Newborn 1927

After waiting for a while, soldiers finally appeared on the bridge, dressed in khaki uniforms and wearing peaked caps with five-colored insignia. Yang Jiefang was utterly astonished by their marching appearance. These men were gathered in small groups, some in front, some behind, slowly chatting and laughing, even chasing and playing around. This wasn't a march; it was clearly a picnic! He couldn't help but complain, "I've been worried for so long, and this is what you show me? Now I'm confident I can beat you."

The small group of soldiers at the front finally crossed the bridge. They walked on their own, completely unaware of the ambush beside the bridge, and didn't even bother to look around. Yang Jiefang carefully calculated how many men to send across and when to fire. Suddenly, "Bang!" A gunshot rang out. Yang Jiefang was completely bewildered. How could a gunshot have rang out? The soldiers were also startled, their faces full of confusion. What was the gunshot? Then, "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"—gunshots rang out one after another. The soldiers realized they had been ambushed. Yang Jiefang quickly realized that someone must have fired without authorization, triggering a chain reaction. He immediately said, "Aim at the middle one and fire." Sun Zhiyong and Hou Fei agreed and aimed their guns. In reality, the soldiers in front weren't even within their effective firing range; firing now would most likely miss. Yang Jiefang had no other choice but to try anything. With Yang Jiefang's order to fire, gunfire erupted. The soldier surrounded was shot in the chest, blood splattering everywhere, and it was unclear who had hit him. The other soldiers were terrified and panicked, quickly seeking cover or lying down on the spot.

Yang Jiefang ejected the spent cartridge, pulled the bolt, and chambered a new round. Before he could fire the second shot, someone shouted, "Run!" Then, one person led two, then two led four, and a group of people rushed out of the bushes. Of course, they weren't rushing forward, but running back. Yang Jiefang looked incredulous, couldn't help but swear, and then joined the run. They ran two or three kilometers in one go, out of sight of the bridge, and when they looked back, the soldiers weren't pursuing them at all. Yang Jiefang shouted, "Stop! Stop!" The group stopped, looking at each other, many completely bewildered.

Suddenly, Liu Heizi, nicknamed "Black Wolf," shouted, "Zhang Heizi—" and kicked a dark-faced man to the ground, cursing, "Who told you to fire first?" Zhang Heizi stammered, "I didn't mean to. I got nervous, my hand trembled, and I pulled the trigger. Who knew they'd fire back?" Liu Heizi was furious and yelled, "You spineless coward! You were nervous? You always act so high and mighty, but you're a hindrance at crucial moments. What a great opportunity! You ruined it all. A coward like you doesn't even deserve to be called Heizi! You're as black as me!" "What? And you, Hong Shunzi, who told you to run away? Commander Yang hadn't even given the order yet, and you dared to run? You're a coward!" Hong Shunzi stammered, "Didn't you say we'd run after firing three shots? I've already fired them all..." Liu Heizi was so angry he lost his temper, cursing, "You son of a bitch, you closed your eyes and fired three shots into the air, and that's it? What has God done to you? Fired shots into the air. I only fired one shot, even if I missed, it was still aimed at the soldiers." The angrier he got, the more he couldn't help but kick Hong Shunzi to the ground again.

Yang Jiefang finally understood; it turned out that Liu Heizi's men were in trouble. While the Laiyang County garrison was indeed incompetent, his own men weren't much better. Bai Lang moved closer to Yang Jiefang and asked, "Brother Yang, what do you think we should do?" Yang Jiefang sighed. He hadn't had high hopes to begin with, so he wasn't particularly disappointed. If they were truly a group of elite soldiers, why would they be stuck in Qinglong Village enduring hardship?

