Chapter Thirty-Eight How Is This Possible?

  Payday is an important day for soldiers, just like the 9-to-5 working class finally getting their salary. This day brings both joy and discontent. What's more, this time they haven't even received their full pay, so it's normal to feel resentful and cause some trouble. But from what I heard earlier, he made it sound like a huge deal, will it really happen?

  Looking at Yang Qiu's back, Yue Peng was still uncertain and thought for a moment before hurrying to find Zhang Wenjing.

  Zhang Wenjing had already sent the silver back to the office and was registering the remaining money when he saw Yue Peng. His smile hadn't faded yet, but seeing Yue Peng rush in and immediately close the door, he looked puzzled and asked: "What's going on? What can make you so flustered?"

  Yue Peng hastily repeated what Yang Qiu had just said, and Zhang Wenjing was also secretly surprised, half believing and half doubting: "Each camp only issued half of the salary, something went wrong is normal, this is probably......"

  "It's not that simple. I've seen him talk to the squad leader and his tone is clearly not trivial, and... he also accurately mentioned the third battalion of artillery, doesn't seem fake."

  Zhang Wenjing thought it was reasonable, and after thinking for a moment, he said straightforwardly: "It just so happens that I need to return to Wuchang to report to the commander-in-chief about the grain tax. The right team leader of the third artillery battalion, Jiang Tai, is an acquaintance of mine. I'll go visit him and chat with him for a couple of days, and keep an eye on what tricks the commander-in-chief has up his sleeve."

  "This method is good, but......" Yue Peng's sword-like eyebrows rose, his voice sinking: "Really being calculated by him, what should you and I do?"

  Zhang Wenjing smiled and said in a very resolute tone, "Look at the chaos in the army now, is this what you and I expected when we joined the army back then? If he's really right this time, I'll accompany him to fight it out!"

  "Good, then let's drink together!"

  After shaking hands and smiling at each other, Zhang Wenjing immediately packed up his things and asked for a two-day leave to attend to business in Wuchang.

  From behind the curtains, Yue Peng hastily walked into Zhang Wenjing's office, and the latter rushed to Wuchang in an instant. After that, Yang Qiu's mouth curled up with a smile. People are curious by nature, let alone in this era where superstitions still have a market, even the Nationalist Party drinks blood wine and burns yellow paper. Occasionally, a few "prophecies" would make people more convinced of themselves.

  Zhang Wenjing finished his business in Wuchang when the sky was already dark, and it wasn't until he found Jiang Tai that he had passed the curfew time. Each camp prohibited entry and exit, so he could only pretend to find him to reminisce about old times and go to the artillery camp together early tomorrow morning.

  Twenty-seven-year-old Jiang Tai was in the golden age of being a soldier, not tall but very sturdy, with solid skills and a steady style. He was also one of the few mid-level military officers who went to Japan to study with the Beiyang artillery officer, and he was familiar with Zhang Wenjing and Yue Peng. As soon as they saw him, they immediately served wine and dishes.

  "Wen Jing, I heard that your new commander is a very capable military leader?" Since the 42nd division's training began, many more eyes had been watching them, and such things couldn't be hidden from people. He smiled and said: "It's true, his methods are novel and effective, not just me boasting, compared to our German instructors back in the day, he's not much worse."

  "It's still good for you guys." Jiang Taeman sighed and poured himself a drink: "Being alone in Hanyang, closed training, is not like us... Ah, after August, we haven't had proper training, the soldiers too... never mind, let's just drink!"

  Jiang Tai downed a mouthful of wine, Zhang Wenjing saw his tone was bitter and also knew that the military had been turbulent recently, soldiers were all disheartened and didn't want to train, especially after the incident in Sichuan, it was even more chaotic, the soldiers were undisciplined, and the officers were incompetent, making these real soldiers anxious.

  But he couldn't do anything about it, and at this moment, winning the other person over was even more out of the question. He could only make jokes about Yang Qiu's many novel training methods to gauge the reaction from the side. Seeing Jiang Taiyu's eyes light up as he listened, not to mention pounding the table in excitement, a plan began to form in his mind.

  After drinking a few cups, he was just thinking of probing his tone, but suddenly there was a hurried knock at the door. Opening the door, Jiang Tai frowned: "Liu Bu Yun? Aren't you in camp? Why are you here at this time? Haven't the lights-out signal passed?"

