Chapter 5: The Season of Harvest (Part 1)
Wu Shouren respectfully kept his promise and sent the batch of military supplies purchased from a German firm in Shanghai to Jiangcun, where the 174th Brigade was temporarily stationed. At that time, Cheng Jiaji was with several battalion commanders who were close friends, drinking Chinese liquor in a four-sided city amidst a fierce battle. It was already one o'clock in the middle of the night, and they would soon disperse, after all, even in a relaxed military environment, there are some rules to follow. Even if Cheng Jiaji's identity was special, he couldn't not attend drills every day. Moreover, if he wanted to achieve something in the military, being too casual on a daily basis would also be detrimental to his image.
"Director Wu has arrived at this time, I suppose those goods are all ready." At this moment, there were only three people in the house besides Wen Congyuan and Gao Shiyin, who had just been convinced by Cheng Jiaqi after a long conversation. The other two were Yu Juncai, deputy commander of the 347th Regiment, and commander of the 1st Battalion. These three people, including Wen Congyuan, were naturally iron-clad loyalists. Gao Shiyin, who had just been promoted to deputy chief of staff of the 348th Regiment due to Cheng Jiaqi's recommendation, was also grateful for this opportunity. Although his current position in the military was not as high as Wen Congyuan's, he felt deeply grateful to Cheng Jiaqi for this chance. With this sense of gratitude, Gao Shiyin was very diligent in his work and listened to Cheng Jiaqi's instructions carefully. As for Yu Juncai, although he had only recently approached Cheng Jiaqi, the latter believed that he would be loyal at least for the time being. After all, the two men had already guessed most of what was going on without needing to say anything. The only person who made Cheng Jiaqi feel a bit uneasy was Yu Juncai. Although they had gotten along well over the past few days, Yu Juncai was not yet one of his trusted confidants. If this matter were to be leaked out, it would be troublesome. Although Xia Jun, the commander-in-chief, was his brother-in-law and wouldn't suspect him of having ulterior motives, it was still better to keep things confidential. Cheng Jiaqi hesitated for a moment before deciding to be open and honest with Yu Juncai. After all, this batch of military supplies couldn't be hidden from those who were determined to find out, and it would also be good to drag Yu Juncai into the water at the same time.
"Shall we go take a look with Deputy Commander and the others?" Cheng Jiaji said, his eyes gleaming with a meaningful light as he gazed at this military idol who was several months younger than himself.
Unlike Wen Congyuan's halfway monk and Gao Shiying's bumpy life, Yu Juncai was a orthodox military man. He was originally the captain of the Central Military Officer Training Corps. After the training corps was defeated in the Battle of Nanjing, he led dozens of soldiers to break through the siege and arrived at the Zhejiang South War Zone, where they were absorbed into the Independent Seventh Regiment as deputy regiment commander. This expansion made him the deputy commander of the Temporary 347th Regiment and the commander of the First Battalion. The Temporary 347th Regiment was the main force of the entire brigade, and the First Battalion had the most veterans and the most complete organizational structure, making it a coveted object for both Cheng Jiaji and Chang Jing to win over. For several days, Yu Juncai was in high spirits, with both commanders frequently showing him favor. On the surface, although he seemed to be treating everyone equally, he would often chat with Chang Jing in the morning and then drink and make merry with Cheng Jiaji at night, managing to please both sides without offending either one.
Yu Juncai was an orphan from a young age. At 16, he joined the army in Henan because he couldn't make a living. He spent two years in Hu Zongnan's First Division and fought bravely during the Central Plains War, becoming a small squad leader. Later, he was selected to join the Central Instruction Corps from the First Division. Since childhood, Yu had experienced the bitterness and sweetness of life, making him somewhat introverted and cold by nature. He wasn't enthusiastic about money or women, but he had an extraordinary passion for fame and career advancement. He initially joined the army as a teenager because he heard storytellers say that heroes emerge in chaotic times, hoping to achieve success and fame through military service. Between the two deputy commanders, Yu appreciated Chang Jing more, as they both came from the central system, and Chang's regular military demeanor seemed more familiar to him than Cheng Jiaji's rough style. However, he understood that in the temporary 16th Army, while Chang was well-regarded by everyone, his position in Xia Wemin's heart couldn't compare to that of Cheng Jiaji, who was a close relative. If Yu followed this commander, his own career would be bright in the temporary 16th Army, but Cheng didn't seem like a talented leader. Therefore, Yu hesitated between Chang and Cheng, unable to make up his mind.
But now Yu Juncai knew he had to make a decision. He knew that Wu Zhen's Chamber of Commerce president came to visit so late, and also sent some goods, but who would believe that President Wu would send some salted fish and pork at this time? This Vice-Seat Cheng just wanted to pull himself in, it seemed that he wouldn't give himself a chance to stay out of the matter. Looking at Wen Gao's gaze, although not as fierce as before, was still very different from usual. He knew that now he had to either mix with these people or confront this Vice-Seat Cheng on the spot, and the consequences were not something he could bear. Moreover, Cheng Youji, although a spoiled rich kid, was actually quite straightforward and generous after several months of getting along. Although his Jianghu mannerisms were a bit heavy-handed, he was indeed good to his subordinates. Following this royal relative in the temporary 16th Army at this time wasn't a bad choice either.
Yu Junxing had already made up his mind and didn't hesitate. He opened his mouth and said, "Then let's go with the deputy to take a look."
Yu Juncai's words had just come out, and the atmosphere in the house immediately relaxed. A group of people laughed and followed Wu Shouren to walk out of the house, seemingly intimate and inseparable.
Even if Yu Juncai had already thought that what he was about to see wouldn't be anything ordinary, but even as a member of the special forces, when he saw these ordinary objects in Cheng Jiaqi's mouth, his face still froze for a moment.
A pile of 98K rifles, G34 submachine guns and some other German-made firearms appeared before him, and Yu Juncai seemed to have returned to his days in the Central Guidance Troops.
Two hundred and fifty German-made rifles, eighty submachine guns, twenty-five light machine guns, eight heavy machine guns, and two million rounds of ammunition. When Juncai learned about these numbers from Wuguren's mouth, he couldn't help but take a cold breath. These weapons were enough to arm a regular German-equipped regiment, it seemed that Xiaweimin was willing to invest in his own son-in-law. His confidence in Chengjiaji increased greatly.
He didn't know that Cheng Jiaji had already sold almost half of the white flour collected from his brother-in-law's warehouse, and before leaving the military supply depot, he had thoroughly scraped all the places that could be scraped, but it was still not enough. In order to make up for this sum of money, he went to great lengths to get Vice Commander Bi Zhichong, who was in charge of military supplies, to approve a auction activity, and sold a large number of idle materials from the 16th Army's military supply depot to merchants such as Wu Shouren, which finally made up for this sum of money.
Because of Cheng Jiaji's malicious clearance this time, for a long period, the warehouse of the 16th Army Military Supply Department was said to be able to starve a mouse to death. The colleagues in the military supply department hated Cheng Jiaji to death, but they had no way to deal with this national uncle, and every time they supplied his troops, they only gave more, never daring to give less. It's worth knowing that Cheng Jiaji was an insider, and he was very clear about these things, if he were to report it, everyone might not even be able to keep their rice bowls, no one dared to provoke him.
Only these people who didn't dare to scold Cheng Jiaji's mother, Wen Songyuan and Gao Shiying, these two loyal dogs of Cheng Jiaji, became the scapegoats. The military officers in the logistics department who wanted to have an immoral relationship with their direct female relatives are too numerous to count.
