Chapter Sixty-Two Next Step

  Ten minutes later, Yamashita Kengo received the news that a small team of defenders from Jiajia Bay was completely annihilated. He didn't dare to slack off and immediately made a phone call to report to Takahashi Shin.

  Upon hearing this news, Takashi Higashiyama was not greatly shocked but indeed panicked for a while. He dared not to be careless anymore and hastily fetched the map to carefully observe and think.

  "What's next?" Just as he was thinking, Yamashita Kengo came in and reported the battlefield situation to Takahashi Noboru again, suggesting that the whole army should gather at Jiajiazhuang immediately.

  Takahashi nodded and said, "By the time we arrived at Jiajia Wang's place, Ye Tufei had already run off to who-knows-where. Now, what we need to do is observe Ye Tufei's movements, then cast our net. I'm sure that as long as we make the net big enough, Ye Tufei won't be able to escape my grasp."

  "So, Takahashi-kun, what direction do you think Yatou Fei will choose to escape next?" Yamashita Keigo also walked over to the map and began to observe it carefully.

  Takaashi stared intently at the map, ignoring Yamashita's question.

  "On the side of the Chinese government army, there is still a regiment stationed here. Mr. Takahashi, will they come closer to this place?" Yamashita Keigo pointed to a location on the map and made his suggestion to Takahashi Nobuo.

  Takahashi Shingo shook his head and said, "What we can think of, Ye Tufei must also be able to think of, he won't choose this direction. Yamashita-kun, I firmly believe that Ye Tufei's choice is something we haven't thought of, it's what we've overlooked. So now the most important thing for us is to think clearly, where else have we not thought of, and where else have we overlooked?"

  Yamashita Kengo's gaze was fixed on the map, and he muttered to himself: "What we can think of, Yatou Fei must also be able to think of. In that case, Erlang Mountain is absolutely not a choice for him!"

  Takahashi Nobu suddenly lifted his head, stunned for a moment, and then buried it again, drawing several line segments and arrows on the map with a pencil. Finally, Takahashi Nobu straightened up, threw the pencil in his hand onto the table, and said: "Mount Ni Lang! Ye Tu Fei's choice must be Mount Ni Lang!"

  Yamashita Kengo was stunned and said, "Kouhei Takahashi, didn't you say that if we can think of a way to get to Yotsuba, then it's definitely possible? This Niiruma Mountain is definitely something we can think of, would Yotsuba be so stupid?"

  Takahashi Shin laughed, stretched his body and said: "That's why Erlang Mountain will be the most likely place for him to go. Humph, I firmly believe that Ye Tufei will choose it!"

  Yamashita Kengo looked even more puzzled and said: "I still don't understand, Takahashi-san. Can you explain it to me in more detail?"

  Takashi Kao said, "Just because Erlang Mountain is a clear move for both me and Ye Tufei, I would overlook Erlang Mountain because of this point, just as Shanxia Jun's first sentence was that Ye Tufei absolutely cannot choose Erlang Mountain. What we overlooked is what Ye Tufei considered."

  Yamashita Kyogo suddenly realized and said, "So Ye Tufei's sudden return to Jiajia Wang was just to move us, but his real intention is Erlang Mountain, right?"

  Kao Chiao nodded and said, "Look here, this is where they forded the river, this is Chia's Marsh and Second Brother Mountain. Aren't these three points forming an equilateral triangle? If Yeh Tzu-feng didn't turn back to Chia's Marsh but came directly from the river to Second Brother Mountain, it would be very likely that he would be surrounded by our troops here. The reason he made such a big detour was precisely to lead us into following him."

  Yamashita Keigo gave a big thumbs up to Takahashi Shingo, saying: "Takahashi's analysis has enlightened me. What should our next move be?"

  Kao Ch'iao-tzu gritted his teeth and said viciously: "Ambush two companies at the foot of Mount Er-lang, deploy sufficient light and heavy machine guns, and assemble the rest of the troops at Chia-chia-wang to drive Yeh T'u-fei to Mount Er-lang. Since Mount Er-lang is his lucky burial ground, let him be buried there!"

  After occupying Jiajiazhuang, the first thing the brothers did was to search for supplies everywhere. First, they looked for cotton-padded clothes and then food. Since the battle started last night, the people of Jiajiazhuang had closed their doors and windows and didn't dare to come out. Ye Tufei instructed his brothers to try not to disturb ordinary civilians as much as possible and to go find those wealthy households to solve problems, especially Japanese merchants.

  The most efficient one was Guo Zhonglin, who led a dozen or so brothers to rush to the mansion of Nomura Daikou. After the battle broke out, Nomura Daikou moved to a coal yard outside the town overnight, leaving an empty house behind. Guo Zhonglin didn't care about the opinion of the house owner and directed his brothers to turn the house upside down. Apart from obtaining dozens of cotton-padded clothes and quilts as well as enough food for hundreds of people, they unexpectedly discovered an arsenal.

  Ten brand new 96-style light machine guns, hundreds of 38-style rifles, and countless bullets and hand grenades.

  A dozen people couldn't move these munitions, so Guo Zhonglin hurried back to call for more men.

