Jiangning County

Actually, Zhu Shiqing was no pale-faced scholar; compared to these husky men, he was just slightly frail. You had to understand that Zhu Shiqing usually dealt with the local militia—and what were the militia? Judging by now, they were a gang of hoodlums! Aside from knowing how to pull a trigger, they guaranteed nothing. The people in the militia were all sorts: some were timid, too scared to fart for years; others were swaggering, relying on the weapons in their hands to go out eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and abducting women. Of course, not a few hoped to get rich and gain office from the militia, especially when rewards were offered for catching wanted men everywhere. Compared with those people, Wu Zhiqing's battalion was an exception, and it broadened Zhu Shiqing's horizons. In the past, he had only seen in documents and reports the supposed deeds of the 19th Route Army fighting bloodily, the Great Wall War of Resistance, and the Great Victory at Bailingsi. The mountain road was truly difficult to walk. At first Zhu Shiqing could grit his teeth and endure, but after a while he felt his whole body's tendons and bones going numb; his right shoulder felt as if it had been planed flat, as though it had become embedded with the uneven shape of the carrying pole. "But you've worked hard, brother." Fatty Wei saw that Zhu Shiqing was bearing the hardship, but it wasn't easy to tell him to put it down, so he shouldered the pot and edged over to Zhu Shiqing's side. "An official like you, I really haven't seen before. When the troops were reorganized, I saw a section chief—wow, that little black collar was sharp…" Zhu Shiqing wasn't in the mood for idle chatter. He asked: "Why do the First and Second Companies eat in the barracks, but only the Third Company has to eat on the mountain, and we even have to carry gear up there?" Fatty Wei explained: "Today the Third Company's combat training task is armed cross-country marching and opposition exercises. They spent the morning circling the surrounding hills, and this afternoon they still have to fight in the mountains, so they simply didn't come down. Our cooking squad has nothing else to do, so we're taking food up to save the brothers the trouble. These foreign rifles were delivered early but missed their departure. The First and Second Companies have already re-equipped. The battalion commander ordered us to bring the guns along, and I was worried about not having enough hands—luckily I ran into you." The foreign rifles Fatty Wei spoke of were German-made Mauser Model 1924 rifles. The M1924 Mauser rifle was one of the most widely used rifles on the WWII battlefield. It had a moderate length, high shooting accuracy, an effective range of over 600 meters, and a 5-round capacity—a very fine infantry weapon. "I heard them all call you Fatty Wei, but I didn't expect you to be so nimble on your feet while carrying a big pot." Fatty Wei was rarely praised and affected modesty: "Not at all. Our cooking squad has to run around everywhere, so naturally we need to be quick on our feet. If we're a minute late, those bastards will curse us up and down, and then the battalion commander will criticize me." Fatty Wei was fat, but he really ran fast—Zhu Shiqing saw it with his own eyes. Not to mention anything else, this group's stamina was indeed a cut above ordinary people. Just as he was thinking about that militia in Jiangning County, the messed-up business in Jiangning County followed into his mind. Zhu Shiqing had to consider in advance how to respond to the county next time. After all, openly he still needed to show unity with his colleagues. He really wanted to follow Uncle Sun, but Sun Beifeng hadn't given a definite answer, and Zhu Shiqing himself wasn't sure about the specifics. Thinking of this, Zhu Shiqing's steps quickened a bit. Having followed Uncle Sun out for half a day's sightseeing, seen some of the world, and done this manual labor, it was time to go back and attend to proper business. Fatty Wei saw Zhu Shiqing's calves moving briskly and grew interested: "I say, you really are a strange one. The rest of us are panting from exhaustion, but you're walking faster and faster." "Ah, I was just thinking." Zhu Shiqing replied casually and didn't say more. After several rounds of probing, Fatty Wei had pretty much figured out Zhu Shiqing's background: not old, without the arrogance of a person with connections, and apparently just an ordinary soldier like himself. "Where are you stationed, brother?" "Jiangning." "This area used to be part of Jiangning's territory, right?" "Yes." "So what office do you hold?" An office? Zhu Shiqing flared up at the mention. Those two bastards Diao Yuxiu and Xu Gang flashed into his mind—not giving him a promotion was one thing, but when trouble came they wanted to drag him down with them. Seeing Zhu Shiqing not speak, Fatty Wei, no matter how low his emotional intelligence, knew to stop talking. Then he suddenly remembered something and said: "Brother, since you're from Jiangning, you'd better be careful. Yanziji arrested a lot of people yesterday." Arrests? Zhu Shiqing was dazed, nearly missed a step. He clung tightly to the pole and stumbled, but Fatty Wei was quick-eyed and quick-handed, came over and supported him, and only then did he steady himself. Zhu Shiqing composed himself and asked: "Who is Yanziji arresting? Surely the fortifications around here aren't substandard?" Fatty Wei blinked, thinking to himself that he hadn't even said anything yet, yet the other side already knew seven or eight out of ten—presumably he was mentally prepared. So he just said: "What's this about passing muster? That's not building fortifications, that's building graves for us. If you want to talk about something well-built, it's the river-defense fortifications personally supervised by the Germans—impressive." "How many were arrested?" "Not many are left in the district office. Yesterday our battalion commander even sent a platoon over to help interrogate people. Those who came said they were from some law enforcement office. They don't take people away; they interrogate on the spot. Basically anyone with even a bit of connection ends up on that list. Besides the fortifications, it seems they're even digging up old accounts from a few years ago. I don't know much else." Hearing this, Zhu Shiqing's hair stood on end. As for the situation in Jiangning County, the way he had goofed off and slacked off these past years—he had left a pile of evidence against himself. Even if Uncle Sun had great powers, that was based on Zhu Shiqing being completely uninvolved. Although he could distance himself from the national defense project, those old messed-up matters had all passed through his hands; any casual investigation would turn up holes everywhere. Jiangning County—what a "blessed" place. Before long, lunch and the rifles all arrived south of the mountain. Zhu Shiqing was famished. He didn't care about what Fatty Wei had said before, but directly joined the Third Company brothers in eating from one pot. Once he started eating, he ate more than the soldiers who had just finished cross-country mountain running that morning. Wolfing it down, after a hearty meal Zhu Shiqing immediately went down the mountain with the cooking squad. Just as he reached the camp gate, he saw Sun Beifeng bidding farewell to Wu Zhiqing, walking out. "Come on, kid. Yanziji is done for today. Back to Nanjing." After finishing his chat, Sun Beifeng seemed in pretty good spirits; the short mustache under his nose rose along with the corners of his mouth. On the boat, Zhu Shiqing couldn't help but continue the topic of Jiangning County with Sun Beifeng: "Uncle Sun, it seems only a matter of time before Jiangning is investigated. I'm afraid I can't handle it and will end up dragging you down instead." Sun Beifeng was no longer as confident as before. Hearing Zhu Shiqing's words, his face sank slightly. After puffing two mouthfuls of smoke, he turned to look at Zhu Shiqing: "Just now at the camp, I also heard Battalion Commander Wu mention this. This time the central government seems to have sent Kang Ze from the third class of Whampoa Military Academy. It seems they're attaching great importance to this matter." Zhu Shiqing was a bit stunned, not knowing what to do next. Sun Beifeng continued: "In any case, keep your cool and don't stir up trouble. If anyone in the county tries to flee in advance, don't follow suit. The Fuxing Society—they can chase you to the ends of the earth. If you seem flustered, it will only make people think you have something to hide. Understand?" Zhu Shiqing nodded firmly.