Xu Xuzhi

Chapter 61 Death
Feng Jiu woke up as soon as he arrived at Shenshi early this morning—today is the seventeenth day of the fourth lunar month, Ning Zheng's 24th birthday, but he is not at home.

She was a little uneasy, probably because when she came back from Beiping last time, Ning Zheng was still persuading the old commander to withdraw from the customs. Although it was close to success, there was still a lot of work to be done.

The latest news is that the Ning army has begun to retreat outside the customs in an orderly manner, but it is still a big project for hundreds of thousands of troops to withdraw in full. After all, the deployment of troops is very cumbersome.

At six o'clock every night, Ning Zheng would still call back, which was also an agreement between the two: for Ning Zheng, even if he couldn't meet face to face, it was good to listen to the voice.

She still misses Feng Ling in her heart—Feng Ling was accompanied by Madam Lu to Tianjin to take the entrance examination for Nankai University a few days ago.The stepmother is from Tianjin, and she was very pleasantly surprised that her daughter applied for the university where her natal family is located, not to mention that she can reunite with her surviving elderly parents in the future. Any child would be happy with such a prospect.

At three o'clock near Mao, the doorbell suddenly rang "Ding Dong Ding Dong".Someone came to ring the bell so early, and it was pressed so quickly, Feng Jiu's unsteady heart jumped rapidly.

Qiu Sheng hurriedly answered the door, and after a while, Feng Jiu, who was already sitting in the living room, heard Qiu Sheng's footsteps coming up hurriedly: "Girl, girl!" There was unprecedented panic in the voice.

Feng Jiu was still wearing a loose nightgown, so he quickly put on his clothes and went downstairs.

Downstairs was actually Hong Fu, who was always calm and composed, and looked like everyone else: "Third Young Mistress!" With tears streaming down his face, he called out in grief: "Old handsome, old handsome..."

Feng Jiu's heart sank.

She followed the old housekeeper quickly to the Daqinglou, which is 50 meters south of the Xiaohonglou, only then did she see a group of people carefully carrying a stretcher with a thickly bulged human figure on it, she calmed herself down , Said in a deep voice: "Send father to the guest room on the first floor, put all the medical equipment at home, and go invite Doctor Xue." Xue Chengren is the medical officer in charge of the health of Mrs. Ning and the old handsome in the Shuaifu.

When the group of people moved quickly, she turned around again, looking calmly and coolly at the faces of the servants from the door to the front of her eyes.Feng Jiu has always been benevolent, but if something happens to her, such as making false accounts and blindly reporting expenses, she will never forgive her lightly. The grievances and grievances towards her are clear. clear and direct.

Now, she slowly said to the obviously panicked servants: "Everyone has sealed their mouths, the matter is urgent, and I don't have much patience now, whoever dares to say a word of nonsense, the military law will serve you."

Everyone shuddered involuntarily: military law instead of family law, I'm afraid it's going to change.

Over the past few years, there have been a few servants who have been shot in the alley behind the Shuai's mansion... Everyone stood obediently and stood with hands down. Feng Jiu saw that this group of people had stabilized, and immediately walked back.

Zou Mingqing, the old man who has been waiting by the side, said in a low voice, Fengjiu walked all the way to listen - the special train to Huanggutun, the explosives buried under the railway by the Kwantung Army, the remote control... The granite stone pier was destroyed. It exploded...the tenth section of the special car only had one chassis left...Wu Dujun's head was pierced with a road nail and died on the spot...Wen Shoushan, the head of the school lieutenant, was buried under the broken wood...The Seventh Concubine's toe was blown off.

The old man was afraid that he was dying, so he only had time to say before he fell into a coma: "Let Chen Zhonger come back quickly." At that time, only the guards were around, and they took advantage of the chaos to move the old man into a car and brought him back. We arrived in time to seal off the scene, and at the same time issued an order for martial law throughout the city. Fortunately, few people saw the real situation of the old man's injury.

But Ning Zheng is still in Beiping, negotiating with his old opponent, the Lu faction, and fighting for the third and fourth armies, so what should we do during the period before the young commander returns?
Feng Jiu stopped, feeling unreal about the old commander's attack: the famous Generalissimo of the Ning Army was safe and sound in the hail of bullets in the Central Plains, but unexpectedly he was assassinated in the base camp...

