Chapter 25: Gaining Both Fame and Fortune

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  Surrender or fake surrender, that's the question. After all, both sides were still fighting fiercely in the previous minute, and then the other side said they wanted to surrender, this victory came a bit too quickly. As for saying that I attacked Lingyuan City, it was also a business of taking chestnuts from the fire and taking the head of the general from among the troops, who knows if they were delaying time?

  "If you want to surrender, throw out your guns and come out with your hands on your head and your belts undone!" Wei Yuankun shouted inside after hearing that the puppet army wanted to surrender. "You have five minutes, otherwise we'll continue firing."

  "I say, you're being too unreasonable, we've already surrendered, what's the point of making us take off our pants?" The people inside were clearly very indignant at this humiliating condition.

  "What the f**k, do you still want to haggle? Zhang Xin is going to give them another round!" Wei Yuankun deliberately shouted loudly, "Damn it, no big deal if we all get killed and then strip the corpses to feed the dogs! Let you not even have a pair of underwear left! I announce that your time is reduced by two minutes, you still have one minute left."

  The people inside heard that the person outside was obviously ill-tempered and not very good with numbers, probably a ruthless character who would force people to buy things at high prices without even bargaining. If this person were to be obeyed, they might all end up trapped in the courtyard. Although losing face by taking off their pants was humiliating, it was still better than losing their lives. So they shouted out loud: "We surrender! We'll take them off! We'll take them off!"

  More than 50 puppet soldiers quickly threw their guns into the courtyard and walked out with their hands up, each with their pants dragged down to their heels, revealing all sorts of colorful, multi-colored, flower-patterned, and patchwork underwear. At this moment, the people of Lingyuan City fully demonstrated the glorious tradition of our Chinese people's love for watching excitement. After experiencing initial panic and praying for Buddha's protection, they saw that the battle had entered its final stage, with no more gunfire outside, and they all ran to watch from nearby. Some of these puppet soldiers used to bully people in the city, but now they were thoroughly embarrassed in front of the crowd - everyone knew what color their underwear was and what kind of patches they had. Next, over a dozen Japanese corpses were dragged out of the courtyard, more than half of whom had been blown up by rocket launchers, missing arms or legs. The puppet soldiers who came out were all unscathed, without even a scratch. The brothers couldn't help but sigh in admiration, saying that Zhang Hui's "shoulder cannon" (Guo Wenlian and the others' nickname for the rocket launcher) was really impressive, only blowing up Japanese people without harming Chinese people. As a result, this conversation was overheard by the puppet soldiers nearby, who all knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Hui like they were pounding garlic, saying "Thank you, Grandfather, for sparing our lives! Thank you, Grandfather, for sparing our lives!" Zhang Hui didn't know what to say. The onlookers saw the Japanese corpses blown to pieces, as well as the destroyed bunker and house in the courtyard, and initially thought that this anti-Japanese team had big cannons. But when they looked at the team's equipment, they only saw a heavy machine gun, with no sign of any big cannons (the rocket launchers were secret weapons and had been hidden away). Adding to their confusion was the huge explosion they had heard earlier, and they couldn't help but wonder what kind of weapon this team had used to make such a big commotion. Wei Yuankun had previously ordered them not to reveal the secret of the rocket launchers, so they could only push the inquiring crowd away with a "go ask that white-faced guy, he's our military commissar, we don't know anything about it." The curious crowd then surged around Zheng Wei, who looked like a fortune teller from a big city. "I'm asking you, Little Zheng, how did you do this?"

