Chapter Fifteen

  The Liu family's big yard was a great victory, and the Flying Tiger Fort returned with a full load. Not only did they eliminate Liu Jingzhen, but they also moved almost everything in the entire courtyard to the mountain: gold bars, silver dollars, pearls, antiques, and treasures filled seven large carts, cloth, bedding, grain, rice, oil, eggs, and even pigs, cattle, chickens, and sheep were all taken away. Over 300 kilograms of tobacco, a batch of guns and bullets, and the convoy returned to pull another round of food. Xiao Ming was not satisfied, took away the house deed and land deed together, and repeatedly said it was a pity that Liu Jingzhen had many shops in various cities! Wang Jinlong shook his head, thinking that after all, he was the son of a merchant family, and bandits couldn't outsmart him!

  Back to the mountain stronghold, he rewarded each of the cart pushers with ten big ocean coins, and they left with a thousand thanks. Wang Jinlong was in high spirits, ordering pigs to be slaughtered and sheep to be killed, rewarding the three armies.

  Xiao Ming went to see Sun Er Gou, who was lying on the bed groaning. He pulled down his pants and took a look, seeing a hole in his buttocks that looked like a child's mouth, with the bullet still inside. If it became infected, it would be life-threatening.

  Xiao Ming furrowed his brow, having only learned battlefield first aid and never actually performing surgery himself. He had seen it done before, but that was all. No choice, he couldn't just watch Sun Er Gou suffer. Xiao Ming could only force himself to do the best he could. Fortunately, there were medical supplies on hand in the mountain hideout. He removed the bullet - luckily it was a handgun round - cleaned and disinfected the wound, hastily stitched it up, applied a dressing, and gave him some anti-inflammatory medication. Xiao Ming was drenched with sweat by this point, silently vowing to find a doctor to bring up the mountain in the future.

  At night, Feihu Village was brightly lit, and everyone was in high spirits, even more lively than during the Chinese New Year. Wang Jinlong set up an incense table on the playground, placed the ancestral tablet of the old master, offered three animals and six domesticated animals, Wang Jinlong and Xiao Ming sat at several tables, while the rest of the people sat on the ground in the playground.

  Wang Jinlong swept a glance over the field and didn't see Feihu Team or Ji Hongru, so he asked: "Where are Mr. Ji and Dalong?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said: "The Flying Tiger Team is divided into three teams for night training. Mr. Ji, this must be counting money!"

  Wang Jinlong understood that Feihu Team had gone to stand guard and said: "Officer, you're worrying too much. But will this group of kids have any ideas about you?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said: "Endure what ordinary people cannot endure, and you will achieve what ordinary people cannot achieve! You worry too much about family matters."

  Ji Hongru was summoned, and Wang Jindong raised his cup, saying: "Brothers, today we killed Liu Jingchu to avenge the old master. This first cup is to offer sacrifices to the old master's spirit in heaven!" After finishing speaking, he poured the wine on the incense table, knelt down and kowtowed three times before standing up, and the crowd followed suit, pouring their wine onto the ground.

  Refilling his cup, Wang Jinlong raised it and sighed: "Taking down the Liu family's mansion was something we didn't dare to think about in the past. Today we did it without losing a single brother. Who do you say deserves the credit for this?"

  The crowd fell silent for a moment, and someone shouted "It's the instructor!" The rest of the people also shouted "Instructor! Instructor!", Xiao Ming was at a loss.

  Wang Jinlong burst out laughing and waved his hand at the crowd, saying: "That's right, it's Instructor! Since Instructor came to the mountain, we've been drinking and eating meat, making a lot of money. Brothers, is it enjoyable or not?" The crowd thundered in unison: "Enjoyable!"

  Wang Jinlong turned to Xiao Ming and said solemnly, "Captain, why don't we two swear an oath of brotherhood in front of the ancestral tablet today? From now on, let's work together, live or die together. What do you think?" The crowd cheered.

  Xiao Ming was taken aback for a moment and said in a low voice: "Thank you, Mr. Dang's kindness, but how dare Xiao Ming be mentioned in the same breath as Mr. Dang..."

  Wang Jinlong grabbed Xiao Ming: "Brother, don't decline anymore, it's not giving me face!" The two knelt in front of the incense table, bowed eight times, and talked about their ages. Wang Jinlong was five years older than Xiao Ming, who pressed him onto a stool and bowed down: "Big brother is above, accept little brother's bow!" He knocked his head three times, and Wang Jinlong also didn't decline, happily accepting it. Everyone cheered, and Wang Jinlong announced that from now on, Xiao Ming would be the second master of the mountain stronghold, in charge of all major and minor matters. Those who disobeyed orders would be killed! That night, everyone returned home drunk.

