Chapter 179: Underground Politics
Jiang Suo had a contemptuous smile on his face, but with just a slight smile, the shop owner became unsteady and almost fell to his death after staggering. [Read full text] The stick also fell down. It caused a group of people in the yard to burst into laughter.
Boss Chen suddenly became angry and cursed several times, asking the guys to take action. He saw that none of his men were timid, and none of them dared to come forward to help. This group of charlatans were very skilled in martial arts, and he would definitely suffer a loss if they started to attack.
Boss Chen didn't expect that this group of people with a handle on him would dare to despise him so much, and in front of a group of poor locals. How could he lose this face? Immediately, Yi Gulu got up and rushed to a small room.
Qingxia spat, secretly cursed: "Bullying the weak and fearing the strong" and was about to open the courtyard door and go out. Suddenly, Boss Chen ran away, holding a gong in his hand and started beating it hard.
The crisp and rapid sound of gongs echoed in the air. People in the yard were stunned for a moment - this was a warning gong. On weekdays, it is only used when there are policemen or floods or fires. As soon as the gong is struck, the watchman, Xiang Yong and Shui Hui will come. Now that the world is dominated by Australians, what is the use of beating this gong?
Facts have proved useful. I could only hear the sound of rapid footsteps approaching from far away. Then there were people outside shouting: "Where is the gong playing? Where is the gong playing?"
Boss Chen rushed out as if he was seeing a relative, pulled away the door in the backyard, leaned out half of his body and shouted in a high voice: "There is someone here who has slipped through the net."
No one expected him to do this. Everyone in the yard was stunned as if they had been struck by lightning. Qiu did not commit any crimes after the bandits broke into the stronghold, and he did not kill people at will. However, people like the leader of the regiment and the teacher Yong from the township would definitely die if they were caught. During the meeting on the threshing floor just now, three martial arts masters were hanged in public. They were all hired as Xiangyong teachers in the past one or two months.
Qingxia's head went "bang". Seeing Jiang Suo pulling out the short knife from his waist and about to fight, she quickly suppressed his hand: "I can't help it," she shouted in a low voice.
Although Jiang Suo is hot-blooded, he listens to his master and senior sister very much. Stopped immediately. He thrust the knife back. At this time, a group of marines had already poured in.
Shortly after occupying Sanliang City, the Fubo army restored the basic order of the town, including the police gong system and watchmen. Patrol teams were also dispatched to patrol the streets and alleys day and night, catching fish that slipped through the net while maintaining public order and preventing anyone from taking advantage of the situation.
Each patrol is accompanied by a local watchman who serves as guide and translator. As soon as the gong sounded, the sailors arrived immediately.
"What's going on?" The corporal leading the team looked at the people in the yard. When he saw Qingxia and her group carrying weapons, he couldn't help but frowned and scolded: "You guys, put all your weapons on the ground."
Qingxia quickly put down the short knife at her waist and pushed Jiang Suo. Jiang Suo was unwilling to take off the knife and threw it on the ground. He felt that he could deal with the seven or eight people on the other side, whether they were white soldiers or fists and kicks. However, the Kun thief's firearms were very powerful, let alone carrying the title Jiang Niang. Even if three people were intact, they could defeat this yard. Can't get out of town.
Boss Chen nodded and bowed to greet him: "Chang——"
"I'm a corporal." The leading thief said sternly, "What are you doing with the gong?"
"Sir, Corporal," Boss Chen said, showing off his sign, "I am the liaison officer of this town..." He was so anxious that he forgot that there was also the word "liao" in the middle of the liaison officer. "These three people are all Teacher Xiangyong who works for that bully Luo Tianqiu. Look at that girl, she’s still injured."
"That's right." The corporal looked at them. Their appearance and temperament were indeed that of a martial artist. According to regulations, they must be arrested and interrogated before making a decision.
"Take away" the corporal waved his hand.
"Yes" The soldiers came up immediately and were about to take them away.
