Black Flag Army

In the dimly lit basement, Yin Quan sat behind a worn wooden table, flipping through a pile of newspapers and materials. He could no longer remember whether it was day or night outside. Due to the long stay in the basement and lack of sunlight, his face was very pale. But he had no choice. Now the Justice Party and the direct government in power have become mortal enemies, and they must hide underground.

The telegraph operator Xiao Wang pushed the door open and said, "Stationmaster! The Northern Tang side is asking if we bribed Wang Tiezheng, who assassinated Cao Siying? Or did the Anhui clique bribe him to frame us?"

Yin Quan said: "Call them back, we didn't bribe him. Our intelligence station has never contacted this person. Before the Zhi-An war, the Anhui faction sent someone to bribe him with gold bars, but he beat him up and handed him over to Cao Zhongshan with the gold bars. Cao Zhongshan trusted him more because of this. After hearing this, we gave up contacting him. The Anhui faction couldn't bribe him when it was in power, and now that it's down and out, it's even more impossible to bribe him. There is only one possibility, this is his spontaneous action out of patriotism."

Cao Zhongshan, leaning on a cane, slowly walked into the interrogation room of Tianjin Police Station, which was filled with a strong smell of blood, accompanied by Cao Qirui and a large group of guards. As soon as he entered the interrogation room, he saw Wang Tiezheng, who was seriously injured and dying, hanging on the wall. His body was covered with hideous scars, blood was dripping, and he had long been unconscious.

A prison guard picked up a basin of icy water with an expressionless face and poured it on Wang Tiezheng mercilessly. Stimulated by the cold water, Wang Tiezheng's body trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes and looked at everything in front of him blankly.

Cao Zhongshan stared at Wang Tiezheng and asked in a low and majestic voice: "Wang Tiezheng! I treated you well on weekdays, do you still remember?" Wang Tiezheng struggled to stand up and answered with a firm look in his eyes: "The Marshal has given me a new life, and I will never forget it. The salary paid to us guards by the Marshal is much higher than that of other soldiers and police, which makes them jealous. When my mother was seriously ill and urgently needed a large amount of medical expenses, the Marshal personally approved a note to let Director Li allocate funds to help. After my mother passed away, the Marshal was even more generous and took out a sum of money to hold a splendid and decent funeral for her. I will remember these favors in my heart."

Cao Zhongshan asked again with a suspicious look on his face: "Could it be that my fourth child bullied you?"

Wang Tiezheng waved his hands and said, "Si Shuai has never bullied me. On the contrary, he has been kind to me! Back then, my house in the countryside was occupied by those hateful local tyrants. If Si Shuai hadn't personally come forward to support me, I'm afraid I would never have been able to take the house back in my lifetime!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Qirui's eyebrows immediately raised, and she asked in a delicate voice: "Humph! If that's the case, then why do you want to repay kindness with enmity? Tell me! How many gold bars and dollars did those black bandits give you?"

Wang Tiezheng was so angry when he heard this that his face turned red. He refuted righteously, "They never gave me even a single copper coin! Back then, the Anhui clique took out ten gold bars to bribe me, but I didn't want any! How could I, Wang Tiezheng, be the kind of person who could be bribed by money?"

Cao Zhongshan's eyes widened, and he asked angrily, "Why did you want to assassinate my fourth brother?"

Wang Tiezheng straightened his chest and answered righteously: "The favor you gave me is limited to private favors. However, the reason why I decided to assassinate Cao Sishuai was entirely out of consideration for maintaining national justice. The three northern provinces led by the Justice Party not only actively rescued refugees and eradicated powerful forces, but also vigorously built water conservancy projects. They spared no effort to invest a lot of manpower and financial resources to successfully transform the originally barren desert in Beihai Province into fertile fields and vast grasslands. Each of these good policies is something that the Marshal and his officials cannot do or are unwilling to try. In addition, Mengdong Province was originally a territory that the Black Flag Army took back from the White Bandits and the Mongolian Bandits, but you sent troops to attack without reason, and even shamelessly held a so-called oath-taking meeting. May I ask where is justice? Since God has failed to punish your evil deeds, then I, Wang Tiezheng, have to stand up and enforce justice on behalf of God!"

