Chapter Sixteen: Return to the Capital

  On the afternoon of October 1, Beijing Army University sent a telegram to inform Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning that their attachment training in Shanghai had ended, requiring them to return to school in Beijing before the eighth day of the month. That afternoon, Xu Shao-wen and Li Zhen-ning submitted their resignations at the Shanghai Garrison Command and also received their evaluation results from Zheng Ruicheng.

  The results of the assessment are self-evident, and both Li Zhenning and Xu Shaowen received passing grades.

  Li Wanqi had booked the train tickets for the day of the third, and when they were about to leave, Li Wanqi and Li Yueru personally came to the train station to see off Li Zhenning and Xu Shaowen. Yu Kuqing also personally came to see off Xu Shaowen, after all, he was a shareholder of the Chinese National Bank, and he also admired this young man. Huang Jinrong only entrusted someone to send some special products from Shanghai and comforted him with a few words, just to show his intention.

  On the platform in front of the train station, a group of people made their final farewells after seeing the train arrive.

  "Will you come to Shanghai again, Wen Gege?" Li Yu Ru looked at Xu Shao Wen with a somewhat reluctant gaze, this time she didn't feel shy again, but her voice was still weak and seemed to be holding back.

  Xu Shaowen smiled, but before he could speak, Li Wanqi, who was standing beside him, laughed and said: "Wenyuan will certainly come back, he has opened a bank here, how can he ignore it?"

  "That's great," Li Yu Ru's eyes showed a hint of relief, and she smiled sweetly, "Wen Yuan Ge Ge, when you come back, I'll definitely play the best violin music for you."

  "Thanks then." Xu Shao Wen looked at Li Yue Ru's pure appearance and felt a little reluctant in his heart.

  At this time, Yu Kai walked up and patted Xu Shao Wen's shoulder, saying: "Young man, work hard, during the time you're not here, Old Li and I will take good care of the bank."

  "Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Yu." Xu Shao said with heartfelt gratitude.

  Li Zhenning suddenly walked up and whispered a sentence in Li Wanqi's ear: "Dad, don't forget to have a talk with Hu Xiedu."

  Li Wanqi naturally knew what his son was talking about. He patted Li Zhenning's shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry, tomorrow I'll send a telegram to Old Hu."

  The station staff began to do the final cleaning on the train. The train was about to depart. Xu Shaowen and Li Zhenning bid farewell to several people who came to see them off, then boarded the train.

  After the train left the station, Li Zhenning sighed and said: "Alas, my father really listened to your words and mortgaged so many assets. Although it was successful in the end, I've been asking him how much money he made recently, but he hasn't answered me yet."

  Xu Shaowen was stunned. Li Wanqi had given all the money he made from this speculation to himself. If Li Zhenning knew about this, he would probably blame his father for treating an outsider better than his own son. He smiled wryly and said, "Anyway, it's your Li family's money. Can't escape."

  "That's right." Li Zhenning smiled. He suddenly remembered something and immediately said mysteriously, "During this time when I was serving at the headquarters staff office, I heard some rather urgent news."

  Seeing Li Zhenning's serious and mysterious appearance, Xu Shaowen was slightly spirited. He immediately asked: "What news?"

  "There have been rumors that President Yuan is going to sign the so-called 'Twenty-one Demands' with Japan, and people from all over the country are strongly opposed to it. The Southern Revolutionary Party has even more vehemently expressed its opposition, and it seems that another civil war is about to break out." Li Zhenning said.

  "This, I knew." Xu Shao-wen looked at Li Zhen-ning with some surprise. Although he had been busy speculating in military arms in Shanghai for more than half the time, newspapers and radio were still frequently heard, and the "Twenty-one Demands" incident had indeed caused a stir across the country.

  Moreover, following the course of history, in mid-1915, news would spread that Yuan Shikai was declaring himself emperor, which would further fuel public opinion. Immediately after, in 1916, Sun Yat-sen would call on southern warlords to launch a third revolution, also known as the War for the Protection of the Country. The civil war between north and south would thus erupt anew.

  Li Zhenning smiled and said, "I haven't finished speaking yet. Think about it, if the north and south go to war, the south will definitely declare war first. At that time, Shanghai will become a must-pass place for the southern revolutionary party to expand its battle line to the north."

  "That's right." Xu Shao Wen agreed on this point.

  "The Shanghai garrison has only two brigades, and they are not even fully manned, with a maximum of 8,000 troops. With just 8,000 people, it's impossible to defend this strategic location in Shanghai." Li Zhenning gradually got to the point, "So recently, the Shanghai Garrison Command Staff Department has been discussing requesting additional troops from Beijing."

  "If the Shanghai garrison is increased, it will indeed have an impact on the situation in Shanghai." Xu Shaowen furrowed his brow and said to himself. Once the military strength in Shanghai increases, both merchants and civilians will speculate that war is approaching, and they will feel panicked. This panic can cause no small loss to one's own banking industry.

  "Moreover, the Shanghai Garrison Command has a rumor that President Yuan is recently busy dispatching inspectors to various places in order to firmly grasp local military and political power. Therefore, the central government is currently short of personnel," Li Zhenning continued, "So, the Beijing side is thinking of ways to recruit talents from students studying at military schools."

  This news was reported to him by Xu Shaochang on the second day after he arrived in Shanghai. However, when Li Zening mentioned it again this time, he suddenly had a new plan in mind.

  Three days later, the train arrived in Beijing. Xu Shaowen and Li Zhenning walked back to the Army University on Xizhimen Street, where students had been successively dispatched for training, leaving few students left in the entire school. The dormitory of the Infantry Department was empty, with people like Guo Songling and Duan Yunfeng still studying outside, and it's likely that only Xu Shaowen and Li Zhenning will be left in the next ten or so days.

  Just as Xu Shaowen and Li Zhenning had just finished tidying up their dormitory, the door monitor knocked on the door of the quadrangle courtyard.

  "Wen Yuan and Wen Han, you two are back so early?" The dormitory supervisor was a forty-year-old uncle who usually treated the students in a very gentle manner, and everyone got along with him very harmoniously.

  "Uncle, come in and sit down. This time we brought some local specialties from Shanghai. Take a few packs back to try." Xu Shaowen came back to his senses, smiled and invited the dormitory monitor in, then took out some local specialties given by Huang Jinrong from his luggage and stuffed them into the monitor's hands.

  "This is no good, this is bribery." The gatekeeper uncle smiled and pushed it away, "I came to find you to talk about the proper business."

  "Let's just take it first and talk about it later," Li Zhenning also chimed in, anyway he was a Shanghainese, these local specialties had been eaten since childhood, not feeling rare at all.