Black Flag Army

Chapter 110: Special Envoy Chen Visits

Leng Hanbing said: "But they are Russians after all. If they turn against us after getting the weapons, the consequences will be very serious. We must strengthen the strict supervision of them. It is best to send them to the bunkers and trenches outside the city for defense. We must also prevent the Russian spies from sneaking in."

Having served as the Director of the Supervisory Department for a long time, Leng Hanbing is very wary of such things.

Wu Chunlei suddenly sighed and said, "I really envy you! You can lead the troops in a night raid tomorrow night, in the midst of a huge army, to take the head of a general. I was originally a battalion commander, and I could lead the troops in a raid, but Brother Di insisted on making me the deputy division commander, so I can only stay in the command center."

Leng Hanbing said with a smile: "Don't be ungrateful for what you have. You have been promoted from battalion commander to deputy division commander, jumping five levels. If it were someone else, they would be so happy that they would almost go crazy. How dare you still be dissatisfied?"

Wu Chunlei said: "If you get promoted too quickly, people will say that you are nepotism."

Leng Hanbing said: "There is nothing we can do about this. The First Division is the most elite unit of the Justice Army. Big brother has put so much effort into it, so someone must help him look after it. Although Zhang Zhenyang is loyal, he is not our old brother after all. In case of an accident, as the deputy division commander, you can quickly take over this unit. You have the strongest military ability among our old brothers, so you can only be the deputy division commander."

In Beitang City, the operations room of the Justice Army Headquarters, Di Xiong sat next to the sand table, carefully observing Suwu City and Darkhan on the sand table. The staff officers were very busy, some answering and making phone calls, some reporting to Di Xiong with the latest intelligence they had just received from the front line, and some staff officers changed the small flags on the sand table according to the changes on the front line. The black flag represented the Justice Army, the blue flag represented the Tsarist Russian Army, and the white flag represented the Enqinma bandit.

A staff officer reported to Di Xiong: "Commander-in-Chief! The First Security Brigade in Shamal Town, north of Darkhan, reported that the Enqinma bandits suddenly disappeared. They were still in Selenge Town on the other side of the Selenge River yesterday afternoon. This morning, scouts discovered that they had disappeared. They may have gone around from other places. After all, the border is too long. The reconnaissance plane did not find them either."

Di Xiong said: "They have more than 15,000 cavalrymen. How could they suddenly disappear? Where would they go?"

He carefully observed the terrain around Darkhan on the sand table.

Zhang Zhongzhi, acting commander of the Second Security Brigade, asked: "Is it possible to retreat back to Tsarist Russia?"

Zhang Zhongzhi was originally transferred from the battalion commander of the Justice Army to the Guard Battalion, replacing Wang Shitou as the battalion commander. After the expansion of the Guard Brigade, there was a shortage of officers, so he was transferred back to serve as the deputy brigade commander of the Second Brigade and the acting brigade commander. The position of the Guard Battalion Commander was handed over to the deputy brigade commander Liu Bao.

Feng Anbang, acting commander of the Guard Division, said: "It's impossible. They just accepted the amnesty and ran away without fighting a single battle. We can't explain to the commander at the front."

A staff officer answered the phone and reported to Di Xiong: "The Darkhan border post said that the Outer Mongolian envoy Chen Yi came to visit from Kulun, with more than 20 people, and asked if we should let them in?"

Di Xiong said: "Of course we have to let them in. Although the Beiyang government is corrupt and incompetent, Special Envoy Chen is a national hero. I just don't have time to receive him now. Let Beitang Mayor Hu Lin receive him, and let Propaganda Director Xian Yuji accompany him. After all, Hu Lin has been mayor for too short a time and doesn't know much about Beitang City. Xian Yuji has been managing Beitang City for a long time as Princess Xuelian, so she knows more about it than him."

The staff officer followed the order and made the phone call. Di Xiong stared at the sand table and thought hard for a long time. At this time, Huo Qingtong brought a cup of tea and placed it in front of him. Di Xiong's eyes suddenly lit up and he suddenly realized: "Water! More than 15,000 people and horses cannot live without water! They can only hide on the banks of the Selenge River. Otherwise, even if the people can bite their teeth and bear it, the horses will be thirsty and can't stand it."

He immediately called the aviation brigade commander Gu Yuan and ordered: "Immediately dispatch a squadron of bombers to bomb along the banks of the Selenge River west of Darkhan. Don't worry about wasting bombs. Bomb out the Enchenma bandits. Tell the squadron leader to contact the First Security Brigade immediately if he finds the Ma bandits."

