20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 617: Brothers Are Here After All the Disasters

"The doctor said he's awake?"

"Well, he was confused for a while in the afternoon and said he wanted to find some water to drink, but I don't know what's going on now."

"Have you given the red envelope?"

"Well, sister-in-law, don't worry. This is a military hospital. The director is an old acquaintance of ours. I gave it to them for a long time, but they refused to take it. They also said that this was an order from the higher-ups, so we shouldn't worry."

"Then don't be vague. Maybe it's inconvenient to accept. Nanfeng, go check the situation of the dean and the doctor's family, and send something to their wives and children. Buy the expensive ones. This is not a violation."

"Okay, I'll do it later."

"Oh, and there are nurses. I'd rather miss one than miss anyone. Let's buy some small foreign goods as a token of our appreciation."

"Okay, okay, I understand."

"Mom, which ward is my fourth uncle in?"

"Shh, Xiaoya, this is a hospital, don't make any noise."

The sound of footsteps, mixed with occasional conversations, slowly came from the corridor.

Then, the door opened and the voice slowly came to the bedside again, but it was suddenly much softer.

His consciousness was in a daze, about to wake up, aware but not reacting, and he was urgently waiting for the gentle call of his loved ones.

"Xiaobei--Xiaobei?"

After calling out a few times, the voice suddenly became louder, even a little harsh.

"Fourth Uncle! Wake up, we are here to see you!"

"Tsk, you naughty kid, I told you to keep your voice down, why are you still making so much noise?"

However, it was this call that made Zhao Zhengbei's eyelids move slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling a little drowsy, then his whole body tensed up and he turned sideways, still subconsciously looking for the gun, but only felt a sharp pain in his arms and abdomen.

Someone joked beside the bed: "It's over, niece. Look how scared you are by your fourth uncle. You don't know what to do."

Zhao Zhengbei remained unmoved until his eyes adjusted to the surrounding light, and then familiar faces came into view one after another.

Big Brother, Dong Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Xiao Huaer...

He blinked and was speechless for a long time. Finally, he remembered that he had long been away from the battlefield and was now in the hospital.

"elder brother?"

"Beifeng, are you awake?" Jiang Lianheng came over and laughed, "Are you dozing off? How are you? Have you recovered?"

Zhao Zhengbei nodded, then lay down flat, turned his head slightly, and saw Hu Xiaoyan sitting in a wheelchair looking at him at the head of the bed.

"Sister-in-law?" Bei Feng was very surprised and tried to lean against the head of the bed. "Why are you here?"

"Xiaobei, don't move, just lie down." Hu Xiaoyan comforted.

At this time, Wang Zhengnan also smiled on the other side of the bed and said, "Of course, my sister-in-law has been very worried these days, and she had to come to see you at night."

Li Zhengxi followed up with a smile and said, "Xiaobei, see, it still has to be you!"

Zhao Zhengbei turned his head in response and realized that it was as dark as ink outside the window. The early summer night was quiet and peaceful.

After he was wounded on the front line, he was rushed to the wounded camp in the rear for rescue.

Fortunately, the prince's brigade had no shortage of military doctors, and Beifeng was an officer, so he was properly taken care of.

After his condition was stabilized in Jinzhou Hospital, he returned to Fengtian this morning along with the Fengtian Army officers' special train.

When the Jiang family heard the news, they naturally rushed to visit as soon as possible.

We met by chance and became like family.

"Fourth Uncle, didn't you see me?" Jiang Ya rushed to the bedside, eager to show herself.

"I saw it, I saw it." Zhao Zhengbei smiled brightly, forgetting the pain and feeling only warmth, "Nephew, niece, you two are here too?"

As soon as the words fell, Sister Hua pushed her son from behind and whispered, "Chengye, speak!"

Jiang Chengye came over reluctantly, grabbed his trouser leg with his hands, and said solemnly: "Fourth Uncle, you should take good care of your injuries and have a good rest. I wish you a speedy recovery."

