Chapter Nineteen: The Glorious Mission

  Tianjin South Suburbs, 51st Army Logistics Department Warehouse No. 3, Ouyang Yun sat on a canvas sheet, assembling a Vickers heavy machine gun, with Vickers parts scattered all around him.

  Chen Shaohua led a group of skilled mechanics from the 51st Army, who were all gathered around the oilcloth, looking very interested.

  A master can tell at a glance whether it's good or not - these skilled repairmen have been in contact with firearms for many years, and their craftsmanship is naturally not bad. Their eyes on their peers are also high. They were caught by Chen Shaohua to learn from the expert, and saw that the so-called expert was just a young man who had not yet dried his milk, and they couldn't help but feel that Officer Chen was making a big deal out of nothing. However, when they saw Ouyang Yun repair several Mauser guns with ease, applying oil where needed, straightening where needed, grinding where needed, and replacing where needed, without any hesitation, as if eating and dressing, they were convinced.

  There were 23 damaged machine guns in total, which were divided into three groups according to Ouyang Yun's suggestion. The most common problem was intermittent jamming; there were also issues with the water cooling system and the gear box. Ouyang Yun selected one from each group and demonstrated the repair process on the spot, fixing each one by one. He had prepared for this using his computer knowledge the day before, so the repairs went relatively smoothly.

  After spending more than an hour, the three machine guns were all repaired. He wanted to fire a burst of bullets and personally test them. With a series of "tutu" sounds, he was satisfied and put down his hands, beginning to answer the questions of the skilled repairmen.

  It took more than an hour and was finished just before noon.

  After finishing his work, Ouyang Yun was invited into Chen Shaohua's office for a cup of tea.

  Ma Keqin's repair issue has always been Chen Shaohua's heart disease. Now that the heart disease is gone, he is in a good mood and proactively brought up the "second-hand goods" issue: "Ouyang, are you really going to do second-hand goods business?"

  Ouyang Yun smiled and nodded.

  Chen Shaohua picked up his teacup and took a sip, thinking for a moment before saying: "Doing old goods business is indeed very profitable. However, civilian used goods are not lucrative..."

  Ouyang Yun was so enthusiastic about helping him repair the motorcycle, just to sell him a favor, and make enough money from the old goods. Upon hearing this, he immediately climbed up the pole and pretended to be very helpless, saying: "Yes! But now it's okay, with Uncle Chen's help, I think we should be able to do some promising business. Uncle Chen, don't worry, Ouyang is not someone who doesn't understand things——"

  Chen Shaohua smiled and waved his hand: "Don't say it so harshly, just because you helped me with this today, I will definitely help if I can." He paused for a moment, staring into Ouyang Yun's eyes, saying somewhat abruptly: "Ma Benqian is actually working for the Japanese."

  Ouyang Yun was shocked, Ma Benqian was naturally the boss of the horse, if he was doing business for the Japanese, wouldn't that mean Chen Shaohua was selling arms to the Japanese? But the problem is, the Japanese army's equipment wasn't worse than China's, at least they thought so. So what did they need these arms for? Research or weakening the national army? He looked at Chen Shaohua and suddenly felt like he didn't understand this Nationalist officer at all - his behavior was no different from a traitor. Thinking of the patriotic and kind side he occasionally showed, it suddenly seemed too absurd.

  He flew into a rage and stood up coldly saying: "Officer Chen, you've gone too far with this joke?"

  Chen Shaohua saw him like this, but smiled and said: "Young man, sit down and talk. I love to take advantage of small benefits, but I won't fall to the point of being a traitor." He deliberately revealed Ma Ben's true identity, just to see the young man's reaction - saying it was an old goods business, but what old goods could there be in the army? It must be military supplies. He believed that this young man had already seen through the mystery of the truck yesterday, so he wanted to see what the other party would do with the military supplies. As for Ma Ben's true identity, he only knew a few days ago and was shocked, rushing to Yu Xuezong's place to apologize overnight.

