Section 2: Difficult Decisions

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Liu Yucai also believed that defeating the government troops would provide room for maneuver. Among this group, he had traveled across several provinces and had extensive experience. The Mengshan stronghold plundered everywhere and had deep-seated grievances with the surrounding villages, much like the Nian rebels of yesteryear; once defeated, even the villagers would turn into formidable enemies.

"Reconnaissance? Who is not aware of the situation in Zhangjiazha? What is there to scout? Time is not on our side; once the government troops establish a firm foothold, surprise attacks will become difficult." Sun Dewang lit another cigarette and said in a low voice.

Liu Yucai and Zhou Huanan had never actually witnessed the formidable new army of the Wu Wei, which Long Qian had boasted about as being almost divine. However, the two held great trust in Long Qian, so Liu Yucai asked, "Old Third, how do you plan to attack Zhangjiazhuang? Are you just going to charge down the mountain like this?"

However, today, Guangming Temple is devoid of its usual clamor, with a pervasive atmosphere of tension and oppression. In the main hall, the leaders are deliberating over a hand-drawn map.

The conduct of the government troops is just like that; how much difference can there be between the new army and the green battalions? It is merely a matter of sufficient military pay and good weapons. Sun Dewang shook his head, saying, "Back in the day when you were in Henan, did we brothers in Yinan kill fewer government troops? The soldiers of the new army do not have three heads and six arms. What is there to fear? We can hold our ground. We have over a thousand brothers who have fought and seen blood; saying one can match ten is not far from the truth. As for provisions, our Old Five is a local landlord, skilled in financial management, and there is plenty of grain stored in the village, enough to last at least three months. We can make it through; the government troops may not be able to. What is there to fear? We can hold our ground. We have over a thousand brothers who have fought and seen blood; saying one can match ten is not far from the truth. As for provisions, our Old Five is a local landlord, skilled in financial management, and there is plenty of grain stored in the village, enough to last at least three months. We can make it through; the government troops may not be able to. If they stay for a few days and their provisions run low, they will obediently retreat."

What cannot be easily spoken of here is the discord between Liu Yucai and Sun Dewang. Initially, Liu Yucai, a remnant of the Nian army, along with Zhou Huanan, brought hundreds of people and books from Yinan to seek refuge. Sun Dewang generously accepted them, and the strength of the stronghold immediately increased by more than half. In the years that followed, Liu Yucai proved through strategy and military achievements that both his courage and wisdom surpassed those of Sun Dewang. However, Sun Dewang, due to the incompetence of the Shandong Green Battalion, had long lost his sharpness, dulled by the comfortable life filled with flowers and greenery. In the years that followed, Liu Yucai proved through strategy and military achievements that both his courage and wisdom surpassed those of Sun Dewang. However, Sun Dewang, due to the incompetence of the Shandong Green Battalion, had long lost his sharpness, dulled by the comfortable life filled with flowers and greenery.

The news of the government troops' encirclement was as difficult to conceal as all secrets in this world, and it had already reached the Mengshan camp ten days prior. The chief in charge of the camp, Sun Dewang, quickly summoned the second-in-command, Liu Yucai, who was leading the troops outside, to discuss countermeasures. Liu Yucai advocated for retreating from Mengshan to Yizhou before the government troops could encircle them, planning to return to the camp when the government forces were exhausted and out of supplies. Liu Yucai also eloquently quoted, "Avoid their sharpness, strike their sluggishness; this is the way to victory in military strategy." Although Liu Yucai was the most educated among the leaders, that pretentious phrase was not something he would typically say. Sun Dewang immediately concluded that Liu Yucai had once again been influenced by Long Qian.

The bandit's forces exceeded 2,000 men. The buildings surrounding Guangming Temple could not accommodate such a large number of troops, so the bandit's forces were divided into three locations. The main base at Guangming Temple housed the old camp and four battle teams, totaling around 1,000 men, while the eastern and southern outposts each stationed approximately 500 men.

