Chapter Twenty-Five

  The hills behind had added dozens of new graves, those seriously wounded soldiers who did not want to drag down their comrades during the retreat chose to stay on the battlefield and perish together with the enemy, leaving no bodies behind. This battle greatly shocked the Sichuan Army soldiers, they stood in front of the graves and vowed to avenge their fallen comrades.

  As for those chemical weapons, they were sealed in a secret mountain cave, and only a few people in the mountain stronghold knew about it. Xiao Ming understood that once something went wrong, these things would be enough to destroy the entire Fei Hu Mountain.

  This time, it's like stirring up a hornet's nest. The Flying Tigers' base is heavily guarded to prevent the Japanese army from retaliating. However, strangely, there has been no movement from the Japanese side, which has left everyone in the Flying Tigers' base puzzled.

  Xiao Ming checked the spoils of war, and his mood improved. What made him laugh and cry was that the soldiers had even brought back some 105mm and 150mm caliber shells, but there were no cannons, so they could only think of other uses for them.

  The military train was hijacked and special weapons went missing, which is a big deal with international implications. The commander-in-chief of the North China Garrison was furious and ordered an investigation. However, after investigating, neither the Nationalist nor Communist armies were found to be involved in this action. Finally, attention fell on the Flying Tiger Fort.

  The commander listened to the report from his subordinates, saying that it was likely a bandit group that did it. He was so angry that he slapped his subordinate three times, but he couldn't believe that a bandit group could have such strong combat power, which was an insult to the imperial army. His subordinate covered his face and asked if they should launch a crackdown on the Flying Tiger Fort, but the commander hesitated, considering for half a day before sighing and saying: "It's easy to surround and annihilate them, but the enemy will definitely fight to the death, causing us a bad reputation. Since it hasn't spread, it means they are just ordinary bandits without any political ambitions. From now on, you must closely monitor them, gather intelligence, and see what kind of people they are. Also, remind our soldiers to be careful when fighting against them, beware of their desperate moves."

  The Japanese army, after a hard fight, finally occupied Wuhan, but never had the ability to launch an attack again, and both sides formed a stalemate. As various forces eyed the Japanese supply line, the Japanese could not bear the harassment and began to pay attention to the security situation in the rear.

  The Imperial Army attaches great importance to this, the situation is very unfavorable, all parties have lowered their flags and drums, and many have retreated. Although his reputation has already shaken far and wide, Xiao Ming does not want to provoke trouble, every day he just trains soldiers, letting the special agent company follow the automobile company to learn how to drive, restricting the Flying Tiger Fort from top to bottom not to randomly clash with the Japanese army.

  Recently, Xiao Ming received a lot of high-gluten corn and asked Sun Erdou to buy a set of brewing equipment. He studied winemaking whenever he had nothing to do, saying that he wanted to contribute to the mountain village's breeding industry because the wine lees could be used as pig feed.

  Since the hijacking of the military train, Wang Jinlong was like a chicken blood injection, and he would talk and laugh when he saw people. As soon as Xiao Ming was not around, he took the guard company down the mountain to pick up some melons and vegetables. Lin Xiucheng was not easy to manage, turning a blind eye, and when encountered by Xiao Ming, he vowed to the lamp that he would never commit again, then tasted the self-brewed high-gluten liquor with Xiao Ming, praised it, and then committed again.

  Xiao Ming finally couldn't bear it anymore, and seriously went to talk to Wang Jinlong, thinking that if he continued like this, it would bring catastrophic disaster to the mountain stronghold. Wang Jinlong didn't think so, saying: "I'm telling you, brother, we've done such big business before, what's there to fear about these small matters!"

  Xiao Ming said with a wry smile: "Big brother, it's okay if we occasionally do something big, the Japanese will think that once we're full, we won't bother them. But you go and fight them every day, this is clearly targeted. Moreover, the Japanese army is now focusing on launching a war of pacification, others are avoiding them as much as possible, but we're doing the opposite, sticking our heads out. The Japanese will take us down first even if it's just to kill one to warn a hundred. When that time comes and the planes and artillery arrive, what do you want our brothers to do? Others can't fight back so they run, but our homes are all in Fei Hu Mountain, once we leave, we'll be surrounded by the Japanese and starve to death, no need to disperse the troops. We should hit the devils, but also use some strategy, avoid their sharp blades, and when they're not paying attention, give them a good blow, wouldn't that be better?"

