Newborn 1927

After Yan Dong came across the river, Tian Dan approached Yang Jiefang and praised, "Brother Yang, you are truly a genius! I sincerely admire your fighting skills!" Yang Jiefang laughed and said, "I've flattered you. Get to the point!" Tian Dan smiled awkwardly and said, "As the saying goes, 'If you're going to help someone, help them to the end.' We've driven away this group of reinforcements, but there's another group of over a hundred soldiers at Da Kuang Ji. I'd appreciate it if you could lend a hand and deal with them too!" Yang Jiefang said, "Don't you have nearly two hundred men? You think you can take those hundred-plus soldiers seriously?" Tian Dan smiled wryly and said, "Brother Yang, don't flatter me. If we could really handle those soldiers, we would have driven them away long ago. Why would we need to ask Qinglong Village for reinforcements? Brother Yang, let's not talk about anything else. Do you remember what you said at Longwang Village? I can't make decisions about Yang'er Mountain, but I will try my best to persuade my uncle to cooperate with your Qinglong Village on a big project."

Yang Jiefang remained unmoved and said, "Let's talk about cooperation later! I came to rescue Yang'er Mountain this time out of a sense of duty as fellow believers, and also because you were implicated by me. But now that I've helped you, we're even." Tian Dan said, "Brother Yang, what are you saying? No matter the reason, Yang'er Mountain owes you a favor this time."

Yang Jiefang then said, "Now that I've gotten involved, I can't just give up halfway. I can help the soldiers in Da Kuangji. Brother Tian, ​​could you please take Baozi and Mantou and go there to scout ahead? I'll bring the rest of the men and follow them. Once we've figured out the enemy situation, we'll make our next move." Tian Dan was overjoyed and said, "That's easy. I know the area well; I can guide the two brothers." Yang Jiefang immediately called over Bao Ziqiang and Mantou, gave them careful instructions, and told them to follow Tian Dan to Da Kuangji to scout the enemy situation.

Yang Jiefang approached the prisoners, pointed to Tian Dan's retreating figure, and said, "See that? That's Brother Tian Dan, the fiercest warrior of Yang'er Mountain. In the past two days, our sixty-odd men have driven off over a hundred of yours. Did you really think we couldn't handle those bastards from Da Kuang Market? We kept them alive to lure that big fish in the city. He was lucky he didn't leave the city this time. When you get back, pass on a message for Brother Tian: prepare your own coffin first, you'll need it sooner or later!" The prisoners nodded repeatedly. As for who the big fish was? Let them imagine it themselves.

Hou Fei, Sun Zhiyong, Zhao Changming, and the others, following Yang Jiefang, exchanged bewildered glances after hearing his words. Good heavens! He'd shifted the blame to Yang'ershan and Tian Dan again. The Laiyang garrison had suffered such a huge loss this time; they were definitely going to retaliate.

Meanwhile, Bai Lang and his men chased after them across the bridge, terrifying the soldiers who ran for their lives. The stretcher bearers immediately dropped their stretchers and took off running; the soldiers who had been supporting the wounded also abandoned them, but instead seized the weapons and ammunition from the wounded, clearly not wanting to leave their weapons to the bandits. The wounded, left behind, cursed angrily, but to no avail. Knowing they couldn't escape, they simply stopped running and squatted by the roadside. Bai Lang, having caught up, ignored them. He had no interest in the wounded; he was after the soldiers' weapons.

At this point, there were still seventy or eighty soldiers left. If they could reorganize, Bai Lang and his men would be no match for them. However, none of the soldiers dared to stand up and fight back. They only wanted to shake off the pursuers as quickly as possible and get back to the city. Bai Lang looked at the soldiers running in panic ahead and sneered inwardly. He shouted, "Pay attention to your running pace! These soldiers ahead will collapse from exhaustion after running five or six miles."

Before they could catch up with the government troops, Yan Donglai caught up first and said, "Commander Bai, our Commander Yang said we only want weapons and ammunition, not prisoners. As long as these government troops are willing to lay down their weapons, we'll let them go back; we don't need to shoot them." Bai Lang agreed, "How can I have time to shoot them now? It's such a waste of bullets!" Yan Donglai added, "Let's give it our all! The county town isn't far from here; if we drag it out, something unexpected might happen." Bai Lang thought it made sense and immediately ordered a full-scale pursuit, quickly closing the distance between the two sides.

