Newborn 1927

Before dinner, Yang Jiefang entrusted the book to Chu Gu to deliver to Jiang Xiaojun. Then, he found Tian Dan and Zheng Sandao and invited them to dinner. The government was paying for extra meals for those going to war the next day, and at Yang Jiefang's request, four dishes and a soup were prepared, all of them meat. The staple food was white flour steamed buns and noodles, but alcohol was prohibited. Everyone ate heartily and went to bed early that night.

The next day, before dawn, Yang Jiefang and Bai Lang gathered everyone together to go to the Black Widow's yard to collect weapons. Each person received a rifle, and there were over twenty pistols in total. Those who didn't receive a pistol carried a large knife, and each person had a dagger. With ammunition, rations, and other supplies, the load wasn't heavy. Gao Huilan, along with Chu Gu and Pang Ya, were also present. Before parting, Gao Huilan whispered, "You're going to provide a rescue. Just make sure things look good on the surface, don't overdo it!" Yang Jiefang, however, boldly replied loudly, "Don't worry, I'll fight if I can win, and I'll run if I can't!" Gao Huilan stomped her foot in anger. She should have kept those words to herself, but why did he have to say them out loud? All the participants were initially heavy-hearted, after all, they were going to war, to fight real soldiers, and their lives were uncertain; but hearing Yang Jiefang's shout, they immediately came to their senses and felt much lighter. Tian Dan and Zheng Sandao looked at each other, at a loss for what to do. At this point, something was better than nothing!

The group moved quickly, arriving at Longwangzhuang before noon. Longwangzhuang was located downstream of the Qinglong River, on its south bank. Yang Jiefang didn't let everyone enter Longwangzhuang, but instead chose to rest by the river. Everyone sat on the ground and began eating their dry rations. Yang Jiefang didn't sit down, but stood among the crowd and said loudly, "Everyone, sit closer. Let's use this rest time to discuss our next course of action." Everyone moved closer, but Tian Dan asked, "Since we've come to rescue Yang'ershan, shouldn't we head there to meet up with Chief Tian and Chief Xu?" Yang Jiefang countered, "And after we meet up?" "Well…" Tian Dan hesitated, saying, "Let's discuss with Chief Tian and Chief Xu whether we continue to hold Yang'ershan or join forces to drive away the government troops from Da Kuangji?" Yang Jiefang smiled. "Didn't you say the government troops also went to ask for reinforcements? If the government troops' reinforcements also arrive at Da Kuangji, tell me, can we drive them away?" Tian Dan said with a bitter face, "I'm afraid not." Yang Jiefang asked again, "Since we can't drive the government troops away, can we hold Yang'er Mountain with the combined strength of the three of us?" Tian Dan hesitated and said, "It's hard to say." Yang Jiefang countered, "Since we can't change the outcome, why are we even going to Yang'er Mountain?" Tian Dan's heart skipped a beat, and he said anxiously, "You're not thinking of running away now, are you? We haven't even seen the government troops yet, and the fighting hasn't even started."

Seeing everyone looking at him with puzzled expressions, Yang Jiefang didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "The current situation is that Commander Tian is stationed at Yang'er Mountain, while the government troops are stationed at Da Kuangji. A stalemate has formed, and neither side can gain the upper hand. That's why we need reinforcements; whoever has reinforcements will have the upper hand. If both sides have reinforcements, it will ultimately remain a stalemate, with neither side gaining an advantage." Everyone naturally agreed with this statement. Tian Dan interjected, "A stalemate is not bad. Our food supplies at Yang'er Mountain are quite sufficient and can last for a long time. If the government troops see no hope of victory, they might withdraw back to the city!" This was their plan, not what Yang Jiefang wanted. He countered, "What if the government troops besiege us for a long time and refuse to withdraw? Or what if the government troops continue to reinforce? Can you find more reinforcements?" Tian Dan was speechless and said, "Probably not?" His confidence was clearly lacking.

Yang Jiefang knew it was time to share his thoughts, so he said, "My idea is that since the key to the problem lies with the reinforcements, we don't need to go to Yang'er Mountain. We can just drive back the government troops' reinforcements." Everyone was shocked, their mouths agape as they stared at Yang Jiefang. "Are you kidding me? With just a few dozen of us, you dare say you can drive back the government troops' reinforcements? Do you even know how many reinforcements the government troops have?" "Hmm, no matter how many come, they'll definitely outnumber us." Everyone muttered under their breath, "How can we possibly win?" Hou Fei suddenly laughed, "If we can't win, we'll just run!" Everyone exclaimed "Oh!" and instantly understood: they could run now, but once they reached Yang'er Mountain, escape might be impossible. Tian Dan, thinking he understood, whispered to Zheng Sandao, "Those who aren't our own people are ultimately unreliable."

