Chapter 25
He had been staying in a row of bungalows near the front lines. Several days of heavy snow had left the ground intermittently thawing and freezing, forming a layer of ice. He struggled to walk, relying on a soldier for support, slipping and sliding with every step. The soldier seemed somewhat afraid of him, stretching out his arm as he supported him, trying to maintain a safe distance. Rong Xiang stumbled three times after walking ten meters. Turning back to see the soldier's frightened appearance, he felt a surge of anger and abruptly shook him off, saying, "Call Xiao Meng over here."
The orderly, having received his order, gave a quick "Yes!" and ran off. Less than two minutes later, Xiao Meng indeed returned briskly. He had probably been suddenly called out; he was only wearing a black suit, but didn't seem particularly cold, suggesting he was in excellent health. Standing beside Rong Xiang, he placed one hand under Rong Xiang's armpit to support him, and with the other hand, he pulled and carried Rong Xiang back into the room.
The brazier inside the room was burning brightly, and a wave of heat hit you as soon as you entered. Xiao Meng reached out and took off his military cap, shook off the snow, and placed it on the table to the side. Then she began to unbutton his overcoat.
Rong Xiang slightly raised his head, gazing at the half-rotten rafters on the roof. For some reason, he felt a strange emptiness in his heart. Fu Jingyuan was coming soon, he thought. Once he arrived, it would be war—this time he was sure to lose. He hoped Fu Jingyuan would surrender immediately, without resistance. Even if Fu Jingyuan surrendered, he could still be a wealthy young master in Xi'an, or continue his official career if he wanted. He wouldn't make things difficult for Fu Jingyuan; Fu Jingyuan was a good man, at least he had always been good to him. This time he had brought down Fu Jingyuan's elder brother, Fu Jingyuan would definitely cause trouble for him, but he had to give in to Fu Jingyuan; he was in the wrong… If he just treated Fu Jingyuan well… He liked him so much, he wouldn't hold a grudge for long…
Xiao Meng squatted down to unbutton the last button, then stood up to help him take off his coat.
Rongxiang stared blankly at the roof, his thoughts swirling in a jumbled mess: If he resolutely refuses to surrender, I'll have no choice but to keep fighting, but what if he gets killed? --- It shouldn't come to that, I can't just kill him. I can talk to him properly and we can always make up...
Just as he was lost in thought, the door was suddenly kicked open with a bang, and Director Chen from the quartermaster department leaned against the door, panting heavily: "They...they killed them!"
Rongxiang was startled: "Who?"
"Fu Yangshan!"
"What?"
Director Chen straightened up this time and repeated his words: "Your shot just now killed Fu Yangshan! I just got the news!" He pointed towards the trench: "The one smoking was Fu Yangshan!"
Rongxiang grabbed the coat from Xiao Meng and hurriedly put it on: "How's it going over there?"
"It didn't get too chaotic. It was noisy for a while, but now it's quiet again."
"Go tell Commander Li to prepare for the attack!"
"yes."
At this moment, the wind and snow outside intensified. Not long after Director Chen left, Regiment Commander Li ran over and complained bitterly, saying that some soldiers had already lost fingers and ears to frostbite and were simply unable to fight! Moreover, the supply of ammunition was also insufficient, and bullets were now in short supply.
Just as Rong Xiang was about to speak after hearing his story, the artillery regiment arrived, braving the wind and snow, to complain about the extremely poor quality of their shells, which failed to explode upon hitting the enemy's position. Hearing this, Rong Xiang was taken aback and immediately ordered Regiment Commander Li, "Go and fetch Old Yan from the ordnance department!"
Seeing that he seemed to have put the attack behind him, Commander Li breathed a sigh of relief and turned to run to the ordnance depot.
