Chapter Nine: Cooperative Prison Break

Zhang Zuolin did not come to Gulu Mountain to meet Yang Xiaolin; instead, he chose Haicheng County as the meeting place. Right in the woods just outside Haicheng County, a large table had been set up. Zhang Zuolin was already waiting there. Seeing Yang Xiaolin arrive in front of him with only a hundred men, a gleam of admiration flashed in Zhang Zuolin's eyes. "Ghost-catcher Yang, you've got guts. You really dared to come?"

Yang Xiaolin sat down opposite Zhang Zuolin, propped his legs up on the table, and pulled out a cigarette. One of the nearby bandits eagerly stepped forward to light it for him. After taking a puff, he looked at Zhang Zuolin and said, "What, did you think I was afraid you'd eat me?"

A cold smile played at the corners of Zhang Zuolin's lips. "When you came last time, I wasn't home to host you properly. I've felt rather regretful about that."

Even as he spoke, Yang Xiaolin sensed some unusual movement in the surrounding woods. Zhang Zuoxiang was already leading the Haicheng County militia to close in from all four directions. Yang Xiaolin smiled slightly. Although his intelligence network had not yet fully expanded, some of Zhang Zuolin's subordinates had already been bought over by Huang Bao. Knowing that Zhang Zuolin had no intention of starting a fight with him today, he remained completely calm.

Not just him, but the hundred brothers Yang Xiaolin had brought along also stood their ground without moving an inch. These men had all been brought down from Gulu Mountain, and a recent period of intensive training had left them looking exceptionally sharp and formidable.

Seeing the composure of Yang Xiaolin's men, Zhang Zuolin could not help but feel genuine respect.

"Well now, Commander Zhang has quite a few guns on hand today, doesn't he? Please, do put them away. I'm of a timid disposition—don't go frightening me," Yang Xiaolin said, continuing to smoke without taking his feet off the table.

Zhang Zuolin smiled, choosing not to order his men to stand down. "Speak your mind. What do you wish to discuss with me?"

The men Yang Xiaolin brought were his own trusted followers, and Zhang Zuolin was surrounded by brothers who had followed him for years, so there was no need for deliberate concealment. Yang Xiaolin went straight to the point: "When I came here last time, I mentioned it to the old man: you, me, and Big Brother Feng, the three of us join forces and work together. What are your thoughts on this matter?"

Zhang Zuolin let out a cold snort. "To be honest with you, Ghost-catcher Yang, if you're talking about partnering up with just me, I'd welcome it with open arms. In the future, you'll be the bandit and I'll be the official soldier; working in the light and in the shadows together, we could take not just western Liaoning, but the entire Northeast. Big Brother Feng? He's already been captured by the Russians, what use is he now? Besides, he's always been threatening to get rid of me. Do you really think I could walk the same path as him?"

Yang Xiaolin fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "If these Russians go to war with the Japanese, this whole region is going to suffer. Fifth Brother Zhang, what will you do when that time comes?"

Zhang Zuolin slapped the table. "I don't care how they fight! As long as they don't provoke me—whoever provokes me, I'll fight them to the death. Ghost-catcher Yang, what do you plan to do? Help the Japanese or the Russians? Or perhaps help neither, and play the coward hiding away in Changbai Mountain? At least neither the Russians nor the Japanese would go attack Changbai Mountain, right?"

Though the words sounded abrasive, Zhang Zuolin had already revealed his intention to probe Yang Xiaolin's stance. Yang Xiaolin countered with a question: "If I say we fight the Russians and fight the Japanese, will you help me, Fifth Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Zuolin remained silent. Yang Xiaolin tapped the table with his finger. "Russians or Japanese, no matter which side wins, the outcome for us is exactly the same. You know this clearly in your heart, or you wouldn't have refused the Japanese demands."

Zhang Zuolin nodded. "That's why Feng Delin is in such a hurry to wipe me out. That's the will of his Japanese masters."

