I waved my hand and said, "No need to say anything, Brother Xu. I understand your predicament."
I could tell Xu Delong wanted to help too; he kept scratching his head in frustration. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he said, "That's it! I can ask our Marshal Yue for permission!"
I exclaimed in surprise, "Ah!" Ever since he told me at his wedding banquet that they had found Yue Fei, he had been evasive about it, and I couldn't tell what his next move would be. Xu Delong took out his phone, dialed a number, and with the decisiveness of a soldier, explained the situation in a few words, saying, "Now, please give your instructions, Marshal!" After a few words were spoken on the phone, Xu Delong stood at attention and said, "Yes, sir!" Then he handed the phone to me, "The Marshal wants to speak with you."
I took the phone and said cautiously, "Hello, sir—"
A deep, resonant voice said decisively, "The Yue Family Army cannot help you with this!"
I felt no disappointment whatsoever, and replied with even greater respect, "Yes, I understand."
Yue Fei suddenly said in a very subtle tone, "But—if you have a way to make others not know that they are the Yue Family Army..."
With a major battle imminent, my mind was incredibly sharp. I laughed and said, "Look at what you're saying. The Yue Family Army existed a thousand years ago. It's 2007 now. How could there possibly be a Yue Family Army? I do have 300 students in my school who are quite good at kung fu."
Yue Fei lowered his voice and said, "This matter is urgent. I can lend you the Beiwei Army, but you must guarantee that you will not do anything immoral. If I find out later that you are not being honest, you will be my enemy from this day forward!"
"I guarantee it to Emperor Huizong of Song!"
Yue Fei gave a helpless bitter smile and said, "Give the phone to Xu Delong."
After listening to only a few words on the phone, Xu Delong also revealed that subtle smile, and finally snapped to attention: "Yes, sir. Understood!"
He hung up the phone, didn't look at me, and directly addressed the 300 soldiers: "From now on, you are expelled from the military for 24 hours. Within 24 hours, you are students of Yucai School, and you must follow the instructions of Principal Xiao Qiang."
The 300 students laughed in unison, then said decisively, "Yes!"
Wow, my dear Marshal Yue Fei actually lent me his troops for 24 hours! What immense trust that is! This makes me admire Yue Fei even more. Although no one will know who they are, Yue Fei still refused to use the prestige of the Yue Family Army to attack an illegal civilian organization, and instead temporarily discharged 300 soldiers from the military. This is heroic integrity—what we ordinary people would call self-deception.
Xu Delong also sat down in the middle of the 300 and said, "Principal Xiao, just give the order if there's anything."
I cleared my throat and said, "Everyone, stand up!"
With a "whoosh," the 300 men stood up in unison, without hesitation, and their faces were devoid of smiles, displaying the serious expressions of soldiers obeying orders.
Oh my god, I'm so happy! It really works! But I can't play around now. After a quick discussion with Wu Yong and Wu Sangui, I sent another 210 men to the various action groups. Now the problem of being short-handed is finally solved. The remaining 90 men stayed behind to protect the school and prepare for any emergencies.
Just then, a man rushed in, glanced at the soldiers continuously emerging from the auditorium, and anxiously grabbed my hand, asking, "Principal Xiao, what are you doing?" It was none other than our current vice principal, Yan Jingsheng.
In this situation, I could calmly face anyone's questions, but not Yan Jingsheng. I know that when it comes to dedication, I can't even come close to this bookworm. Like Lao Zhang, he devotes himself entirely to the children. His salary is quite high, yet he still spends it all every month, mostly on the children, even though the children at Yucai School don't lack anything. He and Lao Zhang seem to share a kind of fanatical dedication, almost like a madman. It's a kind of awe-inspiring quality; you can take away the commander of an army, but you can't take away its will. Now, even if I send all the teachers out to fight for me, I can't stand up to Yan Jingsheng with any confidence.
Yan Jingsheng looked at the menacing soldiers walking past him and said urgently, "Tell me, what exactly did you send them to do?" It seemed he had already heard something.
I had no answer, so I simply said, "I sent them to fight for me." This was going to be exposed sooner or later anyway.
Yan Jingsheng was shocked and grabbed a nearby soldier, saying, "You're not allowed to go!"
The young soldier respectfully shook off Yan Jingsheng, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I'm sorry, Teacher Yan, military orders come first, and the teacher's orders come second." 300 had a deep relationship with Yan Jingsheng, and probably wouldn't have been so polite to anyone else.
