Chapter 9: The Kempeitai

  Relying on the two donkeys "borrowed" from young Master Cao, Liu Cuicui and Xiao Dezhi were able to ride, and the group was finally able to travel at night.

  Liu Cuicui was a bit worried about this matter and asked: "Is it really okay to do so?"

  Cheng Zi Qiang comforted her saying: "Of course it's no problem, I've paid for it."

  Liu Cuicui said somewhat disbelievingly: "Why didn't you say that from the start?"

  Cheng Ziqiang smiled and said: "I want to buy it, he must sell it too."

  Cao Tou She said, "Tui Tui, you don't understand this. Suliang Qiang is using the tactic of 'first soldiers, then courtesy'. This is how we deal with these local tyrants. Luckily it's Suliang Qiang, if it were just me alone, I'd be in trouble. But say, Suliang Qiang, where did you learn this trick?"

  Cheng Ziqiang said bluntly: "As Bikini Bottom's Mr. Krabs once said, 'When dealing with certain people, you have to knock them down before you can reason with them.' I think that's what it means."

  Liu Cuicui thought for a moment and still didn't understand, so she said: "Then why don't you borrow a horse carriage?..."

  The grass head snake was stunned at first, then burst out laughing: "Haha, it turns out you're even more ruthless than us!" According to the current price, a horse and carriage would naturally be much more expensive than two donkeys. Cheng Ziqiang couldn't help but laugh too.

  Liu Cuicui knew that her words had been misunderstood, and she said in a huff: "I'm doing this for everyone's own good! With the carriage, we can all ride together; without it, you'll all be exhausted to death!"

  As they walked until dawn, they saw defeated soldiers with tilted helmets and slanted armor rushing down from behind. After all, it was a matter of escaping with their lives, and their speed was much faster than Chengzi's.

  The fleeing soldiers, although escaping with their lives, still didn't forget to harass the people in their spare time. The grass-headed snake saw a fleeing soldier with a silver-mouthed tobacco pipe inserted behind his waist, which looked exactly like the one belonging to the young master of the house where they had stayed overnight yesterday.

  The defeated soldiers rushed up and without saying a word, they snatched the two donkeys that Liu Cuicui and Xiao Dezhi were riding. Xiao Shunzi was resentful and complained to Cao Tou She: "You and Ku Liqiang both have guns, why didn't you deal with these useless guys?"

  The bandit leader slapped Xiaoshunzi and said, "You don't understand anything. We're not too bad, we only robbed two donkeys and didn't take anything from you. Even if we had robbed you, you would have to endure it. I used to be a soldier, this defeated soldier has no way out, if I say one shot will finish you off, where can you go to reason?"

  Cheng Ziqiang smiled and said: "I'm afraid you didn't do fewer of these things before either."

  The grass head snake smiled awkwardly and said: "At that time..." Then he hesitated and didn't continue.

  To avoid running into more fleeing soldiers, Cheng Ziqiang and the others had to take a detour, which further delayed their journey. However, they eventually saw the fleeing soldiers get their comeuppance - ahead of them was an interception point set up by the constabulary. A small team of constables wearing white helmets had set up roadblocks, catching many of the fleeing soldiers and tying them together with a rope to sit on the side of the road.

  Xiao Dezi's eyes were sharp and he spotted the two stolen donkeys tied up by the side of the road. He pointed his hand and shouted loudly: "Donkeys!"

  Originally, Cheng Ziqiang and others were ordinary people, so they didn't fear the constabulary. Several of them even wanted to lead the donkey back. The lieutenant of that constabulary squad was a young, pale-faced man who looked easy-going, but unexpectedly, as soon as Cao Touhua went up to chat with him, he was spotted by a constabulary sergeant. The sergeant's eyes lit up and he shouted loudly: "Cao Touhua! So you're here, you damn thing!"

  Cao Tou She raised his head and exclaimed in surprise: "Jiang Zhi? It's really a narrow road for sworn enemies!"

  It was only later that everyone found out that the military police officer Jiang Zhi and Cao Toushe were actually acquaintances with some old grudges. Seeing an opportunity, he immediately took Cao Toushe into custody and confiscated his pistol as public property. Cheng Ziqiang saw that things were not going well and wanted to get rid of his Browning gun, but there were too many people around and he didn't have time to dispose of it before Jiang Zhi came over and asked him a question: "You've been a soldier before, right?" The purpose of asking this question was clearly to use the logic that "those who are with deserters may also be deserters".

