Jin Wenzheng grabbed his wife's arm. "You said they were all carrying guns?"

"Yes! Two pistols each!" Yong Chuyun said definitively.

"Then they're not Commander Xie's men. Their guns were all confiscated; they couldn't possibly have any." Jin Wenzheng said dejectedly.

The news of the Fifth Four Two Regiment's disarmament was known to everyone in Shanghai.

Even the fact that the eight tanks seized from the Japanese had been driven away and returned to them was also common knowledge throughout Shanghai.

The Japanese newspapers had even published photos and reports about it.

Everyone in Shanghai knew their purpose: to salvage the face that had been lost by the Eight Hundred Heroes.

But no matter how much they tried to gloss over it now, they couldn't erase the image in the minds of the people of the entire nation: eight thousand naval marines, with only two thousand surviving after three hours.

"How could this old woman's eyes be mistaken? As long as it's a person, I can recognize them even after ten years. I saw those people just a few days ago. Although I can't remember their names, I still remember their faces. It really is them. I think the little girl is new; probably one of their family's children. Since they saved our lives, we should buy some things and visit them tomorrow," Yong Chuyun said, somewhat indignantly.

Even though she was a housewife, did that mean she couldn't have any special talents? She had always been like this since she was a child; she couldn't learn anything well, except for remembering people's faces. She could recognize someone she had seen even after ten years, not to mention that she had been watching those Kuomintang soldiers across the street building fortifications every day for the past few days.

She wouldn't mistake them.

"Where are you going to see them? Do you know where they are?" Jin Wenzheng asked strangely.

"Of course, it's the refugee camp. Haven't you been talking about it all these days?" Yong Chuyun also found it strange.

"Okay! Okay! We'll go tomorrow. We'll go tomorrow. Heroes fallen on hard times; although we can't go to the front lines and fight the enemy, we can still do something to help in their time of need. Tomorrow, we'll send some rice and oil over."

Lin Fan returned to the Special Company's base and immediately showed the newly acquired information to Li Xian and the eight squad leaders.

It wasn't that Lin Fan was impatient, but he felt that time was too tight. There were too many things he needed to do himself.

The Japanese Tenth Army would be landing in Hangzhou Bay in two days, on November 5th, and there were still too many things that he and his men needed to do before then.

These banks needed to be dealt with, and he should also visit the comrades of the Fifth Four Two Regiment.

The Public Concession returned their eight tanks to the Japanese, and that score also needed to be settled.

Lin Fan also wanted to go to the Japanese Huishan Wharf to take a look; he had heard that many of the goods the Japanese had looted were shipped back to their country through that wharf.

Lin Fan wanted to intercept them!

That was why he intentionally showed this information to his subordinates.

The squad leaders were excited again when they saw the information about the Japanese banks.

Those who had gone to the Great World tonight were very happy when they returned. They had seen the peep shows and magic tricks. And there were all kinds of snacks and pastries; there were simply too many! Everyone had a good time tonight, and they had also completed their mission. It was simply too comfortable!

Now everyone in the company had a watch; if this were peacetime, they could have returned home in glory with just this watch.

The squad leaders of the Special Company knew what the company commander was thinking when they saw these photos. The company commander wanted to hit those banks.

If the company commander had an idea, they, as subordinates, should of course support it! Unconditionally support it!

Chen Sichuan could only look at the photos; he couldn't read. He quickly lost interest after looking at them for a while. They were all buildings, with no beauties; boring! He glared at the people present. Among the squad leaders, he, Liu Laopao, Ye Dadan, and Feng Junya couldn't read. Those who could read were looking at the photos and the words with rapt attention, completely absorbed.

Feng Junya pretended to flip through the information and looked just as engrossed.

Chen Sichuan still remembered being lectured for not knowing how to read. He immediately retorted, "Lao Feng, you can't read; what are you flipping through it for?"

Feng Junya laughed. "I can't read, but I think these words look like pictures. They're very pretty! Very pretty, indeed!"

