An Unexpected New Year's Gift

  A crowd of bandits holding torches suddenly burst into a fierce flame, followed by a loud explosion, and then a series of mournful cries.

  Accompanied by another loud noise, another mortar also fired immediately.

  One after another, mortar shells rained down on the bandits' heads, bursting into blossoms of hellish flowers, accompanied by the deafening roar of explosions, and the bandits' mournful cries rose and fell in succession.

  Yang Shuo Ming cautiously poked his head out from behind the stone wall and carefully observed the battle situation.

  The bandits were numerous, but like the eliminated Liangshan Hei Mule Bandit Gang and Yao Changkui's gang that was defeated in a surprise attack on Shuanglong Town, their combat quality was very poor. They only knew how to fire guns randomly, with no tactics or strategy. Under the intense bombardment of the security team's mortar, they were still crowded together, carelessly waving torches, which was equivalent to providing targets for the security personnel. As a result, the bandits were quickly defeated, and their gunfire soon weakened.

  The bandits who had rushed to the front of the fortress were blocked by a deep trench and could not pass through, so they could only shoot and scold at the edge of the trench. They soon attracted the accurate shooting of the security guards on the wall, and a large number of them were swept away. The remaining people retreated in a hurry.

  Yang Shuo Ming looked at the bandits' dead and wounded bodies, and his last bit of worry also disappeared.

  Yang Shuo Ming knew that the bandits' performance was not surprising, in this era, not only the bandits' combat skills were poor, but also the Northern Warlord's regular army who recruited them was not much better. Western advanced weapons, Western-style military training and education did not teach Chinese people how to fight. In today's China, whether it is government soldiers or civilian militia, the guns in their hands are not actually weapons, but rather tools for extortion and intimidation.

  At this time, the two mortars on another earthwork also opened fire, and as more shells fell on the bandits' heads, the bandits' offensive began to disintegrate. No matter how much Liu Wenxuan and other bandit leaders shouted and scolded, they refused to come up and die again.

  At this time, Yang Shuo Ming still did not dare to be careless. Although the terrain of the underground fortress was dangerous, as long as the gate was closed and the drawbridge was pulled up, outsiders would not be able to enter. However, the bandits had a large number of people, and due to the fact that most people had returned home for the New Year, there were only about 50 or 60 security guards and company employees guarding the "Renhe" company headquarters in the underground fortress. Although they were well-equipped with weapons and had high morale, it was not enough to make up for the huge disadvantage in terms of personnel numbers.

  What's more, these people have families here.

  As soon as he thought of his pregnant wife, Yang Shuoming's heart tightened.

  We must drive these bandits away as soon as possible!

  Yang Shuo Ming listened to the bandits' curses outside and suddenly had an idea.

  As his mind turned, the cursor in his eyes was also flashing rapidly, capturing and distinguishing Liu Wenzhong's location through the sound coming from his ears.

  Soon, the cursor in his eyes locked onto a figure in the distance, marked with an outline in the dark where flashes of fire occasionally flickered.

  Yang Shuo Ming hastily approached a mortar, gestured to the mortarman to step back, and took over operating it himself.

  "Do you want to try it yourself?" The mortar man asked with a smile, as he yielded his position to Yang Shuoming.

  Lei and Zhao Erhu and other security guards also cast surprised glances at Pao Shou's words.

  Yang Shuo Ming smiled and didn't bother to give them an explanation. Following the prompts in his eyes, he began a familiar cannon operation.

  With his movements, in his eyes, there were constantly flashing correction prompts. When the crosshair and a curved parabola coincided at Liu Wensuo's location, Yang Shouming gave an order to another gunner, who quickly loaded a shell into the barrel.

  A flash of fire, a loud explosion, amidst the bandits' cries of despair, Yang Shuo Ming easily distinguished Liu Wen Xuan's mournful howl!

  Judging from the analysis of his scream by "Super Computer Eye", it is highly likely that he will be eliminated.

  "Our house has been bombed!" someone shouted.

  Upon hearing such shouts, the morale of the bandit soldiers instantly collapsed, and they retreated while cursing.

  As he watched the fleeing bandits disappear into the distance, amidst the cheers of the security team members, Yang Shuo slowly stood up from beside the rocket launcher.

  "Awesome! You're incredible! Not only did you hit every shot with your gun, but also with the cannon, it's as if it grew eyes!" Zhao Erhu exclaimed to Yang Shouming. The other security team members also cheered in agreement.

  After hearing everyone's praise, Yang Shuo Ming didn't seem too happy.

  He knew that this time he had once again successfully defeated the bandits, and his victory was even more unexpected than the previous two times.

  It would have been impossible for them to hold a place so large with so few men, if it were not for the mortars and solid defensive works, as well as the ineptitude of the bandits.

  The scale of the security team is still a bit small compared to the scale of his current startup business.

