A Prophet - Chapter 18 (Part 1)
Chapter 1 - Liu Congyun's Zhuge Military Strategist Dream
At the fourth watch of the night, the wind picked up outside the window, causing the tree leaves to rustle.
In the mountain hollow, a dark mass of people—numbering around several hundred—slowly crept toward Master Zu's location.
Little Liu, who was in charge of the hall's security, was leading a few youngsters on a rotating watch. Suddenly, he felt other sounds mixed into the wind, as if something was approaching. He leaped gracefully up a large tree and looked out into the distance, exclaiming, "My goodness!"
He hopped down instantly and hurried over to Master Zu's bed: "Master Zu, it's bad, it's bad! I don't know who they are, but a massive troop is heading straight toward us!"
Master Zu had just fallen asleep, but the moment he heard this, he instantly woke up: "Wake up the brothers, and get the bullets chambered."
"Understood."
Master Zu went outside, hid behind a tree, and looked into the mountains, thinking to himself: With so many people, have the Japanese devils attacked? No, that can't be right—I didn't hear any gunfire or artillery, nor have I heard about the National Revolutionary Army retreating. As he was pondering a countermeasure, Little Liu hurried back again, tapping Master Zu on the shoulder: "Master Zu, look behind us!"
Master Zu had been focusing entirely ahead. When he turned around, he couldn't help but gasp—several hundred people had also arrived down the mountain. They were surrounded!
Dozens of brothers were already up, gripping their C96 Mauser pistols, waiting for Master Zu's single command.
"Could it be the New Fourth Army again?" Master Zu thought to himself.
Master Zu thought frantically before saying to Little Liu, "Move up close and shout something out. Understand?"
Little Liu nodded.
Master Zu patted him on the shoulder: "Be careful."
Little Liu waved his hand, and Fan Yifei along with a few others followed him. "Halt! What are you here for?" Little Liu shouted loudly.
The troop stopped. It was completely silent—not a single sound could be heard. Master Zu instantly sensed disaster: "Liu, get down fast!"
In a split second, gunfire erupted. Hundreds of bullets swept across the area simultaneously. If Master Zu hadn't shouted out, Little Liu and the others would have been riddled into beehives.
Master Zu and his brothers hit the ground and returned fire.
The opposing side fired for a while, then stopped. A voice shouted out: "Shotguns can't match little black donkeys! Cut the chatter short, or we'll tear you to pieces!"
Once Master Zu heard this, he understood. Real bandits had arrived—and they were all speaking in underworld jargon. The meaning was: Your weapons aren't up to par, so stop fighting; keep it up and you'll all be killed!
"Brothers in arms! Greetings! Friends, please show some mercy and leave us a way out!" Master Zu replied in underworld slang, hoping to bridge the gap.
"Keep your eyes wide open! It's Fifth Master Hong of the Kaishan Licui faction!"
Master Zu realized in an instant: It was Tiger Hong's crew, the real Tiger Hong had come!
"Greetings! Greetings!" Master Zu said loudly. "We're just passing through your territory for a bite to eat—we'll surrender our weapons! Surrender our weapons!"
The other side was telling them to keep their eyes open and not mess with Fifth Master Hong; Master Zu was telling them that they were all friends, eating a meal on their territory, and that they would hand over their guns!
Finished speaking, Master Zu whispered to his brothers: "Are all the bullets chambered?"
The brothers nodded.
Master Zu looked at everyone and said: "In a moment, fire every single bullet we have. Take one down for every one of us, and make a profit if we take two down with us. Understand?"
The brothers nodded again.
Master Zu was faking a surrender, intending to seize the moment when the enemy let their guard down to launch a desperate counterattack.
Right at this critical juncture, another voice drifted over from the opposite side: "Over there... could that be Master Zu?"
When Master Zu heard this voice, it sounded so familiar. Who could it be? The wind was too strong to hear clearly, so he immediately replied: "It is indeed yours truly!" The roaring wind carried Master Zu's voice across.
"It really is Master Zu!" that person shouted, immediately turning to the people around him. "Quickly put down your guns, put them down! They're our own people, our own people!"
"Master Zu, it's me, Liu Congyun (formerly the Grand Master of the Western Sect's 'Dragon Whisker Sprout' hall, whose position was seized by his disciple Qin Bailuan in 1936)!" came another shout, cutting against the wind.
Master Zu finally heard it clearly. It genuinely was Liu Congyun's voice.
Liu Congyun ran over. Master Zu slowly stood up, and the two paused for a brief moment before pulling each other into a tight embrace.
The men on both sides looked on in utter bewilderment. What kind of relationship was this? They had been ready to fight to the death just moments ago, only to shake hands and make peace in an instant.
"How did Master Zu end up here?" Liu Congyun asked.
"Why is Master Liu here?" Master Zu asked almost simultaneously.
"Let's go inside and talk," Master Zu told Liu Congyun.
Liu Congyun glanced at the surrounding bandits and said, "Wait here for me."
