Newborn 1927

The men on the boat were clearly startled, frantically loading shells in preparation for returning fire. Before they could even get ready, Chen Shanpao fired its second volley. Although it still missed, the impact point was closer, and the splashing water landed directly on the boat, soaking the crew. Without even aiming, the men on the boat opened fire. The field gun had a low elevation, making it a direct-fire weapon, perfectly adequate for engaging boats at the same level; however, it was less effective against targets at higher elevations. The riverbed was already low-lying, and the gun's base was fixed and couldn't be raised; the shells landed on the ground as soon as they touched down, exploding in the open.

Chen Shanpao scoffed, "You're missing so far, you're not even as good as me." Then he urged for a third round of firing. The third round of shells, as usual, killed many fish and shrimp in the river, but still missed the boat. Seeing the boat rapidly turning around, Yang Jiefang immediately ordered, "Stop firing! You're just wasting ammunition, let them go back." Chen Shanpao said with a bitter face, "Boats are moving targets in the river, they're really hard to hit." Yang Jiefang said, "You make it sound like you can hit a stationary target accurately. Let me tell you, Chen Shanpao, Rushan Village also has two mountain cannons. If you can't take down their cannons first, you'll be getting shelled!" Chen Shanpao's face immediately fell. He could only pray that the enemy gunner was also a rookie and couldn't hit the target.

The next day, Yang Jiefang led his team to the front of Rushan Village. To the west of Rushan Village, Bai Lang arrived with his security regiment. Hei Xiazi abandoned his ambush position on Yuhuang Mountain, concentrating his forces within the village for defense.

Rushan Village, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, was surrounded by walls and moats, with traps such as bamboo spikes and animal snares within the moats. It seemed difficult to attack. Yang Jiefang did not rush to attack, but ordered his troops to first set up camp and establish defensive fortifications. His instructor had once said that strategically one should underestimate the enemy, but tactically one must take them seriously. Although Yang Jiefang was confident of taking Rushan Village down, he dared not underestimate his opponent. This time, he decided to adopt the approach of an old Hunanese strategist: build a strong fortified village and fight a protracted battle.

Bai Lang, leading Liu Heizi, Gao Qiang, and others, circled around for a considerable distance before arriving at Yang Jiefang's camp. Yang Jiefang immediately convened a battle meeting. There wasn't much to discuss; when resources were scarce, tactical infiltration was employed; when resources were abundant, firepower coverage was used. Yang Jiefang now had the capability to conduct a full-scale firepower attack. He designated the east as the main attack direction, instructing Bai Lang to select a site on the west side to construct defensive fortifications to prevent the enemy from breaking out from the west. As for the waterways, Li Yichao and Qi Xiaobao's four gunboats would suffice.

Around noon, after all preparations were complete, Yang Jiefang finally gave the order to attack. First, all four mountain guns opened fire simultaneously, shells flying over the wall and landing near the positions of the two mountain guns inside the stronghold. Yang Jiefang had a floor plan of the stronghold's interior, delivered by the infiltrators arranged by Chu Yi. Based on this plan, Yang Jiefang ordered Chen Shanpao to conduct targeted elimination. Rushan Stronghold initially returned fire a few times, but quickly fell silent. Shells were precious, and although Hei Xiazi possessed cannons, he rarely practiced with live ammunition. Just as Chen Shanpao had hoped, the gunners were a bunch of greenhorns.

The four field guns were also busy, bombarding the walls and fences of Rushan Village. The walls were quickly blasted down section by section, opening up passages for advance. Yang Jiefang did not rush to send the infantry to attack, but ordered the artillery battalion to continue firing. The artillery fire continued for more than half an hour, only stopping after a basic load of shells had been fired.

Next, the first and third battalions launched an attack from the left and right flanks respectively. The trenches had already been cleared by artillery fire, and the traps inside were either destroyed or covered with mud, rendering them useless. The two battalions quickly approached the walls. The mountain stronghold was already in ruins; the people inside scattered and fled when the shelling stopped, clearly lacking effective command. A small group managed to organize and attempt to hold off the enemy, but they were quickly routed. The two battalions swiftly stormed the stronghold. Yang Jiefang ordered the fourth and fifth battalions to follow quickly, leaving Yan Donglai's second battalion as a reserve.

After the four battalions entered, they quickly deployed and advanced in unison. Under the heavy firepower, Hei Xiazi's men couldn't hold out and soon split into two groups, fleeing in disarray. One group fled west from the mountain stronghold, while the other fled south towards the dock. In the southwest corner, gunfire continued to erupt, indicating a fierce exchange of fire. The four battalions immediately split into two groups: the first, fourth, and fifth battalions, led by Sun Zhiyong, attacked towards the dock. Lu Ziqi led the third battalion, rushing quickly southwest. As for those who fled west from the stronghold, they were ignored; Bai Lang was waiting for them outside.

