Courtyard House: I only wiped out 30,000 Japanese pirates

Yi Zhonghai came out of the east wing, looking unwell, his eyes still swollen.

Liu Haizhong came out of the west wing, wearing a faded work uniform, his back ramrod straight, but his fingers were trembling.

Yan Bugui came out of the south room, wearing glasses and clutching a book in his hand.

The deaf old woman was helped out of the backyard by Jia Zhangshi.

At this time, the old lady was actually still very young, only in her fifties, and her legs were still quite nimble, but she deliberately walked very slowly.

Seven-year-old Jia Dongxu followed behind Jia Zhangshi, his head down, not daring to look at the Japanese soldiers.

Once all thirty-odd people in the courtyard had gathered in the patio, the village head cleared his throat, opened the booklet, and began to speak.

"Dear neighbors, don't be afraid. The Imperial Army's visit this time is for your benefit."

He spoke with a stooped posture and a fawning smile on his face. With each word, he would glance at the Japanese lieutenant beside him, as if afraid he might have said something wrong.

"Lou's steel rolling mill was bombed by a group of thugs last night!" The village head's voice suddenly rose, as if he himself had become angry.

"The Imperial Army originally intended to requisition this factory to contribute to the Great Prosperity Sphere. But these thugs, with their audacity, blew it up! The Imperial Army is furious!"

He paused, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and changed to a slightly gentler tone.

"However, the Imperial Army is magnanimous and knows that this matter has nothing to do with us workers. Now, although the factory has been destroyed, the machines are still there, and the factory buildings can be repaired."

"The Imperial Army said that all the workers from the steel rolling mill in our courtyard should go back to help clean up the garbage and repair the factory. If the machines can still run, we can continue to work. Everyone will have work to do and food to eat."

Many people breathed a sigh of relief.

So he came looking for work. Being asked to repair the factory means he's still useful. If he's useful, he won't be killed.

The dozen or so steel rolling mill workers exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from fear to relief.

This is human nature.

Only Yi Zhonghai was taken aback.

He stood in the crowd, unable to control his expression.

Didn't He Dajun say he prevented the factory from being bombed? How come the steel rolling mill was bombed again? Who bombed it? If it was He Dajun who bombed it, why did he say he didn't?

Yi Zhonghai's mind was working very fast.

He glanced at He Dajun, who was standing opposite him holding Sha Zhu, his face expressionless.

Yi Zhonghai quickly composed himself and looked down at the tips of his shoes.

Regardless of who bombed the steel mill, it's best not to say anything now in front of the Japanese. If He Dajun can prove his innocence, offending this killing god will be the end of us.

In addition, Yi Zhonghai didn't want to expose He Dajun's secrets right away; he wanted to wait and see and play it safe.

He Dajun stood in the crowd, listening to the village head's words, while also making his own calculations.

The Japanese wanted to build a steel rolling mill, which wasn't a bad thing for him.

He blew up the factory, so he knew where the damage was severe and where it was still usable.

Going back to repair the factory would allow him to blend in with the workers unnoticed, provide an opportunity to gather information about the Japanese garrison, and make sure he was more familiar with the process of bombing the factory again once it was repaired.

Unexpectedly, the strategy I had discussed with Zheng Guodong actually came true.

He glanced at Bai Ling beside him, who had obviously thought of the same thing and smiled at He Dajun.

The Japanese lieutenant glanced at the people in the courtyard, his gaze lingering on Bai Ling for a moment.

Bai Ling, with soot smeared on her face, lowered her head and huddled behind He Liu Shi, looking like an ordinary woman from Da Xia.

It's really ugly.

His gaze lingered on her for a second before shifting away.

He Dajun held Bai Ling's hand with one hand, meaning that everything was alright and he was there for her.

The village headman said a few more words, the gist of which was that the workers at the steel rolling mill should report to the factory today, and anyone who did not would be treated as a traitor.

After speaking, he bowed and scraped as he retreated behind the Japanese lieutenant. The three Japanese soldiers said a few more words, which the village head translated again. Then the village head called Xu Wude and told him to be in charge of calling the workers over.

After that, the lieutenant said a few more vicious words before turning and leaving, his leather boots making a clattering sound on the bluestone slabs.

Two puppet soldiers followed behind. One of them turned around and glared at someone as he reached the door, though it was unclear who he was glaring at.

