Not long after Zhou Qing followed the burly man into the town, he saw a large and spacious house. The courtyard wall of this house was probably no more than four meters high. The ground was made of a whole stone foundation, and the top was made of glutinous rice and ash.
The blue bricks are extremely solid, and there are gun holes for observation and shooting around the courtyard wall. It is just like a small city. There is a group of men in black clothes standing guard at the door. When they see Zhou Qing and his party coming, the men are alert.
Looking over, the muzzle of the gun was faintly raised, and the first person shouted: "Captain Han, who did you bring here? They look strange."
The burly man smiled and said: "Brother Jiaming, this is Platoon Leader Zhou from the county army. He wants to see the mayor."
"Why did the county's officers and soldiers come to Chenjiabao?" The man known as Jia Ming glanced at Zhou Qing and asked curiously.
The burly man grimaced: "Jia Ming, this is not something you should worry about. Go and tell the mayor quickly, don't keep Zhou Pai waiting for a long time."
Jiaming laughed sarcastically, waved his hand back, and a man ran into the house. After a while, he came out and shouted: "Mayor, please come in, Captain Zhou."
Zhou Qingchong thanked the burly man and followed Jia Ming into the house. On the way, Jia Ming asked unwillingly: "Platoon leader Zhou, where did you just finish fighting? You smell so heavy of blood and gunpowder smoke."
taste."
Zhou Qingdao: "I just fought against the bandits in Xiaodouzhuang Village."
Jiaming rolled his eyes and said: "I heard that Feng Guanglin, the head of Heifeng Village, came down the mountain with his pole. Is it possible that the officers and soldiers fought with him?"
Zhou Qing nodded and said: "Yes, brother is very well informed."
Jiaming smiled and said: "If you don't have good information, you don't know how the bandits died after being attacked."
While he was talking, he had already passed through the front yard and arrived in front of the living room. A pale old man walked out with a cane. Jia Ming ran up and whispered a few words in his ear. His cloudy eyes looked at Zhou Qing and he slightly cupped his hands.
He said: "I am Chen Jiangzhou, the mayor of Chenjiabao. I wonder what Platoon Commander Zhou is doing when he comes to our town."
Zhou Qing gave a military salute and said politely: "I'm just passing through your town to suppress bandits, but I happen to need the old mayor's help with something."
"Haha, please come inside and say it!"
Mayor Chen invited Zhou Qing to the living room. After sitting down, he smiled and said: "The people in Chenjiabao are small and poor. I wonder if there is anything I can do to help Platoon Commander Zhou."
Zhou Qing said with a serious look on his face: "I would like to borrow your town's militia from the mayor."
Mayor Chen's smile did not fade, he tapped the ground with his crutch, shook his head and sighed: "It's not the old man who is trying to spoil Platoon Commander Zhou's face. The militia in the town can't lend it to you. If I lend it to you, Platoon Commander Zhou, who will guard the town when the bandits come?"
, I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Zhou Qing knew that borrowing troops would not be easy, and he was not angry after being rejected. He solemnly said: "Mayor, do you know how many Feng Guanglin's bandits there are? There are more than 2,000 people. If Feng Guanglin really comes to fight, what will happen to your town?"
There is absolutely no way people and guns can defend this point."
"That's better than lending people out. The militia in Chenjiabao was established to protect people from each other's hometowns. If we lend out the militia, I won't be able to explain to the people in the town." Mayor Chen pinched his goatee and said
He shook his head in embarrassment.
"Mayor Chen, you can't say that. If you want to protect Chenjiabao, it's useless to hide behind the fence. The bandits' goal at the moment is the county town. Once the county town falls, Chenjiabao will be the next to suffer. The only way to protect Chenjiabao is to protect it."
The county seat, Chenjiapu, can be protected from bandits." Zhou Qing imitated Han Baihang's usual way of speaking and said in a deep voice.
Mayor Chen is an old man. Zhou Qing's words can't scare him at all. He said with a smile: "Platoon Commander Zhou, don't waste your breath. This old soldier cannot be borrowed. When Platoon Commander Zhou comes to this town, he is a distinguished guest. Don't
You're welcome. Jia Ming, bring me a hundred yuan for Platoon Commander Zhou, and I'll treat it as a reward to my brothers in the army."
Jia Ming agreed and went to get Dayang.
"No need."
Zhou Qing stood up with a sullen face, bowed his hands to Mayor Chen and said, "I'm not here for the ocean. Since I can't borrow troops, I won't stay in your town any longer, so I'll take my leave."
Mayor Chen smiled and said: "I am inconvenient, so I won't see Platoon Leader Zhou off. Jiaming, please see off Platoon Leader Zhou for me."
…
Zhou Qing was sent out of the hospital by Jiaming. He couldn't help but feel very frustrated. He secretly thought that if the company commander was here, he would definitely persuade Mayor Chen to lend troops. Since borrowing troops failed, he just wanted to join the troops quickly and walked to the gate of Weizi.
