Chapter 305: Raiders of the Lost Treasure

The order in the city had not yet been fully restored. Killings and robberies still occurred from time to time. However, Li Jiucheng had already ordered a city-wide curfew. Except for the rebel troops, no one was allowed to move at night. Huang Ande had also heard that the rebels had seized an enormous amount of loot, and there was talk of them “making a fortune.” It was said that after entering the city, not only had the rebels been paid their back wages in full, but they had also been given three months’ advance pay and a large share of the spoils. Many of the government soldiers had already switched sides and joined the rebels.

“Rebellion” was no longer a fearsome word at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The Liaodong people in Dengzhou had long been discriminated against and abused. Now, enticed by the countless gold and silver treasures they had captured, they were eager to join the rebellion, and one by one, they unhesitatingly stood under the rebel banner.

Even if they were to die, they had to enjoy themselves to the fullest first. This was the common thinking of the strong in a chaotic world. Besides, they might not necessarily die. The soldiers had long seen through the court’s outward strength and inner weakness. On the various islands of the Eastern River, the generals killed each other, and several of the court’s appointed commanders and captains had been killed. Even the Commander-in-Chief sent by the court, Huang Long, had been captured and had one of his legs broken. Despite all these “lawless” acts, in the end, nothing came of it. So no matter how big the commotion, it was not impossible that it would end with “killing and burning and then being granted amnesty.”

If they were granted amnesty, they would still be government soldiers, and the silver they had pocketed would be their own.

Under this line of thinking, the scale of the rebel army grew like a snowball. Not only did the Liaodong people “enthusiastically join the army,” but even the remaining southern soldiers and the local Shandong soldiers unhesitatingly joined the ranks of the enemy they had been fighting just a few days before. Even the ordinary commoners who had been displaced by the rebellion joined the rebel army for a chance to survive.

Chen Sigen nervously watched the top of the Dengzhou city wall. It was pitch black. The rebel army had just captured the city and had not yet established a complete defense system. They probably also lacked enough personnel for patrols. Except for the faint lights in the enemy towers, there were almost no lights to be seen—it was a good opportunity to infiltrate.

The two sniper teams were already in position. The observers were nervously scanning the movements on the city wall with their infrared telescopes. The two snipers were hidden in the sand dunes and grass by the sea, a long silencer attached to their rifles, ready to fire at any moment.

It was a pity that the best Swiss-made K31 rifles had not been approved for this mission, Chen Sigen thought with some regret. With these rifles, the snipers’ accuracy would be on another level. In the end, Bei Wei was still a “miser.”

Of course, before the machining capabilities of the machine factory reached a certain level, his stinginess was understandable. Modern firearms, especially high-precision ones, were a case of “one less for every one that breaks.” And these were the capital of the Special Reconnaissance Team.

The soldiers of the assault team had already landed. The three four-man teams, two in front and one behind, each formed a triangular formation. The formation quickly approached their respective hiding places in the small mounds outside the city wall, established a defensive formation, and began to prepare their tools and weapons.

Chen Sigen turned on his walkie-talkie and began to call the various teams using key signals.

The walkie-talkie soon received responses from the various teams.

“Shugen taking command, establishing wireless communication network. All teams, begin positioning and route planning.”

Chen Sigen input the frequency and began to communicate: “Network A-11, Crocodile in the net. Crocodile team has successfully landed. Request to begin ‘Treasure Hunt’ operation. Commencing sound check, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, over.”

Zhu Mingxia’s voice came over the shortwave radio: “Received. ‘Treasure Hunt’ operation approved for execution. Assault boats are expected to rendezvous with you at 0400. The Forward Committee wishes you success. Over.”

“Salamander in the net, commencing sound check…”

“Toad in the net, commencing sound check…”

The various teams methodically carried out their preparations, unloading equipment and personnel.

The sniper team reported that there were no fixed sentry posts or patrols on the city wall at the designated infiltration point.

Chen Sigen looked at his watch. It was now 0158 hours. The time was just right.

“Begin the operation,” he instructed through the walkie-talkie.

The two teams quickly approached the city wall. The moat was not an obstacle—it was frozen solid. Although the team members were wearing imitation military boots, they were still 21st-century products, and their grip was far superior to the straw and cloth shoes of this era. Even so, to be on the safe side, the team members had added straw anti-slip covers to their shoes.

One team provided cover by the moat, while the other quickly crossed it and reached the base of the city wall.

To overcome the 12-meter-high city wall, they used a grappling gun—a rope with a grappling hook powered by a reusable high-pressure gas cylinder.

With two “thumps,” two grappling ropes flew up to the top of the wall simultaneously. In less than a minute, all four members of the 03 team were on top of the wall.

The four team members provided cover for each other as they moved towards an enemy tower thirty meters from their entry point.

To control an “exit” on the city wall, they needed sufficient cover, otherwise, the four men would be easily spotted on the exposed wall. So the first step was to control an enemy tower and use the captured rebel soldiers to provide cover for themselves.

