As we all know, the mountain carving was once a name that called for wind and rain in the bandit world in the Northeast, leaving many stories in that turbulent era. Looking back at the history of the mountain carving family, three generations of his family have made a living from bandits, and evil deeds are widely spread among the people.
His grandfather Lao Heiyun was killed by Zhang Zuolin, his father Baimao Xiong died at the hands of Yang Jingyu, and he himself finally fell into the hands of the People's Liberation Army.
So, what's the story? Today, let's talk about that period of history full of twists and turns, revealing the bandit career of the mountain eagle and his family.
A family of bandits in turbulent times
In the modern history of the mainland, bandits are a force to be reckoned with, either for personal interests or for the interests of groups, and they are especially rampant in times of national turmoil. The original name of the mountain carving was Zhang Leshan, and it was from such a bandit family.
His grandfather's name was Old Black Cloud, nicknamed from his thick black hair and cloud-like face, and legend has it that he was a notorious bandit leader in the Northeast at the time.
Old Heiyun established his sphere of influence in the mountains and forests of the northeast, and the bandit team was disciplined and fierce, and eventually became a major local disaster. They looted caravans, kidnapped the wealthy, and not only robbed their property, but also often caused bloodshed.
Although he was a group of bandits, Lao Heiyun's subordinates were extremely loyal to him, because Lao Heiyun not only took the lead in the battle, but also was fair and just in the distribution of spoils, which eventually attracted Zhang Zuolin's attention.
We all know that Zhang Zuolin is a famous warlord in the Northeast, and his power in the Northeast has been expanding over time, and he is very sensitive to the activities of local bandits, and the existence of Lao Heiyun has seriously affected his interests.
After Lao Heiyun plundered several important merchants, Zhang Zuolin finally decided to clear them, and after some planning, he sent elite troops to raid his stronghold.
That night in the mountains and forests was quiet, only the occasional sound of insects, and the old black cloud was reveling with his brothers, immersed in the joy of the fruits of plunder. When they were most relaxed, Zhang Zuolin's troops quietly approached, and a gunshot broke the silence of the night.
Lao Heiyun quickly commanded the bandits to fight back, due to the sudden incident, most of the bandits did not have time to organize effective resistance, and they were killed or captured one after another, and Lao Heiyun was shot by Zhang Zuolin's cronies in the melee and was killed on the spot.
The death of Lao Heiyun did not make this bandit family decline, but inspired his son White-haired Bear's fighting spirit, and he inherited his father's bandit team and vowed to avenge his father.
With silver-white hair and a strong physique, the white-haired bear was known for his bravery and fearlessness when he was young, and knew that it would be difficult to compete with Zhang Zuolin's regular army with the force of bandits, so he adopted guerrilla tactics and took advantage of the terrain of the mountains and forests to deal with the enemy.
He was unpredictable in the mountains and forests of the northeast, causing Zhang Zuolin's troops to fight many times, and the white-haired bear not only showed excellent command skills in battle, but also constantly recruited new soldiers to expand his strength.
However, this situation did not last long, and with the rise of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Coalition Army, banditry activities were more threatened.
The anti-Japanese coalition forces often operated in the mountains and forests of the northeast, and were not only a strong opponent of the Japanese invaders, but also a nightmare for local bandits.
Yang Jingyu was an outstanding anti-Japanese general, who was deeply trusted by his subordinates and had flexible tactics.
He had already known the whereabouts of the bear, and later set up an ambush in a narrow valley, and when the bear's party entered the valley, the coalition soldiers surrounded him from all sides.
The sound of gunfire and explosions suddenly rang out, and the bandit team of the white-haired bear fell into chaos, Yang Jingyu's troops were well-trained, and finally a bullet hit the white-haired bear's chest, and he fell to his death in a pool of blood, and his subordinates saw that the general trend had gone and fled one after another.
The death of the white-haired bear marked another heavy blow to the bandit power of the Zhang Leshan family, but it did not end their family's bandit career, because there is an even more legendary figure, that is, the famous mountain carving.
Zhang Leshan's growth and rise
Zhang Leshan grew up in a family of bandits, and he is no stranger to the life of bandits, not only inheriting the cunning and courage of his grandfather and father, but also constantly sharpening his ability in practice.
Zhang Leshan showed extraordinary talent when he was young, his marksmanship was accurate, his leg and foot skills were also very good, and he walked in the mountains and forests as if he were walking on the ground......
Many skills made him quickly rise to prominence in the bandit world, and he also won the title of "Mountain Eagle".
After the death of his father, the white bear, the son took over the banner of the family and became the leader of a new generation of bandits. At the beginning, Zhang Leshan's bandit team was not large, mainly operating in the area of Jiapigou, where the terrain was complex and easy to defend and difficult to attack.
He used the terrain to establish his stronghold, leading territorial bandits to plunder caravans and kidnap wealthy people to quickly amass a wealth that was not only used to expand his ranks, but also to bribe local officials in exchange for their protection.
From these means, it can be seen that the mountain carving is different from his grandfather and father, and knows how to find a backer for himself. The plundering made Zhang Leshan gain a lot of wealth, and also greatly increased his personal prestige, thus attracting more bandits to defect.
