Chapter 6 Prepare for a Rainy Day

  Three days later, a bustling caravan consisting of more than 20 cargo-laden horse-drawn carts and 16 mounted guards departed from the large courtyard of Sitong Commercial House, passing through Yongdingmen Gate and heading towards Shanhai Pass at a moderate pace.

  Similar caravans, departing from the Four Seas Trading Company every day, number no less than a dozen or so routes. The people on the entire street have long been accustomed to it, so there's nothing new about it.

  Like Li Chengxiao, an old Jianghu, if he wants to help Li Ruofeng shake off the tail, there are ways. Of course, one important factor is that Zhongtong has not yet confirmed Li Ruofeng's identity, so the Beiping branch of Zhongtong did not spend a lot of manpower and resources to follow Li Ruofeng.

  Even the Zhongtong special agents who were as slippery as a snake couldn't keep an eye on Li Ruofeng, let alone the Japanese informants.

  After leaving Shanhai Pass, Li Ruofeng took Biaozi and the four tigers away from the merchant group, galloping quickly towards Fengtian City.

  At this time of year in Guanwai, although it can't be said that the wind is bitterly cold, when it blows on your face, it's still quite unbearable.

  Li Ruofeng and his two companions all wore dog skin hats, with fox fur scarves wrapped around their faces exposing only their eyes, wearing bear skin jackets, deer skin boots on their feet, and wide yellow cowhide belts, each with two blue steel box-shaped pistols inserted.

  Three people dressed like this, those who have been running around Kanto for many years will know at a glance, it's the Hui brothers!

  As soon as they left the pass, they were out of sight of the Japanese and Zhongtong people. Li Ruofeng was no longer in a hurry to rush along the road, because even if they passed through Fengtian, it would take at least three days to reach Panlong Ridge.

  At that time, Fengtian was the headquarters of the Northeast Army, which had already openly declared its allegiance to the National Government, and Young Marshal Zhang Xueliang's old nest was also built in the city.

  About three miles away from the city, Li Ruofeng stopped his galloping horse and gazed deeply at this northeasternmost prosperous economic and industrial fortress town with half-closed eyes.

  "Master, are we going into the city or taking a detour around it?" Biaozi untied his scarf, took down the wine pouch from beside the saddle, tilted his head back and took a big gulp, wiping the wine stains from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve as he asked in a loud and fierce tone.

  "I heard that Yan Tie and Xu Da infiltrated the Anguo Army four years ago, do you guys know what happened to them?" Li Ruofeng asked the Four Tigers beside him.

  "Hehe, these two kids are quite promising, both of them are now battalion commanders." Si Hu smiled and said: "They are in the 7th Brigade of the Northeast Army, their troops are stationed at Beidaying."

  "Oh?" Li Ruofeng asked somewhat unexpectedly: "Can you confirm that it's Wang Yizhe's Seventh Regiment?"

  "Can't be wrong, young master." Biaozi replied: "During the New Year's Eve this year, I and Fourth Tiger stayed in their barracks for two days. Yan Tie was a lieutenant colonel and regiment commander of the 1st Regiment of the 619 Brigade, while Xu Da was a lieutenant colonel and regiment commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 621 Brigade. Some training bullets were even obtained through these two kids."

  "The seventh trip, Beida Camp, haha! Unintentionally inserted willow ah! Very good, great!" Li Ruofeng was excited, "Let's go, take a look at Beida Camp."

  Beidaying is about three miles north of Fengtian City, and Li Ruofeng and his two companions rode around the city on horseback.

  As the garrison of the Seventh Brigade, the most elite unit of the Northeast Army, this massive military camp did not reveal any stern and heavily guarded atmosphere. At the gate of the barracks, two sentries were smoking and chatting, and from time to time, officers and soldiers came in and out, without seeing the sentries blocking or asking questions.

  Li Ruofeng did not go himself but had Biaozi dismount and come forward to make contact and report.

  It so happened that these two sentries were soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 619 Regiment. As soon as they heard that the battalion commander's brother had arrived, they quickly shook off their sleep and telephoned the battalion headquarters to report.

