When the soldiers who had been killed in the Japanese have left the city, the people in Xingtai City have been speculating that these robbers must have done good things. I think they will be afraid that many people will inevitably be harmed by them, because the people living in the city during this period have been bullied by these Japanese. At this time, the people in Xingtai seemed that in addition to not like killing as legendary, these Japanese invaders have also seen the arrogant and domineering personality by the people in the city.

As the war in North China came to an end, the common people had to live more carefully except for lamenting that the army was not reliable these days. They were afraid that they would collide with the more arrogant Japanese devils and cause them to kill themselves. But what they could not imagine was that when the Japanese devils were still excited when they went out in the morning, they were like defeated soldiers when they returned to the city. Anyone could think that this was a defeated Japanese devils.

Uh! Nowadays, there are still teams in Xingtai that can make the Japanese suffer losses?

The people who knew about the situation of the North China militia column began to sigh in their hearts that the troops they had looked down upon before could really beat the Japanese devils to pieces. The people who didn't know the situation of the militia column began to ask who had cleaned up these Japanese devils into such a miserable way.

In short, seeing these Japanese dejected appearances, the people felt so comfortable and relieved. Of course, in order not to attract Japanese hatred, they still kept this pleasure in their hearts in a low-key manner without showing any expression.

The garrison, who was also shocked by the miserable appearance of Iketano's army, soon reported the situation to Colonel Sasaki, the defense officer of Xingtai City. When he heard that Iketano was attacked by unknown armed forces and returned to the city, Sasaki's first reaction was how could it be.

Don’t they know that North China is now completely under the rule and control of their great Japanese empire? In his opinion, this behavior is a provocation to them with extreme arrogance, and they must be given the most severe revenge, otherwise the face of the city defense official would be put there!

But after Ikedano reported to him with a little depressed mood, Sasaki said in a frustration: "As an officer of the Great Japanese Imperial Army, you can't even beat a group of farmers with guns. What's your face in this military uniform?"

I originally thought that Iketano might have been ambushed by regular troops fleeing to the countryside, which led to the casualties of nearly half of the squadron. As a result, after listening to Iketano's report, Sasaki felt that he had heard it awkwardly. At that time, a few farmers with guns could beat their great Japanese warriors so badly.

If it weren't for the fact that Ikedano was considered his confidant, Sasaki would have to let the other party have a caesarean section to apologize. After Ikedano suspended his post to reflect, Sasaki called the county magistrate Gu Bin, who was appointed by them in Xingtai and asked: "County Magistrate Gu, is there a team in the countryside of Xingtai against our great Japanese Imperial Army?"

Gu Bin, who had already received a defeat from the Japanese devils who had left the city, heard that the Japanese troops who were going to the countryside to collect grain were beaten back in a mess, thought for a moment and knew who was the one who had dealt with the Japanese. However, when he was forced to the position of the county magistrate by the Japanese devils, he received a threatening letter from the team that night that night that the team was placed at his bedside.

The meaning of the letter is very simple. He did not object to the county magistrate militia column. As long as he did not do anything that harmed the heavens and harmed the people, everyone would live in peace and peace. If he dared to rely on the Japanese to support the people, then the one sent to his bedside will not be as simple as a letter, and it is very likely that it would be a bayonet or a pistol.

As a prestigious figure in Xingtai, Gu Bin is very aware of the bandits of the militia column. If he offended the other party, he would not be able to save his life. He would be afraid that his family would not be able to lose. For this reason, since he became the county magistrate, he often did not take the initiative to report anything to the ghost. If the Japanese did not look for him, he rarely took the initiative to report to the Japanese.

Now when Sasaki asked about his anti-Japanese armed forces in the countryside, Gu Bin said sincerely: "Colonel, Xingtai has had many bandits since ancient times. Before the arrival of the army, Xingtai City was robbed by bandits. You know about this matter. As far as I know, these bandit armed forces usually only move in the countryside and should not easily oppose the Imperial Army. If I guess well, the ambushing the Imperial Army this time should be the troops that escaped from the east. As for the others, I don't know much."

The troops from the east naturally refer to the Northeast Army troops that were defeated by the Japanese army. Sasaki, who had fought with the Northeast Army, knew very well that there were still a group of people in the Northeast Army who were unwilling to accept the reality that the Northeast was occupied by them and specialized in the actions of resisting them. If there really was such an anti-Japanese team in the countryside of Xingtai, then when you leave the city in the future, you would really have to send more teams.

But the key is to draw large troops out of the city. Once Xingtai is attacked, the strategic location of Xingtai will be occupied. This responsibility may not be what he can bear. For this reason, Sasaki, who was unable to mobilize the army to encircle and suppress the enemy for a moment, pondered for a moment and ordered: "Mr. Gu has made contributions to managing Xingtai for our Imperial Army since he took office. However, our Japanese Imperial Army has recently been fighting on the front line, which has caused some tension in food transportation. In order to support the front line operations, I hope that County Magistrate Gu can raise some food for the Imperial Army in the future. At that time, I will definitely ask for merit from the Front Army Headquarters."

