20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 487: There's a Terror in the Green Forest
At dusk, the Jiang family held a banquet with a table full of sumptuous food and wine, just waiting for Nanfeng and Xifeng to come back so that everyone could have a good reunion and have fun.

Xue Yingqing was also invited and was now sitting at the dining table, playing and frolicking with Jiang Ya in his arms.

Time is unfair. Everyone grows older, but it leaves no trace on her face.

Shopkeeper Xue now runs several shops on Bagua Street, including a brothel, a restaurant, a cinema, and a coffee shop. Her business is extremely prosperous and the money is rolling in. However, her life is too dull, which makes her feel bored. Therefore, she has to travel every now and then to play and have fun. She doesn't want to work hard on trivial matters and just wants to be a hands-off shopkeeper and live a carefree life.

Wang Zhengnan arrived very early, bringing with him his slim and slender wife.

This sister-in-law is called Cheng Fang. She is good-looking, elegant in conversation, and wears silk and satin, and wears gold, silver, pearls and jade ornaments. Firstly, Nanfeng can earn money to support the family; secondly, her family is also a merchant in the city. Although their financial resources are limited, they have no worries about food and clothing. At first glance, she is a girl raised in wealth.

Everyone sat around the table.

After chatting and laughing, and waiting for a long time, the food was almost cold. Finally, Xifeng came to the banquet alone with a gloomy face.

Seeing this, Hu Xiaoyan asked, "Why didn't Guyu come?"

"Sister-in-law, don't worry about her. She can come or not if she wants." Li Zhengxi waved his hand impatiently.

Hu Xiaoyan's eyebrows tightened, and then she asked again: "Did you two fight again?"

But before Xifeng could reply, Jiang Lianheng knocked on the table with his hand and scolded: "Eat your meal, you are not worried enough. I think you are not tired, just faint a few more times."

"Yes, yes, yes, let's eat." Zhao Zhengbei glanced at his sister-in-law and quickly called everyone, "Come on, come on, hurry up and eat. I'm starving."

Everyone understood each other tacitly and tried to say something straightforward to prevent Hu Xiaoyan from thinking too much.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

The setting sun outside the window gradually went down the mountain and the lights in the restaurant were turned on.

Jiang Lianheng put down his chopsticks, lit a cigarette, and suddenly remembered something, so he asked, "By the way, Beifeng, what happened in the camp this afternoon?"

Zhao Zhengbei looked at his sister-in-law, showing some hesitation, but after thinking carefully, he felt that it was impossible to hide this matter from his sister-in-law, so he said frankly: "Brother, Yang Zhuge went back to Fengtian recently, does his family know?"

Jiang Lianheng was startled, frowned and looked at everyone, wondering: "How dare he come back? Didn't Lao Zhang shoot him?"

Three years ago, Yang Zhuge helped Marshal Zhang intercept a batch of arms worth tens of millions.

The Fengtian clique rose suddenly, and he himself was highly valued as a result.

However, Marshal Zhang later became dissatisfied with Yang Zhuge, believing that he was too close to the Anhui clique and that this might lead to unexpected changes, so he sent spies to investigate secretly.

The facts turned out to be just as Lao Zhang had expected. Yang Zhuge and Xiao Xu of the Anhui clique embezzled a large amount of Fengtian clique’s military pay in Junliangcheng, trying to secretly establish their own army.

When the conspiracy was exposed, Yang Zhuge was naturally expelled from the Fengtian clique's top leadership and defected to Anhui and Xu.

Afterwards, the Anhui clique lost power, the Zhili and Fengtian cliques jointly governed the country, and he himself lost his backing.

The fact that Yang Zhuge was exposed and reported had nothing to do with the Jiang family directly, but it was really astonishing that he had played a trick on Marshal Zhang and could now return to Fengtian safely.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhengbei said, "Uh...Brother, it's not that Yang Zhuge dared to come back, but the Marshal personally named him to come back, and according to what the camp said, he will soon be the chief counselor."

"What?" Li Zhengxi asked in confusion, "How can a traitor get promoted?"

Jiang Lianheng thought for a moment and asked, "Beifeng, is there going to be a war?"

Zhao Zhengbei nodded quickly and said, "Yes! Although it has not been explicitly stated above, this year's autumn exercises will be conducted with real guns and live ammunition. The brothers now feel that they will definitely fight by the beginning of next spring at the latest."

There is no room for two tigers in one mountain!
The Zhi and Feng factions joined forces to fight against Anhui, but in the end they would definitely fall out because of the uneven distribution of the spoils.

Wang Zhengnan's eyes rolled, and he suddenly took over the conversation and said, "Xiaobei, if there is a war, there will be business to do here!" He counted on his fingers as he spoke, "Brother, sister-in-law, think about it, canned food, food, military coats, flat shoes... Isn't our family related to the Quartermaster Department? If we take on these jobs and then subcontract them to various businesses and factories, we can make a lot of money!"

