Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tingshu's eyes lit up immediately: "Really? Where are we going to get these?"

Gu Cheng smiled but said nothing. At this moment, Yang Song and his seven guards had already prepared their horses, and the group quietly slipped out of the city under the cover of night.

"Stop keeping me in suspense. Where are you and your men headed in the middle of the night?"

Zhang Tingshu was pressing him, and Gu Cheng glanced at his watch in the dim moonlight; the hour hand had just passed eleven.

The night was deep; it was the perfect time to act.

Gu Cheng gripped the reins tightly and chuckled in a low voice: "Lianshan Station."

"Lianshan?" Zhang Tingshu was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized what he meant and almost reined in his horse. "Lianshan? Isn't that where all the Manchuria Railway's branches are located? Goodness, you wouldn't... really be planning to get your hands on Japanese goods, would you?"

Gu Cheng's smile deepened: "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Zhang Tingshu's eyes widened, but his tone was more excited than surprised, "Good heavens! You've got some nerve, daring to touch Japanese stuff! Aren't you afraid they'll come knocking on our door and cause trouble?"

Gu Cheng laughed loudly: "Go ahead and look! Who's afraid of who? The brothers can't even afford a decent meal, I don't care if they're Japanese or not, let's just rob them, hahaha!"

Zhang Tingshu initially wanted to object, but seeing his friend's confident demeanor, he thought to himself that the other person was not a reckless person.

Even if he wanted to get some supplies from the Japanese, he had probably already come up with a foolproof plan.

Horse hooves pounded on the dirt roads of the Northeast countryside, splashing up tiny specks of mud. The summer night wind, carrying the pungent smell of wild grass and earth, brushed against their faces with a slight coolness, yet it could not dispel the burning passion in their hearts.

The guards following closely behind were all skilled soldiers from the former Marshal's Guard Brigade. As they listened to the regimental commander and deputy regimental commander discussing how to make the Japanese suffer some losses, their shock instantly turned into uncontrollable excitement.

After galloping on horseback for about two hours, the faint lights in the distance—Lianshan Station—were getting closer.

Gu Cheng first gestured to Yang Song and the others, then gently pulled on the reins to slow the horse down slightly: "Old Yang, take the two brothers and patrol the area, keep an eye out for the Zhili Army patrols!"

He knew very well that this place was located on the north side of the neutral zone between Luanzhou and Jinzhou, not far from the Zhili Army's garrison, and the other side would definitely arrange patrols nearby.

"Jingchuan, do you even know what you're doing? Lianshan Station belongs to the Japanese-owned South Manchuria Railway. Their branch office is no ordinary place; it's not just Japanese officials there, but also guards sent by the Kwantung Army."

At this moment, Gu Cheng led the rest of his men up quietly. Zhang Tingshu couldn't help but whisper, "You know, the Japanese have good guns. If things really get out of hand, we guys will definitely not get away with it."

Gu Cheng nodded: "We certainly can't do this kind of unprofitable business. We need to carefully figure out how to make the most of this lucrative opportunity."

He knew very well that Lianshan was a key stronghold along the South Manchurian Railway, and the branch office, also known as the South Manchurian Railway Office, was built right next to the railway.

As a military enthusiast and history buff, Gu Cheng read many articles in the 21st century: the official railway bureaus were ostensibly handling railway affairs, but they were actually hoarding grain, cloth, kerosene, and even ammunition from the Kwantung Army.

This is certainly a piece of juicy, fatty meat, but it's also a forbidden zone that no one dares to touch.

They were now close enough. Gu Cheng raised his hand and pressed it on Zhang Tingshu's shoulder, gesturing towards the dark figure not far ahead with his lip—

By the faint signal lights beside the railway, one could vaguely see several scattered wooden sheds, with two dim kerosene lamps hanging under the eaves, and the Japanese sign for "South Manchuria Railway" printed in the lamplight.

Making a "crouch down and hide" gesture, Gu Cheng took out binoculars from his backpack and scanned every corner of the office inch by inch.

Zhang Tingshu squatted down next to him and followed his gaze, only to see a Japanese soldier standing on each side of the main gate of Zhangsuo.

As expected of the Japanese, they were shorter than the tall and strong men from Northeast China, but you could clearly see that these soldiers were very robust.

They carried Type 38 rifles, their ammunition pouches bulging against their waists, and held iron bars in their hands. They paced back and forth from time to time, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

"The two guards at the main gate were both armed. They looked like temporary guards from the South Manchuria Railway Company, not regular troops."

Gu Cheng put down his binoculars, lowered his voice, and pointed to the back of the shed, "Look over there, there are two more leaning against the back wall of the shed."

Zhang Tingshu squinted and looked closely. Sure enough, he saw two dark figures leaning against the wall, nodding their heads and muttering a few words of Japanese from time to time. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, there are only so many people, fewer than I expected."

Gu Cheng nodded: "The Japanese are used to running rampant in Northeast China, and they're also used to bullying others because they have the backing of the South Manchuria Railway. They think no one dares to mess with them. But look inside—"

As he spoke, he pointed to the small wooden house on the east side, "I can vaguely see a few figures, they should be the manager of the branch office... I just saw a servant carrying water in, I guess he is in charge of managing supplies."

He then turned around and instructed two guards to approach from different directions to check for additional defenses, especially heavy weapons.

A short while later, the two men returned one after the other. One of them whispered, "Commander, the warehouse is at the very back, next to the railway. There are a lot of sacks piled up there, as well as several locked wooden crates. They look heavy; there must be good stuff inside!"

Another person chimed in, "There are two more near the other end of the railway. I circled around, but didn't find any heavy weapons."

Gu Cheng first praised them for doing a good job, then said, "It seems to be similar to what I thought. These garrison troops are not from the Kwantung Army. They should be an irregular force temporarily dispatched here, so their combat strength will not be too strong."

"Shall we just go for it? Grab it and run—" Zhang Tingxu rubbed his hands together, eager for a fight. "Taking advantage of these soldiers being asleep in the middle of the night, it'll be a piece of cake!"

Gu Cheng shook his head: "We can't make a move tonight. Once we've figured out the situation inside, we need to understand the situation on the outside... otherwise, even if we get the stuff, how are we going to get it back to Jinzhou?"

This place is close to the Zhili Army's garrison; if we run into a patrol, we'll be in big trouble.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yang Song and his men ran back from the wasteland: "Commander, there really is a Zhili Army patrol team to the northwest, five men in total; they are on horseback, carrying Hanyang rifles, patrolling along the railway line, and they just passed by not long ago."

Gu Cheng secretly calculated in his mind: according to his memory, Lianshan Station was only 20 li away from the nearest Zhili Army garrison, and the movement here would be easily noticed by the Zhili Army.

Zhang Tingshu whispered, "It seems the Zhili army is also frequently active in the neutral zone. If we fire a shot here and those guys run into us, we'll be in trouble."

Seeing that the group was somewhat discouraged, Gu Cheng gestured for them to retreat first, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, we're determined to get our hands on this piece of meat! I was worried earlier that the Zhili Army might be active around here, but now that's confirmed, the next move will be easier to plan! Let's go, let's scout this out today, and then we'll make our move tomorrow!"