  Before long, a young officer wearing the Northeast Army uniform with blue collar and shoulder rank of lieutenant colonel, tall and strong, carrying a gun belt in his left hand, came from the barracks to the camp gate, grumbling all the way.

  "Get over here, you damn dog! I came all the way to see you, now hurry up and roll over!" Biaozi yelled at the young major from a distance.

  "Haha! I was wondering who it was, and it turned out to be you, Biaozi. " Yan Tie recognized Biaozi at this time and hurriedly quickened his pace to welcome him over.

  The two men punched each other in the chest with their fists and then hugged each other, laughing loudly.

  Biaozi took the opportunity to whisper a sentence in Yanti's ear.

  "Really?!" Yan Tie was shocked by the words and then looked in the direction specified by Biaozi with rapt attention.

  About a hundred meters away, Li Ruofeng and Sihou also opened the curtain and stood on horseback, with Sihou pointing in the direction where Yan Tie was.

  Yan Tie quickly adjusted his military uniform, fastened his holster and strode towards Li Ruofeng with large steps.

  Yan Tie rushed over, and Li Ruofeng didn't put on the airs of a young master either. He dismounted his horse and walked slowly to meet him.

  About three meters away, Yan Tie stood upright with his legs together, raised his head and chest, saluted with his hands, and said loudly: "Yan Tie has seen the young master, good young master!"

  Li Ruofeng nodded in agreement, smiled and walked over to help Yan Tie adjust his collar, fasten the buttons on his uniform, straightened his military cap, then patted Yan Tie's sturdy arm and said with a smile: "Not bad, not bad, you have some semblance of a soldier."

  "It's all thanks to Master!" Yan Tie replied loudly.

  "Stop, stop, stop! You can't talk nonsense here. If your superior hears it, you'll be in trouble." Li Ruofeng said seriously.

  "In front of Young Master, there is only Young Master in Yan Tie's eyes, no officials!" Yan Tie's voice rose instead of falling.

  "Alright, alright, we're all brothers who grew up together, don't be so formal with me." Li Ruofeng laughed and said: "Is Xu Da around? If he is, go call him out too. Today, us brothers will have a good drink together."

  "Master, we'll go get Xiao Dazi to see you." Yan Tie turned his head and ran, but didn't run three steps before seeming to remember something. He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and bowed to Li Ruofeng before taking off again at a battlefield charge speed towards the barracks.

  Li Ruofeng looked at the military camp in front of him, which was laxly guarded, and his heart moved. He then had the four tigers lead the horses behind him, slowly walking towards the main gate of the military camp.

  The sentry at the gate saw and heard their commander's behavior from afar, and when he saw Li Ruofeng and his two companions walking over, he didn't dare to block them.

  However, Li Ruofeng did not make things difficult for the two soldiers, but instead stopped about three meters away from the sentry post and proactively started chatting with the two sentries.

  These two poor soldiers from humble origins were moved to tears.

  After chatting for over ten minutes, Yan Tie led a young lieutenant with a slightly thin build and a lean physique out of the military camp.

  Then, the scene where Yan Tie saw Young Master before was basically replayed again.

  With these childhood companions who had worked hard together and made a name for themselves gathered in one place, Li Ruofeng felt more moved and down-to-earth.

  "Yan Tie, Xu Da, I'd like to take a look at your camp, is that alright?" Li Ruofeng asked tentatively.

  "Of course! Young master, are you going to our camp or Yan Tie's first camp?" Xu Da replied without hesitation.

  It seems that the officers and soldiers of Beidaying Camp are really stationed in Tai Ping Defense! With such lax defenses, it's no wonder that the Japanese army dared to launch an attack on the entire Beidaying Camp with only one battalion of 800 people back then.

  This seventh army, from General Wang Yizhe down to the ordinary soldiers, didn't have a strict sense of discipline that an army should have.

  Under the accompaniment of General Tie and Xu Da, Li Ruofeng carefully observed the training methods and tactical qualities of the soldiers and grassroots officers of this elite Northeast Army.