That very evening, the Ordnance Department and the Artillery Regiment got into an argument in Rongxiang's room. Each side had three to five people. One side accused the other of embezzling military funds to buy fake shells, while the other complained about limited funding and the fact that shells from nearby arsenals were of similar quality—how dare they make such baseless accusations? Seeing Rongxiang standing by indifferently, not intervening, they became even more eager to refute the other side and prove their own innocence. The room erupted in shouting and chaos.
Just as things were getting lively, an adjutant ran in and shouted, "Reporting, Commander! Fu Jingyuan's army is coming! They should arrive at Hutouyi by tomorrow night!"
The room immediately fell silent.
Rong Xiang's face immediately darkened, and he strode up to the adjutant: "What's going on?"
"Brigade Commander Zhao was attacked by Hui guerrillas before he could even set up roadblocks, and they have all been killed! The Fu family is now heading straight for Hutouyi!"
Rongxiang turned around and scanned the people in the room: "Keep arguing! Keep arguing, everyone!"
His face turned ashen with rage: "They're all useless! So many men, and they have no other skills, not even knowing how to blow up a road? They all died, they deserved to die! We haven't even taken Tiger Head Post Station yet, and Fu Jingyuan has already caught up with his men!"
"I told you long ago not to mess with those Hui people, and now, the Hui guerrillas have indeed helped Fu Jingyuan!"
The words came out abruptly. Everyone looked towards the door and saw Gu Wenqian, who had arrived at some point. He leaned against the doorframe, a half-smile on his face, his tone icy.
Rong Xiang pursed his lips: "What brilliant idea does Chief of Staff Gu have?"
Gu Wenqian frowned: "I don't have any brilliant ideas. I'm just here on behalf of everyone to petition you: could you please stop the fighting?"
What nonsense are you spouting?
"The soldiers are starving and cold, and have been fighting for two days straight without sleep. They can't take it anymore. Third Master, my commander, they've been with the Rong family all these years, all the way from Manchuria. It hasn't been easy for them. You have to give them a way to survive. If they die, there won't even be anyone to collect their bodies."
Rong Xiang waved to the rest of the group, signaling them to leave first. Then he took a step back and slumped into a chair: "Why is Chief of Staff Gu being so righteous today? Aren't soldiers supposed to risk their lives? You saw them being killed, but why didn't you see them killing others?"
"If it were up to them, no one would want to kill or be killed. Third Master, you are their master, and they should listen to you, but don't you have any pity for your men? Fu Jingyuan brought another ten thousand men this time, and the news of Fu Yangshan's death will reach his ears soon. Do you think he will let it go? His ten thousand men ate and drank their fill in the city before coming here, while we have been enduring two or three months in this freezing cold. If you calculate it this way, even though we have more people, we won't gain much advantage. Since we can't finish this quickly, if we have to fight a protracted war, we'll freeze and starve to death without anyone even having to kill us!"
Rong Xiang took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Xiao Meng!" Then he turned to Gu Wenqian: "Wait a moment, I'll talk to you later."
Gu Wenqian nodded, watching Xiao Meng give him the injection with a relaxed expression. This injection was quite complicated, as the sleeve had to be rolled up all the way to the shoulder to insert the needle into a vein in the upper arm. The vein in his forearm was almost raw from the needle pricks. Perhaps because his skin was too delicate, its healing ability was extremely poor; a single puncture wound would take two or three days to completely heal. At this rate, he was practically using his limited skin to deal with an endless number of needle marks.
Two minutes later, he regained his composure. While fastening his cufflinks, he looked up and continued the conversation: "Soldiers inevitably suffer hardships and injuries in war. Otherwise, what's the point of having them as soldiers?"
"But superiors should also be considerate of their subordinates. They haven't been paid in a long time, and they're destitute. No wonder they caused trouble in Xi'an back then!"
"Pay them wages, pay them wages? Do you think I don't want to pay them? How am I supposed to pay them? My family's property is all in Fengtian. Do you expect me to go and ask the Japanese for it back now? Do you think I'm hiding the money so my soldiers can go begging and robbing?"
