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

He Dajun looked at Tan Zhengyong and said, "Uncle Tan, it's a long story. I was knocked unconscious by the Japanese artillery shells at the front. When I woke up, I found that the troops had already withdrawn, so I quickly ran back."

"Later, we met this girl, Bai Ling, on the road, and together we killed a few Japanese soldiers. We just killed three more. We're on our way back to my brother's place."

Tan Zhengyong was taken aback and looked He Dajun up and down: "Dajun, you've become so amazing! You killed several Japanese soldiers before, you're incredible!"

He Dajun smiled somewhat embarrassedly, glancing down at his hands: "No, it's just that when faced with a life-or-death situation, I don't know how, I suddenly became stronger. I feel like I'm dreaming, I can't explain it."

Tan Zhengyong was stunned for a moment, not expecting this reason.

He glanced at He Dajun but didn't ask any further questions.

He had heard of people unleashing their potential at the brink of death, but he had never witnessed it before, yet now such a person was right before his eyes.

He Dajun just killed three Japanese soldiers like that.

So he said to He Dajun, "Dajun, you have blood on you. Go with Xiaoguang to his room and change your clothes."

The young man next to him nodded. This was Tan Xiaoguang, Tan Zhengyong's son. He was only seventeen years old, not very tall, but his eyes and brows revealed a cleverness.

Tan Xiaoguang led He Dajun to his room.

this side.

After He Dajun and Tan Xiaoguang entered the room, Tan Zhengyong turned around, looked at Bai Ling, and asked with a smile, "Young lady, do you look like a scholar?"

Bai Ling smiled and said, "I have studied for seven and a half years and am preparing to study abroad."

Tan Zhengyong smiled and said, "Yes, it's better to go abroad. You can learn more and come back to serve your country."

Bai Ling nodded, looked at Tan Zhengyong, and suddenly said, "Hello, Chef."

Upon hearing this, Tan Zhengyong's expression changed.

He took a step closer to Bai Ling and lowered his voice: "Comrade Bai Ling, was the steel rolling mill blown up?"

Clearly, Tan Zhengyong is also part of the Party's clandestine network. This is understandable; otherwise, how could ordinary people dare to come out and rescue people in this situation? Most would be like Yi Zhonghai, wavering and indecisive.

Bai Ling immediately said, "It exploded. All the comrades except me were killed. I was also unconscious at the time. It must have been He Dajun who detonated the explosives."

Tan Zhengyong was taken aback and turned to look in the direction of the room where He Dajun was changing clothes: "Is this He Dajun that capable?"

"Yes." Bai Ling glanced at the room as well. "He fought his way back from Lugou Bridge all by himself. He's extremely capable in combat and very patriotic. That's why I plan to recruit him."

Tan Zhengyong thought for a moment and nodded: "He is indeed a promising talent. However, we must be cautious. We don't know all his details, and what his attitude is now?"

"I haven't had a formal talk with him yet. But I saw how he fought the Japanese in the steel mill. He's a man of courage and can be relied on. I'll find an opportunity to talk to him once we're settled."

"Okay. You need to handle this carefully."

The two were talking quickly when they heard Tan Xiaoguang cough, and immediately stopped talking.

Tan Zhengyong turned around, picked up the teapot on the table, poured Bai Ling a glass of water, and said in a more casual tone, "Have some water, young lady, to calm your nerves."

Bai Ling took the water glass: "Thank you, Uncle Tan."

He Dajun came out of the room. He had changed into a clean gray cloth jacket, and wiped the blood and dirt off his face.

After changing his clothes, He Dajun looked much more energetic. He had regular features, and although he wasn't very tall, he was sturdy and quite handsome.

Bai Ling glanced at it and then looked away.

Tan Zhengyong put down the teapot and said to He Dajun, "Dajun, the Japanese just fired shots here. The gunshots can be heard far, and the Japanese will definitely come to search. You have to leave immediately."

He Dajun said that was exactly what he was thinking: "Uncle Tan, we're leaving now. You should also hide quickly. Although we threw those three corpses into the well, if the Japanese search thoroughly, you might get implicated."

"Yes, I'm about to leave too," Tan Zhengyong said, walking towards the backyard. "Come with me."

He Dajun and Bai Ling followed him through the courtyard and into the side room.

The side room was small, filled with miscellaneous items and several large vats.

Tan Zhengyong walked to an old cabinet in the corner, opened the cabinet door, and inside were several tattered quilts.

He pulled the quilt outwards, reached his hand to the wall behind the cabinet, felt around, and then pushed hard. The wall behind the cabinet moved, revealing a dark entrance.

He Dajun was taken aback: "Uncle Zhengyong, how come there's an underground passage here?"