Everybody laughed.

Even though I knew that the child had memorized the words in advance, I still felt that he was sensible and well-behaved.

Only Jiang Lianheng muttered to himself, "Just these two sentences, I muttered them before coming here, an embroidery needle falling to the ground is louder than this kid's voice."

"Just keep your mouth shut!" Hu Xiaoyan glanced at him and gently reproached him.

Jiang Chengye looked at his father and pretended to say it again.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhengbei quickly waved his hand and said with a smile: "Nephew, no need to say more, Fourth Uncle heard it, thank you."

As he spoke, he suddenly looked at Jiang Ya and pretended to be dissatisfied and reproached: "Niece, what about you? If you came to see your fourth uncle empty-handed, I wouldn't have picked you, but why did you come with an empty mouth?"

Jiang Ya leaned on the bed and jumped twice, her eyes widened mischievously, and said, "Are you unhappy to see me? It's been such a long time since you came back, I miss you so much."

"One look is not enough, why don't you stay and accompany me?" Zhao Zhengbei joked.

Jiang Ya answered very straightforwardly - "Okay!"

"You agreed so readily?"

"Then please ask the teacher for leave for me. I won't go to school tomorrow."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but shake their heads and laugh.

After laughing twice, Zhao Zhengbei felt a dull pain in his wound. Then he suddenly remembered something. A hint of guilt appeared on his face, and he turned to look at his sister-in-law Hu Xiaoyan.

"Brother, sister-in-law, I'm sorry to cause trouble to the family."

"What kind of trouble is this?" Hu Xiaoyan was puzzled. "It's just a stay in the hospital. You are an officer, so you have this treatment. It doesn't cause any trouble to your family."

Zhao Zhengbei shook his head and said, "No, I mean, my family tried very hard to get me transferred back, but I refused to leave because I wanted to save face, so my family wasted their time."

Hu Xiaoyan finally understood, but she started laughing for no apparent reason.

This smile confused Zhao Zhengbei.

Jiang Lianheng explained, "Beifeng, this is just a coincidence. Fortunately, you didn't come back. The two officers who delivered the letter home were arrested by Lao Zhang two days ago."

"Did he pull it off?" Zhao Zhengbei was caught off guard.

"Not just the two of them." Li Zhengxi immediately echoed, "In the past two days, the old officer was dismissed. If you had followed him back, you might have been implicated as well."

Zhao Zhengbei recalled the time when he argued with the West Route Army Headquarters, so he asked, "What about Zhang Xuwu?"

"Him? If Old Zhang doesn't agree, he'll never be able to return to Fengtian in his lifetime." Jiang Lianheng said, "The provincial capital's secret agents are now monitoring Zhang Xuwu's family all day, just waiting for the Marshal's word!"

In this case, Bei Feng’s retort would probably not be pursued.

Zhao Zhengbei breathed a sigh of relief. He was not worried about his career being hindered, but was afraid that the Jiang family would be implicated and suffer losses.

At this time, Wang Zhengnan said again: "However, Xiaobei, you will definitely not be punished. I will tell you a little news in advance--"

He came over mysteriously, lowered his voice, and continued, "I heard from the Military Governor's Office that you are likely to be promoted. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, you will be Captain Zhao in the future!"

After he finished speaking, he quickly added: "It's just gossip, gossip, it hasn't been announced yet, don't make it public, it's not good if it leaks out, just keep it to yourself!"

Everybody laughed and said that apart from you who kept repeating it, no one else said anything.

Li Zhengxi curled his lips and said, "I feel that this official is promoted too slowly. How can he be a regimental commander for killing the enemy? At least he should be a brigade commander!"

"Don't take it for granted. If the old guard doesn't move, it won't be easy for them to move up!" Wang Zhengnan was quite satisfied. This statement hit the nail on the head for the Zhang Group.

The main contradiction within the Fengtian Army was that there were too many old brothers occupying high positions, and the upward path for the new faction was blocked, so they were particularly eager for war.

