Chapter 26: Raiding Yuan Datou's House
Yang Lin said disapprovingly: "Captain Ding, these things belong to my independent brigade. I don't feel bad about them, so why should you?
Once it's built, you don't have to pay for it."
What a waste!
Ding Wei was speechless for a moment.
He really wanted to say, "We should just make do with it, and then give the saved ammunition to my new regiment."
But when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.
He is a principled person, unlike Li Yunlong who has no bottom line.
Yang Lin is willing to lend these weapons and equipment to the New 1st Regiment free of charge, which is already very kind. How can he have the nerve to ask for more?
Yang Lin added: "Also, compared to ammunition, I value the lives of my brothers more!"
"Ammunition is dead. Once consumed, it can be re-produced or re-captured."
"But the brothers are all flesh and blood. If they sacrifice, they really sacrifice!"
The soldiers from the surrounding independent battalions couldn't help but feel moved when they heard this.
It turned out that his life was so important in the heart of Captain Yang Lin.
At this moment, they all made up their minds to follow Yang Lin to the death, no matter if it meant climbing mountains of swords or diving into seas of fire.
Ding Wei also had great respect for Yang Lin.
The more you love your soldiers like your own sons and value their lives, the more they will feel a sense of belonging and thus burst out with greater combat effectiveness on the battlefield.
It is conceivable that it won’t be long before the independent battalion will develop into an ever-victorious force that will terrify the Japanese.
Of course, Ding Wei also wanted this.
After all, the conditions of the Eighth Route Army were too harsh. Otherwise, why would he be willing to let his soldiers use long-handled swords and broadswords to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese?
Retracting his thoughts, Ding Wei said with emotion: "Brother Yang Lin, being able to be your soldier is definitely the luckiest thing for a soldier."
"In that case, I will order my troops to march out!"
Yang Lin nodded and said, "Captain Ding, you have one hour to set up an ambush. After one hour, we will send a telegram to the Japanese in Qinghe Town asking for help."
"Also, once I finish dealing with things here, I will rush to the Nameless Mountain Area to meet up with you!"
"good!"
Ding Wei responded and immediately began to count the troops.
Yang Lin handed the handover work to Ma Gan, and led Shi Laosan and several brothers under the leadership of Wen Peng to rush to Yuan Datou's home.
The reason why he stayed and did not set out with Ding Wei was to raid Yuan Datou's house.
According to his guess, Yuan Datou must have embezzled a lot of money over the years.
If Ding Wei knew about this, he might also want to get a piece of the pie. After all, one should always be on guard against others.
How does the saying go?
Eating alone feels good for a while, and it’s great to eat alone all the time!
The property purchased by Yuan Datou was not far from the cavalry camp.
A few minutes later, Wen Peng pointed to a courtyard in front and said, "Commander Yang, we've arrived."
Yang Lin waved his hand and said, "Go ahead! Search carefully, don't miss any place where money can be hidden!"
"yes!"
Shi Laosan responded a few times, then rushed forward, kicked the door open, and led the way in.
Following Yang Lin's instructions, they searched very carefully, not leaving out any place where money could be hidden, even the toilet.
Soon, Shi Laosan found several boxes in Yuan Datou's room.
The boxes were heavy and all locked, and it looked like there must be a lot of valuables hidden inside.
Shi Laosan and the soldiers came out holding boxes: "Report to the captain, we found several boxes in Yuan Datou's room."
"This kid is really mean. He actually hid the box in the secret room under the bed. If I hadn't searched carefully, I might not have found it."
Yang Lin nodded approvingly and asked, "What's in the box?"
Shi Lao San replied: "The box is locked. I didn't open it, but it feels heavy in my hand. The things inside must be very valuable."
When Yang Lin heard this, he immediately became very interested.
He motioned to Shi Lao San to put the suitcase down, then picked up a stone from the side and smashed it hard on the lock of one of the small suitcases.
“Bang!”
The lock broke and Yang Lin couldn't wait to open the box.
In the light of the flashlight, a flash of golden light almost blinded Yang Lin's eyes.
Yang Lin looked at the metal object emitting golden light in the box with undisguised expression of excitement.
"Fuck, I'm rich!"
There was a pile of gold bars neatly arranged in the box, at least 50 in total, in addition to some valuable jewelry and silver bills.
Then, Yang Lin opened the remaining boxes, which were filled with cash and some antique calligraphy and paintings.
Wen Peng suppressed his excitement, smacked his lips, and asked, " Commander Yang , the benefits you promised me..."
Yang Lin thought about getting rid of Wen Peng, but when he thought about the fact that he still had to rely on Wen Peng to recruit the Wanjia Town Cavalry Battalion, and that this guy was a useful talent, he gave up the idea.
He said, "Don't worry, I am a man of my word. How could I break my promise and get rich?"
"I promised you 30%, not a cent less!"
"but……"
Wen Peng's surprised expression froze, and he asked hurriedly, "But what?"
"I can only give you 10% first, and the remaining 20% will be given to you over 12 months depending on your performance."
Although Wen Peng was somewhat unhappy, he thought that 10% was still a considerable amount of money, and the rest was not going to be given to him.
He was now like meat on the chopping board, and could only allow Yang Lin to slaughter him. He had no choice at all.
So he immediately expressed his loyalty and said, "Please rest assured, Commander Yang, I, Wen Peng, will follow your lead in the future and will never have second thoughts.
If you break this oath, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"
"very good!"
Yang Lin nodded and said, "Remember what you said. You can ask my brothers how I treat my own people.
But if you dare to betray me, Yuan Datou will be your fate!"
After saying that, Yang Lin told Shi Lao San who was standing beside him, "You will keep the money for now.
Remember, you must not let the news leak out and let the people in the new group know.
Otherwise, you will never receive military pay again in your life."
"yes!"
Mr. Shi nodded heavily.
This is a lucrative job. Captain Yang Lin did not take a detailed count. Isn't it easy for him to take some benefits?
After giving the instructions, Yang Lin took Wen Peng back to the cavalry camp.
He looked at the watch on his hand and found that it was still early.
So he turned his brain and began to think about how to persuade the puppet troops on the parade ground to surrender.
At least give them some psychological preparation. There's nothing wrong with just standing here.
The reason why these puppet troops surrendered may be that their superiors' leadership left them with no choice.
But most of the time they do it just to make a living, otherwise, they would have every chance to turn against the Kuomintang and return to the ranks of the National Army.
Therefore, even if Yang Lin only made big promises, the puppet soldiers would not be willing to submit to the Independent Battalion.
So, they must be shown tangible benefits.
