Chapter 19 We Should Have Fought to the Death Long Ago

Seeing Yang Xiaolin looking at him this way, Liu Xianhe realized he had spoken out of turn. He offered an awkward, sheepish smile and kept his mouth shut. Yang Xiaolin did not bother to explain further. He turned his head and said to Suibing, "Suibing, the brothers still need to practice! Artillery requires unified command. You've been on the receiving end of enough Russian shells by now; you should be able to see the concentration of their fire! Our men are still clumsy in operating the artillery. If we were actually on the battlefield, where the enemy fires twice for every one shot of ours, and always lands them in the same spot, we would be at a terrible disadvantage."

Suibing replied, "Commander, isn't it just that the boys haven't gotten the hang of these new guns yet? A few days from now and this won't be a problem."

Yang Xiaolin gave a bitter smile. There was some truth to that. Few of the bandits had ever handled artillery before, and many of these gunners had never even touched the types of guns they were using now. Considering they had just gotten their hands on them, such performance wasn't too bad. They would improve gradually over time.

Until now, he still believed the Russians would give him time. He thought that, at least until the end of the Russo-Japanese War, as long as he didn't provoke the old Russkies, the old Russkies wouldn't come looking for trouble with him.

Yang Xiaolin was dead wrong.

Further down the Liudao River lay a settlement called Wudaojiang, which already marked the border of Baishan. Biaozi's sphere of influence there was extremely weak. Currently, only a single squad of a dozen brothers was stationed there symbolically, responsible for training the local militia and laying the groundwork for the advance of the main force.

On this particular day, it happened to be the celebration of the birth of a son to Master Zhang Deqing of Wudaojiang. Zhang Deqing was already forty-seven years old. He had taken seven wives and sired nine daughters. Just as his health seemed to be failing him, his fifth concubine finally gave him a son. His joy could well be imagined.

Master Zhang threw a grand banquet, thanking the heavens, the earth, and his ancestors. The entire village was brightly lit and decorated with lanterns, making it livelier than the Lunar New Year. The squad leader from Gulong Mountain had also come, representing the bandits of Gulong Mountain to offer his congratulations to Master Zhang. Master Zhang treated him as an honored guest, seating him at the same table with the scribes and runners who had come from the county town. With Master Zhang blessed with a son, even the long-term and short-term laborers managed to get some rich food into their bellies, and everyone shared in Master Zhang's joy.

It was at this exact moment that the Russians quietly pounced! Major General Stoessel personally led two thousand Russian regular soldiers to surround the village, which was still immersed in joy.

When the gunfire broke out, the squad leader had no idea what kind of enemy was out there. He assumed it was just some blind bandits from a neighboring mountain who knew about Master Zhang's celebration today and wanted to come extort a windfall. The squad leader set down his wine cup, drew his pistol, and prepared to lead his men out.

Although there was only a squad of bandits in Wudaojiang at the moment, the local militia numbered over eight hundred men, and their equipment was considered somewhat superior to that of those small bandit bands, so the squad leader was still confident of victory.

Master Zhang, however, refused to let them fight. He said today was his great day of celebration; it was inappropriate to resort to firearms, and even more inappropriate to see blood. Master Zhang also believed the intruders were merely bandits, and promptly told someone to go out and take a look. If they truly only wanted money, Master Zhang was in a good mood today and would just toss them a little something.

Before anyone could even be sent out, the sentry at the gate staggered in covered in blood. With his dying breath, the sentry told Master Zhang and the squad leader that the invaders were Russians—so many Russians!

Only then did they realize the severity of the situation. When they tried to flee, they discovered there were no longer any escape routes left around them.

The squad leader was a veteran under Golden Broadsword, and he knew that falling into the hands of the Russians would bring him no good end. He also understood why these Russians had come. At this juncture, he proposed that his men, together with the militia guards, should clear a path and charge out, or else mount a desperate defense inside the village using the existing fortifications, while immediately dispatching a few clever men to Liudao River for reinforcements. The two places were not far apart; as long as they could hold out for two hours, reinforcements were bound to arrive!

Yet, to the squad leader's utter astonishment, Zhang Deqing actually proposed a third option: Zhang Deqing wanted to open the gates of the village!

He believed the Russians had come to wipe out Gulong Mountain, and although he had some connections with Gulong Mountain, if he maintained a cooperative attitude, the Russians probably wouldn't make things difficult for him. At worst, he would just spend a little money to dismiss these foreign devils.

Having just fathered a son today, Master Zhang had no desire to risk his life in a desperate fight. He was even "generous" enough to tell the squad leader that as long as the brothers from Gulong Mountain put away their guns, he could guarantee their safety by claiming they were locals of the village. The Russians wouldn't know, and the villagers wouldn't leak the secret.

This proposal evidently won the approval of the majority. The villagers vied with one another to persuade the squad leader, hoping they would put down their weapons.

The squad leader said nothing, nor did he have the time to say anything. Being a bandit meant upholding loyalty; if his side didn't put up any fight at all, the main force waiting back at Liudao River would be doomed!

He led his sixteen bandits and charged out of the village to meet the Russians. They had barely rushed a few dozen meters before they were pinned down by the Russians in a drainage ditch. Armed only with the rifles and grenades they carried, and lacking any artillery support, the sixteen bandits fought the Russians from that little ditch for over ten minutes.

