Chapter Fifty-two: Settlement

  When Fang Zidao arrived at the Premier's office, Liao Zhongkai had not yet left. Seeing Fang Zidao appear, he was taken aback for a moment, then exclaimed with joy: "Zhengming, when did you come back?"

  "Just arrived in Beijing, back for only a few hours." Fang Zidao smiled and looked around Song Jiaoren's office, then sat down beside Liao Zhongkai.

  "Has the Ministry of War gone?" Seeing Fang Zida return, Song Jiaoren was very happy, personally pouring a cup of tea. Fang Zida stood up and took it, nodding: "Director Duan and I chatted for a few words, I just came from there."

  "Thanks to you, Ming! If it weren't for you, Jiangsu and Shanghai would have been in chaos, who knows when the rebellion would have been put down." Song Jiaoren first praised him, then shook his head sorrowfully and said: "It's just a pity that Ying Shi brother is gone like this, it shouldn't be! It shouldn't be!"

  When mentioning Chen Qimei, Liao Zhongkai nodded solemnly. Initially, they were all good friends and had a deep affection for each other. Although the KMT and the Revolutionary Party have since parted ways, their friendship was something that could not be severed. When news of Chen Qimei's suicide in Shanghai arrived, he was shocked and his heart was filled with sorrow and regret. He recalled the scenes of their struggles together to overthrow the Qing dynasty and fight for the revolution, as if they were still vivid in his mind. He had thought that after Chen Qimei was captured, he would be able to see him again in Beijing, and even if he was sentenced according to law, he could find a way to show leniency to an old friend. Who would have thought that people's paths diverge, and the deceased has already gone?

  With a sigh, Song Jiaoren carefully asked about the situation before and after Chen Qimei's suicide. Fang Zidao did not hide anything and directly started from when the Japanese advisor, Fujita Ichiro, suddenly revealed Chen Qimei's whereabouts to him. He described everything in great detail, including how he had made arrangements and what he was thinking at the time, all of which he spoke out loud.

  Listen carefully, Song Jiaoren did not interrupt Fang Zidao's speech, but exchanged a glance with Liao Zhongkai when he mentioned certain aspects. When Fang Zidao mentioned the letter left by Chen Qimei after his suicide, Song Jiaoren asked where the letter was.

  "I originally gave the will to Jiang Zhiqing, but later Chen Qimei's affair caused a stir outside, so I took it back for safekeeping." Fang Zida took out the will he had prepared earlier from his pocket and handed it over. After receiving the will and looking at the handwriting on it, Song Jiaoren and Liao Zhongkai both nodded in confirmation that it was indeed Chen Qimei's handwriting.

  Carefully folding Chen Qimei's will and putting it in the drawer, Song Jiaoren turned to ask about the situation of the Eighth Division. These matters were all communicated with Song Jiaoren by telegram before Fang Zidao went north, but limited to the content of the telegram, some specific situations are still better asked face-to-face.

  Half an hour later, Fang Zida made a comprehensive report on all the work and arrangements for this trip to the south. Song Jiaoren was very satisfied and praised him a few words, then apologetically said: "Xiang Ming, after the unexpected event, the Ministry of War abolished your position, as the Premier I didn't say anything for you, don't you have any resentment towards me?"

  "How could that be?" Putting down the teacup in his hand, Fang Zidu smiled and said: "My deputy commander is just a temporary appointment, it doesn't make any difference to me whether I should or shouldn't have this position. The key is to grasp the Eighth Division. Now that the overall situation has been settled, it's normal for me to step down and return to Beijing."

  "Haha, and there's also the rank of Lieutenant General in the army, don't you think it's a pity?" Liao Zhongkai asked with a smile.

  "What's there to regret? I'm not from a military background, what general or not, are you suggesting that Brother Zhongkai wants me to lead troops in the future?"

  "Haha! What's wrong with being a general? Deng Ming, you're now a renowned general, you know that this time you defeated Zhang Xun's army and made them flee in disarray, it caused a huge stir domestically! Who would have thought that not only are you good at economics, but also have a knack for leading troops and fighting battles, it's really beyond our expectations!" Liao Zhongkai smiled and gave Fang Zidao a thumbs up.

  Fang Zidao was speechless and lost his smile, "What kind of talk is this? Hurriedly waving his hand, he said: "Brother Zhongkai, don't make fun of me. It's true that we defeated Zhang Xun, but the reason for it isn't as strange as what's being spread outside. To put it bluntly, first, Zhang Xun was on the offense and the Eighth Division was on defense. He was the guest and I was the host, so in this aspect, the Eighth Division had the advantage. Second, Zhang Xun arbitrarily attacked Jiangsu and committed a major taboo of the central government. If he could defeat the Eighth Division quickly and take Nanjing, everything would be fine. But once the battle didn't go in his favor, Zhang Xun wouldn't have put all his capital into it. Third, after reorganizing, the Eighth Division was well-disciplined and everyone worked together, plus we had the advantage of being well-rested and our command was flawless, which allowed us to hold off the enemy. To be honest with you all, at the time I was really worried! If Zhang Xun had really gone all out and concentrated his forces for another two days of fierce attack, Nanjing would have fallen into his hands. So, this battle was purely a fluke, a fluke!"

