Chapter 71: The Recapture of Two Towns and Conflict (Part 2)

  "Bang!"

  Suddenly a loud slap landed on the table, Li Han pointed at himself "I'm just one person, my voice is not louder than yours, but what I, Li Mou, carry on my shoulders is the trust of millions of overseas Chinese, and every drop of hot blood in me is for the revolution. I'm very curious, where did my palm camp offend you, Gongjin Association? First, it was this despicable person who caused trouble on the battlefield, was caught by me and sent to the commander-in-chief, but still dared to appear at my revolutionary meeting with impunity. Furthermore, there were villains who found a gunman hiding in my unit, if not for the discovery of his abnormal behavior, he would have been brought before me, I really didn't know what sin I had committed, to be put on the so-called revolutionary organization - Gongjin Association's hit list, please, who can come out and explain this to me..."

  Here is the translation:

  It's true that one sentence can be four parts truth and six parts false, but Li Han was truly furious. He knew that most people in the Progressive Association were unaware of the inside situation, but previously in the military government's struggle for power, almost half of the departments with real power had been taken over by them, and most of them had not yet participated in the uprising. This move would inevitably provoke the anger of the people inside, if it weren't for the fact that the Progressive Association was on good terms with the original Literary Society and had a significant influence within the new army. Compared to this uprising which has not yet succeeded, the morale of the troops would have been completely lost! Still, in front of these people, he poured a huge bucket of feces over the head of the Progressive Association. In Li Han's heart, it was not so much that he was furious, but rather that he was angry at their lack of contention. This revolution had just seen a glimmer of hope, and they were already stirring up strife in their hearts. He could not let history repeat itself, even if it meant thoroughly offending the gangsters in the south.

  Look inside the house, it's just as he thought, there are many people who have walked in with him, and when they look at them, their eyes are filled with a hint of disdain. Li Han snorted coldly, "And you, the great master of the Hongmen, huh? You're really something, with your eloquent words and sharp tongue. But I'd like to ask, when we were fighting for justice, when we were bravely killing the enemy, when we were ambushing the Eighth Garrison, when we were defending our revolution... where was your Hongmen then? How dare you wave the flag of our revolutionary army! Who gave you the right to use our flag?"

  With a "bang", Li Han suddenly pulled out the Browning 1911 at his waist and the Black Star pistol he brought from the back market, pressing them both on the table.

  Everyone in the house took a cold breath at once, even Du Lanfang did not expect that this guy was a number one madman, and he would pull out his gun as soon as he didn't agree.

  Li Han picked up a fan, "After interrogation, it was found that the green-skinned rascals who made trouble in Nancheng were all from your subordinate Du Lanfang. Well done, you have guts. It is said that you also wanted to attack the treasury before, but just as the first and twenty-ninth battalions had just taken down, the defense was strict at that time. With less than 800 rascals under your command, it would be impossible to take it by storm, so you turned your attention to the Nancheng business road... Well done, you have guts."

  With a "pa" sound, he threw the gun to him. Li Han's face turned even colder, "When I was abroad, Americans treated us Chinese as inferior. Do you know what that means? Let me tell you, they humiliated us like beasts, beating and scolding us, killing us at will. The Dutch in Southeast Asia and the Westerners were even worse. I spent seven years abroad, and I killed nearly a thousand foreigners with my own hands. But the number of Chinese traitors who helped foreigners bully our people was ten times more than that. Do you have any objections to me killing the thugs who caused trouble for your men?"

  The air is filled with the spirit of violence and brutality. Today, I went to the concession in Hankou and saw with my own eyes how foreigners are bullying and oppressing our countrymen, treating them like pigs and dogs. Thinking about the chaos and suffering of the past half century, the deaths and injuries of tens of millions of compatriots, and the loss of hundreds of billions of wealth, all for the sake of building a new China. But our ancestors left us with a weak national foundation that cannot even rival small European countries. Although several generations of leaders have worked hard to develop the economy, achieving rapid growth and prosperity in a short period, the internal problems and negative consequences are still there. Without decades of rectification, Japan in 1990 will be the future of our Republic. Foreigners from Europe and America are taking advantage of this situation, continuing to bully and oppress us at home and suppress us internationally.

  Thinking of this, Li Han's heart was even more indignant. He couldn't let this rare opportunity for resurgence slip away from his hands. For the true success of the revolution and for the Republic to stand tall again among the world's strong nations, Li Han made a secret decision in his heart: no matter how many curses he would bear, no matter what means he would use, he had to realize his dream!

  "Let's duel!"

  Li Han's eyes were like looking at a dead man, slowly replacing the empty clip with a full one from his waist, gesturing to the other party to check the gun he threw over.

  "You think I'm not pleasing to the eye, but I'd rather kill a scum like you. Dueling games are popular overseas, unfortunately I don't have a revolver in my hand, so I'll use this more powerful handgun instead, guaranteeing that if you're hit, you'll die... Take the gun and let's play..."

  Without paying any attention to the ugly face in front of him that had turned ashen, Li Han's voice became increasingly impatient, "My time is precious, hurry up and choose..."

  "Hiss..."

