Chapter Twenty-Four: A Difficult Decision

  Liu Yu-jie asked in a low voice: "Wei Xiao-ge, what you just said was too much. If the imperial army asks, how should I answer?" Wei Xiang-dong tapped Liu Yu-jie's forehead and said: "Just now you asked me what method to use to persuade these bandits to surrender, how did I answer?"

  Liu Yu-jie thought for a moment and said, "You're saying it's a trick?" Wei Xiang-dong looked very serious and said, "Yes, no trick. How can we make them put down their weapons and surrender obediently? I'll tell you, the officers at the foot of the mountain have already made preparations. As soon as they come down, heh heh." Wei Xiang-dong made a chopping motion with his hand. Liu Yu-jie immediately gave a thumbs up and said, "Great, really great!"

  Wei Dong glanced at Liu Yu-jie and said: "Then how do you plan to report back to the officials down the mountain?"

  Liu Yu-jie thought for a moment and replied hesitantly: "Or I'll just tell the officer at the foot of the mountain that I didn't hear anything?"

  Wei Dongxiang smiled and said, "Captain Liu, are you trying to push your brother into the fire pit? However, based on my understanding of the superior officers down the mountain, if you say it like that, I won't get any benefits, and you'll die a terrible death."

  Liu Yu-jie exclaimed: "Why?" After a slight pause, he continued to plead, "Then how should I report to the officials at the foot of the mountain? Please enlighten me, Wei Xiao-ge."

  Wei Dongdao said, "Shanxia Jingwu let you come with me to persuade surrender, on the surface it's to let you assist, but in fact it's to let you monitor me. If you go back and say you didn't hear anything, Shanxia Jingwu's plan will fall through. Do you think he won't punish you?"

  Liu Yu-jie subconsciously wiped his forehead and said, "What Wei Xiao-ge said is absolutely right! I'm a bit dull-witted, brother, so I'll just follow your lead, Wei Xiao-ge."

  "Wei Dong glanced at his mouth and said: 'Not a single word was left out, report truthfully!'"

  Liu Yu-jie thought Wei Xiang-dong was speaking in reverse, so he hastily swore an oath: "Wei younger brother, don't tease me anymore. I swear that if I don't report to the officials at the foot of the mountain according to what you said, let Liu Yu-jie be struck by lightning when he goes out and die a terrible death."

  Wei Dong sighed and said: "My request is still those eight words, not a single word less, report truthfully."

  Liu Yu-jie's five senses were almost numb, and he begged with a sob: "Wei Xiao-ge, how can you believe me?"

  Wei Dong shook his head and sighed, "Oh, I'm telling you, why are you being so wishy-washy? I've told you twice already, report everything truthfully without leaving out a single word. Alright, I'll tell you the truth, what I'm doing is under the instruction of Mr. Takahashi and has been agreed upon by Yamashita Keigo as well. Just report the truth, the more detailed and true your report is, the better off you'll be."

  On the other hand, Ye Tu Fei is seeking everyone's opinion.

  When Ye Tufei saw the two names on the letterhead, he seemed to hear Ouyang Xueping's voice, "You must live well, we need you to live well, I need you to live well."

  To survive has a great appeal to anyone, for a time, Ye Tufei almost made the decision to accept Wei Xiangdong's suggestion.

  But living on in this way would mean becoming a traitor, and Ye Tufei hesitated.

  It's a matter of great importance, this time he must listen to his brothers' opinions before making the final decision.

  The first one who jumped out to oppose was Zhang Luo Hui: "Sixth Master, forgive me this time for disappointing you. As a Han person, I don't have the guts to do something that would bring shame to my ancestors."

  Zhang Luo Hui's words also represent the majority of brothers' words.

  Ye Tufei didn't respond directly, instead he turned his back and lit up his cigar. After a while, Ye Tufei finally made up his mind, he turned around and said: "I can understand everyone's feelings, but this traitor must be done! I don't hope to persuade you all, but I only hope you can trust me, Sixth Master, once again. That Mr. Wei was right, if we die here today, it's not bad, we preserved our honor and reputation for generations to come. But have you all thought about how many brothers were killed by the Japanese devils in Erlang Mountain? How many more brothers were slaughtered by the Japanese devils on this Sleeping Cow Mountain?"

  Ye Tu Fei pointed at the high ground on the cow's back, and his eyes were filled with tears.

  "We'd die easily here, just by refusing Mr. Wei today. But if we died, who would avenge our brothers? When we meet those brothers in the afterlife and they ask us if we avenged them, brothers! How will we answer, how will we answer!"

  The originally excited atmosphere was suppressed by Ye Tuofei's words, first one person lowered their head, then the second, third...

  "Trust me once, brothers. Let's survive first. As long as we can survive, there will be opportunities to regroup and avenge our fallen comrades. I believe that our ancestors will understand us. They won't be ashamed of us; instead, they'll be proud of us!"

  Zhang Luohui burst into tears, first silently, then sobbing, and finally wailing loudly.

  Zhang Luohui's emotions moved the entire group, and many people followed suit and started crying. Ye Tufei could understand everyone, but he would not allow this emotional spread.

  "Wipe away your tears, a strong man, a real good fellow, he will only shed blood, never shed tears!"

