Chapter 11: A Pleasant Surprise in the Town of Assault 4

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Zhang Yun quietly stepped outside and stood guard at the warehouse door, preventing Chang Qing and the others from entering and searching again. He then waited patiently.

The loot page was now almost cleared. Only 800 mortar shells remained unremoved from the weapons and equipment. The additional seized food and money were piled by Zhang Yun into a small wooden box.

Even the iron converted from the bandits’ broadswords and the copper transformed from their coins were cashed out by Zhang Yun and tossed next to the weapons in the inner room. Zhang Yun truly wanted to see what kind of loot bonus came from occupying a small town.

This was crucial to his future strategic direction.

After about ten minutes, Zhang Yun felt a shift in his mind, understanding that the loot bonus system had recognized the town’s occupation, and the loot page began updating rapidly.

After a moment, Zhang Yun silently opened the page and read carefully:

Loot:

Weapons and Equipment: 7.75 Type 13 rifles from Liaoning, 1.24 Mauser pistols, 128 rounds of 7.92mm pointed bullets, 17.5 rounds of 7.62mm pistol ammunition.

Money: 1,220 yuan in legal tender, 24.48 kilograms of silver, 3.730 kilograms of gold.

Food: 22.98 tons of flour, 4.4 tons of horse meat, 1.1 tons of pork, 0.45 tons of beef, 24 kilograms of chicken, 6 kilograms of eggs.

Metals: 56 kilograms of copper, 2.3 tons of iron, 42 kilograms of lead, 8.9 kilograms of tin.

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Building Materials: 24 cubic meters of timber, 2.14 tons of cement.

Others: 2 spinning wheels, saltpeter, fertilizer...

Hmm, the system had already swapped weapons, food, and clothing according to his instructions; otherwise, the loot page would still be a chaotic jumble. Yet, even so, the “Others” category was full of miscellaneous items, which Zhang Yun temporarily closed, planning to consider civilian livelihood supplies later as the base developed.

The sheer quantity of seized food and money far exceeded his initial expectations, but upon reflection, it made sense. Shanxi was a major commercial province; the reputation of Shanxi merchants was widespread at home and abroad. Wealthy households were accustomed to storing silver and copper coins in cellars as inherited treasures, all carefully hidden. Although the bandits had taken the town, they hadn’t searched every household thoroughly, so these hidden riches remained undiscovered. As for guns and ammunition, they were likely converted from locally concealed homemade firearms and cannons, so the quantities were limited.

It seemed that occupying ordinary towns and villages yielded abundant food and money but comparatively little weaponry and ammunition. To seize more guns and ammo, battles against Japanese soldiers, puppet troops, and bandits were necessary. If large numbers of Japanese troops could be annihilated, or if Japanese garrisons in counties or major cities could be captured, the amount of seized ammunition would be huge.

At this moment, Zhang Yun’s rigorous mindset from the future sparked an interesting question. The food and money secretly stored by civilians would surely not be taken by the Eighth Route Army, as they protected the people; they might even return loot taken by bandits to the populace. But if the town were retaken by Japanese puppet forces or bandits, and then Zhang Yun and his men reclaimed it again, could they seize that food and money once more?

Pondering the system’s rules, Zhang Yun combed through the vast data stream delivered by the external system and finally found an explanation.

It turned out that repeated looting was possible but subject to certain restrictions. In strategy games, key resource points like mines often changed hands repeatedly. To prevent repeated loot bonuses being exploited in a short time and detected by the regulatory system, the external system limited all materials to be recalculated only after 10 “universal days,” which translated to about two weeks in this universe.

In simpler terms, the system marked the materials (not the region). Every 14 days, the loot bonus could be claimed again; if less than 14 days had passed, no bonus was granted. For example, if a rifle was seized and granted a 0.5 rifle bonus, and within 14 days it was taken back by the enemy but then recaptured by Zhang Yun, it counted as one rifle only. However, if after more than 14 days it was retaken, the bonus would apply again, adding another 0.5 rifle to the total.

Moreover, the large amount of food was because it was still spring, when every household had stored grain. If the town were occupied during lean seasons, the loot of food would be much less. Conversely, after summer or autumn harvests, the loot from villages and towns could be enormous. Zhang Yun carefully considered that the food and meat gathered today alone could feed their rookie platoon for more than two years, ensuring no shortage of provisions for raising troops in the future.

Hmm? So much horse meat—that must be the bandits’ cavalry horses. The system probably couldn’t account for live military horses, cattle, sheep, or poultry as loot bonuses, so they were converted into horse meat, beef, and other meat products. From now on, the rookie camp wouldn’t lack meat; the only problem was how to monetize it.

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After reflecting on the loot page, Zhang Yun flipped to the map page. The entire administrative area containing the town was now marked deep green, indicating occupation. However, the villages under Yujiakou Town still showed gray, clearly under the control of landlord bullies. Only when their regular troops went to intimidate or even suppress them could the occupation be considered complete, thereby gaining extra loot from each village. Confirming with the system’s data stream, Zhang Yun learned that key nodes (administrative towns) had to be occupied first, then their subordinate nodes (villages) to earn additional benefits.

Closing the page, Zhang Yun paused his thoughts on the loot bonus system. He called over Vice Platoon Leader Liu Changqing and Squad Leader Dabao, instructing Dabao to have his squad organize the money boxes and weapons, especially protecting the mortar and its large crate.

Then Zhang Yun pulled Liu Changqing aside to ask about casualties. Liu Changqing reported excitedly, “Platoon leader, I just asked the three squad leaders. We only have two wounded, none serious. We killed 25 enemies and captured 36, including 14 wounded.”

Zhang Yun smiled with relief. “Well done. Although these bandits lack discipline, with such casualty ratios, our rookie training really paid off.”

He then led Liu Changqing into the warehouse to look at the mortar and said, “Changqing, look at this cannon—it’s protected so professionally. Bandits wouldn’t do this. Go question the bandit prisoners to find out who handled it. That person must be a professional artilleryman. If he’s not some vicious criminal, we should recruit and convert him into an Eighth Route Army soldier. Once our rookie platoon masters this mortar, fighting the Japanese will be much easier. Also, ask around about others, then we’ll hold a public trial where the townspeople identify the bandits; anyone guilty of bloodshed will be executed.”

Liu Changqing understood the mortar’s importance and nodded, then personally led the questioning of the prisoners.

At this moment, Zhang Yun deeply felt that the rookie platoon was still too small. Guarding prisoners, organizing seized firearms, preparing the public trial—each task required manpower and precision. They lacked not only soldiers but also capable officers.

“We still need to recruit,” Zhang Yun thought. Although many guns and ammunition were officially seized this time, food wasn’t excessive; a lot would be returned to the townspeople after the trial. But with the loot bonuses, the quantities of food, silver, and meat were enormous. Even recruiting 100 more men would still provide enough provisions for a year. Moreover, Zhang Yun planned to use recruitment as a pretext to confirm occupation of the villages under Yujiakou Town, gaining another substantial bounty of food and money.