Lu Ziqi encountered virtually no resistance along the way and easily reached the southwest corner. This was the mountain stronghold's supply warehouse. A group of people were attacking the warehouse, while another group inside was putting up a desperate resistance. They weren't uniformly dressed, mostly shirtless and wearing short jackets. The difference was that those inside all had red ribbons tied around their necks. Lu Ziqi shouted, "Remember, those with red ribbons around their necks are our own people! Fire!" The men immediately opened fire on the outside group. Mortars and grenade launchers were quickly set up, and after just one volley, the outside group was routed and fled. Those inside seized the opportunity to counterattack, led by Lin Baozi, the captain of the Qinglong Village Leopard Detachment.

Initially, Lin Baozi led his Leopard Detachment to operate between Muping and Wendeng counties. Yang Jiefang defeated the joint encirclement and suppression by the three counties, making Hei Xiazi feel threatened. He forcibly incorporated the bandit forces of Muping and Wendeng counties. Lin Baozi was also drawn into the operation. Yang Jiefang instructed him through Chu Yi to keep a low profile inside, not to act rashly, and to wait for an opportunity. Lin Baozi obeyed Yang Jiefang's orders and bided his time. Once Yang Jiefang had formulated an attack plan, he again instructed Chu Yi to seize the supply warehouse from within. To avoid friendly fire, each of them was to prepare a red cloth strip to tie around their necks after the battle began.

This supply warehouse was always guarded by Hei Xiazi's trusted men, who wouldn't allow newcomers to approach freely. After receiving his orders, Lin Baozi paid close attention and made thorough preparations. Ten minutes after Yang Jiefang's shelling, the mountain stronghold was unable to retaliate, and the entire area was in chaos. Hei Xiazi could only control his original men, losing control of the newly reorganized troops. Seeing the opportunity, Lin Baozi, under the pretext of collecting ammunition, led over a hundred brothers from Qinglong Village to the supply warehouse. Normally, they might not have succeeded, but at this crucial moment, when manpower was needed, the people inside were less wary and let them in. They launched a sudden attack, catching the people inside off guard and quickly taking control of the warehouse. This then attracted Hei Xiazi's siege. Their exchange of fire indirectly supported Yang Jiefang's attack. After meeting with Lin Baozi, Lu Ziqi relayed Yang Jiefang's orders, instructing Lin Baozi to guard the warehouse and await takeover. Then, he led the third brigade in pursuit of the routed bandits towards the dock.

The Rushan Village dock was already packed with people, all hoping to escape by boat. This is where favoritism became apparent. Hei Xiazi had his trusted men control the boats, forbidding anyone else from boarding, and a conflict quickly ensued. Just then, four cannon shots rang out, and four cannonballs landed near the dock. One of the cannonballs struck a wooden boat squarely, instantly shattering it into pieces. Only then did everyone notice that four ironclad warships had appeared on the distant sea, each much larger than the wooden sailboats on the dock.

The arriving vessels were naturally four gunboats led by Li Yichao and Qi Xiaobao. Previously disguised as armed merchant ships and flying the Japanese flag, they had now removed the Japanese flag and reverted to their original appearance. They did not launch a simultaneous attack with the troops on shore, lest Rushan Village realize they were in dire straits and fight back desperately. Only after the shore artillery ceased firing did they attack the dock from a distance.

Sun Zhiyong and his men quickly caught up and immediately set up mortars and grenade launchers to attack, with two Maxim heavy machine guns firing continuously. The people on the dock were already in chaos, so how could they possibly organize an effective resistance? Those who hadn't boarded the ship immediately scattered and ran away from the dock.

Hei Xiazi, with two or three hundred trusted men, had boarded the ship ahead of time. Disembarking was impossible now, so they hurriedly set sail to escape. Li Yichao and his men ignored the situation on shore and opened fire on the fleeing vessels. The ships of both sides were from completely different eras and were incomparable. Their only advantage was their numbers; they hoped to escape as many ships as possible. Li Yichao and his men immediately split up to intercept them. They bombarded distant ships with cannons and strafe them with heavy machine guns at close range. Ultimately, they sank all the ships. Some of the crew tried to surrender, but Li Yichao and his men ignored them. They had received orders from Yang Jiefang; sinking the ships and letting them perish at sea was their best fate.

Sun Zhiyong ignored the fleeing ships and ordered the people on shore to surrender. There were more than a thousand people in front of the dock, but lacking effective organization and the courage to resist, they quickly raised their hands in surrender. When the more than two hundred people being chased by Lu Ziqi arrived, they also joined the ranks of those surrendering.

