Chapter 47

  Yan Shili received a report from his servant, saying that a team of imperial cavalry had arrived at Yan's house and were looking for him. He hastily went out to greet them. This was the first time he had seen imperial cavalry, and they were indeed tall and majestic, much more impressive than the short-legged infantrymen at the outpost. He quickly stepped forward and said: "I am Yan Shili, welcome your lordship! I don't know what brings you here?"

  First, a lieutenant officer with a gloomy face spoke to Yan Shili in a muddled tone - Lv Jizong's Japanese was poor, but it was enough to fool Yan Shili, a country bumpkin.

  Xiao Ming, who was standing beside him, translated in a pretentious tone: "Are you Mr. Yan? The Old Master highly appreciates your cooperation and wants you to gather the team. The Old Master has a lecture, go quickly!"

  Yan Shilie had never seen such a scene before, his heart racing with fear that he might not be able to handle the situation properly and provoke the imperial army, which would not be a good thing. Just looking at the appearance of this Taigong in front of him, it was clear that he was not an easy person to talk to! He hastily ordered the self-defense team to assemble on the drill ground at the head of the street. Xiao Ming also asked him to invite the common people to watch the ceremony, and Yan Shilie did as he was told.

  The Japanese army's training results were not bad, and the team of over a hundred people quickly gathered, waiting for the imperial army to give a speech. Who knew that the translator waved his hand, and the imperial soldiers set up machine guns, after which someone came up and disarmed them all, and everyone was in an uproar, unsure what to do. Yan Shili realized something was wrong and asked stiffly: "Ta Jun, what does this mean?"

  "Hmph, what's the meaning of this!" Lü Jìzǔ also stopped pretending to be mysterious and took out a gun, pointing it at Yan Shìlǐ's head. "Let me introduce you, this is the second master of Fei Hǔ Zhài, do you understand?"

  Yan Shilie's knees went weak, almost kneeling on the ground. The name of this person was too loud. If Japanese people were debt collectors, then this one was a god of death. He plucked up his courage and asked tremulously: "A humble man has eyes but no pearls, I don't know what honorable business the second master has?"

  Xiao Ming snorted: "Yan Shili, you've been getting pretty cozy with the Japanese lately!"

  Yan Shili trembled with fear and hastily said, "Master misunderstood, that Japanese came to collect grain and donations, found me in charge, I had no choice but to deal with the matter!"

  "What a way to shirk responsibility, and now you're going to sacrifice the lives of that widow and her orphaned child?"

  Yan Shili suddenly realized the severity of the situation, if Feihu Village came for this matter, his own life would be in danger. He immediately knelt down: "Master's injustice! It was done by the Japanese, I have nothing to do with it! If you want to blame someone, blame that ***, the Japanese came and didn't even hide, causing trouble for themselves! These fellow villagers can all testify!"

  Xiao Ming was too lazy to listen to his excuses, and ordered Wu Dingbang to bring people to bind the whole family of Yan Shilai, pressing them to kneel on the ground, casting a glance at Lü Jizong.

  Lü Jizong nodded in agreement and shouted to the people on the side: "Fellow villagers, the Japanese invaders have occupied our homeland, burning, killing, looting, and doing all sorts of evil. We should unite and drive the Japanese out of China! But this man has betrayed his ancestors and become a traitor, helping the Japanese army to harm our own fellow villagers! Today, we will eliminate him, avenge the dead fellow villagers, and let the traitors see their fate!"

  After finishing speaking, Lü Jizong drew out his horse knife and personally took action, chopping off Yan Shili's head. Xiao Ming waved his hand, and more than a dozen shiny horse knives flashed by, except for the two children, thirteen people from Yan Shili's family fell to the ground with their heads severed.

  The scene was too bloody, the crowd gasped in unison, many people closed their eyes and dared not look, while the self-defense team members were terrified, unsure of what would happen to them. Wu Dingbang glanced at Xiao Ming, Xiao Ming sneered coldly: "Leave them a whole corpse! Let them be good people in their next life!"

