20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 675 Fence
Li Zhengxi was familiar with the inpatient building and went straight to Beifeng's ward with food.

It was past noon and I had arrived a little late today. The corridor was silent. It was not until I reached the door that I heard a faint conversation coming from inside the room.

Li Zhengxi was a little surprised. He didn't know who came to visit Beifeng, but he felt that there were quite a few people, and laughter could be heard from time to time. The atmosphere seemed quite harmonious.

I pushed open the door with a little confusion, and saw several figures in military uniforms, scattered around the bed, chatting and reminiscing.

When the sound of the door was pushed open, the room suddenly became quiet and everyone turned to look over. They were all smart and upright young talents, both civil and military officers.

Li Zhengxi paused, and was just wondering when he suddenly saw Bei Feng peeking out from the crowd and asked with a smile, "Third brother, why are you here so late?"

"Oh, we had dinner late today, so we were delayed for a while. Are you hungry?"

Li Zhengxi walked over and placed the still warm food in his arms on the bedside table, looking around in confusion.

Zhao Zhengbei leaned against the pillow, full of energy, and introduced openly: "This is my third brother. We grew up together. He always stood up for me in fights when we were young."

Everyone smiled, as if recalling their childhood fun, and how they had hoped to have a good brother to stand up for them.

Zhao Zhengbei continued, "Third brother, they are my former classmates at the Military Academy. This is Lin Zhidong, you can just call him Xiaopang, and this is..."

After several introductions, everyone smiled and extended their hands. Beifeng said, "Third brother, I always hear Zhengbei talking about you. Today I finally got to know you."

"Hey, hello!" Li Zhengxi wiped his palms and shook hands with everyone a little awkwardly, "Sit down, sit down, sit down, wait for me to pour you some water.

Everyone said it was not necessary.

Xifeng refused to listen and insisted on getting some water. Then he went back to the house, opened the window, and handed cigarettes to everyone. He then asked them if they had eaten. Everyone said they had, and only then did he calm down.

Glancing at the food on the bedside table, he hurriedly reminded, "Xiaobei, eat it while it's still hot."

Zhao Zhengbei said, "Save it for dinner. They just brought me some snacks and I'm full now!"

Xifeng hurriedly thanked everyone and said, since we are already here, why spend money?

Everyone said it should be.

Li Zhengxi nodded and asked again: "What did the doctor say today?"

"It's okay." Zhao Zhengbei simply sat up and patted his chest, saying, "If I keep lying like this, I'll be useless. I've told the doctor that I'll be discharged tomorrow."

"Don't worry too much. Didn't your boss approve your leave?" Li Zhengxi looked around at everyone and asked curiously, "So many people are here today. The camp shouldn't be busy recently, right?"

Lin Zhidong sat at the foot of the bed, took over the conversation, and sighed: "It's not that busy, but it's not quiet. You probably know that the Army Reorganization Office has been making a lot of noise recently, and many officers are..."

Before he could finish his words, someone by his side cleared his throat and coughed twice to warn him.

Lin Zhidong came to his senses and realized that he couldn't say any more. If he continued, the content would inevitably involve military secrets.

Although the Jiang family is powerful, if you really want to get to the bottom of the matter, there are ways to do it. What's more, Beifeng is in the Jiang family. What Xiaopang knows, Beifeng probably also knows. But knowing is one thing, and whoever tells the secret will inevitably be held responsible.

At first, many people did not know the relationship between Beifeng and the Jiang family. However, since the Battle of Shimenzhai, when the Jiang family used their connections to try to transfer Beifeng back to Fengtian, the relationship between Beifeng and the Jiang family gradually became known to acquaintances. Fortunately, Beifeng stayed on the front line and avoided all kinds of criticism.

Li Zhengxi heard Xiao Pang's concerns and waved his hand and said, "I don't understand what's going on in your military camp. Anyway, Xiao Bei doesn't need to rush back, right?"

"Don't worry, Zhengbei's injury hasn't healed yet." Lin Zhidong said with a smile, "But now that he can move around, it's best to report to the Army Arrangement Office first."

"Sure, sure!" Li Zhengxi suggested, "Xiaobei, then I'll ask my family to arrange a car to pick you up from the hospital tomorrow?"

Zhao Zhengbei said, "Don't bother my family. Xiaopang has borrowed a car from the Quartermaster Department for me. He will come pick me up tomorrow."

"You can even borrow a military vehicle?" Li Zhengxi couldn't help but exclaim.

Everyone laughed and said, "What are you talking about? What is Zhengbei's current status? He was honorably wounded and is the alternate commander. Is it still a big deal to apply for a trolley to be discharged from the hospital?"

"Not bad, not bad!" Li Zhengxi was inexplicably happy. "I have to find time to talk to my sister-in-law about this!"

