Master, let me ask you clearly. They said they are the Eighth Route Army, a team that fights Japanese invaders. Their cap badge is the same as that of the young master, so they should not be bandits."

Li San's words made Li Yaozu feel at ease a lot, as long as he was not a Japanese or a bandit, it would be easy.

Although he had never heard of the Eighth Route Army, as long as it was an army of the national government, Chen Dong would always have to give some face, and at the worst, he could just donate some military pay and send him away.

"Li San, where are they now and how many people are there? Did they say anything?"

"Back to my lord, their large army is staying in the jujube forest outside the village. There are about two to three hundred people. An officer who claims to be their company commander said that he wants to meet with the clan leader of the village."

Li Yaozu thought for a while and thought it would be better to meet him, just to get a feel for the other party's details.

"Li San, you are a guest. Please invite their superiors to come over and have a few glasses of water and wine. In addition, please go down and prepare an extra water banquet for 300 people and send it to the army when the banquet starts at noon."

Li Yaozu decided to stabilize the other party first. Now that there are more troops in this army and that army, they all want to eat at the expense of the township party!

When soldiers come, they can't be dispatched without spending some money and food.

"I hope this Eighth Route Army's appetite won't be too big!"

Watching Li San leave, Li Yaozu thought to himself.

Chu Xiong knew that there was actually a kind of gentry rule in the countryside. Since ancient times, political power had not been concentrated in counties. The vast towns and villages were all ruled by gentry, and their words were more effective than those of county magistrates.

In the base area that Chuxiong wants to establish, the first thing that must be broken is this kind of gentry rule. In the base area, the Eighth Route Army and the people can only have the final say. Otherwise, there is no way to awaken and arm the people.

Of course, this needs to be done step by step and cannot be done too hastily. The most important task at the moment is to fight the Japanese and unite all forces that can be united, including some enlightened squires.

So when Li Yaozu wanted to touch Chu Xiong's bottom, Chu Xiong was also trying to touch his bottom.

Half an hour later, Chu Xiong and Yang Wei brought the stone to see Li Yaozu, the patriarch of Lijia Village.

"Sir Chu, Mr Yang, I didn't know that your Majesty was here, but I missed you from afar. I'm so ashamed!"

"Old fox"! Chu Xiong cursed in his heart, and instantly showed a harmless smile.

"Clan Chief Li, you are very polite. Our Eighth Route Army is a force that fights Japanese invaders. We want to establish anti-Japanese base areas in surrounding towns and villages. We are here to pay a visit to Patriarch Li."

If Li Yaozu's words appeared to be polite, but in reality he was rejecting people thousands of miles away, then Chu Xiong went straight to the point and explained his intention.

The meaning is very clear: I came here to establish a base to fight the Japanese, and Lijia Village is also within the surrounding towns!

After hearing this, Li Yaozu's heart skipped a beat. He was trying to take over the rhythm and would provoke the Japanese.

There may be a lot of blood this time. Chen Dong must be allowed to bring the army back. A scholar cannot explain why he encounters soldiers!

To deal with soldiers, you have to be soldiers.

"Haha, fighting the Japanese is easy to talk about!

Chief Chu, Chief Yang, today is the wedding of Quanzi. Can you please come to your house and have a few glasses of water and wine first?

The old man from the army outside the village has already given orders, and a banquet will be sent there as well.

Our village is too small to accommodate a large army, I hope you two officers will forgive me!"

It is said that you should never hit someone with a smiling face. Chu Xiong has established a base in Lijia Village. He will have to deal with country squires like Li Yaozu for many days in the future. Naturally, he cannot quarrel with him.

After thinking about this, Chu Xiong bowed his hands to Li Yaozu and said:

"Clan Chief Li, congratulations, then I'm sorry for bothering you!"

When Li Yaozu saw that Chu Xiong was willing to sit down and drink, it would be easy to handle!

In his opinion, as long as the soldiers are willing to sit down, it will be easy to handle. It is nothing more than spending a few more silver dollars.

Li Yaozu's goal is very clear, that is, he would rather spend more money to send away these soldiers. Lijia Village belongs to the old Li family.

As soon as it was noon, the water banquet had been prepared and it was time for the banquet to begin. Chu Xiong and Yang Wei were placed at the main table, and Shitou was also placed.

For a wealthy family like the Li family, etiquette is still very good.

According to the time, the banquet should have started, but the team that went to pick up the bride hadn't come back yet. It should have arrived early, so it couldn't have been an accident.

Li Yaozu also began to feel a little unable to sit still...

At this time, Li San ran into the hall with an anxious look on his face, bowed his head and whispered a few words to Li Yaozu.

Chu Xiong glanced at Li Yaozu with his peripheral vision. Although he was still pretending to be calm, a trace of panic flashed across his eyes. It seemed that something big had happened, otherwise Li Yaozu, who was like an old fox, would not be so panicked.

Maybe this is an opportunity to break the ice!

"Mr. Chu, Chief Yang, I have something to do here. Please go out and see Haihan!"

Li Yaozu made a complaint and left in a hurry. Since the other party didn't want him, an outsider, to know, he was willing to wait and see what happened, and couldn't do anything to catch up with him.

About a quarter of an hour later, Li Yaozu returned again, with an even more solemn expression on his face.

"Mr. Chu, Chief Yang, can you take a step to speak?"

Chu Xiong also saw that the matter was of great importance and nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Chu, Chief Yang, I'm very sorry. Something happened at home. I shouldn't have troubled the two officers, but I really can't think of a way. The matter is so important that I can only turn to the two officers for help. After the matter is completed, there will be serious problems.

Thanks!"

It was related to the life and safety of his son and daughter-in-law, as well as the reputation of the Li family. Time was running out, so he had no choice but to turn to the Eighth Route Army for help.

Li Yaozu was a man who had seen the world, and he could tell that these two Eighth Route Army commanders were reliable people.

"Clan Chief Li, there is no need to panic. If you encounter any difficulties, just tell us. We are duty-bound to use our Eighth Route Army wherever it is useful."

"Chief Chu, Chief Yang, please save Quanzi and my daughter-in-law. This Hu Shuangqiang is a well-known tough gangster. He uses two guns without authorization and eats people without spitting out their bones. If my wife is..."

After Li Yaozu finished speaking, he handed a piece of bloody letter paper to Chu Xiong.

Chu Xiong took it and read it and handed it to Yang Wei. After Yang Wei read it, he gave it back to Li Yaozu.

Chu Xiong has always had the final say in military matters, so he is the one who makes the decision.

"Chief Li, don't worry. Our Eighth Route Army will definitely take care of this matter. Now that our Eighth Route Army is here, we are not only going to fight the Japanese, but also the bandits and robbers! How much do you know about this group of bandits?"

Chu Xiong's attitude surprised Li Yaozu. He didn't expect the Eighth Route Army to be so forthcoming. He had thought that the Eighth Route Army would send troops. Since they wanted to develop here, they would definitely not tolerate these bandits. One mountain cannot tolerate two tigers.

But he didn't expect that the Eighth Route Army would agree so readily, without even mentioning remuneration.

He didn't want to bother soldiers when he could solve things himself, because soldiers in this era sometimes had bigger appetites than bandits.

The cost of sending troops is not something that ordinary people can afford. Many times they would rather spend money to ransom people from bandits.
Chapter completed!