145 Blood Red, Snow White (6)

"Sirs, your dogs look quite capable!" Zhu Huaiji said. The Eskimo dogs pulled the heavy sleds unhurriedly through the snow. Leaving aside the novelty of this sled power, hunter Zhu Huaiji and others were seeing these huge dogs, as big as foals, for the first time.

The officers and soldiers of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army just smiled kindly. These dogs were indeed good, but they also put quite a lot of pressure on logistics. But no one wanted to say so much. Marching in the snow consumed considerable energy; it was better to save a bit of strength if possible.

The assault team captain took over the conversation. "Brother Zhu, are the guards of this mine very formidable?"

"If you say formidable, they aren't that formidable, but there are many of them." Zhu Huaiji was full of anger when mentioning the Japanese mine guards. Not only did the Zhu family have three people lose their lives in the mine, but the mine side used to be a good hunting ground, and now there were no wild animals to hunt there. "Sir, do you want to attack them?"

The assault team captain laughed: "Attacking them is not impossible, but it needs the help of you locals!"

"How do you want me to help?" Seeing hope to fight the Japanese, Zhu Huaiji asked hurriedly.

"You have to lure the Japanese out. If we go directly to fight the Japanese, I'm afraid they will turtle up and not come out. Someone has to get them out!" The assault team captain replied.

This was a necessary method, and even so, it carried considerable risk. In order not to alert the enemy, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had not cut the telegraph lines in Anshan yet. So a short-term siege could very likely attract enemy reinforcements. In such a strange area, even having a map was useless.

"Do you want me to trick the Japanese out?" Zhu Huaiji wilted a bit at that moment. Trickery against the Japanese wasn't impossible, but the key was if the Japanese didn't come out with Zhu Huaiji, that would be terrible.

Seeing Zhu Huaiji's expression, the assault team captain didn't force it either. He smiled and said: "Let's scout the road first. Brother Zhu, with you as a local, we have saved a lot of trouble!"

For several days in a row, Zhu Huaiji and several hunters from the Zhu family took the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to walk through all the villages near Anshan. Now everywhere had heard of the People's Party's name, and with locals leading the way, especially the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's modest attitude—but when mentioning fighting Japanese, they were not modest at all, telling exactly how they slaughtered the Japanese—this made the rural masses admire them considerably.

Zhu Huaiji might not dare to lure the Japanese mine guards out, but the Zhu family wasn't the only one with a grudge against the Japanese. Another family of hunters surnamed Xie volunteered to help lure the Japanese out. "Several members of our family were killed by the Japanese. This time there is finally a chance for revenge; I am not afraid of death myself! I only hope you sirs can kill all the Japanese and help our family get revenge!"

The assault team had a total of more than fifty people. This force could probably deal with one or two hundred people in an ambush battle. The key to the problem was whether the enemy could be tricked into the ambush circle. This really could only rely on the help of local common people.

After two days of careful arrangement, the operation was finally implemented. The combat result was considered not bad. Without losing a single person, the troops wearing white camouflage uniforms first easily annihilated more than fifty people brought into the encirclement by the Xie family hunter. Then they followed the small path to raid the camp of the Japanese mine guards guarding the mine. At the cost of three wounded, they annihilated more than one hundred and thirty people. Then in front of the miners and local common people, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army followed the method of dealing with Mantetsu: unless someone was willing to stand up to vouch for a Japanese and state the reason why that Japanese could be spared death, only then would a certain Japanese be released. Under the circumstance that no one pleaded for mercy, the Japanese were all beheaded. Of course, no one pleaded for the Japanese, and as a result, all the Japanese in this mine were killed clean.

The corpses from the ambush battle were also dragged back to the mine. Spending this effort was to avoid letting the Japanese army discover that battles took place in two places. Anyway, it snowed a lot these days, and the traces on the ground disappeared quickly. The Xie family hunter knew very clearly in his heart that he played a considerable role in the ambush battle, and covering up the battlefield of the ambush battle was also protection for him.

The assault team left a few liaisons to continue operating in the Anshan area, and the main force of the assault team retreated rapidly. Since they had demonstrated combat effectiveness to the masses, the rest was to make contact quickly. This was really a good opportunity to attack.

Bringing the news of progress in Anshan, the assault team returned to the Panjin area. The 18th Corps, which had already intended to seize Anshan, immediately adjusted its deployment. First, they asked the 14th Corps to send troops to take over part of the 18th Corps' garrison, and the 18th Corps troops also began to continue north.

