Chapter Fifty-Two: Luo Qing Village

Chen Qingzhi’s Independent Mixed Brigade numbered over 8,500 men, organized into three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment. Each infantry regiment was an augmented unit with nearly 2,500 men, divided into three infantry battalions and a regimental artillery company equipped with twenty Type 92 infantry guns. Every battalion totaled close to 700 men.

Within each company were three platoons and a Maxim heavy machine gun squad, bringing the total to over 200 men per company. Each platoon consisted of three squads, each with thirteen men. Every man carried a rifle, and at the squad level, they were further armed with a grenade launcher and a Czech light machine gun.

Beyond this, the brigade’s direct artillery regiment counted close to 700 men, and Chen Qingzhi’s guards battalion numbered 300. As for the anti-aircraft gun battalion, it had fewer than 200 men since there were only eight cannons at present—strictly speaking, it was more of an anti-aircraft company. This was the full complement of the brigade’s manpower.

Once all the weapons were distributed, the soldiers were elated. But to quickly familiarize the new recruits with their arms and forge combat effectiveness, a period of intense training immediately followed.

...

About thirty miles west of Qingyuan County lay a place called Luoqing Mountain. Though called a mountain, it was in fact little more than a hill rising less than two hundred meters. Yet, while the hill itself was modest, the dense forests surrounding it stretched for over a dozen miles.

Atop Luoqing Mountain stood Luoqing Fort, home to a band of outlaws. Though they styled themselves as gallant heroes of the greenwood, in reality, they were nothing more than a gang of bandits ruling the mountain. They spent their days plundering homes and occasionally descending into neighboring towns and counties to loot and pillage.

The nearby towns and counties suffered greatly under their depredations. Several times, county authorities had dispatched their security battalions to suppress the bandits, but Luoqing Fort was no small force—about a thousand strong and armed with as many rifles. Each attempt to stamp them out ended not in victory, but in heavy losses for the security battalions, who returned battered and defeated.

After several such setbacks, the surrounding counties abandoned further attempts at suppression. They could only take up defensive positions: whenever the bandits descended the mountain, the county towns themselves could be defended, but the outlying villages were left at the bandits’ mercy.

Luoqing Fort had become a scourge in the region, infamous for villainy and cruelty, leaving countless families broken and destroyed in their wake.

...

At this moment inside Luoqing Fort, the leaders of the bandits were gathered in council.

“Boss Biao, every word I say is true. If I lie, may heaven strike me down!” One man stood in the main hall, addressing a one-eyed man seated at the head of the room.

Before Boss Biao could reply, another man, dressed in a fur coat and seated along the side, gave a cold laugh and said, “Hmph! As if you’re so kind-hearted? If it’s such a fat pig, why not go to your own Security Battalion Commander Hei Kui? Wouldn’t it be better to keep it all for yourselves?”

“What do you mean by that, Second Boss?” The man in the hall turned and glared at the speaker.

“What do I mean? I think you’re trying to lure us down the mountain and ambush us!” Second Boss retorted sharply. “Don’t think I don’t know—your boss Hei Kui has had his eye on our thousand rifles for a long time. So what, he couldn’t wait and now sends you here to set a trap for us?”

The other leaders nodded in agreement, shouting, “He’s a spy!”

“Drag him out and be done with it!”

“Yes, take him out and chop him up!”

Amid the commotion, the man in the hall remained unafraid. He cupped his fists to Boss Biao and said, “To tell you the truth, our leader Hei Kui has already been killed by Chen Qingzhi, and the Security Battalion was ambushed and disarmed. Only a few old men and invalids are left in our fort. Otherwise, why would I come here to tell you of this opportunity?”

“What!” The crowd was taken aback. “You say Hei Kui is dead?”

Boss Biao, the chief of Luoqing Fort, had been sitting with his eyes half-closed. At these words, he opened them a fraction and asked calmly, “You say your boss Hei Kui is dead, and the Security Battalion disarmed?”

“That’s exactly right.”

“In that case, you should have fled as far as possible. Why come here to tell us?” Boss Biao asked coolly.

“Chen Qingzhi sent men to ambush the Security Battalion and killed my younger brother. I would like nothing more than to catch Chen Qingzhi and tear him to pieces, but he’s well protected, and our remaining men are too feeble to do anything. I can only turn to you for help.”

“You say Chen Qingzhi is the commander of an independent brigade. Even if we have a thousand men, how could we possibly defeat a regular army?” Boss Biao asked.

“Boss Biao, to be honest,” the man replied earnestly,

“Although Chen Qingzhi commands an independent brigade, his unit was badly mauled—not more than four or five hundred effective men remain. He’s been recruiting, but they’re all fresh peasants with no fighting experience. The only troops worth worrying about are those four or five hundred veterans; the rest hardly matter. You have over a thousand men—surely you can handle a mere four or five hundred?”

At this, a thoughtful look came over Boss Biao’s face.

Seeing this, the man pressed his advantage. “Boss Biao, do you know how rich this independent brigade is? To attract new recruits, they offer twenty silver dollars just for enlisting. By that measure, the brigade must have at least several hundred thousand in silver!”

“Several hundred thousand! That’s enough to equip an army. You could recruit thousands and build a division of your own!”

The other leaders could not contain themselves. “What? Several hundred thousand in silver!”

“My goodness! That’s a real fat sheep!”

“Boss, we should do it!”

“Yes, Boss! If we wipe out the independent brigade, we can raise a whole division!”

The lure of such riches had inflamed their greed, and all the leaders pressed Boss Biao to act.

Boss Biao wavered, tempted by the thought of so much silver, but wary—the regular army was not to be taken lightly. If they failed, the consequences would be dire...

As he hesitated, the man added, “Boss Biao, don’t forget—you still have two cannons in your fort!”

At this, Boss Biao fixed the man with a long look, then suddenly slapped the arm of his chair, stood up, and declared fiercely, “To hell with it! Fortune favors the bold. If we dare, we might even bring down an emperor! What’s a regular army to us?”

“This job—we’ll do it!”