  The news of the Liu family's compound being breached spread like wildfire, and only then did all parties realize that the one who had attacked Er Long Ridge was indeed Fei Hu Village. Da Ba Zao gnashed his teeth in hatred, going around to persuade and mobilize the government to send troops to suppress the bandits.

  Fei Hu Village is also making preparations. The people from Fei Ying Village, after more than a month of hard training under Sun Er Gou, have somewhat taken shape. Now that Er Gou is bedridden and unable to get up, Xiao Ming has supplemented them into Xin Cheng Shan's team.

  In addition to intensifying training, they also strengthened the firepower of each team. A heavy machine gun was set up in Heifengxia and Hulu Valley respectively. This machine gun, Xiaoming originally liked the MG34, which was convenient for movement and had enough power. However, Hoffman advised him: "This gun is good, but its accessories are hard to come by, it will become scrap iron in no time." Thinking about it, Xiaoming gave up.

  The nine curved people looked at the red and also wanted it. Xiao Ming smiled and said, "That place where you can't even fart straight, what do you want that thing for? Are you going to hold onto your crotch?" After saying this, Xiao Ming thought for a moment and gave them ten Thompson submachine guns, and also gave them some extra hand grenades.

  Ready and prepared, Xiao Ming let out a slight sigh of relief and went to discuss with Wang Jinlong to see if there were any omissions. But to his surprise, Wang Jinlong waved his hand: You just make the decision.

  The troops of the Qing Dynasty did not arrive, and a heavy rain came unexpectedly. The rain poured down for more than a month, until the ditches were filled to the brim and everything was flooded. Finally, the weather cleared up, and the night owl brought news: In the north, the Chinese and Japanese armies had started fighting!

  It's not surprising that both sides started fighting, it was only a matter of time. This time, however, the old Chiang seemed to have flown into a rage. Unable to gain an advantage in the north, he publicly thrashed the Japanese army in Shanghai. The Japanese were naturally furious and humiliated, and so both sides mobilized their troops. The northern troops hastily retreated southward, each side determined to win, and a fierce battle unfolded in Songhu.

  The war in the south was unfavorable, but the Japanese army was smooth sailing in the north, dividing its troops into two routes along the railway line, one route advancing and preparing to take down the Central Plains in one fell swoop, meeting in the south.

  The situation is getting worse and worse, Wang Jindong scolds his mother every day, while Xiao Ming becomes more and more excited, training the team like crazy, and even sends the scouts to the north to gather information.

  Wang Jinlong felt a bit depressed and asked Xiao Ming: "I'm saying, brother, the national army has been defeated all the way, why are you still happy?"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said: "Big brother, the strength of both sides is laid out there, can the National Army not lose? Hehe, soon we will be fighting with the little Japanese devils for real, just thinking about it makes me excited!"

  Wang Jindong slammed his hand on the table and stood up, shouting: "Alright, damn it! It's come to this, we can't count on the army anymore. We'll do it ourselves! What do you brothers think?"

  "Brothers are all ready, just waiting for your order!" Xiao Ming's face bloomed with a smile.

  It was autumn harvest time, Xiao Ming and Wang Jinlong discussed it and let Ma Liu lead people with Ji Hongru to bring the land deed to collect rent from the Liu family's large courtyard, stipulating that only 30% would be collected this year, leaving 10% for the large courtyard, and the discounted price of the mountain stronghold could be exchanged for money and fine grains.

  Liu Jingzhuo died, and the servants scattered like birds and beasts. The Liu family's mansion no longer had its former grandeur. Mrs. Liu ordered the gates to be closed tightly, not to provoke any trouble, and they lived in peace. However, not long ago, news arrived that her eldest son had died on the battlefield of Songhu, which made Mrs. Liu grief-stricken. Every day, she only ate vegetarian food and recited Buddhist scriptures.

  Since ancient times, paying rent in grain has been a matter of course for farmers. Ji Hongru and his group had an easy time, but when Wang Jindong heard the news of Liu's eldest son's death, he sighed and said that there was no need to go to the Liu family's large courtyard to collect it, considering it as consolation for a martyr.

  Xiao Ming advised Wang Jinlong to hoard all kinds of materials, "Don't be afraid to spend money, when the time comes, you'll be afraid that even with money, there's nowhere to buy."

  "Wang Jinlong waved his hand and said, 'Just discuss this with Mr. Ji'."

