Black Flag Army

At 7 o'clock that evening, in Huermen Town, Dalanza County, Outer Mongolia, Song Muyan's camp, Song Muyan was one of the eight generals of the Outer Mongolian Army. He was originally a horse bandit, but was later recruited by Prince Wutai and became the brigade commander of the Outer Mongolian Puppet Army. However, he still did the work of a horse bandit, often invading the three provinces of Inner Mongolia and robbing everywhere. The Mongolian and Han people in Suiyuan and Chahar called him the Bald Mongolian Bandit because he shaved his head.

Song Muyan was drinking with some of his men in the big tent when a guard came to report: "Commander! Several Han people have come to us to seek refuge. The leader is Fei Bao. He said he has a great gift for you."

The deputy brigade commander Naxun said, "Brigade commander! The Han people are all cunning guys. Ezhen Khan has ordered that all Han people be driven out of Outer Mongolia. Those who do not obey will be killed. There is no need to see these guys. Just kill them all."

Ezhen Khan was the pseudo-emperor of Outer Mongolia, Jebtsundamba Khutuktu VIII. He was originally a lama, but after becoming the pseudo-emperor, he called himself Ezhen Khan.

Chief of Staff Changchak said: "Brigade Commander, these people cannot be killed. Although Ezhen Khan issued an order to drive them away, many Mongolian princes and nobles did not carry out the order because most of their slaves are Han Chinese. If they are driven away, the workshops will be short of people to work and the wheat fields will have no one to farm. Especially those beautiful female Han slaves, they are even more reluctant to drive them away or kill them. Prince Wutai drove away the Han people at first, but later regretted it and captured them again. Half of the subordinates of Division Commander Haishan are Han Chinese, and there are also many Han Chinese under Division Commander Maksa. Even the chief of staff is Han Chinese. Han Chinese are good at using strategies in war and are better than us. It is right to use Han Chinese to fight Han Chinese."

Song Muyan thought what Changchak said made sense, so he said to the guard, "Then please come in and see him."

Fei Bao, Gou Zongwei and Lin Fang'er walked into Song Muyan's tent under the supervision of Mongolian guards. They saw several leaders sitting in the hall, all wearing dirty and worn bear-skin or sheepskin coats, drinking wine and eating meat in a very rude manner. The guards' uniforms were different and incongruous. Fei Bao couldn't help feeling disappointed. This was not an army at all, but a group of bandits, no different from Crazy Sun and the One-Eyed Dragon.

Song Muyan asked: "Who among you is Fei Bao? What do you want from me?"

Matsukihiko did not know Chinese, so he translated for both of them.

Fei Bao quickly saluted and said, "I am Fei Bao, meeting Brigade Commander Song Muyan! I am from Suiyuan, and I bring you good news. The two Han armies in Suiyuan are about to fight each other. This is a rare opportunity for Brigade Commander Song Muyan. I can help Brigade Commander Song Muyan take Guisui and Baotou."

Naxun said to Fei Bao, "Are you so kind? I think you are Zhang Shaozeng's spy, trying to trick us."

Naxun was originally a brigade commander. During the attack on Suiyuan last month, he was ambushed by Zhang Shaozeng and lost most of his troops. He was dismissed from his position as brigade commander by Commander Wu Tai and had to serve as Song Muyan's deputy brigade commander with great grievance.

Fei Bao replied: "I really cannot defend myself on this point, but if you think that I am Zhang Shaozeng's spy and do not believe my information, then you may miss the opportunity to take Baotou City. I hope Brigade Commander Song Muhiko can seriously consider it."

Song Muyan said: "Tell me the news you brought from Suiyuan. I want to judge whether you are a spy based on the value of your information."

Fei Bao went on, "I found out a few days ago that a few months ago a regiment of Zhang Shaozeng and a brigade of Yan Xishan from the Shanxi faction had a battle in Baotou. The two armies had been stationed in Baotou before. Due to the gap in weapons and equipment, Yan Xishan's brigade was eventually defeated and lost more than half of its troops. Baotou City was also controlled by Zhang Shaozeng. The result of this battle also destroyed the original plan of the Shanxi faction's army. Originally, the Shanxi faction wanted the brigade in Baotou to pin down Zhang Shaozeng's German army in Guisui, so that he could not take care of both ends and thus take Baotou and Guisui in one fell swoop. However, now not only has Guisui not been occupied, but Baotou has also been taken away by Zhang Shaozeng."

When Matsukihiko heard this, he asked in some confusion: "What does the fight between these two groups of Han people have to do with us?"

Fei Bao replied: "Zhang Shaozeng looks glorious now, but his victory is only temporary. His total strength is only a few thousand people. Yan Xishan's Jin faction is several times larger than his. Zhang Shaozeng will definitely be retaliated by the Jin faction, and they will most likely fight again. If the brigade commander can send troops to attack Baotou and Guisui when the Han people are fighting, wouldn't these two cities be in your pocket?"

