Chapter Seventeen

  The convoy was ambushed, and the Japanese commander who arrived later saw the corpses stripped bare on the ground, and he was furious. He ordered the cavalry regiment to search in all directions to see who had eaten the leopard's gallbladder and dared to move against the Imperial Army. Xiao Ming and his men had just run out of 50 or 60 miles when they were caught up by a cavalry squadron.

  Xiao Ming divided the troops into two routes, one led by Ma Liu, driving a horse-drawn carriage on a small road, and the other led by Da Long, with Fei Hu team protecting the car on the main road. Xiao Ming and Xie Si Baowu five people covered the rear, agreeing to meet at Flying Eagle Fort.

  As night began to fall, a Japanese cavalry squadron rushed up. Xiao Ming and Xie Si Bao simultaneously took aim, destroying the enemy's radio transmitter, and then immediately killed the commander. Unexpectedly, this group of Japanese troops refused to retreat, deeply infiltrating and tightly encircling Xiao Ming's five men. Xiao Ming adjusted his strategy, requiring that the opponent be only seriously injured, first to psychologically intimidate the enemy, and second to force them to divert manpower to care for the wounded. By the third day, the enemy squadron of over a hundred people had been reduced to just thirty or forty riders, with reinforcements slow to arrive, and were on the verge of collapse.

  Xiao Ming and the other four had a very complicated retreat route designed, they knew that only by tightly attracting this Japanese army to themselves would the convoy be safe. They didn't clash head-on with the enemy, but just fired a few shots from afar, disappearing without a trace when the opponent arrived, yet leaving some clues behind. The Japanese were furious, but also helpless.

  Bang, bang, several gunshots rang out, and three Japanese soldiers fell off their horses, crying out in pain as they rolled around on the ground. The remaining soldiers quickly ducked down, but then another gunshot sounded from behind, hitting a Japanese soldier's coccyx. That soldier couldn't sit still anymore, let out a loud cry, and fell off his horse, lying on the ground and trembling all over. The nearby soldiers could only stare with their eyes wide open, frozen in place on their horses, not daring to move.

  Just this morning, the Japanese army discovered the marks they had left behind and suddenly realized that for the past few days, they had been following their opponents in circles. The opponent's goal was to tie them down. Since reinforcements were hopeless, it was already impossible to complete the mission. An officer-like figure stood up straight, leaving a few people to escort the wounded back, then drew his horse sword and said to the rest: "The enemy only has a few people, we are like mice being played by them. We have disappointed the Emperor's expectations, now it is time for us to be loyal to the Emperor, brave warriors, stand up your chest, and fight to the death with the enemy, attack!" The remaining Japanese army had already suffered enough, they drew their knives one after another, shouting "Long live" and rushed towards the mound where the guns were firing.

  Xiao Ming rode his horse back, feeling that the time was about right. Shan Wa Zi was already a bit exhausted, and these Japanese were relentless in their pursuit, really annoying him. He didn't want to bring trouble to the mountain stronghold, and he had the idea of a quick battle. Seeing the enemy's desperate situation, he hastily gave orders: "Si Bao, you three retreat to the back mountain slope, snipe from the top of the slope, Shan Wa Zi, we won't move, wait for the devils to rush past, then we'll stab them in the butt."

  The Japanese army saw several human shadows retreating up the mountain slope, overjoyed and shouting, they galloped towards the mountain slope. Xie Sibao and his three men fired and hit two of them, but the rest of the Japanese soldiers leaned forward on their horses' backs, without hesitation, trampling over their companions' bodies to continue charging.

  Xiao Ming waited until the last horse rushed down the slope, turned over and jumped up, shouting "hit", Shan Wazi also jumped onto the slope, and the two submachine guns in their hands "rattled" out fire tongues. The two men cooperated very tacitly, Xiao Ming shooting from a distance, Shan Wazi shooting from close range. After one burst of bullets was fired, Xiao Ming smoothly pulled out another twenty rounds, after another burst was fired, Shan Wazi replaced the magazine and continued to open fire, Xiao Ming took advantage of the opportunity to also replace the magazine and start firing in bursts. And on the hillside, Xie Sibao's three men were also merciless, two people shooting accurately, another person holding two twenty-round magazines suppressing, the road from the slope to the hillside less than 200 meters away was quickly stained red with blood.