"Deputy Master, we are unjustly accused." Qingxia knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly, "civilian nvs are for sale, and they carry weapons for sale. The owner of this shop took a fancy to our horses and forced them to If the blackmail fails, I will falsely accuse the women and others, please investigate clearly." He kowtowed a few more times.
"I have no right to come and investigate. You can go to the office with me." The corporal waved his hand and said to Boss Chen, "Since you are the accuser, you have to go too."
"Yes, yes, little one, let's go right away." Boss Chen said with a smile on his face, "She is just quibbling. Look at that woman, she still has red wounds on her legs..."
Qingxia's complexion changed drastically, but other things were easy to say. The red wounds on Jiang Niang's legs are unexplainable - she didn't go to fight with him, so how could there be bayonet wounds on her legs?
Boss Chen had a proud look on his face, and added to his jealousy: "This woman is very good at shooting arrows. She has even hurt your brothers if she gets into trouble."
Qingxia's face was pale, she saw Boss Chen chattering incessantly, adding insult to injury, every word became more cruel, how could she get out of the so-called office. After repeatedly shouting about injustice, he turned around and begged other people in the yard to testify that Boss Chen had falsely accused them because the blackmail failed.
However, the people in the courtyard knew that Boss Chen had already sold himself to the Australians, so how could they dare to venture into this muddy water? They all remained silent and silent. Qingxia knew that she was an outsider and no one was willing to help. In despair, he secretly regretted that he was not mature enough. He would have given up on the horse if he had known about it. He was obviously not clean and had to be a coach for the Luo family, so he still had to force him. Even if he was caught by the Australians, he wouldn't be afraid of being beaten or killed. But everyone in the team was trapped, and there wasn't even anyone running outside to rescue him.
Thinking of this, she felt heartbroken with regret, but the matter was now irreversible, and the only thing left to do was to act according to the public opinion. She secretly made up her mind that as long as she could save everyone, she would sacrifice anything.
Just the night before Qingxia and his party were arrested, Wen Desi led reinforcements to Sanliang City.
Sanliang Town was the largest town captured by the task force. This place is also the commodity distribution center for Dongguan and several neighboring counties, and its commercial status is very important. They also captured the most loot and captured the most prisoners. This has received great attention from the veterans of the task force. After the news came that Shi Zhiqi had been hit by an arrow, Wen Desi immediately set off and arrived at Sanliang City with several elders and some civil personnel. Prepare to do some business locally.
The reinforcement team led by Wen Desi had to pull out wooden piles in the river and clean the river because they had to move the long line of transporting supplies. We walked and cleaned up all the way until we arrived in Sanliang City in the afternoon. The battle was basically over at this point. Although it took a while to capture Luo Zhai, Luo Zhai was occupied before dark.
Wen Desi immediately commanded the troops to "purge" and "screen" the entire Sanliang. A group of people were immediately hanged. The seizure and confiscation of property continued until night.
The search and elimination of the remaining enemies continued all night long. More than 400 marines blocked all access roads. Teams of patrols patrolled every street and alley with torches, searching for every native who tried to escape. Those caught were sent to temporary detention camps near threshing floors and public offices to await their release.
The resistance in Sanliang City is the strongest, and the sailors' revenge is also particularly cruel. Although they are restricted by discipline and cannot vent their anger on the people, they are so polite to Xiangyong. If anyone The slightest resistance or rude words will be stabbed to death with a bayonet on the spot.
After Wen Desi signed the first batch of hanging orders, he stretched his body. It’s not easy to be a leader by signing so many orders at once. He stood up and looked at the brightly lit courtyard. The courtyard had been cleaned up, and marine soldiers had been put on guard under the eaves. The bayonet reflected the light of the torch in the yard, shining coldly.
He called an officer on duty: "Where is Captain Shi?"
"He is in the temporary hospital. I will take you there right now." The officer said respectfully.
A branch of the public office has been converted into a hospital. Dongnuang Pavilion was converted into a temporary operating room. A rosewood table served as an operating table, and curtains were drawn around it. More than a dozen lanterns are arranged around - the electricity is provided by a bicycle-type human-powered motor outside, and the sailors take turns riding the bicycles.
