Black Flag Army

That night, after getting off work, Di Xiong returned home and saw that the door was open. A girl in blue was cleaning the living room windows and floor. Di Xiong wondered strangely: Did I hire a cleaner to clean today? How come I don't remember it at all?

The girl in blue raised her head at this time, and their eyes met. Di Xiong recognized it was Lan Jinchun, so he turned around and left.

Lan Jinchun asked, "Brother Di! Where are you going?"

Di Xiong said, "I lost my mind for a moment and ran to the wrong door. I ran to your house. Go home quickly."

Lan Jinchun covered his mouth and laughed, "You didn't go to the wrong place! This is your home. I'm helping you clean up. Your house is so dirty that I spent an hour and still couldn't clean it up."

Di Xiong asked, "How do you have the key to my house?"

Lan Jinchun said, "Did you forget? Sister Bai gave me the key, and she said she had already said hello to you."

Di Xiong was stunned for a moment, then said, "I remember now. That was a few months ago. I've been so busy lately that I forgot about it a long time ago."

Di Xiong walked into the living room. Lan Jinchun put down the mop, naturally took his briefcase, put it on the table, then took out the teacup and water bottle and poured him tea.

Di Xiong laughed and said, "Why do I feel like you are the master of the house and I am the guest?"

Lan Jinchun smiled and said, "I am the mistress of the house! I am your fiancée, everyone knows that, but it was fake before, and it is real now. You won't blame me for cheating, right?"

Di Xiong said: "When Bai Xiuling just broke up with me, she was really upset, but now she has figured it out. I shouldn't stop her from pursuing her own happiness. After all, she doesn't owe me anything. How can I blame you? As Tian Mengxue said, you are a talented and beautiful woman, and you are five years younger than me. I am not worthy of you at all. You followed me and suffered a great loss. Don't regret it in the future!"

Lan Jinchun heard what he meant and knew that he had agreed to accept her. She couldn't help but throw herself into his arms excitedly and whispered, "I won't regret it! I've had a crush on you since the first time I saw you, and my feelings for you have grown deeper and deeper. I'm your admirer, and how can I regret being with the idol I admire!"

Di Xiong reached out and gently hugged her body, sighing, "Silly girl! Do you know that once you marry me, you will be on the assassination list of the Japanese and the Beiyang government, and will also be on the Russian blacklist in the future. I am a dangerous person and may very likely implicate you."

Lan Jinchun said: "I'm not afraid! You offended them for the benefit of the country and the nation. When we become strong in the future, we will take down the Japanese capital and make them kneel before us. Then they will be the ones who are afraid all day long."

Di Xiong said, "You've been busy cleaning. Haven't you had dinner yet? The cafeteria is closed now. I'll cook for you."

Lan Jinchun said: "No need, my sister has asked the waiter of Lanji Hotel to send me a meal. Although I like the food you cook very much, your time is very important now. You can't waste it on such things."

Nineteen-year-old Lan Jinchun is much more sensible than before. She knows what to say and what not to say. She originally wanted to come as soon as she got the key, but she took into consideration that Di Xiong had just broken up with Bai Xiuling and would be sad for a while, so she waited for three months before coming.

Lan Jinchun went to the room to get tea leaves and put them in the teapot. She saw Di Xiong looking at the map of Outer Mongolia in the living room, his eyes fixed on the Wubusu Lake in the west of Outer Mongolia. She asked, "Brother Di, are you going to take Wubusu Lake next? I heard that it is a saltwater lake and cannot be used to irrigate farmland."

Di Xiong said: "Saltwater lakes can be used to make salt! This is a huge fortune! During the last meeting, Wu Zhong was desperate for money and threatened to resign. We have a salt factory, but there is only a small salt lake in the county town under Beitang City. The supply of raw materials is insufficient. Only by taking over Wubusu Lake can we have enough!"

Di Xiong from later generations knew that a Qinghai Salt Lake in China brought huge tax revenue to the country.

Lan Jinchun said: "If we send troops to Wubusu Lake, Beitang City will be empty. Although the Kulun army dare not come, what should we do if the Beiyang government sends troops to attack us? Now Yuan Shikai hates you to the core, and the Kulun government is colluding with the Beiyang government. If they allow the Beiyang army to enter Outer Mongolia, the Beiyang army is likely to attack us from both Suiyuan and Kulun."

Di Xiong smiled and said, "You only knew how to ask questions before, but now you know how to analyze the situation. You have made great progress! But your worries are unnecessary. The people in the Kulun government are short-sighted and very selfish. They will only ask the Beiyang government for money and materials repeatedly, and will not allow the Beiyang Army to enter Kulun, because they still want to be the boss in Outer Mongolia. They are worried that the Beiyang Army will become the host after they come. Unless we occupy Kulun, they will agree to the Beiyang Army to help them fight, but they will only agree to send one brigade at most. The Beiyang side is not rich either. The journey to Kulun is too long and the expenses on the road are too high. Sending one brigade is already the limit. A brigade of troops is not a threat to us."