  Wei Yuankun was at a loss, thinking to himself that he clearly had the surname Wei, so why did they change it to Zheng? His family and Zheng Chenggong didn't have any relationship whatsoever. However, seeing how enthusiastic everyone was, he couldn't get angry, after all, he was someone who wouldn't hit a smiling face. So, he explained to them that "Political Commissar" was an official title, not a name. As for what the Political Commissar did, Wei Yuankun directly gave himself a pat on the back - "This Political Commissar is doing the same job as Wu Yong, the clever strategist from the Water Margin." This wasn't entirely false, because from kindergarten to high school graduation, Wei Yuankun had always played the role of "Dog Head Military Advisor" among his mischievous friends, and had even received the glorious title of "Lingyuan's First Dog Head Military Advisor". It wasn't an exaggeration to call him a military advisor - after all, they were all from the same mold. As for the rocket launcher, Wei Yuankun wanted to show off in front of everyone, but he couldn't reveal the truth. Firstly, at that time, ordinary people wouldn't understand even if he explained it to them. He couldn't say something like "I used a giant drill to blast it open". When talking about the origin of the rocket launcher, Wei Yuankun didn't even tell Guo Wenlian and the others, only saying that it was a new toy from abroad. If the Japanese devils found out about this thing, they would know that there were people here who didn't belong to this era. They would send a large army to repeatedly sweep through the area, and Wei Yuankun acknowledged that he wasn't noble enough to sacrifice himself for the anti-fascist war. However, the ordinary people here wouldn't let him off if he didn't give them an explanation. So, he thought to himself, "No big deal, I'll just bluff my way through it." If the Japanese devils found out, that would be okay too. Since he was going to bluff, he might as well make it sound more mysterious. He pointed to Wang Hua and Zhang Xin, who were surrounding Wang Fangyuan and flattering him - "I'm telling you, fellow villagers, don't tell anyone else, but this is all because of my big brother's doing. I'll let you in on a secret - my big brother, that skinny second brother, and I are all from Mount Longhu. Our master is very famous, known as the Transcending True Person. Back then, he traveled down the mountain and saw that we three had good roots, so he took us in as disciples. We studied our craft on the mountain for eighteen years. One day, our master calculated that there would be a great war in China, so he sent us three down the mountain to kill devils and save China." Wei Yuankun was impressed by his own ability to spin a yarn. If he had gone online back then to write fantasy novels, he would have had a bright future. However, this story of his was a bit too far-fetched. Since he had started spinning it, he might as well continue - "Just now, my big brother saw that little devil hiding in the house and not coming out, so he got angry and used his true fire. Our master taught him a secret technique called 'Lushan Shenglong Ba' when he came down the mountain. This is even more powerful than the Five Thunder Law from Water Margin - you see, with just two moves, that little devil was finished." The surrounding villagers heard that Wei Yuankun was a disciple of the "Transcending True Person" and all asked him to perform some magic. Wei Yuankun saw that he was about to be exposed and quickly said, "This won't do, my big brother's two moves just now were a combination technique that requires the three of us brothers to work together. Now, it would waste too much true energy, so let's talk about it later after we rest." However, Wei Yuankun continued - "My big brother also learned some minor techniques from our master, such as face-reading and geomancy. If you want, he can give you a reading." Some people who had read books looked down on him, thinking that this kid was just spouting nonsense, like a jumping monkey. They thought to themselves, "Your master is supposed to be the Transcending True Person? Why not say your master is the Old Ancestor from 'The Investiture of the Gods'?" However, while some people didn't believe him, others did. Soon, a large crowd gathered around Zhang Xin - "Originally, you're a little immortal, please forgive us for not showing respect earlier. Can you give us a reading?"

  Zhang Xin was also quite bold, and could be said to be given a bamboo pole and he would dare to climb the tree. He would send up his nose and he would dare to step on his face. At that time, he started talking nonsense, saying that this kid's words were all wrong, but that's not entirely true. Zhang Xin's father was good at studying things like Zhou Yi and other mysterious arts from an early age, and under the influence of his father, he understood some of these things. In addition, this kid had been hanging out with Wei Yuancong, a famous talker, since childhood, and his skills in speaking were quite good. Moreover, while talking nonsense, he also mixed in some things he had seen from online fantasy novels, and those who didn't understand were really deceived by his cloudy and mysterious words.