Before that, he met the burly man who sent him here again.
"Captain Han."
Zhou Qing called out to the burly man and said awkwardly: "I'm leaving, can you replenish me with some dry food and ammunition?"
The burly man said boldly: "It's a small matter." He glanced at the guns of Zhou Qing and others, and shouted: "Come here, bring out the dry food and Mauser bullets."
Zhou Qing thanked him and said: "In Zhou Qing, we still don't know Captain Han's surname."
The burly man smiled and said: "What's your name? Platoon leader Zhou can just call me Han Leisan."
Zhou Qing said with a solemn expression: "Captain Han, your town should prepare early. The bandits are coming so fiercely that they cannot conquer the county. There is no guarantee that they will not invade the villages and towns. Pay special attention to the fact that there is a group of bandits in military uniforms who are very powerful. I almost suffered a big loss."
, if you encounter this group of bandits, it’s better to stay out of the way.”
Han Leisan was taken aback, frowned and said: "It can make the officers and soldiers suffer a big loss. I have never heard of such a bandit."
Zhou Qing said: "I don't know this either, but be careful anyway."
Han Lei nodded and said curiously: "Platoon Leader Zhou, why did you ask the mayor just now? I see that you don't look very good. Maybe I can help."
Zhou Qing smiled bitterly and said: "I just want to use the militia in your town to suppress the bandits. I'll tell you the truth. Although our officers and soldiers ambushed the bandits in Xiaodouzhuang, their strength is really weak. If we can get the assistance of the militia, we will be even more powerful when fighting the bandits."
The odds are better.”
Han Leisan's face turned solemn, and he didn't speak for a while. Zhou Qing had given up hope and said, "Captain Han, don't make things difficult. What the mayor said makes sense. I don't plan to borrow this soldier."
"No, this soldier should be borrowed."
Han Leisan suddenly raised his head and said: "I have been thinking about a question. There are militia groups in every town. The total number of militia groups in the county is no less than 1,500 people. But why are bandits still looting? The biggest reason is
The militia groups in each town only focus on defending themselves and often do nothing to save them. This gives the bandits every chance to defeat them. If we sit back and watch the county town being attacked by bandits now, when the bandits become more powerful, there will never be peace again."
Zhou Qing glanced at Han Leisan in surprise. He didn't expect that this tall and thick man could have such an idea. It was really not simple. However, this was a good thing. If Han Leisan could send troops to help, it wouldn't be a waste of time to come to the Chen family.
After this encounter, Bao Bao showed a look of deep approval and said: "Captain Han is right. If the entire county's militia can cooperate with the government and army under unified command, we can ensure that the banditry can be eliminated within a year." After that, he asked hopefully:
"Captain Han, how many soldiers do you plan to lend me?"
Han Lei stretched out two fingers, and Zhou Qing said happily: "Two hundred?"
"Twenty!" Han Lei said.
Zhou Qingda was greatly disappointed, but too many lice are also meat. There were still less than twenty people at the moment when he started. Hearing this, he was afraid that Han Leisan would regret it, so he said: "Okay, there are only twenty people. Captain Han, please prepare the manpower now."
Bar."
Han Lei said three times: "Don't be anxious, Platoon Commander Zhou. Don't underestimate me. I only lend you twenty people, but these twenty people are all my brothers from the same village. They are good at martial arts and marksmanship. I leave it to you, Platoon Commander Zhou. Firstly,
One is to fight bandits, and the other is to find a career in the army. Being in the militia is really meaningless."
Zhou Qing said sternly: "Captain Han, don't worry, I will treat your brother as one of my own and will never treat him badly."
"Thank you very much." Han Lei said with three fists.
"It's my duty to thank Captain Han for providing help in times of need. I will definitely report Captain Han's help to the company commander in order to repay the favor," Zhou Qing said.
At this time, the regiment members who took bullets and dry food had come back. Han Leisan called over twenty people to line up. Zhou Qing took a look and felt that it was not simple. These people had begun to have the discipline and style of soldiers, and their weapons were also sharp.
Very good, equipped with short and long guns.
"From now on, you will be Platoon Commander Zhou's soldiers, and you must obey his command. Do you understand?" Han Leisan lectured loudly.
"Got it." The group of twenty people shouted loudly.
"Okay, let's ask Platoon Leader Zhou to give you a lecture." Han Leisan gave up his position. Zhou Qing stepped forward, without any intention of giving lectures, and said kindly: "Brothers are welcome to join the third company. Brothers come to the third company to eat food and serve as soldiers.
It's a good thing that our army will not deduct food and pay, nor beat or scold the soldiers. The officers and soldiers will eat and live together, and will be treated equally. From now on, we will eat from the same pot, and we will not be exposed to outsiders."
The group members shouted "Hello!"
Zhou Qing then led his troops to leave Chenjiabao and rush to Gushan Town where they agreed to meet up.
