Chapter 48: Rushing out of the city in an emergency

  When Wang San led a group of people back to the county town again, the originally bustling county town was quiet at this time. Not only were the shops closed, but even ordinary households were also tightly closed. The goods in the shops had been looted by the residents who had not left the town a few days ago. At this time, they could only stay at home silently. Under the wind and rain, they had nothing to do except burn incense and pray for the 259th Brigade to drive away the devils who were about to invade.

  Hurry back to report Wang San as soon as he arrived in the county town, he rushed to several landlords' homes that he had previously investigated to requisition mountain cannons. Although Wang San did not go to inform You Fei, who was still in the county town at this moment, within less than an hour after Wang San and his men returned to the county town, You Fei's ears received the news of their return.

  Jiang Zhi reported the message to You Fei and then stood aside with a cold smile, "Big brother, that Dong Tianhao is getting more and more lawless, how can he arbitrarily send back a company of the new first battalion to the county city without reporting to you as the brigade commander? It's really hateful. I think we should catch this small group of people and kill them to crush Dong Tianhao's arrogance. Let's see if he dares to be so reckless in the future."

  You Fei looked at Jiang's excited face from head to toe, and suddenly shouted: "Jiang Pangzi, I think you're watching Dong Tianhao and Xu Zhiyuan quarrel, this guy is naturally on Xu Zhiyuan's side, it seems that you want to breathe out of the same nostril with him and deal with Dong Tianhao together!"

  Jiang's expression was "I, I, I..." and he had been like that for a long time, still unable to come up with an explanation. He was a straightforward person, and since his thoughts had already been seen through by You Fei, he didn't have the confidence to speak up in his own defense.

  He shook his head and leaned back in his chair, feeling uncertain about everything, including Lin Yurui who had been entrusted to Gao Yongtai. His mind was preoccupied with so many things that he couldn't even think straight, let alone care too much about Jiang's malicious accusations against Dong Tianhao.

  Seeing the usually hot-tempered You Fei being so calm towards Dong Tianhao's outrageous behavior, Jiang Zhuang hastily added: "Big brother, I'll go take a look at what those people are up to right now!"

  "That's enough, you've made a big enough fuss!" Yu Fei shouted, Jiang Zhuang saw that Yu Fei was really angry and could only shrink his head and stop talking.

  You Fei's mind was full of chaotic thoughts about the upcoming battle, and the more he thought, the more uneasy he felt. You Fei suddenly jumped up and shouted: "Let's go, Jiang Zhuang, to Suishi Beach!"

  Jiang patted his head and said in a daze: "Big brother, are we not staying in the county town?"

  "Let's go, we won't stay in the county town anymore," said You Fei, who immediately took action, holstering his pistol and striding out of the door.

  Jiang Zuo trotted along, following the flying footsteps, and burst out laughing: "Big brother, I was about to leave anyway. Staying in this dull city that's like a big coffin is too boring! I'd rather take my big knife and swing it at those devils, damn their ancestors! I'll split open their dog-fucking skulls!"

  Jiang Zhuang gathered the brothers of the guard company and followed You Fei to rush to Suishi Beach. You Fei and Jiang Zhuang were both riding high-headed horses, with the elite and fierce soldiers of the guard company following closely behind.

  On the street rushing out of town, You Fei and others bumped into Wang San and his group who were full of joy.

  Wang San, who had been walking horizontally on the street with a big-caliber mountain cannon, originally had a cheerful expression, but when he found himself colliding with You Fei, his face suddenly turned pale and a look of panic flashed across it. Jiang Zhuang was now in high spirits, having thought that he couldn't do anything to Dong Tianhao, but unexpectedly, the latter's subordinate had returned to the county town with a mountain cannon from who-knows-where, and the large wooden box behind them should be carrying cannonballs. Good grief, looking at the caliber, it would probably only take a few shots to blast the wooden city gate to smithereens.

  "Wang San, this cannon is quite large, where did you get it from?" You Fei asked condescendingly from horseback.

  Wang San wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He trembled as he replied: "The...the cannon, it was requisitioned from the wealthy merchant's house in the city. After Director Dong arrived at Jinding Ridge, he thought that if we could set up several large cannons on the high slope, those devils would find it even harder to get close."

  "Hey, Dong Tianhao sent you to requisition mountain cannons. Although it's for the war effort, you still didn't report to Commander Wang when you entered the city. Do you still acknowledge Commander Wang's existence?" Jiang Zhuang couldn't help but stab Wang San at the right moment.

  "Wang San hastily replied: 'Commander, I'm in a hurry, and for the moment, I forgot to salute you first. Commander Dong originally wanted me to ask for your permission to use the mountain cannon, but it's all my fault, I was confused... Commander, I deserve to die, I deserve to die...'"

  Seeing Wang San's oily mouth and tongue, it was clear that Dong Tianhao had nothing to do with this matter. In his heart, he secretly thought, "You're quite ruthless, taking everything on yourself alone. Now I have no chance of finding trouble for Dong Tianhao."

  "Everything is prioritized for the war, in extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken. Wang San, you didn't come to ask for my instructions beforehand, and I won't blame you or Commander Dong either. However, when you return, please pass on a message to Commander Dong: he can take all the cannons from the city and use them as he sees fit, but I only care that not an inch of land is lost; if he dares to retreat even one step, military law will be enforced!" You Fei pointed his horse whip at Wang San, his eyes gleaming with a cold light.

  Wang San nodded repeatedly, and You Fei no longer paid attention to Wang San. With a slight increase in effort, he rode his horse forward, and Jiang Zhuang hummed coldly at Wang San before chasing after You Fei.

  When Jiang Zhuang caught up with Fei You, the two were already some distance away from Wang San and others. Jiang Zhuang pouted and complained: "Big brother, you're too easy on that kid, looking at their appearance just now, they might still go search for mountain cannons, how can we give all the good stuff to Xin Yi Tuan? We should at least divide one or two big cannons between 137 Tuan and 146 Tuan."

  "You're sighing again," said Yu Fei. "In the past, whenever we obtained guns, didn't Wind and Cloud always get to choose first, followed by the 137th and 146th Regiments? Only after everyone had picked their share would the new First Regiment get what was left. Wang Lie, who's in charge of military supplies, has always been biased towards the 137th and 146th Regiments. Why is that? Isn't it because those two regiments are my own, while the new First Regiment isn't? I don't usually say anything about this, but you shouldn't think I'm unaware of what's going on. If you were in Jiang Zhuang's shoes, would your heart be at peace? Now, Dong Tianhao has just come to get a few mortars, so stop targeting him already. We're all brothers from the same family, and we should be united."

  Jiang Zhen furrowed his brow and said, "I didn't intentionally want to oppose him, but as soon as I think of his bandit leader identity, I feel uncomfortable in my heart. How can you trust a bandit? Moreover, their combat strength..."

  You Fei shook his head and said, "Dong Tianhao is a bandit leader, so what are we two? We're still young and inexperienced. Heroes don't ask about each other's origins, isn't that what they say in plays? If it weren't for Feng Ping looking up to me and letting me lead those old soldiers, I'd probably still be a low-ranking soldier now. How could I lead so many brothers to fight against the devils? As for combat effectiveness, after this battle, there will be a clear distinction! Just wait and see. I think they're all waiting to die in battle! Those who don't want to fight, why would they rush to bring cannons up here? The morale of the new first battalion is still high!"

  Jiang nodded frequently as he listened, and the two urged their horses to gallop quickly. However, because the soldiers behind them had to run on foot, even if the two horses ran very fast, it was still useless. They would still have to spend a relatively long time before they could arrive at Shui Shi Tan...