Chapter Six

  Looking at the rippling waters of Dongting Lake, I fell into deep thought. Although we encountered no small setbacks along the way, we finally took our first step forward. But after two days of training, I realized my mistake. These people simply could not withstand such high-intensity training.

  I gazed out at the distant water's surface, a gentle breeze blowing by, and the lake's surface rippled with layer upon layer of waves. Although I had my first team in hand that could be called powerful, the road ahead was still something we couldn't help but continue to consider. The gentle wind blew over the lake's surface, stirring up layers of ripples, and how long were we prepared to stay here? In the two years, a time neither too long nor too short, whether our dozens of people could develop and survive in the midst of the Hunan, Jiangxi, Yunnan farmers' armies, the remnants of the previous dynasty, and the Qing army's forces. These were all problems we had to face. At this moment, I was also worried about whether my brothers could develop in their own way in the cracks. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

  A voice behind him said: "Can't we get stuck with just a little bit of trouble? Young people don't know the taste of sorrow. Why do I feel that you are becoming less and less like a young person?"

  I didn't even think about it and I knew it was Zhou Lun behind me. I didn't turn my head to look at him, but just said: "Difficult? In Zhu Xiao's dictionary, there is no such word as 'difficult'. And I am still the same as before, just because of a responsibility of mine, I have to think more thoroughly, that's all."

  Zhou Lun was stunned by my firmness and said, "Good, this is the Ah Xiao I used to know. I thought you had become a timid old man who was afraid of everything."

  I didn't respond to his flattering remark and instead muttered to myself: "The best way for us to survive in this gap is still Chairman Mao's guerrilla warfare. Only in this way can our not-so-powerful forces survive here."

  I sat down on the ground, pulled out a blade of grass and put it in my mouth, and said to him behind me: "Arun, do you know what a mountain cat is? I didn't care if he knew or not. I continued to say that the mountain cat is a feline animal, has no fixed living area, and is famous for being able to fight with tigers. It's an outstanding representative of small wins over big ones."

  At this time, I turned around and looked at Aron: "Aron, do you know what I mean?" After finishing, I smiled at Aron. Aron looked at me ambiguously without responding.

  I smiled and said, "We want to survive and grow here, we can only eliminate the enemy like a mountain cat in motion, specifically eliminating small groups of Qing troops and striking those landlords and local tyrants who have an extremely evil influence. Only then can we obtain certain activity funds and resources. At the same time, we also gained the hearts of the people. When we can transform from a mountain cat to a tiger, we can truly stand up and compete with the enemy head-on. Didn't the ancients say 'those who gain the people's heart will gain the world'? As people who transcend them by several hundred years, shouldn't our understanding of this be deeper than theirs? Ah Run, your task after I'm gone will be even heavier than mine."

  "Ah, yes, the task is indeed arduous. Ah Xiang, don't think too much, don't think randomly, no one can achieve perfection. Every victory is built on experience. Alright, for my great responsibility, I'll go give them a lesson first, you stay here and think."

  I nodded and looked into the distance. I only saw a few sailboats moving towards us. I saw Zeng Qing already standing at the bow, waving at me from afar. I also waved back at him, and the boat slowly docked. Zeng Qing jumped down and skillfully tied up the mooring rope: "Squad leader, this time we went out to buy things and helped us recruit 30 more people."

  I stared at Zeng Qing, and he looked like his thoughts were about to be seen through as he said: "Paichang, is there something on your mind?"

  I withdrew my gaze and replied, "The problem is not that there's no issue, but you also know that we can't withstand the blows of wind and rain right now. So in this regard, you must be extremely careful. If even one careless mistake allows a spy to infiltrate our ranks, then we'll face the danger of total annihilation. Zeng Qing, who are these thirty or so people?"

  Zeng Qing also let go at this time: "Don't worry about this, Captain. These thirty or so are all children from poor families and absolutely not some traitorous spies."

  I carefully looked into each person's eyes, and after a while, I said with relief: "Okay, then let's first move the things down, and then you take them to the instructor's place for class. The instructor is currently teaching them."

  After finishing speaking, I jumped onto the boat to help move things. All the warriors on the boat looked at their superior who was suffering and working together with them just like themselves, showing very surprised expressions.

  I turned around to look at their surprised expressions. Smiling, I said: "Comrades, what's the big deal? Didn't I say so before? During battles, we have a superior-subordinate relationship, but in peacetime, I and you are all the same. We don't have any distinction between high and low, rich and poor. We're all working towards a common goal of rebuilding our great Ming dynasty. Building a society where farmers own their land, people live a life of abundance, and everyone is equal."

  These people looked at me in confusion, not knowing what I was saying. But when it came to building a wealthy society where they could eat well, they suddenly understood. Excited expressions appeared on their faces.

