Chapter 7: Flying into a Rage

Days passed in the blink of an eye. When the brothers from below finally returned to the mountain, they were all brimming with high spirits and vigor. Over the past few short months, the three or four hundred men who had descended had more than doubled in number upon their return. Most crucially, they found that the environment around them had completely shifted. The gentry and landlords who used to ignore them now proactively sought to build connections, bowing and scraping before them simply to secure their own safety. Biaozi, in particular, had even sworn brotherhood with the magistrate. This elevation in status and standing gave the bandits a profound sense of achievement.

After returning to the mountain, Biaozi immediately went to see Yang Xiaolin and Jin Dahao. Waving and smiling from afar, he called out, "Commander, Big Brother, I'm back!"

Jin Dahao cast a sidelong glance at him. Biaozi was dressed in a Russian leather coat with thick fur lining the collar, and he wore polished leather shoes. The straw rope around his waist had been replaced by a leather belt of the kind only the wealthy could afford.

"You've been doing well for yourself, kid. You've got the most men now, strong and well-equipped. You didn't lose face for your brother here."

Biaozi chuckled, waving a hand behind him. A follower stepped forward with a sack, opened it, and pulled out a smaller bag. Respectfully, Biaozi placed it before Jin Dahao: "Authentic Shanxi donkey meat! Big Brother said it was delicious when you had it a few years ago, and I've kept it in mind ever since."

Jin Dahao looked at him without a word. Biaozi then produced another bag and handed it to Liang Qichao: "Mr. Rengong, our corner of the Northeast is too far; fresh tea was impossible to get, but this is last year's aged Biluochun. Please do me the honor of accepting it, Mr. Rengong."

Next came Yang Du and Kong Luodi: "Gentlemen, you are scholars. I happened to get my hands on a few foreign fountain pens a few days ago. Please accept them with my compliments."

Finally, he walked over to Yang Xiaolin and drew several boxes of cigars from the bag: "Commander, I know you like these, so I had someone buy them specially from Liaoyang. I heard they're Cuban goods. Have a taste."

Yang Xiaolin looked at the cigar boxes and smiled: "Not bad, Biaozi. You truly are our old brother; you certainly know how to handle people."

Biaozi grinned broadly: "Of course. No matter where I go, my heart is always thinking about the situation on the mountain. When I go to sleep at night, I wonder if it's cold up here on the mountain, and whether the Commander and Big Brother can sleep soundly—"

Yang Xiaolin interrupted him: "Biaozi, I heard your magistrate sworn brother treats you quite well, is that right?"

Biaozi nodded: "Yes, these things were bought through him. It didn't cost me a single copper coin. He told me to convey his regards to you all, saying it's inconvenient for him to come up the mountain right now, but when the time is right, he will certainly come to pay his respects to the Commander."

Jin Dahao dropped the donkey meat onto the table with a thud: "Are you trying to impress us using other people's things, you little rascal?"

Biaozi hurriedly protested: "No, no! Even though the money was his, isn't the thought mine?"

Before he could say any more, Yang Xiaolin gathered up the cigar boxes: "I trust Biaozi's actions implicitly. You should understand why that magistrate wanted to swear brotherhood with you. I trust you have good judgment and won't be fooled by others."

Biaozi straightened up and said earnestly, "Commander, rest assured. I know very well what should and shouldn't be done."

Yang Xiaolin nodded: "Also, we'll leave these things here for now. Let me tell you this: instead of worrying about us every night, you'd better spend some energy training your troops. Your unit has the most men; if you fail to show results this time, you will swallow every single thing you brought back here, fountain pens included!"

By the end of his words, Yang Xiaolin's face was ashen. With that, he strode out. Jin Dahao followed closely behind him, passing Biaozi with a cold snort. Biaozi stood there in a daze, unable to figure out what he had done wrong. Yang Du walked over with a chuckle, twirled one of the fountain pens in front of Biaozi, and then slid it into his own pocket: "Don't worry, my friend. I won't make you swallow this pen. Thanks."

Stepping out of the room, Yang Xiaolin let out a long breath. He was beginning to understand why the Chairman had insisted on launching several political movements even under such dire circumstances back then. How long had they been gone? Upon returning, Biaozi wasn't even the first to bring them gifts. This showed that the brothers who had gone down the mountain had already been corrupted by the gentry and officials below.

Pursuing comfort is human nature; even Yang the former police officer often daydreamed about that kind of happy life from the past. But the problem was that this was no time for them to pursue comfort!

This trend had to be nipped in the bud! If things went on like this, Yang Xiaolin estimated that his troops would soon degenerate. By then, they might not even need an outside force to wipe them out; once these officers leading the troops embraced the lifestyle of the gentry, the consequences would be terrifying!

Striding forward quickly after leaving the room, Yang Xiaolin wore an expression so dark that none of the surrounding bandits dared to approach him. Just then, Qian Yao returned as well. Unaware of Yang Xiaolin's dark mood, he called out from a distance, "Commander! I got you two packs of foreign cigarettes. Try them out and see how they are."

Hearing this, Yang Xiaolin strode directly toward Qian Yao. Qian Yao quickly pulled the cigarettes from behind his back, but as he drew closer, he noticed the dark look on the Commander's face. While he stood there frozen, wondering what had happened, Yang Xiaolin snatched the cigarettes from his hand and flung them over the side of the mountain!

