Black Flag Army

Liu Zhenhua asked: "How many people are there on the other side?"

The captain of the guard said: "Three or four hundred people, no more than five hundred."

Liu Zhenhua said angrily: "We have tens of thousands of troops in Zhengzhou City, and they only have a few hundred people. Do you think I can escape? As the commander of the Zhensong Army, do you still have any dignity? Organize resistance immediately, call Liu Maoen and Han Yukun, and ask them to send troops to reinforce. I want to wipe out this bunch of daring thieves."

The captain of the guard was about to answer when there was a sudden loud "bang" and the door was blown away. The captain of the guard who was standing at the door was blown to pieces and died on the spot. The blood splattered on Liu Zhenhua's face. Hongmei on the bed fainted from fright. A group of people shouted and rushed over not far away. Liu Zhenhua was horrified and immediately jumped out of the window and escaped without caring about the unconscious Hongmei, as if he had forgotten the cruel words he had just said.

After Liu Zhendong rushed into Liu Zhenhua's bedroom and questioned the captives, he learned that the woman on the bed was Zhang Yunshan's concubine Le Hongmei, so he ordered her to be taken away. Chi Baimei, who was in another room, was also searched out and taken away. After Chi Baimei was snatched away by the Zhensong Army, Liu Zhenhua gave her to his subordinate, the regiment commander. She was sleeping in the arms of the regiment commander. After being awakened, the regiment commander took out a gun to resist, but was shot dead by Shi Zhu, the company commander of the special forces battalion. Shi Zhu tied Chi Baimei's hands carefully with a rope, and then carried her on his shoulders and took her away. Seeing Chi Baimei's frightened eyes, he comforted her: "Don't be afraid, we are not bandits, we are here to save you."

Chi Baimei didn't believe it at all. She begged, "Please tie me up a little loosely, it's too tight, my hands are purple, it hurts so much."

She used to be a female student in a school in Xi'an and had been robbed many times by warlords and bandits. In her eyes, anyone who kidnapped her was a bandit king.

Shizhu then let her down and loosened the rope around her hands. Chi Baimei quickly said, "Thank you, my king!"

Shi Zhu picked her up again and said, "I have no choice. The binding is too loose, and I'm afraid you'll run away. You're the person the brigade commander has designated to be taken away."

Chi Baimei couldn't help but laugh and said, "Aren't you here to save me? Why are you afraid that I'll run away? You're a strong man with a gun. I'm a weak woman. How could I possibly run away if I fell into your hands?"

Shi Zhu said: "Releasing people can only be done by the bigwigs above. We must take you to Beitang City in Outer Mongolia, and then the commander will decide whether to let you go."

When Chi Baimei heard that she was going to be taken to Outer Mongolia, a cold and desert-filled place, she couldn't help but secretly complain. She thought to herself that she would never be able to come back from Outer Mongolia. Even if that big shot really had the kindness to let her go, would she dare to walk more than a thousand kilometers back alone? Le Hongmei was still in a coma, but she didn't have the same worries as Chi Baimei.

Liu Maoen and Han Yukun, the division commanders of the Zhensong Army, led their respective troops to attack Liu Zhenhua's residence and warehouse from the east and west. Although they were hastily assembled, there were more than 10,000 people, and mountain artillery and infantry artillery also appeared in the team. At this time, there was a roar in the air. Transport planes and fighters joined the battle. Due to the lack of gasoline at the temporary gas station, bombers were not accompanying them. They could only add machine guns and bombs to the transport planes and fighters, and temporarily serve as bombers to participate in the ground attack. Liu Zhendong and Li Fei only brought more than 300 people. If there were no aircraft to help, they would definitely die. Of course, the ammunition carried by the aircraft was limited, and speed was very important at this time.

Under the strafing and bombing of the planes, more than a thousand soldiers of the Zhensong Army were killed or wounded, and the rest retreated to the barracks. In the warehouse of the Zhensong Army, more than 500 carriages loaded with valuables were inside, and the valuables had not been unloaded in time. The people of the special forces camp drove the carriages out of the courtyard and drove to the city gate. Some bulky valuables were abandoned, and the gold, silver and jewelry in Liu Zhenhua's mansion were also looted, with a total value of more than 30 million silver dollars.

Liu Zhenhua was furious when he saw his property being stolen, but there was nothing he could do. The gap in weapons and equipment could not be made up by the gap in numbers.

"Mr. Yuan was 57 years old, had millions of dollars in assets, and once held the power of the emperor. What regrets do you have before your death?"

In early June 1916, the 57-year-old Yuan Shikai's uremia worsened and he was dying. In order to bring good luck, his children and subordinates planned to celebrate his birthday. Although his birthday had not yet arrived and the birthday banquet had not yet been held, the birthday poem in the "Justice Daily" had already arrived, which could also be called a death-threatening poem. Lin Yishui asked Lan Jinchun to write an article "Yuan Shikai's Lifetime Merits and Demerits", which was published on the front page. The article began with the four five-character poems, followed by a narration of his life's deeds, praising his bloody battle against the Japanese army in the Korean palace at the age of 23. But that was the only thing he did, and the rest was full of sins, such as betraying the Reform Party, massacring the Boxers, and signing the "Southeast Self-Preservation" secret agreement...

