Newborn 1927

After leaving the prisoner-of-war camp, Yang Jiefang didn't immediately return to his quarters. Instead, he inspected Qinglong Village. Besides bathing and haircuts, there was another important matter today: changing clothes. The clothing factory had produced a batch of spring camouflage uniforms, which were distributed to everyone today—two sets of clothes and a pair of canvas shoes with rubber soles. The shoes couldn't be produced domestically yet; they were purchased through Jiang Tingxuan. The people of Qinglong Village eagerly changed into their new clothes, creating a vibrant, colorful scene. They greeted Yang Jiefang happily, showing even greater respect to their young leader. Yang Jiefang would chat with them, inquiring about their family situations, needs, and difficulties. These people all came from impoverished backgrounds, coming to Qinglong Village only seeking food. Now, their food, clothing, and shelter were all arranged perfectly, and they even received a three-dollar monthly living allowance. What more could they ask for? The only difficulty was the immense pressure of studying. The atmosphere of learning was strong in the village; almost everyone was diligently studying. If someone learns faster or better than others, even if it's just knowing a few more words, it's something to brag about and something to be proud of.

A morning passed quickly. Around noon, a sound of horses neighing rang out, and a strongman guarding the village gate rushed in to report: Gao Yao had come up the mountain, bringing hundreds of horses, and was requesting an audience with the young master. Yang Jiefang was overjoyed and immediately ran to the training ground. Several hundred fine horses were already there; Niu Sanbian, Ma Shangfei, Kong Zongru, and others were already there, inspecting them one by one. Gao Yao of the Gao family greeted Yang Jiefang upon his arrival. Since the establishment of the Jiaodong Rural-Urban Cooperative in cooperation with the Gao family, the Gao family had been responsible for the sale and purchase of supplies for Qinglong Village. The Xu family's production base only handled production, not procurement or sales. The horses Gao Yao brought up the mountain today were naturally the three hundred Japanese horses that Yang Jiefang had purchased through Jiang Tingxuan. Although there had been a delay, they had finally been acquired.

Gao Yao, beaming, said, "It's worth the high price we paid, these horses are really good! Little Boss, you'd better spare a few for us to haul goods!" Yang Jiefang laughed, "How many do you want?" Gao Yao tentatively asked, "How many can you give me?" Yang Jiefang replied, "We'll talk about that later. You don't usually go to Qinglong Village, so besides delivering horses, is there something else you need this time?" Gao Yao replied, "Yes, my father asked me to go up the mountain to check on Gao Qiang and Gao Meng. I wonder how their training is going? Our Gao family's guard team has been formed, and we need these Gao family members." "They'll serve as the backbone," Yang Jiefang said. "They've only been training for a few days, they're still far from ready. But if you can't wait, leave Gao Ming and Gao Meng behind, and take the rest back first." Gao Yao thought for a moment and agreed, "That's good, Xiao Lan really can't do without a few helpers." Yang Jiefang frowned and asked, "Could she be in some trouble?" Gao Yao shook his head and said, "No trouble, it's just too tiring. Besides, it's not good for a girl like her to be hanging out with a bunch of men all day." Yang Jiefang understood; there must have been some bad gossip circulating. Gao Yao didn't elaborate, and he didn't press the matter.

At this moment, Niu Sanbian and Ma Shangfei had finished inspecting the horses and strode over. Niu Sanbian said angrily, "Young Master, we've been tricked! They're all castrated stallions!" Yang Jiefang was stunned and couldn't help but curse. He hurriedly asked, "How's the quality of these horses? Are any old, young, sick, or disabled?" Niu Sanbian replied, "No, they're all healthy, just a bit tired from crossing the ocean. They can be used as draft animals, but they can't be used for breeding." Yang Jiefang said, "That's alright, it's not too bad. If they were really stallions, they wouldn't be this price."

Ma Shangfei chimed in, "These horses are generally larger than domestic horses, but they're too docile to be warhorses. Little Boss, while spirited horses are difficult to tame, the spiriteder they are, the bolder they are, the less easily frightened by gunfire, and the better they adapt to battlefield combat. These horses are clearly unsuitable; they can only be used for riding and transportation." Yang Jiefang wasn't too disappointed and turned back to say, "Brother Gao, did you understand our needs? Next time you go to Yantai, tell Jiang Tingxuan. I'm willing to pay a high price to buy stallions and warhorses, any number you like." Gao Yao agreed and then asked, "How many of these horses can you give us?" Yang Jiefang thought for a moment and said, "We'll keep fifty riding horses for transportation, fifty pack horses for transporting supplies, and the remaining two hundred are yours." Gao Yao was overjoyed and said, "That's wonderful! With these horses, our caravan can get running quickly."

