Chapter Fifty Northwest Storm Clouds

  Song Jiaoren's telegram to Fang Zidao reassured him a lot. As for Chen Qimei's suicide, the telegram did not mention much, only comforting him not to worry too much about it. Also, he told him that the investigation in Beijing was just going through the motions. Fang Zidao's contributions in Nanjing and Shanghai were very satisfactory to Song Jiaoren. As for the Ministry of War abolishing Fang Zidao's position as deputy commander of the 8th Division, the replacement work of the 8th Division would be recommended by Fang Zidao, requiring him to make arrangements before returning to Beijing to report.

  On the way back to Nanjing, Fang Zidao thought about this a lot. In theory, his position in the 8th Division was just a temporary measure, and after he left, the power of the division should be returned to its commander Zhao Hengti. However, Fang Zidao had always been wary of this "mud Bodhisattva" commander, and Zhao's excessive low-keyness and cooperation made him feel that something was not quite right.

  Besides, Zhao Hengyi has been the commander of the 8th Division for so many days, and he has always been at odds with the upper and lower levels of the 8th Division. If it weren't for Fang Zidao's swift and decisive elimination of Lin Hu, the 8th Division would probably still be in disarray until now. In Fang Zidao's opinion, it would be best to transfer Zhao Hengyi out of the 8th Division and appoint someone else as the commander, but now that the internal problems have been eliminated, the division has been reorganized, and they have won against Zhang Xun and defended Nanjing, although this is mainly due to Fang Zidao's efforts, Zhao Hengyi still has considerable merit as the nominal commander.

  Zhao Hengyi's superior will continue to serve, making the position of replacing Fang Zidu as deputy commander even more important. Currently, there are many capable generals in the country who can lead troops and have talent, but most of them are from the Beiyang faction. Fang Zidu would never use someone from Beiyang for this deputy commander position. As for those from the KMT side, either they are too old to command or their revolutionary ideology makes them unsuitable for the role. After careful consideration, Fang Zidu can only choose from among the original personnel of the 8th Division, and the most qualified and suitable candidates are Wang Xiaozeng and Huang Kaiyuan.

  It stands to reason that Wang Xiaozhong is far more suitable than Huang Kaiyuan, whether in terms of military experience or prestige at the grassroots level. However, Fang Zidao quickly ruled out the possibility of Wang Xiaozhong, because once Wang Xiaozhong became the deputy commander, it would inevitably lead to a situation where he would overshadow Zhao Hengti, who was already in a weak position as the commander of the 8th Division. Moreover, Wang Xiaozhong's attitude towards Sun Wen and others was also one of Fang Zidao's main reasons for hesitation. If he left, Wang Xiaozhong might collude with Sun Wen, or even lead the entire 8th Division to defect, rendering all of Fang Zidao's previous efforts useless.

  It seems that the most suitable candidate is Huang Kaiyuan. Huang Kaiyuan, this old official, has a set of skills for boasting and flattering, which have been well-learned by Fang Zidao. If he becomes the deputy commander, although he cannot fully control the Eighth Division, at least he can counterbalance Zhao Hengti and Wang Xiaozhang, forming a delicate balance. After careful consideration, Fang Zidao made up his mind and immediately sent a telegram to Song Jiaoren in Nanjing, recommending Huang Kaiyuan to take over his position.

  He stayed in Nanjing for only one day, and after Song Jiaoren issued the order through the Ministry of the Army, Huang Kaiyuan officially took over as deputy division commander and concurrently served as commander of the mixed brigade. Before leaving Nanjing, Fang Zidao specially called Huang Kaiyuan to talk, Huang Kaiyuan was a clever person, Fang Zidao slightly hinted at him and he understood what to do, patted his chest and promised Fang Zidao that as long as he was in this deputy division commander position, the Eighth Division would always be Fang Zidao's troops.

  "What's my unit? The Eighth Division is a KMT unit! It's the national army!" Fang Zida corrected sternly, and Huang Kaiyuan immediately nodded in agreement, but as for what he really thought in his heart, only he himself knew.

  He did not attend the farewell party held by Fang Zidao for the 8th Division, and after handling his affairs, Fang Zidao left Nanjing in a low-key manner. On his way back to Beijing, news came from Shanghai that Zhang Huchen and others had set out northward.

  Thinking of Jiang Zhiqing, Fang Ziduo couldn't help but feel conflicted. For this person, Fang Ziduo had even harbored murderous intentions before. If it weren't for the Chen Qimei incident causing too much commotion, and if taking action against Fang Ziduo now wouldn't be too obvious, perhaps Fang Ziduo would have really let someone take action. However, at present, the aftermath of the Chen Qimei incident had yet to subside. Not only could he not take action against Jiang Zhiqing and others, but he also had to guarantee Jiang Zhiqing's absolute safety through Zhang Huchen. As for what to do in the future? Fang Ziduo could only secretly sigh with sorrow, taking things one step at a time. A mere Jiang Zhiqing, who hadn't yet developed, didn't pose any threat for now.

  Beijing, Ministry of the Army.

  Fang Zidao still came here for the first time. After getting off the train, he did not go to the Prime Minister's Office, and according to the order of the Ministry of the Army, he had to go to resign and accept the investigation.

  Of course, after arriving in Beijing, he notified Song Jiaoren first and then set off to the Ministry of the Army. Fang Zidao returned to Beijing without any guards and went directly by car alone.

  "Halt! This is the Ministry of War, where are you from? Get out!"