Song Muyan then asked: "Your idea sounds good, but let's not talk about Zhang Shaozeng for now. I heard that Yan Xishan's Jin faction has tens of thousands of troops. If we offend them, can we survive?"

Fei Bao replied, "Yan Xishan's army does outnumber yours, but the tens of thousands of troops are just fake news they made up. They have no more than 20,000 troops at most, and Yan Xishan is the governor of Shanxi. Their main army is in Shanxi. He dare not send too many troops to Suiyuan. If he dares to send out his entire army, the Beiyang Army will send troops to seize his territory. As for Zhang Shaozeng, he is alone and weak. If possible, please try your best to eliminate them, Brigadier General. Another point is that the number of Han cavalry is quite limited, far less than that of the Mongolian Empire. If the situation really changes, you can also plunder there and leave. Baotou and Guisui have a lot of property and beauties. I heard that part of Yan Xishan's wealth is also in Baotou City"! Fei Bao emphasized the last sentence. He hoped to use money as bait to encourage Song Muyan to send out troops.

After listening to Fei Bao's words, Song Muyan closed his eyes and was silent for a while, then said to Fei Bao: "Mr. Fei, what you said makes sense. We will consider it seriously, but I have one last question. What is the conflict between you and Zhang Shaozeng? Why do you want us to eliminate him?"

Fei Bao replied: "I have no grudge against Zhang Shaozeng, but some of his subordinates have betrayed me, so I hope to get rid of them."

Then he suddenly said: "Commander, we have a small gift that we haven't delivered yet, come here quickly, little dog!"

Gou Zongwei heard Fei Bao calling him, and he pulled Lin Fang'er's arm and came to Song Muyan and said, "Commander, this Han Chinese woman is what we got in Beijing. We present her to you as a gift. I hope you can accept it." Lin Fang'er was in ragged clothes, with a dull expression, and didn't speak. Since the death of Sun Fengzi, she fell into Fei Bao's hands. When Fei Bao went to Duyanlong, he presented her as a gift. She refused, and was cruelly tortured by Fei Bao, so she had to submit. When Fei Bao left Duyanlong, she was taken away from Duyanlong by Fei Bao. She was exhausted from running all the way.

Although Lin Fang'er looked haggard, she was still much fairer and tenderer than those Outer Mongolian women with dark and red faces. As soon as Song Muyan saw her, his eyes lit up.

Song Muyan said: "Brother Fei, you are so polite. It would be great if there were more Han people like you. Since Brother Fei has given you such a gift, I will arrange a military position for you as a return gift. I hope you will not refuse and just be a..." While Song Muyan was thinking, he observed Lin Fang'er for a while, and then said: "You can be a company commander under me, and your follower will be your deputy, how about it?"

Fei Bao and Gou Zongwei quickly knelt down to express their gratitude and accepted Song Muyan's arrangement.

Afterwards, Song Muyan arranged accommodation for Fei Bao and Gou Zongwei to rest. Lin Fang'er was also taken away by Song Muyan's trusted guards. Song Muyan had not yet decided whether to send troops, and the senior leaders of the Mongolian Brigade had to hold another meeting.

Matsuki Hiko called a meeting with his three regiment commanders, chief of staff, and deputy brigade commander to discuss whether to take the opportunity to capture Guisui and Baotou.

Chang Chak said: "First, we need to send spies to Guisui and Baotou to investigate whether what Fei Bao said is true or not. If there is a chance, we need to report it to Prince Wutai. After all, he is the commander. It is definitely not possible to attack Guisui with our limited troops. We need to cooperate with Division Commander Haishan or Division Commander Ma Kesha."

Naxun shook his head and said, "Even if we win the war together with them, they will take away the lion's share. We won't even get a sip of soup, especially Haishan, that greedy guy."

Song Muyan said: "It's too early to say that now. Let's send detectives to Suiyuan tomorrow to find out the situation first."

Fei Bao and Gou Zongwei were given a shabby little tent where they slept at night, and they also received dinner: a piece of coarse flour bread and a bowl of sour goat milk for each person.

Gou Zongwei said angrily: "The food here is too bad. It's even worse than the food in the One-Eyed Dragon Village."

Fei Bao said: "You must know how to endure humiliation and bear heavy burdens, and endure the most hardships, only then can you become a superior person."

Gou Zongwei said, "Leng Hanbing, Hong Tianlie and those traitors have lived a life of luxury. I heard that Leng Hanbing became the director and manager of the supervision department of Beihai Group, and he is surrounded by bodyguards whenever he goes out. Hong Tianlie became the chairman of the Sharp Knife Society, and he has hundreds of thugs under him, and he always has more than a dozen dishes for dinner."

Fei Bao's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness: "What! Do you regret following me and want to join Leng Yaba and Hong Lengzi?"