On the other side, over a thousand bandits also fled Rushan Village from the west, rushing headlong into Bai Lang's trap like headless flies. A group of routed bandits, they had neither the courage nor the ability to fight back and quickly surrendered. After capturing these bandits, Bai Lang didn't rejoin Yang Jiefang, but led the security regiment to escort them directly back to Haiyang County. Many of the ordinary regiment members were completely bewildered, not understanding how the battle had been won. Later, when Yang Jiefang attributed the victory in the annihilation of Rushan Village to Shi Zhongcheng, these ordinary regiment members genuinely believed they were cooperating with the Donghai Garrison.

Sun Zhiyong ordered the prisoners to be kept under guard, and then led his team to clear out the stronghold again to ensure its basic safety before reporting the results to Yang Jiefang. Yang Jiefang first inquired about their own casualties. Sun Zhiyong replied, "The artillery did all the work in this battle. After we went in, all we had to do was clean up the battlefield. We encountered virtually no resistance. Only a few brothers suffered minor injuries, nothing serious. Lin Baozi's side, on the other hand, suffered considerable casualties. They lost about thirty brothers when they attacked the supply warehouse."

Gao Huilan, standing beside Yang Jiefang, immediately said, "Fatty, tell the sisters to come in with me. We'll go get the wounded brothers." Sun Zhiyong called out, "Wait a minute, Miss. I've already sent Lu Ziqi to relieve Lin Baozi in guarding the warehouse. Lin Baozi will be out with the wounded brothers soon. There's a place you need to take over, Miss." Gao Huilan asked curiously, "What place do you need me to take over?" Sun Zhiyong replied, "It's a brothel. There are over a hundred women inside, all of whom were kidnapped." Yang Jiefang already knew about this. Hei Xiazi had forcibly incorporated those bandits, and with two or three thousand men gathered together, if they weren't given some entertainment, trouble was bound to break out. So he had people use trickery, deception, and robbery to bring in over a hundred young women and open a brothel. When Hei Xiazi was defeated, he naturally couldn't care less about these women. The women were so frightened that they hid in their rooms, afraid to come out. Gao Huilan was furious upon hearing this and immediately led a women's special forces team to rescue the women.

Lin Baozi quickly led his men to carry their wounded and injured comrades out. A young boy, the carpenter, was with Lin Baozi. Lin Baozi went straight to Yang Jiefang and said, "Young Master, Carpenter Li is dead. He played a crucial role in helping us seize the supply warehouse from inside. Otherwise, we would have lost even more brothers."

Yang Jiefang nodded, looking at the young carpenter. The young carpenter said, "Young Master, my father didn't betray Qinglong Village. He only wanted a peaceful life after leaving Qinglong Village, and he was forced to join Rushan Village." At this point, whether Li the carpenter had betrayed Qinglong Village was irrelevant. Even if he had, his death had cleared his name.

Yang Jiefang replied, "I know. Are you still willing to follow me?" The carpenter replied, "I am willing. I've always wanted to follow Little Boss to conquer the world." Yang Jiefang said, "Then from now on, I'll acknowledge you as my brother. You don't have a proper name yet, do you? How about I give you one?" The carpenter nodded and said, "Okay!" Yang Jiefang said, "The reason we lead our brothers to conquer the world is not for my personal sake, but for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. From now on, you will be called Li Fuxing!"

Yang Jiefang had taken complete control of Rushan Village. He captured over 1,300 people, rescued more than 100 women in distress, and completely seized Hei Xiazi's supply depot. Inside were not only large quantities of grain, but also many imported industrial products; weapons and ammunition, as well as the gold and silver Hei Xiazi had accumulated over the years; and of course, a large quantity of opium, both finished and semi-finished. There were also more than a dozen ships that hadn't been able to leave in time. Other supplies could be kept, but the opium would certainly be destroyed. Yang Jiefang ordered the opium to be tied to stones, transported by boat to the sea, and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Yang Jiefang decided to stay there for a while. He quickly dispatched his cavalry to spread the news of the opium poppy eradication to the local residents. He told them that no one would buy opium anymore and that they should switch to growing grain. The poppy farmers were dumbfounded. It was already this season; how could they possibly plant grain? Actually, it wasn't entirely impossible to grow grain. Yang Jiefang had people tell them they could plant sweet potatoes, although the yield would be lower, at least they could still make a profit. After confirming the opium poppy eradication, the local farmers had no choice but to accept reality. They actively eradicated the poppies in their fields and raced against time to plant sweet potatoes. Some people, however, held onto a glimmer of hope, believing that opium was valuable and someone would eventually come to buy it. These people were destined to pay the price. Yang Jiefang temporarily placed these areas under the jurisdiction of the Haiyang County People's Government, allowing Wu Laokou to implement new policies there.