Due to the expansion of the air force, the number of fighter planes increased to two squadrons, one Black Hawk Squadron, one White Hawk Squadron, plus a bomber squadron and a transport squadron. The four squadrons were combined into an aviation brigade. The brigade commander was Gu Yuan, and the deputy brigade commander was Feng Yi, who was Feng Ru's cousin.

At a border checkpoint east of Darkhan, the platoon leader put down the phone and said to Special Envoy Chen: "I'm sorry, Special Envoy Chen! I've kept you waiting for so long. The Beitang City Command has agreed to let you pass. The Darkhan City Security Corps will send a military truck to take you to Beitang City. This is much faster than taking a horse-drawn carriage."

The foreign envoy's surname is Chen Yi, with the courtesy name Shi Ke. He was born in 1873 in Huangpi, Hubei Province. He is from the same hometown as President Li and is 43 years old this year. Chen Yi smiled and said, "A small county security group actually has military trucks. This shows how rich Beitang is!"

Deputy Envoy Yan Shichao said: "This Di Congmo is so arrogant. He knew that our special envoy group was coming, but not only did he not come to greet us in person, he didn't even send an important official under his command. He also blocked us outside the checkpoint for a long time."

Chen Yi said: "Ignorance is not a crime! After all, they had an armed conflict with Kulun. We came from Kulun, so they are bound to be wary. Although the central government has just cancelled their wanted order, they may not have received the notice yet."

Ten minutes later, a military truck stopped in front of the special envoys. A young major officer got out of the cockpit. After the platoon leader introduced the identities of Chen Yi and others, he saluted Chen Yi and said, "Lan Zhongjun, the head of the Darkhan County Security Corps, has been ordered to escort the special envoys. Please get in the car!"

The county security corps belongs to the third-line troops, and a major can be the regiment commander. In the first and second-line troops, only a lieutenant colonel can be the regiment commander.

Yan Shichao saw three soldiers standing on the truck and a light machine gun on the roof. He couldn't help but ask angrily, "What does this mean? Why are there three armed soldiers on the truck? Are we being escorted to Beitang City?"

Lan Zhongjun said, "Deputy Envoy Yan has misunderstood. We are fighting the Russian horse bandits. The Russian horse bandits Enqin's army has entered Outer Mongolia. For the safety of the special envoys, we are sending three soldiers to escort you."

Yan Shichao said: "No need! We brought more than a dozen guards, which are enough to protect our safety."

Although the special envoy group had more than 20 people, there were only eight real members, and the rest were guards equipped with pistols and rifles. Seeing this, Lan Zhongjun did not insist and ordered three soldiers to get off the car with machine guns.

The road was very flat. Two hours later, the car arrived outside Beitang City. Beitang Mayor Hu Lin and Propaganda Director Xian Yujie were already waiting at the intersection outside the city. While Lan Zhongjun was introducing both parties, Chen Yi was looking at the large tracts of farmland outside the city, and Yan Shichao was staring at the huge Beihai Winery in front of him. The Beihai Winery was also built outside the city, covering an area of ​​more than 100 acres, with dozens of large factory buildings and a three-story red office building.

Chen Yi sighed, "I've heard that Beihai Group has developed hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farmland in Beitang City. Seeing it today, I believe it's true. Developing farmland in this bitter cold land of Outer Mongolia must have required huge investment and a very difficult process. I admire the courage of Di Congmo and the senior management of Beihai Group to overcome difficulties."

Xian Yuji was very happy to hear him praise Di Xiong, happier than when he praised herself. She said, "Mr. Di is an extraordinary person, so he can do extraordinary things. Four years ago, he was determined to recover the lost territory of the Qing Dynasty in the north. Now he has really done it and recovered Suwu City from the vicious Russians."

Chen Yi said: "Suwu City? Why haven't I heard of this place?"

Hu Lin said: "It is what the Tsarist Russians call Irkutsk, the largest city on the North Sea."

Yan Shichao was furious when he heard this: "Who gave him the order to open the border without permission? If he starts a war with the Russians, what if they send troops to retaliate? Wouldn't this bring disaster to the country?"

Xian Yuji was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "No one can give him orders, only he can give orders to others. In the entire 700,000 square kilometers of western Outer Mongolia, he is the only one who has the final say!"

Yan Shichao found that everyone from Beitang City was glaring at him, and Chen Yi also frowned. Only then did he realize that he had caused trouble and kept silent.

Chen Yi said, "I have heard the Black Flag Army's military song in Kulun. Two lines of the song, 'Following one another without fear of death, leaving a legacy of loyalty and righteousness through the ages', made my blood boil. If I were 20 years younger, I would also join the Black Flag Army. The loss of territory by the Qing Dynasty is a national humiliation. If we can personally recover the lost territory, it would be such an honor and great thing! I came to Bei Tang City just to meet this national hero, Di Congmo."

