Chapter 24
The weather was terrible the day Rongxiang set off.
The rain mixed with snow fell heavily, quite forcefully. Looking up, the sky was so gloomy it was hard to breathe, a uniform pale, iron-gray color.
Rong Xiang was dressed in military uniform with a matching cloak. His hat had been knocked askew when he got on the vehicle. As he straightened it, he waved to Yan Guanglin outside the window, signaling her to go back inside.
Yan Guanglin held up an umbrella. She knew very little about war. So Rongxiang's departure at this moment did not cause her much panic. She just felt as if her husband was going on a long trip and his return was uncertain, so she was very reluctant to part with him and felt empty inside.
Rong Xiang went straight from home to the military headquarters, where he met up with Gu Wenqian. Since most of the officers had already led their troops to the dam, they weren't in a hurry and leisurely rode together in a car to Fu Yangshan's place in Hutouyi. The reason why the two, who were not on good terms with each other, could ride in the same car was due to some unavoidable difficulties.
A few days ago, Gu Wenqian's car was vandalized by local residents. The Rong Army was extorting money from the land too ruthlessly, and the war also involved conscription, so some people gathered and desperately protested at the military headquarters. Gu Wenqian's initial idea was to send men to mow it down with machine guns, but Rong Xiang, with mischievous intentions, used "people-oriented" principles as an excuse to prevent the attack. As a result, Gu Wenqian's car, parked downstairs, was smashed into a pile of scrap metal.
Rong Xiang was very happy at the time, but he never expected that this trip would lead to him sitting with Gu Wenqian at close range for most of the day.
The two remained silent in the car. Gu Wenqian turned to look at the barren scenery outside the window. Rong Xiang, on the other hand, stared thoughtfully ahead, crunching on a piece of hard candy. The sound irritated Gu Wenqian. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he simply consoled himself: "Just bear with him for a minute, he'll definitely finish it."
Unexpectedly, while he was trying to convince himself, Rong Xiang suddenly turned around, took out a biscuit tin from his bag and put it on his lap. Gu Wenqian didn't look at him, but he could hear him struggling to pry open the metal lid of the tin. The tin probably contained some kind of crispy biscuits, because he was eating them with a loud crunching sound, and it seemed like he would never stop.
Gu Wenqian frowned. He had been facing the car window the whole time, and now his neck was sore. After hesitating for a while, he slowly turned his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rong Xiang intently eating a very thin biscuit. His mouth—Gu Wenqian had always thought that among Rong Xiang's features, his mouth was the most beautiful—was now covered in biscuit crumbs, which he didn't even wipe off.
Gu Wenqian touched the piping on both sides of his military trousers, wishing he could take out a handkerchief, hold Rong Xiang down, and wipe his mouth hard.
After driving fifty miles, Rongxiang suddenly called for a stop.
"Why?" Gu Wenqian didn't understand. Their vehicle was escorted by a regiment of soldiers, and if the car stopped, the entire regiment would have to stop as well.
Rongxiang wiped his mouth with a handkerchief without looking at him and said, "I need a shot."
Gu Wenqian snorted and glanced sideways at Rong Xiang's exposed arm, noticing countless needle marks and large bruises, likely from a failed acupuncture. The arm, riddled with holes, yet with its still snow-white skin, somehow gave Gu Wenqian a strange sense of wickedness and filth.
After receiving their injections, the group quickly continued their journey.
This time, Gu Wenqian munched on the biscuits with gusto, while Rong Xiang closed his eyes to rest. Gu Wenqian chewed with a touch of shame; he hadn't eaten a single thing since morning until he boarded the train. So when Rong Xiang invited him to eat biscuits after his injection, he hesitated for a moment before accepting. Actually, he wasn't hungry, but rationally he felt he should be, and the journey ahead was long; they wouldn't arrive at Hutouyi until at least four or five in the afternoon. How could he endure it without eating anything?
The cookies were extremely sweet. He ate a few, then closed the lid and set them aside. He unscrewed his military water bottle and took a couple of sips. He glanced at Rongxiang again, thinking that no one but a child would like to eat this kind of thing.
The car swayed and bumped along the mountain road. After another fifty miles, seeing that it was getting dark outside, Rongxiang raised his hand and patted the driver: "Stop the car."
Gu Wenqian couldn't help but say, "We'll be at Hutou Post Station soon, Third Master."
As usual, Rongxiang ignored him and everyone took a three-minute break to wait for him to finish his injection before continuing on their way.
