Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 448 February Red

At the end of September in the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, a fierce battle raged from morning to noon on the Songnen Plain at the southern source of the Songhua River.

In February, the Red Gang led their troops to rob the Russians' food and salary convoys used to build railways, but they did not expect that the Russians had already made sufficient preparations and deployments.

As soon as the gunshots were heard, a cavalry suddenly appeared from the other side of the Ma family oil mill.

This cavalry team is equipped with the latest Mosin-Nagant rifles produced by the Russians, which have very strong firepower.

"Boss, the Russians are using the latest water-jet rifles. Our guns are no match for them.

I think we should retreat as soon as possible and not linger in the battle."

The gunner, one of the four pillars of the army, aimed at the enemy cavalry and shot, while turning his head and shouting loudly.

The gang leader, Er Yuehong, is a young woman in her early twenties.

At this moment, the maroon riding suit she was wearing was covered with mud, and her hair was messy, with clumps of it scattered here and there.

"Damn it, I was wondering why there were so few Russian soldiers guarding the food and money cart today, it turns out it was a trap.

They set up this trap on purpose to lure us into it."

Er Yuehong cursed while pulling the trigger, and just happened to kill a Russian cavalryman on the opposite side.

Er Yuehong was obviously unwilling to withdraw like this, she still wanted to compete with the other party.

"Boss, it's bad. The Russians have mobilized several cavalry from the old lady's bed and Kulun."

At this time, several bearded men who were responsible for gathering information rushed over and reported to Er Yuehong.

When Er Yuehong heard this, he knew something bad was going to happen.

The Russian cavalry in front of them is already difficult enough to deal with. Once the other cavalry teams arrive, they will probably be surrounded and killed.

"Dingtianliang will take a team of people to provide cover, while Tuotianliang will lead the others to leave this place immediately. Don't linger in the battle."

The current situation did not allow them to hesitate, and Er Yuehong made a prompt decision and ordered a retreat.

There were about 300 members of the February Red Gang. They had just fought with the Russians and lost 20 to 30 of them, with many others injured.

As the boss, Er Yuehong naturally could not lead the retreat. She and Pao Tou led the others to hold the fort, while Tuo Tianliang took the wounded soldiers and evacuated the place as soon as possible.

After Tuotianliang and his men walked away, Er Yuehong waved his hand, and everyone rode on fast horses and left the position at a roar.

The Russian cavalry refused to let go and leave.

Cavalry captain Khabachev held a telescope in his hand, observing the situation in the distance, and then commanded the cavalry to chase closely behind, shooting as they chased.

From time to time, someone from the gang in front was shot and fell off his horse.

"Split up and gather at the old place."

Er Yuehong shouted towards Dingtianliang, and the two of them led a team of people and ran in two directions.

When the Russian cavalry behind saw this, they also split into two teams and gave chase.

One of the Russian cavalrymen who was running in the front fired a shot at Er Yuehong, who was wearing a maroon riding uniform in front of him.

As the gunshot rang out, Er Yuehong in front was shot and fell, but the horse she was riding turned around and ran towards the Russian cavalry.

The Russian cavalry was stunned, not knowing what was happening.

While the Russian soldier was stunned, Er Yuehong's horse had already arrived.

Er Yuehong, who was hiding in the stirrup, suddenly jumped up from behind the horse and chopped the Russian soldier off his horse with one knife.

The repeating rifle in the Russian soldier's hand also fell to the ground.

Er Yuehong leaned over from his horse and picked up the repeating rifle that the Russian had thrown on the ground. Just at this moment, several more Russian cavalrymen caught up with him.

Er Yuehong pulled the bolt of his gun and shot at the Russian soldiers.

Several Russian soldiers fell off their horses. Er Yuehong turned around and rode away.

The February Red Gang fled all the way, and the Russian cavalry chased them closely.

They ran until dark and entered an endless reed marsh. The Russian cavalry were unfamiliar with the terrain and could only wander around the reed marsh for a while.

In a reed nest, Er Yuehong and his men met up with Tuotianliang and his group.

"Hurry up and bet on the white, and those who have read the water should keep their eyes open." This means that you should take a rest quickly and the people on guard should open their eyes and pay attention to the situation.

Er Yuehong jumped off the horse, and two girls, who were also Er Yuehong's personal attendants, came forward quickly, took the horse away, and fed it carefully.

The other bearded men also took out their wolfskin mattresses and spread them on the bundles of reeds, then stretched out their legs to relax their muscles and bones and to energize their blood circulation.

Er Yuehong took out a small bronze Buddha and placed it on the saddle in front of him. This small bronze Buddha was the ancestor worshipped by the bearded men, Bodhidharma.

