20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 383 The bird flies away with the phoenix

I came to the corner of the front desk of the hotel and picked up the phone. The sound of the south wind came from the receiver.

"Hello? Lao Zhang, are you clean around here?"

Jiang Lianheng leaned on the front desk with his elbows, looked around sideways, and whispered back: "Speak."

Wang Zhengnan's tone was relaxed and somewhat festive: "Brother Dao, good news comes from the boudoir, Zhang Yuting has been promoted!"

Jiang Lianheng was stunned and quickly lowered his voice and asked, "Fat Duan is gone?"

"That's not true!" Wang Zhengnan couldn't hide his excitement and said, "The 28th Division is going to mobilize troops, which can be said to scare that Duan Zhigui away. There is a rumor, which has not been announced yet, coming from the military camp, saying that Zhang Laoge is going to He served as General Shengwu and also served as the envoy to Fengtian."

General Sheng Wu, supervises the military affairs of Feng Province.

The patrol envoy is the civil affairs officer of Feng Province.

With the help of Hong Xian's farce, Zhang Laogao's "plot to force the palace" succeeded, and he finally became a local official as he wished, and is about to display his tyrannical ambitions.

Serve people and serve them, and they will arrive as expected.

The news was brought back by the north wind. The drama of forcing the palace, defeating the superior, and the commotion in the military camp for a month. Zhao Zhengbei finally got a chance and asked for a half-day vacation. After all, he was a student of the Jiangwu Hall who had studied for one and a half semesters. His treatment was different from that of the top soldiers, not to mention the Jiang family. There are also accommodating connections.

Lao Zhang has been promoted to high rank, and chickens and dogs have ascended to heaven. Of course, the Jiang family has reason to be happy about it.

However, Jiang Lianheng knew that it was not the time to be happy now.

He put the microphone to his mouth and asked in a low voice: "Did you tell the boss about those trolls?"

"Brother Dao, can I not do what you asked me to do!" Wang Zhengnan explained, "But after all, we are not leading troops. When the news is reported, can they take it seriously and handle it seriously? We can’t make the decision, but I’ll tell you everything I can talk to.”

"Then you should be more careful these two days." Jiang Lianheng warned carefully.

There is no airtight wall in the world, and military camps may not be monolithic. Since the news of the Zongshe Party's smuggling of arms has been spread, we must be careful of those old braids who will retaliate against them after learning the news.

Wang Zhengnan didn't expect this. Now that he heard the reminder, he responded solemnly.

Jiang Lianheng took advantage of the situation and asked, "Is everything okay at home?"

"It's fine. Nothing's wrong. My sister-in-law asked me to tell you about family matters. Don't worry."

"Tell Auntie to pick up the phone."

"Who?" Wang Zhengnan was a little surprised.

It wasn't until he was convinced that Brother Dao was looking for Xu Ruqing that he said "wait a moment" blankly, then put down the phone and heard the sound of footsteps.

Jiang Lian's face darkened and he felt dissatisfied. What he was dissatisfied about was why Hu Xiaoyan didn't talk to him on the phone. He had already been in Dalian for four days and three nights - four days and three nights! This prodigal old woman, why don’t you miss me? Wait for me to find you? Go ahead and dream!
After a while, the aunt came to answer the phone.

Xu Ruqing was also confused. She picked up the receiver. Of course she wanted to greet her nephew, but she didn't understand why he suddenly thought of discussing it with her.

"Auntie, I remember that you have a junior sister named Xue Yingqing, right?"

Xu Ruqing said "Yeah" and asked quickly: "Have you met her?"

"We met." Jiang Lian smacked his lips and asked hesitantly, "Is there anything wrong with her brain?"

Xu Ruqing smiled and said, "Don't mention me to her, or she will harm you."

Jiang Lianheng choked on his saliva in response. Listening to his aunt's relaxed tone, the so-called "harming you" didn't seem to be a serious matter, but more like a trick to tease and cause trouble. But when he heard it suddenly, he still felt I couldn't help but trembled twice.

"Auntie, we closed the door only after the thief robbed us - it's too late."

Hearing this, Xu Ruqing was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone before asking, "You didn't promise her anything, did you?"

Jiang Lianheng scratched his head, thought a lot, and said, "I just promised to give her two thousand meters, and maybe ask her to set off a firecracker on the beach?"

Xu Ruqing seemed to be relieved: "That's okay. I must do what I promised her. Nothing else matters. She is a very nice person."

"Okay, okay, I understand." Jiang Lianheng said a few words and then planned to hang up the phone.

