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

Gu Cheng glanced at him, casually picking at his meat. "Oh? From what you're saying, you know this Lu Qingshan?"

Mu Haisheng immediately understood his meaning, put down his chopsticks and stood up abruptly: "Mr. Gu, you must have misunderstood!"

Seeing how flustered he was, Gu Cheng shook his head and smiled, "Sit down and talk slowly."

Mu Haisheng breathed a sigh of relief, but after shifting back onto the stool, he dared not eat any more food. Instead, he nervously recounted the whole story.

It turns out that Lu Qingshan was also from the same hometown as him. Although he later joined Tang Yulin, the two still kept in touch.

No sooner had the order been issued by the Marshal's Office than this man, claiming to be from the same hometown, came to the door, wanting to find out what Gu Cheng was saying, but Mu Haisheng refused on the grounds of "avoiding suspicion".

So this person went to the Chamber of Commerce for help. It was Lu Shoulian who came up with the idea, saying that "Master Gu is busy with business and must be exhausted." So they ordered a place at Shaguoju.

Gao Tianqi pulled him to sit down, smiled, and said, "Look at you, the commander didn't blame you... He knows you definitely couldn't refuse because you're from the same hometown, so you helped pass the word, right?"

Gu Cheng looked up, and Mu Haisheng nodded vigorously, "Brother Tianqi is right!"

"It's understandable that Lu Qingshan is so eager to protect himself."

Gu Cheng said slowly, "But what's going on with our Chamber of Commerce president? This morning he brought a bunch of people to deliver things, patted his chest and said he would donate money and grain to help build the Jinzhou camp;

"To turn around and give Lu Qingshan such a crooked idea, and even dare to discuss my affairs in private, is simply too disrespectful of me."

He couldn't help but think of another thing—

Wang Yongjiang was seriously ill. Upon hearing his name, he was so angry that he coughed up blood and fainted on the spot, which shows that there must have been a big grudge between the two.

Seeing that Mu Haisheng was looking at him nervously, Gu Cheng put a big piece of meat on his plate: "Alright, I'm not blaming you! We're both in the Fengtian Army and from the same hometown, so it's not good to ruin our relationship. Who knows who we might need in the future?"

"So, we'll find a suitable time later and have Lu Qingshan invite all the leaders of the 11th Mixed Brigade over for a couple of meals to have a proper discussion."

Mu Haisheng quickly agreed: "Don't worry, Mr. Gu, I'll take care of this! I'll go to Lu Qingshan first thing tomorrow morning and talk to him in person."

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "But Master Gu, those old guys at the brigade headquarters are all Tang Yulin's former subordinates. They must be worried about whether they'll—"

Gu Cheng thought for a moment and said, "You should be frank with them and say that you don't want to settle old scores or deliberately make things difficult for them. You just want to have a drink with everyone and talk about the aftermath of the 11th Mixed Brigade."

Furthermore, let me state my opinion, Gu Cheng: as long as they follow the rules of the Reorganization Department, properly reorganize the troops, and secure Jinzhou, I will guarantee their future... If they don't give me face, then don't blame me."

Mu Haisheng nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, I will definitely convey the message exactly as it is."

After the three had eaten and drunk their fill, Mu and Gao got up to say goodbye to Gu Cheng and went back to their rooms to rest.

The courtyard fell silent instantly, leaving only Gu Cheng sitting alone at the stone table.

He glanced at the watch Zhang Xueliang had given him twice, his expression clearly showing more anxiety.

It was nearly midnight, and neither Zhang Tingshu nor the brothers he had sent out had returned.

Considering the distance between Jinzhou and Lianshan Station, Zhang Tingshu should have turned back long ago.

Could it be that something happened?

Just before one o'clock in the morning, Yang Song knocked on Gu Cheng's door and said that Zhang Tingshu had returned.

"Quickly, invite him in."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the second son of the military commander's family entered the room, panting. Before he could say a word, he went straight to the tea table, picked up the teapot, and started drinking.

"Slow down—"

Seeing Zhang Tingshu huffing and puffing as he stuffed a few pastries into his mouth, Gu Cheng quickly told Yang Song to cook him a bowl of noodles. Zhang Tingshu waved his hand repeatedly, saying, "Go quickly, and make me two poached eggs!"

After saying that, he leaned on the table, looking exhausted, and said, "Damn it, I'm exhausted! Let me tell you, Jingchuan, you were right... that woman, something's really off!"

He then recounted the entire incident to Gu Cheng:

On the way back, Xiao He drove back, and none of the group spoke because of the language barrier. Inoue Chiwa, however, was in a good mood after receiving the small yellow croaker.

After the woman got on the bus, she looked around. At first, I thought she was just a country bumpkin, but then I realized she was secretly memorizing the route!

When the car arrived at Lianshan Station, I had Xiao He hide it behind a nearby barren slope, and then, along with two brothers I had arranged beforehand, I squatted under the old locust tree opposite the clinic to keep watch.

Before half an hour had passed, the woman had changed into a black cloth short jacket, tied her hair into a bun, covered her face with a handkerchief, and sneaked out of the clinic through the back door.

I originally thought she was going to the Kwantung Army's garrison, but I didn't expect her to walk along the main road towards Jinzhou. She was walking very fast, and it was obvious that she had something urgent to do.

I didn't dare delay, so I sent two brothers to follow her at a distance, telling them not to be discovered and to keep an eye on who she met and what she did. I'll hurry back to report to you—this woman is definitely up to something, she might be after us!

Upon hearing this, Gu Cheng's scalp tingled: "Damn it, that damn woman! I knew she wasn't simple! She's a nurse on the surface, but she looks like she's received military training... And back at the clothing store, besides constantly giving Inoue instructions, that old Japanese devil even used honorifics with her!"

Zhang Tingshu cursed, then said, "My father always says that these Japanese have planted a lot of spies around... I think they might be investigating the attack on the Lianshan branch office."

Gu Cheng paced back and forth in the bedroom with his hands clasped behind his back, quickly shaking his head and saying, "It's unlikely... I heard Uncle Sun and the Marshal say that the Japanese are now insisting that Wang Chengbin and Yang Qingchen were responsible, and they've been pressuring the Zhili Army to get out of Northeast China—"

If the case were overturned now, wouldn't that be a slap in the face? Besides, the first batch of equipment from Fengtian has already arrived; even if they investigated, they wouldn't be able to find it.

Zhang Tingshu yawned again, "I'm not going to argue with you about these complicated things. I need to go back to my room and lie down for a while. Let's talk about even the most important things tomorrow!"

Gu Cheng noticed that his eyelids were drooping, and he was clearly exhausted.

They hurriedly took him back to his room and even gave him a basin of hot water to wash his face, but the man was already sprawled out on the kang (heated brick bed), fast asleep.

Just then, Yang Song entered carrying a bowl of plain noodles. Seeing that Zhang Tingshu was already asleep, he said blankly, "This... Master Gu, why don't you have this as a midnight snack?"

Gu Cheng had no appetite for noodles.

He waved his hand, telling him to put it aside, and said, "Quickly send a few more skilled brothers out of the city tonight... just search along the road from Lianshan to Jinzhou! I think this woman is most likely sent by the Kwantung Army to scout out the situation."