Wu Cunxiao was a squad leader of the reconnaissance platoon. At this moment, disguised as a porter carrying a load of tea, he, along with three other soldiers and a group of passersby, was blocked by several New Army scouts in a hollow by the roadside. On the mountain road not far from him, the troops of the Thirty-first Regiment of the Hubei New Army were marching. From officers to soldiers, no one had any intention of rushing; they walked slowly on the mountain road one by one as if sightseeing. The troop of more than two thousand people was organized into a large column with two people in a row, stretching out for several *li* like a super-long roundworm. Walking at the very front were the logistics troops; mules and horses carried grain, and conscripted laborers carried heavy luggage. Although the marching speed of the logistics troops was already very limited, they could still walk at the front of the team.

After seeing this team, Wu Cunxiao clicked his tongue in his heart. If the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army dared to march like this, the troop commander would probably have been removed from office long ago. This formation was simply not a marching formation. Although there was the problem of narrow mountain roads, at any rate, the troops should be divided into multiple marching columns according to their units. With this formation, if suddenly attacked, the entire team would be in chaos immediately. Wu Cunxiao knew the Hubei New Army felt the road section they were marching on now was still very safe. When they really got close to the base area, they wouldn't be so careless either. But marching in a safe area, shouldn't they adopt a more efficient marching method? The Hubei New Army claimed to "win by learning" among the various New Armies; this military literacy was a bit too childish.

It wasn't easy to wait for the main force to pass. Just as he was thinking of waiting for the New Army scouts in front to leave, he saw twenty or so officers and soldiers walking towards the direction of the hollow where Wu Cunxiao was. This hollow was a dead end of thirty-some meters formed by rock. Not only Wu Cunxiao was stopped inside, but also some travelers. All were driven here when the scouts of the Hubei New Army were scouting the road. These unfortunate people totaled more than 20. Looking at their appearance, most were merchants. In groups of a few or a dozen, each group had people pushing wheelbarrows and carrying loads on shoulder poles. Wu Cunxiao and the three soldiers disguised themselves as selling tea; Wu Cunxiao carried the load, and the other three pretended to guard the tea load. All four had queues and didn't stand out in the crowd at all.

Seeing the New Army scouts coming this way, almost everyone's face changed greatly. Some timid ones had already started to retreat with their goods. As the saying goes, "common people don't fight with officials," let alone facing several thousand Hubei New Army soldiers now. In this wild mountain ridge, facing a group of Manchu Qing "*Qiu Ba*" (soldiers), it would be strange if everyone wasn't afraid.

"Everyone, what goods are you all carrying?" The questioning officer had a hypocritical smile piled on his face. This kind of weasel-paying-respects-to-a-chicken smile made everyone's face change even more.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. We are the government army; we won't disturb the people." The officer continued to say with a hypocritical smile, "We are going to Anhui to fight chaotic parties. This has delayed everyone's journey. This officer apologizes to everyone here."

These merchants were experienced. If the officer came up and scolded viciously, it would just be extortion; losing some wealth would settle it. Now this officer spoke logically, or rather made conversation when there was nothing to say; that wasn't a matter of extortion and paying a little money. This was a precursor to making everyone bleed heavily. Although knowing they were doomed, no one spoke. This was also human nature; even knowing death was imminent, perhaps not responding would make death come a bit slower.

Seeing no one dared to respond, the officer still smiled fake: "This officer doesn't distrust everyone either, but one must always be careful on the march. Everyone is carrying loads and pushing carts. If there are weapons in these loads and carts, I can't ignore it. I have to say, I have to let everyone suffer a little grievance. We want to inspect everyone's luggage."

As soon as these words fell, a timid merchant already shouted: "Official Lord, we are good people. We are not chaotic parties."

The reason the merchant broke the silence just now was simple. Marching soldiers "inspecting goods" meant robbing openly. At this time, the merchant could no longer continue to be silent.

The officer waved his hand. The New Army soldiers behind him had already lined up and raised their rifles, black muzzle holes aimed at this group of merchants. The officer pulled a long face. "If you don't have ghosts in your hearts, why not let us inspect? This clearly shows there are ghosts in your hearts. Someone, bring those few people out." As soon as the voice fell, several New Army soldiers had already rushed forward, grabbed the merchant who spoke just now, and pulled him out. The merchant's partners wanted to stop it but dared not really shove the New Army soldiers. During this pause, that New Army officer had already raised his hand and pointed to the companion who was obviously in the same group as this unlucky merchant. "Bring these few people out too."

The New Army soldiers answered and immediately started to arrest people. While shoving, a New Army soldier suddenly shouted: "They carry guns on their bodies."

As soon as these words came out, both the officer and the soldiers changed their expressions. In an instant, several more people rushed up, pressed that merchant and his companions to the ground, and tied them up firmly. The soldiers searched the merchant's body and sure enough found two pistols.

"Honestly speaking, where are you chaotic parties from?" the officer shouted.