Cao Zhongshan was stunned, as if he was frozen in time, standing there motionless, his eyes staring straight ahead, his eyes full of astonishment and disbelief. He stood there like this, as if time had frozen. After a long while, he came back to his senses as if waking up from a dream, slowly turned his head, and said to the warden beside him in a low voice: "At twelve o'clock tonight, drag him to the mass grave and bury him alive." After saying this, his face showed a trace of determination and ruthlessness.

The warden bowed slightly to show that he understood, then nodded silently. After Cao Zhongshan turned around and left, he followed him out.

After leaving the police station, Cao Zhongshan stepped heavily into the car. After closing the car door, he sighed deeply and said to himself, "What Wu Ziyu said is right. Now we have really become Qin Hui on the stage." His voice revealed endless helplessness and sadness.

Cao Qirui, who was sitting nearby, sneered when he heard Cao Zhongshan's words and retorted: "As long as we have the military power, we have the final say on who is right and who is wrong?" His tone was full of disdain and arrogance. However, Cao Zhongshan did not respond to Cao Qirui's words, but just leaned back in his chair silently, closed his eyes, and seemed to be thinking about something...

Advisor Wang Kemin frowned and asked worriedly, "Marshal! Now those reporters outside are pestering us and insisting on asking about the truth behind the assassination. How should we deal with it?"

Cao Zhongshan narrowed his eyes, thought deeply for a moment, and answered firmly: "As for the public announcement, of course it was the hateful gangster who bribed Wang Tiezheng, one of my men, and ordered him to kill secretly. Isn't this an obvious thing? What's there to question!"

Wang Kemin nodded repeatedly, indicating that he fully understood. Then Cao Zhongshan continued, "At the same time, we must emphasize that the black bandits are extremely despicable and shameless. Not only did they rob my beloved woman Liu Xikui, they also hired murderers to murder my fourth brother. This blood feud is simply irreconcilable! I have decided to personally lead an army of 200,000 to fight, and you, Lao Qi, will be the front-line commander of this battle!"

Cao Qirui was immediately excited when he heard this, with an ecstatic expression on his face. He immediately responded loudly: "Yes, sir! Don't worry, brother. Just wait for the good news of my victory!"

That evening, an article titled "Wang Tiezheng, the Iron-willed Hero" appeared on the front page of the Justice Daily. The author of this article was Lan Jinchun. The article detailed the whole process of Wang Tiezheng's assassination of Cao Siying and gave him many praises.

In the prison, there was a prison guard who knew Wang Tiezheng. When no one was around, the prison guard quietly handed a copy of the "Justice Daily" to Wang Tiezheng's cell and handed him an oil lamp for lighting. After Wang Tiezheng took the oil lamp, he read the entire article word by word with the help of the weak light of the oil lamp. After reading it, he couldn't help but burst into tears and said with emotion: "I, Wang Tiezheng, have no regrets even if I die to receive such high praise from Principal Lan, the first female talent in the three northern provinces!"

At noon, in a private room of Lan Ji Hotel, Di Xiong and his wife hosted Liu Xikui for a banquet. This was because Cao Zhongshan had spread nonsense in the newspaper, saying that Di Xiong was greedy for beauty and had stolen his woman Liu Xikui. In order to avoid suspicion, Di Xiong insisted on bringing his wife Lan Jinchun along when he invited Liu Xikui to dinner.

Liu Xikui's skin is white and tender, as translucent as white jade; her eyebrows are curved like a crescent moon, and her slightly large but extremely charming black eyes seem to contain endless charm and mystery. She is wearing a very simple white dress and a gray cloth coat. She looks fresh and elegant, but reveals a different style. Liu Xikui is already 26 years old, but she is petite and looks only 20 years old.

When she walked into the hotel with her head down, she immediately attracted the attention of many guests, even though she did not deliberately show off her presence. Two men approached her and tried to talk to her, but they were both stopped by Liu Zhennan, who was standing next to Liu Xikui.

Liu Zhennan was a burly man with a fierce look and a fierce look on his face. His sharp eyes stared at the two men, making people shudder. Just such a look was enough to scare the two men who tried to strike up a conversation and make them retreat again and again, not daring to take another step forward.

There is no doubt that Liu Zhennan was standing here to welcome Liu Xikui. His mission was to ensure Liu Xikui's safety and prevent any unnecessary trouble or harassment. He was like a solid wall, guarding Liu Xikui and allowing her to enter the hotel with peace of mind.