Er Yuehong clasped his hands together and silently prayed in his heart, "Master Bodhidharma, may you bless me."

At this time, a pot of liquor was handed over from the granary, one of the four beams in the house. Er Yuehong took it and poured it on the ground.

"When people grow old and pass away, they can't hire trumpet makers to blow nine dragons for you. We who eat side jobs are not afraid of this day."

This is to commemorate the bearded men who died along the way.

There was no sadness on the faces of the other people. Since they had chosen to take up arms and march into the platoon, they knew that this day would come sooner or later.

At this time, an old lady in her fifties, wearing a satin quilted robe and a sable fur waistcoat, with a kind face, came over, supported by the children.

"Second in command, you need to figure out which way we can go to avoid the Russians and break free."

Er Yuehong helped the old lady sit down and spoke softly.

This old lady is the second in command of the gang, the pillar that supports the sky among the four beams and eight pillars, also called a fanduo.

This man used to be a fortune teller in the countryside. Later, he was invited to the mountain by Er Yuehong and became the second in command of the gang.

When Old Lady Li heard this, she took out a stack of cards from her waist, spread the bag on the ground, and set it out in the dark.

Seeing this, the bearded men didn't dare to breathe, and they all concentrated on watching Old Lady Li push the eight gates.

This is Old Lady Li's specialty. The gangsters escaped death many times because Old Lady Li pushed the eight doors and found the way out.

"Don't travel far in the year of Chou, and don't travel east in the year of You. All your efforts to seek wealth and happiness will be in vain. The northeast of Yiwei is dangerous and unpassable. There are three mountains blocking the way, and there are disaster stars..."

Old Mrs. Li mumbled a long string of words and finally found the way out.

"Go south first, then head southwest when the moon passes the zenith, and you'll be able to get rid of the Russians. At worst, there will be noble people to help you." Old Lady Li said to everyone.

"Feed Lianzi first, take a rest for a while, and set off at midnight." Er Yuehong gave the order immediately.

At one o'clock in the morning, everyone set out, first heading south, and then heading southwest after the moon passed the zenith.

After walking about thirty or forty miles, the Russian cavalry had not made any movement yet, but everyone was still panicking.

Everyone was tired and hungry, and could hardly walk any further, so they just found a place to rest, dozed off for a while, and then continued on their journey.

When the sky in the east began to turn pale, a village finally came into view.

The village was not too big, and it looked like there were only about a hundred households. Everyone's eyes lit up. It was good to see that there were people living there, at least they could have a hot meal and drink some water.

So, Er Yuehong sent people into the village to find the house with the largest house and knocked on the door. He negotiated with them and borrowed pots and stoves, and also spent money to buy a lot of rice, soybean paste, meat and other things.

The bandits made a fire and cooked some food in the open space at the entrance of the village.

At this time, behind a mountain at the east end of the village, there were a lot of people hiding.

“Sir, there are about 200 bearded men entering the village.

The leader was quite strange, a very young female bandit.

But this group of bearded men were quite well behaved. They did not harass the people when they entered the village, and they bought rice, grains, and vegetables with their own money.”

After someone got the information, he reported it to Qu Shaoyang.

“Well, this group is probably here to play with money, and since they abide by the rules and don’t harass the people, don’t alarm them.

Let's go after they finish their meal and leave." Qu Shaoyang leaned against the tree stump and nodded.

Last night, he and his men were resting here. Just now a sentry came to report that a group of bearded men were heading towards the village.

Qu Shaoyang immediately led his men out of the village and hid in the east mountain.

Qu Shaoyang thought that this group of bandits came into the village to cause trouble, so he planned to deal with them. Unexpectedly, this group of bandits were quite well-behaved and did not do anything bad.

In this case, Qu Shaoyang couldn't get angry, so he decided not to disturb them. If a conflict broke out, the villagers would suffer.

In this way, Qu Shaoyang and his men hid quietly on the East Mountain, waiting for Hu Zi to finish his meal and leave.

Over there, Eryuehongluanzi and his group finally cooked the rice. They quickly ate some without caring whether it was hot or not.

Before we finished our meal, we heard the rumbling sound of horse hooves in the distance.

By this time it was already bright in the sky. The gang's sentry climbed up a big tree and looked into the distance. Oh no, it was the Russian cavalry chasing them.

There were quite a few of them, and smoke and dust billowed as the cavalry passed by. "Boss, it's bad, the Russian cavalry is chasing us."

Because the February Red Gang had repeatedly robbed the Russians of their food and money, the Russians issued a death order to wipe out this gang.

So these Russian cavalrymen chased them relentlessly and actually followed them.

"Hide all the troops, set up a block at the entrance of the village, kill the enemy first and then draw the line."

If you turn around and run now, you will be chased and shot.