But unexpectedly, Xu Ruqing suddenly asked in a low voice: "Xiaodao, are you feeling worried?"

"No, but two trees grew."

A burst of laughter from the elders came from the receiver: "Xiaodao, you can't control Xiaoxue. Listen to your aunt and live a good life with Xiaoyan."

"Auntie, I still have something to do here, so hang up first!"

Jiang Lianheng put down the phone and walked to the front desk to settle the bill.

He could clearly feel that when his aunt mentioned the junior sister Xue Yingqing, her mental state improved significantly, and her conversation became more relaxed and humorous, but he didn't want to tell his elders this.

The lady at the front desk gave him change, and when he was about to turn around, the revolving door of the hotel buzzed, and it was Zhao Guoyan who came back.

Not only Zhao Guoyan, but also Yip Chuanghu under the bed also followed him back to the hotel.

"Brother! I thought I was going to die in Dalian and never see you again!"

Chuang Hu came forward with great excitement. Jiang Lianheng raised his hand to pull him over. He walked forward and asked, "Guo Yan, what's going on with that red mantle?"

"Brother, this is an easy idea, but he doesn't seem to be from Hongji Shantang." Zhao Guoyan whispered as he walked up the stairs.

Su Tai, an old braid in a red mantle, stayed with the Japanese military officers and businessmen all night, and then went home to rest in the middle of the night.

Until this morning, when Zhao Guoyan followed him again, he found that Lao Deng was actually working as an errand at the local Civil Affairs Bureau, and his office was next to the hotel.

"Is there such a convenient thing?" Jiang Lianheng grinned, "That'll be easy. In the past few days, the three of us have taken turns staring at Su Tai, and then waiting for Xue Yingqing's letter to tell us what Mr. Rong Wu is about. Just come back when the time comes.”

Zhao Guoyan and Chuang Hu didn't know why, so Jiang Lianheng smiled and asked them to go back to the room to talk in detail.

……

……

In the north of Fengtian City, there is the Jiang family mansion.

It was said that breakfast was too greasy, and lunch was too early. At such an inappropriate time, there were four dishes and one soup on the restaurant table, including steamed fish, braised pork, braised chicken, fried mutton, and beef soup. . Zhao Zhengbei was the only one devouring food at the table.

My sister-in-law, Hu Xiaoyan, sat across from me with a smile in her eyes and reminded me from time to time: "Eat slowly."

Xiao Jiangya put her hands on the table and stood next to Bei Feng, watching intently. She patted her fourth uncle's arm and repeated in a loud voice: "Eat slowly!"

Zhao Zhengbei was so happy that he quickly picked up a piece of fish with the tip of his chopsticks and brought it to his eldest niece's mouth.

The little girl has food in her mouth and is honest.

"Sister-in-law, it's too fast!" Zhao Zhengbei muttered with his mouth full of meat, "When I came back last time, Jiang Ya was still stumbling when talking!"

Hu Xiaoyan looked at her daughter and couldn't help but frown: "When I couldn't speak, I was still very popular. I was so noisy all the time that it made my head hurt."

After Jiang Ya finished eating the fish, she patted her fourth uncle again, pursed her lips and shouted, "You eat meat!"

Zhao Zhengbei smiled and gave her a piece of meat.

Hu Xiaoyan saw this and asked, "Isn't the food in the military camp good?"

"It depends on who you compare with." Zhao Zhengbei poured out another bowl of rice, "For ordinary people, the food in the camp is very good, but if you compare it with our family, it will definitely Not as good as that.”

"You still have to recognize the characters."

"I admit it! I read the newspaper whenever I have free time, and the brothers in the camp say I'm a coward!"

"Don't pay attention to them!" Hu Xiaoyan looked at Bei Feng with high hopes in her eyes, "In our family right now, you are the most promising."

"What's the point?" Zhao Zhengbei waved his hands quickly, "Sister-in-law, I'm just a gatekeeper, doing the same job as Lao Yuan."

Hu Xiaoyan glanced at her and said: "Nonsense, you are a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister! Zhang Laoga has been promoted to a higher level. You are usually smarter and you can't be far behind!"

Zhao Zhengbei said with a look of disgust on his face: "Sister-in-law, you don't understand me yet? I can't stop you from flattering others. I act like a pug every day. What the hell! It's boring!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zhengnan walked into the restaurant and said with a smile: "Put him down! Xiaobei, are you the only one who doesn't know how to flatter me?"

