Chapter 2 Chapter 2 There is nothing impossible in the world

On the outskirts of Harbin, on a barren hillside, in two dilapidated huts, six or seven Shandong men are gathering around a pile of firewood to keep warm.The flames were weak, and the firewood was fresh and gave off a strong rosin.Rosin rides the thick smoke to the outside of the thatched house, and to the top of the snow-covered mountain.This is the fifth day since Zhang Zongchang and his fellow countrymen went to Kanto for the second time. It was freezing cold and gold could not be panned; packed with people.All the places where labor is needed are no longer needed. Zhang Zongchang and the others are sitting and eating, and all the money on their bodies has been spent. By tomorrow, there will be nowhere to put their mouths.What to do? They had to conspire to survive.

Zhang Zongchang can be regarded as the little leader of this group of people, and several people who came out for the first time relied on him.He is more anxious than others.After frowning for a long time, he spoke first: "The heavens in Heilongjiang will reject us; the people in Heilongjiang will reject us too. There is no way, we will bury everyone's hundreds of catties here. It's terrible!" He looked at everyone and said: " Don't we have to go back to Shandong? Let's talk about it." There was a man named Cheng Guorui in the crowd, who was two years older than Zhang Zongchang, and he was more reserved.Rubbing his hands over the flames, he said:

"Going back to Shandong, why? I have no money, and it's freezing and snowing. On the way home, I either freeze to death or starve to death. Besides, what should I do when I go back to my hometown? I can't go home this way." Zhang Zongchang also understood that he could not go home.He only said that because he couldn't think of a way out.After hearing Cheng Guorui's words, Zhang Zongchang nodded.But still ask: "I can't go back to my hometown. What should I do now that the difficulty is so great? Everyone talk about it." Who said it, what did it say? The old cow fell into a dry well, its strength was useless, and it had to wait until it died. How could there be a way to go?

Zhang Zongchang piled another bundle of pine branches by the fire and said: "Everyone, don't just worry about it. There is no way to worry about it. Now, the fire is imminent, and there is no other good way. I have a bad way. If everyone is willing, let's go and see." "What way, tell me quickly Say." "When I was panning for gold by the Heihe River, I met some people. They didn't do anything, and they ate whatever they went. They were delicious and spicy, and they had money to spend. They were like gods all day long. We might as well vote for them. "

"There is such a place, what are they doing?" someone asked. "What are you doing?" Zhang Zongchang said: "Why don't you do it? It's a horse bandit who robbed houses." When everyone heard that it was a horse bandit, they all stared—— Hu bandits are a group of armed bandits in northern Manchuria. They rob houses, block mountains and cut trails, or form gangs with several people, or tens or hundreds of people; A great evil.Most of this group is composed of unemployed ruffians who fled the Kanto.Because they are armed and they are in the deep mountains and old forests, the government has nothing to do with them.For some gangs that have become popular, they often use the method of recruiting security to take them back to the army; there are also some small groups that quit after they robbed and became rich, and returned to their hometowns with gold and silver.However, the reputation of this group of robbers is notorious all over the Kanto, and both officials and people hate it to the bone.

When Zhang Zongchang saw that everyone agreed not readily, he was unhappy. "Well? Can't you be a horse bandit? Then we have to wait for death. Well, let's explain the words today: I led everyone to pass through the Guandong, and I will treat you if I bring them in; why are you messing around? Let's find a way. I myself Let's go." As soon as Zhang Zongchang was about to leave, everyone was in a hurry. Most of them walked out of the house for the first time and entered the Guandong.It was Cheng Guorui who said: "Why are you in a hurry? Everyone didn't say no to it. It's just that there must be someone who pulls a horse bandit. We have nothing to do, so why do we pull?"

Zhang Zongchang was right when he thought about it, he was called a barbarian without a gun.He blinked, thought for a while, and said, "Since everyone has nothing to say, I think we won't be afraid of any reputation. Once the shovel breaks the ground and buryes people, let's fire it first!" So he said Come up with your own "method". Everyone listened and nodded together. "Okay, let's go first." The night of early spring in the Songnen Plain came very early. After the sun fell into the mountains of the Daxinganling Mountains, the surrounding fields were completely dark.

In a small town about 15 kilometers away in the northern suburbs of Harbin, there is a very decent watch shop, which is opened by the Russians Ivanov and his wife.Using Russian clocks and watches, he earned a lot of silver dollars from the Chinese, built buildings in the town, bought guns, and hired bodyguards. Not only the local people were in awe of him, but even the government had to look up to him.That day, as soon as the sun went down, Ivanov told the clerk to close the door. "It's cold today, everyone go to bed early." The guys went home, and the two bodyguards also went to the gun tower.The owner of the shop brought half a bottle of wine to the gun tower—he forbade them to drink too much, saying that it would be a mistake—he explained a few precautions for guarding, and then went downstairs.After the two bodyguards finished drinking, they agreed to take shifts in the first half of the night and the second half of the night, and then went their separate ways.

