Chapter 4: Afraid To The Bone
“Everyone assemble!!”
There were no small number of patrolmen who wanted to slip away at roll call. Hearing the call to assemble, many looked reluctant and slowly dawdled into sloppy lines, standing lazily askew.
Seeing this scene, a slick oily middle-aged man immediately shouted: “What the hell are you doing? Do you still want to work? Line up properly right now!”
He was Xu Hancheng, the Bureau Chief of the Outer Fifth District Police Station.
Cao Weida and Duomen stood together. Seeing this police Bureau Chief Xu Hancheng on the platform, Duomen whispered: “Even the Bureau Chief is here. Looks like this is no small matter.”
Cao Weida nodded slightly and whispered: “It couldn’t be because of last night”
“Shh, quiet.” Duomen had the same suspicion. “Hurry and line up properly.”
A shooting happened just last night, and now there’s a sudden emergency assembly today. If the two weren’t related, that would be the real surprise.
On the platform, Xu Hancheng personally directed them, more for show than substance. “All captains, check your teams for who’s missing! Line up properly!”
“All of you stand properly! You there, who are you slouching for?”
“Fix your hats! Wear them straight—do they choke your neck or what?”
After a chaotic bustle, the patrolmen, scattered like spilled beans, were finally somewhat straightened out.
A Japanese officer in military uniform strode sternly onto the platform. Xu Hancheng scurried up to greet him, flashing a fawning smile as he bowed low with his butt sticking out enough to hold a water cup. “Officer Xiao Tian, Outer Fifth District Bureau Chief Xu Hancheng reporting to you!”
That deferential attitude—he probably wasn’t even that good to his own parents.
Officer Xiao Tian, full name unknown, was a short man in his forties, about one meter fifty-five.
Little devils from this era were generally not tall. At one meter fifty-five, he was basically standard for an A-class division.
Xu Hancheng wasn’t particularly tall or burly, just over one meter seventy, but in front of this little devil Xiao Tian, he looked like an adult facing a kid. Without bowing, the little devil Xiao Tian could only look up.
Yet at that moment, Xu Hancheng’s head was even lower than the little devil Xiao Tian’s, showing just how good his fawning attitude was.
But Xiao Tian the little devil clearly paid little attention to Xu Hancheng’s overtures.
He scowled, glancing at the sloppy, utterly spiritless lineup, his brows furrowing instantly.
After a couple of cold stares, he said nothing.
Having been here for so many years, he knew exactly what kind of scum these patrolmen were.
Nicely put, they were a department under the police system. Bluntly, they were a team of society’s bottom-layer scum. What discipline could they have?
He felt contempt, even disdain, but to maintain surface social stability, these people were indispensable.
Besides, he didn’t expect them to accomplish anything major.
Speaking in half-baked Chinese, the little devil Xiao Tian’s voice was icy:
“Xu-san, you should have received the mission already, right?”
Xu Hancheng immediately professed loyalty, sincerely: “Yes, yes! Officer Xiao Tian, rest assured. This subordinate will fully cooperate with the Imperial Army’s actions. My team will obey the Imperial Army’s command and wipe out every one of these anti-Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere rebels!”
“Yōshi, Xu-san, you’re a very good man!” The little devil Xiao Tian patted the shoulder thrust forward, clearly very satisfied with Xu Hancheng’s attitude.
Xu Hancheng’s face was full of flattery. “Hai, hai. It’s all thanks to Officer Xiao Tian’s great leadership. This subordinate is just doing what he should.”
“Officer Xiao Tian, would you like to say a few words to these pups below?”
“Yōshi, I haven’t misjudged you. No need for a speech—just you do it, Xu-san. But get to work quickly.” Clearly, he had no interest in lecturing these wastes in his eyes.
“Yes, yes.” Xu Hancheng’s fawning smile never stopped. As he straightened up and turned, he became arrogant again:
“Just last night, those anti-Japanese elements actually attacked Officer Yamada, causing one Imperial Army death and two injuries! Utterly audacious!”
