20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 646 Internal Troubles [Thanks to Niang Kou San San for her strong support]

Erma didn't say anything, just smoked very hard, one puff after another, until his mouth was burned, then he stopped trembling, and quickly raised the cigarette butt and held it with his hand, as if he was afraid that a gust of mountain wind would blow the cigarette short. Then he looked at Sun Xiangyang, seemed a little embarrassed, and finally smiled shyly, "Brother, good things come in pairs, have another one?"

Sun Xiangyang simply handed him the cigarette box. He was very grateful and immediately put it in his jacket pocket, nodded and said thank you several times.

Seeing him smoking so seriously, even to the point of forgetting himself, Zhao Guoyan gradually let down his guard and asked, "Are you Lao Mang's man?"

Erma frowned in the smoke and asked, "Who is Lao Mang?"

"Big Wu!" Sun Xiangyang explained, "He used to be called Lao Mang, didn't you know?"

Erma shook his head, looking very interested: "Really? This is the first time I've heard of it."

Zhao Guoyan was a little surprised, so he asked, "You haven't heard of Lao Mang, why did you run away with his people?"

"Well, I was mixed in." Erma said, "Brother, I used to be a 'horizontal leader' on the line, that is, a bandit, and later joined the 'Anti-Feng Army'. The brothers were disbanded and reorganized. My former boss's number was 'all over the sky'. I wonder if you have heard of it?"

Zhao Guoyan nodded in astonishment: "I have an impression. Your boss's behavior is quite impressive this time."

When Erma heard this, his eyes lit up and he immediately clasped his hands and said, "Oh, so you two are also online friends. Thank you for your hard work. I haven't asked for your advice yet--"

"Stop asking questions!" Zhao Guoyan raised his hand to interrupt.

Erma was just trying to get close to them, but the cigarette butt suddenly burned his mouth, so he quickly spit it out, and after a moment of silence, he changed the subject and asked, "So, are you two... officers and soldiers?"

Sun Xiangyang is an old hand. He said he would follow Zhao Guoyan's arrangements and would not say a word during the discussion. He just stood aside silently without answering.

Zhao Guoyan asked back: "If they are officers and soldiers, how can we explain it? If they are not officers and soldiers, how can we explain it?"

Erma was also unequivocal and immediately stated: "If you were soldiers, I would sacrifice my own family for the greater good and show you a way to kill Captain Wu; if you really happened to be passing by, then please do me a favor. I am unfamiliar with this place, so you can take me down the mountain. Of course, I can't let you work in vain..."

As he spoke, he reached into his waistband, fumbled for a moment, and actually pulled out a small gold bar about the length of a thumb.

"This..." He chuckled, "Can it be exchanged for my life?"

After saying that, he stuffed the small gold bar into Zhao Guoyan's hand.

Zhao Guoyan took a step back, quickly put his hands behind his back, and said, "Take it away, take it away. This has nothing to do with money."

"Don't worry, it's a little gift from me. Come on, take it while it's still warm!"

Erma really wanted to give it to Zhao Guoyan, but seeing that Zhao Guoyan refused to accept it, he handed the small gold bar to Sun Xiangyang with a smile on his face: "Brother, why don't you take it and think of it as me buying you a pack of cigarettes."

Sun Xiangyang didn't mind it. After getting Zhao Guoyan's tacit approval, he happily accepted it and joked, "You are quite generous."

"Of course, of course." Erma waved his hands. "This gold bar is just like a stone in my hand. I can't buy anything in the mountains, so why not make friends?"

Seeing this, Zhao Guoyan felt emboldened and asked, "Is the supply in Lao Mang's camp running low?"

Erma hesitated for a moment, then asked, "If I tell you, it should be able to save your life, right?"

"Why are you so nagging? If you can change it, just tell me!"

"Okay, okay, let me tell you, you let me think about it first..."

Erma lit up another cigarette, and only after he had satisfied his craving did he begin to describe the situation in the camp:

"As for food, it's enough for now. There are more than 300 people in the camp, less than 400. If we tighten our belts, we should be able to eat for more than half a month. But that's all we have left. There's no oil or water. Although we can hunt in the mountains, we don't see much fat, and we can't make oil at all. Look at how much I've eaten. My intestines are dry. I can only take in but not out. Who can stand it? I occasionally dig up some wild vegetables, but they taste bitter. We're out of cigarettes and alcohol, and we don't have enough kerosene. My shoes are worn out, and there's no place to change them; my clothes are dirty, and there's no place to wash them. This is not a life for human beings!"