Yang Xiaolin shook his head. "Don't make excuses for yourself. Big Brother Feng isn't the kind of man to disregard righteousness. The reason he wants to get rid of you is because you want to stand out, and you refuse to follow the established rules in doing so."

Hearing this, Zhang Zuolin burst into laughter. "Ha! Rules? Rules are paths paved by those who went before, laid down precisely so those coming behind can never surpass them. Why should I follow Feng Delin's rules?"

Such words were arrogant indeed, truly fitting for the future King of the Northeast. Yang Xiaolin did not pursue the matter further. "Big Brother Feng also wants to use the Japanese to vent some grievance for us people of the Northeast. Perhaps he hasn't seen through the true nature of those Japanese, but he is definitely no traitor!"

Zhang Zuolin did not debate this point with him. "Just tell me what you want to do. Lay out the road. If it's walkable, I'll walk it with you. But if I don't want to walk it, rest assured, I will never block your path."

"Fifth Brother Zhang, do you know why the Russians and the Japanese both dare to run wild on our land? It's because you walk your path, Big Brother Feng walks his path, and I walk mine! If you remain indifferent today when the Russians capture Big Brother Feng, then tomorrow, when the Japanese finish you off, no one will come to help you. We will be picked off by them one by one."

Zhang Zuolin stopped speaking. He knew this logic well enough; otherwise, he would never have sat down with Yang Xiaolin today. What he wanted to know was: if Yang Xiaolin wanted him to walk the same path, what on earth did that road look like?

Only then did Yang Xiaolin take his feet down from the table and toss away the cigarette butt. "Fifth Brother Zhang, I won't waste words. Here is what I think: right now, the Russians and the Japanese are two wolves, and they are both eyeing our patch of land, wanting to swallow us whole in a single gulp. There is a fact we must acknowledge, which is that even if we gathered every single hero in the Northeast, we still couldn't defeat them."

Zhang Zuolin nodded. "That's true. But we can't be like Feng Delin, helping the Japanese finish off the Russians, only for the little Japanese to treat us just like the Russians did in the end. Feng Delin thinking he can exert some effort for the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War and expecting the little Japanese to go easy on him is pure foolishness."

Yang Xiaolin smiled. His biggest worry was that now that Zhang Zuolin held official rank, he would remain indifferent to the Russo-Japanese War. As long as Zhang still had hot blood in his veins and still possessed ambition, that was enough!

"Brother Zhang, do you know how a sheep survives in front of two wolves?"

He changed his form of address from Fifth Brother Zhang to Brother Zhang. Zhang Zuolin shook his head upon hearing it. "I don't."

Yang Xiaolin leaned forward toward him. "The only way is to keep those two wolves fighting each other forever!"

Zhang Zuolin looked at him. "You mean, whichever side gains the upper hand, we hit them?"

Yang Xiaolin nodded. "Precisely. We can't beat the Russians and the Japanese on our own, but as long as the three of us unite as one, we can achieve this—until we become wolves ourselves."

Zhang Zuolin pondered for a moment. "The road is good, it sounds wide enough, but which of the three of us takes the lead?"

As he asked this final question, his eyes fixed on Yang Xiaolin, a sharp glint of ambition flashing in his gaze. Yang Xiaolin knew that if he claimed the leadership right now, Fifth Brother Zhang would certainly refuse, for Zhang himself was an ambitious man. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Let's rescue Big Brother Feng first. Only when the three of us sit down together can we discuss this question."

In Liaoyang, Feng Delin had been locked in the Russian dungeon for three whole days. Over these three days, gunfire outside the city of Liaoyang never ceased; his loyal brothers had not given up on him, and bands of outlaws frequently gathered to raid the city. Even the Japanese had begun negotiations with the Russians, demanding the immediate release of Feng Delin.

