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

"As for the remaining three alliances..."

"It's possible to win over ordinary people without going against their wishes."

Village Chief Li nodded.

That's how it is.

"With the three powers standing in a stalemate, none of them can gain the upper hand, which is why the surrounding villages can barely make ends meet."

"If it weren't for Wolf Valley and the Three Alliances..."

"Those bastards from Black Wind Stronghold have long since ravaged this area to the point that no one lives there anymore."

After listening, Zhou Tianyang tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his mind racing.

The five bandit groups numbered over four hundred, almost equivalent to a battalion of soldiers.

If we can incorporate Wild Wolf Valley and the Three Alliances, it will be equivalent to gaining an extra battalion of veterans.

Although these people had been bandits, most of them were forced to join the Liangshan bandits.

As long as the policies are correct, they can be transformed into qualified Eighth Route Army soldiers.

As for Black Wind Stronghold...

Zhou Tianyang's eyes turned cold.

More than 150 bandits.

They harmed ordinary people, robbed grain and girls, and killed and injured innocent civilians.

This kind of person doesn't deserve to be called a human being.

"Village Chief Li, do you know where Black Wind Stronghold's stronghold is?"

Village Chief Li raised his head and looked at Zhou Tianyang.

"Commander Zhou, you're not planning to attack Black Wind Stronghold, are you?"

"Let's find out."

Zhou Tianyang smiled but did not answer directly.

I advise you not to get your hopes up.

Village Chief Li's tone became serious.

"Black Wind Stronghold is located in a very dangerous area. It is halfway up the mountain and there is only one road leading up to it. Both sides are cliffs."

"They also set up several checkpoints along the way, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"The county's security force had tried to attack twice before, but both times they were defeated and suffered heavy casualties."

"You only have about a hundred people, you can't take it down."

Zhou Tianyang did not argue, but simply nodded.

"I understand, don't worry, I won't act rashly."

Village Chief Li stared at him for a few seconds.

He seemed somewhat skeptical, but didn't try to persuade her further.

He sighed, picked up the bowl on the table, took a sip of water, and moistened his throat.

"Commander Zhou, I'm telling you this not so that you can go fight bandits."

"I want you to know that the situation in this area is very complicated."

"I see."

Zhou Tianyang nodded.

"Village Chief Li, don't worry, we're not reckless."

"We will fight the battles that we should fight, but we will not recklessly fight the battles that we should not fight."

He paused, his tone becoming serious.

"There's something else I want to discuss with you today."

"What is it?"

"Our new Second Regiment will be stationed in this area."

"It might not be just a day or two, or even a month or two; it could take a long time."

"Therefore, I would like to establish a rule with you and the villagers."

Village Chief Li looked at him.

"What are the rules?"

"First, we won't stay for nothing."

"We will pay rent regularly for the house you arranged for us."

"I will definitely return anything I borrow from my fellow villagers, and I will compensate them if anything is damaged."

"This rule is the same as the discipline of our Eighth Route Army: we will not take a single needle or thread from the people."

Village Chief Li nodded without saying a word.

"Secondly, we won't eat for free."

"We'll find our own way to provide food for the troops; the villagers don't need to contribute."

"We would also share some of the spoils we captured from the Japanese with our fellow villagers."

"Let's help each other and make our lives better together."

Village Chief Li's eyes lit up.

"Third, and most importantly."

Zhou Tianyang's voice calmed down.

"From today onwards, we will be responsible for protecting the safety of Lijia Yu."

"No bandits will dare to come to your village to rob you again."

"No more Japanese devils will dare to come and harm the people."

"Whoever comes, we'll fight them."

His tone was calm.

But every word was powerful and resounding.

Village Chief Li's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't.

His eyes were a little red, his fingers trembled slightly, and the pipe almost slipped from his hands.

"Commander Zhou, are you telling the truth?"

His voice was a little hoarse.

"real."

Zhou Tianyang stood up and looked directly at Village Chief Li.

"We are the Eighth Route Army, and we keep our word."

