20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 649 Tiger’s Den
The bandits on the mountain are divided into four groups, with different divisions of labor and each performing their own duties.

Fanduoer's military advisor not only has to give advice and strategies, but also has to know astronomy, geography, yin and yang, observe ghosts and gods, and draw inferences from one instance to another, and sense all things.

When the gangsters go down the mountain to smash the kiln, the military advisor needs to choose an auspicious day to seek good luck and avoid disaster. It doesn't matter if what he says is true or false, whether it is Zhouyi Qimen or asking the immortals for help, as long as there is evidence that can win the hearts of the people and convince the gangsters, it will be fine.

Unfortunately, Lao Mang's camp was plagued by internal and external troubles, and the brothers had long been at odds with each other.

Even though the old Taoist priest acted like a god for a long time and the officer talked nonsense for a long time, the crowd did not react much. They just clapped their hands twice and dispersed with their guns, treating it as just a job to do.

Seeing this, Liu Kuaitui became more confident. He secretly memorized the layout of the camp, and then he and Yang Lazi hid in the woods and returned the same way.

……

At dawn the next day, just as the sky was getting light, Xiaoqing and her second brother took their father back to Shenjia Store.

Zhao Guoyan did not stop him.

In recent days, he has already become familiar with the mountain roads near Niuxinding and no longer needs Haichaoshan to lead the team. Moreover, now that the officers and soldiers have arrived, it is time to persuade them to surrender. Even if Haichaoshan stays, he will have no place to use his skills. It is even more inappropriate for Xiaoqing, a girl, to show up. So he simply gives the Hai family a favor and lets them go.

Someone was keeping watch last night, so Zhao Guoyan and Sun Xiangyang slept soundly and almost fainted. When they woke up this morning, they felt as if they had lived their life all over again. After a short rest, they quickly regained their former energy and spirit.

After the Hai family's children left, everyone ate their meals and drank some water. Then they began to clean their guns and reload their bullets, tie their legs and get dressed. Finally, they hid themselves and stopped making any sound.

When everything was ready, there were indeed unusual movements on the mountain behind Niuxinding.

The crowd quickly dispersed, hiding in groups of three or four in the bushes halfway up the mountain, overlooking the mountain road.

Hundreds of bandits came down the mountain to smash the kiln. No matter how low-key they tried, their whereabouts were inevitably exposed.

Soon, at the foot of Niuxinding Mountain, we saw a crowd of people moving slowly and leisurely towards Shenjiadian.

The mountain roads were narrow, so the rebels had to line up in a single line, making it difficult for the front and rear to take care of each other. Two field guns, pulled by mules and horses, walked in the middle of the team. The original intention was of course to protect the heavy equipment for smashing the kiln, but it also cut the team into two parts, front and back.

If there is an ambush, death is certain.

Everyone knows that this is a taboo in military strategy, but the current situation is right in front of us. We either starve to death on the spot or take the risk of going down the mountain. When we are at the end of our rope, we can no longer care about so many things.

What’s interesting is that although Erma was not seen in the team, there were many people with bare chests, looking around suspiciously and always looking a little absent-minded.

……

Halfway up the mountain, in the bushes.

Zhao Guoyan, Sun Xiangyang and Liu Kuaitui lay in ambush, each holding a telescope, and had a clear view of the situation of the rebels at the foot of the mountain.

"There are quite a lot of people here. Judging from the situation... there must be almost 200 people, right?"

Sun Xiangyang smacked his lips and sighed to himself, "It's a pity that we have too few people. If we had another twenty people, given the terrain and our strength, we might be able to wipe them out in one fell swoop."

Zhao Guoyan shook his head to dissuade him: "Just calm down and follow the plan." Then he turned to ask Liu Kuaitui, "How is it, have you seen Erma?"

Liu Kuaitui looked around with a telescope for a long time, but still found nothing:
"No, I guess that guy was left in the camp, but those dozen shirtless guys should have talked to him."

"Then let's do as Boss Jiang says?" Sun Xiangyang suggested.

Zhao Guoyan nodded, then turned around and gestured to everyone, and whispered, "Brothers, put the safety on your guns and let them pass."

Everyone obeyed the order and quietly raised their index finger that was originally on the trigger.

The sun was scorching, the forest gradually turned green again, and birds of prey were circling in the sky.

The rebel troops moved silently, or rather dejectedly, like snakes along the winding valley floor, and finally moved farther and farther away.

However, Zhao Guoyan and others did not act rashly. They remained hidden in the bushes, motionless, like clay sculptures, until noon, when the woods were already bright enough to be almost transparent. Only then did they stretch their muscles a little and resume their conversation.

Sun Xiangyang stood up, pounding his lower back with his hands, and stood on tiptoe to look into the distance.

"They should have gone far this time, right?" he said. "Unless they didn't come down the mountain at all, even if we turn around now, we probably won't be able to make it back before dark."

Liu Kuai Tui turned around and brushed his buttocks twice, and said, "Then let's not waste time, let's go quickly?"

