Newborn 1927

Yang Jiefang led his men forward, carefully observing the terrain and searching for suitable ambush locations. As they passed a mountain pass, Yang Jiefang suddenly ordered everyone to stop. They all stopped, panting heavily, and looked at Yang Jiefang with suspicion. Between breaths, Yang Jiefang shouted, "Brothers, this is a perfect ambush spot! Let's give them another shot! Chu Shiwu, Zhao Yuanbao, do you see that slope ahead? The one directly opposite the mountain pass. Go back and support Zhao Changming's team. Tell Zhao Changming that we'll counterattack from that slope, and don't run anymore." Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao agreed and turned back to find Zhao Changming and his men.

Yang Jiefang called several squad leaders over and said, "These two hills and the slope in front form an inverted triangle. We'll ambush them on the opposite slopes of these two hills, and with Zhao Changming blocking the way on the front slope, it'll be a classic inverted triangle ambush formation. The soldiers won't be able to spot us before they pass through this pass. But once they cross, they'll be attacked by our combined forces. No matter how many of them come, I guarantee they won't return." Everyone looked at Yang Jiefang's explanation carefully and saw that it made sense, so they all agreed. Yang Jiefang and Bai Lang each led two squads, ambushing them on the hillsides on either side. Yang Jiefang reiterated the discipline, and since everyone trusted his command, they all agreed.

Not long after the group finished their ambush, they heard sporadic gunfire approaching. Zhao Changming and his men, having received orders from Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao, immediately led thirty or forty soldiers over. These soldiers had long since separated from the main force and seemed determined to wipe out the dozen or so bandits. In their minds, how many bullets could bandits possibly have? They'd run and shoot, and once they ran out of bullets, where would they run to? It's no wonder they thought this way; if it weren't for Yang Jiefang's presence, even if the Qinglongzhai men went to rescue Yang'er Mountain, each of them would be lucky to have ten bullets. When Zhao Changming and his men reached the mountain pass, they suddenly sped up and ran forward. The pistol squad leader, who was leading the group, laughed and said, "I reckon they're out of bullets. Where do you think you'll run now? Speed ​​up and chase after them!" The soldiers used their last bit of strength and sped up to give chase. Zhao Changming led his men to the slope directly opposite the mountain pass. Looking back, he saw that the soldiers had already crossed the pass, so he told everyone to stop and split up into small groups to find suitable firing positions.

The soldiers had just crossed the mountain pass when they saw Zhao Changming and his men stop. Puzzled, they were immediately ordered to open fire by Yang Jiefang. Gunfire erupted from both sides, and several soldiers were hit instantly. The pistol captain realized they had been tricked and ambushed once again. The soldiers panicked and scrambled for cover. At this moment, Zhao Changming and his men also opened fire. Caught in a pincer movement, the soldiers had nowhere to hide and could only lie prone on the ground to avoid the bullets. Expecting them to launch a counterattack under such circumstances was wishful thinking. The squad leader immediately shouted, "Retreat! Run!" He himself led the way back. Yang Jiefang, noticing this, immediately ordered his squad to block the mountain pass. Bai Lang, having also discovered the soldiers fleeing, also dispatched a squad to block the pass. Several fleeing soldiers were shot down; some, too frightened to continue, hurriedly covered their heads and lay prone in the grass. Others desperately ran out, breaking through the blockade and escaping. Yang Jiefang sighed inwardly, thinking that the firepower was still insufficient and that it would be great to have a machine gun.

The pistol squad leader fled the mountain pass without looking back. The soldiers remaining in the encirclement, having lost their leader, had no will to fight. Soon, some threw down their guns, shouting, "Good sir, stop firing! We surrender! We surrender!" Many others joined in the shouting. Hearing the cries, Yang Jiefang and his men ceased firing. Yang Jiefang sent Yan Donglai down with a team, while he and his men stood guard above. Bai Lang also sent Liu Heizi down with a team to accept the surrender.

