Chapter 19: Promoted to Brigade Commander (Second Update)

  Huang Kui glanced at Lin Hu unintentionally, then looked straight at Mao Feng, with a thick smile on his face. He said: "The army is the needle of Chaozhou's Dinghai, for the hard work on the land of Chaozhou, as a son of Chaozhou, I have seen it all, and I am proud to see such an army in Chaozhou! Those who can exert their strength will naturally do so, without hesitation! General Lin understands my character, as long as you give the word, old man Huang will assist with all his might!"

  "This is a mature statement, and what should be said on the surface has been said! Lin Hu didn't show any unusual expression, while Mao Feng smiled and said: "If everyone were as open-minded as Huang Gong, then negotiating with those rebellious elements would be so arrogant!"

  Huang Kui's face turned serious as he said, "As for the Southern Government rebels, I have never had any good feelings towards them. The country has been made a mess by these people, and the only way to bring peace to the world is to eliminate these hidden dangers as soon as possible!"

  The way he spoke with such righteousness and eloquence left Mao Feng and the others in awe, thinking to themselves that this old man was indeed a rare breed, someone who had managed to remain uncorrupted despite being from an earlier era.

  Lin Hu was calm, to be exact, serene and unruffled. He said: "It's good that you have this intention, but I hope to see a stable Chaozhou now. What is needed now is stability, no chaos can occur, do I need to say more?"

  It didn't get the response he had expected, but Lin Hu's answer did bring a bit of disappointment to Huang Kui, and also a hint of fear - how could he not hear the implication in Lin Hu's words?

  Huang Kui also said bluntly: "I understand, I guarantee that I will not take the initiative to cause trouble. If something big happens, I will tell General immediately and ask him to make a decision!"

  "Good!" Lin Hu's face showed appreciation for the first time, and he looked at Huang Kui and said: "If everyone is like Mr. Huang, then Chaozhou will surely prosper in the future! Mr. Huang stayed behind to drink together later!"

  Huang Kui naturally would not refuse, his intention was to win over Lin Hu, and he needed to rely on Lin Hu to get rid of the Ding family! The Ding family was Huang Kui's greatest enemy in his heart.

  Then Lin Hu also said to Mao Feng: "You don't have to leave either, stay and keep me company!"

  Mao Feng hesitated for a moment, then continued: "General, I still need to train the troops, and there's also Zhao Pingzhou..."

  "Does it still matter about this little time? Don't I know about the Independent Regiment's affairs? I have faith in you! This is an order!"

  Mao Feng nodded helplessly and said: "Yes, General, I will obey orders."

  The atmosphere at the banquet was very good, and Mao Feng also saw Lin Hu's drinking capacity for the first time, which was very generous and talkative. It seemed like another Lin Hu! However, when he saw Huang Kui there too, Mao Feng thought that maybe this was just an aspect of Lin Hu that he didn't know about.

  The host and guests were all happy, and Mao Feng and Huang Kui bid farewell together. Lin Hu did not retain them either, as he also needed to sober up. As they walked out of the gate, Huang Kui naturally had a sedan chair waiting for him. He turned around and said to Mao Feng, "Commander Mao, I wonder if you would like to come to my humble abode to have some tea and rest?"

  Looking at Huang Kui with a drunken gaze, Mao Feng also stuttered and said: "Forget it, I've had too much to drink today, besides, I need to go back to the troops for a look! Next time I'll come visit again, okay?"

  Huang Kui also nodded and said: "Then it's settled, I'm not good at drinking, so I'll take my leave first. Farewell! General Mao, stay behind!"

  "May you have a good journey, farewell!"

  After Huang Kui got into the sedan, he no longer had any intoxication at this moment. His originally dull eyes had long since cleared up. He stroked his goatee and muttered to himself: "Unexpectedly, unexpectedly! Today is a great harvest, a great harvest! Although I had expected that this person was not ordinary, I didn't expect it to be so fast! Since that's the case, why not win him over now? Hmm! Don't underestimate the poor young man!"

  Behind Mao Feng, his subordinates were already standing. In a low voice, Mao Feng said: "Go to the division headquarters and get people!" Mao Feng quickly mounted his horse, not caring that this was the entrance of the touring envoy's mansion. He rode off immediately with his subordinates, rushing to the Third Division Headquarters in a flurry.

  In the living room, Lin Hu was quietly drinking tea. He didn't have the same intoxication as before. At this moment, he sat with a calm and peaceful expression when a guard came in to report softly.

  After the report was finished, the guard saluted and withdrew. Lin Hu furrowed his brow and said: "This person is trustworthy, but still needs to be tempered! If he doesn't know how to interact with others, how can he grow?"

  Then his eyebrows relaxed, a smile appeared on his face, and he chuckled: "Maybe he's just a variable, maybe he can do better to control the Chaozhou area, so I can devote myself to governing Meizhou!"