Yuan Bozi strictly ordered that the contents of the newspapers should not be leaked to Yuan Shikai. However, under the command of Yin Quan, the Beijing Intelligence Group tied a large pile of newspapers to the bottom of a kite and flew it over Yuan's house at night. The thin line tied to the newspapers was broken by the weight of the fall, and hundreds of newspapers flew to every corner of Yuan's house. The next morning, Yuan Shikai woke up from his coma and heard the servants talking about the newspapers. He immediately called the butler and forced him to hand over the newspapers. The butler had no choice but to give him a copy of the newspaper. Yuan Shikai read the newspaper and was furious: "Who is this 'born to be a hero'? I, Yuan Weiting, have made so many contributions to the country in my life. Is this only the 23-year-old?"

The housekeeper said, "Master! The author of the article is trying to anger you, don't take it to heart."

At this time, Yuan Bozi and several of his brothers also came in. Yuan Shikai shouted to them: "Offer a reward. Catch the author of this article and cut him into pieces!"

Yuan Bozi said: "She cannot be caught. She is in Erdenet, Outer Mongolia. She is now the woman of Di Congmo, the leader of the Erdenet warlord."

When Yuan Shikai heard this, he suddenly vomited blood. Everyone hurried to call a doctor. When the doctor arrived, he found that Yuan Shikai had died.

The third son of Yuan said angrily: "This 'born to be a hero' has angered my father to death. I must send people to Outer Mongolia to find out her address and kill her to avenge my father."

In Beitang City, Outer Mongolia, in the dormitory building of Beihai Group, Di Xiong returned home and smiled at Lan Jinchun who was feeding her child: "You are in big trouble now. The newspapers in Beijing said that you angered President Yuan Shikai to death with an article. Yuan Shikai's son and subordinates swore to kill you."

After Lan Jinchun married Di Xiong in June last year, she soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son ten months later. Di Xiong named him Di Jinfeng. The child is now two months old.

Lan Jinchun smiled nonchalantly, "If you want to kill me, just come on. I've been on the Japanese assassination list for a long time. One more killer doesn't matter. That Japanese agent Fang Xiaoyue has always wanted to kill you, and she lost several killers. She was caught by Gu Xingzhi a few days ago. The assassins of the Beiyang government are not even as good as the Japanese. What should I be afraid of?"

Di Xiong sighed, "After Yuan Shikai's death, the internal strife in the Beiyang government became public, and the government fell into disunity. It's a pity that Cai Dongpo got throat cancer and died soon. Otherwise, he might have been able to enter Beijing and become the next ruler. Now that Li Yuanhong, a clay Buddha, is the president, he has no ability to change the chaotic situation."

The next morning, Lan Jinping entered Di Xiong's office and said to him happily, "Just now at the Intelligence Department, I heard from Tian Mengxue that Wu Chunlei is coming back and has already arrived in Baotou. This time he is not leaving, and he has also recruited a group of officers from the 16th Mixed Brigade. Chen Xianglian was so happy to hear the news that she almost went crazy."

Di Xiong said with a smile: "Wu Chunlei is back, Chen Xianglian should be happy, what are you happy about?"

Lan Jinping said, "Chen Xianglian has been the manager of Lanji Hotel. She and I are like sisters. After going through so many hardships, they are finally reunited. Can't I be happy for them? Besides, Wu Chunlei and I were partners in the Eagle Gang. We lived a good life in Beitang, but he lived a hard life alone in the 16th Mixed Brigade. Now that he is back, shouldn't I be happy for him?"

Di Xiong asked, "You don't work at the bank, so why do you always go to the intelligence department? Does the bank president not want to do his job anymore?"

Lan Jinping said, "You can't wrongly accuse me. This time, Tian Mengxue called me for something serious. The last loan fraud case was solved. It was discovered by the Beitang Intelligence Station. The fraudster colluded with Japanese agents to forge materials and cheated me. Most of the stolen money has been recovered. Tian Mengxue notified me to collect the money."

At this time, Chen Xianglian was at the Lanji Hotel, and she said to Wu Chunlei with tears in her eyes, "Are you really not leaving this time? Are you not lying to me?"

Wu Chunlei said, "Of course not. Feng Jishan has been dismissed from the post of commander of the 16th Mixed Brigade. The new commander, Yang Guitang, is a crony of Duan Zhigui. He started a big purge as soon as he took office. He dismissed all of us officers above the battalion level promoted by Feng Jishan and promoted his cronies to replace us. If we want to continue to serve, we have to give him a big gift. Jiang Hongyu, Feng Anbang, and Liu Ruming had nowhere to go after being driven out of the barracks. Even eating became a problem. Because of their participation in the National Protection Army, the 16th Brigade was owed military pay by Beiyang for several months, and they had wives and children to support, so they spent all their savings. I told them about Beitang City and invited them to Beitang, and they came here with nowhere to go."