  Wu Dingbang was taken aback, sighed and ordered the light and heavy machine guns to open fire. Only then did he wonder if those militia members regretted it before they died. The crowd suddenly burst into tears, with many of their family members among them...

  Lü Jizong was stunned, originally thinking that killing a few would be enough to intimidate, but Xiao Ming had actually become enraged, and he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his back.

  Xiao Ming's face was expressionless, and he ordered Wu Dingbang to lead two rows of men to stay behind and help the logistics company that had arrived to collect Yan Shilai's belongings. He himself led Lu Jizong and the rest of the men towards the stronghold.

  Wang Jinlong's troops had already completed the encirclement of the stronghold, and the artillery units had set their sights, ready to fire at a moment's notice. The defenders inside the stronghold were unable to contact their superiors, so they steeled themselves for battle, preparing to make a last-ditch effort and waiting for reinforcements.

  Wang Jinlong saw Xiao Ming's pale face and asked with concern: "What's wrong, brother? Are you feeling unwell? Why don't you go back to the mountain stronghold first, I can handle things here!"

  Xiao Ming smiled wryly and shook his head, saying: "Big brother, I'm fine! Let's wait for the logistics convoy to pass by and then we'll launch an attack. I'll just calm down for a bit!" After that, he found a rock to lean against, closed his eyes, and meditated.

  Wang Jinlong called over Shan Wa'er and asked him, but he was also tongue-tied. He felt that Xiao Ming had been too heavy-handed, but he knew that Xiao Ming's mood had not been good lately. He sighed and thought to himself that it would be best if he could vent his anger, or else it would be easy to get sick from sitting around.

  Wu Dingbang came to report that the convoy had passed through the highway. Xiao Ming gritted his teeth and gave the order: "Machine gun company, be on guard and don't let anyone inside escape! Artillery company, blast the watchtower flat!"

  Infantry guns and mortars fired simultaneously, after several rounds of concentrated fire, the artillery tower collapsed, the artillery company did not stop, turned to other targets to continue firing, until there were no longer any standing buildings. The Japanese puppet army inside desperately rushed out, the machine gun company's light and heavy machine guns wove a web of fire, leaving no way to escape.

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  The bombardment stopped, Xiao Ming led the cavalry to launch a charge, and the Sichuan army followed closely behind. The enemy was either dead or wounded, and had no power to resist. After confirming that all the Japanese soldiers were killed, Xiao Ming's heart softened, and he ordered the surrender of those who surrendered, simply cleaned up the battlefield, and called for the troops to return to the mountain stronghold.

  After this battle, the pro-Japanese elements in the surrounding areas were greatly subdued. The puppet army was also terrified and only hoped not to encounter the Flying Tiger Regiment again in the future. Ordinary people began to prevent their family members from going to work for the Japanese, and some secretly assured the Flying Tiger Regiment that they would remain loyal at heart, never do anything harmful or unjust, and never be an enemy of the Flying Tiger Regiment...

  Xiao Ming returned to the mountain village and locked himself in his room, not coming out for three days. He was always gloomy and had lost his usual smile, which made Wang Jinlong very worried. Lin Xiuling understood that Xiao Ming's heart was being tormented at this time, after all, it wasn't easy to forgive oneself for shooting one's own people. So she came up with an idea and asked Wang Jinlong to go find Xiaoyue.

  Wang Jinlong felt strange: "What's the point of finding Xiao Yue? She doesn't even dare to speak when her master is in a good mood, let alone now!"

  Lin Xiuzhi sighed and said, "My husband, Xiaoyue doesn't dare to say it, but there must be something that can be said! Maybe once someone opens their mouth, your brother will suddenly become spirited and full of energy! Fighting may be a man's business, but if you analyze it from a woman's perspective, is it still a problem?"

  Wang Jinlong suddenly enlightened: "This is what you said 'curve to save the country' right? I'll go find Xiao Yue now!"

  After sending the mountain children away, Xiao Ming leaned against a rock, squinting his eyes to bask in the sun. A light and nimble footsteps came from afar, "Master!" A clear cry was heard, no doubt it was Little Yue.

  Xiao Ming looked up and saw that Lü Jiying was also there, so he quickly stood up to greet her: "Oh, it's Miss Lü! Xiaoyue, how did you two come here?"