Lan Jinchun said, "But we only have one brigade on the front line! If we want to send troops to Lake Uvssu, we need to mobilize at least one brigade, right?"

Di Xiong said: "Who said we only have one brigade? Didn't we send out three brigades last time we fought the Mongolian army? The twelve counties under the three cities of Beitang, Mulun and Dalanza have all established county security groups and township self-defense forces. In the absence of the main force, these third- and fourth-line troops can also play a role. Although the security brigade is a second-line force, under the training of veteran Liu Chengliang, its combat capability is no less than that of the first brigade. I plan to rename them the Second Brigade of the Justice Army. The new security brigade will be composed of outstanding soldiers from the twelve county security groups. The new brigade commander will be Zhang Shusheng. He was one of the three Zhangs of the cavalry in the Beiyang Twenty Regiments, along with Zhang Zhijiang and Zhang Zhenyang. He has always been wronged to be the commander of a regiment. He should have been the brigade commander long ago. As for the vacancies in the county security corps, they can be selected from the refugees. We now have more than 300,000 refugees. It is not a problem to draw out 30,000 young men to join the security corps and the self-defense force. It's just that the military pay and food expenses are too high. Fortunately, July is coming soon, which is the season for early potato harvest. With a large amount of potatoes, the food problem has finally been solved. "

Lan Jinchun said: "It's not enough to just solve the food problem. What about the military pay? There are also the costs of building airplanes and resettling refugees. These all cost money."

Di Xiong said: "There are two ways, increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Reducing expenditure means saving money and cutting down expenses. I will start with myself and only take half of my salary. The main thing is to increase revenue. Increasing revenue can be divided into short and long term. The long term plan is to take over Lake Ubusu, make salt and sell it to make money, and the short term plan is to open a casino."

Lan Jinchun was surprised and said, "Opening a casino? This is a harmful business!"

Di Xiong said, "It's too bad to say that we're opening a casino. Let's change the name to welfare lottery and horse racing lottery. In fact, most people like to gamble. There are already many private casinos in Beitang City. Instead of letting others make money, it's better for our Beihai Company to make money. Welfare lottery is to guess the number. If you guess it right, you get a prize and get money. If you guess wrong, it's considered a donation to welfare. Mongolians like horse racing. Horse racing lottery is to bet on the ranking of horses. These two lotteries make money quickly and can quickly solve the problem of lack of money. Of course, this is just a stopgap measure. Our Beihai Company will eventually rely on setting up factories and doing business to make money. There are four types of highly profitable industries, brothels, casinos, arms, and opium. The arms business is already being done, and opium must not be touched. Brothels are too destructive to women and will breed venereal diseases and corruption. The only way is to do lottery."

Lan Jinchun said, "I have no choice but to do this. I hope that those who buy lottery tickets will not end up like Chen Xianglian's father, whose family is ruined. Big brother, I suddenly remembered something and need your help."

Di Xiong asked, "What's the matter?"

Lan Jinchun said, "My sister offended you because of Sister Bai's matter. You said you would take revenge on her. She was so scared that she didn't sleep well for more than two months. Can you please let her go? She offended you because of me. If you must take revenge, can you please take revenge on me?"

Di Xiong laughed and said, "I didn't really want to retaliate against her from the beginning. I just wanted to scare her. I didn't expect that she, a female master, didn't see through it."

Lan Jinchun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Why do you call her the female Guiguzi instead of the female Zhuge Liang?"

Di Xiong said: "Because the most powerful and wise man in history is not Zhuge Liang, but Guiguzi who is proficient in all schools of thought. The second is Jiang Ziya who founded the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years, and the third is Zhang Liang who founded the Han Dynasty for 400 years. Zhuge Liang's ability was exaggerated in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In fact, he was good at governing the local area, but not good at commanding wars. The burning of Bowangpo, the burning of Xinye, and the borrowing of arrows by straw boats are all fake. The Battle of Chibi was fought by Zhou Yu and had nothing to do with him. He led his army to Qishan six times and failed all the time. The only victory was defeating the barbarian king Meng Huo. The weapons of Meng Huo's army were very primitive and inferior. There is really nothing to brag about defeating a primitive tribal army."

Lan Jinchun said, "I know that Guiguzi was a famous strategist, military strategist, and diplomat during the Spring and Autumn Period. His name seemed to be Wang Xu. I don't see how my sister can compare to Guiguzi. Maybe you are making fun of her?"

