Chapter Seven
The training stopped, and Wang Jinlong and others sat idly in the hall, not speaking, each thinking about their own affairs. Xiao Ming had been gone for half a month, according to the agreement, Wang Jinlong let Da Long and twenty or so people go to Pingcheng Railway Station to meet him, but they had also been gone for five or six days, and now they still hadn't returned, Wang Jinlong was thinking about whether to send someone else to investigate.
"Master Xiao is back home." Suddenly, Little Tiger rushed in hastily.
Wang Jinlong stood up and said, "Speak slowly, what's going on?"
Xiao Hu took a deep breath and said, "Officer Xiao and the brothers have returned, with dozens of large carts. They've already passed Heifengxia and will arrive at the village soon."
Wang Jinlong burst out laughing: "Let's go, all of you follow me down the mountain to welcome Instructor Xiao."
As they arrived at the foot of the mountain, a team of horses and carriages stopped in front of them. The leader was none other than Xiao Ming, Night Cat, and others. Wang Jinlong stepped forward, stretched out his hand to tightly grasp Xiao Ming's shoulders, and exclaimed loudly: "Ah, Instructor! You're finally back! I was worried to death!"
Xiao Ming smiled slightly: "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Dang's family, we are fine!"
Everyone nodded in greeting, and Wang Jinlong pointed to the fleet of cars and asked, "What's this...?"
Xiao Ming smiled and said: "A little gift prepared for the mountain stronghold, brothers will definitely like it. Let's get started, let the brothers unload the goods!" He turned around to remind Ma Liu, Sun Er and Gou to carefully unload the car, gave some money to pay off the truck owner, and handed a list of goods to Wang Jinlong.
Wang Jinlong took over the list and was shocked to see what was written on it:
Mauser M1932 pistol 100 units.
MP35 submachine gun 100 units.
Mauser rifles 200 branches.
Six K98 sniper rifles.
Type 26 machine gun: 10 guns
Four Madsen machine guns.
82 mortars, 4 doors, 1200 rounds of ammunition.
5 million rounds of various types of ammunition, 2,000 hand grenades, 100 infantry mines, 500 kilograms of explosives, detonators, binoculars, gun parts and accessories, as well as 300 sets of equipment, and even 300 sets of National Army uniforms.
Wang Jinlong's eyes widened in shock, staring blankly at Xiao Ming: "My god, instructor, how much does this cost?"
Xiao Ming smiled carelessly: "I don't have much money, I'm not a rich young master after all."
Wang Jinlong was shocked and sweated, "This...this...how can this be..."
Xiao Ming burst out laughing: "The master of the house, I was just joking, where would I get so much money?" He then lowered his voice and said: "This is all given by the Japanese, I'll tell you more about it later, anyway don't refuse it for nothing, as the master of the house, don't be polite."
After finishing speaking, he beckoned a half-grown child over, "Mountain kid, come and pay respects to the master of the house."
The kid looked like he was fifteen or sixteen years old, with a somewhat awkward appearance, but his words were clear. He came over and gave Wang Jinlong a bow: "I've seen the master!" Then he stood behind Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming smiled and said to Wang Jinlong, "I just picked him up on the road, his name is Guo De Shan, I plan to let him be a messenger. Don't look at this kid's silly appearance, he's actually very cunning, don't let him cheat you."
Wang Jinlong burst out laughing and said, "With you here, this kid probably won't dare. Let's go back to the hideout!" He handed the list to Ji Hongru and ordered Zhang Tiezhu to send someone to keep a close eye on it, not allowing any mistakes.
They arrived at the hall and sat down, Xiao Hu served tea, and took Shan Wa Zi to clean up the room. Wang Jin Long saw that there was no one around and asked Xiao Ming: "Officer, what's going on?"
Xiao Ming smiled and said: "At the end of last year, I returned to China to seek revenge. From my sworn brother, I learned that the enemy had gone to Shanghai. We robbed three Japanese trading houses and rushed to Shanghai, avenged ourselves, and then robbed five more Japanese trading houses before fleeing to Wuhan. My instructor's older brother was an agent in Wuhan, doing all sorts of business and having close ties with various government departments. The instructor gave me his address, saying that if I had any trouble, I could go find him for help. So I found him and ordered this batch of weapons. Originally, I thought about going north to see if there was a suitable opportunity, but it turned out to be really disappointing. Since we've come up the mountain, let's just bring them back to the hideout. The ones at home want to fight with the Japanese, so these will come in handy."