  The matter of reselling old military equipment was known to Yu Xuezhong - the National Army was equipping itself with German gear, and as a quasi-regular unit, the 51st Army was also on the list. Chen Shaohua suggested to him: instead of waiting for the handover, why not sell some old goods to brothers to make some extra money? Yu Xuezhong's mind wasn't much different from his, and he might have thought that selling some damaged guns wouldn't be a big deal, so he agreed. Chen Shaohua then dared to start secretly selling military equipment, but the crime of selling military equipment to the Japanese was too great - who in the 51st Army didn't know that their resistance against Japan was quite resolute? Indeed, when Yu Xuezhong heard about this matter, his eyes widened with anger, and his right hand went to his gun holster. Chen Shaohua saw this and was frightened, hastily explaining: "Commander, it's not reasonable! Our equipment isn't better than the Japanese, and we're selling them some junk. What do you think the Japanese want to do?" Yu Xuezhong thought about this for a moment, then gritted his teeth and made a decision: continue selling, but at a high price. He said in his own words: "Since it's the Japanese who are paying, let's fleece them!" They originally thought that with this, Old Master Ma would be scared off, but unexpectedly, after two days, Old Master Ma received the new quote and didn't even bat an eyelid, as if he was very willing to play the fool. Now, out of nowhere, a buyer of old goods appeared, and his identity was special: a member of the Blue Shirt Society, who had done two earth-shaking things in succession. He couldn't help but weigh this carefully - they were doing something mysterious, and now it seemed that the Japanese had openly suffered losses, but actually gained an excuse to meddle in North China, becoming the beneficiaries instead. Of course, this was not unrelated to the absurd current national policy of the highest authorities. Chen Shaohua thought privately that he suspected this was a Japanese trick, and so Ou Yangyun might be a traitor! Now seeing his reaction being so strong, Chen Shaohua put his mind at ease. He wasn't afraid that Ou Yangyun and others would use the bought military equipment to kill devils or eliminate traitors, but rather feared that they belonged to some sensitive organization - in the current abnormal domestic situation, secretly communicating with "bandits" was even more unbearable for Chiang Kai-shek than being a traitor.

  "Ouyang, I regard you as a younger brother. There are some things that must be made clear to you. After all, China is still under the National Government - do you understand what I mean?"

  Ouyang Yun was really resentful of the traitors, and when he got angry, he forgot all about his great cause and plans. He shook out a steel needle with his right hand, preparing to eliminate the traitors. With a cold smile, he said, "National Government? Bureaucratic government? Uncle Chen, I never thought you were this kind of person. You've really disappointed me!"

  Chen Shaohua fell silent, a pang of sadness rising in his heart. "Young man," he said, "many things are not as they seem on the surface..."

  "How is this? Your weapons were originally used to defend against external enemies and protect the people, but now?"

  "Ah, ah," Chen Shaohua coughed twice, looking very embarrassed: "The Japanese should have better weapons than us, right? Have you thought about this?"

  "But Japanese people aren't fools."

  "We're not fools either, and Commander Yu is even less of a fool. You don't know that the Military Commission is considering replacing our equipment with German-style gear, and our 51st Army is lucky enough to catch this wave..."

  Ouyang Yun's face turned red with anger as he forced a smile: "So you're saying that selling military supplies is actually for the good of the troops?"

  Chen Shaohua was furious, how could he be humiliated again and again by this young man, after all, he was also a lieutenant general! And to make matters worse, it was someone who had eaten human flesh before! "Ouyang Yun, don't go too far, military affairs are not something that a child like you can understand! Hmph, I'll let it slide because of Chu Kuang's sake, but this matter is over! Little Li, send him off."

  Li, a young soldier on duty, had already sensed that the atmosphere in the office was not right and immediately walked in, saying to Ouyang Yun: "Mr. Ouyang, please!"

  Ouyang Yun glared at Chen Shaohua with hatred, thinking that this fatty was despicable beyond words. The steel needle in his hand slipped out of his right hand and then back in, before he coldly snorted and walked away, thinking to himself: One day, I'll kill all you traitors!

  At the same time, in the cafeteria of the 25th Division's recruit training class, Chu Tiange also encountered a situation. He and Ouyang Yun's identities were investigated by Zeng Che, who reported to headquarters and received orders to capture them.

  At lunchtime, Chu Tiange was sitting at a table in the cafeteria with several newly acquainted students, eating and chatting. Zeng Che led six fully armed soldiers into the room, surrounding Chu Tiange and his companions. Zeng Che pulled out an arrest warrant and said to him: "Chu Tiange, you're under arrest."