The other three people in Si Fengkou recognized that Bei Feng was sweet-tongued and could please his elder sister-in-law the most, and she also doted on him the most.

However, for Zhao Zhengbei, although Jiang and Hu are not much older than him, they are like elder brothers like father and elder sister-in-law like mother. No matter how sweet-tongued they are, they can only tell them behind closed doors and only to their own families. .

Outside, he couldn't lower his head or bend his waist. Not only could he not say a soft word, but the higher he was, the more innate aversion he felt.

When Hu Xiaoyan saw Nanfeng coming in, she asked, "Have you told your brother about Zhang Laoga?"

"I told you!" Wang Zhengnan replied, "Sister-in-law, if nothing happens, I'll go out and talk to those reporters."

Hu Xiaoyan nodded: "Go early and come back early."

Zhao Zhengbei interjected and asked: "Sister-in-law, where is my third brother? I finally came back and saw everyone I should see except Brother Dao. Is he missing?"

"Him?" Wang Zhengnan patted Bei Feng on the shoulder, "Don't even think about it, he must have gone to hang out with those little fanboys again, and he won't be able to come back!"

Everyone can see that Li Zhengxi seems to have always been nostalgic for the street life in the past.

As long as he has some free time, he likes to hang out with those little beggars. Although he has gained a little fame online thanks to the Jiang family, he is still used to going into battle in person to help those brats calm down.

Hu Xiaoyan saw it but never said anything.

In her opinion, the Jiang family really needs someone like Xifeng to maintain the relationship with those humble little beggars and act as their spy in the city.

It's just that Li Zhengxi takes those kids a little too seriously.

At best, West Wind has never forgotten its roots; at worst, this move seems a bit sloppy.

"Xiao Bei, stay at home first!" Wang Zhengnan said, "When I'm done, I'll call him back." Zhao Zhengbei didn't care: "I'll leave in a while, so pull him down if you don't have time!"

Wang Zhengnan shrugged, smoothed out the faint creases on his clothes, and then walked out of the house. When he came to the gate, he followed Jiang Lianheng's instructions and called two Jiang family thugs to accompany him.

After leaving Jiangzhai, Nanfeng walked along Xiaoxiguan Street and visited various Huayang newspapers and several reporters with whom he had a good relationship.

On the pretext of Jiang Lianheng's assassination, during various farces such as "expelling Duan Zhigui" and "serving people to rule Feng", Wang Zhengnan actually made acquaintance with several influential "writers" in Fengtian by relying on the Jiang family's information, including even... There are also foreigners who have lived outside the customs for a long time.

Both sides communicate with each other.

Nanfeng considered telling the author the reliable rumors in the provincial capital. In return, these newspapers and reporters would exchange the information they had with them, and at the right time, they would keep silent about the dirty things about the Jiang family. , adding fuel and jealousy to the Jiang family’s good deeds.

Fair trade, intangible resources.

The news of these reporters is more diverse than that of a small fan; the articles of these reporters are spread farther and farther than a trumpet mouth.

Wang Zhengnan gradually felt that the number of streets was no longer enough.

Nowadays, the tide of the Jiang family is rising. Brother Dao and his sister-in-law want to succeed. If they don't follow Zhou Yunfu's old path, they can't just rely on the rivers and lakes, but they must also rely on scholars. Even the latter plays a greater role and can gain more recognition.

This prejudice became more and more stubborn as he got closer to those literati.

The aroma of the ink on the newspaper was like precious spices, covering up the stench of rotting meat.

After leaving the newspaper office, Wang Zhengnan went straight to the edge of the river in the south of the city. In the distance, he saw a familiar figure.

The west wind is indeed there!
The midday sun shines on the water surface of Wanquan Garden, making it sparkling. The lotus leaves are new, wrinkled and have not yet grown.

Li Zhengxi was sitting on the embankment next to the bridge pier, his clothes were baggy, his forehead was decorated, and his cheeks were a little swollen, but when the mottled light passed across his face, you could hear his hearty laughter.

Surrounding him were seven or eight older beggars, whose faces were more or less scarred.

One of them had a leprous on his head, which was the same man who had been defeated by the west wind before.

Now everyone is sitting together, each holding the chive box Xifeng bought in their hands, laughing and cursing, calling each other brothers and sisters.

Wang Zhengnan shook his head secretly and walked over quickly.

Just listen to the maniac talking non-stop: "Third brother, I'm going to give you up, but you really don't want your life! You have a gun in your pocket, why don't you scare them?"

