Chapter Seventy-One Slap in the Face

  Many ask for advice!

  "Haha, no need to be polite, Brother Yi Wu! I, Cheng Mouren, have come uninvited, disturbing you all!" Before everyone could stand up, a loud laughter came from outside the door. In walked Cheng Dequan, wearing a long gown and a horseback cape, with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face.

  "There, there, Brother Chunru is able to come to our Eighth Division for an inspection, it's a great honor for our division, we've been waiting for your esteemed presence for a long time! Please, please, Brother Chunru, you take the seat of honor!" Zhao Hengyi went up with a smile all over his face, pulled up Cheng Dequan's hand warmly and wanted to invite him to sit in the main seat. However, Cheng Dequan said that since this was the Eighth Division headquarters, it would be more suitable for Zhao Hengyi as the division commander to take the main seat. The two were extremely polite, pretending to yield to each other, but in the end, under Zhao Hengyi's insistence, they let Cheng Dequan, the Governor of Jiangsu, take the main seat.

  "Huh, Brother Yi Wu, are you guys having a meeting? Is it appropriate for me to be here?" After sitting down, Cheng Dequan looked around and saw that the main officers of the 8th Division were all present, and asked with a smile.

  "What's wrong with that? Everyone is discussing the reorganization of the national defense army. Ah, Chunru brother, since you're here, let's listen together!" Zhao Heng invited, and Cheng Dequan didn't decline, instead showing a very interested expression, smiling and nodding his head.

  The deputy officer brought a copy of the plan to Cheng Dequan, and Zhao Hengyu leaned over to explain it. When he mentioned the abolition of the 33rd Temporary Regiment, Zhao Hengyu sighed and lamented for a while, as if he didn't really want to do so, but had no choice.

  "Hmm, this plan of yours is quite good, all aspects have been considered, I think it's feasible."

  "Does Commander Cheng think it's feasible? But Captain Li has a lot of opinions about this plan!" Tao De Yao interjected from the side.

  "Oh, what's the opinion? Ah, it's about disbanding the 33rd Temporary Regiment, right?" asked Cheng Dequan with a smile, his eyes scanning towards Li Shimao and saying with a grin: "Commander Li, your 33rd Temporary Regiment is just temporary after all. You need to understand the difficulties of your Commander Zhao! But don't worry, I'm making a guarantee in my capacity as Governor of Jiangsu that the brothers of the 33rd Temporary Regiment are all meritorious servants of the state and no matter how difficult things get for Commander Zhao, he will do his best to take care of them. As for Commander Li, you're an indispensable tiger general, I think Commander Zhao absolutely won't mistreat you."

  "Exactly as Brother Chunru said, this is my true intention!" Zhao Hengyi shook his head and sighed: "In the past, during the bloody battle of Nanjing, the officers and soldiers of the 33rd Temporary Regiment fought one after another, suffering heavy casualties. Thinking of those brothers who sacrificed themselves, I, as the division commander, couldn't help but feel heartbroken! Now that the central government has decided to reorganize the national defense army, my 8th Division is again at the forefront and will inevitably make adjustments to various departments. Although the 33rd Temporary Regiment is a meritorious unit, it is after all only a temporary organization. What if the formal reorganization order comes down and the 33rd Regiment is abolished? What about those brothers who shed blood and sacrificed for the country and the people? Can we just abandon them and let them be disbanded? Thinking about it over and over again, I can only take a step ahead and find a way out for my brothers first. As the division commander, I, Zhao Mouren, can only do this much. I'm really sorry to my brothers!" As he spoke, Zhao Hengyi's eyes turned red, and he took out his handkerchief to wipe away his tears, looking very sorrowful.

  The old man did so, and the younger brothers below would not miss the opportunity to flatter. Tao Deyao and Liu Jianfan immediately took turns speaking, praising Zhao Hengyi as a good superior who loved his soldiers like sons, and everything he did was for the sake of the entire Eighth Division. As a member of the Eighth Division, if they didn't support Commander Zhao, it would be ungrateful and disloyal.

  "Brother Yi Wu, it's not easy for you, is it?" Patting Zhao Hengyi's shoulder, Cheng Dequan also sighed and turned to the crowd, saying: "Everyone, you should understand Brother Yi Wu's difficulties. The central government not only wants to reorganize the national defense army but also implement military-civilian separation. As the governor of Jiangsu, I support this decision! Since the country has decided on military-civilian separation, it's better for me as a governor not to lead troops. From now on, I can focus on doing practical things for the people, which is my lifelong wish. To be honest, I entrusted the Shanghai Military Division to the 8th Brigade with the same thoughts as Brother Yi Wu. The brothers in the Shanghai Military Division have followed me for many years; how could I let them lose their reliance when the time comes? Team Leader Li, what do you think?"

  Li Shimao's face turned red, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. One was the commander of the Eighth Division, and the other was the highest military and political leader in Jiangsu Province. With both of them speaking together, what could this small regiment commander do?

  Not only Li Shimao, but also Huang Kaiyuan was speechless. If it were just Zhao Hengyu alone, he might have had a way out, but unexpectedly Cheng Dequan would suddenly come to support Zhao Hengyu, and the two of them performed this play quite well together. Huang Kaiyuan couldn't see that this was all arranged beforehand.