Chen Xianglian pinched him hard and said, "Just don't leave! If you leave again, your son won't recognize you."

Like Wu Chunfeng, Wu Chunlei got married two years ago. Last year, Chen Xianglian gave birth to a son for him, and Xu Meixi gave birth to twins, two daughters, before her. Wu Chunfeng is the youngest of the five young men of the Flying Eagles, but he got married the earliest and had children the earliest.

Di Xiong held a sumptuous banquet at the Lanji Hotel to welcome Wu Chunlei and the dozen officers he brought with him. Jiang Hongyu, Feng Anbang, Liu Ruming and others were very nervous when they met Di Xiong for the first time. After Wu Chunlei introduced the two parties, Jiang Hongyu said, "We have so many people here at once. If Commander Di can't make arrangements for a while, we can serve as low-level officers first, such as platoon leaders. After all, we have just arrived and have not made any achievements."

Upon hearing this, Di Xiong laughed and said, "Chief of Staff Jiang is too modest. You are the chief of staff of the 16th Huncheng Brigade, but you only serve as a platoon leader in Beitang City. Brother Feng will scold me to death if he finds out. Don't worry, your position has been arranged. You will be in the First Brigade of the Justice Army and will still be the chief of staff. The ranks of other officers will not change. I will never let you suffer any loss. After all, you are all Wu Chunlei's brothers. You came to Beitang because you trust him. You even brought your families with you. How can I let you suffer any loss?"

Wu Chunlei said to Jiang Hongyu: "The Justice Army has four brigades in total, and the First Brigade is the most elite one."

When Jiang Hongyu heard this, he was so moved that his eyes became moist. Feng Anbang, Liu Ruming and others were also very moved. They all felt that this choice was the right one. As the commander of the Black Flag Army, Di Xiong was indeed a man of great righteousness as Wu Chunlei said. The most important thing was that he made Bei Tang City very prosperous. When they were shopping just now, they followed Wu Chunlei to Zhengqing Commercial Company. They were stunned by the abundance of goods and the low prices there. They took out the vouchers Wu Chunlei lent them and bought many things.

When everyone sat down to drink, Di Xiong asked about Feng Jishan's recent situation. Wu Chunlei said, "After being dismissed, Commander Feng was transferred to the Sixth Patrol Brigade of Zhili Province as the brigade commander. He was only allowed to take one guard company with him. After he arrived, he found that the so-called Sixth Patrol Brigade only had four companies, and it was not fully staffed, with only more than 300 people. The key point was that these soldiers were all old and heavy smokers, and it was impossible to train them. Commander Feng could only take them to plant trees."

Jiang Hongyu was a senior officer after all, so he knew more. He said, "Brigade Commander Feng was hated by the Deputy Army Minister Xu Shuzheng because of his participation in the National Protection Army. In addition to withholding the food and military pay of the 16th Brigade, he also repeatedly persuaded the Prime Minister Duan Qirui, who was also the Chief of the Army, to remove Brigade Commander Feng from his position. However, Duan Qirui knew Brigade Commander Feng's ability very well and thought that talents were rare, so he refused to remove him. Xu Shuzheng thought of a trick. After Duan Qirui drank, he wrote a document to remove Brigade Commander Feng from his position, and gave it to Duan Qirui for signature along with other documents. Duan Qirui, who was drunk, didn't care and signed it casually, so Brigade Commander Feng was removed. Later, Duan Qirui heard about this and blamed Xu Shuzheng, but Xu Shuzheng was his confidant after all, so he had to give him face and couldn't reinstate him, so he gave the position of Brigade Commander of the 6th Patrol Brigade of Zhili Province to Brigade Commander Feng. The reason was that the military pay and public expenses of the Patrol Brigade were high, with 1,300 oceans per month, while the Brigade Commander of the 16th Mixed Brigade only had 900 oceans."

Di Xiong sighed, "With Xu Shuzheng's army department in Beijing interfering, Brother Feng is having a hard time!"

Di Xiong recalled that some people in later generations still called Xu Shuzheng a hero who recovered Outer Mongolia. Even Dr. Sun from Guangdong was deceived by his self-promotional words, calling him "the Ban Chao of the present age." Ban Chao's achievements were achieved with swords and guns. Did Xu Shuzheng fire a single shot from entering Outer Mongolia to leaving Outer Mongolia? The real hero who recovered Outer Mongolia in history was Chen Yi, the Outer Mongolian envoy. After four years of arduous negotiations from 1915 to 1919, Chen finally persuaded the Kulun government of Outer Mongolia to completely give up independence and allow the Beiyang government to station troops and officials in Outer Mongolia. In 1919, after Xu Shuzheng led a brigade to Outer Mongolia, he messed up some things and aggravated the contradictions between Mongolians and Han people.