Since they cannot receive food, they can only be the local Gu Bin, a local, can engage in the task of collecting food. In this way, there will be no such thing as causing a large number of casualties among their own people, and they can collect the food and grass needed by their own army. Why not do it!

But before he could admire his brilliant plan, Gu Bin said bitterly: "Colonel, it is logical that it is my duty to raise food and grass for your army. But the Colonel did not know that the people in the countryside of Xingtai have always been strong and did not sell the government's levy at all. Even when the National Army was stationed here in the past, the officials or soldiers who went to the countryside to collect grain would either not come back if they went out, or they were picked up by the farmers in the countryside and drove out.

In short, in the past two years, we have no way to collect taxes and grain from the countryside. Even the grain sold by several grain stores in the county has been purchased from other places for sale in the past two years. Therefore, I am afraid that the villain will not be able to complete the task of raising food and grass. Please forgive me, Your Excellency."

Even the former National Government could not collect grain in the countryside?

This is really a strange thing. Sasaki, who was surprised, did not seem to be lying. Considering that this person was the county magistrate selected by the Japanese army, if he forced the other party to be too serious, it would be very unfavorable for them to manage Xingtai.

Sasaki, who had no choice but to let Gu Bin collect food as much as possible. If he really couldn't receive it, he would have to send a large army into the village to clear out the people who dared to resist their rule, otherwise he would not even be able to replenish food on the spot. When it was passed on to the front army, he would not let the generals laugh at him to death.

Just through Iketano's experience of going to the countryside this time, Sasaki knew that the countryside of Xingtai should not be simple. If the situation is not investigated clearly, he would send troops in a hurry, and there would be no way to solve the problem at once. Therefore, if you want to change the status quo, you must investigate the situation clearly before deciding on the next action plan.

Thinking of this, Sasaki specially invited the person in charge of Xingtai's intelligence work to come over and asked the other party to send intelligence officers to the countryside to inquire about intelligence. At the same time, he did not forget to send all the locals who had already defected to them, commonly known as "spy agents". In his opinion, in this two-pronged approach, what secrets exist in the countryside should be found out soon.

But what disappointed him was that a few days later, the person in charge of the intelligence work told him with frustration that the Japanese intelligence personnel sent to the countryside had not returned since they were sent out. This situation that had never happened when inquiring about the situation in other places in the past made him realize that something might have happened to the intelligence personnel he sent.

Just when Sasaki felt that things were getting worse and worse, a spy sent by him to the countryside to inquire about intelligence returned to the county town with a tired face. After listening to the other party's report, Sasaki felt that there were many strange things these days, when would the bandits take the tax collection and grain collection be replaced by the government? It turns out that these bandits are quite brave. If they don't teach them a little bloody lesson, I'm afraid that he and the brigade's nearly 10,000 soldiers will not be able to stand here in the future.

According to the confession of the spy who made an exception and rewarded five oceans, the other party happened to have a poor relative in the countryside. After receiving the task assigned by Sasaki, he visited his relatives in the name of visiting relatives. After inquiring from multiple sources, he finally found out something that was to occupy a bandit organized by deserters near Jiulong Mountain, not far from Xingtai City.

Relying on the terrain of Jiulong Mountain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, they put all the villages outside the county under their own management. The grain grown by the people is robbed by them every time the harvest season, and warned the people that if they dare to sell the grain to outsiders, they will definitely kill all their families after they hear the news.

But why the people were allowed to accept their control is because the other party promised to collect grain while protecting their safety. In recent years, most of the deserters who fled to the countryside were also conquered by these bandits. The people also saw that these bandits did have some strength before they became confrontational to the government and even their Japanese army. In addition to paying food to the bandits, the rest of the levies ignored them, which was also the promise given to the bandits by the bandits.

Because of this, the officials and soldiers sent to collect grain from the government in the past two years were also driven out by them. In addition, most of the bandits were locals, and they were well-informed in understanding the local road conditions and terrain. They also did it last time that the Japanese squadron was ambushed. It was because the bandits believed that the Japanese army wanted to seize their territory.

After a long time, it turned out that it was a gang of bandits. Sasaki, who had joined the Northeast in his early years, knew very well that compared with many soldiers in the regular army, the bandits on the ground in China were extremely strong. For this reason, when he heard that the number of people on the other side might have reached thousands, his first reaction was to see if this bandit could be incorporated. In this way, as long as he spent a little money and number, he could completely control the place without a single shot and bullet.

Of course, if the other party really doesn't know how to politely, it's time to send heavy troops to encircle and suppress them. After all, in Sasaki's view, fighting with the nearly 10,000 Japanese Imperial Army with the Thousand Bands is undoubtedly an act of an egg hitting a stone.
Chapter completed!