Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

Longhu Mountain, with its Tianmen Peak piercing the clouds, the wind howls like a tiger's roar, and the crooked trees rustle their leaves.

Under the big tree, Zhang Zhiwei sat cross-legged. He slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of intense lightning passed through them.

"It was a bit of a stretch to use a sword that could separate worlds with the body of lightning, but thankfully, I managed to take care of the old man and the pursuers at the same time."

Zhang Zhiwei looked up into the distance, his gaze seemingly traversing thousands of mountains and rivers, landing on the distant northeastern land.

He can use that avatar once more, within a short period of time.

However, if you use it again, the effect will probably not be as good.

After all, one learns from one's mistakes; the Japanese pirates will be prepared and should have ways to restrain themselves.

"Bilian, it really was you who wrote me the letter before."

"So, how will you handle the next scenario?"

Zhang Zhiwei thought to himself, recalling General Ma's choice in history.

General Ma's actions were dramatic, but also a wise choice.

With Wugensheng involved this time, what choice will he make?

Zhang Zhiwei couldn't say for sure either. He didn't try to deduce it from within his mind; instead, he silently closed his eyes and transferred his consciousness to the shaman disciple who had set up the blue hand in advance.

At this moment, the shamanic disciples are marching rapidly with the troops, their destination being Helen.

General Ma was stationed there. After the Battle of Jiangqiao, he quickly reorganized the scattered troops and took in about 18,000 remnants of the Battle of Jiangqiao in a short period of time.

At the same time, he was also contacting his superiors and local militias in an attempt to build a defense line against the Japanese pirates.

When Wugensheng and Regiment Commander Xu returned to the camp, General Ma immediately inquired about the battle situation and casualties.

"General, we've truly encountered a divine being this time."

Commander Xu was very excited and quickly reported the situation to General Ma.

The report included the bravery of the troops who used the reeds to ambush the enemy, the immense pressure brought by the appearance of the Japanese pirate named Yagyu Tajima-no-kami, and the divine might of the little celestial master who descended from the sky.

"You mean the Little Celestial Master appeared to save the day?!" General Ma was also excited and quickly asked, "Where is he? Where is the Little Celestial Master?"

He was considered a close confidant of the old marshal, so he had naturally heard of Zhang Zhiwei's great reputation.

He greatly admired this extraordinary figure who single-handedly inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese pirates. However, he had always been stationed in Hecheng, so he had never had the chance to meet Zhang Zhiwei during his several visits to the Northeast. Upon hearing that Zhang Zhiwei had taken action this time, he was both surprised and delighted.

Just now, he contacted his superiors again, but still only received some verbal promises and no substantial assistance.

He was feeling lost and thought the future was bleak, but when he heard that Zhang Zhiwei had stepped in, he suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

"This... Little Celestial Master..."

Commander Xu looked at Wugensheng. He didn't know Zhang Zhiwei. He only knew that Zhang Zhiwei was the one who made the move because he heard it from Wugensheng.

“The Little Celestial Master himself did not come; only an avatar appeared. After intercepting the enemy, the avatar disappeared,” Wugensheng said.

"The real body didn't come?!"

General Ma's smile faded, and the glimmer of hope that had just risen in his heart was plunged back into darkness.

Wugensheng said, "It cannot be ruled out that he will continue to make a move, but he did not come in person this time. Even if he does make a move next time, he will most likely descend in his avatar."

"The Japanese pirates suffered a loss this time, so they will definitely be on guard. Next time they descend in disguise, they may not be as effective. We still can't put our hopes on them."

General Ma remained silent, but he knew perfectly well that people could only rely on themselves. The key issue was that he couldn't handle the current situation on his own.

"General, what's the situation now? Is there any outside help?" Wugensheng asked.

There were no outsiders here, and General Ma, without hiding anything, shook his head and said:
"No, or if they did, it was just talk. There are no plans to mobilize troops in Jinzhou. I even shamelessly contacted the Russians to request their military aid."

"But the Russians refused on the grounds of non-interference; however, they tacitly allowed us to use the Middle East Railway to transport supplies."

After a moment of contemplation, Wugensheng said, "Do we need any supplies transported by the Middle East Railway? Like guns and ammunition."

General Ma shook his head and said, "We have no weapons, only a few thousand shi of grain and some cotton clothing. The Tiantong Church just sent over another batch of medicine, but medicine alone is useless without any weapons!"

Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. Even if you have 10,000 or 20,000 men, it's useless if you can't arm them and develop them into a fighting force.

