Newborn 1927

The next day, Yang Jiefang led his training team back to Qinglongzhai. Coincidentally, Ma Shangfei also returned to Qinglongzhai that morning. Ma Shangfei's cavalry squadron chose to travel by day and hide by night to return to the mountain, arriving several hours earlier than Yang Jiefang.

Yang Jiefang, disregarding any need for rest, immediately convened a meeting in the main hall for all members of the stronghold at the rank of company commander and above. This seemed to have become a routine, and no one was surprised. What was surprising was that Yang Jiefang actually requested that Chu Gu participate in the meeting. Yang Jiefang first introduced the situation in Qixia County. Chu Gu and Sun Zhiyong had already informed him when they returned to the mountain, so Yang Jiefang gave a brief overview and continued, "Although we have occupied a county town, we are still using Qinglong Village as our base. Our future work will still focus on expanding our territory outwards from here. In the surrounding counties, the Laiyang County garrison was completely wiped out, while the security regiment returned victorious. That deputy county magistrate is taking advantage of the situation to seize power. My idea is to secretly support that deputy county magistrate's rise to power. He will inevitably rely heavily on the security regiment, and as long as we control the security regiment, it will be equivalent to controlling Laiyang County." Seeing that everyone agreed with this, Yang Jiefang turned around and asked, "Chief, what is the current situation in Haiyang County? Can we adopt a similar approach to Laiyang County?"

Black Widow replied, "That girl Xiao Lan sent me a letter. What she did was a bit ridiculous, so don't worry about it." Upon hearing this, Yang Jiefang was puzzled. What exactly had Gao Huilan done? After asking her in detail, he understood and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

After Gao Huilan captured the Haiyang County garrison, she ordered Bai Lang to send men to escort them to Qinglong Village. She then led the Gao family's security force south, spreading rumors along the way: the garrison had been ambushed by the "Little Boss" and completely wiped out, leaving no survivors. The "Little Boss" was going to attack the county town. When they arrived in Haiyang County, they used the same story and entered the city openly. Of the more than eight hundred men who had initially gone north to suppress bandits, only the Gao family's security force returned intact. Those who had deserted naturally didn't enter the city; they all chose to go home. Gao Huilan had her own version of events: the garrison and the Gao family's security force had acted separately. When the garrison was ambushed, and the Gao family's security force arrived to their rescue, the garrison had already been wiped out.

Some had doubted Gao Huilan's story, even suspecting they were accomplices to bandits and thus escaped unharmed. Soon, news arrived of the complete annihilation of the joint security forces from Laiyang and Qixia counties, and all doubts vanished. Then, Bai Lang led his men on raids in various locations, and the returning security forces dared not confront him, fleeing at the mere mention of his name. This undoubtedly exacerbated the panic in the county town. What to do? The county government requested assistance from the Donghaidao Garrison Command while simultaneously summoning security forces from various regions back into the city. However, the Donghaidao Garrison Command's reply was to find a solution themselves; the local security forces, terrified, dared not enter the city.

At this moment, Gao Huilan announced that she was willing to donate her dowry to recruit members for the county security force. Anyone who joined would receive five silver dollars a month. How could the high-ranking officials and nobles feel about such a display of righteousness from a woman? Consequently, they generously donated money and goods to support the establishment of the county security force. The security force was originally a militia, and the county government did not pay its members. This time, the county government also approved a sum of money for its establishment. Sure enough, a generous reward attracts many brave souls, and a large number of people willing to risk their lives for money applied. Gao Huilan was very strict in recruiting security personnel, rejecting those with poor physical condition or bad habits. After this rigorous screening, only a small number remained.

Gao Huilan then dropped another bombshell: whoever could lead the security force to defeat Qinglong Village and capture the young leader alive, she would marry him. Inevitably, some asked, "Why are you so keen on suppressing bandits?" Gao Huilan answered confidently, "My father died in Qinglong Village." The Gao family had always maintained that Gao Huilan's father had been kidnapped and murdered. Her deep hatred for Qinglong Village was therefore understandable. With this backstory, who could doubt the Gao family's ties to bandits? This attracted another group of people to try their luck, even some wealthy young men were tempted. Gao Huilan's beauty was undeniable.

