At the intersection leading to Heilongjiang, Fourth Master Li looked at the two remaining leaders behind him and couldn't help but feel sorrow welling up from within.

Three days ago, Siping government troops suddenly launched an attack on Fourth Master Li's mountain stronghold. Unlike the old Siping Security Corps' mode of attacking in large formations, this force divided into several small squads, approached silently, and launched a sudden attack.

Fourth Master Li thought he was cautious enough, having arranged men at every intersection. Yet two small squads still appeared suddenly beside the stronghold; a burst of gunfire drove away the minions guarding the gate.

Forced by circumstances, Fourth Master Li could only lead his subordinates to flee. The government troops pursued relentlessly. In the blink of an eye, the pursuit lasted until the third day. More than forty subordinates were all lost. He and the Second and Third Leaders only managed to escape because they had horses.

Fourth Master Li regretted it immensely. Knowing the new Governor He was a formidable character back then, he should have left immediately with his brothers. However, hearing the brothers sent to Siping City recount the recent prosperity of Siping, Fourth Master Li still got greedy. He felt there might be a chance to make a score. Now, instead of stealing the chicken, he had lost the rice [suffered a double loss], losing the whole team.

But Fourth Master Li was also a veteran bandit of many years. He hardened his heart and said to his two subordinates, "Third Master Zhou in Heilongjiang is a hero; let's go defect to him."

Hearing they were going to Heilongjiang, the Second Leader was truly unwilling in his heart and probed, "Big Brother, should we go to Fourth Master Liu's place to take a look?"

Fourth Master Li's face darkened. "We suffered a loss because of greed before, and now we've lost all our brothers. Siping is unlivable, and we've offended quite a few people in Jilin too. Now there are only a few of us left; if we stay, who knows when someone will harm us!"

After speaking, seeing the Second Leader still looking hesitant, Fourth Master Li asked coldly, "What, Number Two, you don't want to go?"

Hearing this, the Second Leader hurriedly answered, "How could that be? Wherever Big Brother takes me, I'll follow."

Fourth Master Li said no more. He looked back in the direction of his mountain stronghold one last time, then urged his exhausted horse northward.

***

In the Siping Headquarters, victory reports came one after another. Although Fourth Master Li escaped, his subordinates were caught in one net. Another large bandit gang was completely wiped out, with not a single person slipping through the net.

On the paper in front of Xu Chengfeng, several current problems were written. At the top of the list was the issue of attacks on rural cadres. Recently, a rural cadre in another village was shot at. Fortunately, the gunman fired from a distance to ensure his own safety. The bullet hit a pile of green fodder being processed and didn't hurt anyone.

Even so, the villages and towns that knew about this were quite shaken.

Xu Chengfeng was certain that attacks on village cadres were definitely not spontaneous acts by bandits. Even the mastermind behind the scenes had been identified. There is no love without reason, nor hate without reason. This land reform knocked down so many landlords; someone would always think of ways to retaliate.

After thinking for a while, Xu Chengfeng wrote down his thoughts on the solution to the current problem.

Two days later, the troops escorted the bandits, who had undergone public trials and struggle sessions in various villages, back to Siping. This operation lasted more than ten days, destroying and capturing over five hundred bandits of various stripes.

At the summary meeting, Xu Jia said, "Among these people, there are actually villagers who have colluded with bandits to commit crimes for many years. In my opinion, they are even more hateful than the bandits."

Cheng Ruofan expressed agreement. "The masses hate these people to the bone too. We mobilized the masses, and the masses naturally hope we can wipe these people out in one pot."

The young soldiers expressed their agreement one after another. Previously, everyone hated corrupt officials; now they found that the masses hated the bad people around them even more. As long as there was a chance to eliminate these people, they wouldn't let it go.

After discussing their feelings, Xu Chengfeng began the formal discussion. "Two cases of sniping [black gun attacks] occurred this time. This is hiring hitmen for murder, which is an extremely vile incident."

The youths' expressions became serious. Everyone interrogated the captured bandits; two bandit groups did this kind of thing. And the people who sent them were all from the Changchun area to the north.

Cheng Ruofan asked, "It shouldn't be easy for us to go arrest people directly, right?"

Xu Chengfeng nodded. "Some of those people are officials. It's not easy to touch them. Moreover, the bandits' verbal statements are no proof; we can't really bring them down with this. I think it's better to invite the Changchun side to send people to participate in the trial."

The comrades frowned slightly, considering Xu Chengfeng's purpose. Zhong Yifu was the first to say, "If we do this, won't it be a joint trial?"

Cheng Ruofan looked thoughtful. "Changchun is the provincial capital after all. It would be a bit troublesome if they want to take the bandits back to deal with them."

Xu Chengfeng nodded. "My thought is, since we can't control the Changchun side right now, we might as well bring this matter into the open. Let those in Changchun who are not our enemies know the key to the conflict. Serious criminals like Zhang Debiao must be executed. Now that someone is attacking village cadres, if Zhang Debiao and the others aren't executed, the cadres will definitely have wild thoughts."

Hearing Xu Chengfeng say this, although the youths weren't too happy about Changchun participating in a joint trial, they finally expressed agreement.

Only Cheng Ruofan couldn't help snorting but didn't say anything.

Xu Chengfeng smiled. "Looking at the current situation, I actually have more and more confidence. What the masses want is to live a stable life. As long as the masses of Siping are of one heart with us, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Just then, the door opened. He Rui walked in quickly. "I'm late. How is the situation?"

The young officers recounted the summary of the work and the response to key issues to He Rui. After listening, He Rui agreed immediately. "Do it like this. In addition, the work of strengthening the militia mentioned by Chengfeng must be grasped firmly. Only when the masses feel they have strength can Siping be truly stable. Also, everyone prepare; water conservancy construction is about to begin. Take the opportunity of the public execution of Zhang Debiao and others to explain this work clearly to the cadres."

Cheng Ruofan still had some expectations and probed, "Governor, can we invite people from Fengtian to come try the case instead of calling people from Changchun?"

He Rui smiled. "If Fengtian sends people to try the case, how can the Changchun side know our attitude?"

Cheng Ruofan immediately felt somewhat ashamed and hurriedly explained, "Governor, I just feel uncomfortable letting people from Changchun participate in a joint trial."

"No matter who comes, the result is decided by us."

He Rui cast his gaze on everyone. "This land reform and bandit suppression are enough to let comrades see clearly the people's desire for a stable and good life. Our current focus of work is to meet the needs of the masses, and economic development is the prerequisite for all this. Everything we do is also to clear obstacles for economic development."

After speaking, He Rui looked at Xu Chengfeng. "The troops must step up training; they don't need to participate in water conservancy construction for now. In the near future, we must conduct a unified arrest of all opium smokers. The troops need to strengthen education, even watching those guys whose addiction kicks in and who wish they were dead. For the cultural education part, the troops should write letters home to publicize the opium ban."