Black Flag Army

Chapter 143: 2 Wronged Souls

Dong Xuechun said: "It's not enough to just kill the commander, we also have to provoke internal fighting among them to greatly weaken their combat effectiveness."

Li Jinxi endured the pain and asked, "How to provoke them to fight among themselves?"

Dong Xuechun said: "Deputy Commander Gaida was a former officer of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and a Czech. After he was defeated and captured last year, Kolchak appreciated his military talent and made him deputy commander of Khabarovsk. He has several thousand Czech soldiers under him, and there have always been conflicts with the local Tsarist Russian and Mongolian soldiers. After we killed Peria, we forged some evidence, bribed the local Tsarist Russian and Mongolian officers and soldiers, and spread rumors that Gaida wanted to be the commander and brutally killed Peria. Naturally, the conflict between the two sides broke out."

Li Jinxi said happily: "This is a chain of tactics that kills two birds with one stone. Team leader Dong is really amazing!"

At this time, the Russian guard who reported the news came back and said to Dong Xuechun: "The commander agreed to see you, Miss Xinzi, please come in!"

Dong Xuechun, who used the alias Ida Nobuko, walked into the courtyard, but Li Jinxi and four others, who were wearing Japanese kimonos, were blocked outside. Li Jinxi angrily said in Russian: "We are also Japanese, why don't you let us in?"

Li Jinxi not only wore a kimono, but also carried a Japanese sword and had a three-line hairstyle. He looked the most Japanese among the four.

The Tsarist Russian guard said coldly: "For safety reasons, only one person can go in."

In the headquarters meeting room, Dong Xuechun pointed to the map on the wall and said, "Huangfeng Village, hundreds of anti-aircraft guns are stationed there."

Periya was surprised and said, "Huangfeng Village! It's very close to Hailanpao. Why did you put the anti-aircraft gun there?"

Dong Xuechun said: "Because this batch of artillery was originally sold to the Chinese Zhang Zuolin, but he lowered the price too much, our boss was so angry that he would rather sell it to you at half price than to him. The artillery was too heavy, and when it was transported to Huangfeng Village, the Chinese coolies who transported the artillery wanted to pay for it temporarily, but the boss disagreed. As a result, the coolies went on strike and dispersed. The boss had no choice but to send me to find the commander and ask the commander to personally lead people to move it."

Dong Xuechun spoke very seriously, and the tone of her voice matched the expression on her face, so Peria and the other three believed it.

Gaida asked: "Why does the commander have to go and deliver the goods himself? Can't I go for him?"

Dong Xuechun said: "Among your 30,000 troops, there are many horse bandits and prisoners of war. The military discipline is not very good. Our boss is worried about being robbed by the gangsters, so he is relieved to ask the commander to come in person. I hope the commander can understand his caution."

She spoke very sincerely, and the three commanders all expressed their understanding. In fact, most of the 30,000 Tsarist Russian troops were composed of horse bandits and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war. The military discipline was not just a little bad, but rotten.

Periya asked, "Do you have any other conditions?"

Dong Xuechun said: "In order to show our boss's sincerity, the commander only needs to bring 20 gold bars as a deposit when he goes, and all the cannons can be shipped back. The rest of the money will be paid after the cannons are inspected. However, in order not to alert the Black Flag Army in Hailanpao, the commander cannot bring too many people, at most one battalion, otherwise it will cause the war to start early. I hope the commander understands."

Khryukin asked, "What if your boss has bad intentions and something happens to the commander?"

Dong Xuechun said: "I can stay here as a hostage. If anything happens to the commander, you can just shoot me. Actually, if you analyze it carefully, you will know that it is impossible. Our boss is in the big business of hundreds of artillery pieces. How could he hurt the commander for just twenty gold bars?"

The three commanders all thought what Dong Xuechun said made sense, so Periya agreed to take only one special forces battalion to move the cannons. Dong Xuechun said that there was a gun carriage under each cannon, and one person could take away a gun carriage. In order to save time, Periya led the special forces battalion to set off at six o'clock tomorrow morning, and arrived at Huangfeng Village at about half past six. Dong Xuechun said that he would go back and send someone to send a letter to the boss, and come to the headquarters before six o'clock tomorrow morning to serve as a hostage.

After returning to the rental house, Dong Xuechun said to the telegraph operator Xiao Zhang: "Hurry up and telegraph Commander Leng, the fish are out of the water, 300 followers, arrive at Huangfeng Village at 6:30 tomorrow, cast the net quickly."

Leng Hanbing, the chief of staff of the Second Army of the Black Flag Army, also served as the commander of the special forces. The special forces regiments directly under the army and the special forces battalions directly under the divisions were all under his command. He could select elites from these people at any time to form a temporary action team. Before Dong Xuechun left Beitang City, Di Xiong summoned her alone and gave her a set of codes to contact Leng Hanbing. In an emergency, she could contact Leng Hanbing directly and ask him to send an action team to assist.