The reaction of the 14th Corps was fast. After receiving the notification from the 18th Corps, they immediately forwarded the news to Northeast Military Region Commander Pu Guanshui. Pu Guanshui immediately ordered the entire 14th Corps to station in the Panjin area. The two corps in Hebei, the 15th and 16th Corps, stationed in Jinzhou and the region between Jinzhou and Panjin. With the support of large troops, the morale of the 14th Corps was also high. And the 18th Corps moved north in batches.

Areas like Jinzhou, Panjin, and Anshan were already very cold at this time, but compared with Changchun further north, the degree of coldness was still limited. Although Changchun's name looked very warm ("Long Spring"), winter was actually the longest here. After entering February, the temperature here dropped to more than minus thirty degrees. Even if the sun was out in broad daylight, no one was willing to go out.

If there was anything colder than this weather, it might be the mood of Zhang Zuolin, the Military Governor of the Northeast temporarily staying in Changchun. Speaking from the heart, being driven out of Fengtian by the Japanese wasn't a shameful thing. Even if Changchun wasn't completely Zhang Zuolin's territory, the Changchun defenders still admired Marshal Zhang for being able to escape with his life. Not to mention that Marshal Zhang scaring away tens of thousands of Japanese troops with one shot was a legend in Changchun City.

But the latest news made Zhang Zuolin more and more afraid. Although the Japanese didn't continue to attack, and Zhang Zuolin had also heard that the People's Party annihilated a Japanese division in Shandong. At that time, Beiyang said the People's Party was bragging. Zhang Zuolin was very afraid of the Japanese, so he naturally also thought the People's Party was bragging. Until his intelligence system in Fengtian sent the news to Changchun that the People's Party annihilated the Japanese 20th Division and blew up the Yalu River Bridge under the Japanese's nose. Zhang Zuolin finally knew the People's Party wasn't bragging.

This Beiyang miscellaneous army warlord who gained huge opportunities in troubled times was truly afraid. In Zhang Zuolin's view, the Japanese definitely wouldn't stay in China for too long. Even with the Russo-Japanese War fought like that, Japan didn't stay in the Northeast in the end.

But the People's Party was completely different. The People's Party definitely wanted to seize the entire China. Even Grand President Yuan Shikai, who had acted as a matchmaker for Chen Ke, was forced to death by Chen Ke. How could Chen Ke be polite to Zhang Zuolin?

However, the view of Wang Yongjiang, the head of another faction in the Fengtian Army currently, was completely different from Zhang Zuolin. After annihilating the 20th Division, news of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army killing Mantetsu members on a large scale reached Changchun. Wang Yongjiang suggested that Zhang Zuolin actively send someone to contact the People's Party, and both sides seek cooperation. Deal with the Japanese in the Northeast together.

Zhang Zuolin certainly disagreed. He believed the current situation should be a good time to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. The biggest threat at present was the Japanese. He should even send news to the Japanese first that Zhang Zuolin had no intention of being an enemy of the Japanese. Exchange for temporary peace. Anyway, as long as he didn't send troops to provoke the Japanese or the People's Party, wait until the general trend was obvious, at least when both sides were in a critical period of fierce war, at that time, no matter who Zhang Zuolin defected to, they would have to pay a big price to Zhang Zuolin.

Wang Yongjiang looked down on this fence-sitting attitude extremely. "Marshal! If neither the Japanese nor the People's Party has the intention to accept us, what do you plan to do?"

"Neither has the intention to accept us?" Zhang Zuolin didn't think it through completely for a moment. A moment later, he finally understood Wang Yongjiang's meaning, and now Zhang Zuolin's face sank.

Wang Yongjiang was one of the few high-level officials in the Fengtian Army who truly came from a scholarly background. He didn't care that Zhang Zuolin was unhappy. "Marshal, the Japanese fought into the Northeast this time to occupy our Northeast. Absolutely not to support the Sun Yat-sen regime. The People's Party fought into the Northeast also to seize the Northeast. Comparing the two, we can only contact the People's Party. At least we are all Chinese. Now even if we contact the Japanese and get temporary peace, that's not because the Japanese genuinely want to let us off, but because under the confrontation with the People's Party, they have absolutely no strength to attack us. Under such a situation, even if we ignore the Japanese, they can't attack over. Marshal, you can't be mistaken!"

Zhang Zuolin certainly knew the ins and outs of this. He pondered for a good while before saying, "This should have been the People's Party coming to find us to talk business..."

How could Wang Yongjiang not know what Zhang Zuolin was thinking? He was quite disappointed in his heart. Originally he thought Zhang Zuolin could be considered a hero, but unexpectedly when it concerned his own life and property, he still revealed his true colors. But since Wang Yongjiang became Zhang Zuolin's subordinate, Wang Yongjiang couldn't help but seriously give correct suggestions. "What the Marshal is thinking is probably still wanting to continue being the Military Governor of Fengtian."