  The Night Cat brought back new news: The Japanese army has approached Zhengding, it seems that it won't be long before they attack.

  Xiao Ming asked: "Did the Japanese army advance smoothly all the way?"

  "Alas," sighed the Night Cat, "from the fleeing villagers and scattered soldiers I've heard that the National Army hardly put up any decent resistance, their defeat was like a mountain collapse!"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said to Wang Jinlong: "Brother, an opportunity has come. I want to meet the Japanese people. What do you think?"

  Wang Jinlong was shocked and said: "Brother, this Japanese is in high spirits, you'd better not mess with him!"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said, "Big brother, I have a plan. We haven't had a real fight with the Japanese yet. They're advancing smoothly, so they'll definitely be off guard. I'll take about 180 men and wait for an opportunity to strike at them. We'll hit and run, let our brothers see some Japanese blood, and then they won't be afraid of them in the future."

  Wang Jinlong thought for a moment and said: "Why don't I go too? We still have someone to take care of each other."

  Xiao Ming smiled: "Big brother, there are still many things at home, who will take care of them if you leave?"

  Wang Jinlong was perplexed: "Isn't everything in the village arranged? What else could there be?"

  Xiao Ming whispered a few words into Wang Jinlong's ear, and after listening, the two looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  Xiao Ming selected sixty people from each team, adding the Flying Tiger Team and Night Cat Team, making a total of one hundred people. Wang Jinlong, Zhang Tiezhu, Xin Chengshan, Ji Hongru and others also arrived at the training ground. Xiao Ming made a mobilization speech: "Brothers, the Japanese have come, but I've heard they're not human, they're devils. They killed our parents and relatives, humiliated our brothers and sisters, robbed us of food and money, doing all sorts of evil things. If we don't fight them, how can we face our ancestors? Even after death, we'll have no face to enter the ancestral tomb! Brothers, is that right or not?"

  Everyone shouted "Kill the devils! Kill the devils!"

  Xiao Ming sneered and said: "In the past, we were bandits, it's shameful to say it out loud. Now that we're fighting against Japan, we are warriors, warriors defending our home and country! Even if we die, we'll be heroes with everyone giving us a thumbs up! From today on, there's no turning back, if anyone wants to quit, step forward, I'll give him a quick death. But if you show cowardice on the battlefield, I, Xiao Ming, guarantee that he will die in a terrible way! Did you hear me?!"

  The crowd was stirred up, and everyone expressed their determination to fight to the death, refusing to back down, wanting to let the Japanese know that China has plenty of real men. Wang Jinlong shook his head: This pre-war mobilization sounds so awkward.

  Xiao Ming ordered everyone except Ye Maozi and a few others to change into National Army uniforms, fully equipped, ready to depart.

  As the crowd dispersed, Sun Erdou walked over to Xiao Ming and said: "Second Master, you can take me with you now. I'll sit in the car and help guide the way!" Although his buttock injury had healed, he still suffered from a lingering illness that made him limp when walking, and it hurt on rainy days, making it unsuitable for him to stay in the Flying Tiger team.

  Xiao Ming smiled and patted his shoulder, comforting him: "Alright, Er Gou, you've already explained everything on the road, haven't you? It's crucial to be able to save lives at critical moments, that's a great contribution! Now just rest assured and help Dà Zhǎng (the head of the household) at home, okay!"

  Wang Jinlong walked over and said, "Alright, Er Gou, don't cause any more trouble for your master. There's plenty of work to do at home." He then grabbed Xiao Ming's hand and said, "Brother, it's not that I'm trying to make others look good, but those Japanese people are really not easy to deal with. Be extremely careful and come back safely!"

  Xiao Ming smiled and said, "Don't worry, big brother. They're a bunch of troublesome little devils, and I'm the king of hell who's going to take them down. But since I took away half of the mountain stronghold's men, you should be extra careful!"

  Several people chatted for a while, and Guo De Shan came over to report: The carriages and horses are ready, everyone is here. Xiao Ming said to Wang Jin Long: "Big brother, take care, I'm leaving now!"

  Wang Jinlong nodded, turned around and said to Da Long and Ma Liu: "You two listen up, take good care of Er Dangjia. If my brother has any mishap, I'll skin you alive, got it?"

  Ma Liu hastily said: "Master, don't worry, with us around, we will never let the devils harm Master Er, everyone says it's true!"

  "Yes!" The Flying Tigers shouted in unison.

  Xiao Ming gave the order to set off, and Ye Maizi led the way. The team left Heifengxia and headed north.