Chapter Thirty-Eight

  The explosion alerted the Japanese army in two nearby counties, and it was clear what had happened without guessing. Orders were immediately given to assemble troops and rush to reinforce them. The cavalry squad responsible for patrolling arrived at the scene first.

  The Japanese army had two cavalry squads stationed here, each divided into three classes patrolling along the railway line. Two classes have been finished off by the cavalry company. Seeing the raging fire and their comrades lying on the ground with seven holes bleeding, these four classes of devils were furious, and the leading lieutenant gave an order to chase after the messy footprints, and soon arrived at the mountain pass.

  Looking at the terrain with two mountains sandwiching a valley, the Japanese lieutenant took a deep breath, this is indeed a good place for an ambush, he halted the troops and considered whether to continue advancing or wait for the arrival of the main force.

  Just as he was hesitating, a sudden sound of horseshoes came from behind, and when he turned his head, a team of imperial cavalry rushed over like flying, the lieutenant felt strange: I didn't hear that there were imperial cavalry around here, could they be from Qin County?

  In the blink of an eye, the cavalry arrived in front of them, forming a semicircle and surrounding them. The lieutenant suddenly felt a sense of foreboding and shouted "No...!" Just then, the commander at the head smiled wickedly: "Take action!" It was actually Wu Dingbang! The soldiers quickly drew their pistols from their waists and opened fire on the Japanese army. The two sides were evenly matched, but the Japanese were caught off guard, unable to dodge or resist, and were almost completely annihilated in an instant.

  Ma Liu stuck his head out from the side of the road: "Damn it! We're in trouble now! Hurry up and clean up the battlefield, go exchange my horse back, you little scamp!"

  Originally, the plan was to ambush the enemy with a special task force, but Wu Dingbang couldn't resist shouting "Sixth Grandfather" one by one. Moreover, Lin Xiucheng thought that with the impact of the cavalry company, it would be more secure, so he scattered the cavalry company on the periphery and took charge of attacking from behind the enemy. When Wu Dingbang saw that the incoming troops were Japanese cavalry, he couldn't help but rush out and steal the thunder of the special task force.

  Wu Dingbang didn't think much of it, and chuckled as he said: "Sixth son, you see our cavalry regiment isn't just eating for free, right? Don't worry, I'll definitely make sure you don't lose out. Brother, I'm thinking of you!" With a swift and decisive movement, he led his men to quickly strip the Japanese soldiers' boots, clothes, and even turned their pockets inside out. Finally, they tossed the corpses by the side of the road and walked away with satisfaction, leading their horses.

  On the mountain pass, Lu Dashan and others who were watching through binoculars were stunned, admiring not only the cavalry regiment's bravery but also their tactics in clearing the battlefield. Lin Xiucheng smiled awkwardly and said softly, "We're used to it!"

  After crossing the mountain pass, the cavalry regiment quickly caught up with Lu Dashi's warriors and gave them thirty horses, replacing those of the special operations regiment. Lu Dashi took a look and almost burst out laughing - on each horse were boxes of rice, flour, and canned goods, totaling over 300 catties. The warriors were also carrying loads on their shoulders and under their arms, and couldn't help but sigh: "Damn it, who made us poor?"

  Lin Xiuzhi and Lu Dashan decided to let the political commissar lead the soldiers in a withdrawal first, with the cavalry company covering them. Lu Dashan would bring one platoon and the special operations company to cut off the enemy's rear.

  Lu Dashi returned to Ai Kou, the special agent had disappeared, and he asked Lin Xiucheng in a hurry. Lin Xiucheng smiled and said: "Don't worry, it will appear at that time, you ask me, I don't know either!"

  Lu Dashi was very curious: "You don't know either? The soldiers of Guizhai are quite interesting in battle, could it be that you, Old Lin, trained them?"

  Lin Xiuzhi smiled: "Don't flatter me, I'm not at this level, it's all thanks to the training of the second master of the mountain stronghold. This person is very famous in Feihu Mountain, and the title 'Laughing Tiger' makes even the Japanese soldiers tremble with fear!"

  "Laughing Tiger?" Lu Dashi felt that he had heard of this name before. "So, what's the background of this Second Master? Can you tell me a bit about it, Brother Lin? I'd like to pay him a visit and learn from his military tactics!"

