Chapter Eighteen: Becoming Famous in the Bandit Camp

  Luo Zhonggang, who was in the front, grabbed Shi Guiyong's collar and shouted: "What's the reason? Why only give our Sixth Master a deputy regimental commander?"

  Yan Xiwen hastily squeezed in between the two, trying to pry Luo Zhonggang's hand off Shi Guiyong's collar. "Brother, let go first and listen to my explanation, just let go!"

  No matter how hard Yán Xīwén tried to persuade him, Luó Zhōnggāng was dead set on holding on and refused to let go.

  At this time, more and more brothers rushed onto the rostrum.

  Zhang Luohui hastened his pace, exerting all his strength to rush onto the rostrum, pulled out a gun and fired three shots into the sky.

  The deafening gunshot temporarily suppressed the anger of the brothers, and the crowd quieted down for a moment. Zhang Luohui squeezed to Shi Guiyong's side and almost begged Luo Zhonggang: "Fifth brother! Let go, okay? What you're doing will make it difficult for me and Sixth Master!"

  Luo Zhonggang still didn't let go, on the contrary, he added more force to his hands, tying Shi Guiyong up so tightly that he could hardly breathe.

  Zhang Luo's eyes turned red, and he subconsciously pointed the muzzle at Luo Zhonggang. It was just an instant, Zhang Luo realized that this action not only couldn't solve the problem but might also intensify the conflict. Before Luo Zhonggang could react, he quickly turned the muzzle around and pressed it against his own temple.

  "Brother Five, don't force me to fire!"

  Luo Zhonggang's hands gradually relaxed and finally put down Shi Guiyong.

  Zhang Luohui saw the situation, felt relieved in his heart, but still held the gun against his own head and refused to let go, fearing that if he relaxed for a moment, his brothers would seize the opportunity to ruin his helpless move and make the situation chaotic again.

  "Brothers, calm down and listen to me, Zhang Luohui, for a couple of sentences. What are we wearing military uniforms and carrying long guns for? What's the point of it all? In terms of getting rich, you can't compare to what you had on Erlang Mountain. In terms of freedom, you can't compare to having two acres of thin land, a wife, children, and a warm kang. We're wearing these military uniforms and carrying these long guns today, isn't it just to fight the little Japanese devils? Whether as a battalion commander or a regimental commander, once on the battlefield, we're all soldiers fighting for our country and people, all brave warriors willing to risk our lives against the little Japanese. I think your Sixth Grandfather wouldn't care about this title, brothers, disperse!"

  Zhang Luohui's words completely calmed down the brothers, those who had rushed to the chairman's podium began to disperse downwards, while those below dispersed outwards.

  Seeing the situation had eased, Shi Guiyong let out a sigh of relief, adjusted his clothes and muttered: "What quality? It's simply a bandit camp!"

  Luo Zhonggang, who had just turned around and hadn't left for a few steps, suddenly heard this sentence. The fire that was originally suppressed burst out again. He rushed over and grabbed Shi Guiyong's collar once more, shouting loudly: "What did you say? You dare to repeat it?"

  The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the brothers on the rostrum who had not yet come down immediately knew the reason and quickly spread it out. The anger of the masses naturally broke out again.

  At this time, Zhang Luohui's pistol was useless whether it was pointing at Luo Zhonggang or his own temple.

  At the critical moment, Ye Tufei finally spoke up.

  "Is this interesting?" Ye Tu Fei's voice was very soft, so soft that only the few brothers beside him could hear.

  However, Ye Tufei finally spoke up, and his words were crucial to the brothers, so they all turned around, one by ten, ten by hundred, and looked at Ye Tufei.

  "Isn't it just a battalion commander? Is it worth it?" Ye Tufei showed a disdainful expression, speaking slowly as he walked towards the podium. "What did we join the National Army for? Just to let you guys be battalion commanders and deputy battalion commanders? Brothers, when Sixth Master becomes this battalion commander, is Sixth Master still not your Sixth Master? When Sixth Master becomes this battalion commander, isn't Sixth Master still your Sixth Master?"

  Ye Tufei had now walked to the middle of the rostrum, first pressing down Zhang Luohui's pistol and then helping Shi Guiyong adjust his clothes. He then faced the crowd of brothers and said loudly: "Have you all forgotten the oath of loyalty of the Zhongyi Hall?"

  "On the platform and below, all the brothers shouted in unison: 'Virtue is loyalty, Tao is righteousness, with my virtue, I will carry out the Tao of Heaven!'"

  Ye Tu Fei nodded slightly and said loudly: "We wander the world, whistle in the green forest, originally at odds with the government. However, before foreign humiliation, all Chinese sons and daughters should bravely dedicate themselves, kill Japanese bandits, defend the country, shed blood on the battlefield, even if wrapped in horse leather as a corpse, without complaint or regret."

  His bold and heroic words moved everyone present, even General Shi Guoyong showed a look of excitement.

  "Luohui brothers said it well, whether as a team leader or battalion commander, once on the battlefield, they are all good men who dare to fight with the Japanese. If I, Ye Tufei, cannot fight shoulder-to-shoulder with you and my fellow brothers, what significance would being a division commander have? On the other hand, if I can be with these sworn brothers, eating, sleeping, and going through thick and thin together, even if it's just as an ordinary soldier, that would be heartwarming."

  After finishing his speech, Ye Tufei turned to Shi Guiyong again: "Ye Mou represents all the brothers to apologize to the officer and also thank the officer for giving us a name." When he said this, Ye Tufei turned around and shouted loudly: "The officer gave us the name of the bandit camp, brothers! This name is given well! It's loud enough, it's majestic, and it just fits our characteristics. Come on, brothers, let's thank the officer together!"

