r18novel Chapter 114 Xinze Armory
Chapter 114 Xinze Armory
"We've won! 200 silver dollars each!" Xu Li's face lit up with a smile as he reached out and took the whole carton of narrow-pack Yujing cigarettes that Yan Shuo tossed to him.
These cigarettes cost five silver dollars a pack on the black market, but the captain gave them to him without hesitation, a gesture that warmed his heart.
He deftly opened the cigarette pack, handed one to Yan Shuo, and lit one for himself, his face beaming with joy amidst the swirling smoke.
"Come with me." Yan Shuo stood up and gestured for Xu Li to follow.
The two went downstairs to the street. Yan Shuo opened the car door, and the driver, Ma Hongxi, immediately started the car and turned around to respectfully ask, "Captain, where are we going?"
Xinze Town.
Ma Hongxi was an elite trainee who graduated from the training program six months ago. Due to his outstanding performance, he was transferred by Yan Shuo to be his driver.
This young man is quick-witted and perceptive. His middle school education allowed him to teach himself Japanese. Although his speech is a little hesitant, it is enough for simple conversations. He is proficient in tactics, hand-to-hand combat, and firearms, and is a promising young man that Yan Shuo values highly.
Xinze Town hides Yan Shuo's secret gun and ammunition factories. He has set up several such hidden factories in different locations, and the warehouses are not connected to each other.
None of the factories are connected to external circuits; they rely entirely on a multi-layered power supply consisting of solar panels, batteries, and generators. The underground factory area is vast, while the above-ground area is disguised as an ordinary farm or household.
Although Japanese agents and Wang Jingwei's puppet regime occasionally patrolled the area, they never found any flaws, since on the surface it was just an ordinary village.
As for the boilers used to refine steel and copper, which consume a great deal of energy, Yan Shuo had Xiao Zhi process the raw materials and minerals on his behalf, while the factory only needed to be responsible for machining and assembling finished ammunition.
The generated slag, waste, and wastewater are also transported by Xiaozhi to the deep sea for treatment. Of course, such high-tech services come at a price.
To further confuse the situation, Yan Shuo also had a doll stand-in buy dozens of houses in the town.
The courtyard was bustling with people all day long, but they were all low-class dolls in disguise: the girls were deliberately made to look ugly, and the boys were made to look sleazy, all to make the Japanese soldiers feel disgusted.
In case of difficulties encountered by the Japanese army, these dolls would do absurd things to buy time. Although they had no complicated functions, they could cleverly avoid in-depth investigation and avoid being exposed.
In Xinze Town today, apart from three landlords who were unwilling to sell their ancestral homes, all the other small households have been bought by Yan Shuo at double the price.
The villagers took the money and moved elsewhere, where most were able to buy larger houses, and they were all willing to do so.
The reason this place became a smuggling hub was because there were very few checkpoints outside the city, and even the inspections along the way to the Kuomintang-controlled areas and Communist-controlled areas were quite lenient.
Yan Shuo chose Xu Li because he valued Xu Li's competence and planned to have him oversee weapons smuggling in the Nationalist-controlled areas in the future.
The reason for bringing him here is to hand over core matters. The smuggling team will use the village's low-level dolls. Although these dolls cannot do complicated tasks, they are exceptionally tough when it comes to rough work. As long as their heads are not smashed, they are not easily damaged. They can maintain their combat effectiveness by sunbathing for two hours every day.
Even during prolonged periods of rain, it can operate in a low-energy mode. Although its strength is only comparable to that of a woman in her twenties, it is sufficient to handle basic tasks such as carrying and guarding.
The car stopped outside a grand courtyard. Two rows of large, clean tile-roofed houses stood neatly, exuding the grandeur of a wealthy family.
Ma Hongxi quickly got out of the car, went around to the back seat to open the car door for Yan Shuo, and even raised his hand to protect the car's hood, behaving with the courtesy of a professional waiter.
