Chapter 823: Showing Off

Four deserters.

Zhang Yong was in a difficult situation. He frowned.

In theory, deserters should all be sent to be shot.

Military law is ruthless.

If there is no discipline, can it still be called an army?

However, he also knew very well that these soldiers were most likely forcibly drafted. Commonly known as draft dodgers.

They did not enlist voluntarily.

In the army, they were probably even worse off than slaves.

In many armies at the time, the rank-and-file soldiers really were no better off than ancient slaves.

It was miserable.

Very miserable.

That is, some of the troops from the Whampoa Military Academy, that is, the so-called direct troops of Chiang Kai-shek, the situation might have been slightly better. But it was only slightly better. Slightly better...

The equality between officers and soldiers on the red side was completely different. It was not even in the same dimension.

Therefore, many Nationalist soldiers were just worms on the Nationalist side. But on the Red side, they were dragons. They were incredibly fierce.

People were the same.

The guns were the same.

But the combat effectiveness was like heaven and earth. No one on the Kuomintang side could explain it.

The 50th Army was even able to wrestle with the United Nations forces. And it was the first to enter Seoul.

Before, who would have dared to think so?

Alas...

'Write down your names and the numbers of your units.'

'Sir, we can't read...'

'You can't read?'

'No.'

'Then you can drive?'

'I, I, learned it by stealth in the army, and I'm not very good at it...'

'What unit are you from?'

'Wang Jinzai, 49th Brigade...'

'Oh?'

Zhang Yong is a little surprised.

It's Wang Jinzai? The 49th Brigade of the Shaanxi Army?

He knows the name. He read it when he was in the Military Senate.

Combining it with some memories from his previous life, he knew that this Wang Jinzai was a fierce general in the Shaanxi Army. He was under the command of Sun Weiru. He was quite capable.

Strange...

How could there be deserters under the command of such a fierce general?

Well, on the Nationalist side, there were deserters under the command of everyone. Even the most elite 74th Army had deserters.

'Why did you desert?'

'We were fighting the Red Army and were scattered...'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong understood.

It wasn't that they had deliberately wanted to run away. They had been scattered.

According to some previous intelligence, Wang Jinzai's 49th Brigade had clashed with the Red Army.

The Nationalist army's battle reports, of course, claimed a great victory. Zhang Yong didn't know the details of what had happened. In any case, the Nationalist army had destroyed more than 100 million of their opponents before and after. In the end, they had retreated to the isolated island of Taiwan. Those boastful battle reports were probably the only ones that Chiang Kai-shek himself believed.

Even He Yingqin didn't believe it.

And Bai Chongxi, needless to say, just laughed it off.

'How are the battle conditions?'

'We've been scattered...'

'Who won in the end?'

'I don't know...'

'Fine!'

Zhang Yong then stopped asking.

It didn't matter who won or lost. The outcome had been completely decided in 1949.

The Shaanxi army would soon experience a turning point in its history. Its fate would change dramatically. In the end, the Shaanxi army would gradually fade away. It would cease to exist.

As the long river of history rolled on, it would wash away the heroes.

'We have a wounded soldier with us...'

'What wounded soldier?'

'A wounded Red Army soldier...'

'Red Army?'

Zhang Yong was shocked.

They had also brought a wounded Red Army soldier with them?

All the way from Guanzhong to Shanghai?

Wasn't that crazy?

But looking at the four of them, it didn't seem like they were lying.

It was just that they had been a bit hasty in pointing out the identity of the wounded man.

'He was still a company commander.'

'How did a wounded Red Army soldier end up with you?'

'We, we...'

'Speak.'

'He was unconscious after being hit by a shell. We found him on the road. We were afraid that when he returned, he would come after us with his troops, so we took him all the way east. Later, he got too far away from his troops and couldn't go back.'

'And then they came to Shanghai?'

'Along the way, he reasoned with us, and we didn't want to fight the Red Army anymore.'

'...'

Zhang Yong was about to speak, but stopped.

He believed what they said was true.

Because if it was false, it would be immediately evident. It would be revealed on the spot.

It was the wounded Red Army soldier who had a strong ability to mobilise people's thinking! He was doing ideological work on the enemy. The enemy no longer wanted to fight the Red Army.

However, the old army was the old army after all, and some rogue habits were difficult to eradicate completely.

Unless they integrate into the Red Army as a big group.

'Let's go!'

Zhang Yong waved his hand.