When she arrived at the gate of Daqinglou, she had already made up her mind, and whispered to Zou Mingqing to make a few phone calls before stepping in by herself.

At this time, the three concubines, sister-in-law and second sister-in-law of the Shuai Mansion had already entered the guest room at the east end of the first floor, and Feng Jiu could already hear their faint cries in the gloomy corridor.

Feng Jiu walked in with a calm expression: "Ladies, sister-in-law and second sister-in-law, the situation is urgent, everyone should be calm, and do what you should do. This is the greatest comfort to father. We must wait until Ruiqing comes back." Take charge of the overall situation, as long as you take care of it slowly, father, it will be fine."

Mrs. Shou, who has always been the most thoughtful, sighed: "Then what should we do?"

Feng Jiu said softly: "I'm afraid that after a while, the Japanese will come to inquire about the news. I hope all the ladies will not reveal their flaws. What were you doing at this time in the past, and what are you still doing now?"

Mrs. Shou nodded: "Okay. Mistress Third, don't worry. Then at eight o'clock, we will still play mahjong."

Feng Jiu agreed, and turned his head to the always reticent, but down-to-earth sister-in-law and said: "Sister-in-law, please take care of grandma's place - let the old man know something first. In addition, don't Let grandma come out, I'm afraid that many people will come to the door to check the news in the future, the mess is annoying, and it is said that her old man got angry and fell ill."

The sister-in-law's eyes were red, she nodded silently.

Feng Jiu then said to the second sister-in-law who was wringing her handkerchief anxiously, "Second sister-in-law, just take Hong Yun and Yanying with you, and the two children are enough to keep you tired."

Yan Leling looked at Feng Jiu gratefully, this sister-in-law has always been considerate and thoughtful since she came to the mansion, and never picks things up.

"That's it, thank you ladies and sisters-in-law."

The five female relatives wiped away their tears, grinned, practiced their facial expressions, corrected each other, and walked out one by one as if nothing had happened.

Feng Jiu watched them leave, and immediately went to check. Medical officer Xue was busy, and there was a military doctor beside him to help. The necessary medical equipment and medicines were ready-made, but seeing the old man's face was gray, his breathing was heavy, and most of his body was covered It was so shattered that it was beyond sight.Her tears welled up, and she immediately raised her hand to wipe them away, asking, "How's the situation?"

Medical officer Xue was sweating profusely, and the military doctor was wiping him. He took turns administering all kinds of special hemostatic drugs and penicillin in his hand, but the old man's sanity never recovered. Surgery?absolutely unnecessary...

He turned his head, looked sharply at Feng Jiu, and slowly shook his head.

Feng Jiu's heart plummeted to the bottom, that tiny bubble of hope was completely shattered.

At this moment, Hong Fu hurried in, held his mouth and whispered in her ear, "Consul General Hayashi Kujiro of the Japanese Consulate, please see me."

coming.Feng Jiu suddenly had a sense of absurdity that the curtain opened, and many ghosts and monsters were about to dance furtively.

She nodded and said, "I'll go there right away."

After explaining a few more words to Doctor Xue in a low voice, Feng Jiu went straight upstairs and entered a cloakroom next to the dance room, where she kept a set of dowry and all kinds of dignified and elegant reception clothes, in case she came over occasionally to attend It is used for balls and receptions held in Daqinglou.

She lightly painted her eyebrows and eyes until the tear stains just now were covered up, and the woman in the mirror looked more and more radiant. She changed into a light yellow pearl satin Western-style dress with an elegant color and slightly bright colors, and put on a Diamond earrings, put on transparent glass stockings, and dove gray ballet shoes, and then hurried downstairs, heading straight for the living room.

As soon as he entered the living room, Hayashi Kujiro, who was wearing a black suit and had met him a few times, immediately stood up holding the brim of his hat. He was of medium stature, with a gentle and determined expression——this morning, just after dawn, he was struck by a violent Woke up by the sound of the explosion, I immediately got up and called Kamada, the director of the Manchurian Iron and Steel Corporation, to confirm that the matter was almost inseparable.

Therefore, he waited patiently for a while, and when the time came that he would not be abrupt even if he visited, he immediately came to the Shuai's mansion to find out.

Feng Jiu took a deep breath: he is still here, and he came here in black clothes when he was visiting a doctor. He is known as one of the most famous "China hands" in Japan. It's not that he doesn't understand etiquette.

But Feng Jiu still had a bright smile on his face, and walked in lightly...