  A sudden, somewhat discordant intake of breath filled the room. "This madman," many people silently cursed, though their faces showed some unnaturalness. Even those who had previously been the most vocal in their criticism, including the group that had shared a meal together, suddenly fell silent, afraid to even look at him directly lest they attract the attention of this madman and have another gun thrown his way.

  There's a saying that goes like this: 'The strong fear the reckless, and the reckless fear those who have nothing to lose.' Especially when you're in the wrong, how many people can avoid feeling intimidated?

  "This lunatic..."

  Wu Zhaolin secretly scolded himself, he had given up too much to create a harmonious atmosphere this evening, but it was suddenly ruined by him. However, despite being reasonable and putting himself in the right position, he was setting traps everywhere in his words, and his tone was extremely overbearing. Wu Zhaolin was also secretly impressed, thinking that his methods were ruthless and his mind was deep, far surpassing his own. But seeing the atmosphere inside the house become very tense, he didn't want the situation in the city to become chaotic because of this, after all, whether it was the First Banner or the Hui Party, they all belonged to the revolutionary army's forces at present, so he had a mind to persuade.

  Just then, the guard who was sent out to bring the letter came in and whispered something in his ear. The letter had been brought, and the matter was settled. Wu Zhaolun's eyes lit up as he finally found an excuse. Seeing Li Han's face growing increasingly impatient, he too was startled and quickly stood up to mediate: "Everyone, I say everyone, we are a revolutionary organization, and we have come together for the sake of revolution, to liberate our Chinese people from the rule of the Manchu Qing dynasty. For this dream, we have come from all over the country to Wuhan, and now that the revolution has just begun to show some hope, we are instead at odds with each other, fighting and quarreling among ourselves. Wouldn't this make the Manchu Qing government happy? Come, come, you are all the main force of our revolution, don't be like this... Let's not mention this matter again, let's not mention it again. Let's first listen to what military news there is..."

  Li Han stepped aside, no longer pressing in, Wu Zhaolin let out a breath and nodded to the guard to ask what was the name of that official!

  Shou Wei bowed and retreated, but returned soon after!

  "Report to the Grand Commander, this man claims his name is Li Donglai!"

  Wu Zhaolin looked at Li Han and asked, "Does General Li know that there is such a person under his command?"

  After seeing Li Han nodding his head, he waved his hand and let the guard bring in the official with the one-character plaque.

  "Hey, the governor is calling you in!"

  After receiving the order, the guard pushed open the door and invited a official who was waiting outside the Zizheng Yuan to come in.

  The door creaked open, and a short but spirited young soldier followed the guard in, although he had been relieved of his weapons, his armed belt looked somewhat out of place. However, his straight posture made everyone in the room take a second look at him, feeling that this person was extraordinary.

  "Report, First Lieutenant Li Dong has arrived to see you gentlemen!"

  Everyone's eyes in the house fell on him, but the young soldier performed exceptionally well. Li Han nodded secretly in his heart, yes, this gentleman was his chief of staff and now also served as the head of the intelligence agency he had just established - Li Donglai.

  "You say there's intelligence in your hand, it must be a military situation of utmost urgency, quickly read it out..."

  Everyone's attention in the house temporarily shifted away from those who had just quarreled, Wu Zhaolun let out a slight sigh of relief and asked him in a gentle voice.

  However, Li Donglai still stood there upright, his eyes turned towards Li Han, without making a sound.

  Wu Zhaolin's face turned black, and he felt a surge of anger in his heart. He let out a cold hum. This Li Han didn't give him any face, and even treated a soldier like this, what was the point of being the commander-in-chief?

  On the verge of getting angry.

  "Speak!"

  But Li Han took the lead and asked in a soft voice.

  "Yes!"

  Li Dong came forward and bowed, "There is an urgent telegram from the Second Regiment."

  The Second Battalion was a new formation composed of the 353rd Regiment, which was drawn from Li Han's previous pursuit of the Eighth Town. The current commander is temporarily acting as the battalion commander, who had previously performed well in the pursuit of the Eighth Town. As soon as he opened his mouth, Li Han's mouth corner revealed a smile, apparently already understanding the content of the intelligence.

  "Mind!"

  "Yes!"

  "We reached the first marker at 9:30 on the night of the 10th and by 11:01 we had successfully taken control of the area outside the Hankou concession. We are currently engaging with the remnants of the 8th Brigade, which is fleeing in disarray. A small number of soldiers from the 8th Brigade have escaped into the British concession, where they were met with unprovoked aggression by the British, who wounded four of our brothers and killed one. In accordance with military orders, we withdrew from the concession's warning zone. Before sending this telegram, the British gathered over a hundred Germans and Frenchmen to demand that our revolutionary soldiers surrender their arms, and began to assemble troops. We have limited ammunition, please request urgent support from headquarters!"

  Li Dong loudly read out the telegram.

  The room suddenly fell into a commotion, even Wu Zhaolin and others did not expect it. It was Li Han who had dispatched troops to cross the river and seize Hankou's concession before the battle in the city had even reached its climax. Everyone really didn't know whether they should admire his boldness or praise his clever tactics... As for ridicule, it only made many revolutionaries who had witnessed his crazy side frown, although they disliked his style, but did not want to turn against him because of this.