Chen Sichuan said carelessly, "If you can't read, put it down! Let those who can read take a good look. Don't waste everyone's time."

Feng Junya smiled. "Little Sichuan, can't you read? Just say so! Brother, I'll teach you. It's very easy to learn; you'll get the hang of it in no time."

Chen Sichuan heard that he could learn to read in a short time and didn't mind being called Little Sichuan. "Lao Feng! How do you recognize them?"

Feng Junya said seriously, "I look at them as pictures. You see this word, it looks like grass and a tree, so I call it a branch. And look at this one, a big frame, it must be a frame."

Feng Junya's words made everyone present laugh. "Looking at words as pictures! How creative!"

Chen Sichuan was furious. "You idiot!"

Lin Fan realized that his work hadn't been done properly when he heard the two squad leaders' discussion. The army now was different from when he was a soldier. When he was a soldier, there were no illiterates, not only in the army but also in society. In a country with a population of over a billion, illiteracy had been completely eliminated, and this had only taken less than forty years. There would never be another miracle like this in all the countries and civilizations of the world. Eliminating illiteracy in a country, no matter how it was evaluated from any dynasty or by any person, was worthy of being called a saint! This was an achievement even greater than that of the Sage of Literature.

Now, in this era, illiterates were everywhere, and there were quite a few in his army. Half of the squad leaders couldn't read, and the percentage of illiterate soldiers in the army would only be higher. An army like this wouldn't work. An army without spiritual support wouldn't have lasting combat power. An army without spiritual support could only have its morale boosted by material things. Human power had its limits, and the reward effect of materials was the same; it would become less and less effective. That was why those powerful legions from ancient times to the present couldn't be passed down for long. An army without spirit was an army without lasting combat power.

Then an army without culture wouldn't grow into a modern army. Even in this era, whether it was ordinary shooting or artillery, if you wanted to do it well, relying entirely on intuition was unreliable. Only by relying on knowledge, mastering knowledge, and using the results obtained through the calculation and calibration of various parameters to guide shooting and artillery, could the effect be most reliable and repeatable.

It wasn't too late to mend the fold even after the sheep had been lost!

Lin Fan said to Li Xian, "Instructor! Take note, from now on, teach everyone in the entire company to recognize five characters every day. We must persist every day; this is as important as our physical training. We must make a red flag for advanced learning classes, and the class with the best literacy effect will have it hung up in their class."

Lin Fan's words made Chen Sichuan and the other illiterate squad leaders extremely happy. They didn't yet know the bitterness of going to school. They only knew the bitterness of being illiterate, and they knew that people with knowledge and culture were very respected! They strongly requested to start tonight.

Lin Fan said with a smile, "There's still a mission tonight. Since everyone is so enthusiastic and the atmosphere for learning is so high, just make up for today's lesson tomorrow."

The four illiterate squad leaders were extremely happy: The company commander was a good person!

Students in later generations had all tasted the pain of studying for eighteen hours a day. They were so exhausted that they wished they could have three days off to rest well.

Now, Chen Sichuan and the others were still happy, still excited, and still looking forward to the glory after learning to read. They couldn't understand the bitterness of learning at all.

Perhaps it was because people in later generations found the learning environment too easy and couldn't appreciate the difficulty of seeking knowledge. That was why they felt that learning was bitter!

The Special Company only had one mobile red flag so far, and every class wanted to grab this honor. Unfortunately, it wasn't time yet; there were still twenty days before the competition. But today, a new red flag could be added, and they must grab it for their class. The squad leaders of the eight classes had already made up their minds: whoever couldn't complete the literacy task, I will make him crawl to finish recognizing the words.

Ye Dadan couldn't read, he pointed to a photo and said, "This is a Japanese bank. Let's do it tonight."

Yang Daren quickly echoed, "Yes! Yes! Let's do it tonight, lest things get complicated."

What he was thinking was that his class hadn't been able to go to the Great World tonight. If they went to the bank now, their class could of course go.

Lin Fan didn't object when he heard the two squad leaders' speeches. This was support!

