It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 206 (Twenty-One Chapters) | Scouting
"Pillar, give me the size 10 wrench, and get it over with!"

"Master, a car is coming."

"What happened?"

"Looks like they're here to get their car repaired."

The southern outskirts of Heshi Town are lined with long highways and endless farmland.

Between the adjacent grocery store and small restaurant is a car repair shop, run by the shopkeeper, Master Guo, and two apprentices.

In the afternoon, two customers from out of town came here.

Both of them were quite young, but they exuded a powerful aura, like a boss arriving with a driver.

Looking at the car that drove in, Master Guo couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, is this Hengsheng's new model? It's quite impressive."

The visitors were none other than Shang Ke and Wang Zhang.

Before arriving, the two bought some clothes at a nearby general store, changed out of their regular clothes and into casual clothes.

Shang Ke smiled slightly and said, "The car is beautiful, but it has many problems. Isn't that what brings you business?"

"What went wrong?"

"The fuel consumption is extremely high. A full tank of gas will only last for about 100 kilometers."

At that time, direct injection technology had just been invented and was only experimentally applied to aircraft engines. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s that direct injection technology was applied to automobiles.

So without even thinking, Master Guo immediately lifted the hood and began the inspection.

It's nothing more than a few possibilities: carburetor malfunction, fuel line rupture, or scratches on the fuel tank.

Mr. Guo noticed that the car didn't have license plates, so he asked, "Huh? Did you just buy this car?"

Shang Ke winked at Wang Zhang and calmly replied, "I haven't had time to get the license plate yet. I just bought it from a car dealer. He raved about it, but I didn't expect it to break down so soon after I bought it."

People were making snippets of complaints about the unscrupulousness of car sellers and middlemen.

While the auto repair shop staff were inspecting the car, Shang Ke casually remarked, "On the way here, the fuel gauge almost caused the engine to stall. Luckily, there was a small oil stall by the roadside. And let me tell you, the oil they filled up with was of pretty good quality. The car runs smoothly and powerfully."

Master Guo was carefully inspecting the oil pipeline with a flashlight when he heard this, and casually said, "It's best not to refuel at those oil vendors unless you have to. Who knows where they get their oil from? Maybe it's stolen, or it's low-quality oil that they wholesale from some small refinery in Dongying."

Apprentice Hu Zi chimed in, "They also have good oil, which they say comes from the army and is of very high quality."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhang's eyes shone brightly, as if he had already made a firm decision about a major case.

Shang Ke pretended to take out a cigarette case, handed over a few cigarettes, and asked with feigned surprise, "Oh? You can even get your hands on oil from the military? That's really impressive."

"Hey, thanks, boss. This looks like good cigarettes." Tiger took the cigarettes and continued, "Yeah, they have connections. It's like they're making money off the ground. I bet they sell over a dozen big barrels a day."

Master Guo focused intently on inspecting the vehicle and finally determined that the problem was with the carburetor, which could be simply replaced.

During this time, Shang Ke also gathered enough information.

Reselling military gasoline? It seems there are quite a few corrupt elements at local military bases.

Mr. Guo searched the parts shelf for a long time and helplessly said that he did not have the corresponding carburetor and would probably have to go to the city to buy one, so the car could only be parked here for the time being.

Shang Ke looked around and asked, "Are there any places to rent or sell cars around here?"

Without hesitation, Tiger said, "Yes, there are some on the next street, but they're all old cars."

"As long as it can be opened." "Oh, I'll take you there."

Afterwards, Shang Ke casually bought an old pickup truck at a nearby used car market, paying out of his own pocket for only two or three thousand yuan.

Old as it may be, it can still be driven, and...

After saying goodbye to the people at the auto repair shop, Shang Ke and Wang Zhang took a detour back, quietly circling around the country dirt road to the place where they had previously refueled.

The wooden shed, truck, and oil drums were still in the same place, and the three men had not left; they were refueling a truck.

After the truck drove away, Wang Zhang took the opportunity to drive his pickup truck over, and then got out of the truck with Shang Ke, pulling out his pistol to subdue the three men.

Aren't those the two people who were just refueling?! Why are they suddenly back?!

Faced with the dark muzzle of a gun, the three were completely dumbfounded.

Without further ado, Shang Ke and Wang Zhang ordered them to tie each other's hands with ropes, and then link them together with another rope.

First, they got him onto the vehicle. Then, Shang Ke carried a can of gasoline onto the vehicle as evidence, and then had Wang Zhang drive directly to the division headquarters.

"Why don't we drive to the police station?" Wang Zhang asked, puzzled.

"It's unnecessary to complicate things. It involves the suspected resale of military supplies, and I'll handle that," Shang Ke said calmly.

After quickly and efficiently finishing the job, the pickup truck sped away, heading straight for the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division's garrison...

The image of Mr. Shang taking office was unprecedented. He was dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, riding in a creaky old car, with three people escorting him.

Huh? You're telling me this is the Commander?
The sentries and officers on duty at the division headquarters gate were incredulous, but their identification was unmistakable.

Shang Ke took out his uniform from the car and held it in his hands, casually ordering, "Call the head of the military law section and the military police company commander over, oh, and call the head of the logistics section over as well."

The second lieutenant on duty hesitated for a moment, then saluted and said, "Yes, sir!"

The division-level combat unit is the basic tactical corps, and the division-level command therefore has a complex and complete set of departments, totaling three divisions and twelve sections.

The Operations Division comprises four sections: Training, Reconnaissance, Intelligence, and Communications.
The Administrative Office comprises four sections: Personnel, Military Law, Political Propaganda, and Finance.

The Logistics Department comprises four sections: Transportation, Logistics, Technology, and Medical.

The fourth section of the Training Department consisted mostly of professional staff officers, while the other three sections were mixed with many civilian personnel.

The officers of the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division had been wondering who their future military commander would be and what kind of trouble he would cause upon taking office, but no one expected it to turn out like this.

Mr. Shang also did not expect that his first task upon arriving would be to take the lead in cleaning up the corrupt officials at the local military post.

"There's no mistake, Division Commander, this is gasoline specially supplied to the Army."

The head of the logistics department specially scooped half a glass of gasoline into it; the pale red gasoline couldn't be more real.

The three oil sellers were now surrounded by soldiers who had been eyeing them intently. They were so frightened that they dared not even breathe, as if they had entered a dragon's den or a tiger's lair.

Shank glanced at them and asked casually, "Tell me, where did this gasoline come from? I don't want to waste my time."

It was obvious that the three men were quite frightened by the oppressive atmosphere, and for a moment they stammered and couldn't speak clearly. Song Quan, the head of the military law section, was a middle-aged man who looked imposing even without being angry. He said coldly, "Reselling military supplies is a capital offense! Confess honestly!"

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you, this oil was obtained by my old buddy, who said we should all get rich together." The first one who couldn't take it anymore quickly revealed the truth, afraid of eating seaweed and egg drop soup without any vegetables or soup.

(End of this chapter)