Chapter Thirty-Three: The Four Great Experts
Thirty-three, four great masters
Farewell to Chiang Kai-shek, Tan Xiao led the six thousand elite troops of the Wild First Division on their way back, with Xue Yue's envious eyes following them.
When they arrived, thanks to the quality of the US military standard vehicles sold by the cowboys, not a single one was lost. However, many horses were lost, and although some were replenished along the way, they were not as well-fed as the original ones. Now that the front line is pursuing the Red Army, there are no means of transportation to replenish them, and even if Tan Xiao's heart is eager to return home, he cannot speed up. After rushing along the Xiang-Qian road for four days, they finally arrived at Dong'an. It can be said that half a foot has stepped into Lingling, but unfortunately, someone blocked the way.
On the way back, Yei Shi didn't decline all the hospitality along the way like he did when he was going. After all, since they were all out to make a name for themselves, they had to give each other face, so on the road, they met with familiar garrison troops and local dignitaries, and couldn't avoid socializing a bit. It's just that he didn't expect that the one waiting in ambush at Dong'an Bridge would be Yamashita Keigo!
In the days when Tan Xiao left, He Shao-tang and Yang Qing, who stayed in Lingling to supervise the work, took Mitsui Bussan and Yahata Iron Works as the main targets of attack, and all the mines they controlled were sealed off! Shanmoto Kyogo said good words and spent a lot of money, but it had no effect at all. After learning that Tan Xiao's troops were already on their way back and had received many receptions along the way, Shanmoto Kyogo hurriedly brought people to wait by the side of the road.
The "Wenxiangting" restaurant on the side of the main road is a very famous one, with its name being both the owner's name and a homophone for "fragrant stop". The "Dongan chicken" dish has attracted travelers from all directions to make this place their resting point, so despite not being in the bustling county town, business is booming. Even when Shandong Jingwu wanted to book the entire restaurant, he was rebuffed by the fiery owner with a single sentence: "If you book the whole thing, what will others eat?!" and had no choice but to book a private room instead, and set up 40 tables outside on the main road.
Tan Xiao looked at the sky and saw that it was already late afternoon. Rushing back would also be midnight, well, then let's eat your little Japanese food!
"Mr. Yamashita is really generous, but I have a troop of six thousand people, and forty tables seem to be a bit less?" Tan Xiao was not polite when eating the Japanese food.
Tan Xiao was indeed a ruthless person who would turn his back on you once he's had enough, but Shan Xia Jingwu couldn't do anything about it, so he simply instructed the wine house to bring everything up. Unexpectedly, that woman, Wen Dangzi, didn't know whether she disliked Japanese people or what, and told someone that their store sold no more than 100 chickens a day, not enough to raise so many...
Doing business by pushing the door out? Tan Xiao also found it interesting, so he called someone to tell the boss that the wine tower only did the packaging, and the chicken was provided by the guests. Let the soldiers drive cars, ride horses, and go to the countryside to buy chickens. Of course, the bill is on Shanxia Jingwu's head.
Yamashita Keigo brought a number of attendants this time, among whom four were here to recognize Tan Xiao's appearance. These four people were originally top-notch experts in Jiang Yong's secret base, and happened to be selected by Kimura Koji on that day, leaving several hours before Tan Xiao's attack and escaping disaster. It wasn't until two days later that they learned the entire base had been wiped out by Ye Yizhong, and how much they hated Tan Xiao! This time they came just to get a good look at Tan Xiao before making their move. Although they didn't dare make a move on the spot, those venomous glances still made people feel somewhat abnormal - they weren't trained special agents, but rather killing tools with excellent martial arts skills.
Just eat! Tan Xiao didn't care, and Shanxia Jingwu tried to bring up the topic again and again, but he just kept eating and constantly recommended dishes to his subordinates - no drinking in the army. After finishing the meal and being full, just as he was about to leave, Shanxia Jingwu couldn't bear it anymore, so he spoke bluntly that he had something to ask for, explained his intention, and asked Tan Xiao to approve the reopening of the mines under Mitsui and Yahata.
"This person's tone was soft, and his words were not harsh: 'Mr. Shanxia, you know that I, Tan Mou, have always set an example for others in my actions. As for using power to bully the weak and disrupt the law, I dare not do such things...'"
Just as Tan Xiao Taiji was about to make his move, a hot-tempered clerk from the Hachiman Steelworks couldn't help but burst out: "Eight strikes! You don't drink when you're being toasted, and you do drink when you're being punished!" And with that, he actually stepped forward!