  "Zhang Ming said it's not bad, after Zhang Xun's troops entered Anhui territory, the Ministry of War had news that the queue army still had a combat force of one and a half regiments. If Zhang Xun hadn't underestimated Zhang Ming's strength and didn't want to exhaust all his forces under Nanjing City, it would be hard to say who would die in whose hands." Song Jiaoren said, he was more familiar with the situation of the Battle of Nanjing than Liao Zhongkai. After the 8th Division drove away Zhang Xun, he also secretly sighed in relief. However, even so, Fang Zidao's merit was not small, but because of Chen Qimei's affair, he was dismissed from office, and Song Jiaoren felt sorry for him in his heart.

  "Zhengming, what do you plan to do this time when you return to Beijing?" Song Jiaoren asked with a smile. Fang Zidao knew exactly what he meant and understood that he was going to discuss rewards for their achievements. Regardless of whether it was in the public or private interest, Song Jiaoren would never treat himself unfairly.

  "This... I haven't thought of it yet, what suggestions does Brother Yun have?" Modest as he should be, Fang Zidao said in a low tone.

  "What's difficult about that? In my opinion, let Jiang Ming go to the Ministry of Finance, with his ability, it's more than enough for him to take on a deputy position." Liao Zhongkai chimed in with a smile.

  "Deputy...". Song Jiaoren was not willing to give this position to Fang Zidao. At present, the Minister of Finance is Tang Shaoyi. If Fang Zidao were to take on the deputy role, it would be most suitable. However, with the Chen Qimei incident still unresolved, suddenly promoting Fang Zidao to Deputy Minister of Finance was really not appropriate.

  Not only the vice minister of finance, but also the vice ministers of other ministries are not suitable for Fang Zidao. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, although Song Jiaoren knows that Fang Zidao did nothing wrong in the Chen Qimei incident, he still has to consider public opinion. If some members of parliament make a fuss about this, it will only bring unnecessary trouble to Fang Zidao.

  Just as Song Jiaoren was showing a difficult expression, Fang Zidao spoke up and said: "Brother Zhongkai, aren't you trying to put me on the fire to roast? I, a person who has been removed from office and is being investigated, suddenly becomes a high-ranking government official? How will the outside world view Xiong Jiabi? How will they view our KMT? In the end, won't I, Fang Zidao, become the target of public criticism? Spare me, please."

  "This is also the case..." Liao Zhongkai thought for a moment and nodded, but still felt sorry for Fang Zida: "What's going on here! The people who really get things done can't be promoted, while those outsiders are all just catching wind and shadows, messing around blindly."

  When Song Jiaoren heard this, he was very pleased and also helped to say a few words. However, he still had some difficulties in his heart about Fang Zhiyi's resettlement work, at which point Fang Zhiyi took the initiative to speak up.

  "Brother Xuchu, Brother Zhongkai, this time I went south and saw and heard a lot, and I also have many thoughts in my mind. Why don't we do it like this: anyway, I just returned to Beijing, let me rest for a few days first. I plan to write down some of my ideas carefully and organize them, then everyone can discuss them together. As for the appointment, there's no rush for now either, everything will be discussed later."

  "Oh, what are your lofty views on the current political situation? Let's discuss it now." As soon as Fang Zidao finished speaking, Song Jiaoren and Liao Zhongkai became interested, especially Song Jiaoren. Initially, he thought that as long as he won the election and became Premier, he could implement his constitutional ideals step by step according to his own ideas. However, in reality, although Song Jiaoren made many preparations earlier, after formally taking office as Premier, he discovered that everything was not as simple as he had imagined. For such a large country, with external worries and internal troubles, where is it easy to make changes? These days, just the financial aspect has gotten him into a mess, and this is under the premise that the government has made a large loan for relief efforts. If there wasn't this money, Song Jiaoren might not have been able to last even a month as Premier.

  Fang Zidao's eyes were sharp and his personal abilities were strong, which was clear to both Song Jiaoren and Liao Zhongkai. When they heard that Fang Zidao had some suggestions for the political situation, the two immediately perked up and decided to listen carefully.

  "This is still waiting for me to calm down and sort it out before talking about it, with a thousand threads and a million strands, I'm afraid there will be mistakes if I talk casually at this time." Fang Zida smiled and shook his head in refusal, Song Jiaoren didn't force him either, but only reminded him to write down what he saw and thought as soon as possible, and show it to himself first when the time comes.

  He agreed at once, and as it was already late, Fang Zidao hurried back to Beijing without even going home. He immediately stood up and bid farewell. Song Jiaoren did not force him to stay, and together with Liao Zhongkai, they saw him off. After he left, Liao Zhongkai couldn't help but sigh: "I really don't know what Deng Ming will write, when the time comes, be sure to notify me when Deng Ming's things arrive!"

  Nodding, Song Jiaoren agreed and then called Liao Zhongkai back to the office, took out Chen Qimei's will from the drawer, and lightly pointed at the three "hate" characters on it.

  "Zhong Kai, the three words of hatred written by Ying Shi's brother are quite suspicious! What do you think?"

  "One, he hated the failure of the uprising and the loss of merit. Two, I guess it was because he hated that his ambitions were not fulfilled, and he left the world with resentment. As for the third...” Liao Zhongkai thought silently for a moment, and finally shook his head.

  Song Jiaoren gazed at Chen Qimei's will, silent and unspoken, his tightly furrowed brow seeming to think of something. But he didn't say it out loud in the end, Liao Zhongkai beside him also didn't ask further, the two exchanged a silent glance, refolded the will and put it back into the drawer.