Chapter 9: Sabotage in Liao Yang City

  Chen An soon secretly entered Liao Yang again. He found Zhang Jinghui in Xinmin and asked him to get a batch of Russian artillery shells from the Japanese, as the Japanese had won several battles against the Russians and must have captured some.

  Because there was no standard measuring tool, Liu Shi and Koval's judgment made Chen An feel untrustworthy, so it's better not to use the 75mm day-made grenade.

  Along with being brought into the city of Liaoyang, there was also a suitcase that was considered top-secret. During the process of entering Liaoyang, the Russians searched very thoroughly, and Zhang Ergou only had a few broken guns from the people he brought along who had stayed in the Siheyuan, which were basically useless. Chen An was forced to use the contents of the suitcase for the first time in a highly risky manner outside.

  The raw materials are actually easy to solve, Liaoyang City is big enough, and copper, iron, wood, etc. are absolutely not lacking. If all else fails, Chen An will directly use those few broken guns as raw materials.

  After finding an excuse, Chen An asked Hu Zi to guard the entrance and went into the room where the big gun was hidden alone. He carefully studied the big gun. The suitcase that had been secretly transported in advance immediately scanned the assembled Russian army's big gun.

  Seeing the information on the suitcase, Chen An almost fainted, it was actually a 76.2mm caliber Russian field gun. Damn it, Liu Shi and Koval said it might be similar to the Japanese 75mm field gun, with a difference of only 1.2mm in caliber. Chen An broke out in cold sweat, if they really had to take action, using different caliber shells would definitely cause an explosion and wipe out everyone in the house.

  The next day, Chen An called over Liu Shi and Koval, and scolded them severely. Especially Koval, the model number was engraved on the cannon, and he had been in the army for so long, how could he not even know the caliber of the artillery? Koval's face turned pale with fear, and he explained in a low voice that he was from an infantry machine gun squad and really had no contact with cannons.

  The consequence of this matter is that Chen An decided that the specifications for future weapons and equipment should conform to Western standards, no longer using China's chi and zhang units, because domestic rulers were really not standardized, with few being completely consistent, while Western rulers were very standardized. Another consequence was that Liu Shi no longer had to go out to inspect the caliber of large cannons, and could focus on studying the Russian 76mm field gun in the courtyard.

  A few days later, Zhang Ergou painstakingly mixed a 76mm grenade sent by the Japanese into the toilet and sent it into Liao Yang City. The progress at Zhang Jinghui's place was as unfavorable as Chen An had expected. The Russians quoted an astonishing price, saying they were buying redemption certificates. Zhang Jinghui followed the original plan, reluctantly sending out the first large sum of money and promising to quickly gather the remaining ransom. After the Russians greedily accepted the first payment, they even directly notified that the ransom had been increased, and if all the money was not received, Zhang would be shot as punishment. Zhang Jinghui, who couldn't help but laugh and cry, could only fully agree, secretly cursing the Russians for their insatiable greed, but also firming up everyone's determination to rescue by force.

  Outside the city of Liaoyang, the Japanese vanguard had already engaged in brief skirmishes with Russian scouts several times. The demoralized Russians soon lost their outermost picket line and retreated to defensive positions on the outskirts of the city, where they prepared to make a last stand as the attack on Liaoyang was about to begin.

  Zhang Jinghui hastily handed over the second huge sum of money that he had collected with great effort, in order to temporarily paralyze the Russians and delay for as long as possible. In contrast to the low morale of the Russian army, the high-level officials were full of confidence in defending Liaoyang, and they agreed to Zhang Jinghui's request to delay payment after being dazzled by the large sum of money.

  When the sound of sporadic gunfire could be heard in the city of Liao Yang, everyone knew that the time to take action was approaching. Chen An made an excuse to stay at a hotel on the street outside for one night, and then quietly returned to the quadrangle courtyard.

  "Zhang Ergou, tell everyone to take these weapons and distribute them. We're not allowed out for the next two days. Get ready to take action." Chen An casually pointed to a big pile of water polo balls, revolvers, scattered bullets, even several packages of explosives and four artillery shells that were haphazardly stacked on the ground.

  Zhang Ergou's eyes widened, and he took a cold breath. How did Master Chen get in? Didn't he just go out for a day yesterday? Could it be that he was meeting with someone? But his heart was shocked, the Chen family village actually had hidden powers, and they were extremely strong, so strong that these military supplies were sent into their own stronghold, and he didn't know anything about it.

  "Alright, Master Chen." Unconsciously, Zhang Ergou had already positioned himself under Chen An.

  Liu Shi and Hu Zi were already used to Young Master's miraculousness and had long regarded him as a divine being, so they didn't mind at all.

  Chen An never wanted to charge into the fray, and the few times he had encountered danger were all unavoidable. This time, he naturally chose a revolver, hastily loading it with bullets, not planning to go to the front line again. After all, the suitcase was too important, and only by guarding it himself could he feel at ease.

  On the table was a map covered with various symbols. Chen An, based on Zhang Fucheng's reconnaissance over the past period of time, roughly drew the main deployment of Russian troops in the city on the paper.

  Looking at the ugly drawing, Liu Shi couldn't help but smile secretly and whispered to Chen An, "Young master, if Wu Ziyu saw this military draft, would he rather die than admit that he taught you?"