  Kuo Chung-lin rushed back but couldn't find Yeh Tu-fei, only finding Chang Lo-hui. As soon as Chang heard about the matter, he became extremely excited and immediately called up Feng Chung-liang's team, rushing to the mansion of Nomura Daikichi in a flurry.

  Having seen the arsenal and the concealment of that armory, Zhang Luohui patted Guo Zhonglin's shoulder and praised: "Poor scholar, poor scholar! Even if you're a master thief, you can only admit defeat! You might as well change your profession!"

  Guo Zhonglin was very pleased, shaking his head and saying: "What can't be done? However, Xiao Xin is also our brother, right? As the older brother, I should give my younger brother some face. This matter, let's just leave it at that, don't mention it again, okay?"

  The two of them, one flattering and the other boasting, had a great time, as if Xin Zhongming was not present, and they used him as a foil to show off.

  Xin Zhongming did not hear the dialogue between the two men, but his brother did. There was a brother who had followed Xin Zhongming to do a few jobs before, but later switched to Feng Zhongliang's side due to poor mental quality, and now stood behind the two men.

  His brother couldn't help but mutter under his breath: "What Eleventh Brother can do, you absolutely can't!"

  Although the voice was small, Guo Zhonglin still heard it. He turned his face and said to that brother: "What did you say? What can only be done by your eleventh brother but not by your second brother? Tell me clearly?"

  The brother didn't seem afraid at all and loudly said: "Open the lock!"

  Kuo Chung-lin smiled, raising the shotgun in his hand and said: "With this thing, opening locks is just a matter of 'bang'." He said, unable to conceal his own complacency, just now, facing the iron general of the armory, he had solved the problem with just such a 'bang'.

  The brother showed a look of disdain and responded to Guo Zhonglin: "The password lock on the safe! Can you open it with a gun?"

  Kwok Chung-lam hesitated, he had seen the safe before and knew how sturdy it was. Forget about using a gun, even if you used a hand grenade, you wouldn't be able to blast open that door.

  Zhang Luohui, who was standing beside him, took over and said, "Isn't it just a safe? For your second brother, that's a piece of cake!"

  That brother obviously didn't believe it and muttered: "Bullshit!"

  Zhang Luohui burst out laughing and said, "Haha, you really got it right! How heavy is a cow? And how heavy is a safe? Your second brother can blow the cow into the sky, and this safe can be moved with just a puff of air! Haha, isn't that right, Guo Er?"

  Kuo Chung-lin was just about to make a move when he stretched out his hand, but Chang Lo-hui had already dodged with a smile.

  With laughter, the brothers had already collected and stored the military supplies. With a shout from Old Feng, some hugged and others carried poles, everyone returned to the troop's assembly point with joy and smiles.

  Wei Dong brought back his brothers, and their harvest was also bountiful. More than 40 brothers brought back over a hundred pieces of cotton-padded jackets, and they even pulled back two large carts loaded with fabric.

  Upon arrival at the gathering place, Wei Dong hailed everyone to quickly distribute the fabric and wrap it around their bodies. Although it didn't look good and affected movement, it could at least keep out the cold.

  The brothers sent by the Han Travel Department broke open the door of the Fragrant Pavilion, and in the face of the ferocious soldiers, the dozens of people upstairs and downstairs at the Fragrant Pavilion did not dare to make a sound, allowing the soldiers to plunder all the food and drinks in the store.

  After returning to the gathering place, Han's brothers immediately lit a fire and set up a stove. Regardless of whether it was meat or vegetables, or rice or noodles, they hastily cooked several large pots. More than 20 minutes later, bubbles emerged from the pot, releasing an enticing aroma that wafted out. The brothers didn't care if it was fully cooked or not; one ladled, one scooped into a bowl, and they first filled their bellies before doing anything else.

  The supply issue has been resolved, and now it's just a matter of where to go next. Peng Youming, holding his lunchbox, found Ye Tufei.

  At this time, Ye Tufei was chatting with several brothers of the Eighth Route Army's reinforcements. When they saw Peng Youming, those soldiers immediately stood up and saluted.

  Peng Youming returned the courtesy and said: "I have something to discuss with Ye Liu Ye, you all go ahead first."

  After those few soldiers left, Peng You obviously became somewhat unhappy and said: "Ye Liu Ye, now the troops are all relying on your command, how do you still have the leisure to chat with them?"

  Ye Tu Fei rolled his eyes, looking at Peng You Ming and said: "Chatting? Oh, it's chatting. How can we know the route if we don't chat? Can Secretary Peng get me a map?"

  Peng Youming understood the meaning of Ye Tufei's words and immediately apologized to Ye Tufei: "Oh, I see. Sorry, Sixth Master Ye, it was my misunderstanding."

  Ye Tufei smiled calmly and said: "The little Japanese have set up a heaven and earth net around us, but as long as it's a net, there must be loopholes. Secretary Peng, come over and take a look."

  Ye Tu Fei said as he drew a simple map on the ground, pointing to a point on it and saying: "You see, let's go this way, how about it?"

  Peng Youming leaned in, looking left and right, then made a few more gestures before finally raising his head with a surprised expression, staring at Ye Tufei and saying: "What? Er Lang Mountain?"