Hong Fu looked at Feng Jiu standing at the door of the living room and watched Hayashi Jiujiro leave with a smile. His slender body, thin and fragile, but his shoulders and back were extremely straight, which seemed to contain great courage. Nodding her head, she said to Zou Mingqing who entered the room early to wait on him: "Third young master is blessed...Third young mistress is really calm!"

At this time, another concierge came in to report that Zang Shiyi, the chief of staff of the Fengtian Army, asked to see him, and Liu Shangqing, the governor of Fengtian, came back from the scene to ask for an audience...

The alley outside Shuai's mansion was already crowded with reporters from major newspaper offices with cameras.Feng Jiu knew that there would be wave after wave of people who were genuinely concerned, or just watching the excitement, or who had ulterior motives and wanted to find out the truth.

She was thinking in a trance that during the phone call last night, Ning Zheng, who was in Peiping, said in his usual light but undeniable tone: "Tomorrow is my birthday, I can't make it back in time." , So, tomorrow morning, don’t forget to eat a bowl of birthday noodles for me and boil an egg, and I’ll check it when I get back.”

Feng Jiu was still very unconvinced and asked him how to check. Ning Zheng's sly voice crept into her cochlea along the phone line, as if someone else was beside her, as usual, ambiguous and full of other things. He licked her ears meaningfully, and whispered confidently: "I have my own way."

Such homely words, when I think about it now, it was only a night ago, and it seems like a previous life.

Old Marshal Ning is an extremely complicated character. He values ​​love and righteousness, treats and appeases the people in the Northeast, insists on national unity, has been hypocritical with the Japanese for many years, has unparalleled ambition, and is ignorant of modern politics... He It is a content that cannot be ignored in modern Chinese history.

Suddenly, Hong Fu walked over quickly, his lips trembling slightly...

She immediately returned to the temporary ward where the old handsome was. The old handsome who had been unconscious had managed to open his eyes. He was breathing hard, and a hole was blasted in his throat, panting like a bellows.

He raised his hand slightly, Feng Jiu quickly held it, the old man coughed a few times, and a loving smile appeared on his lips: "Jiu girl, stay with Chen Zhong'er well, with you, he, he will not It's going to be messed up..."

Feng Jiu looked at this elder who had been loving her so much since she entered the door, her eyes were blurred with tears, she nodded quickly, and the tears also fell on the long skirt.

The old man let out a long breath - mother, other children, aunts and wives... No need to explain, someone will take good care of them.He smiled and said: "You are a six, and Chen Zhong'er also has a nickname named Xiao Liuzi. You are really... a match made in heaven; I, don't worry... tell Xiao Liuzi that the Northeast belongs to China, there must be no mistakes... "The voice gradually became lower and lower until it could no longer be heard.

With a mournful expression, Feng Jiu stretched out his hand and looked up at Doctor Xue.Doctor Xue came over to check the old handsome's breathing and pulse, rolled his eyelids again, and stood up slowly: "The old handsome is gone. My condolences, everyone."

A generation of heroes has fallen.

Everyone in the room had already been instructed to cover their mouths and not dare to cry out, and to wipe away any tears they shed—this news can be kept hidden for as long as possible, and crying has become a luxury now.

Once out of this door, you should act as if the old man is recuperating and his condition is slowly improving.

Feng Jiu glanced at Zou Mingqing who had come back and said, "Have you sent a secret telegram to Third Young Master?"

Zou Mingqing nodded heavily: "The third young master has already known about it. But the situation in the pass... Once the deployment of the north retreat is completed, we will rush back, young lady, you must hold on for a few more days."

Feng Jiu was silent, and then immediately said loudly to the old man's most trusted valet: "Don't worry, it's okay."

Governor Liu Fengqing of Fengtian came over and made an invitation gesture. Fengjiu entered the living room with him. , Fengtian and the three eastern provinces, there is no chaos, please rest assured."

Feng Jiu nodded his head slightly to show his gratitude - this is a very important preventive step, otherwise, the Japanese will take the opportunity to attack because the old man's heir is not in Fengtian, and there will be chaos in the three eastern provinces without a leader.

Governor Liu also said, "It is a fact that the general was attacked and injured. We still have to send a telegram, and we are going to write something like this-'The chief is also slightly injured, and his spirit is still good, and the provincial capital is also peaceful as usual' to prevent rumors and stabilize people's hearts." .”