Zhao Guoyan looked in the direction of Shenjia Store, silently estimating the time in his mind. He thought that the rebels were numerous and could not move fast, so they would not be able to catch up with Hai Chaoshan's family. So he nodded, called everyone to him, and whispered:

"We will touch the code later. We are uninvited and there may be disputes. Everyone should be restrained and try not to cause any accidents."

At this point, he paused again, and then continued: "Of course, if they don't know how to appreciate it, we don't need to be polite to them. We can just fight back when necessary. Don't be afraid. My boss has already entrusted the Korean guerrillas to support us in Shannan at any time. Lao Mang is a rebel, so he definitely won't dare to chase us out."

Everyone nodded in response, with no fear on their faces.

After all, it was the guard company appointed by Zhang Xiaokun himself. Although they were still bandits, they were not cowards. What's more, there were not many people in Lao Mang's camp and the field artillery had been taken away, so there was no reason to be afraid.

"Don't worry, Lao Zhao, there's no chance of a fight!"

Liu Kuaitui waved his hand and said, "We are all online, so we all know each other. Besides, Erma was familiar with us before, so we can just talk it out."

Seeing that he was confident, Zhao Guoyan stopped talking and turned to face Sun Xiangyang and said, "Li Zheng and Lao Mang have a grudge, so you have to stay away for a while."

"I understand!" Sun Xiangyang said with a carefree smile, "I'll go with you, and you can go and persuade them to surrender. I'll be waiting for you in the woods. If you need anything, just shout."

"If we really persuade Lao Mang to surrender, you will have to go back with him and not show up. Have you prepared any dry food?"

"There are so many. I'm afraid I can hold on to it. Don't worry!"

After everyone made a plan, they reorganized the team and went down the mountain. Then they circled the east side of Niuxinding for most of the way, then buried their heads in the woods and slowly groped their way towards Lao Mang's camp...

……

The rebels went down the mountain to smash the kiln, and many of Lao Mang's men left, and the entire camp suddenly seemed empty.

The remaining one hundred or so brothers, although in the camp, seemed at a loss. They were either pacing back and forth in front of the tent, talking to themselves, or slumped in the corner with lifeless eyes, their minds having drifted to who knows where.

Not to mention them, even the old Taoist priest was restless at this moment. He often climbed up high places to look into the distance, mumbling to himself, and no one knew what he was saying.

A bandit came over and asked: "Military Advisor——"

"Asshole!" Ye Laodao immediately glared and scolded, "What kind of military advisor is this? There should be a new title in the army!"

"Oh, yes, yes, that... Chief of Staff, do you think Lao Song and his men will not come back after going down the mountain?" "What nonsense are you talking about? As the garrison commander of southern Liaoning, do you need me to tell you what a crime it is to disrupt the morale of the army? Go back quickly and don't hang around in front of me!"

"But... Chief of Staff, what if they really don't come back, or can't come back..."

"Shut up, there's no such possibility!"

Ye Laodao was anxious, his neck thickened, and he immediately argued: "The hexagram clearly says that Zhang Yuting will not be able to jump around for a few more years. Now we must be firm in our beliefs. The difficulties are only temporary. Wait, as long as the Zhi army launches an attack, everything will be fine. After you get through this difficulty, I will help you nominate to the commander-in-chief and let you be the inspector general of Jilin."

There was no joy in Hu Fei's eyes. He had been promoted too quickly recently and had become a little numb. He could be said to be unmoved by fame or disgrace.

Seeing this, the old Taoist priest immediately cleared his throat, changed his tone, and threatened in all seriousness: "Little brother, we are now in the same boat. We are in the same boat and share the same heart. If we are not careful, your whole family will be executed - be careful, be careful!"

The bandit nodded, not quite understanding, and said goodbye. He couldn't help but muttered to himself: "I haven't left the mountain yet, what's the point of telling me to be careful?"

The old Taoist priest did not fail to hear, but he pretended not to hear. After the man left, he climbed up the mountain alone to look into the distance, muttering to himself:

"Oh, you must come back, you must come back..."

On the other side, the young bandit had just walked a short distance when he saw two brothers waving at him desperately, so he hurried over.

"Er Ma, it's getting shady on this mountain now, why are you two still shirtless? Is it that hot?"

"Don't worry about whether I'm hot or not. I want to ask you, what did you say to the chief of staff just now?" Erma asked while squatting on the ground.

"I didn't say anything. I just asked him what would happen if the group of people who went down the mountain didn't come back. He said there was no such possibility."

"Haha, do you believe this?" Erma looked around and asked with a half-smile, "Let's not talk about others. If you have a chance to run down the mountain, would you run?"

"I, I am sure——"

The words were clearly on the tip of his tongue, but the young bandit swallowed them back. A trace of suspicion flashed across his brows, and then he laughed: "Er Ma, you two are bullying me because I'm young, and you are trying to trick me, right? Do you think I'm stupid? I don't know, so don't ask me!"