"Your entourage in Xi'an back then was quite extravagant! If you had saved the money you spent on entertaining the dancers, it would have been enough to pay them for several months! The officials were indulging in lavish lifestyles while the soldiers were eating chaff. Weren't you afraid they would mutiny?"
"Don't try to scare me with this mutiny tactic—" At this point, Rong Xiang's expression suddenly changed, and his gaze swept back and forth between Gu Wenqian several times: "What do you mean?"
Gu Wenqian shrugged: "I'll just tell you that if officials force the people to rebel, the same logic applies to generals forcing soldiers to rebel. The difference is that the people don't have guns, but the soldiers do."
Rong Xiang stared directly at Gu Wenqian, his gaze gradually sharpening: "Are you going to rebel?"
Gu Wenqian bowed slightly: "Third Master, let's stop fighting. Even if you're thinking of these brothers below, let's go back to Tongguan. I know you're unwilling to stay there, but there's plenty of time in the future. It's not worth letting these soldiers freeze to death in this icy wasteland right now."
Rong Xiang nodded, then laughed angrily, "Fine, fine. Gu Wenqian, you're something else, now you dare to pressure me. You've got more guts than Yi Zhongming, you've got guts!"
"Third Master, please don't say that. I'm not risking my life to tell you this for my own benefit. But you've really gone too far. We only exist because of our soldiers. Without them, we're just a commander without troops, nothing at all. Don't you agree?"
"I'm saying, I'll kill you first, then I'll retreat to Tongguan and wait for the New Year. Are you willing to die for everyone?"
Gu Wenqian shook his head, seemingly disappointed: "Third Master, not to be rude, but you're still too young to be talking like a child."
Rong Xiang's lips twitched, then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a gun, and carefully aimed it at Gu Wenqian's chest: "What, you think I'm joking?"
Gu Wenqian turned around and pushed open the door. By the light shining from inside the room, two rows of long spears were pointed at the room, ready to be fired.
"How about it?" Gu Wenqian turned to look at Rong Xiang: "If I die, you'll still have to stay with me."
Rong Xiang maintained his aiming stance, but his mind raced. Without a doubt, Gu Wenqian was the mastermind. What he couldn't be sure of now was whether these people outside were truly loyal to him. If not, then if he shot him dead, they might not dare to retaliate without a leader. But he couldn't just fire a shot to test the waters.
But since Gu Wenqian dared to go this far today, it was clearly something he had planned for a long time. Even if he didn't act today, he wouldn't let him off the hook later. With the two of them so estranged, how could they possibly work together in the future?
Thinking of this, Rongxiang suddenly pulled the trigger.
He could only helplessly attribute what happened next to fate.
He had just taken morphine and should have been in peak condition, but somehow, his wrist went limp the moment he pulled the trigger, and the bullet aimed at his brow struck his chest instead. In a panic, he fired several more shots, all missing their mark; one hit Gu Wenqian in the stomach, and another struck a soldier at the door. Almost simultaneously, Xiao Meng rushed forward and tackled him to the ground, followed by a volley of bullets hitting the brick wall behind them.
Gu Wenqian pressed his stomach, frowning and rubbing it. The bullet's impact was strong; even through his bulletproof vest, it still caused him considerable pain. He raised his hand to stop the soldiers behind him. He slowly walked to Rong Xiang's side: "Lieutenant Meng, get up. Third Master and I haven't finished our conversation yet."
Xiao Meng didn't even look at him, and quickly got up and stood to the side.
Rong Xiang lay on his back on the ground, propping himself up with his elbows as he tried to get up, but Gu Wenqian suddenly raised his right foot, which was wearing a military boot, and gently stepped on his chest. At the same time, he turned around and said, "Lieutenant Meng, please close the door."
Xiao Meng walked over with an indifferent expression, closed the door tightly, and then stood beside it.
"Third Master, you really are ruthless, shooting without warning." After saying that, he suddenly stomped hard, causing Rongxiang's back to slam into the ground with a thud.
