Chapter 100: The Bait

Elena habitually took out paper and pen, ready to jot down anything potentially valuable from the conversation. Lopatkin quietly nudged Akberlier and whispered, “Let’s put it this way—stay calm. We can’t let these reporters see our Russian troops panicking in the face of mere bandits, understand? This concerns our international image. Now, hurry up and order the men to eat. After breakfast, we move out immediately, alright, mate?”

Having said that, he approached Elena with a smile. “Miss Elena, you remind me of an old saying: ‘The early bird catches the worm.’”

Elena’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Is there news coming in?”

Lopatkin boasted, “Yes. Our forward reconnaissance squad has already tracked Yang Dagui’s trail and even engaged in a small skirmish. Come, I’ll tell you everything.”

Akberlier looked on from behind Lopatkin’s back, sighing helplessly.

War can be decided in mere minutes. If the Russians advanced immediately, Yang Xiaolin’s situation would be dire. But because the Russians insisted on taking half an hour for breakfast, Yang Xiaolin and his bandits, hidden nearby, gained precious time for reconnaissance and a brief respite to regain strength.

And making breakfast at this moment was truly a foolish move.

Yang Xiaolin returned to their hiding place with a look of excitement. “Big Brother Jin, Nirel, come here!”

Jin Dadao and Nirel gathered around Yang Xiaolin, who cleared a spot on the ground and placed a stone there. “The Russians set up camp on three hilltops. The middle hill is closest to us; if we cross the forest in front, we can reach it quickly. Their camp is halfway up the slope, about two hundred meters high. Judging by the smoke rising, there are nearly three thousand Russian soldiers inside. As for how many Qing troops are there, we don’t know.”

He placed another stone to the left. “Two kilometers west in a straight line from this camp is another Russian camp, settled at the foot of the mountain, with about two thousand men. The one to the east is also at the foot of the mountain. When the other two camps were preparing breakfast, only faint smoke rose from that one, so it’s likely all Qing troops.”

Nirel was surprised. “How do you know that?”

Yang Xiaolin smiled. “Because Qing troops don’t eat breakfast.”

---

The Qing Dynasty was impoverished, and eating only two meals a day was the norm. Although Western countries had provided substantial material aid for this military campaign, these supplies were heavily siphoned off from the Empress Dowager down to the soldiers, leaving them still with just two meals daily.

Nirel shook his head in disbelief. To him, feeding soldiers adequately was the bare minimum for effective combat. Even bandits like Yang Xiaolin’s group, though exhausted from a hard night’s run, managed two meals that night.

Yang Xiaolin dismissed the argument and asked, “Why is the middle route the most heavily guarded? And why do the other two camps set up at the foot of the mountain, while only this one is halfway up the slope?”

The answer was obvious. Jin Dadao asked, “Are you suggesting the Russian commander is stationed on that hill?”

Yang Xiaolin nodded. “Very possible.”

Nirel glanced at him. “Yang, do you plan to kill their commander?”

Yang Xiaolin grinned. “If he gives me the chance, I won’t hesitate. But we don’t have the capability right now. I have a plan: once the Russians finish breakfast, they will move out. It won’t be easy to break through from any direction. The best approach is to retreat a bit, choose favorable terrain, and set up an ambush in advance. Only by disrupting their formation can we hope to break out of the encirclement.”

Timing, terrain, and morale—morning had already broken, so Yang Xiaolin couldn’t rely on timing. The disparity in forces made morale impossible. The last factor was terrain, and if they couldn’t use it wisely, this battle was lost before it began.

“Where do you want to set the ambush?” Nirel asked.

Yang Xiaolin’s eyes flickered. “Remember the valley we passed through earlier?”

Nirel shook his head. “No use. The Russians won’t fall for it. That valley looks too dangerous; they’ll send scouts.”

Yang Xiaolin smiled faintly. “When the lure is irresistible, wolves ignore traps. Nirel, you and Big Brother Jin take your teams and move quickly to set the ambush. I’ll stay with Suibing. I believe my head is what they want most.”

---

Being the bait was dangerous, but Nirel and Jin Dadao understood there was no one better than Yang Xiaolin for the role.

They tried to persuade him otherwise, but Nirel patted Yang Xiaolin on the shoulder. “Be careful.”

Yang Xiaolin nodded. “Remember, the purpose of the ambush isn’t to kill many, but to disrupt their formation so we can break through in one surge. Nirel, you’re in charge. Big Brother Jin, follow his lead.”

Jin Dadao replied, “Don’t worry.”

Suibing stayed behind with a company, while the others followed Jin Dadao and Nirel, racing back. The encirclement had just begun, and they had already covered several times the distance their enemies had. But this didn’t mean the end. Even if they broke through, they still had to keep running. Destroying the enemy on the move was the key to the weak defeating the strong.

Yang Xiaolin ordered his men, mostly miners, to start digging trenches on the hilltop. It wasn’t difficult for this group, but some parts of the hill were too rocky, and they dared not make too much noise. After twenty minutes, over three hundred men had only dug a few interrupted ditches that couldn’t be connected.

The Russian general did not give them much time. At seven o’clock sharp, soldiers from the three camps formed search and advance formations and moved out.

Lopatkin’s position wasn’t too far back. Even if he didn’t lead from the front, he couldn’t afford to appear as a rear guard and be mocked by the reporters. He had seen newspapers from various countries in recent days; that detestable British journalist had even claimed Russia sent twenty thousand troops out of cowardice!

Lopatkin thought, if the fighting really started, perhaps he should give that British reporter a chance for a frontline interview—see if he could keep that mocking tone when facing Yang Dagui’s bullets.

Thankfully, the charming Miss Elena was understanding. To the commander, her reports always seemed objective and fair. If he really captured Yang Dagui, maybe he should grant this French beauty an exclusive interview.

(It's early morning! Don’t ask if there will be more updates—what matters is, do we still have votes? Brothers, cast a few more votes, and I’ll update another chapter, alright?)