Chapter 15 of Volume 1: The Bandits Wreak Havoc

  "Cough, cough..." Qiao Anbang deliberately let out two deep coughs and said: "Big brother, the money wasn't taken from home, it was sponsored by Miss Liu. Didn't I tell you before? Miss Liu's father is very wealthy in America and Europe, their family enterprise is huge."

  "Nowadays, the Japanese are ambitious and secretly plotting to occupy our land and exterminate our nation. The war of resistance against Japan will break out sooner or later, I think you should be aware of this, big brother." Qiao Anbang changed the subject, asking with another intention.

  "Yes, first there was the September 18th Incident, then the January 28th Shanghai Incident, and later the Great Wall Incident. All of these incidents revealed the ambition of Japanese aggressors. I joined the National Army for one reason: to lead my fellow countrymen into battle one day, defend our homes, and fight a decisive battle against Japanese invaders." Speaking of the Japanese, Qiao Anguo became visibly agitated.

  "Big brother, have you ever thought that since the September 18th Incident, we've been losing cities and territories one after another, while the Japanese can easily occupy large tracts of our land?" Qiao Anbang asked tentatively.

  "The main reason why the National Government did not have the determination to resist and could not make a determined effort to resist was that the comprehensive national strength of China and Japan differed too much. In addition, our military equipment, training, and industrial foundation were all inferior to theirs. Alas, there are tens of millions of patriotic Chinese people with hot blood, but unfortunately, our national strength is weak, the government has no power to make a determined effort to resist, and can only appease and endure." Qiao An's words were filled with helplessness and sighs.

  "What the elder brother said is absolutely right. Since the Meiji Restoration, Japan's domestic industry has developed rapidly, and its comprehensive strength has far surpassed ours. Their military equipment and combat effectiveness are also stronger than ours. However, if we have a powerful financial group as our backing, and possess advanced weapons and equipment to arm our tens of millions of patriotic Chinese children, then the Japanese wanting to destroy China is just an absurd fantasy." Qiao Anbang said with great ambition.

  "Lao San, what do you mean?" Qiao An Guo looked at Qiao An Bang with confusion.

  "Big brother, to be honest with you, this time Miss Liu returned to the country is to fund us, hoping that we can build a strong military force, in order to resist foreign insults, defend our territory. As for the previous batch of weapons and equipment, it was just a gift for meeting, later we will have more advanced weapons and equipment, such as tanks, planes, artillery, whatever the Japanese have, we can also have, and will be more than them, more advanced." Qiao Anbang finally spoke out his mind after circling around.

  Qiao An's face changed instantly as he took a deep breath and asked: "Third Brother, are you telling the truth?"

  "Of course it's true, big brother. We can start by expanding the security team on a large scale, and there will be no problem with weapons, equipment, and food supplies. In the not-too-distant future, we brothers will be able to command a powerful elite army to march north and fight against Japan, drive out the Japanese invaders, and recover our mountains and rivers." Qiao Anbang took advantage of the situation to reveal some of his beautifully imagined blueprint.

  "Great, Old Three! If it's really like this, we'll not only bring glory to our ancestors but also leave a name that will be remembered for centuries!" Qiao An Guo was clearly moved by what Qiao An Bang had said. Which man doesn't want to achieve great things and bring honor to his family? Which soldier doesn't want to charge into battle and establish an eternal achievement, a name that will flow through the ages?

  "But, big brother, this matter cannot be made public for the time being. Everything must be done in secret, otherwise it may attract unnecessary trouble. If things go wrong, it could even bring disaster to our Jiao family." Jiao Anbang cautioned that these were all possibilities. If outsiders, whether it was the National Government or local warlords, or even foreign powers, found out about the sudden and rapid rise of the Jiao family's strength, then he would truly become the target of public criticism. Jiao Anbang did not want to push himself and the Jiao family into the spotlight before he had absolute power. Although he was a second-generation rich kid, every member of the Jiao family was his kin, and he was responsible for their safety.

  "Ah, I see!" Joanne nodded solemnly.

  ………..

  Wulizhuang is located thirty miles southeast of Qingzhen, a typical rural village in northern Anhui. The whole village is not large, with only dozens of households and over 100 people.

  Li Yifeng, a member of the Wulizhuang village, has parents at home. At the age of 20, Li Yifeng's family is poor and he hasn't married yet. His father asked someone to find him an ironwork job in Liuji, ten miles away from Wulizhuang, hoping that he could learn a skill to support his family in the future.

  Li Yifeng went to Liu Jicun's blacksmith shop every ten days, half a month, to visit his parents. Today, the blacksmith shop had no work, so Li Yifeng asked for leave from the boss and bought some things on the street, planning to go home and see his parents.

  Ten miles may seem close, but for Li Yifeng, who is used to walking, this distance doesn't seem to be a problem. Since he was young, he has been doing heavy farm work and later went to the iron forge to train his body, resulting in explosive muscles on both arms. Although there was no salary at the iron forge, the boss still provided enough food for him to grow so strong.

  After walking for about twenty minutes, Li Yifeng suddenly heard a rumbling sound coming from the front. He quickly jumped into the grass bushes by the side of the road to hide. In these chaotic times, you never know what kind of bandits or robbers you might run into, so as an ordinary citizen, Li Yifeng's vigilance was still very high.