Yang Jiefang joked, "Who among you wants to marry Miss Gao? Just capture me and send me to Haiyang County. Don't worry! I'll do you a favor and cooperate." Everyone was speechless for a moment, then Ma Shangfei laughed, "Only Little Boss can capture him alive. We don't have that ability." Yang Jiefang felt a headache coming on. Gao Huilan was being so high-profile; how would he handle this? Putting that aside for now, he asked, "Ma Shangfei, what's the situation in Fushan County right now?"

Ma Shangfei immediately replied, "That's exactly what we were talking about. Hou Fei and I set a trap, luring the county garrison out, then ambushed them and decimated them. Heh, against our cavalry, they didn't even have a chance to escape, let alone resist. Only because we were outnumbered did they manage to escape with a small portion of them. This time when we returned to the mountains, we captured seventy-six men, leaving the wounded behind. However, we also lost three brothers ourselves."

Yang Jiefang comforted them, saying, "You've all worked hard these past few days. Let the brothers get some rest. Those who died must be properly compensated." This last sentence was addressed to the Kong father and son. The Kong father and son nodded in agreement.

When the three counties jointly besieged Qinglongzhai, Ma Shangfei and Hou Fei were ordered to monitor the garrison in Yantai City. To divert Yantai's attention, the two pulled off a major heist in Fushan County. However, the troops in Yantai City remained inactive. In truth, for the powerful figures in Yantai City, the bandits in the mountains had never been completely eradicated since ancient times. Especially in this chaotic world, defending the city was the priority. After all, the city's garrison was indeed small.

But how could Ma Shangfei and the others know what those powerful figures in the city were thinking? They were constantly worried. He continued, "The situation in Fushan County is completely different. Hou Fei can only control Shuangshui Town and the surrounding area at present. Fushan County is too close to Yantai, and they have already asked the Yantai Garrison Command for help. The garrison command can't handle other places, but they should be able to handle the situation in Fushan County."

Yang Jiefang added, “The Yantai Police Bureau still has over two hundred police officers, and the garrison and the police are two separate groups. Unlike smaller counties like Laiyang, Haiyang, and Qixia, where the police and garrison are often mixed up. In other words, they can actually mobilize over a thousand people, which is the biggest enemy we are about to face. We can put the matter of Fushan County on hold for now. We need to speed up the control of Laiyang and Haiyang Counties, and establish security regiments from top to bottom, following the model of Qixia County. Bai Lang should stop wandering around outside the city; let him enter the city and join the Haiyang County security regiment. The Laiyang County security regiment also needs to increase its manpower and strengthen its control.”

Black Widow warned, "This means we won't have enough manpower." Niu Sanbian chimed in, "Yes. There are over a thousand prisoners in the stronghold now, and my single guard company simply can't keep an eye on them. We've been fortunate to have two companies from the Liberation Army on the mountain these past few days; otherwise, trouble might have broken out." Yang Jiefang pondered, "I'll figure out a way to handle the prisoners. I've already promised Tian Dan that I'll use prisoners from Laiyang County to exchange for the people from Yang'er Mountain who were taken to the county town." Mentioning Yang'er Mountain made everyone angry. But remembering that Little Boss had secretly captured Yang'er Mountain, they felt a sense of balance.

Black Widow continued, "Tian Dan came to seek refuge with forty or fifty men, and I have already taken them in. We are short-handed on the mountain, so it would be good to have some more manpower. Also, if we could exchange Tian Yisan and his men for us and bring them into our Green Dragon Stronghold, that would be much better than keeping those prisoners."

Yang Jiefang and Black Widow had reached a tacit understanding: once the other made a decision, they generally wouldn't object. Yang Jiefang called out, "Zhao Changgui, from now on, you will be in charge of training these forty-odd people from Yang'er Mountain." Zhao Changgui quickly agreed; if they trained them well, it would add another company to the company.

Yang Jiefang turned to ask, "Sister Chu, how are those twenty-nine sisters doing now?" Chu then realized the significance of having her attend the meeting, and replied, "As you instructed, they've all had medical checkups. Many have hidden illnesses and are receiving treatment. They haven't been here long and aren't quite used to life here yet." Yang Jiefang said, "Talk to them more. They're homeless just like us; don't discriminate against them. By the way, bring Baihe back and have her assist you with your work."