What he said might sound a bit hypocritical at first, but since ancient times, food and fodder have always been sent before troops move forward.

When the grain depot is running out of food, the army will be in chaos. This is a dilemma that even the regular army cannot escape, let alone a ragtag army composed of bandit gangs?

Erma complained repeatedly, saying, "Brother, I'm on this pirate ship. I can't say I'm rich and famous, but I should at least have wine and meat. Now, I might as well go back and be a bandit!"

Zhao Guoyan felt even more confused after hearing this, so he asked, "Your camp is in such a mess, why hasn't it become chaotic yet?"

"You can't stand the nonsense of the military advisor!" Erma said with a sneer, "That wild old Taoist priest does nothing all day long but just makes empty promises to us. Every now and then, he tells fortunes in the camp, saying that Wu Xiucai's reinforcements will soon rush into Shanhaiguan, but there is no sign of them until now, and he just gives officials to the brothers."

"A title of official?"

"Yes, today you can be appointed as the county magistrate, tomorrow you can be appointed as the mayor, just hurry up, it doesn't cost any money anyway, brother, I am already the governor of Suining now."

Zhao Guoyan and Sun Xiangyang smiled at each other: "Do you really believe it?"

Erma was a little embarrassed, scratched his head, and said in a silly voice: "At the beginning, I did believe it... Now, screw me!"

Zhao Guoyan was very pleased. He stepped forward, patted Erma on the shoulder, pulled him over and asked, "Brother, how many smart people like you are there in Lao Mang's camp?"

Erma chuckled twice and said, "Brother, look at what you said, no one is stupid, they are just pretending to be stupid. I dare not say more, but at least half of the people in the camp want to escape now, but we are not familiar with this area, and the rioters are threatening us all day long, saying that once the soldiers arrive, they will kill us all immediately. We dare not take risks, so we can only tie ourselves together."

"Is the remaining half really that devoted?"

"I dare not say, but as far as I know, the remaining people are all Captain Wu's old team. At least they are still quite firm now."

Zhao Guoyan nodded and said nothing more. He silently went over what Erma had just said in his mind: a mixed army, with food supplies in short supply and unfamiliar with the terrain...

If you want to capture Lao Mang, the best way is to attack his heart!
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Erma gradually became anxious and asked hurriedly: "Brother, I have said everything I need to say. It's time for you to tell me the truth, right? Are you a spy for the officers and soldiers?"

Zhao Guoyan said a few vague words and then asked, "You haven't told me everything yet. I want to ask you, how are you going to explain to that short-legged guy when you come to see me in the middle of the night?"

"Didn't I just say that I'm not the only one who wants to leave? Everyone else wants to leave too. We take turns on night duty. I said hello to everyone and came here. I didn't plan to go back at all."

"No, you have to go back." Erma frowned and said bitterly, "Brother, you are cheating melons!"

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and insisted: "Not only do you have to go back, you have to go back with a mission."

"What mission?"

"When you go back, pick those who are dissatisfied with the current situation and persuade them to turn from darkness to light, so that they can save their lives."

Erma shrank back when he heard this, and stammered, "Brother, if this gets out, I'll be shot right there. Besides, I won't have a chance to go back to the camp in the next two days."

Zhao Guoyan simply asked: "What on earth are you doing here today, team?"

"Let's move!" Erma whispered, "We originally planned to go north. Captain Wu has acquaintances in Vladivostok. Later, he sent a spy to explore the way. He found that Marshal Wu of Heilongjiang Province had sent troops to block the way. Captain Wu had no choice but to move south. After all, the grain station was in urgent need and everyone couldn't stand it any longer."

Zhao Guoyan heard the hidden meaning and asked immediately: "Are you planning to destroy the kiln?"

It makes sense. There are so many internal conflicts that there is no solution. If they want to continue to maintain it, they can only unite against the outside world.

Erma sighed and said, "It's actually quite risky, but there's nothing we can do. The brothers can't take it anymore."

Zhao Guoyan had a vague premonition, so he asked, "Whose kiln are you planning to destroy?"

"I'm not familiar with this place, but I heard from them that the biggest 'fire spot' near Laoyeling is... I think it's called Shenjiadian?"

"There is a village association in Shenjiadian, and people online say it's a tough nut to crack."

"Don't worry, no matter how hard it is, it's just a privately built blockhouse. Our camp... no, no, no, they have field artillery in their camp, we can knock it down anyway!" Erma said as he took the rifle from his shoulder, patted the gun body, and said with a little pride, "Take a look at this, both of you."