The guards, who had long been hostile to the Japanese, wouldn't let go of this opportunity and rushed over to pin him down with their guns and started beating him violently! Tan Xiao hadn't even spoken yet when he saw that guy being beaten until his mouth was foaming and he collapsed to the ground.
He had long known that Yamazaki was a bit of a rogue, and he knew the meal was on the house. He hastily apologized and was about to let someone help the half-dead Japanese man leave when suddenly a sturdy, short and fat Japanese man jumped out from behind him and shouted: "Chinese people, all of you are useless, if you have the ability, one on one, great Japanese warriors are here!"
Want to fight?! Tan Xiao didn't fear any martial artist, in the later generations he had tried it once when several famous martial artists near the base heard that a special forces unit was gathering for training and came to challenge him, but were defeated so badly they never dared mention fighting again. In Tan Xiao's concept, he simply didn't believe there was such thing as a high-ranking martial artist!
However, he did not want his troops to develop the bad habit of loving to fight alone, but instead hoped they would use the most efficient method to kill people. So he decided to disagree with the martial arts competition: "Dare to rush and collide with General Ben, it's a capital offense! Come on, take that dwarf down and execute him!" He also did not want to miss any opportunity to kill Japanese people.
Yamashita Kengo's face changed greatly, this person was originally one of the killers who came to recognize him, he feared that if this one came, the other three... Indeed, the other three had a kind of courage, and they jumped out together: "Chinese people, have the guts to kill us all! Coward!..."
Tan Xiaozhen wanted to kill these people with a single shot, but he saw the guards' eager expressions and thought it would be better to let these Japanese devils taste the power of his counterattack.
"Looking for death, dare to move hands and feet on my turf, get out! Want to roll far away!" A loud and fierce scolding came from the owner of this store, Ms. Wen Xiangting, who had arrived with a bang.
She had a slender waist, wearing a pink dress, with a white apron with blue floral patterns tied tightly around her chest, which was already full and now seemed to be bursting out. Her appearance was similar to that of Brigitte Lin in the movie "New Dragon Gate Inn", likely under thirty years old, at an age when she was most charming.
Tan Xiao had been immune to beauties since he was enchanted by Rong Hui that first time: "Are you the boss's wife? General is on a mission here, don't get in the way, step aside!"
Wen Xiangting was taken aback, stunned by Tan Xiao's words. She looked at the young and handsome but cold general in front of her - unexpectedly a senior general! Unexpectedly, she didn't dare to be arrogant anymore, stiffened there, neither advancing nor retreating.
"Brother and sister, you go ahead first." Behind Xiangting, a man of medium build with a thin face flashed out. He clasped his fists: "I, Brother and Sister, have been rude, please forgive me, I am Huang Xiaoxia of the Luohan Gate, at your service." As he clasped his fists, the muscles on his arms bulged, making it seem as if his sleeves were about to burst!
As soon as he signed up, Tan Xiao heard a burst of surprised voices from the nearby Imperial Guards. Looks like this person is not ordinary!
"Tan Mou didn't mean to blame your younger brother and sister, Zhuang Shi was too polite..." Although Tan Xiao didn't think this person was that formidable, he saw that many of his guards were showing respectful expressions, and he didn't want to offend him either. He made a fist and turned around to order the capture of those Japanese people. Huang Xiao Xue spoke up: "General has military duties at hand, it's not convenient for you to teach these Eastern dogs a lesson, how about handing them over to me?!"
"Good! Master Huang shows off his skills! Teach those Eastern dogs a lesson..." Before Tan Xiao could respond, someone in the distance started cheering!
"Alright, don't make the Chinese lose face!" Tan Xiao nodded. Huang Shifu? Could it be that Huang Feihong? Tan Xiao was secretly puzzled, he looked at his opponent who was just a Japanese warrior, these people probably weren't even worth his Imperial Guards taking action!
Huang Xiao walked up to the four Japanese men: "You four? Come on, all of you!" He didn't even take the four Japanese men seriously.
"Hey! Is Young Master Huang going to eat alone? Can't you spare one for your elder brother?" A sturdy, fifty-year-old man with a big belly led the way, followed by two others. The fat man bowed his hands first to Tan Xiao and then to the officers of the Wild Division: "Yang Chengfu of the Taiji Gate pays his respects!" The other two also bowed and introduced themselves: "Lin Yaoguang of the Dragon Shape Fist..." "Lin Yingtang of the Mo Family Fist..."