  The Japanese cavalry was well-trained, and as soon as the gunshots rang out from behind, they immediately hid their bodies under the horse's belly. Unfortunately, the war horses were also flesh and blood, and they fell to the ground one after another, hit by bullets. The unlucky Japanese soldiers dodged the bullets but were crushed by the massive body of the war horse, turning into pancakes.

  Until there were no more Japanese soldiers standing, the four of them walked down from the mountain slope, each with a twenty-shot rifle, and gave each ghost a supplementary shot. Xiao Ming sighed: "What a pity these horses!" Shanwa said: "There should be a few horses in that place just now, I'll go get them." Xiao Ming said forget it, those few ghosts haven't died yet, and if they were to be shot with cold guns, it wouldn't be worth it. The five of them found their own horses and arrived at Feiying Village before dark.

  In the morning, amidst the rumble of thunder, a Japanese military plane circled several times above Yong'an County before flying away. In a distant grove, Xiao Ming held binoculars, observing the plane and Yong'an City. The cars and horse-drawn carriages at the edge of the forest were all covered with grass curtains. Xiao Ming couldn't determine whether the plane had discovered the convoy or not; he was waiting for Night Cat.

  The news brought back by Ye Mao made Xiao Ming breathe a sigh of relief: Yesterday, the Japanese planes scattered leaflets in Yong'an City, saying that they would attack soon and asking Yong'an City to prepare for surrender. As a result, the county magistrate rolled up his belongings and ran away, and the security team also slipped away. Now the city gate is wide open and no one is in charge. Xiao Ming was surprised, why did the Japanese come west again? It's estimated that it won't take a few days to get here, so let's hurry up! There's no need to hide or conceal anything anymore. Xiao Ming ordered the removal of camouflage and accelerated progress.

  The fleet arrived at the city gate, and suddenly the gongs and drums were loud, with dozens of people rushing out from the city gate, holding small flags and shouting "Welcome to the Imperial Army". The Japanese did a very detailed job, and when they scattered flyers, they also threw down the flag with the words "Lian Ge Yao" (a type of Chinese medicine).

  Xiao Ming was startled, but then smiled as he thought to himself: They're driving a Japanese car and wearing Japanese military uniforms, they think they are Japanese, this is easy to handle! As soon as the car stopped, the people on it jumped out one after another. Xiao Ming waved his hand, indicating that the welcoming crowd should surround them. Those people were momentarily at a loss for what to do. A fat man in police uniform came forward and gave a salute: "Police Chief Niu Rengui leads the people of Yong'an to welcome the Imperial Army!"

  Xiao Ming nodded and suddenly smiled: "You must be here to welcome the Japanese, right?"

  Niu Rengui had just said a sentence "Zhèng shì zhèng shì" when he suddenly felt something was off, and cautiously asked: "What kind of people are you?"

  Xiao Ming opened his coat, revealing the National Army uniform underneath, and smiled: "Sorry about that, you've got it wrong. We're the National Army. Take them down!"

  The crowd was shocked, and Niu Rengui's habitual hand reached for his waist, but felt nothing: he was afraid of being misunderstood by the imperial army, so he didn't bring a gun. A twenty-shot rifle was pressed against Niu Rengui's head, and Shan Wazi said coldly, "Try moving again!" At this time, there was a loud sound of guns being cocked, and the group looked at the dark gun barrels, their bodies trembling like sieves, their hearts chilled to the core, knowing that they were done for today. Betraying one's country is a capital offense!

  The county magistrate ran away, and the people in Yong'an City were in a state of panic. Niu Rengui, the police chief, thought to himself: "I have so many industries in the city, it would be a pity to lose them like this." He thought that the Japanese were also human beings who needed to eat, drink, and maintain order. So he made up his mind and united with dozens of wealthy families to decide to go out of the city to welcome the Japanese when they arrived. After all, one should not hit someone who is smiling and holding out their hand. Just now, a subordinate came to report that a Japanese military convoy was heading towards Yong'an City, so Niu Rengui hastily organized those merchants to go and welcome them, but it turned out to be the National Army instead.