As they spoke, Xiao Ming thought of Captain Hoffman's brother, Big Hoffman, a shrewd and bold businessman. The three had a common friend who brought them together.
As soon as Big Hoffman saw Xiao Ming, he immediately thought of his own brother: these two are absolutely on the same wavelength. So when Xiao Ming piled gold bars, US dollars, yen and jewelry in front of him to purchase military equipment, he didn't feel strange at all, not even bothering to ask about the origin of the money. When Xiao Ming came to pick up the goods, Hoffman brothers had already been in contact, Little Hoffman said a sentence "someone is going to be unlucky, should be Japanese", and asked to inform Xiao Ming that his country has officially established a special forces unit, unfortunately: originally, he would have been an excellent special warfare instructor!
What infuriated Xiao Ming was that he had originally ordered ten sniper rifles, but four of them were taken away by a few government officials who claimed they needed them for hunting. Hoffman had no choice but to throw in one hundred infantry mines and three hundred sets of National Army uniforms - God knows where he got them from. Xiao Ming gritted his teeth: "Damn it, one rifle in the hands of an expert can take out hundreds of enemies, now it's being used to shoot birds."
Of course, Xiao Ming didn't treat Hoffman unfairly either. Before leaving, he gave him all the things he couldn't use, and Hoffman pretended to be deaf and dumb, accepting everything without asking where it came from. In this regard, the two brothers were similar: they were both bold.
"Where's your sworn brother?" Wang Jinlong asked. "He went back home," Xiao Ming said, "We traveled from Wuhan to Beiping and then to Tianjin, did a few jobs, and then let him go back home to take care of his elderly mother." His sworn brother was only a few days younger than Xiao Ming, who had been raised in his sworn brother's family since childhood, making them like milk brothers. After growing up, their parents took them in and arranged work for his sworn brother, treating him like one of the family. When something happened to the Xiao family, they returned to the countryside. His mother was old, and Xiao Ming didn't want his sworn brother to take risks with him.
Xiao Ming said it lightly, but Wang Jinlong could sense the shocking part: five business establishments were robbed in one night, and they must not be small merchants. The security is tight, even a seasoned thief like Night Cat may not be able to do it.
As they spoke, Night Cat and others moved in several boxes. Sun Erdog excitedly shouted: "Look at this!" As he opened the box, Wang Jindong stretched his head to take a look, almost dropping his jaw. The boxes were filled with gold bars, silver coins, banknotes, jewelry, and even a box of cigars and foreign wine.
Xiao Ming looked at Wang Jinlong's appearance and secretly laughed in his heart: If you knew how much those antique tickets were worth, your eyeballs would fall out, but unfortunately, Hoffman got a good deal!
As expected, Ye Maozi admired Xiao Ming with all his heart: "If there were a few more instructors like Xiao, I would have no food to eat." He was still savoring the elegance and composure of Xiao Ming when he opened the safe. Ma Liu, as the person involved, was even more excited, spitting out stars, although he was only responsible for spreading the wind.
Guo De Shan had even attended a few days of middle school. His family was originally well-off, but because his father loved to gamble, he lost all their property and jumped into the river. He began to mix with the common people, cheating and stealing, but unfortunately met Xiao Ming. Moreover, there was also the old slippery cat, Night Cat, so he had no choice but to admit defeat. Xiao Ming saw that he was clever and meticulous, asked him about his past, and then brought him back.
Everyone couldn't help but feel joyful in their hearts and ran over to ask when the guns would be issued. Wang Jinlong glared at them: "What's the hurry, just listen to the instructor."
Dà Lóng came over and handed a box to Xiāo Míng, who then gave it to Jì Hóng Rú. When Jì Hóng Rú opened the box, he found that it contained a complete set of elementary school textbooks, as well as several sets of girls' shoes, hats, clothes, and socks. Jì Hóng Rú was deeply moved and repeatedly expressed his gratitude. Xiāo Míng smiled and said: "Mr. Ji is too polite, I'm still waiting to take Little Yuè as my apprentice."