Gu Wenqian shook his head inwardly, thinking that it was no wonder he only worked from home; with such a strong addiction, it was indeed inconvenient for him to go anywhere. With such a person as leader, the army was not far from being disbanded.
Fu Yangshan was very excited when he saw Rongxiang.
This defeat was the most devastating one he had suffered in nearly a decade. The war had ravaged his body, leaving him noticeably thinner; his once dashing mustache had grown into a thick, dark "1," giving him a somewhat menacing appearance. Holding Rongxiang's hand, he opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he let out a sigh.
"Brother, I... sigh! I don't know how to thank you this time!"
Rongxiang patted his hand: "Brother Yangshan, you're being too polite..."
The two sides exchanged pleasantries as they entered, speaking many heartfelt and sentimental words, feigning deep brotherhood. Fu Yangshan's headquarters was stationed in a wealthy household at Hutouyi, but the household had long since fled, leaving only this beautiful house for the passing armies to ravage.
After a sumptuous dinner, Rong and Fu naturally had to plan things out in detail until midnight before reaching a consensus and then returning to their rooms to rest.
Gu Wenqian only had a vague understanding of Rong Xiang's intentions. As the chief of staff of the entire army, how could he work if he couldn't even figure out the commander-in-chief's intentions?
So the next morning, he seriously asked Rongxiang, "Third Master, even now that we've arrived at Hutouyi, I still don't quite understand your battle plan. Commander Ge has already led an independent regiment to the front line at Bashang, but you haven't given clear instructions on how to fight or to what extent."
Rong Xiang scrutinized him carefully: "Commander Ge asked you about this? When?"
“He called last night—of course, as an officer, Commander Ge’s duty is to obey orders from his superiors. But as the chief of staff, if I’m not clear about the details, I can’t fulfill my responsibilities.”
Rong Xiang turned and walked to the table, pouring himself a glass of water. As he drank, he thought angrily, "That bastard Ge, he actually went straight to Gu Wenqian to ask about something, he doesn't respect me at all!" The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, forgetting that if Commander Ge really contacted him directly, it would be going over his superior's head, which is against military regulations.
He finished his cup of water, turned to Gu Wenqian and smiled: "What's the rush? We're just here to help others fight. Besides fighting, there's not much else to worry about. I'll be going to the front line in Bashang in a bit. You can come with me."
Gu Wenqian let out a heavy sigh, feeling that he could not communicate with Rong Xiang at all, so he became impatient: "Then if I know nothing, what kind of chief of staff am I?"
"If you retire, I have nothing to say!"
"Oh? I don't quite understand what you mean, Third Master. Speaking of which, I wasn't appointed as the Chief of Staff by you, Third Master. It was Mr. Yi who designated me before he passed away."
“I know you are Mr. Yi’s prized student. So you should learn from Mr. Yi, learn to be single-minded in serving the master, and not be autocratic.”
Gu Wenqian was momentarily speechless with anger. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find the right words to retort. His face turned red, and after a long while, he finally snorted, "Fine, in the end, the army is also your Rong family's. If you don't want me to manage it, I'm too lazy to bother with it!" With that, he turned and left.
After angering Gu Wenqian, Rong Xiang pursed his lips, wanting to laugh but unable to.
As agreed, Fu Yangshan would remain at Hutouyi to oversee the situation. Rong Xiang, on the other hand, would lead his troops to the front lines. Once Zhao Zhensheng was driven out, Xi'an would be theirs. Fu Yangshan thought this was a brilliant idea, because he was, after all, a local strongman, and his position as provincial governor was recognized by the central government, making his claim legitimate and justified. Rong Xiang, on the other hand, was merely a rogue warlord who had fled from Manchuria, a playboy. Once peace was restored and he had recovered, he was confident he could control him!
Rongxiang was unaware of his thoughts, and he was also unaware of Rongxiang's plans. Both believed they had cleverly devised a scheme and deceived the other. As a result, when they parted at Hutou Post Station, because he had a guilty conscience, he acted with extraordinary affection and loyalty, as if they had become brothers in life and death.
Gu Wenqian observed coldly, but slowly figured out some of the tricks of the trade.
Rongxiang left Hutouyi, but never actually reached the front line at Bashang.
He set up camp in a village near the front lines. Gu Wenqian, bound by duty, had no choice but to follow him. However, he kept his distance from him and refused to ask him any further questions. He spent his days simply walking around the village or contacting the front lines directly to gather intelligence.