A small episode. No need to worry about it anymore.

The Red Army company commander will naturally find a way to correct them.

'Thank you, sir...'

The four deserters hurried off.

Zhang Yong continued to look for Tang Shengming.

This time, there was no one else beside Tang Shengming. He was alone.

It seemed that the ever-dashing Tang San, the third son, was not in a good mood. When he saw Zhang Yong appear, he barely even said hello.

Zhang Yong had a thick skin. It didn't matter. If there was something to discuss, discuss it.

A bad mood would not affect work. Especially not something as important as making money.

'Third young master,'

'Shaolong. Please sit down,'

'I have something to discuss with you,'

'Go ahead,'

'What do you think of opening a bank in the United States?'

'Opening a bank?'

'Yes. Let's start our own bank.'

'We need at least one million US dollars in start-up capital. In fact, it's unlikely that anything less than five million US dollars will be approved.'

'Five million US dollars?'

Zhang Yong frowned inwardly. So there is a threshold.

It makes sense. If there were no threshold, everyone would rush to start a bank.

If you don't even have one million US dollars, you can't even guarantee that the bank will operate normally. Okay. After all, banks also need to incur costs.

Labor, utilities, premises, and so on. It's not just about the interest margin.

In fact, all banks do not rely on the interest margin to make a living. That's just a small part. The main part is investment.

Only investment can generate high returns. Only investment can maintain high profits.

Therefore, once the economy grows sluggishly and there are no good investment projects, banks will also have a hard time.

During the previous Great Depression, many small and medium-sized banks in the United States went bankrupt.

'Yes. You need five million dollars.' Tang Shengming's mood was dispirited.

'Young Master, what trouble have you encountered? Do you need my help?' Zhang Yong asked calmly.

'Sigh...' Tang Shengming let out a long sigh, "It's not really a big deal. It's just annoying. Someone wants me to go to Xinjing (Changchun).'

'Xinjing?" Zhang Yong asked curiously, 'What for?'

'Discussing some messy business,' Tang Shengming answered angrily.

'Oh...' Zhang Yong didn't ask any further.

Tang Shengming had cleverly refused to answer. This meant that Zhang Yong should not know about these matters.

In that case, Zhang Yong of course deftly changed the subject.

However, he was still a little curious inside. Sending Tang Shengming to Xinjing shouldn't be a big deal.

If it was important, it would be impossible to let Tang Shengming go!

He doesn't have much power...

Alas, people in the world are not free to do as they please!

Even someone like Tang Shengming will have to do things he doesn't want to.

Since Tang Shengming is in a bad mood, Zhang Yong then took his leave.

He'd better go arrest the Japanese spy. Arresting the Japanese spy will make him feel better.

It so happens that when I was following Kuroshima Ryuzo before, I noticed a few red dots. At the time, I judged that they weren't important people. I didn't bother to arrest them. Now I can go arrest them.

Anyway, the Shanghai station jail seems pretty empty. I'll catch a few more and fill it up...

Suddenly, a yellow dot appears at the edge of the map. There are also four white dots next to it. It seems to be related.

Approaching quietly. I discovered that one of the white dots is actually one of the deserters I encountered earlier.

Continue to observe. Found all four deserters.

Due to the angle, I can't see the yellow dot. It must be the company commander.

I'm curious.

A red company commander!

He has come all the way from Longnan to the beach in Shanghai, thousands of miles in between!

I wonder how many stories have happened along the way.

Continue to quietly approach.

Finally get a good look. Seems to be a young man?

His face is a bit pale and haggard. But it seems that he is at most in his early twenties. It is even possible that he is not yet twenty.

Not surprising. At that time, the Red Army cadres were very young. They were generally in their twenties.

If you do the math, Li Yunlong, a handsome young man from the surrounding countryside, was 18 when he participated in the Huangma Uprising, which would make him about 26 now.

But he was already a regiment commander. And he had been demoted several times. If he was a company commander, he was probably not even 20.

He wanted to drive past quietly. He wasn't going to bother the other person.

Each person has their own path...

However, at this very moment, a red dot moved over.

Stop the car. Observe. It turns out to be a rickshaw puller. He is pulling an empty rickshaw from the other end of the street. If there are no accidents, the red dot and the yellow dot will intersect.

Zhang Yong quietly turns his eyes. So he wants to show off a little.

You are the company commander of the Red Army. I am the team leader of the Special Branch of the Restoration Society. I will show you something.