Zhang Zuolin's face blushed slightly. Wang Yongjiang directly spoke out the true thoughts in Zhang Zuolin's heart. Actually, Zhang Zuolin also knew this was obviously unrealistic. If the People's Party defeated the Japanese and seized Fengtian, then he could by no means have his previous status. But after being the Military Governor of Fengtian, even if only for a short time, Zhang Zuolin could no longer give up his former status. So as long as the People's Party could promise Zhang Zuolin to continue being the Military Governor of Fengtian, he would defect to the People's Party banner without hesitation.

"Marshal, you obtained this Fengtian Military Governor position by relying on how much effort you put in and serving successive Military Governors. But in the current situation, if you want to continue to be this Fengtian Military Governor, you can only continue to serve the side that ultimately wins. The weight of your contribution cannot be less than the weight of your contribution before!" Wang Yongjiang really spoke his heart out.

Zhang Zuolin shivered slightly. If Wang Yongjiang hadn't mentioned it, Zhang Zuolin himself would have forgotten how much effort he had actually put in during the past days. Not to mention how much he worked like a horse for others when he established the Security Force in Western Liaoning. Even in the situation where Security Forces everywhere were bandits, Zhang Zuolin's Security Force was strictly disciplined, and many times they did the work first before taking money. They won deep praise from the Western Liaoning locality. If it weren't for this, Zhang Zuolin couldn't have been offered amnesty and enlistment to become the official army of Western Liaoning.

During the Russo-Japanese War, besides maintaining public order within the territory, Zhang Zuolin was also calculating how to enhance his own strength. His principle was whoever gave me benefits, I would help. At first, the Russian army was powerful, so he accepted Russian guns and money and helped the Russian army. Later he was captured by the Japanese army and almost executed. After being released, he signed a vow with the Japanese army, "swearing to aid the Japanese army." After the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, his troops not only didn't suffer losses but instead expanded to 3 battalions.

After that, Zhang Zuolin first used a trick to get rid of the local big bandit Du Lisan. Then he annihilated Mongol bandits in Taonan. The Taonan area was a vast and boundless prairie, the base area for Mongol rebel activities. They were familiar with the terrain, understood the conditions of the people, were skilled in riding and shooting, and appeared and disappeared unpredictably. Their tracks were uncertain; they mostly used surprise attacks, hit and run, vanishing without a trace. Among them, several large groups of Mongol rebels, such as Bayan Dalai, Yaqian, Tokto'a, etc., all "harmed the border areas for several years. When suppressed here, they fled there, spreading and difficult to eliminate; the state regarded them as giant bandits."

When Zhang Zuolin took on this heavy responsibility, it didn't go smoothly at first. Later, he adopted the two-handed strategy of forceful attack and outsmarting, sending people to infiltrate the Mongol rebels to obtain intelligence, and gradually reversed the disadvantageous situation. In 1909, Xu Shichang saw that Zhang Zuolin's troop strength was insufficient, so he expanded his establishment to enhance his strength. Expanding 5 battalions to 7 battalions, and placing the Sun Liechen unit stationed in Taonan under Zhang Zuolin's command. Thus Zhang Zuolin's troops increased to 3,500 men, becoming a powerful force in the Northeast.

Zhang Zuolin was a person who knew gratitude very well. Being so favored and valued by the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces Xu Shichang, he worked harder to suppress bandits. At the same time, he was also constantly summarizing the experiences and lessons of suppressing bandits, groping out a set of feasible laws. He himself also endured hardships and hard work, charging at the head. Therefore, after another year of bitter fighting, he finally killed Bayan Dalai, captured Yaqian alive, and defeated Tokto'a. Later he chased Tokto'a for 800 li, driving Tokto'a all the way to Outer Mongolia. The scourge of Mongol rebels endangering the Northeast border for many years was relieved, striking the arrogant arrogance of Mongol separatists and maintaining national unity and ethnic solidarity.

After the Xinhai Revolution, the People's Party and Yuan Shikai became the two most powerful forces in China at that time. When the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces at that time learned that Lan Tianwei and other revolutionaries holding military power were brewing an uprising, he was immediately scared out of his wits. The Viceroy stated that he was about to enter the pass, that is to say, preparing to run away. At this time, Yuan Jinkai, Vice Speaker of the Fengtian Provincial Consultative Council, immediately knelt to dissuade him and suggested reusing the old Patrol Battalion troops. Zhang Zuolin was inspecting outside at the time. Getting the news of the Viceroy's summons, he hurriedly rushed back to Fengtian and held meetings overnight to study countermeasures.

