Chapter 27 Arrival in Nanjing

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  Liu Zhen and Xiong Shihui entered the city, initially everything was fine, they strolled around the streets for a while, then went to a wine house to drink. Speaking of drinking, it's just drinking, but unfortunately, they ran into Liu Wai Zui. Originally, it didn't concern them, but Liu Wai Zui relied on Tian Zhongyu's background and joined the patrol camp as an official, with several soldiers under his command. They were used to idling around every day, eating at one household and drinking at another. Today, Liu Wai Zui brought several trusted subordinates to the wine house for a big feast, while eating and drinking, they boasted and bragged, talking about the southern revolutionary party that had been causing trouble recently. After drinking too much, he started speaking nonsense, not only scolding these "treacherous officials" but also claiming that if the southern revolutionaries really wanted to rebel, he would follow the general south to quell the rebellion. When Liu Wai Zui boasted like this, his lackeys naturally didn't want to fall behind, and for a time, the surrounding area was filled with flattering voices, with some even praising Liu Wai Zui as if he were a brave and powerful heavenly soldier, as if with him, the southern revolutionary party would be instantly defeated.

  This remark entered Fang Zida's ears, which was just a sneer and a shake of the head, but Liu Zhen and others happened to hear it and were furious, and after drinking a few more mouthfuls of cat urine, their brains became hot and they started scolding their mothers in the next room.

  This was a good opportunity, Liu Wai Zui had always been arrogant in the city, how could he tolerate someone being so presumptuous? He ran over to kick the door and took a look, only to find two unfamiliar faces. Immediately, he called on his subordinates to teach these two ignorant guys a lesson. Who would have thought that Liu Jian and Xiong Shi Hui were not to be trifled with? The military academy's high-ranking students fought back and knocked down several soldiers, even Liu Wai Zui was kicked by Liu Jian's powerful kick and became a rolling gourd.

  Liu Wai Zui was furious, shouting for people to come and surround them. With the advantage of numbers and Liu Wai Zui pulling out a gun, Liu Zheng and his men were unable to fight back and could only surrender. After capturing Liu Zheng and Xiong Shi Hui, Liu Wai Zui and others rushed up and beat them with fists and kicks. Unsatisfied after the beating, they tied them up and took them back to the patrol camp, planning to thoroughly torment the two men to vent their anger.

  "Nonsense!" Fang Zida slammed his hand heavily on the back of the chair.

  "Mr. Fang, didn't you see how Liu acted? He's just asking to be beaten!" Liu Zhen argued back in a disgruntled tone.

  "What about you? Do you think so too?" For the time being, Fang Zidao ignored Liu Zhen and turned to look at Xiong Shili.

  "Yes! If anyone dares to vilify the revolution, I'll beat him up and it won't be excessive!" said Xiong Shihui with a swollen eye.

  "Great! You can do it!" Fang Zidao didn't get angry after hearing this response, but instead burst out laughing: "You're really a true revolutionary, so passionate and daring! Good! Excellent!"

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay, unsure whether Fang Zidao's words were truly meant to praise himself or... Liu Zhen and Xiong Shihui were momentarily stunned.

  "Alright..." He let out a sigh, Fang Zida sat down and waved his hand at them: "That's it, Hu Chen, when you reach the next stop, help them buy two tickets back to Beijing. You guys don't need to accompany me to Nanjing either, I can go by myself."

  "Why!"

  "Why did you say that?" Fang Zida asked back.

  "Didn't you just beat up a soldier? What's the big deal, and now you want to drive us away?" Liu Zhen said with grievance: "Besides, you have Yuan Keding's note on your body, are you still afraid of Tian Zhongyu's few soldiers?"

  "Haha, yes, I have Yuan Keding's letter of introduction, and Yang Du and Xia Shoutian helped me get the presidential palace documents. What? Can't I just show them off at the gate of the patrol camp, shout loudly, and let Tian Zhongyu come over to apologize in person, then carry you two out from inside with a sedan chair?" Fang Zida said coldly.

  "I..." Liu Zhen wanted to distinguish, but Xiong Shihui hastily pulled him on the side.

  "Who can repeat what I said on the train?" Fang Zida asked seriously.

  Xiong Shihui was relatively quick-witted and hastily recited a string of phrases that Fang Zidao had said before, followed by Liu Zong who also reacted and recited together with Xiong Shihui.

  These two guys have a good memory, reciting the words Fang Zida said verbatim. After listening, Fang Zida stood up and looked at them with disdain: "You can recite it well, but look at what you've done! Not one thing has been accomplished! Just like Jing Fu said, it's easy for me to bail you out, no need to bribe those soldiers. I just need to show my ID to Tian Zhongyu or the patrol officer and it's settled. But do you know the consequences of doing so? What is our mission this time we came south? You must be aware of the tense situation between Beijing and the south! To tell you the truth, when we left Beijing, the Ministry of War had already begun to deploy troops, and Tian Zhongyu, the garrison commander, had secretly headed south from Yanzhou. The war between the north and the south is about to break out! If our actions and purpose are exposed, what will be the consequences?"

  They opened their mouths, but no one said a word. Liu Zhen and Xiong Shihui lowered their heads in shame.

  "You two! You're too naive!" Fang Zidao sat down with a huff, pointing at the two of them.

  "Mr. Fang, we guarantee that we will not be rash again, everything will listen to you, as long as you don't drive us away." Xiong Shihui quickly responded, and Liu Zhen also came to his senses, making a solemn oath on the side.

  It seemed to be considering, Fang Zida frowned and remained silent, the two people standing beside him didn't dare to breathe out, anxiously waiting. After a while, Fang Zida finally let out a light sigh, raised his hand and pressed down: "Alright, seeing your enthusiasm for the revolution, I'll trust you again this time, sit down, all of you."

  "Thank you, thank you Mr. Fang, we guarantee that from now on we will all listen to you." Overjoyed, Liu Zhen and Xiong Shihui bowed repeatedly.

  "Hmph! Xiao Yang, haven't you two been completely subdued yet?" Fang Zida's face was stern, but in his heart, he was secretly delighted. Although the two had gradually come to accept him on this journey, it wasn't an easy task to truly make use of these hot-blooded youths filled with revolutionary ideas. Today's event was unexpected, but it provided an opportunity for Fang Zida to knock some sense into them and truly capture their hearts - an opportunity he would absolutely not let slip by.

  As Fang Zidao's group moved further south, the situation on the road became increasingly tense. When approaching Jiangsu, several train stations could be seen with fully armed Beiyang soldiers waiting to depart, even Zhang Xun's troops with whips on their heads were mobilized. It had been several days since leaving Beijing, and due to communication problems, Fang Zidao was temporarily unable to contact Song Jiaoren, so he was still unclear about the central government's final decision. However, with Song Jiaoren in the capital, Yuan Shikai would not take the initiative to act for the time being. The key was Li Liejun of Jiangxi, who had been removed from his post as governor of Jiangxi and had gone into exile after sending a telegram, but suddenly disappeared from Shanghai. What Fang Zidao feared most was that he might make a desperate move, secretly returning to Jiangxi to start a rebellion.

  A few days later, the train finally arrived in Nanjing. Fang Zidao, who had been thinking deeply on the train, made arrangements and told Xiong Shihui to secretly contact Zhao Hengti after getting off the station. Liu Yi and Zhang Huachen took their luggage to the hotel first, while Fang Zidao went alone to the telegraph office.

  After staying at the telegraph office for most of the day, they finally got in touch with Beijing. After reading the reply telegram, Fang Zida felt relieved and carefully tore it into small pieces before destroying them, then left for the hotel.