Zhao Guoyan was a city dweller and seldom carried a rifle. In the pitch-black night, he was caught off guard and couldn't see clearly.

Sun Xiangyang did not rely on his eyesight, he stretched out his hand, touched the gun from top to bottom, and immediately asserted: "Water Link?"

"New, genuine Russian stuff!" Erma was willing to give the gold bars, but he couldn't let go of the gun. "This Water Link, everyone in our battalion has one, plus field artillery and mountain artillery, even if we use half of the battalion to smash the kilns, can't we take down Shenjia Store?"

"It's enough!" Sun Xiangyang had to say, "It's indeed enough!"

It seems that this old Mang does have some connections. No wonder even Li Zheng suffered losses in front of him.

Hearing that Shenjia Store was the source of the rebels' destruction of the kiln, Zhao Guoyan remained calm and only asked: "When do you plan to 'open'?"

"It will be almost within these few days!" Erma said, "Someone in our camp has visited this place before and is familiar with the route. I am here mainly to clear the way for the main force and confirm it. If there is any disturbance, I must go back and report it immediately!"

"Aren't you guys going too far?"

"Not far!"

"Isn't your camp on Big Rack Mountain?"

"Well, that's all old news. A tree that doesn't move will die, but a person who moves will live. We are now setting up camp at the 'Niuxinding' area, which is not far from here. If we walk from morning to night, we will be there soon."

Zhao Guoyan certainly didn't know where "Niuxinding" was, but he thought Hai Chaoshan must know it, so he didn't ask any further questions. However, when he heard that the rebels were planning to smash the kiln, he immediately realized that he had to inform Jiang Lianheng as soon as possible.

After thinking for a while, he asked, "Are you all planning to go down the mountain after destroying the kiln this time?"

"No!" Erma shook his head repeatedly, "That wild old Taoist is timid. He was afraid of being ambushed and killed by the soldiers when he went down the mountain. Otherwise, how could we have reacted so strongly just now?"

"Now that you've met us, will Lao Mang's plan still go ahead?"

"Brother, this is not the plan. There is no other way. The Shen family store must be smashed, but the time may change. I estimate that Captain Song will send two people back to report the news early tomorrow morning!"

"That short-legged one?"

"It's him. Can you two stop asking for now whether you two are officers or soldiers?"

Erma finally lost his patience, but he had no choice but to ask a favor from others, so he could only talk more and ask less. However, the more he talked, the more information he had in his stomach was almost completely revealed. He gradually began to feel uneasy. The world is treacherous, and he was afraid that he would no longer be of any use. After talking for a long time, he got nothing and was shot in the end. Even though he satisfied his smoking craving, it was not worth it.

Zhao Guoyan smiled and said vaguely: "Not an officer soldier, but can be considered... half an officer soldier!"

"Hey, since you're not an officer, let's stop wasting time and go!"

Erma was not stupid. After talking for a while, he had a rough estimate of the two men in front of him, so he said, "You are not soldiers, so you have a grudge against Captain Wu. But even if Captain Wu is not good enough, he still has more than 300 people under him. There is not enough food, but there are enough guns. Don't take on porcelain work if you don't have the diamond drill. Besides, how many people do you have?"

"Hard to say……"

"That means there aren't that many people. We can tell from the gunshots just now that there are probably less than ten people. Am I right, brother?"

As he said that, Erma reached his hand into his buttocks again, fumbled for a moment, and actually took out a small gold bar the length of a thumb, and said hurriedly: "Brother, let's not waste time, this is my last money, take it, let's go, you take me down the mountain."

This time, even Sun Xiangyang refused to take the gold bar.

Zhao Guoyan shook his head and refused firmly, "No, I still say the same thing, go back and do as I say, there's no need to make a big fuss. The situation over there is so bad that it will get chaotic as soon as there's a little wind. You can do whatever you want, as long as you don't get caught by Lao Mang, I can save your life no matter if the soldiers chase you or the enemies seek revenge."

Erma didn't believe it, but laughed, curled his lips and said: "Brother, it's not that I don't trust you, the problem is...you are exaggerating a bit, right? The soldiers are chasing me, you can save my life; the Jianghu is looking for revenge, can you still save my life? What, are you Jiang Lianheng from Fengtian?"

He laughed, and Zhao Guoyan and Sun Xiangyang laughed too, but without saying anything.

Erma shook his hands and said impatiently: "Stop messing around, or you can just show me the outline so that I can have some confidence!"

Zhao Guoyan seemed to hear nothing and looked at Erma quietly until the expression on Erma's face gradually stiffened...

(End of this chapter)