  "Is that so?" Lin Xiuzhi thought for a moment, anyway Xiao Ming's identity had already been exposed, and there was no need to hide it anymore. "This second master is a ruthless character, who studied military affairs in Germany, I don't know why he came up the mountain stronghold, but he has extremely high requirements for the soldiers' individual combat skills, advocating for sudden strikes and continuous firepower. This man is heartless and cruel, but he is very affectionate towards his mountain stronghold brothers, never willing to suffer losses. Old Lu, if you have a chance to deal with him, be careful."

  "I'd love to have Brother Lin's guidance, I, old Lu, will take note of it!" Lu Dashi smiled slightly and thought to himself that he wouldn't suffer losses, judging from the soldiers' behavior, this was indeed in line with his temperament, such a person would be a pity to miss!

  The sky had completely darkened, and a team ran over to the mountain pass. It was a small Japanese army squad and two battalions of the garrison troops. The garrison troops running in front discovered the corpses of the Japanese cavalrymen, hastily stopped, and reported back to the Japanese soldiers behind them. The Japanese commander saw the almost naked corpse of his comrade and nearly vomited blood, immediately ordering a pursuit to avenge the dead imperial soldier.

  The captain of the garrison troops looked at the dark and narrow pass, his heart racing with fear, and hastily reminded: "Your Highness, won't there be an ambush ahead? Otherwise, let's send the imperial army's corpses back first, and tomorrow morning bring more people to avenge the dead imperial army?"

  The Japanese lieutenant was furious and ordered that the perpetrators of the train attack and the murder of the Imperial Army soldiers must be found today. The lieutenant knew in his heart that going back would not have a good outcome, besides, the Imperial Army was clearing up everywhere, where could they still deploy troops? He waved his hand and ordered a company of the garrison army to conduct firepower reconnaissance at the mountain pass, another company to respond, and the Imperial Army to cover!

  As soon as they saw the Japanese soldiers setting up machine guns, the security troops had no choice but to move forward slowly and reluctantly, having already cursed all the female members of the devils' families.

  A gust of cold wind blew, and the lieutenant got goosebumps all over his body. He felt as if someone was approaching him from beside. Suddenly, he thought of a Chinese legend - exploding corpse? A chill rose in the lieutenant's heart.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  "Sure enough, dozens of Imperial Army soldiers suddenly stood up tens of meters away from them, with tongues of flame spouting from their submachine guns and rifles, telling the lieutenant that they were human, and would take lives."

  A dense hail of bullets swept across the Japanese army's position in an instant, and the security troops a short distance away heard several angry shouts "Everyone get down" "Surrender your guns and we won't kill you", hastily threw down their guns and shouted: "We're on our own side, don't shoot, Chinese people don't fight Chinese people!"

  The battle ended quickly, and a small team of Japanese soldiers didn't even figure out whether the shooter was human or ghost before they were killed.

  Bang, bang, the soldiers of the special operations team reloaded their guns while rummaging through the Japanese army's pockets, even taking out watches and rings. Suddenly, Ma Liu shouted: "Forget about the guns, send a signal to let Lu Dashi come down!"

  Lu Dashi and Lin Xiuzhi led a row of warriors over, Ma Liu waved his hand generously: "Old Lu, everything here is handed over to you, I'm going to take a break. Damn it, the mosquitoes have been biting for so long..."

  Lu Dashi is now deeply impressed with Ma Liu, and without being polite, he orders the soldiers to confiscate the guns of the security forces and gather the Japanese military's firearms and ammunition. At a glance, there are more than 300 guns alone, which can't be taken away entirely, and it's not good to ask for help from Feihu Village, Lu Dashi turns his eyes and walks towards the security forces.

  The two company commanders of the Garrison Army had already been frightened by the stormy gunfire, and when they saw Lu Dashi coming over, they hastily saluted and shouted "Spare our lives, sir!"

  Lu Dashi grunted: "Have you heard of the Eighth Lord? That's us!"

  Two battalion commanders nodded in unison "I know, I know, you are all good men who fight against the devils, righteous masters, righteous masters!"

  Lu Dashi smiled and said, "You two are quite sensible. How about this? Follow us for a trip, take back your things, and when the time comes, you can choose to leave or stay as you please. What do you say?"

  The two battalion commanders dared not say no, and repeatedly said "willing to serve, willing to serve."