“That is indeed a problem,” Wugensheng said. “However, this also shows the Russians’ attitude towards the Japanese. If we really start a big war, they will probably take advantage of the Japanese’s misfortune. In that case, we will not be isolated and helpless in the face of the Japanese.”

"But the plan didn't work out," General Ma said. "I thought that the battle at Jiangqiao would show the higher-ups that the Japanese pirates weren't so scary, and then they would send troops to support us."

"At the same time, we wanted to show the international community our determination to resist, so that they would intervene in the matter. But unfortunately, in the end, we failed and accomplished nothing."

Wugensheng remained silent. After such a long and intense battle, with so many people dying, none of the desired results had been achieved, which was indeed disheartening.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say they accomplished nothing. At least they led by example, igniting the Chinese people's passion for resisting Japanese pirates and letting them know that the Japanese pirates were not insurmountable.

The reason it failed was not because the people lacked backbone, nor because the soldiers were not brave enough, but because those in power were too weak.

However, there is an old saying that "he who wins the hearts of the people wins the world." The Battle of Jiangqiao has ignited the enthusiasm for resisting Japanese pirates in the country. Even if the people in power do not take to the field to fight the Japanese pirates now, they will be swept up by public opinion and fight against the Japanese pirates when the public opinion boils over.

Wugensheng understood this very well; it was an inevitable trend, but it would take time.

However, during this period, the Japanese pirates will also grow stronger. It's uncertain whether there will still be an opportunity to fight them back then.

Brother Zhiwei, did you foresee this all along? Wugensheng thought to himself.

"However, although Jiangqiao was not defended and the higher-ups did not provide assistance, I will not give up. Every inch of our land is bought with blood. Even if I die, I will fight the Japanese pirates to the bitter end," General Ma said through gritted teeth.

Wugensheng looked at General Ma. He couldn't face death like General Ma. Unlike most of the Quanxing, he didn't understand his life. He had descendants, and he couldn't die here.

After a moment of silence, he said, "General Ma, what about your wife and children? As far as I know, you have a wife and children, right?" General Ma replied, "I have three children, two boys and one girl. Before the war, I had already sent my wife and children back to the interior of the pass. I have no worries about the future."

“General Ma, you are gone, but what about your soldiers?” Wugensheng asked.

"We swear to follow the general to the death," Commander Xu quickly said from the side.

General Ma narrowed his eyes: "Just say what you want to say."

Wugensheng said, "Among the Japanese pirates who appeared this time, there was one named Yagyu Tajima-no-kami, who is the sword saint of Japan, the one that Little Celestial Master killed. If I'm not mistaken, he actually arrived before the Battle of Jiangqiao, but he has been observing the battle and has never made a move."

General Ma said, "Old Xu mentioned in his previous report that this person is extremely strong, even capable of directly influencing the outcome of a small skirmish. Since such a person has arrived, why hasn't he made a move..."

General Ma realized: "Is he waiting for someone? Or rather, who is he waiting to plot against?"

Wugensheng said, "According to my guess, there are definitely more than just him here. I can't say exactly how many, but there are certainly quite a few. And there are very few in the whole world who are worth so many experts ambushing. The only one I can think of is Little Celestial Master."

General Ma wasn't stupid either, and he immediately understood: "You mean... in the previous Jiangqiao battle, the Japanese pirates didn't use their full strength, but were using us as bait to lure out Little Celestial Master."

Wugensheng said, "Their army must have used all its strength, but their superhuman experts did not make a move."

General Ma continued, "But now that they've made their move, and Jiangqiao has lost, the Japanese pirates thought the Little Celestial Master wouldn't appear, so they showed up in this ambush, right?"

Wugensheng nodded and said, "That should be the case. However, they did not expect that they would not be able to ambush the Little Celestial Master's true body, but instead ran into his clone."

"And what's next?" General Ma suddenly had a bad feeling.

Wugensheng calmly said, "Next, not only will the Japanese pirate army come to besiege us, but even this team of experts they organized to ambush the Little Celestial Master will also attack us."

"General Ma, I know that you want to use the vast Northeast to wage guerrilla warfare against the Japanese pirates."

"But now it seems a bit unrealistic."

"Because this team will definitely relentlessly pursue us in order to lure out the Little Celestial Master's true form."

"Given our numbers and strength, there is absolutely no way we can shake off this squad."

General Ma's face was serious: "You mean to say that resisting to the bitter end is certain death?"

