Bright Sword: Starting from Obtaining the Equipment Slot

After much deliberation, he still stuck to his original idea.

After all, now is not the best time, and the Eighth Route Army does not need another bodyguard.

However, the battlefield of the War of Resistance against Japan lacked an independent company with outstanding military achievements!

Besides, joining the Eighth Route Army was not a simple decision; he had to consider the more than one hundred people behind him.

"Commander Zhao," Wei Dayong thought for a moment before replying, "please allow me to go back and discuss it with everyone."

Zhao Gang nodded without asking any further questions. He simply took out a small notebook from his pocket, tore off a piece of paper, wrote a few lines on it, and handed it to Wei Dayong.

"This is a liaison point for our Eighth Route Army, about forty miles from here. You and your brothers can come whenever you've discussed it. The Eighth Route Army welcomes you whenever you come."

Wei Dayong took the note, glanced at it, folded it, and put it in his pocket.

The gunfire had stopped for a while.

The battle just now was quite loud, and the nearby Japanese and puppet troops will arrive soon.

Zhao Gang's companion rushed over and whispered, "Comrade Zhao, we have to leave quickly. The gunfire has alerted the Japanese. If we don't leave now, it will be too late."

Zhao Gang glanced at the puppet army prisoners on the ground, then at Wei Dayong, hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Wei Dayong, these prisoners..."

"Leave it to me," Wei Dayong interrupted him. "Commander Zhao, you go first. I'll handle things here. I'll definitely come find you in three months, or at most six months!"

"It's a deal!"

"What's done is done!"

Zhao Gang nodded, saluted Wei Dayong, and led his companions quickly southward along the dirt road.

Their horses were over there, not far away.

Wei Dayong watched Zhao Gang walk away, then turned around and waved to Ma Feng and Zheng Dali: "Inspect the battlefield, take all the weapons and ammunition with you, don't leave a single bullet for the Japanese devils."

Ma Feng and Zheng Dali immediately took action.

They picked up the puppet army's rifles one by one and piled them up.

Twelve Type 38 rifles, with dents and scratches on the stock, but otherwise in good condition, at least 60-70% new.

The bullet pouches were found on the puppet soldiers; they were counted and there were more than 500 rounds in total.

Wei Dayong walked up to the three surviving puppet soldiers.

The older man raised his head, forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and said in a trembling voice, "Sir, spare us! We were also conscripted into the army to earn a living. Please, have mercy on us."

Wei Dayong looked at him without saying a word.

"Sir, we have elderly parents and young children to support. Please have mercy on us. We will never work for the Japanese again."

The other one quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, we'll never do it again. Please let us go home."

The third one was younger, looking to be no more than twenty years old. He didn't dare to speak, only daring to secretly look up at Wei Dayong's expression.

Wei Dayong looked at the three men and said calmly, "Our rules are simple. If you want a different way of life, come fight the Japanese with us."

"You can leave if you want, but you'll need to do us a small favor in a couple of days. Now, let's build trust first!"

After Wei Dayong finished speaking, he pointed to the corpses of the puppet soldiers on the ground.

"Strip them naked."

The three prisoners stood there, stunned, and looked at each other.

I thought I had heard it wrong.

Zheng Dali took a step forward, holding the submachine gun, and waved the muzzle at them.

"Are you deaf? Our company commander ordered you to strip naked!"

The three prisoners then realized what was happening and scrambled toward the corpses.

Ma Feng stood aside watching, his submachine gun always pointed at them.

Wei Dayong walked over to the clothes the three men had taken off and examined them one by one.

The uniforms of the puppet troops were not as good as the Japanese combat uniforms, but at least they were made of cotton, which was much better than the tattered uniforms worn by the brothers in the Independent Company.

He gathered these things together and had Ma Feng find some strips of cloth to tie them into three large bundles.

After the three prisoners finished their work, they stood aside, too afraid to move.

The older man wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and secretly glanced at Wei Dayong.

"Sir, all the clothes have been taken off."

Wei Dayong drew his pistol from his waist and walked up to them.

The three prisoners turned pale instantly.

The older one suddenly knelt down on the ground.

"Sir, spare us! We've done whatever you asked us to do, please don't kill us!"

Wei Dayong pointed the Mauser pistol downwards.

"I won't kill you."

He pointed to a corpse on the ground.

"That guy is your platoon leader, right? Finish him off with a shot each."

The three prisoners were all stunned.

The older one looked up, somewhat puzzled.

"Sir, this..."

"When you were the lackeys of the Japanese devils, did you have Chinese blood on your hands?"

The three of them looked at each other and shook their heads to indicate no.

"If you want me to let you go, you'd better show some sincerity." Wei Dayong handed over his pistol. "One shot each. If you don't dare to fire, I'll assume you're hiding something."

Upon hearing this, the older man stood up, took the pistol, and walked to the body of his platoon leader.

After a full five or six seconds, he gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger.

He returned the gun to Wei Dayong, his hand still trembling.

"Sir, I...I did it."

Wei Dayong nodded and handed the gun to the next person.

The younger one took the gun, closed his eyes, and fired a shot.

When the third prisoner received the gun, his hands trembled the most, and his first shot went astray.

Wei Dayong didn't speak, he just looked at him.

He fired another shot.

Wei Dayong then put away his pistol.

"From now on, we're temporary partners. Whether we can stay together long-term depends on your performance!"

He pointed to the weapons and ammunition on the ground.

"Carry these on your backs and come with us."

The three prisoners bent down and began to move things.

Ma Feng and Zheng Dali also carried a lot of things on their backs.

The six people walked back towards the valley along the path they had come from.

After walking for about an hour, we could see the big tree at the entrance of the valley in the distance.

Wang Xiao was standing under the tree when he saw them return and strode over to greet them.

"Company commander, you're finally back!"

He paused for a moment when he saw the three prisoners following behind him.

"Who are these three?"

"The puppet troops at Xiaowangzhuang stronghold, just taken in." Wei Dayong put down the package on his shoulder. "Call everyone out and distribute the supplies."

Wang Xiao turned around and shouted into the valley.

More than a hundred people poured out from all over the valley and gathered together.

Wei Dayong asked Ma Feng to open the three large packages.

Eleven sets of puppet army uniforms were neatly stacked on the ground, along with cloth shoes, military caps, and belts.

Twelve Type 38 rifles, over five hundred rounds of ammunition, and a dozen or so hand grenades.

Wang Xiao's eyes lit up when he saw the pile of things.

"Company commander, you brought back so much stuff after just one trip?"

"I just happened to shoot them." Wei Dayong pointed to the three prisoners. "Their former platoon leader led half a platoon to search us and ran into a stray bullet."

Zhou Huaiyuan squatted down, picked up a Type 38 rifle, pulled back the bolt, looked at it, and nodded in satisfaction.

"This gun is in decent condition and still usable."

Wei Dayong instructed Wang Xiao to distribute the puppet army uniforms to the soldiers in the first platoon.

"Pick a few of the smarter ones and replace them."

Right now is not the time to pursue egalitarianism; we must first arm a portion of the population before considering anything else.

Wang Xiao immediately understood what Wei Dayong meant.

"Company commander, what are you going to do...?"