Soon, the officers and soldiers were disarmed and taken into custody. Yang Jiefang ordered Sun Zhiyong to take two groups to guard the mountain pass, while he led the rest down to investigate. Meanwhile, Liu Heizi was searching each soldier, taking all their weapons, ammunition, and valuables. Anyone who resisted or tried to hide money was kicked to the ground. He laid out the loot to one side, waiting for Yang Jiefang and Bai Lang to inspect it. Yang Jiefang counted them quickly; a total of twenty-six men, including the wounded, had been captured, along with twenty-eight firearms, all Mauser pistols. There were also fifty-two wooden-handled grenades and a considerable amount of ammunition. Since they were there to fight, they hadn't fired many shots before being captured, all of which benefited Yang Jiefang and his men. There wasn't much money; these men ate wherever they went and generally didn't spend much.

Bai Lang stared at the group of soldiers. Although they had surrendered their weapons, their faces showed little fear, but rather resentment. Bai Lang sneered and asked, "Brother Yang, what do you think we should do with these bastards?" Yang Jiefang frowned. From Bai Lang's tone, he could tell that he didn't seem to intend to let them go, but Yang Jiefang wasn't one to kill easily. He replied, "Taking them along is a burden. My idea is to let them go. What do you think?" Bai Lang turned to look at Yang Jiefang and said, "Letting them go isn't impossible, but we can't let them get away with it too easily. Hei Zi—put a hole in my right palm!"

Liu Heizi agreed, pulled out his pistol, and said, "Listen up, all of you, stick out your right hands. A hole in your palm will save your lives. Anyone who doesn't cooperate, I'll pierce their head." He walked up to a soldier, pressed the gun against the man's head, and the man, terrified, immediately extended his right hand. Liu Heizi fired a shot into the palm, and the man screamed in agony. Liu Heizi said, "Stop howling! Taking this shot will save your life and take you home. You won't lose out. Everyone else saw this, stick out your right hands!" The soldiers were terrified, knowing they had encountered a ruthless man, and tremblingly extended their hands, palms open. Liu Heizi and several of his men fired one by one. Those who were already wounded were spared this shot. It wasn't that Liu Heizi was soft-hearted, but rather that he wanted to save a bullet.

Yang Jiefang observed coldly, offering no intervention. His announced rules didn't include any provision for treating prisoners of war well. Besides, he couldn't understand why prisoners should be treated well. If prisoners were to be treated well, how would they treat their own brothers? As the saying goes: "If you repay evil with kindness, how will you repay kindness?"

After Liu Heizi finished dealing with the situation, he drove the men out of the mountain pass. Some of them had been shot in the leg and were helped away. Yang Jiefang distributed all the guns, giving almost everyone a pistol. Then, he led his men to quickly leave the scene. Shortly after they left, a large number of soldiers arrived. Although the squad leader had escaped, more than twenty people were still trapped in the ambush and had to be rescued by a large force. However, by the time the main force assembled and arrived, the job had already been done.

After Yang Jiefang led his men away, he instructed Tian Dan to find a secluded, sheltered spot to hide. Tian Dan was very familiar with the terrain and quickly led everyone to a sunny, sheltered valley. After arranging the guards, Yang Jiefang told everyone to rest and then ordered Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao to take a detour back to continue monitoring the movements of the government troops.

The group sat or lay down in small groups, drinking water, eating dry rations, chatting and laughing, exclaiming how exciting the fight had been. Tian Dan and Zheng Sandao sat down next to Yang Jiefang, patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Brother Yang, you're really something! You took down thirty or forty soldiers and didn't even get a scratch. Anyone else couldn't have done that." Zheng Sandao added, "Yeah, you said you'd fight if you could win, and run if you couldn't. I thought you really meant to run without firing a single shot." Yang Jiefang laughed, "Weren't we the ones running the whole time? There were so many soldiers, we really couldn't win!" Tian Dan and Zheng Sandao exchanged a smile and shook their heads.

Bai Lang led Liu Heizi over and sat down in front of Yang Jiefang, saying, "Brother Yang, we'll listen to you on how to fight next." The unspoken message was, "I won't take over your command; you continue to lead." Yang Jiefang understood and laughed, "Don't rush. How we fight next depends on the officers and soldiers' movements. Just wait! Let the brothers get some rest. I reckon we'll all have to work the night shift tonight." At this time, the sun was already setting; it was winter, and the days were short.

