20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 651 Going down the mountain
After these words were spoken, everyone in the camp finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Erma smiled and stepped forward and said, "Look, I told you that Boss Jiang is not a petty person. With such a large family business, how could he be so unreasonable because of such a small matter? Commander-in-chief, brothers, if you ask me, it is better to resolve a feud than to create one. Let's just take a step back and make peace, right?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. No one wanted to fight anymore, and they didn't even know what they were fighting for.

Lao Mang hesitated a little.

Seeing this, the old Taoist rolled his eyes and asked immediately, "Just because Boss Jiang gives the order, can the government arrange for peace?"

Zhao Guoyan glanced at him and was too lazy to repeat himself.

Liu Kuaitui smiled and said, "Of course. The one sent by the government to suppress the rebellion this time is General Zhang Xiaokun, who is Boss Jiang's sworn brother. Others may not know, but I have witnessed with my own eyes that the two of them are close friends, as close as one person. Boss Jiang's words are definitely effective!"

The old Taoist heard it but did not respond. Instead, he came up behind Lao Mang and whispered a few words to him.

Liu Kuaitui frowned, and immediately said with some dissatisfaction: "Hey, if you miss this place, you won't be able to find it again. What are you still mumbling about?"

The remaining soldiers immediately echoed, "Don't hesitate any longer, this is a golden opportunity. Look at us, aren't we eating government food now?"

Lao Mang was not confused either. He had just sent people down the mountain to destroy the kiln this morning. However, within a few hours, the officers and soldiers had heard the news and arrived. There was no doubt that there must be a traitor in the camp.

However, even if we knew that Erma had colluded with the enemy in advance, what can we do now?

The bandits who went down the mountain to destroy the kiln probably won't come back.

After sighing for a while, Lao Mang finally walked into the military tent.

The old Taoist understood what he meant, cleared his throat immediately, stepped aside and said, "Then please come into the house and discuss in detail!"

Zhao Guoyan and Liu Kuaitui looked at each other and thought that this old man was really getting flattered. He had no choice but to put on an attitude of negotiation.

Having said that, in order to save the other party's face, he still followed in with a gun in hand.

Upon seeing what was happening, everyone in the camp hurried to the front of the tent, squatted down, and listened carefully.

The facilities in the military tent were extremely simple, with only a bed and a table, nothing else.

Lao Mang waved to offer his seat, looked at Zhao Guoyan and Liu Kuaitui, pondered for a while, and finally asked, "Does Boss Jiang keep his word?"

Zhao Guoyan had a cold face, and he brushed his clothes casually, but said: "You can go and check it out. My boss is a man of his word."

"I have heard of this, but the problem is..." Lao Mang raised his eyelids lazily, "I don't know you very well. Can you represent the Jiang family?"

Liu Kuaitui laughed and said, "That's right. Old Zhao is the second in command of the Jiang family. Since he has come to talk to you, do you think he can represent the Jiang family?"

Lao Mang glanced at him, unmoved, and said calmly: "I need the Jiang family to make me a promise."

"What promise?"

"Promise the Jiang family that they will not abandon me and will find a chance to take revenge on me."

Zhao Guoyan smiled and said, "Old Mang, you take yourself too seriously, don't you? You're killing me when I'm done. Where's the mill? The things in your camp are indeed good, but they're not bad enough for the Jiang family to keep eyeing on. Let's take a step back. If the Jiang family wants to kill you and report the location of your camp to the government, can you still run away?"

"Don't play dumb here!" Lao Mang locked his eyes on Zhao Guoyan's face and snorted coldly, "Don't worry about what I think. I just want to ask you one question: Can the Jiang family give me this promise?"

"Okay, on behalf of the Jiang family, I promise: as long as you come down the mountain and surrender, apologize to my boss, and explain this misunderstanding online, the Jiang family will never take the opportunity to retaliate! After you come down the mountain, whether you want to be a soldier, a bandit, or go back to your old business and continue smuggling arms - the Jiang family only seeks cooperation, not enmity!"

After saying that, Zhao Guoyan raised his chin slightly and asked, "How about it, do you have any other requests?"

Liu Kuaitui quickly echoed, "Lao Mang, Boss Jiang is very sincere now, don't go too far, just quit while you're ahead!"

Lao Mang nodded and said, "Okay, let's go out later. If you repeat what you just said in front of everyone, I will believe that the Jiang family will not turn against you and retaliate."

"Sure!" Zhao Guoyan answered straightforwardly.

"Okay, okay!" Liu Kuaitui immediately smiled and clapped his hands. "Then we have a deal. Let's pack up and get ready to go down the mountain while it's still bright!"

"Wait a minute—"

The old Taoist suddenly raised his hand to stop him: "Although the surrender has been decided, there are still some details. We'd better sort them out first."

"The price has already been lowered, why discuss the details?" Liu Kuaitui didn't understand what he meant.

"Let's talk, let's talk!" The old Taoist put on an unfathomable attitude and laughed, "Surrender - that's also a business!"

"Why, you still want money?"

"Tsk, vulgar!"

The old Taoist knocked his knees and shook his head as he said, "This time the 'Anti-Fengtian Army' failed. If our commander-in-chief led the troops to surrender, it would certainly be considered a great achievement; but if he was forced to go down the mountain, he would become a sinner! How to surrender and with what identity to surrender, there are rules here!"

"Wait a minute!" Liu Kuaitui couldn't help laughing, "I've felt this is outrageous since just now. You only have a battalion of soldiers under your command. How dare you say you are the commander-in-chief?" "Otherwise, is there anyone else in the Anti-Fengtian Army now?"