  Cheng Ziqiang hadn't even had time to respond when he was pressed down by two military police officers and searched. This search caused even more trouble, because it turned out that the Browning pistol was found on him.

  Liu Cuicui anxiously stepped forward and shouted: "He's not a soldier! He's just a laborer!"

  Chiang Zhi fiddled with his Browning and said, "Coolie? This gun is worth at least forty or fifty dollars. I don't think he's a coolie; he looks more like a Japanese spy."

  Jiang Zhi's words are not entirely unfounded. Apart from being expensive, the Browning pistol is indeed a standard equipment for some country's spies due to its exquisite and compact design. It's suspicious that Cheng Ziqiang, a laborer, has such a good gun.

  Liu Cuicui saw the situation and asked Captain Lang Yiwu to intercede. This Captain Lang was said to be a *** who came to the army to make a name for himself. Originally, he had limited abilities, and now that it was an extraordinary period, he didn't bother with Liu Cuicui's crying and fussing, ordering her to be taken away first. This wasn't entirely his fault, as there were too many deserters and the world was in chaos, making it not a time for reasoning.

  Liu Cuicui saw the three men beside her suddenly grab two, and she was at a loss for what to do, so she could only cry on the side. When the interception station withdrew, she took Xiaodezi and followed behind the team, regardless of whether the constable shouted or Cheng Ziqiang persuaded, she refused to leave. Xiao Shunzi didn't know what to do either, so he just followed along to take care of her. At this time, no one expected that Cheng Ziqiang, who was mistaken for a spy, would soon take the life of a Japanese army officer, and this Japanese officer would also receive the honor of being the first officer to die in battle on Chinese soil.

  It was almost noon, and Lieutenant Lang Yiwu knew there was an army base nearby, so he planned to take a break and get some food. As soon as they entered the base gate, a lieutenant colonel came over and said in a loud voice: "That lieutenant, I'm taking these men of yours."

  Lang Yiwu took a closer look and found that this lieutenant colonel was actually the regimental commander of the 17th Division's supplementary regiment. Although he didn't know his name, he had often seen him at division meetings. Moreover, Lang Yiwu also knew that these so-called supplementary regiment commanders were all bought with money, so he looked down on him. However, after all, the other man's military rank was far higher than his, so he had to put on a show of respect. Therefore, Lang Yiwu saluted and said: "Lieutenant Colonel, they are all deserters. I need to take them back to the division's military law office."

  "Deserters are also soldiers! The more people, the more strength!" The lieutenant colonel said: "Look at my side... oh... not enough personnel, equipment is not complete, and the division headquarters ordered me to rush to the assembly point to wait for orders. How can we complete the superior's order with insufficient troops?"

  Lang Yiwu thought to himself, "You can't control me with your soldiers." But he knew that the 17th Division was in a mess. He didn't have many men under his command, and these deserters were impossible to catch. Rather than losing control of the situation later on, it would be better for someone else to take over now. So he pretended to look troubled and said, "Captain, what you say makes sense, but I need to take them to the division's military law office. Only after they've been dealt with by the military law office can we make arrangements for these men."

  The lieutenant colonel burst out laughing and said, "No one will go to the military law office, you don't have to go back either. I've heard that the military police are all elites in the army, with you by my side, I feel much more at ease."

  Lang Yiwu was shocked upon hearing this. Although he himself was only a junior officer, his background was impressive and he was also a military police officer, so even high-ranking officers of the 17th Division would speak to him with respect. But now that he had run into this ignorant major, he really didn't know how to deal with him. Just as he was thinking about what to say but hadn't yet spoken up, the major discovered another "new continent": among the deserters were some people wearing ordinary civilian clothes, and asked: "Lieutenant, why are there also ordinary civilians among them?"

  This is the scene of the first meeting between Yuan Shijiang, who would later be known as the First Lucky General of Huaxia, and Cheng Ziqiang, who would later be known as the Special Warfare Dragon.

  The end of the scroll

  Volume 2: Volume 1: The Battle of Dongyang Bridge