Seeing that everyone had misunderstood, Yang Jiefang didn't explain. Instead, he asked, "Do you all think we should stay here and fight off the government troops' reinforcements, or go to Yang'er Mountain and wait for the government troops to come and fight?" Everyone shouted, "Fight off the reinforcements!" Yang Jiefang immediately said, "Alright! Since everyone thinks so, then we won't go to Yang'er Mountain. We'll fight off the reinforcements here." Tian Dan and Zheng Sandao asked, "Brother Yang, if you want to fight off the government troops' reinforcements, we have nothing to say. But what's the point of telling everyone to stay here and not move?" Yang Jiefang countered, "Where are the government troops' reinforcements?" Tian Dan shook his head and said, "I don't know." Yang Jiefang pointed ahead and asked, "What's that?" "A bridge," Tian Dan replied, still confused.

Seeing that he still didn't understand, Yang Jiefang didn't explain further, but said loudly, "To facilitate the upcoming operation, we need to temporarily reorganize our teams. We'll form combat squads of three, and elect a squad leader to command them. For example, in battle, the squad leader will select the target, and the three will fire at it together on command. One person might miss, but I don't believe all three will miss." Everyone agreed that this made sense; after all, everyone knew their own marksmanship. The first shot fired was basically just a bang.

Yang Jiefang continued, “Every four groups will form a squad, and each squad will elect a squad leader to command. The squad leader can also be a group leader. With our current numbers, we can form five squads. When we assign combat tasks later, we will use the squad as the combat unit. Does everyone understand?” Some understood, and some didn't. Yang Jiefang explained carefully until everyone understood before letting everyone form groups. Bai Lang's wolf team was formed into two squads. Bai Lang himself became the squad leader, and the other squad leader was his capable henchman Liu Heizi, known as Black Wolf, a dark-skinned, muscular man. Yang Jiefang formed three squads, with himself, Yan Donglai, and Zhao Changming as the captains respectively. At the same time, Yang Jiefang assigned Sun Zhiyong and Hou Fei to his own group. This was mainly to facilitate commanding Sun Zhiyong to kill valuable targets, as Sun Zhiyong, a hunter by trade, had the best marksmanship among these men.

After the groups were formed, Yang Jiefang first assigned Zhao Changgui to lead a small group to keep watch outside, and then asked everyone to rest separately in small teams. He then called each group leader to his side, picked up a small stick, and started drawing on the ground, saying as he drew: “Look, everyone, this is Laiyang County, this is Yang'er Mountain, this is the Qinglong River, which flows into the Wulong River. To get from Laiyang County to Yang'er Mountain, you have to cross the river, either the Qinglong River or the Wulong River downstream. As far as I know, the bridge in front of us is one of the few wooden bridges on the Qinglong River. Further downstream, the river widens, and there are no more bridges. There are a few ferry crossings, with one or two small boats at each crossing. I want to ask you, if you were soldiers leading troops to support Da Kuangji, would you choose to cross the bridge here and head south, or take a boat downstream, or wade across the river directly?”

Everyone quickly understood. Hou Fei, who was in the same group as Yang Jiefang and had been following them, couldn't help but interject, "In this freezing winter, who dares to go into the water? Of course, walking on the bridge is better than taking a boat." Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "That's what I thought too, which is why we arrived here early to set up an ambush. When the soldiers cross the bridge, we'll take them down first. What do you guys think?" Tian Dan's eyes lit up, and he said, "This is called attacking halfway across the river, a great idea!" Yang Jiefang glanced at him but didn't expose his little scheme. The others also thought it was feasible, so they decided on it.

Yang Jiefang continued, "Brother Bai, to make things easier, I'll be in command this time. If I don't do a good job, you can take over next time. What do you think?" Bai Lang replied, "Okay, no problem." Yang Jiefang clapped his hands and said, "Alright, now I'll announce a few rules, and I hope everyone will abide by them. First, obey all orders. That is, do exactly what I say. You can raise any objections, but you can't disobey orders. I'll order you to fire before you start; I'll order you to retreat before you run; I'll order you to stop before you stop. Can you do that?" Yan Donglai and Zhao Changming naturally agreed, both having high hopes for Bai Lang. Bai Lang thought for a moment and said, "No problem. If I were in command, you would still have to do the same."