Li Zhengxi smiled and waved his hand: "Don't always take out your gun. No, it's too showy. Besides, if you want to do those kicks, why do you need to scare them with a gun? Just scaring them is useless, you still have to give them He needs to be convinced!"

The black-eyed man next to him flattered him: "You have to be the third brother to be fierce!"

Li Zhengxi hugged him over and said, "I think you are quite fierce! Don't run away next time. Let's all come together. Don't let me look down on you!"

"No, no, no, you are here, why should I run away!"

"I'm not here, and I can't run!"

"Yes, yes! Hey, third brother, aren't you from the Jiang family? Why do you never report your number? If you report your number, maybe we won't have to do anything."

"My eldest brother has been in trouble recently, let's not keep causing trouble!" Li Zhengxi warned sternly, "Don't always use the Jiang family's name to show off your prestige. This petty quarrel will embarrass my brother if word spreads! That's right! Okay, those old guys in the affiliated area are keeping an eye on them, right?"

The mangy head quickly replied: "Third brother, you don't have to worry, the little ones are all watching over there! You can't be wrong!"

"West Wind!" Wang Zhengnan's voice suddenly came.

Li Zhengxi turned his head, stood up quickly, slapped his butt twice, and ordered around: "Call second brother!"

Wang Zhengnan frowned, looked up and down, and asked, "Who did you ring with again?"

Li Zhengxi pouted toward the other side of the river and said in a cold voice: "The old Dou who works for the rags on the other side, the two brats under him didn't open their eyes and touched our brothers. I'll give those few a long memory!"

"Old Dou?" Wang Zhengnan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

This man was in his forties. He was originally a beggar. Because of his bad hands and quick brain, he later changed his profession and carried a big weaving basket. He switched to picking up rags on the streets. At first, he would steal, pick up or ask for money. Later, he saved some money and started to collect rags. After collecting the rags, we gradually gathered more than a dozen people, drew a boundary, and set up the cabinets ourselves.

For someone like Lao Dou, if someone from the Jiang family nodded to him, he would have to go to a teahouse to play for three days to promote his status.

"Xifeng, when Old Dou sees you, he has to call you Third Brother -" Wang Zhengnan asked puzzledly, "Send someone to inform him now. Within half an hour, he will have to come over and apologize. You Is it worth fighting with his son?"

"It's hard to reach out and hit the smiling man. He apologized. Didn't our brothers get beaten in vain?"

"How could the beating be in vain? I have to beat him up in front of you!"

"That won't work!" Li Zhengxi shook his head, "For revenge, you have to do it yourself, then you can relieve your hatred!"

The gangsters and others nodded in agreement. Ten of them were normal, and nine were peaceful. In the end, one of them always felt aggrieved.

If Lao Dou really comes to apologize, if he doesn't accept it, he will look petty; if he accepts it, he can no longer take revenge.

Li Zhengxi didn't want to see his brother being wronged, so he simply didn't touch the situation. He first let his brother relieve his hatred, and then he tried to make peace with the situation. He would only let his opponent suffer the injustice.

Wang Zhengnan couldn't make sense and couldn't be persuaded, so he simply didn't get involved. He just asked them how their injuries were and whether they needed to go to the hospital to see a doctor. Finally, he said: "Xifeng, Xiaobei has taken half a day off. Come back with me quickly!"

……

On the way back, the two brothers were bored. They knew everything about each other and what they were thinking. They could even guess the explanations, so it was better to seek common ground while reserving differences and stop talking.

However, I couldn't hold it back even if I didn't say it.

In the end, Wang Zhengnan couldn't hold back and spoke first: "Well... Xiaobei came back and said that Zhang Laogao has been promoted to General Shengwu and Fengtian Xun, and he will take the top spot in Fengtian from now on."

"Well! That's a good thing!" Li Zhengxi said, "Then our Jiang family will be even more tyrannical in the future!"

"Then a rising tide lifts all boats!" Wang Zhengnan nodded, "I heard that Zhang Laoge has some ideas and wants to appoint talents and work hard to govern!"

"The new official has three things to do when he takes office. Whoever replaces him will always do the same thing."

"We have to be more decent in the future, and we can't be so arrogant all the time."

Li Zhengxi turned his head and sighed, and then said: "That's right, you can't be arrogant, but you can't act like a dog and take yourself too seriously, right?"

Wang Zhengnan frowned and said: "Xifeng, we are different now. You have to look like you can take on things. What's wrong with you always showing off your violence and fighting on the street like this? I really do it for your own good." , Aren’t you afraid that one day you’ll meet a dumb guy and fuck you in the street?”