If he were a mature person, he would definitely not have such a childish idea. But Zhang Yong is not. After all, he is young. And still a bit childish.

Besides, he was greedy for money and lust, and was not satisfied with the conditions for joining the Reds, although outwardly he didn't seem to regret it. But deep down, he must still have had some thoughts. Just as well. Now the opportunity has come, so he wants to show off in front of the Reds. He wants to show the other side that he is not bad at catching spies.

Hehe...

Make a sign.

Everyone get out of the car immediately.

The face of the Red Army company commander immediately turned pale.

Although he was new here, he knew that the situation was very dangerous.

There were many spies.

People could be arrested at any time.

When he suddenly saw so many people getting off the bus with guns, his first reaction was that they had been exposed. They were going to be arrested.

Sure enough, he saw a large group of people quietly surround them.

The four deserters' faces turned even uglier. They also thought Zhang Yong had come to arrest them.

'Don't move!'

Zhang Yong stepped forward.

He faced the Red Army company commander. They locked eyes.

'What's your name?'

'Ma Ming.'

'Don't move. We're here to arrest Japanese spies. Don't get in our way.'

'Arrest Japanese spies?'

Ma Ming is a little surprised. They're not here to arrest him?

They're here to arrest Japanese spies?

Japanese spies?

Japanese spies?

"Yes. I'm Zhang Yong from the Special Branch of the Restoration Society. I'm here to arrest Japanese spies.'

'Oh. Please...'

'Get ready to move.'

Zhang Yong quietly gives the signal.

The rickshaw puller did not notice the commotion nearby.

When he got closer to the street corner, he realised that something was wrong. Someone suddenly pounced on him from all around. It was extremely fast.

Instinctively, the rickshaw puller immediately threw away the rickshaw and turned to run.

His speed was really not bad. Wei Fangquan and the others could not catch up at once.

'He...'

Ma Ming and the others were stunned.

Was the rickshaw puller the Japanese spy?

How could they tell?

But he really is fast. He's no ordinary person.

Seeing that the Japanese spy was about to escape, Ma Ming couldn't help but frown.

It seems that the level of the Fuxing Society's secret service is not very good either. They had set up an ambush. And they didn't catch anyone? They actually let someone escape?

"Damn...'

Zhang Yong was also very surprised.

He didn't expect the Japanese spy to run so fast either.

It was too fast.

He had never seen a Japanese spy run so fast before...

Faster than Usain Bolt...

No!

There was one before.

It was that old beggar. He was also very fast.

Shit. I wanted to show off in front of Red. I hope I didn't mess up.

Oh...

If I can't even catch someone like this, I'm really ashamed to face people.

We were all set up...

We were outnumbered...

And we still let the target get away?

There's no doubt about it. I can't hold my head up in front of Red anymore.

I subconsciously reached for my gun...

I don't care, I'll just shoot the target and kill him.

Damn it, no matter how fast you are, can you outrun a bullet?

We can't catch him alive. We need a dead body.

Fortunately, Lu Hai, who was in the front row, was also anxious. He, too, felt ashamed. Fortunately, there was a roadside stall selling vegetables. It looked like there were radishes. He casually picked up a radish and smashed it at the Japanese spy in front of him. As it turned out, the radish did its job. It hit the other person's heel precisely.

The Japanese spy, who was running fast, stumbled and lost control of himself, crashing into the stall next to him. This was enough. Just a slight stumble, a slight delay, and the others behind him, Qu Hai, Yan Hai, Ge Hai, and the rest, rushed forward in a swarm, pinning him down.

'Baka!'

'Baka!'

The Japanese spy yelled furiously.

Then there was a fierce scuffle. People piled on top of each other. People pressed on top of people. In the end, there was a big pile of people.

Zhang Yong and Ma Ming and the others all heard the Japanese spy's screams. Both of them couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. If at this time, the Japanese spy had pulled the pin on the grenade...

Fortunately, he didn't...

The Japanese spy didn't have any weapons on him.

'Crack!'

'Crack!'

It sounded like the Japanese spy's arm had been broken.

Then, it sounded like the spy's shinbone had been broken. A dull sound was heard.

Finally, the spy, with all four limbs broken, finally calmed down.

In the end, the spy was tied up and dragged back.

He was still very unwilling.

His eyes were red. He looked as if he could eat people.

