Chapter 12: The Black Household Troops

  Ningguo County Head Wu Guoxiong is now furious, but looking at the little Lianzhang sitting in front of him, he really can't do anything. These hooligans are just a group of unreasonable turtle eggs.

  I don't know which troops retreated to this place, and they actually took Ningguo County as a reception station. Two city gates were set up in Ningguo to receive the scattered soldiers who retreated from the front line.

  It was a good thing, otherwise these soldiers with guns would have been causing trouble all over the county town and the police wouldn't dare to do anything about it, they were just a gang of bandits. After this shelter was established, Ningguo's situation improved a lot.

  Wu Guoxiong received the report, among these scattered soldiers, many of them were Central Army, Ningguo Security Regiment dared not to control them. But this reception station did not care what kind of soldier they were, all were uniformly accepted.

  It's said that the commander of this station is just a regimental commander, but he's very arrogant and many discontented soldiers will be beaten by him. The soldiers who retreated here didn't have any large troops, they really feared these fierce soldiers. Ningguo's security has improved, but Wu Guo Xiong's matter has also arrived.

  This isn't right? The battalion commander finally came to the door, looking at the list he presented, Wu Guoxiong's head grew several sizes bigger. Why should he pay for their grain and supplies, but this battalion commander was completely unreasonable.

  At this time, the two people sitting in Wu Guoxiong's reception room were Diqin and Zhao Kai. The two had arrived in Ningguo five or six days ago, and Diqin hadn't expected to accommodate so many people.

  This is not the main direction of retreat, they are all scattered and escaped here after being beaten, the most is a company's formation, but the total number of soldiers is only dozens of people. Some have no formation at all, just a few troops gathered together, and there are even hundreds of people.

  In just five or six days, Diqin and Zhao Kai had gathered over a thousand people. Looking at these children who were just like him, without mothers, Diqin felt angry. During the frontal assault, his own position only had one company, not even a full battalion, and even the team leader's guard company was sent to the front line, but behind them, there were so many soldiers.

  In six days, Zhai Qin, this captain and company commander, saw his power surge and became a regimental commander. Having never been a soldier before, Zhai Qin could only hand all these over to Zhao Kai. As a result, Zhao Kai complained every day, saying he was just the logistics director for Zhai Qin and not even the chief of staff.

  Diqin's head was also big, he didn't expect there to be so many people. Zhao Kai divided these people up, and didn't care what their original unit or number was, and reorganized them into three battalions. However, among these there wasn't a single officer at the battalion level, so they had to promote some of the company commanders and platoon leaders.

  Diqin didn't believe Zhao Kei even though he said these soldiers were theirs. Although Diqin didn't understand this, he also knew that it wasn't the time of warlords' separatism, and he had no place to support these troops, they would still belong to others in the future.

  According to Diqin's intention, some of the more powerful and brave ones were compiled together. Diqin left a mind, those compiled into the first camp were all thoroughly defeated troops, they were either completely annihilated or their organization was destroyed.

  Those will be their own troops in the future, those with hard backgrounds and numbered ones are separately formed into two battalions. Leave one battalion as an empty frame, just gather soldiers and fill it there.

  Dai Qin already knew that so many defeated soldiers were on the second day of his crossing, December 24th, the devils had occupied Hangzhou. The National Army troops retreated backwards, and most of these scattered soldiers were from Zhang Fakui's Eighth Group Army and Liu Jianxu's Tenth Group Army, as well as some Sichuan army troops.

  Diao Qin received soldiers with distinction. Those who were determined to fight against the enemy and showed some courage were incorporated into the first battalion.

  But then the problem arose, Zhai Qin only had 1,000 silver dollars extorted from Yang Lie in his hands, and there was no more money. Zhai Qin also didn't know how to save, penniless Zhai Qin gathered soldiers here at Guandi Temple in Ningguo County.

  Because this is a temple, the surrounding area is very large. Diqin launched the ultimate move brought by later generations, and it can be said that he forcibly occupied this place as his third consecutive residence.

  Huang Shaozhou, the head of Ningguo's security team, dared not speak out in anger. As a local security team, he didn't dare to interfere with the Central Army's affairs. Zhai Qin and Zhao Kai discussed it and decided that they had to find the county magistrate, even if they couldn't solve the problem of military pay, they had to solve the food problem at least.

  Zhao Kai didn't have much confidence in finding the county magistrate of Ningguo, and they couldn't control local officials. Zhai Qin was indeed very confident, he had been to Ningguo for many days, Zhao Kai and Zhang Meng were busy gathering troops. Zhai Qin led Zhai Gui to stroll around the entire Ningguo. This place did not suffer from war, and it was a prosperous county town near Tianmu Mountain. Due to Shanghai and Hangzhou falling one after another, a large number of people fled here, making Ningguo have a deformed prosperity.

  Looking at Wu Guoxiong's bitter face, Di Qinxiao said: "County Magistrate Wu, we are a unit of the resistance war. The chairman has said that heaven does not distinguish between north and south, earth does not distinguish between east and west, people do not distinguish between old and young, all have the responsibility to defend their homeland and resist the enemy."