It turned out that ever since Liu Congyun had been driven out of Sichuan by Qin Bailuan and hunted down by the major warlord Liu Xiang, he had nowhere to settle down and had no choice but to bite the bullet and seek out Master Zu in Shanghai. Normally, family scandals shouldn't be aired in public, but Liu Congyun was out of options and had to beg Master Zu for help to fight his way back to Sichuan. However, Master Zu was busy locking horns with the Japanese at the time. Besides, internal turmoil in the Western Sect was beneficial to the Eastern Sect. With Liu Congyun and his disciple at odds, Master Zu could sit back and reap the fisherman's profit; otherwise, both master and disciple were exceptionally brilliant, and once bound together in a joint enterprise, they would pose a threat to the Eastern Sect as well. Facing the down-and-out Liu Congyun, the shrewd Master Zu first offered comforting words, helped arrange living quarters, and even withdrew a large sum of silver from the hall for Liu Congyun to spend. Liu Congyun was so grateful tears filled his old eyes. Yet Master Zu kept stalling on the matter of helping him fight back into Sichuan. Liu Congyun felt profoundly desolate, but Master Zu had an excuse—since ancient times, the Jiangxiang Sect had rules, and Founding Master Fang Zhaoyu had left behind a strict ancestral teaching: the four major halls each had their own duties, and no hall was to interfere in the internal affairs of another; otherwise, the entire Jiangxiang Sect would unite to punish the transgressor.
Liu Congyun felt that what Master Zu said made sense, but later he suspected Master Zu was deliberately refusing to help. Liu Congyun was a man of grand ambitions who had dedicated his life to military and politics. In his heyday, he had held hundreds of thousands of troops in his palms and often compared himself to Zhuge Kongliang. Now stuck in the Shanghai wasting away his days eating, drinking, and waiting to die, how could he possibly endure such a life?
Later on, Liu Congyun tendered his own resignation: "Master Zu, this old man cannot idle away every single day. Though I am past fifty, my heart is young, and I still wish to accomplish something on my own... I hereby tender my resignation."
Master Zu hurriedly asked, "Where is Master Liu heading?"
Liu Congyun smiled and said, "Abao of the Jiangxiang Sect can take root wherever he lands. The world is vast, and wealth is everywhere. But Master Zu can rest assured that this old man will never operate on Master Zu's turf."
Master Zu tried repeatedly to persuade him to stay, but still failed to keep Liu Congyun.
"Master Zu's kindness can never be repaid in this lifetime. Please take good care of your health. The green mountains remain, the green waters flow on, and we shall meet again."
Master Zu brought out a large amount of gold and silver once more: "Take good care of yourself, Master Liu. If you encounter hardships in foreign lands, please return to my humble home!"
After Liu Congyun left, Master Zu began planning the Zhoushan operation.
In truth, Liu Congyun had kept his wits about him. During the period he was recuperating in Shanghai, he had used the Shanghai underworld to gather intelligence on the bandits of Hunan and Hubei. Liu Congyun possessed immense political acumen and excelled at observing current trends. At that time, China was carved up by warlords, the Nationalists and Communists were at war, the Japanese invaders were pressing inward, and bandits had occupied the mountains as their own kings. All these various forces intertwined within the tumultuous drama of the Republic of China, with heroes contending for the deer—as for who would ultimately claim the prize, it was far from certain.
The times create the heroes, and turbulent eras produce outstanding figures. Taking advantage of a fire to loot, fishing in troubled waters, moving in response to opportunities, and acting according to the times—these were all the instincts of a politician. Liu Congyun began conceptualizing his grand ambitions once again!
The Nationalist side was out of the question; regardless of whether it was the Central Army or local forces, at a single word from Chiang Kai-shek or Liu Xiang, no one dared to take him in. Going there would be sheer suicide! The Communist side was even less viable; his own foundation was not clean, and going there would likely result in liquidation! Mixing in the underworld wasn't very meaningful either—he could never amount to much that way! After turning it over and over in his mind, he felt there was only one path left to walk: defect to a major bandit force, have at least his own troop with several hundred guns, carve out a territory of his own, and bide his time!
Thus, Tiger Hong—a Hunan bandit who engaged in arms deals with the Shanghai underworld—entered Liu Congyun's field of vision.
Liu Congyun traveled to Hunan to recommend himself. Initially, Tiger Hong did not think much of this old man. Later, after Liu Congyun recounted his glorious history, Tiger Hong was struck with a sudden realization: this was none other than the "White Crane Scholar" who had assisted Liu Xiang in defeating Liu Wenhui back in the day!
Consequently, he appointed Liu Congyun as his military strategist. Knowing that Tiger Hong was testing him, Liu Congyun first helped Tiger Hong defeat Zhang Tianba—another major bandit leader in Hunan—after receiving his military strategist title. Next, he wiped out Liu Zhanshan, a roving band of outlaws who had invaded from western Hunan, and subsequently ambushed a Nationalist convoy, seizing a massive haul of firearms and supplies. At this point, Tiger Hong was completely reassured: the strategist truly lived up to his legendary name!
Today, Tiger Hong already commanded over a thousand men under his banner. Alongside C96 Mausers and Arisaka rifles, he also possessed American equipment shipped from Shanghai and several artillery pieces, turning him into a minor warlord carving out a domain of his own.