Three days later, Liu Chengliang led the newly formed Second Brigade of the Justice Army to Uvs Lake. The Second Brigade was the former Security Brigade. Zhu Anbang, the head of the First Brigade, was transferred to the Second Brigade as deputy brigade commander. Di Xiong personally hosted a farewell banquet for Liu Chengliang and Zhu Anbang. Due to the slogan of "saving money for refugees", there were only two dishes and one soup at the banquet, mutton stewed with cabbage, beef stewed with potatoes, and carrot soup. However, the portions were large and served in large bowls.

Zhu Anbang laughed and said, "Commander Di's banquets are getting simpler and simpler, almost catching up with Brigadier General Feng Jishan's banquets. Fortunately, there is meat. Brigadier General Feng Jishan is reluctant to eat meat."

Di Xiong said: "This is temporary. After we unify Outer Mongolia and take over Beihai Lake, I will cook for you all and treat you to a 13-course Huaiyang banquet."

Liu Chengliang said: "I don't care what kind of banquet we have. How many troops does the enemy have in this expedition to Lake Uvs? How strong is their fighting force?"

Wu Chunfeng, who was sitting opposite Di Xiong, said: "There are more than 8,000 Mongolian local armed forces in the Wubu Su Lake area, but they belong to three Mongolian princes. There are contradictions and conflicts among them. It should not be difficult for you to defeat them."

Di Xiong said: "If you need air force assistance, you can ask me. I will ask the logistics department to set up a gas station along the way. The planes need to refuel along the way before they can fly to Lake Uvs."

Liu Chengliang said: "If there are only more than 8,000 local armed forces, there is no need for the air force to participate in the war. As long as there are enough artillery shells and bullets, it will be fine. I still know the combat effectiveness of the Mongolian army."

After seeing off Liu Shuliang and Zhu Anbang, Di Xiong asked Wu Chunfeng: "Has the Baotou Intelligence Station received any news about Feng Jishan recently? We haven't heard from him for a long time."

Wu Chunfeng said, "According to your request, the Baotou Intelligence Station set up an intelligence group in Xi'an, Shaanxi. The news came that after Lu Jianzhang became the governor of Shaanxi, he made a lot of money in Shaanxi. Many wealthy families in Shaanxi were accused of colluding with bandits by Lu Jianzhang, and their homes were arbitrarily confiscated and their property was looted. Even Zhang Yunshan, a former anti-Qing hero and former governor, was not spared. His property was confiscated, and even his two concubines were taken over by Lu Jianzhang. Feng Shenshan repeatedly urged Lu Jianzhang not to do this, but Lu Jianzhang got tired of it and ordered him to be sent to Sichuan to suppress the bandits. At this time, Feng Jishan should be in the eastern part of Sichuan."

Di Xiong sighed and said, "Lu Jianzhang has committed many evil deeds, and his retribution is coming soon. The only commendable thing about his life is that he promoted Feng Shenshan."

On June 24, 24-year-old Di Xiong and 19-year-old Lan Jinchun announced their marriage. Against the backdrop of "squeezing money to serve refugees", the wedding was very simple and low-key, with only two banquet tables. Even the Mohists of the Justice Party did not come. Leng Hanbing used illness as an excuse and did not attend the wedding.

On the night of the wedding, Leng Hanbing brought a bottle of wine and went to Bai Xiuling's house. He estimated that Bai Xiuling would not attend Di Xiong's wedding. After knocking on the door, Bai Xiuling really opened the door, but there was a strong smell of alcohol in the room. Bai Xiuling's hair was messy, her eyes were red, and she walked unsteadily. It was obvious that she had drunk a lot of alcohol and had just cried.

After learning that Bai Xiuling and Di Xiong had broken up, although Lan Jinping tried his best to tell her that he was pursuing Bai Xiuling, Leng Hanbing did not look for her considering that Bai Xiuling was in a period of grief. It was not until tonight that he mustered up the courage to look for her, but he did not expect that she had not yet gotten over her grief.

Bai Xiuling seemed to know that he would come. She took a wine glass from the kitchen cabinet and placed it on the dining table. There were already two empty wine bottles and several packages of braised dishes on the table.

Bai Xiuling took the bottle from Leng Hanbing, filled the glass and handed it to Leng Hanbing, then she took a sip of wine from the bottle.

Leng Hanbing picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. He drank too quickly and even coughed a few times. Bai Xiuling said drunkenly: "I remember you only smoked and didn't drink before, why are you drinking now?"

Leng Hanbing said: "You poured it and handed it to me, how could I not drink it?"

Bai Xiuling said: "Everyone knows and understands the reason why I won't attend the wedding. Why don't you attend?"

Leng Hanbing said: "Because I know you need someone to accompany you the most now, so I came."

Bai Xiuling said, "I'm very happy that you can come and drink with me. Don't mention Di Xiong and the wedding today!" After she said that, she poured Leng Hanbing a glass of wine with the wine bottle and took another big sip of wine.

The two of them quickly finished a bottle of wine. Bai Xiuling was already drunk and unconscious, and was carried to the bed by Leng Hanbing.