xymnovel Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Moreover, with so many people watching, it has a bad influence!
Seeing that no one was moving, Wang Yousheng decided to check it himself, but Zhang Shan hurriedly pulled him aside.
Zhang Shan looked troubled and said, "Instructor Wang, are you confused? Even if you are the clerk, you should only inspect the grain after Village Chief Zhou has left. Inspecting it twice in front of him will damage the image of our Eighth Route Army."
Zhang Shan naturally thought that Instructor Wang had been in the army for less than a year and might not yet understand the rules.
Wang Yousheng believed in magic powers, and he countered, "Captain Zhang, don't you find that strange?"
"strangeness?"
Zhang Shan's expression tightened noticeably.
Wang Yousheng said, "We haven't been to Daxia Village, but after the battle of Liuchen Village, the people from several surrounding villages followed the troops to evacuate. It's normal for the villagers to take their stored grain with them when they left."
However, it is spring plowing season now, and moreover, there are only about twenty households in Daxia Village. Where did they get so much flour?
Has Captain Zhang noticed this issue?
Zhang Shan suddenly realized that during the war, with more than 20 households struggling to feed themselves, a village couldn't possibly produce that much flour.
Zhang Shan exclaimed in horror, "Is Village Chief Zhou up to something?!"
Wang Yousheng nodded: "That's right. I observed him just now, and he was carrying something on him, probably a military pigeon."
"Military pigeons?!"
Zhang Shan was even more surprised.
He knew what military pigeons were; they were things that could take the lives of Eighth Route Army soldiers.
However, he didn't understand how Wang Yousheng knew.
Wang Yousheng naturally guessed his thoughts and said, "I have a naturally keen sense of smell. Whether you believe me or not, we can open the bag and see for ourselves."
Zhang Shan gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll quit being the team leader if necessary, Instructor Wang, I trust you this time!"
He immediately turned to leave.
Wang Yousheng quickly followed.
This time, Wang Yousheng was gambling with his prestige. If Zhou Huaiqi was guilty, it would be fine; but if he misjudged, he would be no good in the eyes of the soldiers in the future.
Zhou Huaiqi was very nervous at this moment! He paced back and forth with his head down.
Indeed, he was carrying a military pigeon, and he had just been appointed by the Japanese as the village's maintenance committee leader. His purpose in coming to donate was ostensibly to assist the Eighth Route Army, but in reality, he was there to gather intelligence.
In order to find the Eighth Route Army, he searched through several villages along the way and finally met them here. As long as he sent out the intelligence, he could safely receive the two gold bars as a reward from the Japanese.
His behavior was not unusual during the War of Resistance against Japan. In order to complete their invasion of China as soon as possible, the Japanese coerced and bribed some local gentry to do things for them.
"Village Chief Zhou, please move aside."
"Captain Zhang, this is all top-quality white flour, there shouldn't be any problem..."
Despite Zhou Huaiqi's words, he couldn't stop Zhang Shan's inspection.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhang Shan opened the sack and saw that it was indeed a clean and flawless white flour.
"Um?"
Zhang Shan was surprised, wondering if Instructor Wang had guessed wrong.
Zhou Huaiqi was sweating bullets. He quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Captain Zhang, you're overthinking it. Our villagers have brought out all our stored grain. Do you think the Eighth Route Army comrades would doubt us?"
As he spoke, he stood in front of Zhang Shan, preventing him from closely examining the flour in the bag.
Zhang Shan grew anxious, after all, many people were watching. At this moment, some villagers even started pointing and whispering, their eyes carrying a slightly intriguing look.
He couldn't help but glance at Wang Yousheng.
Wang Yousheng immediately stepped forward, confident in his judgment that he was absolutely right.
Wang Yousheng's gaze fell on another sack, and he said, "Let me take a look."
"Still watching?"
Zhang Shan and several comrades tried to stop Wang Yousheng, but it was too late; the former had already opened the bag.
Upon opening it, he found only clean white flour. Wang Yousheng was puzzled. If it were true, the enemy wouldn't send so much white flour, since it was grain and very valuable.
He immediately reached into the bag and felt a wave of heat.
"Um?"
A look of surprise flashed in Wang Yousheng's eyes. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a pile of yellow sand.
"this……"
Comrades, you can see that it's not a whole bag of flour; the flour is just on the top layer, and underneath it's all soft sand.
"It's a trap!"
Zhang Shan was stunned. He had only looked at the surface and hadn't looked into it further.
Zhang Shan's eyes suddenly fixed on Zhou Huaiqi, and he said in a stern voice, "Village Chief Zhou, what's going on?!"
At the same time, two comrades immediately blocked his way.
The villagers nearby were also greatly surprised. Just a moment ago they were dissatisfied with Wang Yousheng's behavior, but now they also sensed the danger.
The fact that Village Chief Zhou sent a bag of sand is either a ploy to fool the Eighth Route Army or the work of a major traitor sent by the enemy!
At the same time, Zhang Shan opened several more sacks, which were filled with sand and white flour.
Zhou Huaiqi panicked!
"Village Chief Zhou, something's wrong with you. Take off your clothes!"
Seeing the situation, Wang Yousheng immediately drew his pistol from his waist and pointed the muzzle at the latter's head.
Zhou Huaiqi had just been struggling with his thoughts, trying to figure out how to get through this, but now that a gun was suddenly pointed at him, his mental defenses collapsed instantly.
"Eighth Master, Eighth Master, spare me! Spare me!"
Zhou Huaiqi knelt down with a thud and kowtowed to his comrades.
Wang Yousheng had no time to waste with him. He ripped open Zhou Huaiqi's shirt and found a black pigeon hidden in the inner pocket.
"Military pigeons!"
Upon seeing this, several veterans from the First Battalion instinctively raised their rifles, ready to fire.
Wang Yousheng took a step back, crossed his arms, and questioned, "You just mentioned that your village has more than 20 households. I suspected you were up to something. More than 20 households, and it's spring plowing time. How could you possibly gather more than 500 jin of flour? It seems you overlooked the details."
"Tell me, who sent you? Otherwise, you know what I'm capable of!"
Wang Yousheng is now waging psychological warfare, taking advantage of Zhou Huaiqi's panic to make interrogation easier.
Sure enough, under the guns of several soldiers, Zhou Huaiqi confessed.
Zhou Huaiqi said tremblingly, "Eighth Masters, please spare my life! I... I was taken hostage by the Japanese soldiers at the Huting stronghold. They made me bring White Face here to find you, Eighth Masters."
"Huting stronghold?"
"How much will you be paid?"
"Just, just two gold bars..."
"Um?"
Wang Yousheng raised an eyebrow slightly. It seemed that this guy was only working for the Japanese for money.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shan felt an urge to shoot the old man.
Beside him, a soldier kicked Zhou Huaiqi, sending him sprawling face-first into the dirt!
"Comrade, don't be impulsive," Wang Yousheng hurriedly stopped him.
The soldier replied, "Instructor Wang, you don't know, a while ago, the Japanese soldiers at the Huting stronghold massacred several villages, killing countless civilians. Several local district squads were also killed by the Japanese!"
"What?!"
Wang Yousheng's gaze sharpened and landed on Zhou Huaiqi.
The lives of several villages' inhabitants were lost just like that. Now he really wanted to shoot that bastard.
Despite his anger, Wang Yousheng remained rational. For now, this traitorous dog was still useful!