The enemy tower was dark, with only a faint light visible in the window. It was clear that the rebels had stationed some defenders in the tower, but their numbers would not be large, and their state of alert would not be high. This section of the wall faced the sea, and the Ming army clearly did not have the capability for an amphibious landing under enemy fire.

Chen Sigen watched their movements nervously through his infrared telescope. Three minutes later, a flashlight beam shone from the window of the enemy tower: three short flashes—the tower had been successfully secured.

The 01 and 02 teams followed them up the wall. They quickly crossed the gate tower. The team leader used his night vision goggles to guide them, and soon they had accurately led the team down the ramp from the darkness.

The team moved in silence. Although the streets were pitch black, the two teams, one in front and one behind, moved with great speed. They soon reached the rendezvous point with Huang Ande’s team.

After Huang Ande had held a meeting with his men, they had all survived the first two chaotic days after the city fell. Huang Ande had estimated that the Liaodong people and soldiers in the city might carry out reprisals against the natives, so he had told everyone to try and hide in vacant official houses and not to show themselves until the public notice of amnesty was posted. Some who had good relations with the Liaodong people were to hide in their homes.

As expected, after the city fell, the Liaodong commoners and soldiers began retaliatory massacres. However, the military camps were basically protected. Apart from those who had old feuds with the Liaodong people and were sought out and killed, most of the surrendered soldiers were not in mortal danger.

As order was restored, the members of the team gradually emerged and dispersed to gather information. A few of them even joined the rebel army to serve as officials.

At first, the news about the fate of the generals and officials in the city was chaotic, but it gradually became clear. Sun Yuanhua was indeed not dead—it was said that his suicide attempt had failed. However, Feng Zongze and the other Senators were well aware that suicide was against the teachings of Catholicism and was a very serious “sin.” It was very likely that Sun Yuanhua, in a fierce internal struggle between “loyalty” and “faith,” had missed the opportunity to commit suicide and was captured by the rebels.

Other important officials who were captured included the Dengzhou Circuit Intendant Song Guanglan, the Supervising Army Intendant Wang Zheng, and the Governor’s Standard-Bearer Zhang Tao. The Deng-Lai Commander-in-Chief, Zhang Keda, had hanged himself in the Wanghai Tower of the water city in an act of martyrdom. As for the lower-ranking officials and generals, they were either dead or captured, and some had already surrendered to the enemy. Huang Ande was not interested in any of them—the mission assigned to him was only to focus on Sun Yuanhua.

All the captured officials were being held in the Supervising Army Intendant’s yamen in Dengzhou city—not far from the governor’s yamen, but not together. The governor’s yamen had already been occupied by Li Jiucheng and others as their “commander’s headquarters.”

Sun Yuan, using his former position as Sun Yuanhua’s personal retainer, and taking advantage of the rebels’ need to recruit former servants of the captured officials to attend to them and prevent them from committing suicide, had successfully gotten close to Sun Yuanhua.

Sun Yuan still had some affection for his former master. After all, he had had a good life as a retainer. Now that his master was in trouble and his sworn brother was trying to rescue him, Sun Yuan was very enthusiastic about it. He was therefore very diligent and stayed in the Supervising Army Intendant’s yamen at all times.

Another of Huang Ande’s men had managed to get into the Supervising Army Intendant’s yamen as a handyman through other connections, carrying water and lighting fires for the rebel guards watching the prisoners, and acting as a liaison.

Huang Ande had received the rescue notice three hours earlier. He had already secretly hidden some weapons, preparing to rescue Sun Yuanhua himself. In the “Treasure Hunt” operation, this was Plan B: Huang Ande would lead the local team to rescue Sun Yuanhua, and the special recon team would provide support for their exfiltration. However, Chen Sigen believed that Huang Ande’s hastily assembled ragtag group was probably not up to the task, so in the end, they adopted Plan A, with the special recon team leading the assault and the intelligence team providing support.

Huang Ande was now waiting anxiously with Zhu Si in a dilapidated house in the shadow of a memorial archway. It was very dangerous to be on the streets after dark. To be caught by a patrol meant certain execution, no questions asked.

Zhu Si was wearing a tattered leather jacket. It was very cold in the latter half of the night, and his teeth were chattering uncontrollably. He had a short sword tucked into his belt. Although he was afraid, he was also eager to meet the “extraordinary men” that Big Brother Huang had spoken of.

Just as he was getting drowsy, Huang Ande suddenly took out a small black box, pressed it a few times, and then listened intently. He then nudged him and whispered, “Attention, they’re here!”

He quickly opened his eyes wide. There was no moonlight, no starlight. On the dark street, where only the outlines of the houses were visible, a very faint rustling sound was suddenly heard, but he couldn’t see anything. While he was wondering, several large men suddenly appeared before his eyes like ghosts, scaring him so much that he almost cried out.

These large men were all dressed in tight-fitting trousers and jackets. The color was not solid black, but a mix of different shades of gray and black that blended almost perfectly with the night. They wore hats on their heads, and their faces were covered with something, leaving only their eyes exposed. The one in the lead had two cylinders tied to his eyes—a very strange sight.

Huang Ande went forward. “Treasure Hunt!”

“Raiders!”