Chapter 32: Secretly Joining the Party (Part 2) Flying Pig Web

  Heavy snow accompanied the arrival of cold winter, and Shanghai's streets and alleys were like silver castings, a vast expanse of white. Long icicles hung from eaves like crystal short swords, and pedestrians' breath turned into wisps of white smoke.

  On New Year's Day in 1926, after a busy day yesterday, I finally had some free time today. Alone, I bought gifts and drove to Qin Keqing's house.

  "Knock knock knock"

  Qin Keqing, who was helping her mother cook, heard the knock on the door and thought it was a guest arriving. She hastily put down what she was doing and rushed to the front door, calling out "Coming! Coming!" As she opened the door, she was surprised and asked: "Didn't you say you were coming tomorrow?!"

  Lin Ao Feng said while rubbing his hands: "I miss you!"...

  Before Lin Ao Feng finished speaking, Qin Guo Zhong's voice came from inside the house: "Ke Qing, who's here?!"

  "Dad, it's Ah Feng!" Qin Keqing said, handing Lin Aofeng two baskets of Chinese cabbage. "You're dead if you don't hurry up and come in!"

  "Ah!" Lin Aofeng responded with a single word, carrying the gift and following Qin Keqing into the house.

  "Uncle, Happy New Year!" Lin Ao Feng hastily greeted Qin Guo Zhong as he entered the living room. Qin Guo Zhong slightly nodded his head and asked: "How are your parents?"

  Lin Ao Feng put down the gift in his hand, sat down and said: "Thank you, Uncle. My parents are all well. They thought that there were too many guests at home today, so they asked me to come and pay my respects to you and Auntie on their behalf."

  Just then, the knocking sound came again. Qin Keqing, who had just walked into the kitchen, shouted towards the living room: "A Feng, help me open the door."

  "Ah!" Lin Aofeng responded, and hastily ran out. Not long after, Lin Aofeng walked in from outside with his head down, following Jiang Baili and his wife, saying: "Brother Zichen, I am extremely jealous of you!"

  "What's there for you to be jealous of?!" Qin Guozhong looked at Lin Aofeng and said with a smile: "Aofeng, can you go take a look in the kitchen?"

  "Oh!" Lin Ao Feng responded as if he had been granted a great amnesty, and hastily retreated into the kitchen after reporting his crime to Jiang Baili.

  "Ba Li, didn't you go to Hangzhou?!" Qin Guo Zhong said as he invited Jiang Ba Li and his wife to sit down. Jiang Ba Li said: "This New Year is not peaceful! How could I stay in Hangzhou?!"

  Qin Guo nodded and said: "The second national congress of the Kuomintang, held in Guangzhou on New Year's Day, once again clearly outlined its anti-imperialist and anti-warlord platform."

  Chiang Baili sighed and said, "Now there are not many warlords who can show their faces. The two Lis of the Guangxi clique are currently in cahoots with the Guangzhou National Government; Feng Yuxiang has gone into retirement to avoid the wrath of the Fengtian clique; Sun Chuanfang controls five provinces on the surface but is actually relying on the Fengtian clique, and in terms of real power, he is the weakest. The Fengtian clique's Zhang Zuolin controls the Northeast but is constrained by the Soviet Union and Japan, so for now, there won't be any conflict of interest with the Guangzhou National Government. As for Yan Xishan of Shanxi, don't even mention him - calling him a warlord would be too much of an honor; in reality, he's just a greedy miser who will only shout loudly but run away faster than anyone else when it comes to real fighting. That leaves only Wu Peifu."

  Qin Guo Zhong said with a serious expression: "Wu Peifu is not easy to deal with! He has tens of thousands of troops at his disposal!"

  "Uncle, these warlords in China are good at fighting externally but not internally." Just then, Lin Ao Feng and Qin Ke Qing walked out of the kitchen. Jiang Bai Li smiled and said: "Ao Feng, you really see through things! If you were the National Government in Guangzhou, after finishing off Wu Pei Fu, who would be your next target?!"

  Lin Ao Feng's reply was sharp as a knife: "The next target is not the warlord, but the Qing Party!"

  Jiang Baili and Qin Guozhong's smiles on their faces instantly disappeared, after exchanging a glance with each other, Qin Guozhong said: "A Feng, you can't be mistaken, right?! This is no laughing matter."

  Lin Ao Feng said: "Uncle, are you saying I'm joking?!"

  Jiang Baili said with a sigh: "A Feng, don't mind your father-in-law, you continue to speak. Say all your opinions."

  Lin Ao-feng nodded and continued: "With the convening of the Second National Congress of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek gradually took control of the party's power. If the Northern Expedition is not successful, then Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorial ambitions will not erupt for the time being. But if it succeeds, he will definitely not tolerate the left-wing Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Haven't you noticed that Dai Jitao has been very active in Shanghai? He is Chiang Kai-shek's hatchet man to deal with the Communist Party."

  Qin Guo Zhong thought for a moment and retorted: "Then what's your countermeasure?!"

  Lin Ao Feng replied: "Very simple! Control the army."

  Jiang Baili nodded and turned to Qin Guozhong, saying: "This is the most direct and effective way."

  "Cough! It's tough!" Qin Guozhong sighed deeply, and the whole living room fell silent. After a while, Qin Keqing's mother came out of the kitchen and called: "Dinner is ready!"

  At this time, Qin Guozhong finally came back to his senses and smiled: "Today is New Year's Day, we don't want to think about these depressing things. Let's go eat!"...

