Black Flag Army

Di Xiong said: "This is what I promised Liu Xikui. We should do this. Let's put her in the guesthouse first. I will go to visit her tomorrow."

After Tian Mengxue left, Di Xiong asked his secretary Huo Qingtong: "Has the Air Force reported the casualties?"

Huo Qingtong said: "It has been reported that we lost 105 fighter planes last night, and only shot down more than 70 enemy planes. Because we were fighting at night and were unfamiliar with the situation in Lushun, we were ambushed by Japanese planes. This is the worst loss we have suffered since the air battle."

Di Xiong sighed and said, "This is a serious loss. It is entirely my fault. Tian Mengxue reminded me, but I still wanted to give it a try. I didn't expect the Japanese Air Force in Lushun to be so strong."

When he thought of Lushun, he thought of Leng Hanbing’s death, and his tears started to flow again.

There were 52 people in the action team, but only three of them escaped alive, and Liu Zhendong was seriously injured. The heavy loss was mainly due to the lack of air support. In fact, Di Xiong sent out the air force, sending most of the fighter planes from Beihai Province and Beiling Province, a total of more than 300 fighters and bombers, but faced more than 500 Japanese planes. The Black Flag Air Force never broke through the Japanese air defense line, but the bombing of the bombers on the edge of Lushun caused chaos in Lushun, giving Liu Zhendong and Liu Tainan the opportunity to escape back to the submarine.

Tian Mengxue carefully pushed open the door of Lan Jinping's office, walked to Lan Jinping's side lightly, and whispered to her: "Sister Lan, if you have free time, you'd better go to Di Juzi to have a good talk. The sudden death of Director Leng really dealt a huge blow to him. Just now, he cried so sadly that it was heartbreaking to hear. I have never seen him cry like that. It's so distressing."

Lan Jinping raised her head, looked at Tian Mengxue, and asked in confusion: "Why did you think of asking me to persuade him? Wouldn't it be more effective if Di Juzi's godsister Xian Yuji persuaded him? After all, the relationship between them is closer."

Tian Mengxue quickly explained with a smile: "Oh, Sister Lan, you don't know this! You are a famous female Guiguzi here! You are much smarter than Xian Yuji, and you especially know how to comfort people. Xian Yuji, she can only act coquettishly and cute in front of Di Juzi, and maybe Di Juzi will have to comfort her in return! So, this kind of thing still depends on you!"

Lan Jinping sighed heavily, her eyes filled with endless sorrow and regret, and she said slowly: "Leng Hanbing's departure is also a heavy blow to me. His death has brought huge losses to the Justice Party! However, as the supreme leader of the Justice Party, Di Xiong cannot always be trapped in grief. I'd better go and persuade him."

Lan Jinping walked into Di Xiong's office with a firm step. As soon as she entered the door, she saw Di Xiong's red and swollen eyes. It was obvious that he had been crying for a long time. She gently signaled Huo Qingtong to go out first, then walked to Di Xiong and said to him gently: "I heard that you cried so sadly. You are the leader of the Justice Party. You must learn to control your emotions. Otherwise, how will others see you? Leng Hanbing's death made each of us feel the pain of a knife cutting our hearts, but the dead are gone. Once a person dies, he can never be resurrected. Excessive sadness will not help."

Di Xiong raised his head, tears still welling up in his eyes. He answered in a trembling voice, "I am not a god. I am just an ordinary person. I also have joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. Buddhists once said that there are eight kinds of suffering in life: the suffering of birth, the suffering of aging, the suffering of illness, the suffering of death, the suffering of separation from loved ones, the suffering of lingering resentment, the suffering of unsatisfied desires, and the suffering of clinging to certain things and not being able to let go. I can't easily overcome any of these eight difficulties."

Lan Jinping said: "Since Bai Xiuling passed away last year, Leng Hanbing's soul has been taken away by her, leaving only an empty body. He is disheartened and has become disgusted with the world. When he attends meetings, he usually doesn't say a word. As the commander of the Cheetah Column, he could have not gone to the assassination of the Kwantung Army Commander this time, but he was eager for revenge and insisted on going. In fact, he had already conceived the intention of dying. At the Kwantung Army Headquarters in Lushun, he had the opportunity to escape, but he insisted on leaving the hope of life to Liu Zhendong. This is his own choice, so you don't have to be too sad."

Di Xiong sighed deeply, his tone full of regret and self-blame: "Leng Hanbing died heroically, and poor Leng Zongbao has since become a lonely orphan. Back then, the first six founders of our Xihe Society were all orphans with miserable life stories! At that time, we made a vow that we would never let the next generation repeat the same mistakes and become orphans again. However, things did not go as we wished, and this heartbreaking situation eventually occurred."

Lan Jinping said with a firm look, "Let me adopt him instead of sending him to an orphanage. After all, he is about the same age as Li Hansheng. I am willing to be his stepmother and raise these two children together."