The bandits of Mengshan have now learned quite a bit about foreign affairs. Although most of them are desperate farmers, their location in Shandong has given them an advantage in accessing information. A few years ago, during the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese landed in Weihai. The year before last, the Germans dispatched troops to occupy Qingdao due to the killing of their missionaries, which made them realize that the legendary foreigners are actually not far from them.

The commander of the Southern Army is the named admiral Lan Muguang from Shandong, whose official rank is higher than that of General Cao, but the forces under his command are weaker than those of the Right Army of the Imperial Guard. Therefore, Admiral Lan's responsibilities are primarily defensive and for alerting.

This must be done. Otherwise, those bastards won't know how many eyes the King of Horses has! The hot-tempered Third Master, Sun Deming, exclaimed, "I will take people to attack Zhangjia Village! We are familiar with the terrain; which year have we not gone in and out a few times? Just wait for my good news."

Of course not. Although Sun Deming is reckless, he is not foolish. Since the government troops have superior weapons, we will not confront them in broad daylight. Instead, we will sneak in at night and catch them off guard.

Sun Dewang agreed with his brother's opinion. He then gathered the other heads of the family to discuss and decided to launch a surprise attack on Zhangjiazhuang after sunset. The terrain was extremely familiar, and winning this battle should not be difficult

Apart from the routes to the east and west, the southern route is also accessible for climbing. However, all paths are narrow and winding. To reach Guangming Temple from the south, one must traverse desolate mountain ridges. Climbing without any equipment is already strenuous, let alone for regular troops carrying firearms and ammunition. Due to past experiences of bandits descending from the south to plunder, Cao Kun wrote to Yizhou, instructing them to dispatch three defensive patrol teams to guard the southern line, ensuring that no bandits escape from that route.

"Didn’t Long Qian say that the government troops coming from Zhili have many quick-firing guns? Then let’s seize one from them." Sun Deming laughed heartily. He was just over thirty, but his hair was starting to recede, which made him appear somewhat older.

Do not listen to that brat Long Qian's nonsense. What does he, a naive child who has never seen the world, know about the German Army? Has he ever been to Germany?" Sun Deming said discontentedly, "Abandoning the mountain and leaving? Where to? www.hetushu.com.com? With thousands of government troops trailing behind us, which stronghold would give us face? If we were to act according to his words, these thousands of people would scatter as soon as they descended the mountain.

"Old San has also come to understand the power of foreign guns." Liu Yucai smiled and said, "I heard that Yuan Shikai is training troops at Xiaozhan, and the instructors he hired are all Germans. I also heard that the Germans are the most formidable in battle; the Eastern soldiers who were defeated and lost their helmets and armor in Korea and the Northeast were all students of theirs."

"I have heard Long Qian say the same thing, that the German army is the best. If this group of official troops is indeed trained by Germans, we should still abandon the mountains and let them pass." The speaker is Zhou Huanan, the fourth leader.

Zhangjiazai is quite small, at most it can accommodate two hundred people.

Long Qian's Eighth Team is stationed at Nanzhai, which is also known as Duoduo Zhai. Alongside them at Nanzhai are the Sixth Team and several support personnel, including sixteen prostitutes.

"Second brother, do not bolster the ambitions of others." Sun Deming disagreed, "We are not fighting against the Germans; you should be well aware of the character of the government troops. They merely bully a few honest commoners."

The old camp, referred to as the Mengshan bandits by the Yizhou government, is a temple called Guangming Temple. The monks in the temple had long fled to unknown places ten years ago, and the Buddha statues in the main halls are in a state of disrepair. Since the Mengshan bandits occupied Guangming Temple, the once sacred Buddhist site has been filled with the aroma of wine and meat all day long, with the sounds of dice games and shouts echoing, losing all semblance of the sanctity and solemnity of a pure Buddhist sanctuary