The bandits were already quite proficient in operating their firearms and coordinating their movements. Major General Stoessel first sent a dozen men in a small probe, which failed to break through. Next, he sent a platoon of a hundred Russian soldiers charging from all four directions. After a fierce battle, those Russian soldiers suffered over twenty casualties and were actually beaten back!

Watching those two blood-soaked bandits in the trench preparing ammunition behind a heavy machine gun to continue fighting him, Stoessel angrily ordered the artillery to open fire. Five or six shells crashed down, obliterating the machine gun entirely.

The battle ended. The young men of the village had witnessed the entire fight, and to be honest, they felt as though something heavy was clogging their chests. Zhang Deqing felt the same way; he was terribly worried that the people from Gulong Mountain would return later and settle accounts with him. But for now, dealing with the Russians was the priority, and Gulong Mountain had to wait. He gave the order to open the fortress gates. Just as Yang Xiaolin had predicted, this landlord and miser intended to welcome the arrival of the Russians.

He hoped to send these Russians away with a meal and a little money—though if it also took a few women and the past year's income, that would be fine too. But his thoughts were far too naive. In the Russians' plan for this operation, absolute secrecy was mandatory. Therefore, Stoessel needed to ensure that not a single soul in the village would leak the news, and to achieve that, there was a very simple method.

As soon as the Russian army entered the village, they first confiscated all the weapons from the militia. Next, they gathered all the villagers together, herding the men into one group and the women into another.

Looking at these Qing dynasty subjects trembling and cowering in fear before him, a smile appeared on Stoessel's face. Zhang Deqing stepped forward humbly, bowed ninety degrees, and plastered a smile across his own face: "General, sir, those bandits from just now have all been killed. Everyone left in the village now consists of honest, law-abiding farmers, truly!"

Stoessel walked slowly over to a banquet table, picked up a wine pot, took a sniff, and then looked over the spread of dishes: "Are you celebrating a happy event?"

Zhang Deqing nodded: "Yes, yes, this humble one was blessed with a son today. If Your Excellency the General doesn't disdain our coarse food and wine, this humble one will have a fresh banquet prepared for you."

Stoessel shook his head, seated himself unceremoniously in a chair, glanced over at the group of women, and pointed to a young, pretty girl: "Call her over to pour my wine."

Zhang Deqing froze for a moment. This woman was his eldest daughter, twenty-three years old this year, who had already been betrothed and had only returned today to help out with the celebration.

After hesitating for just a fraction of a second, he immediately beckoned, "Come over here and pour wine for the Russian General! Come quickly!"

His daughter was terrified; she walked over with her head lowered and picked up the wine pot. But before she could pour the wine, Stoessel yanked her straight into his lap, one hand reaching out shamelessly to grope her chest.

Zhang Deqing's daughter let out a piercing scream.

Zhang Deqing hurried to say, "Stop screaming, my dear girl! Just humor the foreign lord, take him inside the room, and don't make a spectacle of yourself out here!"

As he said this, his entire body was shaking violently!

Noticing his soldiers' eyes beginning to glow with greed behind him, Stoessel smiled and said in Russian, "Boys, we are going to station ourselves here for two days. Everything here belongs to you. Do whatever you want, but don't leave any trouble behind!"

Upon hearing this, the Russians immediately broke into cheers. The cheers evidently plunged the men of the village into even deeper terror. Just as they were at a loss as to what to do, the Russians rushed into the group of women, violently dragging them away.

A young man in his twenties saw his wife being hauled away by the Russians. Unable to endure it any longer, he lunged forward fiercely, flying through the air to kick a big Russian soldier to the ground: "Hua'er, don't be afraid, I'm here!"

He snatched a rifle from the Russian's hands. Before he could even pull back the bolt, two bayonets stabbed straight through his body! The young woman let out a miserable shriek, stretching her hands out desperately toward the young man, but her body was dragged farther and farther away by two Russian soldiers!

Spitting out two mouthfuls of blood, the young man dropped the rifle he had just seized to the ground, his eyes filled with seemingly endless fury and resentment! The Russian soldier he had kicked climbed to his feet, picked up the rifle, and smashed the butt down onto the young man's head, shattering his skull.

Zhang Deqing shook even more violently: "Fellow villagers! Just endure it! Endure it and this will pass!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he saw a Russian soldier drag out his fifth concubine, who was clutching his newborn son. The fifth concubine cried out desperately for help, using both hands to shield the infant in her arms. Yet, how could a frail woman who had given birth only a few days ago ever match these tigers and wolves?

A Russian casually snatched the baby away and flung it onto the ground. As the child hit the earth, its crying abruptly stopped. Zhang Deqing watched with his own eyes as a Russian soldier brought his heavy leather boot down ruthlessly onto the swaddle!

The fifth concubine's expression instantly went blank, as if she had lost all feeling, letting the Russians drag her away. Zhang Deqing froze as well. Looking at the bloodied bundle of cloth, he began to breathe in rapid, shallow gasps.

Next, the Russians set up a machine gun and opened fire on the crowd. Amidst the enemy gunfire, the pitiful commoners fell one by one into pools of blood. At that moment, the villagers' curses, battle cries, and heart-rending wails shook the earth!

Zhang Deqing suddenly grabbed a rock from the ground, hurled it at Stoessel, and roared, "I'll fight you to the death!"

Stoessel sidestepped to dodge the stone, raised his pistol, and shot him. Zhang Deqing slumped limply to the ground, his final words being: "We should have fought to the death long ago..."