Black Flag Army

That morning, as soon as Di Xiong entered the office, he saw Zhang Zhenyang walking in with a red invitation in his hand. He handed it to Di Xiong respectfully with both hands. Seeing how serious he was, Di Xiong quickly took it with both hands and said with a smile, "I guess you're going to invite me one of these two days, but I'm thick-skinned. With our friendship, I'll go even if you don't invite me."

Zhang Zhenyang said, "Ji Fang said that you are our great benefactor. Without your promotion, we wouldn't be where we are today. Now many people are jealous of me for being the brigade commander and her for being the factory director. But we know that if we hadn't met you, we might have died of hunger and cold on the roadside like some refugees. So Ji Fang said that the first invitation must be sent to you. Please be sure to honor us."

Di Xiong looked at the time written on the invitation and said solemnly, "Tomorrow night, right? Don't worry, I will put aside everything and attend your wedding tomorrow night."

Zhang Zhenyang said: "I am a soldier and I don't like to make the wedding too complicated, so the wedding is very simple. I only invited three tables of people. Don't be embarrassed if the chairman goes."

Di Xiong asked, "Have your old boss, General Zhang Shaozeng, and your good friends Feng Jishan and Zhang Zhijiang been invited?"

Zhang Zhenyang said, "I sent a telegram to General Zhang, and he replied that it was inconvenient for him to return to Suiyuan in his current capacity, and he would send someone to attend on his behalf. As for Feng Jishan and Zhang Zhijiang, I couldn't contact them at all. I heard that they were encircling and suppressing the White Wolf from Henan to Shaanxi, and their troops were always in a mobile battle, so I had to forget about it."

Zhang Zhenyang returned home, a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment, and saw Ji Fang and several good female colleagues from the textile factory decorating the new house. The walls and floors were cleaned, the tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and the door and windows were all pasted with red "囍" characters. After all, it was a second marriage, so Ji Fang didn't dress up in particular. She was still wearing her usual work clothes, but she put a small red velvet flower on her hair. When she saw Zhang Zhenyang coming back, she walked up to him with a nervous look and asked, "Did you see Mr. Di? Did he accept the invitation?"

Zhang Zhenyang said: "Of course I did. Mr. Di accepted the invitation and agreed to cancel all social engagements and attend the wedding banquet tomorrow night."

Ji Fang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's great. I didn't expect Mr. Di to be so considerate."

Ji Fang's friend Lu Cai Niang smiled and said, "I told you that Mr. Di would definitely attend. Think about it, one of you was promoted to brigade commander and the other was promoted to factory director. This shows how much he values ​​you. He treats you as his confidants. Sister Ji Fang's worries are unnecessary."

Lu Cainiang, nicknamed "Luchaibang", was originally a tragic character created by Xia Yan, the author of "Contracted Laborers". In another time and space, she worked in a Japanese spinning mill and was bullied by both the Japanese boss and the contractor. The working environment was very bad, and she finally froze to death in the spinning mill workshop at the age of less than 20. But in this time and space, she escaped from the Japanese spinning mill with Gu Xingzhi and joined Weili Company, becoming one of the first workers of Weili Textile Factory. She found that the income and environment of Weili Textile Factory were very good, so she notified Ji Fang immediately. After Ji Fang became the deputy director of Weili Textile Factory, she did not forget this good friend and promoted her to the director of the workshop.

The next night, Zhang Zhenyang and Ji Fang's wedding was held at the Hongliu Hotel as scheduled. The wedding was really simple, with only a string of firecrackers. The master of ceremonies Liu Chengliang announced the start of the banquet. Di Xiong, Wu Zhong and Lan Jinping, three Justice Party giants, attended the wedding together, which made Ji Fang very happy. Among the Mohists, only Wu Chunfeng led the intelligence team to conduct reconnaissance at Ma Hongkui's garrison, and the others came. Among the three tables of guests, Ji Fang's relatives and friends were mostly from the textile factory, Zhang Zhenyang's relatives and friends were basically officers of the garrison brigade, and the remaining table was composed of Justice Party high-level officials.

As Ji Fang's friend, the supervisory team leader Gu Xingzhi also attended the wedding banquet, but he was too busy with work and arrived a little late. The banquet had already begun. The table of Ji Fang's relatives and friends was full of women. Everyone was talking and laughing, but when they saw Gu Xingzhi come over and sit down, they all stopped talking.

Gu Xingzhi said angrily: "Why are you silent when you see me? Do you have any problem with me?"

Gu Xingzhi was only nineteen years old, at the age of youthful vigor. She had a pair of sword-like eyebrows and an aquiline nose. As the saying goes, appearance reflects the heart, and one could tell from her appearance that she was a very powerful woman.

