Chapter 28: Stunning News

  Arriving at the hotel, Xiong Shihui had not returned yet. Fang Zida was not in a hurry and entered his own room to rest with his eyes closed. After several hours, the door was finally gently knocked open, and Xiong Shihui had arrived.

  "Mr. Fang, Zhao Heng's deputy officer has arrived, but he said that Commander Zhao is not in Nanjing for the time being..." After entering the room, Xiong Shili reported the situation in a low voice, with some disappointment in his expression, as if he felt that his work had not been done well.

  After inquiring about the situation at that time and repeatedly confirming that Xiong Shihui had gone to see Zhao Hengyu according to his own account, Fang Zida nodded, indicating that he understood.

  "Mr. Fang, is it tomorrow...?" Xiong Shihui asked hesitantly before leaving.

  "No need, you guys go find a place to hang out tomorrow by yourselves. It's rare to come to Nanjing, and it would be boring to just stay in the room. Remember not to cause any trouble." Fang Zida waved his hand as he spoke, Xiong Shihui looked stunned for a moment, then seemed to understand something, nodded and turned to leave.

  That night, he rested well in the hotel. The next day, after Liu Zhen and Xiong Shihui went out, Fang Zida called Zhang Huchen over to accompany him, found a book and sat by the window, reading leisurely.

  Time passed minute by minute and second by second until nearly noon when finally came a guest.

  "Is Mr. Fang from Beijing staying here?" Zhang Huichen opened the door, and a young face appeared behind it. He had already been briefed by Fang Zida, so he just nodded slightly and stepped aside to make way.

  The young man stood at the door and didn't come in directly, but instead looked around the room with his eyes. He saw Fang Zida sitting by the window, closing the book in his hand and smiling at him. Only then did the young man retreat from the doorway, and a thin man wearing a bowler hat walked in.

  Fang Zida.

  "Zhao Hengyu."

  It seemed that both of them knew each other's identity, and they walked towards each other and shook hands. At this time, Zhang Huichen and the young man who was here earlier quietly left the room, closing the door behind them.

  "This is a letter from Mr. Dun to Master Zhao." As soon as Zhao Heng sat down, Fang Zida took out the letter he had prepared early and handed it over, then lit a cigar and smoked quietly.

  The letter was not long and was quickly read through, but Zhao Heng did not speak up, instead he held it in his hand and carefully re-read it several times.

  "Mr. Fang, I understand your intention, but this matter is not easy to handle at the moment!" Zhao Heng returned the letter to Fang Zida and shook his head with a sigh.

  "Oh, can you tell me what's the big deal?" He took over the letter and lit it with a match, smiling in the flickering light.

  Zhao Hengyi's political inclination leaned towards Song Jiaoren, otherwise he wouldn't have sent Fang Zidao on this trip. After a moment of contemplation, he finally spoke up: "Hunan Governor Tan Yankai recently sent a telegram, claiming that Hunan's troops were insufficient and needed the support of my 8th Division to dispatch a regiment for joint defense. Lin Hu also asked me to take a regiment to Jiangxi the other day... I couldn't refuse these requests."

  He nodded slightly, and Fang Zidao indicated that he understood. Tan Yankai and Zhao Hengyi were very close friends, and Zhao Hengyi was able to become the commander of the 8th Division because Tan Yankai had exerted great effort in the past. Now, as the governor of Hunan, Tan Yankai lacked sufficient troops and requested the 8th Division to cooperate with him for defense. As a native of Hunan, Zhao Hengyi could not refuse.

  As for Lin Hu, he had previously served as the commander of Huang Xing's guard unit. When the 8th Division was reorganized, Huang Xing had transferred Lin Hu's unit into the division to enhance its combat effectiveness. However, Lin Hu was from Guangdong, and most of the soldiers and officers in the 8th Division were from Guangxi. After his unit merged with the 8th Division, Lin Hu often clashed with the original Guangxi soldiers and officers.

