Chapter 47: The Second Encounter

  "The Second Revolution" ended in complete failure. When news from various places arrived, Chen Qimei, who was hiding in the Shanghai Concession, received the message and fainted again with a black eye.

  Since the defeat of the Manufacturing Bureau, Chen Qimei has been plagued by illness. Now his face is waxen yellow, his eyes are deeply sunken, and he lies half-reclined on the bed, having long lost his former spirited and elegant appearance.

  "Big brother, everything is arranged. We will board the ship at 9 o'clock tonight." Jiang Zhicheng quickly walked into the house and saw Chen Qimei in this state, unable to bear a pang in his heart, and whispered in his ear.

  "Get on the boat? Where to?" Chen Qimei muttered to himself with a lifeless gaze.

  "Go to Japan."

  "Japan... Japan...? No! I won't go! I won't go to Japan!" He muttered a few words under his breath, then suddenly sat up, shouting in extreme agitation.

  "Big brother, the doctor said you can't get excited, lie down, just lie down..." Jiang Zhiqing hastily pressed him down, picked up a cup from beside the bed and fed Chen Qimei some water, comforting: "Speak slowly, don't get excited at all, big brother, your body is important now!"

  "No! I'm not going to Japan!" Chen Qi Mei stubbornly shook her head and reluctantly lay back down.

  Jiang Zhiqing sighed and advised, "At present, the revolutions in various places have failed, and the Beiyang forces are powerful. You and I will probably be in danger if we continue to stay in the country. Moreover, the Beijing government has designated you as the leader of the rebellion and issued a warrant for your arrest nationwide. Although the concession is temporarily safe now, what if... Brother, let's leave! Go to Japan to avoid it, there's still a long way to go!"

  "What's the point of going to Japan? To seek protection from Sun Wen? I don't want to see that little man!" Chen Qimei clenched his fists and pounded them weakly on the bed, gritting his teeth in anger: "If he hadn't abandoned us and escaped alone, causing everyone to lose heart, how would things have turned out like this? Sun Wen! Big Cannon Sun! I will never forgive you!"

  “Big brother…….” Jiang Zhiqing was speechless, Chen Qimei was right, although the Manufacturing Bureau battle was lost, the revolutionary party's power in Shanghai was deeply rooted, especially among the grassroots gang members who were not few. If Sun Wen didn't abandon them and flee, gathering the remnants to continue fighting against their opponents, it would be hard to say who would ultimately win or lose. Moreover, Sun Wen's sudden escape from the country had an inevitable impact on the revolutionary situation, leaving everyone in a state of panic without a leader, instantly becoming a scattered sand. It can be said that the failure of the second revolution was Sun Wen's irrepressible responsibility.

  But in Jiang Zhiqing's view, Sun Wen's departure may be a reason, but from the comparison of the strength of both sides and the people's views on the Second Revolution, their failure is not unjust. It's just that Chen Qimei, who has suffered a major setback at present, can't vent his anger, and attributes all his dissatisfaction and anger to Sun Wen.

  After some thought, Jiang Zhiqing tactfully persuaded him, never mentioning Sun Wen's name again, only asking to let him stay in the green hills and temporarily go abroad to avoid disaster. Even if he didn't want to go to Japan, he had to leave Shanghai first, and it was also a way to transfer to Europe and America after arriving overseas.

  After much persuasion, Chen Qimei was finally convinced. Jiang Zhicheng let out a sigh of relief and told him to rest well and come back before they set off.

  "Ruiyuan, what did the Commander say?" Hurriedly asked He Yingqin who was waiting anxiously outside the room.

  Nodding, Jiang Zhiqing indicated that everything was fine, and the two of them whispered to each other as they quickly entered another room to discuss their arrangements for leaving tonight.

  At seven o'clock that night, a car quietly stopped at the door. Before long, Jiang Zhiqing and He Yingqin helped Chen Qimei, who was seriously ill, onto the car. Except for the driver's confidant, they didn't bring anyone else, taking advantage of the night to leave.

  To be on the safe side, they first circled around the concession area several times to confirm that no one was following them before heading to the Sixteen Wharf. By the time they arrived at the wharf, it was already 8:30 in the evening. The Japanese liner "Kōhō Maru" was docked there, and once on board, everything would be safe.

  He stopped the car in a secluded place, but Jiang Zhiquan did not let Chen Qimei get out of the car. Instead, he got out first to take a look around and only came back after confirming it was safe.

  "Older brother, let's go."

  "Alas..." Chen Qi Mei sighed, looking back in the direction of the city, his mood heavy as he got off the car. With Jiang Zhi Qing's support, he slowly walked towards the entrance. After a few steps, he couldn't help but turn around again, and two lines of clear tears fell down uncontrollably. Perhaps he knew in his heart that this time, he might not be able to return. Thinking back on past scenes, Chen Qi Mei stopped in his tracks.

  "Big brother, it's not safe here, let's get on the boat quickly!" Jiang Zhicheng urged anxiously. He Yinquan was even more vigilant, looking around cautiously, as there were many people with mixed gazes, and if they were recognized, trouble would be big.

  "Let's go...... Let's go......" Chen Qimei silently stood for a moment, shaking his head in dismay. Just as they were about to continue forward, suddenly all around them was a loud commotion, and from who-knows-where a group of soldiers emerged.