Zhang Tumu performed an abdominal bullet removal operation on a Xiangyong and sutured the wound. It was difficult to say whether the wounded man could survive because the conditions were too simple. But at least he had a chance of survival if he had the surgery, otherwise he would definitely die.
"Pay attention to care. Especially after attending to the civil engineering hygienist on time, soak your bloody rubber gloves in a basin of water, wash them carefully, and then soak them in a basin of wine - if you are in Lingao , the nurse will help him with these things, so here he has to do it himself.
Zhang Tumu is a doctor accompanying the army. I brought a few indigenous medical students studying emergency surgery and a lot of equipment and medicines with me. In addition to saving lives and healing the wounded, I also wanted to practice my skills. Originally, he set up a medical point in Humen, but the detachment's patrol battle on the Pearl River did not produce many seriously injured people who needed his own action. In the end, he decided to act with the detachment. If he didn't have to rescue himself, he could at least rescue the prisoners.
With this in mind, half of the small medical team and their equipment were left behind, and the rest boarded the ship to Shiwan occupied by Shi Zhiqi. Zhang Tumu was bored in Shiwan when news came from ahead that Shi Zhiqi had been hit by an arrow. He quickly took his apprentices and equipment and rushed to Sanliang Town under the escort of soldiers.
I originally thought I was going to rescue Shi Zhiqi, but I ran over and saw that Shi Zhiqi was not yet in need of resuscitation. He was sitting on a couch with a sluggish expression, and the arrow with a small section of the arrow shaft was still on his body - an army health worker. The place where Jue's arrow was shot was very close to a major artery, so he didn't dare to cut it open for him and take out the arrow, so he had to wait for Zhang Tumu to arrive.
Qingxia's arrow hit the "armor" he put on outside his uniform - this is protective equipment given to veterans who are not equipped with stab-proof clothing. It is similar to an old style steel plate body armor, with steel plates inserted into key parts. protection. The feather arrow hit the heart-protecting steel plate in front of his chest very accurately, and just missed piercing his heart directly.
If he was really shot, Shi Zhiqi would have died on the spot even if he had ten lives. The arrow bounced off the steel plate. The arrow pierced his shoulder diagonally. The arrow wound was not serious, so Zhang Tumu cleaned the wound and injected him with tetanus. He was given antibiotics again.
"You're pretty lucky." Zhang Tumu sutured the grinning Shi Zhiqi's wound without anesthesia. "You almost punctured an artery. If you puncture an artery, you'll be dead. Just wait until we go to Cuigang for the memorial service."
"Doctor Zhang, you have no sympathy at all." Shi Zhiqi lay on the bed and groaned, "My bones are not broken..."
"The bones are not broken, but you have soft tissue contusions all over your body, which is quite painful - you need to take a good rest. After returning to Lingao, I will take a X-ray to see if there is any damage to the ligaments and joints - I am not an orthopedic surgeon, there are some things I dare not guarantee it." Zhang Tumu washed his hands and said, "You are lucky that you didn't break any bones after falling from the roof. Be careful in the future."
Shi Zhiqi said feebly: "I am an officer of the 6th Marine Corps, and I always take the lead."
"Haha," Zhang Tumu smiled, "To be honest, you are indeed the most injured person in your detachment."
Shi Zhiqi couldn't help but let out a cry of shame or anger: "Twelve people died one after another, and I myself was injured - what should I say when I go back, I have lost all my dignity."
"Fourteen people died. Two more were killed during the attack on the village." Zhang Tumu said, "But all the injured are fine."
"Oh my god." Shi Zhiqi groaned, probably because he touched some painful area, and he grinned.
Zhang Tumu said, "Would you like me to give you some painkillers?"
"No need. Well, the painkiller medicine in your hand is not opium or coca. I will definitely not touch it." Shi Zhiqi said, "Why don't we make two..."