Yan Donglai could tell from their appearance that most of them were exhausted, so he shouted, "Listen up, soldiers in front! If you lay down your weapons, ammunition, and looted valuables, we'll spare your lives and stop pursuing you. Otherwise, if we catch up, we guarantee we'll sew holes through your bodies!" The last soldier turned around and shouted, "Good sir! Why didn't you say that earlier? Why did we have to chase you so far?" Immediately, some soldiers threw their weapons and ammunition on the road. The bandits were overjoyed and shouted in unison, "Leave your weapons, and we'll let you go back to the city!" Some soldiers were carrying two guns, which they already found cumbersome, so they simply threw them away and escaped easily. Soon, the remaining half of the bandits also abandoned their weapons. Bai Lang and his men stopped chasing after them when they reached the spot where the weapons had been abandoned, picked up their weapons, and quickly retreated.

Yang Jiefang waited on the south side of the bridge until Bai Lang and the others returned before releasing the captured soldiers. A count of the seized weapons revealed ninety-one rifles and three pistols, plus the twenty-eight pistols captured the previous day – a truly bountiful harvest! Seeing everyone's high spirits, Yang Jiefang immediately asked loudly, "Brothers, there are still over a hundred guns at Da Kuang Market. Are you all confident you can retrieve them?" The crowd shouted in unison, "Yes!" completely disregarding the hundred-plus soldiers.

Yang Jiefang didn't go directly to Da Kuang Market. Instead, he returned to their temporary camp from the previous night, where Chu Shiwu and the other two remained. Yang Jiefang decided to take all the pistols with him, while the rifles would be temporarily hidden nearby and entrusted to Chu Shiwu and the other two for safekeeping, to be retrieved upon their return. He gave all the money he had taken from the prisoners to Chu Shiwu and Zhao Yuanbao, instructing them: "We caused a lot of trouble for this mountain village last night and damaged quite a few things. Go to the village and see if you can find anything damaged; we'll compensate you for it. If you don't have enough money, use your operating funds to cover it first, and I'll give you the rest when we get back to the stronghold. If there's any money left over, don't keep it. Help compensate the villagers who were harmed by the soldiers." The two nodded solemnly, and Chu Shiwu said, "Don't worry! We'll definitely handle this well."

Da Kuangji, as its name suggests, is situated in a valley nestled between two mountains. In fact, Da Kuangji was originally called Da Kuang Village, named for its market held every five days. Generally speaking, the southeast is mountainous, while the northwest is relatively flat. Yang'er Mountain lies to the northeast of Da Kuangji. However, Yang Jiefang did not choose to go to Yang'er Mountain, but instead approached Da Kuangji from the north. In this era where travel was primarily on foot, Yang Jiefang and his group were not fast, but after a hurried journey, they finally arrived at Da Kuangji before sunset. Of course, they did not enter the village directly, but encountered Bao Ziqiang and Tian Dan outside. They had been waiting there, clearly having gathered some information. The group stopped, and Yang Jiefang told everyone to rest while remaining vigilant. He and several key members, including Bai Lang, listened to the intelligence gathered by Bao Ziqiang and his group.

Yang Jiefang noticed that a short, muscular man had joined Bao Ziqiang and his two companions. Tian Dan introduced him, "Brother Yang, this is Cao Laoba. He used to be from Yang'er Mountain. He quit his life a couple of years ago and settled in Da Kuangji. He knows the situation in Da Kuangji better, so let him tell you!" Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "Brother Cao, right? I wonder what kind of business people do in Da Kuangji now?" Cao Laoba cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Brother Yang, I don't have any other skills, just a decent shot. I usually hunt some game in the mountains, and when I go to the market, I help people slaughter a pig or a sheep, which is enough to make a living." Tian Dan added, "Cao Laoba is the best marksman in Yang'er Mountain. He's done a few big heists with the boss." He made a lot of money, which allowed him to get married and settle down in Da Kuangji. Now he can herd sheep and hunt at the same time, living a very comfortable life! Cao Laoba immediately said with a bitter face, "But with the arrival of these soldiers, my good days are over; they force me to slaughter sheep to serve them every day without paying me. Even when I was a bandit, I wasn't this tyrannical! Over a hundred people! How many days can my few sheep feed them? I really want to chop all these bastards up!" Yang Jiefang asked, "Do they know your past?" Cao Laoba immediately shook his head and said, "No, no one here knows my past, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to settle down here."

Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Then tell me about the situation of these officers and soldiers!" Cao Laoba said, "There are more than 120 officers and soldiers, a whole detachment. The detachment commander's surname is Zhou. He sent a detachment in the direction of Yang'er Mountain to monitor the movements of Yang'er Mountain. He also sent another detachment to patrol and keep watch around the area. Only two detachments, more than 60 people, are actually left in Da Kuangji."

Bao Ziqiang interjected, "If we go a few more miles ahead, there are sentry posts they've set up on the mountain. Brother Tian wanted to lead us around them, and we just happened to run into Brother Cao herding sheep nearby. Actually, we haven't had time to get into Da Kuang Market yet. However, tomorrow is market day at Da Kuang Market. Da Kuang Market is held on the 2nd and 7th of each month, and tomorrow is the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, the last market day before the New Year. People from all around will come to the market to buy and sell New Year's goods, so we should be able to sneak in."

Yang Jiefang said, "With Brother Cao here, we don't need to go into Da Kuangji to scout. Brother Cao, where are these soldiers staying in Da Kuangji?" Cao Laoba replied, "Da Kuangji only has one main street running east to west, with some shops along the street. They live in these shops in squads. A few people also live in my butcher shop, including that detachment leader surnamed Zhou." Yang Jiefang immediately picked up a stick from the ground, drew a line on the ground, and then drew a circle in the northeast direction, saying, "For example, this is the main street of Da Kuangji, and this circle is the direction of Yang'er Mountain. Brother Cao, can you point out the location of the shops where the soldiers live and the location of your butcher shop?" Cao Laoba glanced at it and quickly understood, immediately pointing out the location of his shop and the shops where the soldiers lived. Yang Jiefang then asked about the location of the sentry posts, which Cao Laoba also pointed out.

Yang Jiefang lowered his head in thought, and Cao Laoba couldn't help but remind him, "Brother Yang, is there anything else you want to ask? If not, I have to go back now; look, the sun is about to set." Yang Jiefang looked up at the sky and asked again, "Brother Cao, when do the villagers from the surrounding area usually arrive at the market?" Cao Laoba replied, "The vendors are always early; people arrive at the market before dawn to grab a spot. The shoppers arrive a little later, but they're still there very early in the morning." Yang Jiefang then asked, "What time do the soldiers living in Da Kuang Market usually arrive in the morning?" "Get up early?" Cao Laoba said, "In this freezing weather, people usually sleep until the sun is high in the sky. If anyone gets up early and disturbs them, they'll be unhappy and come out cursing. But tomorrow is market day, so I'll definitely get up early. They've set up checkpoints all around, charging tolls on everyone passing through. You have to pay once to come and once to go back; it's really damn shameless." Yang Jiefang laughed, "If they weren't shameless, would they do something like charging tolls on both sides? Brother Cao, thank you very much, you can go back now! Remember, you were just herding sheep normally today, you didn't see us." Cao Laoba laughed, "I understand."

Then, Cao Laoba clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and addressed the crowd, saying, "Brothers, I'm out of here today. Tomorrow, when you all come to our Da Kuang market, remember to come visit me. I'll definitely buy wine and slaughter a sheep to treat you all well!" The crowd laughed and agreed, calling Cao Laoba a good brother, and let him leave. Yang Jiefang guessed this was just polite talk from the underworld, so he didn't say anything more.

After Cao Laoba left, Yang Jiefang said, "Brothers, let's discuss! How should we deal with this group of soldiers?" Liu Heizi laughed, "What's there to say? There's a checkpoint ahead, isn't there? Easy peasy. With so many of us, let's take out the checkpoint first. Before the soldiers in Da Kuangji can react, we'll be there in one charge. They only have about sixty men, about the same as us. One against one, who's afraid of who?" Bai Lang shouted, "Look at you, so capable! You think Brother Yang can't think of anything you can think of? With your brain, you should just stay put! Just listen to Brother Yang's orders. Brother Yang, just tell us! How do we fight? We'll listen to you." This was the attitude Yang Jiefang wanted, so he laughed, "Brother Liu is right, that's what I think too. As long as we drive away that big group of soldiers in Da Kuangji, the rest will be no problem." Liu Heizi looked quite smug, but after being glared at by Bai Lang, he quickly composed himself and unconsciously straightened up.