  Wu Guoxiong couldn't help but think that this lieutenant colonel didn't look like a soldier at all, but rather like a hooligan who was good with words. Soldiers are usually not eloquent and have bad tempers, but this guy was different, he was just a small regiment commander, yet he had managed to recruit soldiers from all over Ningguo. It's said that they would beat up anyone who didn't listen to his orders. This wasn't an army, it was like a bandit gang or a group of street thugs and hoodlums.

  When he heard Dai Qin's words, Lian nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, this county is responsible for nothing else. However, Ningguo has no money to pay the grain allowance, and I don't have much money either. If it really doesn't work out, I'll personally donate 500 yuan, and Commander-in-Chief Dai will graciously agree. Your problem still needs to be solved by the Third War Zone Command."

  Dai Qin smiled: "County Magistrate Wu donated 500 silver dollars, looks like he's very rich! But it seems that Ningguo is not just County Magistrate Wu alone, do you think others should also contribute to the war effort?"

  Wu Guoxiong finally understood that this Diqin was absolutely a rascal, this wasn't about wanting money or food, this was extortion. Looking at Wu Guoxiong's expression, Diqin said: "County Magistrate Wu, I have received intelligence that there are people in Ningguo secretly collaborating with the devils, and if the devils attack, they will surrender Ningguo to them. What do you think I should do about it?"

  Wu Guoxiong stood up immediately, this is a serious problem, at this time the war of resistance is the top priority, if it's like that then it's unbearable. He stood up and said: "Impossible, Commander Zhai, this is nonsense."

  Dai Qin smiled coldly: "County Magistrate Wu, don't be impatient. Whether someone is a traitor or not isn't decided by others, it's decided by me."

  Wu Guoxiong was so angry that he wanted to jump up and give Zhai Qin two slaps in the face. It's really shameless to the extreme, and he can actually frame others like this. Zhai Qin's words were as clear as possible: whether someone is a traitor or not is decided by him. If Wu Guoxiong doesn't agree, then Zhai Qin will give him the crime of being a traitor.

  Dai Qin didn't come here for no reason. These past few days, he seemed to be just taking a stroll, but he had already found out that Wu Guoxiong has someone backing him up, and in Ningguo, he's like an emperor, embezzling money left and right. His mother only gave 500 yuan, how is that enough to send away the beggars?

  He himself had more than a thousand troops in his hands, while the Ningguo Security Regiment had only eight or nine hundred people. Zhai Qin not only wanted to survive but also train his troops, and most importantly, he didn't have any guns or artillery. These troops were all defeated and fled in disarray, their weapons long gone. Their uniforms were also a mess, without even a hint of military discipline.

  Dai Qin was not stupid, and a large army would soon arrive here. Zhao Kai's plan to gather soldiers would also be stopped soon. If it were such a rotten army, he might have to become the company commander himself. He wanted to turn this army into an elite force and teach the little devils a lesson when they went back to the battlefield. As long as the goal was good, Dai Qin would stop at nothing to achieve it.

  Looking at Wu Guoxiong sitting heavily in the chair, Di Qin said: "County Magistrate Wu, I'll give you ten days to prepare. If I don't see these things, I'll start cleaning up Han traitors in Ningguo. It seems that there are quite a few merchants here who have made a fortune from national calamities, and there are indeed many Han traitors."

  Dai Qin finished speaking and didn't look at Wu Guoxiong, got up and left with Zhao Kai. Wu Guoxiong's eyes were full of hatred, but for a long time he could only helplessly shout: "Come on."

  Diqin's goal was achieved, Wu Guoxiong had prepared for it, he also knew a bit about the business in Ningguo, those wealthy and influential families were heavily fined by Wu Guoxiong.

  Dai Qin, a man from the future, of course knew what the Central Army was and what a motley crew was. Looking at the military uniforms and food sent by Wu Guoxiong over the past dozen or so days, Zhao Kai said with admiration: "I say, Commander Dai, you really have a way to do things, how did you know that Wu Guoxiong had money?"

  Di Qindeti said with a smile: "It's not that Wu Guoxiong has money, but he extorts it from others. This guy probably won't make less this time. These funds should be from the wealthy families in Ningguo County, which means they are still the people's money."

  Zhao Kai was shocked at first, then furious: "I'm going to find him, this corrupt official."

  "Never mind, these are not what we can control, let's focus on training."

  Zhao Kai said with difficulty: "Training is useless, you see that among the more than 1,200 people, less than half have weapons, and most of them don't even have bullets. Even if the devils attack us now, we can't do anything about it. It seems that Wu Guoxiong can only solve the problem of food and clothing, but not guns and cannons."

  Dai Qin said: "It's still the training method of these days, let them eat well and drink well, but physical strength must be trained. It's too embarrassing to lose face, can't even catch up with the little devil's short legs. Bayonet fighting and running cannot stop, this is called devil training."