Yang Jiefang first instructed Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao to go back and monitor the soldiers. Then, he slowly walked to the middle of the crowd and said loudly, "Brothers, how did the ambush go? I believe you all saw it. The situation that arose was mainly due to unclear orders. I will now repeat the three rules I just announced by the river: First, obey all orders. This time we'll let it go, but if anyone disobeys orders and fires, or runs away before orders are given, they will be dealt with seriously according to the mountain rules. Second, all spoils must be handed over; hiding them is strictly prohibited. Third, we only attack soldiers, not civilians. Is there anything you don't understand? If you have any questions, ask them. If not, from this moment on, these three rules must be strictly enforced." He had made it very clear, and everyone understood. Liu Heizi said, "You two cowards, why don't you thank Brother Yang for his magnanimity!" Although he had hit and scolded the two, he was actually protecting them. Zhang Heizi and Hong Shunzi quickly got up from the ground and thanked Yang Jiefang. Yang Jiefang comforted him, saying, "It's inevitable to be nervous when you're fighting soldiers with real weapons for the first time. You'll get used to it. Now you've all fought against soldiers." Liu Heizi shouted, "Listen up, you two! You better perform well from now on. If you don't, even if Brother Yang doesn't punish you, I'll deal with you when we get back."

Yang Jiefang turned to Bai Lang and said, "Brother Bai, I didn't command well, so you should take over!" Bai Lang immediately replied, "Aren't you slapping me in the face? It was my men who messed things up, how can you blame them? You should take command! Don't worry, if this happens again, I'll kill him without you even having to say a word." When he said "kill," he really meant it, and his men fell silent in fear.

Since Bai Lang allowed Yang Jiefang to continue commanding, Yang Jiefang didn't stand on ceremony. He carefully observed the surroundings; both sides of the road were filled with wheat fields, offering no cover. Not far away, there was a high, raised ridge overgrown with weeds. He told Hou Fei to go and inspect it. Hou Fei ran over, looked around, and said, "This is an irrigation ditch, and it's dried up." Yang Jiefang told Hou Fei to go down into the ditch to take a look. Hou Fei went down and crouched down; there was no one in sight. Yang Jiefang immediately shouted, "Everyone, come over here! Be careful! Walk along the ridge, don't trample the crops." He led everyone to the ditch. Looking back, he said, "Brothers, the ambush just now wasn't good. Let's try again here. This time, we must fight well! If we can win, we'll go down; if we can't, we can run away." At this point, everyone naturally didn't object and jumped into the dried-up ditch as instructed.

Sure enough, it was only two or three hundred meters from the main road, a ready-made trench. Yang Jiefang divided everyone into small teams and reiterated the tactics and discipline. He led his team to stay behind; the ditch was narrow, and if he didn't run, no one else could get across.

Not long after, Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao ran back and reported, "The soldiers stopped by the bridge for a while and are now coming this way." Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Don't join the battle. Walk along the ditch and wait for us ahead." Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao agreed and walked along the ditch.

Soon, the soldiers reappeared in sight. This time, they appeared to be marching, forming two columns, spaced apart, the column of over 160 men stretching over 100 meters. However, they remained complacent, failing to send anyone to scout the roadside and completely unaware of the ambush. The Qinglong Village side also performed well this time; everyone lay prone along the ditch, protruding their gun barrels from the weeds, eyes fixed ahead, focused and waiting for the order to fire.

Yang Jiefang continued his principle of firing at the front, not the rear. When the vanguard of the soldiers reached his position, he shouted, "Fire!" and pulled the trigger. A burst of gunfire erupted, and a single volley felled five or six soldiers. The ranks quickly fell into disarray. The soldiers reacted differently: some looked around anxiously, some scattered in all directions, and some crouched or lay prone. Yang Jiefang and his men remained calm, searching for targets and firing under the command of their respective squad leaders. After three volleys, not a single soldier was still standing; they had all been either shot down or lay prone, then returned fire. Yang Jiefang shouted, "Pass the word! Retreat in squads, in order!" He then led his squad to retreat first. Tian Dan and Zheng Sandao, who had been following him closely, also bent over as they retreated.

Hearing the sounds of retreat, those behind immediately lowered their guns and followed. At first, they ran with their backs bent, but then, feeling it unnecessary or their posture was awkward, they straightened up. Then, realizing the pace of those ahead was too slow, they climbed onto the embankment of the ditch and began to run. The soldiers immediately spotted them and ordered a pursuit. Judging from the gunfire, they determined that Yang Jiefang's men were few in number, yet they dared to ambush them twice; they couldn't let them escape so easily. They had to give chase.