The promotion from battalion commander to regiment commander seems to be just one step away, but in fact it is a huge difference.

At the regimental level, he was already considered a senior officer.

Moreover, the most important thing is that the Fengtian Army suffered a defeat after all. Even if some individual officers performed well, they could not be rewarded generously. It would not sound good if this matter were to be spread.

Zhang Zhengdong remained silent for a long time, then suddenly asked, "How many people can the captain lead?"

"The score situation," Zhao Zhengbei explained, "depends on whether it is fully staffed and what type of troops it is, but it should be at least 1,300 to 1,500 people."

"That's a high-ranking official." Zhang Zhengdong nodded and said, "Xiao Bei, that's pretty impressive."

As he was speaking, Jiang Lianheng suddenly reached into his arms, fumbled for a moment, and took out a flat box the size of a palm from his arms, and handed it to Zhao Zhengbei with a smile.

"Bei Feng, look at what this is. Old Cai from the Military Supervisory Office specially asked me to go get it today. You finally brought honor to our family."

Zhao Zhengbei took it with his left hand, and before he opened it, he had already guessed that it should be a medal commending military achievements.

"Originally, it should have been awarded by Lao Zhang himself, but you are a wounded soldier, and Lao Cai is familiar with me, so he asked me to go and get it for you first." Jiang Lianheng said with some pride.

Zhao Zhengbei weighed the medal in his hand twice, without even looking at it, and then handed it to his sister-in-law, like a child handing a perfect test paper to his parents, and said:

"Sister-in-law, this is for you."

Seeing this, Jiang Ya immediately stretched out her hand and shouted, "Let me see, Mom, let me see."

"Don't grab it!" Hu Xiaoyan opened the lid of the box carefully, "Be careful not to drop it on the ground and break it."

Everyone laughed and said that it was not made of porcelain, so how could it be broken?
Looking down, he saw a second-class Wenhu Medal under the ribbon, which was originally only awarded to senior military officers. It was an exception to award it to Beifeng.

The medal is made of silver enamel with an octagonal star. At first glance, it looks like a maple leaf, but it is filled with five colors, and in the middle sits a tiger with its tail upright. It is vivid, exquisite and sparkling.

"I'll install it for you later and hang it in your room." Hu Xiaoyan was very pleased, but she couldn't help but feel scared. "Don't work so hard in the future. We don't ask for merit, but we just hope to avoid mistakes."

Zhao Zhengbei nodded, but only to comfort his sister-in-law.

Little do people know that on the battlefield, not fighting is the biggest mistake.

"Oh right." Bei Feng was suddenly stunned. "Brother, is the battle over? Have any of my comrades come back?"

Jiang Lianheng shook his head and said, "I don't know, but I heard that Lao Zhang will be back tomorrow, so he won't continue fighting. But the soldiers haven't come back yet, so they should be waiting for negotiations."

It turned out that the battle of Shimenzhai did deal a considerable blow to the Zhi army.

Although it did not turn defeat into victory, it was enough to make Wu Xiucai understand that the Fengtian Army was not entirely a mob, and still had enough strength to defend the three provinces.

The victory of this blocking battle not only quickly alerted the Zhi army, but also changed the attitude of the Japanese towards the Fengtian army.

The Small Japanese Cabinet was originally debating whether to continue supporting Marshal Zhang. However, after this battle, the "pro-Zhang faction" immediately became energized and stepped up pressure on the Zhi army.

The United Kingdom and the United States, which were behind Wu Xiucai, did not want to completely break off relations with the Japanese, so they turned to mediating negotiations.

On the other hand, Sun Dapao in the South received funding from Marshal Zhang and immediately expressed his support for Zhang, intending to change the route of the Northern Expedition.

When Sun Dapao called for help, it seemed as if Marshal Zhang also instantly had a hint of the tragic color of "saving the country and the people".

