Chapter 5 The Russians Want Revenge

  They ran for dozens of miles before stopping to rest. The Russian pursuit never materialized, as the area around Dashiqiao was already filled with the sound of cannons and shouts of killing. After being ambushed by Lin Yushan and others, the Japanese troops unexpectedly launched a direct attack instead of sending out small teams to probe and counterattack.

  Chen An put down the submachine gun he was holding and jumped off his horse, rushing to Liu Guan's side. "Uncle Liu, are you okay?"

  The disheveled and dirty Liu Guan's family was exhausted, "Young master, I'm fine. Thank you, everyone risked their lives to come rescue us."

  Chen An smiled, "If it were us, wouldn't you want to be rescued too?" He turned his head and shouted, "Tuzi, take roll call, give the wounded some basic first aid. We'll continue on our way in a minute." Tuzi responded with a loud acknowledgement.

  Liu Shu carefully listened to the distant rumble of gunfire, looked up and saw that it was already daylight, reminded Chen An, "Young master, I estimate that the Japanese have launched a full-scale attack, this place is not very safe, it's easy to encounter both sides' flanking troops, it's better to leave quickly."

  Chen An nodded, furrowed his brow, "I think the Japanese were originally planning to launch an attack today, otherwise they wouldn't have reacted so quickly and launched a direct attack with troops."

  "The Russians' defense line is only well-repaired in the middle section and it's estimated that it won't be able to withstand the Japanese army's attack," Liu Shu analyzed.

  "The Japanese won't be foolish enough to wait for the Russians to complete their fortifications before launching an attack, so this timing is also very good. However, Yu Shan and his men went to ambush and lure the Japanese army, but somehow managed to escape smoothly on the battlefield." Chen An was very helpless, the plan that several young people had hastily put together seemed effective at first glance, but now it seems like a complete mess.

  Who says three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang? Unless they're making leather jackets, it's impossible to surpass a genius.

  Hutou flew over quickly, his expression somewhat strange, and said in a low voice, "Young master, the count is done. Only four of our people were hit by stray bullets, but all of Liu Shu's men are injured, and five people can't be found."

  Chen An thought to himself, the scene was chaotic, the alert Russian soldiers didn't know who to shoot at either, and the reinforcements were suppressed by us from a distance, they could only fire randomly, if there were still casualties it would just be bad luck.

  "What is it? Don't be hesitant."

  Hu Zi pointed behind him with one hand, and several village guards had already surrounded the two people with guns. "There are two more people in the team, one is the Russian who followed you out, and the other should be the one who mixed into the team with Liu Shu and others."

  Chen An and Liu Shu exchanged a surprised glance and hastily walked up to the two people.

  The Russian soldiers, without exception, raised their hands high in the air, with a look of terror on their faces. Another thin man also raised his hands, but his expression was one of helplessness and embarrassment.

  Without waiting for Chen An to ask, the thin man replied directly, "This brother, I'm a laborer from Dashiqiao." After some thought, he continued, "I see that you're all here to rescue people, very righteous. I was captured by the Russians and wanted to escape too, so I followed you guys."

  Chen An just stared at him without saying a word. After a while, he called Hu Zi over and whispered something in his ear. Hu Zi immediately took out a revolver and released the safety catch.

  The man suddenly became anxious and hastily called out, "Brother, brother, can I have a word with you?"

  Chen An turned around, tilted his head and took a look, then said to Hu Zi, "Tie up both of his hands and bring him over to me." Upon hearing this, the man's eyes widened in shock, what heavy precautions indeed.

  Before long, the man with bound hands was dragged to one side of the troops. Chen An and Liu Shu wanted to hear his explanation, with only Hu Zi following beside them.

  Before Hanzi could speak, Chen An directly said a sentence, "Don't mention anything about being buddies and the like, Dashiqiao, I've been fooling around all day, there's no buddy who doesn't know me."

  The man immediately knew where his problem lay. It turned out that this was a famous person from Dashiqiao, and he didn't know him, so he made something up blindly.

  Soon, Chen An figured out Han's background. His name was Wu Ziyu, a staff officer of the Northern Ocean Army.

  When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, Aoki Nobuzumi, a former instructor of the Beiyang Army and deputy military attaché at the Japanese legation, consulted with Yuan Shikai to establish a Sino-Japanese joint intelligence agency. They recruited bandits from Manchuria to assist the Japanese army. Yuan selected dozens of crack officers from the Beiyang Army and formed a joint detective team with Aoki. Wu Ziyu was one of them, but unfortunately he was unexpectedly captured by the Russians as a laborer.

  Chen An said with ill intent, "The Japanese are going to award you a medal."

  Wu Ziyu's eyes widened, "Farting medals, are the Japanese good things? It's just that the Russians are worse." He looked around and continued, "Don't worry, I won't reveal any information about you, including my superiors. After all, I escaped thanks to you guys."

  Chen An bowed his head in thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly. "Lord Wu, since that's the case, we'll part ways here."

  Soon, the two groups went their separate ways.

  Wu Ziyu could only helplessly look at the rope in his hand, muttering to himself in frustration, "You've already left, yet you still don't trust me, not even willing to help me untie this rope."

  Soon, in Chenjiazhuang, there were all kinds of flavors. Many families welcomed back their husbands and sons with food and drink, while Old Man Chen and Liu Guan went to the homes of the five missing people to offer condolences. Chen An and Liu Shi stood at the entrance of the village, anxiously waiting for Lin Yushan and the others to return.

  In the afternoon, Lin Yushan and his group finally returned. Chen An hugged Lin Yushan tightly, feeling a weight lifted off her mind. Lin Yushan was very depressed, two people in their team had died, but their bodies were brought back.