  The motorcade entered the city and stopped on an empty lot. Shan Wawa ran over to tell Xiao Ming a few words, Xiao Ming smiled and waved his hand to bring Niu Rengui and others up. Niu Rengui was sweating profusely, Xiao Ming looked at him, sneered a few times and said: "Director Niu, you should know the consequences of betraying your country and surrendering to the enemy?"

  Niu Rengui understood that as a police chief, he was nothing in the eyes of the soldiers, especially now. He repeatedly kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Officer, spare my life! I was momentarily confused, please spare me because we are both serving the party and country, I will never forget your great kindness."

  Xiao Ming slapped Niu Rengui twice and scolded: "Serve the party and country? Your mother, we are fighting to the death on the front line, the Japanese have not even arrived yet, you bastards want to be traitors. Bring people, take them away, execute them all, their families will also be implicated!" Niu Rengui and others were frightened out of their wits, they knelt down with a thud, begging for mercy again and again, some directly lay on the ground, and some even wet their pants.

  Ma Liu saw that the timing was about right, so he came over and gave a loud salute, saying: "Reporting to the officer, you see that several brothers haven't received their pay for months, and the division commander is having a headache over this matter. Do you think it's possible to let these people contribute some military expenses to reduce their guilt?"

  Xiao Ming almost laughed, thinking that this kid was okay, picking on the big head and knowing how to show respect. His face relaxed a bit, and he hesitated to ask Ma Liu: "Do you think this is suitable?"

  Niu Rengui, as if grasping a lifeline, hastily shouted loudly: "Officer, it's suitable, it's suitable! Brothers have fought hard, we should comfort them too. We'll pay the bill, we'll pay the bill!"

  Xiao Ming thought for a moment and said: "Alright, this is your own will. Thirty million yuan per household, hand it over, and I'll pretend nothing ever happened."

  Niu Rengui and others heard this and almost cried out: "Officer, where is there so much money? Can't we have a little less?"

  "No money? Gold will do!" Xiao Ming laughed, "Ma Liu, take them home to get the money!"

  It was said that the National Army had arrived, and the civilians' hearts were slightly more at ease. They began to open their doors and do some business. Inside the city, there were many braised pork belly shops and donkey meat shops. Xiao Ming asked Da Long to take out money and let the soldiers take turns eating, and he himself also had a hearty meal of hot soup and dishes: For the past few days, they had been eating only dry biscuits and canned goods, and even going to the bathroom was a struggle.

  Ma Liu indeed had a way of doing things. At first, someone would only take out a few thousand yuan and swear that they didn't have any more. Ma Liu's men would then search them themselves, and when the gold, silver, and jewels were placed in front of everyone, the person would collapse to the ground. Ma Liu showed no mercy, shooting the man in the head and blowing away the smoke from the gun barrel. He calmly said to Niu Rengui and the others, "See that? This is what it means to want money but not one's life."

  With a model, the following is much smoother. The remaining people think that good men don't take advantage of the present, anyway, there are still shops and real estate, so let's save our lives first! Quickly move all the things out of the house, Cow Ronggui's family has the most, Ma Liu's heart is delighted.

  Loaded the goods onto the vehicle, Ma Liu took Cow Ren Gui and others back. Cow Ren Gui smiled obsequiously at Xiao Ming: "This official, our local place is small, brothers have taken out all their family property, you see..."

  Xiao Ming's face turned cold, and he said in a chilly tone: "Niu Rengui, with the country in crisis, you as a national public servant do not think of serving the country, but instead want to betray the country and surrender to the enemy. If I don't kill you, won't everyone follow your example? Ma Liu, take him down and beat him to death with sticks, to serve as a warning!"

  Ma Liu responded with a "good" and dragged Niu Rengui out, while Niu Rengui shouted: "Officer, spare my life! I'll take out all the money. You have to keep your promise, officer..."

  Seeing Niu Rengui being beaten to death, someone immediately fainted. Xiao Ming said coldly: "Look, this is the outcome of being a traitor. Today, I'll spare you, go back and take care of yourselves." Seeing it was almost noon, he ordered them to set off.