Wugensheng nodded: "That's right, that's correct!"

“So what if it’s a dead end?” General Ma suddenly laughed. “During the Battle of Jiangqiao, everyone said I was like a moth drawn to a flame. Now that I’m going to fight a guerrilla war, they say I’m putting up a last-ditch effort, like a cornered beast fighting for its life!”

He pulled open his shirt to reveal a scar on his chest. "Look, this scar was left when the Russians and Japanese invaders fought here back then."

"Back then, I was just a bandit, and I was going to a village to collect protection money. But I never expected that the village would be looted by a group of Japanese pirates who were fighting against the Russians."

"They slaughtered everyone, young and old, and looted everything of value, even tying chickens to gun barrels and taking them with them."

"Back then, even though I was a bandit, I took protection money from them, so naturally I had to protect them. If I couldn't protect them, I had to take revenge."

"That afternoon, on their way back to the main force, I found a good ambush spot, ambushed them, killed them all, and then threw them into the mountains to feed the wolves, thus destroying the evidence."

"This wound was caused by a stray bullet from the Japanese pirates when we were ambushing them back then."

"Back then, I was a big boss with dozens of brothers under me, and I wasn't afraid of them at all."

"Now, I'm the boss of Heilongjiang Province, with over ten thousand brothers who are willing to live and die for me. What am I afraid of?"

"With so many brothers following me wholeheartedly, and so many people supporting me, what does it matter if I die?"

General Ma said with a look of rage:

"If I really get killed by the Japanese pirates, my grave will be on the Nenjiang Bridge. When I kick all the Japanese pirates back to their hometown, the grass on my grave will be strong enough to pierce through their military boots when they cross the bridge!"

These words stunned Wugensheng. He didn't doubt General Ma's ability, but such generals were extremely rare among the warlords these days. If he were to die like this...

Commander Xu was inspired by General Ma's words. Ever since they joined General Ma in fighting the Japanese pirates, they had never intended to retreat after a complete victory.

Wugensheng said, “General, I have no doubt about your determination, nor do I doubt the determination of our brothers. I know that more than 10,000 brothers are following us not to live and go back to get married, but to ensure that their descendants can grow crops on their own land and not have to kowtow to the Japanese pirates!”

"But fighting the Japanese pirates is not like strolling through a temple fair. The guns in the hands of the Japanese pirates are cold, but the blood in the bodies of our brothers is warm. We cannot use the blood of our brothers to warm the gun barrels of the Japanese pirates."

"Then what's your plan?" General Ma asked Wugensheng.

"My solution..." Wugensheng paused, then continued, "General, if the old marshal were still here, what would he do in this situation?"

General Ma's face showed a hint of nostalgia, followed by a look of disappointment and frustration:
"Back when the old marshal was a bandit in Bajiaotai, he dared to take twenty men and forcibly seize a Russian army cavalry. If he were still alive, things wouldn't be like this now."

Wugensheng continued, "I mean, what if he were here? What would he do?"

If the old marshal were still alive... General Ma fell silent, his mind filled with thoughts of what the old marshal would do.
But little did he know, he only knew how to fight, how could he possibly outmaneuver the Japanese pirates like the old general?!
After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "What do you intend to do?"

Wugensheng said, "I have a brother who is very good at divination and is nicknamed the Divine Calculator. Perhaps we can find a way out by prying into the secrets of heaven."

"To uncover the secrets of heaven and find a way out, please come quickly."

General Ma quickly replied that if there was a way to survive, he naturally did not want to die, after all, more than ten thousand brothers were following him.

"Xiao Gu, it's your turn to come in," Wu Gensheng said.

Immediately afterwards, Gu Qiting, dressed in a suit, walked over, holding a Bagua compass in his hand.

Gu Qiting was a sorcerer, skilled in a vast and profound art of divination, including Six Lines Coin Divination, Qimen Dunjia, Taiyi Shenshu, and Da Liu Ren...

Each has its own strengths: Qimen Dunjia is powerful in combat, Taiyi Shenshu can discern and influence the general trend of the world, and Da Liu Ren is good at seeing the big picture from small details and observing the subtle changes in all things in the world.

It is already extremely difficult to master any one of the three numerology techniques; to master them all is almost impossible.

Gu Qiting had grand ambitions, wanting to see all the changes in the world, so he dabbled in the three arts of divination, but his forte was Da Liu Ren. Today, he would give General Ma a thorough reading of his destiny. (End of Chapter)