  Wang Jinlong fell silent for half a day, then slowly said: "Brother, now that I think about it, it's really like this! I was only thinking of my own comfort, didn't consider the brothers in the mountain stronghold, it was my fault, I..."

  "Big brother, don't say that about your own brothers." Xiao Ming interrupted Wang Jinlong's words. "Big brother is the backbone of our mountain stronghold. As long as you're here, I can go wherever I want and still feel secure! How about this," Xiao Ming said with a smile, changing the subject: "If you're really bored, come with me to make wine. After we drive out the Japanese, we'll open a winery together and get rich!"

  Wang Jinlong burst out laughing and said, "The two of us opening a winery? We'll probably drink away all the capital in no time! Why not go sell lime instead? There's plenty on the mountain behind, it's a zero-investment business, and you can't eat it secretly, isn't that better?"

  Xiao Ming hated the fact that he couldn't make a good sword, and sighed, saying: "Three words never leave the profession, always thinking of doing business without capital, rotten wood can't be carved!" The two laughed and went to drink.

  Sun Erdou, since taking on the dual roles of logistics and village manager, has been doing a great job, turning things around from his previous slump. He's become more energetic and his body has also lightened up a lot. Especially during the militia training, he organized over 30 people in the village to participate, and really put in a lot of effort. His calm and collected, clever and brave performance earned him the admiration of the young villagers. Sun Erdou never had the virtue of humility, so he took this opportunity to boast about his past exploits, saying "Back then I was so great..." Amidst the applause and praise from the young people, he smiled smugly while sneaking glances at Guihua, who was secretly laughing. When she saw Sun Erdou looking at her, she actually blushed bright red.

  When it came to the exciting part, Sun Erdou's brain heated up and he said to those young people: "Do you hate the Japanese? Do you want to be like our Flying Tigers and kill the devils?" The young people replied: "Of course we do! But what can we do without guns? Besides, we don't even know how to shoot!"

  "Rifles are plentiful, I'll teach you all, just like when I was an instructor and now the deputy commander, let's see what kind of material we're made of! I've received special individual training, it's all on me!"

  The younger generation applauded loudly and praised him again. Sun Er Gou accepted it with a smile.

  Back at his post, Sun Erdou calmed down and felt a bit regretful. There was no way to take back what he had said, so he steeled himself to go find Wang Jindong and Xiao Ming.

  To his surprise, Xiao Ming actually supported his idea and readily said: "I think it's okay, at least when something happens, you can still defend yourself. How about this, go to Mr. Ji's place to get thirty Type 38 rifles, the recoil is small, both men and women can practice, what do you think?"

  Sun Erdou let out a long sigh of relief, repeatedly saying "good" and patting his chest, saying: "You two masters see, I will definitely train another Flying Tiger team for you."

  "Never mind Flying Tigers," Xiao Ming said with a wry smile, "don't you dare bring out the cubs, or I'll burn incense!"

  Sun Ergou shivered and quickly ran away.

  Wang Jinlong was delighted, looking at Sun Erdou's light and airy back, he chuckled and said: "This kid Sun Erdou has made progress, this matter is handled quite interestingly."

  "This kid must be out of his mind, he's got no control over his mouth, and now he's gone too far," Xiao Ming said with a sly smile, "Not only is it interesting, this kid probably thinks he's doing something good!"

  As expected, it didn't take long for Sun Erdou to come looking for Wang Jindong and Xiao Ming. The two masters were busy brewing wine in the back mountain, Erdou hesitated and couldn't say anything, just as Ma Liu led Shanwazi and others walked in, so he didn't say anything after all.

  Xiao Ming stood up and walked over to him, suddenly shouting "Sun Er Gou!"

  Everyone was startled and didn't know what had happened. Sun Erdog's body stood at attention like a conditioned reflex, loudly shouting "Arrived".

  Xiao Ming stared into his eyes and said sternly: "Speak quickly, what did you do to her?"

  "Report to Second Master, it's nothing, we're all willing!"