As the sun set, Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao returned. Bai Lang and the others knew he must have brought news of the government troops, so they all gathered around. Chu Shiwu didn't waste any words and said directly, "Those government troops found a village nearby and settled down. The village only has about twenty households and a little over a hundred people. These government troops are truly despicable. When they entered the village, they shot down all the barking dogs, occupied most of the houses, and drove out the original owners. Then, they caught chickens in the yards, slaughtered pigs in the pigsties, and butchered sheep in the sheepfolds. If the villagers complained even slightly, they would beat and kick them, and even threaten them with guns. Now, they're cooking meat and eating it in the village. Baozi and Mantou are there watching." Everyone was filled with righteous indignation and cursed the government troops as despicable. Yang Jiefang suddenly felt that Bai Lang's actions that afternoon were not excessive at all, and sneered, "Let's consider this their last meal. Tonight, we'll deal with them one by one." Everyone agreed. They then had Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao lead the way, and before it got dark, they headed towards the small mountain village.

Led by Chu Shiwu, the group quickly arrived near the small mountain village. Yang Jiefang first settled everyone in and set up sentry posts, then led several squad leaders to scout the terrain with Chu Shiwu. They met up with Bao Ziqiang in a small grove of trees in front of the village. Bao Ziqiang immediately explained the situation they had gathered. The small mountain village was built against the mountainside, facing south, long from east to west and narrow from north to south. Soldiers had set up sentry posts in the east, west, and south directions, all with double posts. Bao Ziqiang pointed out the houses where the soldiers were staying. These houses, mostly with courtyards, were spaced far apart. Yang Jiefang led the group on a large walk around the village to familiarize themselves with the routes in and out, then returned to their temporary encampment.

It was now completely dark, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky. Yang Jiefang gathered the squad leaders and said, "Everyone has seen the situation. Although we killed and wounded thirty or forty soldiers during the day, they still outnumber us. It's impossible to wipe them out in one fell swoop, and we can't do that. My idea is to harass them continuously tonight, making sure they can't sleep. Do you have any objections?" Bai Lang asked, "How do you plan to harass them?" Yang Jiefang replied, "We'll attack in squads, one squad at a time, each squad harassing for one or two hours. It doesn't matter how many soldiers we kill or wound; the key is to keep them awake and afraid to sleep." Bai Lang asked doubtfully, "Isn't that just..." "One night without sleep? What's the point? If it were me, I could go three days and three nights without sleep and be fine." Yang Jiefang laughed, "You're healthy, of course you'll be fine, but these officials aren't as healthy as you. They might be able to handle one night without sleep, but they also have to bear the risk of being killed at any moment. Spending a night in immense fear, do you think they'll have the energy to fight tomorrow?" Bai Lang thought for a moment and said, "Alright, I'll lead the charge." Yang Jiefang agreed and said, "You leading the first attack is no problem, but remember, you can only attack their sentries from a distance, never enter the village. As long as you keep their sentries from showing their faces, our subsequent actions will be easier."

Bai Lang agreed and immediately set off with a small team. They first arrived at the east end of the village, and having scouted beforehand, quickly located the two sentries. Bai Lang assigned two combat teams to stay there, instructing each team to aim at one sentry and fire simultaneously when the sentry fired, ensuring both sentries were eliminated. He led the two teams around to the south side of the village, using the cover of darkness to get within a hundred meters.

Just then, two more soldiers emerged from the village, saying as they walked, "Alright, it's your turn to eat. Don't worry! We've saved some meat for you." They were there to relieve the guard. As the four men huddled together, Bai Lang shouted, "Fire—!" Almost simultaneously, all six pulled their triggers, a volley of bullets falling instantly, taking down two men. Immediately afterward, gunfire erupted from the east end of the village. Bai Lang didn't immediately retreat; instead, he cocked his rifle and fired again. The other two soldiers, unhit, realized they were under attack and hurriedly took their rifles from their backs, reloading, but their speed was considerably slower. Bai Lang and his men fired again; at a distance of less than 100 meters, their accuracy was still quite high. Six guns, six bullets, and another man fell. The last soldier, too frightened to linger or retaliate, immediately turned and ran back. Bai Lang and his men reloaded and chased after him. That soldier ultimately couldn't dodge; he hadn't run more than a few steps before being hit in the back and collapsing to the ground. Only then did Bai Lang signal the others to retreat. As soon as they left, a squad of soldiers rushed out of the village. Unable to find their attackers, they fired wildly into the dark open space. Similar chaotic gunfire also rang out from the east end of the village.