  Zhao Kai trembled with fear, finally understanding what devil training was. It wasn't even human training. Who knows where this young master learned it from or if he came up with it himself. Those disobedient soldiers were disciplined by Zhai Qin's law enforcement team a few times and became obedient afterwards.

  Standing on the playground, looking at the neatly lined up soldiers wearing new military uniforms, Zhai Qin's eyes were full of smiles: "Devils, your mother will wait until I get my hands on weapons, and then you'll be in for a show."

  Dí Qín was indulging in his thoughts when Dí Guì rushed over: "Young Master, hurry back, a Lieutenant General has arrived at the headquarters. He wants to see you."

  Dai Qin was taken aback, he estimated that troops would arrive soon, but didn't expect it to be so quick. Although this person made him go see him which made Dai Qin very unhappy, after all the other man was a Major General and he was just a small company commander. He returned with Dai Gui to his own company barracks, also known as Guan Di Temple.

  Dí Qín had been commanding the troops for over half a month, and after retreating from Yáng Jiā Pù, he had been acting as company commander for more than 20 days. Especially in these days, the number of troops was constantly increasing, which finally gave him a sense of being a soldier. Seeing someone standing in the middle of the room, with their back to the door, looking at the map on the wall, said: "Report."

  Upon hearing the report from behind, this person turned around. Zhai Qin saw that it was a man in his forties, wearing the rank of Major General, with glasses and a somewhat literary air. Zhai Qin stood at attention and saluted, saying: "Commander of the 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Independent Regiment, 160th Division, Zhai Qin reporting for duty."

  "This young general returned a slight salute and said: 'I am Xu Supu, Chief of Staff of the vanguard command post of the Third War Zone. Report your situation to me.'"

  Diqin, this traverser is not one of those traversal gods. He almost knows nothing. The third war zone he does know, only knows that the commander-in-chief of the third war zone is Gu Zhutong, but who the front commander-in-chief is, he also doesn't know.

  In Ningguo, he is not a child without a mother, but a bandit who occupies the mountain as king. Here he is the boss, completely different from the regular army, in short, it's a black household registration. No one gives him battle reports, and he doesn't know anything. His expanded reconnaissance team only knows about the devils in Langxi and Hangzhou, but has no idea about the National Army elsewhere.

  "What situation?" he replied dazedly upon hearing Director Xu's words.

  Xu Supo came to the front line for inspection, and the commander formulated a combat plan of frontal defense and rear attack. As the chief of staff, he had to come here to inspect the situation of the troops. However, after arriving, he met Zhang Tongye, the commander of the 12th Temporary Brigade of the 10th Army Group, who had just been transferred to the Ningguo front line. He heard that there was another unit in Ningguo, but the number was unclear, only a company number, but according to the situation, this was a large company with more than 1,000 people.

  Xu Supu was startled by the situation, over a thousand people in one regiment? I've never heard of it. Where did their supplies come from? Not reporting to the war zone command center, not within the National Army's organizational structure, are they Communist troops? It doesn't seem like it. Because all Communist troops were reorganized into the New Fourth Army, even if they were guerrilla forces, the War Zone Frontline General Command should know about them. If they were Communist troops, they would have asked the war zone for money, grain, and ammunition long ago, how could there be no news?

  Xu Supu understood Zhang Tongye's meaning, if it was an unknown unit, of course, they wanted to incorporate him. Xu Supu hinted that Zhang Tongye should not act rashly and wait until things were clear. Zhang Tongye also did not dare to act rashly, a unit with thousands of people, yet without any designation or source of supplies, must have had some backing, so after receiving the report, he didn't dare to act rashly. It wasn't until Xu Chief of Staff came for inspection that he brought it up. If Xue Commander agreed, then there would be nothing to fear.

  Xu Supo led the guard company to Guandi Temple, this strange third company's garrison, he was a bit adventurous and didn't know what unit it was. However, when entering the company command post, Xu Supo was stunned by the scene here, there were no sentries at the company headquarters, and only one soldier in the command post. Looking at the large enemy situation map on the wall, this is not a company headquarters, it's almost like a division headquarters, except for the lack of radio telephones.

  Just as Xu Supu couldn't understand the map, a report came in. Looking at this young company commander, Xu Supu naturally wanted to clarify the situation first, so he asked Zhai Qin to report on the situation here. He said it directly because Zhai Qin reported the unit number.

  As the former chief of staff, the 160th Division was the troops of Ye Zhao's 66th Army who retreated from Nanjing. Ye Zhao concurrently served as the division commander, but he went missing during the breakout from Nanjing and is now commanded by Hua Zhenzhong. They have already departed for Jiangxi, so how did this regiment end up here?

  This is all so strange, let Zhao Qin report. But Zhao Qin's questions are even stranger. What to say? Xu Supu was slightly stunned, somewhat annoyed and said: "You are the 66th Army troops, the army headquarters has gone to Jiangxi, how can your company be here? How can a company have over a thousand people? Why didn't you report to the war zone command? Where did your supplies come from? What are you doing staying in Ningguo?"