The battle wasn't going smoothly, but there weren't any major casualties either. The two sides were locked in a stalemate on the same front. Zhao Zhensheng was exhausted, while Rong Xiang was waiting for Fu Yangshan to send reinforcements. As the stalemate continued, only Fu Yangshan was anxious. He had been nearly wiped out by Zhao Zhensheng this time, and now he only wanted to retaliate and settle scores. Ideally, he would kill Zhao, or at least drive him far away so he could never rise again. Therefore, he generally tried his best to meet any requests Rong Xiang made, hoping this young man would put in some effort and genuinely help him.
Fu Jingyuan was getting a haircut in a guest room of his home.
He sat upright in front of a dressing table, facing a large heart-shaped mirror that allowed him to see the barber working on his head in detail. At each of the four corners of the room stood a soldier, a rifle pointed at the barber, in case he posed a threat to Fu Jingyuan.
"Unfavorable, unfavorable," Fu Jingyuan said with a wry smile. Ever since his elder brother dumped all the affairs of Xi'an on him and went to Bashang, he had been on guard against anyone trying to harm him. He was a carefree young master, used to a life of ease and leisure. At first, when he heard all sorts of shocking rumors, he dismissed them as mere gossip and alarmist talk. But then one day, while getting into a car with his secretary-general, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the side. Before anyone could react, the secretary-general had already fallen to the ground. There was no blood at first, but when Fu Jingyuan helped him up, he discovered a bullet had pierced his temple, and blood gushed out, soaking Fu Jingyuan.
That day, the secretary-general's clothing was very similar to Fu Jingyuan's, and the two were about the same height. After being arrested and tortured, the murderer confessed, saying that he originally intended to target Fu Jingyuan, but due to the large number of people, he couldn't get close and mistakenly killed the secretary-general. With the truth revealed, Fu Jingyuan was so terrified that he couldn't sleep a wink all night.
They couldn't find out who sent the killer, even after killing everyone. But the Fu family only had a handful of rival families—you could count them on one hand. It was a binary choice; even if they found out, it wouldn't be very meaningful. Fu Jingyuan had truly experienced a storm this time. Before this, he had never considered himself to be involved with death.
Some people's growth often happens in a specific moment. If Fu Jingyuan had seen his older brother getting a haircut under the four-cornered razor before, he would have found it incredibly comical and wanted to take a picture and put it in the newspaper for everyone to laugh. But now, he felt this behavior was perfectly reasonable and inevitable—his own neck was under someone else's razor! How could he not be on guard?
The barber used a large brush to clean the stubble of hair behind his ears, then asked with a careful smile, "Second Master Fu, is there anything else you're not satisfied with?"
Fu Jingyuan stood up, turned his head in front of the mirror, and carefully examined himself for a long time before nodding and saying, "Not bad, okay."
He was dressed in military uniform in the mirror, and without his glasses, he looked so handsome and upright that he could almost be considered the epitome of a soldier. He raised his hand to pluck a stubble of hair from his forehead; he was quite satisfied with his current appearance.
"It's a pity Rongxiang isn't here," he thought smugly. "He should see me like this. I actually look much better in my military uniform than he does."
After admiring himself, he stepped out the door.
He is nominally the police chief, but he also has to oversee the 10,000 soldiers Fu Yangshan left in Xi'an. Those 10,000 men are Fu Yangshan's most valuable asset and cannot easily leave the city, lest chaos erupt as soon as they leave. He was initially completely unaware of these matters, but he is naturally quick-witted and can understand things from the beginning, so so far, although he is busy, he is not in a state of panic.
His abilities astonished everyone. Especially Chen Jingfu, who had only known Fu Yangshan had a scholarly younger brother, and even after meeting him, thought he was just a somewhat refined young master. Unexpectedly, his actions were a carbon copy of Fu Yangshan, even surpassing him in some ways. For example, he never caused trouble for the academic community, lived a disciplined life, and spoke eloquently to reporters, using modern jargon and exuding the air of a progressive youth. As a result, the newspapers published his work, and the public had a very good impression of him. When he encountered adversaries, he was ruthless. After killing someone, he would hold a press conference, saying things like, "So-and-so ordered my execution, and I am very saddened. But for the good of the people, I had to do this," which again garnered praise from the reporters.
Chen Jingfu thought this was the most infuriating thing about him, because he got the benefit but still acted innocent.
Fu Jingyuan, however, had a clear conscience. Although he had killed several people after taking office, those people were indeed no good. He felt he was doing the people a favor.
