Chapter 28: Repelling the Scout

  The content of page 1 is as follows:

  The Eagle's Nest master, Lao Ying, just received information from the bandits at the entrance of the nest that someone had entered the mountain stronghold to see Captain Yamamoto. While Lao Ying was pondering what it could be about, Yamamoto had already sent someone to invite him over. Not daring to delay, he rushed straight to Yamamoto's quarters.

  The eagle had just stepped into Yamamoto's room when he heard Yamamoto say with a smile, "Good news. Your wish will soon come true."

  The eagle walked quickly to Yamamoto's front and curiously asked: "What is the good news? Can make Mr. Yamamoto so happy."

  Yamamoto smiled and said, "The fake army commander Li Quan wants to avenge his brother. An ambush has already been set up, just waiting for the guerrilla troops to fall into it. We only need to follow behind them, and we can definitely capture the guerrilla troops in one fell swoop. This is what you Chinese people say, 'Mantis catches cicada, yellow sparrow follows behind', haha..."

  The eagle happily said: "Then Wild Tian can also fulfill my wish."

  Yamamoto said with a hint of implication: "Captain Noda has promised to do something for you, and it will naturally be done. But the one who will definitely carry out the action is me. So as long as you can satisfy me, your wish, I can help you achieve it soon."

  The eagle naturally understood Yamamoto's meaning and secretly scolded this greedy guy. But on his face, he had to smile and say: "Certainly, certainly..."

  At 3 or 4 in the morning, Huoyao was awakened by a monkey. It said that Liu Tao wanted to see him about something important. Huoyao arrived at Liu Tao's room and saw Liu Tao and Old Li anxiously waiting for his arrival. He hastily asked: "Captain Liu, what's going on?" After letting Huoyao sit down, Liu Tao worriedly said: "Just now a villager came to deliver a message. He said that Li Youcai captured the villagers who delivered food last time and hung them from trees. He said they colluded with the guerrilla troops and killed his son. Li Youcai wants to execute the villagers to avenge his son."

  "Firecracker snorted coldly: 'This landlord is still doing evil. He doesn't dare to trouble the guerrilla team, so he takes it out on innocent villagers instead. Let's go and get rid of Li Youcai, anyway, he's already committed all sorts of evils.'"

  Old Li hastily said: "Don't underestimate Lao Li Youcai, he has 180 men guarding his house. Otherwise, we would have eliminated the harm to the people long ago."

  Liu Tao also said: "Moreover, the comrades from the county just sent a message. Li Youcai's son, the current puppet army commander Li Quan, borrowed mountain cannons and machine guns from the little devils and has already brought the puppet army back to Li Youcai. However, the comrades in the county cannot confirm the authenticity of this news because the little devils captured the comrades who came to receive Zuo Caiyun and obtained some intelligence from them. The little devils are now arresting our comrades all over the county, so the comrades in the county can only minimize their activities for the next few days to avoid being caught by the little devils. This intelligence was relayed through someone, and the comrades in the county did not see the person who sent the intelligence."

  Lao Li continued, "If it's true, we'll have to face several times more enemies. And Li Youcai has captured the villagers, but hasn't taken action immediately. Clearly, he's set an ambush and is waiting for us to fall into his trap." Huo Yao thought for a moment before saying, "It's indeed difficult, but we still need to rescue the villagers. Otherwise, the masses will lose confidence in us."

  "So I'm looking for you to discuss and see if you have any good ideas."

  Gunpowder paced back and forth in the room, thinking. After a long time, he suddenly laughed: "Li Youcai is an old cunning fellow, he will not set up a battlefield at his own home. The ambush he set for us should be on the way to rescue the villagers. As long as we can find where they are setting up the ambush, as long as we don't fall into the pocket he has set up, we'll be fine if we split up and act separately."

  Liu Tao nodded and said: "There is such a possibility, but finding the place where they set up an ambush will not be easy."

  "Alright, let's leave this matter to the special warfare unit. I'll take them on a reconnaissance mission. You bring the guerrilla troops and follow behind us. I'll leave safety marks along the way so we can avoid being caught by Li Youcai all at once."

  Liu Tao stopped Huo Yao and said: "You all be careful on the way, and pay special attention to Comrade Zuo Caiyun's safety."

  Huoyao smiled and said, "Don't worry. We're just going to find out where they've set up their ambushes, then go take down Li Youcai's old nest. There shouldn't be many people there now. Rescuing the villagers should be easy. But you two need to be careful, you'll be dealing with several times more enemies."

  The content of page 2 is as follows:

  The explosives gathered the special warfare group members and explained the situation to them. Then they set off towards Li Youcai's village. Because this was a mountainous area, many places could be used for ambushes. The explosives were also extremely cautious, and wherever there was a possibility of being ambushed, they would conduct searches and ensure safety before proceeding. As a result, the special warfare group moved slowly and was repeatedly caught up by the guerrilla troops. On a hillside, Li Youcai's numerous subordinates either squatted or lay hidden in the woods, all aiming their guns at the small road below the hillside. At this time, one of Li Youcai's subordinates covered his stomach, stood up and said: "My stomach hurts so badly, I need to go to the toilet."

  That man had only taken a few steps into the woods when he heard another of Li Youcai's men shout, "Wang San, you little bastard, get out of here before you bother me."

  "Got it." Wang San replied and walked towards the depths of the forest.

  Another of Li Youcai's men said at this time: "All of you shut up, if we alert the guerrillas, we'll all be dragged down with you."

  Someone who was dissatisfied with Wang San walking away said: "Mind your own business."

  The two immediately started quarreling, but both lowered their voices.

  Wang San took advantage of others' inattention and ran down the mountain slope. However, he didn't notice that Wang Xiaolong suddenly appeared beside him and punched him on the back of his head. Wang San immediately fainted.

  Wang Xiaolong supported Wang San's body, which had fallen to the ground. He and Wang Xiaohu, who appeared from the other side, tied up Wang San's hands and feet. Then they stuffed his mouth with a bundle of grass. The two men carried Wang San away, disappearing into the forest.

  Wang Xiaolong and his brother brought the unconscious Wang San back to where they had hidden their gunpowder, and threw him heavily to the ground. Then they laughed and said: "This man is called Wang San, he's one of Li Youcai's men. It looks like he was trying to desert, so we brought him back with us." Just then, Liu Tao arrived with his militia troops and saw that Wang Xiaolong had captured a prisoner. He hastily asked: "Is Li Youcai's ambush just up ahead?"

  Gunpowder nodded and gave Wang Xiaolong a wink. Wang Xiaolong understood and used his knife to leave an inch-long wound on Wang San's thigh.

  Wang San, awakened by pain, saw the crowd staring at him with fierce eyes. His mouth kept shouting "ah" non-stop.

  Liu Tao and Old Li couldn't help but furrow their brows. They shouldn't be treating the captive like this.

  "Gunpowder smiled and said: "This is indeed the most direct way to make him tell the truth. We don't have time to wait any longer.""

  Liu Tao didn't mean to blame the gunpowder, he also knew that time was pressing. So he directly said to Wang San: "You confess honestly and I'll let you go."

  Wang San nodded desperately.

  ()