The Little Demonic Cultivator in the Courtyard: Borrowing 100,000 Japanese Pirates to Heal

He folded the blood-stained old work clothes neatly and placed them next to the pillow on the cot.

Then he stood there, looking at the new clothes he was wearing with the logo embroidered on them, his expression a mix of excitement and something else.

Xu Jiande has also been replaced.

When he took off his old clothes, the smell of blood returned.

He didn't fold it; he just crumpled it up and stuffed it on the bedside table.

The fabric of the new clothes is very rough, and there are cotton seed husks that haven't been completely removed from the cotton lining, which makes my skin a little itchy.

After changing their clothes, everyone was led to the playground to assemble.

A temporary platform was erected in front of the parade ground, and several Japanese officers stood on it.

The leader was a lieutenant colonel, probably in his forties, with a clean-shaven face that made him look quite fierce.

The lieutenant colonel did not speak immediately. He stood on the stage, looking down at the five hundred people below, his gaze sweeping over each and every face.

No one in the audience dared to look up and meet his gaze; they all kept their heads down, looking at the new rubber-soled cloth shoes on their feet.

He nodded, looking quite satisfied, and then spoke.

This guy was speaking Japanese, his tone wasn't high, but he emphasized each syllable, like hammering nails into wood one by one.

There was a translator standing next to him, translating each paragraph as he finished speaking.

He said the Imperial Army was very satisfied with everyone's performance today. You have proven with your actions that you are truly willing to serve the Imperial Army.

Upon hearing this, several people in the audience displayed complex expressions.

Some people's lips twitched, some lowered their heads and closed their eyes, and some swallowed something bitter.

But no one dared to refute it, no one dared to speak up.

The lieutenant colonel continued.

He said that what happened in the square today was a path every administrator had to take. Only those whose hands were stained with blood could truly be trusted by the Imperial Army and truly shoulder the responsibility of managing a district.

He added, "From now on, you are no longer ordinary people."

"You are the compound managers of the Imperial Army, the cornerstone of this city. The Imperial Army will provide you with food and protect you and your families. You only need to do one thing: manage each compound well and report any suspicious persons."

After translating this section, Xu Jiande noticed that Yi Zhonghai was rubbing his fingers together on his trouser leg again.

He was wearing the new black trousers he had been given, the legs of which were wrinkled from rubbing them.

The lieutenant colonel paused for a moment, then his tone suddenly changed.

The slow, authoritative tone from before had vanished, replaced by a tone that sounded more like a private conversation.

He said, "Gentlemen, what you are doing today is indeed very difficult. The Imperial Army understands. But it is the right thing to do; it is to protect more people, to restore order to this city as soon as possible, and to allow more people to survive."

No one believed that.

Most people felt bitter. Many of them had never even killed a chicken before, yet today they had killed a person, and it was one of their own kind.

The Japanese soldier seemed to understand what the compound administrators meant, and said loudly, "Gentlemen, you may feel that you have done something wrong, that your hands are dirty. That's because your vision is not far-reaching enough. You need to look further ahead."

"This city will eventually regain order, and then you will be the heroes of this city. No one will remember what you did in the square today; everyone will only remember that you brought peace to this city."

He added that the certificates of good citizenship were stamped with the seal of the Imperial Army, but it was yourselves who would protect your safety.

As soon as the translator finished translating that sentence, Xu Jiande sensed a change in the breathing of the people around him.

Some people were inhaling softly, while others were exhaling slowly, as if they were swallowing something and then spitting it out.

These words were said cleverly, not to directly exonerate them, but to provide them with reasons to exonerate themselves.

We were forced into this situation. We did it so that more people could survive. Once order is restored, we will be heroes.

This reason doesn't hold up to scrutiny, but at times like these, what people need most isn't the truth, but an explanation that will help them sleep.

The lieutenant colonel didn't give the people below much time to think, turning his head slightly to the side. A sergeant standing next to him stepped forward and began leading the crowd in chanting slogans.

First came the Japanese word "Banzai," then the Daxia word "Banzai Empire," and finally "Co-prosperity Sphere."

Xu Jiande raised his fist, his mouth opening and closing almost silently.

But Yi Zhonghai, who was next to him, shouted very loudly.

Yi Zhonghai raised his fist high, the veins on his neck bulged, and his voice was hoarse from shouting.

When he shouted, the muscles in his face were twitching violently, it was hard to tell whether he was exerting force or trying to squeeze something out of his heart.

After shouting the slogans, the lieutenant colonel had several large boxes brought out.

The box was opened, revealing neatly stacked rations. Each person received a bag containing five jin (approximately 2.5 kg) of coarse grains, which were distributed on the spot.

There was a commotion in the ranks, even louder than when they were chanting slogans.

This is what's real.

Some people's hands trembled as they received the grain bags; they had just been forced to kill someone in the square, and now they were receiving real food.

Five pounds of coarse grains is enough to feed a family for several days.

At this point, the translator relayed the lieutenant colonel's words, saying that this was your treatment and also your responsibility.

After you receive this bag of grain, you will become the representatives of the Imperial Army in all the courtyards of the Upper City.

Your job is to manage the courtyard well, keep an eye on those people, and make sure they don't cause trouble for the Imperial Army.

If you do well, you'll have enough food every month. If you don't, you know what will happen.

After saying that, he turned and left.

Cao Chang stayed on the stage and told everyone to take their newly distributed rations and go home.

After the group disbanded, people on the playground began to walk out in twos and threes.

Xu Jiande carried the bag of rations out of the camp gate, glanced back at the parade ground, and noticed that everyone's expression had changed.

……

the other side.

At that moment, the sound of leather boots could be heard in the alleys around Caishikou.

At least two hundred Japanese soldiers entered the area surrounding the square from three directions simultaneously.

Some set up roadblocks at intersections, while others mounted machine guns on rooftops.

On the north side of Caishikou Square, a temporary wooden platform for observing executions was erected, more than a meter off the ground, with three chairs placed on it.

Two light machine guns were mounted on either side of the execution platform, their muzzles pointing towards the square.

Every fifty meters around the square, a mobile sentry post was set up, with two Japanese soldiers patrolling back and forth, carrying Type 38 rifles.

All the alleyways leading to the square were blocked off, with sandbags piled up to half a person's height as fortifications, and Japanese soldiers crouching behind them with rifles in hand.

Soon, another group of courtyard administrators, totaling five hundred people, were brought to the square.

They will be forced to become executioners, to harm their own compatriots.

The second batch of prisoners numbered 30 more than the previous batch, bringing the total to over 130.

They were executed in two batches.

What followed was similar to what happened to Xu Jiande and his group: they were forcibly killed, and then many people started vomiting.

Sasaki Maki seemed very happy and satisfied as he looked at the vomiting ground staff.

And full of anticipation.