  After the crowd left the city, a new legend appeared in Lingyuan City. In this army that killed the rich and helped the poor, there was a fat man who was a master of the five thunder methods, and could predict the future 500 years ago and 500 years later. And as the story spread, it became more and more mysterious, until it reached the ears of the Japanese devils, who said: "In this army that killed the rich and helped the poor, there was a group of masters, each with a height of eight feet, a waist circumference of eight feet, a green face, fangs, three heads, six arms, all of whom were disciples of the Taizhen Master on Mount Kunlun. They were fellow apprentices with Jiang Ziya and Jiang Taigong, and each had practiced a set of skills, able to ride the clouds and drive the fog, shrink into an inch, and flip over 80,000 miles in one somersault. They could also use the five thunder methods, 72 changes, a flying sword that could take someone's head from thousands of miles away." The Japanese listened to this and naturally didn't believe it, thinking that if they had such abilities, they would have long since cut off the head of Ning Qi with one sword, so they just thought they were a group of people who liked to pretend to be mysterious.

  Of course, these are all afterwords. Although the battle has ended, there is still some cleaning up to do, and this clearing of the battlefield is one of them. For the Kill Riches and Help the Poor Self-Defense Army, although nearly thirty brothers were lost in the previous battle, the gains were quite rich. Just the ocean alone yielded more than 50,000 yuan. Through interrogation, it was discovered that the Japanese devils had planned to organize several puppet military security teams in the Lingyuan area, and this ocean was the salary for several months for the security team that was about to be established. The more than ten Japanese devils who were severely injured earlier were the "escorts" who transported this money, but they did not expect that the puppet army would not be established, and instead gave a generous gift to the Kill Riches and Help the Poor Self-Defense Army, which had just been established and was in extreme poverty. Along with this money, several brand-new Belgian-made pistols were also transported, as well as dozens of mirror-faced long-barreled pistols produced in Fengtian, which were intended for use by company commanders. Four or five boxes of bullets were also seized, and more than ten Type 38 rifles that had not been destroyed by rocket launchers were captured, making it a windfall. The dozens of puppet soldiers who were captured knelt on the ground, crying and begging to join the anti-Japanese army and make their own contributions to the cause of national liberation. It turned out that when they attacked the puppet government's courtyard earlier, these puppet soldiers saw the great power of the rocket launchers, which destroyed the bunker with one shot, turning 15 or 16 Japanese devils into minced meat. In order to survive, they resorted to desperate measures and, without anyone leading them, fired at the remaining Japanese devils from behind, sending them all to their deaths. These puppet soldiers thought that since they had killed Japanese soldiers, the Japanese would not spare them in the future, so they decided to follow the example of their comrades in Hebei Province: "If you don't stay here, there will be a place for you to stay; if you don't stay anywhere, I'll join the Eighth Route Army." When Guo Wenlian and his men encountered Wei Yuan-kun and others, they began to pretend to be part of the Eighth Route Army. These puppet soldiers heard that they were from the Eighth Route Army and thought to themselves that they had nowhere else to go, so they surrendered to them, which led to the scene earlier.

  The secret arsenal of the Northeast Army was quickly found under Wei Yuankun's guidance. However, the location of this arsenal was unexpected by everyone - it was inside the city gate tower of the South City Gate, which people passed through every day. As for why Wei Yuankun knew the location of this arsenal, it was because during the unprecedented * event, the Red Guards swept away everything, including the old city gate tower, and naturally discovered the arsenal while demolishing the tower. This incident was only a topic of conversation among the people in Lingyuan after dinner, but was soon forgotten. Wei Yuankun's father happened to be present at the scene when the city gate tower was being demolished, and saw the arsenal being uncovered by the Red Guards, thus knowing its exact location. Later, while chatting with others during tea breaks, he mentioned this incident, which Wei Yuankun overheard and remembered, not realizing that this memory would play a crucial role today.