  Lin Hu's current position is not only the Chaozhou Inspector, but also Meizhou. His official title is actually the Chao-Mei Inspector! He has control over the political and military power of both Chaozhou and Meizhou. Interestingly, this official position was appointed by the Beijing Central Government, while Chen Jiongming's appointment to him was only a military position, as the commander of the 3rd Army.

  The more prosperous his body, the more old-fashioned his face, making many people feel the vicissitudes of time. Chen Jiongming was just like that, since he successfully drove away Sun Da Pao, his expression had not been excited at all.

  At this moment, he had just dispersed the meeting, and a group of subordinates had just left his mansion! Chen Jiongming was extremely disappointed that he failed to capture Sun Daopao. As for Guangzhou, it was far less important than capturing Sun Daopao. Guangzhou could be taken down with some effort, but capturing Sun Daopao was not a matter of putting in some effort; even if great efforts were made, it was uncertain whether he could be captured. The opportunity had arisen, but he himself did not seize it.

  It was with such an idea that he furrowed his brow, and he had been paying close attention to Sun Dapao's whereabouts while also intensifying the pursuit of Nationalist Party members, even sympathizers were ruthlessly suppressed by him.

  Qian Ming lightly patted the tea table, he muttered: "Good you Lin Hu, unexpectedly still so, openly killing my people, and promoted a batch of his own confidants, really treating himself as the army commander! Hmph!"

  Chen Guangming was furious after receiving the military report from Chaozhou, but he couldn't punish Lin Hu just yet. He had already offended many revolutionaries and Sun Yat-sen's allies were still numerous, especially in southern China where his influence ran deep! Guizhou and Yunnan could be said to have reached a state of hostility with him! If at this time he were to get rid of Lin Hu, the contact person for the central government, then he would truly be isolated and helpless.

  "Those pigs! Stupid to the extreme, can't even do this little thing right, all just wine bags and rice sacks! Exposing their handles for him to grab, and actually thinking that my, Chen Jiongming's, face is valued by Lin Hu? Absolutely foolish beyond measure!"

  He paused and read: "Mao Feng, Zhejiang people! It seems that Sun Dapao has started to lay out his chess pieces again. For someone like me, the first thing to do is to kill him. Talent? Only those who are useful to me are talented. Apart from this, they are the biggest hidden danger. Can't we just sit back and watch the hidden danger grow? If he's not Sun Dapao's man, then it's really strange! Hmph, only Lin Huo is so foolish!"

  Chen Kuoming would not inform Lin Hu, because if he said so, it would be counterproductive and make Lin Hu think that Mao Feng was worthy of great use. Moreover, Lin Hu's instability is currently the most beneficial to himself.

  Chen Kuang-ming rubbed his brow, and said in a low voice: "Damn the central government! Damn the foreigners! Now they're stretching out their hands! Why didn't I see them being so enthusiastic about capturing Sun Taipai? Damn it!"

  The central government's telegram demanded that someone be sent to take charge of the customs, while the powers demanded that Chen Jiongming surrender to the central government and also demanded that Chen Jiongming open up the customs. Moreover, they demanded that Chen Jiongming guarantee the safety of nationals of the powers within the two Guang provinces! With the addition of the anti-government forces within and around the region, how could this not give Chen Jiongming a headache?

  "Can I follow the orders of the Beiyang government? That's impossible! Let Li Yuanhong and Duan Qirui crap on my head? Don't even think about it! After all the hardships, should I just hand over power? Will they let me off? Is my stance wrong? They are all schemers, thinking only of themselves sitting in that position! Hmph!"

  In the first year of the Huaxia calendar, Chen Jiongming accepted a position from the Beijing government as the Inspector of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. Lin Hu succeeded him as the Commander of the Chaozhou-Meizhou Garrison. Mao Fengzhi took over as the commander of the Independent Regiment, which had completed its reorganization with three battalions, two companies, and more than 2,500 men. Hao Junsheng served as the Chief of Staff, while Zhao Pingzhou served as the Deputy Commander.

  The original team leader Zhao Difei is serving as the deputy chief of staff of the third army, Zhao Difei went to take office with great enthusiasm, the reason is simple, Zhao Difei knows that his ability is not enough to suppress Mao Fengzhi, let alone Mao Fengzhi is deeply trusted by Lin Huxin, how can he do things when he is in a difficult position?

  Zhao Difei thought it was good, he didn't have much ambition either. As long as he could live a stable life, that was enough for him. His ambition had been worn down by the San Shi incident. He knew he almost got played out. Revolution? Even now, he still doesn't know what revolution is.

  Mao Feng still has great respect for Zhao Difei. Although Zhao Difei had the constraint of Lin Hu, Mao Feng also knew that Zhao Difei did not actually suppress his own ideas. Not only was Mao Feng in charge of training three battalions and engineer companies, but later on, he was responsible for the entire brigade's training. The guard company was also handed over to Mao Feng by Zhao Difei!

  It was Zhao Difei's decision that made Mao Feng still very respectful in his heart! Not everyone is like this, having a superior who trusts oneself and shelters oneself from the wind and rain is also one's own good fortune! How could Mao Feng not respect Zhao Difei?