Chapter 64

  On August 6, at 10:06 am, the 11th Corps and the 63rd Division arrived in Xili Guli. After negotiating with Davier of the 107th Corps, a plan was drawn up, clearly stating that the 107th Corps would be divided into two parts, one part each under the 11th Corps and the 63rd Division. The 11th Corps and one part of the 107th Corps would capture Darpenga on the east bank of the Songhua River; the 63rd Division and another part of the 107th Corps would occupy Getihe on the east bank of the Songhua River. After occupying their respective targets, they would establish defensive positions on the east bank of the Songhua River and wait for further instructions from headquarters. I agreed to the plan after discussing it with Old Xu and others, and instructed that the attack be carried out at 22:00 that night.

  At 10:25, the Central Military Commission issued a report ordering the Western Route Army to cease its attack across the board and for the 27th Army to return to Baniuberde. It also ordered that the Western Zong Province must stop attacking by August 8 at 0 o'clock and wait for further orders from the Military Commission. The aforementioned troops were on high alert during the ceasefire period, and if attacked by the enemy, they could counterattack on their own initiative. I finished reading it but couldn't speak for a long time. Why didn't we take down Western Zong in one go? Didn't they know that raising a tiger would lead to trouble? I thought about it, but orders still had to be given out. After giving the order, I paced back and forth feeling depressed. Zhang Zhengwei saw me shaking my head and continued working with his head down.

  The situation developed as I had expected, and on the morning of August 7th at 4 o'clock my attacking troops successfully occupied the key towns of Darbhanga and Gidhaur on the east bank of the Ganges River with little resistance. The 107th Army took over the administration of the two cities, while the 11th Army and the 63rd Division established defensive positions on the east bank of the Ganges River. The British troops on the opposite bank of the river occasionally sent patrols along the Ganges to prevent our army from suddenly crossing the river and attacking them.

  In the south, the Green Fleet in the Bay of Bengal has already set sail for home. The 5-day battle has come to an end, and opinions about this somewhat inconclusive war are divided. However, for our province of Xizang, we have lost nearly 18,000 troops and over 150,000 civilians have been injured or killed, mostly residents of Chittagong. In return, we have gained more than 6,000 Green prisoners of war, 1,212 British prisoners of war, and over 8,000 Xizang prisoners of war. Regarding these prisoners, I immediately instructed the Interior Ministry and Political Department to form a joint action group to carry out surrender negotiations and ideological education, striving to make all the prisoners turn around. Commissioner Zhang's view is that the Green and British prisoners will eventually be released, so there is no need for this. I smiled and said: "Can't we have our own 'Green traitors' and 'British traitors'? Moreover, their military discipline has its own characteristics. Let's take them in and combine East and West to improve our army's combat effectiveness."

  Director Zhang sighed and said: "Little Tang, am I out of touch with the times? Just do it your way."

  On August 9th at 9:00 am, all parties involved in the war gathered in Zhongdu, the capital of Longwei, to formally engage in peace talks. The world's attention was once again focused on this ancient Eastern power. And the name of Tang Ning, Commander of the Western Zuo Province Military Region, became known to the world for the first time; perhaps they did not know that in the years to come, this name would gradually become the leader of the Longwei military's hawk faction or the big boss of the hawk faction.

  At this time, I am speaking on the municipal square of Xilong City, calling on people throughout the province to resume production and rebuild Jidagang Port. I also announced that a heroic monument will be built in Jidagang Port to commemorate the brave soldiers and people who sacrificed their lives; a martyrs' cemetery will be built in Xilong to bury the remains of the martyrs, and the families of the martyrs will receive government subsidies. I also announced that on the 11th, an awards ceremony will be held for fighting heroes and brave citizens. Amidst the applause of the local crowd, I ended my speech and reminded Old Yang from the Political Department to hurry up and arrange the list of names of the fighting heroes and brave citizens.

  I had just returned to the office when Chas came in to report that Wang Qifu wanted to see me. I nodded for him to bring Wang Qifu in. After Wang Qifu entered, I asked: "What's up, Old Wang!"

  Wang Qifu replied: "This time the top asked me to not only collect evidence of your style problems, but also to win over several comrades in the military region!"

  I raised an eyebrow and said: "Oh! Which comrades are they?"

  Wang Qifu said slowly: "It was Deputy Commander Xu Feng, Chief of Staff Zhou Kai and the leading cadres of the 25th Army and the 40th Army."

  I sneered and said: "You're all comrades who came later!" I took a sip of tea and continued to say: "Then you think your words of persuasion are successful, how many points do you give yourself?"

  Wang Qifu shook his head after listening, and I asked: "Are you unsure?"

  Wang Qifu said: "My intention is that I don't know either, because these can only be seen at the last moment."

  "What did you mean by 'the last moment'?"

  Wang Qiufu explained: "It's about letting him choose, specifically, it's about making him either cooperate or be overthrown himself."

  I nodded and said seriously: "You go try it then!"

  Wang continued: "You have to give me space, and by the way, I also want to clean up the internal personnel."

  I thought for a moment and said: "Now that the battle has just ended, I can promise you. What do you need? Just tell Dier about it, and I'll let him know."

  "Alright, I'll take my leave then."

  "Wait a minute, Old Wang, I want to ask something."

  Just as Wang Qi was about to get up, he sat back down and said, "What's the question?"

  I said: "Why do those people in your committee always want to do these things?"

  Wang Qifu looked at me and said: "Because of power."

  "I was somewhat perplexed and said: 'With the chairman present, what authority could they have?'"

  Wang Qiufu sneered, "Our party has undergone five rectification movements since its founding. Each time, a group of comrades were killed or dismissed from their posts. The last three times were all personally operated by the Chairman. In the past, the main targets of investigation were secretly collected by the Central Organization Department and the Guard Bureau. Now, these will be added to the Revolutionary Committee! They are now looking for targets, and you are on this preparatory list. After this list is submitted and reviewed by the higher-ups, the final selection of personnel will be decided by the higher-ups."

  "I asked again: 'Then why did the chairman rehabilitate some people after the event?'"

  Wang Qi said: "That's because of balance, once the balance is lost, the chairman will be like this, and some comrades in charge of the Central Organization Department and the Guard Bureau will have to take the blame. This is for people to see, and for some people to have an explanation."

  "I sighed and said: 'It turns out it's similar to the Imperial Guards of the Ming Dynasty!'"

  "You think so? I'm the only one who's miserable, being beckoned by you and then dismissed at will."

  I smiled slightly and said: "That's because you're clever."

  "That's all, goodbye."

  "Not sending."

  After Wang Qifu left, I sat on the chair, thinking all the time. Is this what they mean by "the higher you climb, the colder it gets"? What should I do? I'm the grandson-in-law of the old president and was promoted by Lao Yao himself. And now my current position is also thanks to the chairman's promotion! Do they dare to touch me? I let out a long sigh, what the hell is going on?!