Tan Xiao felt like he had suddenly arrived on the set of a martial arts film! Since crossing over, he hadn't seen such an interesting scene! "What is this..." Tan Xiao secretly asked Deputy Officer Tang Fan. As his personal deputy officer, Tang Fan was also from a family of practitioners.
"Wow! They're all famous masters! Lin Yintang, the former military man from the Mo family fist, was also a national martial arts instructor in the First Military Academy and a renowned doctor; Yang Chengfu, the fat one, is the grandson of Yang Luchan, the founder of Tai Chi, and one of the top figures in Northern China's martial arts world; Huang Xiaoxia, nicknamed 'Iron Arm Mandarin Duck Hand', is not only proficient in national martial arts but also Western boxing and Japanese boxing, a top-notch fighter; as for Lin Yaoguang, have you forgotten? He was the one who defeated the Soviet Union's heavyweight boxing champion five years ago!......" Dizzy! After listening to Tang Fan introduce all four of them, Tan Xiao really felt dizzy: How did I really enter the world of martial arts again? Did I time-travel again?!
Tan Xiao was actually ignorant, to him Jianghu and Wulin were just stories. The reputation of these four people at that time was far greater than Tan Xiao's! One was the Northern Martial Arts champion, and the other three were listed as Guangdong's Southern and Northern Tigers! Except for Huang Xiaoxiang and Lin Yintang who had retired from the military to practice medicine, the other two were currently teaching martial arts in the military: Lin Yaoguang was the current martial arts instructor of the Chen Jitang Guard Brigade of the Guangdong Army, and Yang Chengfu had just resigned after teaching for a year in the Gui Clique forces and wanted to return to Beiping. At that time, it was a chaotic era, and civilians practicing martial arts were in vogue, and these famous martial arts masters were highly revered. Even a disciplined unit like the Wild One Regiment would have people cheering when they heard the names of the four! As for Lin Yaoguang's victory over the Soviet heavyweight boxing champion in 1929, it made him a national hero!
In the original history, when the Anti-Japanese War broke out, Huang Xiaoxia, who was both literary and martially accomplished, also compiled a set of anti-Japanese big knife techniques, and together with Lin Yintang and other martial artists taught the art to the anti-Japanese masses... They were all elites in the Chinese martial arts world! Tan Xiao didn't know, sitting stably like Mount Tai, but it seemed to have a different momentum.
At this time, the relatively technical fight in the circle had already begun. The first round was Huang Xiaoxiao against that short and stout man. Suddenly, the short and stout man let out a loud "Hai!" and struck down at Huang Xiaoxiao with his hand knife! Huang Xiaoxiao made his move, neither too fast nor too slow, stretching out his hand to block! This one block shocked Tan Xiao greatly! In the past when he was training at the base, there was once a special forces instructor who taught them how to counter an empty-handed opponent. He mentioned a method for breaking down a knife-hand strike from the front: using an iron arm to block the wrist joint with a burst of internal energy, which could immediately break down and even shatter the opponent's wrist joint. However, this move required extremely high speed and accuracy, and if there was even a slight deviation, it would be met with the opponent's strongest killing blow. Therefore, those who dared to use this move to counter a knife-hand strike were one in ten thousand, requiring not only deep actual combat skills but also over a decade of bitter training in iron arm techniques!
Huang Xiao is now using it, and even more ruthless! He looks like he's not fast in one grid, but just before touching his opponent, he suddenly bursts out with a lightning-fast strike about an inch forward, and actually cuts off his arm into the gap between his opponent's joints! The opponent didn't even have room to borrow force and bounce back, and the bone joint of his arm was already shattered!
Actually, Huang Daxia is a master of both literary and martial arts, with high moral integrity, and is a good man in the Guangdong martial arts community. If his opponent were not Japanese, he would never have resorted to such ruthless tactics. Now, with this one move, those with poor eyesight can't even see what's happening, but that Japanese dwarf has already fallen to the ground like he was electrocuted! With just this one move, it's more than enough for him to be a hand-to-hand combat instructor in the special forces! Tan Xiao looked on with great joy: no matter what, he had to recruit this man into the Wild One Regiment!
In an instant, the opponent was defeated! The generals on the side of Ye Yizhi were in high spirits! The three Japanese people left on the opposite side looked as pale as death: The opponent was too strong, not even on the same level! Fortunately, their own opponents weren't him! All three secretly breathed a sigh of relief!
