Chapter 2 Liu Yikun

  In August of the 27th year of Guangxu, or October 1901, Shenyang, which had experienced cannon fire and looting, finally returned to the Qing dynasty's embrace. After being occupied by Russia for three months, this northeastern city, once so prosperous, no longer had its former appearance.

  Everything in sight is desolate, with a hint of coolness in the autumn wind that has begun to blow the leaves dry and yellow. On the branches, there are still corpses hanging, all Chinese people, including soldiers and non-soldiers, men and women.

  Pedestrians walking on the road did not notice these, they supported their relatives and rushed to Fengtian City, wanting to see how their homes were doing, whether the house was still there, and whether there was still a bed for themselves to sleep well after returning home.

  Two fine horses came galloping from behind, with two riders on them. One was in his twenties, looking somewhat sly, and the other was over forty, appearing to be a very fierce person. The pedestrians dodged to the side, and a woman holding a child, because of her small feet, dodged slowly, and almost got knocked down by the horses.

  The woman's face had already turned pale, and she instinctively turned her body around, preparing to use her soft back to withstand the impact, so that the child could be safer.

  The knight's riding skills were quite exquisite, and with a pull on the reins, the horse let out a long whinny and stopped right in front of the woman, barely avoiding knocking her over.

  The young knight behind him shouted loudly: "Damn it, are your eyes blind?"

  The woman had not yet recovered from her fright when an old man beside her hastily pulled her to one side, just as he was about to apologize. However, the forty-year-old man suddenly jumped down from his horse and used his eyes to stop his companion. He rushed towards the woman and bowed: "Sister-in-law, didn't I bump into you?"

  The woman hastily shook her head and took another step back, already at the edge of the official road. The man smiled: "I have some urgent business, I'm in a bit of a hurry, please forgive me, madam."

  The young man behind him came up: "Brother Liu, it's getting late, the magistrate is still waiting for us, we should hurry."

  The man nodded and bowed to the woman with his fists, then mounted his horse again. The two of them continued on their way, but this time they were clearly slower than before, no longer galloping at full speed.

  The two walked side by side. The young man's eyes rolled around: "Liu Dage, what official position will the imperial court give you this time? I think it should be at least a commander."

  Liu Dage sighed: "I don't care about the official position, we gathered together not for wealth and glory, but to make a contribution to our great Qing dynasty, defeat those foreigners, who knew that this battle we still lost. I plan to ask the imperial court for some compensation for those brothers who died in battle, and then continue on my way as a bodyguard, from now on, I will not come back to this northeastern region again."

  Liu Dage is called Liu Yikun, a martial arts master in the capital. Last year, the old Buddha unleashed his mighty power and declared war on all nations in Beijing, which really stirred up these hot-blooded men. Those with money contributed financially, those with strength contributed physically, all for the sake of defeating foreigners and making China no longer suffer that kind of humiliation.

  Liu Yikun not only spent money and effort, but also his life. After hearing that the Russian old guys sent troops to Northeast China, Liu Yikun took advantage of his familiarity with both the black and white societies in Northeast China, where he had been escorting convoys for many years, and dispersed all his family's wealth to form a righteous army, determined to fight the Russians to the death.

  A group of bandits, a group of escorts, and a group of hunters, later joined by a group of defeated Qing soldiers. They fought several battles with the Russians under Liu Yikun's leadership, but surprisingly didn't suffer much loss.

  However, due to the defeat of the Qing army on the front lines, Liu Yikun could only retreat into the Changbai Mountains. They fought for nearly half a year until recently when someone from the imperial court came to tell them that the war was over and the Qing had lost.

  The governor wants Liu Yikun to rush to Fengtian immediately, saying that Fengtian has now been recovered and urgently needs guarding forces. The imperial court has all admitted defeat, and all of Liu Yikun's hopes have been shattered. He is now desperate, and if it weren't for wanting to give an account to the brothers who followed him, he really wanted to slip away.

  He originally wanted to bring the troops down, but Master Kong was opposed to it. This master is a suspicious person and is very cautious in his actions. He asked Liu Yikun to send someone to delay for a while and then look at the situation before making a decision, but Liu Yikun really wanted to end everything as soon as possible. If brothers can really eat imperial grain and become an official soldier, it seems to be the best outcome at present.