Around the second watch, the bodyguard standing guard heard a "la la la la" sound from behind the building.Just about to turn around to visit, a big man rushed in through the window hole.This person moved quickly, he put his arms around the bodyguard's neck with one stride, and stretched out the sharp knife in front of him with the other hand. "Shut up, listen to me!" du8.com copyright The bodyguard immediately trembled in fear and nodded repeatedly. The uninvited guest who came through the window was Zhang Zongchang.Then followed by two accomplices. Zhang Zongchang put away the bodyguard's gun and woke up another bodyguard.Only then did he send the message:

"I'm from Heihe. My surname is Hu. Do you understand? Money is tight, and I want to ask the two bosses to help us. You two understand, I'm going to leave, how about it?" A bodyguard said: "Uncle Hu, listen to me, the villain is only in charge of the household, all the money is in the hands of the old man (referring to the Russians), there is really nothing the villain can do." "Well, it's not difficult for you, you can lead us to find Lao Maozi." The bodyguard didn't dare to neglect, so he had to go downstairs to call the owner's door.

The Russians were clever, and when they heard the bodyguard calling at the door in the middle of the night, they knew what was going to happen, so they said loudly: "Nonsense, nonsense! Call me in the middle of the night, are you still polite? Go away! We can talk about it tomorrow if we have anything to do." The bodyguard had Zhang Zongchang's knife on his waist and dared not move.I had to say again: "Master Ivan, the matter is too urgent. You open the door before we talk. Please open the door!" "Get out! Get out of the way!" When Zhang Zongchang saw that the Russians resisted, he was very annoyed. He handed over the bodyguards to a brother to guard him, and then called in three people from somewhere, and knocked down the door of Ivan's room after a while of beating.He led the people to break in, touched the bed, and moved the knife without any explanation.In the blink of an eye, the two Russians became ghosts under the knife. The person was killed, Zhang Zongchang lit a torch, snatched all the clocks and money from the front desk and back cabinet, and then walked away. With the money, the snatched clocks were sold and Zhang Zongchang and his gang regained their energy.He felt that being a bandit was better than doing anything else, so he took out the money to buy guns, and then went to North Manchuria to really become a bandit. It's also time for Zhang Zongchang to turn around. After drilling into Beiman, they went smoothly again and again, and they took care of several big nests.This unexpectedly established prestige among the gangsters.Some Shandong natives among the Hu bandits also paid him homage and wanted to partner with him.Zhang Zongchang did not refuse anyone who came, and evenly divided all the robberies.Soon, Zhang Zongchang became a very influential figure among the northern manchu bandits.So, he found a hidden place, established a base, and took the time to train his troops. Hu bandits in northern Manchuria mostly make a living by raiding houses and looting houses. They rob property and spend it all. Today they have wine and today they are drunk.Zhang Zongchang was quite scheming, he had been looting for more than two years, he had a lot of people around him, a lot of money, and he was proficient in marksmanship and horsemanship, so he had other plans.One late night, he pulled Cheng Guorui to a hillside and said to him alone: "Brother Cheng, I want to discuss something with you. Are you willing to listen?" "What? Tell me." Cheng Guorui said. "Although Beiman is good, it is not our root." Zhang Zongchang said: "Although the bandits are strong, they are not our karma. I think we have to make another idea and change course." "How to change?" "There are two ways." Zhang Zongchang said: "We have money in our pockets. Either, quit from now on and go back to Ye County, where everyone lives with their wives and children; or, find a chance and seek refuge in the government. Do it honestly, maybe you will have a bad future. Looting houses is not our ancestral business, and we can't pass it on to our descendants. What do you think?" Cheng Guorui and the others, although the elders are poor, are all decent people, and they are bandits because they have nowhere to go.After listening to Zhang Zongchang's words, I feel reasonable.then said: "I think so too. Beiman is not a place for us to stay for a long time; looting is not a long-term solution. You are right, we have to find a way out and plan early." "So, you and I thought of going to the same nest. Okay, let's retreat." Cheng Guorui really has an extra heart. Although most of the gangsters are desperate, they also have their desperate loyalty.There are many bandits relying on Zhang Zongchang, and some people often talk about "life and death together" and "rebellion and punishment together".Now, when the gangster spirit is flourishing, no matter where you retreat, there is a great danger, if you don't do it well, there will be a fight.Although there are some Shandong people among the horse bandits, the northern Manchurians still make up the majority, and it is difficult to