Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

Gu Cheng's expression suddenly turned cold, and he quickened his pace. Yang Song, who was following closely behind, whispered instructions to the personal guard who had come to report the news. The guard then ran quickly to the regimental headquarters to inform the regimental commander that he had returned.

However, in an instant, the scene at the entrance of the regimental department came into view—two or three hundred people were packed together, and the cries, curses and accusations of men, women and children were intertwined, making their eardrums hurt.

At the front of the crowd, several ragged women knelt on the ground, their hands gripping the threshold of the regimental headquarters tightly, weeping bitterly.

The young men clenched their fists, their faces flushed, their eyes blazing with anger, and tried several times to break through the guards' obstruction and rush into the courtyard.

What was most disheartening was that three stretchers covered with coarse white cloths were quietly placed in front of the stone steps at the entrance of the regiment.

The human figure was clearly visible under the white cloth, with dark red bloodstains slowly seeping from the edges. A faint smell of blood could be smelled when the wind blew, a truly shocking sight.

Clearly, this matter was far more serious than Gu Cheng had anticipated—it was not a simple case of dragging a woman; it had actually resulted in a death.

"Commander Gu! You've finally arrived!"

A piercing cry shattered the noise. An old man in tattered clothes broke free from the guards' obstruction, stumbled and fell to his knees at Gu Cheng's feet with a thud.

He then kowtowed repeatedly to Gu Cheng, blood quickly forming on his forehead. "Commander Gu, please, do justice for us! Your soldiers dragged away my daughter-in-law, and when my son tried to stop them, they beat him mercilessly, hitting him with rifle butts, kicking him... My son... he died on the spot!"

The old man's cries were heart-wrenching. Another woman nearby rushed over as if possessed, grabbing Gu Cheng's trouser leg tightly: "Commander Gu, my daughter... she was dragged away by these beasts! Ahh, these beasts took her away! I don't want to live anymore!"

Yang Song's eyebrows twitched, and he hurriedly ordered his personal guards to pull away the crying and wailing people.

Gu Cheng waved for him to leave, first helping the old man and woman to their feet with a compassionate expression, then said loudly, "Everyone, get up! Tell us slowly what grievances or injustices you have... I'm back now to help you deal with this!"

Zhang Tingshu and Gao Tianqi, who had been at the main gate, jogged up with their men and parted the crowd surrounding the regimental headquarters to make way for Gu Cheng.

Gao Tianqi wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly reported behind him: "Jingchuan, there were a total of seventeen thugs who entered the city, all from the 11th Mixed Brigade... They first entered the city and robbed the merchants, and then a conflict broke out when they tried to abduct women. Two men were beaten to death and a girl was gang-raped to death."

At this moment, Gu Cheng, with a somber face, had already walked to the main gate of the regimental headquarters. He first looked around at the agitated crowd, then his gaze was fixed on the three blood-soaked stretchers, and the atmosphere around him was frighteningly low.

These bastard soldiers are utterly incompetent in battle, but they're all incredibly capable of wreaking havoc on ordinary people!

But just as his anger flared up, Zhang Tingshu on the other side lowered his voice and said, "Jingchuan, look over there."

At his prompting, Gu Cheng looked across the crowd and indeed spotted several suspicious-looking men in the back row.

Unlike ordinary people who were filled with grief and indignation, they were wary, glancing into the regimental headquarters courtyard from time to time, and whispering among themselves.

Damn it, is this someone sent to scout out what's going on?

"Old Yang, go."

Gu Cheng understood instantly, tilted his head slightly, and gave a concise order.

Yang Song lowered his head and whispered his agreement, then led a few people to quietly go around them, keeping a close eye on their movements.

"Don't panic, everyone! Commander Gu is back now. Don't worry, he'll definitely stand up for you!"

Gao Tianqi shouted to the crowd, "As I just told you, it wasn't our Jinzhou garrison that committed this heinous crime..."

Gu Cheng coughed heavily and continued, "Staff Officer Gao is not shirking responsibility. The troops that robbed merchants, abducted women, and committed the bloodshed were just transferred here."

Please rest assured, I have informed their superiors... and they will definitely give you justice!

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a dignified and righteous air, piercing through the noisy cries and gradually calming the restless crowd, leaving only scattered sobs.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on him, filled with despair and hope, as if they had grasped at the last straw.

Looking around at the tearful families of the victims, Gu Cheng's voice was tinged with sorrow: "However, no matter what, as the garrison commander of Jinzhou, I am also suspected of dereliction of duty. It was my inadequate supervision, and the Fengtian Army has let down all of you. I, Gu Jingchuan, apologize to you all here!"

Seeing his attitude, the people gathered around the regimental headquarters calmed down somewhat. The woman who had lost her daughter knelt down again: "We know you are a good man, Commander Gu. We...we really, really want justice! Please, do justice for us!"

As the woman cried out, the people's emotions surged again, but this time it was not resentment, but rather shouts of "A life for a life" and "Pay back the blood debt."

Gu Cheng raised his hand in a gesture of quiet, then raised his voice again: "Fellow villagers, rest assured, murderers must pay with their lives, it's only right! I will definitely deal with these black sheep impartially and give you all an explanation!"

After saying this, he immediately ordered Zhang Tingshu to take his men to the 11th Mixed Brigade's camp and bring back all seventeen soldiers who had caused the trouble! Not one should be missing; anyone who obstructed would be punished for disobeying orders!

"Yes!" Zhang Tingshu answered the order loudly, and immediately turned around and selected twenty elite personal guards, each armed with guns, to follow him quickly toward the temporary camp of the 11th Mixed Brigade.

Gu Cheng then had Gao Tianqi bring several victims' families into the regimental headquarters, while he himself called Mu Haisheng over.

He knew very well that although Tang Yulin had verbally agreed to deal with the troublesome soldiers, he had sent people to monitor the entrance of the regimental headquarters, so he was obviously not going to let it go easily... Zhang Tingshu would most likely find nothing there, and there was even a possibility of a standoff, so he had to be on guard.

"Old Mu, immediately issue a notice in my name: guard all six gates of Jinzhou to the death. If anyone dares to force their way in, do not bother to ask the regimental headquarters for permission; open fire immediately!"

Gu Cheng was burning with anger. This matter was not over. He was determined to take the 11th Mixed Brigade... His next step was to report the situation here to the higher authorities, and then devise a plan to eliminate Tang Yulin and firmly grasp his troops in his own hands!

…………

Just as Gu Cheng had predicted, Zhang Tingshu and his elite personal guards had barely entered the temporary encampment of the 11th Mixed Brigade when a tense standoff ensued.

At the entrance to the opposite garrison, two heavy machine guns were mounted on sandbag fortifications, their muzzles pointed directly at them, while a dozen soldiers, rifles in hand, stood watch menacingly.

An officer stood at the front, hands on his hips, his face arrogant and a provocative sneer on his lips.