  "Master, I heard you're ill, Lu sister and I came to see you!" Little Yue blinked her eyes as she spoke. Lately, Lu Jiaying and Little Yue had been busy taking care of the wounded, they were so busy that they couldn't even catch their breath. As soon as Little Yue got some free time, she pulled Lu Jiaying out.

  "Huh? I'm fine! Who said I was sick?" Xiao Ming was perplexed.

  "Nothing's wrong? Alright then, you two chat, I'll go take a look at Uncle." Little Moon made a face at Lü Jiying and turned to run off.

  "This kid, so big and still no decent shape!" Seeing Xiaoyue walking away, Xiao Ming looked at her back and muttered to himself. Suddenly, he heard a soft laugh and was startled to find Lü Jiaying looking at him. He glanced down at his body again and couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed: apart from dust and grass clippings, he really didn't look presentable! Xiao Ming felt very awkward, quickly patted himself off, forced a smile and said: "This, this... Lü Jiaying, please forgive me!"

  "General Xiao has fought and killed his way through the battlefield, enjoying the thrill of revenge; why bother with trivialities!" Lu Jiying's smile grew even thicker.

  Xiao Ming was about to make a polite remark, but suddenly felt something was off, this girl had an ulterior motive! He straightened his back and asked with a bitter smile: "Miss Lü, what do you mean by that?"

  "Is Commander Xiao worried about something regarding Yanjia Village?" Lu Jiaying asked softly, collecting her smile.

  Xiao Ming didn't say a word, he just nodded slightly, and in front of him again appeared the painful and desperate look of his fellow countryman, as well as the resentful and fearful eyes. Thinking that there might be more such scenes in the future, Xiao Ming's face was filled with gloom.

  Lü Jiying sighed softly and said, "In one's life, many choices are made. For example, when the enemy invades, some people choose to resist, while others choose to yield. War has never been about right or wrong, nor will it show mercy to women. Those caught in the war can only choose to end the killing with more killing!" Noticing Xiao Ming staring at her, Lü Jiying's face turned red and she looked away, "Since they have picked up their guns, they have chosen their own fate. If they chose to be enemies of the nation, then death is not a pity. Will Commander Xiao prioritize the interests of a few traitors over national righteousness?"

  Xiao Ming's face was filled with astonishment, he didn't expect that the seemingly weak Lü Jiying had such a strong and unyielding heart, her soft words were like a sharp sword, making him look at her in a new light, for a moment he was stunned, staring blankly at Lü Jiying for half a day without saying a word.

  Lü Jiaying had never been looked at by a man like that before, and her heart was in disarray. Her face flushed red as she asked: "Commander Xiao, are you okay?"

  Xiao Ming rubbed his hands awkwardly, saying "Oh this... nothing!" He suddenly straightened up and bowed his hand, saying "I'm Xiao Ming, husband of Lu's daughter, I've learned from you, thank you!"

  "After finishing speaking, he turned around and laughed loudly as he walked towards the mountain stronghold: "What a great way to stop killing with killing! At worst, I'll just become a monk in the future and help you guys absolve your dead souls!"

  Xiao Yue rushed into the hall, shouting "Come out quickly, something's happened!"

  Wang Jinlong and others were startled, and they quickly asked what had happened. Xiaoyue didn't respond, but beckoned them to come out. When everyone looked, they saw Xiao Ming and Lü Jiying standing at the foot of the mountain, both looking very curious. Xu Dagui shouted: "Quickly, find a telescope!" Although they couldn't hear what the two were saying, when Lü Jiying spoke briefly, Xiao Ming's expression changed to one of great excitement, leaving everyone speechless.

  Wang Jinlong was both shocked and delighted, he pulled aside the people next to him and shouted: "Where's Old Lü? Old Lü..."

  Lü Jizong was also peeking from the side, heard Wang Jindao calling him, knew it wasn't good, turned around and ran towards the main hall, only to hear Wang Jindao shouting behind: "Old Lü, you... ah, you little rascal, aren't you afraid of delaying your sister..."