  I took a look at their changing faces, smiled and said: "Hurry up and move, when you go to listen to the instructor's class later, you will know what I mean. In short, we want to establish a society without corrupt officials, without oppression."

  Looking at these simple warriors, I couldn't help but feel a chill in my heart. These people really have no ideals or pursuits. As long as they have food to eat every day, that's enough for them; this is the best life they think they can have.

  Everyone was concentrated in this small area, including the newly arrived 30 or so warriors who sat on the ground with rapt attention listening to Zhou Lian's lecture.

  Comrades, first of all, let's welcome the new comrades who have joined us. This shows that we all share a common goal and are gathered here together, and it also indicates that the Japanese devils will not be able to run amok on our land for much longer, as long as we all have confidence in ourselves. In the near future, we will definitely drive them out of our land and ensure that our families, our loved ones receive the best protection and are no longer subjected to their brutal treatment.

  Comrades, today's first lesson is about military discipline. As the saying goes, "without rules, there is no square or circle", so in our future life, I hope everyone will join me and Zhu Pai Zhang in upholding the three main disciplines and eight points of attention.

  At the same time, from now on, whenever we arrive at a new place, we must treat the local people as our own family members. Only with their support can we win battles.

  ... (omitted several hundred words)

  Finally, I hope that together, we will continue to strengthen our troops and strive for a prosperous society where everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, and money to spend.

  The warriors below had been thinking for a long time, and when Aaron finally finished speaking, they burst into warm applause. I believe this is the best affirmation and reward for Aaron. In the following months, I spent my time with them in intense military training and ideological education. If I were to evaluate my current team at that time, I could tell anyone without hesitation that my current team can take on any opponent, having made tremendous progress through several months of actual combat and military exercises. And even if they faced a real battlefield, they would be able to handle it with ease. Moreover, if we add our advanced weapons, it is also possible for them to take on a hundred opponents at once.

  "I stand at the front of the troops and say: 'Comrades, after several months of arduous training, you have all become real soldiers. Now we are about to leave here and venture into the outside world, seeking growth in the cracks. Do you still remember the tactics I told you before?'"

  "A crisp voice replied: 'Remember, when the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy retreats, we advance; when the enemy attacks, we run; when the enemy stops, we harass.'"

  I nodded my head in satisfaction and said, "Alright, you are our first armed force. After our team grows stronger, all of you will be independent and I hope you strive to become generals. Is that alright?"

  A majestic voice replied: "Good."

  I stood at the bow of the boat, appreciating the scenery on the lake's surface while also clearing my mind. On this issue, I must thoroughly research and put everything in order so that we can ensure a smooth victory. Of course, at this time, we cannot afford to have any thoughts or plans, as one misstep could lead to our downfall. In 1649-1650, the peasant army leaders He Tingxiao and Qu Shiyong were captured and sacrificed in battles in Xiangtan and Guilin. Now it's 1656, and from this situation, we can see that we won't encounter too much resistance in Hunan. The remaining forces of the Western Army, Sun Keshuang and Li Dingguo, have united with the Southern Ming to resist the Qing, but their main battlefield is in Guizhou, Guangxi, and Yunnan. They don't have many plans for Hunan at present. Our main concern now is Li Zicheng's general, Hao Yongzhong (formerly known as Hao Yaogui), who supports Zhu Benyuan and is active in the two lakes and Sichuan regions. This will inevitably cause us a lot of trouble, and whether we unite with them or annex them has become a headache. If we unite, my current forces are not enough to make them consider it; if we annex, we don't have the power to do so either. Our biggest difficulty is still the bottleneck in our own development, which limits us to a small range without any help from weapons or money. This bottleneck is another problem for us. As I thought about this, the boat was approaching the shore, and time was running out. The issue of weapons can only be solved with these primitive tools. We can barely make do with our few rifles. Thinking of this, I remembered the guerrilla song from the war years: "No guns, no cannons; the enemy will give them to us. No food, no clothes; the enemy will send them to us." When it comes to fighting a guerrilla war, I believe our soldiers still have some experience. After more than three months of high-intensity military training, although they were not very used to it at first, now I can say that the mobility of over 90 people is guaranteed. We must rely on this advantage to defeat our enemy. In battle, growing stronger is the most fundamental thing and the only choice we must make. With this thought, my mind also opened up. In this regard, we can try to avoid other Southern Ming troops, so they can fight well with the Qing army in this area. We can take this opportunity to develop ourselves. Although the local landlords and wealthy merchants have many bodyguards, I believe we can still deal with such teams. With money, everything will be easier. Three, by doing so, we can establish a good relationship with the peasant army, laying a foundation for our future annexation of them that is not confrontational.

  Zeng Qing walked over and threw out the anchor. I turned back to look at the soldiers who were in high spirits, then jumped off the boat.