move away when they start troubles.So he said: "Only you and I know about this matter. Let's think about it in our hearts and make a move after we have a perfect way to avoid accidents." - Zhang Zongchang nodded in agreement. Just when Zhang Zongchang was thinking about retreat, a big case occurred in the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Vladivostok: Sun Jingli, the captain of the police team of the chamber of commerce, led a whole team of non-commissioned officers to rob the bank and absconded, and took away all the captain's guns.The Chamber of Commerce reported to the government, and the government sent troops to arrest him, but there was no arrest, and he was wanted with a huge sum of money. Upon receiving this news, Zhang Zongchang was overjoyed. He said to Cheng Guorui: "Brother Cheng, it's time for us to come out..." He repeated the above case, and then said: "I guess Sun Jingli must be the same as us, pulling out bandits. I'll help the government solve this case." When Cheng Guorui heard this, he felt very uncomfortable.He frowned and thought: If Sun Jingli rebelled, the Chamber of Commerce must be sorry for him; if Sun Jingli pulled the bandits, he must have had to deal with it.Helping officers and soldiers destroy their own kind will be reviled by the world.Thinking, he said anxiously: "It's not worth doing this kind of thing for a bounty. I can't agree. If you want to do it yourself, I'll go back to Shandong." "Really? Do you think I betrayed my partner?" "Doing this is betraying your accomplices." "Fart!" Zhang Zongchang jumped up. "I made the officers and soldiers unable to touch Sun Jingli, so I closed the case!" "Why?" Cheng Guorui didn't believe it. "I have my own way!" "It's still for the bounty." "No!" Zhang Zongchang said firmly: "It is for Sun Jingli to avoid disaster." "I don't believe it." "Accompany me to try, if you can't achieve this goal, why don't we do it! Can you?" "Try." Having been among the bandits for more than two years, Zhang Zongchang knows the inside story of the bandits like the back of his hand.Recently, an accomplice suddenly descended from the sky in the deep mountains of Daxing'an Mountains, with money and guns. He estimated that it was probably Sun Jingli and his gang.Otherwise, I have guns and money, so I must be well established. Why did I go to the deep mountains and old forests? This group of people is similar to the ones wanted by the government, so they must be them.Zhang Zongchang led Cheng Guorui into deep mountains and old forests.After two days of inquiring, they finally found out the whereabouts of these people, and they went straight to Sun Jingli's camp.At the entrance to the mountain, they were stopped by the sentry post. Zhang Zongchang said to the armed sentry: "Well? Not welcome. Do you know who I am?" "You are not welcome based on who you are." "Say the name, I'm afraid you will scare your dog soul!" Zhang Zongchang put up a sign. "Tell you the head of the family, just say that I, Zhang Zongchang, came to worship, and see if he dares to come out to greet him!" When the sentry heard that he was Zhang Zongchang, he was surprised—but he didn't believe it.Then he said: "Since you are the head of Zhang Da, you know the rules of entering the mountains. How about a little bit of humiliation?" Zhang Zongchang squinted his eyes and looked at him for a while, then said: "Well, he looks like a slugger and knows a little bit about the trade." As he spoke, he took the initiative to open his clothes. "Look, have you brought someone with you? If you don't believe me, search again." The sentry really touched it with his hands, and then, with a long tone, "Mmm -" a sound.Zhang Zongchang gestured to Cheng Guorui, and the two of them each took out black cloth towels from their pockets and covered their eyes before saying: "Well, can you go home?" The sentry whistled twice, and two more sentries came before leading Zhang Zongchang into the mountain. After walking for about half an hour, the sentinel told Zhang Zongchang and the others to stop, took off the black scarf from their faces, and said: "Please wait a moment, I will report." Zhang Zongchang rubbed his eyes, and then took a serious look.It turned out that this was a dilapidated temple in an old forest deep in the mountains, similar to that of Wudao Temple in his hometown, except that there were two more wing rooms on the left and right; as it was surrounded by tall trees, the temple looked much more gloomy. Just when Zhang Zongchang was looking at the ruined temple, two big black men walked out of the main room, unkempt, with black beards all over their cheeks, and a long black gown draped over their bodies.He stopped five steps away from Zhang Zongchang.He squinted his eyes and looked around, asking: "Which one is Zhang Zongbai?" Zhang Zongchang took a step forward and smiled coldly: "Hmph, I thought Sun Jingli was a good guy, but he's still so ugly! I'm leaving." "You..." Hei was taken aback. Zhang Zongchang only turned around, but did not leave.And said: "I came in according to the rules. Based on this, I have to be counted as your guest. Look at your bear, are you welcoming guests? You are kidnapping!" The big black man smiled. "Sure enough, he is a Shandong hero, please!" As he said, he moved