  As for himself, Liu Yikun really had no thoughts at all.

  The young man behind him was called Biaozi, a close follower of the bandit Jin Dadao. He was relatively quick-witted and Jin Dadao had brought him along this time because he was afraid that the imperial court would treat them differently when they were being reformed.

  No matter whether he believed in the imperial court or not, Biaozi still trusted Liu Yikun very much. Now hearing that Liu Yikun said he would never come to Northeast China again, he was a bit heartbroken: "Brother Liu, can you really let go of all your brothers?"

  Liu Yikun shook his head: "This time, I owe you an apology. Originally wanted to take you to do something big, but didn't expect the result would be like this. Biaozi, I really can't figure it out, our great Qing dynasty has all the advantages of heaven, earth, and man, why can't we still win?"

  Liu Yikun's eyes were somewhat bewildered, he was really confused now. He thought that when the old Maozi attacked Shengjing in the past, more than 3,000 old Maozi fired a few cannons and scared away tens of thousands of troops in Shengjing. What had happened to this Qing dynasty?

  Biaozi couldn't explain these things to him, Liu Yikun gathered his thoughts and let out a sigh: "If I hadn't brought you guys here, your brother wouldn't have died, maybe now you'd be drinking together from the same bowl."

  Biaozi smiled: "Liu brother, don't say that. For us who do this kind of business without capital, life and death are destined, we never blame others. On the contrary, if I really became an official soldier, I hope Liu brother can stay and lead us."

  Liu Yikun let out a sigh: "I've lost the mood, Old Jin can do it. Let's go, there are over 200 brothers on Gulu Mountain waiting for our news."

  Biaozi raised his eyes and saw that the city wall of Fengtian City had already appeared in his line of sight, with more and more refugees returning home in front of him, and the road was getting more and more crowded.

  Two people entered the city gate, and the guards at the gate had changed from Russians to Qing soldiers. Those soldiers stood under the city gate one by one, checking the packages of ordinary people, taking out various things that they liked, like wolves and tigers. Liu Yikun didn't understand where these fierce Qing soldiers were when the Russians attacked Fengtian in the first place?

  "This gentleman, Liu Yikun, has come with a letter from the Prefectural Magistrate. Please announce his arrival." Liu Yikun took out the letter given to him by the Magistrate and handed it over to the leader of the soldiers.

  That person looked at it and suddenly flashed his eyes, then said very politely: "Ah, it's Lord Liu, from now on we will work together, Brother Zhao Yanxuan, let me introduce you to Lord Liu."

  Liu Yikun clasped his fists and said: "Brother is being polite."

  Zhao Yanhui shouted to two soldiers: "You two, take Liu Daren and this brother to the camp house to rest, serve some tea and snacks, and serve well!"

  Biaozi's face couldn't help but smile, while Liu Yikun politely said: "Don't bother yourselves, we'll take care of ourselves."

  Zhao Yanwei smiled and said: "Alright, you two wait here, I'll go inform him now."

  Biaozi was indeed excited, sitting in the warm room, touching the thick quilts of the soldiers: "Liu brother, this thing is great, it's warm at night when covered."

  Liu Yikun is now worried, he doesn't know why, but suddenly he has a feeling that makes him uneasy. A faint smile, he replied to Biaozi's words, his hand involuntarily tightened on the armrest of the chair, and inexplicable tension surged up in his heart.

  Biaozi looked around and asked: "Liu brother, where is the toilet? I have an emergency."

  Liu Yikun shook his head: "How would I know? You go find it yourself, and be quick about it."

  Biaozi took his pants and left, leaving only Liu Yikun alone. He was even more flustered and anxious, picked up the teacup and took a sip, trying to suppress his emotions. But before he could put down the cup, the door of the military camp was suddenly kicked open, and a man wearing a Zhifu official uniform led a group of soldiers rushing in, dozens of people, with black gun barrels levelled at Liu Yikun inside the house!

  Liu Yikun slowly stood up: "Your Excellency, Governor, what does this mean?"