Wang Jinlong suddenly shouted: "Right, where's my daughter? Why haven't I seen her for several days? Quickly call her to pay respects to the master."
The dishes and wine were served one after another, and everyone raised their glasses to celebrate. Ma Liu and Sun Er Gou, who had suffered losses before, drank two bowls and didn't dare drink more, and began telling stories about what happened on the road.
Xiao Ming and a few others stayed in Wuhan for several days, and they really made a fortune. After General Hoffman's goods were repackaged and loaded onto the train, they set off. When they arrived at Pingcheng Station, they met up with Da Long, and Sun Er Gou found a large truck company to load the goods, which was already evening. To be on the safe side, Xiao Ming ordered them to depart early the next morning, and quietly opened the boxes, took out the pistols, and handed one to each person, wiping off the gun oil, with three magazines per person, just in case.
After more than three months of training, everyone had a different temperament from ordinary people. With Xiao Ming's pass in hand, they thought it was something from some warlord and traveled smoothly without incident.
Only when they arrived at Liujiatun did several village guards, who appeared to have had a bit of wine, stop them in the name of checking and collecting fees from the town government.
Xiao Ming's eyes flashed, and Ma Liu rushed up to slap two loud slaps. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, shouted: "Damn it! You dare to hit someone from the Liu family? Are you looking for death?" As he spoke, he raised his gun, but Da Long and others had already pressed their twenty-shooter pistols against their heads.
Xiao Ming took out a piece of paper and pointed to the seal on it: "Look clearly, do you know whose big seal this is? A small Liu family courtyard has gone up to heaven!"
The family members were so scared that they didn't dare to move, Sun Erdou dropped a few big coins and scolded: "Next time open your dog eyes and take a good look, if you dare to block my way again, I'll take your heads off." The convoy passed safely.
Upon hearing this, Wang Jin's brow furrowed and his face turned gloomy. The crowd also suddenly remembered something and fell silent, not making a sound. Xiao Ming felt strange in her heart and asked: "Is there something on your mind, sir? Is it convenient to tell me?"
Wang Jinlong took a sip of wine and sighed, "In the old days, the master of the house was killed by gunfire when attacking the Liu family's mansion. If I don't avenge this grudge, Wang Jinlong will not be a man!"
Xiao Ming comforted him: "The master doesn't have to worry about it, I've seen that Liu family's big house before, and it wouldn't be difficult to take them down."
"Oh, does Instructor Xiao have any good ideas?"
Xiao Ming smiled: "The master has forgotten, didn't he bring back four cannons this time? The Liu family's large courtyard may have high walls and thick walls, but it can't withstand cannon fire!"
Everyone shouted in unison: "Yes, take a cannon and blast his mother's, avenge our old master!"
Wang Jinlong let out a sigh of relief, raised his cup in a toast to Xiao Ming: "Thanks to Instructor Xiao's guidance."
"It's nothing, nothing. On the way back, I passed by Er Long Ridge and heard that Big Dragon said there was a bandit gang there, not on good terms with Fei Hu Village. In my opinion, that's the real threat, we should take care of them first if we have the chance."
Wang Jindong nodded and said, "Officer Xiao is absolutely right. These bandits have connections with various forces, their equipment is not bad, they regard us as a thorn in the eye, and are a great threat to us."
"This needs to be done gradually, for now we need to focus on familiarizing ourselves with our weapons and training well!"
Just then, Little Yue bounced in, and the little guy, seeing Xiao Ming's new clothes, reluctantly gave him a nod, which counted as a bow. Ji Hongru and Wang Jindong were so happy that they toasted Xiao Ming several cups.
Dà Lóng had been silent the whole time, but suddenly spoke up and asked: "Instructor, when can we practice that search-and-advance, camouflage identification you mentioned?" When they passed by èr Lóng Lǐng, Xiāo Míng briefly taught them a combat formation, unexpectedly Dà Lóng still remembered it.
Xiao Ming looked at Da Long, nodded in approval, and turned to Wang Jinlong: "Boss, I think tomorrow we should issue the guns and let the brothers get familiar with them. Then, I'll take those thirty people for separate training. What do you think?"
Wang Jinlong burst out laughing: "Training soldiers is an instructor's job, whatever you say goes!"