Although Mengshan is steep and perilous, there are not only the western routes leading to the mountain. In fact, there are roads from the east and south as well. The eastern route from Mengyin also has a main road ascending the mountain, but its condition is not as good as that of the western route. Since Cao Kun has established his main camp at Pingyi Zhai, his primary attack direction is certainly the western route. What the Mengshan bandits do not know is that Cao Kun has left a highly capable battalion on the eastern route, along with the stationed troops in Mengyin, specifically for defense. Cao Kun believes this is sufficient to hold off the Mengshan bandits. He envisions that if the bandits' main force breaks through from the eastern route, they would be abandoning their advantageous terrain, or the situation of the terrain would shift in terms of offense and defense. As long as the battalion on the eastern route can hold out for two days with their superior equipment, the main force on the western route will occupy the Mengshan bandits' lair. In that case, the western main force will have the high ground and can launch a pincer attack with the eastern route, making it easier to achieve victory.

Since the newly arrived Yuan Futai has left us no way out, there is no retreat, Sun Deming said, "If we win, we can stay in Mengshan, or go to Feixian, Pingyi, or Mengyin. However, if we are defeated by this group of officials from Zhili, even if we descend the mountain, we will be like stray dogs. The third brother is right; we must attack Zhangjiazhuang."

Elder brother, although Xiao Longzi is young, he has received an education and has seen the world. The reasoning behind the principle of achieving victory in the first battle is indeed profound; otherwise, we might fall into a passive position. Attacking Zhangjiazhuang is not out of the question, but it would be better to send Long Qian to conduct reconnaissance first. In his heart, Zhou Huanan still believes that Long Qian's suggestion to abandon the mountain and take a different path is correct, but given the current situation, the idea of directly confronting the imperial troops clearly seems to be prevailing.

They must not be allowed to occupy Zhangjiazhuang! Upon hearing the news, Sun Deming found his brother and strongly urged to defeat the occupying vanguard of the government troops at Zhangjiazhuang before the main force of the government army arrived.

As Long Qian had anticipated, the opinion of Sun Dazhang was supported by all the leaders except for Zhou Huanan. Thus, the principle of relying on geographical advantages and internal lines of operation was established. The current situation is that the Wuwei Army has arrived more quickly and fiercely than they had imagined. Yesterday, scouts reported that the western government troops had already occupied Zhangjiazhuang. Zhangjiazhuang is located on the only route out of the Mengshan Mountains from the west. If ignored, it will not take two days for the government troops to reach Niutou Ridge, bringing them closer to Guangming Temple.

Liu Yucai felt somewhat worried, "Elder brother, the troops coming this time are not ordinary government forces. They are the army of Yuan Shikai, who is well-versed in military affairs and has achieved great merit in Korea. The reason this dog official Yuan Shikai has targeted us upon arriving in Shandong is not a whim, nor is it merely his eagerness for achievements; it is likely that there is a premeditated scheme. I believe Xiao Longzi is right; the new army, upon their arrival, will certainly have the mindset of seeking merit and rewards, which naturally gives them a certain vigor. Once they find nothing and miss their target, their momentum will dissipate significantly. This aligns with the military strategy of 'avoiding their sharpness and striking their lethargy.' At that time, we can pursue and intercept them, and we can engage them however we wish."

Sun Dewang, however, considered the difficulty of managing the old camp. Once they retreated, they could take gold and silver treasures with them, but food and houses would naturally have to be burned. Even if they did not burn them, the government troops would not leave them behind. Moreover, many of the heads of families had dependents, and women with bound feet could neither ride horses nor walk far; how could they keep up with the marching speed of the army? Therefore, Sun Dewang rejected Liu Yucai's suggestion and insisted on holding the mountain. He believed that this was not the first time the government troops had come to suppress them. Mengshan was high and dense with forests, the terrain was steep, and there was ample food and supplies on the mountain. We can make it last, and the government troops might not be able to endure for long either. Even if they do not defeat us, they will eventually retreat due to insufficient supplies.

Cao Kun led the main force of the Wu Wei New Army, consisting of two infantry battalions and an artillery unit, unreservedly taking on the role of the primary force for the western offensive, tasked with the significant responsibility of clearing out the stronghold of the Mengshan bandits.