The police chief's office was very stylish, furnished entirely with Western-style furniture, and the desk was as big as a single bed. Fu Jingyuan sat behind this desk, reading novels when he had nothing to do, while official documents were piled haphazardly to one side, waiting for the janitor to come and tidy them up.
At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the pages of the book, but his thoughts drifted to the outside of the city.
"Why haven't they started the war yet?" he wondered.
Rongxiang has been gone for a month now, and the three parties are stuck in this stalemate. Since he already agreed to help, why is he still doing this?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, but he wasn't a military strategist after all, and even after racking his brains, he couldn't come to any conclusion.
Fu Jingyuan was puzzled in the city, and Fu Yangshan outside the city was also very confused.
If Rongxiang's refusal to fight was to preserve his strength, then he could have simply stayed in Tongguan and not helped me. He's already come all this way, and now he's gone silent—what does this mean?
He sent another independent regiment, partly to reinforce them, and partly to urge Rongxiang to hurry up. Winter was coming, and it was freezing cold; they needed to finish the battle quickly so they could go home for the New Year!
Rongxiang sat on a chair by the brazier, staring blankly at Xiao Meng's front of his shirt.
Xiao Meng didn't notice it at first, but later realized that Rong Xiang was acting strangely. However, he had been like this lately, and no one knew what he was thinking about. He could sit for an hour at a time without even changing his posture.
Although he knew Rongxiang wasn't looking at him, it still felt incredibly awkward. He quietly walked behind Rongxiang, trying his best not to make a sound.
From Xiao Meng's elevated position, she could clearly see Rong Xiang's eyelashes. There's an old saying that people with long eyelashes don't recognize their relatives. Whether it's true or not, Rong Xiang certainly embodies it perfectly.
The two people inside the room seemed like wooden or clay sculptures; one was genuinely lost in thought, while the other remained expressionless regardless of whether he was lost in thought or not.
The silence was finally broken by Gu Wenqian's knock on the door.
Gu Wenqian looked like he had walked a long way outside; his hat and shoulders were covered in snowflakes. A gust of cold wind swept in as he entered, and Xiao Meng quickly went forward to close the door.
Rongxiang looked up at him, staring at him for a long time as if he hadn't quite grasped what was going on, before finally asking, "What is it?"
"Third Master, you've ordered Commander Li to lead the Second Regiment into battle?"
"yes."
"Why...why did you take a taxi from the North Road again?"
Upon hearing this, Rong Xiang seemed to snap out of his daze and stood up: "Zhao Zhensheng's main force isn't there, so it's relatively easier to break through."
"Sigh... Why did you suddenly issue this order without even telling me? The north is Hui territory. Do you think the Hui army will agree to this?"
"After the Hui army and Fu Yangshan finished fighting, there weren't many men left. What difference would it make whether they agreed or not?"
"Oh, Third Master, that's not how it works. The dam area is the territory of the Hui people. Why should we offend them?"
Rongxiang frowned: "Wenqian, you're overthinking it."
Gu Wenqian was both anxious and angry. He felt that talking to Rong Xiang any longer would be like casting pearls before swine, so he simply shut up and took a car to the front line.
The attack on Zhao Zhensheng went more smoothly than expected.
After all, the Manchu soldiers here had advanced weaponry and had suffered relatively low losses. Therefore, they had a significant advantage on the battlefield. Less than a month later, Zhao Zhensheng led his troops to Lanzhou. However, the Hui people on the dam were very resentful because these Manchu soldiers were like locusts, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake. The Hui army was now extremely weak and dared not confront them head-on, so they could only form guerrilla units to attack whenever they had the chance. Even if they couldn't take anything back, killing a few Manchu soldiers could at least vent their anger.
There were shrewd people in the army who felt that things might get out of hand if this continued, and they wanted to persuade Rongxiang to lead his troops back to Xi'an, but they didn't have the courage. In fact, everyone knew that Rongxiang wasn't a soldier at all; he was only a military leader because he inherited his father's position. Now, after nearly two years under his command, they had finally discovered that apart from being a good marksman, he was practically clueless about military matters. Not only was he clueless, but he was also extremely suspicious, trusting and listening to no one, doing whatever he pleased. Orders, no matter how absurd, had to be carried out. Anyone who disobeyed orders was to be executed without exception.
However, upon seeing the order issued tonight, the officers were still stunned. Some quickly went to find Gu Wenqian to consult him and figure out what exactly was going on.
"We finally drove that guy surnamed Zhao away, why are we going to fight him back now?"