Village Chief Li remained silent for a long time.

He had his head down, lost in thought.

After a long while, he raised his head, his eyes already red.

"it is good."

He only said one word.

The voice wasn't loud, but it was firm.

Then he stood up.

He walked up to Zhou Tianyang and extended his hand.

"Commander Zhou, I believe in you."

Zhou Tianyang grasped his hand and shook it vigorously.

"Village Chief Li, rest assured, we will not let you down."

The two released their grip, and Zhou Tianyang turned to Zhao Wenlong and said:

"Wenlong, go back and make arrangements to strengthen the village's security starting today."

"Also, send someone to visit the surrounding villages."

"Meet with the people and get a sense of their situation."

"yes!"

Zhao Wenlong stood at attention, saluted, turned around, and strode out.

Zhou Tianyang was also about to take his leave when Village Chief Li suddenly called him back.

"Commander Zhou, wait a minute."

Zhou Tianyang turned around and looked at Village Chief Li.

Village Chief Li walked to the corner of the wall, rummaged through the grain jar and pulled out a cloth bag. He opened it and found two silver dollars inside.

It was handed to Zhou Tianyang.

"This is just a small token of my appreciation; I'm buying some food for the soldiers."

Zhou Tianyang looked at the two silver dollars, then at Village Chief Li's face.

"Village Chief Li, we can't accept this money."

Zhou Tianyang shook his head.

Why?

"We have discipline; we cannot take a single penny from the people."

"This isn't taking; I gave it voluntarily."

"That won't work either."

Zhou Tianyang's tone was very firm.

"Village Chief Li, don't worry, we won't go hungry."

"We won a great victory yesterday and captured a lot of grain, enough to last us for a while."

"Keep this money."

Village Chief Li's lips trembled slightly.

I wanted to say something, but in the end I said nothing.

He rewrapped the silver dollar.

He put it back behind the grain bin, turned around, and let out a long sigh.

"Commander Zhou, I truly admire the discipline of your Eighth Route Army."

"The Nationalist army used to come to our village. They would take whatever they could find, and beat us if we didn't give it to them. They were no different from bandits."

"When you Eighth Route Army came, you didn't take a single needle or thread from the people, and you even gave them money voluntarily."

"I never would have dared to imagine this before."

Zhou Tianyang smiled.

"Village Chief Li, this is our Eighth Route Army."

"We're here to fight the Japanese invaders and to protect the people."

"Once we drive the Japanese away and wipe out the bandits, we can enable the people to live a good life."

"Then you can thank us."

Village Chief Li nodded, his eyes reddening again.

"Okay, okay, I'll wait for that day."

Zhou Tianyang turned and walked out of the house.

Village Chief Li saw him off at the door, watching his figure gradually disappear into the distance.

The sun is shining brightly.

The light shone on the young man's gray military uniform and on his straight back.

Village Chief Li was somewhat lost in thought as he watched.

This young man is only twenty years old, right?

He was a few years younger than his youngest son.

But there was something in his eyes that he had never seen in young people before.

That's not the passion and impulsiveness of youth.

Rather, it is a kind of calmness, determination, that makes people want to believe in his power.

"Perhaps this time, the Eighth Route Army can really turn the tide in this area."

Village Chief Li muttered to himself, then turned and walked back into the house.

......

Zhou Tianyang walked back to the regimental headquarters at a moderate pace.

He was processing the information he had just received from Village Chief Li.

Five groups of bandits, totaling more than four hundred people, were scattered in the mountains of this area.

Black Wind Stronghold is an objective that must be eliminated.

These bandits who harm ordinary people are a menace if left unchecked.

Tian Chengjun from Wild Wolf Valley is someone we can try to win over.

A former battalion commander in the Nationalist Army led about a hundred veterans with combat experience.

If they could be incorporated into the regiment, it would greatly benefit the expansion of the Second New Regiment's strength.

If we can win over the three groups of bandits from the three-way alliance.

That's quite a force.