Tan Zhengyong lowered his voice and explained, "It was also good luck. This house used to belong to a wealthy family. It was built during the chaos caused by the Eight-Nation Alliance to hide from foreign soldiers. I discovered it by chance after moving in."

He Dajun thought this was normal in Beijing and didn't think much of it.

He walked to the entrance of the cave and looked inside. It was pitch black, but he could feel air moving around inside, so it wasn't a dead hole.

He turned around and let Bai Ling crawl in first.

Bai Ling bent down and crawled inside, with He Dajun following behind. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around, and called to Tan Zhengyong and his son to come along.

Tan Zhengyong stood outside the cave entrance and shook his head: "Dajun, and this Miss Bai, you two go first. I need to put the cabinet back in its place, and there are still a few things in the room that I need to tidy up. No rush, my son and I will leave later."

He Dajun hesitated for a moment, but Bai Ling was already urging him, so Dong finally nodded and said, "Then be careful."

Tan Zhengyong responded and slowly pushed the cabinet back into place.

The last ray of light at the entrance was blocked by the cabinet, and the tunnel became completely dark.

He Dajun turned around, picked up the fir oil torch, and slowly walked forward.

The tunnel was about the height of a person and barely wide enough for one person to pass through. The walls on both sides were made of rammed earth, and occasionally you could touch a few bricks that had been laid into the ground. The ground underfoot was mud, soft to the touch, but relatively dry.

There was a damp, earthy smell in the air, but it wasn't unpleasant.

Bai Ling walked behind, and He Dajun could hear her light footsteps and breathing.

The two walked in the tunnel for about seven or eight minutes, and then the tunnel began to slowly slope upwards.

The mud beneath my feet turned into several rough stone steps, and when I walked on them, I could feel that the stones were covered with moss and were a bit slippery.

He Dajun stopped and said in a low voice, "Comrade Bai Ling, wait a moment."

Bai Ling stopped in her tracks.

"Let's discuss this properly now." He Dajun's voice was very low in the tunnel. "After we get out, the Japanese have already occupied Beijing and will definitely set up checkpoints."

"If we, a man and a woman, were to walk together and we couldn't explain our relationship, the Japanese would definitely become suspicious."

Bai Ling paused for a second in the darkness: "What do you mean?"

"We need to stick to the same story. If anyone questions us, just say you're my wife."

In the darkness, Bai Ling remained silent.

He Dajun continued, "This is the safest way. You're a woman, and according to old customs, the Japanese won't usually make things too difficult for you. Besides, it'll be convenient for you to stay at my brother's house."

After a few seconds of silence, Bai Ling's voice came from the front: "Okay. Just say you're my fiancé, and I came from outside to find you."

"Yes. You're my wife, your name is Bai Ling. You live in...."

"it is good."

"And my brother's name is He Daqing, he works as a cook at Tan's Restaurant. My sister-in-law's name is He Liushi. She just gave birth to a son, who is only two years old, named He Yuzhu, nicknamed Zhuzi."

Bai Ling silently recited the names in her mind: "I've memorized them."

The two discussed a few more details, such as how they met and where they came from, verifying each other's identities.

He Dajun walked ahead and slowly pushed aside a wooden plank above his head. The plank was a bit heavy, making a low scraping sound as it was pushed aside. A dim ray of light shone through the crack.

Then a huge stench hit us.

He Dajun frowned and peeked out through the crack.

Outside was a simple shed made of wooden planks, with a few bluestone slabs on the ground and piles of wood ash in the corner.

The exit faced a row of squat toilets. He Dajun recognized the place; it was a public toilet not far from his own courtyard house.

Because of the underground water system, there are basically no private toilets in the courtyard houses of Beijing.

The private toilets in the courtyard would overflow with sewage if it rained heavily, flooding everywhere. The only solution was to build public toilets in the various alleys.

The exit was located in a place like this. And it was precisely because of this location that no one would notice someone crawling out from underground.

He Dajun climbed out of the cave and pulled Bai Ling up with him.

The two men stood behind the toilet shed. He Dajun put the wooden planks back on, then scooped up some loose soil from the side and sprinkled it on top, stomping on it a couple of times. It was covered.

The two walked around the toilet, along the narrow alley for a few dozen steps, and arrived at the entrance of the courtyard house.

Strangely, Tan Zhengyong and the others hadn't followed yet.

In fact, Tan Zhengyong did not leave at all; he was holding a Japanese rifle and waiting for his prey to come to him.

Meanwhile, Tan Xiaoguang was sabotaging the tunnel.

After all, the Japanese will definitely search this place, and they must keep this secret completely.