Volume 2: The Rise of Shanghai Chapter 3: Report

  There is still one more chapter at 11 o'clock tonight!

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  Li Zhenning suddenly thought of something, since his father mentioned Hu Mingyu, perhaps he could tell his father about his admiration for Miss Hu Min'er at this time. He hesitated for a while, finally gathering the courage to say to his father: "Dad, when I was in Beijing, Hu Mingyu specially met with me."

  "Oh, Old Hu really has a good heart." Li Wanqi nodded slightly.

  "That time when I met Director Hu, I also saw Director Hu's only daughter, Miss Hu Min'er," Li Zhenning gradually shifted the topic to another aspect. "Actually, I think Miss Hu is gentle and elegant, really lovely."

  Li Wanqi was not a foolish person, and upon hearing that his son did not mention Hu Mingyu but instead talked about Hu Mingyu's only daughter, he had already guessed the intention. He quickly thought for a moment in his mind, then smiled and said: "Zhenning, you are also 24 years old this year, and it is indeed time to consider the major events of life. Your father has a deep friendship with Hu Mingyu, and the Li and Hu families have formed an alliance, which is beneficial to both families."

  Hearing his father say this, Li Zhenning couldn't help but feel delighted and hastily said: "Father, you must take charge of this matter for your son."

  "Don't worry, I'll find a chance to talk to Hu Mingyu about it." Li Wanqi smiled heartily. As an old man from the early years of the Republic of China, he still hoped to hold his grandson in his arms soon.

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  The next morning, Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning went to the Shanghai Garrison Command to report for duty. After Zheng Ru-cheng took over as the commander-in-chief of the Shanghai Garrison, the command and the garrison headquarters were combined into one office, all located within the Shanghai district, adjacent to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, forming a military-political street.

  Since the riot of Shanghai revolutionaries after the Second Revolution, Zheng Rucheng had even deployed a whole brigade of troops into the city, now stationed behind the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. Therefore, when Xu Shaoxun and Li Zening arrived on this street where the headquarters was located, they felt a familiar military atmosphere at close range.

  Because Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning were not small, one was the nephew of the Secretary of State, and the other was the son of a Shanghai magnate, both with illustrious backgrounds. So when they arrived at the Garrison Command to show their army university documents and letters of introduction, the officials in charge of receiving them were extremely respectful, as if a special envoy from the central government had arrived.

  After a series of handovers, even Zheng Ruicheng, the garrison commander, came to see Xu Shaowen and Li Zhenning, exchanging some polite words. Zheng Ruicheng also specifically instructed his subordinates in front of them to take good care of these two army university students who were attached for training.

  At noon, the formalities of the team's attachment were completed. The receiving officer led Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning to the barracks in the rear of the headquarters, where they registered for and received two Type 35 pistols and holsters. At the same time, they were also issued two sets of uniforms from the Shanghai Garrison Command. After that, Li Zhen-ning stayed directly at the Garrison Command and was taken by the receiving officer to the staff office. Xu Shao-wen followed another soldier out of the Garrison Command and went to report to the Military Police Bureau on the other side of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau.

  The Garrison Command was a three-story building, and the backyard was the Garrison Camp. After arriving at the command post, Xu Shaowen went through some formalities and was then taken directly to the headquarters of the Third Garrison Battalion. The commander of the Third Garrison Battalion, Hao Jiguang, was a man in his thirties with a small mustache, looking very dignified and proper. However, there were not many records of him in history, because the garrison troops in Shanghai had a very small establishment, with only three battalions under its jurisdiction, and none of them were fully staffed. Moreover, the role of the Garrison Command was also very vague during the early Republic of China period, which resulted in the Garrison Command having almost nothing to do.

  Hao Lieguang knew Xu Shaowen's background, so he was also very polite. He first took Xu Shaowen to introduce the various departments of the camp. Although the Military Police Bureau is a unified bureau for the three military police regiments, each regiment has its own camp department, which is set up in their respective large camps. However, many facilities are shared among the three regiments, such as the document office and the cooking department.

  Xu Shaowen followed Hao Jiguang into the military police camp, and after circling around the large camp, he realized that this big camp was not big at all, and there were no more than 200 people in the entire camp. If it were in the 21st century, it would probably not even be considered a company. However, he soon thought of something - during the early years of the Republic of China, the organizational structure of the national army was different from that of international armies, and perhaps "camp" here simply referred to the troop strength of a camp site.