"No, who is as blind as you guys?"

"That's right!" Ye Laodao said with a smile, "We are the only one left in the Anti-Fengtian Army. If Captain Wu is not the commander-in-chief, who is the commander-in-chief?"

Liu Kuaitui stared blankly for a long time before he pouted and asked, "No, do you have the energy? You are fooling yourself, what are you doing, are you kidding me?"

"How can this be called playing?" Ye Laodao hurriedly explained, "This is business. Three parts of ability and seven parts of selling. What we earn is shouting! How can persuading a battalion commander to surrender be the same as persuading a commander to surrender? Boss Jiang persuaded the commander-in-chief of the 'Anti-Fengtian Army' to surrender. It sounds good when it gets out, and it will be convenient for General Zhang to ask for military merits. We will also have face. It's killing two birds with one stone. What's wrong with that?"

"Come on!" Liu Kuaitui cursed, "Do you think everyone is like you, talking nonsense all day long and not doing anything? It's not like I haven't joined the 'Fengtian Army'. Everyone knows that the commanders-in-chief of the 'Fengtian Army' are Gao Shibin and Lu Yonggui. Do you have the right to act so high and mighty here?"

Just at this moment, Lao Mang, who was sitting at the head of the bed, suddenly muttered:

"I know where Gao Shibin and Lu Yonggui are..."

"Look, he knows all——"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Kuaitui's face suddenly changed. He jumped up from the table, widened his eyes, and asked, "What the hell? Do you know where Gao Shibin and Lu Yonggui are?"

The Suifenhe mountain guerrillas rebelled against Feng Zhang because of Gao and Lu. Zhang Xiaokun led his troops to suppress the rebellion. Although he was unstoppable and recaptured the nine stations in North Manchuria, he was still unable to capture the two culprits.

Gao Shibin was not from a bandit family. He had previously served as an officer and was related to the former governor of Jilin, so he had quite some appeal.

This person must be eliminated, otherwise there will be trouble.

There is no doubt that whoever can catch these two men will be able to resolve a knot in Lao Zhang's heart, and he will naturally be rewarded with merits and honors.

Once Gaul died, the title of commander-in-chief of the anti-Fengtian army was naturally just a gimmick and a symbol, and it would be of little use no matter who took the position.

Liu Kuaitui immediately perked up and asked, "Lao Mang, let's not joke around. This is a great achievement. If you confess now, not only will you save your life, but you will also be promoted and make a fortune. Do you really know where they are?"

Lao Mang closed his eyes slightly and shook his head gently, but said: "I will only tell you when I see General Zhang."

He gave himself two insurances, and then he stole a glance at Zhao Guoyan, secretly observing the changes in his expression, without saying a word.

Zhao Guoyan sighed deeply, then forced a smile and clasped his hands together, "Okay, okay, then on behalf of the Jiang family, I would like to congratulate Brother Wu on his successful career in advance."

Lao Mang waved his hands randomly and said, "There's no rush for this. I haven't decided whether to join the army or not. After all, I'm old. You should hurry up and do what you promised just now!"

"No problem!" Zhao Guoyan stood up and said, "Let's go find everyone and make things clear."

After saying that, several people walked out of the military tent one after another.

When everyone in the camp heard the noise, they immediately swarmed over and blocked the entrance to the big tent.

In accordance with the agreement, Zhao Guoyan, in the name of the Fengtian Jiang family, publicly announced his promise not to retaliate in the future; then, Liu Kuaitui stepped forward and touted the various benefits of surrendering; finally, Lao Mang and the wild old Taoist made a few summary sentences to clear the blame for the rebellion, which was both a self-comfort and a way to stabilize the morale of the army.

The brothers felt relieved. After suffering for more than a month, they finally saw joy on their faces again.

It's time to go down the mountain!

Everyone seemed impatient and didn't want to waste even a second, so they immediately started to pack up and get ready.

Seeing this, Liu Kuaitui hurriedly took out two official signatures from his pocket and shouted, "Brothers, don't rush to pack your things. This time the government has ordered to suppress the rebellion, and General Zhang is recruiting soldiers. When we go down the mountain later, no matter whether you are willing to eat the government food or not, according to the rules, we still have to count the number of people. Everyone come and press your fingerprints, it's convenient anyway."

"After all this talk, which General Zhang is this?"

"Zhang Xiaokun, the long-legged guy, used to be a foreman under Maozi. Have you ever heard of him?"

Unexpectedly, many people in the camp had heard of the great poet Zhang. They were just a little surprised and exclaimed, "What the hell, he has become a general?"

A few others sighed and said, "Oh, it's true that if you compare yourself with others, you will die; if you compare goods with others, you will throw them away. We all built the railway together back then, but how did he get promoted?"

"It's not too late to follow him now!" Liu Kuaitui patted his chest and said, "General Zhang is very nice to our fellow villagers. What else do you want? Come over here and press your fingerprints!"

It is natural and reasonable to count the number of people who accepted the surrender.

When everyone heard this, they didn't think any more and immediately lined up in a messy queue, vying to press their fingerprints.

After a cup of tea, Liu Kuaitui gently fanned the official signature twice, counted them carefully, and murmured with a smile: "A total of... 123 people, are there any left out?"

Inside the camp, everyone rubbed the bright red ink on their fingertips, smiled foolishly and shook their heads.

After wandering around the world for more than ten years, I am finally going to come ashore and eat government food. I feel very excited.

Liu Kuai Tui folded the official signature, put it in his jacket pocket, patted it twice, and said, "Okay, from now on, we are all family. Pack up and go down the mountain!"

(End of this chapter)