"Where did you learn all this formality?" Yan Shuo asked with a smile. "We're on a mission, so be more discreet."
Ma Hongxi chuckled sheepishly, immediately stood up straight, and stopped making gestures, looking somewhat reserved.
"Let's go in." Yan Shuo took the lead and Xu Li followed closely behind, closing the car door behind him.
Upon entering the courtyard, Xu Li looked around and saw that the courtyard was well-maintained, but the people inside moved stiffly, all looking like servants, yet no one came forward to greet them. He couldn't help but wonder, "Captain, are we here on business, or to meet someone?"
Yan Shuo told Ma Hongxi to rest in the gatehouse, where a young servant brought out food and tea. He then led Xu Li into the main hall, and after the two sat down on the sofa, he slowly began to speak: "Our team is responsible for procuring weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies for the Party and the State. You're aware of this, right?"
"Understood!" Xu Li's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward excitedly. "There's a rumor at headquarters that the captain is about to reach the rank of general, and might even be on par with the bureau chief in the future!"
Their Red Bean team of over two hundred people are all Yan Shuo's protégés. As long as Yan Shuo gets promoted, they, his subordinates, will naturally benefit and have a bright future.
Yan Shuo nodded, took a puff of his cigarette, and then picked up a small fruit snack made by a doll and put it in his mouth. Surprisingly, it tasted quite good.
"I've planted people at headquarters. Besides helping us upgrade the codebook every two weeks, their main job is to gather intelligence. We always manage to get our hands on scarce resources, which inevitably attracts the attention of those above us. They either want a piece of the pie or they want to make things difficult for us. Only by finding out their movements in advance can we know whose knife is at our throat."
"Hehe, Commander, you are brilliant!" Xu Li flattered at the right time, his tone full of admiration.
Yan Shuo's face darkened, and his tone became serious: "There are several factories in this village, producing firearms, ammunition, and shells. You don't need to worry about the source of the raw materials. You only need to be responsible for coordinating security and details for each shipment to the designated location. There will be assassins to meet the clients during the transactions. You will only provide guidance from behind and must not show yourself. I want you alive. In case of any mishaps during the transactions, your first priority is self-preservation, and at the same time, find the traitor and eliminate them on the spot. We must not leave any future troubles."
Xu Li, his eyes red-rimmed, rose to his feet and saluted, his voice firm and resolute: "Yes, sir! Mission accomplished! Commander, are our workers safe here? Could there be spies?"
He knew that with a large workforce, the risk of spies was unavoidable in the factory.
"The workers are all orphans that I have personally vetted," Yan Shuo explained. "I have fabricated family identities for them, making them appear to be related by blood, but in reality, they are not related at all. However, each of them has a deep-seated hatred for the Japanese, so their loyalty is absolutely reliable. You don't need to worry about the workers' food, lodging, wages, and other logistical matters. You only need to deal with the interference from the three landlords."
Xu Li's eyes widened in shock. Yan Shuo couldn't help but laugh at the sight: "That's right. Apart from those three landlords, everyone and every house in the village is under our control. If they get too much of a nuisance, you can have someone disguise themselves as Japanese agents and come to inspect their homes. Either kill a few to establish our authority, or harass them repeatedly until they move out on their own."
"Are they colluding with Japanese special agents?"
"It's more than just collusion." Yan Shuo's tone was icy. "The Wang family's daughter is a communications officer in the Wang puppet regime's secret service, and one of her servants is a squad leader in the 76th Action Team; the Zhang family's son is the 76th's treasurer, helping to smuggle tobacco and profit from confiscating supplies; the Xu family's son is a battalion commander in the puppet army, specifically the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of the 6th Brigade of the puppet army, stationed 25 miles away. He's always arrogant and domineering when he returns to his hometown. Find an opportunity to take men and eliminate them, but remember not to do it in the village, lest it implicate the factory and affect shipments."
"Yes!" Xu Li replied enthusiastically, then pressed on, "What about the factory's security?"