Now, all the squad leaders understood: The company commander also intended to take action tonight!

Everyone was excited now, and Chen Sichuan was the first to express his opinion: "Company commander! Tonight, our class didn't fire a single shot; we just went to the Great World for a trip. Everyone is not tired at all; we still have energy."

Liu Laopao also quickly added, "This trip today wasn't tiring at all; we just went out to play. I feel even more energetic. Company commander, this can be done."

Li Xian also said, "Something just happened at the Great World tonight; if we go and mess with the banks, no one will suspect us."

Lin Fan loved to hear these words!

Lin Fan loved to hear these words!

That was indeed the case; people would have some fixed ideas. If the Special Company really went to the banks tonight, those people would never suspect them.

What made Lin Fan even happier was the morale of everyone in the entire Special Company. What he wanted was an army that could fight continuously.

Lin Fan said with a smile, "Since everyone says it can be done, let's do it."

The squad leaders all laughed slyly.

Since they were going to do it, the three squad leaders who hadn't been on guard duty before became nervous. This time, they should draw lots to decide who would stay behind.

Lin Fan pointed to the original French Concession, now the Japanese Concession. These Japanese Concessions were where the Japanese had gradually gathered and lived together in the French Concession after 1932, and slowly became the Japanese Concession.

Lin Fan pointed to the three banks located in the Japanese Concession: "Tonight, we'll pick one of these three to start with. If it's easy to do, we'll do them one after another. If it's not easy to do, we'll come back immediately after finishing one."

The general direction was set, but how to do it specifically? Lin Fan first picked out all the information on the three banks that were the target for tonight, and everyone came to analyze it.

The three banks were actually not far apart, all within three hundred meters. There were definitely people guarding these banks. How to open those doors without attracting attention and take out the things was a difficult problem. Now, the Special Company only had some photos and reports in their hands. It was difficult to extract useful information from these pictures and texts. It was even more difficult to apply this information to practical situations.

Everyone discussed it for five minutes, and still decided to use what the Special Company was best at: Miracles happen with great force! Directly crush them with force.

Since there was a conclusion, the entire Special Company was preparing to set off again. In order to better carry out this mission, the Special Company brought the secret equipment that Lin Fan had rushed to make. Lin Fan had only made this secret equipment to cope with possible situations. Although miracles happened with great force, Lin Fan still hadn't thought of using explosives to blow open the doors of the treasury. What he wanted to do was to try not to alarm the ordinary people in the concession. He didn't want to alarm even the people next door to the bank.

When they set off, the people on the Special Company were even carrying empty boxes of gas bombs. Lin Fan had considered it: These boxes could scare people, and even if they weren't used, they would be good for carrying money.

This time, the Special Company went through the sewers, with only one purpose: not to attract attention. Leaving a squad of soldiers to guard the warehouse, more than a hundred people left the Public Concession through the sewers.

This time, all the soldiers in the company put on the uniforms of the Shanghai Naval Landing Force again. In the darkness, the Special Company was walking outside the concession, whether it was the British and American officers and soldiers guarding the concession; or the hoodlums outside the concession who were wholeheartedly trying to make a profit without any investment, when they discovered this group of Japanese, they consciously didn't provoke them. Especially those hoodlums who made money without investment, when they saw this team, they quickly ran far away. They were afraid that this Japanese team would use them as a tool to vent their anger.

The news that someone had been beaten to death by the Shanghai Naval Landing Force last night had already spread among the hoodlums. Perhaps they were the same team, and the Japanese had specially sent them out on special missions at night. These hoodlums would never have thought that that team was really this team. This team did indeed have a special mission to do.

Lin Fan and the others quietly approached the Japanese Concession in the escape of these people who were like avoiding ghosts and gods. This was thanks to the construction drawings of the entire concession's sewers sent by Director Pan. It had to be said that Director Pan was really a good intelligence agent!

The Special Company didn't directly walk into the concession from the main road, but quietly entered the Japanese Concession along the riverside sewers without alarming anyone.