Lu Cai Niang smiled and said, "Don't be angry. People say that your current status is equivalent to the Imperial City Division of the Song Dynasty, the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty, and the Military Police of the Beiyang. They are afraid of saying something wrong and being arrested by you."

Gu Xingzhi said seriously, "This is pure rumor. Does the Supervision Department arrest people at will? They only arrest those who should be arrested. Shouldn't the traitor Qu Sheng be arrested last time? The Supervision Department was established by Mr. Di himself, and the head of the Supervision Department was also appointed by Mr. Di himself. Don't you even trust Mr. Di?"

Chen Xianglian said, "What Gu Xingzhi said is correct. The Supervision Department is one of the most important departments of the Justice Party. The existence of the Supervision Department effectively prevents internal corruption and foreign infiltration. However, due to misunderstandings from the outside world, the Supervision Department has suffered a lot of grievances. I heard that Chief Leng did not want to be the Chief of the Supervision Department and repeatedly proposed to join the army. It was only because there was no suitable person to take his place that Mr. Di persuaded him to stay in that position."

Chen Xianglian was the only person at the table who did not come from a textile factory. She attended the wedding banquet as Wu Chunlei's fiancée. After Lan Jinping arrived in Baotou, he opened another Lanji Hotel in Hongliu Town and invited Chen Xianglian to be the manager. Chen Xianglian had originally been a teacher at Zhengqing School.

After Chen Xianglian said this, everyone resumed joking. Gu Xingzhi smiled at Lu Cainiang and said, "I remember when you and I escaped from the Japanese spinning mill, you didn't even know a single word. Now your knowledge has improved. Even the Imperial City Division and the Embroidered Uniform Guard know about it."

Lu Cai Niang smiled and said, "There is a loud speaker at the door of each of our dormitories. Sun Tiezui and his disciples tell stories from the past five thousand years on the loud speakers. You have to listen even if you don't want to. After listening many times, you will naturally know them."

At the table where Di Xiong was sitting, there was a guest who came from Beijing, Wang Fangting, the representative of Zhang Shaozeng. Everyone listened to him talk about some of his experiences in Beijing.

Wang Fangting said: "After Yuan Shikai used coercion and inducement to become the official president, he wanted to amend the Provisional Constitution. According to his requirements, the president's power after the amendment was as great as that of the emperor. Congress had no binding force on him. Most members of Congress opposed it, mainly members of the White Star Party and some members of the Progressive Party. In Congress, the two factions supporting Yuan Shikai and opposing Yuan Shikai fought each other. Yuan Shikai ordered the arrest of several leaders of the White Star Party, framed them and sent them to prison. He declared the White Star Party an illegal organization, and all White Star Party members were disqualified as members of the party. The vacancies were replaced by members of the Civic Party who supported him. The constitution was amended according to his requirements, and many White Star Party members became Civic Party members."

Wu Zhong said: "That is to say, Yuan Shikai was president in name only, but he was actually an emperor. Foreign powers also supported such a president?"

Wang Fangting said: "He made major concessions in foreign negotiations, so foreigners certainly supported him as president. The rioters in Tibet launched a rebellion, and thousands of rebels engaged in a gunfight with a regiment of Sichuan troops stationed in Lhasa. The Sichuan governor in Chengdu urgently dispatched a brigade to reinforce Lhasa. Foreign ministers protested to Yuan Shikai and refused to suppress the rebels. As a result, Yuan Shikai ordered the Sichuan reinforcements to stop halfway and ordered the Sichuan troops in Lhasa to surrender to the rebels. The Japanese demanded the right to build all the railways in Northeast China and Rehe, and Yuan Shikai agreed, allowing them to station troops 20 kilometers on both sides of the railway. In addition, the negotiations between Beiyang and Tsarist Russia on Outer Mongolia ended. Tsarist Russia had absolute control over Outer Mongolia, and China was left with only the empty name of a suzerain state."

Li Fei said: "According to what Mr. Wang said, Tibet, Northeast China, and Outer Mongolia are about to become foreign territories due to President Yuan's concessions. Can he be at ease as president?"

Wang Fangting said: "Of course he is at ease. It doesn't matter how the foreigners mess with him. Yuan Shikai only hopes to rely on them to defeat the domestic opposition forces. Hasn't he recognized a series of treaties from the Qing Dynasty? Aren't those so-called concessions full of foreigners? Aren't there more and more foreign companies in the Republic of China?"

Wu Zhong said: "It is really a shame for the Republic of China to let Yuan Shikai hold the highest power in the country! Such a person only knows how to lick foreigners and suppress his own people. He is simply a shameless scum!"

Li Fei sighed, "It is true that President Yuan sold out his country, but it is also true that no one in the country can defeat his Beiyang Army. Ultimately, the truth will be revealed under the sword. No matter how loudly Mr. Sun and Mr. Huang shout slogans, and no matter how much the White Star Party increases in numbers, without a strong army, they will have no choice but to flee."