The second to come on stage from the Chinese side was Lin Yintang. He saw his old friend Huang Xiaoxia use a ruthless move to defeat the Japanese martial artist, and it was so easy. At this time, he also had a bit of show-off intention. He came up lightly and easily, not looking like he was competing in martial arts at all. The three Japanese people opposite him looked at each other: "This opponent is good!" They rushed forward one after another! "Slow down, no need to rush!" Lin Yintang said with a smile, using Cantonese to speak to the three Japanese people, not caring whether they could understand what he was saying or not.
After the three Japanese men finished arguing, the most vicious one, a skinny man with a scar on his face, got an opportunity to "take advantage". He was also practicing karate and was more cautious than the previous one, not daring to use full force at first. Instead, he tentatively probed forward with a gentle palm strike. Lin Yinpeng didn't care whether it was real or fake; as someone who mastered multiple schools of martial arts, he saw the Japanese man move and immediately took an eight-trigram step forward, his right hand lightly probing outwards. His fist secretly employed the "Phoenix Eye" technique, landing on the skinny man's ribcage and sternum junction with a seemingly effortless strike that shattered the ribs at their weakest point! To bystanders, it looked like Lin Yinpeng had casually strolled forward and knocked his opponent down with a random hand movement. How elegant! With his refined appearance, in Tan Xiao's eyes, this was the perfect close-quarters bodyguard. And didn't Tang Fan say he was also an accomplished doctor? No way, someone like that couldn't be let go! Tan Xiao set her sights on Lin Yinpeng once again!
These four masters are walking together for a reason, which is that last year Yang Chengfu went south to teach boxing, Lin Yaoguang was unhappy and wanted to go to the door to challenge him. Huang Xiaoxun and Lin Yingtang saw the situation and went to mediate, finally everyone shook hands and made friends. Now Yang Chengfu wants to return north, so three people come to see him off. However, regarding last year's unfinished fight, Lin Yaoguang still has some regret in his heart. Since he started practicing martial arts, he had never met a defeat, and after defeating the Soviet boxing champion, his reputation grew even more. Now seeing Huang and Lin win so beautifully, he couldn't hold back his feelings, and at this time, he had already jumped into the ring, with eyes wide open: "Little Japan, who comes!"
The remaining two Japanese are now nowhere to be found, the first one was seriously injured by Huang Xiaoxun; The second one thought it would be better against Lin Yintang, but unexpectedly got hit in the chest and fell to the ground, convulsing without knowing how badly he was hurt! Facing the intimidating aura of Lin Yaoguang, they started pushing each other around, forming an interesting contrast with the earlier scene where they were competing with each other!
The Japanese man who was forced to step forward walked up to Lin Yaoguang and suddenly thought: Why not compare weapons? His hand reached for the hilt of his katana, but just as he touched it, he thought again: No, I won't be able to kill him with my bare hands... Just as his hand grasped the hilt, Lin Yaoguang made his move! Lin Yaoguang knew that his Dragon Fist was fast and powerful, but he couldn't compare to Lin Yutang's elegance, so he had planned to make a strong impression by striking hard. Seeing his opponent's hand on the hilt, he pounced like a bolt of lightning, his fist flying like a shooting star, striking the Japanese man's chin with a loud "crack"! This punch was not meant to send the man flying, but rather to make him absorb the full force of the blow. The Japanese man's jaw was completely shattered and he fell unconscious on the spot! Ah, this kind of speed and precision, without any hesitation or delay, is truly the mark of a soldier in close combat! Such talent can't be wasted on Chen Jitang - it would be unjust! No way, someone like this can only join our Wild One Regiment! Tan Xiao had already made up his mind to not let any of these three men go!
Yang Chengfu was the oldest and considered a senior to the other three. Last year, Lin Yaoguang wanted to challenge him, with the intention of competing with Lin Yaoguang. Later, after mediation by Huang Xiaoxun and Lin Yintang, they didn't fight. However, as a martial artist, he still felt unhappy in his heart. So, after staying in the Gui army for a year, he also didn't want to stay in the south anymore. This time, encountering the Japanese and seeing the other three use their usual ruthless moves, especially Lin Yaoguang, who was in front of him using such ferocious fist strength, seemingly with the intention of showing off to himself! Fine, no holding back! Yang Chengfu also decided to use his ruthless moves.
He weighed over 200 pounds, a Buddha-like figure standing there, the only Japanese survivor was so scared that he didn't dare to move. Watching from behind, Yamashita Kiyokazu was also frightened out of his wits: these four were among the top experts selected from over 200 brave warriors! Normally they were ruthless killers who wouldn't bat an eye, but now they had been completely destroyed physically and mentally by these few Chinese people! Who are these people?! He was a half-baked spy who had never paid attention to China's martial artists, just like Tan Xiao, he knew nothing about it.