Yet, whether it was the assaults of the bandits outside or the diplomatic efforts of the Japanese, all yielded no results. The Russian stance was resolute: Feng Delin must die. Five days from now, this Chinese bandit would be publicly executed in Liaoyang.

The task of guarding Feng Delin was carried out entirely by the Russians, and the Chinese guards who originally worked in the prison were forbidden from having any contact with him whatsoever.

Inside a small restaurant in Liaoyang City, Zhang Zuolin looked at Wei Yugang, who sat across from him with a deeply troubled expression. Zhang tapped his knuckles against the table a few times. "Gangzi, when your father passed away last year and you didn't have money for the burial, it was Feng Delin who gave you the money, wasn't it? A person cannot act without a conscience like you are doing now. Now that Uncle Feng has fallen into misfortune, I, Fifth Brother, want to save him. When I charge into the prison, is it really that hard for you to just open a single door?"

Wei Yugang looked somewhat embarrassed. "Fifth Brother, it's not that this humble person refuses to help you, but just look outside—the streets are crawling with Russians! Even if I opened the door, we wouldn't be able to get out! What's more, the place where Uncle Feng is locked up is heavily guarded by the Russians. On ordinary days, I can't even manage to send him a bite of food."

Zhang Zuolin crossed his arms over his chest. "Leave that to me. Just open the door, and I'll find a way out of the city. Afterwards, you can come with me to Fengtian. As long as Fifth Brother has a bite to eat, I won't let you go hungry."

Wei Yugang still refused to agree. "Fifth Brother, look, I'm no longer hanging around the mountains. Although working for the Russians is a bit disgraceful, at least my whole family can eat their fill. My mother is getting old and her health isn't good; I just want to see her safely through her final days in peace. How about this, Fifth Brother? I'll draw the map for you, and I guarantee that the brothers inside the prison won't fire a shot at you. Will that do?"

Zhang Zuolin stared at him in silence for a long while before finally picking up his cup of wine and draining it. "Gangzi, how old is your mother this year?"

"Sixty-six!"

"Not bad, a ripe old age. How many children do you have?"

"Just two, both girls."

Zhang Zuolin pulled a handful of money from his tunic. "Here, take this and buy some things."

Wei Yugang looked somewhat flustered. "Fifth Brother, what is the meaning of this? I already feel terrible for not being able to help, how could I possibly take your money? I don't want this money, absolutely not."

Suddenly, Zhang Zuolin's expression shifted, turning exceptionally fierce. He grabbed Wei Yugang by the collar and hauled him close. "This money isn't for you to spend, it's for buying things, understand? Do you know what to buy?"

Before Wei Yugang could speak, Zhang Zuolin whispered in his ear: "Remember, five coffins—three large ones, two small ones!"

When he finally released his grip, Wei Yugang's face was as pale as paper! Having spent his past in the greenwoods, he knew very well that in western Liaoning, if the government and the Russians represented the righteous path, then Feng Delin and Zhang Zuolin represented the underworld. If Zhang Zuolin wanted to wipe out his entire family, it was by no means an idle threat!

"Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother, show mercy and leave this humble person a way out, please!"

With that, he dropped to his knees before Zhang Zuolin. Yet Zhang Zuolin's expression remained completely unperturbed. "Don't be like that. You're a big shot eating the Russians' food now, this humble person can't afford such treatment! I'm counting on you, the great lord, to show mercy and leave this brother a way out."

As he spoke, he leaned his face close to Wei Yugang's. "There are too many people in this restaurant, look, everyone is staring at you. Get up, Gangzi. Back then, you were still somebody, don't act so spineless. Once Fifth Brother speaks, words cannot be taken back. Since I've found you today, you will do this whether you want to or not. If Big Brother Feng is rescued, your whole family lives. But if Big Brother Feng is killed by the Russians, Gangzi, if your family manages to survive past the very next day, I, Zhang Zuolin, will quit the underworld for good!"