"This is a good business." Hu Xiaoyan nodded, "You can try your relationship with the Quartermaster Department."

Zhao Zhengbei waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Sister-in-law, the camp is now working on independent military supplies, and many of the old people have been replaced."

"Changed?"

Everyone was surprised.

Although the Jiang family has extensive connections and wide-ranging information, they are still in the underworld, and it takes some time for news from the government to reach their ears. It is not as fast as Bei Feng, an officer.

There has always been a dispute between the old and new factions within Feng-Zhang; and within the new faction, there is a further distinction between the non-commissioned officer faction and the Luda faction.

As early as the year of Xinhai, Jiang Lianheng had already relied on Lao Zhang as his backer.

At that time, Marshal Zhang was only the commander of one of the five patrol camps and was not a local official at all.

Therefore, among the many powerful people that the Jiang family has attached themselves to, the old-school elders account for the vast majority, and their relationships with them are the most reliable and their friendships are the longest-lasting.

The main reason is that most of the old-school elders came from grassroots backgrounds. Not to mention that Lao Zhang himself had once been a bandit, the patrol camp itself was also composed of militia and local militia.

In other words, these powerful people were originally gangsters with strong underworld habits. Even though they became important military and political figures in the provincial government, they still used to address each other as "brothers" in their daily lives.

The Jiang family's dealings with them were not much different from online code-matching. Many of them even had their spring points fully opened, and they were just like fellow travelers.

New-style figures are different. They are either those who have studied abroad or those who graduated from higher education institutions.

Although these people also love money, they always like to act pretentious and high-handed. Some of them take the money but do not do the job. Some of them are whores but still try to be virtuous. They want to be gentlemen but do not become scumbags, and they want to be beasts in human clothing but do not become beasts. In a word, they are pretending to be noble.

Zhao Zhengbei said: "The war is about to start, and the Marshal is in urgent need of talents. No matter who it is, as long as they have ability and education, they will immediately be superior to others. The old people in the past have been pushed aside."

"It looks like I'll have to spend money again this time." Jiang Lianheng smacked his lips, "Why would you change it just like that? Isn't Lao Zhang afraid of disappointing his brothers?"

Marshal Zhang is the sky above the Jiang family.

As long as Old Zhang doesn't fall, the Jiang family will not be harmed. But Jiang Lianheng always remembers that the King of Hell and the little ghosts are both his backers, and he must show them all the respect they deserve.

However, Hu Xiaoyan was not surprised by this.

As early as eight years ago, the eldest sister-in-law of the Jiang family had already started to prepare for a rainy day - she set up a free school for qualified poor children to study, which prepared a lot of connections for the family.

After these children have studied in the charity school for two or three years, they will be sponsored to go to government-run schools. Thinking of this, Hu Xiaoyan suddenly turned to look at Nanfeng and asked, "How are you doing with the charity school? If there are good students, their families can help them financially. The first batch of children are almost grown up, right?"

Wang Zhengnan nodded and said, "Several of them have been assigned to work in the government offices. There are also two or three smart ones who are now being supported to go to college. Anyway, they all think highly of our family! The boy named Meng Duo is the most promising and seems to be preparing for the qualification to study abroad!"

Hu Xiaoyan smiled and suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment.

Jiang Lianheng said, "Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. How many lifetimes will it take for them to succeed? We should show more respect to those popular people around Lao Zhang!"

Zhao Zhengbei explained: "Yes, yes, yes, recently quite a few people have come from the capital to join the Marshal!"

"Then pay more attention." Jiang Lianheng winked at Xifeng.

Li Zhengxi set up a stall along Xiaohe River. He usually came into contact with many street performers from Beijing, Tianjin and other places, and heard countless gossips from them.

However, Jiang Lianheng was most concerned about the prince's faction.

After all, Old Zhang can't live forever, and the world outside the Great Wall will probably be ruled by Young Zhang in the end.

"Who is our Fengtian's prince close to?" Jiang Lianheng asked, "I should try to go out and about tomorrow."

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words came out, Zhao Zhengbei immediately shook his head and shook his cheeks wildly, and tried to dissuade him: "Brother, stay away from that kind of person. It's okay if you don't send gifts. If you really send gifts, you might end up committing a crime."

"Why, you are selfless, loyal to your country, and don't love money?"

"I don't know whether he loves money or not, but he is petty, difficult to please, and always causes trouble. If you want to give him a gift, you have to give him the most. Otherwise, if he knows that the gift you give him is less than others, it would be better not to give him anything, because he will definitely hate you."

"After talking for so long, what is this person's name?" everyone asked.

"Guo Huailing."

"Who?"

Jiang Lianheng didn't hear clearly, frowned and muttered: "Why haven't I heard of this person?"

"Guo Huailing." Hu Xiaoyan repeated, "I know this person."

"You know?" Jiang Lianheng became increasingly puzzled, and asked with his eyes wide open, "How did you know?"