"Listen up, all you bastards! Aside from Gu Tianming, every single regiment commander who brought me gifts will have the things you brought up the mountain thrown away! Qian Yao, Biaozi, Liu Xianhe, and Sui Bingquan are to be locked up! The deputy regiment commanders will take charge!"

He was practically roaring, his voice terrifyingly loud. With every word he spoke, Qian Yao, standing closest to him, felt his body involuntarily tremble. He had never seen the Commander fly into such a rage and was too terrified to ask why.

After Yang Xiaolin left, Nierer walked over with two bandits: "Qian Yao, sorry about this. Come with me."

Only then did Qian Yao mutter in a daze, "What on earth is going on here?"

Throwing them in the dark cell was a new disciplinary measure Yang Xiaolin had devised. Originally, he had intended to use it to deal with minor rule infractions within the troops, never imagining that the first time he used it, he would lock up four out of the five regiment commanders. He was truly furious!

With the regiment commanders locked away, the grand military competition still had to go on, with the deputy regiment commanders temporarily leading the troops.

While Biaozi and the others were locked in the dark cells without food or water for two days, deafening cheers rang out outside. Except for shooting, concealment, and reconnaissance drills which required silence, every unit cheered and shouted themselves hoarse for their own men in events like running, bayonet drills, mountain climbing, ravine crossing, and grenade throwing.

In the end, the First and Fifth Regiments took three championship titles each out of the ten events, while Biaozi's Third Regiment failed to win a single one. Even in the shooting competition, which Biaozi was certain they would win, Dui Hui lost to a guy who had just joined the Fourth Regiment. Among the top thirty overall scores, the Third Regiment only claimed two spots, both near the bottom.

Sui Bing's unit performed the best, taking eleven spots and sweeping both first and second place. Once the competition concluded, Yang Xiaolin finally released the four fellows who had gone two days and two nights without food or drink.

Jin Dahao had a "chat" with Biaozi before releasing them, and by the time Biaozi appeared before Yang Xiaolin, his face was bruised and battered.

A lavish feast was spread across the table. When Biaozi sat down near Sui Bing, he didn't even dare to pick up his chopsticks. Not only Biaozi, but the others also kept their hands firmly to themselves.

"What, not hungry?" Yang Xiaolin asked, glancing at the group.

Lowering their heads, the men exchanged furtive glances until Sui Bing finally spoke up, "Not hungry. Oh wait, I am hungry."

Yang Xiaolin raised his chin and pointed it toward the table: "Eat first. Once we're full, we can talk slowly."

Still, no one reached for their chopsticks. Yang Xiaolin sighed, picked up his chopsticks, and took a casual bite of food: "It's been several months since we last ate together at the same table. Opportunities like this are going to get scarcer. Eat something; you haven't eaten for two days and two nights, your bodies can't take it. I'm still counting on you to help me lead the troops."

At that moment, Gu Tianming gave a light cough and picked up his chopsticks: "Everyone eat. After we're done, let the Commander lecture us. We really did do a lot of things wrong this period, and we'll change from now on."

Only after he spoke did Biaozi and the others dare to make a move. They ate with extreme caution. The deeply ingrained fear of Yang Xiaolin in their hearts made them keep one eye on his expression even as they ate, making their table manners remarkably refined.

Yang Xiaolin didn't speak at first, simply sitting there watching them eat a little something. Only when color had returned to everyone's faces did he speak in a leisurely tone: "It hasn't been easy, Xianhe. Do you remember the winter of the Gengzi Year when we followed your father up the Changbai Mountains? That winter, let alone eating, Big Brother Liu led us to dig up grass roots buried deep in the snow just to eat. That year, if I recall correctly, forty-one brothers starved to death, right?"

Kong Luodi chimed in from the side, "Forty-three. Two others fell to their deaths while digging for grass roots up the mountain, and they're all buried in the ravine behind us."

Yang Xiaolin nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile: "Back then, Big Brother Gu's men didn't even have rifles; they were still using hunting matchlocks. How many of the brothers who followed us back then are still around?"

Hearing this, Sui Bing and the others laid their chopsticks down once more. Liu Xianhe's eyes grew somewhat red. Ever since Liu Yikun came to the Northeast in the Gengzi Year, gathering a force of over a thousand men and fighting up to the present day—though the force had grown larger under Yang Xiaolin's command—of those original thousand men, fewer than thirty remained.

Yang Xiaolin swept his gaze across them, tapping his hand on the table: "The only reason we can still sit here today is because those fallen brothers traded their lives to get us here. It was Big Brother Liu who bartered his head for us. Everyone wants to live a comfortable life—living in a big house, drinking fiery liquor, holding a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl in your arms under the covers on a freezing winter day, feeling that warm flesh—how wonderful that must feel, right?"

Liu Xianhe raised his head to look at Yang Xiaolin, only to find the Commander's gaze fixed directly on him. He immediately lowered his head again, knowing full well those words were meant for him.

Yang Xiaolin picked up a rag from the table and hurled it at Liu Xianhe's head: "And yet, I want you to think: right now, both the Russians and the Qing court want to wipe us out, and the little Japanese are treating us well only because they have ulterior motives. If you hide under the covers and refuse to come out and fight for your lives, how can you face your father?"

Though the rag didn't hurt when it hit, Liu Xianhe burst into tears under the blow: "Wuwu... Commander... I know I was wrong!" (Please cast recommendation votes!)