Courtyard House: I only wiped out 30,000 Japanese pirates

Lou Bancheng never expected this, he really never expected it.

First, He Dajun's words are hard to believe. Second, He Dajun doesn't have that capability; with so much bombing at the time, Lou Bancheng isn't stupid. He was there himself, so he was one of the parties involved.

But He Dajun added, "Mr. Lou, I was also there when you sent Xu Wude to bomb the steel mill that night."

He Dajun spoke calmly and slowly, "At that time, there were Japanese spies and a few who wanted to become traitors and protect the steel mill. I killed them all one by one."

Lou Bancheng's fingers froze in mid-air, his knuckles hovering above the table, stiff for several seconds before slowly lowering them.

He certainly remembered that night when Xu Wude came back and reported to him that their attempt to bomb the factory had been thwarted, and the person who stopped them was He Dajun. At the time, he was so angry that he smashed a teacup, convinced that the man was a traitorous collaborator.

Now this traitorous dog is sitting in front of him and telling him that the reason the factory was bombed was because there were Japanese spies mixed in. He killed traitors and spies, and was clearing out the steel mill.

He Dajun looked at Lou Bancheng's expression and continued without pausing.

"Around 1 a.m. that night, several Japanese soldiers were preparing to attack the steel rolling mill and seize it intact. My men and I stopped them and wiped them all out. Afterwards, we blew up the steel rolling mill ourselves before leaving."

Lou Bancheng felt as if his head had been stuffed with a swarm of wasps. A buzzing, ten thousand mosquitoes were ringing in his ears.

He stared at He Dajun, his eyes wide open, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

He lived to be over fifty years old, and had done business under the Beiyang government, the Kuomintang, foreigners, and gangsters. He believed he had seen more of the world than anyone else in Beijing.

But every word He Dajun said challenged the limits of his understanding.

That night, the steel mill was blown up so loudly that he could hear it. At the time, he thought it was the demolition team that did it, but later he heard that it was the underground party. Now He Dajun is telling him that it was him and his men who did it.

This limping lackey, leaning on a wooden stick, is yelling at the workers in the steel mill, urging them to work!

Lou Bancheng took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady, but the tremor in his throat was still there: "Mr. He, who exactly are you and your people?"

He Dajun leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, looked at Lou Bancheng's bewildered face, and suddenly smiled.

The smile was very faint, but there was an unfathomable meaning in her eyes.

He said, "Guess."

Lou Bancheng almost choked on his breath. "Guess what the hell?"

Hearing these words from He Dajun was even more infuriating than simply refusing to answer.

He Dajun didn't give him too long to process it and continued to explain.

His tone also changed from the previous light and casual tone to a more serious one: "Mr. Lou, there are two reasons why I asked you to actively cooperate with the Japanese in repairing the steel rolling mill."

"First, there's no point in fighting the Japanese head-on now. They have guns and cannons; you'll only be throwing your life away. Second, once the Japanese have transported their machinery from elsewhere and are ready to officially start production..."

He paused, looked into Lou Bancheng's eyes, and said calmly, "I'll take some men to bomb them again, and we'll just break their machines."

Lou Bancheng felt that he was no longer able to think normally.

The man in front of him, who had just been threatening his wife and daughters under Sasaki's name, is now telling him in the study that he plans to bomb the steel mill again.

His tone was as casual as if he were saying he was going to go to the market again. This person is either crazy, or even more terrifying than a madman.

Because he seemed serious.

Looking at Lou Bancheng's expression, He Dajun knew that he needed time to process this information.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "Mr. Lou, I recently led a raid on the Japanese garrison in Jingxi Park. You can quietly inquire about it. If what you find out is similar to what I said, you know what to do, right?"

Lou Bancheng immediately agreed, his tone even more eager than before.

"Alright, Mr. Lou." He Dajun stood up, leaned on his wooden cane, and straightened his puppet army uniform.

"I've said everything I should say, and I've also said things I shouldn't have. The reason I risked so much to expose my identity was because I didn't want you to be too hard on the Japanese and end up sacrificing yourselves in vain."

"Alas, Beijing has already fallen. Fighting it head-on now is suicide. Let's be patient and wait for the right moment; someone will take action then."

After saying that, he leaned on his wooden cane and walked towards the door of the study.

He paused at the door, but didn't turn around; he just tilted his head slightly.

His tone suddenly reverted to that arrogant, sycophantic manner: "Oh, by the way, don't forget the money you promised to give Sasaki-sama. Otherwise, next time I come, it won't be just for tea and conversation."

The door closed behind me.

Lou Bancheng stood alone in the study, staring at the closed door, for a long time.

The light coming in from the window had turned orange-red, and the desk lamp was the only source of light in the room.

He slowly walked to the sofa and sat down, tapping his fingers lightly on the leather armrest in a slow, rhythmic motion.

This is a difficult situation.

As He Dajun walked out of the Lou family mansion, the sun began to set.

He stood at the garden gate, leaning on his wooden cane, and glanced back at the red brick villa. There seemed to be a shadow flickering behind the second-floor window, the curtains moved slightly, and then returned to their original position.

Then I got on the motorcycle.

He Dajun was not worried that Lou Bancheng would inform on him.

In the storyline of "Birds in the Courtyard," Lou Bancheng, the richest man in Beijing, is not a traitor but a patriotic businessman.

But that's secondary.

More importantly, even if Lou Bancheng really went to tell Sasaki everything he said in the study today, Sasaki wouldn't believe him.

The things he told Lou Bancheng—that he was the one who bombed the factory, that he was the one who attacked the park, and that he wanted to bomb the steel mill again—are all quite plausible, no matter how you look at them individually.

It's so outrageous that no one with a normal brain would believe it; it's utterly absurd, like the mother of all absurdities opening the door to absurdity itself.

Because no one can do it.

Soon, He Dajun drove back to the steel rolling mill.

At the same time, Lou Bancheng also began to secretly inquire. An hour later, he received accurate information that the Japanese garrison in Jingxi Park had indeed been bombed, but the exact number of casualties was unknown.

This made Lou Bancheng feel like he was dreaming. He pondered for a long time in his study before finally making a decision.

He decided to cooperate fully with Sasaki.