Resistance against Japan: Starting with the local militia

Chapter 65 Deliberate Exposure

Li Qukou had made a special trip to the county town beforehand, thoroughly investigating all the Japanese soldiers and traitors in the town.

Li Qukou recognized Jia Chusheng's sleazy appearance at a glance.

"Director, what should we do?" Sun Qiang asked.

"Don't alert them yet. Wang Erdan, lead us to your third aunt's house first. By the way, just tell her we're your work partners and we'll stay the night," Li Qukou instructed Wang Erdan.

"Okay, instructor, no problem." Wang Erdan led Li Qukou and the other man toward his aunt's house.

"Third Aunt, Third Aunt, it's me, Erdan," Wang Erdan called out from the doorway.

"Ah, Erdan, come in quickly. Who are these two?" Auntie San asked as she opened the door and saw Wang Erdan followed by two unfamiliar people.

"Third Aunt, this is my work partner. He'll stay at your house tonight."

"Come in quickly, sir, your nephew is here, along with his two companions," Auntie San called into the house.

"Come in quickly, it's so late, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Auntie, quickly make some food." Wang Erdan's third aunt's husband hurriedly invited Wang Erdan and his two companions to sit in the house.

Although ordinary families don't have much to eat and dinner is prepared very simply, Li Qukou still eats very happily and chats with Wang Erdan's third aunt and her husband until late.

At that moment, Li Qukou truly felt the warmth of the simple, honest people and suddenly realized the significance of their efforts to protect their country and fight against the devils.

It's about protecting these simple and kind people who live on this land.

The next morning, Li Qukou left early. Before leaving, fearing that the honest couple would refuse to accept the money, he secretly left a silver dollar on the table.

On the way back, Li Qukou asked Wang Erdan, "Erdan, you've done a great job this time. What kind of reward do you want me to give you?"

"Instructor, you taught us. Everything we did was to fight the Japanese devils. How could we ask for a reward?" Wang Erdan scratched his head and said with a simple smile.

“That won’t do. Those who have made contributions should be rewarded. Tell me, what do you want?” Li Qukou asked again.

"Instructor, I want to join you and fight the Japanese devils together," Wang Erdan said, revealing his thoughts.

"Alright, welcome to the militia intelligence department. From now on, you'll be a member of the intelligence department." Li Qukou had already considered recruiting him into the intelligence department, and since Wang Erdan had taken the initiative to suggest it, he went along with it.

“I heard you say in class before that you wanted a good gun to fight the Japanese. I’m giving you this Mauser pistol. I hope you will make new contributions in the future.” Li Qukou took out the Mauser pistol hidden at his waist and handed it to Wang Erdan.

"Really? Instructor!" Wang Erdan exclaimed with delight.

"Keep it safe." Li Qukou shoved the gun into Wang Erdan's hand.

"Let's go, let's hurry back to Wolong Mountain." After saying that, Li Qukou hurriedly returned to Wolong Mountain.

"Commander, I have something important to report." As soon as Li Qukou returned to Wolong Mountain, he rushed to Tang Weiguo's office.

"You've arrived, Exorcist!" Tang Weiguo greeted him.

“Weiguo, the county detective team is conducting reconnaissance in the area near Tangjia Town. I suspect we’ve been exposed,” Li Qukou said.

"Yeah, if I had known this day would come, we wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret with so many of us. Besides, the Japanese aren't stupid. Last time we attacked their stronghold with such a big commotion, it would be a miracle if they didn't investigate."

"However, the Japanese have only just discovered one of our clues. It seems that the Japanese intelligence officer in this county named Sakai Taiji is not very capable."

"Commander, what should we do?" Li Qukou asked.

“We’re going to attack the Japanese military train next Wednesday, which is four days from now. Why don’t we pull a fast one and use a feint to our advantage while secretly advancing our own,” Tang Weiguo said.

"Oh, Commander, you mean we deliberately alert them, let them know we're here, draw their attention here, and then we secretly attack their military train?" Li Qukou's eyes lit up after hearing this.

"Yes, it's a good opportunity for the reinforcements to show their skills while our main force sneaks out and catches the Japanese off guard."

"Commander, this is a good plan," Li Qukou praised.

"Expel the bandits. Tomorrow, you will lead the replenishment regiment back to Tangjia Town quietly and operate around the town. Be careful to stay hidden. Make sure that the traitors in the county's detective team manage to find you. You're good at intelligence work, so this task is entrusted to you," Tang Weiguo said.

"Wei Guo, don't worry. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

"Correspondent, inform Zhao Zhu that tomorrow the supplementary regiment should follow Director Li's instructions."

"It's the regimental commander."

"Go and prepare to expel the enemy. Remember to keep a close watch on the movements of the Japanese in the county town."

"Yes, Captain."

Before dawn the next day, Li Qukou led the soldiers of the replenishment battalion back to Tangjia Town, where they pretended to conduct covert training.

Of course, this scene was inadvertently discovered by Jia Chusheng and his group who had come to Tangjia Town.

"Captain, we've finally caught them red-handed! Captain, I saw them, these guys are definitely elite. Look at their marching, it's as neat as the Imperial Army's. Those bastards from our county's puppet army aren't even worthy of carrying their shoes."

"No need for you to tell me, I've got eyes! Brothers, we've done a great job!" Jia Chusheng said smugly.

"Sixth Brother, you take your men and stay here to guard this place. I'll go back and report to Lord Sakai," Jia Chusheng ordered.

"Captain, why don't you let me go back and report?" Lao Liu asked.

"You bastard, you're the captain, I'm the captain!" Jia Chusheng slapped Lao Liu hard across the face.

"You're the captain," Lao Liu said, covering his face with a wronged expression.

"You better stay here and guard this place properly. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you accountable." After saying that, Jia Chusheng sneaked away.

"Damn it, a higher rank can crush you." Old Six cursed after Jia Chusheng left.

"You guys, keep a close watch on me. I'm going to rest over there." With that, Lao Liu leisurely set off to rest in one spot.

Unbeknownst to them, their every action was being watched closely by the militia's intelligence personnel.

"Reporting to the section chief, Jia Chusheng has headed towards the county town," Sun Qiang reported.

"Alright, proceed according to plan," Li Qukou ordered.

Upon returning to the county town, Jia Chusheng immediately went to Sakai Taiji's office.

"Sir Sakai, good news! Tangjia Town is indeed hiding an elite force, probably with two regiments," Jia Chusheng reported.

"Really? That's great, Jia-san! You've done a fantastic job!" Upon hearing the news, Sakai Taiji jumped up excitedly.

Thinking about how he had been repeatedly humiliated by that bastard Fujino these past few days, he immediately felt a sense of triumph upon receiving this news.

"Jia Sang, you must keep a close eye on this unit."

"Yes, Mr. Sakai."