Five minutes later, he received a call back. After Xiao Zhang finished translating, he said to Dong Xuechun, "Team Leader Dong! Commander Leng said that he will personally lead a battalion of the special forces regiment to ambush in Huangfeng Village in advance. The special forces regiment leader Shi Zhu and deputy commander Liu Tainan will both go."

Dong Xuechun heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this, and then she heard Li Jinxi say, "With Commander Leng, the lightning-fast gun, doing it himself, it will be foolproof, not to mention the support of Commander Shi, the backbone, and Deputy Commander Liu, the South China Tiger."

At 3 pm, in Beitang City, Zhang Shaozeng and several reporters were walking on the street when they heard a newsboy running over from a distance, shouting, "Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale! The latest issue of Justice Daily has two articles on 'Live to be a Hero'!"

Zhang Shaozeng laughed and said, "Mrs. Di's articles have become a selling point for newspapers. Don't run, kid. I'll buy a copy."

He called the newsboy and bought a newspaper. Shao Fengping and Zhang Bingfu also paid for one each. Hu Lin, who was accompanying them, said, "We are tired from walking. Why don't you go to the teahouse in front and have a cup of tea and read the newspaper?"

Zhang Shaozeng and others agreed. After entering the private room on the second floor of the teahouse, Hu Lin hurriedly ordered a cup of tea for each of them. Xian Yujie was busy with publicity today and did not come. Morrison was also at the Lan Ji Hotel accompanying Carl and did not go out. Hu Lin only had to accompany Zhang Shaozeng, Wang Fangting, Shao Fengping and Zhang Bingfu.

Zhang Shaozeng sat down and opened the newspaper. He saw an article by Lan Jinchun on the front page. The title was "More than 200,000 Chinese souls are watching from heaven." It was shocking. The article described the details of the Outer Manchuria massacre, including oral accounts from several survivors. It was obvious that the author had prepared a lot of information to write this article. Another article was titled "Join the Black Flag Army, Eliminate the Tsarist Russian Bandits, and Recover the Outer Manchuria." It introduced the support of all walks of life in Beihai Province for the Black Flag Army, which made people's blood boil.

Zhang Shaozeng sighed: "Mrs. Di is truly a heroine. Her articles always capture people's hearts. After reading "More than 200,000 Chinese Ghosts Are Watching from Heaven," I couldn't help crying. The article "Joining the Black Flag Army, Eliminating the Russian Bandits, and Recovering Outer Northeast" made people feel very happy."

What Zhang Shaozeng didn't know was that this issue of "Justice Daily" caused a sensation in the three northeastern provinces, far more than in Beihai Province, because most of the survivors and relatives of the victims of the Outer Northeast Massacre were in the three northeastern provinces. Although 18 years have passed, many of them are still alive. After reading "More than 200,000 Chinese Ghosts Watching from Heaven", these people recalled their long-forgotten sad stories and shed tears. Some even cried loudly in public places such as teahouses and restaurants.

At Guandong Money House in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, Zhang Yuhe, a court official in his thirties, walked up to Shopkeeper Wang and bowed respectfully. Shopkeeper Wang smiled and said, "What's wrong, Xiao Zhang? We meet every day. Why are you giving such a big gift?"

Zhang Yuhe said seriously: "Thank you for your training and guidance over the past 18 years, old shopkeeper. I am resigning and leaving!"

Shopkeeper Wang was shocked when he heard this and asked, "Did Citibank hire you at a high price?"

Zhang Yuhe said: "No, no one in the industry wanted to hire me. I resigned for this reason!"

He took out a copy of the Justice Daily from his pocket and said to Shopkeeper Wang in a serious tone, "The Black Flag Army's battle to retake Outer Northeast China has already begun. I am from Temple Street. Eighteen years ago, my whole family was killed by Tsarist Russia. Now the Black Flag Army has helped me to avenge myself. I want to join the Black Flag Army and do my part for revenge!"

Manager Wang said anxiously, "Xiao Zhang, you have to think it over. It was not easy for you to rise from a small clerk to the position of court official. It would be a pity to give up like this. I am old now, and the eldest daughter of the boss's family likes you very much. In the future, won't this bank be yours? If you leave, you will have nothing."

Zhang Yuhe's eyes turned red and he started to cry. He said firmly, "I am sorry for the kindness of the old shopkeeper and the boss, and I am sorry for the deep affection of the eldest lady. The wronged souls of my family are watching in heaven! I have waited for this day for eighteen years. I will not be a human being if I don't take revenge."

He placed the letter of resignation in front of Manager Wang and walked out of the bank without hesitation.