Yan Jingsheng stamped his feet and pounded his chest, then suddenly turned and ran outside. I grabbed him and said, "Where are you going?"
Yan Jingsheng shouted, "What else can I do? Call the police! It'll be good for everyone and for you."
I shouted, "Li Jingshui and Wei Tiezhu, listen to my command!"
The two replied simultaneously, "Yes!"
"I order you to keep a close eye on Teacher Yan and not allow him to make any phone calls. Apart from that, make sure he eats and drinks well and does not behave in the slightest disrespectfully."
The two men grabbed Yan Jingsheng from either side and said, "Yes, sir!"
Yan Jingsheng was really anxious. After being held back by two people, he kept kicking me and shouting, "Are you crazy, Xiao?"
I never imagined this bookworm could be so energetic. I chuckled and said, "Teacher Yan, after this is over, I'll resign, and then you'll be the principal of Yucai School. You're definitely a hundred times more suited to this job than I am."
Yan Jingsheng was pinned to the stool, yelling at me. At first, he tried to reason with me, but when he saw that I was unmoved, he simply started swearing. I never imagined that this guy could be so vicious when he swore; he probably used up all the swear words he had in his life.
Hua Mulan, who had been studying the map, finally couldn't hold back any longer. She walked up to Yan Jingsheng and slapped him lightly, saying, "What are you yelling about? Aren't you worried if your wife gets kidnapped?"
Yan Jingsheng was taken aback when he saw that the person who hit him was a beautiful and dashing woman, and then he shut his mouth.
Li Shishi covered her mouth and laughed, "It's true that everything has its counter."
At 9:55, everyone called to report their arrival. When the last group called, Wu Yong gave the same reply: "If nothing unexpected happens, we'll move in at 9 o'clock sharp!"
When the time stopped at 9 o'clock, no more calls came in, which meant everyone had started their operation. Only Yan Jingsheng and Ersha remained on the sidelines, sighing incessantly. Ersha was particularly upset that he couldn't participate in the operation himself.
At 9:04, Yang Zhi, who was in charge of the bar where Lao Si (Old Fourth) worked, called back. Wu Yong glanced at the caller ID and asked, puzzled, "Why is he calling at this hour?"
He answered the phone and shouted, "Did your group get the time wrong? The others have already started their operation! What? The operation is over? No one found Lei Laosi? Okay, you take control of the scene for now, and don't let the people inside contact the outside world."
Wu Yong hung up the phone and told me, "Yang Zhi and the others have finished their work."
Just one minute later, Zhu Wu and his team, who were in charge of raiding the bar, also called, indicating that the operation had also been successfully completed.
Then Zhang Qing, Dong Ping, and their group returned to report. In less than 10 minutes, Lei Laosi's three bars and one nightclub had been raided. Wu Sangui drew circles on the map and said, "It seems the bars are easier to deal with. The nightclubs will probably be taken down soon too."
When Lin Chong and Zhang Qing's groups also sent reports, Wu Yong instructed, "Now, each group should select one prisoner to call Lei Laosi for help." Wu Sangui laughed and said, "Brilliant! Psychological warfare."
While we were busy with these matters, we still hadn't received a reply from Fang La's group. Wu Yong called them to ask, and Fang La laughed, "It's all settled. It was supposed to be resolved a long time ago, but then there was a little misunderstanding." On the other end of the phone, Tiger bared his teeth and said, "Brother Qiang, why didn't you warn us before the fight? I heard you were raiding Lei Lao Si's place, so I took some men to challenge Da Fu Gui, but it was already taken over by your Yu Cai people. My brothers even fought with your men, and I got hit a couple of times myself. If I hadn't recognized some people I'd seen at the wedding banquet, I'd be lying on the ground by now."
It turns out that this was the reason why Fang La and his group ultimately failed.
Just then, news came from Lin Chong's army that Lei Laosi was both shocked and furious after learning that all his territories had been destroyed at the same time, and he threatened to fight me to the death in the suburbs. I checked the time and realized it was about time for the police to be dispatched, so I ordered all forces to immediately retreat to the school.
During this time, Lei Laosi was really busy. I'd seen before how he could gather hundreds of thugs and blockade the streets with just a word, so I waited for him, deliberately giving him time to gather his men. In Wu Sangui's words, we were going to beat him so badly that he couldn't fight back.
When the first group returned to school, I received a phone call. The person on the other end said with a grin, "Xiaoqiang, I've taken care of things in the suburbs for you."