Chapter Thirty-Four: The Five Great Disciplines

After inspecting a few barracks, the moment they stepped outside, they felt the piercing chill of the mountain wind. Yang Xiaolin wrapped his coat tightly around himself. “Has the man tied outside been released?”

He was referring to Duan Qiang. Golden Saber nodded. “He’s been let go. He didn’t want to chase after Zhang Zuolin—said he wanted to stay with us. I made the decision to keep him.”

Yang Xiaolin knew Golden Saber was always one to make decisions himself, so he didn’t press the matter. “He’s not a bad lad. But who knows if he can endure the hardships with us? Life here isn’t like it is in the village. Tell him, if he wants to leave, he can go at any time—we don’t force anyone to stay.”

Golden Saber nodded. Kong Landing took a step forward. “Commander, are we really going to help Old Master Feng and his men?”

Yang Xiaolin replied, “Of course we are. What are your thoughts, Adviser?”

Kong Landing hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke. “I know you might say I lack loyalty, but now that we've defeated Zhang Zuolin, Zhao Yansun will surely retreat once he gets word—this battle is as good as won. We might even have a chance to follow Zhao Yansun and strike him unexpectedly. But confronting the Russians head-on doesn’t seem wise.”

Their boots crunched on the thick carpet of fallen leaves. Yang Xiaolin lowered his voice. “You’re right, Adviser. That’s a sound plan. But just now, Brother Gu gave me a number. This time, during the government’s siege, we lost several dozen brothers—half of them deserted. Do you know why?”

Kong Landing shook his head. “Please, Commander, tell me.”

Yang Xiaolin said, “Because we still see ourselves as bandits!”

Golden Saber muttered, “Aren’t we bandits? The Qing soldiers came to the mountains to wipe out bandits, and the common folk call us bandits too. Even when we try to give them grain, they’re too scared to accept! Commander, once we set foot on this mountain, the name sticks.”

Yang Xiaolin exhaled deeply. “We can’t go on like this. Today, we’re down to just over a hundred men. If another government campaign costs us a few dozen more, we might as well disband. We must change ourselves. Starting tomorrow, I’ll announce new rules for everyone, and I expect them to be followed. More importantly, I want our brothers—and all the people here—to know why we bear arms. We are not like other bandits!”

These words truly startled Golden Saber. Why did they carry guns? He had never considered the question. He was a bandit, so of course he needed a gun—what more was there to ask? He pondered Yang Xiaolin’s words but could not find the answer.

The next day, though the force had dwindled to just one hundred and twenty-one men, Yang Xiaolin still announced five rules. He hadn’t invented them himself—he’d adapted them from the Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention.

The first rule was that all actions must follow orders. No one objected to that; when Yang Xiaolin announced it, the bandits shouted their agreement. The second rule, however, was another matter.

“From this day forward, all spoils of war must be handed over in full. No one may keep even a single copper coin for himself!”

This meant all loot was to be shared collectively. The bandits were clearly resistant to this. The men under Gu Tianming agreed half-heartedly, but Golden Saber’s original followers were openly dissatisfied.

As professional bandits, the large spoils from raids belonged to the chief and paid for daily expenses; small items and trinkets were up for grabs—whoever found them kept them. This was the unspoken rule among bandits, and many depended on it to swap for a bit of cash to make life more bearable. Now, with Yang Xiaolin’s new rule, they looked at him suspiciously, thinking perhaps their commander was joking.

What truly shocked them, though, were the next three rules: “Furthermore, from now on, no robbing the common people, no bullying them, and no insulting Chinese women! If anyone does such things and I find out, don’t blame me, Yang, for turning my back on you!”

The bandits were stunned. Even though Yang Xiaolin had omitted some rules he thought didn’t suit their current circumstances, such as forbidding beatings and maltreatment of prisoners, and had even changed “no harassing women” to “no insulting Chinese women,” the bandits still found these rules unacceptable.

They were bandits, after all. Bullying the common folk was second nature; toying with women was part of their lifestyle. Who would want to marry a bandit, especially with their unsavory reputation and ugly looks? No matchmaker could help them.

An uproar broke out among the men; none echoed Yang Xiaolin anymore. Erganzi, standing beside Biaozi, glared wide-eyed. “Biaozi, what’s the chief doing? Is he afraid we’re living too well?”

Biaozi was furious too. “How should I know? Let’s see what else he has to say.”

Yang Xiaolin watched their reactions—he had expected this. The truth was, he had no intention of being a mountain bandit for life, whereas his men had no grand ambitions; they were used to this way of living.

“I know these rules are harsh, but let me tell you why we mustn’t rob the common people!”

Yang Xiaolin pointed northeast. “The year of Jiawu, the court fought the Japanese and lost—paid billions in silver in reparations! Where did that money come from? Squeezed from the common people! Now we’ve lost again, and the money owed to the foreigners is even more. Even when our brothers killed a few Russians in Ganzi Village, the people had to compensate two thousand taels of silver for each Russian! Do they have any money left? Didn’t you see for yourselves when you went down the mountain—what’s left for us to take? Even if they have a bit of grain, that’s their lifeline—could you really take it?”

The bandits fell silent. Life had grown harder by the year, and looting was proving more and more fruitless. As Yang Xiaolin said, the people had nothing left, and if they did, it wouldn’t last long enough for the bandits to steal it.

Yang Xiaolin, seeing their faces, nodded emphatically. “Yes, we’re bandits. But why did we come to the mountains? Because we couldn’t survive below! Every one of you is from these parts. Think about what happened in Lushun—the Japanese slaughtered the entire city overnight! In Sixty-Four Villages, the corpses of over ten thousand villagers choked the Liao River! And this government of ours? When they can’t beat the Russians, they take it out on the people!”

He straightened his back. “So I ask you, I beg you—stop preying on our fellow countrymen! If we’re real men, have the guts to rob Russians, rob Japanese, rob the government! If you have the nerve, I guarantee you’ll get more than you ever did from the people! What kind of man points a rusty gun at starving villagers? What kind of man uses a knife to strip what little clothing those poor women have left?”

Golden Saber took a bold step forward. “The Commander speaks truth! The people out there already call our commander Yang the Demon-Slayer—because we fight foreigners and the government! If anyone here lacks the courage, leave now!”

Biaozi nudged Erganzai, then raised his rifle high and shouted, “Rob the foreigners! Rob the government!”

A hundred-odd bandits, their blood surging, raised their guns as one and roared, “Rob the foreigners! Rob the government!”