Zhang Yong reached out and removed the rag from the spy's mouth. The spy was so angry that he would not commit suicide.

'Bah!'

Nishibe was very irritated.

The result was, of course, a severe beating.

'You are...'

'Damn it! I am Uesugi Saburoemon! How dare you arrest me?'

'Uesugi family?'

Zhang Yong was a little surprised.

No wonder this guy is so tough. It turned out to be the Uesugi family!

A bit familiar. Played the game before. Uesugi Kenshin. The so-called 'military god'. He fought Takeda Shingen back and forth.

He was on the verge of extinction. But the Honnō-ji Incident saved the Uesugi clan. Later, the Uesugi clan became one of the 'Five Elders' during the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

So, even now, the Uesugi clan is still one of the aristocrats in Japan. It is a big family.

A descendant of the Uesugi clan came here to spy. And he even took on the role of a rickshaw puller. That's awesome.

No wonder it was so difficult to catch.

Fortunately, we finally caught him.

'That's right. I'm from the Ueekin family. I demand to be treated with respect.'

'What kind of treatment do you want?'

'Untie me. Apologise. I can be generous and forgive your sins.'

'Do you know the Geneva Convention for Prisoners of War?'

'What?'

'Spies are not prisoners of war. They are not protected by the Convention. You are to be shot on sight.'

'You, you, you dare!'

'Of course I don't dare. I'm waiting for you to ransom you back.'

'You...'

Shoubin Zuo Bingwei wanted to say something else, but his mouth was already gagged.

There were red people nearby, so Zhang Yong had to pretend to be a bit more gentlemanly. Asking for money directly would damage his own 'brilliant and valiant' image.

'Take him away!'

He waved his hand. And they left.

Haha...

The show was a success.

Leaving behind Ma Ming and the others, who were mesmerised.

A Japanese spy?

And he was caught like that?

It seems...

Very exciting!

Zhang Yong returned directly to Logistics Base 026.

He first imprisoned Ueda Binzo. This was a big fish.

The Ueda family was worth at least 10,000 US dollars! Maybe more. It all depended on one's ability to bargain.

Fortunately, Ishida was also there.

Zhang Yong then told him about the Red Army company commander.

'Really?' Ishida couldn't believe it.

'Why don't you go and find out?' Zhang Yong nodded.

'Good,' Shi Bingdao said, taking it to heart.

'Oh, yes,' he said, suddenly remembering something, 'a Miss Liu called, saying that a shipment has arrived at the Wusongkou dock...'

'I know. I'll go pick it up when I have time.' Zhang Yong nodded, 'Anything else?'

'No,' Shi Bingdao replied, 'you can go now.'

'I have a shipment of arms. Do you have any way of getting it?'

'What kind of arms?'

'In Zhenjiang. French.'

'We can't do anything about it.'

'That's a pity.'

Zhang Yong then remembered that he seemed to be going to visit someone from the Yunnan Army.

The problem was that he had forgotten where the Yunnan Army's wharf was. Who was someone from the Yunnan Army? Where was the representative of the Yunnan Army?

"Then I'll sell it to the Yunnan Army.'

'That's fine.'

'Where is someone from the Yunnan Army?'

'Shan Xiufu. At 17 Wan'an Street.'

'Thank you!'

Zhang Yong nodded.

Then he realised what Shi Bingdao was up to.

He was in favour of selling the arms to the Yunnan Army. Not to Chiang Kai-shek.

After all, there were powerful interests at stake.

If sold to Chiang Kai-shek, the arms could be used against the Red Army. But if sold to the Yunnan Army, there would be no conflict with the Red Army for the time being.

Sigh...

It's so complicated.

Never mind. First, let's go find the Yunnan Army representative.

Let's go.

They arrived at 17 Wan'an Street.

They found a herbal medicine shop. It specialised in Yunnan Baiyao.

Huh?

Yunnan Baiyao?

Oh, it's been around for a long time. But it's not as famous as it later became.

Although, in the southwest, Baiyao has a good effect. But in Shanghai, it doesn't seem to be very popular.

At least, the business at the herb shop seems pretty quiet at the moment. There are no customers.

The map shows that there are two white dots inside the herb shop.

Zhang Yong walked slowly in. He found a girl behind the counter. She was wearing black and red ethnic clothing. She was quite pretty.

The girl turned around and looked at him. She didn't say anything.

Zhang Yong didn't say anything either, so the two of them just looked at each other.

Until...