As soon as the Japanese soldiers left, the atmosphere in the courtyard immediately relaxed.

Just now, the Japanese soldier said repeatedly that although it was July, everyone felt like they were wearing only a single layer of clothing outdoors in the dead of winter.

It's so uncomfortable.

Some people started talking in hushed tones, while others squatted on the ground wiping their sweat.

Yan Bugui took off his glasses, wiped them, and glanced at Xu Wude.

At this moment, Xu Wude was also sweating profusely. He was responsible for calling his coworkers, who were also sitting on the crater, which was very dangerous.

Then, remembering something, she walked over to He Dajun and asked in a low voice, "Dajun, didn't you tell me last night...?"

He Dajun told Xu Wude not to talk nonsense and to come inside with him.

Upon arriving at the house, He Dajun immediately explained, "Uncle Wood, the factory was fine when I left. It's possible that someone else went there after I left."

Xu Wude was taken aback. Then He Dajun added, "Uncle Wude, it's possible that Old Zhao and his men who wanted to bomb the steel mill yesterday were the ones who did it. We should quickly pin the blame on them."

Xu Wude recalled that Old Zhao had been the most resolute yesterday, and felt a little embarrassed that he was framing such a good, passionate man.

But these days, it's better to die for your friend than for yourself; it's a choice between the two, so we can only ask Old Zhao and the others to suffer.

So he looked at He Dajun, his lips twitched, and finally he nodded without asking any more questions.

If Old Zhao knew, he would be extremely aggrieved. The reason he acted so proactively last night was to deliberately let everyone know that he really wanted to blow up the steel rolling mill. Then, he could suddenly change his mind and say that keeping the steel rolling mill would be more beneficial, which would have a guiding effect.

Unexpectedly, Bai Ling and others appeared, and even more unexpectedly, there was a freak like He Dajun.

All I can say is that I'm incredibly unlucky.

……

At almost the same time, at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill, Major Sasaki looked at the mess of the steel rolling mill and the dead people there, and observed Old Zhao's body for a long time.

He then said, "Judging from the gun barrels, Lord Puta Ai must have died at the hands of the rebels. This was an attack by the Great Xia garrison. We must find this enemy and avenge Lord Puta Ai."

"Yes, sir!" the two captains beside him immediately said.

"If you can't find the Great Xia garrison, then shave your heads and come to see me. Also, kill a thousand Great Xia pigs to be buried with Lord Putian Ai."

"Hi!"

The two captains then left and walked to the door.

One of the captains, sporting a full beard, looked at his colleague and said, "Mr. Madoka, Lord Sasaki has ordered us to find the murderer of Lord Fukuda Ai. How are we supposed to do that?"

The bearded man, Makoto, looked at Sato Makoto and grinned, a smile that was tinged with coldness.

"Sato-kun, with the chaos of war, how can we investigate? Let's find the defeated garrison of Otsuka. Then we can cut off their heads and say they were the murderers of Lord Fuda Ai."

Upon hearing this, Sato Makoto immediately laughed, looked at Enmaki, and said with a smile, "Enmaki-kun, we truly think alike."

This was said so casually, as if they were discussing what to have for dinner.

They really didn't treat the people and soldiers of the Great Xia Dynasty as human beings at all.

Of course, both of them knew that finding the killer was just a pretext.

Sasaki didn't want the real culprit; he wanted to save face. Fuda Ai had been lying low for years, only to be riddled with bullets in the steel mill. If this matter were simply dropped, Sasaki would lose face in the military.

As for who the murderer is? It doesn't matter.

The important thing is that people knelt down next to Ai Fuda's body and were beheaded one by one.

Once the target number has been reached, the matter can be considered closed.

If you can't find defeated soldiers, then go after the common people. The common people can't resist, so it's easier to kill them.

One ordinary citizen's head is still a head, and ten ordinary citizens' heads are still heads.

A thousand, you can always gather enough.

To this man, Beijing had already been breached, and all the people and wealth within it now belonged to his Sakura Kingdom.

They can do whatever they want.

In his eyes, the people of Daxia were nothing more than talking tools.

Useful women were sent to do manual labor, useless women were sent to beheadings, and women with some beauty were sent to the army.

There's no point in arguing about it, and there's no need to argue.

With guns in hand and knives at our waists, that's the way we are.