Hearing the gunfire behind them stop, Yang Jiefang glanced back and saw the government troops catching up. He said, "Brother Tian, ​​you know this place better than we do. You lead the way, and we'll run into the mountains." It was standard practice for bandits to run into the mountains when government troops were chasing them. Tian Dan agreed, saying, "Just follow me. Once we're in the mountains, I guarantee we'll shake off the government troops." Yang Jiefang cautioned, "We'll only be around here. Don't lead them to Yang'er Mountain!" Tian Dan replied, "I'm not that stupid. But what if we shake off the government troops? They'll still go to Yang'er Mountain." Yang Jiefang laughed, "With me here, they won't be able to go to Yang'er Mountain."

The soldiers ran with all their might, gradually closing the distance between them. The bandits glanced back and cursed under their breath, "Fools!" They had been running long distances every morning for some time now and were quite experienced; they knew these soldiers wouldn't last long. Sure enough, after running seven or eight li (about 3.5-4 kilometers), they were about to enter the mountains. The soldiers had already spread out, and those in front were three or four hundred meters away, wanting to catch Yang Jiefang and his men but unable to reach them; wanting to fire but unable to aim; they had no choice but to continue the relentless pursuit.

Yang Jiefang looked back and saw that the soldiers chasing ahead were mostly armed with pistols, presumably their pistol squad, the elite of the garrison. An idea struck him. He slowed his pace and approached Zhao Changming and Zhao Changgui, saying, "Brother Changming, did you herd cattle when you were a kid?" Zhao Changming replied as he ran, "Yes." Yang Jiefang said, "See those soldiers behind us? That's a cow. I'm ordering your squad to stay behind and lead it. Remember, make sure they keep up, don't lose them; and maintain a safe distance so they don't catch up. If they stop, turn around and fire a couple of shots—not necessarily hitting them, just to provoke them to chase." Zhao Changming understood and said, "Like leading a cow, leading them along our chosen route, and then taking them down, right?" Yang Jiefang laughed, "Talking to smart people is easy. I'll leave it to you." Zhao Changming immediately gathered his men and slowed down, falling to the back of the pack.

Yang Jiefang shouted, "Brothers, speed up! We're heading into the mountains, let's shake off these soldiers!" Everyone was more than happy to oblige and quickened their pace. Those morning runs they'd been doing hadn't been for nothing; the wheat flour, mutton, and pork they'd been eating hadn't been for nothing either. Once they got going, they quickly left the soldiers behind.

Seeing Yang Jiefang and his men enter the mountains, the soldiers behind stopped, deciding not to pursue them any further. But at that moment, Zhao Changming and his men opened fire. The distance between them was three or four hundred meters; their marksmanship was practically useless, they could only hear the bangs. The soldiers were enraged. They were about to let them go, and now they were being attacked again? So they raised their guns and returned fire. Their pistols had insufficient range and couldn't hit them at all. So the captain, in a fit of anger, ordered the pursuit to continue. This pursuit only fueled their frustration. The original three or four hundred meters had been reduced to just over two hundred meters by Zhao Changming. It seemed so close, yet they couldn't quite catch him—how could they not be frustrated? Zhao Changming and his men would occasionally turn back and fire a couple of shots, and once, they even got lucky and hit one of their men. The officers and soldiers were furious. The captain shouted, "These are their rearguard, left behind to die. There are only about ten of them. Go after them and wipe them out. There will be a big reward when we get back!" There were thirty or forty of them. Even if the officers and soldiers behind them didn't catch up, they would be enough to wipe out the enemy's rearguard.

By this time, the road ahead had disappeared, overgrown with weeds. Yang Jiefang and his men had left footprints in their wake. Zhao Changming and his men followed these footprints, leading the soldiers by the nose. The pistol squad, the elite of the garrison, stayed close behind Zhao Changming's team. Many of the soldiers behind were too exhausted to run anymore and didn't want to chase, but the detachment commander wouldn't allow it. Two ambushes had resulted in over ten casualties, and they hadn't even caught a single enemy. How could they explain this back home? He urged each squad to speed up and catch up with the pistol squad ahead. Urged on by their squad leaders, the soldiers had no choice but to keep up, complaining as they ran, which significantly reduced their speed. They ran slower and slower, gradually falling further and further behind the pistol squad.