In 1950, in Shizhou, western Hubei, at the junction of Hunan, Hubei, and Sichuan, a hundred thousand karst caves lie hidden along both banks of the Qing River, riddled with sinkholes and underground rivers. After the War of Liberation, remnants of the Nationalist army and Military Statistics Bureau agents join forces with local bullies to form ruthless cave bandits. They occupy a vast cave system, waiting for a chance to counterattack with their radios, while burning and pillaging villages and terrorizing the region. Tujia men driven into the mountains also occupy stockades and set down rules: rob the rich, never harm the poor, and remain somewhere between right and wrong. Meanwhile, countless refugees fleeing famine hide in caves large and small, struggling to survive.
Lu Zheng, a soldier sent south, is ordered to lead a unit to Shizhou to suppress the bandits. On entering the mountains, he finds that his experience fighting on the plains is useless at every turn. He meets Tian Nongsui, a Tujia liaison officer who knows the forests and caves and understands local customs and dialects. She becomes the bridge connecting the unit to the local people. Together, they must fight Mo Cangheng, a ruthless bandit commander who opposes the Communists and stops at nothing, while dealing with stockade bandit chief Tan Songshan, whose loyalties keep shifting, and distinguishing between the many cave bandits who are simply desperate to stay alive.
Here, nothing is simply black or white. Behind the stilt houses, oil tea soup, and communal tree wine lie the collision of local customs and the chaos of war. Suppressing bandits means more than exchanging gunfire: it means understanding the mountains, the Tujia rules of the stockades, and the suffering of ordinary people. Deep in the mist-shrouded maze of caves, a story of bandit suppression in the mountains of Shizhou slowly unfolds.
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After the snow stopped, it was overcast for several days in a row. The sun hid behind thick clouds, only letting out a sliver of gray light. It was freezing cold in the mountains. The soil had hardened, thin ice had formed along the riverbanks, and icicles of varying lengths hung from the eaves.
The decisive battle at Moping Plateau has ended. Xiang Dagunzi's main force has been routed, and he has fled alone into the deep mountains. Huang Laoyao has once again disappeared into the desolate hills. Zhou Bazi refused to come to the rescue, watching his allies perish, and was left alone to defend the isolated Moping village.
Huang Laoyao led his men over the Wild Pig Cliff to launch a surprise attack from behind the government army camp. Inside Moping Village, Xiang Dagunzi heard gunfire from the back mountain and insisted on opening the village gates to send troops, but Zhou Bazi vehemently opposed him, leading to a public infighting among the bandit leaders.
The government troops completed the encirclement of the Moping mountain plateau. Lu Chengyue's main force was positioned at Shimen Pass to the south, while Xiang Shigen guarded Beifeng Pass, cutting off communication between the inside and outside. A perimeter was established at Pianqiao Gully to the east.
The government troops launched a night raid and recaptured Liangshuipu. The bandit leader, Zhou Bazi, led his remaining forces in a breakout south, seeking refuge with Xiang Dagunzi, who had retreated to Moping. Meanwhile, Huang Laoyao's forces, who had fled into the northern mountains, were poised to strike and could potentially move south to provide support.
Inside Jingyang Pass, the fireworks had not yet been completely extinguished. The wounded were housed in batches in the old temple at the pass, the captured bandits were screened and imprisoned, and the bodies of the fallen brothers were carefully collected. The battle was won, but there was little relief. After re-bandaging the wound on Shi Gen's arm, he came to stand in front of Lu Chengyue. "
A suicide squad scaled the "Monkey Hanging on the Wall" to launch a surprise attack on the rear of Jingyang Pass. The supply sheds caught fire, throwing the bandits inside the pass into chaos. Lu Chengyue led the main force in a frontal assault. Just as the pass was about to fall, the bandit leader arrived with over a hundred reinforcements from Da Gunzi, only two li away from the pass. Jingyang Pass, Jianshi, 1945.
The government troops crossed the Qingjiang River at night and arrived at Jingyang Pass. Bandit leader Huang Laoyao and Zhou Bazi joined forces to defend the formidable pass, while the bandit gang led by Xiang Dagunzi, with over a hundred men, was rushing day and night to reinforce them.
Crossing the Qingjiang River at night, the smoke of war rises over Jingyang Pass. Following the victory at Xiaoyandong, bandit leader Huang Laoyao, with seven or eight trusted men, broke through a side tunnel and fled to Jianshi overnight, intending to join forces with local bandits to defend Jingyang Pass. Government troops captured forty-two bandits and rescued the hostages.
A major bandit force was wiped out on the banks of the Qingjiang River outside Shizhou City. The remaining bandits abandoned their villages and strongholds, fleeing into the karst caves along the Qingjiang River. Small detachments of government troops, together with local militia, pursued and eliminated the remaining bandits.