to the side and arched his hands.Zhang Zongchang smiled. "That's about the same!" After entering the temple and sitting around the earthen platform, the big black man arched his hands again and said: "I've heard about the name of Zhang Dazhang for a long time, and I wanted to pay homage after I settled down, but it's just the government..." "So, you are really Sun Jingli, Captain Sun!" "I'm Sun Jingli, but I'm no longer the captain. Zhang Dazhang's sudden visit, I don't know what to teach?" "Am I afraid?" Zhang Zongchang shook his head and said, "Don't be afraid. I don't want to recruit you, and I don't want to join your gang. I'm here to rescue you." Sun Jingli's face, which had just smiled, became cold again with a "swish--". "Did you come here to persuade the government to surrender? "Fart, the government is a bear!" Zhang Zongchang said: "Since you have come to the deep mountains and old forests, we are accomplices. No matter what, I came two years earlier than you, and I have the responsibility to keep you safe. Why don't you persuade me to surrender?" Sun Jingli Robbing the chamber of commerce, becoming a barbarian, and coming to the deep mountains, although it is a feat, is always uneasy; hearing that the government has been wanted, I feel a little uneasy.Hearing what Zhang Zongchang said, my heart was a little moved.Busy said: "You must have worked hard to enter the mountain. I'll serve wine to wash away the dust for you. How about we talk while drinking?" As he said, he ordered someone to serve wine. After drinking for three rounds, Zhang Zongchang explained his thoughts here: "Master Sun, don't get me wrong, I, Zhang Zongchang, won't take anyone's life. You lost your official position and ran into the deep mountains and old forests. I admire you. You are a man. Because you robbed the bank and brought out guns, the Chamber of Commerce was angry. Li, I reported it to the government, and that’s how this situation came about. Anyway, the government is our enemy and has stronger power than us, so it’s a good thing that we can live in peace and harmony; it’s really good to send soldiers to chase and suppress it! It's also annoying. I was dreaming, and I came up with a compromise solution, so I came here to find you." "Master Zhang, I will take your favor first. Please explain it clearly so we can discuss it." Zhang Zongchang picked up a glass of wine, raised it to Sun Jingli, and said: "Man, isn't it just a few guns and a few taels of silver? We can't get them anywhere. Give it back to him and ask for peace. How about it?" Sun Jingli also raised his glass. "The disaster has already been caused, I'm afraid it's not a matter of a few guns and a few taels of silver." "Huh? Killing people is nothing more than a nod! We did this, but if they don't agree, we won't make a fool of them. Let's see what he can do?" "I'm happy that Master Zhang can coordinate with it." "Okay, have a good time." Zhang Zongchang raised his face and drank his own wine.He also said: "I'll give it a try. However, I don't want to be too harsh on ourselves. We'll keep a few of the guns we've picked up; we won't make up for the silver money spent. Also, the officials don't know how to make concessions before withdrawing." We won’t release the eagles even if the arrest warrant is issued. How about that?” "Okay, you're happy too. I'll wait for your news!" Sun Jingli raised his face and drank his own wine. " Zhang Zongchang came to Vladivostok alone. When he sat alone in the living room of the Chinese Entrepreneurs Association and faced the arrogant chairman, he did not beg at all. He only said a few words: "Sun Jingli dares to go like this, you have to Believe that he has the guts. There is nothing impossible for a courageous person. If you want to suppress it, you will not be able to suppress it. I will get you back what you lost, and I will save face. Besides, if things get stuck, Sun Jingli jumped over the wall in a hurry and killed you, what would you do?" The head of the Chamber of Commerce had a cold face, thought for a long time, sighed deeply, and finally nodded. "Okay, let's talk about the conditions." "It's not too high a requirement, the government revokes the wanted arrest, and you don't pursue it anymore, that's fine." "Then what about the reward?" "This?" Zhang Zongchang smiled. "You think I'm doing this for a reward? You're wrong. I don't want a penny, I can give you a written receipt." Seeing Zhang Zongchang being so generous, the head of the chamber of commerce immediately changed his understanding of the image of the bandits. "Not for a reward, why are you?" "It's for everyone to have a safe life. The world is so chaotic today, it's better to settle enemies than to end them. In the end, I'm thinking about your safety." "So, can I make a request to you?" The head of the chamber of commerce was very sincere. "Please say." "My police captain and the police are gone. I want to ask you to be my police captain. Can you organize the police team?" Zhang Zongchang originally thought this would be the ending, but he still said: "Look at how well you handle this matter? If you manage it well, I can agree to it; if you don't manage it well, I'm still free, so why should I be under your control?" "Okay, let's make a deal. Please see the facts."