Chapter Thirty-Six

  Lin Xiuzhi and his men crossed the highway, arriving at the border of Qin County when the sky had already brightened. After consulting with Ma Liu, they stationed their troops on the south side of the mountain ridge, started cooking, and planned to continue their journey at night.

  Wu Dingbang asked Ma Liu: "Sixth son, why don't you go to the mountain on the opposite side? It's easy to defend and hard to attack. It seems more suitable for our troops to camp!"

  Ma Liu sighed and said, "Old Wu, how can I praise you! At a glance, it's clear that you don't pay attention to learning normally. Haven't you heard the Chief of Staff say that there are friendly troops here? With such good terrain, they must be there, you little scoundrel, restrain your subordinates well and never misfire, as for the rest, don't worry about it!" After finishing speaking, he made an excuse to arrange a sentry and left with his men.

  Lin Xiuzhi looked at Ma Liu with a new gaze, thinking that this kid is quite capable, has learned to analyze the situation. Who knew that Ma Liu had just discovered someone lurking in the northern mountain forest and judged that they had already arrived at the friendly army's garrison.

  Lu Dashi had heard of Feihu Village, and he said with a smile: "I've long admired you, I've long admired you." But in his heart, he was guessing Ma Liu's purpose. Seeing that the other party had let go of Er Niu, who had a bright red face, he said to Ma Liu: "I am Captain Lu Dashi. Brother Ma, since you have come all the way here, why not come to my barracks and have a cup of tea, sit down and chat, what do you think?"

  Ma Liu smiled and said, "It's a bit inconvenient to disturb you here, sir. Why don't you come with us instead? Let this young brother go back and convey the message that we mean no offense."

  "Alright! Er Niu, go back and tell the captain that friends from Fei Hu Zhai have invited me to visit. There's something to discuss when I get back, you can leave first!" Seeing Er Niu hesitate, Lu Da Shan waved his hand, "Go ahead, Fei Hu Zhai is also an anti-Japanese team, let the captain be at ease."

  Ma Liu was nowhere to be found, Lin Xiuzhi's heart was anxious, and she sent people in all directions to search for him, fearing that he would cause trouble. After a while, Ma Liu and others actually brought back a person wearing a gray military uniform.

  Lin Xiuzhi was startled, and didn't know what method they had used. She hastily apologized to Lu Dashi: "Officer, I was rude, if there's anything wrong, please forgive me!"

  Lu Dashi smiled and said: "Oh no, these brothers are being too polite! What is your name, sir?"

  "In Xiaolin Xiuzhi, he is the chief of staff of Feihu Fort, may I ask who the officer is..."

  "General Lin is too polite, what kind of official am I? I'm just a regiment commander under the 18th Army Group, Lu Dashi! I've long heard of the great name of Feihu Fort, it's like thunder in my ears, I apologize for not showing respect earlier!" This wasn't just a courtesy, Feihu Fort said that whether near or far, since they were stationed here, the surrounding situation was naturally clear to them.

  Lin Xiuzhi cupped her hands and said, "My troops passed through your army's garrison, but failed to report in time. If there was any disturbance, please forgive us!"

  "Where, where? I don't know what brings you gentlemen to this place?" Lu Dashan chuckled and thought to himself: "You're all dressed up like devils, wherever you go, people will be frightened out of their wits."

  "We're just passing by and resting here for a day. We'll leave when it gets dark, I wonder if Brother Lu's place is convenient?" Lin Xiuying asked tentatively.

  "Is that so?" Lu Dashi scratched his head, smiling awkwardly. "General Lin, I really can't make the decision on this one! How about this, you send someone with me to the division headquarters, and if it's convenient, let them know our itinerary, because there are still our troops up ahead, in case we cause any misunderstandings."

  Lin Xiuzhi thought for a moment and said, "It's okay like this. I'll just tidy up and go with you." After saying that, she instructed Ma Liu and Wu Dingbang a few words and prepared to leave. Wu Dingbang originally wanted to stop her, but seeing Ma Liu smiling and waving his hand, he didn't say anything.

  Lu Dashi curiously asked Ma Liu: "Brother, can you tell me how you guys got close to me?"