  I said to the Thunder beside me, "Wait a minute, call them all down and gather first, then we'll ask if there are any heinous landlords or rich people here. If there are, we'll go and confiscate their property. This will be the first shot fired by our People's Army."

  After the thunderous salute, he left. All the people went down and I looked at the weapons in their hands. Only more than 60 people were holding the chopping knives made by that blacksmith according to my design. The other 30 or so people were holding some kind of hoe-like things.

  I yelled out the two words "assemble". Looking at all the soldiers standing upright and executing my every command, their eyes also revealed a hint of admiration.

  "I tried to speak in a stern voice: 'Comrades, we are all victims of hardship. (After this period of training and education, these people have basically learned how to look at modern times. They also understand the basic primary school culture. Of course, they have also become masters of ideological education.) Now we have established our armed forces to drive out the Tartars from the Central Plains. But that's not enough. Remember what I told you, we don't just want to drive away the Tartars, more importantly, we want everyone to have food and clothing. No landlords, no oppressors."

  "After I finished speaking, I paused for a moment and looked at their serious faces. Then I continued: 'Now please let our comrades in the team expose some extremely evil landlords. We will go to confiscate their homes, seize their land, and distribute it to our poor people. Who is willing to stand up and say something?'"

  After a while, only one soldier stood up and said: "Report to the squad leader, our village landlord Huang Yanwang is a ruthless man who eats people without spitting out bones."

  As he spoke, the soldier squatted on the ground, almost in a crying voice, saying: "My parents were driven to death by him. Platoon leader, you must avenge me." After finishing, the gaze in his raised head already revealed a strong killing intent.

  I walked forward and squatted beside him, comforting him by saying: "What's your name? Believe me, believe all the comrades here, we will definitely avenge you."

  The warrior stabilized his emotions and said: "I used to be called Dog Egg, but later the instructor gave me a name called Zhou Hua during class."

  I nodded, stood up, took a deep breath and said: "Comrade Zhou Hua, rest assured that we will help you avenge your enemy."

  He looked at all the soldiers and said, "You see. This is what happened around you, and the victims are your comrades. Your fellow fighters on the road of war, now I don't know who among you has suffered such persecution, but I think the people who have suffered from the persecution of landlords and tyrants far outnumber this number. What do you think we should do now?"

  Everyone shouted: "Kill this landlord! Liberate the oppressed people!"

  The Chinese are like this, as long as there is a starting point, many people will say something about the landlord. Of course, we verified with Zeng Qing and confirmed that three households were indeed heinous crimes, and initially determined to be our target for attack. The first household was the Huang Yanwang mentioned by Zhou Hua. Through the information provided by Zhou Hua and the initial investigation, we learned that Huang Yanwang's family had more than 80 guards and hired more than 50 armed men, but they were all cold weapons, no hot weapons. However, he built his mansion into a fortress, with traps set up outside, and a small mountain behind it, which brought some difficulty to our attack. But I and Zhou Lun knew that we had to take down this place, or else we wouldn't have the qualifications to fight at all, let alone talk about liberating China. Finally, after careful observation of the area, we discovered that Huang's guards would go out every three days to buy vegetables in Yueyang County.

  Another is a wealthy merchant in the city of Yuezhou, which must be after we take Yuezhou. The last one is a big landlord with the surname Hu who lives more than 100 miles away from Yuezhou City. This landlord can be said to have the strongest power among the three landlords and also has the most severe impact. Of course, it may also be the most difficult one.

  The landlord with the surname Hu is called Hu Baigu, and the meaning of this nickname given by the common people is: 'As long as you offend him, you basically have no hope of survival.' The Hu landlord owns more than 10,000 mu of land. He has his own armed forces. His son, Hu Xuanhan, has a certain foundation in martial arts. There are now over 600 people in the family's armed forces. In the local area, there is hardly anyone who dares to provoke him. Since the government is basically nominal at present, he is essentially the local emperor.

  I took a look at the information of these three landlords, and I looked at Zhou Lun and said: "Ah Lun, now the only one who can strike against our opponent is this Huang Yanwang. The other two are not something we can consider for now."

  Zhou Lun also nodded and said: "Yes, let's just take a soft persimmon to practice the troops."

  I burst out laughing and said, "You just saw the situation that the warriors detected too." As soon as I said this, we looked at each other and laughed, saying, "Unexpectedly, our hearts are really connected in a subtle way."

  Found such a loophole, a plan has already formed in our minds. I looked at Zeng Qing and Wu Shuang below and said: "Hehe, the heavenly machine cannot be revealed. Wait for a few more days, you guys just give me a good rest, nourish your spirit and wait for the enemy to deliver themselves to our doorstep."

  As I watched the departure of several young class leaders, I walked out of the house, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and thought to myself: "Let the storm rage on."