  The newcomer was Liu Buyun, the first captain of the third battalion's left platoon. There were some differences between artillery and infantry, but as a captain in charge of an artillery squad, he was an important grassroots officer. Moreover, he had been personally trained by Jiang Tai, who strictly required him to follow military rules. Seeing that he still came into town after lights out, his face turned unpleasant.

  Liu Bu Yun naturally knew that Jiang Tai was extremely strict in his military training, but now something big had happened and he hastily said: "Commander, it's not that I'm not following the rules, but ah!......"

  Seeing him anxious, Zhang Wenjing, who was originally paying attention to every move of the three camps, hurriedly said: "Speak slowly, don't rush."

  Liu Bu Yun hastily recounted the events, it turned out that after the lights-out signal earlier, he was patrolling the camp as usual when he discovered that his subordinates, including Huo Dian Chen, were seeing off the old soldier Zhang Zhao Xun who had applied for retirement. Normally, sending off an old soldier with a drink or two wouldn't be a big deal, as long as they didn't make too much noise. However, Huo Dian Chen and his men disregarded military rules and made a ruckus, and when Liu Bu Yun tried to stop them, he almost got beaten up. They were shouting about killing the Tartars on the night of August 15th and claiming that when they rebelled, they would kill these military officers first. Frightened, Liu Bu Yun came into the city at night to report to his superiors and felt uneasy, so he wanted to find Jiang Tai, who had the highest prestige in the camp, to calm down the soldiers and prevent them from causing trouble.

  Liu Bu Yun is not a good bird, but he didn't do anything wrong this time. Jiang Tai is a simple soldier who attaches great importance to military discipline and has always been strict with himself. When he heard that they were gathering to drink and cause trouble, violating the curfew, he was already annoyed. After hearing the remarks about rebelling and killing them after the incident, he became even angrier, slapping his hand on the table: "As a soldier, you should have the demeanor of a soldier! In the army, there are orders to be followed! When the lights-out signal sounds, the whole army rests. If everyone doesn't follow military discipline, what's the difference between them and those hoodlums?"

  He saw him finish speaking and grab his hat to return to the camp, Zhang Wenjing, who had been frightened early on, quickly pulled him back, pointing to the moonlight on top of his head: "The city gate is already closed, let's do it tomorrow morning."

  Jiang Tai couldn't keep things hidden in his heart, and he couldn't leave the city immediately, so he could only vent his anger and recent dissatisfaction on the wine table.

  The next morning, the two of them rushed to Nanhu in a hurry. After arriving, they found that San Ying had returned one step ahead and had already gathered all the artillery teams for a lecture.

  The scorching sun beat down on their bodies, and the soldiers who had violated curfew the night before, including Huo Dingshen, were getting increasingly agitated. The newly appointed battalion commander, who was also eager to make a name for himself like Yang Qiu, walked up to Zhang Zhaohui, who had already applied for discharge, and said: "You brothers who are about to be discharged have always been good in the team. It's understandable that you want to send each other off with a bang when you go home, it's a matter of face. But using wine as an excuse to vent your emotions and defy your superiors is not acceptable! Considering your past behavior, I won't hold this against you today, Zhang Zhaohui, so hurry up and leave the camp! Spare your family from worrying. However, Huo Dingshen has always been arrogant and disobedient, and this matter can't be let go like that. Huo Dingshen, step forward!"

  Huo Dianshen stood still in the ranks, Liu Buzhen hastily shouted loudly: "Huo Dianshen step out!"

  Come out, come out! Huo Dianshen rushed to Liu Bu Yun's face in a few steps, staring at him with his eyes, making him involuntarily retreat a few steps. Qi Zheng also knew that the anti-rebellion sentiment in the army was strong these days, and he originally wanted to downplay the matter, letting him apologize would be enough, so he said slowly: "Dianshen, old brother, why don't you apologize to Shengmu?"

  Huo Dianshen's fiery temper flared up again, and with the effects of the wine still not worn off, he immediately retorted: "This Liu Bu Yun is picking a quarrel out of nothing, and I have to apologize to him? No way!"

  "You have broken military rules, I am carrying out my duties, you still want to commit violence and fight, is there any discipline left?"