Yang Jiefang laughed and said, "Of course, no matter who's in command, the discipline remains the same. The second rule is that all spoils must be handed over; concealment is strictly prohibited." This was no problem. Yang Jiefang continued, "We're out here to fight the government troops rescuing Yang'er Mountain, so the third rule is: only fight government troops, no looting of civilians. That's all for now. Can everyone abide by these three rules?" The first rule was the most important; everyone had no objections, so the latter two were also agreed upon. Next, Yang Jiefang instructed the squad leaders to disseminate these three rules to each squad, and then ordered everyone to remain in place.

Not long after, Zhao Changgui arrived with Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao. Yang Jiefang jumped up and asked, "What's going on?" Chu Shiwu replied, "The government troops have arrived." Chu Shiwu's words drew everyone's attention. Yang Jiefang said, "We've been waiting for ages, how come they're only just arriving? How many are there?" Chu Shiwu replied, "They haven't arrived yet. They're government officials, they need to make a show of themselves when they leave the city, they need to put on a show on the road. You'll understand when you see their ranks. They're all from the Laiyang County garrison, no regular troops. The Laiyang County garrison has three detachments, each with four squads, each squad with three platoons, each platoon with ten men. There's also a pistol squad with four platoons, all armed with ten-shot Mauser pistols. The detachment that attacked Yang'er Mountain was one of them, and another detachment is stationed in the city. The reinforcements are a detachment plus a pistol squad." Everyone counted, and wow, there were at least 160 or 170 government troops coming to help. Looking at their own side, they only had a little over 60 men, just a fraction of the enemy's numbers. Everyone stared at Yang Jiefang, waiting for him to order a retreat. Some even whispered, "We can't win, let's run!"

Yang Jiefang observed everyone's expressions and said loudly, "Everyone, tell me, if I wanted to eat a sheep, how would I do it? Could I swallow it whole?" Everyone laughed and said, "Of course not! We'd have to cut it into small pieces and cook it." Yang Jiefang agreed, "That's right. The soldiers right now are like a sheep, very fat, just waiting for us to cut them up and cook them. Everyone sees that bridge in the distance, right? The soldiers can't all cross at once, can they? There has to be a sequence, right? We'll ambush them by the bridge and shoot at the small group in front of them. We have over sixty men; taking down thirty or forty shouldn't be a problem, right? We won't linger; each of us will only fire three shots, then we'll run. By the time the main force crosses the bridge, we'll be long gone. What do you all think?" Everyone thought it was a good idea. They couldn't just run away before the fighting even started, could they? That would be too embarrassing!

So, Yang Jiefang led everyone to the bridge. The terrain there was flat, not really suitable for an ambush. The vegetation along the river was lush, making it difficult to spot people hiding there. After carefully observing the area, Yang Jiefang assigned each squad to suitable ambush positions. Chu Shiwu, Zhao Yuanbao, Tian Dan, and Zheng Sandao all stayed with Yang Jiefang, nervously watching the opposite bank. Yang Jiefang knew what kind of people he had led, but he didn't know the fighting strength of the approaching government troops, and he was also very nervous. He feigned composure and asked in a low voice, "Where are the steamed buns and mantou? Did the government troops eat them?" Chu Shiwu chuckled and said, "How could they? They're following behind the government troops. If the government troops change their route, the two of them will come and inform us."

Yang Jiefang turned to Tian Dan beside him and asked again, "Brother Tian, ​​do you think that if these government troops join forces with the troops from Da Kuang Ji, with the current forces at Yang'er Mountain plus us, we can hold off the government troops' attack?" Tian Dan wanted to say yes, but shook his head and said, "Definitely not." Yang Jiefang said, "If we can repel these government troops' reinforcements, Yang'er Mountain will be saved. If we can't, then you should go back and tell Tian Dangjia and the others to escape for their lives! We won't need to go to Yang'er Mountain then; it'll be pointless anyway. We might as well go home and find our own mothers." Tian Dan's face darkened, but he knew Yang Jiefang was telling the truth and didn't press the issue.