After they sat down in the box, Di Xiong enthusiastically introduced the two parties. Liu Xikui bowed slightly and said softly, "It is a great honor for me to meet the world-famous female talent Principal Lan today."

Lan Jinchun carefully looked at Liu Xikui from head to toe. After a long while, he sighed, "Alas! I read in the newspapers that you are the most beautiful woman in the world and that four presidents have pursued you. I was a little skeptical. But now that I see you in person, I have to admit it. You are indeed more beautiful than me. If I were a man, I would be unable to suppress the urge to snatch you away."

Liu Xikui smiled and said, "Principal Lan, you are too kind. You are also a beautiful woman with natural beauty. Being pursued by men is not a skill. You can write an article that can make the first president of the Republic of China vomit blood and die. That is a real skill. I admire Principal Lan's literary talent very much. I have read many of your articles. I just read "The Iron-willed Hero Wang Tiezheng" and cried while reading it. I didn't expect that there would be such an iron-blooded man in the Zhili Army. Of course, only a female talent like you is worthy of a great hero like Commander-in-Chief Di."

At this time, the wine and food were served, and the three people ate and chatted.

Di Xiong looked at Liu Xikui with an apologetic look on his face, and said sincerely: "I should have treated you to a meal when you first came, but I was too busy during this period. I had to deal with the resettlement of refugees and arrange the mobilization of troops, so I ended up delaying this matter. I hope you don't take it to heart!"

After hearing this, Liu Xikui waved his hand and said, "Commander-in-Chief Di, you are too polite! I am just an ordinary actor, how can I mind such a small matter? You are the governor of our Beihai Province! What you have to worry about every day are major issues related to the national economy and people's livelihood, especially the resettlement of refugees, which can not be delayed for a moment. A little delay will cause many people to starve. If all the governors in our country can be like you, and devote themselves wholeheartedly to civil and military affairs, then how could our country become so poor and backward, and be bullied by those foreign devils at will?"

Di Xiong said with deep emotion: "I never expected that you are not only a superb singer, but also so concerned about national affairs and have a deep understanding of national justice. If a woman with a kind heart like you falls into the hands of a vulgar and reckless person like Cao Zhongshan, it would be a waste of a natural talent!"

Liu Xikui smiled slightly and responded softly: "Commander-in-Chief Di, thank you for your praise. Your subordinates rescued me from Cao Zhongshan's devilish clutches. I have yet to thank you in person for this great kindness!"

Di Xiong waved his hand and said with a generous smile: "It's just a trivial matter. Although we have only successfully rescued you, the other members of the drama troupe will be escorted to Beihai Province one after another. The people here still remember the wonderful charity performance last year, and they are eager to see your style again."

Liu Xikui was about to speak when Huo Qingtong came in from outside, hesitating to speak. Di Xiong said, "Liu Bantou is not an outsider, just say whatever you want to say!"

Huo Qingtong said: "The Zhili Army has launched an attack. Two hundred thousand troops are divided into two groups, attacking the Chagan outpost in Beihai Province and the Zamen Ude outpost in Mengdong Province from Suiyuan and Chahar provinces. Because of the small number of troops, the border guards were ordered to abandon the outposts and retreat to Dalanza City and Saynshand City. Currently, the Zhili Army is attacking these two places fiercely. Chief of Staff Jiang and Commander Wu have already gone to the front line."

Di Xiong said to Liu Xikui, "I'm so sorry! This is the end of our meal. Cao Zhongshan insisted on fighting a civil war, so I can only accompany him to the end. I have to go to the front line now."

Liu Xikui said with a sad face: "It's no big deal, but I heard recently that Cao Zhongshan started the war just to take me back to him! If your front line can't withstand the enemy's attack, then hand me over. As long as it can bring peace, I am willing to make sacrifices for it." Her voice was full of helplessness and determination, as if she had made the worst plan. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried hard not to let them fall.

Lan Jinchun said, "You are too stupid. He is blackmailing you morally. You escaped. We didn't capture you at all. Don't listen to the nonsense in the newspapers. He attacked Beihai and Mengdong to grab territory. Fighting for you is just an excuse."

Di Xiong said: "Jinchun is right. Our Black Flag Army will not be defeated, and we will never hand you over."