldiers had increased significantly, worried about the tight logistics, and anxious about how to manage even the smallest tasks. His brows were furrowed with anxiety.

Weapons are passable, but food and clothing are the real challenges.

"How about... we ask Master Li for help again?"

The chief of staff lowered his voice to a whisper, his face showing difficulty—

Having just asked someone to send troops, it's really embarrassing to have to ask for supplies again.

"Then send another urgent telegram to Instructor Yang!"

Chen Jiang, on the contrary, was quite frank.

Thick-skinned? That's a necessity for the revolution!

Not for personal gain, but for the front line, it's honorable to be shameless!

The following morning, in the conference room of the Japanese military headquarters.

"Baka!!!"

"Who's in charge of the mine's defense?!"

General Nobuda kicked over the chair, his veins bulging.

"Hi—it's me!!!"

A lieutenant colonel stood up abruptly, head bowed, frozen in place.

"Step forward!!!"

Shinoda's eyes were bloodshot, his glare sharp as knives.

The lieutenant colonel strode forward and stood still.

"Smack—!!!"

A slap landed squarely on his face, making his eardrums ring.

"Yo—!"

The lieutenant colonel straightened his back and responded loudly.

Sitting in the main seat on the right, Yu Kongdejian secretly breathed a sigh of relief: Fortunately, the incident occurred outside the city. If it had really burned into the city, his official hat would probably have fallen on the spot!

He now fully understands that the anti-Japanese elements in Beijing are all cunning foxes—slippery and ruthless.

The two-month manhunt was like trying to catch the wind in the fog or searching for a needle in a haystack. They sneaked through cracks in walls, tunnels, and mingled in the streets; they were more cunning than mice and harder to catch than ghosts. After all that searching, they only managed to catch two or three people.

Fortunately, things have been calm lately; there have been no bombings of warehouses, no power outages, and no ambushes on convoys. He can sit comfortably in his chair and even drink his tea with more peace of mind.

"Starting tomorrow morning, dispatch three large detachments to set up camp here, here, and here! Every day at dawn, conduct a thorough sweep to find all the anti-Japanese forces outside the city—do you understand?!"

General Nobuda strode to the map of the entire Gyeonggi region and circled three villages with his finger: they were only seven or eight li apart, interlocking in a triangular formation, allowing them to support each other in advance and retreat. If one of them was attacked, the other two could surround and encircle it within ten minutes, crushing the anti-Japanese forces into dust.

What's even more ingenious is that if no clue is found within three days, the troops immediately rotate positions, move to new areas, and sweep, suppress, and press again—until the entire capital region has been thoroughly searched three times.

This method will definitely get them hooked on that group from Chenjia Village.

As for Ding Xiaoqi and A Gui's team? Running into them? It's as difficult as climbing to the sky.

The hideout they were hiding in was chosen by Li Wenguo after he personally scouted and repeatedly analyzed the location. It was well hidden, cleverly concealed, and tightly guarded. Ordinary people could walk ten steps closer without noticing anything unusual.

"Lieutenant Colonel Takahashi!"

"Yo—!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Watanabe!"

"Yo—!"

The two of them jumped to their feet, their boot heels clattering against the ground.

"And you—Lieutenant Colonel Nakamura!"

Shinoda's gaze swept across the area and landed on the lieutenant colonel of the mine garrison, whose cheeks were swollen and shiny from just receiving eight slaps.

"Yo—!"

"This operation will be handled by the three of you."

General Nobuda's voice was as deep and resolute as iron.

"Yo—!"

The three of them bowed their heads in unison and accepted the order.

"Captain Yu Kong!"

"Yo—!"

Yu Kongdejian had just sat down when he was suddenly called out again, and he jumped up with a start.

"The news must be kept strictly confidential within the city—we must not let the anti-Japanese elements detect even a whisper of it, especially not let them know that these three are leaving the city tonight!"

"Yo—!"

To evade the anti-Japanese spies in the city, they had to choose the darkest time: midnight, when everyone was fast asleep, the dogs were silent, and even the night watchman was snoring.

The entire capital city was deathly silent.

On the bluestone street leading to the West Gate, squads of Japanese soldiers dressed in khaki uniforms, wearing iron helmets and carrying Type 38 rifles marched silently in orderly steps.

The stark white streetlights nailed their shadows to the wall, thin and long, like rows of withered claws reaching into the darkness.

At the corner of a narrow alley, a figure crouched in the shadows, holding his breath and staring intently at the squads of Japanese soldiers as they passed through the already open city gate.

"Heh... so you sneaked out of the city?"

Niu Dali, the clone, smirked, a cold smile creeping onto his face. "No wonder he sent the patrol team far away beforehand—the mine was just raided, and these bastards are already trying to wipe out the anti-Japanese forces."

That's right.

Tie Dan and a group of patrolmen who were guarding the city gates for the Japanese had been transferred away under some pretext in order to block the flow of information.

But the Japanese never expected that the patrolman, after being lured away, would immediately leak the news to Niu Dali. That's when he sneaked to the alley entrance to see what was going on.

Now, I understand everything.

As soon as news of the mine collapse reached the military headquarters, Li Wenguo knew that the Japanese would definitely take action, but he didn't know when—tonight, he finally got his wish.

With a flick of his finger, Niu Dali sent a spatial message to Li Wenguo.