After Kong Zongru finished inventorying the supplies, he issued a receipt to Gao Yao. Since two hundred horses were being transferred to Gao Yao, he also issued a delivery slip for Yang Jiefang to confirm and sign. Afterwards, Kong Zongru said, "Among these supplies, some books and newspapers—should we deliver them directly to your residence?" This was Yang Jiefang's request; anyone going to Yantai to purchase or sell supplies through normal channels should inquire about any new newspapers and books, and bring some back if found. If it weren't for the generally low literacy rate among the people in the mountain stronghold, Yang Jiefang would even be considering building a reading room for everyone to read. Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Send them to me first!" Kong Zongru agreed and arranged for people to move the supplies.

After handing over the supplies, Gao Yao bid farewell to Yang Jiefang and went to find the Gao family members in the mountain stronghold. Yang Jiefang told Niu Sanbian and Ma Shangfei to choose their own horses and then returned to his lodgings. He picked up the newspaper to read, and upon reading it, he flew into a rage, slamming the newspaper aside. He picked up another newspaper, quickly put it down, and picked up yet another. After skimming through it, Yang Jiefang slammed his fist heavily on the table and shouted, "This is outrageous!" Hou Fei, Bao Ziqiang, and the others, hearing the commotion, ran out and saw Yang Jiefang's angry outburst and the newspapers scattered all over the floor. They asked curiously, "What's wrong? What happened?" Yang Jiefang plopped down in a chair and said, "Read the newspapers! We'll talk after you've finished reading." These men had been following Yang Jiefang for a while and knew some characters, so they could understand some of the text, albeit by guessing.

Yang Jiefang calmed down and organized the reports from various newspapers, which varied in angle and degree: On March 24th, the Northern Expeditionary Army entered Nanjing, where a looting incident occurred among the fleeing troops, resulting in over ten deaths and injuries. Britain and the United States claimed responsibility, stating it was the National Revolutionary Army, and deployed the American gunboats HMS Noah and HMS Preston, and the British gunboat HMS Rhymel, to bombard Nanjing. The number of Nanjing civilian casualties was uncertain, with different newspapers reporting varying figures, ranging from a hundred to two thousand; the number of damaged houses was also difficult to determine, but severe damage was inevitable under the bombardment of large-caliber naval guns. The newspapers referred to it as the "March 24th Massacre" or the Nanjing Incident. The National Revolutionary Army denied involvement in the looting, claiming it was the work of Zhang Zongchang's Shandong Army, while simultaneously dispatching troops to protect foreign residents.

Today is the third day of the third lunar month, April 4th in the Gregorian calendar. Due to the time lag in news reporting in this era, there are no updated updates. However, Yang Jiefang knows that the Nationalist government is unlikely to take a hard line. History books don't record how this matter was handled afterward. But Yang Jiefang knows that Chiang Kai-shek is about to launch a counter-revolutionary coup and needs the support of countries like Britain and the United States, so he will definitely compromise with them. If he doesn't compromise, there wouldn't have been the later "Sino-American cooperation." He also recalled the Amethyst Incident on the eve of the liberation of the People's Republic of China; similarly, faced with provocations from foreign warships, the Nationalist government displayed a completely different, more assertive attitude.

He suddenly realized that he couldn't just focus on domestic enemies; he should also pay attention to foreign enemies. He had previously considered establishing rural bases or leading troops south to join Chiang Kai-shek. With his assistance, the Party's strength would increase. But then he thought, even with his help, he wasn't confident he could defeat Chiang Kai-shek in a short time. After all, the Party itself wasn't mature enough; even Chiang Kai-shek was being marginalized. It was hard to say how much he could contribute. Then he wondered if he could develop independently, avoiding internal strife, and accumulate enough strength to cope with the catastrophe ten years later. If so, his strategy would need to be adjusted.

While he was pondering, Hou Fei, Bao Ziqiang, and the others huddled together and, by flipping through the newspaper, figured out why Yang Jiefang was angry. Hou Fei said, "These foreign devils have been shoving their ass on our heads for a long time now. The old leader didn't wipe them out back then, but when our forces grow stronger, we'll wipe them out." Bao Ziqiang agreed, "Yes, young leader, there's no need to get angry over these things. We're still young, we have plenty of time, no need to rush." ​​Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "It's good that you understand. Our previous generation was already trampled underfoot; if we don't want our next generation to continue being trampled underfoot, we must stand up and beat these foreign devils down. I have an idea, you guys help me think about it!" Hou Fei, Bao Ziqiang, and the others put down their newspapers and turned to look at Yang Jiefang.