  Ma Liu smiled: "Can, but you have to cooperate with us!"

  "Cooperation? What task do you have?"

  "Yes, but not for you, it's for the Japanese. Cooperate with us and there will be great benefits, how about that, consider it?"

  Lu Dashi's eyes flashed with a bright light, and he smiled, saying: "You tell me first, then I'll consider the cooperation."

  "Alright, it's simple, we've been hiding there all along, you just didn't notice!" Ma Liu stretched his waist, "That's the best spot to observe this side. The Chief of Staff is here, you have to guarantee his safety!"

  The battalion commander, surnamed Li, received a report that Japanese troops had appeared and hastily instructed the political commissar to notify each department to prepare for battle. He himself rushed to the First Battalion headquarters, where he ran into Er Niu, who was hurrying back. "Where is your battalion commander?" he asked urgently. Upon learning that it was people from Fei Hu Zhai who had come, his heart felt slightly more at ease. He dispatched someone to inform the political commissar of the situation and waited at the headquarters. After a good half day had passed, Er Niu came running back with a report: "The battalion commander has returned, accompanied by people from Fei Hu Zhai."

  Lin Xiuzhi was warmly received at the battalion headquarters, and the battalion commander ordered a pig to be killed. Half of it was sent to Ma Liu and his men, while the political commissar and an organ cadre were invited to join in, chatting and eating together.

  Lu Dashi wasn't interested in the welcoming and sending off, after introducing Lin Xiuchun, he returned to his own room. The morning's events had given him quite a shock, having been a soldier for almost ten years, big or small battles, he had fought dozens of times, but never like today, so careless, the opponent arrived by his side without him noticing at all, fortunately it wasn't an enemy, otherwise... Lu Dashi broke out in cold sweat: It seems that entering the mountain is also an easy task for the opponent, this defense needs to be arranged properly!

  So what are they going to do? The wine table is definitely all polite talk, and it's hard to get serious business done. Lu Dashi thought of Ma Liu's cooperation and felt a bit itchy in his heart. He turned his eyes and called Er Niu: "Go and get me a few jars of wine. Tell them that if the team leader asks, just say I went to explore the surrounding enemy situation with the friendly army."

  Lu Dashi returned, and Ma Liu secretly rejoiced in his heart. On the surface, he pretended to be courteous: "Look at you, how infuriating! Director Lu, you're serving both meat and wine, how can this be good?"

  Lu Dashi burst out laughing: "Brother, you're being too polite, we're all just family brothers. You can call me Old Lu and I'll call you Old Ma, how's that?"

  Ma Liu nodded repeatedly, inviting Lu Dashi to sit down, instructing him to bring up the stewed meat, and taking out dried meat and canned goods from his body. He called over Wu Dingbang: "Old Wu, come over and have a drink with Old Lu!" Wu Dingbang hesitated for a moment before sitting down. Ma Liu looked around at the surrounding soldiers: "Brothers, since the Eighth Route Army officer has arrived, we can't treat him poorly, right? Everyone bear witness, so it's easier to explain when you get back home, got it?"

  Lu Dashi was puzzled and asked Ma Liu what was going on. Ma Liu shook his head and said, "It's embarrassing to say, brother, when I drink wine my mouth has no gate, I just make mistakes, the master doesn't allow me to drink wine, if it wasn't for you old Lu, I really wouldn't drink! Come come come, let's keep drinking."

  After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere had become much more relaxed. Lu Daxian then carefully observed the team in front of him and found that they were either German or Japanese equipment. A sense of inexplicable loss surged up in his heart: What kind of world is this? The bandits' equipment is even better than that of the regular army!

  Ma Liu glanced at Lu Dashi with a slanted eye, secretly laughing in his heart. He raised the jug to toast and Lu Dashi smiled awkwardly, sighing: "Old Ma, where did you guys get these equipment from? It's really enviable!"

  Ma Liu sighed and said, "These are all the lives that our brothers have exchanged for! We can't compare with you, you have someone to rely on, eating and drinking is not a problem. But us? No one cares about us, we have to think of ways to eat, drink, pull and sleep ourselves, it's hard!"