  Furthermore, Lin Hu and Li Liejun were close friends who had attended school together. Feeling uncomfortable in the 8th Division, Lin Hu naturally thought of joining Li Liejun. Given the current situation, it was possible that Li Liejun had secretly returned to Jiangxi. The two likely collaborated, and Lin Hu's decision to lead his troops to Jiangxi must have been discussed with Li Liejun beforehand.

  "Has this been taken care of?" Fang Zida asked.

  "Not for the time being, but it's coming soon." Zhao Heng smiled wryly and spread his hands: "To be honest with you, Brother Ming, although I am the commander of the 8th Division, not all the troops under me listen to my orders. You are also aware of the recent situation, several regimental commanders below have been itching for action, if we force them to stay in Nanjing, it might lead to big trouble, if so, it's better to let them..."

  "This is absolutely unacceptable!" Fang Zidao suddenly stood up, his face sternly saying: "Commander Zhao, the 8th Division is a KMT troop, it's the nation's elite, not someone's tool for personal gain. What does the military rely on? Isn't it discipline and rules? Can you just come and go as you please? Do you know what kind of place the 8th Division is?" After scolding a few sentences, Fang Zidao pointed at Zhao Hengti without any politeness: "Commander Zhao, I know what you're afraid of, you're worried about procedures, worried about public opinion. These are your biggest concerns! But you need to understand that revolution isn't like hosting a dinner party, it's not writing an article, it's not painting or embroidering flowers... it can't be so elegant, so leisurely and calm, so refined and courteous... You're a commander who can't even control your own troops, do you think you're competent?"

  Zhao Hengyi didn't get angry, but shook his head with a bitter smile: "Zhang Ming brother, I'm also aware of what you said, but the 8th Division is different from other troops! After Mr. Ke Qiang's reorganization that year, although the 8th Division seemed strong and powerful on the surface, claiming to be our party's first strong army, in reality it was plagued by internal difficulties, especially with several regimental commanders forming their own factions and controlling their own troops, what could I do as a nominal division commander?"

  "How is it? Hmph...” With a cold laugh, Fang Zidao sat back down and let Zhao Hengyi carefully discuss the situation of the 8th Division. Zhao Hengyi also didn't hold back, pouring out his frustrations in front of Fang Zidao, looking like he was indeed tired from being the division commander. In the 8th Division, his trusted troops only consisted of one regiment, while the other regiment commanders were more senior and capable than him, making it unbearable for Zhao Hengyi to be the division commander. Moreover, after reorganizing the 8th Division seemed powerful, but China had a worst thing, that is, regional discrimination, Guangxi, Guangdong, plus Zhao Hengyi's original Hunan soldiers, there were contradictions between them, Zhao Hengyi couldn't suppress several main regiment commanders in terms of seniority or strength, although he wanted to integrate them, but several times he tried and still failed.

  The biggest difficulty is still the military salary. The Eighth Division has two mixed brigades, each with two regiments, plus an artillery regiment, a cavalry regiment, and Lin Hu's independent regiment, totaling seven regiments of troops. Including the engineering battalion, logistics battalion, division headquarters, brigade headquarters, and rear echelon, there are over 8,700 people. The monthly military salary expenditure alone is nearly 350,000 yuan, which is an astronomical sum that the Eighth Division cannot afford. For now, they can only issue half of the salary to barely maintain it.

  Zhao Hengti counted on his fingers with a bitter face while telling Fang Zidao another shocking news. Just two days ago, Zhao's confidant came to tell him a stunning message: in recent days, several people had been sent by Sun Wen and Chen Qimei from Shanghai to Nanjing secretly, carrying 20,000 taels of silver to buy off the battalion and company commanders of the Eighth Division, ordering them to kill the high-ranking officers of the Eighth Division so that they could take their place.

  "What did you say?!" Fang Zidao couldn't believe his ears, staring with wide eyes and asking in shock: "Is this news really reliable?"

  "Of course, it's reliable. If they hadn't found that company commander to be my loyal old subordinate, I'm afraid Zhao Mouren's head would have been relocated by now." Zhao Heng said with a lingering fear, and only then did Fang Zida thoroughly understand why Zhao Heng was being so cautious, deliberately disguising himself to meet with him today.