  Within a few minutes, Li Yifeng found a group of bandits dressed up, carrying guns and riding horses towards him. He held his breath and stuck tightly to the bushes. If he was discovered, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  Close by, Li Yifeng clearly saw that the leader was a burly man with a conspicuous knife scar on his face. This person was naturally Wei Dexi, who had been defeated by the Qiao family's security team at Ziyuan Mountain.

  Wei Dexi didn't notice at all that someone was hiding in the grass by the side of the road, and he whizzed past with his entourage, soon disappearing from Li Yifeng's line of sight.

  After they left, Li Yifeng looked back at the direction they had gone and muttered to himself: "Where did these bandits come from, bringing guns with them?" Then he continued walking home.

  Li Yifeng walked for another twenty minutes before finally arriving at the outskirts of Wulizhuang Village. However, as he entered the village, he found that it was eerily quiet, devoid of the familiar wisps of smoke and the villagers working in the fields. The village entrance was also deserted.

  With a belly full of doubts, Li Yifeng walked quickly into the village, but as soon as he entered the village, he felt that something was off. The whole village was eerily quiet, without even the sound of barking dogs, giving off a gloomy atmosphere.

  A strong feeling of unease surged up in his heart, and he quickened his pace as he ran towards his home.

  "Dad, Mom, I'm back." Li Yifeng shouted as soon as he reached the door.

  However, when he looked up, he was suddenly shocked. On the old locust tree at his own door, two people were hanging, who were his parents.

  "Dad! Mom!" Li Yifeng suddenly threw down the gift in his hand, his eyes wide with fear as he loudly shouted and quickly ran over.

  "What's going on? What's going on?" He put down the bodies of his parents, and Li Yifeng hugged the bodies of the two old men, crying out in a hoarse voice.

  He then ran to his neighbor, Uncle Li's house, only to find that Uncle Li and Auntie Li had also fallen victim, their bodies lying in the courtyard, a gruesome sight.

  Just then, footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Li Yifeng turned his head to look and saw two young men running over with bundles on their backs, looking flustered.

  They just saw the bodies of Li Yifeng's parents outside.

  "Yi Feng, what's going on....." The person who had been standing there earlier was shocked to see the corpse lying on the ground and suddenly let out a mournful wail: "Dad! Mom!" This person was Li Shu's son, Li Jupeng, who had grown up with Yi Feng as neighbors since childhood and had a very good relationship. The other person was a village orphan named Zhang Xudong, who had grown up eating at various households in the village. Although he was somewhat introverted, his relationship with Yi Feng and Li Jupeng was extremely good.

  "All gone, Ju Peng, Uncle Li, Auntie Li, my dad and mom, all gone." Li Yifeng choked with sobs as he spoke to the grief-stricken Li Jupeng.

  "Who did it? What's going on? How could this be?! I went to my aunt's house to borrow some food, and everything was fine when I left... how could this have happened?!" Li Jupeng asked in anguish.

  "I don't know either, I just came back and it became like this." Li Yifeng also shook his head in sorrow.

  "Could it be bandits? I heard a few days ago that the Qingtang area was infested with bandits, and even the county's security team was dispatched." Zhang Xiaodong next to him also speculated with a sorrowful face, he ate at the hundred-family restaurant, in his own words, everyone in Wulizhuang was his reborn parents.

  "Bandits?" Li Yifeng suddenly thought of the group of horse bandits he had encountered on his way here, and immediately became furious: "I know it's the bandits! I met a group of horse bandits on my way here, they must be the ones who did it! They definitely are!"

  "Bandits? Where are they? I'll kill them, to avenge my parents!" Li Jupeng suddenly stood up, picked up a hoe and was about to go out.

  Li Yifeng also picked up a wooden fork and rushed out closely behind him.

  "Wait, where are you two going? The horse bandits have already ridden away and disappeared. Even if you go out now, it's not certain that you'll be able to find them. Let's first bury Uncle Li and the others properly before doing anything else. We can't just leave them here unattended." Zhang Xiaodong, who was still relatively calm, hastily stopped the two of them and advised.

  "They went in the direction of Liu Village, they must be going to raid Liu Village, let's go to Liu Village to find them." Li Yi Feng said with a cold expression.

  "Slow down, they are in large numbers and have guns, the three of us just went like that, it's simply sending ourselves to death." Zhang Xudong hastily advised.

  "They killed my parents, I want to avenge them, even if I die. You son of a bitch, if you're afraid, get out of here, don't need you to go." Li Jupeng shouted with red eyes.

  "You're talking nonsense, Uncle Li and the others are dead! I don't need you to feel good about it, they were my parents too! But a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years, we can't just die like this without anyone avenging us. Who will avenge Uncle Li and our fellow villagers from Wulizhuang?" Zhang Aodong's neck suddenly turned red as he loudly scolded.

  "What can we do then? Are we just going to stand here and do nothing, letting those beasts get away with it?" Li Yifeng also shouted loudly.

  "We'll go to the county town and find the security team. The other day, they just eliminated a group of bandits in Qingtun. As long as we find them, we must be able to avenge Li Shu for them! Let's bury our fellow villagers first, then go find the security team and kill those beasts to avenge them!" Zhang Xudong thought for a moment, looking at the two of them.

  PS: Sorry, I didn't update last night. Chun Cun JU, Qiao Bi JU, and Nan Ji Da Bai Tu JU, today I've arranged the roles you requested to appear, the plot may be a bit heavy, but this is necessary for future development, please forgive me, rest assured that I absolutely won't disappoint the three of you.