"Gu Wenqian...you dare..."
“What do I have to be afraid of? I, Gu Wenqian, am not afraid of anyone except Mr. Yi and your old man.”
Rongxiang was both anxious and angry. He raised his hand and pushed hard on his calf: "Don't you know what timing is? Even if we kill all those soldiers at Hutouyi, they won't all die. But if we miss the opportunity, it will be difficult to deal with the Fu family again... What are you doing making trouble at a time like this?"
Gu Wenqian glanced at Xiao Meng by the door out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the man was staring blankly at Rong Xiang, who was struggling at his feet, seemingly with no intention of helping. As for Rong Xiang—a poetic metaphor popped into Gu Wenqian's mind: like a white lily pinned to the ground by a nail. That pitiful little strength… He could almost imagine that if he pressed down even a little harder, Rong Xiang's fragile frame would crack and shatter into a pile of tiny white porcelain fragments.
"Third Master, save your energy. I wouldn't have come here rashly if I didn't have an absolute chance of victory. Who in the army still wants to fight now? I'm afraid it's only you."
Rong Xiang released his grip as if all his strength had left him, his face as pale as paper, his long, deep eyes burning with an intense, desperate black flame: "You...you've ruined me...my life is ruined by you...you son of a bitch! Kill me, or I won't let you go!"
Gu Wenqian smiled and said, "Third Master, you're overthinking it. If you don't kill me, I won't kill you first. After all, there's no deep-seated hatred between us. To put it bluntly, we just don't want to become cannon fodder because you want to take our territory."
Rongxiang's face showed disgust, and he weakly raised his hand: "What do you want to do next?"
"I want you to announce a ceasefire and withdraw your troops to Tongguan, that's all."
"impossible!"
What if I force you to do that?
"Go ahead and kill me if you dare! You think I'll declare a ceasefire and withdraw my troops? Absolutely not!"
"Such a tough tone? I wonder what gives you the right to be so tough. But what I'm most curious about is how long you can hold out without begging for mercy when I stop your morphine."
After saying this, he watched with satisfaction as Rong Xiang's expression slowly turned terrified.
"Even if we stop fighting here, what about Fu Jingyuan?"
“Fu Jingyuan is easy to deal with. Even if he is eager to avenge his brother, it is not worth risking his life and fortune. We are unwilling to fight, and he is even less willing to fight.”
Rongxiang let out a breath and remained silent for a long time.
Gu Wenqian grew impatient and pressed his foot down a little harder. Looking at Rong Xiang, who was struggling on the ground like a live fish, he threatened again, "Third Master, just say the word and let the brothers go back."
In his memory, Rong Xiang, who was usually pampered and spoiled, should have given in after being bullied and intimidated like this. But no sooner had he finished speaking than Rong Xiang turned his head, closed his eyes, and replied breathlessly, "I can't say that. And don't say anything else... The soldiers will go with you... I can't help it... But I myself... will absolutely not order a retreat..."
Gu Wenqian stroked his chin thoughtfully, then raised his foot: "You brought this on yourself, so don't blame me. I'll take my men back to Tongguan now. As for you, since you refuse to leave, I'll leave you with Fu Jingyuan—he just happened to lose his older brother for no reason, so he has to give him some explanation, right?"
Rong Xiang pressed one hand to his chest and used the other to push himself up, swaying as he stood. After hearing Gu Wenqian's words, he coughed lightly and then sneered, "Kill me then."
Before he could finish speaking, his legs suddenly gave way, and he was about to collapse to the ground. Gu Wenqian instinctively grabbed his arm and forcefully pushed him onto the chair next to him.
"No wonder you're so eager to die. With your corroded and hollow body, even if I don't kill you, you won't live much longer, will you?"
Rong Xiang looked up at him, his eyes clear and bright, the whites almost bluish. He seemed to lack even the strength to clench his teeth, his voice weak and feeble: "I never imagined that you would be the one to ruin me in the end. All my scheming and plotting to take over this mess from the old man has been for nothing. I have nothing more to say, only that fate has decreed my demise. I would rather die than be captured!"