Not only was he surprised, but even Xue Yingqing and Si Fengkou at the table found it unbelievable. The eldest sister-in-law of the Jiang family sat at home all day long, so how did she know about this person?
Hu Xiaoyan explained: "Guo Huailing was on the list before, the list of the Qinghui party, and he seemed to be a member of the Menghui."

"Do you still remember the list from ten years ago?" Jiang Lianheng couldn't believe it. He turned to Sifengkou and asked, "Do you still remember it?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"It doesn't matter whether you have an impression of him or not." Hu Xiaoyan asked curiously, "The key is that he didn't die back then? There has been no news of his kind in the military camp in recent years, right?"

Zhao Zhengbei sneered and said, "You've never heard of him. He saved his life and returned to Fengtian two years ago. He is an instructor in the Military Academy. Apart from those cadets, who cares about him?"

Jiang Lianheng pondered and said, "What on earth is Old Zhang thinking? Yang Zhuge played a trick on him two years ago, and this guy named Guo is from the Alliance. He took over everything. Aren't you afraid of any trouble?"

"Maybe he really has the ability." said Hu Xiaoyan.

But as soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Zhengbei immediately sneered and said with disdain:
"What ability does he have? I've heard from the brothers in the camp that the old man was a soldier during the Qing Dynasty. He traveled all over the country and was not welcomed anywhere. He spent more than ten years and was the highest he could become a battalion commander, just like me now, more than ten years. He must be really capable, so why would he still be an instructor?"

Bei Feng was a wild-minded man, with a certain amount of arrogance in his bones. When he talked about Instructor Guo, he seemed to have some complaints about him, not knowing whether they had any conflicts in the past.

"If you ask me, Guo Huailing's only ability is to curry favor with the Marshal's prince. Since he hooked up with the young marshal, in less than half a year, he went from being an instructor to a regiment commander. Not long ago, he became a brigade commander and teamed up with the prince. He even included me in it!"

"Being able to curry favor with the Crown Prince is the greatest ability." Jiang Lianheng asked, "Beifeng, you seem to have some opinions about this person?"

"Brother, I'm not the only one who has a problem with him. There are many brothers in the camp who have a problem with him. He has a wicked heart and always likes to find faults. He's like a woman, looking down on this and that all day long. No one likes him."

"The prince likes him, that's enough." Jiang Lianheng said in a deep voice, "You can offend anyone but not the princelings!"

Zhao Zhengbei shook his head: "Brother, whoever wants to see him can see him. Even if he is the prince's godfather, I won't piss on him."

"North wind!" Hu Xiaoyan looked annoyed.

Zhao Zhengbei was startled when he heard the voice, and glanced at his sister-in-law, then gradually lowered his eyes, his voice suddenly softened a lot, and he muttered softly: "I know, sister-in-law, he is the brigade commander and I am the battalion commander, how can I offend him, but if you want me to curry favor with him, forget it."

Everyone was puzzled and asked, "Why do you have such a big problem with Guo?"

Zhao Zhengbei thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing, actually. It's just that the brothers always feel that the guy surnamed Guo looks down on us, as if we are all beards in his eyes. It seems that he is the only good guy in the Fengtian Army, and we are all living bandits! His popularity is so bad, he says this and that every day, I think he even looks down on the Marshal!"

"Crazier than you?" Li Zhengxi joked.

"Hey, Third Brother, why are you cursing?" Zhao Zhengbei frowned and said, "I just think this guy is too fake. Since he looks down on our Fengtian Army, he should resign and change his employer so that our Fengtian Army won't hinder his patriotism. But he refuses to leave now."

Wang Zhengnan laughed and said, "If he leaves, where will he be the brigade commander?"

"Second brother, you are right, so I won't piss on him." Zhao Zhengbei said angrily.

Hu Xiaoyan advised: "Beifeng, you are a soldier now, so control your temper and don't be disrespectful. It will not do you any good."

Jiang Lianheng also advised: "When the prince takes the throne, he might become a general."

Zhao Zhengbei curled his lips and muttered softly, "You are narrow-minded and petty, you can't be a commander."

"Alright, alright. Whether he can become the commander-in-chief is not our concern." Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and said, "We should pay more attention to the personnel changes in the provincial government recently. We should show respect to those who deserve respect. Old Zhang is so anxious to recruit people everywhere. What if another Wang Tiekan pops up to run the Patrol Police Station one day? We should at least be prepared in advance."

Everyone joked, "When will another Captain Zhao come? Then our lives will be much better."

Jiang Lianheng smiled and didn't think much about it.

As the leader of Fengtian's underworld, he felt that he had almost reached the top and it would be difficult for him to make any bigger leaps. Even if Marshal Zhang took control of the Central Plains, there was no need for him to leave the outside of the Great Wall and wade into the muddy waters inside the Great Wall.

Little did they know that at this time an old friend would return, and the prosperous time was finally just around the corner.

(End of this chapter)