Gou Zongwei knew that Fei Bao was suspicious and cruel, so he quickly shook his head and said, "How is that possible? I hate them so much. I just thought that they had robbed the Flying Eagle Gang's money and lived such a good life. If they fall into our hands in the future, we will torture them for three days and three nights before executing them."

Fei Bao said: "Although the newspapers say that Di Xiong is dead, I doubt he is dead, because this Di Congmo acts in the same way as Di Xiong, Bai Xiuling is inseparable from him, Leng Yanba, Hong Lengzi, and Wu Chunfeng have all joined him, it can't be such a coincidence."

Gou Zongwei said, "Let's worry about our own situation first. I just heard from the old man who delivered the food that our company has less than 50 people, and the entire brigade has only more than 1,000 people. Can this number of people defeat Zhang Shaozeng? I'm afraid we can't even defeat Di Congmo's regiment, right?"

Fei Bao sighed and said, "We have to fight even if we can't win! Only when they fight, we are valuable, otherwise we are worthless. In Outer Mongolia, the only way for worthless Han people is death."

In the morning, the sun was shining brightly. In the chairman's office of Beihai Group Company in the north of Baotou, Cha Jingfeng, dressed in white, walked to the door of the office and was about to knock when she was stopped by Liu Zhennan who came out of the side door. Liu Zhennan said, "Miss Cha! According to the new rules, if you see Di Juzi, you will be searched. Please forgive me!"

Cha Jingfeng was stunned, and then she saw Liu Zhennan waved his hand, and two female guards came out of the room. Since the end of the Baotou battle, Di Xiong has had four guards around him, two men and two women, because other high-ranking members of the Justice Party also have guards. Wu Zhong and Lan Jinping each have three guards, and Leng Hanbing, Wu Chunfeng and other section chiefs also have two guards. Di Xiong has the highest rank, so he has four guards. The two female guards are from Tianjin and Baoding respectively, one is Huo Jintong, a disciple of Jingwu Sect, and the other is Yang Lushuang, a disciple of Baji Sect. After Huo Yuanjia's death, dozens of disciples went their separate ways. Liu Zhensheng, the eldest disciple, was invited by Li Jinglin, a martial arts master and officer of the Fengtian Army, to be the chief martial arts instructor of Zhang Zuolin's 27th Division in Fengtian, and persuaded other disciples to go as well. Huo Jintong and several other female disciples believed that their master died at the hands of the Japanese, and that Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the Fengtian Army, was a running dog supported by the Japanese, so they refused to go to Fengtian. They served as internal guards for the families of wealthy families in Tianjin, but it was not easy to serve as internal guards for the rich. If they were ugly, they would be disliked by the male owner and would not be hired at all. If they were beautiful, they would be envied by the female owner, who was afraid of being the guest and the host. After working for a while, they were driven away with excuses and kept changing jobs. It was not until they received the invitation letter from their seventh senior brother Liu Zhendong that Huo Jintong and five other female disciples went to Suiyuan and served as guards for Di Xiong, Lan Jinping and Lan Jinchun respectively. Huo Jintong was able to become Di Xiong's guard because her martial arts skills were the highest among the five female disciples. As for Yang Lushuang of Bajimen, she is Di Chun’s senior sister.

Cha Jingfeng smiled and said, "It's okay. Since it's the rule, let's search her!" The two female guards searched Cha Jingfeng before letting her in. Less than ten minutes after Cha Jingfeng went in, Tian Mengxue came from a distance and walked towards Di Xiong's office. The two female guards came out from the side door and were about to search her again, but were stopped by Liu Zhennan, who said, "This person is Tian Mengxue, the deputy chief of the intelligence department, and one of the first four people to follow Mr. Di. Mr. Di has absolute trust in her, so she cannot be searched."

As soon as Cha Jingfeng walked into Di Xiong's office, Di Xiong apologized and said, "I'm so sorry. A few days ago, the Supervision Department uncovered a conspiracy to assassinate me. Zhao Dutong of Guisui sent several assassins to kill me, but they were caught by the Supervision Department. The company's top management was very nervous, so they passed a motion to search me. Miss Cha has been wronged."

Cha Jingfeng said, "It's okay. Mr. Di's safety is very important to the Justice Party and Beihai Company. We should be cautious. I wonder what Mr. Di wants to talk to me about?"

Di Xiong said, "We originally planned to send you to Outer Mongolia after you graduated from the Intelligence Officer School, but some people thought that since you are proficient in Japanese, it would be a waste of talent to go to Outer Mongolia. It happened that something happened to the Tianjin Intelligence Group, and the team leader and two members were killed by the Japanese in the Japanese Concession, so we let you graduate early and send you to Tianjin as the new team leader. The leader of the Black Dragon Society in Tianjin, Kawashima Naniwa, is the younger brother of Kawashima Naniwa, and you also know him, so it will be easier to carry out the work. What do you think?"