  Together with the brothers of Lao 258 Tuan, everyone shouted in unison under Ye Tu Fei's lead: "Thank you, sir, for giving us a name!"

  The crowd's voices fell silent as Ye Tu Fei solemnly asked Shi Gui Yong to give a pep talk to the newly formed bandit camp.

  Shi Guiyong was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

  It's clear that this is a group of hot-blooded men, and Shi Guiyong likes such hot-blooded soldiers. He has an inexplicable sense of guilt towards Ye Tufei, which makes him subconsciously hope that Ye Tufei can make some noise, but when his comrades' criticism turned to him, he felt very uncomfortable and wronged, so he uttered the complaint "bandit camp".

  Shi Guiyong regretted saying the three words 'bandit camp' as soon as they left his mouth. In his ideology, this word carried a certain degree of insult. Although it was an instinctive reaction in a moment of urgency, once spoken, it was hard to take back. His original plan to privately explain the situation to Ye Tufei and seek his understanding had been ruined.

  Unexpectedly, Ye Tu Fei calmly accepted it.

  "Hmm! That, that, brothers, you fought bravely in the Tai'erzhuang Campaign, foiling the Japanese army's sneak attack on our rear support point Jiajiazhuang and making great contributions to our ultimate victory. This is something I see clearly, Commander Li sees it clearly, and all commanders of the Fifth War Zone see it clearly. However, the appointment of this unit's commander isn't something that can be decided by just the war zone commanders... Ah, this..."

  "The appointment of an officer to a battalion is a comprehensive consideration. Colonel Liu Yu-jie was a graduate of the military academy, with seniority and good combat performance, so he was chosen as the commander of the 258th Battalion, mainly considering..."

  He paused for a moment before thinking of an excuse: "The higher-ups want to build our 258th Regiment into a powerful combat unit, don't they? That's why the 258th Regiment's formation has been upgraded to a reinforced regiment! Apart from your battalion, three more battalions need to be added, and those three battalions are all new recruits. Captain Liu is experienced and capable in this regard, I hope Vice-Regiment Commander Zhang and Vice-Battalion Commander Ye can understand."

  Listening to Shi Guiyong's words, Zhang Luohui thought to himself, isn't this nonsense? I'm leading new recruits, am I not doing well? Ye Liuji can lead a group of rabble into such strong fighting power, and he's better than that Liu Yuje who only knows how to leave his butt for the little devils. This must be some behind-the-scenes deal, damn it, Liu Yuje, I'll get you sooner or later.

  Ye Tufei, however, took the lead in applauding and continued Shenguiyong's words, saying to everyone: "The captain has made it clear, brothers, let's welcome our new regiment commander with warm applause!"

  Ye Tufei's words fell to the ground for a long time, but Liu Yuje didn't show up. On the rostrum, everyone hurriedly looked around, but where could they find Liu Yuje's figure?

  This is obvious, even a fool can understand it. When encountering danger, Liu Yujei, the captain who only knows how to hurry and run away, must have been scared by the chaos just now and ran away with his tail between his legs.

  At this time, Yan Xiwen came out in a timely manner to smooth things over, saying: "Oh, Captain Liu's war wounds have not yet healed, so he didn't come over this time."

  Yan Xiwen thought this round of mediation was basically passed, but unexpectedly the brothers of Lao 258 Tuan were infected by Zhong Yitang and also liked to make trouble. Especially Deng Lianchang, who shouted loudly: "No way! I just saw Liu Tuanzuo a while ago!"

  After Deng Lianchang finished speaking, more than 20 people echoed in unison.

  Zhang Luohui wanted to continue making a scene, determined not to stop until he found Liu Yujie, but at this moment, he received Ye Tufei's eye signal, and Ye Tufei hinted that he should hurry up and settle the matter.

  "Comrade Deng, are you doing it on purpose or have your eyes gone blurry? Has Commissar Liu arrived or not, I couldn't see if he has? Alright, time is running out, the officers still have important matters to attend to." Zhang Luo Hui turned his head and glanced at Shi Gui Yong, after getting his nod of approval, he loudly commanded: "Everyone, fall in line and dismiss!"

  The crowd of brothers did not move at all, including the brothers from Lao 258 Tuan.

  Zhang Luohui could only use his eyes to ask Ye Tufei for help.

  "Bandit camp brothers, listen to orders! Dismiss and disperse!" Ye Tuofei's voice was not loud, but full of majesty.

  That night, Zhang Luo Hui carried two bottles of baijiu and several packages of takeout food, and knocked on Ye Tu Fei's door.

  "Sixth Master, tomorrow morning, I'll take you to meet Old Man Feng. It's time for you to fulfill your promise." Zhang Luohui arranged the familiar dishes and poured wine for Ye Tufei.

  Ye Tu Fei picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, then pinched a piece of braised pork to go with the wine. "This matter, well, it's a long story, I'm afraid these two bottles of wine won't be enough to tell it."

  Zhang Luo Hui smiled and said: "Sixth Master, I knew your trick." As he spoke, he clapped his hands twice.

  The knock on the door was answered by Zhang Luo Hui's slap, followed by Guo Zhong Lin and Deng Lian Chang entering, carrying a large wine jar together.

  "Thirty catties of top-grade sweet potatoes, Sixth Master, this is personally selected by Old Guo Er himself, absolutely not bad!" Zhang Luo Hui said with a pleased expression.

  Ye Tu Fei smiled wryly as he looked at the three of them and asked, "Guo Lao Er, didn't you always look down on Hui Mulan? Why are you wearing a pair of pants today?"

  Guo Zhonglin laughed and said, "Hui Lu'er says he has a way to get Liu Ye to talk about Tao Niang's story over and over again. Hehe, Guo Lao Er can only wear the same pants as Hui Lu'er."

  "Since it's like this, then let's all sit down."