"You're right." Feng Jiu agreed: there was such a big commotion this morning that a deaf person would wake up, blindly whitewashing the peace will not work at all, it would be better to hide half of it, true and false, false and true.

After a little hesitation, Governor Liu said again: "Matsui, the old man's military adviser, said that he was afraid that there would be a vacancy in power and that someone would take advantage of it. He just expressed his support for Tu Yuting's ascension; Qin Zhenci, the chief of the agency, supported the third young master. Of course I stood for the third Less here, but the old commander did not leave a verbal order, so I am afraid there will be some fighting skills, please be mentally prepared."

Feng Jiu flickered in his heart, but he just smiled calmly on his face: "Thank you Governor Liu for telling you frankly, no matter what decision San Shao makes, I will support him."

Governor Liu nodded slightly, and went out, leaving only Feng Jiuli at the door, watching him go.Feng Jiu walked back to the empty living room, sat down, looked at the banner hanging on the wall, and wrote "Whether there is a book or not, I have nothing to say to others." After reading it for a long time, I thought of the old handsome as a reckless person. The past of the hero, and now even the whole person has become the past, his eyes were sour, and he almost burst into tears again.

From Fengtian people's point of view, although their old man was blown up, and with the glass cover (knee), everyone knew that it must have been blown up by the goddamn little Japan, but the old man was auspicious, and it really didn't matter, so the hearts of the people in the city Anwen, although some things have been troubled by the martial law, the people still live as usual.

However, the Japanese, who have always been arrogant and swaggering, could not sit still. Days of martial law and private rumors hinted again that the Ning army might carry out large-scale retaliation against the Japanese in Feng, so they ran to the consulate to ask for protection. In the end, Consul General Hayashi Kujiro had to set up fences and heighten the barbed wire to appease the panic of the expatriates, and the increasingly tense atmosphere even made Kamada, the director of the Manchuria Railway Office, cry out in fright.

He is also Japanese, Araki Goro, the leader of the model team of the Ning Army's third front regiment, also known as Huang Mu. Retaliation, lest the Kwantung Army stationed in Jinzhou and Lushun not far away find an excuse to send troops.

Later facts proved that this suggestion was wise.

It is now June NO.17, nearly half a month has passed since the boss was bombed.

Feng Jiu rubbed her cheeks, she was really tired from laughing, during this period of time, except for her father and elder brother who came to the mansion to inquire about the news and appease her on the second day after the explosion, the girlfriends had no choice but to not come to the house in order not to cause trouble But they called to express their condolences, which gave her a little comfort, and she received six or seven calls every day from the Japanese wives and other factions who came to inquire about the news.

Sometimes she couldn't bear it any longer, so she asked Mrs. Shou to come out to deal with the less important "guests". These female family members with ulterior motives would deliberately stand in the front yard, and if they came at night, they would sneak a peek at the bright lights in the old man's bedroom. During the day, the servants who peeked at the handsome’s mansion still carried two stacks of food boxes to deliver meals to the old handsome with a relaxed expression, while Dr. Xue went in and out every day with a smile on his face to change the old handsome’s medicine, and when he left, he took the records The details of the medical process went back to the guest house at the back, and there were even new opium and smoking utensils brought in from outside... It is well known that the old man smokes opium.

Several concubines, except for the seventh concubine who was hospitalized for recuperation due to a few toes being blown off, the others are still beautiful, pampered and leisurely living every day, so that outsiders can't see anything unusual at all.

Not to mention the young marshal's wife, every time she comes out to entertain the female relatives, the costumes are exquisite and gorgeous, the light makeup is elegant and just right, her face is like a peach blossom, and there is always such an uplifting spirit all over her body, The expression is gentle and polite, and occasionally shows moderate impatience.

That's right, anyone who receives so many female relatives for so many days, and says the same thing dozens of times, will be impatient. This young wife is already quite patient.

After detecting such a situation, the Japanese wives went back to report the truth.

The Kwantung Army was greatly disappointed: Marshal Ning was so lucky, and such a large equivalent of explosives only injured him and did not die.

In order to make the old man recover faster, and out of personal safety considerations, irrelevant people of all kinds will naturally be kept out of the door, which is beyond reproach.

