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

"Deputy Brigade Commander Han, I'm here on Regiment Commander Gu's orders to escort the seventeen soldiers who caused the trouble. If you know what's good for you, hand them over right now!"

Zhang Tingshu stepped forward. "These people have robbed merchants, abducted women, and committed multiple murders within the city. They must come with me to the regimental headquarters today to stand trial!"

The man referred to as the deputy brigade commander was named Han Chengzhu. He was Tang Yulin's confidant and a man who was used to being domineering and arrogant.

Hearing Zhang Tingshu's words, he couldn't help but laugh arrogantly: "Brother Zhang, I respect you as the son of the Assistant Commander, so I'll say a few more words to you:"

This is the territory of our 11th Mixed Brigade. Why should we take orders from your Jinzhou Garrison Regiment? Our brigade commander said the brothers were just confused for a moment, it's not worth making a fuss about! As for interrogation, heh heh, it's not your place!

"A moment of confusion?" Zhang Tingshu laughed angrily. "He injured and killed several civilians, violated several innocent women, and even gang-raped and killed a fourteen-year-old girl. Is that what you call a moment of confusion?"

"Han Chengzhu, this is not only a violation of military regulations, but also utterly heinous! Commander Gu has ordered that the murderer be taken away today. Any obstruction will be treated as insubordination, and don't blame us for carrying it out by force!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand to signal his personal guards behind him. The men immediately raised their rifles and pointed them at the enemy. The atmosphere instantly became extremely tense, with their fingers on the triggers. The slightest mistake could trigger a firefight.

Han Chengzhu's face darkened, and he raised his hand to order, "Get your guns ready! If they dare to take a single step, shoot them! Let's see what this bastard Gu Jingchuan is capable of, daring to run wild on our turf!"

Just as tensions were about to escalate and a conflict was imminent, the roar of a car engine was heard, and a black sedan slowly drove up, followed by two trucks carrying personal guards, and came to a steady stop at the entrance of the garrison.

The car door opened, and Tang Yulin slowly stepped out, toying with a snuff bottle in his hand, and walked forward with a half-smile.

He first exchanged glances with his trusted confidant, then turned to Zhang Tingshu with a beaming smile: "Oh, Tingshu, what are you doing? Bringing all these soldiers with weapons, are you trying to start a war with me?"

Upon hearing his words, Zhang Tingshu's expression darkened slightly: "Brigadier Tang, there are no nephews or grandsons when it comes to military discipline. I am here on the orders of Regiment Commander Gu to escort the offending soldier. I request your cooperation, Brigadier Tang, to hand him over, so as not to damage the harmony among colleagues!"

"People?" Tang Yulin scoffed, took a couple of puffs of snuff and inhaled deeply. "Hey, why is Jingchuan in such a hurry? Those rascals really did cause trouble, I know that."

However, the matter hasn't been fully investigated yet, and handing them over rashly would be unfair to our brothers and wouldn't provide a satisfactory explanation to those "troublemakers."

He deliberately emphasized the word "troublemakers," his expression not without provocation. "How about this, I'll interrogate them properly today and figure out the cause and effect... The next day, once I've figured things out in detail, I'll personally send them to the regimental headquarters and hand them over to Regimental Commander Gu for impartial handling!"

Go back and tell Commander Gu not to be too anxious. Young people shouldn't be so impatient. Everything needs to be done methodically; it can't be solved by brute force alone.

This statement ostensibly says they want to hand over the person, but in reality, it's a delaying tactic; it's obvious they don't want to hand over the person.

Everyone knows that even if he says "the next day," one night is enough time for him to do a lot of things: either collude with others to give a false testimony, or secretly move the person away and say that he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, so that he can get away with it cleanly.

Zhang Tingshu could easily see through his thoughts, and immediately said in a deep voice: "Commander Tang, the evidence is conclusive, and the people are full of complaints. How can we delay?"

"Commander Gu has ordered that the murderer be taken away today to give the people a preliminary explanation. We ask Brigade Commander Tang not to make things difficult for us!"

"Difficult?" Tang Yulin's face darkened as he looked at his righteous demeanor. "Ting Shu, you're wrong. I'm the brigade commander of the 11th Mixed Brigade. It's only right that I decide how to deal with my soldiers. Why don't you send a telegram to your father right now and find out the rules of our Fengtian Army?"

Zhang Tingshu was furious: This old bastard actually brought up his father's name, talking about "rules" all the time, isn't he just trying to shirk responsibility?

Before he could even open his mouth, Tang Yulin turned to Han Chengzhu, but his words were directed at Zhang Tingshu: "No matter who comes today, don't even think about taking them away... If anyone dares to force their way in, do as I say, shoot them dead!"

Han Chengzhu immediately responded loudly, "Yes, Brigade Commander!"

Zhang Tingshu's face turned ashen—

Tang Yulin's personal arrival clearly indicated his intention to protect the soldiers. Moreover, the other side had a large number of people and machine guns. If a forced conflict were to occur, it would only cause unnecessary casualties, and he would not be able to explain it to Gu Cheng.

He could only suppress his anger and said in a deep voice, "Brigadier Tang, I advise you to keep your word—hand over the scoundrels who violated military discipline as soon as possible, or you will bear the consequences!"

"Bear the consequences yourself?" Tang Yulin sneered and waved his hand. "Don't worry, I, Erhu, keep my word. My good nephew, go back now, don't delay me from dealing with my men."

After saying that, he stopped looking at Zhang Tingshu and turned to walk into the camp. Han Chengzhu glared at Zhang Tingshu and led the soldiers to put away their guns, but still guarded the door, keeping a close watch.

Zhang Tingshu watched Tang Yulin's retreating figure, his eyes filled with anger and resentment, but he could only order, "Withdraw!"

Twenty guards slowly put away their rifles and followed Zhang Tingshu as he turned and left. Zhang Tingshu's face was gloomy the whole way.

He knew that Tang Yulin was deliberately delaying and had no intention of handing over the person... This was going to be difficult to resolve. How was he going to explain this to Gu Cheng when he got back?

And the families of the victims might think we're in cahoots with these bastards.

Meanwhile, inside the headquarters of the Jinzhou Garrison Regiment.

Gu Cheng was standing in front of the sand table, while Mu Haisheng stood beside him, reporting in a low voice on the defenses around the mansion in the south of the city: "Master Gu, the sentries you had Old Yang set up have returned..."

Those few who were secretly keeping watch at the entrance of the regimental headquarters have been apprehended by the brothers. Upon questioning, they were indeed Tang Erhu's men!

Gu Cheng nodded, disdainfully saying, "I knew it! That bastard Erhu dares to act recklessly even towards the Commander-in-Chief, he'll be even less polite to us... He talked nonsense to me for ages at the new residence, but in the end, he still didn't behave!"

After saying this, he whispered an order, "Don't deal with the people we've detained yet. Keep them safe and keep them as evidence."

"Yes!" Mu Haisheng replied.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhang Tingshu stormed in, furious, and slammed his military cap on the table. "Jingchuan, we went to the 11th Mixed Brigade to demand our men, but not only did their deputy brigade commander stand there with a gun, that old bastard Tang Yulin also blocked our way, preventing us from entering!"

Gu Cheng frowned: "What? They still dare to point guns at you and your brothers? Damn these bastards..."