Chapter 72 Regaining Power

  Seeking advice!

  "Jiangsu Governor? Hmph..." Fang Zida sneered, not even bothering to look at him directly. He raised his left hand, and Zhang Huachen quickly stepped forward from behind him, pulling out a document to read aloud. This document had two meanings: firstly, Fang Zida, as the General Manager of the Central Bank, was also appointed as a special commissioner to assist the Ministry of National Defense in reorganizing the 8th Division; secondly, due to Jiangsu Governor Cheng Dequan's serious dereliction of duty during the revolutionary rebellion, his position as Jiangsu Governor was revoked, and he would be escorted to Beijing for trial on the same day. During Cheng Dequan's trial, Fang Zida would temporarily take over military and political affairs in Jiangsu, and after the reorganization of the 8th Division into a national defense army was complete, Jiangsu would implement separation of military and political powers, with a new official appointed by the central government to take over civil affairs.

  "Ah!"

  "How is this possible?!"

  "Great! Too good!"

  For a moment, everyone was shocked by the news, and then they reacted differently. Cheng Dequan and Zhao Hengru were pale as death on the spot, with sweat dripping from their foreheads. Tao Deyao, Liu Jianfan and others were stunned, looking at each other in dismay, while Huang Kaiyuan, Li Shimao, Li Jiong and He Sui were overjoyed, even Wang Xiaozhen, who had always been calm, showed a smile.

  "Commander Cheng, please..." The order was read out, and Zhang Huichen walked to the front of Cheng Dequan, who had already slumped in his chair. At this time, Cheng Dequan's eyes were empty, his face was deathly pale, and his trembling lips were muttering something incomprehensible. He looked like a deflated balloon, being held up by two guards on either side, without any resistance, and taken away.

  He took away Cheng Dequan, Fang Zida went straight to his previous position, the golden horse sat down with a big knife, and his icy gaze swept around, everyone didn't dare to breathe.

  "Mr. Zhengming, actually I..." Zhao Hengru's sudden downfall made him feel like a dog that had been drained of its bones, and he was left without any confidence. Thinking about what he had done earlier, he broke out in cold sweats on his back, forcing a smile onto his face. Zhao Hengru awkwardly approached and nervously opened his mouth to try to explain himself.

  "Right, Master Zhao, I have something to discuss with you." Before Zhao Heng could finish speaking, Fang Zida interrupted him.

  "I dare not discuss it, Mr. Meng has given an order, I do not dare to disobey......" Zhao Heng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said nervously.

  "Heh heh, Commander Zhao, we must discuss this matter. Actually, it's a good thing for you. Fang Zidao smiled and said: "Commander Zhao has been serving in the 8th Division for quite some time, from being a brigade commander to division commander. His contributions to the 8th Division are indeed significant. In the battles of Nanjing and Shanghai, Commander Zhao's achievements as the commander of the 8th Division are well-known to all. The Central Government and the Ministry of War have not been able to reward you, not because they are dissatisfied with you, but because they consider the overall situation."

  "I don't dare to accept this, it's what Zhao should have done, the commendation and all that is really not deserved." Zhao Heng's forehead was sweating even more, no matter how he wiped it, he couldn't wipe it clean.

  With a faint smile, Fang Zida lit up a cigar and continued: "There's nothing to be afraid of, if there's merit, it will be rewarded, if there's fault, it will be punished. The rules in the army are clear-cut, otherwise who would still sacrifice themselves for the country? If people's hearts are scattered, it's hard to lead the troops below. Zhao Shizhang has made contributions in suppressing the rebellion and should be rewarded. Haha, here is a commendation letter from the Ministry of Land Forces and a promotion notice, congratulations, Commander Zhao!"

  Taking the file handed over by Fang Zida, Zhao Hengru glanced at it and suddenly his expression turned gloomy, his legs softened and almost fell to the ground. Indeed, what Fang Zida gave him was a promotion order, due to his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, the Ministry of Land Warfare promoted Zhao Hengru to the rank of Lieutenant General effective immediately, and there was also a transfer order from the Central Government, which clearly stated that the original commander of the Eighth Army Corps, Zhao Hengru, would be transferred to the newly established Central Military Academy.

  "Congratulations, General Zhao, congratulations!" Fang Zida stood up with a smile, clasped his hands together and offered repeated felicitations. The muscles on Zhao Heng's face twitched slightly, his expression filled with resentment and anger.

  "Hey, General Zhao won't be overjoyed, will he?" Fang Zidacheered: "This time General Zhao entered the Central Military University is indeed a heavy reuse by the country! National defense construction needs a large number of basic talents, and the Central Military University is the key to national defense construction. After General Zhao takes on this important task, his future prospects are boundless! What's wrong with everyone? Why aren't you congratulating General Zhao?"