Erma glared and cursed: "Hey, you are so blind, I was planning to show you a way out, forget it, get out of here!"

The young bandit was startled, and realized that there was something behind his words, so he shamelessly begged, "Er Ma, second brother, what do you mean? Just show me the way."

"Get lost, stop calling me brother, I don't know you well!"

"Don't worry, second brother. You just went down the mountain to explore the road a few days ago. You must know something. Tell me. I have two cigarette butts. Can't I exchange them with you?"

It's not easy to ask for help from others. You have to persuade them over and over again, not to mention how much effort it takes.

Erma deliberately whetted people's appetite, which was also half a test. He kept it a secret and dragged it out until he had had enough of being a master. Then he raised his eyebrows, closed his eyes slightly, and asked with a pout, "Do you really want to know?"

No one responded.

Erma was slightly dissatisfied. He opened one eye and asked impatiently, "Hiss, are you still going to listen or not?"

Still no response.

The young bandit just squatted opposite, seemingly hearing nothing, but his eyes passed over Erma's shoulder and neck and looked towards the dense forest at the foot of the mountain.

At first, he frowned and seemed to be doubting himself.

Then, his eyes suddenly focused and his brows gradually relaxed, but the expression was not of joy, but of fear.

Finally, he spotted a figure deep in the woods, then stood up suddenly, holding his rifle, and stammered loudly, "Officers, officers and soldiers... Commander-in-Chief, Chief of Staff, officers and soldiers are coming, officers and soldiers are coming!"

The shouts spread quickly throughout the camp, along with an atmosphere of panic.

"Where, where?"

"It's over, it's over. The soldiers have really caught up with us. What should we do?"

"What are you all still standing there for? Hurry up and get your guns!"

"No...are we still going to fight?"

The weapons and equipment of the crowd were obviously not bad, but when they heard that the officers and soldiers were coming, they immediately looked defeated and showed a tendency to surrender without a fight.

When the old Taoist heard the noise, he jumped down from his perch and shouted at the top of his voice: "Brothers, the commander-in-chief and I had heard about this long before we entered the mountain. The soldiers are planning to make an exception for us this time to scare the monkeys. Don't believe their sweet talk. If you believe them, you will fall into their trap and be shot in the future!"

He shouted until he was hoarse, trying to rally the people.

However, for nearly half a month, everyone had been hiding from place to place and had been stuck in the mountains for too long, without seeing any hope at all. Now that they heard that the officers and soldiers were coming, they not only had no fighting spirit, but instead felt a sense of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted off their shoulders.

What's more, there were more than a dozen shirtless strong men including Erma in the camp. When they heard that the officers and soldiers were coming, they quickly stood up and walked quickly to greet them.

Seeing this, the old Taoist priest immediately realized that there was a traitor in the camp and was about to order Erma to be shot, but unexpectedly, Erma had just walked a short distance when he turned around, waved his hand and shouted:

"Brothers, don't shoot, those who are here are our own people!"

As they were talking, Erma was seen holding Liu Kuaitui, who was wearing a military uniform, and walking towards the camp in big strides, laughing as he walked: "Come on, let me introduce you all. This is my best buddy. He used to work for Man Tian Fei."

"Wang Erma, you betrayed the revolution!"

The old Taoist priest was so anxious that he jumped up and down in front of the tent. He looked around and shouted in a stern voice: "Come here, shoot him and kill him!"

Several bandits raised their guns hesitantly, wondering whether to shoot or not. Suddenly, their eyes lit up and they hurried forward and said, "Lao Kang, when did you join the army? Who issued the imperial edict for you? What's the situation?"

It turned out that when the rebels went down the mountain to destroy the kiln, they were worried that the soldiers would never come back, so most of the people they sent out were Lao Mang's old and trusted subordinates, and most of those who stayed behind in the camp were bandits from other mountains.

Now, Liu Kuaitui led a group of soldiers to arrive. As soon as the two sides met, they began to think about their past friendship and there was no chance of fighting.

The remaining twenty or thirty of Lao Mang's former subordinates, seeing that the situation was not right, hesitated for a moment and then lowered their guns.

Liu Kuaitui followed Jiang Lianheng's instructions and used the strategy of attacking the heart to the extreme. As soon as he entered the camp, he immediately took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket, not caring who was in front of him or whether he knew him or not. He just gave cigarettes to everyone he saw and said with a laugh:
"Come on, come on, brothers, have you all lit up? I'd rather leave one cigarette behind than leave anyone behind."

The bandits were all smiling and calling each other brothers. How could there be any sign of fighting?
Seeing that the situation was not good, the old Taoist turned around and rushed into the military tent. It was unknown what his plan was.

At this moment, Zhao Guoyan flashed out from behind the officers and soldiers, walked to the center of the camp, glanced around, and asked loudly: "Who... is Lao Mang?"

Everyone suddenly quieted down, and turned sideways to look at the military tent in front of the old Taoist priest...

(End of this chapter)