  "To hell with your military discipline! I've had enough of you guys, and it's only a matter of time before I take care of all of you!"

  This remark infuriated Jiang Tai, if everyone didn't follow the military rules what would the troops become, just as he was about to rush up Zhang Wenjing suddenly grabbed his sleeve and shook his head, this small movement nobody noticed, the third battalion commander shouted: "Huo Dianchen violated military discipline, insulted a superior officer, flogged twenty times according to the law!"

  Liu Bu Yun raised a whip and was about to lash at Huo Dianshen. The latter did not retreat, but instead stepped forward and threw a punch, which landed squarely on Liu's face, causing blood to flow profusely. In an instant, the two sides began fighting, and the left flank fell into chaos. Seeing that things were taking a turn for the worse, Huo Dianshen's accomplices immediately surrounded the military officers.

  "You want to rebel, aren't you afraid of the law?" Guan Dai saw that the soldiers were in a state of panic and retreated while shouting. However, Huo Dianshen did not try to resolve the situation but instead rushed into the command center next door. Before everyone could react, he smashed open the door, grabbed several guns, and shouted loudly: "Rebel if you want! Today, let's just do it once and for all, pull out the cannons and fire them!"

  "Anyway, we must rise up! Let's start firing from here today!"

  Several fearless ones, you and I, were stunned by Jiang Tai and Zhang Wenjing. The former was because of the suddenness of the matter, while the latter was thoroughly shocked by the "prophecy"! Snatching guns, gathering crowds to make trouble and inciting rebellion! In any country's army, it would be a capital offense! It's a huge thing!

  "Fall in, brothers! Fall in, brothers!" Huo Dianshen shouted while putting down his gun. But the suddenness of the event made the soldiers dare not move. Jiang Tai could no longer bear it and drew out his pistol, shouting loudly: "Huo Dianshen, put down your gun!"

  Huo Dianshen's eyes had already turned red, and he didn't care who it was, he fired a shot, the bullet instantly hitting Jiang Tai's arm, Zhang Wenjing was so frightened that she quickly dodged to avoid the second shot.

  Although Jiang Taiping was strict with his soldiers, he was a man of great justice and often used his own salary to subsidize the families of soldiers in difficulty. Therefore, when the right team's artillery saw him being wounded, they all jumped up in anger and scolded Huo Dianchen and others, and even hated the entire left team.

  "My god! The wolves are coming up where the dogs can't!" Seeing no one responding, the right squad rushed up again to accuse them of firing indiscriminately. He Danchen and several accomplices, who had long lost their soldierly appearance, cursed and fled towards the camp gate.

  The chaotic scene made Zhang Wenjing's scalp explode, first because he didn't expect Yang Qiu's "prophecy" to be so accurate, and secondly, his good friend Jiang Tai was injured, making him even more anxious, and he couldn't care about anything else, immediately calling for medical soldiers to come.

  Fortunately, Huo Dianshen was in a hurry and didn't hit the vital point. After taking out the bullet, he saw that Jiang Tai was temporarily fine, and the constabulary had thoroughly surrounded the third battalion. Zhang Wenjing also didn't dare to stay for long, so after comforting Jiang Tai, who looked bewildered, with a couple of words, he hastily crossed the river to tell Yue Peng, who was waiting for news.

  When he returned to the 42nd marker, it was already lunchtime. The large cafeteria was crowded with soldiers who had been working hard all morning. In order to supplement nutrition during the training period, Yang Qiu also thought of a way, but the full table of dishes couldn't even lift up Yue Peng's appetite. When Zhang Wenjing appeared at the door, he even put down his chopsticks in shock.

  Zhang Wenjing glanced at Yue Peng, and the profound gaze made the latter's heart suddenly shrink. Unconsciously, his wrist relaxed, and the rice bowl almost fell to the ground. He Xi, who noticed something was amiss, hastily put down her chopsticks and asked: "Wenjing, what's going on?"

  Forcing down the shock in his heart, Zhang Wenjing took a deep breath: "Sir... something has happened at Nanhu Camp!" Although he had already guessed it, Yue Peng couldn't help but suddenly open his mouth wide and stare at Yang Qiu as if he were a monster!

  How is it possible!

  。

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