  As soon as the words fell, Huang Kaiyuan was the first to react, and he smiled and congratulated Zhao Hengyu, highly praising Zhao Hengyu's entry into Beijing this time as a great joyous event. He said that from now on, General Zhao would have boundless prospects and a bright future, with an extremely envious tone in his words. If outsiders didn't understand, they would really think that Zhao Hengyu had been promoted.

  Li Shimao also had a smile all over his face, "Sincere congratulations" to Zhao Hengyu's promotion, but in fact he was delighted and said, "Zhao Hengyu, you old rascal, you were so happy earlier, didn't think there would be today, did you?"

  Wang Xiaozhen, Li Jun, He Sui and others also came forward one by one to congratulate him. Even Tao Deyao and Liu Jianfan endured the disgust of eating flies and forced a smile to congratulate Zhao Hengru on his promotion. Zhao Hengru was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but under the circumstances, he had no choice but to pretend to be happy. However, the smile on his face was even uglier than crying.

  "General Zhao, the Central Army University is busy with affairs. When Zida came earlier, he repeatedly instructed General Zhao to set off as soon as possible to avoid delaying important military school matters. I think this way, it just so happens that there is a train going north in two hours, and General Zhao can still catch it if he hurries up. Zhang Huachen, you immediately dispatch a few people to help General Zhao pack up and depart as soon as possible!"

  Then Fang Zida looked at Tao Deming and Liu Jianfan, patted his forehead as if he suddenly remembered something: "Hehe, almost forgot, General Zhao is going to take on a new mission, without capable assistants it won't do. Since the Central Committee has me coordinate the reorganization of the 8th Division and National Defense Army, I'll take charge. Commander Tao, Commander Liu, you two just follow General Zhao together, along the way you can also take good care of General Zhao, after arriving at the Military Academy to be an instructor, for our National Defense Army cultivate a few more talents."

  Tao Deyao and Liu Jianwan were instantly stunned, knowing that they were completely finished. Who would have thought that a good plan would suddenly change in an instant? The people who had been in control almost certainly lost their advantage in an instant, not only was Cheng Defu arrested, Zhao Hengdi was demoted, and even Tao Deyao and Liu Jianwan instantly lost the power in their hands and were kicked out of the Eighth Route Army.

  All of this, it's all because of that damned Fang Zidao. If he hadn't appeared out of nowhere, how would things have turned out like this? Tao De Yao was so angry she was about to gnash her teeth, her eyes blazing with fury, and in a split second, her right hand landed on the grip of her gun.

  "Absolutely not! Absolutely not!" Liu Jianfan also felt a great sense of loss in his heart, but he was slightly calmer than Tao Deming. Seeing that Tao seemed to want to draw his gun and engage in a firefight, he quickly grabbed his hand and shook his head urgently to stop him.

  "Hahaha!" Zhao Hengru was silent for a moment, his face changing unpredictably, and suddenly he burst out laughing: "This trip to the Central Army University is indeed a good opportunity. Since the top requires me to take office as soon as possible, there's no need to gather anything. As a martial artist, I have nothing to lose, and being in the military camp doesn't leave much to pack up either. Bai Qing, Kun Tao, let's set off now!" After finishing speaking, Zhao Hengru took the initiative to leave, and before walking away, he gave a wink to Tao De Yao and Liu Jianfan, indicating for them to follow him.

  As they walked further away, Tao De Yao suppressed her anger and finally couldn't bear it: "Master, are we just going to leave like this?"

  "Not going? What do you want to do if you don't go?" Zhao Heng asked coldly.

  "Damn it! This Eighth Route Army isn't just his alone, even if I die, I won't let Fang Zidao have a good time!"

  "What are you going to fight with?" Zhao Heng shook his head and sighed, "I'm afraid in the end it will be a case of 'the fish dies and the net breaks', nothing will come of it. Let's go, we've thoroughly lost this game. Fang Zida is indeed a formidable opponent! However...hmmph! The river flows east for thirty years, then west for thirty years. We'll just have to wait and see what the future holds!"

  Until they left the division headquarters, Tao De Yao, who was still furious just now, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat at what he saw. The entire eighth division had been controlled by Fang Ziduo at some point, and outside the division headquarters, two rows of soldiers with live ammunition stood quietly, led by Liu Zong, Fang Ziduo's confidant. He was surrounded by an aura of murder, fully armed, as if only one order from Fang Ziduo would be enough for these wolf-like men to wipe them all out.

  "See, those who know the times are heroes. As long as we have green hills, we won't worry about having no firewood to burn." Among the three, only Zhao Heng did not seem surprised, as if he had expected this outcome before he came out. He smiled faintly, adjusted his uniform, nodded at Liu Zong who was waiting for him, and then got into a car that was already prepared with Tao Deyao and Liu Jianhuan, heading directly to the train station.