Yang Chengfu and the others watched for half a day, but that Japanese man didn't move forward even half a step, still trembling with fear. Yang got angry: "You dare to call yourself a warrior!?" You won't come, I'll go! Yang's massive body suddenly lunged forward, and he struck the Japanese man's chest with his palm, producing a loud, dull thud. But the Japanese man didn't budge! The internal energy of Yang-style Taiji is very deep, usually it would send people flying far away, dissipating the internal energy, so that although they'd be left looking disheveled, they wouldn't have any internal injuries to worry about. This palm strike was no exception, yet the Japanese man still didn't move!
The onlookers were astonished, but Huang Xiao and Er Lin were stunned: Old Yang has made his move!
The Japanese man, under everyone's gaze, lowered his head to look at the center of his palm, and suddenly, seven orifices simultaneously seeped out blood lines! As the blood lines thickened, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, having been killed by a single palm strike!
It turns out that the martial arts world and Jianghu really exist! Tan Xiao was equally shocked, it was his first time seeing such internal energy hurting people's kung fu! He had watched a lot of martial arts novels, but this kind of bizarre scene where people were beaten to death with seven orifices bleeding he always thought was fabricated, now it was presented in front of him, too shocking! Such legendary masters, not going to fight the Japanese would be a waste! The four great masters he saw today, no matter what, must all be taken down, follow me to fight the Japanese! Tan Xiao's heart was greatly excited: Right, others who cross over have martial arts masters as bodyguards, I, Tan Xiao, only have one Tang Fan who doesn't know if he can even beat himself, that would be too unfair to me, a crossover elite who has fooled Hitler and De Gaulle into turning around! As the four great masters took turns showing off their skills, each move more ruthless than the last, the scene was more exciting than watching the Beijing Olympics. At this time, he suddenly understood why some people were so impulsive, liked to play with big knives against the Japanese devils, it turned out that this kind of beheading was really enjoyable!
Tan Xiao looked at the end of the martial arts competition, feeling great and too lazy to deal with the three pieces of trash on the ground. After taking the big gun and eating the chicken, he could turn his face! He raised his fist in front of Yamashita and other Japanese people and shouted at the officers and soldiers of Ye Yizhi: "Small Japan slave country, not worth a hit!!"
The officers and men of Ye Jianying's unit, with surging emotions, started shouting from the nearby troops, and soon spread out. In no time, the entire army of over 6,000 people shouted in unison: "Little Japanese slave country, not worth a blow! Little Japanese slave country, not worth a blow!..." The mountains and seas echoed, shaking the night sky, lingering on for a long time without stopping.
The four great masters surrounded by the soldiers in the middle, who had been running around for many years, had seen the overbearing ways of the Japanese many times. They also hated it extremely, but due to the country's poverty and military weakness, they could only silently teach martial arts to strengthen the people, unable to do more. Now seeing Tan Xiao's Wild One Regiment dare to call out "Little Japan Slave Country" in front of so many Japanese people who kept saying "Great Japanese Empire", that was refreshing! Especially Lin Yaoguang, who had been teaching in the Guangdong Army for many years and had already developed a desire to surrender, the other three also thought: If this unit invites me to be the national martial arts instructor, I can make a contribution to the country...
Yamashita and other Japanese people reluctantly lifted up the four wounded or killed "top-notch experts", without even bidding farewell to Tan Xiao, and retreated in a sorry state. Tan Xiao didn't bother with them either, but instead arranged for his guards to create an atmosphere of enthusiastic welcome that would be hard to resist, and bring all four top experts back to Lingnan.
As for the four masters, they had a heart to begin with, and it was a perfect match. From then on, everyone was in high spirits and rushed to Lingling with the wild teacher and his soldiers.
The author: The protagonist is surrounded by martial arts masters... Haha, Tan Xiao can't escape the trend. As for these four, in real history, they were all master-level figures, with great fame and prestige. Here, I've invited them to fight against the Japanese devils, which doesn't humiliate their status. Please don't be surprised when you see the four masters in this book... When Huang Xiaolong was in his 50s or 60s, one of my elders was an athlete who personally saw him demonstrate his skills at the Ersha Training Base. With one arm, he broke a hardwood bar used for parallel bars, earning him the name "Iron Arm", which is not undeserved...