  ——————

  Wei Xiangdong and Ye Tufei sat together, while Liu Yujie stood not far away.

  "Sixth Master, I know it's not easy for you to make this decision! To be honest, if it were me, I wouldn't have been able to do it."

  "Aren't you the same?"

  "I'm different. I've been following Mr. Takahashi since I was very young, and from a psychological perspective, my adaptation period is longer than yours, and much longer."

  "Is Mr. Takahashi you mentioned a Japanese?"

  "No, he is a Chinese, a Chinese who works for the Japanese but still has a Chinese heart."

  "Are you like me in the future?"

  "Maybe!"

  "After we come down from the mountain, how will Little Japan arrange for us?"

  "You will be incorporated into the Third Independent Brigade of the Imperial Allied Army, with a battalion as the organizational unit. What Lieutenant General Yamashita means is that you will take command of the battalion, and below the battalion commander, you can arrange it yourself."

  "I'm not the material for being a big captain, you know that. I'm just a bandit chief on Erlang Mountain, and I don't understand the way of leading troops. This position of big captain is best taken by Captain Liu."

  "How about you?"

  "Do I? Do I still have the right to choose?"

  "Yes! If you really won't wear that yellow suit, I can ask for Mr. Takahashi's help, he'll definitely be able to do it."

  "Never mind! I'll just stay with my brothers!"

  "Alright, but if Liu Yujie takes on the role of captain, this team..."

  "Even if the King of Heaven himself came, without me, his words would be nothing but farting."

  "It's just me being overly worried."

  "Let's just do it this way. Let Liu Yu-jie be the captain, and Luo Hui and I will be deputy captains. Sigh! This way we can have less contact with those little Japanese."

  "Uh-huh, I'll report to Yamashita Keigo then. Anything else?"

  "Do you know Ouyang Xueping?"

  "I don't know!"

  "Then..."

  "It was our people who told me these two names. I don't fully understand the meaning either, but they said that as long as I can get you to see both names at the same time, you will trust me."

  "Are you also a Communist Party member?"

  "According to discipline, I shouldn't say it, but to you, I must be honest. Yes, Ye Liu Ye, I am a Communist Party member."

  －－－－－－－－

  When the team went down the mountain, Ye Tufei called Guo Zhonglin over.

  "Scholar, I have something to ask you."

  Guo Zhonglin's emotions were low, and he said in a low voice: "What's up, Sixth Master."

  Ye Tu Fei said: "Do you still remember that business we did in Xuzhou two years ago?"

  "Of course I remember, what's up? Want to do it again?"

  Yè Tú Fēi said: "Were you lenient with him at the time?"

  Guo Zhonglin retorted: "We just have that little trick up our sleeve, doing such a big business and not using it?"

  Ye Tu Fei nodded and said: "What about those few brothers who work with you?"

  Guo Zhonglin thought for a moment and said: "Those brothers found it troublesome, I also felt that it was delaying our work, so we didn't do it. What's up, Sixth Master?"

  Ye Tu Fei sighed and said, "Zhang Qi Shen has been colluding with the Japanese devils for many years. We only did business with him because of that. Now that the Japanese have entered the city, he must have surrendered to them already. Think about it, back then we made a deal worth 100,000 yuan plus two fingers, do you think he would let us off easily?"

  Kuo Chung-lin was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing and said: "He can't get the better of us, those brothers who worked with me back then are all dead now except for me."

  Ye Tu Fei was taken aback, let out a long sigh and said: "Having done such a big business, we haven't even had time to enjoy it, yet he's gone. Second brother, after we settle down in Xuzhou City, sneak out and send some money to the families of our fallen brothers."

  Guo Zhonglin nodded his head in agreement.

  After walking for a while, Guo Zhonglin asked again: "Sixth Master, can we get out of the city after entering this time?"

  Ye Tu shook his head and said: "To be honest, I don't know either. However, we will get help from our friends, I believe they are all trustworthy people."

  Guo Zhonglin asked: "Is Sixth Master referring to Wei Xiangdong?"

  Ye Tu Fei forced a smile and said: "Wei Xiang Dong is just one of them, behind Wei Xiang Dong, there are many more of our friends."

  Guo Zhonglin said: "We've heard that once we enter the city, the little devils will confiscate our ammunition. Sixth Brother, this way, the guns in our brothers' hands will become mere firewood. Even with the help of friends, how can we escape from the clutches of the little devils?"

  Ye Tufei sighed and said, "We can only take it one step at a time. But I believe in an old saying: when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road ahead. Come on, Second Brother! Cheer up and don't lose heart. We must seize this opportunity to train our troops. One day, we'll grab the chance and cut out a bloody path, making those little Japanese devils regret it."

  Robbery notice: All brothers who have read this chapter, hand over the recommendation tickets in your hands to Lao Yan. Otherwise, hum, unless you use collection as compensation! Also, I want to say a few more words, just like the title of this chapter, when making decisions about the protagonist's storyline, Lao Yan also made the most difficult decision. To be honest, if written according to the normal routine, Lao Yan would have been easier, but the story structure wouldn't be good. So, Lao Yan decided to take a risk and let our protagonist stay in the enemy camp for a while, so that we can better torture Little Japan in the future. Please forgive me, everyone!