  "Sister's husband, the ambush target we chose was just a small Japanese army squad, but as soon as we opened fire, troops emerged from all directions to attack, and under sudden attack, only two of our men died." Lin Yushan was very puzzled.

  Chen An patted Yu Shan's shoulder and comforted him, saying, "The Japanese were originally preparing to attack, and when we fired the first shot, many troops thought it was the start of the attack. We just happened to join in, but it's good that the Russians didn't have time to pursue us."

  Just then, sharp-eyed Hu Zi saw another horse galloping swiftly towards them.

  Liu Shi immediately pulled Chen An back to the Zhuangzi and loudly shouted, "Be on guard."

  Lin Yushan was very quick-witted and immediately led his troops to charge into the village first, then turned back to form a second batch of guards.

  "Far away, the other side shouted loudly, 'Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen, don't misunderstand, I am Wu Ziyu.'"

  Liu Shi and Lin Yushan both looked at Chen An, he nodded to indicate recognition, then said, "Yushan, take the team back to rest and take care of the aftermath of the two brothers. Shi Tou also went to help. Hu Zi followed me to receive Wu Daren."

  Wu Ziyu reined in his horse and jumped down, saying quickly, "Master Chen, your village is no longer safe. The Russians have found out that it was you who attacked the front line and are withdrawing troops to prepare for revenge."

  "What?" Chen An was taken aback.

  "The Japanese have already occupied the front line of Dashiqiao, and the Russians have retreated to the county town. Many escaped coolies were caught again, and some people recognized that the rioters were from Chenjiazhuang." Wu Ziyu said hastily.

  Chen An was still a bit skeptical, "How did you know? Have you been to Chenjiazhuang?"

  Wu Ziyu suddenly felt a mix of emotions, "At this time, you still have the mind to think about these things. I'm doing reconnaissance, always lurking around the battlefield, and suddenly I find something off. It seems that Chenjiazhuang is the only village with a militia team in the Dashiqiao area, easy to investigate."

  "That's all I have to say, I'm going to Liaoyang right away." Wu Ziyu made a fist and prepared to leave.

  Chen An hastily pulled him back, "Lord Wu, sorry, sorry. You've rushed here to report in a time of crisis, rest for a while before leaving, let us show our appreciation."

  Wu Ziyu was also straightforward, "Well, I haven't had a hot meal in days, so let's just get this over with. However, it would be best if your estate relocates as soon as possible. The Russian artillery cannot be defended against by the water droplets in your hands."

  "Hurry up and call Master and the others to discuss in the main hall." Chen An did not dare to be negligent, and quickly called Hu Zi to call people, while accompanying Wu Zi Yu towards the Chen residence.

  When they entered the living room, the Russian who spoke Chinese was teaching Zhao Si how to assemble and disassemble a Maxim machine gun. Wu Ziyu glanced at it a few times and said, "Master Chen, this thing has strong firepower, but where can your village find so many bullets to feed it? It's not practical."

  Chen An did not respond with a yes or no, but thought to himself, "Is it a bullet?"

  No matter how Wu Ziyu was eating in the living room, Chen An slipped into the main hall.

  As soon as this stunning news was announced, everyone's face changed. The old man had come out of the battlefield and naturally knew the power of the big gun, while the young ones had already felt the terror of the cannon fire shaking the earth at Dashiqiao.

  "Zhuangzi cannot be guarded!" The old man said resolutely.

  Chen An immediately suggested, "Let's temporarily move to Xinmin for now, and come back after the situation has passed."

  They exchanged glances and quickly agreed.

  "If we're going to leave, let's set out tonight. Otherwise, there's a possibility that the Russian troops will come to retaliate tomorrow morning." Chen An felt uneasy and suggested this bluntly.

  Not long after, when Wu Ziyu finished his meal, Chenjiazhuang had already begun to prepare for the migration. The notification was sent to each household to cremate the fallen brothers, arrange the migration convoy, and tidy up the village defense team, etc., and execute them quickly.

  Wu Ziyu felt a bit incredulous, and he stuttered as he asked Chen An, "What kind of people are living in your village? I feel like it's just like a military camp, where everything is carried out according to military orders?"

  Chen An gave Wu Ziyu a glance, "You go ahead and be stupid, I'm busy. We're about to set off soon, also heading in the direction of Liaoyang, why don't you come with us?" Then he ran off again.

  Old Chen walked over and chuckled, "Governor Wu, many of those living here are my former comrades from the Gan army."

  Wu Ziyu suddenly enlightened, and immediately reacted, "So Old Man Chen, back in the day was a skilled fighter in Gan's army?"

  "It's just a small matter, nothing worth putting on the table." Old Mr. Chen said nonchalantly.

  Wu Ziyu was shocked and hastily saluted, "Greetings, elder." The Gansu Army's bloody battle in Beijing that year was a matter of great admiration.

  Soon, the whole village was in an uproar, with many carts being pulled out, throwing away cumbersome things, only bringing close personal belongings and necessary food. The migrating team had already begun to gather. The entire village belonged to Old Master Chen, and since he said he wanted to migrate, the people in the village were all tenant farmers and servants, so the old master didn't mind these goods at all, and others wouldn't say anything either.

  When Wu Ziyu saw Chen An suddenly pull out three boxes of bullets wrapped in canvas and tied with rope, his chin almost fell off. How could there be such inventory in the Zhuangzi? How much money would this cost? Wu Ziyu racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.

  Chen An pursed his lips and ignored Wu Ziyu's loss of composure, there were still some scattered bullets inside, and Shui Lianzhu also needed to replenish the bullets.

  In the late afternoon, Zhao Si, the newly appointed vanguard captain, led his men to scout out ten miles ahead, followed by the massive Chen Family Village convoy. Chen Anxin was unwilling to give up and took some people into the nearby mountain forest, preparing to ambush the Russians at any opportunity.