In the process of expanding his power, Zhang Leshan understood that it was difficult to survive for a long time on his own, and attached great importance to the relationship with other bandit leaders, and even formed alliances to jointly fight against external threats, exchange news and support each other, forming a huge network of bandits.
The government army also encircled and suppressed Zhang Leshan, but it was easy to deal with a group of bandits, but it was not easy to deal with organized and coordinated bandits.
Many bandits joined forces, took advantage of the terrain to engage in fierce battles with government forces, and successfully repelled government forces many times to keep their strongholds.
In this way, in the mountains and forests of the Northeast, the name of the mountain eagle is becoming more and more loud, and the territory is constantly expanding, covering almost the entire Northeast.
During his career as a bandit, Zhang Leshan not only had to face the pursuit of local warlords and government troops, but also had to evade the blows of the anti-Japanese coalition forces, and in the face of different opponents, Zhang Leshan adopted different strategies.
Once the anti-Japanese coalition army received information and prepared to encircle and suppress Zhang Leshan's stronghold, Zhang Leshan immediately ordered the bandit team to evacuate after learning the news, and dispersed various hidden places hidden in the mountains and forests.
When the anti-Japanese coalition forces arrived at their destination, they were empty, except for some dilapidated camp facilities, and the coalition forces searched the mountains and forests for days without finding any trace of the bandits.
Zhang Leshan was a very contradictory person, and he was initially an anti-Japanese element, carrying out several successful ambushes against the Japanese army in the mountains and forests of the northeast.
However, this resistance did not last long, and as the power of the Japanese army gradually expanded, he finally chose to surrender to the Japanese army in order to preserve his strength.
The Japanese army was wary of bandits, but they also understood that they could use bandits to stabilize local order, so they accepted his surrender, a decision that allowed Zhang Leshan's bandit team to be preserved, but also infamous for treason.
The end of the bandit career of the mountain carving
The banditry activities of the mountain carving were a factor of social instability, and after the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our party began to concentrate its efforts on eliminating bandits in the country. In the Mudanjiang area, after more than a year of hard fighting, most of the bandits have been eliminated.
However, the mountain carvings in the area of Jiapigou are still active, which has become a major hidden danger in the local area. In order to completely eradicate the mountain carving, our party decided to take special action, and Yang Zirong was promoted to a brave soldier of the platoon commander to accept this difficult task.
He selected five comrades-in-arms to disguise themselves as bandits, braved the heavy snow into the mountain forest of Jiapigou, and trudged through the wind and snow to avoid the bandits' patrols.
After several days of observation, it was found that the back door of a house was often entered and exited, and it was likely that this was a stronghold of bandits.
Yang Zirong led the team to ambush outside the village, observed a man coming out of the back door, looked around for a while, and then quickly returned, and concluded that this man was unleashed.
Soon the two bandits walked out of the back door, and then headed towards Nanshan, Yang Zirong immediately led the team to follow, and finally "coincidentally" met them on a hillside.
After some "black talk" exchanges between the two sides, the two bandits mistakenly thought that Yang Zirong and his party were peers, so they agreed to introduce them to see a mountain carving.
After passing through several hills, the group came to a dilapidated shack deep in the forest, where two bandits asked Yang Zirong and others to wait, and they went to report the news first.
After more than ten days, the bandits finally returned, and Yang Zirong pretended to be angry, demanding to see a mountain carving immediately, and then entered the back of Weihu Mountain.
Soon they saw a large shed with a few dim oil lamps burning in it, and a mountain sculpture lying on it.
Yang Zirong pretended to be full of gangsterism and scolded "You are not righteous", pointed the gun at the mountain carving, and then coaxed the bandits to leave the den on the grounds that the place had been exposed.
Under the guidance of Yang Zirong, the mountain carving and its troops were taken to Jiapigou, and when they walked to the destination, the mountain carving and his party suddenly found that it was the People's Liberation Army that greeted them, and they realized that they were in the plan, but unfortunately they knew it too late.
The mountain eagle was finally captured, ending his more than 40-year career as a bandit, and greeted with the punishment of the law. In the days that followed, he served his sentence in Mudanjiang Prison until he died of illness in prison.
In general, the bandit career of the three generations of the ancestors and grandchildren of the mountain carving is the epitome of bloody violence in the turbulent era, which gradually perished in the continuous blows of Zhang Zuolin, Yang Jingyu and the People's Liberation Army, and was finally eliminated by the torrent of history.
In the bandit world, the mountain carving is known for its ferocity and cunning, and although his actions made him once beautiful, he could not escape the judgment of justice, and the ending was quite sad.
However, this is also the end he deserves, and his behavior of deviating from the trend of the times and harming the people will eventually lead to his own destruction.
What do you think differently about this?
Reference: How tragedy is "turned upside down" into a comedy - Interpretation of the historical facts of bandits in the novel "Lin Hai Xueyuan" - CNKI (cnki.net)
Historical details behind the "mountain carving" - CNKI (cnki.net)