  Lu Dashi smiled slightly: "Old Ma, don't pretend anymore. Everyone in this area knows that Fei Hu Zhai is rich and overflowing with wealth! However, I'm still curious, how did you end up by my side?"

  Ma Liu took a sip of wine and said seriously: "Old Lu, you are a rich man who doesn't know the hunger of the poor! We're like this, three days without opening up, the master will scold his mother. In the past, it was okay to scold a few times and it would pass. Since the second master came to the mountain stronghold, not only did he scold, but also beat us with a whip. Later, everyone went to find the master to plead for mercy, and changed to running punishment, one whip per mile! The brothers' legs were trained like this. If you think it's useful, you can also take the whip and run up the mountain with the person who was beaten, and you'll be trained quickly! Come on, drink!"

  Lu Dashi thought to himself: "Damn it, if running could train soldiers well, that would be simple. You're fooling around!" He chuckled and asked, "Old Ma, tell me the truth, how did you guys end up here?"

  Ma Liu took a sip of wine, scowling as he said: "Don't mention it, in the past we could at least rob some wealthy merchants or something and get by. But since the Japanese came, the boss says 'unite against outsiders, Chinese don't rob Chinese'! You think those Japanese are easy to rob? Many brothers were killed or injured, not to mention that now we're stuck with this trouble, the devils' grain and supplies aren't coming from us anymore, and they've even brought in a lot of people to surround us. The food in our mountain stronghold is dwindling by the day, and the boss has sent us out to think of a solution. Ah, Old Lu, how did these devils suddenly appear?"

  "We just got the news that the Japanese army has transferred all the devils and secondary devils from the Great Wall to the interior, intending to sweep and blockade this area!" Lu Dashi sighed bitterly. They had just suffered a loss, and the Japanese army suddenly attacked the county seat of Qin County, catching them off guard. If it weren't for Lu Dashi leading his men in a desperate defense, the losses would have been even greater.

  "I say, how did this little devil suddenly get so bold! However, we can't just let them go wherever they please, or else won't we be beaten all over the place? Are the devils still reinforcing their troops?"

  "This is unclear!" Lu Dashi didn't want to beat around the bush with Ma Liu Dou anymore, so he asked directly: "Old Ma, speak plainly, what are you here for this time? How can we cooperate?"

  Ma Liu looked around habitually and said in a low voice, "Railway! I heard that the Japanese army has a batch of military supplies to be transported to the south. We are going for this. It's only about 180 miles from here to the railway. You should have accurate information. If we cooperate, it will be 50-50!" As he spoke, he looked at Lu Dashi and gestured with his palm.

  Lu Dashi obviously didn't believe it: "With just a few of you, even if you hijack it, how can you take it away?"

  "We didn't plan to take it away in the first place, we were going to destroy it. But if you guys join us, that's a different story!" Ma Liu finished his drink and glanced at Lu Dashi secretly, "So, we'll be responsible for attacking and blocking the Japanese army, while you just need to send people to transport the goods back. Of course, you'll also provide accurate intelligence. Can you take charge of this?"

  "You little rascal, don't try to deceive me. There's nothing I wouldn't dare do, but I won't do business that loses money either." Lu Dashi thought for a moment and felt that Ma Liu's words were not reliable. "What if there aren't the supplies you mentioned? Wouldn't I be working in vain? If it turns out like this, I'd lose both my wife and soldiers, and be guilty of dereliction of duty, which is a serious crime!"

  "This is simple, we just find a train and blow it up, see if there's anything useful on it. If not, then the devils will send people over, right? We'll take care of them too, you guys just clean up the battlefield, the stuff belongs to you, that way we've repaid today's favor, and in the future we won't owe each other anything. What do you think?" Ma Liu seemed to be fed up with iron not becoming steel, his tone was much colder.

  Lu Dashi didn't think much of it, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Alright, I'll go back and think about it carefully, and give you an answer before nightfall. How's that?"

  Ma Liu smiled and said: "This is nothing, if it doesn't work out, when we come back, we can go together to attack the county town, that's definitely a piece of fat meat!"