  "Big brother! You hurry up and leave quickly! I'll help you block them here!" Jiang Zhicheng knew it was bad, his heart racing with anxiety! With one swift motion, he pushed Chen Qimei forward, urging He Yingqin to take him and run quickly towards the boat, while he drew a pistol from his waist and fired in the direction of the swaying flashlight.

  A crisp gunshot pierced the quiet night sky, and the entire dock was suddenly in a state of panic. The rushing soldiers hastily sought cover and returned fire.

  With just one handgun, it was impossible to stop the opponent. As they exchanged blows, Jiang Zhicheng's foot was hit by a bullet and he stumbled and fell to the ground. However, he still gritted his teeth and desperately fired at the opponent while loudly shouting for Chen Qimei to run quickly.

  "Get him alive! Don't kill him!" The surrounding soldiers gradually closed in, and it seemed that an officer was shouting. At the same time, Chen Qimei, who had already run out more than ten meters, turned his head to see Jiang Zhicheng fall to the ground after being shot, still desperately covering him, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

  "Don't shoot! We surrender! We surrender!" With a sudden burst of strength, Chen Qimei broke free from He Yingqin's arm and rushed back to Jiang Zhicheng's side. Seeing the blood gushing from his leg, he shouted loudly with tears streaming down his face.

  "Run! Brother, run quickly!" Jiang Zhicheng was in a great hurry, pushing Chen Qimei to make him run faster, but Chen Qimei didn't want to run at all. Instead, he sat down on the spot, tore off his undershirt to help Jiang Zhicheng bandage his wound, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

  At this time, He Yingqin also ran back, his face as gray as he grasped the pistol, guarding Chen Qimei's side. Those soldiers had already approached in front of them, surrounding all three of them.

  "Ruiyuan, Jingzhi, throw away your guns." Chen Qimei said calmly and personally went to pry open Jiang Zhicheng's hand holding the gun.

  "Big brother! You... why didn't you run away!" Jiang Zhicheng cried out loudly, pounding the ground. The situation was already hopeless, and continuing to resist now had no meaning whatsoever. He could only drop his gun in despair.

  "Where are you from? I am Chen Qimei, we have surrendered, please don't shoot!" Chen Qimei slowly stood up and calmly said to the approaching soldiers.

  "Reporting to Commander Chen, I am Zhang Huachen, the captain of the Eighth Army's Constabulary Battalion!" A burly officer walked over and saluted Chen Qimei. Chen Qimei returned the salute with a wave of his hand and pointed at Jiang Zhicheng, saying: "So you're Captain Zhang of the Eighth Division. I can go with you, but my brother is injured. Would you mind doing me a favor?"

  "Don't worry." Zhang Huichen nodded and called two soldiers to carry Jiang Zhiqing to the hospital for treatment. To be honest, Zhang Huichen admired Jiang Zhiqing and Chen Qimei. He had seen the situation clearly earlier. With so many people chasing them, Jiang Zhiqing had dared to exchange fire with them using only one handgun in order to buy time for Chen Qimei to escape. As for Chen Qimei, he had given up his own chance of escaping and had turned back to be with his brother.

  Chen Qimei's expression eased slightly as he nodded, indicating that Zhang Huchen could leave. Zhang Huchen did not use any coercion on Chen Qimei but instead politely let him board another vehicle, and He Yingqin was also taken away at the same time.

  They caught Chen Qimei, but Zhang Huichen did not lock him up in the barracks or throw him into a large prison. Instead, he took him directly to a residential area in a small town on the outskirts of the city.

  "General Chen, the conditions here are a bit poor, please temporarily put up with it." Zhang Huichen said as he led him into a courtyard.

  Chen Qimei took a look around and found himself in a small courtyard in Jiangnan, which was not big but elegant. He estimated that it was the place where the Eighth Route Army was stationed. He nodded slightly and didn't say much, directly entering the room prepared for him.

  After exchanging a few words, Zhang Huachen prepared some daily necessities for Chen Qimei and left after leaving four guards. Looking at the back of Zhang Huachen's departure, after the door was closed, Chen Qimei's body that had been propped up all along softened and sat down weakly, letting out a long sigh towards the sky.

  The next morning, Zhang Huichen brought breakfast to Chen Qimei and told him that Jiang Zhicheng's operation was very successful, the bullet had been removed, and there would be no problem. He also asked him to stay here temporarily, and someone would come to see him in a few days.

  Chen Qimei didn't say much either and didn't even ask who would come to see him, silently finishing his meal before returning to his room.

  Until the third day at noon, Chen Qimei, who was resting in the courtyard, suddenly heard a footstep coming and opened his eyes to see a young man with a somewhat familiar face entering the yard accompanied by Zhang Huachen.

  "Director Chen, we meet again." The young man came before Chen Qimei with a smile and sat down in a chair brought over by Zhang Huchen.

  "Who are you?" After a few glances, Chen Qimei still couldn't recall who this person was, but felt very familiar.

  "Haha, we met at Mr. Huang Keqiang's funeral." Fang Zida reminded with a smile.

  "You're Fang Zidao! Song Jiaoren's man, you... no wonder! No wonder! You are now the deputy commander of the Eighth Division!" Suddenly enlightened, Chen Qimei immediately remembered that Fang Zidao was wearing a Western suit, and he hadn't thought of the Eighth Division at first, or else he would have guessed it earlier.

  "General Chen has a good memory, I am Fang Zida, and it seems we have met for the second time." Fang Zida smiled and nodded, picking up the tea cup on the small table to savor it with relish.