Gu Wenqian sighed, drew his revolver from his waist, chambered a bullet, and gently placed it on the table: "Then please. I will cover all the expenses for your wife in Tongguan. I will not let her suffer."
Rongxiang raised his hand, picked up the gun, and pointed it at his temple.
Xiao Meng suddenly took a step forward: "Third Master, you-------"
Rong Xiang nodded to him: "Don't come any closer. Wait to collect my corpse. If you hand me over to someone else, what if they drag me to feed the dogs?" Having said this, he closed his eyes, giving himself no time to think, and resolutely pulled the trigger.
With a "click".
Tap again, and it still makes a crisp "click" sound.
No bullets?
Gu Wenqian's voice suddenly rang out: "Third Master, I said I wouldn't kill you, and I never will. But from now on, I have to change my opinion of you. You're a true man for facing death without fear!"
When Fu Jingyuan arrived at Hutouyi, Fu Yangshan's body had already been cleaned up by his confidants and temporarily placed in that residence.
Fortunately, the weather was cold, and the body showed no signs of decay. Lifting the white cloth from the head, Fu Yangshan's face was ashen, his eyes fixed on Fu Jingyuan above him. He died with his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
The bullet entered through his mouth and exited through the back of his neck. So at first glance, there were no visible gunshot wounds. Only his upper and lower front teeth were knocked out, making his slightly open mouth appear as a dark hole.
For a moment, Fu Jingyuan was dazed. His older brother usually slept with his mouth open, snoring loudly and incessantly. But now, he was sleeping peacefully.
His adjutant followed closely behind, fearing that his overwhelming grief might lead him to do something unexpected. However, he remained unusually calm, scrutinizing his elder brother's attire from head to toe before pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Fu Yangshan. Then, he cupped his head in his hands and weakly dismissed everyone around him.
People often say that an elder brother is like a father, but he hadn't felt this deeply before. Now, looking back, he has many feelings about it.
He lost his father at a young age. His eldest brother was the head of the family. From childhood to adulthood, they were two completely different people.
They had incompatible interests and aspirations. The younger brother studied abroad and earned a high degree. The older brother, however, could never even write a coherent letter. The younger brother was a modern young man, while the older brother was a rough and uncouth soldier. When the two sat together, they simply had nothing to say to each other.
Fu Jingyuan realized that he had never truly cared about his elder brother. His life over the past twenty-odd years had been one of carefree indulgence. And wasn't that carefree indulgence based solely on his elder brother's support?
He never cared where the money came from. His father was a spendthrift, leaving behind many small mansions, concubines, and numerous creditors who dared not come to collect their debts. He had very little legitimate money.
Back when he was abroad, he was a famously wealthy playboy. Without him even asking, Fu Yangshan would send him money monthly. As the money piled up, he forgot where it came from. Later, when he returned to China and learned that it was all money his elder brother had swindled from him, he expressed utter contempt.
He was always being scolded by Fu Yangshan because he refused to come back and learn proper business from him. Fu Yangshan still had no son, and his entire fortune was going to Fu Jingyuan, so seeing him loitering around and being cold and indifferent to people only made him angry and frustrated. He was genuinely angry; he would sit on the sofa, panting, and if he saw Fu Jingyuan, he would start a fight, yelling and threatening. He was twenty years older than Fu Jingyuan, and deep down, he probably didn't consider him an equal.
Fu Jingyuan pressed his forehead hard. His mind was a jumbled mess, and he could barely lift his head. His heart sank with his head—like a huge boulder was hanging from it. It was almost impossible to breathe. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
This living, breathing older brother, his only family member, is gone.
He sat in the mourning hall until midnight, when suddenly he choked out a sob from deep in his throat, and then tears streamed down his face like broken beads, one after another.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