  "I am Fang Zida, I request an audience with Director Duan." Standing at the entrance, Fang Zida, dressed in a crisp suit, said to the guard blocking his way.

  "What do I care about your Fang Zidada or Yuan Zidada? Without a public letter, no one can see!" The guard was very vigilant and stretched out his hand to push away Fang Zidada who was blocking the main gate, but before he could lift his hand, he was pulled back by his companion on the side.

  "Brother, he said his name is Fang Zida!"

  "What's with the round... uh... what did you say? Is he Fang Zidao?" The scolding guard suddenly paused, came back to his senses and sized up Fang Zidao in front of him, asking tentatively: "Are you from Shanghai?"

  "Yes." Fang Zida smiled and nodded.

  Some people couldn't be sure if the person in front of them was really Fang Zida, who had been making a big fuss these days. The guard hesitated for a moment and let him wait, rushing inside to report.

  Not long after, a young lieutenant colonel rushed out. This military officer had met Duan Qirui's deputy and adopted son Luo Fengjia once before.

  "Brother Ming, when did you arrive in Beijing?"

  "Just arrived, and Mr. Wei personally came out to greet me, making me feel flattered." said Fang Zida with a smile, bowing his hands slightly.

  "Ah, Brother Ming is too polite, isn't it just our duty as deputy officers to run errands?" Luo Fengge said with a smile, while pointing at Fang Zidao and scolding the guards: "You all take a good look, this is the original Deputy Commander of the 8th Division, Fang Zidao Fang Ming. Not long ago, Deputy Commander Fang was mighty and powerful! In Nanjing, he defeated Zhang Xun's queue army, tsk, tsk, impressive! Impressive!"

  Lu Fengge only mentioned Fang Zida's military achievements and didn't mention anything about Shanghai. Fang Zida was also modest, just smiling and saying a few humble words.

  "Brother Ming, come with me, the commander has been waiting for you for several days."

  "Take care of yourself, little brother."

  "Haha, we're all family, don't be polite!"

  "Please!"

  Lu Fengge led Fang Zidao to a room upstairs in the Ministry of War, and after entering, he politely told Fang Zidao to wait here for a moment. Director Duan is currently meeting with newly appointed Deputy Director Xu to discuss matters, and will be over soon.

  "Who is Xu Zicong?" When Song Jiaoren took over as Premier, Fang Zidao had already arrived in Nanjing. Afterwards, there were a lot of things to do with the reorganization of the 8th Division, plus the later Shanghai Battle and Nanjing Battle, he simply didn't care about the adjustment of officials in various departments. Except for a few department heads who knew, the new deputy minister was completely unaware, and Xu Zicong mentioned by Luo Fengge, he had heard of him for the first time.

  "It's General Xu Youzheng." Luo Fengge said, pouring a cup of tea over.

  "Oh, it's Xu Shu-zheng. I didn't expect him to be promoted to deputy director." Xu Shu-zheng was a name that Fang Zi-da had heard of before, but he had never met him.

  Xu Shuzheng had served as the director of the Military Studies Bureau and the Military Horse Bureau, and before becoming the deputy chief of the army, he was the director of the General Affairs Office of the General's Mansion. This time, at the age of 33, Xu Shuzheng can be said to be the youngest one, with a bright future ahead of him, as can be imagined.

  To prevent Fang Zidao from getting bored, Luo Fengge accompanied him to chat and asked curiously about Nanjing and Shanghai. Luo Fengge was the confidant of General Duan Qirui, so Fang Zidao did not dare to be slow. Moreover, he knew in his heart that what Luo Fengge asked might be at the behest of Duan Qirui. So he chose some things to talk about, but what he said was very measured, grasping well what could and couldn't be told.

  Before long, half an hour had passed and Duan Qirui still hadn't arrived. Glancing at his watch, Luo Fengge hastily said: "Deng Ming brother, please sit for a moment. I'll go take a look at Director-General Duan's place."

  "Thanks, little brother." He nodded and sat quietly on the other side, savoring the Rainy Dragon Well tea in front of him.

  Another ten or so minutes passed before footsteps were finally heard outside. Fang Zidao got up and looked towards the door, only to see Duan Qirui arriving at last.

  "Sorry, sorry! I've kept you waiting for so long." As soon as he entered the door, Duan Qirui said with a full sense of apology. After sitting down and shaking his head, he continued: "These revolutionaries have made a mess of the southern provinces, and now the northwest is also unstable. It's really giving me a headache!"

  "What's going on in the northwest? What happened?" Fang Zidao asked in surprise.

  "You didn't know?" Duan Qirui was taken aback, then thought of something and tapped his forehead with his finger, laughing: "This is also true, Brother Zhengming has been traveling north for a long time without news, it's natural that he wouldn't be clear about this. This matter just happened a few days ago, the bandit Bai Lang in Henan gathered 3,000 people and rebelled against the central government under the banner of revolutionaries. Now I hear they have nearly 10,000 troops and have continuously occupied seven county towns including Qian County, Hu County, and Long County. The Ministry of War is deploying troops to quell the rebellion."

  "What's this? Who is this Bai Lang? I've never heard of him before?" Fang Zidao asked in surprise.

  "A bandit, who had gathered 200 people to occupy a mountain and become king during the Qing dynasty, has gradually grown in power over the years. Originally, the central government was going to wait until all regions were pacified before taking action against him, but unexpectedly this guy took advantage of the revolutionary party's rebellion and suddenly popped up, truly daring and reckless!"

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