Therefore, you should use favorable terrain to block the enemy first. It would be best if you can repel the enemy. If not, then find a way to break out.

"Dingtianliang leads a team to suppress the left side, and Saoqingzhu leads a team to suppress the right side to prevent them from outflanking from both sides.

The others took advantage of the favorable terrain and fought with them.

Damn it, even if I die here today, I will let these guys be buried with me."

Er Yuehong became anxious, and led his men with a gun, quickly setting up an ambush near the village entrance.

At this time, on the East Mountain, Qu Shaoyang and his group also discovered the Russian cavalry.

"Sir, these are Russian cavalrymen. It looks like they are coming for the bearded group in the village. What should we do?" his men asked Qu Shaoyang.

"What can we do? We are Chinese, and those bearded men in the village are also Chinese. Do we really have to help the Russians fight their own people?

Pass on my order, divide into two teams, encircle the flanks, and we'll attack the Russians from behind.

Damn it, if they dare to act arrogantly on our land, then they will never return."

In order not to alert the enemy, Qu Shaoyang and others did not wear soldiers' uniforms when they came out this time, but disguised themselves as ordinary people.

This is a lot more convenient, and there is no need to hide your identity.

So, everyone divided into two teams and went around the Russian cavalry from the north and south sides, making a big circle.

At this time, the Russian cavalry had already come into conflict with the February Red Gang.

Even though the gang's equipment is a bit poor, this group of people are veterans of battles and can be regarded as top experts, and each of them is very experienced.

With the help of earth walls and garden sticks, some people even climbed onto the roof, hid behind the ridge, and shot at the Russian cavalry.

This cavalryman was invincible in the wilderness, but he could not gallop freely when approaching the village. He had to dismount, use some things as cover, and then open fire to shoot at the bearded men.

As soon as the gunshots started, the villagers quickly took their families and hid in the vegetable cellar.

There is no way around it. People here have been living in poverty for many years and have long been accustomed to it.

The two sides fought fiercely, with the sound of gunfire ringing incessantly. Both the Gangs and the Russians suffered casualties.

Of course, the Russians have the advantage in numbers, better weapons and equipment, and stronger firepower. Over time, the February Red Gang will definitely not be able to hold out.

Just as Er Yuehong was secretly groaning, suddenly, gunshots were heard behind Maozi.

It was not someone else, it was Qu Shaoyang who led his troops over.

The Dingbian Army led by Qu Shaoyang currently basically uses the M1894 Mauser rifle, and also has a small number of M1896s, which are much better than before.

Of course, the water missiles used by the Russians were also very good, and there was almost no big difference in equipment between the two sides.

But Qu Shaoyang has a lot of people on his side, and he brought out a thousand Dingbian troops.

Moreover, the Dingbian Army had a good rest last night, and their mental and physical strength were in the best condition. As soon as the two sides exchanged fire, the Russians felt the pressure doubled.

In the village, Er Yue Hong Luan Zi was also confused at this time.

"Boss, which gang is coming to help? Judging from the noise, their firepower is very strong. Are there other gangs as powerful as this one nearby?"

Ma Lazi, Er Yuehong's personal bodyguard, a girl of about eighteen or nineteen, asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Who cares which gang they are at this point? As long as they're helpers, that's fine.

Stop talking nonsense, aim at the right target and hit me. I am going to kill all these bastards today."

Er Yuehong felt relieved when he heard that reinforcements had arrived. As for who these gangs were, he would know after the battle.

As the saying goes, there is only one flower in the northwest, and all the green forests in the world are one family.

They all worship the ancestor Bodhidharma. If they don't like people, they will like the gun handle. If they don't like the gun handle, they will like the mountain top.

"Brothers, bite them all to death. Don't let these Russians escape. Let them know how powerful we are." Er Yuehong gritted his teeth and gave the order hatefully.

As soon as the reinforcements arrived, the gang members gathered their energy and aimed at the Russians on the opposite side and shot at them.

There were still about 300 Russian cavalrymen, but they were surrounded by more than 1,000 people and attacked from both sides.

Especially the group of people behind him, not only did they have strong firepower, but they also had a good sense of offense and defense, and their coordination was very tacit, causing the Russians to suffer heavy losses.

When the Russian cavalry captain Khabachev saw this situation, he quickly gave orders to break out from both sides and try to rush out.

However, Qu Shaoyang had already anticipated that the Russians would do this, and had ambushed men on both sides in advance, with eight heavy machine guns waiting there.

Khabachev and his cavalry charged several times, but were suppressed each time.

Both sides were blood-thirsty at this time. Khabachev led his men and rushed out recklessly. He was accidentally shot and fell off his horse.

(End of this chapter)