20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 430 Going up the mountain
The wheels rattled on the gravel road, and the eight mules were already panting from exhaustion.

In front of the convoy, there were five tall horses leading the way.

Jiang Lianheng ordered Zhao Guoyan and Wang Zhengnan to accompany him up the mountain, and naturally the three of them walked in front.

Li Zhengze was riding side by side with a bandit named Sun Xiangyang.

The remaining bandits and a dozen Jiang family brothers could only accompany the convoy and plod along on foot.

The cargo boxes were transported by train to the Zongheng Insurance Company branch in Liaoyang, and then transported up the mountain by mules and horses.

The convoy moved very slowly. There were dozens of boxes of munitions, and the weight was no joke. They were piled on top of each other for a long time, and even the mules and horses were so tired that their mouths were full of foam.

Three or five days have passed, stopping and stopping at every store.

It was past noon, and the convoy got off the official road and finally ran onto the rugged mountain road.

As the saying goes, look at the mountain and run to death!
We have obviously reached the boundary of Slingshot Ridge, but the speed of progress has become slower and slower.

In order to reduce the burden on the mules and horses, everyone split open more than 20 cargo boxes on the spot, took out the big 38 lids inside, carried two on their shoulders and one in their hands, then distributed the bullets, and simply armed themselves on the spot. .

Although Jiang Lianheng and others also helped, most of the guns and ammunition were still carried and transported by the bandits.

When the gangster saw the troll, he was as excited as when he saw the girl.

As soon as they got the gun, they immediately pulled the bolt with a loud click, gesticulated, and were eager to try.

"It's better to use a Japanese gun! The sound of pulling the bolt sounds so crisp!"

"I'm not afraid of some jokes, brother. When I was in the mountains, I used all kinds of guns and shotguns. It was so damn hard to shoot dogs, let alone people!"

"Holy shit! There are also grenades!"

"With this equipment, if we have more people, we can defeat a small county town!"

With the praises one after another, Li Zheng's prestige in the hearts of the bandits continued to rise.

Of course, they also had a problem with Jiang Lianheng, but after all, the Jiang family lived in the city and could only be regarded as acquaintances online, not brothers who lived on the same hill. Therefore, there was always a distance between the two parties. , speaking and behaving with a certain degree of politeness.

When Zhao Guoyan saw this, he couldn't help but sigh in a low voice: "This thing about Li Zheng has really happened."

"Can we not release them?" Wang Zhengnan looked at the bandits helplessly, seeming a little distressed, "This batch of arms alone is worth a lot of money."

The two of them said something to each other. In the final analysis, they just wanted to ask whether it was worth it to help Li Zheng set up the cabinet.

Jiang Lianheng was noncommittal, thought for a while, and then said: "A deal? It's not worth it. It's worth it if you agree with me."

"Brother Dao, if Huzi really plans to fight after going up the mountain, can we help him?" Wang Zhengnan asked worriedly.

"I won't help, and there is no need to help."

Jiang Lianheng said while looking at the bandits not far away.

Li Zheng was sitting under the shade of a tree at the moment, seemingly not caring about the praise of his brothers and just chatting with the bandit named Sun Xiangyang.

Everyone has been getting along with each other for three or five days, and they have gradually become familiar with each other.

Jiang Lianheng knew that the man's nickname was Sun Dayan, and he was originally a barbarian bandit from Haicheng.

Li Zheng valued this person very much.

There was no other reason than that Sun Xiangyang had served as a soldier in the patrol camp and was an artilleryman. He was considered a talent among this ragtag group of people.

As he watched, Li Zheng suddenly noticed Jiang Lianheng's gaze, so he patted Sun Xiangyang on the shoulder, then stood up and walked towards this side with the Sanba Gai in hand.

"Lao Jiang, I have to thank you this time."

Jiang Lian waved his hand, but said: "This is all decided in advance, it's nothing!"

"You can't say that. The main reason is that when I was at Luda University, I didn't feel that I could help you much." Li Zheng smiled and then suggested, "How about this? I owe you a favor this time. Whenever you need your brothers again, just speak up."

After saying this, all the gangsters echoed: "Yes! Boss Jiang, we know each other now, and we will come to the mountain often from now on!"

"Then thank you all brothers!" Jiang Lianheng stood up, clasped his fists, and then asked, "We should be able to reach the camp before dark, right?"

Li Zheng looked at the mountain col in the distance, nodded and said, "Absolutely."

"Then hurry up and hurry up!"

…………

At dusk, a cloud of fire burned in the distant sky.

The entire mountain forest changed its appearance, as red as blood, and extremely quiet.

Jiang Lianheng and others stopped and looked into the distance. They could already see the gate of the camp located in the valley of Slingshot Ridge from a distance.

However, it was at this moment that Li Zheng suddenly narrowed his eyes and ordered the bandits to stop and tie up the mules and carriages on the spot.

The two donkeys and the driver hurriedly approached and stretched their necks to look around. They saw that the sentry tower and plank road on the other side of the mountain gate were full of gun-toting bandits walking back and forth.

The distance is still quite far, so I can only get a hazy look at it.

"Why did the gatekeeper talk like that today?"

