Sixteen

  After listening to Wu Han's account of the whole thing, Yan Wei, who had never received Western-style modern education, didn't quite understand these professional advanced sciences, but the severity and key points of the matter immediately became clear. He said to Wu Han: "What a difficult task, Brother Yongxi! If it succeeds, it will be just a secret reward! If it fails, both inside and outside will be dead!"

  Wu Han smiled and said, "It's not as serious as you say! By the way, do you have any connections to get us a boat when we arrive at Jingzhou? If I'm not mistaken, by the time our large group arrives at Jingzhou, it may have already fallen!"

  Yan smiled and said, "It won't be long before that happens. At the usual mechanized pace of the Japanese army, plus the Chairman's overall abandonment of the grand strategy in Central China, I estimate that if nothing unexpected happens, by tomorrow at the latest, all major towns in Hubei Province will no longer be seen!"

  "Wu Han said with a worried heart: 'So it seems that going to Jingzhou was completely unplanned?'"

  "What do you mean by 'not even a bit'? If we talk about the past, maybe it was indeed one step at a time. But now that you, Xing Xi, are here, can't you handle this? I don't have the ability to operate locally, that's normal! But you, Xing Xi, as the deputy director of the Military- Politics Bureau's Party and Government Intelligence Department, won't even have this bit of ability?" Yan Wei obviously shifted the question to Wu Hanhuai.

  Wu Hanhua smiled and said, "Do you really think our Revival Society is a fairy tale? I can tell you that in Jingzhou, we don't have any military or party intelligence stations set up. At least, the Party's Political Intelligence Department doesn't have any established points here. However, it's still possible to let the local authorities and the Chongqing Special District coordinate their work."

  Yan Wei also looked disappointed when he heard Wu Hanhuai say that. Originally, he had hoped to use the military resources of Wu Hanhuai and others to operate in Jingzhou after they arrived, but now it seemed that this was also unlikely. So he said with a hint of resentment: "Brother Yongxi, this trip is not a small matter for you intelligence personnel! I think when necessary, you can even directly ask your bureau chief to come out and operate in person!"

  "Wu Han smiled and said: "Our bureau chief? Hmph, you military people don't understand, do we not know either? If we talk about our chief, he is a genuine master of the art of delegation! As a veteran of the Xiang Army, he knows he's from a mixed background and not one of Chiang Kai-shek's trusted Huangpu cadets. He took on the role of our bureau chief because he thinks highly of his own ability to read people's minds and cater to their needs. Secondly, it's because of his deep experience in the military - during the Northern Expedition, he was already a prominent general! So since taking office, what has he done? Nothing! He doesn't ask about anything! Not even we, the staff at the bureau headquarters, have ever seen him come to work for a single day! You want me to find him? I'm afraid even our deputy chief wouldn't be able to see him!"

  "If it's really not convenient, then forget it. It would be troublesome if the news of our forced operation leaks out. We can think of a way when we arrive at the destination. After all, this is still China, and no matter what, it's still our Chinese people's territory." Yan Wei said with confidence.

  "Yes, if the military's reputation doesn't work out, we can just use money." Wu Huanhua, who had been through many battles, also thought that Yan Wei's plan to take the water route was quite good, and he too looked calm and collected.

  "That brother of yours needs to be dealt with immediately, he can't stay with the team in that state." It's clear that Yan Wei is now the highest commander of the entire team and has to take responsibility for everything.

  "If that's the case, then just give him more money and let him take his chances." Wu Hanhuai apparently didn't know of any other good solution besides sending him off to die for the country.

  "What's your moral character like? Are you tough enough?" Yan Wei said.

  Wu Han understood that Yan Wei's worries were not unreasonable. Once this person left the troops and unfortunately fell into the hands of the Japanese army, there would be no more secrets to speak of on their side in front of the Japanese.

  "If all else fails, I'll do it myself. Even if he's loyal to the party and country! I'll just go back and promote him to a junior captain in the national army!" Wu Hanhua clearly sought Yan Wei's opinion.

  "Now this isn't the best option. If everyone sees that getting injured is a dead end, then no one will dare to fight with their lives on the line! First, let's make him a crutch and let him grit his teeth for now. When we get to a place where there are villages, he can try his luck again with the locals. Fortunately, it's just a group of kids, they can move quickly."

  Yan Wei saw from afar that everyone was surrounding Old Li, praising his son. And Old Li, a hunter who had spent most of his life in the mountains dealing with wild beasts, couldn't help but feel deeply moved and gratified when he heard so many high-ranking military officers praising his son's cleverness, bravery, and strategic thinking.

  Seeing Yan Wei coming over, he hastily stepped forward and said: "Brother Yan, how are you? Can this kid still be of some help to you?"

  Yan Wei smiled and said, "If your brother were to ask for a reward now, I wouldn't have any! But this little guy is really something! If it weren't for him today, the losses in our battle here would be even greater."

  Old Li hastily pulled Yan Wei two steps outside and whispered, "Brother Yan, I was delighted to hear the officials praising my son for being useful earlier! I think that my son has been useful all along, not just today. He's been following me in these mountains, wasting his time. He can't even recognize a single character, but he's developed great physical strength from hunting and shooting. Ah, Brother Yan, don't underestimate my son just because of what I'm saying! What I mean by 'useful' is different from how the military understands it. In your army, my son's abilities would be equivalent to those of a veteran soldier who has served for seven or eight years!"

  Yan smiled and said, "What's the meaning of your brother, just say it clearly. Is it that you think the child has grown up and following your brother to live in the mountains every day is not promising, wanting to plan a future for the child here?"