Heilongjiang Governor Sun Liechen was sitting in his office reading the Justice Daily, wiping his tears with a handkerchief. His son Sun Dahu pushed the door open and said, "Dad! It's bad! Lü Dayong, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Regiment, has defected. He has taken more than 100 people with him to join the Black Flag Army, even their weapons. We must quickly notify the Mohe checkpoint to stop them."

Sun Liechen was startled and asked, "He left without leaving a letter?"

Sun Dahu said, "He left a letter on the bedside of the dormitory. There were only eight words on it: The revenge for the murder of my father is irreconcilable! I don't know what it means?"

Sun Liechen said, "It shows that you don't care enough about your subordinates! I just remembered that this Lu Dayong was born without a mother. His mother died of complications during childbirth. His father raised him alone. Eighteen years ago, during the Outer Northeast Massacre, they were in Vladivostok. His father was killed by the Russian soldiers in order to cover his escape. Now that he has a chance to take revenge, can he not go?"

Sun Dahu was surprised and said, "According to Dad, are we just going to let it go?"

Sun Liechen sighed, "The article in the Justice Daily is so tragic that even I cried when I read it. Your uncle's family was killed by the Russians in Hailanpao, and your youngest cousin was only three years old! If I were not old and serving as the governor of Heilongjiang, I would also want to join the Black Flag Army! Let him go! You can keep him, but you can't keep his heart!"

At this time, the Chief of Staff Zhang Zuoxiang in the office opposite heard the noise and came over. He also had a copy of the Justice Daily in his hand and said to Sun Liechen, "General! Take a look at the articles in the Justice Daily and the Fengtian Daily. What kind of rubbish writers did Marshal Zhang hire? They only write about boring things about weddings and funerals, and gossip about young men and women fighting for favors in brothels. They are all the same. It's strange that anyone would read them."

Sun Liechen said: "The Marshal has always looked down on literati, thinking that they are all trash. He drove away the literati with backbone, and the ones left were all flatterers. Of course, they couldn't write good articles. From the article in the Justice Daily, we can see that literati are not trash. This article "More than 200,000 Chinese ghosts are watching from heaven" has won the hearts of so many people in the Northeast! It can be as powerful as an army of 100,000. There were no less than 100,000 relatives of the victims of the massacre. They have been looking forward to revenge. They once placed their hopes on the Qing court, but the Qing court disappointed them. After the establishment of the Republic of China, they placed their hopes on the Beiyang government, but the Beiyang government disappointed them again. Now the Black Flag Army has recaptured four cities in a row, and finally they see hope."

Jinfu Inn in Fengtian is a famous inn in Fengtian City. The owner, Mr. Jin, is over 60 years old, childless, kind, and pays the shopkeepers and waiters higher wages than others. All the employees of Jinfu Inn feel lucky to have such a boss. But on this day, Mr. Jin's behavior shocked all the employees.

When Mr. Jin was walking out on crutches that day, he was stopped by dozens of employees of Jinfu Inn. Mr. Jin was not angry, but smiled and said, "Why are you stopping me?"

The shopkeeper, Fatty Hu, asked, "Boss! Today we were kicked out by the people from Tianrui Inn. They said you sold Jinfu Inn to them. Is that true?"

Mr. Jin said, "It's true! I sold the Jinfu Inn for a low price of five thousand dollars."

Fatty Hu was surprised and said, "Boss! Jinfu Inn is the product of your 18 years of hard work! And you sold it too low. It should be worth at least 10,000 yuan. Did they force you to sell it? You can sue them at the government office."

Mr. Jin said, "I sold it voluntarily because I am leaving here and I need money urgently. The only place that can provide money immediately is Tianrui Inn. I am sorry for everyone. Xiao Fuzi, I will give each employee 100 yuan, and Manager Hu will give 200 yuan. You can find another job!"

Xiao Fuzi is Mr. Jin's adopted son. He took out red silver dollar envelopes from the box and distributed them to everyone one by one.

Fatty Hu said, "Boss! Why are you doing this?"

Mr. Jin said, "Because I am from Outer Northeast Khabarovsk, and the Black Flag Army is going to retake Khabarovsk. I want to go home. My wife, son, and daughter are watching me in heaven! I want to join the Black Flag Army and do my part for them!"

A waiter said, "Boss! You are over sixty years old. There is no way the Black Flag Army will want you."

Mr. Jin said, "I may not be able to fight, but I can cook a meal. I will also donate the remaining money to the Black Flag Army. Those who have money can donate money, and those who have strength can donate strength."

The day after the two articles were published in Justice Daily, groups of people appeared on the roads of the three northeastern provinces. They looked like refugees but they were not refugees, because some of them were dressed gorgeously, some rode horses, and some sat in carriages. They ran in the same direction with determined eyes: to Hailanpao, to join the Black Flag Army. Some of them gave up their jobs, some gave up their official positions, some sold their properties at a low price, and some even abandoned their wives who opposed them, and resolutely embarked on the road home.