Everyone followed suit and flattered him, which made Bei Feng feel embarrassed. He quickly stopped them and said, "Alright, alright, it's all our duty. Please stop humiliating me."

Someone laughed and said, "Zhengbei, don't be so proud. When our commander fights Wu Xiucai again, we brothers will also gain some military merits and be on equal footing with you!"

"Then I can't wait for you. I guess I'll be the commander by then."

"Hey, you were just saying it was shabby, and now you're climbing up the ladder again, just go ahead and brag!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

For a moment, lofty words were accompanied by laughter and scolding, and he was truly full of vigor and manliness.

The slight embarrassment just now has long disappeared.

Although secrets cannot be discussed, there are still many widely publicized government orders to talk about, such as "The commander of a certain brigade was executed for cowardly fighting", "The soldiers of a certain unit were laid off due to old age and weakness", "The provincial government decided to establish a certain military academy". These news have already appeared in newspapers, so there is no need to conceal them deliberately.

However, what people talked about the most was the Aviation Preparatory Office of the Three Northeastern Provinces.

In fact, this department was established the year before last, but it has always been slow and has not done much practical work.

During the Zhi-An War, Zhang took advantage of the situation and seized twelve planes from the Anhui faction. However, due to insufficient talent and infrastructure, they were unable to be deployed to the battlefield, causing the Fengtian Army to suffer heavy losses when fighting against the Zhili Army.

Marshal Zhang learned from his failures and took the matter seriously. Matters related to the establishment of an air force school were put on the agenda long ago.

When people talk about the Air Force, on the one hand they feel excited, but more importantly they are jealous of how well the Air Force is treated.

Not to mention that with the same military rank, air force non-commissioned officers receive generous salaries, and even cadets can enjoy additional allowances, not to mention their attire. Once they put on a leather jacket, they look really stylish. Who wouldn't be envious?

"We don't have to think about it," someone sighed, "I'd be thankful if I could get two more pairs of leather shoes."

Everyone laughed.

From their conversations, one can get a glimpse of the swiftness and decisiveness of the Fengtian Army's reforms, with the changes far exceeding expectations.

Marshal Zhang closed the border and governed himself, taking the gimmick of "Feng people governing Feng" to the extreme. He withheld tariffs from the three provinces and no longer handed them over to the capital. With ample funds, he reorganized the army and relied on the support of the small East Asian countries for loans. With the policy of "weapons only", he frantically purchased large quantities of advanced weapons. At the same time, he set up his own arsenal, which was in full swing and never stopped for a moment.

In addition to the air force, Feng Zhang also took over the Jilin-Heilongjiang River Defense Fleet that was originally dispatched from the capital, modified the ships, and pieced together a naval fleet.

Although the Huludao Paotaishan Aviation Police School has not yet been established, it has already been included in the "military reorganization" plan.

Marshal Zhang wanted to conquer the Central Plains, but relying on talents from the three provinces was obviously not enough, so he sent people to military academies in various places, spending a lot of money to poach talents. Apart from the international students from the Oriental Military Academy, the largest number of graduates came from the Baoding Military Academy.

Logically speaking, Baoding and Luoyang should have been the bases of the Zhili clique, but it is really unbelievable that the Fengtian clique was able to poach the young talents of the Zhili clique right under the noses of Cao and Wu.

The reason for this is that there are many elders in the Zhili clique, and everything is based on seniority. It is almost impossible for young people to get ahead. Wu Xiucai thinks too highly of himself. After winning the battle, he is inevitably a little arrogant. Whenever he is rewarded or promoted, he often makes arbitrary decisions, which often causes dissatisfaction.

There were many Fengtian veterans, but because they did not fight the war well, most of them were stripped of their power by Zhang Yimou, which resulted in many vacancies.

Old Zhang wished he could draft a "talent-seeking order" himself, and that any outstanding graduates who came to join him would be directly enlisted as officers without any empty promises or false titles.

Birds choose good trees to roost in.

Young talents flocked to the city, and even if the Zhili clique wanted to stop them, they could only sigh in despair.

Seeing that everyone was chatting animatedly, Li Zhengxi could only listen quietly without being able to join in the conversation. He gradually stepped aside, leaning against the windowsill and looking towards the north wind with admiration in his eyes.

Lin Zhidong was considerate and worried that he would feel left out, so he came over to greet him and asked, "Third brother, have you been taking care of Zhengbei all this time?"

"Ah, I don't have much to do, so I came here to bring him a meal. To take care of a patient, it's better to have family members."

"Third brother also works at Zongheng Insurance Company?" Lin Zhidong knew that the two brothers were from the Jiang family, but he was not clear about the specific division of labor.

"What do you mean?" Li Zhengxi hesitated, smiled and said, "I usually take care of my own things. If there is something urgent over there, I will go over and help."

"Oh, so Third Brother is also doing business?" Lin Zhidong asked casually, "It must be a big business, right?"