Di Xiong couldn't help but worry: "But as a widow, it's not easy for you to raise two children alone, and you have such high expectations for your future partner. I'm afraid it will be difficult to find a good husband to marry."

Lan Jinping said, "If you can't get married, then don't get married. I'm already over 30 years old, and it's fine for me to raise my children alone. Anyway, I have two sons to support me in my old age."

At night, a hospital in downtown Tianjin was brightly lit, and the atmosphere was particularly tense and depressing. Cao Zhongshan, who was shot in the leg, was lying on the bed groaning in pain. Cao Siying, who was standing beside him, comforted him and said, "Brother! The doctor has successfully removed the bullet. He also said that the injury is not too serious. As long as you rest for ten days or half a month, you will be able to recover and be discharged from the hospital." After hearing this, Cao Zhongshan breathed a sigh of relief, but then he asked angrily, "Has the hateful murderer been caught?" Cao Siying shook his head helplessly and replied, "The murderer is really cunning! He actually hid in a small building far away from us and shot. When Wang Tiezheng led the guards to the scene in a hurry, he had already run away without a trace, leaving only a sniper rifle. And I heard from Director Wu of the Police Department that this gun was made by the Beihai Gun Factory. So it seems that this incident was most likely the work of the Black Flag Army!"

Cao Zhongshan clenched his teeth tightly, his facial muscles tense, and said in a firm tone: "The 200,000-man army has been assembled. Order the commander Wu Ziyu to send troops immediately to conquer Mengdong Province and Beihai Province and kill that cunning guy Di Xiong!"

At this time, counselors Wang Kemin and Li Yanqing happened to walk into the ward carrying a basket of fruit each. Hearing Cao Zhongshan's words, Wang Kemin quickly said, "General! Wu Ziyu is ill and cannot send troops at the moment."

Cao Siying responded angrily, "He is just pretending to be sick! This guy must be pretending to be sick on purpose. Last time, he was asked to lead the army to Beihai Province to serve as the governor, but he refused to go and even said nonsense like Yue Fei and Qin Hui to shirk his responsibility. Since he became the deputy inspector, he has become more and more disobedient. In my opinion, such a person is not worthy of being an official at all."

Wang Kemin said: "I went to Wu's house to visit him. He really wasn't pretending to be sick. His face was red and his forehead was feverish. The doctor said that he had tracheitis caused by a cold and his high fever wouldn't go away."

Cao Zhongshan scolded Cao Siying: "Old Si! Stop talking nonsense. You are judging others by your own mean character. Wu Ziyu would never do that." Cao Zhongshan was born into a cloth-selling family and had little education, but he loved to show off his knowledge and could only say half of the famous sayings he quoted.

Li Yanqing frowned and said, "General Wu Ziyu is now ill. His condition is so serious that we don't know when he will recover. This is a big problem! We can't just sit there and wait with our 200,000-man army! In my opinion, someone must step forward to carry the banner. I suggest that the Fourth Marshal take on this heavy responsibility and lead the army to conquer the Black Flag Army. With him, we will surely be victorious and successful!"

The "fourth commander" mentioned here actually refers to Cao Siying himself. He is the fourth among his brothers and sisters, and he also shoulders the important position of Zhili Governor, so people around him respectfully call him "fourth commander" to distinguish him from Cao Zhongshan. Cao Zhongshan asked, "Do you think the fourth commander is competent?" From his tone, it can be clearly felt that he does not have much confidence in Cao Siying.

Li Yanqing said firmly: "Of course, this is a piece of cake! The current Sishuai is no longer the same as before. He devotes himself to studying the art of war all day long and can recite the "Art of War" by heart. Moreover, most of the 200,000 troops going out this time are from the Zhili region. Sishuai himself is the governor of Zhili, and these soldiers are all his old subordinates. If he commands and dispatches them personally, it will be as easy as using one's arm to move, and it will be twice the result with half the effort. On the other hand, the Black Flag Army needs to mobilize a large number of troops to prevent the invasion of Tsarist Russia and Japan, and it is difficult to withdraw enough troops to compete with us. In addition, we have American fighter planes to assist in the battle, and defeating the Black Flag Army is a piece of cake."

Cao Zhongshan turned to ask Wang Kemin for his opinion: "Old Wang, what do you think?" Wang Kemin nodded slightly and responded: "In my opinion, the four generals are both wise and brave, and have experienced many battles. They are indeed talented generals. Wu Ziyu is good at using troops, but if we rely on him every time we fight a war, it will inevitably encourage his arrogance. In comparison, it is safer and more reliable to employ our own confidants."

Cao Zhongshan looked at Cao Siying in front of him, his eyes revealing a hint of doubt and expectation. He asked softly: "Fourth brother, are you really confident in your role as the head coach?"

Cao Siying was overjoyed in his heart, but pretended to be calm on the surface, and quickly responded: "Brother, I am full of confidence! If you entrust me with an important task and let me be the commander-in-chief, I will definitely go all out to help you take back Beihai Province and Mengdong Province, and will never let you down!"