"The laptop is out of power." Zhang Tumu immediately refused, "You'd better have a good rest. I'll give you Pianrunshitang to make sleeping pills. This is a pure Chinese medicine preparation that Liu San brags about - of course, in fact, opium is also Pure Chinese medicine preparation."
"I don't dare to rest - there are only two of us as veterans, and you have never led a team. I am afraid of making mistakes by relying on the indigenous officers to command."
"I think their performance is very good and orderly. Now the order in the town has been restored. Don't worry about it. Besides, President Wen will come with the D detachment this afternoon. Are you still worried about having him in charge?"
"Mr. Wen is here too?"
"Yes, he will probably come to visit you when he is done with his work." Zhang Tumu smiled, "It's just that Huang Zhao is not there. No one is here as a photographer, so why don't I take some photos for you of "President Wen cordially visits fighting hero Shi Zhiqi" and said Maybe it can be included in primary school textbooks in the future."
"Don't make fun of me." Shi Zhiqi knew that he was making fun of his "glorious deeds" on Lantau Island, "What's the benefit of taking this photo..."
"You have no benefits, but Mr. Wen has benefits. What a good propaganda theme."
"I have a lot of benefits." Mr. Wen's voice sounded outside, "I don't care. Men have to rely on strength. Such nonsense is useless."
As expected, Wen Desi came to visit Shi Zhiqi. Of course, his purpose was not to take pictures, but to handle the subsequent affairs of Sanliang City. He wanted Shi Zhiqi to give him some advice.
When it comes to things like "administrative level", Wen Desi is much higher than Shi Zhiqi, but they are both veterans, and the town was mainly conquered by Shi Zhiqi's detachment. Although he is currently injured and cannot handle affairs, this is a formal respect. It still needs to be fully expressed.
"...I don't have any opinion. It's up to you, Mr. Wen." Shi Zhiqi put on an expression of unlimited trust, "However, we must retaliate severely and let them know the consequences of resisting our Fu Bo army." ..." At this point, he was afraid that Mr. Wen would suspect that he was demanding severe revenge because he was hit by an arrow, so he quickly told the story of how the enemy threw ten thousand enemies on the river and lost an entire squad.
"I can't swallow this breath...Eleven sailors, all the most powerful young men...just gone..." Shi Zhiqi said with emotion. After all, these soldiers grew up under his command. have to.
Tokuji nodded, but did not express what he would do. When Shi Zhiqi mentioned this battle example, he felt it was necessary to mention it to the staff meeting for discussion - the natives had begun to try some tactical confrontation methods under asymmetric conditions, intentionally or unintentionally. This sign must be paid attention to.
"I will investigate this matter thoroughly," Wen Desi said. "As for revenge, Sanliang resisted so tenaciously and wiped out all the local powerful people. However," he expressed worry, "we can't wait for a long time." Here, even if they are eliminated, it is impossible to establish a political power, which is a pity.”
"I suggest setting up an underground party..." Shi Zhiqi said, "The Foreign Intelligence Bureau did not set up the Shanhai Road, but also created a system like the 'Five Elements Flag'. There are business people and intelligence people, so let Jiangshan dispatch Some indigenous people do business here and build a local team, making money and providing intelligence."
Take advantage of the military control of the current armed occupation to eliminate all possible opponents. A group of prostitutes were fostered as the peripheral forces of the underground party. Secretly control some important towns.
Towns are the link between cities and villages and have strong radiating and penetrating capabilities into the countryside. The surrounding rural economy is greatly affected by towns. Whether it is currency or commodity penetration in the future, it will be very helpful.
Wen Desi had considered this plan before - Wu De, Jiang Shan, and Si Kaide all communicated with him in telegrams some of the aftermath of the "tax collection" operation on the villages and towns along the Pearl River. Among them, it was mentioned that for certain large market towns captured by force, it would be a pity to just kill a group of people, grab a group of things, hire a few agents and then evacuate without "reasonable burden". It would be best to take advantage of the fact that the political power in the Ming and Qing Dynasties did not go to the countryside and take advantage of the situation to set up "underground political power" in the local area.