"Second brother, why are we different from before? If we change into clean clothes and eat two full meals, we will be different?"

"Aren't you being arrogant! I mean, when are we going to do something? Then after Zhu Yuanzhang becomes the emperor, can he still discuss things with the beggar?"

"Okay, okay!" Li Zhengxi said impatiently, "Second brother, you have your own style, and I have my own way of doing things. Neither of us can convince the other, so why are we always choking? In the final analysis, aren't we all here for At home?"

"Nonsense!" Wang Zhengnan said sternly, "I have a conscience. Do I need you to remind me what my sister-in-law did to us in the past?"

Li Zhengxi suddenly stopped and looked steadily at the gate of Jiangzhai.

Wang Zhengnan looked up and was startled.

Not far in front of them, Yuan Xinfa and his brothers were seen standing in front of the black iron gate. Standing opposite him were Han Xinyuan and Zhong Yushan.

"Lao Yuan, what's going on with you?" Han Xinyuan frowned and asked, "Is it okay if I come to see Brother Dao?"

Zhong Yushan's face was even more livid: "Big Yuan, are you picking on me? You're blocking me and not letting me in. What do you mean?"

Yuan Xinfa is a stupid person and cannot make up lies to fool people. All he knew was that Jiang Lianheng was not at home. Before he left, he specifically told him that no matter who came to see him, they were not allowed to cross the door and enter the house. He didn't know what the purpose was, and he didn't want to find out. He just wanted to do his job well.

When Jiang Lianheng sneaked into Dalian, it was necessary to hide it from Han Xinyuan and Zhong Yushan.

But what is certain is that once Jiang Lianheng is in danger outside, these two leaders, who have their own voices, will definitely fight for power even if they don't rebel.

Even if Hu Xiaoyan tries her best, she is still just a legless woman.

She was able to calm Si Fengkou because Si Fengkou truly regarded her as his sister-in-law, but Han Xinyuan and Zhong Yushan thought otherwise.

No matter how big or small the matter is, the principles are always the same. How could the king not be afraid of being surrounded by important ministers when he is marching in person? What's more, there are people like Na Min fanning the flames?

Wang Zhengnan and Li Zhengxi hurried over, pretending to be relaxed and asked: "Lao Han, Lao Zhong, are you free to come over today?"

When Zhong Yushan saw this, he immediately frowned and sighed: "Nanfeng, Xifeng, you two are back! How could Brother Dao be so stubborn? He blocks the door every day and won't let me do anything. Go in!"

Han Xinyuan echoed: "You two must have heard about it, right?" He lowered his voice mysteriously, "I heard some people are saying that Zhang Laogao is going to be promoted? Is this happening? I will come together to find out. Brother, ask."

"Isn't that right!" Zhong Yushan said, "If we really get promoted, wouldn't we also take advantage of it? We should be happy and have a good time!"

Wang Zhengnan rolled his eyes twice, then slapped his thigh: "Hey! Don't talk about you two, look at us, haven't we been kicked out too!"

"What's going on?" Han Xinyuan asked.

"Uh... Brother Dao has been having a rough time these past few days. Why, I can't tell you. You two haven't figured it out yet..." Wang Zhengnan said while winking, as if to say that there was trouble at home, but this It is obviously difficult to clarify this matter.

Li Zhengxi took advantage of the situation and patted the two of them on the shoulders: "It happens that nothing happens. How about the four of us go out and do some work?"

"No, Brother Dao -" Han Xinyuan and Zhong Yushan were hesitant.

"Then you two go in and invite Brother Dao! Anyway, we are not going in!" Wang Zhengnan said to Yuan Xinfa, "Old Yuan, don't stop me, let them go in!"

Han Xinyuan and Zhong Yushan looked at each other and said to themselves, don't make yourself miserable.

After all, the two of them had met Jiang Lianheng once two days ago, so they wouldn't suddenly become suspicious.

Wang Zhengnan took the opportunity to talk about Zhang Laogao's promotion, and Li Zhengxi urged him to go for a drink, so the four of them walked towards Xiaoxiguan Juxiang Building while chatting, and a small episode of joy and sorrow began. This trick of covering up the past but concealing the truth seems to be short-lived after all.

Not long after, Zhao Zhengbei suddenly heard a piece of news in the military camp:
The Second Cavalry Brigade of the Fengtian 27th Division "accidentally" intercepted a batch of arms disguised as fortification equipment.

A total of forty-seven carts of Japanese-style equipment, with unknown origins, were secretly secreted...

(End of this chapter)