Just as Xian Yuji was about to respond, she heard the annoying Yan Shichao speak again: "Why do you have such a big winery? Can we drink all the wine you produce?"

Xian Yuji ignored him, and Hu Lin replied, "Because of the bumper potato harvest this year, we can't eat them all. Besides making feed, we can only make wine. Otherwise, the warehouse won't be able to store them and they will rot. The wine can be sold to the public, and the money can be used to buy raw materials for production from Beihai Group."

Yan Shichao said sternly: "Why can't we send the leftovers to the Kulun government in the east? To the Beiyang government in Beijing? Do you know how many people died of starvation and freezing in eastern Outer Mongolia this year? How many people starve to death in Beijing every day?"

Xian Yuji said angrily: "Why should we send food to those bad guys in the east? Will they come and attack us after they are full? And that incompetent Beiyang government, they control dozens or hundreds of times more fertile land than us, but they let so many people starve to death every day, and they still have the nerve to blame us? The Beiyang government has issued a wanted order for us and offered a high reward for our heads, why should we send them food?"

Lan Zhongjun also said angrily: "Deputy Envoy Yan, if you are here to accuse us today, then you can go back now. Bei Tang City does not welcome you!"

Chen Yi said: "You may not know yet, but the new president of Beiyang has cancelled the arrest warrant for you and forgiven your crime of angering President Yuan to death. We are here to inform you of this matter. If you want to return to the mainland in the future, it will be safe."

Xian Yuji said coldly, "You don't need to tell us this. We have intelligence personnel in Beijing who have known about it for a long time. But no one believes it, or thinks that you will be fickle. If you cancel it today, you may resume it tomorrow. Because President Li's position is unstable and he may be driven out by warlords at any time. How can he guarantee our safety?"

Seeing that they were already full of hostility, Chen Yi couldn't help but worry: "Then can we go into the city to take a look? Can we meet Mr. Di Congmo?"

Xian Yuji said, "Of course you and the other members can enter the city, but this deputy envoy has been disqualified from entering the city because of his two rude remarks. Just find a hotel outside the city and wait until the special envoy's visit is over before going back together."

When the special envoys heard this, they were all shocked. They didn't expect that this seemingly gentle and beautiful woman had such a strong desire for revenge.

Hu Lin, who was a loyal man, whispered to Xian Yuji: "Isn't this a bad idea? How about asking Mr. Di for advice?"

Xian Yuji took out the Mozhe token and said, "I have the final say on this matter. No need to ask for instructions. If Mr. Di blames me, I will take the blame alone."

Although Hu Lin's mayor rank is the same as Xian Yuji's director, his status in the party is only a sage. According to the rules of the Justice Party, sages must obey the orders of Mohists.

Chen Yi discussed with other members of the special envoy group and finally decided that in order to complete the mission, they had to give up Yan Shichao. Yan Shichao was so angry that his face turned as pale as a pig's liver, but there was nothing he could do.

Because Xian Yujie was leading the way, the sentry at the city gate let them through without checking their passes. After entering the city, Chen Yi's first impression was that the streets were very clean, and there was not a single beggar on the street.

Chen Yi's son, Chen Huangpo, was the captain of the special envoy's guard. He couldn't help but ask, "The floor is so clean, someone must clean it every day, right?"

Xian Yuji said: "It's not enough to just have someone clean up! Spitting and littering will also result in fines. Look at those people wearing red armbands, they are specifically targeting those who don't pay attention to hygiene."

Chen Yi asked: "Then why are there no beggars? Have you arrested all of them?"

Xian Yuji said: "In fact, most beggars are forced to do this. If someone can help them find a job, they will not beg. We have a special department to help them arrange jobs. Even if they are disabled, we can try to let them have a job that allows them to support themselves. Of course, they will not be beggars. For those who are really old and sick and have no ability to live, we will send them to the general ward of the nursing home, at least they will not starve to death. Of course, there are also a very small number of lazy beggars who will be caught and punished in prison. After they come out, they will not dare to beg again. In a word, Beitang City does not support idle people, and there are no idle people."

Chen Huangpo asked: "I heard that your Beihai Company can produce airplanes and cannons by itself. Is that true? You know, the Beiyang government's airplanes are all imported. Can we visit the factory?"

Xian Pingji said: "Of course it is true, otherwise how can we have the ability to retake Suwu City? I can take you to visit the factory that produces cannons, but not the aircraft manufacturing factory! That is a military secret. You can go to the airport to have a look."