  "Are you going?" Old Li stared at Yan Wei with a sincere face.

  "Alright! If nothing else, this kid is born to be a commander!" Yan Wei's face was also firm.

  When he heard that his son not only could follow this high-ranking military officer to make a career in the future, but also said that his son was a material for leading troops! What is the material for leading troops? Isn't it just being an official?! Seeing this new friend value his son so much, Old Li was excited and agitated. Looking at Yan Wei, he wanted to say a few words of gratitude, but felt that no matter what he said now, he would profane the word "friend"! For a moment, he became somewhat flustered and not as calm as before.

  Yan smiled and said, "Brother Li, I'm telling you, now that you only have this one son left, in the future if you don't see him waiting on you, won't you feel lonely living alone in these mountains?"

  "Look what you said, how can I not think about it?" Old Li sighed and said: "Since ancient times, good men have been ambitious! If it weren't for those damn Japanese coming to our country to wreak havoc! Hehe! In my past life, I must have accumulated good fortune to be able to recognize you, a high-ranking military officer, as a friend. Now that the opportunity has come, although I'm not educated, I understand the principle of seizing the moment or losing it forever. Take my son with you, and one day when he returns wearing a military uniform like yours, I'll consider myself honored and our family's reputation elevated."

  "Hmm, what a big idea! This military uniform of mine isn't that easy to mix with after all! In the future, when I find merit and promote you to a lieutenant, it'll be enough to repay our friendship."

  "Let me tell you, your brother should also come out of the mountains and wait for his son to return home. Why don't we go together? I think your brother's pots and pans are not worth keeping anyway! When we arrive at the troops, when there's nothing to do, we can still chat with each other. At that time, I'll find a job for your brother in my unit, it doesn't matter what it is, as long as he's willing to work. How about it? Let's go together? If we're lucky and make it to Chongqing alive, there's still hope for better days." Yan Wei said with a smile at Old Li.

  "If I agree, will you still treat me as your elder brother?"

  "Ah! Friendship and position are two different things, can you still be considered human if you use position to measure friendship? However, once we arrive at the troops, in public you'll have to address me as 'Commander'." Yan Wei still smiled at Old Li.

  Yan Wei said that, Old Li also smiled and said: "As long as our friendship is still there, it's fine! Since we have a friendship, why bother with words? One word is enough! And I'm not even eating your military rations for free! Just now my little Shan told me that you have two soldiers under you, and the gun they're using is called an accurate one! Hehe, when there's a chance, I'd like to compete with these two young brothers of yours and see if this old brother's wild skills are useful or not!"

  Yan Wei smiled and said, "Then I think you're not going to make it. Do you know that the two people your son mentioned are the top experts selected from over 800,000 people in our entire 32nd Army? When they fire every shot, they take into account all factors such as the humidity of the air at that time, wind direction, distance, and the speed of the moving target. Can your brother do that?"

  Old Li was somewhat dissatisfied and said: "Fighting is just fighting, why so much nonsense! It's better to have a chance to compare."

  Yan Wei smiled and said, "Let's put it this way. If the initial velocity of a rifle is 800 meters per second, then after two seconds of flight, the bullet will drop vertically by nearly 20 meters due to gravity! So if you want to solve this problem when shooting at a target 500 meters away, how many degrees of elevation should you adjust to compensate for the parabolic trajectory?"

  Old Li listened and opened his mouth in astonishment, saying: "Five hundred meters is so far that I've never shot! The bullet will drop six or seven zhang after leaving the barrel, can it still be called a gun? I haven't seen or thought of what you said! If it's really as intimidating as you say, then I won't compare."

  Yan smiled and said, "Old brother, do you know what's going on? Let's talk about something serious. I plan to take the kids to Jingzhou by waterway, how should we go?"

  Lao Li seemed still thinking about what Yan Wei had just said about shooting professional theory, and only after hearing Yan Wei finish speaking did he hurriedly say: "Just walking in the mountains like this?"

  Yan Wei looked at Old Li and said: "We can go any way we want, but we must avoid the Japanese army's encirclement and pursuit."

  Old Li said: "Then I have to know where there are Japanese troops first."

  Yan Wei sighed and said: "Before it was unclear, but now it's certain that wherever there is a road or a pass, there are Japanese troops waiting for us."

  "We'll have to keep walking on the mountain then." Old Li said with a confident face.

  "Speak," Yan Wei said, looking at Old Li.

  "Go through Tianmen, cross the Jiang River, and head straight to Jingzhou. But after crossing the Jiang River and arriving at Jingzhou City, there is a section of land that has no mountains to hide in, just vast plains as far as the eye can see. If you really want to follow the Yangtze River, it's better to return to Wuhan instead."

  Yan smiled and said, "Although the Art of War says 'when weak, appear strong; when strong, appear weak', and 'place them in a situation where they will either die or survive'! But after all, I have so many children with me. Returning to Wuhan may be unexpected in terms of military tactics, but I dare not take risks. There are tens of thousands of Japanese troops there now! Let's take it one step at a time and see what happens when we get to the area near Jingzhou."

  Old Li said, "You say how it is, then we'll take the next step and head to Tianmen first, about 140 miles away. After crossing several big mountains and taking some shortcuts, it's just over a hundred miles more. If we set out at dawn tomorrow, with the children's pace, it will take three or four days."

  Yan Wei sighed and said, "Even if it's three or four years, we have to leave! How can we just abandon these dozens of poor children here? I'll go take a look at the kids." He patted Old Li on the shoulder and headed towards the dilapidated shack where Old Li was staying, lit up by the firelight.

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