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

"Master Gu, the terrain in this area is complicated, and we may not be able to find this bandit's den in a short time."

Hearing Yang Song's words, Gu Cheng nodded thoughtfully.

As a time traveler from the 21st century, he knew better than anyone else that the bandits in western Liaoning during the Republic of China era were rarely professional bandits who had set up strongholds.

The local customs are mixed, and many bandits are local farmers or idle vagrants... They live peacefully by farming or doing manual labor on weekdays, only getting together to cause trouble when someone takes the lead or when they have nothing to do during the off-season.

The bandits' only fixed gathering point was a large inn along the main road, a route frequently traveled by.

Even their warlord Zhang Zuolin had spent years working in roadside inns and serving as a veterinarian, and had dealt with many bandits before establishing his own insurance team.

The fact that a group of people could be suddenly assembled last night to raid the construction site must mean that they had gathered at the roadside in advance, and it was definitely not a last-minute scramble.

Gu Cheng sneered: "The real bandit strongholds aren't on the mountains, but scattered throughout the countryside... Old Yang, you take the men and surround the inn first, don't let a single one escape!"

He was all too familiar with the tactics of these old-fashioned bandits: using transportation hubs as their center, dispersing on the spot after the mission was accomplished, making them extremely mobile.

If we rashly launch a search and suppression operation, the surrounding bandits will surely scatter and flee, making it impossible to catch the main culprit; it will only alert the enemy.

Yang Song immediately understood his meaning and immediately ordered the troops to be divided.

Two hundred cavalrymen quietly dispersed, taking advantage of the morning mist to encircle and blockade the inn.

The dim lights inside the shop flickered, and the morning mist, carrying the smell of cooking, seeped through the window cracks. The once noisy inn was instantly silenced by the sudden arrival of armed men.

Fengtian Army soldiers entered in single file, armed with weapons, and quickly subdued all twenty or thirty people inside the shop.

Whether it was a seated merchant, a porter rubbing his eyes, or a kitchen helper, everyone had a gun pointed at their head and was ordered to squat by the wall and not move.

In the vast inn, only the solemn footsteps of the soldiers and the low growl of "Don't move!" remained.

Accompanied by Yang Song, Gu Cheng strode in with a cold face, glancing around: "No one is allowed to move. There was banditry yesterday. Everyone's identity has been checked one by one. Anyone who dares to move will be treated as a member of the bandits!"

The room froze instantly, everyone holding their breath, crouching and trembling under the gun barrel, none daring to look him in the eye.

A group of soldiers rushed in without warning. The shopkeeper was terrified and stumbled out from behind the counter, bowing repeatedly with a look of panic: "Sir, we don't know where we've offended you... Our shop has always done honest business, and all our customers are honest merchants."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Cheng sat down in front of him and coldly questioned, "A legitimate business? Heh, last night bandits ran rampant in Jinzhou. This is the only business of its kind around here. How could you not know?"

The shopkeeper looked completely innocent and repeatedly said, "Sir, you've really misunderstood! I'm just a businessman, only seeking a peaceful livelihood. How could I dare to provoke these desperate criminals—"

Gu Cheng glanced at him coldly and snorted.

It was obvious that this bastard was pretending to be confused and determined to get away with it.

Upon hearing this, Yang Song flew into a rage and shouted angrily, "What a spineless bastard! He doesn't know his place until he's taught a lesson! Drag him out and beat him!"

Two guards immediately stepped forward, grabbed the struggling shopkeeper, and dragged him out of the shop.

The dull sound of military batons striking echoed from outside the door, accompanied by the innkeeper's heart-wrenching screams, each sound piercing the eardrums of the crowd with extreme sorrow.

Everyone squatting inside the store was so frightened that they trembled all over, their shoulders shaking uncontrollably, and any remaining hope they had instantly vanished.

Gu Cheng sat upright in his chair, his face cold and expressionless: "It seems that people in this area are used to keeping secrets. Since the shopkeeper is so stubborn, I won't press him."

He glanced up and swept his gaze across the trembling crowd in the shop, coldly ordering, "Everyone in the shop, come forward one by one for questioning. Anyone who knows anything or conceals anything will be treated as a member of the same gang and dealt with on the spot!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the deathly silent store instantly erupted into chaos.

In the crowd, a young man of about fifteen or sixteen finally broke down. His legs went weak with fear, and he scrambled out of the crowd, kneeling and begging for mercy, crying and pleading, "Sir, spare my life... I dare not lie! I'll tell you everything!"

He was trembling like a leaf. "Yesterday afternoon, seven or eight men came to the shop... Several of them hid in a corner and whispered among themselves, saying that they were going to do a huge business deal overnight, and if they succeeded, everyone would make a fortune!"

I dared not eavesdrop, much less ask any questions; I could only pretend to be working to get by! Sir, perhaps this is the person you've been looking for.

With the young man's testimony, the evidence was irrefutable.

Before long, the shopkeeper, who had been beaten black and blue with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, was dragged back by his personal guards.

He couldn't even stand up and collapsed to the ground.

Gu Cheng lowered his eyes to scrutinize him, and slowly said, "Still want to keep it a secret? I'll say it one last time: knowing something but not reporting it, harboring bandits—according to military law, that's execution!"

"Sir, spare my life! I'll confess... I'll confess right now!"

The fear of death shattered the shopkeeper's last psychological defenses. He prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, his face smeared with mud and blood: "Those people weren't outside bandits, they were all idle thugs and vagrants from around Goubangzi! They've been causing trouble in this area for years, they're very fierce, and no local merchant or commoner dares to mess with them!"

He took a deep breath and revealed the most crucial clue: "The leader is named Gao Wu... He's from the Gaojiatun Insurance Team!"

He keeps a group of idle thugs under his command who run rampant in the surrounding villages. Last night, he was the one who led the gathering of these men. As for what they were going to do, I honestly have no idea.

"Sir, you are my ancestor! Please don't tell anyone I leaked this! Otherwise, my whole family will be doomed..."

Just as expected!

The people hid among the bandits, and the bandits hid among the people. When there was no work, they farmed and made a living. When there was trouble, they gathered to cause chaos. After they finished, they immediately dispersed and returned to their hometowns. Ordinary searches could not find them at all. No wonder the enemy's sneak attack was so clean and thorough, leaving no trace.

Yang Song immediately stepped forward and requested orders: "Master Gu, I will immediately lead troops to encircle and annihilate Gaojiatun!"

Gu Cheng raised his hand to stop him: "No rush. Leave ten men to guard the inn, keep a close watch on everyone, and question and verify them one by one. The rest of the brothers will come with me to Yangjiatun. We will block the entire village, first surround it and then search it, and block all the ditches, waterways, and escape routes at the village entrance."

This group is masters of concealment... Pass down the order: every able-bodied man must be thoroughly searched. Anyone with burn marks, weapon marks on their palms, or signs of having been out at night, seize them all. Don't let a single one escape!

"yes!"

Yang Song readily accepted the order, turned around and quickly relayed it. His men immediately assembled and sped towards Yangjiatun.