In the small villa in the embassy district, Li Wenguo had just finished work and was taking a break when Wen Keren leaned against his arm, panting.

She's four months pregnant, the pregnancy is stable, and her body is more flexible. As long as it's not too strenuous, a little jostling or swaying won't hurt. I spent a little more time with her today as a reward.

"Sir, do you think this baby will be a boy or a girl?"

Wen Keren turned to the side, her fingertips twirling around the button on his cuff, her voice as soft as freshly steamed glutinous rice balls.

"I'm not some fortune teller with a compass in my belly, how could I possibly calculate it accurately? But—" he chuckled and pinched the tip of her nose, "Whether she's a man or a woman, I like her."

"But you see, once a daughter is married, she's like water spilled from a bowl. When a daughter grows up, she'll eventually become someone else's kitchen god... Sons are better, they can stay by your side, serve you tea and water, and take care of you until the end."

Before the words were finished, the meaning was as clear as salt in hot soup.

Preferring sons to daughters?

These days, who doesn't survive like this?

A mother's status depends on her son, and she relies on her son for support—if there's no son in the family, you'll be less respected, and no one will dare to stand up for you when things go wrong.

Ultimately, sons are more reliable than daughters.

Li Wenguo didn't intend to force them to change their deeply ingrained old ideas; he just let them be.

Just then, Niu Dali's clone brought news that the Japanese army had secretly left the city and was heading straight for the anti-Japanese forces' camp.

He gently patted Wen Keren's back, telling her to go to sleep first, as he had to go out for a while.

He then sent Binzi and Dayan out of the capital to keep a close eye on the Japanese troops and see where they would go.

The two men pedaled their bicycles out of the tunnel. Walking was too tiring and slow, so they had prepared several old bicycles and a military tricycle—that was for their wives, so they could just step on the gas and leave if they needed to leave.

Li Wenguo made a detour to He Shuting's place and asked her to immediately send a telegram to Battalion Commander Chen Jiang, Ding Xiaoqi, and Agui to remind them to be more vigilant.

Under the light, He Shuting was wearing an ice silk nightgown, her waistline faintly visible. Li Wenguo couldn't resist and pulled her down onto the sofa for a quick roll...

The two men crawled out of the tunnel and ran towards the city gate, but when they got to a distance, the city gate was empty and the Japanese convoy had long since disappeared.

Fortunately, the distant roar of cars could be heard from the eastern horizon. The two slammed on their pedals and chased after them, following the newly formed tire tracks on the ground, keeping up relentlessly.

"Hey! Big Eyes, doesn't this road lead to Daxigou?"

Binzi knew the terrain of the outskirts of Beijing like the back of his hand and recognized the direction at a glance.

"Yes, that's right—could it really have gone there?"

Big Eyes nodded as well.

"Battalion Commander Chen Jiang and his men are holed up in Chenjia Village, which is at least fifty miles from here. The Japanese either got lost or they were convinced that people were hiding there; of course, it's also possible that there are indeed people resisting the Japanese over there."

"I think they're probably just making excuses."

Before the words were finished, the engine sound ahead suddenly split in two—the Japanese convoy had split into two groups and headed in different directions.

The two men exchanged a glance, and Da Yan wiped the sweat from his brow: "I'm with the one on the right!"

They hadn't gone far when another small team broke off from the group on the right and veered off onto another dirt road. Da Yan was caught in a dilemma, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow this newly formed group. As for the group that had headed towards Chigang Village first, they would put them aside for now and send someone to find out more later.

After working all night, just as dawn was breaking, the two of them returned to the small villa in the embassy district, panting, and reported the whole situation to Li Wenguo.

"Three brigades, each occupying a village and setting up camp? What's the point?"

In the master bedroom, He Shuting frowned as she flipped through a map.

Battalion Commander Chen Jiang and his men were in Chenjia Village. These three strongholds were quite far away, a full fifty miles away, and didn't look like they were going to launch a full-scale attack.

"Could it be that the Japanese soldiers have taken the wrong path?"

Yang Yuerong interjected.

Li Wenguo stared at the map of the capital region, his fingertips tracing back and forth between the three villages—they were no more than ten miles apart, the furthest being no more than eleven or twelve miles, forming an equilateral triangle that complemented each other.

Before long, his eyes lit up, and he understood.

Although he had never formally studied military affairs, he was bombarded with information from later generations: documentaries, short videos of war history, interviews with veterans... He absorbed this knowledge and had long since ingrained the basic logic in his bones.

"I understand what the Japanese are trying to do."

He spoke.

"Sir, tell me?"

The two of them looked over at the same time.

"It's very simple—the Japanese have no idea where we're clustered. If they send out a large force to search, we can easily wipe them out piece by piece; but if they stay in the city, they won't be able to find anyone. So let's pick three nearby villages, set them up in a pincer movement, and then send out small teams to sweep around. This way we can spread out a net and also help each other out—whoever we attack, the other two can arrive in the blink of an eye."

"If we can't find them, we'll move on to another location and try the same method in three more villages. Chen Jiang and his gang will be exposed sooner or later." Li Wenguo frowned as he said this.

This tactic, while seemingly slow, is actually extremely stable. If they dare to take on one of the strongholds head-on, the other two will immediately surround them, preventing them from gaining any advantage and potentially exposing their new weapons.