  Chen An rolled his eyes, "So, you come and draw one?" Liu Shi immediately broke out in a cold sweat and hastily retreated to the side without making a sound. He was even worse at drawing, his specialty being turning straight lines into curves.

  Many locations have been figured out, such as the machine gun emplacements and artillery positions of the Russians, the location of the command center, etc. It is also known that Zhang Guan was detained in a luxurious single cell in a prison taken over by the Russians. Although it's said to be a luxurious single room, no one has seen it, so who knows if it's true or not? In any case, the prison itself is real. If this map were sold to the Japanese, it would definitely fetch a high price, but unfortunately, Liaoyang can't be exited now, which makes Chen An feel regretful.

  Since I've come, it would be a waste not to take advantage of the situation. Chen An looked at the Huayi Bank branch next to the headquarters, and his eyes seemed to see gold coins scattered all over the ground.

  "Liushi, are you sure that after demolishing one side of the wall, we can directly attack the command center?" Chen An turned his head to ask Liushi who was hiding behind him.

  "Yes, young master, but at least one proofreading is needed." Liu Shi hesitated for a moment and replied affirmatively.

  Immediately, Chen An asked again, "Zhang Erge, you should have other secret bases here, right?"

  Zhang Fucheng chuckled a few times, "This, this, there are still two families."

  "Where is it?" Chen An asked bluntly.

  Zhang Fucheng carefully looked at the map and pointed out two locations with his hand.

  After a moment's thought, Chen An spoke up and said, "Zhang Erge, the position on the left is for our Chenjiazhuang to use. There are several partners who want to do something there. After Liu Shi breaks through the wall with cannons and creates chaos by attacking the headquarters, Zhang Erge and the brothers of the patrol camp sneak into the prison to rescue people. Then they think of a way to leave the city directly or wait for an opportunity on the right side. At that time, this place will be abandoned."

  After De Zhāng arranged everything, Chen An whispered to Liu Shi, "At that time, you and Koval will stay here to fire the big cannon. The first three shots must hit the command center, and the fourth shot must blast into the nearby Huá Rú Dào Shèng Bank. Then hurry up and retreat to the assembly point, wait for us."

  "Young master, what is it?" Liu Shi's eyes suddenly lit up.

  "Are we robbers? Rather than letting Japanese get cheap thrills, let's take action ourselves." Chen An sneered with a sly smile.

  The stillness of the night passed quickly.

  Distant explosions suddenly came from afar, shells whizzing through the air and landing on the front lines outside the city. The Russian army sounded the alarm at once. The Japanese had begun their attack.

  At noon, a large number of Russian troops began to mobilize, pouring out of their barracks and rushing to the front lines where battles were intense. Many cannons were also pulled out of the city to support the artillery battle on the front lines.

  By the afternoon, carts were constantly bringing wounded soldiers from the front line into the city. Except for the necessary patrol teams in the military camp, all the rest were wounded soldiers. Many Russian troops in the city were dispatched to the front line to support, and even a Russian army unit that had just arrived from Fengtian passed through the city without resting and directly joined the battle.

  It was dawn, and in a couple of moments, the sky would slowly brighten up. There was a sense of absurdity, the last time he saved someone was at the moment before dawn, and this time it was also at this hour, Chen An let out a deep breath.

  Zhang Fucheng and others were all staring at Chen An.

  Chen An narrowed his eyes and scanned around, nodded, and said firmly, "Action."

  The people of the patrol camp went ahead, and those from Chenjiazhuang followed behind. Under the cover of night, they quickly disappeared into the dark alleys. Liu Shi and Kowal once again wiped down the cannons and cannonballs, making their final preparations. A section of the wall on one side had been dug out from the base with a very deep groove, and it would only take a slight push to make it collapse.

  After dawn, in the midst of a new round of Japanese artillery fire, Ryu Sei would seize the opportunity to launch shells at the Russian command center in Liaoyang, thoroughly disrupting the Russian command system. With only four shells and a very short time, Ryu Sei could open fire, then had to immediately abandon the cannon and escape from the scene.

  The people of Chenjiazhuang were led by Hu Zi, with a small amount of explosives provided by Chen An in their bosoms, ready to blow open the gate and vault of the Sino-Russian Bank.

  Chen An slipped away alone to the secret rendezvous point. The suitcase was on his body, and it was really not easy to run around everywhere. Gold and silver were important, saving people was even more important, but nothing compared to the value of the suitcase. Chen An had no choice but to settle down and take up the responsibility of commander, staying away from the front line of fighting.

  Seeing a ladder in the courtyard of the new stronghold, Chen An put down his suitcase and set up the ladder against the roof. He climbed up onto the tiles and lay down at a sheltered spot to observe the surroundings carefully, ready to watch the show.

  The sky is about to reveal its pale belly.

  Zhang Fu's men quietly snuck into the outer perimeter of the prison, and the guards were more lax than expected, probably due to a shortage of manpower. Two sharpshooters climbed onto the roof of the opposite building, their rifle scopes firmly fixed on the drowsy guards.

  The tiger also arrived, and smoothly jumped into a nearby courtyard to wait quietly for the right moment. Probably due to the war, the owner of the house had already escaped to who-knows-where, which saved the tiger from having to make an extra effort.

  It's daytime now.