Kong Zongru immediately said, "Young Master, Bai He is a master accountant. If she's pulled away, who will do her work? There's so much to do now, but we don't have many truly capable people." Yang Jiefang said, "Then we'll train them ourselves. Didn't Jiang Xiaojun bring over a group of people from Yantai? See who they can use and pick them." Kong Zongru smiled bitterly, "We're already picking them, but they're all greenhorns. They're useless!" Yang Jiefang said, "Just make do with them for now! There's one more thing you need to prepare for. I've already had the Qixia County Finance Department establish a rural credit bank, and we'll be establishing similar banks in Laiyang and Haiyang in the future. I need you to prepare a head office to supervise them. Money is no small matter! Without supervision, who knows what those people might do?" Kong Zongru felt a headache coming on. There were no manpower, but plenty of work. However, hearing the Young Master's unquestionable tone, he could only bite the bullet and agree.

Yang Jiefang continued, "I think I've figured it out. Bai He is working herself to the bone to numb herself. She has a psychological problem; she feels she's not good enough for He Huan. I hope that by reforming these twenty-nine women, I can help her overcome her psychological trauma and return to a normal life." Chu Gu then understood his deeper meaning and quickly agreed.

After the meeting, Yang Jiefang and Niu Sanbian went to the prisoner-of-war camp. He immediately had Song Youde brought out. Ever since he had given Song Youde a copy of "Call to Arms," ​​Song Youde had read it every night, not only by himself but also by those around him. From then on, every evening, he would be surrounded by people listening to him read by the dim light of an oil lamp.

Song Youde had changed a lot. It wasn't that his appearance had changed; Yang Jiefang saw a light in his eyes, a stark contrast to his previous fatalistic attitude. When they met, Song Youde respectfully greeted, "Little Boss." Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "I heard you've been reading a lot lately. Could you share your insights with me?" Song Youde replied, "Thank you for waking me up, Little Boss; otherwise, I would have remained unconscious until I died." Yang Jiefang said, "It wasn't me who woke you up, it was Mr. Lu Xun. I just woke up a little earlier than you. Now that we've been awakened, we should do something to awaken more people to break down this iron house." Song Youde was prepared; he knew Yang Jiefang would come to him. He asked directly, "What can I do?"

Yang Jiefang asked, "How many of these people from the Laiyang Garrison are you familiar with?" Song Youde replied, "Just two or three hundred. We see each other all the time, so we're basically all familiar with each other." Yang Jiefang said, "Then pick a group of reliable people from among them, and I'll let you go back." Song Youde asked curiously, "Go back? Doesn't that mean we have to join Qinglong Village?" Yang Jiefang replied, "Of course you'll join Qinglong Village, but you don't need to stay here any longer. I'll let you go back to the county town. Yang'er Mountain was wiped out by the Laiyang Security Corps, and many people were arrested and taken to the county town. I want to use you to exchange for them, which will give you a legitimate reason to go back. Of course, the people we let go must be reliable."

Song Youde quickly understood Yang Jiefang's intention. After a moment's thought, he said, "There aren't many truly reliable people. How many do you need?" Yang Jiefang replied, "People have a herd mentality. A few reliable people leading a group of herd members make a reliable group. Here's what we'll do: anyone who hasn't exhibited bad behavior or vices, and whom you can control, can be released with you." Song Youde said, "That's quite a few. Apart from the officers who can act arrogantly, the guards are basically a bunch of miserable people. They're not actually that bad. If we look for people based on these criteria, there should be at least two hundred." Yang Jiefang said, "Here's what we'll do: I'll give you a list. Circle the ones who truly need labor reform, and release as many as you have left."

Song Youde said, "Give me the list, I'll circle it for you right now." Yang Jiefang immediately had Niu Sanbian bring out the list of prisoners captured by the Laiyang County garrison; he had a register there. Song Youde took the list and circled the names on the spot. He finished circling them in no time and then handed it to Yang Jiefang, saying, "These people marked with an X cannot be released; those circled are all reliable, they want to join Qinglong Village like me; as for the rest, whether to release them or not is debatable."

Yang Jiefang glanced at it and said, "Okay, go back and talk to the brothers. We should be able to settle things in the next two or three days. If anything changes, we'll communicate immediately." Song Youde agreed and then added, "There are some reliable people among those at the armory. Should we keep an eye on them?" Yang Jiefang asked, "Who are they?" Song Youde said, "From what I know, that platoon leader named Shi Guangyi is a good person and reliable. Why don't you talk to him?" Yang Jiefang was very happy. He was just worrying about how to deal with the Yantai Garrison Command, and it was like a pillow being delivered to him when he was sleepy!