This is the power of an old man who has spent his entire life in the army: even if he is injured, he is still a fierce tiger, and the remaining prestige is still there, and all forces dare not talk or move.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Feng Jiu suddenly heard a small-scale commotion at the door, and a man wearing stars and wearing moons came striding forward...

Feng Jiu's eyes suddenly filled with tears.

When Ning Zheng received the call, it happened that the senior generals of the Ning Army had gathered at Zhongnanhai Wanzi Gallery to celebrate his birthday. Everyone knew that this might be the last time to celebrate him in this center of Chinese power.

Unexpectedly, the ensuing telegram was like a bolt from the blue, instantly turning the lively birthday party into mourning.

Ning Zheng and the Legion Headquarters had to evacuate immediately. They set off immediately and quickly retreated to Luan County, Eastern Hebei.

After the Ning army retreated to the north and the closing matters were generally completed, Ning Zheng prepared to return secretly.

It took a lot of thought for Ning Zheng to return safely: Yin Yage personally drove a locomotive to transport soldiers from the Ning Army. After all, he was an American. Ning Zheng's safety will be better guaranteed if more citizens are in the car.

After arriving at Fengtian Railway Station without any danger, Yin Yage, who was wearing a peaked cap, took off his cap, only to find that he was already drenched in sweat.

With a dirty face, Ning Zheng was dressed as a sergeant of a gray cavalry company of the guards and wore a pseudonym of "Wang Desheng" on his chest. He went straight to Feng Jiu and took off his military cap, revealing his bluish scalp.

Even so, even though he disguised himself as a dark-faced boiler worker in order to hide his eyes and ears, and only returned from Jidong in the stuffy tank truck of the cavalry company, this kind of dress made him full of rough masculine charm that he had never had before.

He remained silent, staring directly at her with a pair of dark eyes, and suddenly stretched out his hand to wipe her eyes lightly from left to right: "Sorry, I didn't bring a handkerchief."

Feng Jiu wanted to laugh, but she still didn't. She pulled out her handkerchief to wipe away her tears, and took Ning Zheng's hand into the brothel without saying a word.

In the Northeast, it is not allowed to shave the head of the elders within a hundred days, but Ning Zheng still shaved his head under the collective urging of his staff before leaving, because he was afraid that if he was caught by the Japanese halfway, he could still deceive them. Sure enough, they were interrogated twice by the Japanese Kwantung Army on the pretext of safety along the way.

Ning Zheng's return shows that the Ning army's northward retreat, which has been intensively arranged since the old man was bombed, has been carried out in an orderly manner. At the same time, the internal struggle among the various parties in the Ning army to decide who is the old man's successor has also come to an end.

The next morning, at the meeting of various corporations in Fengtian, without any objection, Ning Zheng was publicly elected as the successor of "Fengtian Military Affairs Supervision Office".Afterwards, officials and businessmen from all walks of life went to pay homage, and the whole city hung flags to celebrate.

On the afternoon of the fifth day after Ning Zheng returned to Fengtian, the Fengtian Military Affairs Supervision Office finally officially announced the news that the old commander had passed away due to serious injuries, and at the same time announced the list of the funeral committee.

Feng Jiu said to Ning Zheng who was changing into mourning clothes, "Father had something to say before he left..."

Ning Zheng remained silent. In his father's words, there was concern for himself: once he leaves, will those subordinates who have been unwilling to be subordinated to others take the opportunity to take the lead?

My father may want to say that he is only 24 years old, and he already holds the power of the world. "Fortune comes with misfortune." This may not be a blessing, but more likely a curse.

He didn't understand his father, and his father didn't understand him.

Originally, they were not in a hurry, and there was still plenty of time: the old commander was in his prime, and he could fight for at least ten more years; Ning Zheng could mature slowly until the fruit ripened and the fruit came to fruition.

Master Chengguan of Qianshan Longhai Temple once criticized their fate, saying: Enemies in the previous life, father and son in this life.

Some children are here to repay the favor; some are here to collect debts.The relationship between him and his father has not been very harmonious, so is he a son who comes to collect debts?
He slowly put on the gray and white filial hat, and the unique shrill sound of the suona has been heard throughout the house. This sound will last for a whole month. He smiled slightly and said to Feng Jiu: "Jiu'er, from today onwards, I, A man without a father or a mother."

He had always been tall and straight, but at this moment, his shoulders inevitably collapsed. The proud son of heaven, who is so proud, can actually lose his soul to such an extent.

In a word, Feng Jiu burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)