  "Them?" Xiao Ming suddenly laughed and turned to Wang Jinlong, saying: "Big brother, I told you, this kid really has something going on! Speak up, what's the matter?"

  Everyone burst out laughing, Sun Erdou realized he had been tricked, it was too late to say anything, his face flushed red, and he spoke in a flurry.

  There was a woman in the village named Guihua. Not long after she got married, the Japanese army invaded and her husband was killed by an airplane. Her natal family didn't have anyone either, so she followed the villagers to escape here. Sun Er Gou saw that she was lonely and struggling, so he occasionally helped her out. This Sun Er Gou was also a worldly person who had traveled extensively, with a silver tongue. After some back-and-forth, Guihua's heart was moved. The day before yesterday, she found Sun Er Gou and said that the villagers already knew about their affair and were gossiping behind their backs, wanting him to marry her. Sun Er Gou was in a difficult position, so he came to find you two masters to discuss it.

  Wang Jinlong burst out laughing and said to Xiao Ming: "Brother, I'm thoroughly convinced. You can even see through this! What do you think we should do?"

  Xiao Ming looked at Sun Er Gou and asked coldly: "Do you really want to marry her, or are you forcing her?"

  Sun Ergou broke out in a cold sweat, stamping his foot and swearing that it was absolutely consensual, asking the master of the house to take charge.

  "That's easy to handle." Xiao Ming suddenly smiled and turned his head to say to Wang Jinlong, "Brother, this mountain stronghold has never held a wedding before. Is it going to be a lively and proper celebration for the brothers this time?" Wang Jinlong smiled and said, "You take care of it, brother."

  Xiao Ming turned to Sun Er Gou and snorted, saying: "Go tell them that tomorrow I'll go with Big Brother to propose, you go find Mr. Ji to check the date, these two days will get things done. From now on, live a good life, or else I'll cripple your other leg too!"

  Sun Ergou thanked him profusely and ran out like flying.

  "Commander, look at us, we're not young anymore, when are you going to give us that thing? Haha!" Ma Liu's face was flushed as he smiled and joked with Wang Jinlong and Xiao Ming, the crowd responded in unison "Yes, give it to us!"

  Xiao Ming laughed: "Haha, good! You all miss your wives, okay, let's talk! Mountain kids!"

  "Here!" Shan Wa Zi took a step forward.

  "Go and give each of them a shot in the leg, then go and grab a few Japanese girls to serve them!" Xiao Ming said with a sinister smile.

  "Yes!" Shan Wa Zi replied while pulling out his gun.

  Everyone was shocked, this kid had a silly look on his face, but when executing Xiao Ming's orders, he never hesitated. If the gun were to go off, all the women would be in trouble. Ma Liu quickly hugged him and said hastily: "Child, child, Commander is just joking, good brother, don't take it seriously, put down the gun, I care about you the most!"

  "What's wrong, don't you want it?" Xiao Ming asked with a smile.

  "No way, no way! We never thought of it!" Ma Liu and others replied in a flurry.

  "What are you still dawdling for, wait till I treat you to a drink?" Xiao Ming smiled, "Fully armed, twenty kilometers, let's go! Damn it, I think you guys have gotten lazy!"

  The next day, Wang Jinlong, Xiao Ming and Lin Xiuying came to the village with gifts. They saw that Guihua was quite pretty. The villagers saw that the three top officials of Feihu Zhai had come to propose marriage, so they naturally looked at Guihua in a different light. Chen Lao personally received them and settled the matter.

  On the wedding day, Ma Liu led a group of people to set up a big red sedan chair and brought the bride over. The military and civilians celebrated together, and the mountain stronghold was really lively for a while before everyone dispersed happily.

  The next day, Er Gou and his wife came to the main hall to thank them. Xiao Ming and Wang Jinlong discussed it for a moment, then said to them: "How about this? You two will still live in the village, build a bigger house, and from now on, Er Gou will be in charge of things between the village and the mountain stronghold. Gui Hua will be responsible for organizing women to do some needlework, and the expenses will be borne by the mountain stronghold. What do you think?"

  Sun Erdou was moved to the point of almost shedding tears, Xiao Ming shook his head and said: "Look at your appearance, in the future you will be a man who is afraid of his wife, get out of here!"