  Time flies, and the new year has just passed. On March 20th, Chiang Kai-shek fabricated the "Zhongshan Warship Incident" in Guangzhou, falsely claiming that the GCD people were directing the Zhongshan warship to bombard Huangpu, and that the GCD was about to riot, using this as a pretext to declare martial law, dispatch troops to arrest and monitor GCD members, surround the Provincial Port Strike Committee and the Soviet Advisory Office, casting a shadow over the Northern Expedition which was just about to begin.

  However, the GMD, with its heart set on the people of the world, did not put this matter at heart and continued to cooperate with the KMT's Northern Expedition. On May 20th, Ye Ting's Independent Regiment, as the vanguard of the Northern Expedition, was ordered to enter Hunan, opening the curtain for the Northern Expedition.

  In early October, when the Northern Expeditionary Army occupied Wuchang, Zhou Enlai ended his teaching at the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute and arrived in Shanghai to direct the armed uprising of the Shanghai workers.

  The French Concession, Ningbo Road (now Huaihai East Road), Ruby Cafe. Afternoon, a gust of wind chime sounded, a young man wearing an overcoat walked into the cafe, found a corner and sat down. Not long after, a middle-aged man with glasses followed in, stood at the door scanning around, quickly walked to the front of the young man.

  A young man smiled and stretched out his hand, saying: "Comrade Qin Guozhong, hello!"

  Qin Guo stretched out his hand and shook hands with the young man, saying: "Enlai, aren't you in Guangzhou? How did you come to Shanghai? Is it...?"

  Zhou Enlai stretched out one finger, placed it in front of his mouth, and made a gesture to be careful with words, saying: "Knowing is good! Don't say it out loud!" After sitting down, Zhou Enlai asked: "Why are you the only one? Where's your wife?! Why didn't she come?"

  Qin Guo Zhong smiled and said: "She's cooking at home, she asked me to invite you to come home for dinner tonight. Also, we want to introduce our son-in-law to you."

  Zhou Enlai smiled and said: "When I first met you, Keqing was only 13 years old. I didn't expect her to get married so soon." Then he asked: "Who is her husband's family?"

  "Ke Qian's fiancé may not be seen!" Qin Guozhong deliberately bought a pot and hooked up Zhou Enlai's interest, continuing to say: "His name is Lin Aofeng, he is Jiang Baili's closed disciple. His grandfather is Cheng Jincheng." ... The two chatted for over an hour, Qin Guozhong and Zhou Enlai left the coffee shop together.

  At the same time, a black sedan drove into the Japanese Consulate in Hongkou. Akagi Kōken, the head of the Shanghai intelligence agency, got out of the car and rushed into the office building.

  "Knock knock knock"

  "Come in!" The secretary, having obtained permission from Shigenobu Akane, pushed open the door and walked into the office, bowing to say: "Consul General, Lieutenant Commander Akagi Kengo requests an audience."

  Akira Chikayoshi raised his head, slightly furrowed his brow and said: "Please let him in!"

  "Hello!" The secretary responded and left the office of Akira Kogane. Not long after, Akakawa Takeshi pushed open the door and walked in, bowing to say: "Consul General!"

  Akane nodded slightly and asked: "Akaqi, is there something?"

  Akagi Kanzō said: "Consul General, the Nationalist Party in Guangzhou calls it the Northern Expedition Army. After occupying Wuchang, they will advance into Jiangxi. Sun Chuanfang suffered a defeat in Jiangxi and is now gathering his main forces to prepare for a decisive battle with the Northern Expedition Army. Also, those so-called Shanghai worker leaders we are monitoring have been very active."

  "What's going on?!" Chong Guangkui furrowed his brow and asked: "How are they so active?!"

  Akagi Kōshin said in a cold voice: "They seem to be preparing for a riot."

  "Riot?!" Before Akane's voice fell, Kaito Akamatsu interjected: "Yes! A riot! And I have a feeling that it will happen in the next few days."

  "Shao gā!" Chong Guang said expressionlessly: "The more chaotic Zhina is, the more beneficial it is for our Great Japanese Empire. According to the empire's probe, the Guangzhou National Government is very unfriendly towards our Great Japanese Empire. If they complete their unification of China, then in the future, the empire will have to pay a great price to occupy Zhina, which is unbearable for the empire! Akagi-kun, the enemy of an enemy is a friend. Since Sun Chuanfang is fighting against the Northern Expedition Army of the Guangzhou National Government, we should help him out and remind him to watch his back."

  "Ah!" Akagi's heel clicked and his head bowed slightly as he said: "Your Excellency, Consul General, I understand what to do now!"

  "Congratulations, Akagi!" Shōzō Kaga patted Akagi's shoulder and said: "Akagi-san, I'd like to congratulate you! Due to your outstanding performance in the May 35th Incident, His Majesty the Emperor has promoted you to the rank of Taisho, a telegram of commendation and promotion order will be issued soon. Akagi-san, I hope you'll continue to work hard!"

  Akagi Koshin's heart was filled with joy, and he hastily expressed his loyalty to Shigemitsu, saying: "Thank you for your cultivation, Consul! I will not disappoint you!"

  At 3:30 in the afternoon, Qin Keqing appeared at the door of Lin Ao's classroom. Xie Junmai, who was sitting behind Lin Ao, saw Qin Keqing and gently patted Lin Ao's shoulder. Just as Lin Ao turned his head to speak, Xie Junmai nodded towards him. Lin Ao looked back with a puzzled face and saw Qin Keqing standing at the door, then rushed over and asked: "Keqing, how did you come here?!"

  Qin Keqing smiled and said: "There are guests coming to our house tonight, my dad wants you to come home with me for dinner!"