Wu Xiucai was afraid that he would sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire outside the Great Wall, which would lead to a fire in his backyard, so he quickly withdrew his troops to guard against the Southern Kingdom and once again instigated infighting among the warlords in Guangdong and Guangxi.

For all these reasons, both the Zhi and Feng families seemed to want to stop while they were ahead and just put on a show.

Naturally, peace talks were put on the agenda.

"It just so happens that Marshal Zhang is coming back tomorrow, and I have something to report to him!" Jiang Lianheng muttered to himself.

Zhao Zhengbei was slightly alert and asked subconsciously: "Brother, what happened at home?"

"Don't mention it. There are a few hilltops in Jilin Province that are rebelling." Jiang Lianheng cursed, "Fuck it, they can rebel if they want, but they have to rob..."

Before she could finish her words, Hu Xiaoyan suddenly interrupted and said, "Xiaobei, don't worry about the things at home. Just take good care of your injuries. Your brother can handle it."

"Isn't this just idle chat?"

"If you want to talk, go home and talk!" Hu Xiaoyan glared at him, "Why are you talking about this in the hospital?"

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about it anymore." Jiang Lianheng waved his hands impatiently.

Li Zhengxi looked at his watch and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, it's getting late. Why don't you go back first? I'll stay here to accompany Xiaobei."

"No, no!" Zhao Zhengbei said hurriedly, "Third brother, you should go back too. We are all back in Fengtian. There is nothing to do."

Hu Xiaoyan immediately rejected it, "No, Xiaobei, listen to your third brother. You need to have a family member around to take care of you. That way I can rest assured. The military camp has given you a long vacation. You don't have to worry about anything. If you have any problems, go to your third brother. If you can't, go to your second brother."

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Zhao Zhengbei had no choice but to nod and agree.

Afterwards, they chatted for a while.

Seeing that it was getting later, they finally got up and left.

Li Zhengxi stood up again and sent his brother, sister-in-law and others to the corridor.

When they reached the stairs, Jiang Lianheng walked to the wheelchair consciously, picked up Hu Xiaoyan, and walked in front without saying a word.

Zhang Zhengdong followed closely behind carrying a wheelchair.

When they reached the lobby on the first floor, Hu Xiaoyan suddenly became nervous and whispered in Jiang Lianheng's ear, "Put me down quickly. It's not good for people to see me."

"It's already this late, and there are still people who saw it. You are the only one who is narrow-minded."

Jiang Lianheng held Hu Xiaoyan in his arms nonchalantly and walked out of the hospital gate. Two black Ford cars were parked at the door.

The driver and several of the gang members quickly opened the car door and nodded respectfully, "Boss!"

"Hua'er, you guys take that car, squeeze in, and go back first." Jiang Lianheng turned around and ordered.

Hu Xiaoyan was surprised and asked, "Where are you going so late?"

"You finally get to go out, so I'll take you around the city!" Jiang Lianheng put Hu Xiaoyan in the back seat, and then he got in too.

"Dad, where are you two going? Take me with you!" Jiang Ya ran over, and without caring whether her father agreed or not, she immediately opened the car door and squeezed into the back seat.

"This unfortunate child is like a sticky plaster, get out!"

"I do not!"

Jiang Lianheng glared at her and threatened, "You little bitch, if you dare to talk back, I'll throw you into the hospital and let the doctor give you an injection!"

"Forget it, just take her with you!" Hu Xiaoyan said, "Don't let her make noises there, my head hurts."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ya immediately grinned as if she had succeeded.

Wang Zhengnan then got into another car with Sister Hua and Jiang Chengye, preparing to return to the mansion in the north of the city first.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhengdong walked straight to Jiang Lianheng's car, knocked on the driver's window, raised his hand and said to the driver: "You, get out, I'll drive."

The driver dared not say a word and got off the car immediately. Then he called a few other drivers to jog along and provide escort.

"Boom—boom!"

The car door is closed.

So, the two cars started at the same time and honked at each other.

Soon, in the vast night, one on the left and one on the right, they gradually walked away...

(End of this chapter)