"It seems they are all from Yang Laoxie's gang. They know we are coming back today!"

The screwdriver nodded, immediately clicked the gun bolt, and said warily: "Did you change the top of the mountain while we were away?"

"We have guns in our hands, what are we afraid of?" Erlu scolded angrily, "Tell the brothers to copy the guys, just go with them!"

However, Li Zheng shook his head and rejected the proposal on the spot.

Erlu said it lightly, but the gangsters had been driving for several days. Now they had just arrived at the gate of the mountain. They were already tired and exhausted. Although they were armed with weapons, they couldn't help but the opponent had a large number of people. Taking advantage of the terrain, they waited for work and attacked hard. After all, taking is not the first choice.

Jiang Lianheng heard the chatter of the bandits, so he rode his horse to Li Zheng and asked, "What is the situation now?"

Li Zheng raised his hand and pointed at the gate of the stronghold, but said: "If you ask me whether the leader is dead or not, then I don't know. However, Yang Laoxie must have the final say in this stronghold now."

"That military advisor?"

Li Zheng nodded and responded: "I guess he pressed the 'Xun Leng Zi' sentry on the mountain and knew that we were coming back."

Jiang Lianheng felt something was wrong as soon as he heard this.

If he were Yang Laoxie, since he knew that Li Zheng and others were fully armed and escorting eight mule carts into the mountains, he would definitely call his brothers and set up an ambush along the road, and take advantage of the enemy's fatigue. Rush out from the diagonal to kill people and steal goods, instead of waiting for the opponent to come in full gear.

Unless the mountain top has not changed, and Wang Guihe is still the boss.

Li Zheng smiled contemptuously and said, "If it were me, I would do the same thing, but Yang Laoxie wouldn't dare."

"How do you say this?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

Kaizi continued to explain: "Yang Laoxie is a bit clever, but a calligrapher like him doesn't have much prestige on the mountain, and not all of his people in the village are his."

In other words, if Yang Laoxie sent his own people to ambush, he would become the bare commander in the village; but if he sent others to ambush, he might be taken under Li Zheng's command.

Jiang Lianheng muttered: "If Yang Laoxie didn't have enough prestige, then Wang Guihe might still be alive now." Erlu didn't care about that and just asked Li Zheng: "Brother, shall we fight?"

Li Zheng turned around and saw that most of the brothers were panting from exhaustion. He shook his head and shouted sternly: "Pull the bolt and load the gun. Stay where you are! Sun Dayan, ask a few brothers to pull out the mountain cannon and load it. Listen to my command." !”

After saying that, the gangsters immediately started working on the spot.

Immediately afterwards, he asked the two donkeys and the screwdriver to call three young masters. After giving a few brief instructions, he asked them to take the sprayers, ride all the horses, and go to the camp gate to find out what was true and bring a message to them. .

Jiang Lianheng stepped forward to ask what happened.

Li Zheng said, "I know the situation on the mountain better than you do, so I won't bother you with this matter."

When he looked up again, he saw that Erlu and others had gone straight to the camp.

…………

The setting sun reaches the top of the mountain, and the sky turns dark red.

The village gate was getting closer and closer, and when we were about to reach the horse-rejecting formation, the sound of pulling bolts immediately sounded on the sentry tower and plank road.

"Who! Speak!"

"You know what you're asking!" Erlu stopped when he reached the right distance, raised his head, and said without fear, "What do you mean, you guys have been gone for months and you still pretend you don't know them when you come back?"

The bandits on the plank road did not react and were still on full alert. Only a few bandits in the sentry tower raised their guns and laughed: "Hey! It turns out to be Erlu! Where is Li Zheng?"

As he said that, the leader raised his hand and pointed into the distance again, narrowed his eyes and asked: "Are the people behind you following you? Hey! You are also bringing a convoy with you, what are you carrying?"

"The following are the brothers who came to hang the pillars on the mountain, and brought back the filial piety for the headmaster!"

Qi Zi rode his horse back and forth outside the village gate. While looking at the outposts and the bandits on the plank road, he deliberately raised his voice and said: "Also, bring some gadgets to the brothers at home! Rich! Have guns. ! We need manpower now!”

The barbarians in the camp looked at each other, as if their hearts were a little disturbed.

Without waiting for the leader on the sentry tower to speak, Yang Laoxie hurriedly walked out of the barracks and smiled calmly at the gate.

"Haha, since we have already returned to the mountain, why are we still standing so far away? Come in and sit down quickly! But -" he paused, and then said, "hanging on the kiln pillars needs to be done by someone in charge. After all, let’s let those people wait outside!”

"Where's the big boss?" Qi Zi raised his chin and asked.

"He's drinking in the meeting hall!" Yang Laoxie pretended to be surprised, "Why, you don't believe it? How about I invite the boss out?"

"That's not necessary!" Qi Zi and Er Lu looked at each other, and then said in unison, "You guys open the door first, and let me go back and tell Brother Zheng!"

After saying that, the five people immediately rode around and dispersed.

The leader on the sentry tower quickly turned back towards the camp and asked, "Third brother, what do you say?"

Yang Laoxie was a little hesitant.