  Although only two battalions of the 619th and 621st regiments were inspected, as the saying goes, "to see a leopard through a narrow window", the overall quality of the officers and men of the Northeast Army's Seventh Brigade is still quite consistent with the records in historical materials. If trained properly, they can become a truly powerful force.

  Unfortunately, such a powerful team encountered General Wang Yizhe, it's like a sheep commanding a group of lions, and the result is that all the lions turned into sheep.

  Thinking about next year's plan, Li Ruofeng felt it was necessary to have a good talk with Yan Tie and Xu Da.

  Yan Tie and Xu Da argued for half a day, and finally Li Ruofeng made the decision to go to the 1st battalion headquarters of the 619 regiment for dinner instead of going to an expensive restaurant in Fengtian City.

  The treatment of officers and soldiers in the Seventh Brigade was the best in the entire Northeast Army. This also fostered a bad atmosphere among the officers of the Seventh Brigade, who compared and competed with each other.

  Yan Tie spoke up, and the affairs officer of the first battalion didn't dare to slack off. Very quickly, a sumptuous table of wild game dishes was set on the dining table in the barracks.

  Under Li Ruofeng's instructions, Yan Tie did not allow outsiders to participate and even arranged for a soldier to stand guard at the entrance of the camp, strictly forbidding unrelated people from disturbing them.

  Li Ruofeng didn't engage in too much small talk with Yan Tie and the others. After three cups, he immediately got to the point:

  "Yan Tie, Xu Da, you two have become battalion commanders of the Northeast Army's 7th Brigade in just four years. I am very satisfied and we haven't disgraced the name of Panlong Ridge Li Family Fort. I believe you also know that I've been in Japan for many years and spent three years at the Japanese Military Academy, so I can say that I have a deep understanding of the entire country of Japan that others cannot match. At the latest by next September, the Japanese will launch an invasion war against all three provinces of Northeast China. Once the war breaks out, your North Big Camp will be the Japanese army's first target."

  Yan Tie and Xu Da exchanged a glance, without interrupting. Since the young master said so, he must have his own reasons. Moreover, in their minds, they had been brought up to unconditionally follow any instructions made by the young master since childhood.

  "This situation, the National Government also has some perception, but these guys who are good at internal fighting and external fighting are unreliable. Let alone Zhang Shao, he clearly knows that Zhang Dada is being secretly calculated by the Japanese, yet he doesn't even dare to avenge his father's death. Can we still expect him to consider the lives and property of 30 million people in the three northeastern provinces? Yán Tiě, Xǔ Dá, I only have one request for you!"

  "Yes, young master!" replied Yan Tie and Xu Da in unison as they stood up together.

  "Sit down first." Li Ruofeng's eyes were sharp as he looked at them and said: "From now on, seize every moment to think of all possible ways to train your troops well. We can't control how other troops are doing, but at the very least, you must make sure to train your own soldiers well. You have to take responsibility for the soldiers under your command! All training should be targeted at the Japanese Kwantung Army as a hypothetical enemy and re-formulate the training outline accordingly. I'll help you come up with a plan when the time comes. Your task is to lead your troops well and seize power!"

  "Hmm!" Yan Tie nodded heavily in agreement.

  "Any questions?"

  Xu Da hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Young master, the Kwantung Army has less than 300,000 troops, while the Northeastern Army has 3 million soldiers. Not to mention the hundreds of millions of troops in the Guannei region, didn't the Japanese ever calculate this account?"

  "Because they calculated that the National Government would not dare to resist! As soon as the war starts, all the Northeastern Army will receive orders not to resist and retreat to the interior." Li Ruofeng replied with a helpless expression.

  "Young master, what shall we do at that time?" Yan Tie asked, gritting his teeth.

  "When the time comes, I will arrange for someone to contact you, what you need to do now is to train your troops well!"

  "Yes! Young master, we will never bring shame upon you!" Yan Tie and Xu Da stood up simultaneously once again to express their stance.