  Thinking of that infamous General Zhang Jingyao, Yang Shuo Ming was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

  After another inspection and arranging for people to check the battlefield, Yang Shuo Ming returned to his residence. As soon as he opened the door, six children - Liu Zhiyuan (Liu Xiaogui), Cai Jingyuan (Cai Aniu), Wang Chaoyong (Wang Xiaozhu), Chu Yangwei (Chu Erpang), Chen Dingyuan (Chen Xiaosheng) and Xue Zhenyuan (Xue Changgui) - all swarmed around him, gathering at his side.

  Looking into the children's eyes with concern, Yang Shuoming's heart was filled with warmth.

  Perhaps it was because he had been lonely for too long in his original era, but after crossing over to this place, in this turbulent and chaotic era, he found a sense of kinship with the people around him.

  "Are you okay?" Huang Yunzhi looked at Yang Shouming, who was covered in the smell of gunpowder, and quickly walked up to him.

  "It's all right, the bandits have been chased away." Yang Shouming smiled and took her hand, leading her and the children into the inner room.

  "Dry mother wants us to go help you. But our task is to protect dry mother, so we didn't leave." Wang Chaoyong looked up at Yang Shouming with a clear voice and said, "We didn't listen to dry mother's words, you won't scold us, will you?"

  Huang Yunzhi looked at several godsons "reporting" to him with some amusement, and said with a smile: "It's my fault, don't blame them."

  "You've done the right thing." Yang Shuo Ming nodded seriously at several children, "As a soldier, you must obey orders. No matter what situation, you must complete your mission. Your performance this time is very good."

  After hearing Yang Shuo Ming's praise, several children showed excitement and pride on their faces.

  Yang Shuo Ming looked up at Huang Yunzhi and then at the children, smiling, "However, you must listen to your mother's words every day, understand?"

  The children responded crisply, surrounding the couple as they returned to the house. Huang Yunzhi gazed at the six children dressed in military uniforms and carrying rifles, subconsciously stroking her abdomen, her eyes flowing with warmth for a moment.

  Huang Yunzhi pulled Yang Shuoming down to sit at the dinner table and started eating reunion dinner with the children.

  "Which mountain bandit has just arrived?" Huang Yunzhi asked while serving the children food.

  "Liu Damao of Tie Mang Mountain." Yang Shuo Ming replied, "But he claims to be the Fifth Mixed Brigade, saying that Commander Li appointed him as the brigade commander, I don't know if it's true or false. I've already sent someone to check, and we'll know in a moment."

  "It's been said since ancient times that 'if you want to be an official, kill people and set fires to accept the amnesty'. I think this matter might be true." Huang Yunzhi said, "I heard that the provincial city is very chaotic now. That Li Chun commander wants to expand his military power, it's easy for him to target those bandits."

  "These bastards only know how to fight with the common people for benefits, they don't care about the lives and deaths of the common people. Our salt mine has just opened for two months, and it has attracted so many flies. It seems that we also need to expand our forces." After hearing his wife's words, Yang Shaoming looked at their six children and suddenly had an idea, "The method Li Chun uses is also applicable to us."

  At this time, Yang Shuo Ming suddenly had the image of Tang Xuan and that elegant female knight appear before his eyes.

  "Do you also want to take revenge on the bandits?" Huang Yunzhi asked, having somewhat guessed his thoughts.

  "Whatever," Yang Shuo Ming said thoughtfully, "I haven't quite figured out how to get started yet."

  Huang Yunzhi saw his wandering eyes and didn't want to interrupt his thoughts, so she didn't say anything else.

  After finishing the reunion dinner, Yang Shuoming was about to check the homework of the six children when Zhao Erhu rushed in hastily.

  "What's wrong? Old Zhao?"

  "We found two old things, they should be Liu Dama's subordinates' discarded items. Old Lei thinks you might like them, so he asked me to call you over to take a look and see if there's any potential for renovation." Zhao Erhu's face showed a strange smile, "I really didn't think they still had this..."

  Yang Shuo Ming nodded and stood up, putting on his outer garment. Huang Yunzhi also curiously followed with the six children.

  At this time, the heavy snow had stopped, and Yang Shuo Ming arrived at the gate tower. When he saw the two wheel-mounted devices that looked like elephant-fire cannons in front of him, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise.

  "There are still several boxes of bullets being lifted up." Lei said with a smile, seeing the look of surprise in Yang Shuo Ming's eyes.

  Yang Shuo Ming turned his head and looked around, and indeed saw several security guards using a pulley to hang something on the wall.

  Due to concerns that the retreating bandits would return with cavalry, Yang Shouming did not open the gate and lower the drawbridge when arranging for personnel to inspect the battlefield. Instead, he adopted the method of having scouts ride a pulley basket down the city wall and use ladders to cross the moat.