"No, no, I usually just set up shop along the river, doing some small business to make ends meet."

“Set up a stall?” Lin Zhidong didn’t understand. He thought it was equivalent to setting up a stall, but it didn’t make sense. “Then…what do you usually sell?”

Li Zhengxi smiled, not knowing how to explain, so he said, "It's not selling goods, it's just... it's like others selling goods, and I just take a cut."

"Collect rent?"

"Well, that's about it."

"That's a business that's guaranteed to make money regardless of drought or flood!" Lin Zhidong complimented with a smile.

"No, there are so many things going on!" Li Zhengxi asked politely, "Commander Lin is in the army... Oh, I forgot again. I shouldn't ask too much."

"Oh, I can talk about this, it's not taboo." Lin Zhidong explained, "I used to be in the engineering company. Didn't I win the battle at Shimen Village? I was lucky enough to move up a level. I don't know what I will do in the future, but it will probably be related to fortifications."

"That's normal!" Li Zhengxi said assumingly, "If you join the army, you're working for the government anyway, so you can't make your own decisions."

Lin Zhidong was stunned, knowing that Xifeng had misunderstood him, but he just smiled and didn't explain anything.

The two of them smoked a cigarette by the window in silence, and finally became strangers with nothing to say to each other.

The atmosphere was a little awkward.

Lin Zhidong made an excuse to leave, saying, "I'll go ask them when they're going to leave. If this group of people get together and no one reminds them, they'll probably chat all night."

Li Zhengxi said hurriedly: "Don't worry, you guys finally came here, it would be nice to chat with Xiaobei for a while, otherwise he will be bored!"

Lin Zhidong smiled and nodded, walked back to the bedside, and immediately joined the crowd.

Li Zhengxi stayed by the window, looking at Xiaobei from afar. He couldn't help imagining the scene tomorrow morning when a military car would come to pick Beifeng up from the hospital. How beautiful and grand it would be.

As I thought about it, my chest couldn't help but straighten up.

Although I cannot travel with the military vehicle, I plan to come and take a look tomorrow morning.

He was genuinely happy for Xiaobei and genuinely proud of him, but somehow, he felt a little lonely at the same time.

Zhao Zhengbei was surrounded by officers, comrades-in-arms, and classmates. The epaulettes and uniforms were like a fence blocking the west wind, with only occasional gaps revealing his figure.

Before coming here, Li Zhengxi had planned to talk to Xiaobei about the Jiang family's meeting and the decision of his eldest brother and sister-in-law.

However, at this moment, he couldn't say it.

Everyone is talking about "military reorganization", major events in the world, and offensive and defensive battles involving tens of thousands of people; in comparison, the current situation of the Jiang family is so insignificant.

The brothers finally drifted apart and became people from two different worlds.

Looking back carefully, I can't even remember where and when that crucial fork in the road was.

But it doesn’t matter. Li Zhengxi is still happy for his brother, even though he seems a little redundant at the moment.

He quietly walked around the ward, along the wall to the door, and prepared to wait in the corridor for everyone to leave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I opened the door, I heard a voice behind me: "Third brother?"

Zhao Zhengbei sat on the bed, stretched his neck and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, well..." Li Zhengxi pointed toward the corridor, "I'm going to take a piss. You guys can chat. If you have nothing else to do, stay a little longer. I'll go to the restaurant to order some dishes for you in the evening."

"Well, they will be gone soon." Zhao Zhengbei put on his slippers and pretended to stand up. "Wait for me for a while. I need to go to the bathroom too."

Although the North Wind's wound has healed, there is still the risk of tearing it apart if it acts rashly.

When everyone saw this, they rushed forward to help.

"Oh, it's just a minor injury, there's no need for you to help me!" Zhao Zhengbei waved his hand and took a step towards Xifeng.

Seeing this, Li Zhengxi naturally came over to support. Beifeng opened his arms and put them on the shoulders of the third brother, then walked towards the door.

When they reached the corridor, the two brothers slowly went to the bathroom at the end of the corridor.

Li Zhengxi walked along and said, "Xiaobei, you are a big shot now."

"What a bullshit big shot!" Zhao Zhengbei laughed, "There is only one captain, and he is still a substitute. He can only take over when a vacancy occurs!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? You are still young. You can outlast those old men!"

"Third brother, being a soldier is not something you can do by just hanging on."

Thinking of the fighting on the battlefield, Zhao Zhengbei was serious. He felt that if he smiled, he would be disrespectful to his brothers who died on the battlefield.

"That's true, but you are definitely right. If you really become a division commander in the future, with 18,000 people under your command, what a grand occasion that would be." Li Zhengxi joked, "Well, if I want to see you again, I'll probably have to ask the guards to pass on the message, right?"

Zhao Zhengbei waved his hand and suddenly said seriously: "Third brother, we are family, why are you still talking about that?"

(End of this chapter)