A damp rain enveloped Xin'an Town, and the only street was muddy under repeated trampling. Only a few shops were open, and a few mountain people selling mountain products squatted under the eaves to take shelter from the rain.
Because it was too remote, and wars were going on outside the town. During the war years, most people stayed in their safe homes and did not go out when they had nothing to do, so the town was deserted and seemed a bit desolate.
A muddy road in front of the town leads to the county through winding mountains and rivers, but now it is rainy and hazy, and the road is empty without even a ghost.
The Chinese *** lost a lot of territory in the battle of Zaoyi, and the Japanese successively occupied Dangyang, Jingmen and other areas.
Although no Japanese came to Xin'an Town due to its remoteness, the county also established a maintenance committee.
The mayor of the town ran away before the Japanese came. After the maintenance meeting was established, people were sent to Xin'an Town and appointed Zhang Degui, a wealthy family, as the mayor and also the security captain.
Just a few days later, Zhang Degui, a wealthy man in the town, announced that he had established the Xin'an Town Security Brigade on orders from the county.
Most of the manpower in the security brigade came directly from the JD Nursing Home established by Zhang Degui himself, with only about thirty people.
However, the originally ragtag group of servants and nurses now wear uniforms of customized security brigade uniforms, and they suddenly look more formal and dignified.
The first thing the security brigade did after it was established was to collect grain for the maintenance committee, because most of the fields in several villages around Xin'an Town had been bought and robbed by Zhang Degui over the years and obtained them under his own name.
Most of the people in the nearby villages have become his own tenants, so collecting food from these people is tantamount to harming his interests, so he targeted several other large households in the town and some further villages.
Relying on the fact that he is the captain of the security brigade and uses chicken feathers from the county as arrows, Zhang Degui is in high spirits these days.
He first used the name of a bandit to bring the blame to the Wang family, his old enemy for more than ten years, and put all the Wang family's property into his own name, and then killed every member of the Wang family.
Then he sent security teams to go around to collect grain. Although the county asked him to collect 100,000 jins of grain, he changed the target himself, that is, to levy 300,000 jins, and the extra 200,000 jins were prepared to be loaded into
Go to your own warehouse.
Zhang Degui is now not only the captain of the security brigade, but also the mayor of Xin'an Town. It can be said that his power has increased dramatically overnight, so he has intensified his efforts to squeeze the people.
Although the people were very angry at Zhang Degui's behavior, Zhang Degui had a security team under his command, so the people dared not speak out.
When Zhang Degui was living like a local emperor in Xin'an Town, little did he know that danger was coming quietly.
Although it was already ten minutes past noon, the sky was as dark as evening due to the thick clouds.
Two security guards with guns on their backs stood at the gate of the town and looked at the road, looking a little absent-minded.
As a result of the rain, fewer mountain residents came to Xin'an Town to sell mountain products and buy salt and other daily necessities. They also had fewer opportunities to pump oil and water, so they were naturally in a bad mood, just as bad as the weather.
"It's really unlucky. When it was our turn to stand guard, we encountered such terrible weather. There was no one there." A security team member looked at the empty road in the distance and complained dissatisfiedly.
Although guarding the gate is very hard in the wind and rain, it is a place rich in oil and water after all. If the mountain people want to enter the town to purchase or sell mountain goods, they must pay filial piety to them before they can enter.
But now that it has been raining for days, there are no mountain people, and there is no chance for them to be filial. They will have to be rotated in two days, and there is no chance.
"Why don't we go to the countryside to collect food together tomorrow? If we're lucky, we might be able to make a lot of money." Another security team member suggested as he sat listlessly on a chair.
"It's raining and the roads are slippery. Going to the countryside to collect grain will make me dirty. I won't go."
"It's nothing to worry about. Wu Datou got several pairs of jade bracelets from the countryside in the past two days. I heard they were all passed down from ancestors. I heard they sold them for a lot of money."
"real or fake?"
"Can I lie to you? I know the owner of the pawn shop."
...
While the two security guards were sitting on chairs at the gate of the town chatting about how to get money, a group of people walked over on the empty road.
"It seems like someone is coming." A sharp-eyed security guard spotted the person walking on the road.
"We've never seen anything like this before?"
Seeing those people wearing yellow leather and mesh helmets, a security guard frowned.
"Could it be a Japs?"
Seeing the visitor's appearance, another security team member seemed to have thought of something, and his face suddenly froze.
"Run quickly. I heard that Japanese soldiers kill people without blinking an eye. If you don't run, it will be too late." A security team member turned pale and dragged another security team member to run towards the town.
"What the hell, we and the Japs are on the same team now." The security guard pointed to his uniform and said, "These are all issued by the county maintenance committee, and the maintenance committee listens to the Japs."
After hearing such an explanation, the security guard, who turned pale with fright, finally reacted. However, he still felt a little frightened when he saw those people walking over wearing Japanese clothes.
"Hurry up and tell the master that there are people from the county, and they are Japanese... no, Japanese."
"Okay, I'll go right away-"
A security guard said as he turned around and ran into the town, causing mud and water to splash under his feet.
The security guard who stayed at the door straightened his wrinkled clothes, took a deep breath, put a smile on his face, and then trotted forward to meet him.
The number of Japs was small, only about twenty, and one translator carrying a box cannon, but all of them had a fierce aura about them.
The security team member trotted over and stood in front of him, then asked with a flattering smile on his face: "I am Feng Lezi from the security brigade of Xin'an Town. Who are you?"
"Are you blind? Didn't you see that it was the Taijun of Japan?!"
The Lieyan special forces member pretending to be a translator immediately stepped forward and was scolded with great momentum.
The two officers and soldiers of the Lieyan Special Warfare Group who were wearing Japanese clothes also pretended to be angry and took off the rifles on their shoulders as they spoke.
"Yes, yes, I'm blind, I'm blind." The security guard was so frightened that he immediately bent down and apologized solemnly: "When Taijun arrives, you will not be welcomed from afar, but you will be greeted from afar."
The security team members of Xin'an Town are all Zhang Degui's servants. The furthest they have been is the county. They can't recognize the bullshit Taijun. However, seeing the imposing manner of the other person, they subconsciously recognized his identity.
After all, the Chinese *** team has retreated to Yichang. Now there is no Chinese *** team nearby. It seems that except for the Japanese, no other troops will come to their Xin'an Town.
"Where's Zhang Degui? Why didn't you come out to greet me?!" The translator looked in the direction of the town and shouted impatiently: "Do you want to neglect Taijun?"