  As they saw the weapons being moved out of the secret arsenal, everyone had the same thought - I'm going to get rich! Although the weapons in the arsenal were somewhat different from what Wei Yuankun had described, at least the mortars he mentioned were nowhere to be seen. However, just these alone were already quite impressive. As soon as they opened the vault, they saw rows of boxes containing over 300 rifles, all brand new and still sealed in their original German packaging - Mauser rifles. There were also a dozen Czech-made light machine guns, over thirty flower-shaped submachine guns made in Fengtian, and even four heavy machine guns! As for ammunition, there were over 200 boxes. Looking at this equipment, which was enough to arm an entire regiment, everyone from Guo Wenlian on down pounced on the guns like wolves seeing a beautiful woman (this metaphor is extremely inappropriate). Each person grabbed a handful of guns and hugged them tightly - in that instant, they seemed to have returned to their wedding night, embracing their new bride for the first time.

  As for how Wei Yuankun got these people to put down the rifles they were holding, let's not mention that for now. The next question is, what should be done with this batch of military supplies? Because through this series of battles, thanks to the protagonist's halo and the blessing of the lucky goddess, this ragtag anti-Japanese team won two major victories, and the large amount of spoils made the team's weapon possession reach saturation. Including the secretly excavated military supplies, this team of over 200 people suddenly had nearly 700 guns, with an average of three per person. This doesn't even count the ammunition. Unless everyone was a three-headed, six-armed Nezha, no one in the team could handle these weapons. As a result, someone in the team sighed, "Damn it, originally we were worried about lacking guns, now that we have them, we're still worried. This anti-Japanese thing is really a headache." Of course, this was self-deprecation, but it also highlights a problem - the team needs to be expanded.

  Expanding the team is a difficult problem. In Wei Yuankun's view, this anti-Japanese war is a business that ties one's head to their belt, not only putting oneself in danger of losing their life at any time but also possibly implicating family members. There is no anti-Japanese base here, and the enemy's main forces may return for revenge at any time. At least for Wei Yuankun, under current conditions, joining the anti-Japanese armed forces is a matter worth considering carefully. However, in Guo Wenlian's eyes, this was not a problem. Upon hearing that they needed to expand their troops, he only said one sentence: "Lacking people? Then just recruit some!"

  "Recruit people? How to recruit?" Wei Yuankun heard him say it so simply, couldn't help but feel a bit strange. "This guy isn't a big stone block on this mountain, you say how many and he'll give you that many. And now the devils are so fierce, who would follow us?"

  "You're a cultured person, you don't understand this kind of thing. When recruiting people, you have to see who's doing the recruiting. If it were you, no matter how hard you try, you wouldn't be able to recruit anyone even if you talked till your mouth was dry. But if I were to do it, believe me or not, I could recruit over 800 people in just one afternoon." Guo Wenlian obviously had great confidence in himself.

  "To be honest," Wei Yuankun looked up and down at this anti-Japanese leader, "I really don't believe what you're saying."

  "Good kid, you don't believe what I say!" Through these few days of fighting life, Guo Wenlian had already become very familiar with his political commissar Da Zhangfang. "You didn't believe me, did you? Alright then, let's make a bet. If I can gather 800 people, you'll give me that handgun of yours, how about it?"

  "What if you lose?" Wei Yuankun asked.

  "Damn, can I still lose?" Guo Wenlian smiled, "If I lose, I'll compensate you with my wife, do you want that?"

  "My god, you're ruthless! Let me tell you, I don't want it!" Wei Yuankun pouted, "Why do I have to take everything? Am I a junk collector?"

  "Damn it, your wife is the one who's a mess!"

  "Sorry, I don't have a wife, go bother someone else!"

  "You little stinker!"

  I'd like to explain that the reason I didn't update yesterday was entirely due to attending a gathering the night before last. To be honest, when I'm at gatherings, I really "drink a little too much and say things that no one wants to hear". In the end, I had to be dragged back home. Since my family doesn't have internet access, I also forgot to save the draft on my U disk this morning. So, I took a break yesterday, which is truly sorry to everyone.