“But they’ve been wounded, so they surely can’t have gotten far!”
“Now, assemble all police officers to cooperate with the Imperial Army in searching street by street, household by household. We must catch the anti-Japanese elements!”
“Whoever catches an anti-Japanese element will earn great merit!”
“Officer Xiao Tian said: whoever captures one gets promoted one level and rewarded two hundred silver dollars!”
Whoa~~
At these words, the patrolmen below immediately got excited one by one.
Their monthly salary was only six dollars—this two hundred silver dollars was more than enough for two years’ pay!
Not to mention the temptation of a promotion. Eyes lit up instantly.
“If I catch one, how long could I smoke opium!” An opium addict was practically drooling, his gaunt lifeless body starting to tremble with excitement.
“Two hundred silver dollars—I could pick any girl in Bada Hutong?” A lecherous old perv was genuinely thrilled.
Others stayed silent—these were the clear-headed ones.
Though the two hundred silver dollars and promotion were tempting enough, the danger was just as great.
What kind of people were those anti-Japanese elements?
Desperados, every one!
Ruthless types who dared assassinate little devils in occupied territory!
Better not end up losing their own lives before claiming the bounty.
Tap tap tap~~
A burst of neat footsteps approached. Everyone looked over to see two squads of little devil military police trotting up with rifles at the ready, steps perfectly in sync.
Not many, just over twenty, and short—each a head shorter than the patrolmen present.
But they looked murderous, eyes icy cold.
Then they split into five groups, each taking the frontmost position.
The patrolmen shrank back. They knew how cruel these little devil military police were—countless Chinese compatriots captured or shot on the spot by them. They feared them to the bone.
Seeing the little devils’ military police arrive, Xu Hancheng’s eyelids twitched. He immediately shouted loudly:
“All Patrol Captains from Outer First to Outer Fifth Districts, divide by your territorial ranges and line up behind the Military Police Taijun. Follow the Imperial Army’s Military Police team on the action to assist in arrests!”
“Quick quick quick! Get moving!”
All the Patrol Captains immediately followed orders to line up. Duomen nudged Cao Weida: “Man, let’s go.”
Duomen naturally didn’t want to arrest anti-Japanese elements, but the situation was stronger than the man. If they didn’t obey, forget keeping their positions—whether they’d keep their lives was questionable.
Cao Weida didn’t want to either, but he obediently followed Duomen over.
Whether they listened or not was one thing. In the end, how things were handled would still be up to them.
Beiping’s inner and outer police totaled under eight thousand, with the Outer Fifth District having about three thousand six hundred.
Not everyone was here today—many had to stay on specific duty posts.
But there were still several hundred patrolmen here alone.
Divided evenly into five sectors, each would have over a hundred.
How could a few little devils keep watch over so many patrolmen?
Xiao Tian the little devil was helpless about this too—not that he didn’t want more military police, he simply couldn’t.
The little devils might seem all-powerful now, but it was just bluffing to save face.
Since the Attu Island defeat on May 29 last year, Japan had been on the defensive in international warfare.
To cope with the increasingly tense global war, Japan had to pull massive troops to hold the so-called ‘absolute defense circle’.
Many elite units from Chinese land were withdrawn, replaced by green recruits, some not even of age.
Their combat quality was predictable. Against maturing Chinese Army forces, they weren’t winning every battle, but they could no longer break through or expand gains.
Low troop quality led to soaring deaths, tightening the war situation further.
The Japanese Army had now abandoned most land outside cities, shifting gradually to defense.
The Chinese battlefield had entered the late stalemate phase.
Though the Japanese Army retained some offensive power, it had never achieved the goal of forcing the National Government to collapse.
Needing to send massive forces to the front lines also left occupied territory critically short on troops.
Did Xiao Tian the little devil not want more military police for the search?
It wasn’t unwillingness—it was inability. They simply had no more troops to spare!
Pull one hair and the whole body moves. Drawing too many troops here would leave other places vulnerable, letting resistance forces exploit the gaps.