At this time, the sky was gradually getting dark. Li Zheng and others were guarding the edge of the forest in the distance. The shadows of the trees made it difficult to see what was going on.

After thinking about it, he just whispered: "We will see the situation when they get closer."

Unexpectedly, Erlu and others ran far away, suddenly turned around on horseback, and shouted loudly: "Brothers, interrupt Yang Laoxie. Brother Zheng has something to say. Whoever opens the mountain gate will give you two." bullion!"

While the words were still lingering in the valley, they turned back and picked up the spray guns. They didn't even take aim, they just fired several shots randomly with "bang bang bang".

Bullets streaked across the night sky with a "whoosh" sound, and the brothers on the sentry tower immediately raised their guns and fired back.

Several of Yang Laoxie's confidants quickly ran over and shouted to the bandits: "Brothers, the boss is still here. Li Zheng and the others are openly calling for rebellion. The copycats rushed out together and killed the traitors on behalf of my brother!"

The leaders on the sentry tower and the plank road also asked: "Third brother, are you chasing me?"

"Chasing, chasing, chasing, chasing after your mother!"

Yang Laoxie swore a few words, then turned around and faced the wavering bandits and said: "Brothers, although the boss has been useless in recent years, he is also our eldest brother! Brothers, stay with me Shanzhai, whoever can kill Li Zheng will be rewarded with four gold bars!"

Morally, we have a firm foothold, and we have made a commitment in terms of interests.

What's more, the cottage is short of ammunition, and all the best equipment has already fallen into the hands of Yang Laoxie's faction.

Many bandits nodded after hearing this.

Yang Laoxie took advantage of the victory to pursue him, and then said: "Although Li Zheng is well-equipped, he only has thirty or forty men. We have more than 160 brothers, and we can rely on the terrain. As long as they get close, we can hold the unicorn." , You can still defend the mountain stronghold even if you use the sticks and the soil to hit five!”

As a result, more and more bandits have strengthened their confidence.

Logically speaking, there is indeed not much problem with this set of rhetoric.

Li Zheng has the 38 big cover, and Yang Laoxie also has it; Li Zheng has grenades, and Yang Laoxie also has homemade explosives.

Although Slingshot Ridge is short of ammunition, it is based on about two hundred people. If thirty or forty people are fully armed, that is no problem.

No matter how you think about it, it is in the defender's favor.

The only thing Yang Laoxie missed was that Li Zheng had two serious Japanese Sanyi rapid-fire mountain cannons!
It's no wonder, even the regular army regards this guy as a treasure. Who the hell would have thought that he has it on his hands?

After firing a few shots indiscriminately, Erlu, Xizi and others quickly returned to the front of the formation.

At this time, all the bandits had already knelt on one knee, holding up their rifles and waiting for the enemy to come, but they didn't expect that only the five of them came back.

"Didn't the hook come out?" Li Zheng asked.

Qi Zi and others got off their horses, shook their heads and said, "Yang Laoxie's evil intentions are more numerous than a hornet's nest!"

"What's going on at the other end of the village?"

"The boss is in the meeting hall!" Erlu explained, "I didn't see a single old man. The sentry tower and the plank road are all Yang Laoxie's people!"

"Then there's nothing we can do!" Li Zheng turned around and asked, "Sun Dayan, can you still see the gate of the cottage?"

"The angle was adjusted just now!" Sun Xiangyang shouted loudly, "Do you want to let it go?"

Li Zheng raised his hand and gestured forward. Upon seeing this, the gangsters immediately shouted excitedly: "Let go! Damn it!"

"Hey!"

A deafening roar suddenly sounded, as if the mountain god had sneezed on the spot. Everyone felt numb on the soles of their feet. In an instant, the birds flew away, and the sound of flapping wings was like a wave, sweeping through the depths of the dense forest.

At the same time, I heard a loud "bang" in the distance!
The artillery was destroyed, and the gate of the Slingshot Ridge camp collapsed. The guard towers on both sides tilted and collapsed, shrapnel flew in all directions, and sawdust danced like a winter blizzard!

In an instant, the mountain gate camp was filled with flames and people were wailing!
"Sun Dayan, hit one more, hit another!"

Seeing that the stronghold was about to collapse, the gangsters started shouting excitedly, as if they had never lived there and only wanted to witness the destruction.

The Toyo San-1 mountain gun was originally a retractable artillery piece. Due to stimulation during the Russo-Japanese War, Xiao Toyo began to gradually change it to a retractable barrel in order to increase the rate of fire. However, the gun purchased by Rong Wuye The mountain cannon is still relatively backward. It only has a reset device behind the barrel. Although it is not as good as the barrel retraction type, it also greatly reduces the time for manpower recovery.

Sun Xiangyang was also excited. He immediately took his two brothers and easily restored it without much effort. He immediately fired another cannon with a "pop" sound.

However, this time the cannonball deflected, crossed the plank road, and landed on a barracks, immediately blowing the earthen house to pieces!
"One more shot! One more shot!"

While the gangsters were shouting over there, Jiang Lianheng and Li Zheng shouted sharply at the same time: "Fuck you, stop fucking opening it!"

(End of this chapter)