Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

The next morning.

After Zhou Tianyang woke up.

He opened his eyes and then gently sat up.

The courtyard was quiet, with only a few birdsongs coming from the distant fields.

Ma Yong has woken up.

He was squatting at the entrance of the courtyard, chewing on a piece of dry food.

I heard footsteps behind me.

He turned around, saw Zhou Tianyang walking out, and nodded slightly.

"Commander, you're awake."

"Um."

Zhou Tianyang walked to the courtyard gate and looked out in the same direction as Ma Yong.

Several blurry figures could be vaguely seen moving about in the direction of the city gate.

People who got up early to enter the city are queuing up to wait for inspection.

"The city gates are open?"

"It's been running for a while."

Ma Yong stuffed the last piece of dry food into his mouth.

He patted the crumbs off his hands and said in a low voice.

"I just went to take a look at the front."

"There were puppet troops and Japanese soldiers checking people at the city gate."

"The checks weren't very strict. People were coming and going, and they would only occasionally stop one or two people to check their IDs."

Zhou Tianyang did not speak immediately.

He stood there looking in the direction of the city gate, mentally reviewing the next steps once more.

If the whole process goes smoothly, you can leave the city within an hour.

But what if something goes wrong?

What if that used bookstore is no longer there?

What if something happens to that old man surnamed Zhang? What if it's a trap?

He couldn't possibly bring thirty-one people into the city with him.

The more people there are, the bigger the target becomes, and the higher the risk of exposure.

Once surrounded, it's difficult to get out.

In this enemy-occupied territory.

Even one more person would be a burden.

"Ma Yong".

Zhou Tianyang turned around, his gaze falling on Ma Yong's face, his tone calm and resolute.

"I'll go into town alone later."

Ma Yong's brows furrowed immediately, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

But Zhou Tianyang raised his hand to signal him not to speak yet, and continued talking.

"Having too many people around makes it easier to be exposed."

"Just in case something happens, I can get away on my own."

"You all stay here and wait for me to come back."

"If I haven't left the city by noon, you should take Comrade Liu Ping south and continue along the backup route."

"We'll figure something out once we get to the outskirts of Nanjing."

Ma Yong's brows furrowed even more, but in the end he did not refute.

He had followed Zhou Tianyang for so many years and knew the commander's temperament.

He'll discuss things with others if he can reason with them, but he can't persuade them about things that don't make sense.

"Commander, if you go alone, what if..."

"There's no 'what if'."

Zhou Tianyang interrupted him.

"I've seen it all along."

"The Japanese wouldn't be too vigilant in a place like Qufu."

"Will your ID be accepted?"

"The pass given by Wang Jinghe should still be valid in southern Shandong."

"Even if I get stopped and questioned, I can handle it."

Ma Yong remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

He turned and walked back into the courtyard, whispering a few words to a few soldiers.

Then Liu Ping came out of the main room.

"Commander Zhou, are you going alone?"

"I'm enough on my own."

Zhou Tianyang walked up to him, his tone carrying a hint of admonition.

"Comrade Liu Ping, you wait here."

"If I don't come back, then do as I just told Ma Yong."

Liu Ping looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he nodded, his voice a few decibels lower than usual.

Be careful.

Zhou Tianyang didn't say anything more.

He turned and walked out of the yard, across the overgrown open space.

They walked onto the road leading to the gate of Qufu.

Several early risers could already be seen on the roadside.

Some carried loads on their shoulders, some led livestock, and some walked slowly with their hands empty.

Zhou Tianyang mingled among them, walking at a leisurely pace, looking like an ordinary countryman who had come to the city.

He had already stored the dagger at his waist into his system space.

From his appearance, he was just an ordinary farmer.

As Ma Yong had said, the checks at the city gate were not very strict.

The Japanese soldiers occasionally glanced at the people queuing to enter the city.

The puppet soldiers stood on both sides of the city gate, examining the documents.

When Zhou Tianyang arrived at the city gate.

The puppet soldier checking the documents let the old man in front of him go, and casually glanced at Zhou Tianyang.

"Certificate of Good Conduct"

Zhou Tianyang took the pass out of his pocket and handed it over.

His face wore the kind of reserved smile that only a farmer would have when meeting a soldier.

The puppet soldier took it, flipped it over casually, and threw it back, waving his hand to signal him to come over.

I didn't even have the interest to take a second look.

Zhou Tianyang carefully put away his documents and walked into Qufu City without changing his steps.

Qufu is not a large city, but its street layout is much more orderly than that of Jinan.

Most of the houses on both sides of the main street retain the old-fashioned style of blue bricks and gray tiles.

Every now and then you can see a few people wearing long gowns walking by on the street.

Some people were holding books, while others gathered in twos and threes at the entrance of the teahouse, chatting idly.

This is, after all, the hometown of Confucius.

Although it had already fallen into the hands of the Japanese.

But that cultural heritage still lingers faintly in the air.

Even the breakfast stalls on the street are more sophisticated than elsewhere.

Zhou Tianyang walked along the main street for a while, then turned into an alley that was narrower than the main street at the second intersection.

When he reached the middle of the alley, he saw the used bookstore.

It really was just a small stall.

A makeshift table made of a few wooden planks had dozens of old books on it.

An elderly man, who looked to be around sixty years old, was sitting behind the stall.

He was wearing a long gown and reading glasses, and was looking down at a book.

As Zhou Tianyang walked over, his pace naturally slowed down.

He stopped in front of the bookstall, his gaze slowly sweeping over the spines of the old books.

Then he squatted down, reached out and picked up an old book that looked like a county gazetteer, and casually flipped through a few pages.

"Sir, how much is your book?"

The old man looked up, glanced at him through his reading glasses, and spoke slowly.

"That book isn't for sale; I borrowed it to read."

Zhou Tianyang put down that book, picked up another one, and asked a question casually.

"The old gentleman has lived in Qufu for many years, hasn't he?"

"Most of my life has passed."

"Do you know when the city wall of Qufu was built?"

The old man's gaze lingered on Zhou Tianyang's face for a moment.

Then he put down the book in his hand, took off his reading glasses, and spoke slowly.

But his speaking speed was slightly slower than before.

It was probably built during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

"How come I heard it was earlier?"

The old man was silent for two or three seconds, then slowly said:

"Then you misheard."

Zhou Tianyang put the book back on the stall and nodded slightly.

The ciphers all matched.

This person is the contact that Wang Jinghe mentioned.

The old man didn't look at him again, but simply stood up.

He slowly walked to the small door behind the stall and pushed it open.

"Since you're interested in the city walls, come in and tell me."

Zhou Tianyang followed him through the small door.

Behind the door was a very small courtyard, even narrower than the backyard of the grocery store he had seen in Jinan.

A pot of tea and two teacups were placed on the stone table in the courtyard.

The old man walked to the stone table, sat down, poured two cups of tea, and slowly took a sip of one for himself.