  He opened his mouth, but still didn't say the words of opposition. Huang Kaiyuan felt somewhat disheartened and thought he was really sorry for Fang Zidao's trust. Zhao Hengyi had made such a move, and in the future, he would surely dominate the Eighth Division alone, with Cheng Dequan's support behind him. Who else could contend with him in the Eighth Division at that time?

  "Since everyone has no doubts, I think this matter is settled today." Zhao Hengyi, who was pleased with himself, saw that no one else opposed it, and even Li Shimao, who had been the most aggressive, was suppressed by Cheng Dequan. He immediately prepared to strike while the iron was hot and finalize the matter.

  Of course, Cheng Dequan was present, and Zhao Hengyi still had to make some necessary gestures. After finishing speaking, he even pretended to ask Cheng Dequan how he thought, Cheng Dequan naturally had no objection, smiled and nodded: "This matter is decided by Commander Zhao himself, after all, the Eighth Division is Commander Zhao's troops."

  "What's with Zhao Shizhang's troops? Since when did the Eighth Division become someone's personal troops? How come I didn't know?" As soon as Cheng Dequan's voice fell, a cold and icy voice suddenly came from outside the door. The people in the room were stunned, looking at the door with complex expressions.

  "Deputy Commander Fang! " Li Shimao jumped up excitedly, shouting out loud, while Huang Kaiyuan, who was just depressed, suddenly raised his head with a look of surprise. It turned out that the person walking in big strides was none other than Fang Zida himself.

  With a calm expression, Fang Zida walked slowly in his suit, followed by Zhang Huichen, the head of the constabulary. Although Fang Zida was no longer the deputy commander of the Eighth Division, after all, everyone in the Eighth Division remembered him deeply, especially the high-ranking and mid-level military officers present, who had not experienced Fang Zida's iron-blooded tactics? Suddenly seeing Fang Zida appear, everyone's heart was filled with surprise and joy, and no one knew when he had arrived in Nanjing.

  "Is this Commander Cheng?" Along the way, he nodded slightly to greet the military officers who had hastily stood up, and Fang Zida walked straight to the front of Cheng Dequan, smiling and asked.

  "Director Fang, nice to meet you. I've long heard of Mr. Fang's great name, unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to see him yet." Cheng Dequan stood up and bowed his hands with a sincere smile on his face. However, he deliberately addressed Fang Zidao as Director Fang instead of Deputy Commander Fang, intentionally reminding everyone that Fang Zidao was no longer a member of the Eighth Division, but just the president of the Central Bank.

  "Haha, actually we should have met a long time ago, but last year Commander Cheng suddenly fell ill and went to Shanghai for recuperation. Otherwise, everyone would have known each other by now. How is Commander Cheng's illness? And how is your body? Hmm, you don't look too good! In my opinion, Commander Cheng, since you're working hard for the country, if your body isn't well, you should take more time to rest and recuperate. I heard that Europe has great medical conditions and a nice climate, if it's really not going well, you can go to Europe to relax and take care of your body, why rush back to Nanjing so quickly?"

  Fang Zida said with a smile, but the words seemed polite on the surface, however, when Cheng Dequan heard them, they became another meaning altogether. No matter how thick his skin was, he couldn't help but turn pale, then red, and finally green. It's worth noting that during the Second Revolution, as the Jiangsu Commander-in-Chief, he abandoned his troops and ran to the Shanghai Concession, claiming "illness", hiding from everyone until the rebellion was put down, only then did he hastily send a telegram nationwide, declaring his support for the Central Government and opposition to the rebellion. Fang Zida's words now were equivalent to slapping him in the face, exposing his scars.

  Fang Zida's words also intentionally or unintentionally mentioned the medical conditions in Europe, which made Cheng Dequan even more annoyed. Doesn't this mock him for escaping with his life but having no merit in suppressing the rebellion, and shouldn't he retire and leave the country?

  "By the way, Commander Cheng, how did you end up here? Did your headquarters move to the 8th Division?" Fang Zida didn't even glance at Cheng Dequan and turned his head to ask Huang Kaiyuan, "Deputy Commander Huang, is this true? How could Headquarters not know about this situation?"

  Huang Kaiyuan shook his head and said, "Of course not, we were just having a meeting, Commander Cheng came running by himself."

  "Oh……so it was you who came?" Fang Zidao's face suddenly turned cold, and he scolded Huang Kaiyuan loudly: "Deputy Commander Huang! You have a big nerve! Don't you know that the Eighth Division headquarters is a military restricted area, and outsiders are not allowed to enter? There are national laws and military regulations. Although Commander Cheng is not from a military background and may not understand military rules, it's understandable. But you are all professional soldiers, don't you understand this principle? And what's more! Is this seat something that just anyone can sit in casually? Has the commander of the Eighth Division been replaced?"

  "You... you... Fang Zidao! If I'm a nobody, what are you? Don't forget, I'm still the Governor of Jiangsu!" Cheng Dequan's face turned iron-blue with rage as he pointed at Fang Zidao and shouted.