  After returning to the office, Hao Jiguang said to Xu Shaowen: "Wenyuan, you've come from afar. Although it's your first day reporting for duty, I won't be too harsh on you. This afternoon, you can take a stroll around Shanghai; I approve of that. Also, not long ago, the match between the Army University and Baoding Military Academy was all the rage nationwide. It's said that your performance back then was also outstanding."

  Xu Shaowen smiled wryly, it seemed that the so-called hype about this game was also due to pressure from the government on local newspapers, which had to create a grand illusion in their reports. He felt helpless in the face of this scrutiny, and only those who had participated in the game would know just how dull it had been.

  "It's nothing, just a coincidence." Xu Shaowen said with a few polite words.

  "In fact, our Shanghai Garrison Command Military Police Department, although also belonging to the military system, is quite different from the garrison troops," Hao Shaoguang sat down in front of his desk in the office, and also motioned for Xu Shaojun to sit down. "I have read some translated books on foreign military police systems, it's clear that Western countries define military police as law enforcement agencies within the military, equivalent to the police who manage soldiers."

  Xu Shao Wen nodded, he was a student at the Central Police Academy in the 21st century, and had studied the history of military police and police. The full name of the military police is Military Police, but in foreign languages, it can also be referred to as Gendarmerie. However, in Chinese history, only the Nationalist Party's Gendarmerie Corps seemed to have been mentioned, even in the 21st century, there was no such term as Gendarmerie (China called it "Jiucha").

  Hao Jiguang knew that Xu Shaowen was an educated man, and his views were not necessarily inferior to his own, so he didn't explain the foreign military police either. He continued: "However, in my Republic of China, the military police are still a groping force, and up to now, there are not many regular military units with military police across the country. The Military Police Bureau established by our Shanghai Garrison Command is responsible for relatively complex functions, which have a big difference from those abroad."

  Xu Shao's expression turned serious, and in his current memory, from the Nanjing Army Middle School to the current Army University, the textbooks he studied did not mention the military and police system of the Republic of China. Now he wanted to hear Hao Lieguang introduce it, so he asked: "Sir, what should I do with the Military Police Bureau at ordinary times?"

  "There are only three battalions of military police here, so the official duties we are responsible for are also divided into three categories," Hao Shaoguang said quickly and fluently to Xu Shaojun. "The first battalion has the largest number of personnel, with over 400 people, and they are mainly responsible for guarding the garrison command, the police headquarters, the Jiangnan Arsenal, and all military and government agencies on this street. The second battalion is mainly responsible for maintaining discipline among local troops, similar to the functions of military police abroad."

  Xu Shaowen was slightly surprised, and it turned out that the Shanghai Military Police Command was still in charge of different functional institutions. He asked again: "Commander Hao, what is the responsibility of our third battalion?"

  "Alas, you've also seen the situation in the office," Hao Jiguang said with a somewhat helpless smile, his expression looking a bit bitter. "The official business of our third battalion is very complicated when it's busy, and extremely idle when it's not."

  Xu Shao-wen had noticed the headquarters office earlier, and when he came from the command center it was already noon, but in the large office, so far there was only one person, Guan Dai Hao Zhaoguang.

  "Of course, Wen Yuan, don't get me wrong, thinking that our third battalion can't even attend to their duties when they're not on official business." Hao Jiguang noticed Xu Shaowen's uncertain expression and continued, "Actually, the scope of work for our third battalion is to assist in maintaining order in the concession areas, so usually during the day, the brothers are all patrolling outside the foreign concessions."

  "Assist in managing the concession's security?" Xu Shaowen had truly never heard of Chinese people being able to exercise security management within the concession. Not to mention that foreigners have their own police patrols in the concession, even if they consider the concession as their own national territory, this privilege would not easily allow Chinese military personnel to enter and exit the concession. Moreover, patrolling outside the concession is also the duty of the Shanghai Police Department, how could it be the turn of the military to intervene?

  Hao Jiguang noticed Xu Shaowen's confusion and smiled, continuing to explain: "Wenyuan, you might think our third battalion is just like ordinary police, but that's not the case. Our military police can do a lot more than regular police. That's why our duties are called 'assisting in managing concession area security'. Although most people in the concessions are Chinese, according to the lease agreements signed with foreigners, if Chinese commit crimes in the concessions, they will be punished according to the laws of the concessions."

  Xu Shaowen knew this point and nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.