  Lu Dashi ordered the soldiers to put down their guns, sheathe their bayonets, and have the security troops carry the guns and ammunition on their backs. They walked in a hurry, stopping from time to time. Fortunately, they met the liaison personnel sent by Commander Li halfway, and finally returned to their barracks before noon.

  In front of the regimental headquarters, a large quantity of spoils of war was piled up. As for food, it would naturally be handed over; as for guns, Lu Dashi would definitely pick them first; as for horses... The regiment commander looked at the mountain-like supplies and began to think deeply.

  Lu Dashi couldn't help but understand the captain's thoughts, and with a wry smile, he said: "Don't bother calculating, these things all belong to others! To be honest, we didn't even fire a shot, and yet we got to play the role of porters. If you can bring yourself to open your mouth, just let them give us a couple of laborer's wages!"

  "Commander Li was taken aback: 'What the hell are you people doing? Such a big scene and not making a move? Isn't this just barking up the wrong tree?!'"

  "It's not that I didn't take action, it's just that there was no way to intervene. I'll tell you about this later. You little brat, hurry up and prepare wine to entertain our guest! It's really ridiculous, who blinded themselves into making you the team leader, you don't even know basic etiquette!" Lu Dashi said with hatred.

  Li Tuanzhang glared for a moment, but then suddenly realized: "Right right right, it should be like that, watch me, I'll definitely make it happen, today we won't leave until we're drunk!"

  As expected, the captain went all out today, slaughtering pigs and sheep, cooking chicken and stewing duck to entertain the officers of the Flying Tiger Fort. Lu Dashi also added sentries and strictly ordered the blockade of news to prevent other camps from hearing the wind...

  The banquet began in a friendly and harmonious atmosphere, grand and warm. Captain Li frequently raised his glass, Lu Dashan hugged Ma Liu's shoulder with great affection, as if he had found a long-lost brother. Political Commissar praised Wu Dingbang's hand without end...

  Lin Xiuzhi shook her head and smiled wryly, casting a glance at Ma Liu. Ma Liu nodded and said with a smile: "Alright, Old Lu, stop trying to trick me into drinking that mysterious potion of yours! You go ask around on Flying Tiger Mountain, Six Master's words are as good as gold, what he says counts. Here's the deal, we'll take the guns, just the rifles and the three-eight large covers, you can keep the grenade launchers and the curved blades. As for the horses, we'll split them half and half. And we'll take some of the canned goods first, but leave the grain here for now, remember to return it! Now are you satisfied? Don't try any more tricks or I might not recognize my own debt when I'm drunk!"

  Lu Dashi was overjoyed, but said: "Old Ma, you're too polite! We didn't even exert ourselves, how can we accept this? Don't worry about the grain, I'll take care of it. When I have time, I'll send it to you. Come on, let's drink!" As he spoke, he turned around and started haggling with the captain and commissar, ignoring the presence of the Flying Tiger Fort people nearby, causing everyone to burst out laughing. They drank until nightfall before dispersing in high spirits.

  The next day, Lin Xiuzhi and Ma Liu came to bid farewell. Lu Dashan firmly refused to let them go: "How can this be said? If it gets out, won't people say that I, Lu Dashan, am heartless and unrighteous? Stay a few more days, I still have things to ask you!"

  Ma Liu laughed and said, "Forget it, stay a few more days, you won't be able to afford it! Just got some stuff, still have to spend it! When we have time, let's go to Feihu Mountain and have a proper drink, taste the wine that our master brews himself!"

  Lin Xiuzhi took off the binoculars and handed them to Lu Dashan: "Old Lu, keep it as a souvenir, this is authentic German goods, much better than yours! With this, you won't have to lean forward anymore! Ma Lianchang left thirty 38-style rifles and one thousand bullets for you, send someone to pick them up later. Tell Captain Li and the commissar that Feihu Village will always be your friend!"

  Lu Dashi saw that they were determined to leave and didn't want to detain them, so he clasped his fists and said: "Today's favor, I will never forget. If there is a place where I, Lu Dashi, can be of use in the future, even if it's a mountain of knives or a sea of fire, I won't hesitate!"

  "Stop messing around like a woman, remember you still owe me food!"

  Lu Dashi saw them off all the way down the mountain before waving goodbye.

  "Wu Dingbang asked: 'Sixth son, where are we going next?'"

  "Your sixth uncle is going to Flying Eagle Stockade to do business!"