Wang Fangting said: "The White Star Party is a mixed bag, with all kinds of people, including ruffians and Qing Dynasty loyalists. Many people from the White Star Party participated in the Beijing election this time, and many of them were bribed by Yuan Shikai and did things for money. Some people were even more outrageous, hoping to use the constitution to restrict Yuan Shikai and weaken his power with a bunch of blank papers. It's ridiculous. Laws are made by people, and the provisions can be changed at will. The majority of the entire Congress are Yuan Shikai's people, so he can change it however he wants." Although Wang Fangting couldn't stand Yuan Shikai, he also looked down on the White Star Party, which had been defeated time and time again. What the White Star Party did in Beijing this time was also regarded as a joke by him.

Wu Zhong didn't want to talk much about the White Star Party, so he changed the subject and said, "Speaking of which, our two intelligence teams have been in Outer Mongolia for some time, and we don't know what the situation is. Mr. Wang, do you know about the current situation in Outer Mongolia?"

Wang Fangting said: "Regarding Outer Mongolia, I don't know the current situation after General Zhang left, but we have fought many battles with the Outer Mongolian army before. To put it bluntly, such an army is no different from bandits. The speed at which those Mongolians have degenerated is really beyond our imagination. Have you ever seen cavalry where bows and arrows are still popular in this era? Their top leaders are also corrupt and incompetent, and they often fight among themselves. There are more than a dozen self-proclaimed khans and princes, all killing each other for grasslands and water sources. They all say that they are descendants of the Golden Family, but in the end no one is willing to submit to anyone. After all, if it weren't for the Russian army stationed in Mongolia, the Mongolian country would probably not have been established."

At this time, Li Fei suddenly said: "The Mongolian cavalry has indeed declined, but the Hui cavalry of the Ma family army should not be underestimated. Speaking of which, Wu Chunfeng and Li Laoshi have already taken people to Otog Banner to scout the situation of the Ma family army. They did not come to today's banquet. I wonder how they are doing now?"

Bai Xiuling suddenly said: "Our troops still need to rest. Wu Chunfeng and his men are, after all, only investigating the route of the Ma family army and looking for suitable places for ambushes in Suiyuan and Shaanxi. Brother Di is determined to succeed in ambushing the Ma family army this time. I want to see if that brat named Ma dares to be so rampant again."

When Wang Fangting heard about the Ma family army, he suddenly became interested and said casually: "Commander Di wants to attack the Ma family army? That requires careful consideration. We have also dealt with the Ma family army in Ningxia. They are a cannibalistic army. They are extremely brutal, and even the Beiyang Army would be afraid of them if they fight. Even Yuan Shikai acquiesced in many of their actions. If there is anyone who has fewer people than them and has the courage to provoke them, apart from Commander Di, it would probably be Feng Jishan."

Di Xiong said, "It's too early to talk about an ambush now. We can only attack after all the vacancies in the three regiments and nine battalions of the brigade have been recruited and all the new recruits have been trained. Because we have to use at least two regiments to ambush, leaving one regiment to defend Baotou. The organization must be complete, otherwise it will be difficult to defend Baotou if the enemy from Guisui or Shanxi attacks. The training period for new recruits is generally three months, at least two months. In this way, we will have to wait until next year to fight the Ma family army."

Leng Hanbing said, "That is to say, after we defeat the Ma family army, we can't send troops to Outer Mongolia until February next year? Then when can we attack Hailanpao? It makes me anxious just thinking about it."

Bai Xiuling said to Leng Hanbing, "You have already waited for thirteen years. What's the harm in waiting a few more years? At first you were waiting alone without any hope. Now there are so many people working hard with you. Are you still afraid that you won't see that day?"

Di Xiong said: "When we recover Outer Northeast including Hailanpao, we need to send out at least 100,000 troops. The logistics of 100,000 troops is a bottomless pit. Food, military pay, weapons and ammunition, medicine and military uniforms cost millions of dollars every month. Therefore, it will take at least five years to build a huge logistics base. So Brother Leng must be patient. However, the culprit who ordered the massacre, the commander of the Hailanpao garrison, Gebriski, can be killed in advance to prevent him from dying of illness or other accidents."

Leng Hanbing said: "This mission must be carried out by me, no one else can snatch it from me."

Di Xiong said: "You can carry out this mission, but you have to wait until we gain a firm foothold in Outer Mongolia, and Liu Zhendong must accompany you, so the success rate will be higher."

The guard Di Chun standing at the side said to Liu Zhennan with a smile: "The Northern Gun King and Lightning Quick Gun teamed up to deal with him. This Goubuli dead chicken should feel extremely honored."