At this moment, Cao Zhongshan did not realize that the two important advisers had been bribed by Cao Shiying. After careful consideration, he finally made up his mind to appoint Cao Siying as the commander-in-chief and planned to hold a grand oath-taking ceremony three days later to officially kick off the Northern Expedition.

Then, Cao Zhongshan called the guard captain Wang Tiezheng and temporarily assigned him to Cao Shiying's side to protect his personal safety. This transfer may be due to his trust and respect for Cao Shiying, or it may have other implications.

In the inner house of Wu Mansion, Wu Ziyu sat upright on the armchair, his eyes sparkling with wisdom. A servant beside him respectfully presented a heavy gold bar to him. Wu Ziyu took it with a smile, then handed the gold bar to Doctor Lu standing on the other side.

"Doctor Lu, thanks to you for cooperating with me in this great show. I hope you will accept this small gift." Wu Ziyu said sincerely.

Doctor Lu smiled widely, bowed and thanked Wu Ziyu repeatedly. He took the gold bar with trembling hands, carefully put it in his arms, and thanked Wu Ziyu again before turning around and leaving.

After Dr. Lu left, Zhang Qihuang, the trusted adviser and chief of staff who had been standing next to him, said, "Marshal Yu, I just received news that Marshal Cao has decided to appoint his brother, Marshal Cao Si, as the commander-in-chief of the 200,000-man army. Will you cause Marshal Cao's dissatisfaction by deliberately claiming illness to refuse the position of commander-in-chief?"

Zhang Qihuang's face revealed a trace of worry. He knew that the officialdom was like a battlefield, and one wrong step would lead to many wrong steps. As a representative of a faction, every decision made by Wu Ziyu could affect the future of himself and the entire team.

Wu Ziyu said: "Knowing that we will lose this battle, why go and die in vain? Let Cao Shiying be the commander, the defeat will be even more miserable! Maybe the whole army will be wiped out."

Zhang Qihuang said: "Is the Black Flag Army really that powerful? They have also suffered defeats in battles with the Japanese. I heard that their air force suffered a great loss in the attack on Lushun this time, losing more than a hundred planes. And last time, the Japanese actually sneaked into Beitang City and assassinated a high-ranking Mohist."

Wu Ziyu took out a copy of the Justice Daily and handed it to him, saying, "The Black Flag Army is so powerful, haven't you read the newspaper? The high-ranking Mohist was called Bai Xiuling, Di Xiong's ex-girlfriend. She was not assassinated, but after being captured, she used her teeth to detonate a grenade and died together with the Japanese agents. Her death was extremely tragic. In order to avenge his ex-girlfriend, Di Xiong sent people to the heavily guarded Lushun Pro-Eastern Army Headquarters to assassinate the Kwantung Army Commander. In the eyes of others, this was a crazy act of suicide, a complete waste of life, but they actually succeeded."

Zhang Qihuang said: "I know about this. They paid a huge price. Even their most powerful killer, the cold-blooded devil, was involved."

Wu Ziyu said: "But they succeeded in assassinating the commander of the Kwantung Army, Tachibana Koichiro, and shocked the world again. The people of the country are proud of them, and many people have become Di Xiong's admirers. Those Japanese ronin in Beijing are no longer as crazy as before. If I agree to be the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Meng Province in the Northern Expedition, I might be assassinated by Di Xiong's crazy admirers when I walk on the street one day."

Three days later, the sun was shining brightly and the breeze was blowing. The Zhili Army's Northern Expedition Swearing-in Ceremony was held in a warm atmosphere, with colorful flags flying and soldiers lined up in neat formations, full of energy. The new commander, Cao Shiying, stood on the podium, ready to deliver an exciting speech.

Just as he began to speak, suddenly, a burst of gunfire broke the silence. People looked in horror and saw the guard captain Wang Tiezheng holding a pistol and firing three shots at Cao Shiying in succession. Each shot was extremely accurate and hit Cao Shiying's vital parts. Cao Shiying's eyes widened and he fell dead in a pool of blood. The whole audience was in an uproar and shocked. What Wu Ziyu said unintentionally three days ago was unfortunately true.

The soldiers watched this scene in amazement. They couldn't believe their eyes. Wang Tiezheng's behavior confused and frightened everyone. Why did he assassinate the commander? This sudden incident threw the whole scene into chaos. People panicked and didn't know how to deal with it.

At the same time, other guards reacted quickly, rushed to Wang Tiezheng, pinned him down and tied him up. But Wang Tiezheng was not afraid, he shouted loudly: "Long live the Black Flag Army!"

In the chaos, the news spread quickly, attracting the attention of various forces. Senior government officials, military generals, and media reporters flocked to the scene, trying to understand the truth of the matter. This unexpected assassination became the focus of national attention, triggering countless speculations and discussions.