The merchant was pressed on the ground, with soldiers pointing rifles at his head around him. The merchant shouted hoarsely in fear: "Official Lord, we are decent businessmen."

"Decent businessmen? What guns do decent businessmen carry?" the officer sneered.

"It's unsafe on the road; we carry guns for self-defense."

"Unsafe? In this bright and peaceful world (*Lang Lang Qian Kun*), how can it be unsafe? You are speaking ill of the court; what is your crime?" the officer continued to sneer and said.

Wu Cunxiao pressed his hand over his mouth, as if afraid he would accidentally say the wrong thing. He looked at the other few comrades, only to see everyone either lowering their heads or turning their bodies and heads away like they were afraid. But from the subtle movements of facial muscles, Wu Cunxiao could roughly tell that the comrades were holding back laughter just like himself, afraid of revealing flaws. This was really a "bright and peaceful world"; everything happening before their eyes was enough, where was the need to specifically speak ill of the court?

What happened next was really not worth mentioning; an old-as-can-be drama was staged once. Everyone was searched, and the traveling goods were also opened and rummaged through.

Wu Cunxiao and the others didn't bring pistols, only daggers. And his merchant team all had their own weapons. These various weapons thrown on the ground were everyone's "evidence of crime." Everyone was forced by gun muzzles and dared not move. And these goods were nothing special, just common things like salt, cloth, sundries, and tea. The New Army took all these things away. Even most of the money on everyone was taken away.

The merchants wailed, but what else could they do besides wailing?

The officer gave a cold laugh. "Lord (referring to himself) has killed I don't know how many chaotic parties in the New Army. Sparing your lives today is your blessing." After speaking, the New Army officers and soldiers left swaggeringly with the merchants' items and "captured" weapons.

Merchants running on mountain roads were all doing small capital business; how could they bear being tossed about like this? The owners among them cried as if dead. And other transporters or bodyguards also mourned silently with sad faces. When the New Army "inspected" the goods, they were really "heroic." A lot of salt and tea was spilled on the ground. Although the cloth was taken away, quite a few places were also torn. Some sundries were dropped, but not knowing where the New Army got that "hostility," they deliberately stomped on the sundries with their feet when leaving. The sundries merchant picked up these broken sundries and held them in his arms, crying even more sadly.

Wu Cunxiao had a gloomy face; fire almost sprayed out of his eyes. Is this the usual face of the Manchu Qing army? Although Wu Cunxiao had fought many battles with the Manchu Qing army, everyone settled it on the battlefield; it was either you die or I live, fighting with real swords and guns. As the victorious side, although Wu Cunxiao had sufficient pride, he wouldn't have any special disgust for the Manchu Qing army. Now seeing the evil deeds of the Manchu Qing army against the people with his own eyes, Wu Cunxiao couldn't control his emotions no matter what. A strong sense of abhorrence burned his soul like fire.

Fortunately, in every war, the People's Party didn't give the Manchu Qing a chance to wreak havoc; in every war, the People's Party completely annihilated the Manchu Qing troops. This was just an ordinary march, and the Manchu Qing poisoned the common people so much. If they were allowed to win a battle, heaven knew what these beasts could do. Just imagining it, Wu Cunxiao felt a chill on his back.

"Let's go," Wu Cunxiao said to the comrades. The comrades were equally full of anger; they followed Wu Cunxiao closely and left the crowd. Without carrying the load, Wu Cunxiao felt his steps were also much lighter. After taking a few steps, he turned back again. Bending down to grab a handful of tea mixed with soil from the ground, Wu Cunxiao clenched his fist tightly. He felt his palm stung painfully by the tea stems. I will definitely make you pay back these debts. Wu Cunxiao stared at the back of the long New Army team, swearing secretly in his heart.

When the New Army plundered merchants, the People's Party troops also encountered the problem of merchants. The troops just put them under temporary custody. Large troop marching was different from small team marching. Actually, some small paths might not be un-fast; a few people passing through might be faster. But large troops couldn't do it. Although they often had to detour, generally speaking, marching on the main road was more efficient for large troops overall. So the merchants and mountain people encountered along the way could only have their freedom of movement restricted temporarily. Only after the main force had gone far could they be released.

The comrades left to guard these people were all very good at marching; they could always catch up with the troops. This made Zhang Yu very assured.

However, this measure only lasted for two days according to the plan. Starting from the third day, the troops advanced at full speed. In this march, all soldiers carried their own luggage and dry rations. Calculating from the news constantly sent back by the base area's forward reconnaissance troops, the distance between the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army and the Thirty-first Regiment of the Hubei New Army had shortened to less than two days. Moreover, the Thirty-first Regiment was less than thirty *li* away from Yingshan County, while the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was still more than eighty *li* away from Yingshan. If the Thirty-first Regiment was allowed to enter Yingshan county town, it would cause a huge loophole in the entire combat plan. So the troops accelerated their march; they must launch the attack before the Hubei New Army entered Yingshan county town.

"Full speed ahead," Zhang Yu issued the order.