Gu Wenqian glanced at the document and couldn't help but sigh: "What's so hard to understand? Get rid of Zhao Zhensheng first, then wipe out Fu Yangshan, and Xi'an will be his, Rong's, territory!"
"But... the brothers down below are also struggling. Their cotton-padded coats are as thin as paper, and their pay is still not keeping up. How can they possibly fight?"
Gu Wenqian sneered, "That kid wants to sell our brothers' lives to seize territory for himself."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. They all knew what was going on, but while Gu Wenqian dared to say it, no one else dared. If it reached Rong Xiang's ears, they would be in deep trouble.
The discussion was chaotic, and in the end, no conclusion was reached. Gu Wenqian promised to try to persuade him again, and then slipped away. He disappeared for several days. Seeing that he could no longer be relied upon, some subordinates obeyed orders and prepared to lead troops to attack Fu Yangshan; others deliberately refused to act. Then one day, Rong Xiang suddenly appeared and, as an example to others, dragged out and executed Regiment Commander Ge.
Everyone shuddered. Commander Ge was an old man, having fought in countless battles, yet Rong Xiang showed him no mercy. After executing Commander Ge, he cut off his head and displayed it to the public. A soldier carried the head on a plate and walked it around the room. Someone couldn't hold back and burst into tears on the spot.
Rong Xiang stood at the front, looking quite well lately, his cheeks full, seemingly benefiting from his overeating. Hearing the crying, he frowned slightly: "Director Yan and Commander Ge have been friends for many years, so I understand their distress. However, Commander Ge's blatant disobedience, relying on his seniority, necessitates military law; I personally have no other choice. I know everyone has fought for two months and endured much hardship, but defeating the Fu family isn't difficult; they're easier to deal with than Zhao Zhensheng. So please, everyone, be patient and persevere. Once victory is achieved, then..."
He spoke at length, and the people below could only reluctantly echo him. Only after he finished his grand pronouncements and had walked far away did murmurs and whispers begin to circulate inside the room.
"Gu Wenqian can't say anything now," someone said.
"He's no good. Only Chief of Staff Yi's words carried weight back then."
"Yes, Rong Laosan listened to Mr. Yi back then. After Mr. Yi was killed in the bombing, he started to act recklessly."
"well……"
"Why has he gone crazy lately? He wasn't this short-tempered before. Good heavens, he just killed Old Ge today... Old Ge died such an unjust death."
One of the listeners pointed to his temple and said, "He probably got a shot and it made him go crazy."
Despite their complaints, the officers, seeing the human head on the plate, returned to their posts and led their troops back to Hutouyi.
Rong Xiang's sudden and unexpected change of heart was completely unexpected by Fu Yangshan.
He knew that inviting a god was easy, but sending him away was difficult, but he never expected that before he could even send him away, this god would turn on him. He frantically deployed troops while simultaneously sending messages to Fu Jingyuan in the city. But he only had a few soldiers; no matter how much he defended, he couldn't hold out for more than a few days. The fighting lasted less than three days, and the enemy's position had advanced twenty li towards Hutouyi. Across the lines, Fu Yangshan's beautiful residence was almost visible. Fu Yangshan calculated that it would take at least two more days for Fu Jingyuan to arrive with his troops. These two days… he shook his head, resigning himself to his fate.
As night fell, he personally went to the position to inspect the personnel deployment. The two sides were too close; if it were any brighter, they could see each other's positions clearly.
Fu Yangshan lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth, taking a bitter drag.
Unbeknownst to him, Rong Xiang was also on the front lines at that moment.
Rong Xiang's intentions and actions were exactly the same as his: he was also checking the personnel's deployment, calculating the arrival time of Fu Jingyuan's reinforcements, and had a cigarette in his mouth.
He exhaled a puff of smoke and gazed at the opposite position.
Then he saw a small red dot. It flashed on and off.
There was only a small red dot, and nothing but the vast darkness of night.
Rong Xiang had a sudden thought, then smiled and spat out the cigarette, drew his gun and aimed steadily.
Snap!
The gunshot rang out sharply in the night. The small red dot suddenly arced through the air, then vanished like a tiny shooting star.
There was some commotion on both sides. Director Chen from the quartermaster department stood to the side, initially puzzled as to why Rong Xiang was firing into thin air. But when he saw the red dot disappear and the commotion from the enemy position grow louder, he realized what was happening and quickly began to flatter and praise, "His marksmanship is divine! His marksmanship is divine!"
Rongxiang smiled, wondering which unlucky person he had hit. Then he turned around and went back to rest.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