Yang Jiefang first gestured for everyone to sit down, then said, “Brothers, my vision has never been limited to Jiaodong, let alone a small place like Qinglongzhai. We need to set our sights on all of China, even the world. In China as a whole, the most prosperous city is Shanghai, known as the Paris of the East. Shanghai is also China's intelligence center. I want to send an intelligence team to Shanghai to establish an intelligence station, collecting domestic and international intelligence for our future use.” Before he finished speaking, everyone turned to look at Bao Ziqiang. When it came to intelligence work, Bao Ziqiang was undoubtedly the most capable. Bao Ziqiang didn't back down, readily agreeing, “I'll go.” Yang Jiefang didn't rush to agree, continuing, “The cities around us are crucial to our short-term safety and cannot be ignored. With Brother Chu Yi in Yantai, I feel very reassured. But without our eyes and ears in the three nearest cities—Laiyang, Haiyang, and Qixia—it's always unsettling. Therefore, establishing intelligence stations in these three counties is imperative. Your intelligence team has been undergoing intensive training for a month or two; it's time to test your true abilities. Choose for yourselves, where do you want to go?”

Since Bao Ziqiang had already decided to go to Shanghai, he naturally wouldn't consider any other places. Zhao Yuanbao said, "I'm from Laiyang, so I'll choose Laiyang County!" Chu Shiwu praised, "That's a good idea! Mantou, you're from Qixia, so why don't you go to Qixia County, and I'll go to Haiyang County!" Mantou's surname was Huang, and his nickname was Gouwa. Now that he had studied a little, he named himself Huang Sheng, which meant both new life and student. However, everyone still preferred to call him Mantou; and they gave Zhao Yuanbao the nickname Wotou (steamed bun). Mantou didn't object and said, "Then I'll go to Qixia County." Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "Since it's your own choice, then so be it. But we can't let you go it alone. You should choose a few people from the intelligence team to go with you. My idea is that the entire intelligence team will go down the mountain and be assigned to Shanghai, Yantai, Laiyang, Haiyang, and Qixia."

Bao Ziqiang asked, "Young Master, I've never been to Shanghai before and I'm unfamiliar with the place. What identity should I go under?" Making a quick breakthrough in an unfamiliar place is no easy task. Since Yang Jiefang had decided to send someone to Shanghai, he naturally had this in mind. He said, "Shanghai has three tycoons: Huang Jinrong, Zhang Xiaolin, and Du Yuesheng. They are all leaders of the Shanghai underworld, with many subordinates. Your identity is a local ruffian who couldn't make it in Yantai, taking a few brothers to Shanghai to try your luck. Once in Shanghai, you need to find a way to become Huang Jinrong's apprentice. Huang Jinrong likes to take on many disciples, accepting almost anyone; he has no fewer than a thousand disciples. My plan is a three-step process: First, you will join the ranks of these three thugs and establish yourselves. Second, I will send a special forces team to Shanghai for training, as your external support, to help you make a breakthrough. Third, you will take down these three thugs and dominate the entire Shanghai underworld. Then it will be time to do big things."

Yang Jiefang spoke casually, leaving Bao Ziqiang and the others dumbfounded. Good heavens, the gangsters who ruled the entire Shanghai underworld! Bao Ziqiang felt immense pressure! With a bitter face, he said, "Young Master, if it were you, this wouldn't be a problem. But this is all I'm capable of, can I really handle it?" Yang Jiefang replied, "A real man doesn't say no. As long as you do as I tell you, there won't be any problems. We'll discuss the specific details later. You guys discuss it first and allocate the manpower."

After discussing the matter, Bao Ziqiang and his group decided that Bao Ziqiang would lead five men to Shanghai; the six of them would split into three groups and join the ranks of Shanghai's three major tycoons. Chu Shiwu, Zhao Yuanbao, and Huang Sheng would each lead three men to infiltrate three different counties, also in pairs, and act separately. The remaining members of the intelligence team would go to Yantai to follow Chu Yi's instructions.

When it was time to eat, everyone went to the kitchen. The kitchen now used a separate serving system; each person carried a wooden tray, lined up to get their food, and then found a seat. During the meal, Man Niu approached Yang Jiefang to plead for his sister, Xiao Tu, to stay in Qinglong Village; he himself would go to Shanghai with Bao Ziqiang. Yang Jiefang thought for a moment and agreed, saying, "Tell your sister to stay with Miss Jiang and learn more about culture. Our current methods of communication are too outdated; we'll definitely need to find a way to use radio communication. That will require you all to be literate." He also spoke to Bao Ziqiang and the others beside him.