  "Chu Tian Ge? He's the one who killed 26 Japanese spies in Beiping?"

  "Isn't Chu Tian Ge an anti-Japanese hero? Why arrest him?"

  The students were furious, and the cafeteria was in an uproar. Over a hundred people surrounded Chu Tian Ge.

  Zeng Che said: "The Song of Chu Tian, one person does things and one person is responsible. Let's take a walk with us."

  Chu Tian Ge glanced at everyone and burst out laughing: "What's the big deal? Because I killed a few Japanese spies? Mr. Zeng, wasn't one of the original purposes of your Revival Society to kill devils and eliminate traitors?"

  "Yes, Director Liang has always told us so."

  Some who were dissatisfied with the Revival Society took the opportunity to shout: "This is one time, that is another; it's not bad for the Revival Society to help the little devils do some odd jobs and earn some extra money?"

  "Haha!" Chu Tiange led the laughter.

  Zeng Cheng faced the enthusiastic students, Chu Tian Ge's fearless attitude, and secretly regretted listening to Liang Da Wei's words. He wanted to make a big show of arresting them in broad daylight, just to impress his superiors. Now, he couldn't get out of this situation. He had underestimated the influence of Ou Yang and Chu on the students. These passionate young people were radical and fearless, with eyes that wouldn't tolerate any deceit. They wanted to catch their idols right in front of them, which could lead to another "tragic case". Helpless, he ordered: "Withdraw!" As they left, he glanced at Chu Tian Ge's proud face, thinking that he couldn't arrest him now, but would get him eventually. This whole situation was caused by Liang Da Wei's stupid idea, so let him deal with it - this thankless task wasn't worth his effort. Just as they were leaving the cafeteria, a thunderous applause erupted behind them - the students were celebrating their successful protection of their idol. The Revival Society had always had a bad reputation due to the existence of the Special Affairs Department, but now in the eyes of the students, it was even worse than dog shit. Zeng Cheng thought this as he walked away, wanting to go back and tell them: "We also kill devils and traitors, the 'Special Task Force' is specifically for that."

  No wonder he has such an idea. It's all about killing devils and eliminating traitors, but why is the treatment gap so big?!

  Chu Tian Ge stopped eating, jumped onto the table, made a fist and bowed to everyone, saying loudly: "Thanks to you guys. If it weren't for you, I'd be eating prison food today, and maybe even get my head chopped off by those little devils."

  "Brother Chu, you're too polite. You guys have shed blood and sweat for the country, killing devils, how can we just stand by and watch you being bullied by scoundrels?"

  "Brother Chu, I heard you are from Tsinghua University?"

  "Brother Chu, I heard that you and your people killed over a hundred Japanese martial arts masters with bare fists, is that true?"

  "Brother Chu..."

  ……

  Chu Tian Ge suddenly became the idol of everyone, and for a moment he was not used to it. Facing the barrage of questions from his fans, he seemed drunk. He was arranged by Ouyang Yun to come here, originally waiting for the student training class to disband, and then directly pick up the fruit, thinking of ways to pull them to Beiping. In order to complete this "glorious" task (Ouyang Yun), before coming, he prepared a lot of "reasons", wanting to use the "presenting facts and reasoning" method to persuade the student soldiers. He was very dedicated, after arriving here, immediately starting work, sometimes pulling one person to talk about ideals, sometimes pulling another to chat about family matters, don't know if it had any effect, but he became familiar with everyone. As his identity was exposed, everything he did before seemed unnecessary, when the training class really disbanded at that moment, I believe as long as he shouted loudly, there would definitely be a response.

  It seems that the completion of the "Glory" mission is only a matter of time, but the question is whether Zeng Che will come to make trouble again. If he really gets caught and sent back to Little Japan, wouldn't it be a case of dying before achieving anything?

  Chu Tian Ge wasn't afraid of death. When the country was in danger, if he could only survive by compromising his values, it would be no different from dying. But if he were to be killed by the Japanese because of a fellow countryman's betrayal, he wouldn't be able to die with his eyes closed! "What would big brother do if he were here?" He thought, and suddenly realized that since being with Ouyang Yun, he had been thinking less - which was absolutely not a good thing for someone who was studying.