Revolutionary leaders Lan Tianwei, Wu Jinglian, and others secretly discussed beforehand to seize Northeast political power without bloodshed by means of a meeting. It was planned that Wu Jinglian, in the name of the Speaker of the Fengtian Provincial Consultative Council, would convene leaders from all walks of life in the provincial capital for a meeting to solve this problem at the meeting. They studied a plan to establish the Fengtian Provincial Security Association in the name of maintaining public order, force the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces to leave, and then elect Lan Tianwei as the Military Governor Outside the Pass and Wu Jinglian as the Civil Affairs Chief of Fengtian Province, break away from the Qing court, declare independence, and complete the revolution of the Three Northeast Provinces. If "the general situation in the Northeast is settled, continue to march into the pass, join forces in the suburbs of Beijing, and strike straight at the enemy's den." The naive revolutionaries thought that by adopting the method of voting at a meeting, they could seize power in the Northeast in one fell swoop.

For this meeting, Zhang Zuolin arranged men and horses inside and outside the venue, waiting with guns, applying pressure openly. Zhang Zuolin attended the meeting with a gun, his face full of murderous intent. The atmosphere of the venue was very tense, with a tendency to break out at any moment. But the revolutionaries were not timid; instead, they spoke impassionedly, advocating breaking away from the Qing court and declaring independence. Zhang Zuolin jumped out impatiently, slapped his pistol on the table, and shouted savagely and fiercely: "As a soldier, I, Zhang, only know to obey orders to protect the Marshal. If there is unfairness, although I, Zhang, like to make friends, this pistol of mine doesn't make friends." This was a signal. His partisans around the venue all drew their pistols immediately. The situation was extremely dangerous. Under these circumstances, there was no way to continue the discussion. Councilors inclined towards revolution left the venue in anger one after another. But this was equivalent to yielding the initiative of this meeting to the royalists.

As a result, the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces wielded the great power of the meeting and quickly stabilized the situation. Plus Xu Shichang soon brought troops back to the Northeast and pacified the situation in the Northeast. Now Zhang Zuolin gained Yuan Shikai's appreciation and rose step by step. Finally, he sat on the throne of the Military Governor of Fengtian.

But now the two strong enemies Zhang Zuolin faced, Japan and the People's Party, both relied completely on the strength in their own hands to seize the Northeast. Among all the things Zhang Zuolin was good at, military strength was precisely what he lacked most. In this field, Zhang Zuolin really couldn't intervene.

"Mr. Wang, what exactly do you think?" Zhang Zuolin asked Wang Yongjiang.

"That depends on what exactly the Marshal wants," Wang Yongjiang replied.

Zhang Zuolin knew he definitely had to show his hand eventually. Even if there was no fighting in winter, winter would pass after all. When spring flowers bloomed, even if the Japanese didn't come, the People's Party would come. He finally said: "I don't want to retreat anymore. Where can I retreat to? To Heilongjiang? To Western Liaoning? At least I have to be a Changchun Military Governor!"

When saying this, Zhang Zuolin was actually very guilty. With his current troop strength, it was simply not enough to seek this status. Unexpectedly, Wang Yongjiang nodded repeatedly. "We must guarantee the Changchun Military Governor."

Hearing Wang Yongjiang say this, Zhang Zuolin felt much better. However, how to guarantee his status as Changchun Military Governor, no result was discussed for a while.

But the next day, January 14, 1916, Wang Yongjiang suddenly took advantage of the night to lead his followers out of the city, and his whereabouts were unknown. In the letter left to Zhang Zuolin, Wang Yongjiang wrote: "Heroes see differently from scholars; what use are scholars' aspirations?" Following was Wang Yongjiang's resignation on the grounds of his mother's illness. Although Zhang Zuolin wasn't really any Fengtian Military Governor now, Wang Yongjiang still formally informed Zhang Zuolin in the manner of a subordinate resigning that he quit.

Now among the Fengtian Army in Changchun City, more than thirty percent were people who followed Wang Yongjiang's Garrison Command. With Wang Yongjiang gone, the military morale was immediately shaken. Zhang Zuolin's days became even harder.

After thinking it over, Zhang Zuolin no longer dared to maintain his policy of "splendid isolation." He decided he still had to rely on one side first. Calling his confidant, Zhang Zuolin ordered, "Go to Fengtian to deliver a letter!"

"To whom?" The confidant asked.

"To the current President, Mr. Sun Yat-sen," Zhang Zuolin said in a low voice.